Halloween Party

We had a Halloween cosplay party recently at the university. Quite a number of students took the opportunity to come and dress up : ). Really had a great time!!! I was dressed as a witch with the hat i borrowed from a local elementary school teacher.


Doraemon trying to bring us to our home perhaps? We are supposed to ride on a broom which this camera failed to capture : )

Kowaiii desu yoo!! Casting curses on pregnant lady. She is not really pregnant by the way. No harm done even if the curses are genuine!!!

Outside of the venue - taking a breather as it was very hot inside. However it is freezing cold outside. Japan - the land of extremes!!!

The Filipinos students carved this pumpkin donated by the local farmers!! It is really big!! I do wonder what happened to its inside?

Ken - the super DJ!!!! Nice music makes people eager to boogie!!!

Not to worry for any ghouls or zombies as we have a sailor uniform student equipped with a sword to protect the innocents (and not so innocents) on Halloween night!!!

It was the best party ever and a great way to kick start the first semester!!!

Akibahara and Ueno!!!

After the Yokohama visits, we went to Akibahara and Ueno for some RnR. Thanks to my friends, I had lovely pictures from my visit to both places. The above picture was taken from behind while walking to the Akibahara station . The picture below is in Ueno - just outside the JR station as we made our way to Ameyoko

Akiba rocks!!! This is my first time here on Sunday.
So it was amazing to see lots of people cosplaying as well as many girls in their maid costumes!!!

Yokohama Memories II

I have been told that my blogs sounds and look like a travel blog. Could not help it since basically this blog is about my journey as a grad student in Japan. So hopefully my friends that keep coming back to read my blog are entertain through the pictures posted here.Certainly this is not a blog for intellectual discussion : )

The above picture was taken in Chinatown, Yokohama. I love this picture as it provides a vivid background.


This picture was taken at the amusement park, Cosmo World. I also realize that this is the theme park in the Japanese Drama Titled Yasuko to Kenji. I was so excited when I found out about it recently

First Chicken Tikka while I am in Japan. There was a Diwali celebration at the Yamashita Koen and some of the food were HALAL!!! I was so excited and this can be seen by how I looked like when svoring the taste of Chicken!!! It is a big deal because usually I have to cook if I want to eat any meat based food in Japan.

My friend and I went for a ride in this. Two mistakes!! 1. Should not bring a backpack (especially filled with a laptop to amusement park) and 2. Should start with a less wild ride. Totally cool ride but I was dizzy about 15 - 20 minutes after the ride. Definitely a recommendation for the thrill seeker. My friend did not appreciate the ride though : ) as she was dizzier than me!!

Pondering?? Nahh.. More just posed for a more artistic picture.

The sea was nice and it was sunny on that day. However the wind made it a bit cold. As for me I truly enjoyed it as I dislike hot weather!!!

More entries coming soon!!!

Yokohama Nights

This is the view from the hotel room in the Landmark Tower - from the 58th Floor if I am not mistaken. We were fortunate as we were invited to visit one of the HR staff at her hotel room.
The view is spectacular and would cost us 1000 yen from the observatory tower of the same building.
I totally love the Ferris Wheel. There is a romantic feeling to it even though from past experiences, Ferris wheel ride can be pretty boring. Maybe I need to find the right person to ride the Ferris wheel to feel the romantic atmosphere. : )

With friends enjoying the evening breeze near the Yamashita Koen (Park). We took a boat ride (Seabass) to get to the park which is not that far from the Landmark Tower. The view was fantastic. Definitely a place that I would love to come again

Yokohama Memories

I was in Yokohama!!! Attended a job interview with two fellow uni mates and met other Malaysian students there!! The interview was for two days so we managed to squeeze an extra one day for sightseeing activities.














This picture was taken at the Sakuragicho station at Yokohama.









It is the Halloween season in Japan where a lot of Halloween theme accessories as well as decorations can be seen. Really had fun posing for pictures in front of the Landmark Tower.







The interview took place on Thursday and Friday, so on Saturday, I went with friends to the Chinatown in Yokohama as well as Motomachi Street. The Chinatown is pretty nice although not as interesting as I would have thought. Maybe due to the similarities to other Chinatowns that I have visited. However I found a cute stuffed panda hand. Wish I could have bought it but at the price tag of 1700yen, I am too practical to waste my money on trivial things.

The last week in Cambodia - If things goes well

Yesterday I was roped in by a friend of mine to go to a dance club, Heart of Darkness in Phnom Penh. She convinced me that I have to experience the Phnom Penh night life at least once. It was good fun and the place was not that crowded as it usually are on Friday nights. Therefore yesterday night I had my first and most probably last exposure with the Cambodian night life.

Today after recovering from a not so late night out, I went to the Central Market to do some last minute shopping for my sister and mum. Gotten them some tshirts and bags. I also went and picked up my custom made shoes. The boots is quite good but the sandals was disappointing though. Sigh.. Shopping for custom made items in Cambodia can be a hazardous thing. Often you might end up for a substandard product.

Tomorrow would be the last Sunday I would be in Phnom Penh. If things goes well and I do not have to extend my stay here, I would be back in the Malaysian soil next Saturday, Sept 20th!!!
Can't wait to go to Pasar Ramadhan and get a taste of Bubur Lambuk. Malaysia - Here I come!!

I miss Japan. I miss sushi. I miss IUJ!!!

How do I defined IUJ? Its basically my friends over back in IUJ - although most of them are not back in Urasa yet. Gosh!!! I really miss them. It is sad to know that it would not be the same after graduation. It would be very difficult to get everyone hang out together consider that after graduation all of us going to disperse all over the world. most would be around Asia of course. However Asia is a pretty damn big continent.


I even miss the classes and the report writing. I miss the time we celebrated Nila's birthday. She is
the girl that sits on the right and holding the cake
on her lap. I miss Connie chan laughter. I miss
Rabiah levelheaded advise (although i do get that
from time to time through skype). I miss Mar Lar's cooking and many things. IUJ would not be the same anymore for me as there would be first year coming in. Hopefully it would be better and bigger : ).

Its funny that I did not say I miss Malaysia. Maybe because I have been back to Msia before coming to Phnom Penh. Maybe because my parents and brother were here last month. or maybe because there were many Malaysian things to remind me of home. Malaysian restaurant, maggi chilli sauce and even a cleaning lady that could speak malay. Or maybe because I know my time in Japan is limited and Malaysia would always be there for me.

Trip to Siem Reap

I went to Siem Reap last weekend with my friend Azreena and her family. I had a great time!!!It has been ages since I met her in person and really appreciate the time we spent together. It was also cute when her son, Shaquille become jealous whenever both of us started talking.

This is the interior of the boat we rode on our way to Siem Reap. Basically the view is breathtaking for the first hour but after that it gotten monotonous. It is pretty small and thankfully the boat was not full so I managed to secure two seats to myself and dah a relaxing nap for an hour or two. Most of the tourists enjoy sunbathing on top of the roof!!

This is at Angkor Wat. Its already near the entrance. You can see it from my tired face : ) Although we did not go to a lot of the temples, we took our time at the places we visit. Including the old and new market of course : ).

Holiday with children is fun and ensure that the pace is not that difficult. Overall it was an enjoyable experience.

We also went to dinner at a couple of Malaysian Restaurant. The food there is a bit of hit and miss with some of the dishes very nice and some of the things we ordered did not taste that good. A bit embarrassed that almost all the expenditures are paid by Azreena's parents. The offer to pay at least the tuk tuk driver was decline.

I came back by bus. It was very bumpy ride and I suspect that the bus suspension is not that good either. Met another Malaysian couple on their way back to Phnom Penh during the bus trip. A practicing lawyer and a retiree teacher. I have a good time chit chatting with both of them. Hopefully I would be able to see them whenever i come back to Malaysia.