Unforgettable Turkey - Day 1, Bahrain

The Marine Tower, Bahrain - 1st stop!

8/12/08 Day 1, On board Gulf Airlines, flight GF281:
Suddenly, almost unbelievably, I find myself on Gulf Air, flight 281 - on my way to Bahrain. Goodness, I was momentarily stunned. What am I doing, I thought to myself as I kissed my little baby Zakiy, already missing him as I said my goodbyes. I don't know what lies ahead, I can only pray that this will be a momentous journey in my life, one that is unforgettable. I have always had my eyes on Turkiy, especially the Blue Mosque, and finally I am travelling that bit closer to making my dream a reality.

As I fly thousands of miles above, way up in the skies, I am feeling a bit upset that my boys are not coming with me, with a tinge of regret that hubby dear would not support one of them. Alas, I guess there is wisdom in everything that happens in our life. Maybe my being away from home, for a holiday on my own after twenty three years of marriage, I can consider as taking time out. Maybe too, that a short lapse of time without ummi will bring some good to the boys...and hubby too.

We arrived at Bahrain airport as scheduled, around 3 pm local time. Will be staying overnight here, before we head off to Turkiy. I took the second coaster trip to hotel. We were going to stay at the Marine Tower, a sort of water front hotel. By the time we reached the hotel it was late evening, so then it was not the time to do much sightseeing and photo snapping. (Note: about Bahrain, read my post on Bahrain - last leg of journey). On route, I can see that Bahrain is a beautiful kingdom, but still with the familiar brown desert soil, typical of arab countries like KSA or Jordan. At the airport,t alhamdulillah, the wait through immigration did not pose much problem, Dr. Zainundin, as our group tour leader from POTO, seemed to handle the paperwork smoothly.

However, much to my frustration, there was no Celcom compatible lines, compared to other phone service. Hubby had activated the IDD line earlier on at KLIA. The other communication lines already had strong reception upon landing. Hmmm...must let hubby know about this, considering he is attached to TM.

Then zakiy called, he had to call through Zura's number, and then got cut off. My poor baby...I could sense he was missing me actually. But still no reception on my phone. Luckily, and alhamdulillah, the comfortable hotel accomodation and the pleasant meal served made up somewhat for my consternation. It had already been arranged that throughout this trip I would be bunking with Zura. All praise be to God, although she is my niece, and a renowned Malaysian novelist, and although it seemed a millenium ago that we ever slept under the same roof, we hit it off just as we did all those years before. For that I am thankful to Allah, that I had this chance to get to know my niece again, a chance for us to rebond, so to speak. But above all, thank Allah, she is still just as "whacky" as I am, we seem to click well, laughing at the same jokes and all. Dato and Datin always had a room near to us, which is comforting to me as far as I am concerned. As for Datin, there was never any doubt in my mind, having her around would always promise some good laughs together.

Anyway, after dinner, I went straight to bed but was rather rudely awakened by the music from the disco somewhere within the hotel premise. Hmmm...so much for being an arabic country! Unable to resume sleep, I tried once more to check my phone line. The line was Batelco. Aaaah...finally! Messages started to come in, and finally, I got to call home, talk to hubby dear, big boy Ashraf and baby Zakiy. Thank you Allah, now I am more in the mood for my Turkiy expedition. Signing out...for now!

Zura at Bahrain immigrations

waiting for coaster to the hotel

the room which I share with Zura- pleasant room

breakfast with dato n datin - don't they take hot drinks? u have to ask for it!

typical scene of middle east country -brown sandy soil

Unforgettable Turkiye (Turkey) - Intro

the formidable foursome...heeheehee...

Unforgettable POTO Turkiy Group:8/12/07-18/12/07

Salaam. On 8/12/07, I left my hubby and two precious boys, and boarded the Gulf Air Flight GF 281 - I was on my way to Turkiy! And when I returned 10 days later, 18/12/07, someone asked me how was my trip. I gave an answer which surprised even me; I said "Fabulotastic!" And you know what? I knew then, I had to share it here in this blog; if not for anyone else, then for my personal musings for a long time to come....share with me...
That Saturday morning, the whole family sent me off and we left home at 7.45 am, stopping first to have breakfast near Mak's house. My luggage was neatly carted off into the booth, the new suitcase with its 4 wheels (for easy lugging around on my own), looked bulky, already full with warm clotihing I had packed for the cold wintry weather in Turkiy, not forgetting some emergency food supply just in case I needed them.

at KLIA airport

the sending off committee

I was the first to arrive at the airport. When I say the first, I mean that I was travelling as a foursome: my brother in law, Datuk Prof. Dr Razak, aka B. Seh; my older sis, Datin Razmah, aka K. Mah; my niece Zura, aka Aisya Sofea and I. So, I hung around at Counter K, level 5 of the airport which was the appointed meeting point. Eventually, someone from the group came, having recognised me by my POTO handluggage. Later she was to be known fondly as the "Tauke Tayar" from Selayang.

Dato'

Datin

Aisya Sofea

All in all, plus the tour leader and his wife, there were 39 of us, the oldest being Mak Bee, around 70 her age is I think, and the youngest, Nabil, 10.

Keep posted. From here, I managed to jot down my posts on my PDA phone on a day to day basis throughout the trip. Read on....

got tagged

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night. my baby

2. What were you doing at 0800? Sleeping, before the school starts and i m deprived of this rare privilege

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? answering phone call from one of my students

4. What happened to you in 2006? went for umrah with the family, my brothers, sis in law and nephew...unforgettable !

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? AHMAD ZAKIY...looking at his sleepy face as he woke up from sleep

6. How many beverages did you have today? so far, only plain water

7. What color is your hairbrush? blue all this while, now pink

8. What was the last thing you paid for? The boys' KFC lunch yesterday, abah went to wedding in KL, I attended Intan's wedding.

9. Where were you last night? at home, as usual

10. What color is your front door? wooden door, colour of wood

11. Where do you keep your change? All over the house. my niece likes to call my house a treasure cove...finders keepers i told her once hahahah

12. What’s the weather like today?just nice for an outing with the family

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? any ice-cream is BEST....

14. What excites you? anything told to me excitedly and anything about my passion in life - writing, books, education, family and biology

15. Do you want to cut your hair? a must before i start work again

16. Are you over the age of 25? waaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy past...

17. Do you talk a lot? only with ppl very close to me

18. Do you watch the O.C.? what's OC?

19. Do you know anyone named Steven? yes

20. Do you make up your own words? yes, only known to close family members

21. Are you a jealous person? unfortunately yes

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Aniza/ali

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Khalijah/kamal

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? today? naquib

25. What does the last text message you received say? "congratulations on your son's success - take care always"

26. Do you chew on your straw? nope, never i think

27. Do you have curly hair? confidential

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? aisya sofea's place today, next vacation - umra/egypt inshaallah

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? BUSH!!!!

30. What was the last thing you ate? nasi lemak sotong

31. Will you get married in the future? Already married

32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? War of the Worlds - actually, that is the ONLY movie i have watched in the last month or so...

33. Is there anyone you like right now? of course! all those close to me

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? 1 hour ago

35. Are you currently depressed? nope - the turkiy trip detoxed me hehehe

36. Did you cry today? no, alhamdulillah

37. Why did you answer and post this? someone was kind enough to think of me, so cant really disappoint her, can i?

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey:
Noble One
Par Excellente
Mummy Daniel and Dania
myaisyasofea
smartdoctor

Aaahh...He did it Again!

Salam, its 3 am, 28/12/07. I have returned from Turkiy for exactly 10 days now. Supposed to put down some detailed posts about my trips with all the interesting snapshots to accompany. But...i had to hold on first..till yesterday, 27/12/07...when the PMR results were announced.
And you know what??? My beloved big boy, AHMAD ASHRAF ILMAN B. ZULBAHRI. aka The Noble One...he did it again!!! Alhamdulillah...all praise be to Allah Almighty, that oustanding son of mine scored 9A's for his PMR exams. What can I say...CONGRATULATIONS my son...you deserve it! Well done!!!

I am elated of course. I had confidence for all his subjects..but wavered a bit over his Science...of all the subjects...oof (considering ummi teaches Science form 3). We arrived at SMIK early, hoping to catch the results as soon as possible so that I could rush back to my school to deliver my students results. Alas, it took forever. And the longer we waited, the harder the butterflies 'flew in my stomach'....the suspense was killing me! To score 8As would have been great and acceptable to most students, BUT not for my poor Ashraf. The whole clan was practically expecting straight As from him, nothing short would do. For a moment, I wondered what was actually the pressure I was feeling - to watch the disappointment if he failed to score straight As...or to conjure up plausible explanations to my kith and kin if he fails to measure up to expectations. Anyway, thanks to Allah, i was spared of that "unthinkable" scenario. Phew...

As if pressure from the clan was not enough, when the results finally arrived, all his friends, (and their parents too), waited for him (accompanied by ummi) to take his results first. Even the school was confident he would score straight As and was assuming so...pressure upon pressure for both mom and son. But Allah is Great, Ashraf was able to deliver...what was expected of him. And I am not ashamed to say, I am one Damn Proud Mom today...grinning from ear to ear. He has proven himself worthy of being named The Noble Knowledgeable One. (Tak sia-sia aku menaruh impian tinggi dengan memberi nama itu...) I am sooooo proud of you son.

And so, on the very same day, just to show our appreciation, hubby and I returned to the computer store which we surveyed exactly a week ago, to fulfill his request should he get straight As - a laptop for him to carry around for his designs and bloggings. Just as he has brought great pleasure to both Ummi and Abah, we felt we should not delay his pleasure too. So now he is the proud owner of an Acer Travelmate laptop! But rules remain...his curfew hours for computers still applies.

Many relations asked, "what did the mother feed him for him to perform excellently?" I just smiled, but now in this blog, allow me to answer that question. Upon reflection, I want to say that the main "nutrient" he received was unconditional love from us, and the constant feeding into his mind that he is our son, he is special with special talents and that he could do whatever he sets his mind to do. We gave him the faith and the confidence..for we truly believe in his abilities. The constant reminder we gave him that the mind was a gift from Allah, it is his responsibility to nurture and sharpen it. The endless reminder that as his parents we would surely support him all the way, in any way we can...but finally it is he alone who will be entering the examination hall. Anybody can succeed, as long as he wants it strongly enough. Take one step towards God, and He will surely come much closer to you. That has always been our advice to Ashraf.

And so, closes another chapter of his young life. Another hill successfully climbed, another obstacle victoriously overcome. Other hurdles await, the nearest would be his SMA, and then the SPM exams. Our advice still stands, our rules and regulations for study discipline on him still apply. And Ashraf knows them well. I can say, much to my relief, he is looking forward to his new upcoming challenges as a Pure Science student, inshaallah. Alhamdulillah, as he lies on his bed asleep now, I know that to a certain extent, I have instilled the love of learning in my big boy..not only for the sake of exams, but for the sake of the knowledge from Allah itself. He is excited about learning add maths, biology physics and chemistry, already accepting that learning these subjects and scoring, would be quite a phenomenal task. But i can see, he is taking it in his stride, and I am determined to back and support him all the way.

I am proud of you, son! Those tears you saw this morning, were tears of gratitude to Allah that He has bestowed upon me a fine young man for a son, in the likes of you, AHMAD ASHRAF ILMAN!

I'm On My Way Now...

Havent had my hands on this blog for some days now. Just too busy preparing for my 10 day Turkey trip. Yup...on my way now, inshaallah Turkey here i come.
It has always been my dream/ambition/wish to go to Turkey and visit the Blue Mosque. If i get this wish come true, then that will be 2 out of 3 "most desired place" i would hv visited; the first being Masjid-al-Haram of course. The travel agency officer says its winter time - double bonus for me...
There is only one snag to this upcoming trip of mine - i am going alone; meaning the boys are not coming with me. The trip costs me rm4318.00, all expenses like ticket fare, accomodation n meals included. It has been many years since I have been in 'winter season', so had to get myself some appropriate winter clothing, then my passport had less than 6 months before it expires. All in all, preparation alone plus converting some cash to USD, cost me an added rm5000. Whatever meagre amount left, is enough only to take zakiy with me. I asked hubby dear if he could support big brother ashraf....simply put he said, "NO!" and he added, one boy doesnt go, then both dont go. What can I say...
So, some may question, why do i want to visit Turkey atall,on my own at that too, when the family is not coming along? Leaving my boys behind? Still i want to go?
I have asked this question myself, and you know what, I must honestly say my answer is I WANT TO VISIT THE BLUE MOSQUE. It has been my wish from as long as I can remember..and now the opportunity presents itself. Perhaps if i hold on now, and save more, then maybe I can take my children along with me, I say to myself, without having to ask from hubby (i try to be as self reliant as possible). But with my condition, I often ask myself will i ever get the chance in future? my blood pressure,my kidney function and cirrhosis are all under control now, i feel fine right now..but i often ask myself, for how long before the cirrhosis decides to make its presence felt - the symptoms to show up. I want to visit the Blue Mosque in Turkey...
I am only a teacher's daughter. I learn from early on in my childhood, you want something, then work for it. I love traveling, I love reading good books, those two things were not easy to come by then. I learn that i must be self reliant, and at that time when I was a littl child, you want to have money, then have a good paying job, you want a good job with a good pay, study hard, do well in exams, get into university, then you will get a good job. Alhamdulillah, ala kulli hal, Allah has blessed me with all this, with all the added bonuses which I am forever thankful for. So, I get a job which helps me make travelling affordable. And i want to travel to see the Blue Mosque.
It is unfortunate my boys cant come with me, the trip would surely have been that much more fun if they came along - just to see their excitement would have been rewarding in itself I am sure. But as it is, they cant come, and i cant just take one of them..they are part of two. I am sorry boys, but I hope you guys will understand why I have to do this...this is a part of my life I want accomplished, before...before whatever the future holds for us we do not know... and I know you guys wont mind. And yes, we'll start saving for spain and morocco, i know you guys dont want to miss out on that... just pray that my "project" works okay...that can speed up a bit our savings guys...Inshaallah.
I can only guess what my siblings are saying, but this is something I Want To Do - for myself. God Willing, in future I will go with the boys... on other trips.
So, if all is well, inshaallah, this Saturday, 8/12 i will be On My Way to Turkey, making stop at Bahrain en route. Whatever, all praise be to Allah, Alhamdulillah, for giving me the means n the opportunity...if all goes well, it will be another of my wishes/prayers that Allah has yet again answered...alhamdulillah. I now pray that the trip will be a safe and enjoyable one, one that will remain in my memories for all times.
By the way, Datin sis Hajjah Razmah, and hubby, Dato Prof Dr. Hj Abd. Razak and niece, Hanizura Jamaludin, will be coming as well. I look forward to an enjoyable, adventurous trip with you guys...
So till the next post, inshaallah....