Weekend on Saturday

It was suppose to be calm and peace in the morning. It’s public holiday and like most of working people, weekend is the time where we can relax with our family.

But the peaceful morning that I imagined didn’t really happened today. It was my Chinese neighbor who screams madly to her child and her scream can be heard like from few blocks away. If I’m not mistaken, the child is only the same age with Hazwan., about 3 years old only. I personally think that the mother is overreacted and the situation happened several times before. Poor little child.

Back in Alor Setar in my hometown, my father’s house also live near with Chinese neighbor. Also in several occasion, I can hear the family scream like mad. The father screamed to the son, the son screamed to the mother, the mother screamed to the son and the father and sometimes they just scream to each other at the same time. I guess, screaming is just a common way for Chinese to make their point heard. Especially in raising their child.

But when I was in Jinhua, I hardly seen parent scolding their children like in Malaysia. Instead, they pampered their children with all sort of love in this world. You see, China Government only allow one child in a family. Only in special cases where certain family can have two children. So, when a parent are allowed to have only one child in a family, it’s all make sense for these parent to pampered their only child with everything that they have. After all, this is the only chance to have a child in their live. Sometimes, when the grandparent is still alive and stay in the same house, you’ll see the grandparent will spoiled the children even more. Unconditional love.

I think, Malaysian Chinese should learn from Mainland Chinese in raising children. Yelling and screaming to our child is not a helpful solution to both parties. Why still shouting when what you shout is not understandable by the child. It’s pointless. After all, yelling and yapping can also cause a disturbance to the neighbors.

Well, there goes my relaxing weekend…..

Harta dikongsi 3 perkara

Ada dengar dalam satu kuliah Subuh kat Springhill nie. Ustaz yang menyampaikan kuliah tuh Ustaz Zulkarnain, seorang ustaz yang memang tinggal berdekatan. Aku pun sebenarnya ingat-ingat lupa jugak tapi ada satu perkara yang membuatkan aku terfikir. Ustaz Zulkarnain cakap, Imam Al-Ghazali ada menulis dalam bukunya tapi aku tak ingat tajuk buku tersebut. Dalam buku tu tertulis bahawasanya harta yang kita dapat ini sebenarnya dikongsi oleh 3 perkara:-

1.) Ahli keluarga :
Harta benda yang kita perolehi nie sebenarnya ditunggu-tunggu oleh ahli keluarga kita. Bila sampai sahaja ajal, makanya ahli keluargalah yang akan mendapat harta pusaka dari kita.

2.) Qada' dan qadar :
Boleh jadi bila kita dapat sahaja harta kita, ada sahaja perkara yang berlaku. Umpamanya, baru sahaja dapat gaji pagi tadi tiba-tiba, bila petang nak balik rumah..kereta pula accident. Makanya, duit gaji kita tadi bertukar tanganlah ke tangan mekanik, kereta tunda dan sebagainya.

3.) Diri kita sendiri
Perkara yang ketiga lah, barulah harta itu dikongsi oleh diri kita sendiri.

Nak dijadikan cerita, baru sahaja aku ke negara China...dapat berita dari isteri mengatakan yang rumah kami di Springhill dinaiki anai-anai. Seribu lebih jugak kena bayar kat orang yang inject chemical dalam tanah tuh.

Balik sahaja ke Malaysia, hairan sebab bil air tinggi...tak seperti kebiasaan. Rupa-rupanya, paip bocor dalam tanah. Mujur la perasan kebocoran tuh waktu tak critical lagi, ketika bil air baru cecah RM60 selama 2 bulan berturut-turut. Selalunya, RM15 tuh kira dah mahal sangat la tuh.

Jadinya, terpaksalah panggil plumber mintak tolong settle kan masalah paip nie. Mujur la ada kawan plumber kat sini. Terpaksalah bypass paip bawah tanah tuh. Lepas nie, akan terang lagi bersuluh lah saluran paip dari meter ke rumah aku. Plumber mintak RM1000. Itu kira murah tuh. Ada kawan di Shah Alam dekat dengan kawasan Politeknik Shah Alam..bil air dah cecah RM1200. Bila nak re-route paip baru, dia mintak plumber hack dinding rumah. Nak sembunyi paip dalam dinding la. Sekali kena RM2000 lebih jugak. Kan tak memasal namanya tuh.

Tak kisahlah apa pun. Janji semuanya selesai dan selamat. Sudah cukup syukur aku ada bumbung untuk berteduh bersama isteri dan anak-anak aku. Alhamdulillah...yang pastinya, aku cuti hari nie..hehhehe

After a week

Today is the first Jumaat that I attended since the last 2 months. For the last 2 months either, I hardly hear any azan except from my laptop. Sitting in a huge chamber while listening to the khatib, surrounded by thousand of Muslims really makes me feel tiny in front of Him. Today’s Jumaat feel so different from any other Jumaat that I attended. After all, today I performed my Solat Jumaat at Masjid Putrajaya. Of cause it is different…hehehehe.

Also…a week ago, I will hire a taxi to get me to places, especially to office. Now in Malaysia, everything is back to normal again. I have my motorbike to get me to office. Whether it’s raining or not…motorbike is my mean of transportation. No more cozy seats, breezy air-cond and Chinese songs instead, I got 120km/h of fresh air and the vibration engine as my morning song. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding motorbike every morning to office and I choose it to be that way. Probably, living in China has pampered me a bit and my mind still adapting the sudden change. After sometimes, everything will be okay again. Just wait and see.

Living in China gave me perspective about public transportation. The failure of Malaysia Public Transportation is not 100% on Government alone. Passenger volume, land area, Return of Investment can also contribute to the cause of our failure. Nonetheless, the huge percentage of the blame is still on our government. That’s for sure.

For a week living with my family, I witness a different in my kids’ behavior. They seem to be more independent compare to the time I left them. Did human can really be different in just 2 months…? I found it hard to believe at first but after see it with my own eye, there’s nothing more that I can say.

Hadi and Hazwan are helping their mother unfolding bed sheet (toto) when it comes to bedtime. Then, both of them will go to toilet and finish their business. After that, they will get their diapers from the store and give it to their mother. They seem to know the sequence and they did it without any help.

It’s probably a small development but for me it’s so enormous. They just 5 and 3 years old but what they did is like somebody not from their age. On top of that, my wife can ask for help at anytime from my Hadi and Hazwan (simple task of cause). Best part is, they’ll do it happily. I’m so touched with this situation. It’s like, they grow so fast…hehehe…is that normal or it just me that miss them so badly all this while..??

Dah pandai

Dah lama tak tengok telatah anak-anak..sekali-sekali bila tgk macam nak tergelak pun ada...Sekarang nie, dah jadi macam tabiat kat Hafiz. Bila dia tengok laptop, dia akan panggil "abah..abah..".sebabnya, selama dua bulan sebelum nie dok skype tiap-tiap malam dari China. Lawak tengok Hafiz.

Abah dah ada kat rumah pun dok panggil lagi Abah suruh skype...appala Hafiz

Nie pulak, Hadi tengah main dengan Hafiz. Alahai, cute nya...hehehe

Bagusnya bila ada camera kat tangan..semuanya dapat kita rakamkan dan upload secara percuma kat internet...Bila dah tua nanti, boleh gelak ramai-ramai depan anak-anak. Heheheh

Datang bertandang.

Baru ja ingat nak cari Pizza Hut sekali kawan2 Hadi datang beraya kat rumah plak....hehehe..
Hadi + Juan kawan ngan semua lapisan orang. This is new improvement and it's good.

Beautiful day

Well, here I am…my last day in China. The day that I’ve been waiting for quite sometime. Probably, since the first day I step my foot on China land.

My flight is schedule to depart from Pudong, Shanghai around 3.30pm and reach KLIA around 9.00pm. I woke up early as usual and can’t sleep. Pretending to be busy I think what I did was packs and unpacks and packs again my stuff inside my luggage. By 10am, I checked out from the hotel.

I can always hire a taxi from hotel to airport but I refuse to do so. One thing that I want to try in Shanghai is the fast train called MAGLEV. This fast train just has 2 stations…Shanghai City and Pudong, Airport.

This is how the fast train looks like.

Inside the train.

Inside, it just similar to any other fast train in China except this particular train is faster than any other train in China. It took only 8 minutes or so from Shanghai City to Pudong Airport. It’s amazing how civilian can travel as fast as 430km/h with just RM25. I will have no problem using this public transportation again if I ever come to China. So convenience yet so cheap.

10.43am...it was still 0 km/h

5 minutes after that, the train cruised with its maximum speed.

Boarding at Pudong Airport

After nearly 6 hours of flight, I finally reached KLIA. The air is so refreshing. My wife came along with my kids to fetch me from KLIA. Every hugs and kisses from my family is a joy in my heart. My brother also was there to welcome me home. Thanx to Abang E and Kak Mona for coming. I got the taste of Nasi Goreng Cina in KLIA that night. Hahahahah…

I’m gonna miss Jinhua. The peoples are friendly and kind. If it not because of language barrier, I’ll be making a lot of friends from mainland China by now. And I also love Malaysia where I can find my family and friends here. Although KL is nothing to compare with Shanghai in modern aspect, family is what matter for me in the end.

I love to back and I appreciate every experience that I gained throughout my journey in China. Right now, I’m going for Halal Pizza Hut…..

Waiting for sunrise

I woke up early this morning and I couldn’t sleep. I was so excited about going back to Malaysia that I wish sunrise will come early today. Hehehehe…Today will be my last day in Jinhua and by 10.15am, I’ll be saying goodbye from a first class fast train.

But flight to Malaysia will only fly tomorrow. This trip to Shanghai is just a transit before I can catch my flight in Pudong Airport. Since I’m already here in China, why not take a little tour to the most populous city in the world. At least, a few pictures will be just fine for me. Hehehe…

So here I am, checking in a hotel located near to People’s Square in the heart of Shanghai. Purposely choose this location because it’s near to Nanjing Road and The Bund. Well, there are a lot more beautiful place compare to this area but if we want to buy imitate product…Nanjing Road is the best place that I know so far.

The nearer the hotel to People’s Square area, the more expensive it will be. So, I choose a hotel that is not so far but close to Metro LRT Station so that it will be easy for me to go places.

Shanghai is a modern city but full with history. The city has been around since 5th century and it evolves from one dynasty to another. Historical places are preserve nicely and the modernization is well blended into the city. The people are tourist friendly since lots of Shanghai people can speak English…so; vacation in Shanghai is not a bad idea at all. But if you like privacy, then 19.2 million people live in Shanghai can give you a rough idea how crowded the city is.

Nie dalam bilik hotel nie...harga hotel okay ja, tapi bilik besar tak ingat. 4 orang lepak pun still okay lagi..

Nie kawasan pedestrian kat depan hotel. Bersih dan cantik

Nie plak time malam.

Pawagam nie masih lagi beroperasi. Masa petang tadi, ada orang shooting filem/dokumentari kat depan Cathay nie.

Hotel Le Meridian. Mmg hotel yg located betul2 depan People's Square. Memang mahal tak ingat.

Nanjing Road...kalau jalan terus ikut laluan nie sampai ujung, boleh sampai The Bund.

Disebabkan terlalu sibuk window shopping kat sini, sampai terlupa nak amik gambar. dah balik baru sedar tader gambar. last sekali, berdiri kat tgh jalan..pastu amik gambar depan hotel.

Woarrr...!!! can't wait to go back to Malaysia tomorrow. Better go to sleep early so that I can prepare my luggage for the journey. Altough Shanghai is a beautiful city at night but the idea of going back to Malaysia tomorrow really make Shanghai less fascinate place for me. I just want to go home,

Gambar Raya hari tue...

Nie gambar pada 1 Syawal 1431 bersamaan dengan 10 September 2010..Lawak betul tengok gambar Hafiz. Tue, bukannya muka sedih sebab abah takdak..tapi muka sedih sebab berebut camera dengan mama....

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri untuk keluarga ku yg tercinta....

Vacum Bag

These are my pillows in original condition

......after 5 minutes inside vacum bag.

Smart solution isn't it..??

Open House

Celebrating Raya this year has been totally different from any Hari Raya celebration I ever had. In the country where Muslim is minority, you’ll miss the sound of azan after sometimes because there is no masjid in here. Therefore, I can only perform Sunat Tarawikh in my room the whole Ramadhan month. I know there should at least a surau here but I just couldn’t find the location. I also know that for special event like Solat Sunat Hari Raya, people in Jinhua will gather in an open area to perform the solat and listen to the khutbah.

My Chinese language is lousy so information is not that up-to-date. I thought Friday is Hari Raya and with confidence, I asked the muslim restaurant about the venue to perform the Solat Sunat Hari Raya. To my surprise, Jinhua already celebrates Raya on Thursday. My wife laughed at me when I told the incident. Ceh..!!

Anyway, my Malaysian friends plan to have a potluck as a replacement for open house. It just only 8 of us but it were fun and we really had a great time together.

Please don't mind the Tiger can...it's Desmond's house.

After we had our dinner, we were fooling around with my camera and flashgun. The result …. STUNNING….hahahhahaha… we got a few good shot to share and laugh. Experiment and experiment.

Doing something different can paint color in our life. My friends here really help me to ease the feeling being away from my family. I really do not have anything to complaint about. Comparing myself with the Pakistani that have to celebrate their Raya without house and food because of the flood. If we also take consider the never ending story of Somalia, Darfur and Palestine.. I can say I am in a far better condition compare to them. At least, I still have a cozy house and variety of food to enjoy during Hari Raya. I should be thankful to all that.

This the best picture....hehehhehehe

Penghujung..

Dah pukul 9 lebih dah nie. Mesti orang-orang kat Malaysia tengah tunggu pengumuman dari Penyimpan Mohor Besar Raja-raja. Esok, sehari lagi untuk berpuasa. Esok Maghrib, tinggallah Ramadhan dan muncullah Syawal. Kalau umur panjang, mungkin ada kesempatan untuk bertemu lagi di tahun hadapan.

Buat kaum Ibu, sempat lagi nak buat kuih raya  nie...hehehheeh..Di kesempatan ini, nak mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri kepada semua. Maaf Zahir dan Batin. Wassalam

Hangzhou, a tourist place

I went to Hangzhou (Hanjo is the pronunciation) last weekend. If we browse inside Airasia website, Hangzhou is among the popular destination offered by Airasia. You can get a flight ticket from LCCT to Hangzhou as cheap as RM400 one way.

Hangzhou is a famous tourist place. It’s just about 2 hours journey to Shanghai and Hangzhou can offer a lot of traditional place to visit. There is a Chinese say “Above there is heaven, below there are Suzhou and Hangzhou”. I’m not going to elaborate on the history of this area but Hangzhou used to be a re-treat place for Chinese Emperor during winter. Winter in Beijing is harsh but winter in Hangzhou is acceptable. Plus, Hangzhou can offer some brilliant and beautiful scenery during winter.

There are two things about Hangzhou.

1.) The silk industry
2.) The legendary Chinese tea

If you somehow plan to go to Hangzhou next time, never forget about the two important things above. Hehehehe….

Hotel is very cheap. You can get a decent 4 stars hotel in just around RM180 – RM250 per night. I came at the wrong time as Shanghai Expo really spoils the hotel price. But I managed to get a decent hotel with just RM100 only it’s just a bit far from the main attraction, which is The West Lake.

There are a lot of small green booth that we can find easily around 3km radius from West Lake. We can rent a bicycle for RM1 per hour. The best part is, you can return the bicycle at any of the green booth that you want. If you rent it from booth A, you can always return it at booth Z eventhough the two booth are so far away from each other. Only that, you need to put RM150 as a deposit and passport number before you can proceed.

 Here, Lotto has its own boutique. Even Bata also is so expensive that they say it's was made in Italy.

I went to Hangzhou with a Malaysian Chinese friend but he just surrender to wake up as early as 5.30am..so, I went to West Lake alone that morning. The picture was taken at 6.00am. The high Pagoda at the back called Leifeng. Picture can be beautiful if the sun shine that morning....urghhh...

You have to pay a small money to go inside these two places. The place open at 7.30am.

Shoalin are offering their prayer. I thought I'm gonna see some Kung Fu stuff here...but I was wrong.

This a statue of Bai Suzhen (a White Snake Princess). It got its own story.

This is what I like. I climbed the highest level of Leifeng Pagoda. The Pagoda that we see today is a result from re-building activity by the govenrment. But the Pagoda sit on the same original place. The re-built Pagoda has the same height as the original one.

This is inside the highest level of the Pagoda.

View from the top facing the road. The sky was quite hazy that day so, picture are quite dull in the sense of colour.

This one I took it on my own with the West Lake as a background.

Of cause, the Pagoda's shape is hexagon. At level 4 inside the Pagoda has a wood carving (it looks like wood, I'm not sure what it is but have seen the similiar 3D carving in Bangkok) at every corner. It is a story about the White Snake Princess . This is panel number 2, similiar to the statue that we saw earlier.

Then I took a tour (on feet) around the West Lake. The lake is so huge that it is like you're looking at open sea. In the middle of the lake, there got a causeway that cross the lake. The picture above is somewhere at the middle of the causeway.

Scenery accros the lake is pleasing. Only that, they are so many people with so many activities that in the end, there is no privacy in enjoying the scene.

Well, this Auntie seem to be disagree with me...But we share a common thing which is, Hangzhou is a clean and nice place to visit.

I always wanted to go to Hangzhou. Since I finally reached here, I think I have completed my journey in China so far. I have no wish to go anywhere else. Anything that come after this, will be a bonus for me. Lovely

Nothing Much (part 7)