Last moments of 2008....~

When I look back into a whole year that has just passed, it seems like time it was just yesterday that I celebrated the dawn of 2008 with my friends from Sunway college. Time seems to pass by so fast I couldn't even have time to sit and think about what I have been through, to evaluate and reflect myself about the times that has passed. It seems like you really have to live the moment, each and every second of life must be lived to the fullest.

2008 will be a year where I have learned a lot of things, discover new things, make mistakes and learning from them. I can't summarize this whole year in just a few sentences, so I would like to share bits and pieces of my 2008 with all of you.... Pictures do say a thousand words...

























Time that has passed can never be turn back. Goodbye 2008, welcome 2009... 2008 will definitely be missed, 2009 will never promise happiness, nor has it said to be a year of sadness. It will bring much mysteries and wonders that awaits to be discovered....

What I love so much about Istanbul...

I've travel to many places in this world since I was a little girl. Though not really around the whole wide world, I may say I've travel to many parts which are famous and known across the globe. Some friends say that I am lucky, getting the opportunity to travel and see the world at a very young age. Well I guess I should count my blessings. Though I do not say that I was able to appreciate everywhere I went to, as I was still so young and did not really understood anything. Who can remember things or people or places they went to when they were 3?

I do consider myself lucky, having the chance to see the world. Indeed it is different to be able to witness with your very own eyes the architecture and culture that is present in different countries in different continents. I know not many are as fortunate to explore the world out there.

My recent visit to Istanbul was the most wonderful trip of all. Yes, I have been to Disneyland in three different countries, ride on boats, camels and horses. I've even been on a sleigh and played snow ball fights. But I miss being in Istanbul more than I miss going to the other places I have been to.

Could it be the weather? Or the scenery? Or the food there?

Nope, it was nothing like that.

It was the company that I had by my tour group of 24 which made me miss Istanbul so so so much. With them, even the dullest places seems so lively and chaotic.

I miss every moment spent in this funny, energetic and wonderful group. When we entered a restaurant, it would be immediately a full house!! We shared stories, jokes, songs... I wish that I could go on every trip with them, sure it would be awesome!!! But they say, sweet things are better left short to be appreciated. At the end to the trip, I appreciate the feeling of belonging, caring and love we had for each other. It had indeed been a wonderful and spectacular trip, but without these people, it might just be another visit to another country.

Our 1st group photo

Princess Island... The sun was shining SO bright after the drizzling rain...

Kak Shila teaching us how to jump-pose

After visiting the Blue Mosque... Everyone pose!!!!

Background - Blue Mosque.
I guess everyone's an environment lover after all

Kids and babies in Istanbul

Our trip in Istanbul would be less noisy, less chaotic, and definitely less fun without these wonderful kids and babies (or may I say toddler)..

I miss every single moment of being there in Istanbul..

Luqman & Haziq... such wonderful traveling companions.. Haziq, remember summer.. LOL =P

Luqman... remember your promise?

Adik.. under category kids kah? Well, I guess you are, since Haziq is.. hahah

Little Nana.. She's so cute and adorable..

Sumayyah... no, no, no, no, no.... hehe

I miss these kids... *sigh*

Eyes, a path to the soul...~

Someone once told me that you cannot lie when you look into someone's eyes. Maybe that concept still could be applied in the past, now we see more cold-hearted liars looking right into their victim's eye and trying to convince them about the so-called truth which was never even real.

I remember when I was in Istanbul, Haziq kept on taking photos of eyes. Aida said he had a 'thing' for eyes, so mind him. I would rather say his pictures were amazing and I've never seen my eyes in that point of view yet.


Could you really tell something just by blinking your eyes? Or could you give a cold shoulder, a harsh look or an annoyed expression just by looking at someone? I guess you could. Some people seem to understand others just by looking into their eyes.


Eyes cannot lie.

I think it is true. Even how good you are, even how hard you try to lie, you just can't do it when you look into someone's eyes, what more the eyes of the person you love the most. Eyes are definitely the path to someone's soul, the key to the heart, the route to break all the secrets that lies deep within.

My eyes are still young eyes, much haven't been seen, a lot haven't been explored.

I would just like to be grateful to have a pair of eyes to appreciate the beauty of this world...~

a pair of rings and a cake... a simple love story..

What comes into your mind when these words are written somewhere or said? A prince and a princess, finally found a way into each others arms after fighting some dark magical forces, a beast or a dragon or a wizard who wants to conquer the land. Or perhaps a happily ever after to a perfect fairytale romance, filled with never ending joy and happiness and love to last for a lifetime.

Well, life is not like that. Sometimes the best things happen when we least expect them to.

I would like to congratulate my cousin, Mohd. Fikry Hidayat and his new wedded wife Rosha. The akad ceremony was held in Kedah, at Kak Rosha's house on the 12th of December. Too bad for me I was still in Dubai and was not able to attend the ceremony.

On the 20th of December we had the reception for Abg. Pit at mama's house. It was a successful ceremony, everything went according to plan and everyone was exhausted by the end of the day.

I'm sorry, no wedding pictures. Everything is in Abg. Nain's camera and it requires some weird software to be able to read. Will upload them asap.. huhu

love... lies... life....

If it's not enough to hurt someone with actions when actions can be louder than words, try hurting using your words when it can rip someone's soul, a place where a knife nor a bullet can damage.
Sometimes, things are better left unsaid than to be revealed, are better kept a secret than to be shared, are better to be forgotten than to dwell upon.
It's hard to deny a feeling that is so strong inside you, when your heart is screaming to be heard. To be listened to, and embraced.

Uncertainties, yet too depressing to admit. Trying hard to guess what tomorrow will bring, even if it would be just like trying to count the stars in the sky.
You hate when someone lies to you, you hate when you are hurt. But why is it right when it all comes to you?

I whisper to the moon,
Return me my lover, my soul, my heaven,
Without him, my days turn to nights,
Without him, my tears will never dry
Sun, don't rise
Let the days be embraced with darkness
Let it weep, and sob and wail
Let it feel my pain
Let it be lonely
Just like me



Don't say what you never mean to say, don't feel guilty for leaving. Cause sometimes by leaving you are actually doing a favor for all of us.
Why can't life be as simple as reading a book, if you are so excited or eager to find out the ending, you can just jump to the end and find out.
Rules have been stated, words have been said.
Can't the day pass without one day of the loneliness succumb deep inside? Can't the sun warm the coldness that envelops the heart and freezes the soul.

Given a chance, I would not want to wake up tomorrow.
If it hurts too much, just go.
Just go, and don't ever look back.
Don't look back to see the tears that fall because of you...

If one day you find out that you missed me, and you realized that your feelings for me are true.
Yet you look for me and never find me at the place where I used to be.
I'm sorry for leaving, I just wanted you to move on.
Living on a life you could never have if you stayed with me.
Forever will come to an end, eternity will never come true.
Don't dwell on your loss, don't fight for the truth.
If I'm not there, it's just not meant to be.

For now, just leave...
I knew you never wanted to stay...





ps: Gosh, this is the result of being in such a boring class *yawn*

Love Story

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony of summer air

See the lights,
See the party, the ball gowns
I see you make your way through the crowd
You say hello
Little did I know

That you were Romeo you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don't go, and I said:

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet cause we're dead if they know
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while

Cause you were Romeo I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
But you were everything to me
And I was begging you please don't go and I said:

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real,
Don't be afraid
We'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story baby just say yes, oh,

I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town I said:

Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head, I don't know what to think
He knealt to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said:

Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad you'll pick out a white dress
It's a love story baby just say yes

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh, oh

Cause we were both young when I first saw you

A trip to remember...~

I was really excited with the fact that we were going to Istanbul as I have never been there before and I have always heard that it is a beautiful place to be. Our tour group of 24 people were really fun as it was almost immediately we clicked together. Everyone was SO eager and excited for the tour, and the 5000+ photos of our 4 day tour proves everything. My family and I came a day later from the others as we (kakak and I) just arrived Dubai the day they left and my parents just wanted to stay on the safe side just in case our flight from Malaysia is delayed.

We arrived at Ataturk International Airport at 6.30 am, 8.30 am Dubai time and 12.30 Malaysia time. LOL =P ... It was freezing as we had to go down the staircase to the terminal. Conveniently we were picked up by some people and brought to the Pianoforte Hotel which was just a few miles away from the airport. Upon arrival, we immediately went to the 'roof cafe' for our breakfast and we were informed that we had to immediately get ready as the tour started at 9.30am!!

1st Day - City Tour

Our first destination was the Blue Mosque. The architecture was simply awesome. There were also.. erm... tiang2 which I can't really recall their names presenting different symbols for each. It is really interesting as the museums here are outdoors as they have many artifacts built signifying a period of time. It was beautiful!!!

These are some pictures taken on the 1st day...

Family

our 1st group photo

girls in the family

me and my haziq.. LOL =P
i
Charmed..~


2nd Day - Bosphorus Bridge Tour, Asian Istanbul & Leather Factory

The second day was more windy than the 1st. We went on a cruise and passed by the Bosphorus Bridge. The scenery was amazing and fascinating!!!

Everyone was excited to be on the boat and we end up posing the whole trip. We also had fun waving to the passengers on the other boats that we met along the way.

After the cruise, we went to the Asian part of Istanbul. We were explained earlier that Istanbul is divided into 3 parts, 2 European part and one Asian part. The Asian part of Istanbul seemed to be more traditional than the Asian part. We went to the highest point of the Asian Istanbul and had our lunch there. The view from on top of the hill was splendid!!

Then we went to a leather factory. It was... well.... interesting and weird. But we had fun in the store trying out the fur coats!!!

fantastic view from the boat


*squish*squish*

sunshine...


highest point in Istanbul..


double Nana

Turkish tea anyone??~



2nd day (night) - Taksim Square

We went to Taksim square, I assume as the Petaling Street of Istanbul. Well, we didn't really shop, but were mesmerized by the lights and sounds and all the people that were walking along with us in the city. I may say that it is true, though there were a lot of people walking at the sidewalks, only 10% of those people actually enter the shops, and of course, we were not included in the 10%. The goods in Istanbul were somehow rather expensive and with the high exchange rate, it did not benefit us mush to shop.

We had dinner at a Turkish restaurant *I think* and had fish!!! It was so fresh, and the ambiance was wonderful! Later we tried on masks at the stall nearby, and had fun laughing at each other...

This is a video of the entertainers who entertained us during dinner.. My, they do have beautiful voices!~

3rd day - Princess Island

It was like super cold when we left the hotel. We were forewarned that the whether will be colder today so everyone was wearing layers of clothes to keep ourselves warm. It was drizzling when we went on the boat and Aida was like 'are we really going anywhere?? It's like open see on the other end!!' We were informed that the journey will take more than one hour, so no wonder we could not see the island yet.

We went on a tour around the island in a horse carriage. It was just awesome. The island was breathtakingly beautiful and quiet. Uncle Ariffin told us that the island was meant for tourist, especially the high-class ones as they provide bungalows for rental with a swimming pool!!!

We had a nice free lunch *fish again* at the nearby restaurant and spent the rest of the day hanging around the island. There was not much to see, but as we were a in a large group, doing nothing is already fun as long as we had each other.

The journey back was awesome as we witnessed the sunset and the moon together on the boat. It was mesmerizing!!!! I love how the ocean wind blew into my hair. We also had fun singing *thank goodness the fish didn't die because of it*. Abang Mat Ju sang very well too. We returned to the hotel exhausted but content and very happy =)

my luqman..~ "what would you like dear?"

wif uncle Ariffin (Pak Cik Blogger)

horses~!


4th day (final) - Self-touring + sight-seeing

On the last day we were on our own. We had to checkout from the hotel at 12 noon, so we quickly packed our bags and hurriedly checked out. By 10.15, everyone was ready for own own adventure of Istanbul City.

It was rather frustrating when we found out that the grand bazaar was closed due to the eid celebration, but anyways we did found some interesting sightseeing places. There was not much places that we went to, and I took that advantage to go on the tramp that travels along the streets of Taksim Square.

We didn't want to go on top, so we stayed down low...

Music stores everywhere...~

Later that day while waiting our ride to the airport we spent time at the lobby chatting and doing nothing. Indeed it was exhausting as all the four days were packed with various of activities, and I definitely think that I would be extremely tired by the time I have to start my classes. But I had so much fun. I really wish one day I would be able to come back to this place I have been to.