The Journey: From Paris to Madrid, Cordoba, Granada, Algeciras, Tariffa and Tangier, Part 1

2 Continents,  3 Countries, 10 Cities in 12 days

Depart KUL

I bought my tix to Paris in March during MAS 1Malaysia online deals. I considered myself lucky as after that, the air tickets price never been lower than that since MAS fly to Paris with new plane, A380 and now MAS is under One World Alliance. As always, i was anxious and worry before leaving everything behind. At the same time, I have been warned. Oh well, i deserved my theraphy, i have saved my candy in the jars. Flight depart at 12 am, with more than half is European people. The new aircraft was comfy, more space, good movie selection and the flight attendence are more senior.. heh. 12 hours journey seems okay with 4 hours for 2 movies, 5 hours sleep, 1 hour eating dinner and nasi lemak for breakfast, 1 hour reading and 1 hour for termenung, toilet, chitchat.. tahu tahu sudah sampai.

Paris, CDG

Arrived Paris CDG airport almost 7 am. Clean up and took train to terminal 2 and then store our bags. From there, take train to the city (about one hour) to see the Eiffel Tower. Since we are early, the queue was not too long. We paid for top view and it was awesome! We somehow use the stairs instead of the lift. Konon lebih berbaloi la kot dgn harga tiketnya. We walk around and tried to snap Eiffel Tower from far. We spent some time looking for the post office to sent postcards back home. We bought mushroom crepe for our lunch but then dia pi letak pulak ham. Masuk tong sampah la jawabnya. Back to terminal 2 airport early to avoid any unpleasant surprises. Hello Madrid via EasyJet, 2h15m.

Madrid

We were a bit indecisive between Madrid and Barcelona. But then settle for Madrid due to flight timing and knowing that Madrid is capital city of Spain. We have booked free tour at 11am and before we join the crowd at Plaza Mayor, we had our breakfast of coffee and churros. Enak sekali. Our guide is Sebastian, mid 20 with lots of story to tell. We bump into Singaporean Malay girls in the group. Bermulanya saya mendengar kisah Islam yang begitu gah di Sepanyol hinggalah hilangnya umat Islam di sana. Kesan tiga agama - Islam, Kristian dan Jewish masih ada dan kelihatan. Kisahnya, terbinanya kota Madrid drp air, berdindingkan api. Kota lama tanpa saliran air, tanpa tempat ibadah. Beruang dan pokok menjadi simbol. Jam 5.30 pm menaiki express train ke Cordoba. Ya, tiket train yg palig mahal, lebih mahal drp tiket kapal terbang ke Madrid, Euro 65 per person, one way, 2h.

Bintang itu kesan Jewish, Dinding batu kesan Islam dan dibelakangnya chatederal for Kristian

Cordoba

Pagi-pagi lagi sudah keluar menuju Mezquita atau Masjid Cordoba. Jika masuk sebelum sepuluh pagi, percuma. Di luarnya, terlalu banyak pokok limau, berbuah lebat. Seakan mahu sahaja memetiknya. Melangkah di pintu gerbang, masih tertanya-tanya, betul ke ini tempatnya, kerna tiada guard atau sipemeriksa beg. Masuk sahaja, MahsyaAllah, betapa luasnya Masjid ini, indahnya tinggalan Mimbarnya. Hati merasa sayu, mengetahui kisah sedihnya. Sempat juga malam tadi google kisah Thariq bin Ziyad dan tenteranya berbangsa Arab dan Berber dari Morocco menawan Andalusia. Seterusnya berjalan kaki ke bullring stadium. Menjenguk ke dalam dan imagine sahajala. Musim sejuk tiada perlawanan. Petang itu menaiki bas ke Granada 2h45m.

Granada

Tujuan ke Granada adalah untuk ke Istana Raja Islam paling mahsyur, puncak kecemerlangan ilmu pengetahuan Islam di saat zaman kegelapan barat, Al-Hambra (yang bermaksud the red one). Istana besar ini juga dikenali sebagai Istana yang Hilang. Empayar Islam dan kota Islam terakhir di Andalusia dimana Dinasti Nasrid jatuh akhirnya ke tangan Kristian. Terletak di kaki Gunung Sierra Nevada yg di selaputi salji, memang sangat terasa rasa kedinginan angin yang bertiup. Saya terpegun sungguh dengan ukiran berunsurakan Islam di dinding dinding. MasyaAllah. Indahnya, terpukau. Sambil melangkah kaki teringat pada lagu MNasir Andalusia. "Apakah sudah kering lautan darah, Yang tertimbus di bumi Alhambra, Ataupun masih bergelora". Petang tu, jam 5pm, naik train ke Algeciras, 4 jam 30 min... zzzZzZzz....

Algeciras, Tarifa, Tangier and Fes

Satu hari perjalanan yang panjang. Kerna masih tidak pasti dimana bus station yang mahu dituju, jam 7 pagi sudah keluar. Ambil bas lebih kurang 30 minit utk ke Tarifa and then walk heading to the ferry terminal about 20 mins. Bought ferry tix to Tangier and corossaint for breakfast. Ferry cost euro 35 eventhough its only for 35min. Crossing Straits of Gibraltar from Tariffa is the shortest and fastest crossing to Morocco. I'm excited. First time stepping my feet in Africa. Yay! Please stamp your passport inside the ferry before going out. They have small table with laptop to verify your visa on the ferry. Keluar feri, one guy with name tag konon nya license travel agent greet us. He was pleasant and trying to sell half day trip in Tangier yang tersangatlah mahalnya. Since we have our own plan, politely we say no and heading to the taxi stand. Adoi. Banyak nya ulat tak terkata. We already knew we need to take petite taxi  that wont cost us much since its only 3.5km to the train station. However, with the language barier and being surounded by man we agreed to one of the taxi owner at euro 6, i think. We earned extra one hour in Morocco due to the time difference. Bought train tix to Fes, 4h30 mins. All our train journey in Morocco was first class ticket (the difference is about RM20), as such we have our own dedicated seat number and less crowded so i can catch up with my sleep.

Ok. Enough for now. Will continue about Morocco in Part II.

Travel, 10 things i have learned so far..

1. Travel light. It saves a lot of time and money, without check-in bag

All this for 12 days, Europe and Africa

I managed to packed my stuff into one carry on luggage bag. Yes it's small, but i made it through. On top of it, since it winter,  I have to carry one heavy winter jacket, one lighter waterproof jacket and long john (since I don't know how cold it will be). As much as we want to look good while traveling, I learned that jeans is not my best friend. Its heavy and consume space. I'm able to pack 4 pants inside the bag but not jeans. Some of the t-shirt plus towel were those that I want to throw away. So, I create some space for souvenirs :) Learn not to be attached with your belonging.

2. Bring your must have item

my morning coffee

I always carry my red flask. No matter where I go, even when I may not use it. This flask is my savior, especially when you travel to non-Asian country where tea making facility is hard to find. So, all I need to do before I snooze off, I asked for hot water. The next morning, I can have my maggi mee or Brahim packed rice before I leave the hotel. On the street, I will ask for hot water (or agua) in the cafe and made my 3in1 nescafe to lift up my day.

3. Always ask for direction and Be okay to get lost

Street in Kyoto

When travel, everyday almost the same routine. I have to ask for direction - to the hotel, to the station, to the point of interest, to almost anywhere and they speak French, Spanish, Italianese, Arab, Japanese, Korean and more!. Some of them will give the right direction, some of them just say don't know, some of them will bring you to somewhere else and most of the time you did not get it.. hahaha. One thing I learned while traveling solo is to be okay to get lost. Even you have map in hand or using google map, don't be afraid. Continue to walk and wandered around. Ask strangers. You may found interesting things or new friends along the way. So, chill....

4. Utilise the traveling time

Morocco train

I'm a light sleeper but I have to beat the jet lag. So I sleep anywhere possible - in the plane, train, bus, ferry and car. I might not sleep, but i will try to sleep or maybe most of the time, pretend to sleep. If it's not working, i will watch downloaded drama series or movie on my phone. If that's bored me, I will organise all my photo (delete, edit and save). At times, I clean up my email too.

5. Always expect the unexpected

Blanket of Snow, Mount Cook

Being stranded in Tian Jin, China or Te Anau, NZ were not in the plan, but like i said, expect the unexpected. While in Ho Chi Minh, in just few second someone pick pocket my mobile phone. As much as we try our best to be safe, unexpected things do happen. Travel insurance is a must.

6. We will meet nice people and not so nice people 

Huda, our host in Fes

Along the way, some people will go an extra miles to help you. Believe me. There are still a lot of good people in the world. Like when I was in Japan. People are extremely nice and I felt extremely safe. Then, there are also people will take advantage of you like the taxi driver, the tour guide, the shop owner or people on the street. Just be extra careful.

7. Do at least one memorable stuff

Colourful sulfer, NZ

Always create memorable things to do. At least one. So you have at least one significant memory for each trip. When I was in NZ, I did glacier walk and volcano, eat most expensive but delicious pan cake in Sydney, ride on Gondola in Venice, ski in Mount Buller, a night in Sahara and more.

8. Control your emotions

Hello. Hi there.. cats in Greece is triple XL

When travel, our emotion may change easily as we always on the move. Don't be selfish. Think about your travel companion. Don't let your emotion effect the the whole trip. When things goes not as plan, we do get angry, sad, disappointed, stress and all but don't let it out to your group or partner. This trip is not only about you. She, he, they deserved their happy holiday. They paid their own holiday expenses. Don't dictate the holiday trip based on how you feel and what you want. Be patience.

9. Respect everyone Time

River cruise, Luzern

Time management is important. Nobody want to miss the plane, train or bus or tour. If you late, you might cause the whole planned trip kucar kacir. Choose to be early. Swiss time not Malaysian time.

10. Have fun, embrace the difference :)

Kimci anyone?

When traveling, things are different from home. It designs to make the local comfortable, not you. So, you need to be able to adapt and layaaan je. Don't get frustrated and upset over petty things (the weather, the food, the language, the hotel, people and surrounding). You will miss all the good things.

 Till then. Write soon.

To Act On It

Stumble upon this article about Brad Pitt. It's powerful statement, I think. TO ACT ON IT.

I lost hope and thought that we’ll get divorced soon…But then I decided to act on it- Brad Pitt writes a sweet love letter to Angelina Jolie

“My wife got sick. She was constantly nervous because of problems at work, personal life, her failures and problems with children.

She has lost 30 pounds and weighed about 90 pounds in her 35 years. She got very skinny, and was constantly crying. She was not a happy woman. She had suffered from continuing headaches, heart pain and jammed nerves in her back and ribs.

She did not sleep well, falling asleep only in the morning and got tired very quickly during the day. Our relationship was on the verge of break up.

Her beauty was leaving her somewhere, she had bags under her eyes, she was poking her head, and stopped taking care of herself. She refused to shoot the films and rejected any role.

I lost hope and thought that we’ll get divorced soon…But then I decided to act on it.

After all I’ve got the most beautiful woman on the earth.

She is the idol of more than half of men and women on earth, and I was the one allowed to fall asleep next to her and to hug her shoulders.

I began to pamper her with flowers, kisses and compliments. I surprised her and pleased her every minute. I gave her lots of gifts and lived just for her. I spoke in public only about her. I incorporated all themes in her direction. I praised her in front of her own and our mutual friends.

You won’t believe it, but she blossomed. She became even better than before. She gained weight, was no longer nervous and she loved me even more than ever. I had no clue that she CAN love that much. And then I realized one thing: The woman is the reflection of her man. If you love her to the point of madness, she will become it.“

- Brad Pitt

Source from http://couplesandco.blogspot.se/

Blessed Family Day, Family Moment

As usual, we celebrate mom's birthday in Dec as such it will always be our family day. This year, we decided to have fun in A Famosa. Rented a bungalow house so that all of us can be together all the time. With swimming pool inside, such fun the see the boys and girls inside the water.

At night, we had BBQ session and continue chit chatting till late night.

This month we have a lot of good things to celebrate. Alhamdullillah. Beside mom birthday, Aiman got 3A2B in UPSR and accepted offer to Maahad Muar, his big brother Afiq got 7A2B in PMR and hoping for boarding school too and last but not least, big brother got promoted and move to Cyberjaya. Yeay. And for all those blessing, we deserved a rainbow cake. Awesome!

So Pretty and Yummy. Like.

Dec 21-22, 2013 : Moments like this is precious :)

Use your own Judgement, really

At one point I realised something is not working here. Something not quite right. I decided to use my own judgement to balance it up. 

When things turns ugly, we have to be strong and help each other. Not kill each other. No one is superior then the other. We all in the same boat. The result will determine who survive who will defeat. Until the time comes, we will never know who will survive. 

At current, nobody's is leading. Each one of us is struggling. So why make things worst. If you decide not to support (which is okay), so don't pijak. Mind your own things. We have enough burden to carry ourselves. 

I have three active babies that I take care off. I tried my best to support them unconditionally. I hope for all the good things for them. For every decision they have made, I pray that the outcome will be good. Tak terlintas pun utk melaga-lagakan antara mereka. A tidak lebih baik dari C or B lebih baik dari A. For me, mereka semua sama. Struggling. 

Rezeki itu di tangan Tuhan. Hidup dan mati ketiga-tiga baby ini, bukan di tangan manusia. 

Oleh itu - Jangan lupa diri. Jangan bangga diri. Jangan rasa besar dan bercakap kasar. Don't let it get to your head. Esok lusa siapa yang tahu. Terlebih sudah.

Asking for a Day off

on weekends.

I totally exhausted by Friday. Looking forward for Saturday to recharge my battery. I have been working since Monday, the day I arrived KUL from Paris. Yep. Playing the catch up game as usual. So when someone requested me to work on Saturday, I think it's too much. Luckily, my phone was dead that morning. Otherwise I have been waken up to do work.

I'm not being calculative, but I need my rest day. If I continue to work on Saturday, I will collapse for the whole week - meaning that my brain is not functioning which translate to inefficiency whereby one hour work will takes three hours to complete. A day rest is just what I need to be able to work for the rest of the week.

So that Saturday night, after some me-time, I pull myself together and start working on the paper work. My brain starts working and I think the paper work turns out to be good (in comparison if I have to sit in the office, struggling to get things done). Sent it at 3.45 am with a good feeling with my decision to refuse to work during the day time.

Sometimes, people assume that your are available 24/7 a day. I need to change that perception. Like I said - I want to be like normal people.

Spring Cleaning

Mom is coming tomorrow.  My house is in total mess. Karam habis. Nothing in the fridge, air minum pun tak de, astro dah dua bulan tak function, habuk dah setebal dua inci, kain baju tak basuh lagi.. aduh. I need a quick fix. Aduhai.

Lucky I'm able to go back early at seven. Sempat pergi kedai runcit to buy some food, juice and fruits. Then sampai rumah terus on washing machine and unpack luggage bag. Diteruskan dgn memberus lantai bilik air, toilet dan replace the shower gel. Dah siap bilik air, tukar cadar dan sarung bantal for all rooms. Then bersihkan kipas syiling. Then vacum lantai. Then mop lantai. Then lipat kain. And lastly, sidai kain. Perghhh.. selesai. Penat gila duh. Patah pinggang. Now dah ada rupa rumah dah sikit.

But more than this, I need to do spring cleaning. For everything. For my house, my office and most importantly, myself. I need to spring cleaning myself. Serious. So I can find my way home.

Selfie 2: Casablanca to Paris and Home

Day Seven, 4 Dec, Casablanca

Day Eight and Nine, 5-6 Dec, Marrakech

Day Ten, 7 Dec, Paris

Day Eleven, Today, 8 Dec, Home :)

Alhamdulillah.  It has been a looong journey. Experience that worth it. Thank you France, Spain and Morocco.  See you KUL.

Home sweet home. Back to reality.

Selfie 1 : From Paris, Madrid to Fes

I'm on a road trip. Usually I will try to blog whenever I can but this time around I don't feel the need and want to blog. Paying more attention to the present, rather than being busy blogging. Perhaps age is also catching up, I hardly slept well :) Too many things on my mind.

Anyway, one photo for each destination so far. Few more destinations to go.

Day one, 28 nov 2013, Paris

Day Two, 29 nov 2013, Madrid

Day Three, 30 nov 2013, cordoba

Day Four, 1 Dec 2013, Granada

Day Five, 2 Dec 2013, Algeciras - Tariffa - Tangier - Fes

Day Six, 3 Dec 2013, Fes

Ok. Bye. Heading Casablanca.