3 Months on in Jakarta

Assalamuaa'laikum

Things have been moving fast for 2011. Surprise after surprise keeps hitting me. Biggest of all is definitely being told that I will be posted in Jakarta, working with our Permanent Mission here (not to be confuse with the Embassy office). Now I literally know how it feels like when you are being told that you are going to be posted. It's not the feeling that i expected but I know other diplomats would understand. I bet they felt the same way for their first posting. Sorry but i won't share any further on that :P

Anyway Jakarta, besides the MACET (traffic), everything is great. Media, for most of the time, play a huge role in influencing people to view a certain something in a negative way and I was one of those sucker. But after landed here, live, work, play, eat and sleep in JKT...I'd be honest I love this place.

Shopping is a wonderland, you can shop from the most well known brands like LV, BOSS, Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, to the alternate yet sophisticated ones like Raoul, Pedro, Braun Buffel, Tumi, MaxMara and lots more. Then you have the street brands, the ones that im in to such as Nudies (most comfortable jeans i've ever worn), Toms, Cheap Monday, Naked Famous, Junk Food, the Hundreds and the sneaker selections here are quite diverse too. All in all puas jua hati shopping.

One thing about Jakarta also it can make you fat (cos the local food is so good) and at the same time, burn your tongue (what they refer as mild is crazy hot for me).

I'm also planning to have a pet here, maybe getting myself a red tegu, as appear below, and probably a cat, persian or himalayan. Flat nose too can be an option.


Last weekend I went to the pasar burung where they were selling a huge variety of exotic animals. There were lizards, monkeys, rabbits, canaries, pigeons, parrots, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, bats, snakes, cats, dogs, eagles and the list goes on. That's when my brother told me it'll be a piece of cake to raise a tegu here since the mice are all just 5 mins away from my place and its cheap too. That's why im considering at the moment to have one. Though my apartment is strict for no pets allowed.

Currently Zaim and Syafiq is with me and as of this friday, Abil and Adek will join in as well as my beloved Lydia. To top it off, i'll be on leave!! So I'm enjoying the most of my time with my family after a grueling period since months before and during the Summit.

If you want to find out more, in pictoral form, on what's there in JKT, please click here.

Out for now

32 to 28

I went to Miri on Friday, a final attempt to get check whether im suitable to wear braces. I already started to consider wearing braces since i was in SOAS but back then the dentist told me that i require to have a surgery (apparently i have an extra tooth in my gum) and that i have to wear these metal things, for the rest of my life, which prevents my teeth from moving inwards. I was freaking demotivated after that. Then I went again last year when my sister started to get her braces done. I was again turned down due to unhealthy gums (can't deny that tho). So final attemp. Last Friday. After check up, dr aziz asked "Do you want to remove your teeth today or some other time?"

I got so excited.

4 tooth behind my fangs got removed.

The experience was somewhat funny. The Dentist was acting all sid vicious on me, pulling my tooth with a plier and i can even hear the tweaking sound of my tooth being pulled out. Then again, i can't feel a single thing! Side effects: the numbness lasted for 3 hours. Damn the agony lol. On top of that i have separators in between my teeth which is really annoying. I can't eat most food without feeling pain. Its like eating something with tortilla chips stuck in your tooth. As they the say "the cost of beauty" lol, i'd go for macho :P

Breaststroke

Earlier today i had my weekly swim with Amin and im really happy that after lots of practices, i manage to complete a lap: breaststroke style. If you're not sure which one, its the one illustrate as below:

Plan to do more laps from now. Biasa kn kampiskan beladar2 yang tak diingini :P

Also for those whose kind enough to just spend their money on me (dream on kash), please buy me these pair of shoes, but make sure ur quick as only 100 will be made available.

salary :D

Today I receive a letter stating i can get a 42 day off anually :D

GAJI BULAN IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!

Will drop by SPA tomorrow to give the letter. Next stop, preparation for GO and FR. Gonna do it like lydz, ambil skali sja. And you guys thought udah kraja nada exam, think again.

Revive

Assalamua’laikum dear readers,

This blog is unofficially dead. But I’m here to revive it. Not because people ask me to, but purely because I miss blogging. I treasure my previous entries, looking back as time shapes me for whoever I am now. I guess most of my readers now think I’m no longer blogging. I don’t blame you. Ntah2 while reading this you guys might think “eh angin ni si kash ah”. Again, I don’t blame you. But my heart is set for a new adventure. I use to blog when I was a student and during the hard times of unemployment. Might as well continue the habit. So I guess this is for 2011. Hello dear readers

A fellow friend told me with the stress of work engulfing us week after week, blogging is more of a therapy. It’s where you share with people your social and for some, private lives. People may look at us at a different angle at work and out of the office. As for myself, I’m happy with where I am now. I’m not denying that there’s zero-stress but the balance makes it wonderful. I couldn't say it’s my career as yet, I prefer to call it as half job/ career kind of thing. It’s been 5 months and I’m still learning new things.

Friends always come up to me asking me when im going to get married since both me and Lydz already work. I guess there are few commitments both of us need to fulfill before getting married. Usin bah jua mana kn ngurek~~ Don’t get me wrong, I’m up with the idea of marriage, plus I’m with Lydz for 5 years already, nda kerasahan I tell you. Kalau jodoh, adath tu nanti InsyaAllah, doakan saja

And doakan jua my car’s gonna be fine. Just few days ago while I was driving at Jln Babu Raja, something from the engine went ‘POP’. I thot my tires got burst but everything seemed fine. Next thing I know my engine couldn’t start :S Apparently it was the airflow. Now someone is getting the parts in singapore for me. My car was my mum’s: a 13 year old Volvo. But I love it. I’ve been adding accessories to it and I send it for maintenance from time to time. Hopefully I don’t need to buy a new car before I get married. Lydz has her is300 so that car can share meh once kawin :P

Just to share with you all, I had my Kopi Luwak :D

It tasted unique, but you need to drink it without milk in order to taste the difference. Add milk and itll taste like any other coffee. I took my chance to buy it when I was in Bal and damn it’s expensive. For 100gm it cost me around 35-40 Brunei dollars :S But to get my hands on the rarest coffee in the world is definitely worth it.

Bh I’m off. Hopefully something exciting will happen within the last week of January.

Phone update

I need a new mobile phone.

So which one should it be? I narrowed down to three choices. Three awesome smartphones available in Brunei. The Samsung Galaxy S vs Iphone 4 vs HTC desire. But realistically, i don't think i can afford the Iphone 4 when the 16gb is still more than 1.5k :S

In terms of looks i prefer the Iphone 4 tho hehehe. But rationally i wont buy a phone judge on looks. Practicality is vital. I should take my time i guess. Read different tech reviews from the net. And if ur wondering, gaji ku alum masuk. Just merely planning ahead hehehe.

Earlier i had my sungkai at Kitaro Restaurant. For $22 there was alot being offered. Problem was the very slow service. I arrived 20mins before sungkai so i had the time to order. The first batch was fast. I decided to order again and 2nd batch took quite a while. Well more of like batah level. Ada jua stangah jam menunggu. It was very dissapointing. I guess the next time i go for a sungkai offer i'll make sure its a buffet and not on an order basis system.

World's most expensive coffee

As a coffee lover, I always wonder what is the most expensive and exquisite coffee around. Apparently the most expensive turn out to be the most disgusting too.

Kopi luwak or civet coffee, is coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. A civet eats the berries for their fleshy pulp. In its stomach, proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated, having kept their shape. After gathering, thorough washing, sun drying, light roasting and brewing, these beans yield an aromatic coffee with much less bitterness, widely noted as the most expensive coffee in the world.

It is produced mainly in Java, Sumatra and other certain parts of Indonesia. They call it Kopi Luwak. Maybe i'll have it one day when i can overcome the thought of drinking something which came out of a civet's faeces :S As for now i'm cool with nescafe and my starbucks house blend roast hehehe.

Syukur alhamdulillah I'm already around 3 weeks at work and I had met lots of wonderful people. With work comes salary and with money comes responsibility and 'wants'. The top of the list of my wants is a car. I always dream owning a car where i can modify and challenge other friends to a friendly, non-reckless, empty road race :P Lydia already pursue that dream, owning herself a Lexus IS300 and its one sweet ride. A V6 engine does do the trick and with some additional engine mods and aerodynamics i bet it would be one thrill of a ride. Thats one more factor i have to consider: my car has to be faster and smoother than hers (sorry babe) hehehe.

Then again...there's still a car i can use- my mum's old volvo 940 turbo. Kinda think of it syg jua if its left in the garage saja. My dad in someway entrusted me for the volvo's wellbeing. Its been 13 years so maintenance is a hassle. But everything else abt it is fine. Maybe i'll change it a bit so that it looks like a car came out from pimp-my-ride :P Just save my money for now and strive to achieve my dream car- Nissan Skyline GTR. Damn nda jua kawin ni karang lol.

As i said with money does come responsibility so i have to balance out for what i want and need to do to help my family. Eid is around the corner so the house needs a bit of refurbishment. And savings for the future is a must. Invest some in my dad's business and InsyaAllah, to perform the Haj for a 2nd time. Duniawi balance out with inner iman hehehe.

Syukur

Syukur Alhamdulillah, I got the MOFAT job :D

8 months of waiting. But its been a good 8 months. I just hope this will be the right job for me, the correct career path to choose and for me to pursue my personal goal (nda bleh gtau :P).

Anyway last night I went for a little Kent gathering at Reza's place. It was really nice to catch up with everyone. Later that night we plan to stay awake for the final world cup match of Spain vs Netherlands and tarus tidur arah si Rez. I had an hr sleep before the match then the guys woke me up. I think i only stayed up till the 15th min...and woke back up again after they announce Spain is WC 2010 winner. So much for watching-the-finals-is-a-must. Yg pacahnya, after i fell asleep, atiq join the club and shortly before half-time Reza went parai. Shauqi slept just min after 2nd half started so basically no one watched the full match lol. Lalah bnr~~

It was a good thing i had my sleep cos earlier today i had to go to the hospital for my medical check up. Mum promise to accompany me so i texted her what time should i meet her at the hospital. She didn't reply. Then i called her but no answer so I thought she must be in a meeting. I decided to go back to my house. Once i arrived i found out my mum was still in her room and tau2 apanah? TIDUR. I woke her up, "Bu, its 8.45am" Tarus eh masuk jamban mandi. Then I found out my little brother was also still asleep. Mum was like "bangunkn tu ia ah, skulah ja akher udah". Au nda tekarang akher. Panya liat World Cup. But drg lagi steady, liat smpai abis :P

So I went for my medical check up. Went for the eye test and obviously there's the generally used Ishihara colour-blindness test. Thats where they pull out the special book and theres a circle filled with numerous coloured cirlces and i have to guess the number inside. I only able to answer the first page.

Then theres a new thing they introduced. I have to connect point A to point B by passing thru the circles and the doctor ask me to show the path. This was damn hard. Just before I left i did ask the doctor what exactly was the answer but he said he can't tell. I shall forever not know whats the answer to that special Ishihara book :P emo.

Btw took this yesterday. I always miss this sunset everytime i go to UK msa zaman blajar, wessseehhh.

Opportunity given

I didn't go to work today since i have a JPM test tomorrow for the Pegawai Kerja post. I'm still not sure what exactly to read. This is my first time sitting for a test (for a government post). I just hope that it's gonna be multiple choice. Asked Lydia and she said usually it'll be an essay base test and all in malay :S I think im gonna buy media permata later and get the pelita brunei from the gas station, sharpen up my malay overnight. I picked the letter about the JPM test yesterday at it's main office and from the looks of it theres gonna be around 40+ sitting for the test. I bet im gonna meet the usual unemployed friends of mine lol.

As off tomorrow I'm officially 8 months unemployed. Well partially unemployed since for the past two months I've been working with my dad, helping out with his business...maybe at this point i could say 'our' business though he still is the mastermind hehehe. I always believe in the words that 'something happens for a reason'. One day I asked myself, why haven't i score a job, a career? 8 months is a long time and along the road theres frustration, anger and sadness involved every time a rejection letter sent home or news told from a friend 'you didn't get it'. What is Allah trying to tell me? testing me? punish me? or he tries to make me realize how lucky i am being in my current position?

I try to see my situation in a different light. Graduated in October. Start to search for a job in November. Got really serious in January. Multiple calls started only in February. Dad had been nagging to work for him since I first arrive in Brunei but my mind only opened up in April. Thats it... the business. It really makes me smile when i ponder how wonderful God had plan for us, life in the form of various pieces of puzzle, only to know theres a beautiful picture once everything is connected. It took me 6 months, since October, to make me realize my future opportunity lies within the business. For the two months I worked with my dad i had learnt a lot of useful skills and think more like a business oriented person. I think if did get a job somewhere before March i wouldn't even have the slightest of interest in knowing about the business. Syukur alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for the opportunity he given me and I thank my dad for shaping me for who i am now.

FYI, the business is nothing like a skim capat kaya or a pyramid style networking. Nope. More of a like you-have-to-work-your-ass-off-to-be-successful kind of business. Nothing big like Hua Ho or even Bismi. I guess what i'm really grateful off is not being in the business but how it changes my mindset in ways of taking risk and opportunities when one is given. I guess overall what I'm trying to tell is that behind every agenda, tragedy or crisis theres a hidden message Allah is trying to tell, a lesson to be learn, an opportunity to be grasp or a skill to acquire in the future. Once your mindset is change, then you can see a beautiful light at the end of the tunnel...just pray its not a train :P . I read off a poster something really inspiring. It goes something like this 'your eyes only can see whatever it looks for. Only when you can see the invisible that you can achieve the impossible...' Alright im gonna play basketball soon. Wish me luck for tomorrow :)

Singapore pt3

It was my second last day in Singapore and I haven't decided on what new sneakers to invest on. All day long i covered Orchard rd just to get the perfect shoe and syukur Alhamdulillah I found the right piece :D That really made my day cause for the third time this year I got the last pair of sneakers, of my size, available. Pretty damn lucky. I don't have a decent picture of the shoe. Maybe I'll post it next time. Btw i got it from Limited Edition. For shoe enthusiast i really recommend you to check the store out if you're in Singapore.

On the same day my uncle arrived with her wife and later that day we had dinner with them at the famous gerai Newton Circus. Its like our Tamu Selera but at a much greater scale, both in terms of space and price. I admit it's quite pricy. I only realize that when i recommended Senor Pablo to eat there and he said that generally people think its pricy; which is unfortunately true. But that price does come with what you order.

The recommended stall

Chilli crabs

Homemade tofu masak something~

This is highly recommended; pari with homemade sambal. By far the best pari i've ever tasted. No offence mom :P

Tiger prawns masak nestum.

Im not a big fan of fresh coconut juice. Usually i prefer it with a bit of sugar but this particular coconut is just different. It's Kelapa pandan and it has a slight taste of pandan into it. nyaman bana~

Langis~

Final day and our flight was at 9.15pm. I had all morning to spend. Not knowing what to do and guess i haven't got enough of it, i went to Arab st again for a final dose of Shisha hehehe. Don't worry im not addicted to it. Better enjoy while you still can ;p Since hj lane is in Arab st so i gave it a final visit and i got a clip wallet from the Jia store.

A different shisha place from the last time.

We arrive at the airport quite early, didn't want to rush through everything. Plus my mum and i need to do our tax refund. My mum was so organize it went like a breeze. But prior to that the waiting was quite frustrating. Some officers were quite fussy and they need to check the items you bought to match with the one on the receipt. Then i saw this Indian guy who brought with him a 40+ inch lcd TV. Atu baru ia nda alang2. If that wasn't in-your-face to the officer then i don't know what will. Never in my 23 years of life travelling to and from airports had ever saw someone going to bring a 40+ inch tv back home lol.

Overall, it was a great trip. I love being independent when im travelling. Finding out interesting places, trying out local cuisines and all that. Being in a fairly big group restrict you from doing all that. Then again, you don't have anyone to share the fun with :P InsyaAllah if murah rezeki i want to go back to Singapore, maybe on the next grand sale. I really want to ride the battlestar and go up to the Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore pt2

This is my every morning view. The morning buffet is great but i always prefer continental breakfast over others.

This was my third day in Singapore. Initially i planned to go to Marina Bay Sands where they have an enormous garden on top of the hotels (3 hotels, connected by one roof= the garden). The place is one of its kind. Unfortunate for me its still not open to public yet. Not until 26th June. So i went to city hall instead, window shopping at Suntec Mall and Marina Square. This is the Koi Garden in Suntec. Really inspires me to have one in the future...

Inside...
Inside Marina Bay Sq, just next to Suntec and look who i stumble into...DORAEMON!!

Marina Bay Sands and the Singapore Flyer from a distance.

Later that night we went to eat at an Indonesian restaurant in Takashimaya. Mum had it with Burger Kings all the time :P These are two of my mum's colleagues who she went to Singapore with.

The next morning my mum wanted to have a malay dish for breakfast so Sharul brought us to Kampung Glam. I really love the place due to its post-colonial buildings which is wonderfully preserved and the area, as anywhere in Singapore, clean and tidy.

I was meeting my friend Adelene later that day. I first met her in 2001 during my ASEAN student exchange programme. And after 9 years we meet again. Facebook and friendster have kept us in contact lol. I asked her to bring me to Haji Lane, one of the places Shauqi recommended. Was i in for a surprise.

This place is just awesome. The lane consist of old preserve buildings but the stores creatively decorate it to make the scene lively. Just have a look at the pictures i took. Btw most stores sell exclusive streetwear and funky deco. Below is Carbon.

Sup Clothing- a local brand, bought a cool shirt from here.

Jia's Store. The cashier looks like Princess Sarah, no kidding. Too bad i didn't take a picture of her.

'Know it nothing'- the products they sell are just a bit expensive, but the interior is just mesmerizing.

Not far from Haji Lane is Arab St and Adelene brought me to go for a shisha session which I haven't had for quite a while. I really love how the cafe design their shisha area. They had sofas and carpets where people could just sit on the floor and chill.

Introducing Adelene. We went to Bugis using the MRT earlier and we took the wrong direction. So much for a tour guide lol.

She's just amaze how i know a lot about shisha hahaha.

Arab St at night.

Ask Adelene what is this majestically looking building and she said 'we call it Gotham cos it looks like a building strip out off gotham city'. Spot on!

Adelene had her friends invited us for dinner at Vivo city. We took an MRT, went straight there and we felt bad that we were late and they've been waiting for us for an hr or so. But they were cool and Chris, who i just met that night, paid for our dinner. That made me feel more guilty :S

We ate at Modestos. Below are deserts- fudge brownie and tiramisu.

Adelene and Ganesh

Marcus, (forgot the one in the centre) and Chris.

Fin.

From Vivo we went to Clarke Quay where we ended the night. Such a happening place.

Singapore pt1

As most of you know i went to Singapore last week from Tuesday to this week's Monday. Glad i arrived back home on time cos on the next day i had a call from Mofat for an interview. The interview was yesterday and i'm quite scared of the results...It's just that my interview was quite short, though i did talk and talk but i still feel it was really short. Hopefully the result is an acceptance rather than the opposite. I really want to expand my potential there...

As for Singapore it was awesome. Thanks to Shauqi for giving me a few tips of where to go and what to do. I flew off around 9.50am due to a technical delay and arrive Singapore around 2hrs later. Ratna and her cousin was in the same flight as me too. For the first 15 mins we were quite lost in Changi airport. The place is freaking huge without proper signs! Seriously they need to put up more useful arrows of where to go for arrivals.

whats so significant abt this cloud? It looks like UK!

My mum picked me up, had an assign driver for her (weseh) and tarus sent Ratna and her cousin Zidah to their hotel. I stayed at Royal plaza in Orchard Rd where i guess most Bruneians stay (since every morning for breakfast nampak org brunei saja). So the first day in Singapore I thought i just survey around Orchard road, check out the hype and the stores shauqi recommended for me. Here are some of the scenery around Orchard Rd.

This was around cineleisure and 313.

Limited Edition: Vault- Shauqi told me about this place. Its no longer in Hereen, moved to 313@Somerset. The store which sells the rarest and limited edition shoes ever produce. This is shoe haven. The most expensive shoe? Forgot the name but if im not mistaken it has a price tag of $1500. Baik ku bali IPhone. Below is the picture inside the vault itself, the store is bigger and better looking.

Paragon, home to Gucci and other unaffordable items...

The recently open Ion plaza. From afar...

and upclose...

The thing i like about this building is the random synchronization of glowing lights on it's wall

The next day i went to Universal studios with Ratna and Zidah. Good thing it only rained early in the morning.

I had breakfast at banquet in vivo city which was just before the bridge to Sentosa Island. And this cruise ship is just humongous.

Upon arrival...and i could already see the castle, wait this shouldn't be disneyland

A must take picture :D

Upon entering Universal studios, this is the 'Hollywood' section.

The Battlestar Gallactica rollercoaster, the first of it's kind. Two rollercoasters intertwined and at some point the difference in distance between the rollercoasters are just inches apart. Too bad its close for maintenance, D'OH!

Far Far Away kingdom! The castle houses the 4D shrek film and what an experience! I guess the screen couldn't contain the characters movement any further :P A must stop if ur in universal studios.

Just like in the movie...

Too bad we didn't get to take a picture with him

Shrek's home, no swamp involve

I just think this is a funny logo lol. This was in the Jurassic Park section. There's an interesting ride there involving fast flowing rapids. Again, unfortunate for us it was close for maintenance.

The egyptian section. Inside the pyramid is an indoor rollercoaster where you ride through the darkness. This was another new, fun and scary experience. Scary in a way that the ride was in complete darkness and at one point they used real fire torches to make the scene lively. They also use holograms which was pretty cool.

Marilyn Monroe...Ratna told me previously they had an uglier version, good thing they replaced her :P

Frankenstein!

The effects of nature creating a shadow which looks like i peed in my pants.

New York New York~

Maybe the type of cars the mob used in the '60s.

My personal favourite...

Childhood cartoon sensation, Woody Woodpecker.

These guys were the most entertaining group of the day. Madagascar section.

Yeah, a big ass ship crashed into the theme park.

The theme park is quite small compare to other foreign theme parks i had gone to. Unless the battlestar gallactica and rapids are open i guess its not worth the visit, not for $66 that is. If you're going there for your children then maybe yes. For a fact, the park isn't officially open yet. And that the battlestar has been in the news several times for technical difficulties. I guess maintenance could be quite a challenge. Nevertheless i had fun, taking pictures with celebrities and accompanied by two awesome friends. Okay will continue next time with part 2...