darul takzim fc vs perak.

I attended the match between Darul Takzim FC and Perak last night.



Darul Takzim FC is of course formerly known as Johor FC. Ever since the club had been taken over by PBNJ there has been a football revival of sorts amongst the Johorians.




I mean look at this. This is unseen of before. I can't wait to see how it looks like inside the stadium.




The locals regard them as Malaysia's own Manchester City in terms of budget and spending power.





Excitement is in the air. I can feel it.





Drums, gongs and whistles playing non-stop, as if a festival is brewing.`Let's go inside.







We're inside. Look at the crowd capacity.



Amazing. A super no vacancy.




Mind you that this is a 30,000 seated stadium. For the team to be able to draw such a crowd for what is considered a normal football match is a huge, huge success.




The atmosphere inside is just through the roof. Non-stop clapping and chanting. Even if you're never a football fan you will fall in love with this kind of atmosphere.




The last time I went to a stadium to watch a game of football is when I was 8. It was a match between Terengganu and Perak. It was me, abah and an uncle of mine. Terengganu won, and I remember abah holding me over his shoulder like Rafiki holding out Simba over the Pride Rock just as the final whistle was blown.




Anyway, I arrived a bit late so looks like no seat for me. I bought a grandstand ticket which costs me RM20.00. A normal ticket costs only RM10.00 per person.

Personally if you are confident that it won't rain on the day of the match, just buy a normal ticket. Grandstand is a fancy name for a roofed area of the stadium. No more, no less.




The game was already on its 13th minute when I arrived.





At first I kind of hated how Darul Takzim's jersey looks, but after seeing it in person and on the field, I think they looked perfect. Red and blue - that is our team's color now I guess.





I am able to find a seat near the hardcam. But the place was so cramped that I might as well just stand up. The person in front of me was also smoking cigarette so imagine the uncomfortableness.




But don't let that deter you from coming to the stadium. The Johorians are clever with the chants. At the 30th something minute when Perak's goalkeeper somehow cramped his thigh muscles, the crowd chanted

"Enjet-enjet semut, siapa sakit keluar padang, enjit-enjit semut siapa sakit keluar padang"

It might sound corny in hindsight but at that moment, it was very clever and funny.




However to be honest, the first half of the game is boring. Perak clearly looks like the better team, and Darul Takzim struggled to have a clear possesion of the ball even though they have the hometeam advantage.





First half result, 0 - 0.




Time for a half-time break, people are storming out of the stadium like ants. I figure they are looking for food, or just wanting to stretch their limbs.Polices are aplenty to keep things under control.




It now strikes me just how family friendly watching a football match live is. You'll see kids looking like they are having the time of their lives just chanting and screaming, which is a joy to watch.




I also decided to go out, to buy some food for my now empty stomach. Lots of stalls selling merchandise outside, almost like a night market you'll go to every Thursday night.




Which I think is good because it creates a business opportunity for locals alike.




I bought nuggets and drinks from here.





Second half is starting. I still can't believe looking at a full stadium. Tengku Mahkota Johor's investment looks like it paid off big time.




Managed to get a great sit this time. But it's quite scary.




I sat next to this man who's banter is hilarious. It is such a joy watching besides him.





Darul Takzim's gameplan was so much better in the second half. They were firing on all cylinders. Aidil Zafuan scored the only goal of the match with a header  via a beautiful cross by Safiq Rahim.




But Safiq's performance in the game was quite a dud in my opinion. The people in this section were also thinking that way.

"Main bukakla Safiq!", "Passingla wei!" "Gaji ko dah mahal, main la elok-elok!"
I'm sure all those comments were made in the heat of the moment. After all football is a very emotional game.




For me it's good to have passionate local football fans again.




I highly recommend everyone to at least experience a football game live no matter what state you are from.




It is a whole lot of fun.




The final whistle was blown. People were scrambling to get out. But major props to them for doing so in such an organized manner.




I had a good time, and I'll be sure to come again.




The final score? Darul Takzim FC won of course, one goal to nil.

dublin 01: trinity college, the library and st. stephen green.

It's Wednesday and it is a beautiful day - a beautiful day in the neighborhood as Mr Rogers would call it. Here I am with my sister , after having a goodnight worth of sleep all energized to explore the best Dublin has to offer.



Our first stop will be Trinity College. You can see here the iconic Bell Tower standing tall in the backdrops of Parliament Square.




Our journey begins with a nice stroll towards the bus stop. There's approximately 15 minutes left before the bus arrives so no biggie, no need to rush at all.

We had some nice bread for breakfast. Croissant and Apple Pie. A lady said hello to us while jogging with her dog, and we passed by an old couple who seemed to enjoy the nice weather.




5 minutes left until the bus arrives. I can't stress enough the importance of downloading the Dublin Bus apps.




4 days left with the Rambler. Just one day using the bus service and I can say that it is lightyears ahead of the system we had in Malaysia. I wish that someday we can improve our public transport system up to a point where we can live without a car.




This crow landed right in front of me which caused me to fright out a bit. "The bird is bigger than I thought", I mubled to myself. Anyway the bus arrived soon after and we hopped in.



The thing is since winter is near, you have to check the weather everyday to make sure rain doesn't fall. I checked before we we went out and it's sunshine all the way throughout the day.




The mist from the glass makes for a very cool miniature like effect.

This is the station where I'm supposed to drop off yesterday. The bus is almost empty after this stop since almost everyone dropped off at this station - I should have gotten the clue yesterday.




The next station is Trinity College.



We hopped off the bus and let's go!




We're at the gate.




The patch of grass really stood out amongst the grey and white buildings on the rights and lefts.




The place is packed.




This is Parliament Square, the heart of Trinity College.




One of the main attraction here is the Book of Kells. It is regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.




A very long line of people wanting to get inside. It is not free though, we have to pay 5 Euros ( I think) per person for entry. And since we aren't allowed to take any picture inside anyway, I passed.




There seems to be a graduation ceremony coming up.




The statue of provost George Salmon. When he was administrator he said that there would never ever be any female students in the college. He must be rolling in his grave a thousand times over by now.



Somehow I'm taking a liking to taking pictures of bicycles. Just a random story, when I was 9 my English teacher whose name is Mr Barrett once told me that one of the most difficult word that Irishmen finds difficult to spell is the word bicycle.




Here's another view of the Bell Tower again.




More and more people are coming in, and the line for the Book of Kells just keeps on getting longer and longer.


 
It's noon now.




I love the design of these buildings. Being from a country where most buildings considered modern, it is breath taking to see all these several hundred years building standing tall over these years.




The guards are making sure that everything went on smoothly. Here, policeman and guards are called "Garda". You may know by now that the Irish has their own languange called Gaelic. But most youngsters nowadays seemed to not know much about it. They prefer to speak and learn English.




Let's move on.




Again, I must stress that Trinners is absolutely beautiful.




Put Trinity College in you must visit list if you are to travel to Dublin.




Now I'm wondering where to go to next. After a quick though I decided that we should visit the National Library.




It was at this time that my phone automatically shuts off by itself. It was weird. I had around 70% of battery life remaining so it can't be due to battery. The phone automatically turns on again after 10-15 minutes after. This happened several times on this trip that one can't help but wonder why.




We took a picture with this Leprachaun. He seems to be collecting money for some sort of charity event.




Yet another picture of bicycles. It's just that I find them to be such a prominent part of this city that I had to include them. Walking and cycling is something that they love. Of course walking is a distant first place for them.




We're going to the National Library next. People nearby says the walk will take approximately 10 minutes.




We walked at a leisurely pace. Better let all of this sink in I thought. I noticed my sister, whose walking a bit slower than me, her head focusing on her phone and her hand non-stop typing on the screen. "Must be twitting non-stop, she must be". As for me I'm walking while reading and looking at the maps from the book that I bought a day earlier.




And we passed by a goofy looking yellow coloured boat-like truck.




Turns out the company is quite famous in Dublin. And the boat-like design is not just for show - it can both travel in land and water. Check out their website, these guys have a good sense of humor. Their write ups got a good chuckle out of me.



We're here. In the end it took us 20 minutes to get here since somehow, I got the name of the street mixed up. Asked a nice 30-something year old man, whose strolling with her 2 daughters the way to go. "Just walk straight up to the traffic, turn left, walk straight and there ya' go".

As always Dubliners are a nice bunch.




We went inside, asked the guard if we can take pictures inside the place and he said sure. But first we must put our bags in the locker provided. We did just that. This picture is taken near the stairs towards the reading chamber.




It's beautiful.




Since this library is an archive of many first edition books, lending is prohibited. Many people use this place as a reference centre.




There are also many personal notes and worksheets of famous Irish writers most notably James Joyce. Ever heard the science particle name "quark"? Well that term was taken from his novel entitled Finnegans Wake. I'd say Finnegans Wake is one of the most bizarre novel ever written. Many can't even make it past the first page.




Here's the reading chamber.




The room is eerily quite. This is a public library after all.




I think we only spent 15 minutes inside the place. But I'm content with it. Took our bags, which took longer than it should be due to me forgetting the locker's password.




We'll be going to St Stephen's Green next. What a unique looking building.




A tour bus.




We're quite near the entrance. There a lots of tourist at the entrance. Around 15-20 people. The tour guide I suppose was briefing them near the statue of Sir Arthur Edward Guinness.




We're inside the park. It is second in size next to Phoenix Park (in Dublin atleast).




This scenery is so soothing to the mind.




The grass is a bit wet, maybe that's why no people are picnicking on it. Most are taking pictures by the lake and fountain up front.




Cute.




Many people are feeding the pigeons and swans and ducks with bread crumbs. Shame I didn't have any.




This scene caught my eyes. It is really cool how the animals flock around him, as if waiting to be feeded by the old man.




I absolutely love this picture.