I Love You

This evening when I fetched Nabila from her class, I heard her friend said “Bye.. Nabila” I turned my head n saw her classmate – boy said that. I told Nabila to say good bye back to him as I saw her like ignoring him. One more thing it was because the boy’s mother was there n I felt not nice if my daughter were to act like that.

While walking to the car Nabila told me :

Nabila: “Mommy.. u know what. I don’t like that boy."

Me: “Why? Why you don’t like that boy?”

Nabila: “There was at one time, long long time ago in term 2, he said that I look sexy”

Me: I cannot stand this n immediate laugh out loud. “But why he said that?”

Nabila: “I don’t know. He even said I love you to me. That was while I was with Arifah. We were like shocked n looked at each other. I don’t like him”

Me: Wah.. daring gak budak2 ni. “May I know why u don’t like him”

Nabila: “I just don’t like him. That’s all n I don’t like him!”

Hahahaha… If Nabila is 21years old now n tell me this, I would agree with her as I don’t like that boy either! Teruk kan mak dia ni..

A Trip To Jengka, Pahang

Yesterday I attended a wedding at Jengka, Pahang. There were 5 cars convoy who including my father n brothers. We departed in the morning n reached at Jengka around 12.30pm. I had not drive to East Cost for so long. They now have a highway going there. It is now very convenient n fast.

The weather was extremely hot n humid. I am actually in the group of pengantin perempuan – CHIK. So dapat special privilege sikit lah.. This was their first kenduri kahwin experience for Nabila n Hakeem. Well.. it was not as what they expected but they were surely enjoy their time there.

Hakeem was so glad to be with his cousins. He hardly has a chance to be with them. So once be with them maka bermula lah aksi2 ganas. I heard he said – let’s play fighting fighting.

After two hours there we made our trip back to KL. A long journey, hot n tiring day but I was happy to be with my brothers n father. My father came after that n overnight at my house. I cooked special lunch for him today.

Rest In Peace - Snowe

Yesterday while I was driving back home after fetched Nadira from school I received phone call from my maid. She said in panic “Ibu… itu ….. sudah meninggal” I didn’t really hear the full sentence as she was talking very loud n sounded alarmed. When I heard the word “meninggal” I started to panic as well n suddenly I could feel my blood poured up to my brain.

I asked her again “Apa? Siapa yg meninggal” She answered “Itu senow buk… senow rabbit meninggal” Oooh…. buat saspen je. Then Nabila took over the phone n explained to me that the rabbit was dead. I told her to wait as I was already near home.

When reached home Nadira straight away ran to look for the rabbit. She touched n examined hoping that the rabbit will still be alive. I saw the rabbit already shrunk a bit though he was just dead not even an hour. According to my maid she just took the rabbit from outside to the kitchen as she heard our neighbour’s dogs were barking. Snowe was still fine at that time.

After probably 5 min when she looked at him, he was already dead. We are until now didn’t know what’s the cause of his dead. We did a few assumptions n investigations. We smelled a strong smell of poisons around the house. I wanted to check thru the CCTV but unfortunately the connection was down.

So till now still no clue n evidence but we will still continue doing the investigations. Mcm CSI ah pulak! Nabila, Hakeem, Deea n Karsih buried Snowe behind our house. I was just saying yesterday to look for him a partner. He looked fine, healthy n really big when we took him back. Well… maybe dah ajal dia.

Good bye Snowe n we will surely miss you.

On Track

Now I am back on track. My children have started schooling yesterday. Nadira was so excited woke up very early to go to school but unfortunately the bus didn’t come (communication breakdown with the school). She was frustrated n upset. Hakeem got no problem woke up except Nabila. She was crying didn’t want to go to school. Probably she was still tired.

In the car both of them were quiet. Nabila was saying that she wanted to go back to Kazakhstan n missed her daddy. Once reached the school they were greeted warmly by their teachers n friends. I saw Nabila smiling n after awhile she was happy to be back in school.

After sent kids to school I drove back to Melaka to fetch my maid. I stayed there until lunch n picked my children after that. My maid who missed the children especially Hakeem hugged him the moment she saw him. Hakeem who was at first shy then smiled happily not letting his hand from her. Nabila n Hakeem were excited telling their moments n experiences to Kakak Karsih.

My fridge has now cleaned n the odour was getting better. I bought foods to refill my fridge. Huh.. I couldn’t believe that I’ve thrown everything out from the fridge. It was empty n like totally new. Our house is now dirt-free as well. Lega melihatnya..

Today I’ve started cooking lunch n my maid is so teruja nak masak sambal tumis ikan. She told me that she learned a few dishes from my mother in-law. So today nak tunjuk skill.. hehehhehe.. Ok lah kasi can..

Our rabbit – Snowe has now getting bigger n fatter which means that I have to start finding partner for him! I got phone called n a few orders coming in… I will be busy then..

Home Sweet Home

I had safely arrived at KLIA around 8.40am. We had our breakfast at the airport n then headed back home by taxi. Once we reached the house, all of us were very excited n happy. Nabila quickly ran upstairs n went to her room. The same went to Hakeem who immediately checked on his toys.

I looked through outside the house to check things around. When I went inside the kitchen I smelled something smelly n stinking. I wonder what it was. I then saw that the fridge was not ON. I was very sure I didn’t off it. I then suspected it could be part of the fuse got tripped during lightning which it always happened.

I opened the fridge n OMG… I felt like to puke. This was all the stinky smelly came from. I had no idea how long it had happened but I guessed it could be more than 3 days. At the freezer section all the frozen food had melted n rotten. At the fridge area – butter, milk, medicine, juice n lots more all melted, rotten n some even got fungus, maggot on it.

I stood there felt like to cry n shout out loud. I right away felt very tired n I just could not hold my body up right. Why all of these has to happen right now? My maid is not around n I have to clean all these alone. Should I wait for her or should I just clean it up?

I told myself that I couldn’t wait for her. I just couldn’t stand see all these n the smell. I without delay dgn tak buka2 tudung n tukar baju took out everything n chucked in the garbage bag. I was so frustrated that all my wet spices including the big container of tempoyak – gone! The smell is still lingering at my kitchen as I still didn’t do the thoroughly cleaning.

To make my day even worst, Nazri called me informed that my car couldn’t be started. He came a few times to run the engine but the battery was still flat. I couldn’t take this anymore. I went upstairs sat at the living room staring at the wall & TV (which was not even ON) long enough till I got tired n got my sense back.

Luckily hubby’s car is fine. I went out bought lunch n got the mechanic to change the battery of my car. Now my car is fine. I still haven’t unpacked the bags. I am totally worn-out. I was non-stop doing this n that from the moment I arrived home.

Anyway I am glad that I am back to my home sweet home.

Hate To Say Goodbye

I n my children will be leaving Almaty tonight. I have mix kind of feelings. I feel so sad to leave hubby alone here but at the same time I miss our home back in Malaysia. I wish I could stay here longer or hubby could come back with us but each of us has our responsibility to carry on. So this is it.. we being apart again.

We’ve been here for 19 days. We enjoyed all the time when we’re here. It was not just the place but the togetherness that means a lot. The weather when we first arrived here was cold n always raining. It was only yesterday n today that we can see the sun shined hot brightly.

The kids just love to stay at home – their daddy’s small cosy home. When we first arrived, we were a bit frightened to see the building. It’s an old unpleasant building during the Soviet Union time. Though looked old, the building has a door with code/key that can be opened only by tenants. This part a bit canggih lah.. Nabila n Hakeem always fought over who’s gonna open the door using the key.

The lift was very old n smelled like a horse! But once entered the house we felt like at home. We encountered two times blackout in the area. It happened in the night. We gathered in the bedroom, closed the door to make it warm with kids jumped, talked n played till we got tired fell asleep.

My routine here was just like a normal housewife. I woke up every morning with breakfast laid on the table. I then cooked for lunch n later for the tea time. As for the kids they just got lots of ideas doing this n that. They just never get bored.

Over the weekend we went out browsing around the city. There is some part of Almaty that looked modern n ‘civilized’. The people here are not that friendly. They always have a straight face n never smile. Even at the shops it always turned me down by looking at their face, if I wanted to ask for the price. The other major thing is they only speak their own language. If I want to stay here n survive I have to learn speak Russian.

Overall Almaty is a beautiful place once u know where to go n explore. If u know anybody here then it is worth to come. But if u just wants to come here for a holiday then u might to think twice.

Nevertheless we love to be here because hubby is around. I will surely miss the place n the home here. I’ve cooked varieties of food n frozen those in the fridge. This could at least last for 10 days n hubby doesn’t have to cook for dinner.

My children will surely miss their favourite TV channel Jetix that they watched all the time n also the long French bread that they love to eat. And the most of all – their daddy. I hate to say good bye but this is it..

Great Morning With Nice Coffee

I love when it’s weekend over here. The weather is always nice over the weekend n we got to wonder around the town with hubby around. This morning as planned we went to Cafe 4A for a breakfast. This cafe is highly recommended n have good comments from expat living here.

Kazakhstan people are a tea drinker. So to find a good cafe selling variety kinds of coffee are so rare. This cafe is like a ‘Starbuck’ cafe in here. I got to drink my favourite coffee with caramel. The cakes were good too. The cafe was not that big but it was cosy n welcoming. I like the atmosphere.

When I walked out from the cafe I noticed there was a sex shop beside it. Ahah... sorry I didn’t go in so there’s nothing to tell about! Hehehhhe.. it’s written there 100T for the entrance – RM2.50 je... So just took photo hubby posing in front of the shop.

After that we walked to the place called Soom (not sure of the spelling). It has different floors selling different kind of items. This may represents the Bukit Bintang in Malaysia. We went to the 3rd floors selling lots kind of Kazakhstan souvenir. I love to see all the stuffs but some were so expensive. I bought souvenirs for my relatives back in Malaysia.

When we went out from the building, the sun was shining hot brightly. It was so cold this morning. I regret that I didn’t bring my jacket n had to rely on hubby’s one. I didn’t expect that the weather here was like a rollercoaster, mostly raining n always cold under 10deg C.

After settled n once reached home, we were all very hungry. I made a quick simple kuetiaw goreng. I found the rice noodle in the supermarket here. We just at the moment relaxed n wait for our night acvitty.

A Trip To Mega Center Alma-Ata

Today hubby arranged a transport to bring us to one Mall in Almaty. Probably afraid that we would get bored to death.. Certainly this trip was a good therapy for us!

This mall is known as the biggest in Central Asia n the latest one in Almaty. It’s called Mega Center Alma-Ata. Huh.. kira gempak n bangga ah dapat gi ni.. It took about 10min journey from home. Along the way I saw new developments area for houses n offices. I could see lots of mirrored glass building with the latest design.

Hubby had warned me not to put high expectation towards this mall though it’s called Mega Mall. The Mall is actually as big as Alamanda, Putrajaya with two levels. There are many high street fashion shops. The price all are way more expensive compared to Malaysia.

I bought toys for the kid n some stuffs. I like the Mall as it represent the new image of people in Kazakhstan. I always see shops along the street that looked so gloomy n uninvited. These shops are shops that sell jewelry n branded clothes. At least when u are in this Mall u feel welcome n feel like at home.

Now.. I miss Sunway Pyramid, Alamanda, Giant & not to forget HERO!

Bright Sunshine Day

Today is a bright sunny day n I hope it will last till the evening. Since I came here it was always raining day after day. The temperature would of course drop n I just couldn’t stand the cold. Seriously I don’t mind to be under the heat of 50deg c like in Oman but I just couldn’t tolerate with the coldness. It will always stir my mood.

Hubby’s home is fixed with the installed unit heater in every room. Since last Sunday the heaters had been off. The heaters unit are actually controlled n centralized by the government. So since it is already spring, they decided to OFF those! Huh.. it was fine in the day time but when comes to the night... huh.. it is chilling cold especially when it is raining.

Hubby did ask me on the first week I was here – what if this is the place that we have to come instead of Oman? I told him that it would make no difference. For me as long as we are together we can always survive. Like when we first time being ‘thrown’ to Oman, we went there without knowing what to expect with nobody we know over there. But Alhamdullilah we were happy n managed to survive for almost 4 years there.

Same goes to him when he made the decision to come to Kazakhstan without us. To us probably not a major impact as Malaysia is our country but not for him. He almost gave up at the first few weeks when arrived here. Who could stand the NEGATIVE deg celcius temp? And further more he was here alone n lonely.

Some could say or ask why do u have to go into this trouble? Well.. good opportunity might come once in a lifetime. Not that we really go after money that we have to neglect everything. Money is not everything but money is also the only thing. Hubby n me have plans. Long run plans. We would love to have a lovely nice home n provide the best for the children n settle down (bila dah tua2) without have to worry so much about unnecessary things.

I n my children want hubby to come n work back in Malaysia. I’ve talked n shared thoughts with lots people working abroad. Each of them has different views n goals. Some wants to save up to RM1Million then only come back here n some just wants to enjoy their life abroad. I always tell hubby – nak cari duit sampai bila2 pun tak akan cukup.

I want to be happy for not only to worried about money (coz that’s hubby job to look for it.. hehehehe) but also the serenity happiness that I want in myself. As u are getting older your path of life would be different. Your thinking n priority will be gradually changed.

I foresee myself in 10 years time; InsyaAllah with God’s willing to give me good health – the four elder girls (one for sure is a Doctor n other three will have a good career in hands) and the two younger girl & boy are furthering their study at the University. Life would be great then.. I & hubby could spend time together menghabiskan hari-hari tua kami....

Zelyoni Bazaar - Green Market

Yesterday Sunday I made a trip again to Zelyoni Bazaar (Green Market). This time I went alone with hubby leaving kids at home. We waited for a taxi by the roadside nearby the house. I seldom see a proper registered taxi in Almaty. Actually anyone here can convert their car to a taxi. It is like a teksi sapu back in our country.

You just have to stand by the road side n wave to any car passing by especially old model cars. I could say that people here are very rich as they mostly drive Porsche, Mercz, BMW, Lexus, Toyota or Infinity. So yesterday we managed to stop a car driven by a beautiful lady. She was accompanied by her boyfriend probably.

Before we went into the car she asked our destination n how much we were willing to pay. We reached at the market after about 15min journey. The place was packed with lots of people. This time I interestingly took ample time browsed n looked around the market.

The Green Bazaar is the second largest market in Central Asia. A person who goes to this bazaar can buy anything that he wants and needs. We can find all kinds of foods from fresh vegetables, meat, dried nuts, pickles, cheese n more. It also has a section of clothes, shoes, house appliances n more. It is a one stop convenient centre under one roof.

I stopped at the vegetables section as I saw chilli. Red n green chillies like one in Malaysia. Excitedly I told hubby that I wanted to buy those. As usual language has always been a problem. Lucky hubby can speak basic Russian so at least he could ask for the price. I picked n chose the chillies n put on the weigh machine. The lady was trying to tell something which I understood she wanted to say “Are u sure u wants all this chillies” I nodded.

She then held one chilli n said something. Hubby asked how much per kilo n she said something while showing n held the chilli. After awhile then only we could figured out the she sells the chillies by piece which it was 15Tengge each (30cents). Well.. I just said Yes to make things easier n after counted the chillies we had to pay 300Tengge (RM8). Hmm.. ni mmg kena makan sampai ke tangkai2 n biji2 semua.. hahahahha.

We then continued to the meat section. I wanted to buy some beef. Again we had a tough moment to talk with them. We went to the halal section then asked whether it was a beef or lamb. Hubby doesn’t know those words in Russian. Then we kept saying beef n the man kept saying something in Russian.

Then we made a sign n sound like is this “moo mooo” with hand showing the cow’s horn. He nodded yes. Then We confirmed again by waving our hand as NO n said “mbekkk.. mbekkk”. We just wanted to make sure it was beef as we didn’t eat lamb. The man nodded again. Now we got confused already.. hahahahahhaha.

The man still didn’t gave up n try convincing us made signals like a big sign telling it was a cow n this was not lamb. After looked at the meat n confident I said ok.. why don’t we just buy it. We told the man that we wanted only half kilo n he said NO.. NO.. (which actually moving his head). He told us they didn’t sell by kilos but by the size that they already cut. Huh.. the one that he has was as big as my laptop. Nak buat kenduri ke? Hehehhhe.

So we decided not to buy n walked off after about 15min with him. What an experience! I went thru all the meat section n had a look at the meat horse. We then continued to buy some nuts n looked around. We took the taxi home which at first the driver reluctant to take our price then he just dropped us at the junction of the main road which was about 300 metres from home.

The 'Happening' Night in Almaty

Nightlife in Almaty is always happening. I noticed there are lots of night clubs, pubs n casinos. You just name any kind of pubs or show that u want to see here, you will definitely won’t regret.

Last night Zulfiya treated us a dinner at the Tropicana Restaurant. This is not only just a place to eat but they also have a cabaret dancing show every Friday & Saturday. She asked me actually whether I’ve watched this kind of show. My answer certainly was NO n told her I only seen on TV or read about it.

Once I walked in to the restaurant I could see fake banana trees around n fruits hanging n placed everywhere. Well.. it suits the name of the restaurant – very tropicana. The place is nice n cosy. The show started exactly after we finished our dinner.

It was quite entertaining. The show started with four beautiful sexy dancers danced around the dance floor. Later on by a couple performed their duet dancing. I felt like I was watching ‘You Think You Can Dance’. They could dance actually... hehehhehe..

The show lasted only for half n hour. It was normally performed for one hour but the management cut it short as there was a VIP customer ordered n requested a singer from Canada. We stayed for awhile to watch this special singer.

She indeed has a very powerful voice. She reminded me of Tina Turner but looked like Oprah Winfrey. The part that I really couldn’t stand was when all the guests started dancing on the dance floor. They were all pakcik makcik who really showing off their skill. Some were dancing like power rangers action with hand n feet mencucuk langit n some were dancing like dikir barat.

These were really made me laugh out loud. I am very sure they couldn’t understand any single lyrics but they were closing their eyes with mouth mimed according to the sound. Bersungguh-sungguh mereka. Hmm.. it was an interesting night.

Kok Tobe

Weekend has always be the special activity day for us as hubby is not working. Yesterday we went to Kok Tobe mountain. The weather was very nice – not too cold n bright sunny day. We took a slow walked from home which about 10min to reach the station. The mountain is connected to downtown Almaty by an aerial tramway (cable car). It took us 10 minutes to takes us to the top of the mountain.

This reminds me when u take a cable car at Genting Highland. We had to wait for 10min for the car to come. This was the first experience for Nabila n Hakeem n they were so excited but the worst part was we were cramped with many people as possible in the car. I was at first like suffocated but after the car moved with the fresh air, it felt better.

Thru out the journey to the mountain u can see lines of local houses. It was not really the good sight of the town as some of the houses were so old n dirty. When we almost reached up the mountain we could see the rollercoaster track n the beautiful mountain.

The Kok Tobe mountain is a typical tourist place with number of restaurants serving all from national dishes to pizza and burgers. There are also art galleries, a mini-zoo, amusement activities and souvenir shops. From the top of the mountain u can see the Almaty city.

We spent up there for about 3 hours. I got to buy some souvenirs up there. I managed to get some discounts thru the hard way of talking to them. They don’t understand English n insisted speaking Russian so we used the hands communication n calculator for the price. Macam ayam dan itik!

Kids were happy as got to play at the amusement park. We got to pay 400Tengge for the entrance but the weird n awful part was if I were to go in to accompany the children, I got to pay too! I really couldn’t understand why adults should pay as we definitely can’t play the swings or slides that were meant for kids. Nak buat duit lebih lah tu..

The weather was getting breezy n cold after awhile. We walked around the mountain. We stopped at the mini zoo n saw animals like chicken, goats n birds. Ok lah.. untuk menjamu mata.

We also found ... a bronze statue of the Beatles. There were some Beatles wannabe playing guitar singing with friends’ n fans watching them. Hmm... curiously n weirdly, I just don't see any connection between the mountain, Almaty and the Beatles.

We ended our day by having lunch at the Halal local Restaurant. When browsed thru the menu I saw they served horse meat which actually the local favourite dish. I love the local bread which exactly tastes our cakoi.

We enjoyed out trip there n I told hubby if we got no plans for the next weekend, we can always come here again.