Puteri Hasya Esabella

Here you go..Lil' Bella new born face.

She is now 1 month old..

Sorry Bella, your busy aunty owes u a LOT!

Lots of luv,
eLLe

Big sis & lil' sis

Yesterday, Eryna met her little sister..

The baby looked directly at her, but Eryna is too young to know that baby is her own little sister... She kissed the baby, and that's about it. She continued playing with her iPad and wandered around the room. However, when we just about to send the baby back to the nursery, the baby cried and at our surprise, Eryna cried too. She kept saying, 'Papa, baby nangis!'.

It reminds me of myself and my sister. The difference is that when I was born, my sister already learned that I am her sister as she was already 4 years old at that time..

Will upload those 2 angels pictures soon!

Lots of luv,
eLLe

My new angel!

Eryna is now a big sister!

My little niece was born this morning (9 November 2011) at 7.15am. She weighs 2.76kg upon birth and i'm sure she'll be 2 times heavier next month :)

Elyn Eryna finally has someonelse to fight over with.. :p


Lots of luv, eLLe

If i were to choose..

If i were to choose,
I choose spring over winter,
But winter let the bud sleep before blooming beautifully.

If i were to choose,
I choose sun over rain,
But rain creates rainbow that colours up the sky.

If i were to choose,
I choose happiness over sorrow
But sorrow taught me how to live

But if i were to choose
To have what the others have,
I choose not to have them all,
Because i treasure those around me more..

Lots of luv,
eLLe

posted from Bloggeroid

My grandma's 90th birthday..

Happy 90th birthday opah! May Allah bless u always.. we love u~

posted from Bloggeroid

A lil girl who cheers me up every day..

My cutie pie Eryna.. soon to be Kakak Ryna. Cheeky, and full of drama!

posted from Bloggeroid

A lil' update..

Been busy for the past few weeks..Went to conference, fall sick, meeting, meeting, and work endlessly. This is not a complain, it only shows my common daily life nowadays.

Conference? Owh, its about Search & Rescue. You may find the ads on a billboard as u pass Istana Budaya going towards KLCC. Interesting? Definitely. Boring? Not really, depends on the topic but i feel sleepy most of the time. You can count how many ladies in there.. and most of the participants are gov officials.

Caught a fever once before the conference. The temperature of the conference hall was so low that the fever got worse. It took daysss before i got my pink health back. It is proven now, work doesnt help you get any better.. hahahahahah (shhhhhhhh......dont tell anyone i'm from HSE~)

We are now in fasting month and i got sick AGAIN! Blame mommy for cooking TOO delicious chilli prawns for buka puasa... ALLERGY ATTACK!!!! Now i'm going to have runny nose for a few days.. uuuuuuuuuu

Happy fasting peeps! Maaf Zahir Batin.. Moga puasa kita tahun ni diberkati~

Lots of luv,
eLLe

Blogging on d go~

Test... haha! For the first time in my life, i need more than minute to write a full sentence!

*will improve my skill..promise!*

Lots of love,
eLLe

I like Nippon Paint because it can turn dully weary into jolly rainbow!

Remember those cute Blobbies from Nippon Paint tv commercial? Recalled a chubby blue elephant spraying paint all over the building?


Well,  this advertisment is the stepping stone on how i become a huge fan of Nippon Paint! Everytime this ads is on the screen, my eyes will automatically hooked at it, amazed by the wonderful colours and joyous feeling brought by those adorable Blobbies. Totally feel like riding on a rainbow bridge!


Don't make me start with the varieties of their colour palettes, you'll definitely fall head over heels over Nippon Paint. From odour-less to spot-less, Nippon Paint got it all~


Even you are in your own tiny room, with Nippon Paint colours, you will feel like living in a Palace!


I have done my part. Blobbies, it is your turn to make it happen with Nippon Paint!


To turn a dull place into an exuberant room , do catch their Blobbies here: http://www.facebook.com/nipponpaintblobbies



Lots of luv, 
eLLe

Day 4: Seoul (Nami Island)

This was the day I waited for so long.. Travel to Nami Island!!!

Nami Island is very popular after the shooting of Winter Sonata. I was so excited though I did not watch the whole full series, but I know for sure that this place is going to be beautiful (learning from the pictures I’ve seen in the internet.

We departed by bus at Tapgol Park around 0930hrs. We were the last 3 people to board the bus (the bus was actually waiting for us! Hehhe..) The journey to Nami Island took around 1 hour 30 minutes, so we dozed off along the way~ Price for the tour bus roundtrip is W 15,000.

Once we arrived at the jetty, we gave our entry visa to the immigration officer (price for visa W 8,000). Nami Island is a republic by itself (kinda funny to me since it is just a tiny island). We travelled across by a nice, clean boat. It only took 10 minutes to reach Nami Island. Once arrived, we took out a map, and walk around the island. 

Walkway around Nami Island

Bumped into numerous chipmunks & squirrels

A famous general tomb

Sorry, no leaves yet. It was just after winter.

Found an amazing tree to lie down~

A cute dustbin with a bear head carved as the opening~

Winter Sonata’s First Kiss

On Lover’s Bridge

Nami Island is all about love~

See, simple but pretty~

Saranghae.. Mr Pinocchio!

Our lunch for the day

 Plain rice with sunny side egg and kimchi underneath. There is a way to eat this: Put on the gloves, shake the tin box, then only open it. You can see a well-mixed kimchi-rice :)

Found Malaysian ads in Nami. Proud to be Malaysian!

Back from Nami Island, we went to Itaewon  for our kebab moment. Next, we went to collect our luggage left at Friend’s House and travel straight to NAMU guest house by cab. The rate was W 27,000per person per night.

NAMU GUESTHOUSE rating (out of 5): 

1) Bed – 4/5 (Room and bed was very clean, but without heater like previous houses!)

2) Toilet – 4.5/5 (It was clean and spacey enough. Water heater ran well J )

3) Service - 5/5 (The 2 managers named Jina and HJ were very friendly. They speak English really well. They were resourceful too!)

4) Overall rating – 4.5/5

Tired from Nami Island tour, we dozed off dreaming of our own Winter Sonata~ ;)

Tips for day 4:

1)      Be punctual if you are following any tour. It is embarrassing enough to be the last person boarding the bus.

2)      Booked for the tour online, or through your guesthouse. It was easier.

3)      Do not start thinking of buying one-way ticket to Nami Island. Just buy the return ticket for tour bus. Though the tour said to be half-day (which sounds too long), you will definitely ran out of time when you start taking pictures of every inches of Nami Island.

4)      If you are moving to another guesthouse/hotel within the trip, just stop the cab anywhere at the roadside and show them the address. Don’t try to be a cheapskate here. The cab driver will definitely send you straight to the doorstep (or at the end of the right alley). You will save your energy and time, for sure!

Lots of luv,
 eLLe

Day 3 in Korea: Seoul

Woke up in the morning just to find out that our breakfast was rice with chicken curry. Too bad, the chicken was not halal, so we told the ajhumma we were going off without breakfast. Koreans are very respectful for food especially when it comes to rice. However, after further explanation (by Nad of course), we went out and stop by at a coffee chop called Caffé Bene for breakfast. 

Interior of Caffé Bene. Almost all Korean cafés we went have splendid interior designs!

The used pager to tell their customers their order is done. 

After munching some sandwich and sipping some coffee, we went out to find Ihwa-dong art project. Based on the review, the project is about some artworks crafted on the wall. We went to Naksan park (where the arts are) and looked all over the park. We went up and down the hill, turn at every corner of the park and houses, climb up and down the stairs and after 1 hour, we reached the top of Naksan Park. But somehow, we could not find the art project at all!

View from Naksan Park

Since I don’t have any pictures, let me share a blog which has the pictures here

We went down the hill and moved on to our next location, Changdeokgung Palace. I didn’t really bother on the history behind anything, so I just went there to enjoy the beauty of the palace. Paid W3,000, we went into the palace and snap a few shots. Met a few groups of student wandering around the palace for school trips. 

Entrance of ChangDeokGung Palace

Inside the palace

Main building for the king

Interior of the palace

Using a map of the palace, we moved around the palace easily. We decided to go to the secret garden located in the heart of this palace.  There was a schedule for entrance to the garden because it is a requirement to have a tour guide (for translation purpose too). We bought a ticket at W5,000 for 1230hrs trip (which was supposed to be with Chinese translator; but we cannot wait for English session at 1430hrs as we have some other places to go). 

History of Secret garden

Pond area

Another shot..

The tour took 2 hours and it was kinda tiring. Done with it, we went out of the palace, rest for a while, munched our leftover donuts and moved on to Insadong.

Insadong is one of our favourite places in Seoul. There we lots of souvenir you can buy and can even bargain! The whole street actually sells almost same things so watch for the smallest shop, so you can bargain more~!

A shop in Insadong

Insadong Street

When we walked down the street we found a small ‘mall’ called Ssamziegil.The mall was built strangely that you can move from floor to floor without using any stairs or elevator. It kinda built like a swirl slides in playground.

Ssamziegil Entrance

Main attraction of Ssamziegil, red bean pancakes shaped like a s***

Done having fun shopping in Insadong, we went up to Namsan Mountain to Namsan Tower. We took a small elevator to the ticket counter, then purchase a ticket of W6,300 (round trip)to go up to the top of the hill by cable car. We reached the top at 1745hrs as we were told that a beautiful light show will start sharp at 1800hrs.

View from top of mountain

N Seoul Tower

As we enjoy the view from all the angles from the tower, we found massive amount of locks all over the place.

I’m not kidding.. They are uncountable!

Couple will have 2 padlocks and tie them together at the fence/tree with a note tied to it. You are free to use ANY kind of padlocks :)

They also have restaurant inside the tower, but it was kinda expensive. It would be best if you could bring something from the ground..

The menu & price.. They even have menu for proposing! Ahahahaha

When the clock stroke 1800hrs, to our surprise, the lights didn’t show up. We thought, ‘ah, maybe they are working on it’. Then we waited, and waited, and waited until it was dark and freezing cold (colder than Jeju!), but there was still no signs of light. We gave up waiting, and went to the information counter asking about it. The lady said, ‘I’m sorry, no light shows today. We have some problem’. Whaatttttttt???????? We have been waiting for almost 2 hours for nothing! With broken heart, we went down the mountain and went off to find our dinner (kebab) in Itaewon

Tiredly, we went back to Friend’s House for a good night sleep…

Tips for day 3:

1)    Tell the House owner beforehand on your meal preferences

2)      Do not bargain too much while buying souvenir. The owner might get a little bit uneasy.

3)      To go to Namsan Park, Take Subway to Myeong-dong and follow exit number 3 (I think) or just follow the exit showing anything with word ‘Namsan’. The tower can be easily found though.

4)      Ask the information counter on the lightshow beforehand. You do not want to waste your precious time in Seoul just for waiting!

5)      If you plan to do the locks, you might want to bring your own padlocks since the shops there sold them expensively.

Lots of luv, eLLe

Day 2 in Korea: Jeju Island (Part 2) & Seoul

We woke up early in the morning (and I do mean EARLY – it was only 4.30am!) just to catch up the sunrise at Seongsan Ilchubong or Seongsan Sunrise Peak. From most of the reviews we heard, this is the most beautiful place to watch sunrise in Jeju Island. Hence, we drove off to Seongsan which is situated at the east of Jeju Island.

Along the way, we had our breakfast in the car, while observing the beauty of Jeju Island. Suddenly, the sky was getting brighter and brighter. We were like… Oops! The journey took about 1 hour plus (with excessive speeding.. huhu) but somehow, we did not manage to catch the beginning of sunrise.

We could see the peak a few kilometers away from the highway. Once we arrived, just at my first step out of the car, I screamed, “THIS IS FREAKING COLD!!!!” Being pure Malaysian, I can never stand long in cold area. Immediately I opened my hot pack, paste it inside my sweater and put on my fall jacket. Not to forget, my warm gloves! (I always get cold hands even in the office~)

Seongsan Ilchubong (The leftover crater from a volcano erupted 5000 years ago)

Take a look at the scenery. The real view was much more beautiful than any pictures captured by the camera! And it is true!

When I was all set, I looked up to the sky and suddenly mesmerized by the whole view. In my heart, I whispered ‘Suhanallah’. The clouds were like fluffy cotton candies, moved by the wind towards an unknown direction. The flowers danced to the rhythm of the breeze and to the sound of the waves crashing at the beach.

Each of us paid W 2000 at the entrance. We went up to the peak through the stone stairs. Regardless of how cold the weather was, we keep on climbing and climbing….

Climbing

and climbing….

Snapping a shot while resting halfway..

Encountered this eerie tuff cone..

And finally….(after 40 minutes of hiking)

  Tadaaaaa!!!! The sunrise was just before my eyes! Amazing!

The peak of Seongsan was underneath my feet!

We took a LOT of pictures here like nobody business! HAHAHA! The view is too astonishing that we would (kindly enough) like to share what we see with everybody. Once the sun rose up in the sky, we went down the crater for our next destination.

Going down took half the time when we hike up.. hehehe

We stopped by at Dunkin Donut for proper brunch and had ‘light’ shopping at souvenir shop before proceeding to our next destination, Seopjikoji.

On our way to Seopjikoji we found a vast field of rape seed flowers. We quickly pulled over and went for photo-shooting at the field (there was a man waiting to collect W 1000 entrance fee per person, probably the debt collector owner). The field was decorated nicely with heart-shaped arc and some carved stones. 

A heart in the middle of millions of flowers. Romantic~ ;)

My turn~

Since we are quite in a rush, we planned to stop by at Seopjikoji (a Korean drama titled ‘All In’ was shoot here, but I never watch it) for a shortwhile since it is only on the way back. When we arrived, we saw another scenic view of Jeju. Take a look for yourself:

The huge waves crashed on the stones making such loud roars that you can barely hear yourself screaming!

There is actually a lighthouse that we can climbed to see the whole view of the ocean, but we are done with climbing, so we decided to go straight to Cheonjiyeon falls.

Trust me, Cheonjiyeon falls is another scenic place in Jeju especially during spring. Located in Seogwipo-si, it is quite easy to find with numerous of signboards leading to park. So we just follow the signs and voila, we reached the entrance of the park. With entrance fee W 2,000, we strolled down the park until we reached the falls. Along the way, flowers blooming from their trees luxuriously.

The river connecting Cheonjiyeon Falls and the sea

Cherry blossoms trees as shades for the path to the falls

The sun of spring~

Cheonjiyeon Falls

Done with the stroll, we went back to the hiking in, checked-out and drove off to AVIS car rental. By their shuttle again, we went to Jeju International Airport for departure to Seoul.

We left Jeju Island at 1750hrs and reached Seoul around 1850. We took the subway to Hyehwa for our next pit stop, Friends house. It is a traditional house where you sleep on the floor. The room rates are W90,000 per night (for 3 people) include breakfast.

Friends House rating (out of 5): 

1) Bed – 4.5/5 (the floor was very warm. They have heater installed underneath the floor! Awesome!)

2) Toilet - 5/5 (It was superbly clean! Even though we had to share toilets with other guests, it was cleaned like it was home)

3) Service - 4/5 (The two ajhumma were friendly. They had dogs living with them and luckily they were trained not to disturb guests. Tell them your needs beforehand e.g. no meat meal etc)

4) Overall rating – 4.5/5

Once we checked-in, we went out again to find a restaurant for late dinner. We managed to find an Indian restaurant where we ordered prawn briyani and vegetable samosa to fill in our grumbling empty stomachs. Late that night we went back straight to our room and dozed off~

Tips for day 2:

1.    If your travel was in early spring, try to go to Jeju first as Jeju experience spring earlier than Seoul.

2.    It is kinda hard to find halal food in Jeju. If you are going to stay for a long time, bring enough canned food / bread / instant porridge from home.

3.    Try to wake up as early as you can to catch the sunrise or consider staying nearby as an option.

4.    Make sure you know your exit from the subway station to look for accommodation. Try to get some landmarks (and updated pictures) so that you will not get lost easily. You do not want to waste your time and energy (from carrying luggages) just to find a secluded house.

5.    Halal food is expensive. However, 2 portions of it can be shared among 3 normal people. Be prepared!

Lots of luv, 
eLLe