Umrah April 2013

The four of us me, wife, Hazim & Humairah signed up with Alfjar Travel & Tours from 01 - 11 Apr 2013 for the Umrah package to Medinah & Makkah. The package of RM4,990 includes airfare on Malaysia Airlines, lodging and food and ziarah. We left KLIA at 11am and arrrived at Medinah International Airport at 2.30pm. There were 31 people in the group of 10 men.

Ajim n Humaira

Seoul - Winter Jan 2013

Left for Seoul on 02 Jan 2013 from Kuala Lumpur LCCT. Arrived at Incheon Airport at 4.10pm. Being winter, we had brought winter jacket since we are  expecting a very cold dry weather. We had to choose this date since it is the only free time available for our school-going kids.

Eid Celebration

Today muslim worldwide celebrate after a month-long fasting during the Ramadan month. Celebration includes morning prayers followed by visiting to relatives & friends home. Prayers starts at 830 followed by the sermon. After prayers, the family from my wife sife gathered at our grandmother home in Keramat. Lemang(rice cooked in bamboo) were served. It was normally eaten with beef or cooked in coconut milk mixed with gravies.

Mersing n Singapore

Over the weekend, me, wife and 2 kids attended a wedding in Mersing, eastern Johor state and 350km from KL. Left home at 9.30am and reach Mersing at 1.30pm. Took the North South hIghway and exited at Ayer Hitam. We stop by a pottery shop to get some Spode ceramics. Spode are branded ceramic wares sold in the UK.  Some are produced in Ayer Hitam. They are however, seconds items.

Osaka Day 6 - Packing for Home

We woke early getting ready to return to Malaysia. Yoshiko prepared breakfast for us. Akiyo left much earlier at 7 for work. We had a family photo in front of their apartment house.

Bus station location for Nishinomiya

Nishinomiya Bus Schedule

Osaka Day 5 - Nara Prefecture



The next day Sunday, we went to Nara. Before leaving, I took some time to cycle to the mountain  and back to the beach which is close to their home. The bike belongs to Akiyo father Katsuyoshi. I did not manage to cycle far since the weather was very cold.

We went to Nara with Akiyo and her mother. We left for Nara at 10am. His father left home very early to play golf. It was a 15 minutes walk from Akiyo home to the nearest station, Korean. Along the way, we stop by the river bank, home of tens of cherry trees. Unfortunately there were no cherry bloom yet. 

Akiyo home from the side access

Road biking in Nishinomiya

Osaka Day 4 - Osaka Castle & Moving to Akiyo House

Osaka Castle

Hotel Misano Osaka

As we were planning to spend the rest of our stay in Akiyo home, we only booked Misano Hotel for 3 nights and had to check out on Saturday. Akiyo arrived 10.30am as planned. We left the luggage with the hotel and went out for breakfast.

Osaka Day 3 - Umeda & Den Den Town

This is the 3rd day we were in Osaka. It was raining since last night. The hotel reception offered us umbrellas.Even though it was drizzling, but enough to get us wet. Had tepoyaki for brekkfast or rather brunch. There we always long queue for this local dish. We ordered a pack of 8 piece for yen450 with daun bawang, mayonaisse, slices of dried tuna toppings. Had them with cokes. 

We took the subway again to Yodobashi Camera Outlet in Umeda to buy perfune and watches as souvenoirs for the kids at home. The price were quite competitive compared to the rest of the outlet we visited. Umeda is only 4 station away from Namba subway station.

Osaka Day 2 - Umeda, Dotonbori

On 2nd day we went to Umeda, Osaka central transport station with connections to all over Japan. The underground train station had similar system just like the ones in London and Paris. The difficult part is that the signboard were in Japanese with litle English. So i have to ask around to buy tickets from the dispensing machine.


The walk from the hotel for Umeda took us to the Dotonbori area.  The place is a popular  area where tourist and locals hang around. The street stretches for almost a kilometer long. We stopped over at the local brand Evisu jeans outlet to take photos. A jeans itself cost Rm800, so tengok aje ler.

Osaka Day 1 - Arrival

Air ticket reservation made in Dec 2011 during Airasia sale promotion

High above the clouds

Tickets were purchased during a promotion sale early Dec at RM800 per person. The kids were not going since the timing is not right. One will be sitting for exam and the other has classes to attend.

Langkawi Island - Mountainbike Challenge

Participate in Langkawi Mountainbike Challenge  LIMBC from 16 Oct until 23 Oct. Had attracted international participation from New Zealand, Australia, USA, South Africa, Germany and many more. Drove from Kuala Lumpur and had the car parked at Kuala Perlis jetty terminal. Used the passenger ferry to take the bike across to Langkawi Island. Four of us from the office rented a motel for the 5 days event. However most of us only complete the first day challenge and skipped the rest due to fatigue.

Ferry plying Kuala Perlis & Langkawi Island

Packing - Stansted Airport -> KLIA

It was quite tiring with 11 days on the road covering 3750 km, spending 320 GBP on diesel, 500 GBP on car rental and 500 GBP on accommodations.

Next was packing to go home. We stuffed the fragile ceramic plates loosely in between clothes in 3 suit cases. The rest 4 bags were stuffed with souvenoirs, chocolates, shoes and clothing.

All in 7 bags

London, Oxford, Carboot, Bicester Village - Day 11,12 of May 28,29

We left the hotel to London by 10am. Parked the car at Dollis Hill train station and bought a one day ticket for London Underground which includes services for the train & bus services. The ticket for the 4 of us cost 30 pound.

London transport services

Liskeard, Bristol, Oxford, Basingstoke - Day 10 of May 27

Hotel Trethew Manor is a countryside hotel with English old house and concept. Right after breakfast, we packed up and ready for the next trip to Oxford via Bristol. We had planned to meet an ustaz and his family. The wife from UIA is currently doing her sabbatical at Oxford University.

We arrived in Bristol at 12 pm and had jacket potatoes for lunch. Hazim bought a cap at one of the shop.

Bread and egg again for breakfast - were expecting a roti canai

Stoke onTrent, Liskeard, Cornwall, South England - Day 9 of May 26

After spending 2 nights at  Abbeyfield Hotel Bangor Wales, we packed up and drove to Liskeard, South England. We start early since the journey is expected to take 7 hours for 520 km trip.

We passed the town of Liverpool and Manchester.

Bangor Wales to Stoke on Trent

Bangor, Porthmadog, Snowdonia Mountains, Betws y Coed Day 7,8 of 24, 25 MayWales

In Wales, we had reservation at Abbeyfield Hotel in the town of Bangor north east of Wales.

Abbeyfield Hotel in Bangor Wales

Glenshee, Inverness, Fort William, Loch Lomond, Cheshire Oak Liverpool, Bangor - Day 6 of May 23

Spittal Glenshee room package does not come with breakfast, so we had breakfast with sandwich, sadin cap ayam, Milo tarik and susu Junjung that we had brought along. Next morning, we wandered around the hotel taking photos. Not able to stay outdoor for too long since the winds are cold and strong. The temperature hovers around 8 degree. It has been raining since the day we arrived yesterday. 

We packed up and drive northeast towards Inverness. The drive meandearing the mountain slope took us 3 hours although the distance is 150 km away. We took photos as we drove along but the cold wind of the mountain keep us taking photos mostly from inside the car.

Lochness of Scotland