Give, step and never stop

Travelling is one of my passions in my life.

Several weeks ago I went to the main city in South Australia, Adelaide. It is one of the major cities in Australia. I’m not sure about the population but what I believe is that the place one of the best cities for study if you consider about the calmness and cost living.

Victor Harbour, 2014

Victor harbour. Goolwa. Mangkuk Hayun. George Wildlife Park. Toy factory. Strawberry picking. Glenelg

These are among place that I did visit during my journey and I really suggest you to go there if you have ample time. Victor Harbour and Granite Island is connected. My friends and I spent almost 2 hours there enjoying the scenery. The island is almost like Philip Island in Melbourne but it is smaller and nearer to the city. There was also a so-called train being pulled a beautiful horse.

Goolwa is a beach where we collected cockles by bare hands. I wasn’t difficult at all. You just have to bring friends and find the right place to spot a bunch of them. I could consider the beach wasn’t the best but still we pretty enjoyed wetting ourselves.

One word that almost my friends told me in Adelaide once I met them was; did you eat? Yeah I realized that majority people studying in UQ are getting slimmer. I wasn’t shocked seriously, because it was so difficult to find the halal restaurant around Brisbane. There are several but the number is not much in other major cities. One of the halal restaurant is Swinging Bowl aka Mangkuk Hayun in Bahasa. Hahaha. In Malaysia, Mangkuk Hayun is the title for the good-for-nothing people. It is so funny. Alright, done with the name, let’s talk about the food. First thing first, never compare the currency when you are living overseas. It is not good idea to compare everything or you will be die starving. The restaurant served rice with other protein food like meat, fish and cuttlefish that have been cook in different recipes. I did eat rice with ‘gulai kari kambing’. It was so delicious. it is non-regrettable offer.

One famous place in Adelaide is Glenelg. If you have friends studying in University of South Australia, University of Adelaide or Flinder University, you might be boring with sunset pictures once they have been there. That sunset is in Glenelg. I was unfortunate because when I was there it was a bit cloudy and we did not have the opportunity to see the full sunset. Anyway, that was beautiful enough for me.

Shedy's Market, 2014

All in all, the best thing that I will remember and tell other people about Adelaide was the people. All of things I told you above won’t be there without help from people. They rented cars for the guests, invited for eating ceremony, prepared the food along the road and did not ask for a cent for it. That was so adorable. I will remember that.

From that day, I learned that people who will make a place beautiful and interesting. People won’t remember your know for sure, but people will remember what you have done for them. They will remember and spread the news as it is not the place what motivates people, it is the people.

Besides that, actually travelling teaches me that I’m nothing without others. What we expect when we are not in our comfort zone? Everything is uncertain and we never know what will happen tomorrow, but we know it won’t be comfort.

Give, step and never stop.

The Happy Ramadhan

Ramadhan is just around the corner so why don’t we just invite him in and treat him as best as we can.

Ramadhan

Rahmah.  Maghfirah. Hell freedom

I don’t want to write down things that you might meet up on the other blogs and websites. If you want to know Ramadhan guides, Fiqh of Ramadhan or DIY for Ramadhan planner, I’m pretty sure that you are on the wrong blog. Eheh. However, I will still provide useful website links at the bottom of this post for you.

What I mean different with the rest of people is my experience during the last Ramadhan. I could say that it was the best Ramadhan in term of ibadah, but on the other hand, I could say it was a Ramadhan that had the most lessons.

Health

I could not remember every minute detail on the last Ramadhan except a moment that I had an illness that I never had before. I only could tell that the illness was a fever, a complete different type of fever. The fever prevented me from going to lectures and even attending taraweeh prayer during the night. So, I just laid up on the bed or sit on the chair playing with my laptop. The fever weakened me so much and sometime I felt I just don’t have enough energy to elevate my head from pillow.

Friends

What do want to expect when you can do but nothing on the bed? Hoping helps from roommates. Sometimes, there is time when you have to depend almost of the time on your friends’ kindness. Yeah, that was what I felt during that time. I almost had to fully depend on them.  They took care of me, brought me to the hospital and even ordered and bought me food for me. I still remembered when I fainted on the mid of the road during I had a severe headache. There were several people seeing me fainted and they brought me to my room.

“There are two blessings in which most people are in great loss:

1) Good health

2) Free time.”

In the mid of the hardship, I knew that my plan for the special month had crumbled down and it was far behind from the planning.

However, when I got back home and gained strength bit a bit, I believed that the calamity happened not for none but there must something that He wanted to tell me, something that will make me closer to Him and distinguish from the rest.

He wanted me to look on myself and surrounding me, my physical body and my friends.

He wants me to appreciate what I have in my hand and never look inside others’ hand.

Today, it is my first Ramadhan experience in oversea and it will never be like in my origin country. It is harder and everything depends on me; food, sahur, no bazaar, no near mosque, far musolla.

I believe that those hardships are not to prevent me from
making better Ramadhan, but to make the Ramadhan is going to be an unforgettable Ramadhan in the future.

Whatever is it, please make doa for me and wish me the best for this Ramadhan.

3^rd Ramadhan 1435. Not-my country 

Gate, 2014

link for a better Ramadhan:
productive muslim
nasyid

New World

Assalamualaikum wbt, 

peace be upon you my reader

I'm not sure how long I have been on the new country, Australia. It is a pleasure for me to be exposed to the new surrounding. New village as well, St Lucia, Brisbane. It nears to Brisbane river. You will never meet a swimming cat till you arrive hear because we have Citycat. Actually it is a ferry that carries people along the Brisbane river. 

Of course in a new place we will be having a new society. A society that love jogging and cycling. No more Nasi Lemak and all those fatty ingredients food. Cereal will certainly becomes my breakfast company. 

Eventually, I would like to share you this. In those happily 'Salam Perantauan' pics, there are actually turbulence and hardships that they are facing all over the time. The oversea students are not in vacation when they are over the sea. The language barriers would be the most essential thing to be handled. Plus, there are a lot of things that have to be done independently like renting house, finding housemates, managing finance, cooking, paying the bills, cooping with the locals and etc. There are a lot of things done here that are not seen in the our country. So, don't expect studying oversea will be a bed of roses. Life is ain't getting easier. Only your prayer to Allah will make them better.

Pray for the best.

Market day during O-week, UQ, 2014

(un)covered sheep, 2014

Carpeted bear, 2014

The loyal, 2014 

Pair, 2014

Zoo-ing time!

In every breath, there is reason why Allah makes us alive

The previous visit to Long Pine Koala Sanctuary peels my ego layer by layer. I'm not that perfect neither cute because there will always something more cute and adorable than you. hahaha.