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Greece Part 1: Kucing di Kavala

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. I really love cats and had one cat called Kopi. Simply because he is black, local breed and it sounds masculine haha! Kopi tidur atas luggage saya semasa saya pack barang to Saudi a few years back During my Balkan trip when I was in Kavala, Greece, kucing-kucing di sana sangat banyak dan gemuk-gemuk. Tapi tak segebu kucing di Istanbul.   Memandangkan kawasan Kavala ini seperti perairan, saya dapat lihat banyak kapal-kapal docking di sini, banyak lagi kucing yang berkeliaran di sekitar bay. In fact, semasa saya hikinng ke Kavala fortress, saya boleh nampak the local cats sheltered from drizzles di hadapan cafe-cafe dan kedai souvenirs. Of course, I think they are so used to tourists that they seem camera-ready all the time. They look so cute, while tucking their paws to themselves sebab sejuk sangat. Langsung tak takut dengan people and too jinak. Semasa kami lunch di one of the seafood restaurants, the cats gathered as a group to catch our attention and minta...
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First Time Flying with Emirates and Dubai Airport

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. It was my first time flying Emirates and happy sangat masa dapat tahu our flight from KUL - IST was scheduled to be with Emirates. Since it is known as the strongest airline worldwide, I was curious to know how does it feel like flying with them. Alhamdulillah, the day came, so I boarded the flight and transit di Dubai for 6 hours. Masa transit, saya spent the time di area connecting as our final and next destination is Istanbul. Emirates Airlines My first impression, seat besar and the overall interior looks new. First leg saya duduk area aisle, masa balik dapat window seat. Fuh, memang superb selesa ya! Flight clean and packed tapi paling best, lavatory tip top! Dapat juga tengok crew Emirates yang pakai cap merah ala-ala Arabian tu. Hampir all flights (KUL - DXB, DXB - IST and DXB - KUL), saya mintak stewardess untuk capture free polaroid photo (walaupun complimentary for kids only well, I just braced it) sebagai kenangan di darat gitu haha.  Makanan pula ...
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Istanbul Part 1: Shopping at Spice Bazaar

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. I am still recovering from my Balkan trip. A week in, my body is still confused. My brain says “Home” but my sleep schedule says “Turkey, Greece and everywhere.” That 6–7 hour time difference is real, phew! Alhamdulillah, 10 days to 6 countries. Turkiye, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Greece. My legs deserve their own medal although I nicely gained 3 kilo bila sampai Malaysia! 😓 In this post, I am writing about Istanbul, our last stop before flying back home. The final chapter of the adventure, the kind of where you nak tahan masa from passing by. We reached Istanbul on a Friday night, January 23, 2026, from Kavala and stayed at Hotel Golden Way Giyimkent . The plan for the next day, based on the iti was to walk all over Sultanahmet.  But we were warned that the weather akan drizzles + light rain. Not exactly welcoming, but sepanjang jalan tu cuacanya sangat cosy and nice, Alhamdulillah. Tak rasa macam winter walaupun tengah peak, rather sweet...
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Makan Tengahari with Bestie di Lagenda Cafe House

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Somewhere in September, Aireen, my school bestfriend and I went to Lagenda House and Cafe , located just so nearby to Chew Jetty in Georgetown.  She landed from Kuala Lumpur to Penang around 12 ish so after picking up Aireen from Penang Airport, we headed straight to the cafe although it was quite a distance from the airport. Mind you, I was hungry, she was hungry. 😅 We were lucky that there was a smol space, just enough for my cute car to park in front of the cafe. The cafe was nice, air-conditioned and ada classic vibe of P. Ramlee's era.  One of my colleagues at work yang suggest to pay a visit to this place and since the Google ratings were so convincing that I thought it was a really good spot. Look at what we ordered. The condiments came with a mini-congkak plating, blending in pretty well with the whole ambience. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place in a heartbeat. Price wise is slightly higher but totally acceptable for the servings ...
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Simple Tuna Salad

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. I am on my sixth day of GM Diet. Yep - you heard it right, sixth! I hit my heaviest and I started it because life looked at me and said "Girl, enough." 😅 So here I am, humbled and if discipline was a sport, at least this week I showed up.  GM rules on sixth day allows me protein with veges. I made Tuna Salad and I thought to share the recipe since it surprisingly taste good, although the finishing did no justice. I bet my culinary brother would not pass by me and give me a smirk 😏 Ingredients: A canned tuna Mixed salad yang dibeli from Lotus's Boiled eggs Cherry tomatoes Seasoning - Oregano, black pepper, parsley! Kewpie sesame seed and thousand island sauce Steps-by-steps: Mixed everything dalam tupperware Shake it and voila! I don't have any specific quantity, just like mothers "agak-agak jeww ."
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Authentic Thai Cuisine di ParaThai

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t.  Sawadikha. I have been to Thailand a few times. Living in the North, it was reachable. The recent one we took a trip to Hatyai . . . for food, sponsored by my beloved dad. I love Hatyai for its food. Still teringat-teringat ayam goreng and tomyam. Ugh, drooling. 😖  So, it was a fine Saturday, pagi-pagi lagi, saya, ibu dan ayah singgah di Tesco Seberang Jaya sebab my mom nak tengok kain di Nagoya + Jalan-Jalan Japan. Well, that was the initial plan. Habis membeli kain, kami bertiga kelaparan dan nak cari tempat lunch. I have always wanted to try ParaThai and the only thing that stopped me was the depiction of it on social media. I don't fancy "polished" restaurant and I kedekut so I am not willing to spend extra money if it is only for the hype! I told my parents that let's just take our lunch at ParaThai di Sunway Carnival. Lebih kurang 15 minutes (termasuk cari parking) dari Tesco. Our first time and I did research while my dad drove us there...
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Pengalaman Viva-Voce Ph.D.

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Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Pejam celik pejam celik, dah selesai 4 tahun pengajian Ph.D. saya.  Hilang rasa penat jerih selepas panel umumkan bahawa saya "pass" viva-voce. Alhamdulillah, syukur ke hadrat Ilahi.  Pagi itu, saya dan ayah saya duduk di luar rumah. Memang sudah disediakan sebuah meja 6-seater dan kerusi-kerusi kayu. Tempat yang tidak asing lagi, di situlah tempat kami berdua belajar, makan malam dan menerima tetamu. Ayah saya juga menyambung Ph.D. Kami sama-sama mendaftar pada waktu yang sama, bersama supervisor yang sama, di universiti dan course yang sama, cuma tajuk kajian sahaja berbeza! Ayah saya kebetulan pula sudah selesai viva-nya seminggu sebelum saya pada bulan Mei 2025. Pressure tau!  Pagi tu, saya menyemak lembaran-lembaran thesis yang sudah ditulis. Seperti tak percaya! Hampir 300+ muka surat selama 4 tahun, hari inilah penentuannya. Sidang viva saya berlangsung pada jam 2:00 p.m. sehingga 5:00 p.m. Ya, 3 jam! Saya cuba untuk berfikir kemungkinan-kemu...
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