Lonely No More...

Check out the link below and tell me what you see...

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/win/?keyword=didi_albakri%40yahoo.com

Not that you care, but my pic is on the mosaic of Lonely Planet!! Yiiipppeeee!!! This is the pic Im talking about. Bukan la cantik mana pun tadi saje la nak citer kat smua. Hehe...

1,2,3 PUKE!!!!

Winter Sonata

Owh wow, I havent been updating the blog for quite sometime. If I were paid to maintain this blog, I would have been fired a long long time ago. I hope nobody forgotten the existence of this blog. So sit back a relax as I will take you on a journey you will never forget. I am taking you to Korea. I spent about a week traveling to the capital of Korea, Seoul (atau nama lain ialah Siol), Tongyeong known as the land of the sea and Busan.

They say Korea is a very nice place to visit. Whats so special about Korea, I often asked myself. Unless you are into guys/girls with small eyes or secretly dreamed of being in the world of Winter Sonata then this dog eating country is definitely for you. Well, if the truth must be revealed that was before and I am happy to report that I couldn't be more wrong. You see, Korea was never in my list of countries to visit. I don't remember ever wanting to experience their culture. Not until my friend was given this fantastic opportunity to build her first year of marriage in this land of Kimchi - which taste horrible by the way.

The people are rude (especially in Seoul). They push others around, elbow us when they are in a rush. Where are you rushing to?? Are you catching a plane or something. They do not see the importance of learning English which is an international language by the way and they expect us to learn their language during our short visit. Way too arrogant to communicate with us in English let alone learn the language. At least for the foreigners sake. Especially now as they launched their visit Korea or was it Seoul campaign. And worst of all, there's a double standard in treating the people over there. Had some real experience in Seoul which would be too much to share in one blog entry. So we may have to get back to that another time.


As for the food, I cant really comment much. I was never adventurous when it comes to food. But I must say that I saw a few weird looking animals at their market and tasted some which I had never before. All in all, it was good, all because my friend cooks and mostly we had sea food. One thing for sure, shrimp burger is super famous over there. McDonald's has got the best. Yummy!! I'm drooling here.


Korea itself may be rich with history, (though I myself am not too sure but that's not the subject now), but it pains me to say that they do not really represent the image that most would have towards the East - friendly, respectful,helpful, polite, courtesy. Okay, not all are like that, but in general this is how we the East people have been projecting ourselves.

Despite of all the complains I've been making, it is a wonder that there are heaps of foreigners here in Korea - Seoul particularly. Having witnessing that, I started to ask myself, is Korea really that bad or is it just me?? Whats with the resistance to their way of life?? It's not like I'll be living here my whole life. So suck it up and follow their lead. And that's what I did for one whole week. That was when I realized that Tongyeong and Busan may not be as developed as Seoul, but they are the ones with all the positive values the Eastern people are famous for. Of all the 3 cities I've visited, Busan would be the most appealing for me. It's beautiful, the people are friendly, you can shop til you drop (which I did) and that was more than enough for a week's visit. At least for me.


Unfortunately though, their currency is bigger than us and their standard of living is one of the highest in the world. So go figure. You need at least a million won (about RM3,000) for a single trip like what I did. A secretary earns at least 6 million won a month. So you can imagine how much those with a professional profession could earn in this country. Of cause, tax is also high.

Though I never learned a single word of Korean, let alone understand Hangul, it was definitely one of my memorable experiences as I had several raw encounters with the Koreans. Unlike if you are in a traveling group, you will have an easier approach of understanding this beautiful Republic. So, would I recommend Korea to anyone. You bet I would.

Eh, terlupa plak.....

Lupa plak nak letak my favourite picture.... Ni masa dalam bas, nak balik Hippo!!

Look at the expression on their faces!!! Super hilarious!! Hwahahaha....

Jangan marah eh...

Vietnam - Part 6

4 days and 3 nights. Its time to say goodbye to Vietnam.

Things that I learn (in general):

• They accept 3 different currencies (USD, RM, VND)
• Ho Chi Minh city is very messy - no strategic planning
  
• Vietnamese are not friendly
  
• They somehow enjoy picking their noses - almost like a hobby (Yes, disgusting)
• No manners on the road - they love to honk honk on the road (Yes, its annoying)
• Vietnamese are small. So far, I havent bumped into a big sized Vietnamese
• Food sucks big time
• You can commit suicide - by crossing the roads... Super crazy I tell you!!
• Some amazing collection of handbags
• Theres like almost two sides of Vietnam; the modern Vietnam and the sad Vietnam

Will I come back?? Perhaps!! Just to shop. Or maybe to see other parts of Vietnam that I heard are way beautiful that Ho Chi Minh City.

Goodbye Vietnam!!! I had a fabulous time!!!

Vietnam - Part 5

Ben Thant Market here we come!!! Sangat la besar dan banyak benda ada kat situ. Makanan, minuman, pakaian, beg, kasut, kain. The catch is, you've got to bargain. If you dun, then you akan rugi coz they will cekik you!! So before they do that to you, you cekik them by slashing the prices. Problem was, dalam ramai2 yang jenjalan sesama tu, (me, Nana, Hazrin, Ima & Kak Faridah) Nana sorang jer yang terer bargain. Smua mengharapkan Nana jer. Camner tu?? So lembab la smua orang.


Tengok tu, Cheryl Samad (Tv personality) pun shopping gak kat Ben Thant ker?? I must say, yang paling best pasal Ben Thant ni ialah handbags!!! Banyak nyer yang lawa, tak terbeli. You just dunno what to grab coz if possible you would wanna grab everything. Giler!! Siap berebut2 lagi. Ada handbag yang lawa ni colour brown, tapi tak dapat sebab da habis. Maybe I should steal from Kak Faridah. Hmmm.... Its interesting to see Nana bargaining coz she can be aggressive with those Vietnamese.

"Your boss is not friendly"
"You make me sad"
"You happy, I happy" common phrase to use when bargaining.

Pastu, kiss kiss plak. Fuiyoh... Caya la Nana... Mmuacks... I have never shopped so many handbags in my entire life. Ini baru first round. We actually skipped the Mekong River to shop at Ben Thant for the whole day. Second trip was after lunch at VN. Halal just a few feet away from Ben Thant. Before that, we went back to the hotel to leave all our stuff. Pastu gerak balik ker Ben Thant Market.


Brother in law pun sibuk membeli baju. Murah ker tu?? Ntah ler, hanya Nana yang tahu!! I did my very best to look for Ben10 t-shirt untuk Anas. Got a few, but he will look like a ripe nangka if I buy. So finally I managed to find the biggest size and am hopeful that he could fit in them. Even for a few weeks pun ok la. Terkuar smua ayor ketiak shopping kat sana. Panas betol.

Malam tu makan kat the same Malay Restaurant we went on the first day. The food sucked. We met Cheryl Samad again shooting for one tv show. Ntah aper ke namanyer. Cian Cheryl, mesti penat asyik senyum jer. Hahaha...



Yang paling maleh nak buat ialah untuk pack bag yang susah tentu akan beranak!!! Sok smua balik!!!

Vietnam - Part 4

We were walking at the Big Market (a place where you can buy things in bulk) and were looking at some stuff. But we always got the same response."No buy, no buy" Ek eleh, smua nyer no buy aper yang can buy?? Baru lima minit jenjalan, ada pompuan Vietnam giler ni main langgar2 pulak. Soon after that this guy gelek my kaki ngan macam trolley. Ish ish ish... Aper ni?? Pastu we were looking at some hats. Pretty cool actually. Had Nana to try them on.

Tengah try satu ni (the knitting kind) ada orang giler Vietnam ni langgar my kepala. Da ler dia langgar ngan benbarang yang dia angkat, tak rheti la nak kata sorry. Kepala I pun berpusing macam nak tercabot!!! Macam hampeh jer. Tampo kang!! So did not manage to get Nana's picture wearing that hat coz we were busy laughing at what just happened.


Seronoknyer Nana!!! Last2 tak jadik le beli apa2 pun. Im still waiting for Ben Thant Market. Thats the highlight of the whole shopping trip.

I think we went to the Night Market almost every day!! Malam tu pi carik selipar terompah plak. They were so bloody the cute!!


Pompuan baju puteh tengah ketok2 selipar terompah ni sangat sombong. I just dun understand why they have to be sombong. Da la tu, duduk terkangkang2. Do we want to see your chipempom?? No, thank you!!! Simpan jer ler. Yek!!!

Cian opah Ima ni. Da la kaki disable, mintak sedekah kat Ima. Using sign language Ima tried to tell her she (Ima) got no money. I wonder if she was really diabled coz when a motocycle honked at her she could move faster than a disable old lady would. Miracle wasnt it?? Hmm...

The highlight of the night was the ice cream!!! I was glad we did that!!! Yay!! I must confess, the ice cream wasnt what I was hoping. Kinda milky!! Yucks!!! Tapi da order kena ah makan. Kang rugi ah.



Owh... sebelum terlupa, kebanyakkan gegambor adalah hakmilik our Mr. Photophrapher, Mohd Hazrin Ismail... Gambar seperti di bawah!!! Phewittt....

Vietnam - Part 3

We started our second day in Vietnam to Cu Chi Tunnels. Masa mula2 tour guide tu sebut Cu Chi, I thought he was talking about Gucci. Pagi2 buta da citer pasal sejarah.

Ni dalam bas - Saadiah and Kak Faridah. The journey was like a trip to nowhere. Punyer la jauh, dekat satu jam setengah nak sampai.

Masa tour guide tu tengah explain the history behind the Cu Chi Tunnels ni punyer la buhsan. So I am unable to share the info with all. I wasnt concentrating. All I know masa perang ngan Americans they build the tunnels. Tunnels tu la macam tempat mereka berlindung or smthing like that. The next thing we did was to see the tunnels.

They needed 2 volunteers, a girl and a boy to go into the tunnels. The catch was they needed 2 people of a certain size coz the tunnels were small. So my Suhana actually pushing me to go. She said this would be great to take pictures. So without knowing anything, I went la. Little did I know the tunnel was quite deep. My legs were too short; once Im down there, it would be hard for me to pull myself up coz my arms were not strong enough to support my weight to pull myself up. I was contemplating but it was too late coz I was already halfway down. So I just sat there. Smua orang suruh turun not understanding my situation. Camner nak kuar nanti. Masa tu panik la gak. Akhirnyer masuk la jugak.

Tak sabar2 orang tu nak tutup I dalam lobang tu. Cuba bawak bertenang. Da le gelap bawah tu. Rasanyer kalo Saadiah atau Nurul masuk senang skit coz they got longer legs. Kak Faridah would have a problem like me coz it would be too deep for her too.

Padan muka, last2 one of the tour guides had to pull me out coz I couldnt pull myself. Padan muka kena tarik ketiak I yang berpeluh tu. Ewww...

Nanti kite sambung lagi...

Vietnam - Part 2

Guess what?? We had our Vietnam birthday celebration at the Malay Restaurant. Chewah, da la sebut nama orang salah. But I knew he was calling me coz of the Albakri yang sebutan nyer amat la pelik.. I was nervous and embarrassed. Hahaha... Never thought I would be embarrassed having a cake in front of me.

Budak baju pink tu sibuk jer. Dia pun nak mak dia beranak bulan Mac jugak. Skarang da kena share cake ngan dia. Our Vietnam birthday was celebrated with a super delicious cake so takpe la, I dun mind sharing! Sedapnyer. Unfortunately I couldnt eat a lot coz my tummy was so full. After the birthday celebration we went straight to Hard Rock Cafe. They got really cool designs tapi takde size. Sangat la bodo. I managed to get a really cool one. Colour biru. Cantik.

Lepas tu the bus dropped us at the Night Market. Lots of things to see, I didnt know where to start. So in the end, I didnt get anything coz theres only one place in my head.... Ben Thant Market!!!

Orang Vietnam sangat kurang asam. Rude and not friendly at all. Menyampah... Kaki da penat berjalan, mata da ngantuk. So kite sambung citer esok pulak...

Vietnam - Part 1

I had a great time in Vietnam. Not that you care, but I just wanna share a few pictures. I went with Nana's Petronita and Petrojantan friends. This was also my first oversea trip with the new brother in law Hazrin and Ima. Ni gegambor masa kat airport. The start of our shopping adventure. Woohooo... Konon2 nak jadik light traveller la. So I brought a small bag to Vietnam. I dun really have the intention to shop, shop. And I was dead wrong. Belum sampai 9 bulan, beg tu da beranak. But that is a different story.

Me and Ima talking about only God knows what. See, that black bag with yellow strip on the trolley, thats the only bag I brought.

Dalam pada sibuk2 tu, ada masa lagi nak baca paper. Ini maknanyer we are all a bunch of intellectual people. Yes, thats right.

UTPians lining up. Well, not all, but most of them la.

Kat airport Vietnam, cant remember the name of the airport. Nana was being a gossip girl, telling me about the gigi jongang bos or something like that. Her story was hilarious.

If you ask me, I would say Vietnam is a very messy country. Tak terurus. But they are still developing. So tak kisah la. I was quite surprised coz it wasnt as I expected. Im glad to say it was better than I expected.

The biggest challenge in Vietnam would be crossing the roads. Seksanyer!!! Super scary!! Macam hampeh jer. When they see you crossing the road, masa tu la they decide to go faster. Honking2 people like they own the roads. Ish... Tampo kang!! I dun think they understand the functions of traffic lights. Sia2 jer pasang traffic lights.

Anyway, will upload more pics later... More interesting pics...

Hong Kong Trip

Check this out!! Do I look like a surgeon or do I look like a surgeon?? Dang!! I could give Yang or even Mer a run for their money.. Hehe.. If you take a closer look, I think I look like the female version of Jason (of Friday the 13th) Watch your back people!!!

Ever since I was a little girl I always wanted to become a surgeon. (So not!!) It would be cool to wear the mask and butcher people on the table. But then again, Jason could do that too.

So I became a she-Jason for as long as I was in Hong Kong!!! How was Hong Kong?? Hong Kong was kinda interesting. The people were a little bit rude, but then again, what did I expect?? The hotel room were really small. I dont think you could fit even a cow in the room. Yesh, thats how small it was. The cow would suffocate, no room for Mr.Cow to move around.

These are my two assistance. They were with me the entire time. But they did more posing than helping me... Nana and Yana, you're both FIRED!!!



Finally we decided to abord our mission, not kill people but to go out and throw some money. Yippeee.... What a wonderful idea!!! So there goes our masks flying only God knows where.

Shopping in Hong Kong was both scary and delightful. Its a shopping heaven if you know how to bargain. WARNING: Never ask for the price if you have no intentions of purchasing it. They would force you to buy them. So better think twice before you ask. These HK people could be pretty scary sales people.

One of my favourites would be the wax museum. Too bad my brilliant self purposely did not bring my camera charger. What moron would have left her camera charger at home?? Bangang betol!! So had to restrain myself from taking lots of pictures.

This aunty is Madame Tussauds. But of coz, the highlight of the whole trip would be the Disneyland. I never knew little mouse Mickey could speak Chinese. Wei, Mickey cakap Cina tu, mana nak dapat. LA pun takde camtu... It rained the whole day. Fortunately Mickey wasnt in hiding. I was soaking wet but it didnt matter coz we had a blast there. Well, at least I did.

Sleeping Beauty's enchanted castle...