Date : 13th May 2012
Location : DZ Aerograd Kolomna, Russia

I went skydiving last Sunday. We went to Kolomna (a Moscow suburb), it was a 2-hour long drive from Moscow city. The journey was stressful, hahaha.. the driver got lost many times and I wanted to use the toilet so bad! Urghhhh… I felt it was more stressful than jumping off a plane!! LOL!

The weather wasn’t so good at first. When we arrived at noon, it just stopped raining. So we had to wait for the remaining dark clouds to clear.  And of course we had to wait for our turn, because there was quite a number of people who arrived before we did. But the wait was rather fun… fooling around, taking pictures, watching other people take off and land…

Fellow fliers all dressed up to jump… excitement building up

My guide was awesome! He was so nice to me. It would be an achievement if someday in the future I have a license to dive on my own without needing a tandem.

Just look at that camera man’s head gear…. cool huh… guess how much that whole set cost?

I was smiling… yes…. but just seconds before that my face was tight with fear!!! There’s photo evidence but I will never show anyone those photos. haha! That few seconds after I jumped off the plane was terrifying! The speed of me falling head first was enough to make me have a short black out. hahahhahahah!!! I knew I had a black out because for a few seconds, I see nothing but blank/white. Maybe it was the clouds beneath me, but all I know was that my brain wasn’t functioning for that few seconds. HAHHAHAHHAHA!!!

Enjoying the free fall. The free fall lasted for about 50 seconds. My ears hurt! I thought my eardrums was gonna pop due to the high pressure. lol…

Though I had a great time in the sky, I felt so glad when I saw land. hahahhahah!!!
“I’m alive~~~~~!!!!”

It was Mother’s Day last Sunday. I didn’t tell my parents that I was going to skydive, not until after  my dive… well coz everyone knows how their parents would worry excessively. Among the 20 people who went with me last Sunday, 18 didn’t tell their parents. haha…
So, Ma, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was going skydiving… And Happy Mother’s Day!!! Love ya!

Skydiving is awezooooooommeeee!! I would want to dive again in the future. Maybe then, I would be able to focus more on the dive itself and not my fears. At least now I know how it feels and I would know what to expect the next time I do this again.

Just finished watching Hachikō Monogatari, a 1987 Japanese movie, based on a true story about a dog that knows boundaries when it comes to loyalty towards his master.

Now I’m recovering from all the tears and sadness. My bed is littered with used tissue papers everywhere. And I’m having a headache. I can’t remember when was the last I cried this hard. This movie is a tearjerker!!! It’s a must see, the best dog movie I’ve ever watched. Though I doubt I have the courage to watch the English remake of this movie.

May he rest in peace

Yahoo weather said it’s -32 degrees Celsius.
ohhh hooo…. nothing is gonna make me go to class in this weather conditions. I woke up this morning in a freezing room. Even with the heater on, it was still very cold!
While getting ready for class, I decided to check the weather report. And OMG it’s -30. No wonder it felt extremely cold. I wonder how would it felt like to walk to the metro station at 7.30am *shudders*. After much consideration, I decided to change back into my PJs and went back to bed. There’s no way I’m going to class when it’s -30 outside. burrrr….
A while after that, I got a call from friends saying that class was canceled because it’s too cold. YEY!!!!! Thank God we have a nice and understanding Peds teacher. And I’m glad I made a wise decision to hop back into bed. hahahaha…

So unless you drink and like beer, Munich has less to offer. This capital of Bavaria, Germany cherish their beer so much that it became their specialty. Brown beer brewing has began in Munich since the 16th century, and even  the old monks who founded München during the medival times had brewed and sold their own beer. And for anyone who likes beer party, I suggest to visit Munich during Octoberfest. Other times of the year, Munich is just alright I guess. But history wise, Munich holds a dark past. Hitler’s revolution took place in Munich. His first attempt of starting the revolution which failed took place at one of Munich’s largest beer hall in those days called the Burgerbraukeller. I can’t really remember all the details of the tour I took, but yes, Munich was remembered as Hitler’s base and Dachau concentration camp was the first Nazi concentration camp.

OK enough about beer and the Nazis. I’m not so good at story telling or history for that matter. But I do love taking photos.

 Marienplatz

 Old Rathaus (Townhall)

Rathaus glockenspiel, which plays only twice daily and is kinda outta tune. There are 4 clock towers around the Marienplatz. And when they all ring in a non-coordinated manner, it was a bit annoying really. And I believe this is one of the most overrated tourist attractions in Munich….seriously.

Inside the Old Rathaus

Munich Residenz (Munich Palace) Munich royal palace was destroyed severely during World WarII. They have been trying to rebuilt the palace. As for now, the outer parts of the palace are just drawings on the walls. But the interior was breathtakingly beautiful.

Hall of Antiquities and later a banquet hall

 Ancestral Gallery filled with portraits of the Bavarian monarchy.

And as I was walking back from the palace to my hostel. I walked through the so-called ‘luxury street’ and saw this sucker in one of the windows.

 Just look at the price of that THING!!!!!! You can buy a house!

This is what I call achieving the impossible. HAHAHAHA…..

I’ve been back in Moscow for 2days now. And I have not gotten outta bed. LOL!! It’s so nice lazying around all day under the warm covers with the heater next to my bed. ahhhhhh~~ my lovely, comfy bed.. oh how I miss you…..

I haven’t post up much photos just yet. I will. Don’t worry. I’m trying to find the will to open photoshop or lightroom to edit photos. hahaha….

For a start, MY HARDROCK PIN COLLECTION!!!!

My pride and joy….. I managed to add another 6pins to my collection ^_^
1st pin was from Jakarta. I can’t even remember when I visited Jakarta. Was it 4-5years ago? Oh that reminds me that I do not own a single Malaysian Hardrock pin. There’s 3 Hardrock cafes/hotels in Malaysia. I have not been to one. hahahaha…

새해 복 많이 받으세요!

Happy to get rice!! Got to eat something asian. hehehehe…

I was in Bonn earlier today. We went around to find Asian food since it’s the new year. And I miss Asian food so much. While we were walking around Bonn city centre we saw a shop sign saying ‘Mandu’. The first thing that came into my mind is Korean Mandu, which are dumplings. And I was right. It was a Korean restaurant. Leap of joy in my heart. I love Korean food!

The girl at the counter was kinda weird though. She didn’t speak much English, so I spoke to her in Korean. She replied in German. Of course I couldn’t understand a word she was saying. And when she saw me looking all confused, she continued to speak German to me. I know she understands and speak Korean because I heard her speaking to the cook who seems to be her mother. I wonder why she did not speak to me in Korean. I would have understood her better if she spoke Korean instead of German. Oh well at least her mother spoke to me in Korean. She understood me perfectly and vice versa.

We had a great lunch today. Although we couldn’t be home with our families right now. We had each other.

*Photographed by Davinna

 Vienna Opera House. Amazing interior

Vienna is a great city filled with a wonderful musical culture. The city revolve around music. And this is what I love most during my 2 nights stay in Vienna. Of course city wise, Vienna can not be compared to Prague which is simply beautiful. But Vienna’s culture is so overwhelming I just had to visit the National Opera House and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The opera was rather boring. I was a bit lost in the middle of the show. Although it had subtitles through out the performance, I was still a bit confused. We left during the intermission. hahaha… It was a standing ticket, so we didn’t really care much to stay there for the 2nd part. hahaha….

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is just splendid! No the word ‘splendid’ isn’t enough to describe the amazingness of the orchestra.
And at the end of the 2-hour performance, I was left in awe and it inspired me to continue learning music. I never finish learning the piano and I have not touch a single key in a very long time. Listening the the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, I realized how much I love music.
 Standing ovation

Oh and we even went to search for famous composers graves. And we managed to pay respect to Beethoven, Brahms, Stravss… I grew up listening to their work and it was an honour to get to visit them.

Prague, a city that remembers its sorrowful past and cherish its freedom.
Czech Republic is a rather young independent country , still haunted by their past. Just months after being ‘saved’ by the Soviet from the Nazis’ oppression, they were then forced to bow under the control of their so-called savior, whom they have so much hatred due to all the mitreatment they had to undergo. During my 2nights stay in Prague, I never dared to use Russian language when talking to locals. I wouldn’t want to ‘rub salt into their old wounds’.

Evil Matryoshka. This is how the Soviet is portrayed by the Czech.

Having to travel to Prague I get to learn about their vast history and culture, and not to mention beautiful well preserved buildings that were not damaged by the WW2. Each buildings in Prague has a story to tell. And every single street I turn to, there were something to look at and go “wowwww

Prague is simply beautiful. Even though I spent very little time in Prague, loved it there. I even felt a bit sad when I left for my next destination : Vienna

Too bad most of my pictures are in raw and I don’t have a proper program in my netbook to view it properly at this moment.

I was so lazy to edit and upload photos/videos from new year countdown until now. I’m busy lazying around all day. It’s the holidays. I’m not obligated to do anything. HAHAHA

Hasifi macam budak2! hahaha.. memang budak2 pon kan…

We went for a new year countdown at MGU in Vorobyovy Gory. So after the countdown, we had to find a way down the hill to get to the metro. And sliding down the hill is the fastest way. So yeah, we slid down the hill on our butts hahahahhaha.. it was so fun. My butt felt so numb afterwards, but it was very exciting.
I don’t care if I’m turning 25. I still want to keep that childish part of me. Of course I want to grow up and be a mature person. But it is also important to be able to enjoy life and kid around once in a while. Of course there are certain limits to being childish. And I know my limits.

I’m not very good in taking pictures of fireworks. The night of the new year was my first time taking these kind of pictures I tried playing around with the shutter speed and this is one of the best I could come out with. sigh… Hey but the water/snow droplets on my lens added a nice bokeh effect to it, don’t you think so?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

There is nothing better than spending the start of a new year at home with friends… cooking together, eating, gossiping, laughing, watching movie on a tiny laptop screen. ahhhh… Life is good.

Though my tummy looks like I’m 3months pregnant now. I feel very happy to have great friends.

So many things happened through out 2011. Bitter and sweet memories that I would never trade for anything. I hope 2012 would be a great year to look ahead for.