Misteri Azimat Senoi - My First More Than 100 Pages Book

I am a bookworm aka book lover. I really love reading since I was a kid. My first more-than-100 pages book is Misteri Azimat Senoi (it is the Malay version of The Mystery Of The Laughing Shadow by William Arden). I was seven years old when I read the book and I managed to finish reading it in one day (it was quite a big achievement for a Primary One student). That book marked my journey as a hardcore bookworm. I hope I can read the thrilling adventure of Jalil, Ah Meng and Gopal again.

This is how the book look like - Misteri Azimat Senoi

This entry is quiet short. See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel <3

Kolam - My Very First Time

"After lunch break we are going to make kolam for the coming Deepavali (Diwali) celebration. Those who are free can come and join." My colleague, Kalaivani announced this earlier this morning. I was so excited upon hearing this announcement. Kolam is a form of painting that is drawn by using rice powder/ chalk/ chalk powder/ white rock powder often using naturally/ synthetically colored powders in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and some parts of Goa, Maharashtra, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and a few other Asian countries. 

It is a symbol of auspiciousness. The Hindus believe that the geometrical patterns & designs applied with rice flour at the entrance to a home, invite Goddess Lakshmi into the household, and drives away the evil spirits. Today, we were using colourful rice for making our kolam. We took almost two hours to complete the kolam. It was indeed a beautiful experience for me, a Bidayuh's girl.

See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel

My Journey to St. John's Cathedral

On Sunday, 5th October 2014, I woke up early. I was very excited to attend the Holy Mass at the historical St. John's Cathedral. The Mass starts at 10.30 am. Since this was our first visit to the cathedral, my friend and I took the Putra LRT from Universiti Station to Masjid Jamek Station. The ride took less than 15 minutes. Once we arrived at the Masjid Jamek Station, we asked the policeman for the direction. We exited the station and walked along Jalan Melaka, walked across and headed to Jalan Bukit Nanas. Once again, we stopped by at one old shop and asked an Indian old man for the direction. He told us to walk straight until we found the second traffic light, then turn left. Thank God after few minutes of walking and searching, we stood in front of the whitewashed cathedral with twin spires. The cathedral is beautifully situated on top of a hill - Bukit Nanas. It is also in close proximity to Convent Bukit Nanas, Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve and the famous landmark of Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur Tower. Along the way to the cathedral, we saw people selling food, clothes and other stuffs. We were amazed when we enter the cathedral. The people from various races and backgrounds gathered here to celebrate the Holy Mass. I am so blessed and definitely will come again in the future.

             

                                 
Below is the history of this cathedral:

        The Church of St John the Evangelist was established in 1883 going by the first baptismal record on 11 August 1883. This 'Mother' church was the only Catholic church in Selangor when it all began in 1883 with the help of a towkay named Goh Ah Ngee, a Catholic miner who lived in Kajang. Back then, this first Catholic church was simply a long wooden hall with a few windows built on a forested area of Bukit Nanas. The parishioners were a handful of Chinese converts, a few Europeans and Eurasians from Malacca. The first parish priest and pioneer of the church of St John was Fr Charles Hector Letessier. The extension of pastoral care then brought more people into the fold and by early 1990s, the community grew to number more than a 1,000 people.
        The foundation stone for a new church building of brick structure was laid on 28 March, 1954. That year also saw the ordination of our First Bishop of Kuala Lumpur, Rev Father Dominic Vendargon. In August of 1955, the church of St John became the See of the Bishop of Kuala Lumpur, and Bishop Dominic Vendargon, was the first local bishop of the newly created Diocese of Kuala Lumpur. In 1962, this church was consecrated and its status elevated to that of a Cathedral with Fr Edward Limat as the first Vicar General and Parish Priest. 

        The interior then saw many significant changes to enhance the church building. An interesting inscription in mosaic chips at the new altar reads: ECCE AGNUS DEI (Behold the Lamb of God). The stained glasses from Paris depicting the three gospel scenes in which the patron of the church, St John appears, provide the backdrop to the altar.
        From being a parish of expatriates and Eurasians from the time the parish began to take shape, the parish community of St John's Cathedral is now a thriving 'Cosmopolitan' parish. Situated in the heart of the KualaLumpur, many foreign visitors and diplomats apart from the regular multi-cultural community come for Sunday worship. We are ever grateful and most appreciative of all our pastoral priests who have walked with us in breaking the WORD and taking this parish to a greater measure of completion in all its fulfillment.

Note:
I do not own and write the history. I got this from http://stjohnkl.net/history
For more info, visit http://stjohnkl.net/

See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel

IKEA Malaysia: Where, How & Why?

Last Saturday (4^th October 2014), I went to IKEA Malaysia for the first time. I was amazed. I never imagined that someday I will set my foot inside the well-known IKEA store. It is such a big place (kind of a warehouse - blue warehouse). Now, let me answer the questions (refer to the title of this post).

WHERE?

IKEA Malaysia is strategically located near IPC Shopping Centre (which is anchored by IKEA itself), The Curve and Tesco.  

Here is the address of IKEA Malaysia:

Jalan PJU 7/2, Mutiara Damansara, 47820 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Store opening hours:

Mon - Thurs: 9.30am - 10pm

Fri - Sun, eve & on public holidays: 9.30am - 11pm

Map to IKEA Malaysia

HOW?

IKEA can be reached via few ways:

1: Free Shuttle Service (I went by free shuttle – the bus is good with A/C)

- Hop on the daily free shuttle service from Kelana Jaya LRT station to the IKEA store. Approximate interval between each shuttle service is 2 hours. The service starts at 9 am to 10.30 pm. There are two pickup points:

Bus stop opposite the Kelana Jaya LRT Station:

9 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm, 7 pm, 9 pm

Main Entrance, Ground Floor of IPC Shopping Centre

10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm, 8 pm, 10.30 pm

2: Car

- The IKEA store is accessible via Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Penchala Link highway, the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) and SPRINT highway.

3: Public Bus

- You may also take the public bus from main stops in KL to IKEA Damansara. You can hop on:

Rapid KL Bus No.U88

KL Sentral - IPC Shopping Centre (Persiaran Surian)

Metro Bus No.99

Central Market - IPC Shopping Centre (Persiaran Surian)

WHY?

Why do you need to visit IKEA store? (Some of you might wonder why)

If you visit IKEA store someday, the first and the must thing to do is trying the famous IKEA’s meatballs (trust me, the meatballs are the best! They are made from minced beef and served with thick beef stock gravy and lingonberry jam) at IKEA Food Court. If you are not the beef die-hard fan, don’t worry. You can try other traditional Swedish dishes such as Cold Water Prawns and Open Face Sandwich. Don’t forget to order their Chicken Wings, Marble Cheese Cakes and other dishes (Want to know the other dishes? Visit IKEA and try by yourself. You will be satisfied). What about the price? The price is reasonable and affordable, so no worries k!

Clockwise: Marble Cheese Cake, IKEA Meatballs, Chicken Wings & Butter Cake

After having the delicious Swedish dishes, you can proceed with shopping. IKEA offers good quality products with reasonable price. Have fun shopping and enjoy your day!

See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel <3

Journey From Klang To KLIA 2

I was staying at Sentosa, Klang, so I took a taxi to Klang KTM Station (there is no bus service to my house). Oh ya, the taxi fare from Sentosa to Klang KTM Station is RM15. It's a fixed price. The journey was about 15-20 minutes depend on the traffic condition. Along the ride, you can see lots of houses and the old antique shops, like the kind of shops that you can see in Hindi or Tamil movies. The first time I set my foot at Klang, I was so mesmerized by these antique shops. I called the place Little India.

Klang KTM Station
Source: http://timesofmalaya.blogspot.com

Once I arrived at the Klang KTM Station, I went to the counter to buy the train ticket to Nilai, Negeri Sembilan (I need to go to KLIA 2 to fetch my family). The ticket fare is RM6.90 (if I'm not mistaken). I was sleeping along the way to KL Sentral since this is my hundredth trip. Once I arrived at KL Sentral, I need to make a change to Line 6 (Sg. Gadut) to Nilai. This was my first trip to Nilai by train. Last time, I went directly to KLIA via KLIA Express from KL Sentral (RM35 per way, 28 minutes). I was so excited that I'm not giving a chance for eyes to shut off. Along the 35 minutes ride, I saw green trees, houses, oil palm plantations and a glimpse of one of the top local universities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

UKM KTM Station
Source: http://bernard-greentea.blogspot.com

From Nilai KTM Station, I decided to go to KLIA 2 by bus (the Airport Liner). I also asked the taxi driver about the fare if I took taxi from there. The taxi fare is RM40 (it's quite expensive). So, I went to the bus station. While waiting for the bus, I ate two pau (it's a white fluffy bun with fillings - you can choose the fillings. My choices the day are chicken (ayam) and beef (daging). After about half an hour, the green Airport Liner arrived. The bus fare is RM4.50 (I'm quite shock that it is RM4.50 because based on the web search it is RM2.50. It's ok then. As long as I can reach the airport safely).

Airport Liner
Source: http://www.klia2.info/bus-services/bus-operators/airport-liner

The bus has A/C and is comfortable. I sat alone near the bus exit. Along the 1 hour ride, I was staring at the window to enjoy the scenic panorama of Nilai. FYI, Nilai is famous with oil palm plantations, so most of the time, you can see plenty of oil palms. The road is quite bumpy at certain place but it's ok. I love a fun bumpy ride! 30 minutes past noon, I safely reached KLIA 2. KLIA 2 here I come! The only to describe KLIA 2 is - BIG!

KLIA 2
Source: http://www.klia2.info/about-klia2/facilities/skybridge

See you in the next entry!

XOXO,

erel <3