Have Fun while You Can

Bismillah...

Have all the fun in life while you can. Life is too short to sober.

Today I felt good and happy. I wore the best clothe I had put on my make up and a big smile. My mum came in my room and smiled, saying "Mariam semakin berseri sekarang" *Me+happy = Radiant*

Even my friend at work said the same thing. With a big smile I added "I'm still single and available" *grin*

Wassalam & Cheers.

Shopping in Ben Thanh Market

Bismillah...

Where: Ben Thanh market and Champa Muslim

When: 1st until 3rd day of our trip

What: Shop till you drop

There are a lot of markets and shopping complex in Ho Chi Minh City that you can go to. We only went to Ben Thanh Market and a few shop lots near the area to shop. Ben Thanh market is located in District 1 of HCMC. 

The north entrance of Ben Thanh Market.

The hectic market

Everything at a cheaper price. The secret is BARGAIN until the price is affordable.

There are a lot of things you can buy here at a cheaper price compare to other places. I love HCMC as I can find a lot of things to buy here but regretted bringing small amount of money to spend here. On the first day itself, I spent rm700. It may be a small amount to some people but that's a big amount for me. 

Vietnam Silk Scarves 3USD each

Silk cloth

RM55 each from Champa Muslim

Ready made Baju Kurung

A lot of colours to choose at Champa Muslim

Vietnam Silk 6USD per meter

super soft Pashmina

Jubah

Colored jubah at Champa Muslim

Bookmarks which I bought 3 for 1USD. It's cheaper to buy it here than at the airport which cost 65,000 VDong each

I went to a shop; Champa just in front of Ben Thanh market and found cheap baju kurung which has beads more than enough for only rm50. So I bought 6 on the first day and another one on out 3rd day. Champa shop is a restaurant and boutique. You can find delicious affordable halal food here. You can even stop to pray here. Just ask nicely.

Champa Muslim

Vietnamese Noodle

Super spicy super delicious Laksa Daging

I tried ther laksa daging and I love it. I'm a big fan of laksa, so I ate it without hesitation. This was my first time eating laksa daging. It contains bean sprout, meat, and delicious soup to slurp. Something delicious to try if you're here.

Happy shopping!!

Wassalam & Cheers.

Saigon also known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Bismillah...

Where: Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

When: 22nd until 25th february 2012

With Whom: My great friend Ewa

Why: We bought the flight tix a year ago for rm160 return. Shopping is heaven in Vietnam

We arrived HCMC around 2pm, checked in at MayFlower hotel which is located in district 1 but a bit far from Ben Thanh market. It's a great new hotel with great service and accommodation. The room is spacious. There's a free internet service at the lobby. However, to get to Ben Thanh market, we have to take a taxi ride.

This is the most recommended taxi service in HCMC.  A metered taxi which is convenient

MaiLinh with a H

The Lobby

MayFlower Hotel

Welcoming view

Our standard room which we booked through Agoda.com

Spacious room

If you're a shopaholic, Ho Chi Minh City is a great place to shop. It's like Jalan TAR except that you're dealing with Vietnamese and the transactions are in US Dollars, Malaysian Ringgit and VDong. There are a lot of things to find here. From souvenirs to cloth to jewelry to foods and vegetables. Everything is here,  you just name it.

Ben Thanh Market with lots of alleys

You can find everything here, from accessories to clothes and jewelry.

The roads are mostly filled with motorcycles. It's their main transport there. You rarely see cars and there are lots of taxi; tourist's main transport.

This is the gold shop where we changed our currency. It's cheaper to change Malaysian ringgit to VDong here than in Malaysia. *RM100=650,000VDong*

I'll write what I bought in Ben Thanh Market later.

Wassalam & cheers.

Fun, Hectic Bali Trip 4th and Last Day

Bismillah...

10th October was our 4th day in Bali. Our activity for the day was ocean activities. However, we only did   one ocean activity as it was a bit expensive. We did an open water introductory dive which costed 550,000 rupiah. The price included a video of us inside the water. I wasn't satisfied with the video as it was low quality and he only captured 3 shots of me and my other friend had more that 10 shots in the video.

Surya Mas Villa

Our last day here

In the afternoon, we went for a spa treatment. I was a bit disappointed with the massage treatment I received. It wasn't as I expected. It was worst. Next time, if I'm in Bali, spa is not a place I'm spending my time with.

At a Batik shop

On the last day of Bali, we went to visit Tirta Temple, a waterfall, a batik gift shop and the Padi Terrace.

A place known to ask for your 'soulmate'

Padi Terrace

cheers!!

The beautiful scenery

Waiting for our lunch to arrive

Rice

Chicken curry

Yummy

The waterfall

Us

Elly & I

The best thing about Bali is exploring the island with my best friends. I couldn't imagine going about in the island alone. It'll be the worst nightmare. There are a lot of places I didn't go to. I hope you'll axplore them happily with your loved ones.

Wassalam & Cheers.

Life is full of Drama

Bismillah...

Life is full of drama with a never ending episodes.

Everyone's drama in life will start with birth and ends with death.

When I was a little girl

• I want to be the happy part of each episode.
• I want to be in every part of it, whether it's a sad or happy episode.
• I want to be a happy viewer laughing at every happy episodes.
• I want to be insensitive in every sad episodes.
• I want to feel love in a romantic episodes.
• I want to be remembered in every episodes of my friends and family's life.

Last but not least I want to be grateful to be able to live as a Muslim and preach Islam in my daily life.

Alhamdulillah.

Wassalam & Cheers.

Cards with Benefits

Bismillah...

Work hard, earn much, spend wisely.

Today I've realized that I had a lot of cards in my handbag. I'm not saying a lot of cards in my purse as it doesn't fit my small purse anymore. It would be bulky if I put all the cards in my purse. I'm not referring to credit cards but cards with benefit from different outlets and shops.

I love to shop. I shop at random places. However, since I registered myself as a member of certain outlets and shops, I became a loyal shopper at their place. It is actually a good strategy to keep customers' loyalty.

Here, I present you a few of the cards I have:

With IKEA family card, I get discounted members price items which are way cheaper then the normal price. Plus the free drinks. With Tesco card, each penny spent will be accumulated to points.  They'll give you cash vouchers. This year I received a total of rm12 Clubcard Cash Voucher

S Card is useful for members day warehouse sale and to redeem parking payment. Same goes to ONE CARD privileges. With ONE Card, I'll be able to park my car at a special parking space

I had the Coffee Bean & Te Leaf card during my uni years. I'm a fan of coffee back then. Lately I've been using the Starbucks card. However, I never received the free drinks they claim to offer.

I love shopping at AEON. There's everything under one roof. The best thing about being an AEON member is that you get to cash voucher if you have more points. I'm not sure why I have the Metrojaya card.

Great Eastern insurance card & BORDERS!! Borders card with a 10% discount for certain books. A life saver!!!

Bonuslink card is the most essential card ever as I'm a Shell user. I can also get cash vouchers with a certain amount of points. I could also use Bonuslink card at other outlets such as Parkson.
The best card ever would be Watson card as I can redeem money to make Watson payment at the cashier any time. 

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

Wassalam & Cheers.