5 April 2021

 Two years. 

I've been away from here for two years. Hehehe. 

What happened since? 

1. I am working again on a part-time basis. Of course the salary is part-time too but I am so very grateful and thankful that this arrangement allows me time to help the children with their work and do housework (insert crying emoji). 

2. I have started exercising, stopped, started again and the cycle goes on. I am trying to bring my weight to 50kg but I have not seen that number for very, very long. I am a very short person, so all this extra weight I'm carrying really shows. 

3. The children are in Secondary 3, Primary 6 and Primary 1. Yup. The little boy is in P1 already. 

4. The covid stay-home arrangement worked well for us. Another reason to be thankful is that we moved to a place that allows all of us to work/go to school from home in a more spacious environment. I shudder to think what it would have been like had we not moved! 

5. That will be everything for now. Will write more one day. One day. Hopefully not another 2 years. Haha. 

Exercise (again)

Hello Blog

It's been a while. 

Let's talk about the changes in my life. Actually, one major change only - I've started exercising! Not as regularly as it should be but I've started. 

My dear friend, Mrs Armf, has been recommending a series of exercise videos available on youtube by a woman called Emi Wong. Prior to that, I was following this other woman called K_yla It_ines. She's good but I think she's more for the pros. (When I say following, I mean, following her ig account. Full stop. Not following her exercise moves.) For beginners like me who may have issues with almost everything, Emi Wong gives encouragements that make you relate to her. For example, we've barely begun and she says that we should have already started perspiring by now. Oh yes, that's me. 

Anyway, it's been more than a year since she recommended Emi Wong but it took me that long to get off my flabby posterior.  Sometime in August, with the JC reunion happening in mere weeks, I thought I should get started. So I did 2 days of Emi Wong. Died. Didn't continue. No difference to my mummy tummy or flabby behind. Had reunion. Who cares what we looked like. Continued Emi Wong because in a perverse, masochistic way, I like how exhausted I was at the end of each session.

I did it off and on since then. At least 3 or 4 times a week. Still no difference to my mummy tummy and flabby behind. But one day, I saw a bus coming. 

(This story requires a paragraph (or 2 or 70) of its own)

The bus was still quite far. I told my kids, let's get that bus. So we ran after the bus. We ran and we ran. 

We got on the bus!

We sat down. 

My #2 commented, "Mak, you were so fast!" (Fast is relative here. Relative to a sloth)

At that moment, I also realised I wasn't panting. I also realised the distance I ran was a lot more than 10 metres. 

Ding ding ding!

Whoa! I've done it. My stamina has actually increased! Amazing! 

So that's the major change in my life right now. I'm approaching 42. When I turned 40, I knew it was time for me to start giving myself the gift of health. I must continue exercising regularly and make sure my knees and bones and muscles can see me through old age. If I can lose an extra 5 inches each from my waist and behind and thighs, that is a happy bonus.  

At this ripe old age, I need to start on other things that I've neglected like use of sunblock and mindfulness. 

The skin, especially the cheeks and nose which receive maximum sun exposure, is showing signs of ageing. There are sun spots on the nose and cheeks. There's one persistent rough spot on the left cheek. It's been there for at least a month. Probably longer because I don't really take notice of my skin til recently. I want to see a GP and seek a recommendation to see a dermatologist. Hopefully I won’t be sent to IMH instead. I mean, I’ve seen how people with flawless skin fret over a pimple. I’m not exactly flawless but that persistent rough patch that does not respond to 1 week of intensive moisturizer should be checked, right?

As for mindfulness - I've been a forgetful person for a long time. It's time for me to start practising some form of mindfulness. Well, according to definition, this isn't quite what mindfulness is. But, I shall define it as a way not to do things mindlessly, that is doing things on an auto mode where it's just muscle memory in action. It's about being aware of what I'm doing. 

So those are my goals for the coming years: keep myself fit, keep the skin healthy and keep the mind strong. Insya Allah.

Haj

The stirring in the heart became stronger. The yearning, more painful. But the call from MUIS telling us that we were part of the quota did not come. 

Sometime in the middle of July (with Hari Raya Haji falling on August 22), when we figured that we were never going to receive the call, it came.

Waves of immense gratitude, humility and a large dose of tears hit me. Despite the rather last-minute call, Allah is indeed the best of planners and He made it easy for us. (insert more tears)

What I'm sharing next is the logistical aspects of preparing for haj and it is more relevant for pilgrims from Singapore. I'm not going to cover things which will be covered during your haj course. (Eg, what type of haj to do - ifrad? Tamattu'? etc)

(Disclaimer: Some parts may be repeated. Because I wrote this over many months. I will slowly tidy this up and make it an easier read for anyone who needs to refer to this to help them prepare the logistical aspects of haj.)

Prior to The Call (from MUIS telling you that you are going for hajj)

Start getting things ready. For example: 

• Make Allah #1. Syaitan will very easily whisper things into our minds and we unknowingly take their suggestions. Be very careful. Always make Allah #1 in all that you do. 

• Check your heart. It is easy to condemn people. At 3am in the morning, when you are suddenly awakened by the loud vroom of a souped-up motorbike, it is very easy to condemn him to a life of misery. But, don’t. Pray for him. Pray that he will be granted the wisdom to be aware of other people’s needs. This must be practised a lot.

• Somewhat related to the above – pray for others. When you hear someone coughing badly, don’t say kesiaaaaaaan (ie, poor thing). Quickly make do’a for the sick person. Also, do not say things like, you should eat this supplement or that whatever. Make do’a and mean it.

• Up your ibadah (eg, more solat sunat, solat on time, tame the heart etc). My ustaz recommends going for fardu ain classes along with the kursus haji.

• Get appropriate clothings if yours are not. For eg, get some jubah which are loose fitting. This is especially if all your long dresses are cinched at the waist. Make sure you can pull the sleeves up beyond your elbow to take your wudhu. I got myself some new jubah but didn't do the sleeve-test. So, I had to struggle a bit each time I needed to take my wudhu.

• Read some books on the rituals of hajj. Watch videos of hajj rituals so you have an idea on the order of events. This will be covered during the hajj class but it’s always good if we go in more prepared.

Immediately after getting The Call (or if you are informed early, it will be via a letter - not sure how things go for letter recipients though)

1.     Go to MUIS to sign the form and collect the list of packages. (Could be a different process if you were informed early)

2.     If you can't do that immediately, go to MUIS website and download the list of haj packages available.  

We downloaded the list waaay before we received the call so most of the packages we shortlisted earlier in the year were no longer available. Take note that the price listed does not include the flight. The flight will cost about $2800. Yes, it is the most expensive flight I've ever taken. So, the cost per person is approximately $10,000 + $2,800. Almost all the packages are full board, ie, all meals are paid for. You will never be hungry unless you are very fussy about food.

3.     Shortlist the packages which suit your timing. For us, TheHusband could not be away from work for too long so we chose the 20-day package which was one of the shorter packages available. Actually, the basic rituals of hajj could be completed in 6-7 days. So technically, you could go there for 10 days or less. But, you should not. The time spent at Shisha is important in training our heart and soul. The time spent in Makkah and Madinah is important too to help strengthen your hajj experience. So go for the full works - 30 days if possible.

4.     Solat istikharah to help in making a choice (Full disclosure. We didn't do this. We zoomed in on what fit our needs and went straight for it given the limited time that we had. No regrets choosing Hagel. Alhamdulillah.)

5.     Go to the travel agent you have chosen. Call and ask them what you need to bring with you. Most likely: 4 passport sized photos and 2 visa-sized photos, all the documents you received from Muis and of course, your passport.

6.     The travel agent will then tell you to do a few things:

·        Get your biometrics details taken for the purpose of getting a hajj visa. This has to be done by appointment which your travel agent will arrange for you. Bring passport and appt letter.

·        Get your jabs taken. Can be done at polyclinics. See a doctor and get him/her to certify what your illnesses are (if any) and any long term meds you are taking.

·        Attend kursus haji conducted by your travel agent

And that's it. It seems you are set.

Packing List

Next section is a bit more exciting. What to bring. I read quite a few blogs and some people said, bring 10-12 jubah. That is a bit excessive. There will be laundry facilities. Well, as long as there are toilets, there are laundry facilities, right? What more do you need than running water and detergent? Heh.

Jubah/abaya

• 5 jubah

I brought 6 because I read on a blog that this person brought 10 jubah for a 12-day trip and considered this essential. I initially wanted to bring only 4.

I bought 3 of them especially for the trip. I tried them on for size but didn't wear them for long periods. In the end, disliked all 3 because it was a struggle to pull up the sleeves beyond the elbow to take wudhu. Make sure your sleeves are wudhu-friendly. 

Some ladies like their jubah to sweep the floor. Avoid if possible. During tawaf, there's very little space and people will be stepping all over your pretty dress. You dont want your clothes to be ripped off while doing tawaf.  If you wear white, the bottom part will turn grey in no time. Try to get it altered such that the hem is slightly above the floor. 

Pockets! Deep pockets! Like, literally deep pockets! On both sides. Some ladies even put zippers on the pockets so as to protect their valuables. 

Colours? Lots of people like wearing white. But, for ladies, white is not an easy colour to wear because it can be much too translucent in the sun. Modest colours like black, brown or dark blue are perfectly okay.

Hijab & Serkup (Inner)

• 2 mini telekung (given by travel agent) (telekung = prayer garb commonly worn by Malaysians/Indonesians/Singaporeans. Mini telekung means that it stops at the waist. A regular sized telekung normally ends somewhere around the thighs)

• 3 black lycra tudung (hijab) (big ones) 

• 5 serkup (that inner piece you wear underneath your hijab to keep your hair in place)

My travel agent gave 2 pieces of mini telekung that is supposed to be part of our uniform. You may not like them much because the colour palette or style does not suit you. But please wear them. In the huge hajj crowd, such easy forms of identification will help you and your travel mates to spot you and for you to spot them.

Besides these 2 mini telekung, I also brought one more mini telekung (end up not being used) and three big black lycra tudung (used extensively). Those tudung saved me a lot of hassle - no styling needed, not easily crumpled, provides extensive coverage, takes about 2 seconds to put on.

But I had to discard one of them towards the end of the trip as the material wasn't as good as the other two and was pilling badly. It also required a bit of ironing before each use. So choose your black lycra tudung wisely. (I had no idea where mine came from. They were all gifted to me.)

I also brought a pretty shawl thinking that I would wear it on the way back. Haha. Of course I didn't. I value comfort most of all. Especially in a plane. So I wore my favourite lycra tudung on the way back. 

Undergarments and other garments worn under the outermost layer

• 5 bras and panties

I used disposable panties though. If you haven’t used disposable ones in a long time, please take note that the quality of disposables have improved significantly since the days of paper panties.

• Long sleeve inners (especially if you plan to wear white - which I didn't because I don't like layering more than necessary especially in hot hot places)

• 3 long pants to be worn under your jubah/abaya

Get pants with gathers at the bottom hem. This way, when you use the toilets, you dont have to hold on to your pants to prevent them from touching the floor. Get lightweight ones like those cotton pyjamas type. It's gonna be hot so lightweight anything is good. You may want to bring a pair of nice black pants to wear underneath an abaya you might buy in Madinah. There are some abaya which come with zippers or buttons. You need nice pants to go with them. That comfy pyjamas pants don't go well with those zippers/buttons abayas which have a short slit a few inches above the hem. (If you prefer petticoat instead of the lightweight pants, go ahead, get them petticoats.)

Handsocks

• 5 pieces or so. If you are into matchy matchy handsocks, go ahead and get them. Make sure they don't cover the palm of your hands because during ihram, your palm should be exposed.

Socks & Footwear

• 3-4 men's work socks

Why men's work socks? Because women's socks tend to end at the ankle. Part of your leg may be seen when the wind blows. Men's work socks are longer and thicker. I often have to layer my socks if I wear women's socks to solat because women's socks are thinner and your toes can sometimes be seen through the socks. 

• 1 or 2 wudhu socks

You don't really need wudhu socks. It doesn't take much effort to take off and take on your socks.

However there is one benefit of using wudhu socks - you will have two things less to handle when you take off your socks when taking wudhu. You have to handle your hijab, serkup and handsocks. So, when you take your wudhu in toilets whose floor is wet, you will appreciate that your socks can be simply pulled up.

The problem with wudhu socks is that after some use, the opening of the sock gets a bit loose and you will have part of your foot showing while you solat. So if you want to bring them, go ahead but make sure you get new ones whose elastic has not worn off. 

• 2 or 3 pairs of very thick socks with rubberised grips at the sole for you to wear during sa'i or a pair of clean sandals/slippers

You don't need these during tawaf. The crowd will be enormous. You only have enough space to shuffle (not the dance but the slow movement in which your feet don't get lifted off the ground). Socks with rubberized grip will make it more difficult to shuffle. But for sa'i, it's a lot more spacious. You will be walking on hard marble floor. Your heels will be in pain. For me, I was okay for the first 2 sa'i but by the end of the 3rd sa'i (all done on consecutive days), my feet couldn't take it. You can bring a pair of clean slippers/shoes that you can use for sa'i actually. So, that's one alternative. You can also bring your hotel room slippers.  

• 1 pair of extremely comfortable shoes. My Skechers are great! Initially I wanted to get a new pair of Ecco shoes. They are very pretty but I couldn’t get the one that I wanted in time for the trip so I settled for Skechers.

• 1 pair of waterproof slippers. Get the slides type because you are wearing socks.

• 1 extra pair of clean, comfortable slippers for sa’i if you so wish

• 1 small foldable shoe bag because you will be bringing your shoes into the masjid

Sun Protection

When I was unpacking my bag in Shisha, my roommate presented each of us with a sunhat. Why didn't I think of that? Sun hats or sun visors are essentials! The sun is very strong and you will be in the sun quite a bit.

• Sunhat/sun visors

• Sunglasses (if you don't wear glasses or wear contact lessons)

• Glasses with transition lenses, or clip-on shades 

Pyjamas

• 1 set (only!)

Really, you do not need more than 1 set. Your PJs can be T-shirt and pants (can double up as the pants you wear underneath your abaya. Or it can be a nightdress or baju butterfly. Whatever you are comfortable with. At Shisha, after a few days of wear, you can wash it in the morning and it'll be dry for you to wear it that night. Rooms are airconditioned so your PJs will be clean for many days. 

Reading Materials

This is essential. You will have A LOT of free time in shisha. Don't waste it on idle chatter. Really. Bring some books that you can read there.  Examples would be:

• Quran with translation (You should have a target for Shisha - khatam the Quran or memorise a few surah etc)
• Books on zikir/wirid to be recited especially in Arafah. There are some recommended zikir that you can recite throughout your time in Arafah. 
• 1 or 2 paperback books (eg books about the life of our prophet etc)
• List of do'a that people have requested you to make

Laundry

This was actually my topmost concern. I normally pack 4 sets of clothes maximum for a loooong journey and 2 to 3 sets for short ones. I was unsure of laundry facilities for this haj trip. I asked around and was sure of only one thing - the desert heat will dry my clothes in 2 hours.

So I brought the laundry supplies below. They seem a lot but they don't occupy much space. At Shisha/Aziziyah, you will have enough time and space to wash your clothes. I'll get to the laundry bit right now.

• Collapsible pail/bucket

The collapsible bucket! Extremely helpful. The other option of soaking your clothes would be to put it in a plastic bag. And if it requires overnight soaking? Well, you can carry that plastic bag through the night. Not exactly fun. Or you can hang the water-filled plastic bag on a hook but the hook will most probably not be able to take the weight. So helpful it was that for all the services provided by the bucket, I have decided to call it Haji Baldi.

• Clothesline

The clothesline was helpful in Shisha. It was hung from a curtain rod to the hinge of our room door. If you get a string to be your clothesline, it will be okay but you will have the problem of your clothes sliding to the middle. The clothesline I had can be bought from neighbourhood shops for around $2. It ensures that your hangers stay in place because the clothesline looks like a ladder. 

• Clothes pegs

• Hangers

You need them for the shisha leg of the journey. I brought foldable hangers but you don't need those things. You can buy cheap, sturdy hangers from the Value Dollar store and leave them behind in the Shisha apartment for the next group of pilgrims to use. I brought about 10 hangers and was more than pleased to share them with my Shisha roommates (who were awesome!) 

• Scrubbing brush

Essential just in case you don't have access to a washing machine


Ihram Toiletries

You will need unscented and alcohol-free products when you are in ihram. If you are doing umrah, your ihram period will be very short. There is no need to get these. If you are doing haji tamattu', your ihram period will be relatively short too. At the most, about 1-2 days. You can get by by borrowing from your haji ifrad friends. Haji ifrad people will be in ihram for about a week. We also tend to spend a long time getting ihram-friendly toileteries.

When I was on a Saudia plane, I saw an ad for Cetaphil products which are ihram friendly - including an SPF50 sunblock. I am pretty sure you can buy this from any pharmacy there. I did not see these products in Singapore/Malaysia pharmacies (in case you are looking for them here). But we love to be prepared so let me share what I brought.

• Shower gel
• Shampoo
• Lip balm
• Underarm deodorant 

The four items above were from https://www.facebook.com/aslebotanicals. They were gifted by a friend. (Masya Allah. So many things we used and brought were gifts from family and friends. I do'a for Allah to grant them goodness in this world and the Hereafter. Amin.)

• Physiogel moisturising cream

• Nu Skin perennial intense body moisturizer
• Nu Skin NaPCA moisture mist

The Nu Skin products above were also gifts from a friend. Subhanallah. The moisturiser was good for the entire face and body. You need to moisturise a lot over there. The mist spray is for you to mist your face from time to time to ensure you don't lose too much moisture. 

• Unscented wet wipes. 

Baby wet wipes are good. Easy to get unscented and alcohol free ones. Make sure you get unscented ones. Some baby wipes are scented. 

• Heel balm - men need this because when they are in ihram, their feet are exposed all the time. Remember to smear a lot of it all over your heels before you sleep. 
• Tissue paper
• Panty liners/pads

How much money to bring?

Given that our accommodation and all meals are paid for, we don't need much money once we are there. You'll need money for sadaqah, your dam and perhaps some shopping. Shopping. Hur hur. If you find shopping stressful (like I do), just standby loads of $$$$ for kurma and pistachios. Good quality kurma - ajwa alia - costs about 80 riyal per kilogram. We bought about 7kg but we feel that we could have gotten more. Pistachios cost about 50 riyal per kg. I bought 4kg of it but as I said earlier, more would be good. To have a feel of how much is enough, make a list of all the people you want to give things to and do the maths.

Just in case you fall in love with some beautiful prayer mats or an exclusive abaya, make sure you have credit cards or you have activated your ATM to make withdrawals overseas (I did but somehow I still couldn’t withdraw my money. Allah’s way of making sure I don’t spend too much!)

Spend your time wisely

Before the hajj rituals begin, you will have a lot of free time. Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesian pilgrims will often be housed in different apartment blocks in Shisha. You will be in apartments that can fit 4 to 8 pilgrims of the same gender. This, I feel, is when you start to feel the enormity of the pilgrimage you are in. My father and another friend reminded me that it was easy to lose focus here. I was advised to have a goal to achieve during my time in Shisha and stick with it – for eg, khatam Quran or memorise a few surahs.

Avoid engaging in idle chatter. Sometimes, such conversations are necessary to form bonds but keep it minimal. Avoid discussing people because such discussions can lead to gossip. If you are one who tends to talk too much (me), try to develop an awareness of what comes out from our mouths. I realise that if you set all these goals, Allah will make it easier for you to achieve them.

Do’a for others

Before you go for your hajj, your friends and family will ask you to make specific do’a for them. Write all these down on a piece of paper and on your phone. You may forget so writing down is a must (preferably on 2 different mediums so if one goes missing, you still have a back up). If they simply say, “Please make a do’a for me”, all you need to do is do’a for their goodness in this world and the Hereafter. Simple do’a but such a far reaching effect it has. Masya Allah. Even if they did not ask you to do’a for them and they did not even know you are going for your hajj, do’a for them when they appear in your mind. Do’a for people you dislike, for them to lose that unlikeable nature so that you may love them for the sake of Allah.  And then, forget that you’ve made all the do’a so that pride has no chance of creeping into our hearts.

Getting a cold or flu is common there. The dry dessert air will also cause you to cough incessantly. When you hear someone coughing, don't say things like 'poor thing'. Quickly train our tongues to make a do'a for the person to recover. Our hearts will follow soon enough. One of my friends gave me a bag of cough drops. She told me to pass it around to random people. When people around you start coughing, pass some cough drops to them. 

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This is all that I’ll write for now. If I don’t post this now, I don't know when I will do this. If there are any mistakes here, they are mine. The truth is from Allah.

                                                                                        

Get Moving!

I absolutely believe that I must start regular exercise. With food control, I can keep my weight down but all these flabby bits are waaaaay out of control.

Yes, sometimes the fats can be hidden inside loose clothings but once the wind blows, unless I'm wearing a cardboard box, my grandmother of a tummy will be accentuated.

What are my excuses for not starting my exercise regime:

1. No stamina (because I don't exercise)
2. I don't like to get tired
3. I don't like to perspire

There are so many positive benefits of exercising. Having a toned body is only one aspect. The effect on the brains is what I should also be gunning for. Come on, self. Get out of this lazy, lazy rut and start moving!

(yes, teh tarik in upper right corner)

25 Ramadan 1439

I know I've shared this before. But, I love this so much and I do'a that this is what Allah will say to us when our time comes.

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ (27) ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَرْضِيَّةً (28) فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي (29) وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي (30)

“Hai jiwa yang tenang. Kembalilah kepada Tuhanmu dengan hati yang puas lagi diridhai-Nya. Maka masuklah ke dalam jama’ah hamba-hamba-Ku, masuklah ke dalam syurga-Ku.” (QS. Al-Fajr: 27-30)

Sumber : https://rumaysho.com/13524-saat-sakratul-maut-membacakan-hai-jiwa-yang-tenang.html

Al Fajr 27-30

(Seoul updates dah terkubur. Sorry people. Hope what I've updated is enough info.)

Seoul, March 2018

Potentially, a long post. Realistically, I should be glad if I have the itinerary up here!

17032018 - Okay! 2 sections are up! Next are the very long winded travel stories and photos. Well, maybe, photos.
18032018 - Yay! Some 1/4 of the travel stories are up! We'll see how much progress I can make in time to come.

WHY KOREA?

Because I don't want to go Japan again. I wanted to go somewhere we haven't been but not too far away because the youngest is still too dependent on me for a lot of things and very long distance means I get very little sleep. Korea was chosen because it is near enough and there is enough info about it online (especially halal food). We have very little interest in K-pop though. Which means we cannot speak the language (all my Kpop loving friends seem to be able to speak the language). I can't even say excuse me and sorry in Korean - essential skills because my clumsy self keeps knocking into people.

GROUND PACKAGE

We are not the best planners. We tend to bumble around during our holidays.

To avoid that, we took up a ground package (we settle our own flight; they'll deal with the itinerary and stuff we need to do in the country we are visiting). This was a good idea on paper.

Unfortunately, the company and us are not on the same wavelength.   The ground package is for the first 4 days. We wanted just 2 or 3 days, more of a familiarisation exercise but they strongly encouraged us to take up a 5d4n package. (Fifth day, no more tours. We are supposed to check out of the hotel.)

The main problem with the company is the accommodation. They discouraged us from taking up our own Airbnb accommodation and said that their place is at a strategic location. Nope. It's near Anguk station which is not an interchange. A 10-minute walk from the station.

The room - for our family of 5, we get a family room. Sounds large and spacious. But the space is about 20-22 sqm with 2 queen-sized beds. For a family of 5, being constrained in such a tiny space can make one feel a wee bit stressed. No cupboards for me to unpack our luggage. Very little space to move around. When we go on a holiday, we want to relax and not be imprisoned so we got out of there the very next morning after we managed to score a pretty airbnb apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, washer and dryer, kitchenette et al.

Washer and dryer. When we go on a holiday, we never bring clothes for the entire duration of the holiday. Siao ah? Like that, for a winter holiday, I need to bring five 29" luggage, izit? Washer and dryer are necessities so that we can bring enough for just 2 or 3 days. The tour company told me that there was washing and drying facility available at the hotel. What I didn't know was that there was only that one washer and one dryer in the entire hotel. The hotel staff wash all their sheets and towels using that one washer and dryer. Like that, when do guests get to use the washer and dryer?

Anyway, enough ranting about that company. Will not recommend it to anyone but our guide who freelances with them was pretty good. If you want a 1-day familiarisation exercise with her, she can do that. Send me a message and I'll hook you up with her.

ITINERARY

Day 1

• Itaewon (but still too late for Friday prayers)
• Lunch: Eid (Itaewon)
• Insadong
• Dinner: Bought those onigiri rice triangles from 7-11 + heated up a pack of microwaveable rendang rice

Itaewon is where you can find Seoul Central Mosque. Naturally, where there is a mosque, there will be halal food. Yay!

Our first day being a Friday, we wanted to go to the mosque to do our Friday prayers there. Unfortunately, because our guide was a bit late picking us up from the airport, we got to the mosque after Friday prayers were over. Not such a big issue because we are musafir so we did our jamak takdim zuhur + asar after which we had our first halal Korean meal at  Eid.

The Seoul Central Mosque is on top of a hill. It's a very picturesque  area but getting to it requires a huge amount of legwork. Steep inclines et al. Maybe that's why we see lots of fit pioneer generation Koreans going on hiking expeditions.

After that, our guide took us to Insadong which is some 10 minutes from our 'hotel'.You can give Insadong a miss, really. Lots of pretty souvenirs but on the pricey side. Namdaemun has cheaper stuff. Maybe I was feeling the blues from the shock of seeing our hotel room but Insadong didn't do anything for me. There are 2 places there where you can have your halal meals though. One is an Indian restaurant and the other is a vegetarian restaurant. Our guide highly recommends the latter but it was already 6+pm and it was getting bitingly cold. I was anxious to get back to the 'hotel' to do laundry. Housewife issues.

Back in the hotel, I literally felt like crying. I was trying to unpack and could not find any space to unpack our luggage. The kids have so much homework and I plan for them to spend 1 hour every night doing homework. But where to do homework? No space! I went to the reception to ask for bath towels and toiletries. No, they only gave face towels and I have to buy the toiletries from them.

TheHusband started looking for airbnb apartment and found 1 in Itaewon. That heavy feeling in my heart went away and I slept well that night despite the springs I could feel poking my back.

(For the first day, we were supposed to go Insadong only but as the guide was late, the company added Namsan Tower (which we did the next day) and Itaewon.)


Day 2

• Got out of the hotel and moved to our new Airbnb apartment in Itaewon.
• Lunch: Muree (Itaewon)
• Namsan Tower
• Gyeongbokgung Palace
• Kim Sejong Museum
• Gwanghamun Square
• Chonggyecheon Stream
• Dinner: Self-prepared dinner

Our guide was very kind. She understood the problems her guests were facing and helped us move from our hotel to our new apartment.

Our new apartment requires us to climb 70 uneven steps to get to it but it is worth the climb. You suffer a bit for 2 minutes but the end result is amazing comfort and a place to call home for the next 3 nights. It is also less than 5 minutes away from the Seoul Central Mosque and therefore, all manners of halal restaurants! Yay!

After we dropped off our luggage at the apartment, we had an early lunch at Murree Musim Food. When we order any Korean food, it will come with some side dishes - seaweed, fishcakes, ikan bilis, kimchi. TheHusband feels that Murree has the yummiest side dishes. For me, I'm happy with the seaweed.

After lunch, we went back to the apartment as the host wanted to orientate us. We did our zuhur + asar in the apartment and then started our tour.

Gyeongbokgung Palace was an ig-worthy palace. But, I must state that I am not that much into photo taking so all these pretty places are a bit lost on me. Take note that most of the palace is refurbished. If you like photo taking, it's a good idea to dress up in a hanbok and take photos there. Very perfect location.

After that, we walked over to King Sejong museum. Learnt a bit about King Sejong and the things he did to improve the Korean way of life.

All these happened around Gwanghamun Square where there is always at least, one protest going on. Here, you have 5 people holding a placard and that's it, your life is finished. But, in Korea, the police will be there to maintain the piece as you go about doing your human rights stuff. An eye opener for us and especially the girls who are not used to such things.

Ended the day by walking over to another picture-worthy place - the Chonggyecheon Stream.


Day 3

• Petite France (Don't go also, never mind. I love The Little Prince but this place seems a a bit.. confused and a tourist trap. Actually, everything also tourist trap. But some are worthy of your money while others are, errrr... nope.)
• Nami Island
• Lunch: Asian Family Restaurant
• Musollah: Above Asian Family Restaurant
• Dinner: King Kebab @ Itaewon. Huge portions. Share your meal if you are a small eater.

Day 4

• Ihwa Mural Village
• Noryangin Market. Planned to have lunch there! Thank goodness our guide could speak Korean and knew what was happening. Tourist trap!
• Gwangjang market
• Lunch: At a stall at Gwangjang market. (Brought our own rice)
• Han River
• Dinner: Makan Restaurant (Itaewon)

Day 5

• Moved house (Bye bye, Robin's Nest!)
• Lunch: Busan Jib
• Myeongdong (Daiso!! OMG)
• Musollah: Kampungku
• Light dinner at Kampungku
• Street food at Myeongdong

Day 6

• Lotte World
• Lunch: Tuna Mayo onigiri rice cakes from 7-11
• Musollah: 3rd floor, Lotte World
• More Lotte World (but, really, Tokyo Disneyland has spoiled it for us. We cannot enjoy another theme park)
• Dinner: Yang Good. Masya Allah. 

Day 7

• Day started late because it was raining
• Namdaemun Market
• Lunch: Kampungku
• Musollah: Kampungku
• Dinner: Street food at Myeongdong (yes, again)

Day 8

• Lunch: Makan Restaurant
• Itaewon to catch solat jumaat
• Quick 1h stop at Namdaemun
• Airport (Don't buy anything at the airport. Make sure you've bought all your sovenirs from everywhere else! Default price at airport is in USD and multiplied manifolds! I thought I could get snacks as souvenirs from the airport but not at those prices!)

COST

(People often ask about this so this section should help.)

Flight: We took Cathay with a 3h transit at HK. For 2 adults + 3 children, it was around SGD2.4k. Had we taken SQ, it would have been SGD4k.

Food: Meals at restaurants cost about 10000 won per person. So each time we ate at a restaurant, it was about 40k - 50k won. (Our exchange rate was about 1000 won = SGD1.2. So, that's about SGD50-60 per meal. Ihsan eats very little so he does not get his own dish. At all the restaurants we go, a jug of water and cups are provided with every meal. So we never spent a single cent on drinks, except at Kampungku where I ordered teh tarik (and then couldn't sleep until 2am).

Airbnb: About SGD150/night.

Ground package for 9 - 13 March (inclusive of accommodation for the first 4 nights but we stayed one night because, like I said, NO!): RM5200 (On hindsight, don't need to spend this money. Save it to buy more seaweed snacks, face masks, socks etc.)

Lotte World ticket from Klook for 5: SGD154.93

Travel insurance: SGD70
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Weighty Issues

Those whose BMI are not in the normal range may roll their eyes at my post but the path to weight gain is the tiny bit of weight that comes, stays and never leaves.

November 2014, I went to KK and had my weight taken. I was 46kg. Given my height of about 154cm, that puts my BMI at 19.4. Really comfortable BMI.

Then, a few things happened:

1. Implanon (Possible side effect: weight gain)
2. Breastfeeding (Possible side effect: weight loss)
3. Ageing (possible side effect: low metabolism and therefore weight gain)

By the end of 2016, my breastfeeding career was coming to an end. My weight then was 48kg.

The end of 2016 also saw us moving house. Possible side effect: weight gain because I no longer had to walk for 40 minutes (20 minutes each way) in the hot midday sun to fetch the girls from school.

So these 4 factors - implanon, end of breastfeeding, ageing and moving house - have all conspired together to send my weight to a hefty 53kg. 52-point-something some days. 51-point-something once or twice a month. 53kg was the biggest number i saw in recent times.

My BMI is now 22.4. Just 0.6 more points and I'll be in the overweight category.

I know I must do something about this. Reducing food intake no longer has an effect.

I. MUST. EXERCISE.

I've always hated PE lessons in school. I don't like to perspire. I have coordination issues. Clumsy to the core. I don't have the stamina to run much further than 10m (honed by my propensity to procrastinate everything, ending up almost always having to run after the bus) . But I can brisk walk for 40 minutes in the hot midday sun (as evidenced by the pain of having to fetch the girls from school). I can also do some simple yoga stretching exercises. I used to be pretty good at inclined flexed arm hang.

My 40th birthday gift to myself is the gift of health. (I've written about this before, havent I? Sounds so familiar.)

I hope to be able to run the standard 2.4km distance without stopping. I've never done this before in my entire life. But my friend, A, whose fitness level was worse than mine and could barely pass the 2.4km run in JC, is now a fitness buff who is not only amazingly slim but also can run 10km without stopping. If she can do it, surely I can too.

But first, I have a bigger evil to fight. Procrastination.

Okay nehmind. We write our goals first. We cast it in stone. Then we do. Do, we shall. (Oi! Do it today ah. Not tomorrow!)

Not really terrible twos

Why do people say terrible twos?

I think the threes are worse! They are so demanding, cannot be distracted easily, stronger, louder, more stubborn..

Be patient, I tell myself. This, too, shall pass.

September 24 Updates

Oh hello blog!

I wonder how long blogspot will be up and running. Multiply died long ago and at the rate people are turning to social media, how long a life is left in sites like this? Hopefully, long enough for all the kids to go through all the entries.

Of course, all those old entries where promises were made ("I'll upload photos real soon!") will never see the promises kept. Heh.

Things around the house have been more or less the same. As "same" as it could be considering that the kids are growing (some rapidly, some slooooowly) and the adults are ageing (slowly and gracefully, we hope).

Alhamdulillah for everything that has happened to us. Good things, bad things, normal, everyday things. There's a lot to be grateful for.

Now, for the specifics.

1. H is moving towards PSLE year. I suddenly realise how close it is when this year's PSLE LC came and left. The next time there's an LC exam, it'll be H's turn. Gulp! I am most concerned about Science (ask me about it offline if you want to know) and oral exam.

She's not much of a talker and although she's more comfortable with English, it doesn't mean she wants to talk much. There's also Malay Oral. OMG. That is one big worry but I have faith in the Cikgu to help her as much as possible. I speak Malay most of the time these days especially when I want to scold the little people. And the girls speak Malay to the little boy. It's stilted, the way they speak but at least they are speaking Malay to at least one person in their lives.

2. Social Media Recluse. It's kind of strange the way I feel towards social media these days. I have dunno-how-many friends on fb and ig but I just want to read their posts and updates but I dont want to respond in any way. Why ah? Except for a handful of people. (I'm talking about you lah, mrs armf - you always see my name on your posts. And maybe 1 or 2 more persons.) I think this is a phase. It's strange. Weird. Becoming more introverted as I reach adulthood? Perhaps. Rewind a bit - reach adulthood eh? Mid life crisis lah ni.

3. I've been plagued by a series of small-scale illness lately. Alhamdulillah for them. All to destroy my mountains of sins. The girls have been most helpful when I need a rest due to a fever, headache etc. F can always be counted on to give the little boy a shower and H can put on his diapers and clothes. Next thing they need to learn is how to fry eggs. I can then go on a holiday with TheHusband sans kids! Woooohoooo!

Yeah right.

For now, they can be left on their own for up to 2h. This morning, TheHusband and I went marketing without them. TheHusband prepared their breakfast. Then, they were given tasks (vacuum the floor, make the beds, put things away, shower etc). After all these are done, they can watch TV (specific channels only). When we came back, they were watching TV and not quarreling over which TV channel to watch

Kids are strange. They quarrel and fight in our presence but when we are absent, they can live peacefully together.

(Yes. My kids - all 3 of them - quarrel and fight all the time. Allegiances form and reform on a regular basis.)

Stopping for now. Hoping to write more regularly.

July 17 Updates

Wah.

It's been 3 months since I last visited this place.

It's 7.30am in the morning. The Boy is still asleep. Yay!

So I'm here.

1. My heart issues - feels okay now. Alhamdulillah.

2. We had our first raya in the new house. As everything was still new, there's not much massive cleaning to do. And as long as I move towards minimalism, there will not be much of a headache every festive season.

3. We actually had an open house/housewarming. We have never had one. Not for the previous house, no parties on children's birthdays, just no.

We kept the guest list small-ish. Close relatives and friends who have not been to our house. But we didn't call it housewarming lest people come bearing gifts. (How to be minimalist when you have 3 tea sets?) So, just a random raya open house.

Alhamdulillah, everything went well. Catered food, of course. If I were to cook, everybody will get a plate of scrambled eggs. Or perhaps, everyone will have to make their own.

Things which could be improved - if we ever decide to do this again:
1. Spread out the location of the fruit and kuih2 raya.
2. Import more stools and chairs from my sister & parents' place. Hur hur.

The weather was also good. It wasn't raining and it wasn't too hot so some guests could enjoy the balcony.

Really bersyukur.

4. Good weather was important because.. just 2 days earlier, the ceiling leaked!

Horrors! There was a heavy thunderstorm. Suddenly Farah slipped on the way to her room. There was a strange puddle of water below a beam. Turns out, it was a leaky ceiling. Called the Town Council (residents of topmost floor - leaky ceiling, call Town Council, not HDB) and they sent someone to check immediately. The man said that the roof recently had reroofing works done which came with a 10-year warranty. He'd get the contractor to do the necessary checks. Just yesterday, I saw people climbing the ladder leading to the roof. Hopefully, no more leaks!

Boy is awake. Goodbye!