home, murakami, the rain.

I'm finally home.

Trail of Leaves 1

I have to say it's nice to finally see some green scenery.


Doha

A view above the city of Doha, Qatar. Took this on my flight back. Stayed in the airport for 5 hours as a transit passager.


Bags and bags

Summer holiday is quite short this year. I'm planning to make full use of it.


The Sink

The constant calling from mom, the dishes to wash, the clothes to fold - it's the little things that makes me miss home.


Murakami 1

Started reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Heard lots of good things about Murakami online, so my expectations are quite high. He is know for a sense of surrealism in his writing.


Green Plant

It’s kind of ironic really, because Norwegian Wood, the most normal and realistic of all his novel is one that brought him to fame.


The Airport

Went back to Kelantan and Terengganu for a day via flight. Senai Airport had undergone a major renovation and the results are stunning.


JB's Airport

The waiting area is very comfortable. Had breakfast here while waiting for the flight.

The Waiting

Had a mug of hot Milo and ordered a bun of coconut pau. It was alright.


Proton Preve

Arrived in Kota Bharu by noon. Dad rented a car and we went to town. We parked next to a Proton Preve. My first impression - it's a beautiful car, and looks comfortable to drive.


Parking Toll

I liked how the state implement their parking system. Put coins inside one of these according to your allocated time. Much better than the system they use in Johor where you need to buy a ticket separately, and scratch the tickets manually everytime you park a cark. It's a hassle.


The Tricycle Driver

A rickshaw driver. How rare to see nowadays. I used to rode them with my aunt when I was little. That was long ago. In Muar where I used to live, all these rickshaw drivers are homeless. The bike is where they eat, live and sleep.

I would't be surprised if that's the case with this uncle as well.


Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah 3

Stopped by Pasar Siti Khadijah. I liked how clean the market is. You can't help but notice the majority of the sellers here are women. Makes the market's name quite fitting.


Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah 2

The second floor is filled with tradisional Malaysian food.


Sup Perut Kak Ani 2

Stopped by the always packed Kak Ani Sup Perut. Ordered 2 bowls of Kuew Teow Sup. One for me and one for dad. I'll always make sure to stop by here everytime I'm in Kota Bharu. We also ordered ABC. The ABC was so-so, it was too sweet and plain for my taste.

The soup tasted much better the last time I was here.


Sup Perut Kak Ani 1

But try to eat at this place if you ever step foot here. I recommend it. We drived to Besut next.


Dusk

We arrived late in Besut, almost near dusk. Visited my grandmother's grave. She passed away in March this year. Al-Fatihah.

My village is very near to the sea. You can see the sea by the window. This hut is where me and my cousins used to do barbecue when we were little. It was what, 13 years ago? I was 9 years old back then. How I treasure those memories.


Two Empty Seats

Never met my grandfather nor do I ever knew his face. I'm sure my father doesn' too as he passed away when my father was seven. With grandmother also gone, the house is now left completely empty. There's complete silence all around.

The house is also slowly being devoured by termites.


Norwegian Wood 1

The sea breeze is wonderful at night. Decided to continue reading Murakami under the beautiful moonlight. I'm halfway through and so far, there are many scenarios which I can relate to. He really excels in his characterization.


Dawn

We moved at dawn.


AirAsia

I think 'm getting sick of flying. Fortunately the weather's nice, look at the blue sky.


The View Above

The flight was only an hour long. I listened to lots of David Hodges lately. He's a former member of Evanescence and the ex-boyfriend of Kelly Clarkson. The Silence, Shattered and Icarus are all equally amazing - the man himself considers Shattered as one of his most proud work. They are not exactly mainstream music though so it might need a few listen for the songs to click.

He's a brilliant songwriter as well. Give Stitch by Stitch a listen.


Yellow Line and Yellow Car

Arrived at LCCT. Took a taxi to Bandar Tasik Selatan next. Snapped this picture while my father looked for a taxi.


Bus To JB

We took a bus back to Johor Bharu. It was raining half way through. I fell asleep and next thing I knew, I was home again.


Souq Sikkah, Moursi, Kushari, and the Muhammads.

Exam's finally over.

By the Window

It was hard, very very hard. Can't say that I'm confident I'll pass this time around.


Tuition Centre

But it was a very memorable semester for me, made lots of new friends, be it Malaysian, Egyptian or Saudian.


The Hospital

This is the Paediatrics Hospital. In layman terms, "pediatrics" mean childhood. This is were most of our clinical classes are held. The OSCE exam is held here as well.


Children's Hospital

A typical day at the hospital. Look at all these people waiting to get consulted by the doctor. Imagine how busy life as a doctor is.


Syarik Galak

I love this picture. Took it on my way home from the exam. If I were to show only one picture to describe Mansoura, it'll be this.


Untitled

Its summer now.


Tokmiah

Took this while having breakfast. It is inside an Egyptian restaurant at 6 AM in the morning. The sun's already shining.


The President

Morsi’s the new President of Egypt. He has a huge burden on his shoulder. Not only are the citizens watching him closely, but the whole world as well. But I believe he can succeed, he’s an intelligent man.

A random fact; do you know that he used to work for NASA as a rocket engineer?


A New Hope

Hopefully the people gives him a chance to prove himself.


Fruit Stall

It's watermelon season now. They are everywhere. Never bought them here though because they are full of seeds.


Yellow Mini

A yellow Mini. This caught my eye.


Koshari 1

A staple Egyptian dish, called Kushari. Its an acquired taste though. I personally love it.


Sikkah 2

Had a walk to souq Sikkah the other day. Its essentially an open air marketplace. If Cairo is famous with Khan el-Khalili, Mansoura is famous with Sikkah. It is not as big or well known of course.


Dark and Bright

The open air atmosphere makes for a very unconditional atmosphere. The shops set up canvases to prevent from direct sunlight. This picture came out very underexposed due to to me messing up the exposure dial on my camera. Sorry.

I was taken aback when I was called out by a seller on the lower left of the picture. Turns out he wants me to take his picture.


Muhammad

His name is Muhammad.


Sikkah

Though I don't live in KL, it reminds me of Chow Kit Road, except a lot more noisier. I'm not sure which is cheaper. But compared to Hussein, many people say that Sikkah is cheaper, especially clothes. Must be because Mansoura is not full of tourist.


Utilities

Had these water container at home. Summer is so hot that I can drink up to 3 litres of water per day. It's easy to get dehydrated in the summer.


Woman With A Bag

A common sight here.


Colors

Scarfs are cheap. One thing I noticed is how happy and cooperative the Egyptians are when a camera is flashed at them. This person's name is Muhammad also.


Clothes

If you are a good bargainer, you can get some very good deals.

Colorful

Colorful isn't it? Not sure what these are.


Outdoors

It seems like you can find everything here. One thing of note is how close the souq is to the Police Station. Thus, there are polices everywhere. Most of the time you will get called out by the policemen if they saw you walking around with a camera. They will check the picture you took and will ask you to delete them. It's understandably for security reasons.

Thankfully that doesn't happen to me today.


Utensils

They are selling knives out in the open.


Smile :)

The guy in pink is also named Muhammad. See a pattern here? There's too many people named Ahmad and Mohammad here that in the university - we are required to write our full name up until the name of our grandfather.


Jubah

One of the many, many shops selling Galabia. It costs between 100 - 250 EGP depending on the quality and design. Most of them are made from Egypt so it's a nice gift to be given to relatives.


Carpets

Carpets are quite cheap. Bought one for my family 2 years ago during the summer holiday.


The Woman

There's no large scale shopping complex here in Mansoura, thus souq is the place where people go to get their materials. Not for me though, I can count with one finger the times I went here. It's too crowded for me to go on a weekly basis.


Shoe Shop

Many workers here are young.


Sugarcane

Stopped by the juice store after 2 hours of walking non-stop. I ordered a glass of sugarcane juice. Noticed how yellowish the juice looks? It tastes totally different from the one we normally have in Malaysia.

I prefer the one here in Egypt, it tastes more milky if that makes any senses. Sometimes I asks the seller to add some lemon to the juice. Lemon and sugarcane mixes very well together.


DSCF4278

As much as I hate how sometimes the Egyptian blatantly take advantage of how fickle the Malaysian students are....


Hush

You can tell how we are now becoming a small part of their community. It's a positive cycle, we contribute to their economy, while they in turn, can slowly see the way of the Malaysians. We also have lots to learn from them as well.


Welcome

Can't wait to get back home.