Bright Young Thing

Egypt Revolution and Evacuation

2011-03-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Egyptian Revolution which also called ‘25 January Revolution’ and ‘Revolution of the Youth’ took place following the uprising that began on 25 January 2011. The campaign took place in Cairo, Alexandria and in other cities in Egypt including my place, Zagazig. On 28^th January, protest began. Hundreds of thousands demonstrated in Cairo and other Egyptian cities after Friday Prayers especially at Tahrir Square (Liberation Square). There were reports of looting and prison were opened and burned down causing prison inmates to escape in what was believed was an attempt to terrorize protesters. On week after that, the military presence increased and a curfew was declared but protests increased. Also, small but violent clashes began between pro-Mubarak and anti-Mubarak groups make the situation even worse. On 11^th February (Friday of Departure), following weeks of protest and pressure, Vice President Omar Suleiman announced that Hosni Mubarak would stepping down as president and turning power over to the Military Forces after his 30 years reign, the longest serving President in Egypt’s history. This demonstration in Egypt, along with Tunisian events has influenced demonstration in other Arab countries including Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan and Libya.

For Malaysian student in Egyptian cities, we were told to stay at home during the curfew, between 6 pm to 6 am. The evacuation operation which codenamed, ‘Ops Piramid’ was helped by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Malaysian Airlines and budget airline, AirAsia. In Zagazig, evacuation process starts on 3^rd February, which we were brought by about 6 buses to Abbasiah Malaysian Hall in Cairo while waiting for our flight to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. On 5^th February, our group were called to go to the Cairo International Airport for the flight. At the airport were real mess, many students and other foreigner waiting for flight to be evacuated. But after about a day we waited we were called at night to board onto the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Charlie C-130 aircraft to be brought to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was an amazing opportunity that we got the chance to board on a military aircraft. Arrived in Jeddah, we all were transit in Tabung Haji Complex (Madinatul Hujjaj), a complex which often place person who perform pilgrimage, Hajji. We had to wait and live there for about 5 days for our flight to Malaysia. Then we were brought home to KLIA by Malaysian Airlines. It was a huge relief for the students and families who were worried about the turmoil situation in Egypt. Over 7000 Malaysians have returned home safely in the operation.

Egypt traveling tips

2011-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

Traveling can be rough thing to plan, even if you’re only leaving for a weekend. When it comes to traveling to a whole different country located in a distinct area of the globe with a unique culture can be a scary thing and very difficult to prepare to. Egypt as a tourist cannot be compared with other countries. Prepare yourself for a culture shock. Many seasoned travelers are amazed when they first visit Egypt and find that it is unlikely any other country that they have previously visited. Some travelers will be pressured and tension with the culture here especially that the people here really like to take tourist’s money. That’s why I’ve tried to address these concern when you’re on budget and independent travel around Egypt as I am a foreign student here and until now, about half of the most famous tourists places here I visited, so I would like to share some tips about it to help the first time traveler. Hope these tips will help you guys if you’re planning to spend your holiday here.

1. First of all note the currency is Egyptian pound (referred to LE – Livre Egyptienne) and it is divided to 100 piaster. In Arabic it is called ‘geneh’. Here you will find 25 and 50 piaster notes and various sized of coins down to 5 piaster. Don’t change your dollars or euro until you arrive in Egypt, the conversion rate is much better here. And please don’t bring Malaysian Ringgits (MYR) or other not-widely-used-currency here as they are not accepted here.

2. The electricity plug here uses round-pronged plugs (as European countries). If you’re coming from Malaysia or UK, you will need an adapter for your plugs.

3. Do not feel those 5 stars hotels are always the best. There are many 3 or 2 stars hotels that are Egyptian owned and run that offer the same facilities with a lot cheaper rate.

4. Public transports in Egypt are very cheap but try avoiding it if you can. You will only put yourself into awkward position having locals staring and talking about you. But if you extreme enough to get around Egyptian, it is good because the cost is very cheap and you can stop wherever you needed along the way.

5. Taxis are not expensive, so use these for traveling around town. Discuss and agree the total price with the driver, do remember to haggle it down until it is the good prices.

6. The method to avoid confrontation with the drivers is to have correct amount of money you agreed at first, pass the money, get out and walk away.

7. It is not recommended take a cab with meter on especially when you didn’t familiar with the roads here. The driver might use a long way to reach your destination to get more money. Unless you’re familiar and know for sure the road only you take the meter’s cab.

8. When taking a cab, if you’re alone (especially women) take a seat on the back. If you’re a group with a male member, let the man to take the front seat (to avoid sexual harassment of the driver).

9. Sometime if you’re alone taxi passenger, the driver might stop to hire other passengers on the way so that he can make more money with a single journey. So, don’t be shocked and prepare for this culture.

10. In Egypt, they drive on the right, be careful when crossing roads. Take special care in Cairo and Alexandria, where traffic is a lot busier than in other Egyptian cities. (Malaysian, UK, etc. should be extra careful as you will be used to traffic driving on the left).

11. If you’re traveling alone, or in a couple, and wish to organize everything yourself, please let the hotel know your plans before you leave. Take a note of the Hotel’s name and telephone number in case you do get lost.

12. Do not be scared of being part of a group for your trip. These groups have leaders (a tour guide) who will help with problems and explain about the site you are visiting, arrange transport etc. Things would be difficult if you tried it alone.

13. When you pay for group-trip, the price includes everything except tips and sometimes admission prices also not included. This included transport, a driver, a tour guide, tolls etc. You can get cheaper package if you’re willing to join the group of Egyptian as their locals know better with good prices.

14. Be prepared for delays when entering some sites. Because of the threat of terrorism, you will have your personal belongings searched before gaining admittance. Although this is annoying, it is for your safety.

15. Wear sensible footwear when visiting the various sites. High heels and open toes shoes are not advisable. The floors of most sites are mostly sand or roughly-cut, uneven stone.

16. Ladies, if you intend visiting one of the pyramids, please wear trousers or jeans. You may have to ascend/descend (climb) big rocks. For the same reasons, I would advise men to avoid wearing short trousers.

17. Egypt is a Muslim country, so please respect our faith. Many things that you (non-Muslims travelers) take as normal such as, kissing your partner in public, wearing revealing clothing etc. are displeasure here. So try be more conservative in your attitude.

18. You will find that many tours (especially dessert sites) are done either in early morning or late afternoon. The reason is because of the heat in the middle of the day. So try avoiding the midday sun.

19. Buy and drink plenty of water. It is very easy to become dehydrated if you don’t.

20. Never drink the tap water. It is okay to wash, shower and clean your teeth but not advised to drink. Bottled water is cheap and plentiful. Use it instead.

21. Admission to all sites is payable in LE, so make sure that you carry enough with you. Try and plan each day in advance, calculate how much you will need for admissions and keep this money separate from your spending money.

22. Avoid having your pictures taken by ‘approaching-tourist-guides’ (especially at Pyramids). They actually unemployed, in other word are freelances. They will always ask tips from you. Unless you are really want, just give them a small note and walk away.

23. When you have paid your entry into the Egyptian museum, a ‘guide’ offering his services will approach you. These ‘guides’ are not employed by the museum, they are freelance. It is up to you if you want to employ one of these ‘guides’, if you decided to do so, make sure you haggle for a good and low price. So if he is useless, you have not wasted much money. You could even try and form a group of visitors to share the cost.

24. Do not buy anything from the traders inside the Giza Plateau. The items they are trying to sell you can buy a lot cheaper at places like Khan El-Khalili Market.

25. When shopping for bargains, keeps your own currency and credit cards out of sight and separate from your L.E. It is easier to haggle over a price if you can show that have only a few L.E. in your possession.

26. When you’re bargaining for souvenirs, don’t be afraid to make a low offer (haggle). Usually, the trader will put initial prices of multiple higher than the ‘real’ prices. Try haggle for low prices as sometime you could buy it up to 70% off from the initial prices.

27. Don’t start haggling unless you are really interested in an item. You should never haggle for practice or fun. You will get yourself pushed by the trader then. If you feel that someone (traders) is being too pushy, let a member of the Tourist Police know.

28. Remember you can always walk away. Don’t feel under pressure and accept a price that you are not happy with. Say that you need to think about it and walking out of the shop can often lead to great prices reductions. If it doesn’t, you can always come back later.

29. It would be easier for you if you can learn or memorize a little bit of basic Arabic as Egyptian people really doesn’t know to speak other than their language. So, it will help you to have conversation or asking for help or especially haggling in shopping.

30. Remember that Egypt is a 3rd world country and has many poor people who think that all tourists are rich. Learn the phrase ‘La’ Syukran’ (no, thank you) and don’t be afraid to say it to anyone who tries to sell you anything or asking for tips. Don’t get abusive to them, they are only trying to feed his family.

Hurghada short trip

2010-12-30T11:54:00.000-08:00

2 days off per week was quiet enough to spend our weekend in somewhere far outside from this little town. I thought that maybe we could ran away from the coldness in Zagazig because Hurghada is about 600km south to it. Well, it’s a little bit warm but the sea-water still cold.

Okay, it begin on Thursday’s night, we went to Cairo, Ramsis Station to be specific, where the bus stop to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh located. From there, we bought our ticket and got a bus at 2 a.m. in the morning. So, while waiting, we spent our time in McDonalds to fill our stomach. The journey took about 7 hours of driving by bus. Arriving at Hurghada, we took a cab to the Empire Hotel where located a lot of budget-hotel for the backpackers. We stayed a night in a ‘Luxor Hotel’ at El Dahar Downtown. After check-in, we took a walk around the downtown and in the evening we went to swimming at the beach. The water was quiet cold. But that doesn’t give us trouble because the water was really deep, I can’t even touch the seabed, so we kept swimming as long as we’re in the water and that’s gives our body heat. After swimming, at night, we went out for dinner at El-Mina Seafood Restaurant. Then, we went to Marina Boulevard and Nawarra Canter, where their nightlife took places.

In the next morning, after having our breakfast, we took a walk around the beach and the town. In the afternoon, we took our bus back to Cairo. We didn’t have the chances to do snorkel or riding motor in desert due to short in time. And that’s how our weekend goes. Overall, Hurghada is different from other tourist places for snorkelling or diving the Red Sea because it has a large town with a quiet large of population. So, with a lot of locals (Egyptian) behaviour, the town is not entirely clean, it full of mess and waste around the city, especially in the Sekalla. But there is exception for Marina Boulevard and Nawarra Canter where they are really taking care of the cleanliness for tourist attraction.

Trip to Sharm

2010-12-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

This trip is because of my cousin, Dira or Along which we’ve been called her since came here visiting us (my sister and I) in Egypt. So, besides her exploring Cairo and Alexandria, she asked us to join her to go to Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, Aswan or Hurghada. We were late in making decision and what left in choice from the tour agent was Sharm El Sheikh Trip. So, that’s how we decided to go there.

Okay, it’s started in Alexandria which we went there by bus. The journey took about 12 hours of driving from 12 a.m. until 12 p.m. in Sharm. Firstly, we got to the ‘Desert View Hotel’ but we can’t check-in because it’s not 3p.m. yet. So, we took a walk around ‘El Mercato Mall’ just 15 minutes walks from the hotel. During the day, the mall was quiet, only a few people there, that makes sense because people a lot go to the beach/sea during the day. So, we took the opportunity of the offer made by a Chinese restaurant to take a lunch there. After ate, we went back to the hotel, but unluckily somehow the hotel management couldn’t get us a 3-single bed room which we were paid for as in the package. So, that took a little augment with the tour agent. After about 2 hours, we got a room in another hotel, ‘Dolphin Club’ and that where we were staying.

At the evening, we went to the ‘Old Market’ to buy some souvenir. The locals said that’s the place where tourist could get the cheapest price in Sharm. But compare to Hussein’s Market, the price were quiet more expensive. Well, it’s Sharm El Sheikh. Egyptian took a lot opportunity to take the outsider’s money. After Old Market, we went back to hotel for dinner, the buffet was really great. After filled our stomach, we went to ‘Naama Bay’ where their nightlife take place, there has a lot of club, bars, cafe and a lot more place for the people who like to go out night.

The next day, we went to the beach to get on a ‘glass-boat’, a boat which made with a glass on the floor to let tourist to see what inside the sea. We saw the corals and fishes. It was really nice. After that we took a ride on ATV, a four-tyre motor vehicle, something like that in a desert called ‘Safari’. It was really awesome! About 2 and half hour we got the opportunity to ride the things.

On the third day, we fulfilled our day on boat. From the morning until evening we were on the boat to snorkel in the centre of red sea. It also was really awesome. The first and best snorkelling I’ve ever experienced. We could see a lot of beautiful corals and colourful fishes. Along the journey on the boat, we got 3 rounds of snorkel. Lunch is included in the middle of the day. But in the end of 3^rd round, I think I saw a group of swordfish, so I quickly swam to the steps (ladder) on the back of the boat and that’s it, I don’t want snorkel anymore. Also, a week after this day, I read a news from ‘TheStar’ that said there was a shark attack in one of beach in Sharm El Sheikh. And that made me feel really shocked and lucky the shark didn’t came when we were there. Thank God.

On the last day, on the way back to Alexandria, we stopped at ‘Pharaoh’s Cave’, where they said that it is the place used by the old pharaoh to do their ‘asceticism’ or something like that. There also got a really great beach and a little pool where hot water comes up from underground. After that, we continue our journey back. We arrived at Alexandria at about.

As my opinion to Sharm El Sheikh, it is not very too ‘sin city’ as I expect and heard from a lot of people. I think the nightlife is only full of Egyptian relaxing or ‘lepak’ doing ‘sheesha’. The tourist (non-Muslims) just had their night with beers and little dance. Because most of them were there in Sharm to have the experience of snorkeling and diving in the famous Red Sea. They also know Egypt is an Islamic country and they are really respect us, so they didn’t do much the dirty thing or wear topless to the beach.

Ramadhan '10

2010-09-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Fasting everyone! It’s almost about 3 weeks of Ramadhan has passed. Hope that you all fulfill the month well with tadarus, tarawikh and a lots more goods. This is the first time that I ‘berbuka puasa’ in Kuwait while transit on journey back home from Egypt. My flight was delayed in Kuwait for 14 hours, so I got the ‘berbuka’ and ‘sahur’ meal with a hotel room. The service is not so bad actually, I got grilled chicken, fried rice, korma meat and a lots more:) That is the experience on the first 2 days of fasting on journey back home. Okay, the most interesting part when we’re in Ramadhan is the ‘Berbuka’ time. At home, everyday my mom cooks like there are 10 people in the house. I think although I’m fasting, but my weight is keep moving up the scale. And everyday I got ‘rambang mata’ which menus should I eat first. Oh, glad my dad just bought a treadmill machine, so that we could burn our excess calories in our body. And as usual Ramadhan like in the passed years, we still praying in the Masjid Uniten, well, they got air-cond and free ‘berbuka’ and ‘moreh’ everyday :) And it is full of activities, and the most fun part is that one of the activities is the’ Pertandingan Mengurangkan Berat Badan’. My dad joined it, he says they got to measure every contestant weight before and after Ramadhan. Hope my dad got a prize with the help of his new treadmill machine. Um, what else, oh, a few days ago, I’m really glad that I invited to the ‘Majlis berbuka Puasa Alumni Abim ‘97’, I met with my old classmate in the primary school. In the childhood, we’re all just a kids but now, wow, they’ve grown ups with their matured faces.

And that’s all I could write for this Ramadhan, so, just a weeks to go to Hari Raya, so, here I would like to wish you all Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Maaf Zahir Batin. Drive safely on the road :)

England and Paris

2010-09-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone, how your holidays...Hope everything goes happy around. For me, after the 3 weeks in Egypt after final exam, my sister, her friend and I went to Europe (England specifically) for about almost 3 weeks there. So, here is my experience on traveling there. Starting from the Cairo airport, we flew by Egypt Air to Heathrow Airport in London and we fetched by our aunt, MCS which is studying there in Leicester where we staying in her house. The first few impressions to UK is that the currency is too high, so all the goods expensive making me thinks for a few times before buy something although it just a little mineral water :). The second is that the weather is still cold although it is summer time.

Where did we go there? Um, the first day we just walking and shop a little in Leicester Town. The people there usually close the shops early at about 5pm in evening cause they all go to the
bar or just relaxing body at night. The first place we went is Birmingham. What most attracted us in Birmingham is the Cadbury World to see why the Cadbury chocolate is so famous and its history. After that, we took a walk in the Birmingham City Center, Bullring. The next city we went is York, there located a shopping center which selling the factory branded goods so the price there is much cheaper that the usual retail price. After shopped there, we went to the York City to see the unique and old building/castle. It was really great. The third place we went is Cambridge, there it just the Cambridge University’s Colleges. It has about 50 colleges around the town. We took a ride on a small boat to see around. It is called ‘Punting’. We arrived in Leicester at night because we missed our train and that make we tired cause we got to catch the plane to Paris in the early morning tomorrow.

We went to Paris, France from the London Luton Airport by small plane called ‘EasyJet’. It was really exhausting, well, we from Cambridge arrived Leicester at night and at 2am in morning we had to wake up to catch the plane. Arrived in Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, we are all on our own. We took the underground tube/train to Gare du Nord and to Jaures. it’s not really hard to travel there when you had learned the tube map even you can’t speak French like me. So, the first day there, we took the sightseeing bus to go around Paris City; Opera, De Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc De Triomphe, Madeleine, Eiffel Tower, the Concorde and lastly is the Hard Rock Cafe. It was really exhausting day I think, we went to Ibis Hotel where we staying at the evening and we just sleeping for the rest of the day. On the second day, we went to Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studio. It is the first ever Disneyland I went in my life. It is really great but full of crowd. Well, we went in summer, what can we do. I just got on about 4 or 5 rides only there. The queue is too long. But to reach satisfactory with the money we spend, we stay in the Disneyland from when it’s open until it’s closed at 11pm in night. Wow, but even that we couldn’t enjoy their fully. On the next/last day, we just went to Musee Du Louvre, where the famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, ‘Mona Lisa’ located. The museum is so big, for about 2 hours I’ve been inside, I think I just got to see only the quarter of the collection; arts, painting and sculpture. Then, we got to catch the plane back to London. So, overall France is really awesome, the city is full of arts and we could see almost every nationality there and their every style. My Father been so protecting while we’re in Paris. Like every second, he must send a SMS or give us a call sometimes. Well, people who know the world always said that Paris is very dangerous with full of people from every angle in the world.

After Paris, we continue the explorations in England. We went to Oxford. The main attraction is the Christ Church College where their dining hall is the same dining hall that used in the Harry Potter’s movie. It looks much smaller than we see through the movie. In Oxford, we just took a ride on the sightseeing bus to see around the city. On the next day, we went to Manchester to go to the Old Trafford Stadium and the Piccadilly Garden, the city center. In the evening, we go to Liverpool and stay a night at my aunt’s friend’s house. In Liverpool, we went to our old house which is the first house that I live after I was born there. The house was looks old and now it became the homeless accommodation. At night, we just took a walk in Albert Dock, the must-arrived place in Liverpool. In the morning, I went to The Beatles Story while my sister and her friend went to shopping and the University of Liverpool to buy a shirt for my dad. The Beatles Story was awesome. Every move of the fab four was told there. Then in the afternoon, we went to Everton stadium and Anfield, LFC. In evening, we took a walk in Liverpool’s City Center and after that we get on train back to Leicester.

The last city is the big and famous city, London. We spend 4 days just to exploring London by stayed in a youth/backpackers hostel. Here is the list of the places we visited; The Buckingham Palaces, House of Guard, Trafalgar Square, Madame Tussauds (where we met a lot of wax figures of the famous people in the world), Emirates Stadium, Arsenal FC, Tower Bridge, Wembley Stadium (at that time, there was a match between MU and Chelsea so we could hear the crowds and the horse police guarding), Wimbledon (the tennis court), Malaysian Hall, London Eye (glad to see the city of London and the famous Big Ben) and Greenwich (where the longitude 0” line). And that’s it. End of the trip.

Great Beaches, Deserts and Oases

2010-07-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hi! How are you guys. My summer break had started a week ago. And what did I fulfill it with? Um...nothing actually just going on a trip to Matruh Siwa on the west of Alexandria. Okay, it begins on 7th July at 1 o’clock where we started our journey from El-Salam, Zagazig. This journey takes about 9 hours of driving. So at about 4 am in morning, we stopped a while at a mosque on the side of the road for Suboh Prayer and a little breakfast. We arrived at our first placed we’re visiting which is Ajibah’s Gulf at about 11 am. Here, it was a very beautiful view with clear beach and people said that at the sunset period, we could see the 7 different colours of the sea. But we came here at early noon so, there just 2 or 3 colours different due to the depth of the sea. So, after lepaking and taking photos, we went to our next place, Cleopatra Beach. It is named so because of the arrival of the princess Cleopatra and here, there were a big rock that said to be the ‘water-closet’ of the Cleopatra. We all get half wet here because we must across a few step in water to go to the rock. Although the weather is hot, but the water was cold and it was really great. We had our lunch here then we continue our journey to Mersa Matruh, where we checked-in to our rent house and took a little nap.

On the evening, at about 6 pm, we went out to the beach and swam a little. At the night while waiting for our dinner, my friend, Izham and I went out for a cup of tea. While we’re sitting sipping the cup, I could see the rare attitude of Matruh-ians, they like to put their children on the back-trunk of their car. I don’t know la whether their seat is full or they put to let their child enjoy the air. They look happy I think. We went to Libya’s Market that night to do some shopping. After that at the late night, my friend, Haris and I went out again to take a heavy supper at the beach until about 3.30 am, we went back to take a rest.

On the next day, we started our journey to Siwa at 8 am in morning. This journey takes about 3 hours. The first place in Siwa we visited was 'The Mountain of The Dead'. It is called so because in the ancient, the villagers will take a hide when there were wars and here is the place where they buried their corpses. And on the wall of this mountain, it is said that there’s a drawing that tells us the story of the marriage of Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, but I didn’t see it at all, just an ordinary mountain. Okay, the next place we visited was the 'Alexandria The Great Fortress'. Here, there’s a cave and tunnels that used a long time ago when wars and at the peak of this fortress, we could see the Old Siwa Town and the 'Jazira Fatma' (a farm in the middle of Salt Sea). After taking pictures and explored the fortress, we went to 'Cleopatra Pool' to have our lunch. This pool is said to be the place where Cleopatra take her bath. Its depth is about 5 metre deep. Wow...ancient people were really tall and big I think. After lunch and took a little rest there, we went to the Date’s Store. At first, I thought that this date’s store is at the date’s farm, but from what can I see, is just an ordinary store and stall selling date’s, olives and a few desert-homemade things. Then, we went back to Matruh. FYI, Siwa is just 50km away from the neighboring country which is, Libya. Although Siwa is the hottest place with the sun beam directly on us on the midday, but it is all worth it and I have been there once!

The last day, after checked-out and breakfast, we went to the Ghuram beach to picnic. The Egyptians was so crowded there. A few of my friend and I didn’t swim because we afraid that there’s no shower to clean up after swimming. But, they who swam play the water-rugby, sound like fun with the cold and clear water. The beach is really beautiful. A lot of picture taken here as I didn’t swim at all. If you like to see more, feels free to visit my facebook page okay. So, after had our lunch here, we all headed back to Zagazig and arrived at about 10 pm in the night. As the conclusion, this trip was really great although the weather was really hot. Well, its summer...get used to it.

Kaki Bangku

2010-07-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Good Riddance. I’ve finished my last exam subject, Psychology. It was difficult also just like the other papers. This means that I’m book-free for about 3 months ahead. I’m really glad, but the boredom period has started and will go for the next 2 weeks. Nothing interesting to do lah here in Egypt. A few days back I went on a trip to Matruh Siwa and I'll write about it later, now this is the post I write before I went on that trip.

Actually this post is about the football fever since FIFA World Cup 2010 has started a few weeks ago. Um, here in Egypt, I’m not feeling the heat of this league. Although we’ve been busy with the final exams, but I didn’t think that this year World Cup really interesting just like the previous seasons. Okay, I’m not really a huge fans of any football club, but when people ask me what is my favourite team, I would say I’ll give my full support to England. Err...England defeated already right. I would pick Germany as my second team although they were the one who kick England’s ass. But Germany also had just defeated so, um...what left? Final on Holland versus Spain...I would like to choose on Holland side because their colour is orange...It is great and rare! Okay, why England? I don’t know, maybe because since I was kid, my brother always share story about them and because it is where I was born, so I think that’s the only team I know in the whole universe. And the only player that I know is just David Beckham and Ronaldo.

What is it with football? Why people go crazy for them huh? Egyptian was really a fan of football like there are no other games or sports beside football. Wherever and whenever they are, there must be a ball with a bunch of lads kicking, plus even when I’m in lecture, there’s noise coming from the ground people playing football. If there is a match, wow...the road is silent, lack of cabs and ‘tremco’ (a mini bus that I use a lot here called), they all gather in coffee shop for a free TV live. But it’s an advantage when you buy fruit, because if their team score, you might get some more of the fruit for free :)

The first time that I realize the exist of World Cup league was in 1998. During the time, people talked a lot and what really interest me were the FIFA World Cup games on computer. They were great. My friends in primary school support me and taught me a lot about football until I beg my father to buy me a replica of the official ball that used in the real games which at last end up in the garage and became the rat’s food.

I played a lot until I moved to Kulim, Kedah for my secondary schools where I became really passive and never kick a football since. Even if I play, I’ll be the causes of my team loss or sometimes I made my own goal. Then, I realize that I’m not a football guy or a ‘sport’ guy as none of my family is an athlete. I play football only in my childhood just because of the influence of my friends or sometimes when my friends force me to. Plus that my father subscribed most of the TV Astro channel like movies, cartoon, discovery channel and some more but there’s NO sport channel! Haha...really? No influence at all on sports in my family but I’m happy with it. Football sucks and hurts :P

South's Cuisines

2009-10-06T07:14:00.000-07:00

This is the story of my family's journey back home after raya. On this journey, our stomach was never feel empty. It was the gene in our blood. At the night before we went back home, we went out for satay in Pontian Kechil. For us, satay there is the our most favorite around Malaysia.

On the next day at about 10 am in morning, after all of us breakfast and ready and to depart, we planned to visit my aunt's house around Pontian but she was not at home so we just straightly toward the north through the 'jalan kampung'. We stopped at a mall where there is Marrybrown because Umar only eat american food. We also ate a few pieces of chicken.

On the journey, suddenly my father take a u-turn, i thought that he got lost but what happened is he saw a gerai selling durian. oh..what an opportunity, my parents, Amad, Adda and I ate 3 durian. Salwa and Umar didn't eat durian. The seller said it is imported from Pahang. No wonder la it is the only stall that sell durian there. After that, we continued our journey. We reach at Batu Pahat for the famous briyani there at about 11.30 am. After lunch, on the journey towards Muar (we planned on stop for the Murtabak Singapura), my cousin, Amud called me and asked us if we would like to join them for beraya to someone house and to eat briyani at the Batu Pahat. Oh...you missed it, we just finished our lunch la. Then he said, that fine la..

We reached Muar around 1 pm o'clock and it was really disappoint for me, the restaurant didn't opened yet. Why lah we didn't call earlier.I was really want to eat there. Last month I went Johor Bahru following my father because he went for the outstation there, I also planned on the Murtabak Muar but we also get home on the morning. So, there is no more chance for me, I'll be going back to Egypt this Wednesday.

We stopped at a mosque somewhere on the side of road for Solat Zohor and Asar. What was really attracting us to the mosque is the warong roti canai mamak on the side of the mosque. After settle our prays, we take a rest and eat a little roti canai. Then, we continued our journey. My father ask us if we would like to take a visit around Malacca to get on Menara Taming Sari. I've never been there. But when we reached there, there were so crowded and jammed so we abort our plan.

After that, i guess that my father want to bring us to Alor Gajah for some satay. When i was in Matriculation in Londang, Malacca, we always eat there. So, I called my mom's to make sure where were we ahead to because we took 2 cars on this raya journey.(one car not enough la for our size.haha..) My mom said that we just straightly to home. But when we arrived at Alor Gajah, suddenly my father's car take a junction toward the satay's warong.(I knew it) After having some 'hi-tea', we enter the PLUS highway and continue our journey home.

For the conclusion of the journey, we actually could get all the 6 type of food (ayam MB, durian, nasi briyani, murtabak, roti canai and satay) but murtabak we missed. But it's okay my weight keep moving up the scale. We arrived home around 5 pm o'clock. 7 hours! On journey to kampung before raya, it took was only 3 hours because of fasting so we stop only for the toilet. About double the duration took for us only on food :D

Ausie Trip

2009-08-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

This summer holiday, my sister and i fulfilling ours by going a trip to Australia to visit our brothers and sister-in-law there. In 2 weeks there, we went a lot of interesting places around the Queensland State that also known as The Sunshine State. So, the first place we went was Movie World at the Gold Coast. We were really enjoyed. There is a lot of entertainment and shows of the all the time famous cartoon characters. The next place was Sea World where we got oppurtinity to see the dolphins, penguins and many more of sea wild life. Then on the next week, we went to the Australia Zoo. There we saw a lot of crocodile, kangaroos, koala and a lot of australian native animals. And The last place we went was Dreamworld. This is the best place for me because there was a lot of fun games and at that time we were lucky because there were not much crowd so we could play the same games for a few times. So, thats all the major place we went and a lot of our time we spend to shop and walk around Toowoomba, Brisbane and Surfers Paradise.

Sebab xnak tgk gambar korg

2009-08-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

Dibawah ni antara sebab-sebab aku menyampah nak tengok gambar korang kat myspace or friedster. x semua la..sesetengah korang ni ha..

1-Gambar semua sama aje

Ni bagi yg letak gambar banyak-banyak, banyak tu x pe tapi sama je semua gambar. Tukar posing pun sikit-sikit je. Sape nak tengok gamba ko banyak-banyak uh.haih

2-Gambar angle?

Dah la gambar banyak gila, beza sebab tangkap dari angle yg berbeza je. Bila tengok dari satu angle tu cun tapi bila tengok dari angle lain x berapa cun pulak..lepas tu gambar yg angle lawa tu mesti jadi primary picture.hahaha

3-Tangkap gambar sendiri pakai henfon?

Aku paling benci gambar mcm ni. Kalau satu dua xpe la, ni sampai satu album tu gambar semua tangkap sendiri je. x de orang nak tolong tangkapkan ke or xkan syok sendiri kot. Kalau awek cun tak pe la gak kan, sedap gak mata memandang, ni yang laki-laki pun letak gambar cam ni,pe cer?

4-Gambar saya cerita saya?

Yang ni lak, gambar dalam album tu dah boleh buat cerita dah. Mcm ade connection je antara gambar-gambar tu. Kalau nak bagitau korang buat ape ke, pergi mana ke x kisah la, ni setiap perbuatan korang letak gambar pe cer?

5-Letak gambar kartun

Yang ni memang aku cukup menyampah, penat-penat je bukak album korang, last-last ada gambar kartun je.hah?WTF!

Camping around Desert

2009-02-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

This posting was about my trip to Sinai. Begin on the past 3rd Feb,at 2 am, my friends and I went to 'Salam' waiting for the bus but the bus was unpunctual. It arrived at about 3.30 am. It is freezing that early morning. The first journey was about 8 hours to the first place we're visiting which is the old Israel fortress near to the 'Terusan Suez'. Nothing attractive in the journey just a wide desert surrounding the road, I was about slept all that time. There were a lot of hiding tunnel, battle tank, army's clothes and weapons and some statue of Israel's army. Then, we went to the 'Wadi Musa' to see the old historical wells and then to the camp at St. Catherine where we're staying. That evening, we went to 'Jabal Musa' to see the 12 'Uyun Musa' and 40 tree indicating 40 followers of Prophet Musa in the ancient time. Back to the camp at 5 pm and had dinner with the so cold weather that night. After that, all of u
s take a rest and sleep for regenerating energy for mounting the Mt. Sinai that night. Some of us was woke up late so we're start climb at about 2 am. At that time, it was dark and nothing can be seen but we can hear the camel. It was a really long path to reach the

peak of the mountain. It was about 7km We reach the peak at about 6 am if I'm not mistaken. Luckily, we got the chances to see the sunrise and it was very beautiful. After capturing pictures and rest at the top, we go down but i thought the path was different from the path we're up to although that time was dark. My friend, Afif and I was the last person of our group because we took so much time for picturing and what happened was we got lost in the mountain surrounding us. We don't see anyone in front of us and we don't know where to go. We're so scared that time. Luckily and so thankful to God that we've met an old men Egyptian and we asked him to lead us back to the camp. After for a long time we following him, we found our group and we're very relief. Lucky that we don't be like the Prophet Musa's follower which got lost for 40 years there! At the bottom, we went to the St. Catherine's church to see the 'Israel's tree'. After that, we move back to camp to get our baggage and went to Dahab. In the journey, we drop by to see the 'Samiri's Cow' and Prophet Harun's and Prophet Saleh's tomb. The cow was just a big stone cause i don't see very well the cow-shaped. Then, we continue our journey to Dahab. At the evening in Dahab, we just walking around and buy some food. After dinner, we all went to shopping there. At the midnight, we had some seafood. The next day, we're woke up late and doesn't got any chance to go swimming or snorkling. I feel very frustrated..we just could immersed our barefoot into the sea, which is the 'Aqaba bay'. The sea there was very clear and beautiful, there was no sand just clean rock and blue water. I really hope that i could go there again to swim and stay quite bit longer at Dahab. After having lunch, we went to Israel's Island but we couldn't go to the island because of our lateness. We just saw the island from the beach. That place was the point that we could see 3 countries which are Arab Saudi, Jordan and Israel. After that, we all went back to Zagazig. We got a lot of experiences from the trip and I hope that I could join any trip to Sinai again in future. Really I do although got broken leg climbing the Mount Sinai!

Teka-teki

2008-12-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Haha.. Teka-teki antare bende yg aku suke main. Mase sekola2 dulu mase cikgu mengajar pun sempat lagi nak main,tambah2 kelas 'Sejarah', mase Cikgu Nafsiah. Bukan sebab dia ajar x best tp subjek tu yg x best. Hehe..sori cikgu. Tah la aku dari kecik ditakdirkan x suke sejarah. Nasib baik dah x de sejarah dah bile aku dah tua ni. Ok, kat sini ade aku nak kongsi teka-teki yg aku dapat;

1. Dalam Banyak2 air,air apa yg paling berani?
Ha.Ha.Ape bende tu?! Kalau nak tahu, jawapan yg sebenarnye ialah air
terjun..sebab dia berani terjun!!!! Ha!!! Ha!!! Ha!!!!!

2. Banyak- banyak binatang…binatang apa keluar haid…
jwpn: kura-kura..ala tu pun tak tahu…keluar HEAD….tak paham jugak.ala kepala le..

3. Dlm bnyk2 binatang….. bntg ape yg bertelur dan beranak…..kira 2 alam la
niiii….. ha jwp2…. …siput babilaaaaa…..ye la siput bertelur…babi beranak….

4. Kalau anda ni semuanya pandaiiii cuba teka, banyak-banyak sungai, sungai apa yang paling berat?
Jawapannya ialah Sungai Besi…Ha…ha…ha…

5. Kereta dengan motor, mana lebih tua?
jawapannya adalah motor,sebab motor pakai tongkat…

6. Dlm banyak- banyak pokok,pokok apa yg baik hati?
jwpn dia pokok pisang sebab dia keluarkan jantung dia.

7. Ni dia satu lagi teka teki dari aku..huruf jawi apa yang ada angin…
huruf TA dan YA laa… kan jadi TAYAR tu

8. kasut apa yang paling keras?
Kasut batu..salah maa.. kasut BATA laaaa…muhahaha..lawak ka?

9. Sebuah bas telah berhenti secara mendadak kerana hampir terlanggar
seekor katak.apakah yang akan turun dahulu selepas pemandu itu behenti?
jawapannya ialah meter bas tulah

10. Antara huruf A hingga Z,banyak-banyak huruf tu..mane huruf yang boleh kahwin …ahhh sape dapat jawab????
jawapannya ialah…huruf i ngan u lerrr..hehehehehe.nih antara
pasangan bercinta lerrr ..hehehehe

11. Kalau korang pandai math, 5 orang cina tolak 3 orang india , jadi apa?
orang india tu jatuh lah…. keh keh keh!!!

12. Ada 3 biji limau kendian di bahagi kepada 3 bahagian..lepas tu dibagi pulak pada 3 org..baper seorang dapat ?…kes kes kes kes korang mesti lemah IQ kan ..
jawapannya sorang dapat sebiji limau ler..sbb sama gak ko potong atau
tak…hehehhe mesti dapat sorang sebiji

13. benda apa kalau naik tak turun dah?
jwpn dia umur la.ish…ish…

14. Kenapa tayar belakang kenderaan selalu botak dahulu daripada tayar hadapan?
Sebabnya ialah dia selalu memikirkan kenapa dia tidak dapat memecut tayar hadapan

15. cuba teka, mouse komputer , jantan ke betina?
jawapannye betina ler..pasal dia pakai pad.hehe

16. Ada sekor gajah dan sekor kancil,berjalan2 dalam hutan.Suatu ketika,mereka terjumpa sebuah titi. Semasa kancil menaiki titi tersebut, titi tersebut runtuh.Kancil telah patah kaki. Gajah pula patah………
Gajah patah apa rasanya ya???? Gajah PATAH BALIK kot!

17. Dalam banyak banyak lembu,lembu apa yang semua petani cari
lembu yang hilang lah . kalau tak hilang siapa lah ada masa nak kisah pasal lembu.

18. Hidupan apa didalam laut paling tua.
jawapannya udang sebab dia sudah bongkok dan berjanggut..ha–ha–ha–ha–

19. Cube teka ye benda apa apabila kita berdiri dia baring, bila kita baring dia berdiri…….?
jawapannye tapak kaki la……

20. Banyak2 ikan, ikan apa yang pemalu…
jawapan nyer :ikan sardin.sebab nyer dier duduk dlm tin..

Well... All Right

2008-12-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

Akhirnya, wujud juga blog aku sendiri. Sebelum2 ni asyik baca blog2 orang x berminat pun nak tulis. Tapi kehidupan di Mesir dah buat aku bosan dengan rutian harian (bangun pagi pergi kelas balik rumah belaja tidur) jadi aku tulis lah blog ni. Mungkin seminggu dua penulisan blog ini pun jadi rutian harian juga. Blog ni pun saja nak cerita pengalaman2 aku serba sedikit. Title blog ni diambil dari title lagu yg aku layan sekarang ni 'Bright Young Thing'. Lagu dari Albert Hammond Jr. Try lah dengar, boleh tahan. So leisure time yg aku rasa malas belajar yg sebelum ni tengok movie, sembang, lepak, masak, cek mail myspace friendster la semua aku dah ada benda baru nak buat...BLOG-ing.haha...

Do Me A Favour! :D