Hazwan's World Beyond Boundaries

Round-The-World Fare by Malaysia Airlines!

2012-02-01T08:18:00.001+01:00

Tuesday, 31 January 2011: Oneworld^® member elect Malaysia Airlines’ full global schedule involving around 60 destinations worldwide will be included in the Global Explorer from tomorrow, adding one of the most attractive networks in South East Asia to the round-the-world fare offered by all members of the alliance and selected other airlines.

Photo courtesy of Malaysia Airlines media release

Through this coverage, almost 20 more cities of Malaysia Airlines’ network in South East Asia, including two more countries namely Brunei and Myanmar, will be added to the Global Explorer map, expanding the round-the-world’s global reach to more than 900 destinations in nearly 150 countries.

Some destinations that Malaysia Airlines adds to Global Explorer include Johor Bahru, Langkawi and Kuching in Malaysia, Myanmar capital Yangon, Indonesia’s Medan and Cambodia’s Siem Reap.

Global Explorer covers all routes offered by oneworld’s existing member airlines – American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and Russia’s S7 plus some 20 affiliated carriers, including LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, China’s Dragonair and South Africa’s Comair.

Global Explorer is also offered by a number of airlines that have no links with oneworld – Aer Lingus, Air Pacific, Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Airlines sister, Gulf Air and Meridianafly. Flights carrying the Qantas code but operated by Air Tahiti Nui, Jetstar, South African Airways and Vietnam Airlines are included too, expanding the reach covered by the fare further still.

For travel from Malaysia, four tiers of Global Explorer fares are offered with tier 1 economy fare starting from as low as RM11,184.00 (excluding taxes and surcharges) covering five cities around the world. The highest, tier 4 economy fare, from Malaysia is capped at RM18,171.00 (excluding taxes and surcharges) for travel covering a maximum of 15 cities.

Child fares (between 2 to 11 years) and infant fares (up to 23 months of age) are charged at 75% and 10% of the applicable adult fare.

Bookings and ticketing for this fare can be made direct with systemwide ticket offices of both Malaysia Airlines and oneworld member airlines as well as the other participating airlines. This fare is also available through all appointed agents of these airlines.

An attractive feature of this fare is the free baggage allowance where each adult and child passenger is permitted to check in two pieces of baggage each weighing up to 23 kilograms per piece. Normal charges apply for baggage weights in excess of the free allowance.

Another aspect is the fare validity .Whilst the minimum travel validity for all four tiers is 10 days, the maximum validity allows the journey to be completed within one year from the date of travel of the first sector.

This represents a first step by Malaysia Airlines towards becoming a full member of oneworld, which is on track for later this year. By then Malaysia’s national carrier will start participating in the full range of the alliance’s fares and offer all other services and benefits of the alliance to customers.

Meanwhile, ones network to be added when it boards oneworld later this spring. Both will start participating in the full range of the oneworld fares once they join the alliance.

Global Explorer offers simple, flexible, and great value round-the-world travel for trips of up to one year long.

Four versions of Global Explorer are available. Tiers 1, 2 and 4 are for travel only in Economy Class, but Tier 3 can be used also in First or Business. Not all tiers are available from all countries.

Tier	Class	Max. trip length	Stopovers Allowed	Sample itinerary	Sample lead-in fares for travel from (excluding taxes/levies/charges)
Tier		Max. trip length	Stopovers Allowed	Sample itinerary	Malaysia	Australia	UK	USA
1	Economy	26,000 miles	Minimum 2, maximum 5. No more than 2 within any one region.	Kuala Lumpur – London – Madrid – Chicago – Los Angeles – Tokyo- Kuala Lumpur	MYR 11,184	A$ 3,299	GBP 1,850	US$ 3,799
2	Economy	29,000 miles	Minimum 2, maximum 15 No more than 4 within any one region.	Hong Kong- Kota Kinabalu- Kuala Lumpur- Perth– Johannesburg – London – New York – Hong Kong	MYR 12,810	A$ 3,899	GBP 2,131	US$ 5,399
3	Economy Business First	34,000 miles	Minimum 2, maximum 15. No more than 4 within any one region.	Kuching – Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo – Los Angeles – Santiago – Buenos Aires– London– x Kuala Lumpur -Kuching	MYR 15,085	A$ 4,499	GBP 2,630	US$ 6,199
4	Economy	39,000 miles	Minimum 2 maximum 15. No more than 4 within any one region.	Penang – Kuala Lumpur – Sydney – Los Angeles – Miami-Buenos Aires-Lima-Santiago- Madrid-Paris-Budapest-London - x Kuala Lumpur – Penang	MYR 18,171	A$ 5,199	GBP 3,067	US$ 7,199

For media enquiries, please contact:

Nor Zalida Ahmad Email : eda.ahmad@malaysiaairlines.com
Mobile : 6019 663 5537

Cited directly from http://malaysiaairlines.listedcompany.com/news.html/id/286327

Author comment: THIS IS ABSOLUTELY JAW-DROPPING DEAL! COULDN'T BE BETTER!! Thank you Malaysia Airlines, OneWorld and Global Explorer!

Hazwan Hashim

Haale-Saale, Germany

AirAsia Reroute to Sydney!

2012-01-18T09:37:00.000+01:00

SYDNEY, Jan 18 — Asian budget carrier AirAsia X said yesterday it will start flying daily services to Sydney from Kuala Lumpur, barely a week after announcing a suspension of flights to Paris and London.

The Malaysia-based airline said it would start its Sydney services from April 1 — its fourth Australian destination after Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth.

AirAsia X, the long-haul offshoot of Asia’s largest budget airline AirAsia, has been pushing to fly into Sydney for four years..The announcement came a week after it cited global economic uncertainty, soaring taxes and higher jet fuel prices for a decision to cut Europe flights and routes to India.

Cited from:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/airasia-x-boosts-australia-services-after-europe-cuts/

Komen Penulis:
Ah bestnye duduk Malaysia kalau gaji macam kat Germany +,+ Friend reported one way KUL-SYD tiket adelah dari serendah AUD99.Non-stop.Waduh gawat ekonomi (aku) macam ni!

p/s: ade sesiapa dari Sydney baca blog ni ke? Apa yang menarik kat Sydney ya? Kalau ade kasik drop komen satu! =)

The Value of Travel - TEDxRainier with Rick Steves

2012-01-16T10:24:00.003+01:00

[EN frm Youtube]
After spending 4 months a year for the last 30 years living out of a suitcase, Rick Steves reflects on the value of thoughtful travel. Sharing lessons learned from Iran to El Salvador and from India to Denmark, Steves tells why spending all that time and money away from home has broadened his perspective, enriched his life, and made it clear to him, as he says in his talk,

"Fear is for people who don't get out very much."

Clip below is taken from Youtube.com (shared by a friend via facebook). Definitely worth watching, for those who still wondering why some people willing to spare so much money on travelling/bacpacking.
My personal summary and commentary (in Malay) of video will come soon.

Enjoy it! =)

London the mother-city of KL

2012-01-13T23:38:00.000+01:00

Dalam aku dok rajin update sana dan sini pasal Budapest lah, Vienna lah yada yada yada. Rupenye aku terlupe nak tulis pasal London, kota metropolitan yg aku pergi last spring sebelum pulang ke Malaya lepas travel di Western Europe. Tut Mir Leid! (i am sorry!)

Okay maybe aku boleh start dengan pengalaman naik Ryan Air for the 1st time. As everybody knows, Ryan Air memang tak dapat dinafikan sbg Low-COst Carrier paling syiok dalam Europe in term of price. TAPI utk backpacker yg carry beg lebih 7kg (duh,obviously), check in luggage dan cabin luggage Ryan Air adelah yg paling strict pernah aku experience sepanjang tempoh aku travel. Utk check-in luggage, korang kene bayar extra++ dan jugak kalau cabin luggage lebih 1 inci atau 100 gram je dari limit, diorang akan cube sehabis bleh utk caj korang dengan minima overweight €40. Gile kentang,bukan? So make sure kalau korang nak book flight Ryan Air, please check dulu rules and regulations die dari segi baggage dan jugak check in time. Jangan nampak tiket promotion €1 je korang maen bedal je.ahakz! Bagi yg slalu travel light pakai daypack jer takde masalah lah, tapi kalau yg travel heavily macam aku ni (skali jalan 4-5 hari, atau atleast the whole weekend), fikir-fikirkan dahulu tau!

So macamana pengalaman ke London dengan Ryan Air? First time kene pau dengan LCC €40 sebab exceed cabin size and weight. Pfft~ Tiket aku ke London Stansted dari Bremen €35 je, tapi kene caj lebih dari tu sebab extra weight for cabin. Aigooo~ Nasib baikla Johanna datang skali dengan aku so kitorang split up weight and split up cost jugak (sebab beg die pun lepas share lebihan berat dengan aku exceed jugak). Kaw team punye pasal lepasla jugak €40. Tapi memang tak puas hatila kene pau kat airport. The journey was smooth, kitorang sampai kat airport agak awal, dalam pukul 8 lebih kalau tak silap. Dan dari Stansted nak ke London, bukanla macam KLIA nak ke KL. Stansted ni macam countryside luar kota London dan perjalanan nak ke sana dengan bas ambik masa lebih kurang 1 jam 45 minit jugakla directly ke Victoria. (Kalau korang duduk Liverpool St etc lain pulak caj dan travel duration dia k?) Kalau nak laju lagi bolehla gune high-speed train die tapi aku rase korang kene byr double the price kot (£8 vs £15 by train). Dan kenapa kitorang pilih Victoria? Simply because Victoria ni agak centrally located (few minutes walking to Buckingham Palace) dan jugak centre untuk interchange underground subway. Harga utk room plak okla,£40 and considering London, ni dah murah murah sgt dah unless korang nak stay kat dormitory atau rumah membe.

So masa sampai sana Aku tak berapa sihat so kitorang tak jalan memana sangat except tempat dekat2 situ macam Buckingham Palace etc. tapi dalam mane tak sempat tu pun, sempat jugak ke Baywater utk jumpe ex-schoolmate dan makan duck rice yg agak famous kat sana. dari Baywater tu, its actually across Kensington Park je utk ke campus Royal College of London. Bile dapat masuk dalam tu memang rasa kagum gile lah dengan legacy university ni. Inspired! Memang nak kene sambung Master jugak ni nanti someday.hehe. So makan dah, jalan pun dah, time to say goodbye. Die pun kebetulan ade final exam next day. So aku pun tanak hold her back for her last fight.

So lepas ke RCL, kitorang luck plak kat famous car-boot sale area (lupe name) ape yg femes nye kat sini korang jumpe macam-macam barang terpakai yg high quality yg dah rare gile nak jumpe sekarang ni. Pilihan Johanna haritu tu adelah cincin, daripada satu kedai antik. Memang indeed sgt cantik cincin tu dan harga die pun cantik jugak >,< So lepas ke sana barula kitorang plan balik ke kota London sebab tempat tu actually ke luar dari city centre sikit tapi takderla jauh sangat actually. Antara tempat2 yang sempat aku singgah untuk usha usha adelah Tower bridge, Big Ben London yg ade kat sebelah Parliament house tu dan jugak beberapa sights yg ade kat area situ. Dissappointingly, aku tak ke Trafalgar Aquare =,=' I know, u guys will say what the hell right? Dah pergi sampai London tapi tak pergi Trafalgar Square. But yeah, keadaan fizikal masa tu tak mengizinkan sebab aku dengan Johanna tak berapa sihat.

So 3D2N di London cukup tak? Honestly kalau korang tolak tepi melawat stadium-stadium bola sekitar London (Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, Totenham etc) dan jugak melawat Museum of London (recommended 1 hari) cukup kot 3D2N kat sini. Campur shopping kat Harrod sikit etc. Aku tak dapat nak buat ape2 dgn shopping list sebab beg aku seriously dah penuh dgn pakain dan jugak bende yg aku beli semasa travel sekitar europe. Semasa check-in di London pun terpaksa main tipu tipu dgn kaunter check-in cuz apparently diorang nk weight up kamera aku skali! Gile la memang tak lepas la kan. Camera aku dahla gedabak je saiznye.

So lepas dah settle check in sume, time to say goodbye for the beautiful Europe. Memang hands-down la sebab never in my life aku travel sejauh ni dan especially ade yg tersayang teman skali, memang sweet lah. So what's next? itu yg aku tak tahu (by that time, skrg dah tahu dah hoho) Memang asalnye macam tak caya jer yg aku sebenarnya perabis sakan duit dan masa 6 minggu ni utk endingnye macam ni. Time flight nak berlepas dari London, sebalk gile actually sebab aku tatau kalau actually aku berpeluang nak datang balik ke dunia yg totally berbeza ni. Maybe, kata aku dalam hati. Beckham cakap "Impossible is Nothing". Asalkan ade target+usaha, everything is possible! So otw balik tu agak aman jugakla. Sampai Malaysia mule terasa panas gile weh!(cewah) tapi as usual, tetap tanah tumpah darahku. Tak tahu nak tulis ape dah ni. wuhu. till next time!

Hazwan Hashim
Halle(Saale), Germany
Sent via Hazwan's iPad

Hazwan's life and experience in Halle

2011-12-25T12:37:00.001+01:00

Hazwan's experience in Halle

My whole new life started on the different path and pace after I said "YES, I do" to AIESEC GIP in Halle as a student trainee. I was beforehand informed thoroughly about my internship, roles, job descriptions and expectations with OR Soft Jänicke GmbH, a technocrat enterprise located in Merseburg. The company customizely designs advance resource planning softwares according to the specification requested by the clients. I am assigned to be an assistance for Quality Assurance and working on project basis. I officially started my work with the company on 1st of September 2011.

What truly amazes me about the working culture in this company is that everybody is very welcoming and always willing to share their knowledges and informations whenever you need one. On top of that, one major point worth mentioning here is that the company is running like a family structure, whereby we have morning breakfast meeting everyday. During this meeting, everyone will seat in the eating hall right at 10am everyday with coffee or tea in hand, while listening to updates and announcements by fellow colleagues. This whole new experience is very new to myself and it's a good working culture in my personal view. Besides that, the company working hour is pretty flexible and I am given the choice to start my work anytime before 10am and ending it anytime after 2pm, as long as I complete my total working hours of a week. This gives me flexibility to work according to my preferable and productive hours, which I truly appreaciate.

Apart from an exciting working life with OR Soft, living in Halle is also part of my exciting experience in Germany so far. Well connected on national train connection and having neighbouring airport with Leipzig, travelling out and into Halle is very easy and convenience.Hence whenever I have a long weekend or holiday, I will always find "SparSchein" deals by train and airplane to some other locations around Germany. So far I have been to Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Amsterdam, London and the list goes on one after another. Other than city abroad, I have also visited beautiful cities in Germany such as Potsdam, Dresden, Munich and so much more. My stay in Halle has really satisfy my crave for travels, which slowly becoming my hobby quite lately. Whenever I'm not travelling, I will spend my time doing reading and hanging out with local friends who are always willing to accompany for atleast a sip of coffee in a cafe in Market Square.

In general, I can summarize that my life in Halle as an AIESEC trainee is quite exciting and I strongly recommend youths and students out there to explore this opportunity and experience themselves too, in another country. This could be your life-changing experience which you will remember for your whole entire life!

By Hazwan Hashim

Halle-Saale, Germany

Hey guys! Jangan bimbang, aku belum tukar direction balik ke English writing. Just nak share artikel yg aku tulis dengan iPad aku untuk AIESEC Halle punye partners. Artikel ni dah dialih bahas ke bahasa Jerman untuk bacaan partners AIESEC dan jugak Board of Supporters to give them an idea of how AIESEC trainee in Halle lives their life, and how THEY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE in the potential trainee life when they say YES to AIESEC exchange programme. Bagi yg tak tahu lagi apa AIESEC, korang bolehla ke www.AIESEC.net dan baca kat sana macamana korang boleh manfaatkan masa cuti korang masa universiti (dan jugak lepas grad) dengan join AIESEC exchange programme di luar negara! =)

Harap korang enjoy baca. Sorry kalau English grammars ade tunggang langgang sikit. Tulis pun dalam train sambil travel. Hehe I <3 my iPad mobility

XOXO, Haz

Pitstop dan Reunion di Vienna, Austria

2011-12-12T12:38:00.000+01:00

Pitstop dan Reunion di Vienna, Austria

The whole reason aku ambik week-off, travel pergi Dresden,Germany then tren ke Budapest,Hungary adalah kerana Vienna! Yes, hanya kerana Vienna! Haha. Gile kan? Sebabnya; simple jer. Reunion dengan Iris, kawan aku dari Canada yg sekarang ni berada kat Austria untuk conference AIESEC. Kitorang actually jumpe kat Malaysia tahun 2008 kat MYC (Miracle Youth Conference) organized by AIESEC in UPM. SO dipendekkan cerita, 1st day supposedly kitorang jumpe kat Vienna city centre and then maybe buat sightseeing sikit same same tapi malangnye, 1st day aku tak dapat contact die langsung! So merayau rayau lah aku kat tengah-tengah kota Vienna ni tanpa arah tuju. cewah. Dramatik plak. Tapi actually memang betul pun sebab aku sepatutnye plan dan decide kat mana nak stay, bile nak depart ke Dresden dsb dengan Iris so bile aku tak dapat jumpe/communicate dengan die, memang gelabah jugakla.

So best sgt ke Vienna ni? Pada pandangan personal aku, Vienna ni bandar yg entertaining untuk orang-orang bangsawan dan jugak artisan yg sgt hargai muzikal dari pelbagai komposer terkenal sepert Mozart. Untuk golongan mude macam aku ni yg appreciate gadget and technology more than arts, maybe tak ade ape sgt kot yang menarik kat sini selain Schloß Schönbrunn (maybe sebab aku dah travel kat Germany dan hampir setiap bandar ade Schloß so aku likely dah naik muak. haha. Sorry guys. :P Sambil sambil jalan tak tentu arah tu sempat jugakla aku ke Stephanplatz (St. Stephan Dom), Michaelplatz (Sisi Museum), Spanish Ridingschool, Opera house, dan jugak beberapa gallery dan museum (tapi tengok dari luar jer sebab hari Isnin muzium kebanyakannya tutup).

Oh ya, kalau korang budget traveller, kalau tak book awal awal rasenye macam susah je nak dpat accomodation bawah €20. Aku bernasib baik jugakla sebab dalam proses mencari accomodation tu di www.booking.com dan jugak WorldHostel.com, aku terjumpa deal untuk bermalam kat Youth Hostel di Vienna. Mule mule nye hesitate jugak nak ke sana sebab gak jauh dari city center (Hostel Hütteldorf) dan Google Maps tunjuk location macam luar bandar. Tapi memandangkan aku ade day ticket dar MAV, tiada kos pengangkutan yg involve so okla kut. Semua hostel yg ade kat area bandar berharga €30 dan ke atas per night dan aku memang tak mampu nak stay sana. So lepas fikir-fikir, book jerla so takderla terlepas deal nanti. And lepas book tu aku jalan jalan lagi sekitar bandar Vienna sampai kaki dah rase kebas @,@ Sejuk kot! Hihi. Overall review untuk Hostel Hütteldorf: sangat selesa, bersih dan breakfast nye pun not bad for complimentary. Antara cons nye pulak lokasi yang agak jauh dari pusat bandar Vienna,dan kene jalan +/- 750m dari S-Bahn. BUt for the price, u definitely wont be able to get it elsewhere. €14 per night.

So bosan punye pasal, aku ke town sebab aku ade free ticket untuk train dalam bandar. So kalau korang ke sini sebelum Krismas, antara tempat yg korang JANGAN TAK PERGI adelah Christmas Market kat depan Vienna Rathaus (townhall) Seriously it's freaking beautiful with all the lights and LEDs deco. Aku tak ingat specifically location dia tapi korang boleh je access gune tram ke sana. Kat sana aku sempat la try2 makanan typical masa Weihnachtmarkt ni which is Kartoffepuffer (lebih kurang macam PotatoPuff kot) direnjis dengan garlic seasoning and salt. Not bad jugak actually. Dalam €2 per piece. Lepas dah puas pusing2 dan ambik gambar sana sini, aku jalan-jalan tanpa hala tuju kat town die sampai aku rase aku dah sesat, then aku ambik tram balik. LOL.

Next day, misi adelah: Jumpe Iris kat Stephanplatz! dari semalam plan tapi tak dapat2 jumpe simply because die boleh pulak tak bawak handphone. Sengals~ ='P Happy gila finally dapat jumpe die lepas 3 tahun tak jumpe. Setakat Skype je. Its Amazing how an AIESEC friendship could last,no? So die dan kawan die dari Algeria, Amira nak beli merchandizes dulu sebab diorang dah nak balik esoknye. Strolling lah kitorang kat kedai-kedai souvenirs walaupun aku bukan jenis souvenirs sgt. Lepas dah beli souvenirs semua, kitorang terfikir nak ke Schönbrunn Palace yg terletak dekat dengan hostel aku tinggal. Palace ni memang seriously cantik, dan entrance fees pun cantik jugakla. Untuk student (sila bawak ID) dalam €9.5 sekali dengan audio guide dalam 5-6 bahasa. (sorry bahasa Malaysia takde.hoho) Dalam palace ni disimpan macam macam well-preserved stuffs dari last Austrian Monarchy punye family tapi visitor tak dapat sentuh sebab alleyway die dah design utk view shj. untuk lebih banyak info pasal Schonbrunn nu korang boleh google atau wiki okay? So basically lepas dah abes tour kat situ, Iris dan aku kene decide bile nak balik semula ke Deutschland sebab kitorang masih perlu ke Dresden untuk jumpe Johanna. So lepas disscuss punye disscuss, especially about fare, kitorang decide nak ambik night train dari malam tu jugak untuk ke Dresden. unfortunately harga kat dalam website tak exactly available kat counter as the same figure. So kitorang ended up paying like €60 untuk ke Prague sahaja sebab kalau ambik full fare ke Dresden dari Vienna, harga nak dekat €90. It was a bit too much for me.Sebab masa aku dok survey2 ticket dulu, same train ke Dresden only cost €22 jer kot dengan Railplus aka BahnCard 25 =,='

Anyhow lepas checkout kat hostel aku ke main train station Wien Westbahnhof. Oh ya satu fakta yg korang kene ingat adelah kat Vienna ni, ade 3 main train stations yg ade connection internationals so hati-hati bile beli tiket dan bile nak boarding, jangan tersalah pergi kat tren station lain plak k? Kebanyakan international train connections starts and ends here in Wien westbahnhof tapi ade jugak yg do the same kat train station lain.So journey kitorang tu terpaksa lah reroute ke Prague dahulu (instead of directly going to Prague) dan akan sampai ke Prague dalam pukul 4 pagi sebelum ambik local train ke Dresden. OMG wuttodo in Prague at 4am weiii?

To be continued ^^

XOXO, Hazwan

Prague, Czech Rep.

Budapest the Paris of the Central Europe

2011-12-05T18:17:00.000+01:00

Budapest the Paris of the Central Europe

Yes itu yang boleh aku katekan (or atleast baca dari internet) tentang Budapest. Walaupun aku sendiri tak pernah ke Paris (belum lagi) ^^ Sebelum aku decide nak ke Budapest ni actually plannnye nak ke Ljubljana, Slovenia untuk jumpa Dasa tapi memang takde luck orang kate sebab die ade business trip ke Kuwait. So dengan berat hatinye aku reroute ke Budapest, tu pun sebab dari Dresden, MAV (Hungarian National Train Service) ade promo utk EuroNight train (ataupun dipanggil Spar Night). Dengan €29 (plus €3.50 utk post tiket ke rumah) korang dapat travel ke Budapest secara overnight (meaning, tak perlu carik guesthouse utk satu malam). Train ni actually pergi datang dari Berlin (maybe), stop kat Dresden and then ke Prague (Czech Rep), Bratislava (Slovakia) dan stop kat Budapest (Hungary).

So Budapest ni terkenal sebab Danube River (basically hampir semua bandar cantik di sekitar Europe terkenal sebab sungai. LOL. Contohnye: Dresden) bandar ni terbahagi kepada 2 main parts; Buda (meaning bumpy in Mogyar) and Pest (procnounce as Pesh; meaning pancake) dan Danube River separate both of them. So bile ade 2 parts, kene lah ade penghubungnya, betul tak? So ade byk jambaan yg sebenarnya menghubungkan kedua dua side tapi yang paling femes dan paling lawa adelah Chain Bridge. So kat mana paling sesuai untuk stay? Well pada pendapat aku, recommended is around Deak Ferenc Ter (city centre) tapi kalau tak dapat budget hotel area tu pun korang boleh try Ferenciek Ter (satu station metro je). Hostel yg aku rekemen (sebab murah, selesa dan staf yg sangat friendly) adelah Colors Hostel Budapest. Kalau korang search kat www.hostelworld.com atau www.booking.com biasenye korang akan jumpe hostel ni. Aku stay sini 2 malam, dan charge nye €14 sahaja. Murah kan? Tempat pun bersih etc dan lokasi agak seswai untuk jalan-jalan sebab lokasi tepi Danube River je. Oh ya, kat sini bed skali breakfast tau so everyday, 8-11am diorang serve basic breakfast (toast & cereal) tapi aku rase so-so jerla, but hey, FREE kot so I'm not complaining ='P

Next; macamane nak ke sana ke sini? Naek jer public transport! Metro system kat sini awesome gile, cuz in the morning during rush hour, Metro bergerak setiap 2 minit! So kalau korang terlepas chill jer. Kejap lagi datang next one. Kalau nak tengok Metro die memang nampak hodoh dan buruk tapi berfungsi. So again, take note KTM, sape kate nak refurb public service tu mahal? Korang jer kene tahu priority. Look or usability? tak perlu cantek kalau lambat. Personally aku lagi prefer BERGUNA daripada cantik.ok? Kalau korang plan utk stay lebih dari satu hari dan tak berapa suke berjalan (maybe sebab weather ataupun kasut korang bukan sketchers.LOL) bolehla beli pass 24jam dengan harga 1500 HUF (sekitar €5). Dengan tiket ni, korang naik je ape2 pun within 24 hours, memang valid. dan dengan public transport korang bleh pergi almost everywhere kat Budapest ni.

Next; makan! Haaaa. Nak cari kedai Halal memang mencabar sikit. Kalau nk cari logo HALAL JAKIM tu lagi lah impossible tapi ade 2 kedai Turkish yang aku yakin HALAL tapi tak tulis (except dalam restoran ada deco ayat suci AlFurqan). Satu dekat dengan Nyugati PalyaUdar dan lagi satu dekat dengan Astoria Metro. Harga utk Kebab (atau Gyros) kat Budapest ni adelah sekitar 650-700 (€2-€2.5) tapi takkanla around the clock nak makan Kebab je kan? Kalau ambik basic dish plak (nasik/potato/noodle + lauk) harga korang bayar genrally around 100HUF (€3) so agak affordable lah. Dan biasenye kedau Turkish ni bukak sampai 4-5pg. So kalau korang lapar tengah tengah malam tu; no problemo =) Utk non-muslim ataupun yg tak kesah pasal HALAL foods, korang actually boleh sebat ape jer yang ade dan in general, makanan Hungarian taklah mahal sangat kalau korang makan kat kedai biase dan bukannye betul betul depan tourist attraction. Typical Hungarian foods are generally unhealthy and fattening, but once u have eaten it, go for a walk around the city so it will be balanced. hehe. ataupun korang boleh stick dengan recomenndation di atas. Save duit dan..hmm.. easy maybe?

Mane nak pergi? Haaa tempat mana nak pergi tu korang boleh guna Lonely Planet atau WikiTravel as reference tapi utk yang minat landscape; aku suggest korang ke Castle Hill (naik tram je and then jalan kaki naik atas bukit) sebab view waktu malam memang cantik gile! Nanti kalau photo dah ready aku akan share sini,ok? But in general around Danube River memang banyak attractions so jalan je, ataupun kalau nak lagi best (macam aku buat) join FREE BUDAPEST WALKING TOUR which is memang FREE tapi yerla kan, kasikla tips sikit (tak kesah brape pun,seriously) ikut kemampuan korang. Macam aku, aku seluk poket tgk banyak jer syiling so aku letak jer semua. LOL. So aku rase takla byk sgt dan tak jugak sikit sgt. Maybe around €2.

Lastly; utk anak-anak muda macam aku yg suke muzik dan entertainment; aku fully recommend korang ke Morrison 2 (Metro: Nyugati then 5 mins walk). Cover charge is around 1500HUF (€5) mahal sikit but tempat die memang happinest and best gile. Cool crowd, nice musics. I was there alone but I made 4-5 friends just for the nights. and rule kat Morrison ni; anybody is everybody's friends. So kalau nak dance tu selamba jer ajak girl dance, tak payah segan segan dan Hungarian girls memang sporting =) Kalau korang malas nak travel jauh sangat, dekat dengan Deak Ferenc Ter ade satu club jugak entrance fees around 500HUF je (€2) tapi aku tak pernah ke sana so no experience.

So in general aku memang puashati sangat2 datang Budapest. Next destination is Vienna. Ini pun tulis dalam train ke Vienna. Utk yg tatau lagi, actually korang boleh ulang alik ke Vienna everyday (2 jam 45 minit, 160kmh train) kalau korang nak gune Railjet sebab sekarang ni (Disember 2011) ade tiket ulang alik €25 Budapest-Vienna dan tiket ni valid untuk 4 hari. KOrang naik jer mana-mana tren yang ulang alik ke Vienna dan kalau rase korang dah tak balik semula ke Budapest, try la jual tket tu kat tren station nanti murah. dapat half pun jadikla kan? hehe.

Bagi yang enjoy baca blog aku ni, teruskan support, korang boleh rekomen kat membe-membe atau simply link kan jer balik blog ni kat blog korang. Wokey? aduih ngantuk gile nih tido dulu lah jap lagi nak explore Vienna pulak. HoHO~

Ciao!

XOXO, Hazwan

Vienna, Austria

Neus Leben in Deutschland (NEW LIFE IN GERMANY)

2011-09-11T18:00:00.000+02:00

HIDUP BARU DI JERMAN

Salam dan selamat sejahtera. Salam Syawal dan selamat hari raya bagi pembaca yg beragama Islam. Maaflah sebab agak lama jugak blog aku ni berhabuk dek sibuk dengan urusan kerja dan lain - lain. OK bagi yg tak tahu lagi kenapa title blogpost aku kat atas tu macam tu, silalah tahu yg aku sekarang kini berada di tengah2 Eropah mencari sesuap rezeki. Ecewah. Aku kini bekerja dengan kompeni Software Engineering di Halle, Germany sebagai Support & Quality Assurance Engineer.

Dah dekat 3 mingggu jugakla aku meninggalkan tanah air Malaysia LaLaLand yg kini sibuk 'berjuang' menegakkan siapa hero dan siapa petualang kemerdekaan. Komunis/Penjajah British yada yada yada... Like really?? Adoiyai. Hari2 bukak malaysiakini/ malaysianinsidder tengok berita yg melemaukan. Oih bangsa malaysiaku, sedarla yg korang patut perjuangkan sekarang aderlah MERDEKA dri KEMISKINAN, MASALAH SOSIAL, BELENGGU EKONOMI GLOBAL, INFLASI dan jugak POLITIK MEREPEK. Itu yg korang patut torehkan pena2 dan juga jari-jemari tirus korang tu kat atas kertas dan jugak keyboard (dan jugak facebook!). Bukan sape mat indera dan untuk siapa die berjuang. Haiyoooo

Baikla, ingat tadi nak story pasal Germany dan macamane negara yg 60 tahun lepas dilanda perang lebih teruk dari Malaysia dan jugak baru jadi 'negara' baru 20 tahun lepas. Tapi dah takde mood pulak lepas cerita pasal Mat Indera. Mat oh Mat!

P/s: tunggu next post aku cerita first impression pasal Muscat,Oman dan jugak KL-Frankfurt journey aku okay?

Chalooooo!

Hazwan Hashim

Halle(Saale), Germany

AIDILFITRI di Bonn, Germany

2011-09-04T17:54:00.000+02:00

Okay salam aidilfitri buat pelawat dan jugak pembaca yg masih lagi baca blog ni. Maybe pada yang baru baca, blog ni agak outdated sebab lupe nak release exactly lepas raya sebab busy travel. So korang mesti tertanye2 kat mana la plak juwe travel kali ni. .hehe

OK walaupun tak ade formal celebration sgt, actually hari raya aku mintak cuti daripada compangermany, y sebab nak rest selepas dekat seminggu jgakla berpuasa dengan waktu yang agak pelik. Sahur 4am dan Ifthar 9.30mlm. Memang sangat mencabar untuk first timer macam aku ni. Okay so hari raya jatuh midweek so memang tak boleh nak buat ape2 sangat. Keja resume macam biase sementara nak tunggu Jumaat tiba. Cume tibe-tibe saja terplan weekend di Bonn bersama rakan-rakan Malaysia, James dan Daryl yg bekerja utk DHL Deutschland. So diorang cakap nak buat open house tapi tatau nak masak ape dan tak confident boleh handle masak makanan malaysia tak. So aku pun offerla khidmat aku dengan syarat ingredients semua diorang supply. So diorang kata YES!

Mission first sebelum travel hardcore di Germany ni adelah utk beli BahnCard 25. BC25 ni adelah kad diskaun dimana korang boleh dapat 25% utk apa2 jer tiket on network DeutschBahn. Subscriptions fee pulak adelah sekitar €38 annually kalau korang student atau somehow boleh dapatkan status student.Otherwise, €80 something. My advice on this card: memang berbaloi sgt kalau korang selalu plan ahead travel (dalam 1 minggu ke 2 minggu) gune train. So lepas register utk BC25 aku terus beli tiket ke Bonn pergi balik dgn harga €78. Agak mahal jugak but no other choice. Kalau takde BC25 tu lagi parah!

Anyway as soon as sampai Bonn, James and Daryl jemput kat Hbf (main train station). Plan harini actually just jalan2 sekitar Bonn dan masak2. Tapi kalau dah namenye jalan2 tu memang bukan sekejap lah kan. Mule2 kitorang ke schloss ape name ntah kat atas bukit tu. dari atas bukit tu view memang cantik gile dgn skyview Bonn dan jugak Rhine river. Masih tak dapat percaya yg negara semaju Germany ni masih simpan dan preserve tempat2 macam ni. After dah settle sightseeing, kitorang ke kedai Asia paling besar di Bonn utk beli ingredients utk masak malam ni. Kedai ni ade sume jenis bende dari kicap cap kipas udang sampai la ke airsoya drinho. Kagum sekejap.hehe. Barang semua dah beli. Perut pun dah lapar so aperlagi, bergegas balik rumah la. After mandi etc, semua turun dapur. Daryl incharge of drink, aku nasi goreng dan Johanna masak rendang. Believe it or not memang menjadi beb! Johanna punye rendang daging memang tahap kickass punye la,walaupun kitorang 10000km jauh nye dari tanah air.hoho. Dia layak dianugerah German yg paling sedap masak rendang pada pandangan aku.hehe. Beruntunglah aku ^^

Malamnye bile sume orang dah tersadai kenyang, kitorang just sambung borak balik since dah lame tak jumpe. Tibe2 plak keluar idea utk buat nasi lemak keesokan harinye dengan teh tarik. Ingredients semua dah ade, so malam tu tido pun bermimpi pasal breakfast.hoho. Next day, bangun2 je dah tghari (as usual) sebab dah lapar. So aku incharge of nasi lemak, sambal, telur mata dan ayam goreng rempah. First time single handedly uat semua bende, turned out nice gile! (okay maybe sebab kitorang lapar) XD

Lepas lunch, relax2 jap tapi masa cepat betul berlalu. Petang tu aku dah kene ke Hbf balik utk ambik train balik ke Halle. But it was a really nice weekend with fellow Malaysians and German who dont even have celebrate Aidilfitri religiously. But the spirit of sharing the joy are still remain strong. Kitorang tak disuruh oleh siape2 pun utk celebrate dan masak same2. Tak perlu berkempen, buat poster dan sebagainye mahupun rujuk consultancy seperti APCO. It all comes from the our hearts, and it's the purest! Ini baru 1Malaysia yg sebenarnye! :)

XOXO, Hazwan

Halle-Saale, Germany

Frankfurt Am Main

2011-08-29T17:37:00.000+02:00

Alhamdullillah sampai jugak aku akhirnye ke main international hub kat Deutschland. Frankfurt am Main, merupakan pusat perbankan serantau bagi Germany dan jugak Eropah. kat sini macam2 bank ader daru europe commerce bank sampaila ke local bank. Punyerla power bamk kat sini, sampaikan landmark g paling prominent pun CommerzBank Tower. Awesome tak? Hehehe

So aper yg worth seeing kat Frankfurt ni? Haaa yg tu I tak boleh jawab. Kene beli lah buku Lonely Planet rasenye. Sebab aku pun berada kat Frankfurt ni utk transit jer ke Münster then ke Haale (Saale). Tapi rasenye kalau ke Frankfurt tapi tak ke Main river, memang tak lengkaplah. Otw ke Main river tu, kalau korang ikut jalan yg betul korang akan lalu oldtown of Frankfurt yg ade hall yg dulunye mock Parliament untuk Frankfurttapi tak jadik sbb Käiser kat sini tak nak hilang power. Depan hall tu pulak ade Rathaus yg mana kalau national football team Deutschland balik lepas menang competition or something, diorang akan berkumpul dan celebrate kat sini dulu sebelum ke Berlin.

Nanti aku sambung lagi cerita pasal Frankfurt. ader info nak kene tambah. hehe. Ciao!

XOXO, Hazwan

Münster NRW, Germany

Weekend di The Netherlands

2011-06-20T01:11:00.000+02:00

Journey dari Hamburg ke Utrecht, Holland mungkin antara yg paling mencabar so far. Aku terpaksa lompat2 tren dari satu stesen ke stesen yg laen dan disebabkan ramai sangat orang yg nak ke Utrecht utk Queen's Night, sistem tren Holland mengalami gangguan,trek rosak. dan halfway aku terpaksa naik shuttle bus, duduk kat tangga selama setengah jam sebelum bas transfer kitorang ke tren berikutnye. Oh ya, satu fakta yg korang perlu taHu bile berjalan di Netherland ni, tiket IC (intercity) tren perlu dibeli di kaunter dan bukan di mesin tiket kerana mesin hanya terima kredit kad dan jugak dutch's credit card yg kebanyakannya hanya dimiliki oleh dutch student. Dan kalau nak dibandingkan dengan Germany, harga tiket utk tren di sini lebih murah.Dan yg agak cool plak, WiFi service available kat setiap IC tren dan utk masa sekarang, its free! Dengar kata, service dslam phasa trial lagi dan akan kekal free sampai 2014.

Misi aku harini; reunion dengan Floortje, my beautiful Dutch friend who did her internship in Malaysia in 2008. Its so wonderful to see how 3 years of friendship still remain strong and beautiful despite the distance between KL & NL. Memandangkan tren aku delay dekat 3 jam drpd ETA, aku sempat berjalan ke sekitar Utrecht. Utrecht ni lawa jugakla,dan bolehla dikategorikan sbg mini-Amsterdam. Belum sempat aku nk minum kopi, Floortje dah call dan bagitau yg dia dah sampai kat stesen dr Amsterdam. Bestnye dapat jumpe balik lepas 3 tahun! Then Flootje bawak kitorang ke rumah kawan die yg berada luar bandar Utrecht sikit utk join diorg makan2 sebab apparently diorg pun ade buat makan2 gak, reunion budak2 Enschede dan jugak sempena Queen's Day. Unfortunately aku tak dpt join Queen's Night party lat Utrecht sebab aku kene ke Leiden utk ke rumah host family aku. So sebelum aku blah dri Utrecht, Floortje dan Martyn sempat bawak aku pusing2 flea market kat Utrecht yg dah memang jadik tradisi kat sini dan jugak ke street concert.macam2 ragam org aku jumpe. lastly, I bid my farewell to Floortje and her bf before leaving to Leiden and later,as soon as I arrived in Leiden, Jerome picked us up from the train station. Jerome & Marianne are parents of my bestie, Thierry.

They hosted me and Joh for the entire weekend in their nice,cosy house in Leiden. Malam tu memang byk betul yg dibualkan memandangkan Joh dan Thierry memang rapat dan byk travel sekitar Asia- bersama. So Kortekaas hospitality was beyond my expectation. Coffee, tea & foods kep"t coming all the time. Thierry has basically Malaysianized his family *grin*. Dalam tradisi famili ni (dan dutch family), lepas breakfast, family akan minum kopi dalam pukul 10pg sambil borak2. So in general,dutch memang suka minum kopi.

Lepas settle breakfast etc, aku pun bertolak ke Amsterdam. Train takla pack mana seperti yg kitorang expect tapi memang happening dgn Dutchies dressed in so many costumes and they were in all oranje!

Hansestadt Hamburg

2011-06-18T01:12:00.000+02:00

Antara bandar pelabuhan paling sibuk di Eropah. Memang tak aku nafikan, memang jauh bedanya Hamburg jika dibandingkan dengan bandar2 yg lain. 20minit dengan tram ke luar bandar dan aku masih lagi berada dalam bandar Hamburg. Memang besar betul. Memandangkan aku tiba di Hamburg agak awal, aku jalan2 di sekitar jeti baru Hamburg, yg banyak menempatkan kapal2 layar mewAh milik individu dan jugak utk disewa. Aku tengok kawasan ni agak maju dari segi senibina yg mana bangunan2 baru hampir kesemuanya menggunakan kaca sebagai elemen utama dan yg paling mengujakan, tingkap2 kaca ini boleh bergerak mengikut haluan angin utk menghasilkan pengudaraan dalam bangunan. Memang mantap! Dan bandar ni jugak agak obses dgn muzikal dan hargai muzikal sebab kat mana2 je akan ada teater muzikal.

Memandangkan host aku bekerja lagi dan aku masih ade byk masa lapang, aku decide utk jalan2 kat shopping street di Hamburg. Aku pun dah lupe ape name street ni tapi kat sinila korang bleh jumpe designer brand yg stylo gile, dan harga tak hingat punye mahal. Dan kat sini jugakla fashionista2 datang dan tayang koleksi diorang. Kalau dilihat secara kasar pun, mmg gadis2 Hamburg nampak lebih cantik dan vogue kalau nak banding dengan bandar lain yg aku pernah pergi. Maybe sbb pakaian mereka cantek2 kot. Tapi aku still tak nafikan hal ni sebab kenangan lepas dalam life aku dah buktikan segalanya.tapi tak perlu la kot aku ceritakan kat sini. Mungkin agak menyesal kerana friendship kitorang tak kekal lama sampai skrg, kalau tak mungkin 'dia' dah boleh bawak aku jalan2 ke sekitar Hamburg.

So malamnye, aku sleep over kat rumah host aku, a lovely couple Christoph & Johanna. Walaupun bilik diorang takla sebesar mana utk host kitorang, tapi diorang ade tilam spare ngam2 je dengan bilik. Selepas dinner, kitorang keluar jalan2 ke bandar dgn kereta dan lepak minum kat area dekat2 Reeperbahn, hotspot nighlife, disko dan jugak red light district kat Hamburg ni.

Second day, aku keluar ke bandar lagi dgn bas dan kali ni utk sightseeing dan jugak window shopping. Apparently used camera kat sini, especially brand Leica, sangatla murah kalau nk compare dgn harga online mahupun harga di KL.maybe sbb memang Leica buat kat Germany, sbb tu murah kot.anyway as planned earlier, Johanna bawak kitorang ke Reeperbahn utk lepak2 dekat live band dan jalan2 tengok Reeperbahn,thoroughly. So much fun for the last night in Hamburg, for tomorrow we were going to have looong journey to Utrecht for a weekend in Holland. Ciao!

XOXO, Hazwan

Utrecht, The Netherlands

Husum, North Germany

2011-06-13T18:12:00.000+02:00

Perjalanan ke Husum dari Bremen mengambil masa dekat 2 jam 30 minit jugakla dengan kereta,sejauh 300km. Tapi disebabkan 2 bandar ni dihubungkan melalui autobahn, yg mana kat certain location memang takde speed limit, journey ni takderla rasa lame sangat. Pada pandangan aku, PLUS highway di Malaysia adalah setanding dengan autobahn dari segi kualiti jalan dan aliran trafik, kecuali part speed limit yg pada aku sgtla mengarut. 110kmh?Really? Kapcai suzuki aku pun boleh speed up to 125kmh. Kamonla. Dan aku rasa 90% drpd kemalangan jalanraya berlaku disebabkan jalan single lane dan sempit, lubang sana sini dan jugak poor driving attitude.dan semua tu takde kaitan pun dengan speed limit di highway.

Berbalik kepada Husum,ia merupakan bandar kecil di pinggir North Sea. 30 minit drive dari sini, aku dah boleh ke Denmark. Tapi disebabkan aku takberduit sangat skrg dan semua nak kene bajet dulu, aku terpaksa batalkan hajat. Lagipun sekarang ni bestfren aku dari Belanda, Thierry datang ke Husum dan dia kini tengah habiskan Master research kat Odense, Denmark. So malam tu, kitorang spend time minum kopi panas sambil rancak berbual pasal macam2 bende. Maybe sebab kitorang dah tak jumpe dekat 2 tahun, mmg banyak betul bende yg diborak.

Next day, lepas aku, Joh dan Thierry jalan2 keliling bandar Husum. Takderla besar mane sangat sebab everything within walking distance jer. Antara tempat yg sempat kami cover adelah schloss, harbour, rumah asal Theodor Storm dan beberapa tempat laen sekitar situ. Pastuh balik lunch, then rest jap. Petang plak kitorang buat bike tour ke sekitar pinggir North Sea dan dykes. Pemandangan dengan area sini aderla lebih kurang sama dengan Netherland, mengikut kata Thierry.

3rd day, Thierry dan aku sempat kembali ke harbour utk minum kopi dan memandangkan die blanje, aku layan ajerla. Harini merupakan hari last utk Thierry di Husum, memang byk bende la yg sempat kitorang borak over coffee. Lepas hantar Thierry ke bahnhof (stesen keretapi) aku ke bandar balik sambil cuci mata usha2 beg deuter daypack dan end up dinner dengan johanna di Harbour. Menu makan malam haritu: udang fresh dengan brotchen (roti) dengan friess dan telur dadar. Awesome. Memang tak healthy tapi layan je haha. Malam pulak diisi dengan tengok live game ManU vs Schalke untuk champions league semifinal dan ManU menang 2-0. Style lah =)

Hari ke-4, pack barang pagi2 dan lepas breakfast jer, naek kereta menuju ke Hamburg, stopover di sana selama 2 hari dan seterusnye Amsterdam. Hooraaay!

XOXO, Hazwan

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Berlin the bear city

2011-06-06T02:11:00.000+02:00

Capital city of Germany; named bear city dan macam macam lagi. Tu le name yg femes utk berlin yg selalu korang dengar pasal Berlin. Dan mungkin juge pasal underground house musics ataupun gig? Takpe yg tu nanti aku cerita. But dipendekkan cerita, Berlin ni besar gile. Perjalanan dari Münster ke Berlin ambik masa 8 jam setengah dengan DeutchBahn, dengan trip sejauh 500km merentas Germany dari barat ke timur.dengan DB je dah dekat 9 jam dengan Regional Express (RE), kalau dengan KTM aku tatau la macamane.mungkin 2 hari kot? sorry ktm aku tatau la kenapa dan lebih setengah dekad ko operate, tapi nk efficientkan tren sistem pun susah. Sekarang ni ader pulak AirAsia tambang gile murAh, lagila ko takleh cari makan kan? But KTM perlu tahu yg tren sistem memang penting dan perlu jadi sistem tulang belakang transport industri Malaysia, untuk rakyat. Tapi yerla kan, kalau CEO dan exec board lebih selesa bersila kat backseat BMW mereka, cakap ape ape pun tak guna.teeet. Over pasal KTM. Jom cerita balik pasal Berlin ok?

So ape bestnye pasal Berlin?Hmmm korang ade tengok FIFA WorldCup 2006? Olympic Stadium kat Berlin ni lah venue final game France vs Italy. Ataupun korang pernah dengar Berlin Wall? Sebenarnye wall nye dah takde tapi yg ade Brandenburg Gate, immigration gate utk akses West Germany dari East Germany masa Germany masih lagi ade 2 side. So pada hari pertama, memang aku tak sempat nk ke mana2. Yg sempat pun setakat pusing2 dlm Berlin Hbf, tren sentral setinggi 5 tingkat yg dibina sempena WCup '06. Hari kedua di Berlin, baru ku sempat keluar ke bandar lepas breakfast dirumah hos famili. Berlin gate ni terletak kat area Unter den Linden, dan kat area ni memang touristy sangatla. Yg bagusnye, nak gi mane2 pun traveller boleh gune tren sebab utk dalam city, boleh gune S-Bahn (LRT) ataupun U-Bahn (subway). Sebelah gate ni plak ade Jews memorial park dimana sesapa yg berminat nak tahu sejarah pasal Jews genocide kat Europe masa zaman Hitler, boleh la ke sini. Mungkin sejarah yg org Malaysia belajar ade pandangan berbeza, tapi mendengar dari 2 belah side lebih baik dari terkongkong dengan certain opinion je.anyway, memang kejam jugakla sebab selain daripada genocide 3-5juta orang jews, ade yg digunakan sebagai buruh paksa sampai mati. Kesian. Mane pergi perikemanusiaan mase ni.. Then lepas selesai pusing2 area situ, aku ke Parlimen plak. Tapi semenjak beberapa bulan lepas,akses ke bangunan ni terhad kepada booked tour yg mana paling awal pun kene book awal 3 hari.katanye untuk keselamatan.dan jugak jangan lupa bawak passport skali.kalau tak, memang tengok dari luar jerla, macam aku. Kat sekitar parlimebt house ni ade ministry house dan jugak admin punye buildinglah.next, aku makan katvrestoran italian dekat Museum Island kat sebelah FriedrichStrasse Bhf. Pergh tuna pizza die memang the bomb wa cakap lu. Memang secukup rasa. Dalam €7.5, dah boleh dapat sepinggan besar pizza, dan aku share dengan Johanna so okayla. So next, sbb ade lagi free time, aku beli tiket untuk boat tour selama lebih kurang sejam keliling bandar Berlin. Dan memandangkan Johanna punye aunt belanja kitorang, memang lagi best la tour tu. Ferry tour ni keliling major interest around Berlin like museum isle, national parliment, blin wall galleryt and so on.

Ok dah habes dgn sightseeing kat bandar Berlin, aku ke Postdamer Platz.Ape best kat sini?te whole entire ciry is totally new. Sebabnye, masa Jerman masih lagi terbahagi kpd 2blok politik, Platz ni terletak dlm zon larangan/kawalan GDR dan dikelilingi Berlin wall. So mmg tak ade pembangunan kat area sini. Sesiapa yg cube melintas masuk dari Easstke West kat area sini akan ditembak. Kat dataran ni jugak masih ad lagi sebahagian drpd wall yg kini jadi tempat pameran foto dan jugak dokumentari berkenaan Berlin Wall. Oh ya, kepada pelawat yg inginkan something memorable,dengan hanya €2.5, korang boleh cop passport korang dengan cop GDR, US, French, BRitish dan lain lain, ala2 korang melintas dari West ke East Germany macam zaman dulu2. Kalau dah ke sini, jangan la lupe singgah ke Sony centre, the most sophiscated and well-designed mall consists of cinema, cafes and and offices. Kalau korg tech-gadget geek, jgn lupe singgah Sony flagship store kat sini sbb macam2 bende yg aku tak pernah tahu Sony buat,ade kat sini.for instance, jam Sony :D

Selepas dinner, kami merayau2 skjap sampaila ke Checkpoint Charlie, tempat bersejarah masa Cold War dulu. Kalau nk tahu lebih lanjut, korg boleh wiki atau google je "checkpoint charlie berlin". Kalau aku cerita pun,ceritanye sama je dgn wikipeedia sbb aku pun akan usha sane gak.ahakz! XD oh ya,bagi traveler yg nak free wifi,kat sebelah checkpoint charlie ni ade McD. So kat sini korang blehla dapat free wifi untuk SATU JAM sahaja. Ya betul,orang kat sini memang berkire bab wifi ni. Everything is money baybeh.hehe. And then, macam biase lepas lepak jap minum hot choc, kitorang decide nak pbalik rumah sebab malam dah lewat pon.

Next day,destinasi aku sedikit melencong ke luar bandar Berlin. Nama tempat ni Potsdam. Bandar persiaran dan istirehat Kaiser Jerman pada masa dulu - dulu. Tempat ni sangatla lawanye dan kalau korang dah rase bosan tengok bangunan kat Berlin tu, going back to the past by visiting Potsdam is a great idea. Castle dan taman kat sini dibina dengan senibina yg sgt menakjubkan(atleast utk 1st timer europe tourist macam aku). Sedikit tips utk dikongsi; kalau korang nak save duit dan pada masa yg sama dapat explore taman2 kat potsdam ni, gunakan Bahn day ticket so that korg bleh save bile korang gune S-bahn dan jugak bas bandar ni. Dan kalau sanggup, sewa je basikal kat bus stop dengan rate harga €1 per hour. Tapi make sure korang ade VISA/Mastercard sebab payment akan dikira once korang call diorg dan inform kat mane korang drop basikal tu lepas habis gune. Tapi system registration die memang sempoi dan best. Basikal die pun memang selesa dan best utk dikayuh. 3gears, ade bakul kat depan dan siap kasi lock lagi. Okay beralih ke Potsdam plak, major attractions kat sini sebenarnye surrounding the park. Tempat yg bagus utk turun kalau nak start explore adelah Potsdam University. Uni ni memang easy-access,takde security check and whatever ridiculous thing u have experienced and kat tepi uni ni plak ader sebijik old castle yg skrg tgh dalam proses restructuring (unfortunately). Tapi still kat sini memang cantek utk peminat arkitektur sebab gabungan senibina die ade daripada ancient greek sket, modern sikit etc. Dan uni tu plak byk betul garden. Kalau nk bercengkerama dengan gf guling2 atas rumput, memang takde issue. Asalkan jgn buat benda tak sepatutnye dah lah :D

XOXO,Hazwan

Berlin, Deutschland

Bremen the musician Town

2011-04-27T23:58:00.000+02:00

Wargh pagi ni kene bangun pagi lah! Cuz bus leaves the flat on time. So kitorang kene ambik bas, then tuka amek regional train ke Osnabruck then tukar satu lagi train utk ke Bremen. Sepanjang journey tu dapatla tengok landscape yg berbeza dari bandar ke suburb ke kampung. Sesampai je kt Osnabruck, ktorang layan coffee & kakao panas dulu kat vending machine. Layan juGakla minum panas2 dengan weather mcm tu. One more thing pasal travel kt germany by train, diorang ade system ala2 family tiket for weekend, for 5 pax. Sorang beli tiket harga €29 pastuh boleh gune untuk 5 org passenger travelling on the same destination (ataupun destination sebelum org last punye destination. So utk 2org, Joh dan aku share dan bayar €15 je.murah gile dan byk gile save. Kalau tiket biase, dah dekat €21/pax dah tu.

So kat Bremen, memang nampak beza bandar besar kat Germany dengan bandar biase. Jauh jugak jugakla bezanya. Tram servis bersepah menghala ke merata tempat. So utk ke flat Lisbeth, kitorang kene naik tram. Kebetulan plak kat dalam tram tu takde mesin ticket, so naikla free tram for 10 min.haha. Flat Lisbeth kaT dalam bandar jugakla sbb tram berhenti betul-betul depan flat die. Beruntung kalau aku ade flat macam tu kat KL.pergi mane mane tak kesah pun kalau takde kereta. So kat sane jumperla family Johanna. Ralf, Lisbeth and their cute daughters, Geraldine (10) dan Carlotta (2).

Belum sempat panas bontot duduk, diorang dah invite join lunch family diorang. Memang ngam ngam dengan perut pun tgh lapar. So first lunch with the family: vegetable soup and bread. Surprisingly, aku tak rinidkan nasik.haha.maknenye kalau kt msia takdak nasik pun tadak hal lah.cume mmg kene elakkan dari join makan tghari degan colleague yg melantak nasik dan cube elakkan fast food.got it Haz? So lepas makan, aktiviti yg sgt menyihatkan yg aku rasa org Mlaysia perlu slow2 adapt is: berjalan! Lisbeth bawak family and me jalan2 pusing bandar Bremen yg pada aku taklah besar mana tapi agak nice jugakla. Evrything is in one place. So kitorang ke bandar, pusing2 dekat the famous town musician, market dan jugak Roland statue. And then lalu dekat glockenspiel, dan jugak old german settlement yg dulunye red light district kat sini but skrg dah jadik kedai souvenir dan cafe. Aku impress gile dengan effort gov utk protect heritage yg ada kat dalam bandar, tak kesahlah nak lalu pun kene berselisih bahu sebab sempit. Sambil jalan2 tu kitorg sempat berkenalan sesama family members. Then ending nye:layan aiskrim kat tepi bandar. Layaan. Balik rumah jer petang tu, Lisbeth jamu kitorang dengan cheese cake dan apple cake. Gosh, cheese cake die terbaek lah! Btw its sort of family tradition of the Suhrckes utk minum petang kopi/teh dengan cake. Lepas cake hour plak, budak2 berkumpul kat dapur utk sesi mewarna telur sempena easter. 1st time aku join easter ni.hehe.

Next day, plan penuh dengan family time kat garden. Uniknye garden diorang ni, ia terletak kat pulau kecik tepi bandar dan utk ke pulau ni, kene naek feri slama 2 minit. Garden ni adelah salah satu inisiatif gov utk galakkan org bandar tanam bunga2, dan sayuran utk kegunaan sendiri. And at the same time, menghijaukan lagi bumi. Brilliant! So masa kat garden ni, budak2aibuk mencari easter egg dan aku as usual sibuk snap photos lah kan. Lepas dah settle mencari telur2, aku tolong Ralf hidupkan api utk barbeque plak. Sambil tu sharing story pasal Malaysia, satay etc.

Petang tu plak, lepas dah kemas barang2, aku dan Johanna bertolak balik Husum dengan kereta Volvo C70 convertible. Style betul kereta ni.kenapa la tak masuk Malaysia kereta best2 macam nie. Alih2 vios,city. Myvi. Naik buhsan aku tgk. Anyway journey dari Bremen ke Husum memakan masa 2 jam setengah macam tu melalui autobahn, yg mana bawak 170kmh adaelah legal.tapi nasib kurang baik sbb autobahn dari bremen ke hamburg banyak construction sbb diorang tengah expand 2 lanes ke 3. So next pit stop: rumah keluarga Johanna di Husum. Dan yg tak sabarnye, nak jumpe Thierry, bestfren aku dari Netherland yg sekarang ni tengah buat Master kat Odense, Denmark.hoho.awesome weh! MYC reunion plak kat utara Germany ni.

XOXO Hazwan

Collogne, Germany

2011-04-25T23:44:00.000+02:00

Köln

Johanna tunggu aku kat Cologne airport. Gosh it was a huge relief after 8 months not seeing each othey. Disebabkan aku penat sgt, kitorg shopping grocery kat rewe, one of the grocery shop kat sini.

1st night, Aileen dan Tobias, kawan Johanna host kitorang kat rumah diorang di pinggir bandar Koln.Gosh lawa gile apartment diorang, rent is around €900. Aderla spare bed kat main hall..tandas plak macam hotel.very clean,dry and cosy. Tak caye rasanye aku tido feee jer malam ni.hehe.

Pagi plak diorang siapkan buatkan breakfast. Then in the morning lepas breakfast kitorang ke bandar Cologne utk sightseeing.1st destination: Kolner Dom. Dengan €1.5, kitorg dapat naik ke tower utk view skyline Cologne. Beautiful. Oh yes, amek gambar dlm dom tu mmg masyuk gile, except that no flash and Tripod allowed.

Next, aku jalan2 kat Alter Markt. Kite mcm Pavilion kat Malaysia la, except that, kat sini takde mall. Evrything is on ground..macam2 brand ade dan yg paling penting,all these brands mmg affordable for the local. Tak mcm kt msia nye harga mencekik jer. Then kitorang stop by kat bridge utk sangkut padlock ktorang. Bridge ni mmg femes worlwide utk activity tu. Then perut dah lapar, layan bretzel plak.johanna blanje.hehe

Then i hoop off on regional exprezz directly to munster where johanna is staying.kalau tak kerana pass student ni,aku konfirm2 dah kene caj €19 for Koln-Munster trip. thanks Johanna!

XOXO,

Hazwan

Airasia KL - London in Spring 2011

2011-04-22T17:06:00.006+02:00

Trip KL-London ni mmg journey paling jauh aku rasa dalam life. Dh pejam celik pejam celik pun tak sampai sampai lagi. Dahla kene que untuk drop baggage for almost an hour, nasib baik tak miss flight. Kononnye lah kalau dah buat web check-in takde que.wekk.haiya.

So far experience naik airasiaX is not badla. Seat masih ade leg room, walaupun tak lah sebesar mana. Yang annoying sikitnye maybe sbb aku duduk exactly kat tengah2 flight,ape bende yg terjadi kat dalam flight pun sume aku boleh dgr.budak nangisla, mat salleh beli cashewnuts. So whats next huh? Dalam flight ni.buhsan melampau sgt so terfikir, why dont i jot domething down. Manela tau tibe tibe idea dtg mencurah curah. Boleh bikin novel beb.haha.mengarut je.

So far tu je kot. Charger ipad ni plak lupe nak pack balik lepas caj kat umah yayoi.hampas btulla. So battery kene save up sikit. So macamane rasenye naik AirAsiaX for bloody 1/2 day? Jawapannya senang je. Macam naik bas transnasional dri kl ke kota bharu cume duration die 12 jam dan kapal ni terbang 400kmh lol. Seating kire okla utk ekonomi. Not too overcrowded dan tak jugak too close with one another. Alamak dah nk sampai london ni dalam 3 jam jer lagi.ruginye tak dpt window seat.kalau tak bleh layan Essex skyview.sob sob sob

4pm local time -ngam ngam sampai Stansted. No wonderla takde ape2 sini, kaw sekitar macam kg kot. Although transiting, aku still kne que utk visa on arrival.hmm agak kureng sketla kat situ..home boarder staff plak byk betul tanye.pergi rumah kawan buat pe, die study ke, brape lame plan nk ke sana etc.. Stansted ni agak busy jugakla. Cafe2 pun not bad. Weather is sooo damn good weh!!! I <3 spring!

Unfortunately Germanwings pun ade delay jugak ini hari dalam 20mins. Finally dapat pun duduk window seat tPi sbb trip malam, takde makna sgtla sebenarnye. Germanwing ni taraf2 airasia jugakla kat asia. Surprisingly selepas pekena cadbury £0.8 tadi kat airport, penat aku terus hilang! Magik!

XOXO

Hazwan

New blog direction

2011-01-30T14:25:00.000+01:00

Hello guys sorry for not being around for a VERY LONG time. yes, final semester of degree is holding me tightly so, I was basically juggling between business, studies and social networking.

Speaking about the new direction, I had this crazy thought of changing my direction in blogging. Instead of blogging about my travels in English, I am going to feed up my own community of Malay-speaking blogger (regardless of your ethnic community) with all my travel stories in Malay Language, which is my mother tongue! Not that im doing this because of my english in-competitiveness, but I personally think this medium still lack of INFORMATIVE and USEFUL knowledge-based blogosphere.

Therefore, I will stand tall and proud saying that from now onward, beginning Feb 2011, all my blogs will be written in Malay Language, in the simplest, and most relaxing style. Having trouble to understand? No worry, Google will help u with its embedded translation. Just make sure you use Chrome, allright?

Hope to see u guys around! Adios!

Tioman Island - the then-Pearl of the East-Coast Malaysia

2011-01-15T14:59:00.001+01:00

*Backdated post from June 2010*

Frankly, Tioman escapade was the most spontaneous idea that I had ever realised so far. A birthday escape to a very beautiful island located 4-hour away from KL. Heading South, this island was once the 10 most beautiful island on mother earth. Believe it or not, aye? But I won’t blame you if you haven’t really heard about this island, it’s nowadays the forgotten bejewel of the East Coast islands and it’s overshadowed by Perhentian and Redang Island.

The whole plan started off with a random thought over coffee with my good friend, Pirie about relaxing and enjoying a weekend away, somewhere outside of KL city. This city is just too humid and too busy to handle my big day, of turning 22-year old. She came out with an idea of doing island trip or some beach-hunting. We have been to Port Dickson, so I passed the beach-hunting idea. Perhentian and Redang quickly popped up in my mind, but I know it wouldn’t be enough time for us as I have to work on Friday and Monday, and Pirie had classes to attend on the same days. Pangkor Island in Perak, on the other hand isn’t really worth going for a birthday treat, and Langkawi island is just too,hmm..Commercialized?

Only Tioman seems fits in our schedule perfectly. May 21^st, the day came and we officially left KL by car (I drove my 1000cc Kelisa) toward Mersing pier, equipped with just some guide printed from Google. We explored the route to get to Tioman by ourself. Guess what; the trip took us a bloody tiring 6hour-drive instead of 4! We were lost somewhere in the jungle heading to Mersing, causing us to miss the last ferry departing from Tanjung Gemuk Pier. We were planning to head to Mersing and try our luck from there and (maybe) get the earliest ferry to Tioman. We were told by the local tout that due to low tide season, ferries departing from Mersing are much later than Tanjung Gemuk, which was a total bullshit. It was all lies. If you ever come across anything as such, just walk away and proceed with Mersing pier, a'ight?

So Pirie and I were finally arrived in Mersing by 8pm, and obviously there were no ferry anymore departing for the island. We were confirmed that the earliest ferry leave around 9am, but it still depends on the tide of the sea. We had no choice but to stay in Mersing for a night, in a RM40/night room, equipped with 2 big beds and a very clean toilet, surprisingly. I would personally recommend this budget hotel to everyone. It’s clean, tidy and a located just a stone-throw away to Mersing pier. Bang for bucks I’d say

Started day freshly and cheerfully, I managed to get on board of the boat at around 9am. Oh yeah, FYI RM5 entrance fee charge applies on everyone who’s going into the island, as part of the conservation and restoration initiative to the marine life and its park. On top of that, the ferry fare was RM35/trip (RM70 return) and it was around 1 hour and half boat ride to the island. Before u get on board, u have to inform the boat guys that u are going to specific kampong (En: village) as there are many villages with different kind of sea shores available.

Typical backpackers would opt for Salang, the largest village and I believe the most populated village in Tioman. Accommodations available vary upon your budget, but I opted for Rm60/night challet, with hot shower and mosquito net, and of course fan. Best of all, my chalet is located just 15 meters away from the beach. I could hear the sound of the wave every night before I call it a day (if I want to). Late afternoon of the 2^nd day, Pirie and I spent the hours just lying lazily on the beach, and we did a lil’ snorkelling. Weather wasn’t really on our side as it turned out to be cloudy later toward the evening. Poor us. Just before the day set off, we walked around the village spotted a nice sea-side restaurant for dinner. I didn’t wait any longer but to stick up my tripod and captured this stunning panoramic shot of Salang beach just after the sunset. While at the same time, I wrote some postcard to my dearest friend Thierry, Tammy, Iris, Dasa & Annie and the rest who are currently residing all over the world.

2nd day begun. I got to know a lovely and warmth English couple who stay next door while enjoying morning deep in Salang beach crystal clear water. ahh i felt like bringing/equpping myself with a pro set of underwater camera because the underwater world in Tioman was simply breath-taking! After whole morning of sun-bathing (Pirie had it more actually, I was just being a typical Malaysian, and stay under the shade all the time), our stomachs rang, asking for a decent brunch so I had Nasi Lemak (overprice, but quite tasty) and teh tarik. Then we had a short walk around the island, enjoying the last view of the island before heading back to our chalet to start packing up our stuffs. I wish I could extended my stay but yeah, perhaps I will come again next time. There are so many spots to be explored expecially Juara which is facing the south china sea directly. I hope u will enjoy the rest of the photos and leave your comment if u feel like to! =)

Till then!

Juan aka Hazwan

Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I love you)

2010-11-19T09:14:00.004+01:00

Get ready to fall in love with Paris as AirAsiaX will be landing in France, right on Valentine's Day! (Oui, 14 Fevrier, Me Amour!)

Paris, the city of love, or so as most movies paint them to be. But this city of over 11 million, is more than just a pretty picture Hollywood painted. Beneath that love potion like mist lays the heart of a city that has seen the suppleness of Moulin Rouge, the eccentricity of Notre Dame, the bold Arc de Triomphe, the deeply intriguing yet sometimes beguiling arts of the Lourve and of course how could anyone miss out the most memorable souvenir model, the Eiffel Tower.

Though the fun doesn’t just end there, where there is a past a present is usually lurking around the corner. Champs-Elysées is one of the most talked over places in Paris that is deemed to be the kryptonite to shopaholics worldwide. With the crème de la crème (very best) of all the Parisian, European, American, and even Asian designers and brands; from cufflinks to cars, nothing is left out. But in Paris, the shopping experience is equal for both side as everyone knows, Parisians are one of the sharpest dressers in Europe.

Though if all that is not your cup of latte, then a cruise on the river Seine would be perfect for you to just lull in the softly sweet melodic pace of Paris. Many have fallen in love with Paris’s laid back nature, where locals and tourists alike sit by al fresco cafe’s and watch the world go by.

Just don’t take our word for it, go and experience it for yourself! As AirAsia X will be flying to Orly International Airport, Paris!

Source: AirAsia promos

p/s:I will be watching the sales with one-eye blind as i have bought my ticket to Stansted! *wink*

First week mumbles of a trainee Engineer.

2010-04-11T15:39:00.009+02:00

hey hey hey! Salam and greetings! Still in the hype of F1 race? Im sure you do. I am just jotting down my entire week of traineeships program with Metronic Engineering Sdn Bhd as part of my degree requirement. After series of YES and NO with 3 companies, I'd finally chosen Metronic due to few personal reasons, which I'm gonna share with u later on. But for now, let me jot down few important things that I have done on the first of my traineeship.

The clock life of my traineeship begins on April 5th 2010, with the registration at Metronic HQ in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam. Apparently there are 4 UNITEN students being accepted as trainess with Metronic this time, so I would expect less workloads on us. The morning session kick-started with the morning briefing from Pn. Sharifah, HR Manager in-charge of trainees admission. We were brief on the job scope of engineers in Metronic Group Berhad, which is to implement and to provide solutions for Smart/intelligent building design to civil sectors such as luxury apartment, office buildings, malls etc. We were given the choice to pick our department, so I opted for Testing & Commissioning Team which take charge of testing out the newly-installed appliances, commissioning them with the control system embedded and troubleshooting and solving any kind of problem occurs to our appliances during the grace period. Short after that, I was introduced with Mr. Sunny Lee, the head of department of T&C - as we called. Short talks and ice breaking session.

He then briefed me thoroughly the system that Metronic develop and installs in their project sites all over the country. At first I was asked to do site visit right away, but since I was there with Izzat Ruslan, I couldn’t perform the task right away. Lunch hour came knocking the door, so we left the office for lunch at nearby food court. Next session resume with an in-house training with Mr. Nazwan, assistant manager for Service team. He showed us the basic appliances and systems used in most of Metronic sites including BAS (building automation system), IBSS (integrated building security system) and so much more. From there we get to know few major appliance manufacturers like HoneyWell, Asis etc.

There were many things happened that day but what's even more important is how my life would revolve in the coming weeks. Hope everything will turn out fine. Amin.

Second day begun in a new place. A site that I will be working till its hand-over date is due. It's SS2 Mall, an under-construction lifestyle mall located just at the end of Section 14 PJ road. The site was a squatter village, before being developed by RB Land. Basically Metronic is in-charge of Building Control System which includes CCTV, Integrated Building Security System (IBSS) and Building Automation System(BAS) , security and surveillance system which includes CCTV, PA System, fans monitoring, electical start/stop and so much more.

TnC (Testing & Commisioning) Team in SS2 Mall is led by Mr. Razif Othman, who will be my supervisor through out 12 weeks of my internship with Metronic. The whole day was filled up by introduction to the system installed in this mall and some site visit, just to get me the rough idea on how the whole system works.

FYI, this is pretty much how the mall looks like from my lens. enjoy.

road leading to the control room, which is my 'office'.

The back view of SStwo Mall
(It looks like a front side actually.i know. it confused me too)

The rest of the week went informatively. With the guide of my helpful supervisor, I was given a brief introduction to the CCTV systems and other appliances that has connection with the BAS system. I was also involved in one of the systems inspection with IJM's T&C team which consist of 2 engineers and during the session, I had rough ideas on how actually the works are done in this field.

On the last Friday, I had my first hand-on experience to handle the Niagara system, the backbone of BAS system in this mall, to control the lighting on/off. Now, that's what we called technology advancement..Exciting week awaits!

Till my next mumble! Adios amigos!

Hazwan Hashim
Testing & Commisioning Trainee Engineer
Metronic Engineering Sdn. Bhd.

2010 F1 Malaysian GP - It's an adrenaline rush!

2010-04-03T09:13:00.010+02:00

Hola! and greetings! It's time for me to knock the keyboard again Ever since my last post in Jan 27 on AIRASIA promos to India. This time let me bring u back to my home country, Malaysia for the exciting 2010 F1 Grand Prix held at Sepang I'national Circuit, Malaysia.

I was there to witness the practice day (Fri, April 2nd) from 10am - 4pm. Speechless I was, all the teams were getting their ass on tuning the car to suit the ever unpredictable weather of Sepang F1 Circuit.

Result of the practice day: (resouce:www.formula1.com)

Fastest on 1st Practice: 10am-11.30am (GMT+8)

1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)- 1m 34.921s

2 - Jenson Button (Mclaren) - 1m 35.207s

22 - Fairuz Fauzy (MAS) - Lotus F1 Racing - 1m 40.721

5 seconds behind Jenson Button is definitely something to be proud of (as long as more effort to be put afterward, Fairuz!) He's doing good job as 3rd driver for Lotus F1 Racing Team. Here are some photos I took for the 1st practice session

Vettel taking turn 15 at an incredibly fast speed

Lotus home-turf features!

Petronas Mercedes GP car shines like a silver medal

Torro Rosso Team entering Turn15

Fastest on the 2nd Practice

1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 1m 34.175s

2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - 1m 34.441s

*Breaking News*

Results for Qualification Round today (April 3rd, Saturday)

2010 F1 Malaysian GP @ Sepang International Cct.

1 - Mark Webber - RBR- Renault (1m 49.327s )

2 - Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP

3 - Sebastian Vettel - RBR-Renault

4 - Adrian Sutil - Force India Mercedes

5 - Nico Hulkenberg - AT&T Williams

6 - Robert Kubica - Renault

7 - Rubern Barrichelllo - At&T Williams

8 - Michael Schumacher - Mercedes GP

So excited for the real race tomorrow! Although likely I will not be there ;(

Fuel Consumption Test - KL to Kuala Lipis Drive

2010-04-02T03:00:00.000+02:00

Hola everyone!

I am inspired to jot this down as I believe everyone's is searching for the right car to commute to work, travel etc. and I love travelling by heart (be it via plane, car, train, everything)

So here is the report of my recent trip to Kuala Lipis, Pahang from Seri Kembangan Selangor on a 1000cc Perodua Kelisa EX (manual transmission) with 60/165 R14 GoodYear Eagle NCT-5 on Toyota sport rims.

Track:

According to google, the distance is around 171km. However, my benchmark for this test was set on 250km which runs from Seri Kembangan>Bentong (stop-over)>Raub (stop-over)>Kuala Lipis (stop-over)> Raub (refill)

Overall, my dear car clocked 250km and before running out of Rm25 petrol I refilled at BHP Petrol Station, Seri Kembangan. I was using Ron95 which priced at RM 1.8/litre and i think my average speed was 90kmh.

using my poor mathematic calcualtion (let alone other complicated calcualtions), my car consumption was RM 25/ RM 1.8 per litre) yields 13.89 litres of RON95 petrol.

Then calculating litre per km usage, 13.89 litres / 250km results in 0.056 litre/km!

Wasn't that fantastic??! my car consumed just 56ml of petrol (which is around 1/4 of a normal glass u drink at mamak stall) to drive me in its chilled cockpit! Cant say how much I love this car for long drive *winks*

Thanks mum & dad for this meaningful 20th birthday gift! (okay,almost 2 years belated thanks.haha)

AIRASIA now flies you to NORTH INDIA

2010-01-26T17:03:00.005+01:00

Heya readers!

You might wanna curse me for writing sucha short post this time, but I tell you what, u gonna thanks me in a minute, 'cuz I'm goonna make your visit-of-10-wonders-of-the-world comes through real soon!

Surprisingly and truly inspiring, AIRASIA will get the whole ASIA connected with its new routes to major big cities in North India such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.

As the time of writing, I believe AIRASIA team is keying-in the fares onto their system. So, what else are ya waiting for? Fares starts as low as RM199 for the booking period from Wednesday to Sunday. It will fly to Bangalore and Mumbai in May, to Hyderabad in July and Delhi in August.

Hazwan standing right in front of the Golden Temple, Amritsar.

simply log on to www.airasia.com and make your Amritsar-dream or Taj-Mahal dream comes true!

I've been to both places, when will you?

*winks*

xoxo

Juan Lova

Danau Toba II; Journey beyond expectation

2009-11-15T04:41:00.012+01:00

I woke up and I realized i was still on that shitty van somewhere. Then I was informed that the driver was taking a break and we stopped at a stall selling local junk foods. My face was oily and dusty (for the fact that the van's window was open all the time when i was on the move) and J seems to had a quite nice nap on my shoulder (she could simply doze off everywhere, as a matter of fact).

The lake came off from its 'hide' after 2 and half hours more of driving. Trust me, the first glance that i got from the window of the van was SIMPLY FANTASTIC AND AMAYZING! Buntings and flags of Indonesian local-brewed beer, Bintang were hanging al over the place. We arrived right next to the pier and was quickly greeted by a tout offering island accomodation service and return taxi service to Medan. If u ever counter the same situation, just simply WALK OFF. They are not really worth buying it, although they claimed that the 'taksi' (Eng: taxi) will be full on your departure day. Get on the boat to Samosir Island will cost u +/- Rp 2500, which is around USD 0.20.. Believe it or not.. and the view that u will get once the boat start surfing the lake is simply amazing!

Panoramic View of Samosir Island (pic pending)

We hoop off at a jetty then starts our hunting for a place to put our bags etc.. few resorts around the pier offered a quite high price, so Joh & I decided to go a lil' further for something exotic, and more nature - a batak house!

With just around Rp 50,000 a night, we got a batak house at Samosir Cottage with no a/c (not even a fan), 2 piles of stuffed bed and blankets..The toilet is purely traditional (squat) so for westerners, u might wanna check out others cottage. but for those who simply dont mind that, take a go. Night was simply boring, so we took a walk to the nearby kitchen and met 2 fellow American travelers who were eventually on their way to Padang to do some voluntary aid to the victims of the earthquake. We sat down, grab a guitar and start jamming with the local..Damn, no wonder Indonesian bands are good,cuz even the chaps hanging out at the restaurant could sang damn good already! 'Im Yours' by Jason Mraz was our best hit that night and we ended our beautiful 1st day in Danau Toba in a great way. glorious~

Day 2 @ Danau Toba

Our day got kick-started wickedly as we got to move out to the next cottage, however Samosir Cottage's pancake was a killer and made our day! if u ever check in there, dont forget to order that. It's damn good Im telling u! Day 2 wasnt exactly the time for us to explore the whole place yet as we still have to find a new place to sleep. Within few meters walking from the pier, a muslim restaurant was spotted however the price was a lil' bit expensive but hecks, who cares..i was hungry. lol.. Next J and I carried our bag and started walking toward another end of the island, till we met the perfect place for our day - LekJon Cottage! for just Rp. 45k per night, we got a basic room with a hot shower (preclaimed available, but next morning there wasn't any), stuffed queen-size bed (this time it's bigger and a lot more comfortable than Samosir Cottage's), TV, and worth-every-penny-spent view of Lake Toba right from our door. Wunderbar!

we didn't do much during noon, just walking around getting some packs of mineral water fom the nearby market. One of the most interesting part was the evening at the lake. For the first time ever, I had a very wonderful lake side sunset dinner with my dearest Joh.. Then 2 American lads joined us for the sunset watching from the pier but later left, giving us some space for a lil' privacy. We were served 2 different kind of fishes freshly caught from the lake (I assumed), cooked in 2 different ways. It was so delicious (maybe

due to the fact that I was hungry) and the price is unbeatable for what it delivers! The night goes on and we took a walk along the stretch which is not that far actually. Honestly, there's nothing else we could do on the island beyond dusk. This is really a place for you to chill & relax and do nothing.haha

Day 3 @ Samosir Island and around

Inspired by the stories I read in travels book, I decided to rent a motorbike and make an island hopping by ground! Joh and I are used to riding bike in KL so riding manual bike in Indonesia wouldnt be a problem at all.. Bike renting rate on Samosir is standardized to Rp 70,000/day with a full tank of petrol. I tried to bargain but was turned down hence I said, whatever, it's just for today. We hop on the bike and started our journey toward Tele, the highest peak on Samosir. Along the way, we took few pit stops at a locall batak museum, batak temple and some random village.

The most adventurous part was going uphill on tele. Imagine riding 110cc moped bike with 2 adults and a terrible road, it wasnt an easy job I could say. potholes were everywhere and I really had to put my concentration 100% percent on road. However, the view that u would get on your way up is definitely pay off all the hardship and struggles. The green terrestrial paddy field, chilled air are really something that I have not had for a lil' while.

Overlooking Lake Toba from an uphill hillpass (pic pending)

After series of exploration, we finally hit the end of our trip. Like always, we were procrastinating about re-packing up stuffs to leave the island. We wished we could extend our stay for couple more days..we wished~

It was hard to say goodbye, but yeah, life goes on. I need to get back to the good 'ol KL and live up my life. and maybe plan up my next destination...all in all I spent close to MYR430 (USD 130) only for the trip. MYR 130 (USD40) went to the ticket and the remaining were paid to travel, dining, a lil' shoppping etc.not bad huh?

hmm..now i wonder, what's next? China, Vietnam, Philipines? Check out my coming post soon.Adios.

Hazwan

p/s: email me shall u need more info on how to save up your hard-earned $$$ while travelling around Samosir. I can be reach via enquiry@hazwanhashim.com. Have fun exploring the world!