Kelantan Trip 2012

On my first week in Penang for semester break, my mother decided to go back to her hometown in Kelantan so both of us headed East Coast to The Old House at Wakaf Bharu. My dad has to work and my younger brother needs to go to school so there were just the two of us.

Sungai Kelantan, the view was taken from inside of the car so please pardon this bad photography. I love the clouds and the scenery plus Kota Bharu is a seriously nice place for family getaways. 

I recall that there was no Tune Hotels yet on my last visit to the city in July last year. Wow, I guess that the city is getting well-developed now (minus the traffic congestion) and it is actually cleaner ;)

We visited my mother's former school, Sekolah Kebangsaan Kamil (1) in Pasir Puteh Kelantan. She used to stay at various "jajahan" in Kelantan, from Machang to Bachok, Pasir Puteh, Tumpat and Wakaf Bharu following my grandfather who was a policeman at that time. 

Alhamdulillah, the weather was fine although Kelantan was severely hit by flood and typhoon on the last Musim Tengkujuh. We visited Balai Polis Cherang Ruku (my grandfather used to live at the barrack there) and Pantai Tok Bali but I forgot to take the photos. 

Here at Jambatan Tok Bali; it is actually a very long and high bridge to allow fishing boats to sail past it. Pantai Tok Bali is a very famous fishing spot for fishermen and also has a fish landing center at the jetty here. The sea water here is totally deep and not a very good spot for recreational activities. 

Then my mother drove until we nearly reached Terengganu (Besut actually). Besut is another popular spot for tourists who would want to go Pulau Perhentian. There is a jetty here that operates everyday (I think) and this is like the entryway to Pulau Perhentian. 

There is the jetty (I think) that makes me wonder when can I visit Pulau Perhentian? I love islands and beaches but the islands that I have visited so far are Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Pinang (totally) and Pulau Pangkor only. I must plan a backpacking trip to Pulau Tioman next semester! 

My mother stopped by at this seafood retail outlet to buy something for our neighbors in Penang. 

There are actually a lot of stalls at the side of the road in Besut selling keropok lekor, keropok ikan, sos-sos tempatan, sotong dan udang kering; basically everything!

My mother bought a lot of these item waiting to be fried at our house kitchen now, and we gave away to our neighbors too.

I bought A LOT of these! My favorite keropok ikan that is sold for only RM 1 each! Seriously Shafik (my roommate) needs to come here and purchase the whole stack of these! In Kuala Lumpur, the same keropok ikan is sold at RM 2 each and it is so unfair because we always have to share the small packet. Now I think both of us can enjoy our own individual packet while watching movies, right Shafik? (I really hope that he reads this hahaha).

Then the next day, we went to Tumpat and Pengkalan Kubor to do our favorite part of the trip which is shopping! My great-grandmother lived here until the end of her life, and the house is left decayed in the town of Tumpat. 

Stesen Keretapi Tumpat which is the start and the end of the journey for trains of the East Coast. If you can see in the picture below, there is a "garage" that houses the trains. 

For your information, train is still the most favorable mode of transportation for the Kelantanese, especially those who live in the rural area that is only reachable by trains and railways. 

One snap of Pantai Sri Tujuh, a really popular spot for fishing and "mandi-manda" for locals and tourists in Kelantan. I heard that the beach is badly eroded due to the monsoon season and no longer safe for tourists; that was what I heard. 

Finally we arrived at Pengkalan Kubor, a duty free area which is bordered with Thailand. I mean, Thailand is at the other side of the river so you guys and girls can visit Thailand legally or not. This place is famous for girls and women because most of the items sold are seriously meant for them! Boys like me can only get football team jerseys (which is of a good quality), jeans, t-shirts and boxers. 

A lot of tourists would seek for "toto", dishes, kitchen utensils, children toys and clothing; the same concept like the one in Rantau Panjang. For a boy like me, I prefer shopping at Rantau Panjang and Wakaf Che Yeh as it caters more variety of choices for male teenagers, honestly. That marks the end of my 2012 Kelantan Trip with my mother and as what I have mentioned, am looking forward to go to an island in a near future insyaallah. 

Fraternity House

Welcome to 106 B 

"Beta Supra Beta"

This is the "logo" (vandalism act) of our Frat House (our apartment in IPG KBA) which we rent for RM 80 per month for each student. Alhamdulillah, the rate is so very cheap because it is not easy to find a really affordable place to stay in the middle of Kuala Lumpur right? Even though the condition of the hostel is quite bad for some students, I am so thankful that we do not have to rent houses outside.

See! Next to our old apartment is a truly stylish and expensive condominium called Zehn Bukit Pantai. I heard rumors that Datin Paduka Umie Aida lives on top of this building, as her husband bought the penthouse. Our hostel/apartment is situated beside our college compound at Jalan Pantai Baharu, Lembah Pantai Kuala Lumpur. It is located near Menara TM, Stadium Hoki Kuala Lumpur, Stesen LRT Kerinchi, Stesen LRT Universiti, Universiti Malaya and IPG Kampus Bahasa Melayu.

There will be a small bazaar at Menara Telekom Malaysia every Friday afternoon which sells cheap chocolates, books, scarfs, and other items. My roommate, who happens to be a chocolate-maniac loves to visit the place while I just like to walk around that area. 

IPG Kampus Bahasa Antarabangsa.

The view of the residential college taken from Jalan Bukit Pantai, Bangsar. Our college has a really long history that started even before independence. It used to be a matriculation college for Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia, Universiti Malaya and finally IPG KBA. 

Mid Valley Megamall.

It is located only 15 minutes of walking distance from my college or 10 minutes if you take a cab (minus the traffic jam at Federal Higway) to go there. For most IPBARIANS, Mid Valley is the place to do our groceries because there is no "kedai runcit" around our college believe it or not!

I really like my college since it is located in the middle of everywhere. I can take the LRT to KL Sentral or KLCC easily or hop into the taxi and stray to One Utama or The Curve on weekends. That explains why I managed to join various events, thanks to the seriously affordable public transportation.

I do not need to walk far away to the main road to get my lunch and dinner too because there is an illegal restaurant near the entrance. I believe that the restaurant is illegal as the owner does not display any license or permit at his stall but he cooks really tantalizing food at a very affordable price. 

This college also provides various facilities such as a barren football field, gymnasium, tennis court, volleyball court, library and other basic facilities for a teaching institute. 




At the gymnasium(main "baling selipar") after exam. I know that these facilities are no longer in good condition but at least they are still usable right?

This is my spacious room at 106 B BSB! There are 5 rooms at each apartment unit and we stayed at the topmost level which I called The Penthouse. 

This is my side of the room, neat and tidy right? There will be 14 students in each apartment that occupy those rooms, with 5 toilets, a pantry, living room and two balconies! 

We used to have our own rice cooker and basic kitchen utensils here plus we cooked! Cooking is actually prohibited but we keep our secrets and put the stuff in the room. 

Our living room, with the "ampaian" and a place for all of us to hang out. We watch movies on weekends and borrow LCD projector from our seniors to have a clearer view. This is the place where we "solat berjemaah", eat together and have fun. 

Oh, I seriously miss my life in Kuala Lumpur. You know what I miss so much about KL and my crazy lifestyles? I used to stay in the LRT for almost two hours(from LRT Kerinchi-LRT Terminal Putra-LRT Kelana Jaya-LRT KLCC) just to make sure I finish reading my Psikologi Pendidikan notes, skinny jeans hunting at Pavilion KL, blogger's events and parties. 

I miss my Frat House, Kuala Lumpur and my friends there. Can we have a blogger gathering in February later? Would anybody be interested in joining the gathering? I can plan it though, so no worries people.

Old Videos

Hye guys and girls! I would like to share two videos of TESL Night 2010 just for everybody's entertainment. I am sorry that it took so many years for it to be published here, and maybe some of you are not interested in watching them anymore. Seriously, you guys and girls need to watch these videos hehehe ;)

:Love Story IPG KBA Version:

This is a video of myself and few other friends dancing Taylor Swift's Love Story song. Yes, Azham Vosovic dances too people, not only blogging! No, I am not bragging but I would really love to share this video to all of you. Watch closely, I dance with my partner Hema at your left side of the stage (both of us wore bright white attire) and there is a surprise at the end of the video. Observe how our singer Emily changes her dress in seconds, exclusively on TESL Night!

:Mamma Mia & Dancing Queen Mash Up:

This is the video of my classmates performing Mama Mia and Dancing Queen Mash Up by ABBA! Kudos to all of them because this was the highlight of TESL Night 2010, and the lecturers enjoyed it!

To all SPM leavers who are still expecting your results in March, join us if you have the attitude, charisma and enjoy doing creative things like us. Apply for TESL course in Institut Pendidikan Guru or any other universities as we need the people who love English language and are willing to be trained and groomed to becoming Malaysia's Next Top Educator! Get your PIN number at the nearest Bank Simpanan Nasional branch for 2012 IPG intake; details are to be announced on Ministry of Education official webpage soon.

IPG KBA Take Over

Hey guys and girls! How are you doing today? I am taking a break from writing a serious post like this so let us now view some photos of B. Ed TESL KPM-UPM Link Program events and activities okay.

Before we had our semester break, we planned a farewell party to our lecturers and IPG KBA Take Over as well. Many of my friends in college were puzzled when I created this event on Facebook and invited them. Some are thrilled to witness our Take Over as our last appearance in IPG KBA until we meet again in 2014.

Okay, this is our canteen where the Take Over event took place. We just want to bid farewell to our juniors and friends in college since we are moving to UPM in February for two years and do you know what happened at IPG KBA Take Over?

We did FREEZE, which is a static performance by all 40 of us. Imagine having that big number occupying a small area with lots of fun and laughter! As the self-appointed emcee for the event, I made my friends stand still for few minutes and did a lot of funny actions for our viewers.

There was a request from our junior who wants us to show the actions inside the toilet, as squatting down to defecate (membuang najis). 





I know, that was such a horrible request but all of us did not mind it at all. Look at all of them trying their best to exemplify their own actions in the toilet. 

I also made my friends freeze while having their shower, and the juniors loved it! Alhamdulillah, I managed to get their participation as well for that 15 minutes performance. 

This is the only chance for our friends in IPG KBA to see us embarrass ourselves, and got to know who we really are. 

Yeah, we have been studying there for almost three years but we still haven't got to know our friends and juniors well. This is the moment that I believe has reconnected everybody in the college, alhamdulillah.

These are my classmates who are so supportive and are not too shy to join this activity! I know, this is such an embarrassment for some of them but they did well! 





It is not easy to gather all 40 of us to conduct an exciting and creative activity like this so I am very grateful to have all of them in my team ;)

 

As you can see, my classmates here are also holding a card with our message on it. Do you guys and girls want to know what the message is? 

"BYE-BYE IPBA

SEE YOU IN 2014"

Basically, we managed to fulfill and achieve the objectives of this event as well as having fun! This is our unique way of saying good bye and deliver our wishes to everybody. Imagine that we were actually sitting for our last final examination paper from 8.30 AM until 10.30 AM, and IPG KBA Take Over happened at 11 AM. That is surely not an easy task, and we hope that our message is successfully conveyed. In fact, nobody has ever done that in IPG KBA and we are honored to be the first to trend it ;)

Then when the stomach is squeaking to be filled, Miss Pat treated us lunch! Thank you Miss Pat for the food, thank you so much!

To all my juniors, please groom yourselves to be one of the best educators in Malaysia. Take the opportunity given by the government to polish your English language proficiency and do not skip classes. Take care IPBARIANS! See you in 2014 for our final year here insyaallah.