Bacalhau

It has been a really long time since i've posted anything. Busy as hell.... Loads of things to read before my parents come visit me. Thanks to Azizi sohabat dari Vrij Universiteit yang sudi menumpangkan apartment yang hanya 5 minit berjalan kaki dari Amsterdam Zuid. Siap belanja kebab lagi.

It has been nerly one year since I've seen my folks secara live. Selalunya skype aje.

I took my parents from the airport and we went straight to keukenhof... Sayang, bunga2nya dah banyak layu. The flower in the picture were dutch lilys. It was the end of the season. Then, off to Gro town.... Before that singgah sembahyang kejap dekat Masjid Den Haag.

A little bit about this mosque. If you look at the building, anything familliar? You'll be surprised that this building was a synagogue. I guess the Muslim community bought the building and convert it to a Mosque. Well, it is true that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. The same situation happened in Leewarden.

After 2 and a half our journey, sampai juga akhirnya

Then dinner at my garden.... Thanks Alles for the table :)

After Dinner menyanyi sepam.... Thanks to my bro Amir for the music and Frank for the guitar. Susah2 Amir turun from Leewarden utk jumpa my parents...

Brought them to see my uni.....

Then besoknya I brought them to Bremen, lepak sana semalam and off to Portugal!!!!!!

For all you readers, if any... hehe before you read this post I would strongly advice you to listen to this embedded music by Dulce Pontez

All this while I thought Sweden was Beautiful. But masyaallah, Portugal is even more beautiful. With its ancient buildings, coble stoned roads, beautifully decorated tiled walls, cozy alleys. Or is it beautiful because I was travelling with my family?. What ever it is I have to say, hands down, the most beautiful place I've ever visited.

Why is Portugal beautiful? The buildings are really old.. If you ask my mum, portuguese buildings need serious paint job. Still it's beautiful.... I think because its different. Typical Malaysians or should I say asians, europe means UK, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland.....oh yeah and a pit stop in Belgium. Portugal? I guess portugal is sort of out of the way. It is secluded inside spain. I think thats why there were not many immigrants and Muslims. Payah nak cari Muslim disini. Kalau di negara eropah lain contohnya Sweden, Switzerland, you're not alone.... mmg banyak Muslim

Neway this is my buddy Claudio. He's our tour guide (FOC maaa) member2 punya pasal. Dia, Rui and Amir nie mcm bro aku aaaa.... Best bro man!... Gaya hidup mesti mau style hippie..... Turun2 dari flight terus aku kutuk dia Abraham lincoln haha.

Nie pulak Rui..... nak sebut nama dia nie susah sikit. OK mcm nie... Khhrruiii..... with the Khhrr.... But he's a really nice guy. Budak philosophy.. Very knowledgeable fela... Dia tour guide FOC kami, siap bole cerita apa significance banggunan nie... sejarah banggunan tu...He and claudio even gave us free tickets to travel. Rui managed to arrange with his Grandma to get those tickets

This is us in Lisboa...... or should I say it in a very sexy Portugeshh way..... Lishhhbowwa.... Notice the bridge far away behind us.... Thats the exact same designed bridge in San Francisco.

This is us in Porto satu family....

Papa... Solo traveler..... But you've got to admit the view..... Mak aiii romantik...... Aku nikah nnt nak bawak bini or bini-bini aku mai sini.... Notice baggunan yang paling atas sekali tu...Aku, claudio dgn loan dah ragaih dah.

Maaan It was quite steep... The reason that we went up there because of our ego... I saw one sweet old lady climbing the steep hill selamber je. So claodio n I "Lets go man!!!" loan pon join. It turned out that that old lady lives between the hill.... She musta climbed that hill every day all her life.

Above is the tomb of Mendiang Vasco Da Gama. Sempoi dak?.... All this while baca daripada buku sejarah aje. Portuguese ppl has great pride in their exploration. According to the tourist guide(curik2 dengaq tourist guide orang lain), Apparently if you are an important figure, particularly a religious figure, your followers will cut off some of your limbs as remembrance, when you die of course.

For Vasco Da Gama, he died in India. So what the Church of India did was ... they cut his finger and keep it in the church while the rest of his body was sent back to Portugal.

Sempat lagi mengayat awek portugis lagi tuuuuuuu....... Malu-malu kucing lah konon... Sajaaa nak gempaq my mum...kasi dia suspen sikit.

Below is a typical Portuguese food. Bacalhau nama dia(sebutan bakaliaw)... Ikan kod...siap ada lagu lagi utk a=ikan nie..... mmg sedap....

Above is Pajeja..... Phayeeyaaa.... Its a typical Spanish food actually.... Nampak macam nasik goreng seafood.

Rupa-rupanya walaupun tak banyak, tapi ada jugak comunity Muslim di Portugal. Community Bangladesh actually. From now on I will NEVER patronize Bangladesh people. It is true what my friend Aiman said when I was studying in Australia, Bangladesh people are among the best people to live with. And he was right.

I was just looking for a mosque to pray, and ask this Bangladeshi salesman. Pastu dia terus calling2 member2 dia and kami dijemput ke rumah Imam Bangladesh. Jamu kami makan. Almost every one of them pernah keje dekat Malaysia and they loved it. Bangladesh people are Hardworking, honest and humble people.

Education pon boleh tahan.... Sorang tu graduate dr Al-Azhar and now doin Phd in belgium. Hebat hebat... tapi modest

From now on, siapa kutuk orang Bangladesh, mau kena paku dengan aku...

akan bersambung.......

Looking Back

After you've done number 2, do you actually "Look Back" ?

I know its disgusting but come oooooon!

Its disgusting, but some people cant resist it

Although some "pasts" can be disgusting but still we wanna look back

Things becomes worse when the shit is not ours

I've had enough of Marx and Hegel

Ik gaan terug

SPM A's

There are quite a number of debates regarding our SPM results. Among others," are the students really performing or is it just a matter of figures". During my Papa's(Father's) time, students that obtained straight A's in SPM or equivalent are just a handful. I'm not undermining straight A scorers, its just that, if nearly 10k students score straight A's in SPM... Is it too good to be true?

Here's an interesting video

Makan Free

This Morning tengok Euronews... Nak tau betapa kuatnya pengaruh Rejim Yahood terhadap media europe. Berita nie tentang keganasan yang dilakukan oleh Negara I dan pejuang H. Tapi video yang ditunjuk sangatlah misleading. Video pertama adalah Bom berangkai menyerang bandar Palestine. Anehnya sejurus selapas itu ditayangkan pula penduduk Yahood yang dibom oleh roket secara detail dimana mangsa2 bom itu tertimbus dalam runtuhan banggunan. Pelik kan?

Bila tgk Post pasal musim buah, terasa Jeless aku..... Jeless teramat sangat. As you guys know i'm a serious Durian lover. I see durian not as a fruit but an art. Tautologically, i can call my self a Durian Connoisseur. Gosh I miss Durian, I mean good Durian as in Ang he, Mountain king or at least D24. Over here, in the netherlands there's only one type of Durian that is "Durian Siam". Too bad.... At least in Sydney, I can get D24 easily but not here.

Well, I've had a gastronomical experience of my own wahai che Pire..... There was this international festival organised by International Business Students in my Faculty of Economics & Business Groningen. I reckon there were more than 10 different stalls from 10 different countries from Indonesia to Romania. The Food was superb!!! as in different laaa tak boleh nak lawan asam pedas kita but STILL!

I cant remember it all but here some of the gist....

Unfortunately the Indonesian Representative only offered Satay among others. Satay pulak bukan dibakar tapi di Sautae(Pan fry ) je. But the dipping was good. A good old soy sauce and cubes of onions and garlic. I'm sure you know what satay looks like... nothing new lah

Romanian food was nice. It was Polenta..... It was basically Griesmeal (its a dutch word, I dont know the English for it) but in Bahasa, tepung suji, eggs, butter and cheese. Bole laaa... Its an acquired taste. Unfortunately the sausage is made of you know what lah. Anyway I munching around till I didnt notice my Romanian friend (cun giler ok)

For desert, I ate

This... I dont know whats the name... Dont bother to ask also... But its made of barley, on the lowest layer..... the 2nd layer is chocolate mousse and the upper layer is chocolate powder.

Next is the Slovak food... Still i dont knw the name. But it looks kinda like muntah kucing. Definately something that you wont eat during sahur, if you know what i mean . Taste not bad. Very acquired taste I should say. Its basicaly grated pickled cabbage mixed with salty cheese and some flour, I think. Looks like a paste. Usually eaten with bebola babi. They separated the bebola babi ok

The best so far were the Turkish guys. Seedap gilerr... But nothing new for me.... I think for Malaysians, definitely worth flying 4000 miles for. Its Lahmachun. According to my Turkish friend, Lahmachun is only served during Ramadhan. But here in europe... Belasah ajeeee.

Ini lah ghoper nyerr.... Best kan. Tastes a little bit spicy, you can taste the meat...

And here's Pide.... The same ingredients as lahmachun but in different form... Once you are in Australia and Europe for years.. trust me you'll get tired of it

As for Hungarian dish... I didnt really taste it... maybe because it is sosej Babi on a stick. However, I did managed to rake some cookies. It looks something like this. Sedap tau.... Taste like kuih raya with frostings

Nigerian food was quite unique But I wouldnt dare to taste it... Looks something like this....

But... I did manage to eat this... looks like bananas but it tastes nothing like Bananas. It has this very fibrish taste.... heck.. as long as its free

At the german stall, I tries Black forest cake...... REAL BLACK FOREST CAKE if you know what I mean... Made by germans dowh

As for puerto ricans , they served rice and beans... All vegetarian niceee... Typical non Asian taste... in other words not much of a taste... Looks like Nasi goreng with beans... really filling

Other stalls includes Irish stalls, Chinese and czech stall..... But unfortunately I was very full.... I mean ... urghhh.....

April fool on a different perspective

Right now I'm damn busy to write any posts... But I was called by my self conscience to make a simple analysis about this story. I think the society needs to know both side of the story behind April the 1st and evaluate it themselves about the plausibility of these seemingly conflicting historical facts

Back in Malaysia, I was educated with predominantly conservative Muslim education. Non Muslim celebrations are not encouraged for us Muslims to celebrate . It is in the Hadeeth Al Bukhary that Muslims are not supposed to follow the culture of the Yahood and The Nasara.

al-Bukhari relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Truly, you shall follow the ways of those who were before you, span by span, and little by little, until, if they were to enter a lizards lair, you would follow them." We said, "O Messenger of Allah, the Jews and Christians?" And he said, "Who else?" (Sahih al-Bukhari. 9 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint (9 vols. in 3). Beirut: Dar al-Jil, n.d., 9.126: 7320).

About April fools day, there are two conflicting stories about it. The first one is what I always hear and read when I was in Malaysia.It is about the fall of the Moor empire or also known as Islamic Andalus/Umayyad empire. And the second one is the "european version" of the story about the changing of the Christian calendar year.

Lets look at it one by one

It has been decades since the Islamic Empire flourished in Granada only to be fooled by the Nasara that resulted in the fall of the empire. The citizens of the empire were forced to seek shelter in their homes. Alot of them were killed including men, women and children.

The Muslims were told by the Nasara that they could leave their homes and bring their necessities to take a ship and sail to seek refuge. Although there were elements of doubt that this was a trick, the Muslims just got along with it

After the Muslims left home for the ships,, the Nasara ransacked their homes and then set fire to them. Before the Muslims got to the ships, the Nasara had set fire to the ships as well. The Crusaders then attacked the Muslims and killed them all.

This version of the story is my adaptation prominently from Ust. Nordin bin Bayadi Bahagian Penerangan dan Penerbitan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor

see JAIS's website

http://www.jais.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=571&Itemid=1

Now lets turn to another "Version"

Mohd Tariq Ghazi, a veteran journalist and historian postulate that Muslims are not that stupid and the story about Muslims being fooled on the 1st April is a hoax. There were no documented historical fact. These kind of stories were just told mouth to mouth without any concrete evidence.

Actually the Nasara did got hold of the Moorish Muslim empire, but not by fooling them. In fact, the Nasara revered the Muslim for their intelligence and sophistication although they do regard them(the Muslims) as "ïnfidels". It was just by sophisticated and modern weapon and war strategy and of course by the will of God that the nasara won the war . This happened on 2nd of January 1492 when the Nasara army marched to Granada.And the actual date that we as Muslims should remember is 1st January when the Umayyad empire fell. Note that by remembering is not doing violent acts but to Strive and work hard for superiority in human and social capital.

Another story was during the reign of King Charles the IX, when he shifted the new year from April the 1st to January the 1st. During that time, there were no e-mails or Morse code, just snail mail by foot or horse..... so, not everybody received the news. The ones who didnt receive the news still celebrate new year on 1st april and they were called fools because of their outdatedness

If you guys wanna dig deeper here's the link incase what i've digested is incorrect

http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_901_950/truth_about_april_fool.htm

Both resources are pretty reliable. The first one is from JAIS (Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor) and the second is from Islamic Research Foundation international. However, its not that I'm undermining the words of an Ustaz but I do wish that he state references and sources from his stories because the article from Islamic research institute have reference and historical dates .

Again, i'm stating..... I'm just looking at April 1st at another perspective and not judging the plausibility of the story. I mean, who am I to judge?

Lastly i would like to repeat this

al-Bukhari relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "Truly, you shall follow the ways of those who were before you, span by span, and little by little, until, if they were to enter a lizards lair, you would follow them." We said, "O Messenger of Allah, the Jews and Christians?" And he said, "Who else?" (Sahih al-Bukhari. 9 vols. Cairo 1313/1895. Reprint (9 vols. in 3). Beirut: Dar al-Jil, n.d., 9.126: 7320).

I think the Moral of this Hadeeth is that, we need our own stand and identity. No need to follow other culture (in terms of celebration) and all the bad stuff. However I think it doesn't hurt to follow others cultures in terms of working hard, ethics and awareness towards the environment

Speedo Aquabeat MP3

I am now having a honeymoon moment with my brand new Speedo Aquabeat Mp3. For me it is super cool especially when you attach it to your goggles. I've been going swimming 2-3 times a week now haha!. Lets hope it lasts. A quick review of the product:

1st of all the design is cool to a certain extent that you sort of feel like cyclops from X-men. You wont feel anything when you attach it to your goggles.

The battery lasts for 8 hours with 1 Gb memory. There is a 2 Gb version but I dont think i need it coz I only use Aquabeat just for swimming

To attach the headphones to my ears is quite cumbersome especially with my dumbo like ears. A prolonged use of the earphones will result to marks on your ears.

Sound quality for me is unsatisfactory at first because, water keeps coming in my ears and it blocks the sound. I have adjust it a few times to get it right. It turned out, the third set of earbuds gave me the best sound quality. The thing is, I need to always put the earbuds in my ears while its still dry, or if I'm already in the swimming pool, I need to drain my earsthen put in back. Although it was not comparable to altec lensing, it was ok. I would still recomend friends to buy it.

Conclusion:

Since i've paid 59eur for it, might as well get the best of it. Having an unsatisfactory music is better than having no music at all. Well, its not exactly altec lensing especially when i'm blowing alot of bubbles while swimming. Just try all three earbuds , which one suits you the best. I do wish that there's radio function though

Recomendation:

I just wish that speedo come up with x-ray googles... Waterproof of course ;)

UiTM Merbok... The best experience

UiTM da best bebeh!!!!

credited to UiTM merbok website

I remember the frustration of not getting into any university. Maybe because my SPM grades weren't any good. After I've done some appealing and du'a especially from my parents and my beloved grandma alhamdulillah UiTM Merbok was willing to accept me.

The Malinja College of UiTM was among the best colleges in Malaysia. It has the state of the art facilities and comfort. Word goes around that it is comparable to Seri Malaysia three star facilities. I dont know whether that is true or not but I sure do agree with it. The room is very spacious with sturdy Beds and fine built in study tables. Best of all it is free! so as the food although its not actually the best, I'm thankful.

Classes are equipped with air condition and advanced technology. Everything in the class is controlled by touch screen technology comparable to the ones in Australia and Europe. Even dekat university aku skang, sesetangah class tak secanggih uitm.

I just cant compare the dedication given by UiTM lecturers to other universities that I've attended. It is very important for them that we UiTM students understands what they have delivered. I know some students needs to be encouraged and pushed and UiTM lecturers have done a great job in doing that. This has also inspired me to be a lecturer

These beautiful ladies from the picture above are UiTM students visiting me. My intuition says that they are going places just like any UiTM students. Meanwhile, the picture below shows the whole group. The background building is my current University... Rijkuniversiteit Groningen

I'm very thankful and proud that my fellow UiTM alumni visited me in Groningen. Reminded me of the good old days in Merbok and Arau. I miss having dinner and lunch in Dewan makan Malinja, loitering at central square and most of all, Nasi Ayam Pakmud hmmm heeel lekker!

For those of you who studied/are studying in overseas, panjatkan Syukur kepada Allah No need laaaa to patronize local universities especially UiTM. Yang study local pon syukur juga, because not everybody has this kind of opportunity. Ingat laaa asal usul. Your foundation program most probably be from INTEC jugak. I've heard those unpleasant comments when I was down under and bashed them.

Frankly I've seen local graduates that has way better abilities and charisma rather that foreign grads. It depends on that particular person regardless where they graduate from.

Pictures are credited to Suraya Mansur and Masyitoh UiTM

Wawasan setia pelajar sepam.... Actually ada lagu UiTM dihatiku, tapi lagu tu untuk convo :)

Yang ni typical lagu Groningen....