Quick update

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! :) Thank you for always coming back to read my blog. I could never ask for more :) hehehehe. Anyway, did you guys notice some changes on the blog? Nope?! *insert crying face* I've changed the background! Did you guys like it or not? Well, I kinda fall in love with it the first time I saw it. I got it while I happened to check on some Pinterest article today. You can check her blog here (which is pretty amayyyzing) and she has beautiful blog layout and colors so I decided to check where she got that, then I stumbled upon this blog, then minutes later I found myself downloading the beautiful flowery wreath picture. Hehehe

Anyhow, I changed everything that needed fixing and decided to have a Facebook profile page for the blog too! What do you guys think? I think in that way I could promote my blog too, but at the same time, have a different account than my personal Facebook page. That's like a win win situation, rite?:) I'll keep them updated whenever I post on new topics. Just hoping that if you guys happen to read this, feel free to like my page, okay? That's all i think for now. Thank you for reading! :)

Housemates or no housemates?

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! How has you guys been doing? It's the raining seasons now in my place. It will start to rain from the evening until late at night. I can't really enjoy a night run now. That's a bummer :( but I haven't been running in the morning too though hahaha :P I hope you guys didn't get sick because of the weather. That would be not cool because it's already the end of the year, there's no point of getting an MC since there's not that much work to do anyway..hahaha. So, I actually don't know what I want to write in this post. Guess it'll just be another random post then..hehe

Apparently most of my friends have decided to move places this year. The reasons would mostly be because they wanted to have a privacy in life a.k.a. they decided to live alone. As for me, I enjoyed being alone, actually. Firstly because, well you have all the privacy that you want! haha. There will be no one who will ate your ice cream, no one to drink that orange juice and even no one to share that big bag of M&M's (okay, why is every example should revolve around food??) ..hahaha. Frankly speeaking, you have everything on your own! 

At first, I do felt a little lonely though, especially at night, when the surrounding seems more quiet and a little creepy. But after awhile I got adjusted to it and I embraced the silence in a good way. But of course, I wouldn't mind if le husband or my friends were around because why not, kan? hehehe. It is just that, someday somehow in any part of your life, you need that little space or that little time to be with just yourself. It somehow makes me appreciate myself more :) 

There were also some downsides of being alone though. I think one of them would be: You tend to be lazy. Well obviously because you have the place all on your own, so there's no one to fuss around when the place isn't clean, when you didn't do your laundry, when you didn't wash your dishes etc. etc.. hahaha. Well I have to admit, I am a little lazy when I live alone hehehe. The other downside is that, you don't have someone to look over on you when you are sick :( I hate this one because I tend to be a manja girl when I'm sick..who doesn't la kan? hehe.. I want someone to attend to me, made me porridge and feed me, check my temperature once in a while, feed me some more, then bathe me (okay that one is inappropriate..:P), remind me to take my medicine and stuff. That felt sucks when there's no one to do that when you are sick. Of course le hubs would call once in a while when I am sick to make sure I ate my meds but calling is not the same when that person is there physically. Of course I don't blame him, but sometimes yeah, things just don't really go the  way you want it to :( 

The other things that I hate when living alone is, having to cook! Well, I am a fair cook la *I think* but I do most of the cooking when somebody is coming to my house. I don't really enjoy to cook just for me though because it is somewhat not that tasty :P But, somehow, living alone gives me the chances to try out new recipes without having to fear the uninvited judges if you are living with others. Hahaha :D

Anyhow, for the argument's sake, I think both have definitely their pros and cons on their own. It all depends on how we look at things that would really determine our acceptance towards the situation, right? Of course, living with a family members would totally be the opposite but what I'm trying to describe here is when you live with friends/housemates only. I would do anything to live with my parents while I'm working. Have been spending half of my life apart from the family (i.e boarding school, uni, work), of course it would be like a chest of treasure for me to be able to live with my family. I think most of us would agree on that :) I think that is all for this post. Thanks for reading! 

Travel: Total cost to Semporna & Tawau

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! Today I will share with you guys the cost of our travel from KK to Semporna to Tawau

Flight  BKI-TWU        : RM 88/pax X 2   = RM 176

Chartered car+driver :                         = RM 100

Day trip                    : RM 150/pax X 2 = RM 300

Hotel Ocean Inn        : RM 68 X 2 days  = RM 136

Souvenir                   :                         = RM 150 

Food & beverages      :                         = RM 150

Movies                      :                         = RM 22

Flight TWU-BKI          :  RM 99/pax X 2  = RM 198

                                                TOTAL= RM 1, 232

So yeah that's kinda roughly what we have spent along the trip. You guys can cut down a lot if you decided to drive on your own to Semporna or even you could take a bus there. But these two mode of transportation consumes a lot of your time. I think from KK to Tawu by bus is almost 8-10 hours kot? So yeah, we opt to fly there since it is more convenient. You can always take a flight from KL straight to Tawau, no problem and then Take Tawau-KK if you want to sight seeing in KK too, then go back to KL from KK. It all does depend on you though :)

For the itinerary, I think I have explained basically in my previous post. If you didn't read them yet, go check them out here, here and here. Go now, you lazy bums! :P So I think that is all for this post then. Hoping that you guys would visit Semporna too someday and be fascinated by it. Until then, thanks for reading :)

Travel: Semporna to Tawau

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! So did you enjoy my previous post? Please tell me you do *insert crying face* hehehe. So the next day we checked out early in the morning because we want to go to Tawau. The designated driver *ahem* come and pick us again. He dropped us at 'checkpoint' where my friend had already waited there. There are this thing about 'checkpoint' here in Sabah. There were actually many road intersection called by that name. According to my friend, it was due to the Police men that used to do a roadblock at that place to catch the immigrants. Now there was no more roadblock left but still the name 'checkpoint' remained to this day and understood by the locals.

Anyhow, my friend picked us up and drove along the way to Tawau. Compared to Semporna, Tawau is rather a much more bigger district with developing town. We stopped by in Kg. Titingan for like the best soto I have ever tasted in Sabah! It was spicy of course but full of flavour. Gosh, I'm drooling the moment I'm typing this! hehe.. Then she tried to contact her friend's mother that worked in a Cocoa Factory to know whether they open for public or not. Unfortunately, they only open for big groups since it will be a guided tour and needed a prior notification and arrangement :( But, if you guys are interested, you can check them out here.

The best bakso in town (left) and ABC milo (right)

Rojak ayam  and cendol

Then we decided to go to Pasar Gantung. It was similar like the Philippine's Market in KK so we just browsed along the market. The next place was a shop that sells a lot of pearl based jewelry. But again, we didn't buy anything and just browsing. I don't remember the shop's name, sorry! hehe. The next destination was Pasar Tanjung in the middle of the town. There were many things sold here from snacks like amplang until the salted dried fish. We bought a lot of amplang here because it was very cheap compared to KK. Amplang is actually fish crackers but it melts in your mouth and have a very distinctive taste. It is safe to say that amplang is unique only to Sabah.

Various locally produced food in Pasar Tanjung

Tawau Mosque

Since it was already around late afternoon, and my friend has lost idea on where else should she take us. Hehehe so we decided to visit one of the malls there. She meet with her family there, and me and hubs decided to watch a movie during that time. After that we went to her sister's house to have some rest before the flight. She sent us to the airport and we were very thankful to her for the hospitality that day :') At about 830 pm we safely landed in KK.

This is our kind of  'romantic' :P

It was such a great holiday. The moment we arrived at home, I felt a sense of missing to the nice view in Semporna. Definitely I made a promise to myself that I will come back again, for sure :) Hope you guys enjoy the entry on our trip to Semporna. I will update to you on the cost and itinerary later, okay? Till then, thanx for reading! :)

Home deco: Sheer DIY

Assalamualaikum.. 

Hi guys! How's your weekend? Did you guys go to someplace interesting? Well, I had a very leisure weekend. I went for a swim on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I really had a great time in the pool because I have been longing to swim like I used to back in uni days.  It is very therapeutic for me..hehe. Anyhow..back to the topic, I decided to make a sheer curtain for some privacy during the day. It was just a simple DIY project and I am sure everyone can do it too. These are some of the inspirations I get from Pinterest

Sheer fabric with doilies. Source here

Source here

First of all, before buying the fabrics, you definitely need to measure the height and width of your window. I did my measurement with just the sewing tape only. No need fancy measurement device guys :P So for the width, you need to add about 3/4 of the original width of the window frame.

For example, if your window is 100 inch, the total width of fabric you will need is about 175 inch. Be warned that this measurement is only for curtains that you just hang on the rope loosely. According to the salesperson, if you want to use the hook type, you will need approximately 9 meters width of fabric to get the best flowy curtain. For the height, I added about 10 inch from the total measurement for seems allowance.

So at the store, you can find a few types of fabrics to choose from. These includes nets material fabric with varied qualities. There were also the lace types which are a little expensive for me and then there were the organza types. I chose the last one because it suits to my liking and also my wallet approves it. Haha. So I bought 3 1/2 meters of the fabric in total.

Okay, done with fabrics..now lets get to the real stuff. Just simply cut your fabrics in half (lengthwise) since I only want to make two pieces of it. Oh yes, since this is like the intensive-labor kinda DIY (meaning-I sew it on my own without the aid of a sewing machine), I just use my trustworthy candle to work out the side fringes of the fabric like the good old days. Haha. So done with that. Then, I sew along the bottom of the fabric to make it appear neater. The kind that I bought have sewn metal cord on the bottom so that the curtain will stay down. So that's really a bonus right there. After that, I sew the top part of the curtain and made like a loop about 5 inch height. This is for future usage if I wanted to use the curtain with hooks. If not, only 2-3 inches will do. After sometime, you won't even realize that you have already finished sewing it! Yeay!! 

The chosen fabric, the trusted candle & the heroic rope :P 

Now the last and the most important part which is to hang them up, of course! Hehehe. If you have that handsome husband around, please make full use of him :P If you don't, like my case *weeps* just hang it accordingly. I use a cheap plastic rope (tali rafia) to hang them. And then, take a few steps back and admire your hard labor with a big proud smile \^_^/ hehehe

Does it complement the yellow curtain or not? I think it is :)

Cost wise, I am not sure whether it is cheaper to buy a ready made curtain or to make it from scratch. All I know is, it is more satisfactory if you make it on your own :) Time wise, it took me about 8 hours or so of devoted sewing time to finish it. Really, it is that simple I feel shy to call it a DIY project..hahaha. I hope you guys could try it too someday. I think that's all for now :) Thank you for reading!

p.s: I have great ideas in my mind on what to put on the empty space in front of the window. Can't wait to start it! hehe :D

Travel: Semporna Day 2

Assalamualaikum..

Hi guys! So are you thrilled to read the next part or not? Haha I bet you are *clap clap* :P hehehe..So the next morning we woke up early because the boat leaves at 8.30 am and we have to gather at the agent first to register our names. Oh I forgot to tell you that the fees also inclusive with the fee to enter Taman-taman Sabah. They do a head count first, pack all the foods and also the scuba gear for those who does scuba diving. Truthfully, I would like to learn scuba diving. It was like in the list of 'Things that I would like to try, but first, be rich' kinda thing. Haha. But seriously, if you have all the excess money, please try for scuba diving :) Anyhoots, we depart first to the Taman-taman Sabah office to pay for the fees and then straight to Mataking Island about 1 hour boat ride from Semporna Jetty. It was far alright! According to the guide, the next island after it is already the Phillipines! The journey was not that sea sickening, but definitely a bumpy ride! Haha (do you also read that in the voice of that thing on the bus that Harry Potter took to the Leaky Cauldron, or is it just me? haha)

The main jetty in Semporna

On the way to Taman-taman Sabah

They gave us the wrong ticket. It was supposed to be RM 2 only for Malaysian

On the way to Mataking Island

Is that Bohey Dulang Island? I think it is

Look at all those tanks!! 

Finally we are here!

Getting excited!!

Upon arrival, you could see that there were many soldiers guarding the island due to its location near the international border. But don't be afraid, InsyaAllah everything is safe there :) We were left on the small island first and the boat went for a deeper part of the island for the scuba people to do their activities. Oh sorry, I forgot to mention that Mataking Island consists of two islands which were separated by a sand barrier and can be passed through during low tide. According to the guide, the small island is now a private property and cannot be passed through randomly. There is a resort on the big Mataking Island for those of you who would love to stay there. 

Mataking Islands; the small and the big island. Source: Here

Le hubs with Mataking Besar as background

C'est moi with Mataking Kecil as background

Us :)

After 30 mins or so, the boat came back to take us to the bigger island. We snorkel some more and got a little tired because the sun was like literally scorching our heads! Tips 5: Do not forget your sunblocks guys. It was really hot there! Soon after, they took us to the Timba-timba Island for lunch. I forgot to take a picture of the food, but definitely it was really good, considering the grumbling stomach we all had. Hahaha. There were spicy chicken, omelette, stir fry veges, rice and also fruits. We had a good rest there. Some decided to fish using papaya as a bait while some decided to do a backflip on the jetty. Haha amusing of course!

Beautiful Timba-timba Island :)

On the way back. Tired, but still happy :)

Then we headed to the other side of the island to do a last session of snorkeling. There were many fishes! Sadly we didn't have an underwater camera so we couldn't show you the amazing view in the sea. T_T I might consider saving up to buy that kind of camera..hmm...Anyhow, around 4 pm we went back to Semporna and reached there by 5 pm. We were very tired of course, but couldn't missed out on buying some souvenir for the family. There were many souvenir shops in Dragon Inn and grabbed everything that we want there (we've paid for it, of course :P) and went to hunt for dinner. We were starved and search no further thus settled for the shop near the jetty. We had fish and stir fry veges. It was good and decent considering the price :) Then we walk slowly to our hotel. If you guys are into night activities, I think there were a few shops that open up until late at night. 

I've paid, okay? :P

Toooo hungry to smile properly..haha

So that was the end of day 2 in Semporna. The next day, it was suppose to be another day trip to some other islands (Sorry I forgot the names!), but we decided to cancel it and changed our plans to discover Tawau instead. Luckily I have a friend over there and she was free to take us around town :) So, I think I will continue about that in the next post. Until then, bye!

Thank you for reading!

Travel: Semporna Day 1

Assalamualaikum...

Hi guys! It has been what..? A year? Haha that was freaking loooong. I know :P hehe I had just been caught up with works, family, friends aaaand a lot of cafe hunting. But no worries, I have never forgotten you guys. No fret ;) hehe. So back to the topic, I decided to share my travel experience with you guys since I missed this place a lot!! Semporna is like the lost heaven in Sabah, even Malaysia I think! So please bear with all the awesome eye torturing picturesss because I kid you not, it is like literally having sex with your eyes, feasting all the good view and the sea flavoured air. Haha that was too much information. Sorry! Hehe

So it was kind of a short get away with le hubs. We decided to go to Semporna, because well we just had a thing with sea and its kind. Hehe. So since I'm already in Sabah, only le hubs are flying from KL-KK and we went to Tawau the earliest flight the next day. Tawau is the adjacent district beside Semporna and the nearest airport to Semporna. You can opt to either land in Sandakan or Tawau, but Sandakan is waaaay farther to Semporna compared to Tawau. It's a little too much geography, I know.. haha. But just in case guys. Who knows when u accidentally bought a ticket to Sandakan and didn't know where to go kan? haha

The flight was early morning guys, excuse our panda eyes :P

We took MasWings flight to Tawau from KK and you can also choose to fly with Air Asia, no worries. The flight time is roughly 45 mins? I think? or lesser than that. Tips 1: You get to view the majestic Mount Kinabalu if your seat is on the left side of the plane. This was my first time flying to the east coast of Sabah so I am a little jakun. Haha. Anyway, a few naps after that, we safely landed in Tawau. From KK we have already arranged a designated driver (that sounds too fancy it seems wrong) haha. We booked like a chartered car la that comes along with the driver for about RM 100 from the airport to Semporna town. We have been conned actually but I will tell you about it later. You can get cheaper rate, if you bargain enough. Just don't take a taxi there because it will obviously gonna make a very big hole on your wallet. Don't say I didn't remind you :P The journey from Tawau Airport to Semporna town took us about 2 hours and 30 mins. Tips 2: Just sleep all you want because there is nothing much to see along the way. There were acres of oil palm plantation along the journey since Tawau is known for that. People down here are rich because of it, so don't underestimate them..hehe

Cheesy, I know :P

Tawau Airport

The designated driver *ahem* took us straight to the company that we book our trips with. I had made a booking earlier to stay in Mabul Island for 2 nights with an agent thorugh a Facebook page and thought that everything had settled and, boy was I wrong! Tips 3: Boat trips to the islands in Semporna leaves early in the morning (around 8-9am). We arrived in Semporna around noon-ish so obviously we didn't make it for the early boat! If we really want to go to Mabul that day, we have to pay charges for the boat which will cost us around RM100. So we discussed and decided to just stay in Semporna town and went for a day trip instead to Mataking Island and Timba-timba Island. The owner was really dissapointed with the agent because she didn't really tell us the truth about it. Luckily I just paid a little amount to her (about RM50) as a deposit, but hey money is still money, kan? huhu. But anyhow, the day trip cost us RM150/pax inclusive of return boat trip, halal lunch, snorkeling gear and insurance. 

Sipadan Mabul Lodge & Tours

Then we search for a place to stay, together with the owner for the island trip, and oh yes, Sabah people are kind like that :) Finally, decided to stay in Ocean Inn and it cost us RM 68/night. The room was spacious, bathroom was clean with hot shower and hair dryer, there were instant coffee and tea, and also water heater. We just rest in our room for the day and decided to explore the town during the evening. 

Semporna town is just a small town with enough facility to accommodate the town's people needs. There is one Giant hypermarket and also one Guardian Pharmacy to buy your necessary medications. We went to Giant to buy some bread for the fish tomorrow. Tips 4: Place small bits of bread inside a mineral bottle container so that you can feed the fish easily a.k.a many fishes will some to you..hehe. We had our late lunch+dinner just behind our hotel where you can choose from the many stalls there. We had our dinner in a steamboat buffet restaurant cost about RM35/person (if I'm not mistaken. Sorry, lupa!) If you preferred fine dining and wanting some exclusive feel to it, I would suggest to dine in the restaurant inside the famous Dragon Inn. Price wise: $$$. 

Semporna Mosque

Kids playing beside the mosque

The famous Dragon Inn. This is taken from our hotel. Underneath on the left is the many eating place you can choose from

For the trip tomorrow, I will continue in another post because I think this post seems like an essay already :P hehe. The total cost and itinerary will be posted in another post, so stay tuned guys..good things comes with patience :P :P :P Until then, bye!

Thank you for reading!