TEMPLE RUN! Part 1

*Welcoming theme music rolls*

Hiya peeps! I'm back blogging! 

P/s Yeah like after a year... /==/

Life has been pretty busy, as friends know I work part time and study full time so there goes the reason for the thick dust on my blog here... xP

But glad I am back! And even better, back to good ol' hometown Malaysia to spend my summer holidays :) 

Sure a lot of friends studying abroad would first and foremost choose to fly back home during the long summer break.

 (Where else can you find free housing + free meals + free transportation?!)

But we would still miss ya Ireland :) Wait till September! 

Since I'm back in hot hot Malaysia, 

why not a TEMPLE RUN with my hot mama! 

GOAL: 6 temple visits in one day! 

So let me introduce you guys a good few chinese temples in Johor Bahru, Malaysia...

First stop: Taman Melodies 大伯公庙

Just a little background info about this temple,

to what I know the committees of the temple were raising funds to build a temple,

as currently the temple is only using as a shoplot front.

Thankfully, the neighbourhood in Taman Melodies were all very cooperative and people came in and donated generously to the temple. 

It is indeed happy to see the construction work going on now! 

Who's up for some joss sticks? xD

I randomly googled the temple online and surprisingly yes,

they do have FACEBOOK.

大伯公庙's facebook

Just in case anyone of you wanted to "temple check-in" on Facebook... = ='

Mama preparing fruits for prayers 

点塔香 ("Dian Ta Xiang" Forgive me for my direct translation to English -.-)

For peace and happiness to the family :) 

2nd Stop: Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple 

Source: Tripadvisor 

Located at downtown Johor Bahru of Jalan Trus, the temple is flanked by modern skyscrapers. This temple is one of the oldest structures in Johor Bahru. The temple is a place of worship and a symbol of unity among Five Chinese Dialect Groups which are "Teochew", "Hoklo (Hokkien)", "Cantonese", "Hakka" and "Hainan".

Find out more on Wikipedia

P/s Mama throwing joss sticks to see her luck :P

Every year the temple organises the annual Chinngay, also known as 古庙游神In Chinese. 

Found a really good video about the temple on Youtube, 

the history, the story behind the temple are all part of the pride and identity of Johoreans.

1st video: HOMECOMING 歸屬 之《古廟游神篇》上集 *with English subtitles

2nd Video: The Chinngay

3rd Stop: Bai Wan Gong - Permas Jaya 

Check out, there's also a basketball court right beside the temple!

It's really great to see not only temples are a place for people to pray,

but actually a centre gathering point of the neighbourhood.

P/s I remember my school bus driver used to bring us here after school just for a after-school ice-cream moment :P 

But out of all prayers,

what could we ever wish for in front of the Gods?

Peace. Happiness. Health for my loved ones.

知足 即是福.

 P/s Yes and that's how Asians are afraid of the SUN!! 

As for Part 2, we drove towards the outskirts of Johor Bahru...

To be continued! 

295 and more.

295 days in Ireland yo!

Hmm, just passed my 20th birthday last month, 

thoughts?

HELLO twenties! 

 Spring in Ireland is a JOKE.

Snow, rain, wind, cold.

It's even colder than winter!

Oh well, look on the bright side,

at least we didn't get any snow storm =__=

I've always told myself,

LIFE,

basically you'll just need to keep a happy face to go through all stuff in life.

See that big world map behind me?

Well that's my temporary 'wallpaper' for my room

constantly reminding myself,

'The world is huge, no hassle being upset over small matters,

who knows?

Ten years later you look back,

the things that upset you right NOW

might seem like a joke in the FUTURE

Oh well,

a bit too philosophy here. Boring. 

hahaha.

Happy things, c'on!

oh yeaaa finally went to Belfast!

Though it was only a day trip,

but it opened my eyes and perspective a little bit more haha

First time using sterlings, exciting.

Next stop,

Edinburgh!!

It feels great to be living the dream.

Studying abroad,

working abroad,

living abroad,

met great people from all around the world,

travelling around, see new stuffs.

Well basically to sum up is just to see the world.

But I really am

grateful.

Can't ask anything more than this.

Family,

friends,

studies,

work,

dream.

LOVE LIFE!

185

185 days in Ireland!
Blink of an eye and it's already half years time for me, here in Dublin, Ireland.

Stephen's Green Park. Definitely a good getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city!
Especially during the Autumn season.
Autumn is a second Spring :) 
Basically saying, this is my FIRST time experiencing Autumn in an overseas country,
as you know... Malaysia is a tropical weather country,
so don't come and telling me:" LOL you've been living for 19 years and you're telling me you never experienced Winter?!"

My customers told me:" Oh yeah, you definitely gonna enjoy Winter here in Ireland (ironic much!!)"
xD

But anyway,
I guess we're gonna survive our first beautiful winter here in Ireland ;)
but before that,
let's just learn to enjoy it first ;)

Head to town on a Saturday morning.
Wandering around, thinking of where can I go in this jam packed Christmas shopping season...

Then it strucked me.
TODAY IS SATURDAY!! THERE'S A MARKET IN TEMPLE BAR I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO GO!!!

And tada! Here I am!
Err... what can I say?... Hmm..
It's basically a small market selling local products like Cheese,

bakeries,

some barbecue stuff, 

and probably some fish that helps you live longer.

It's really small,
almost 5 percent of our pasar malam size in JB.
= =`
To be honest, I enjoyed looking at all the stuffs they are selling,
organic apples, homemade yogurt, crepes, cookies and choco cakes (YUM!), or maybe some Mexican food as well.
Compared to our pasar (market) over there...
It's so much more healthier!!!!!
hahaha

This little bakery stall caught my eye!

Mince pies, coconut cookies, Mars cookies. Oh God.

Couldn't resist the temptation and bought one little chocolate biscuit cake and tried :)
To my surprise,
not only there's choco, biscuit in the cake,
there's also caramel and with little chunks of marshmallows!!!
Whoever baked this,
You are a genius.

Wandering around Old Temple Bar after my little cake feast,
passed by Gallery of Photography Ireland,

Hmm, let's just popped in and see ;)

Came to my surprise,
Hmm...NOT BAD AT ALL.
Enjoyed looking at all the photographs in the Gallery,
if you're a photomaniac, or camera guy or girl,
this Gallery is definitely a must-go for you!
May be a bit small,
but the photographs (especially the galleries on 2nd floor, my fav)
were so full of emotions and life-realistic.
There's even a little shop downstairs,
may even find you fav photography book ;)

After my little adventure in Old Temple Bar,
head to city center and see what's going on there...

Christmas decorations are all up,
Dazzling Christmas trees,
everybody carrying bags of shopping goodies, (despite of the economy recession..Hmm..)

Oh well,
less than a month and it's 2013.

Time flies.

Live now.
Stay strong.
Be happy.
:)

"Kept on telling myself not to think too much,
if things are meant for you, it will be for you."

Cheers!
Have a great December everyone! :)

Coming soon!

17th September 2012, coming soon!
Induction week... Hmmm..
Looked through the timetable for Induction week and my reaction was: Hmmm...


Anyway,
the point is,
I'M OFFICIALLY A UNIVERSITY STUDENT! soon!

Macam ini pergi universiti boleh ke?? 

(In Malay/Indonesian: Can you go for university studies looking like this?!)

Went for some job interviews and bought a bike from a nice Irish lady,
all of them had the same reaction,
ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE STUDYING COLLEGE?
ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT UNDERAGE?
... ...

Yes, people.
I'm quite sure I am.
-.-

Went to Trinity College Dublin that day, damn!! Inside was MAJESTIC!
So does the tuition fees as well /\
Learn to stay put was one of my challenges in life, (skipping last year in high school you mean? :P )
cos I seemed to run around everywhere and chase so much things that I could lost myself sometimes.
But it's fun though ;)

I guess I'll be a happy and satisfied student in Griffith College for 3 years :)

Sometimes when I walk by the clock tower in our college,
I would think of something like: Man I'm really in Ireland now.
Cos this is the ONLY picture about the college that I can see before coming to Ireland.

APPRECIATE APPRECIATE AND APPRECIATE. : )
And yes, appreciating everything in life can bring you more good stuffs in life!

My dear mummy, THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!
The thermal wear, hat, scarf, gloves were great stuffs!
Sorry for spending so much money on me :(
But it's really warm especially when the weather change drastically recently in Dublin...
And heartwarming too :))
Looks like it bye-bye to summer... :(
And hello to WINTER.

First winter in my life.
People would react dramatically saying that:' What?! YOUR FIRST WINTER?!'
Duh... ... What do you expect? Winter in tropical country like Malaysia?!
-.-

But gratefully,
my room mate here will help me and give me all the tips I need for winter! bwahahaha : DD

So I guess there are two lessons that must be learnt,

APPRECIATE and ADAPT.

Three months here in Ireland already and I have to say, sometimes I'm still experiencing some culture shock,

hahaha curious you might be about what kind of culture shock I experienced?

Let's see... 

Kisses on face when saying hello (That freak me out at first but I guess I'm okay now hahaha)

Different thoughts on relationship (Well you know Asians can be kinda conservative sometimes-.-)

The One night stand culture here (Hmm... seriously?!)

The TV shows here....................(Did I just saw a girl and a guy...?)

hahahaha

While adapting the culture here, Dublin feels more homey now :)

Whenever I came back from a long trip (Say Galway-.-),

'YESSSSS DUBLIN I'M COMING HOMEEEEE! FINALLY!'

I guess this is a pretty good sign :)

Plus, Dublin is indeed a great city to live in :) 

People here are nice and friendly, the city is... well not too 'city' and not too 'kampung' (in Malay, village), just nice : )

Although I might get hurt sometimes,

but I guess it's okay :')
Just like mama always says,
微笑面对挫折 :)
Smile to difficulties in life!

And probably make myself a good breakfast to cheer up my day :)

GAMBATE!
: D

Recently.

Recently I found out that my emotion flows, a lot.
Is that a good thing? Or am I just too affected by the weather here in Dublin?
Sometimes raining, sometimes full of sunshine (especially when I got off from the bed grrrrr....),
Sometimes the wind could be so strong that it can almost blow us away hahaha
But its fun! (trying to stay positive here!!) hahaha

Recently I found out that I had lost 2 kg in my first two weeks in Ireland,
how awesome is that!!!! xDD
Looks like all these walking and cooking and running can really work out a lot of calories!!
NOW... WHO IS THAT PERSON WHO SAID I WILL BECOME FATTY BOM-BOM IF I COME BACK MALAYSIA?!

Re-check my friend!!

Dieting becomes much more easier without mummy beside me. nyehehehe.
:)
plus, going to gym with friends can be very encouraging!! : D


After my last article in blog, I thought and found out that I had to adapt everything new around me,
the moment when I open my eyes in the morning,
I told myself:" Today is a present, and I'm about to enjoy it. Good morning, beautiful Ireland."  :)
During the night, (the part which I'm trying to adapt here),
I told myself:" Be grateful, for what I have gone through today."
Guess I had to make myself as busy as possible to get rid of homesick. haha :)

But we're okay, I'm okay, we're all doing fine,
after all these gym workout and basketball playing made me really exhausted,
especially shivering while playing basketball!! I can't even find a single sweat!!!
Can you imagine if we play basketball during winter?
HAHAHHAHAHAHA
iced-basketball!! xDD
Pity Er Ge and San Ge, both of them kept on running on the court to keep themselves warm!!
But it's fun, it's fun :)


Recently, I also found out that,
If you have a "thought of comparison",
where you compare yourself to someone you used to love, hate, or someone who scarred you.
You'd be like living in hell.

So please,
you have your own life, go enjoy it,
don't kept on reminding me how better you are without me,
don't kept on showing me off how amazing your life is with her,
seriously dude,
I gotta say, it's pathetic.
You only make yourself more miserable.

Learn to be content and enjoy what you have NOW.



That day teacher Anna asked us a question,
What is your dream?
... ...
... ...
... ...
... ...
... ...


Well, I have a dream. And I hope it will come true.