Guangzhou & Hongkong Trip Part II

It's sad to see vacation go, it's back to school tomorrow! 

Yeah new semester's starting tomorrow and I'm least prepared for school this time round. Still in a holiday mood, distancing myself from books and stuffs related to them hahaha. But I guess it's gonna be a pretty good start to the new semester tomorrow 'cos lesson is only for 2 hours! And the next day is a holiday (hari raya haji) hip hip hoooray! Shall start off the week with a positive mind :)

Alright, like what the title states, this post shall continue ranting on my 2 weeks trip to Guangzhou and Hongkong! Well actually there are just too many things to tell... and obviously this post is not adequate, but I'll just highlight the prominent ones la okay. And top it off with a set of vlogs which I've done editing with! *pats self*

My thoughts on Guangzhou:

I've always imagined Guangzhou to be one of those upper-end states, which more or less looks like Singapore, with skyscrapers and stuff, but guess I was wrong. The most shocking part is that, it was so effin' hard to converse with them 'cos most of them only know their national language. Everything was in Mandarin and to be frank, I felt lost for a moment. It's like you're clueless at everything 'cos you can't read the signs... nor can you understand what they speak. Yup that feeling.
When we were brought to the hostel of Panyu Polytechnic (the place we stayed for 11 days), I was greeted with a..... COCKROACH. And I swear I was feeling uneasy all the way through... till Raddiah swept it down to the ground floor using a broom (oh we stayed at the 5th floor).
Good thing is that, the goods there are cheap. And I went crazy at their apparels asdfghjkl! Well yup you can find them in Singapore too but you can't get them this cheap! We didn't shop that much la, only went to 3 shopping areas... and the rest were spared for Hong Kong. Another interesting stuff I got there is 'Hui Lau Shan'. It's so popular there we actually spotted quite a few stalls selling it. Oh ya, it's actually a drink stall (something like Sweet Talk here) selling fruit juice. But the unique thing is, they'll put different layers of fruits with some sago or jelly and top it off with fruit toppings. IT IS HEAVENLY REFRESHING I TELL YOU. I hope they'll expand (lol) and come to Singapore soon, like REALLY.
Other than that, we visited a number of museums and those ancient places. Visited a mosque there too at their Muslim Street, and the architecture is similar to Chinese temples too. Went to 2 factories (piano factory/beer factory) and thats when I see their workers manufacturing the stuff from scratch, in milestones, with the complicated machines... which is really tedious but skillful.
Oh and we covered two modules there! One is on conserving the environment and another one is on culture. We got the chance to actually craft our own bags/wallets/etc using leather from scratch. From sketching out our design, cutting out the leathers, colouring and varnishing, hammering holes on it for sewing before finally hand-sewing the leather. IT WAS OVERALL AN EXPERIENCE LAH BUT AGAIN, A TEDIOUS PROCESS. I'll appreciate leather stuff more now.

Well, it was an enjoyable trip to Guangzhou, all because of the great company, coursemates, schoolmates and lecturers! But of course, everyone was eager to leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong lol! And let's see what amazed me there.

My thoughts on Hong Kong: 

Hong Kong on the other hand, was expected to be totally different from China lah. Ok in case if you're unaware, HK isn't part of China anymore. Even the currency is different. Even though the distance is quite near, the atmosphere between both countries is DIFFERENT. Period.

Once we reached HK, everyone was like "OMG THIS IS TOTALLY SINGAPORE-ISH. EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE SG." True enough, the buildings there are similar to SG's. When the tour guide brought us to one of their attractions i.e the 'avenue of stars', I swear it looks like our Raffles Place area. For once, I thought I was back in my country and I'm not even exaggerating.
Obviously, HK is much more adaptable. We managed to tour around a few attractions in less than a day 'cos HK's size is like SG. Therefore, traveling from one place to another is not time-consuming at all! We also went to victoria peak and Hong Kong University on the first day before checking in our hotel (mongkok metropark) at night. The hotel's place is strategic, me likeyyy! 'Cos its located by the streets (which is lighted up super brightly you can't even tell it's already midnight) and its just a walking distance to the malls & the famous ladies' street market which sells cheap goods. Well, besides H&M, ladies' street was the place we shopped at for all the 3 days of our stay in HK.
Second day was free and easy and we couldn't decide between Disneyland and Ocean Park. In the end, to avoid the huge crowd, we chose the Ocean Park and IT'S BY FAR THE BEST THEME PARK I'VE BEEN TO. No, not talking about the rides but the PLACE ITSELF. The whole design and concept are just unique and interesting. Firstly, it's very huge. Secondly, the park is kinda divided into 2 sections. One is on the land where they have those kids' rides, shops, eateries and show theatres. Another one is located at the mountain which is accessible via cable car or monorail. There, they have those thrilling rides such as roller coasters, 360 viking and others. AHHHMAYYYZIINGGG ISN'T IT? And it's about SGD50 ($HK320) only. (Y)

Our last day there was nothing much. We decided to wake up later than usual. We've been waking up at 7am for the past 13 days so..... guess what? We actually woke up around 10am before packing up our luggage and finally...checked out. Headed to a mediterranean restaurant for brunch (the best food ever mannnn) before roaming around the streets for the last time. At 4pm, bus-ed to HK airport and again, their airport is similar to our's! HAHAHA.

My PERSONAL vlogs on the 2 weeks trip:

I repeat, these are my PERSONAL vlogs which were created just for memories sake. Sorry for the bad quality/shakiness etc. And eheheheh my voice/face fills most parts of the video... so just bear with it lor! :P








The trip was a memorable one, filled with experiences and lessons to be learnt. I realised that being a Singaporean kid is one of the pleasures I'm granted with and I wish to travel around the world and gain more knowledge about other countries' lifestyles. :')

GuangZhou & HongKong Trip Part I

Hi there, its been 2 weeks or so and i'm finally back on track! Safely touched down from Hong Kong last Monday night and here i am, surviving the busy atmosphere...yet again.
Even though the whole trip was filled with ups and downs, I can't deny that I'm starting to miss all those moments, now that they're gone lol. But seriously, 2 weeks passed in a blink of an eye...just like that, POOF! It feels like I just walked down the sloppy walkway towards the project center of Panyu Polytechnic yesterday, with the scorching sun and all. But only memories are left now. ):
To be frank,  I don't quite enjoy the settings there... but the company made me feel at home. Everyone there was friendly and great to be/talk/mingle with. Apart from the food and unexpected weather, all is satisfying to me. But again, to be honest, I don't think I can survive if I were to be dumped in China...unless I can speak Mandarin well lol.

Currently, I'm busy sorting out and editing the videos/vlogs I managed to record while I was there. Glad to have captured quite a lot of scenes, at least when I'm bored I can watch them over and over again. I think its quite a good practice to film your holiday/trip's journey so that you can reminisce them back when you get older. :)

Well, Atiqah has actually compiled her photos/videos and posted them on youtube! Videos like this never gets old. Happy watching! I'll post my version once its done ^^, Till the part II of my post!

Dedicated to my loves.

I am being brought up in a family who doesn't really celebrate special occasions such as mother's day, father's day or birthday. Well, maybe just birthdays. But we will just simply remember each other's birth dates and have a special meal as a family... or get some gifts. To me, as cliché as it sounds, EVERY day is a mother's and father's day. We appreciate them now and then, not once a year. For that, I would like to dedicate this blog post to the most important people of my life; MY BELOVED PARENTS. ♥

I seldom say this to you both but I just want you to know that I truly, deeply love you, Ibu and Ayah ♥


I know I've not been a good daughter all these while. I always make silly noises at home, drag you both to malls to get my stuff even at night, use up your money to fulfill my cravings for clothes, and many more...
but ended up not fulfilling what Ibu and Ayah wanted (like getting a darn good aggregate and GPA).
Still, you both tolerate my nonsense and the cycle repeats. Hahahaha.

I secretly adore you both (of course I adore my parents) especially by the way you treat your parents. Ibu was the one who took care of late nenek all the while until she passed away last year. And Ayah has been the concern one towards tokmak's well-being and he will never fail to keep track of her medicinal supply. I really hope that I will grow up to be a fine adult, following your footsteps in taking a very good care of your parents. I wish to take care of you just like how you did/do to your parents and children and I really hope that I'll be able to give Ibu and Ayah the comfort and everything. Insya Allah Aameen Yaa Rabbal 'Aalameen. :')

I pray to Allah to grant my parents/family an abundance of health and blessings. I pray to Him that I'll be able to repay my parents' kindness towards us. I pray to Allah that they will be able to feel my pay when I have a job in the future. I wish to give them the comfort, the happiness, the serenity and love. I can't wait to get a job and grow wiser and start repaying them. I wanna see both my parents chill at home, not needing to go to work everyday, just to feed us. I wanna feel the reverse. Wouldn't it be great if they can just relax at home and spend their time leisurely while I earn the money? And going to the mosque together for religious classes without the need to think about work? And driving to Johor anytime they want to fulfill their seafood cravings?
Ahhh I'm waiting for that time to come. Insya Allah!

Honestly, I feel kinda 'useless' now as I'm not earning. Studying needs money, traveling needs money, everything also need money!!! And I no have money!!! I hate to say that I'm fully dependent on my parents for it. I really should get a part-time job soon. Really.

Together with my hopes, I wanna include a sorry note to my parents.
I'm sorry and I apologize for the countless shortcomings from me. I'm sorry for not being a filial daughter. I'm sorry for not being who you wished I am. I will try to change myself for the better Insya Allah.

I swear Ibu and Ayah are the best parents I could ever asked for. No words can describe how blessed am I to have you both as my guardians. May Allah shower ibu and ayah with His unlimited blessings, aameen.
I want Ibu and Ayah to know that even though I may not always show it, I actually cared and will always care for you both. I love you, My Pretty Ibu and My Handsome Ayah, Mmmuah! ♥ ♥ ♥

P/S: I'll be on a 2-weeks hiatus from 17th Sept to 30th Sept. Will be leaving for Guangzhou, China and later on to Hong Kong for my school's study + holiday trip. Do make du'a for me and team for a safe journey to and fro ya? Insya Allah kheir, aameen. Oh, and I may not be contactable via Facebook and Twitter. WhatsApp perhaps? :D

Till then, with peace.

Syawal, in a nutshell

UPDATE || SYAWAL'S WHATABOUTS

Syawal 1434 hijriah has been a good but dashing one. To sum it up, this year's hari raya was pleasantly satisfying. Except for the fact that my late grandmother is not around to celebrate 'Eid with us. My prayer goes to you nenek. I miss you. *hearts all over*

The family went pink, turquoise, purple and black this year. I just love the idea of having this color-code thing. I can sorta feel the unity lol. Anyways, we only bought a couple of new outfits this year while the rest are recycled ones. I don't feel the need of buying half a dozen of hari raya outfits to be honest 'cos the most important day for us Muslims to don up is during 1st Syawal only. We are encouraged to dress nicely to celebrate the victory BUT don't over-celebrate alright. Note to self before others. :)

This year's hari raya was also packed with school stuff i.e EXAMS and my overseas trip's briefings to China. Yup, I'm going to Guangzhou & Hong Kong in 2 weeks time and I can't explain how I feel. The dream of having a getaway.... and now its happening. But kinda nervous at the same time 'cos I'll be away from beloved family for 2 weeks! Can you imagine that? Haha but all is well, Insya Allah. Oh, and did I mentioned exams earlier? Hip hip hoorayyy exams are over. *Big smile with double chin exposed* :DD

Currently, I'm working with an Islamic organisation called MIRROR, in writing articles for their e-magazine. I've just read their mag and well, I gotta say that it's super cool & it is definitely a great initiative by them to set up such organisation in spreading our religion and giving heads up to the youths out there. *Two thumbs up!*
>>> You can read MIRROR online magazine here: http://www.mirror-mag.com/

Other than that, I intend to practice and brush up my calligraphy skill. Went to the art friend the other day with a friend and as usual without fail, brought back their unique coloured markers. I'm a fan of markers! Especially when they have pretty colours with unusual tips! Yeah, just my thing.

SIDE TRACK || FRIENDS AND TRUST

Oh by the way, I was thinking about friendship these days. And it kinda saddens me, knowing the fact or possibility that your 'real' or 'close' friends might be a stranger in the future. Pretty scary ain't it? I mean like, c'mon, we can't see the future (duh) and these things might just happen to anyone of us. And it sure gonna be painful right? I hope that my friendships with all my friends will sustain lah of course but we have to prepare for the worst. This issue kept me thinking and made me realised that only ONE will last. And He is Allah SWT, our Creator. We might lost our friends and family but Allah is always with us.

For that, I hold on to this saying:
TRUST NOBODY EXCEPT ALLAH AND YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THOSE 'REAL' FRIENDS WILL DISAPPEAR. 
(Well, I'm not too sure if you can find the link between the quote and what I was trying to say but yeah, don't be TOO connected to your friends (i repeat, friends) for it's gonna be painful if something undesired were to happen.)

Naudzubillahi miin dzaalik.