I miss Korea.
So much.

I dont think I want to start writing about the trip.

Disebabkan saya perlu menulis dalam bahasa Melayu untuk upcoming trip in January, maka berbahasa Melayu lah kita. Well half.

Untuk tahun ini, saya berkelayakan untuk mengikuti percutian syarikat setelah bekerja lebih setahun di sini. Selain itu, saya juga berjaya memberi saranan untuk bercuti ke Boracay, Philippines! Untung nasib, boss terima pendapat dan bersetuju! Walaupun perjalanan ke Boracay sebenarnya agak melecehkan. 4jam penerbangan dari KL, 2 jam perjalanan dari lapangan terbang Kalibo ke jeti, 20minit melalui bot ke pulau dan akhirnya 10 ke 15 minit menaiki jeep untuk ke hotel. Nasib baik dari hotel kami boleh berjalan kaki untuk ke restoran, pusat membeli-belah, tempat lepak, spa, sebab semuanya bertempat di pantai.

Oh lupa! Sebutan untuk Boracay sebenarnya bukan Bo-ra-kei, tapi Bo-ra-kai! Sebab mereka Filipino, jadi ingat ya...sebutannnya adalah Borakai. Gambar di bawah adalah hotel kami, Hotel Hatten Garden di Station 2 dan gambar seterusnya.......kecantikan Boracay!

Aktiviti hari pertama adalah island hopping dan snorkelling, disebabkan saya baru selesai pembedahan di telinga maka tiada gambar snorkelling. Saya cuma dapat menikmati awan biru, lautan dengan warna kegemaran dan tidur di dalam bot ditemani hembusan bayu. Kami di bawa ke 2 tempat untuk snorkelling -   Coral Garden dan Crystal Cove. 

Makan tengah hari kami di bawa ke Puka Beach Piknikan. Satu kawasan pantai yang tidak disentuh dengan pembangunan. Bobby, pemandu pelancong kami mengatakan Puka Beach adalah Boracay seperti mana 25 tahun dulu. Kami dihidangkan dengan pelbagai lauk (mostly seafood, no pork) dan paling best...mangga Filipina! Yang ni memang makan beria setiap kali dapat. Sangat-sangat sedap! Masarap!

Lepas makan, sempat lagi mandi sebab Puka beach memang tiada orang. Kalau nak ikutkan Puka Beach dengan main beach 15minit je jarak berjalan kaki. Tapi sangat-sangat berbeza, Satu sangat busy, ramai orang, banyak kedai. Puka beach cuma ada piknikan (tempat makan) dan lounge chairs yang berjarak-jarak. Memang tempat untul relaks.

Aktiviti malam selalunya shopping di D'Mall yang sebenarnya bukan mall tapi sekelompok shop lots dalam banyak lorong. Dan lepak di beach pubs sambil layan live bands. Filipinos kan pandai menyanyi.

Rasanya wajar ada dua post untuk Boracay. Nak kena pilih gambar dulu. Heh heh heh.

I will try to shed off the yucky feeling I feel for my own Malay writing because I have to believe it first before I am able to convince other people. Walaupun sebenarnya ada masa I cringe at myself.

Hari kedua adalah hari aktiviti tanpa henti. In English I can put it as a wet day since it rained on and off and we had water activities as well, tapi dalam BM  - I cannot phrase it as hari basah. That didnt and will not sound right however I put it.

Kami mulakan dengan Helmet Diving di tengah lautan. Ada platform untuk beberapa aktiviti seperti helmet diving, snorkelling, dan scuba diving. Tapi lagi 2 tu tak relevan sebab tak masuk pakej, dan mana ada antara kami yang ada lesen skuba. OK. Seperti yang diberitahu dalam post lepas, saya baru sahaja menjalani prosedur minor di bahagian telinga, dan dilarang masuk ke dalam air. Tapi tarikan tu lebih kuat. Dan saya dah pastikan (beria-ria tanya tour guide dan orang yang provide servis to make sure) air takkan masuk helmet masa turun ke dasar.

Helmet ni semua 30kg, tapi bila dalam air it got reduced to 5 to 10kg. I tak ingat exactly berapa. We go into the water first, bila dah dalam air baru mereka akan letakkan helmet and you just let go of the tangga. Kat dalam air dah ada scuba divers on standby to bring you up and down.

Sebelum masuk air kami diajar sign language but theres a lot to learn in a few minutes! Boleh lah lepas untuk duduk dalam air 15 minit kan. Signal naik atas, OK, tak OK, equalise, photo and video. kalau rajin adalah video nak tunjuk, tapi tak rajin pun. Seterusnya, ATV keliling pulau dalam hujan! 

 Mula-mula test drive 2-3 round keliling kawasan base. Tak sampai berapa saat mula convoy, belum sempat keluar main gate lagi semua berhenti untuk pakai raincoat. Cantik kan kitorang colourful macam tu?

Bobby bawak naik bukit to the lookout point. Dalam perjalanan tu I nampak ada zorb ball turun bukit and billboard showing picture of Boracay zipline!!! Bestnya kalau dapat buat. Tapi takde masa sebab trip is pre-arranged. Kat look out point tu tinggi jugak menapak, gigihlah saya dengan baju basah panjat tangga. Sampai atas tengok view sikit, ambik gambar sikit lepastu minum buko shake! Believe it, all of us had ice blended coconut shake masa weather sejuk2 macam tu (No wonder I had a lot of ice-cream during winter in Korea. Dah built in system). Husna and I even shared ramyun hot cup. Makan je keje.

Habis these 2 activities, makan time! Lunch at Tito's which serves fusion of Western and Filipino food. Serious masarap! Look at our view. Tito's ni dah ada review dalam TripAdvisor. Jadi you can check kalau berminat nak makan kat sana. Just nak bagitahu ya, restoran yang spesifik halal memang tak ada. Jadi makan lah secara berhemah. I pun terlepas jugak kat Mamita's Grill makan nasi goreng ikan masin sedappp je, Sekali ada small pieces of ayam. Padanlah sedap.

 

Right after lunch, everyone went separate ways. Ada yang balik hotel, ada pergi shopping. I nampak orang massage kat beach, so  pergi lah sana with 2 colleagues. Sekali hujan lebat gila! Lama jugak. Memang pengalaman betul massage kat beach berpayung bawah hujan, Siap mani pedi. Tapi best betul. Siap tidur padahal lepas makan. Not healthy, jangan ikut. Masa bercuti sekali-sekala takpe.

And finally! The much awaited activity (that I managed to convince everyone to do therefore the company paid for it) PARAW SAILING! Paraw ni kira macam perahu lah.

4 orang on each side, riding into the sunset. It was so WOW. Bayu bertiup lembut, laut tak bergelora kuat, it felt like a stroll. I siap berbaring atas the net yang kitorang duduk tu. Ni memang aktiviti that I strongly suggest to go for when in Boracay.

Kat sana I enjoyed pretty much everything. Things were cheap, makan sedap, mangoes marvellous, orangnya baik2. Ramai locals yang bercuti kat Boracay and jangan terkejut, Koreans. My boss said I hit the jackpot sebab the hotel we stayed in memang filled with Koreans. Sayangnya Boracay ni destinasi percutian keluarg for the Korean. But for the Pinoys, Boracay tempat happening untuk youngsters holiday. Very different but you can totally see it.

I nak pergi sana semula. Second time to go to Ariel's Point. Cliffdiving!!!

Hello! Mabuhay to Serendipity and annyeonghaseyo! Please excuse myself being corny because I recently just came back from Boracay (in November) and South Korea (just last week!). Before I reveal more about the trips let me tell you how menyusahkan it is for me to search for things to wear.

For one, the trips are so close to one another but the climate is so very different. Macam langit dengan bumi. Well, almost. Boracay was a beach holiday - which meant I needed a swimsuit that covers myself to replace my old one (eventhough I wont be swimming since I just had ear surgery - another post, another time). And also I need to think about what to wear that will not be revealing but still comfortable to wear at the beach.

Went to Sports Direct Subang with Nana the weekend before the trip and found some options. But I came back with a beach bag instead. Its vibrant and pretty and it came with its own beach mat! See how easy for me to get distracted? Eventually I managed to find a swimsuit in Boracay which I paired with my batik tights. It cost me only RM40. Happeyh!

That search was still okay compared to my search for coats to prepare myself for the below 0 Celsius in Korea. Living in Malaysia all my life meant no winter clothing whatsoever. Sure I have some outerwear. But I always opt for those made of chiffon / light material since layering myself will only make me sweat in the hot weather.

My search for coats was considered done since Nana's mum rent winter clothing to people. I went to her place, picked them up, tried them on and then decided I want something else. Mainly because most of the items are either too big, a bit tight, or it wont match what I already have. So I went out looking...searching and sweating in the stores while looking for the right one. I settled for this brown one. And the pretty red one loaned from Tangsue, bless her soul.

Seriously, if only there's an easier way to do it. Which there is actually - ZALORA! It would have been perfect for my time constraint too since they deliver within 3 days. Whuaiii didn't I even think about it??  And their options are quite extensive too! I see some printed jackets that I like now, And a blazer for work! And ooohhh that sequin bolero would be perfect for my upcoming Christmas party. OK, I'm off shopping. Anyone going to winter wonderland soon? You might want to shop coats online for women from them too.

Alhamdulillah. Syukur.

For having positive, wonderful, amazing people in my life who rub off their awesome persona to me.

For being loved by people you dont expect and to return the same feeling.

To be surrounded by kind people is lucky. To be surrounded by kind people who love you and care of you and willing to do so much for you is just......blessed.

Allah, each time I am blessed by your gifts - I wonder what I had done right. I must have done something right to be deserving the whole lot.

I thank you for each of them that you bring into my life and appreciate all that they have done. Please bless them more than you have blessed me.

Because they, remind me of you.

Have you ever felt so scared that the only emotion you managed to transfer out is just anger?

Have you ever thought that you're only being strong because there's no time for you to be vulnerable?

Have you ever feel so tired of being independent and dependable that you just want to let go?

I was born a daughter, raised a son. Born to my parents but raised by many. Its unfair. To receive so much and not living to expectation.

I try. To give back as much as I can. But sometimes, people forgot Im still just a girl. And I too get tired.

Hi! Sengaja delay in writing about this because I was waiting for the final shower of the year to be done first. Back in May, we had a bachelorette night for Lily and Erin planned by the two Timah who are preggos - Nora and Shara. I only brought myself, yay! (and goodie packs because I'm just like that. Sukar melepaskan  kuasa, tapi bukan gila kuasa) 

Shara chose a really pretty place for the dinner, Flora Terrace at Hampshire Place. Its so pretty and fairy-like, we all became prim and proper there. It was funny because halfway we were all asking each other "Why are we all quiet? This place makes us hush!" 

Naturally, it was just dinner and 5 chatty girls talking about their upcoming weddings, and 2 moms-to-be sharing pregnancy joy. And then there was one girl in red, sitting at the corner swiping her phone away.
Me.

And not two weeks ago, we had another hen night for 2 more Timah who have decided they want to start next year as a wife. This time, I opted for a spa day for Timah and of course the brides - Kecik and Phia! We also had a new member joining us. The first Timah baby - Nora's Naurah El Sofia!

The brides to be!

 

The place is a nail parlour in Wangsa Melawati, Gossiproom. We love the place, so pretty and spacious and it has a cafe! Which is perfect for us. Lepas habis mani pedi terus pergi makan. And the deco was nice too. People were warm, nice service. Love our first experience for a bridal spa together.

FYI, we now have 7 married Timahs, 2 of them are already mothers (Nora and Shara), Ya is about to pop, Lily and Erin who got married in June are both 7 weeks pregnant, Kecik got married last weekend, Phia next in November and Sara will have her wedding in January 2015.

4 of us left. 2 attached, 2 hopeless cases.

OK. Belanja gambar wedding Kecik satu.