Japan Day 2

So, we had a good night's rest at Hotel Vista Kamata and prepared to check out at 10am for our 2nd day in Japan :D

For the next 2 nights, we will be staying at Flexstay Inn Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Tokyo. Liping had made bookings for this stay via the hotel website's prior to this trip. It was somehow cheaper on the hotel's website. We were not allowed to check in at the time we arrived, however, we were allowed to keep our luggages at the hotel's office while we went out and continue our mission for the day.

We had our breakfast at 7-11 before heading out to take the train to our next destination. i tried one of their onigiris (they have different flavours) and bought another thinking that i would need it afterwards. the coffee in 7-11 was nice too... we just need to purchase the cup, and go to the coffee machine to press some butttons, and tadaaa.. hot coffee is served! :)

Today's plan was 1st to head to Akihabara's Yodobashi Electronic's store to get a simcard for our mobile data. we'd decided to get this b-mobile visitor sim 1 GB plan, which cost us 3980 yen. More info here: http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/english/product.html our plan was to insert this sim card into one of our phones, and use it as a wifi hotspot, so we could share the data usage among each of us. At the end of the day, we're not sure how much of the 1 GB we'd used up, but the line was not bad and was able to connect and use at most of the places we went.

By the time we settled the simcard, it was over lunchtime, but we were not very hungry, so we stopped by the french bakery/cafe nextdoor for teatime. I just noticed that mocha was not so famous in Japan.. instead i saw alot of cafe-au-lait. i ordered 1 cafe-au-lait to try and it turned out to be something like latte. but they also have latte in their menu.. hmmm. nevermind, as long as it's coffee, im fine with it, haha :D

A picture with the buns we had that afternoon with our coffee, 2 melon buns (1 with cream, 1 no cream) and one cinnamon roll

Our next stop was to go to Sunshine city at Ikebukuro, to get our Disneyland ticket :) the line was long in Disney store.. we got our number and was told that we needed to wait for 1.5 hours for our turn. but there was this app where we can check whether our turn is coming up or not, once we got our number, so we can hang around the shopping mall while we wait for our turn. So, we stopped by Pokemon centre, which was also in the same mall :) lots of Pikachu, and other pokemons which i was not so familiar of. they were all so cute anyway :P

Picture at Pokemon Centre, Sunshine City, Ikebukuro

Our disney ticket for the day after tommorow 17 sept, we 'kiasu', so we bought tickets earlier

after we got our tickets, we went for dinner. My legs were not used to walking too much yet, and they were tired even before dinner. we had dinner at a restaurant in the mall, because we were hungry and we came across this menu and the price was affordable too. We didnt expect the portion to be so big, that i could not finish my meal..

I forgot the name of the restaurant, but this is 1 set-- mee and rice together, so filling 

After refuelling, we went out of the restaurant and we got a shock, when we found that most of the shops were already closed!! before we went for dinner, they were still open and there were many shoppers too.. this is quite unbelievable! and the time was only around 8.30pm. hmm...

anyway, we proceeded with our plan to Tokyo tower by taking a train from the nearest station --Higashi-Ikebukuro station.

We did not plan to go up Tokyo tower to see the view of Tokyo, so im not sure about the price. But it did look grand. 

The setting inside the tower

Outside the tower, there's this projection

The lighted walkway to Tokyo tower

The majestic Tokyo Tower at night 

Satisfied with our photos and video-short clip shooting, we departed and went back to the hotel at around 10.30pm.

Before reaching the hotel, we stopped by Family Mart to get a bit of something -- yogurt drink/ice cream/ chocolate/ junk food to munch or try out, if it's nice we can buy some back :) the thing is, they have so many types of convenience stores, 7-11 and Family Mart is just an example of it and the prices of the things they sell were quite reasonable too.. unlike the 7-11 here in Malaysia, where the things they sell are always more expensive :(

We went back to the hotel, settle the payments and checked in. When we wanted to get our bags, the hotel staffs told us that they already helped us placed our bags in the room. that was so nice of them!! :D

That's it for Day2 in Japan. 

For the First time in FOrever!!! - Japan Sept 2015 Day 1

Yeah, i know, i've been absent for so long, that i almost forgot my blog's address.

before leaving for Japan, me and my friends did many research on the internet, as we planned for a back-packing trip. So, we needed to settle accomodations and itinery all by ourselves. Scrolling through the internet has indeed helped us a lot in our planning, hence i was thinking, maybe i could do the same thing too, by sharing my experience here :)

It was few months before my final Pro exam when we'd planned for this trip. That time, AirAsia had one of it's Big Sale and my housemates, Jun and Liping, was eager to go somewhere and found that air tickets to Tokyo, Japan was cheap. I did not have much time to think about it because cheap tickets always run out fast.. and since it was also my dream to go Japan, i agreed to join them. So, airtickets to Japan were booked, even before our final exam, and we knew we had to pass our exam in order to make this trip to Japan.

Ok, our trip to Japan was from 14th Sept to 25th Sept, 12 days11 nights. LiPing was the master planner of our whole trip.. and she's quite good, although there's still space for improvement as it was her 1st time planning the itinery.

Our flight from KL, took us 7 hours to touch down at Haneda airport, Tokyo. By the time we arrived, it was 10.30pm in Japan. I had heard of Japanese walking very fast, and they always looked like they were rushing... this was the 1st thing i experienced once we came out from the gate. The arrival hall was bustling with people, brushing past us, and made us feel that we're in the way. I used to thought that i walked fast... but they're even faster in Japan.. haha :P

Immigration procedures took us about 1 hour. The line was quite long that night. or maybe that was the peak period in the airport.

We arrived in Japan!! -photo taken while waiting for the bus to JR Kamata station from Haneda Airport

We booked our stay at Hotel Vista Kamata for the night. I did the homework on how we're suppose to get to the hotel from the airport. Since it is still considered early (11.30pm) we managed to catch the bus heading towards JR Kamata station. It was stated from the West exit to the hotel was just a 5 minutes walk, so i was expecting to see the hotel once we reach the West exit. it turns out to be not the case. We managed to ask for directions from a guard on duty, and he directed us on how to get there. He was friendly and helpful, just as what we had expected based on opinions of those who had visited Japan before. Our 1st attempt of communicating in Japanese... haha >.< at least, it got us to where we wanted. Better check out Google Maps for directions before heading there :) my lesson learnt..

After juggling with our luggages for a 'short' distance (it did not feel like a 5 minutes walk for us, i would say 10 minutes instead), we finally reached the hotel. We were warmly greeted by the hotel staffs. Thanks to Agoda, where we prebooked and paid for our hotel, our check in procedures were simple, and we got our key to the room, along with 3 complimentary bottles of mineral water. :)

The room we got was a triple room, with 3 single beds, just like the pictures advertised in their page. and never had i seen so many toiletries in the bathroom. they provide toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, body scrub, shower cap...etc. if i'd known, i would just stay here for the rest of my days in Japan.. and leave my toothbrush and toothpaste at home.. haha The room was quite comfortable , the price was ok and i liked it. Too bad we're just staying for 1 night :(

Feeling hungry even though we had our meal on AirAsia's flight, we decided to go to McDonalds for dinner! McDonads Japan is so different from Malaysia, with an additional choice of burger on their menu -- BBQ pork burger, plus the sides in a set is not necessarily french fries and coke, we can choose either french fries, nuggets or another item which i forgotten (haha) while for drinks, there's a whole list of it too!!

AirAsia's Pak Naser Nasi Lemak -- Not Bad!! :) 

My BBQ pork burger set with fries and coke -- just the 'normal'set for me because i was too hungry to choose

Before retiring for the day, we checked out the nearest 7-11 store nearby. We used to hear alot about their 7-11 before coming here... where we can get breakfast, coffee etc.. and ya, they really have alot of things there, an eye-opener for me! i haven't been overseas ever since so long ago, other than singapore.. heehee

Liping and Jun bought yogurt drinks from 7-11 that night :)

That's it for Day1 in Japan, will come back to post on the rest of this trip soon ^^

Stresss!!!

Long time no see!!!! this goes to show that i'm really busy..haha

i started my life as a 2nd year medical student last september, and till now i haven't found any time for me to a rest. I guess the 4 months break before this was for us to prepare ourselves mentally for all these challenges we wil face this year.

first, i had to get myself use to the syllabus in second year which does not cover the theory stuff only, but also, we have to go to wards and start clerking and presenting case. Next, they also integrated something called ''Problem-based learning'' into our curriculum where we were divided into groups of 12 people, and we need to be active in discussion to get points...and most of the commitees of our campus activities are second years. So, who said that 2nd year was ''Honey-moon'' year???.... IT's A LiE!!!!

This time, i thought that finally i could take some rest from the hectic uni life, because it was after our 1st exam in 2nd year....but i was wrong yet again. sedih lo :'(

my break started with a camp in Port Dickson. It's USM collaborative training, where we were exposed to and trained to be rescuers if some disaster were to happen, such as land slide, earth quake and accidents. We had simulations of the real situation there, and we were taught on how to do triage, tagging the victims as red, yellow, green or white(dead), manage the victims, we also get to pose as victims...and and and most interestingly i learnt how to use a walkie talkie!!! haha... ^^

because of this camp, 4 days were minus from my supposingly 9 days holidays... haiz 

But it's not bad after all... i've gained quite some 'not-so-camp-related' esperience in fact.. haha>< Going somewhere so far from kelantan for a camp is not so fun if you endure almost 13hours of freaking bus ride there just for the camp.

So, we had some fun at the beach!!!!



and for my 1st time ever, i tried riding this 'Pencil'!! haha



Even i myself would not have believe that i would be so brave to be riding on this thing which will turnover 4 times throwing all riders in the middle of the sea!!! been there, done that.... after this, i won't be trying it again, once is enough...phew!!!

there was another thrill ride we tried over there. they call it the 'Doughnut'... same thing, once is enough... the side effects of that deadly 'doughnut' -- hurt my neck muscles--and is enough to last for 4 days... ><

i was so exhausted after the camp, with injuries all over.. thinking that i could rest when i get back home. but, maybe rest was not meant for me.. while i was on the bus from kl central to lcct, i got a message rushing me to contact the IPG people about the upcoming CF family day.. :(  i felt so sad!!! sedih betul lo.. :'( '' i mean, please la, be more understanding....i haven't even reach home yet.'' i felt so unfair!!! people already resting at home, and perhaps nothing to do for 3 or more days already, i'm just beginning my holiday!!... urgh!! speechless....

Next day, another sms to remind me of the things i need to know as the ketua station for the upcoming Healthex, speaking of which... being a 'ketua' which i do not want to be :'( all i did was being absent for the 1st meeting, and i wasn't absent for no reason, i was SICK okay....and tadaa!! lesson learnt: NEVER be absent for any meeting!!!!

also, there's also things to prepare for the chinese cultural night event. PROMO video!!! well, it's actually for the sake to pain more experience, which will be useful for our cf media crew :)

besides i was woken up few minutes before 8am this morning by CF family day comittee asking regarding the IPG participants again.. sedih o... :'( awal-awal pagi sudah dibangunkan....

and all these events are coming soon, March and April... haiz, i don't know how to manage all these stress all at the same time.. :( even my break which i thought i could put down all these 'burdens' and at least relieve stress for a while, is GONE!!!

There's only one way i know i could survive this.. and only HE can help me.. ''I can do all things through CHrist who gives me strength''-- Philipians 4:13

I don't know how i'm going to handle all these things all at once, but all i know is to rely on God. To tell the truth, i really dread going back to campus, and i am reluctant to face all these responsibilities ahead of me... i feel stressed up whenever i thought of any of these things, as long as they are not settled...haiz.. lesson learnt: NEVER just say Yes, Ok, No problem...ask for time to consider



 Holiday=no holiday... but what else can i do??? haiz... GO back , face the problem, settle it and Move on... Pray that God will grant me the strenght that i'll need for this long battle.. Amen. ^^

long long hols!!!

so fast, i've already been in JB for 4 months... and i never left this place, not even once... surprisingly :)

i may have many plans before this, but i only manage to do some of them... kind of regret that i hadn't spend my time more appropriately ==

most of my time has been dedicated to my family, where i was 'Maria' for 4 months... helping with household chores like sweeping, mopping the floor; washing, hanging and folding the laundry that I'm getting so good at these!!!

at night, i would be in front of the screens... be it my laptop or the tv. Logging into Facebook almost everyday, reading theStar online; watching the 10.30pm drama on astro shx....etc

is that how i spent my 4 months???!! i couldn't believe it myself.... i've been living like this, for 4 months!!! add another 1 more month, and i'm going to be crazy....@@

well, of course, i did some other things too.... like...

cooking!!! not the usual cooking which uses the stove, but with the RICE COOKER... haha that's what we used to do at the hostel. At home, it was the only way to cook, after i kind of 'ruined' the only pot at home which can be used on the induction cooker.... haiz :( nevertheless, this rice cooker worked fine for me...

this is barley + 'fuzhok'... the usual dessert our seniors cook for us in campus, or sometimes we cooked ourselves...^^ 

i did some beadswork too!!! a senior taught us the basics after our pro1 exam... there were so many patterns he could make, the cross, hearts, snowflakes, etc...but i just managed to learn one or two from him. :( since i'm a bit slow in arts&craft...

and.... i finally completed a cross-stitch work my aunt asked me to do. this project took 3 years to be completed. oh, or should i say, 3 long holidays--which include my post-spm break, post-matrix break and also this post-1st year break... haha^^ so glad that i managed to finish it!!!

so many things happened within this 4 months too..!!

watched 2 movies-- harry potter and the smurfs. although, it might be 2 'only' for some of you, but 2 is a lot for me, since i seldom watch movies in cinemas... and and.... yesterday, i managed to watch Smurfs in 3d!!! it's one of the thing in my holiday to-do list... i'm so happy!! :) watching 3d is just do different from 2d, everything seems so real...the characters were popped-out from the blurry background....and with technology so high like this, it costs us rm17 per person. but i feel that it's worth the while... chose the right movie to watch in 3d^^

mummy changed her car-- luckily i still get to drive my mum's kelisa when i came back for my hols.  a month after i came back, mom decided to change it for a myvi. coincidentally, perodua launched their latest model at that time, so we were the first few in this area driving the 'new' myvi... too bad we couldn't get the purple colour, but this pearl white is quite nice also.. :)

went out with long-time-no-see friends!!-- with yamnee, kim, warnling+george... it's so hard for us to meet up, with busy schedules, transport problems and everything.. it's a great blessing to be able to have lunch/dinner with them again... going back to the 'craziest', 'childish' times we once had when we were in high school...oh, and almost forgot the brief meet-up with yinsan & susan that day at citysquare...^^

learned how to drive-- or rather 're-polish' my driving skills which will be once again be kept away until the next time i come back to jb. i've already renewed my P to CDL, but for 'safety' reasons, ahem ahem... the P sticker was transfered to the new car too... hahaXD mom really has the guts to let me drive her new car!! and allowing me to drive... heee ^^

celebrated daddy, melissa... and MY birthday at home!!heehee... luckily i'm already at home, that spared me from all those mischievious acts those people in campus could ever think of... hahaha XD

i took this... nice leh Xp

also, kimmy got a scholarship to continue her law degree in London!!-- felt so proud of her.. wow!!that was like great news to me!! :) she'll be flying off to london soon, and won't be meeting her till next year july...

and and... yamnee just registered into UTM today!!!-- after all those 'last-minute' work, she finally got herself there... hope that orientation week won't be too hard for her :) busy lady hardly gets any rest wor...

*looks like it's going to be hard for us to meet again next time... :( will be missing you all... all the best ya!!

well, there goes 4 months, all in 1 post... i shouldn't be so lazy though Xp

next saturday... i'm going back to ulu-land... sad?? happy??? excited??? perhaps a little bit of each.

busy days are coming soon, and i really wished that i could enjoy these last few days of this holidays... i guess i won't be regretting that i didn't rest much during this hols. i must admit that i'm overdosed on sleep.

i shall work hard when i get back to usm!!! but not now ya.... haha

done!! so-long........

in the process of rotting

hey!! so fast, i'm already in Jb for a month... i wonder how did i spend my time during these few days at home?? nothing much, just eat, sleep, watch drama, go online-- facebook most of the time... haiz, i'm really going to waste away

so, another 3 more months?? i don't really plan to get a job, any ideas what should i be doing then?? haha...

after staying at home for so long, and getting used to the daily routine at home really makes me feel lazy to get out of the house.

last thursday, i finally got out of the house and went out with kim and yamnee!!! also, it was my first time stepping into KSL shopping mall!!! first time, after they opened a few weeks before chinese new year... and the three of us went to get our hair cut...

kim's hair was already short enough, but she wanted a new hair style; yamnee, working for popular book fair at KSL at that time, was undecided to get a hair cut..but she still cut it though..i

tadaa!!! our new hair styles...



there isn't much changes in my hairstyle though, just wanted it to be short, no ideas of other hairstyles, even though kim insist that i should cut some style into my hair... :p

hmm... still looking good after my brain stayed dormant for one whole month..

i guess it won't be long before it shrinks... :S should really do some useful things from now on after resting for so long already, and also cut down my time in front of the tv since, the electricity charge has already increased... haha