London budget trip

Assalammualaikum

It has been almost a month since my trip to London and Paris in Nov this year. 

My family and I boarded Singapore Airlines to London and from Paris back to Kuala Lumpur. Alhamdulillah the 14 hours flight was great and comforting. SIA crew, either on the ground or in cabin, were all international standards. We were super late in CDG airport due to inefficient immigration procedures, SIA crew waited for us calmly and helped us with our bag, baby stroller, and kids.

Our stay in London was at Rose Park Hotel. Simple yet comfortable, clean, and convenient. Walking distance to Paddington Station where we came from Heathrow express. Walking distance to Hyde Park, Kensington Garden, Tube stations, and Buses. Many halal restaurants are nearby the hotel, which includes a Malaysian restaurant.

Overall London is not costly for eating. You can buy Evian under 1 pound at the boost grocery store and enjoy Paul bakery less than 5 pounds. The nasi lemak, nasi ayam etc were also priced reasonably at around 6 pounds a plate. As we bought oyster card, travel by bus and tube were also cheap... Sometimes we took uber for convenience haha. The tube was not all equipped with a lift; hence a bit troubling for us with the stroller. I wonder how the disabled there use tubes? So-called concern country. Our KL is way better and disabled friendlier.

We love every moment we spend at Hyde Park, Green Park, and Kensington Gardens. We have an equally beautiful park here in Malaysia, but the scene was nothing we had seen before because it was an autumn season. We can sit at the park doing nothing all day long, that's it.

I enjoyed the shopping time too! Harrods, Oxford Street, and Bond Street were so happening. Price way cheaper than in Malaysia, coincidentally it was close to Black Friday, and many shops were having pre-black Friday sales.... Our luck! The whole stretch were shops of the brand you are familiar with, but the atmosphere is different. It feels cheap haha like in jalan TAR or Bandung where you can buy anything you like.

Unfortunately, I am not into historical places or buildings, so I followed my wife visited those bricks and marble, whatever they named it hihi... Yet i still was in awe looking at how developed the land was since hundreds of years ago while Malaysia was not even in existence. Ironically i feel like there is our money used in constructing those mega buildings. Btw i like the Tower of London the most because of its souvenir shop hahaha... I spend more time in the shop than outside of the shop.

All in all, i love being in London and will be back once i have more money... Miss London already...

nak merasa gak jadi orang Notting Hill duduk rumah comel

Harrods London, kedai mampu lihat

kesian my wife, the Big Ben at the back tutup for renovation...kena repeat 

as we were tired of walking, cruise is the best option to explore the city bank area

Tower of London area which is near by to Tower bridge so kira 2 in 1

the changing guard routine supposed to be daily but very unfortunate the day we came, no show!

Green park close to Buckingham Palace....hiburkan hati yg kecewa tak dapat tengok changing guard

Oxford Street, shopping heaven!

Kensington Garden, luas ya amat....saujana mata memandang. 

London in a week!

Assalammualaikum

Exciting! Tup tap tup tap, 7 days je lagi for our trip to London and Paris... Wohoo

Initially we were only planning to go to either Korea or Japan. However, when i browse through the flight ticket, the London price is not too high than those two countries. Still, i feel like it is a bit out of my budget, so it stopped there.

Naaa it didn't haha. We revisited our plan and budget. We know it is not our typical budget trip, but it's worth a try. If after this we cannot afford to visit other places for few years, then pasrah jela... Rezeki. 

We wanted to touch down in London Heathrow and depart back from Paris CDG. Based on my knowledge, only Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines provide such options at a reasonable price. I tried to buy from Qatar Airways, but it wasn't effortless... They say our names are too long and asked me to scan our passports for their customer service. Okay, maybe my economy class ticket is not their priority. I decided to try Singapore Airlines instead, and the booking went smoothly. 

However, the flight was going to be very long because it is direct from Singapore to London, which will take about 14 hours of the journey... Wish us luck with the baby, haha. I'll report on this once we have boarded.

Due to budget constraints, we will only stay in London for four nights and spend another two nights in Paris. I have already bought Heathrow express ticket from the airport to Paddington Station in London. The price is lower if you buy online and 1 month ahead.

I booked Rose Park Hotel in London, which is within walking distance from Paddington Station. From London to Paris i have also bought thru Kloop the euro trains ticket.

In Paris, I booked an apartment via Airbnb in the area named Montmartre. 

My wife had done our itinerary, and now packing is in progress. We plan to bring only two pieces of luggage as we foresee not much changing of clothes require during winter as we are covered by winter coat after all... 

Hopefully, the journey will be eased, and I look forward to sharing my experience soon with you all... 

Bai. 

Review Boboiboy Movie 2 aka Mutiara Naga versi Malaysia

Assalammualaikum

Malam tadi aku berkesempatan bawa Hana dan Hadi pergi menonton filem animasi kegemaran mereka. 

8.8.2019 is hari pertama filem ni ditayangkan. So kami kira among the earliest viewers la.

Malaysian semua familiar dengan cerita Boboiboy kan? So tahula naratif umumnya masih berkisar tentang spera kuasa atau kalau dragon ball tu mutiara naga.

For movie 2 nih punya version mereka upgrade lagila watak evil nya yang super powerful. Bernama Reta'ka, this villian is a good copy Raja Syaitan Pikor. Reta'ka hidup 100 tahun lalu tetapi dibekukan oleh sahabat baiknye sendiri akibat ketamakan Reta'ka terhadap kuasa elemental dan menjadikan dia hilang sifat baik. 

Dia twist sikit sebab Pikor pun dikurung dalam periuk kera oleh datuk kame for the same reason hinggalah Raja Pilaf gatal tangan pergi buka dan bebaskan Pikor kan. Reta'ka pula dibebaskan secara tak sengaja oleh sekumpulan pencari kristal yang ala ala Pilaf la...siapa baja dragon ball mesti faham haha

Oleh kerana boboiboy ada 7 kuasa elemental so mestilah si Reta'ka ni nak cari dia, maka disinilah bermulanya konflik antara mereka.

First time lawan macam masa Goku jumpa Pikor la..teruk kena belasah, habis kuasa elemental boboiboy dirampas cuma tinggal 3 je. Sama macam Pikor yang nak mutiara naga untuk hidup kekal dan muda, Reta'ka perlukan kesemua kuasa elemental untuk jadi sempurna. Nasib baik boboiboy sempat dilarikan ke sebuah planet yang jauh dan berguru dengan Tok Saka.

Tok Saka la the best friend of Reta'ka yang kurung dia 100 years ago. Tok saka ni watak berpesonaliti sama macam datuk kame, jenis orang tua perangai budak-budak cuma tak miang je. Watak ni juga ilham daripada kembar si pikor tu actually yang masa goku pergi jumpa berguru untuk upgrade kuasa nak lawan Pikor jahat.

Cara latihan pun agak sama dengan latiham goku cuma dia ubah kejar monyet jadi kejar pokok etc

Eventually mereka lawan lagi dan boboiboy menang...

All in all filem ni tetap menarik walaupun lakon layar nye kurang asli. Bukan meniru ye cuma terlalu dipengaruhi oleh dragon ball. 

Aspek kualiti pada aku okla dengan bajet yang mereka ada. So jom support local animation agar mereka will have more money to produce disney's level animation. 

This movie still Terbaik!

Dyson V8 user review

Assalammualaikum.

I have been using Dyson v8 for about a month now, and today i will share my review based on my experience.

The tool itself is very light and easy to handle. Because it is wireless, so it is effortless to use all over places inside my house. My wife also uses it to clean her car. Yes it is super portable.

It came with 8 different accessories to cater to your needs. Just pick the one best fit your requirements.

The charging time is quite long. We usually just charge it overnight.

If you use normal mode, it lasts about 40 minits. However, if you use max mode, the battery will drain out very fast.

The normal mode, however is strong enough to perform its task.

The dust container is also easy to clean, just open the lid and throw away the dust.

For the price, is it worth buying? Well, i hear a less nagging voice from my wife every time she has to clean our house hahaha so to me, yes it is worth a buy!

Bai.

Movie Animation Park Studio

Assalammualaikum

MAPS ni dah buka a few years back but was not attractive enough for me to go. However, KLOOK "offered" discounted tickets at only RM 48 compared to RM 130 previously. Maka i bought it, and we finally went there.

Once we arrived at the main gate, I just couldn't feel the excitement. Sebab tu no picture taken haha. 

Ticketing was confusing like no one was working. Sebabnya? Well actually masuk is FOC! Inside if you want to play any rides or games, you can buy the coupon and play. I feel so cheated by KLOOK, the way they promoted the ticket sounded like the price is low and an actual discount. Btw, you are only untung buying from KLOOK if you play the ride many times. Kalau main sekali je better beli kupon. Plus many rides yang tak terima wristband and still kena beli kupon! In that sense to me KLOOK penipu.

Back to MAPS, overall tempat ni ada potensi untuk jadi hebat tetapi jika mereka tak upgrade the standard maka it may be just another mimaland or desa waterpark. On Saturday, which is peak day, they closed down 5 main rides for maintenance! Ridiculous. Unless you have 100 over option, then u can do that.

The Smurf Show was boring. Enough said.

Boboiboy 4D show was great, and my kids repeated for two times. I have watched the iron man in Disneyland, and to me, it is at par...not bad.

We also rode on 1 gondola went thru a mystical tunnel-like in Disneyland. Well, if i have not been to Disneyland, I might get a thrill with it. Nothing wrong, but i have experience the better.

I watched Stunt Show, and that was great too. The show duration was about 30 minit and its packed with action.

Other rides were typical amusement park items which are fun for small kids like mine...no complaint. 

They have a parade too, but don't ever compare it with any other international theme park as it is at a much smaller scale. Still good enough for small kids. They are not too critical hahaha.

Overall, is it worth going? Yes, but don't buy from KLOOK. Just go and buy coupons for any rides you like to play. Cheaper.

Babai.

Upin Ipin Keris Siamang Tunggal

Assalammualaikum

Harini uncle nak share my review on the recent Upin Ipin Keris Siamang Tunggal.

Sebagai peminat tegar Upin Ipin series, uncle angkut anak-anak pergi cinema last week. Walaupun masih kecewa dengan Upin Ipin Jeng3 tetapi uncle yakin Siamang Tunggal is totally a different expirience.

Alhamdulillah my expectation was true. Overall it is a well animated movie, kudos to the team! Tho ada part masa ERNIE zakri nyanyi uncle tertidur, but that did not indicate that the movie is boring.

Storyline menarik cuma anak2 uncle kurang faham sebab most of the legendary charecters yang dibawa dalam movie ni i.e raja siong, mat jenin mereka tak kenal. Perhaps anak2 yang besar sikit like sek rendah could relate to them better.

Level lucu to uncle kurang sikit daripada Geng Pengembaraan Bermula but so much better than u know....jeng3. Malam tu ramai budak2 tetapi panggung tak hinggar dengan gelak tawa, cuma sekali sekala je kelakar dan kids ketawa. But understood sebab cerita ni memang konsep aksi dan mendebarkan. Masih jauh lebih elok berbanding jeng3 dimana ramai budak menangis dan lari balik hahaha

Kesimpulan, filem ini masih wajib tonton. Bawa anak2 dan sokonglah animasi tempatan yang berkualiti ini.

Welcome to Malaysia!

Hi travelers!

By reading this thread, you are one step closer to experience Malaysian Hospitality. The year 2020 is Visit Malaysia Year as announced by Malaysian Tourism. Hence, i would like to share a few facts about Malaysia Truly Asia to assist travelers like you in being more prepared to visit our beautiful country.

Visit Malaysia official logo

  1. The Airport

Malaysia has two main international airports, which are KLIA 1 and KLIA 2. Should you fly with our Air Asia, the terminal would be in KLIA 2. For other carriers, you will land at KLIA 1. Both are linked to KLIA Express service. Besides that, we also have a direct flight to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang and Johor Bharu to their respective international airport. From KLIA you can also fly all over Malaysia as all of our main cities are linked by air transportation.

For this entry, i will only focus on trip to Kuala Lumpur, and it's nearby areas i.e. Selangor and Putrajaya.

From KLIA to Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), there are few options to commute.

i. KLIA Express

Fastest but not the cheapest. Only 28 minutes to KL Sentral, which is the hub of KL rail transport system. From KL Sentral you can use LRT/MRT/Komuter/Monorail to about all places in KL.

fares for KLIA Express

ii. Taxi

A coupon system requires you to buy at a dedicated counter. Depending on the area, the fares could be cheaper or expensive than KLIA express. Time-wise also depending on the area and traffic condition. I have personally experienced paying RM 65 for less than 10 KM journey, from KLIA 2 to a nearby budget hotel. 

iii. Bus

Also using coupon system. The cheapest option with only RM 10-12/person from KLIA to KL Sentral. Not too slow either because the route from KLIA to KL Sentral is mostly 3 lanes highway.

ix. E-hailing service

In Malaysia, the prominent service is Grab. We have few others but i have never used it. For Grab, currently, the flat rate from KLIA to any place within KL is RM 65. If you travel in a group of 4, indeed this is a cheaper option than KLIA express and you do not have to carry your luggage like if you are using rail transportation.

2. The Hotels

Kuala Lumpur offers a wide range of hotel selections that fit any budget. If you come from a country with higher currency value than our ringgit, this is your time to enjoy luxury hotels at a budget fares. For example, our 6 stars hotel next to the famous PETRONAS Twin Tower is only at RM 800/night, just around USD 200.

Grand Hyatt KL is walking distance to PETRONAS Twin Tower

Other luxury hotels are also available at lower prices and are also nearly located to Twin Tower.

3. Public Transport

As mentioned above, KL city is conveniently connected with an efficient rail system. You can go almost everywhere. Just buy the tourist pass for cheaper fares. Visit

http://www.klpass.com/

for better info on the pass.

KL also has Free Bus services for inner-city area where you can hop in to visit attraction places like Central Market, Dataran Merdeka, KLCC etc.

The free bus is convenient and clean too

4. The Food

Malaysia is a paradise of food. Local foods are readily available from the streets to fancy restaurants. You can try Malay, Chinese and Indian food as the basics. We also have a countless variety of foods from all over the world as Malaysia is truly diversified when it comes to food. Our food is halal, mainly for Muslim travelers unless you eat at the Non Halal restaurant.

5. The Language

English is widely spoken. Hence you will not be facing a language barrier in Malaysia. For Mandarin or Cantonese speakers, mo mantai. Our locals Chinese are also everywhere in the city. For Tamil or Urdu speakers, our local Indians are also many. For Malay speakers, you are in the land of Malay people hahaha. On top of this, we Malaysian are prepared with essential Japanese, Korean because of J Pop and K Pop. We are also very friendly (self-proclaim) and eager to assist foreigners in need of help.

I guess that is all for the basics. If i garnered reasonable readers, i might continue with more tips about Malaysia Truly Asia.

Go now and book your trip to Malaysia! See you soon.....

5 Tanda Besar Anda Sudah Tua!

Assalammualaikum

Alhamdulillah semalam genap 36 tahun aku bernafas. Semoga terus diberi kesempatan untuk hidup dalam keadaan sihat dan sejahtera hendaknya, amin.

Terlanjur, kali ini aku nak kongsi 5 tanda pada diri sendiri yang menandakan tubuh mahupun jiwa anda sudah tua hahaha

1. Tidur awal

Berbanding usia remaja dimana kita suka stay up untuk main game, study, lepak mamak, buat tugasan etc. Menginjak usia 30 an badan tidak lagi sesegar dulu. Menjengah jam 10 malam je nescaya mata rasa berat mencari bantal. Minum la apa jenis kopi pun aku tetap perlu tidur dengan cukup.

2. Malas berbalah

Masa muda aku memang seorang yg very opinionated dan teguh mempertahankan pendapat aku. As i grow mature aku dah sedar that sometime is not about winning the argument, what matter most is to state my view and if the others oppose it, does not matter because i have stated mine. Kecuali hal libatkan nyawa misalnya, tiada faedah nak berbalah. Malas nak serabut...i want peace...world peace gitu

3. Tak layan program hiburan 

The moment kau dah muak tengok AJL, it is a clear sign yang kau dah tua hehe. Aku tak ingat dah bila last tengok AJL live di TV macam zaman student dulu, gigih cari tv merata tempat. Part of rancangan tu memang dah hampeh dengan bbnu yang tiada talent, aku rasa malas dah nak stress dengan result AJL yang jarang aku setujui.

4. Kurang shopping bende mengarut

Masa memula kerja aku jenis yang beli je apa yang aku rasa suka then later baru fikir nak pakai masa bila or nak buat apa benda ni. Now aku tak macam tu lagi, kadang-kadang spend few hours dalam mall pun tak beli sehelai sebab tiada yang berkenan dimata. Still aku menyoping guna mata then baru hati serta poket haha. If mata tak suka tangan aku takkan gatal nak pegang benda tu...hati pulak terus meluat dan kakiku lalu berlalu pergi, cewah.

5. Suka layan memori

Perasan tak makin kau berusia makin kuat ingatan kita ada masa lampau? Macam aku cuma layan radio Sinar dan Lite sebab aku membesar dengan lagu zaman 90 an. Kita sibuk cari kawan lama, korek gambar lama etc

Begitulah pada aku. Cukuplah 5. Surely hal hal rohani pun ada tapi itu tak perlu canang la...diri masing-masing.

Mati itu pasti, bai.

I am blessed. Its okay to grow old with her by my side.

Jakarta as i see it

Assalammualaikum every one.

In this entry, I want to write about the biggest city in South East Asia, Jakarta.

I visited Jakarta for a second time last April 2018. The first one was in 2007, and that was only for a night transit coming back from Bandung.

I spent about 4 days and 3 nights in Jakarta this time, but I was on a business trip and therefore did not have enough chance to explore this metropolis city. However, I'd observed enough to share with you how does Jakarta looks like to me.

1. Airport / Bandara

The new terminal was newly completed as Jakarta is preparing for Asian Games. I was impressed with the huge and modern terminal building, definitely bigger than the old terminal but i prefer the old design which reflects Indonesian architecture. The new terminal is similar to Hong Kong International Airport open concept. Because of its gigantic size, i feel it is somehow hushed and empty. Comparing to KLIA for example, people are everywhere despite the airport is already so massive. The check-in counter was during my time were snailing slowwww like really slow. All flights back to KL that morning were delayed more than an hour because of them! What annoyed me the most, the staff acted like it was not a big deal. They continue doing their job slowly while being chatty at the same time. 

2. Road

The airport is well connected to the city center via expressway. That's it. You have to take a taxi or bus or grab, no rail services available. Traffic wasn't that bad on the expressway until we reached the city road. Vehicles were everywhere, macet the locals call it. There was no lane on the road, it could be up to 5 or 6 lanes, but the road is small—total messy. I dare not to drive in Jakarta. However, i witnessed only one road accident during my stay...that's a miracle. KL has more road accidents despite being in order. I asked the taxi driver how far in KM from the airport to our hotel, he replied...not essential to know how far, in Jakarta it all depends on traffic, not the KM.

3. Hotel

We stayed in Gandaria Hotel in Gandaria City, far from central Jakarta, because our Indonesian office is situated in that area. However, the hotel rate was still so expensive even our currency is higher than the Indonesian Rupiah. The hotel is at par to Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, MO is located in KLCC, which is a premium land. But MO is still cheaper. Imagine what is the hotel rate in Jakarta central would be? 

4. Eatery and Shopping

The hotel was also attached to Gandaria Mall, a semi-hi-end mall perhaps similar to One Utama. Local and halal food is everywhere, but the price was high too for me, a Malaysian. I killed my nighttime by window shopping in the mall, i went to brand that i familiar with, like Uniqlo, H&M etc...the price was higher than in KL, and the design was a bit dated. I ended up buying local brand in Metrojaya for my kids, but it was not cheap either. 

I love the food, especially At the restaurant Bebek Tepi Sawah...

Back to shopping, i guess it is widely known that Indonesia is famous for excellent and cheap textile. Unfortunately, my hotel is far from the famous textile bazar but i went to a nearby market with a reasonable price and an acceptable variety of textile products.

Overall. I enjoyed my trip to Jakarta. I would love to come back for a personal vacation and explore the city like the locals. Avoid mall and luxury hotel, i would be ok haha.

We were at Kon Ferry office

Bebek goreng super yummy

Lemongrass satay

I bought these pair at Jakarta Kraft Expo... cheap

Weekend gateaway at Singapore

Assalammualaikum..

We visited Singapore for second time in April 2018. 

We flew with Singapore's budget airlines, Scoot. The price was reasonable, for return ticket of 2 adults and 2 kids, it was about 1k++

Changi Airport is smaller than KLIA. Hence not much walking required from one part to another. Well connected to MRT station direct to anyplace in the city. We bought Singapore Tourist Pass at SD30. The pass can be used for unlimited bus, MRT and LRT ride within certain number of days. Cheap!

The famous sup tulang merah. Da baek!

Must buy this for cheap transport.

Flower domes. Only SD 20 for entrance. Must visit place in Singapore.

Masjid Sultan. Nearby is the famos nasi beriyani.

Haji lane

Arab lane. Many souveniers at very cheap price.

Orchard road

Changi Airport

Bai...

Hong Kong Disney Adventure

Whatsap peep!

My baby boy refuses to sleep at 12 midnite, so i decided to share about my recent trip to Hong Kong particularly Disneyland.

Flight from KLIA 2 departed at 7 am and we arrived HKIA at around 11 pm. Original plan we wanted to go to Masjid Ammar for quick lunch. However we were stranded at the airport for almost 1 hour because we couldn't locate our baby's stroller. 

Instead we had to go straight to our Hotel because we have booked peak tramp ticket at 4pm. We stayed in Butterfly on Prat, Tsim Tsa Shui area. From my online searching, it is the spacious within my budget. Walking distance from MTR station. From airport we took red line taxi with fee of HKD 270. It is cheaper than airport express and less hassle because airport express only up to kowloon and you need to take MTR afterwards.

For peak tram, i recommend to buy online from kloop. Not only its cheaper but also for faster que line. The view was speactacular. The tram though nothing different than Penang Hill. Madam Tussot museum is also up there incase you are into wax celebrity.

Day 2. We woke up early morning. We took MTR from Tsim Tsa Tsui to Disneyland! Supprisingly for us, the last station connecting to Disneyland provides coach with disney team...so exciting.

We also bought the ticket from klopp together with meal coupons. Thus we don't have to que at the ticket counter. Once we entered, we went to the city hall to collect the meal voucher. Then we have also to rent another stroller for my other kid. The rate is HKD 60. 

We made a mistake by spending to much time visiting the souveniers shops along the USA road. We didnt realize that the theme park had yet begins! Hahaha we were so like excited and wanted to enter every single shops and hello thats not the theme park.

Almost at noon we finally arrived at the theme park. We waste time no more and started to experience the magical disney adventure. My son loves iron man ride so much...he feels like he is really a superhero hihi.

I personally like small land and mystic mannor...both were thrilling in different ways. I cannot forget seeing those small cute little puppets singing and dancing in various charecters in the small land. While mystic mannor is really up to its name...full of mystery but so chanted at the same time. I would repeat it anytime.

The others was joyful too but nothing special.

We waited untill nite for the parade and mickey stage performace. We were amazed with the lazer and light work, world class. The parade was huge and for real, i was expecting something simple like mini car or just disney charecter walking pass us. Apparently it was not and i love it. I instantly understand why the ticket is expensive, because they hire professional and real talents to perform.

Day 3. Finally we went to Masjid Ammar for lunch before fly back to KL. Yes it was a short trip and mainly for disneyland. Tje food, dimsum was awesome and cheap too.

Overall my observation which could be wrong:

1. Hard to communicate using english at public area even in airport. I watched many kantonis movie but i cant speak canton hehe.

2. The MTR is not stroller friendly.

3. Getting taxi in town is real strunggle. Taxi driver dont speak english and dunno where u want to go.

4. HK people is real nice and helpful tho. Just ask them for favor and they wont hesitate to assist. 

5. HK is pretty much the same i saw in Jackie chan movie, they still use bamboo scalf folding at construction area. Amazing!

Would i go again? Maybe not to HK but yes to disneyland.

Bai and do visit my ig @muhazamshah