#16 Wordless Wednesday

Japan Trip Day 2: Makuhari Messe

Continuing to our second day at Japan.

We woke up with sunlight streaming through our windows. I was having my PMS and didn't expect to wake up too early. Hehe. But my roommie got frustrated for not being able to do her subuh prayers. The time difference here was only late one hour from Malaysia but sun rose earlier than 4:30 am.

We woke up around 7:30 am. =p

The day was bright and magnificent. Just outside of our hotel, trees were prime in their autumn gloom. People say that autumn is the best season among the four seasons. And I have to agree on that when I spotted the view outside.

Weird, no cars to cause jems around here.

We were welcomed by the sight of empty roadways. Where did all the cars gone to?

The view was just breathtakingly beautiful. Sigh!

We had to walk our way to the nearest subway station and that took us about 10 minutes. It wasn't that near as expected. A map of the area was asked from the Foreigner counter down at the lobby. With that map, we made our way to Shinjuku Subway station using the underground route.

Almost at every corner we found machines like below to buy drinks on the go.

1200 yen per bottle.

This is among the few types of food machines around Tokyo. 

I preloaded a map of the Tokyo's subway onto my iPad. But that too deemed difficult for us to understand as the subway systems here were a bit confusing.

We actually didn't know which train station to go as there were like soooooooooo many subway lines. I initially planned to go on the Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Tokyo station and from there use Keiyo Line to Makuhari Messe. But we couldn't find the Chuo Line at all!!! 

It was after much asking around did we realize that the map on my ipad was actually for JR Lines only. And the Chuo Line and Keiyo Line were under JR Lines. Confusing right? 

I could summarize that there are THREE main subway lines in Tokyo

• Tokyo Metro Line
• Toie Line (Tokyo Metropolitan Government)
• JR Lines

Knowing the colors for each line would be most helpful for newbies to Tokyo, Japan. =(

There are two types of trains to our destination. Rapid (left) or Local (right).

If you could get onto the rapid Trains.. you'll be able to reach your destination with only 2-3 stops. And faster with that! And try to avoid rush hours as things could get squishy.

This is not squishy enough. 

Using the JR Lines enabled us to ride to Makuhari Messe with only one ticket and with two trains whie transiting at Tokyo station.

Changing trains at Tokyo Station, had to find the Keiyo line first.

I never expected that in order to reach Keiyo Line from our drop off from Chuo Line, we had to go down three flights of stairs and three (me think) walking escalators. It took us about 15 minutes to go through all of that!!!

Just follow the ORANGE lines! 

When at last we reached Makuhari Messe, my friend was out of breath and our feet were aching! LoL. We hoped that the journey here has taken some kilograms off our weight.

Finally here at last!!!

The building was white and there were various banners outside it to showcase the many broadcast equipments being exhibited here.

Can't wait to get inside! It was freezing outside!

We had to rush to the International Conference Hall as the conference was being held there.

Just follow the signboards. 

When we finally registered at the counter, we were each given a name card to hang around our necks. There was a bar scan on the cards for them to scan for prove of attendance. Wow! Advance gittewww! As we were quite late (bikin malu sehh! haha), in the hall itself we were led to sit at the VERY FRONT of the conference room. Waahhh... reserved seats for both of us. Malu masuk lambat wei! Oh well. Pasrah jelah.

One of the content special session that I personally enjoyed that day was entitled "Unlimited Potential of Movie Production and its Future" because the renown Hollywood film-maker Mr Gareth Edwards was one of the panelists!

Mr Gareth Edwards at the far right!

Gareth Edwards was famous for making the movie MONSTERS with a little crew of only 4 to 5 members!!! It was budget saving and his movie was a blockbuster hit in cinemas worldwide. The movie Monsters were edited using the newly enhanced Adobe movie editing suite. They talked mostly on how visual effects would soon be widely used to cut costs and bring in more revenue.

He's sooo cute!!!!!!!!!!! *awwwwwwwwwww!!

The other panelists spoke in the Japanese Language but fortunately for non-speakers like me, I was given a device to hear the direct translation of each Japanese speaking panelist.

Nice!!

Meanwhile, outside the conference hall there were a total of 6 Halls that exhibit all kinds of broadcasting equipment and technologies.

This Hall  (Hall 8) was specifically for Visual Production equipment.

We had a breakdown communication problem as almost 90% of the exhibitors didn't speak English. LoL. Except for the young lad below.

He spoke with a British accent y'all!

Overall, we had an eventful day. I get to meet the director of NHK (Japan's TV station) and also the excutive director of Singapore's TV station. He was sitting on my right during the conference. A very friendly man who always smile, nice. Hee..

Oh before I end my entry for the second day.... lemme share my favorite picture of Makuhari Messe surroundings. (Not really the building.. just the buildings surrounding it. LoL)

Beautiful day right?

OK.. wrapping up my second day at Japan.

Thank you for reading. =)

.

Japan Trip Day 1: Touchdown at Japan

This whole golden opportunity to fly to Tokyo, Japan and stay there for 5 nights was my boss's idea. The director of the government body that I work with has kindly recommended me along with two other co-workers to attend an international conference held at Makuhari Messe, Japan.

And boy was I excited!

Being the youngest among the three, I was assigned to do all the paperwork, hotel reservations and route planning in order for our journey to Japan to go smoothly. I had some setbacks especially when it comes to applying the budget and visa applications, but God was kind to me and everything become alright.

I got scared when precondition for Japan visa was to have RM10,000 in your savings account. By golly!

Applying the budget was another thing. Thankfully it was fully sponsored by my workplace but I had to plan within the approved budget. How much? That's a secret! *wink2x!

In order to cut costs, we had to fly via AirAsia instead of our official carrier which is MAS. Sorry MAS... AirAsia was just so cheap compared to your fares for the same destination. So Haneda Airport here we come!!!

Walking to the airplane has never felt so good! Kah kah kah!

I don't know any word of Japanese and had to download some Japanese Language for beginners onto my iPad just to pass my time on the 7 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo, Japan. 7 hours!!!! Mygosh!!! But alas... I slept mostly on the way. LoL!!!

And finally...

TOUCHDOWN at Haneda Airport, Japan!

See my flight number from Kuala Lumpur?

We met some friendly Malaysians who were on the same flight as we were waiting for our luggage. For them it was like the 10th time they've been here, as for me.. it was my first. Haha. Jakun aku wei!

And while we figured out on how to get to our hotel, we took pictures with the nice Japanese lady who assisted us. We learnt how and where to buy the airport limousine tickets and which port to go to. The Japanese people working at the information counter were very helpful and cheerful even though the time was about 11 pm.

"Arigato gonzaimasu!"

I wouldn't say that the ticket price was cheap, considering it only took about 40 minutes to the hotel via bus. 1200 yen y'all!! That's equivalent to RM55.00!

They have the same ticketing procedure with Seoul, Korea.

After we bought the tickets, we were stopped by Japanese police men who insists on questioning us. That was one welcoming I felt uncomfortable with. =(

Maybe because we wore hijabs?

It was a relieve when we finally were let go to resume our trip to our hotel.

A TV screen to show the routes the bus would  go through.

Fair enough, the signages around Haneda Airport was helpful. And we didn't get lost in finding our way to the bus stop. 

When we finally reached the Shinjuku Washington Hotel, we got confused because when we stepped into the building, there was no lobby on the first floor. A guy passed by and suggested we went upstairs. We had to bring our heavy luggage up the escalator to search for the lobby. We couldn't find any lift. It was only on the 3rd floor that we finally found the lobby's signboard. Ishhh... menyusahkan. Would've been nice if there was a signboard downstairs to ease foreigners. 

Our room was on the 19th floor with its window facing the streets of Shinjuku. Everything was in a minuscule scale.  The room, the bed... even the bathroom was mini despite having a bath tub which was also tiny. Can't lay down fully in that one!

Bathrobes were placed on the foot of each bed.

We went organizing our stuff. Just below hooks meant for the hangers of our clothes, we piled up our food stocks for the week. LoL!

Maggi anyone?

There wasn't enough leg room for praying and we had to move a sitting chair away, just to make room! It was funny to remember that my roommate has changed her kiblat three times before settling for one. I advised her to throw her useless compass away since it kept showing different directions! LoL!

Minuscule bathroom with an electronic toilet seat!

And behold!! Our OPEN closet!

Just hook em up!

All in all, paying a hefty RM500++ per night in a small hotel room like this in Japan makes us feel thankful for the equally priced but overly spacious hotel rooms back in Kuala Lumpur.

Sempit tahu tak?

On a positive note, we received FREE internet LAN access. Just have to bring a laptop that can access to LAN as there's no Wi-Fi. Plus there's a hairdryer and electric kettle. 

And with all that I've written, I'll call it quits for the day.

Until another post... tata!

Thankyou for reading. =)

.

Menonton Malaysia lawan Indonesia LIVE di internet

Hahaha.. sambil tonton bola tanpa tersekat-sekat di laptop... boleh main Cityville. Erkk..

Click here untuk tontonan LIVE perlawanan akhir bola antara Malaysia dan Indonesia..

GO Malaysia! GO!!!!


http://jomtontontv.blogspot.com/p/jom-tonton-tv-online-malaysia.html

.

Kakiku kerjanya berjalan je di Jepun...

... Sampai luka berdarah. Huhu. Naik tren pergi-balik mengambil masa hampir dua jam dengan sesatnya lagi dan tak faham tulisan jepun lagi. Hahaha...

Tapi walaupun kaki terasa sakit... I am still the happiest person in the world sebab sekarang berada di Jepun. =p

.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.1

Rush Hour di Jepun pada 7:30 - 9:30 pagi

Alhamdulillah aku sampai Jepun dengan selamatnya pada pukul 10:15 malam semalam. Ketiadaan Wi-Fi di lapangan terbang Haneda membantutkan impian aku untuk check-in Foursquare. Dang! Haha.

Pada hari ini aku berkira-kira untuk bertolak ke tempat forum selepas Rush Hour Jepun sebab tak nak menjadi mangsa korban himpitan semasa naik tren nanti. Aku dengar keadaan agak 'mampat' pada masa itu. Lebih teruk daripada keadaan lrt di Kuala Lumpur semasa Rush Hour. Heeeee..

Ok.. adios.. kena bersiap... kalau kat Malaysia pukul 5:41 pagi masih gelap lagi... tapi kat Jepun pulak dah terang bederang pada 6:41 pagi. ;p

tata~
.

Why I cannot be a FULLTIME blogger?

1. I already have a full-time job.
2. If I'm invited to attend a certain event, I can't promise to attend but I'll try my best. Huhu.
3. If I do attend an event, I wouldn't know when I'll have the time to blog about it. LOL!

sekian itu sahaja. =p

hutang entri masih banyak neh. ADuhhhhhhhh!!!!


Macam mana nak buat kalau esok dah nak terbang ke negara matahari eks? Mood takde la beb. huhuhuhu....

.

Pink Mocktail Night @ Hard Rock Cafe, KL

Akhir bulan Oktober yang lepas, aku diajak untuk menyertai satu acara anjuran Pantai Hospital Klang di Hard Rock Cafe, Kuala Lumpur. Turut menghadiri program itu ialah Cik Lily Putih, farra eng, Kak ina KL dan zuriey.

Kami berjaya duduk berhampiran dengan pentas dan melihat sendiri nyanyian secara LIVE artis jemputan pada malam itu. Aku baru tahu yang bulan Oktober dijadikan Bulan Merah Jambu (Pink October) di mana Hari Kanser Payudara turut disambut pada setiap tahun. Pelbagai acara diadakan termasuk lah 'Pink Charity Run' iaitu larian amal untuk mengutip dana bagi cancer survivor ini.

Antara mereka yang memeriahkan majlis pada malam itu ialah...

Mr Stanley selaku CEO bagi Pantai Hospital Klang

Dan Pengacara pada malam itu ialah...

Dato'Yasmin Yusuff iaitu Event Ambassador bagi Pink October ini

Jemputan khas yang lain ialah bekas pesakit kanser payudara yang bakal memberikan persembahan kejap lagi.

Mereka nampak sangat bersemangat!

Sempena malam Pink Mocktail itu, sesiapa yang membeli minuman pink di Hard Rock Cafe itu turut menyumbang sedikit dari hasil belian itu kepada tabung penghidap kanser panyudara.

Bukan alkohol ye. =)

Suasana dalam Hard Rock Cafe dihiasi dengan belon-belon serba merah jambu di setiap meja para jemputan. Comel kan? Rasa macam slumber party pon ade! hehehe.

Bertemakan merah jambu. 

Artis jemputan pada malam itu turut mengenakan pakaian merah jambu. Mari ku perkenalkan cik Amanda Imani, seorang penyanyi baru yang mempunyai suara yang mantap!

Amanda Imani yang cantik menawan.

Klip di bawah adalah sedikit suntingan yang dibuat terhadap persembahan nyanyian cik Amanda. Hehe


Kami turut dihiburkan daripada band jemputan Hard Rock Cafe itu sendiri.

Persembahan yang Mantap!

Dalam acara itu, kami sempat berkenalan dengan ibu Amanda Imani yang nampak muda.

Apa rahsia Puan nampak mudah ek? hehe

Sementara itu, jualan barangan kemas buatan sendiri diadakan dalam cafe itu.

Cantik! Setiap hasil jualan disumbangkan ke tabung pesakit kanser. 

Oh.. jangan dilupa... persembahan istimewa yang diberikan oleh para bekas pesakit kanser payudara.

Bersemangat!

Memandangkan ini kali pertama aku datang ke Hard Rock Cafe, Kuala Lumpur, kami para bloggers tidak melepaskan peluang untuk mencuba makanan di sana.

Terima kasih kepada cik Lily Putih kerana belanja kami makan dan juga menjemput kami menyertai event yang meriah ini.

Sodapp!

Korang boleh mengadakan ujian Monogram (ujian kehadiran kanser) di Hospital Pantai Klang di alamat berikut:

Pantai Hospital Klang
Lot 5921, Persiaran Raja Muda Musa
41200 Klang, Selangor
Tel: 03 3258 5500
Fax: 03 3374 2010
Email: infoklang@www.pantai.com.my
website: www.pantai.com.my

Moga kita semua melakukan langkah berjaga-jaga untuk mengelak kanser dan dijauhkannya. Amin.

.

Potret Keluarga (Unseen before)

Klik untuk pembesaran yang sihat. =)

Aku rasa itu tulisan cina kot kat bawah. Erk! My sister was among the fortunate few yang pernah bersekolah di sekolah cina di Sabah. Jadi aku bagi amaran awal-awal lah kepada kekawan yang nak mengumpat dalam bahasa cina tu sebab adik aku boleh faham. Ngeee..

Picture drawn by zeneria.blogspot.com

Ahh.. tak sabar nak balik kampung hujung bulan neh! Yay!

.

Kenangan belajar bermain piano ketika kecil

Sejak mengepost entri semalam berkenaan 'My Happiest Moment', aku teringat pada kisah-kisah lama yang ada kaitan dengan gambar itu. Jika korang perasan, ada mesin menjahit dan piano elektronik di belakang kami dalam gambar itu.

Hidup kami agak susah ketika menetap di seberang. Ibu selalu pastikan kami anak-beranak yang ke sekolah akan bawa bekal makanan. Waktu sekolah di sana bermula 8 pagi dan tamat pada 3 petang. Masa yang agak lama berbanding di Malaysia. Pakaian yang kami pakai kebanyakannya dijahit sendiri oleh ibu bagi mengurangkan kos perbelanjaan. Tapi pakaian di sana bukannya mahal sangat cuma kena tunggu waktu jualan murah ja.

Antara perkara yang paling aku ingat ialah kesanggupan ibu  menghantar aku untuk belajar bermain piano di rumah jiran. Cikgu piano aku seorang wanita tua yang tinggal di sebuah rumah besar. Piano milik wanita itu jenis kayu dan sangat besar! Seingat aku lah.

Kelas-kelas piano aku diadakan dua kali seminggu. Selalunya selepas waktu sekolah. Wanita tua itu bernama Mrs Fultz.

"Bend your fingers often so that it will soften when you grow up." cikgu aku kata. Jari-jari aku kena sentiasa dibengkokkkan semasa bermain piano. Dia mengajar mengikut buku. Selesainya satu buku piano, dia akan tandatangani satu sijil di belakang buku itu bagi mengesahkan aku telah berjaya menyelesaikannya.

Aku tak pernah terfikir berapa banyak kos yang dilaburkan oleh ibu untuk pembelajaran piano itu. Tapi aku turuti ja. Aku pernah rasa takut terhadap suami cikgu aku itu sebab lelaki tua itu sudah nyanyuk dan tak berupaya untuk berjalan. Dia selalu bercakap sendirian dan matanya macam buta. Takut ohhh..

Kekadang cikgu aku akan suruh aku menghafal satu lagu. Disuruhnya aku praktis sehingga aku boleh main piano tanpa lihat note. Maka aku main sampai lenguh tangan aku. Hasratnya untuk aku persembahkan mainan piano aku dalam suatu majlis tapi aku tak pernah pula pergi. Hehehe. Nerves kot.

Bertahun-tahun kemudian, apabila aku mengenang semula perkara belajar main piano itu, aku rasa sedih.

Sedih sebab...

..... aku tak pergi jauh dalam belajar bermain piano. Sayang kan? Tapi sekurang-kurangnya aku ingat satu lagu je yang berjaya ku hafal semasa berada di bawah telunjuk cikgu itu. Aku masih boleh dendangkan asalkan ada piano. Tapi itu pun tiada....


. =(

My Happiest Moment

As years passed, the technology of photography has ever been revolutionized. Now it has became an affordable tool for everybody. During my adolescent years, owning a camera was deemed a luxury that not anyone can afford especially digital ones. I believe the first digital camera to be commercialized was somewhere in the 1990's.

My father had this camera that uses Kodak films. In those days, pictures that we took were stored in 35mm Kodak films. They come in various sizes and film quality. Every time the film runs out, we had to send it to stores to develop the pictures.

My father took a lot of pictures during my youth especially during his years as an undergraduate student with four children at USA.  (Now six!) He was very fond of photography and many of the developed pictures were stored in huge albums. But alas, when we finally moved back to Malaysia for him to start afresh working, the albums were lost in between various houses we moved in. We lived like nomads. He was transferred many times within Sabah due to his occupation. And us with it.

The cherished albums and photos? Lost and forgotten.

Only a few remain. And among them are photos that has successfully captured my happiest moment because every time I look upon it, I smile. I had to scan the picture in order to post it on my blog.

The biggest smile I've ever seen on my father's face.

My youngest sister during this time has finally took her first step as a toddler. All my other siblings kept cheering her on to succeed. These were rare times where all my family members were together. My father was always busy with his studies, exams and his part-time jobs just to make ends meet. It doesn't happen often to see him smiling so happily. And when he does, it means the world to us. As long we were together, nothing else matters.

So whilst rekindling my happiest moment captured on this photo, I'd like to enter 'The Happiest Moment' contest held by Nuffnang and Olympus.

Contest details here. 

Time to take happy photography!

Thank god we won't use Kodak film anymore with the likes of Olympus PEN Lite E-PL3 and Olympus PEN mini E-PM1 in the market. =)

.

My Budget - Perbelanjaan ke Jepun

Dari Haneda Airport ke Shinjuku - RM45.00 - 1,200 Yen
Dari Shinjuku ke Haneda Airport - RM45.00 - 1, 200 Yen
Train passes from hotel to Makuhari Messe - RM50 pergi balik ( equivalent) x 3 hari = RM 150.00

Makanan - bawa maggi + milo paket + biskut kering + bun dari Malaysia. Hak hak hak!

So... aku bawa dalam RM500 je, boleh tak?

Kalau aku tak mampu nak beli fridge magnet minta maaf ye. Heee.. aku cakap awal-awal bagi mengelakkan sebarang kekecewaan.

huhuhu..

PS: hasrat ku menyimpan duit demi Macbook masih tinggi maka haruslah  berbelanja secara berwaspada. ye dak?
.

Pra-tonton Filem Immortals

Tarikh: 9 November 2011 (Wednesday)

Masa: 9.30pm

Tempat: Cathay Cineplex e@Curve

Terima kasih yang tidak terhingga kepada Nusantara Edaran Filem dan Nuffnang untuk tiket ini.

Sinopsis:

Visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) and producers Gianni Nunnari (300), Mark Canton (300) and Ryan Kavanaugh (The Fighter) unleash an epic tale of treachery, vengeance and destiny in Immortals, a stylish and spectacular 3-D adventure. As a power-mad king razes ancient Greece in search of a legendary weapon, a heroic young villager rises up against him in a thrilling quest as timeless as it is powerful. 

The brutal and bloodthirsty King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) and his murderous Heraklion army are rampaging across Greece in search of the long lost Bow of Epirus. With the invincible Bow, the king will be able to overthrow the Gods of Olympus and become the undisputed master of his world. With ruthless efficiency, Hyperion and his legions destroy everything in their wake, and it seems nothing will stop the evil king’s mission. 

As village after village is obliterated, a stonemason named Theseus (Henry Cavill) vows to avenge the death of his mother in one of Hyperion’s raids. When Theseus meets the Sybelline Oracle, Phaedra (Freida Pinto), her disturbing visions of the young man’s future convince her that he is the key to stopping the destruction. With her help, Theseus assembles a small band of followers and embraces his destiny in a final desperate battle for the future of humanity.

Aku dari dulu memang minat cerita-cerita Roman, Greek dan tuhan-tuhan mereka. Contohnya cerita Xena the Warrior Princess, Thor, Hercules, Spartacus dan banyakkkkkk lagiii... Apabila diberi peluang dari Nuffnang untuk menonton Immortals, hati ini memang terasa sangat teruja dan gembira!

Aku berpuas hati dengan cara mereka mengolah cerita filem ini. Memandangkan aku pernah menonton filem 300, aku dah bersedia untuk menonton babak-babak ngeri berdarah dan penuh kekejaman. Aku rasa banyak gak babak yang dipotong. He he. Siapa yang tak tahan tengok darah, filem ini tidak sesuai untuk anda okeh.

Ratings untuk filem ini...

.. (sebab aku memang suka filem yang penuh aksi dan keganasan...)

... aku bagi 9/10!

Selamat menonton!!

Akan keluar di pawagam pada 11.11.2011 (cantek kan tarikh dia?)

.

#15 Wordless Wednesday

.

.

.

.
.
.

Malam terakhir bersama adik...

...sebelum dia balik ke Kelantan dan menjalani peperiksaan dalam bulan ini jugak.

Memang tak dapatlah dia studi sepanjang di KL ini. Aku dah agak dah. Tinggal dengan aku mesti tak lekat kat rumah punyalah. He he he.

So semalam... untuk malam terakhirnya di Kuala Lumpur sebelum penerbangannya ke Kota Bharu... aku buka modus operandi "Your wish is my command".

Apa saja yang dia mahu semalam, aku cuba tunaikan sebaik mungkin.

Dan perkara-perkara inilah yang kitorang buat....

• Pergi MPH - mahu beli buku katanya, seb baik ada MPH kat Publika Solaris
• Makan Tutti Frutti (dia sangat obses terhadap ais krim) - Juga ada di Publika Solaris.

gambar dari sini.

• Makan Subway - ini sebab aku yang mahu. Hahaha.
• Tengok wayang - terpaksa memecut ke e-Curve Damansara sebab keluar je dari Solaris terus jumpa jalan ke Damnasara. Wayang yang available pada malam itu ialah "In Time"

I think this movie is B.S. (bull shit)

OK... gals night out to be remembered. Haha.

Tengah malam baru balik rumah... but didn't end there. Dia gi cuci baju, packing dan main internet lagi. Katanya di Kelantan tiada internet. hoh.. siannya...

And now, my last task for her.... bawa dia ke KL Sentral supaya dia leh naik bas ke LCCT.

Pic taken during my Chatime teatime with Nuffnang.

Farewell my dear sister. Belajar leklok naa......

.