Journey in Queensland V

Salam.

This is the story from the last 2 weekend.

Since I didn't really have a plan for my weekend, I asked Kak Iman K out. Kak Iman K is studying in Uni of Queensland (UQ). I knew her through her blog and my friend, Athirah Kahar. I actually didn't know that she is studying here. When I uploaded my pictures on facebook, Kak Iman suddenly commented "you're in Brisbane? Let's meet up sometimes" <-- kind of like that. So we got in touch with each other, and I decided to meet her.

17/8/2013: Taringa and Southbank

Kak Iman and I met up at city. Throughout our journey, we rode the bus. The bus here is very efficient! It's like the LRT/Train/Monorail in KL but, it's a bus! It even has a busway.
We went to Taringa to attend an open house of Ustazah Asma'. She is someone kak Iman know. We filled our stomach there before we went to Southbank.

Queensland Museum
It's located in Southbank, very near to the Queensland State Library.

The entrance.

I think this dinasour is a must-take-photo-with

The museum is quite interesting. There are models of animals, historical things and collections. It is from that museum that I learn that Australia actually has a lot of its own resources. Well, it's the only continent down here.
I didn't take much photo there because some areas don't allow cameras and at other areas, I didn't really know what to capture. huhuh.

 Southbank
 There are a lot of thing in here. There are the ferris-wheel, restaurants, food stalls, BBQ, etc and during weekends, there is a market. Southbank is the place where the carnivals will be held. It is kind of like Danga Bay in JB but Southbank is bigger.

Southbank and the market.
The churros is very good!

I bought some souvenirs at the market. Most things there are handmade. Cool. After that, we went to enjoy ice-cream at the ice-cream shop called Cold Rock. Yummy!

and then we headed to kak Iman's house. I had a sleepover there. We went to the neighbourhood by ferry! On the ferry, we sat at the outer side, so I didn't get sea-sick. Alhamdulillah.

Southbank and the city of Brisbane, viewed from the ferry.

18/8/2013: University of Queensland
My wish to go visit a university overseas came true! hoho. oh, actually I went there because there was a Raya event organized by Malaysian UQ students and kak Iman was one of the committees. She's the one who invited me over. I had a great tour there with my tourguide, Kak Iman and Kak Liyana. Kak Liyana is Kak Iman's friend and apparently, she's also the cousin of my school seniors, Kak Farhana and kak Husna Zain.

I'm a happy tourist. *satisfied*

 UQ has museums, libraries, lakes, hostels, faculties and many shops. I wished I could visit the shops but since I went during weekend, most shops were closed. UQ is big, but I don't know if it is bigger or smaller than UTM. I think UTM is bigger.

Then, I went to the raya event called Riang Ria Raya Queensland. Raya food! Bismillah~ Omnomnomnom.. A lot of people came regardless of their nationality, religion and races.

People, people everywhere.

I hang out with kakak-kakak who handled Buku Jalanan Brisbane.

I had a great time chatting and hanging out with Malaysian students there. It didn't feel like I was overseas, but they probably did feel so because they are away from their home and family for a long time, while I'll be back home soon. Somehow, when I was there, I kept telling myself, "uuu, I'm surrounded by sponsored students here.. semua pandai-pandai ni.." Rasalah inferior sikit. haha. But yeah, I had a great time with them.

Then, kak Iman sent me to the UQ Lakes bus station and I headed back to kak Aliya's house. It was a good weekend. Alhamdulillah.

Last weekend, I didn't do anything much. Just went shopping for souvenirs. hoho.
My weekdays are just as usual, babysitting Thauban and Layth when he's not attending school, doing house chores, online, etc.

This weekend is my final weekend here. I am going back next week! Kinda sad that I'm gonna leave Brisbane but am excited to meet my family and friends too! and,, just a little excited to start the new semester in uni. uhuk.

That's it for now.
May Allah bless us.

wassalam :)

Journey in Queensland IV

Salam.

July passed and August came.
Ramadhan passed and Syawal came.

8/8/2013: 'Eidul Fitr
As what I've written in my Eid post, I only knew eid was on the day few minutes after I woke up that morning. so, Yeay, I got to wear baju kurung overseas! (p/s: it's not a new baju raya, just a casual baju kurung)

Here we are, at the masjid

in ladies' praying area.

As we walked out from the masjid, a few men lining up through the way and giving this to everyone.
This only one of the sweets they gave. There are a lot more kinds of sweets.
It's very delicious!!

My eid picture is also in my eid post. eheh.

Meanwhile in Malaysia...

Huntongla derang main bunga apiii~~
1st picture: My parents + grandmother + siblings present + brother in law + nephews + 2 cousins. Nenek is so cute making peace sign. heee. Love that picture because everyone is smiling happily.
Bottom-left: Iman Syuhada, my niece (Suhaib's daughter) watching her aunts playing with the sparkles
Bottom-right: Kauthar, my niece (Maimunah's daughter) under the coffee table.

I don't really feel homesick because I know I'll be back at Malaysia after a month. koh koh. But it does feel a little empty to celebrate raya without my family.

But I'm truly grateful that I'm here with a Malaysian family so I can still enjoy nasi impit and rendang :)
but no burasak this year. of course lah kan, it's only available at nenek's kampung.


10/8/2013: Raya weekend
I followed Kak Aliya to her friend's house, Kak Ain. Kak Ain held an open house. I enjoyed eating many raya food and sweets.

Then, we went to Gold Coast. It's only about 45minutes drive from Brisbane.

Dreamworld
Kak Aliya planned to bring her kids here so I tag along. kih kih. This is the opportunity that I just couldn't let it go.

The logo at the entrance

This is the first ride I rode. The buzzsaw.

Right after coming in, after settling down myself (study map, etc), I rode the first ride I saw, The Buzzsaw. I just thought about giving it a try, without thinking more that this is one of the thrilling rides. After queuing up for about 20 minutes, I rode this and man, I really regretted it while I was on the ride. I didn't prepare my mental enough. haha. There are times when my head was bowed and it was hard to raise it back up. Luckily I have a strong neck bone. It didn't hurt.

Then, went to the surau to perform zuhr and after that, had lunch. The lunch was a buffet. It is around $23++ per head and we can take anything we like. The food is halal and delicious! Of course, I tried to take as many food as I like, but I know I couldn't eat much because I was going to ride more rides. (so, that was the trick, huh?)

My second ride, motocoaster

I bought my photo from this ride. When the shopkeeper said, "just you, alone?" while cropping my picture, I felt a little lonely. haha. but anyhow, I like my photo there because I was smiling throughout the whole ride!
Then I went to walk more.

Kung Fu Panda town

At Madagascar's

Pandamonium. The last ride I rode.

 Oh yeah, I only got to ride three rides only because the queuing up took so long. I queued up to ride a roller-coaster called the Cyclone but the queue line is too long. Hence, I decided to go shopping. hoho. Didn't buy much thing though. After that, I went back to Kung Fu Panda place and ride the pandamonium. I was unaware that the ride is a thrilling ride, but I had fun. I think I was building up my confidence and self-esteem in there.
However, it made me very dizzy afterwards. I think it's because during the ride, I took off my glasses, and the ride is all about spinning, and someone smells on the ride. uhuks. Luckily I didn't throw up.

All in all, I had a great trip there. But I've always had the thought of 'what if's on my head. huhuh.

That's it for now.
Last weekend, I celebrated raya with Malaysian again. I shall share it in the next entry.

wassalam :)

P/S: Today is the remembrance of Al-Quds day.

Journey in Queensland III

Salam :)

Let's continue about this journey before I go back to Malaysia and start my academic life :3
I now have 3 more weeks in here. Time is flying fast.

On my second weekend here, I went to a park in Brisbane, the city I'm staying in.

21/7/2013
Roma Street Parkland
This park is in the middle of the city. It is kinda like what we call as 'hutan bandar' in Johor. This is a place where families usually hang out and have BBQ. BBQ is like a cultural thing for Australian. Most major parks here have the BBQ facility and people can use it for free.
Anyway, in here, there are trains, botanical garden, playground, lake and of course, restaurants.

the fountain at the lake

Standing awkwardly in front of the waterfall

Beautiful, right? :D

I like the garden best because there are lots and lots of flowers! It is veeeeery beautiful.

Then, on the next weekend, I went to visit Australian animals.

28/7/2013
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
When I first heard of its name, I thought it is the place for Koalas only, but actually, this place also has Kangaroo, Wallabies, Birds, Platypus and many other Australian animals. In short, it's like Australian animals' zoo.

Wajiblah ambil gambar Koala kan bila dah masuk tempat ni

I forgot what animals are these. Red fox? 

The kangaroo is let moving around freely in its place.

I've always thought the kangaroos are tall!

Oh yeah, we can feed the kangaroos. But I didn't feed them because I'm afraid that they'll jump suddenly.
Plus, nanti dia jilat tangan I.. agagaga~

Sheep sheering session. The sheep is very cute! omo~

Everyone's touching the wool.
The man who sheered the sheep said that touching the wool is good for your skin.
He said that.

I didn't take any pictures when I was in the platypus place because the place is dark. I only took videos and of course I wouldn't upload the clip here. ahaks. Anyway, I only know that moment that platypus is not that big. It's small, like the size of a cat. I thought it's as big as biawak.

There are a lot of other animals in there actually but I didn't take photos of all of them because I'm not really a fan of animals, but I enjoyed visiting them.

Well, those were my two weekends in July.
I shall continue about my August in the next entry.

Before I end this entry, let me share a picture of Thauban.

He fell asleep while watching The Wiggles. awww~

and, let us keep praying for our muslim brothers and sisters all over the world, especially in Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
May Allah bless us.

Wassalam :)

I am here and they are there

The sun almost set

Sometimes I feel guilty for having so much fun and care less about my brothers and sisters on the other side of the world.
while I'm laughing here, they're probably crying there.
while I have enough sleep, they stay up to protect their people.
I wonder if I ever deserved to be called as their 'sister'.

I know it's never wrong to have fun, because it's one of the ni'mat.
But I'm afraid I'll be too carried away and swayed by the happiness.

Alhamdulillah for this guilt, I try to be moderate in having fun and being happy.
I have to remember Allah always to lessen the guilt, and keep praying for the muslims.
and be active in fulfilling my 'duty'.
That's what I can do for now.

Only Muslims can destroy Muslims.
and only Muslims can help Muslims.

Which kind of Muslim will you be?


Let's keep praying for Egypt, Syria, Palestine and other Muslims in all over the world.

Journey in Queensland II

Salam.

During my first weekend in here, we went to Toowoomba. Toowoomba is like a countryside on a hill (or is it a mountain?), so because the place is high, the temperature is colder too. Luckily I brought a heater along. In Toowoomba, I went to Picnic Point, Japanese Garden, and a few other parks I don't know their names.

13-14/7/2013: Toowoomba

Picnic Point
This place is at the top of Toowoomba. Sight-seeing here is great. You can see the neighbourhoods and highways below. The scenery is very picturesque; beautiful!
Oh, we didn't have picnic here because we were fasting. But this is a beautiful place for a picnic. There are a few restaurant and playground here. People who live around here is lucky!

we can see this giant Australian flag from below. cool!

Look at the scenery at the background. uuuu~ feeling soo tall.

keep walking.

found the secret garden. eyceh. it was so beautiful I felt like taking pictures non-stop.

Next, we went to a
mini-museum of train. It's a model train showroom. It's located near a horse place (can't remember the name :P)

I like the mini city!

chuggington, chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-chuggington~

The next morning, we went to another place.

Japanese Garden
It is located in the University of Southern Queensland. It was very cold the morning we went. We can't really see the sun too, so most of the photos look gloomy. But still, I had a great walk and time there!

Group of ducks at the lake. They're very cute.

Wanted to use timer. Didn't make it to the targeted rock.
Doesn't matter, had picture taken here.

So many different kinds of trees!

My favourite scene.

Beautiful wasn't it?
It must be a lot more beautiful during spring.

That evening, we went to a park. can't remember its name.

Park in Toowomba
I think this is another great spot for a picnic. It has playgrounds, good scenery and many spaces.

Lapangnyaaa~

The playground

Miehehe~

A very cool game station!
Actually, this machine(?) offers many types of games. it's fun.

While I was walking and taking pictures of the scenery there, I spotted a group of teenagers, hanging out with their friends, and I thought, "It would be nice if my friends were here too." Then I thought of the idea of having a picnic with my friends on that park. but then I realized that I was in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. koh koh.

Well, that's my first weekend in Queensland.
It was my first and last time in Toowoomba.

Insya-Allah I will write about other places I've been in the next posts.
Salam :)

Eid Mubarak 1434!

Salam.

Alhamdulillah, it's Syawal!
Hopefully the 29 days of Ramadhan has made us a better person.

In the place I'm living in, we celebrated Eid on Thursday, 8th August like in Malaysia, but some other places in Brisbane celebrated Eid on Friday.
Actually, I only knew that we're having Eid on Thursday on that day! Few minutes after I woke up, already having the mind set of "Oh, I'm still fasting today,"  kak Aliya informed me that "Eid is today." Haha. Excited la jugak.

Layth and me in front of the masjid we performed the solat raya.

Let's proceed to the eid wish.
Orang Malaysia raya sebulan kan.

Dear my beloved family and friends,

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri!

Taqabbalallahu minna wa minkum

(May Allah accept our deeds and your deeds)

Minal 'aidin wal faizin

(May we are included in those who return (to fitrah) and achieve success)

wassalam.

P/S: oh, of course I miss my family so much I cried after calling home before raya. kah kah. (dahla baru je lepas tengok family themed movie). lepas tu, after raya, i haven't drop a single tear.. yet.

Journey in Queensland I

Salam :)

As what I've written in the previous post, I've safely arrived in Queensland on 7th of July.

Riding the AirAsiaX flight

The Flight
Landed at Coolangatta Airport, Gold Coast with a change of tudung and pants, and without a jacket because I threw up in the plane due to air-sickness. Luckily, I brought a spare tudung along in the plane, and the person beside me was very kind to give me her extra pants! (wuwu,, I'm touched.. sobs..) and a stewardess gave me a bottle of minyak kapak. She's quite concerned about me. bagus, a good service! Alhamdulillah when we landed, it was 8:23pm and the temperature was 15°c so I can stand the cold... ceh, padahal jalan laju-laju nak masuk airport cepat.
Kak Aliya picked me up shortly after I've arrived and we went straight to her house in Brisbane.

Oh yeah, why do I go here?

Background Story
Kak Aliya Azlan is my senior from high school. Oh yes, apparently, our first name is the same. koh koh. I come here to be her babysitter for around 2 months during this long break. I'll be back to Malaysia on 6th of September, insya-Allah, so I'll be spending the whole Ramadhan and Syawal (almost) in here!
Anyway, Kak Aliya has 2 sons: Layth (6 going on 7) and Thauban (almost 2). Since Layth went to school during weekdays and I have day-off during weekends, so I mostly babysit Thauban when Kak Aliya isn't home.

Thauban and Layth.
I really have no idea why did Layth pose like that.

The Work
Babysitting and help with house chores, just like what girls usually do at home. So, I guess so far, everything went well insya-Allah. huhu. But Thauban reminded me of my nieces and nephews a lot! and Layth reminded me of Hanaa because they were born in the same year. oh I miss them. but I think when I got back, I will miss Thauban and Layth.. so, better play with them to the fullest!
but it's quite impossible for me to play with Thauban when Kak Aliya and her husband is home. He would not want me at all. haha.
Usually, every weekday morning, before kak Aliya sent Layth to school and go to work, I will take Thauban for a stroll around the neighbourhood. Although it's Ramadhan, I don't feel really exhausted because the air is just nice. My body warms up in the cold morning.
I don't play with Layth much, I guess, because, I don't know what should I play with him. Sometimes I just watch him constructing lego planes, train tracks, or listen to his informative speech about trains, planes and titanic. I can say that he's quite knowledgeable because he reads factual books a lot.

Ramadhan in here
This is a whole new experience for me because I'm fasting in winter and I'm actually experiencing winter! hahah. But of course, no snow in here. Average temperature, 11-21°c kot. (hentam)
In here, we fast for approximately 12 hours but it gets longer by a few minutes as the days pass. Daytime is shorter and night is longer. Thus, performing night prayers is quite relaxed. We can finish tawawih by 8p.m, and I will have plenty of time to do anything before bedtime. However, sahur is too early.

Only a few days left, better make the best out of these last days of Ramadhan, ey?

Kak Aliya and her husband held an iftar in their house once. There were a lot of food and everything was very delicious, alhamdulillah! We had BBQ and foods in the photo above. hehe.

Holiday?
Oh yeah, while I'm in here, of course I'm taking the opportunity to visit places in here. Usually I will go to different places with kak Aliya and her family during weekends. I've been to a few places already. I shall share them in a separate entry.

till then!
Salam :)

P/S: I'm still thinking what should I get as souvenirs for the people I love. what should I buy? am hoping that when it's time to go shopping for souvenirs and gifts, there'll be a lot of sales. ameen!