Rome, Italy, 22nd September 2011

I'm writing here from a bed in a hostel in Rome. I arrived here last night with Ömer from Karlsruhe. NICE KARLSRUHE NEIGHBOURHOOD Karlsruhe was also another nice town, worth taking the walk. We walked through the shopping areas to find what Ömer said was a palace. We found it but Ömer was just interested in just seeing and just being there. I wanted to see and experience what could be. Anyway we didn't have much time for that. I should come here again myself and spend all the time I can at one place and not worry about going back. From the main town of Karlsruhe, we had to take a bus to the airport. It was quite a long journey and brought us into a neighbourhood. The kind that I could only see on TV. Bungalows and other types of houses and also apartments. The whole place was generally quiet but there was more than enough space for people to play or just do their thing. APPEARANCE MATTERS One family was busking out in the sun. Teenagers walking home from school. The fact that they were not in uniform probably taught these Europeans how to dress up. That and probabaly the four seasons. Or perhaps these people are just blessed with good looks. Not all of them though. Upon closer scrutiny, some of these folks are not that good looking but they just know how to present themselves.  TURKEY-FYING EUROPE We arrived in Rome yesterday evening at about 6pm. Rome was different from what I saw in Germany or Vienna. The streets are not that clean. The air was clear but didn't feel that clean. My nose started to feel uncomfortable from the dust. Ömer began talking about how Rome was like another Turkish city. He kept going on at it for a while. I could only give a smile because although there were similarities I didn't want to think I'm in Turkey. To me, after seeing Germany, Rome was like the Kuala Lumpur of Europe. Actually I can say like Jakarta albeit with less cars. The roads are crowded but not as bad as Jakarta. The vehicles are a little disorderly. Actually I can't say that. The Italians have their own order which in this short trip, I haven't yet understood. Despite being not as developed as Germany, Italy still had a very good architecture. There was a fountain in one part of Rome but I wasn't sure if it was the same famous fountain of love that they always featured in the movies. WINE AND DINE Another thing I realized about the whole Europe experience was that drinking has to be a part of it. Altay! Wherefore art thou? The Europeans drink everywhere, anywhere, anytime. Ok, maybe not time. Someone was denied alcohol when he tried to buy beer at 3am. When I was in the bus from Vienna to Karlsruhe, I saw a bottle of cola on the pocket in front of my seat. I just ignored it and slept. In the morning, when I woke up, I saw snugged away behind the cola was a small empty vodka bottle I think. With 37.5% alcohol. I assumed the vodka must have been mixed with the cola and the guy must have forgotten all about it. Must be a great loss to him. They were also selling beer and other drinks at the coffee shop. So unlike Singapore. Oh by coffee shops, I mean shops/cafeterias that sell coffee and tea, not the coffeeshop that we see in Singapore. IT'S ABOUT CLASS Speaking of the meaning of coffee shop or what I understand of it in Europe and in Singapore, it brings me to the topic of class.  After going to Germany and Vienna, I noticed that these folks have class. They have their style. I was thinking why this is not so in Singapore. And I decided to conveniently blame it on subjectivity. The Europeans have class because they created class. We adopted the European standards of class and therefore it will be more difficult to have the same class as the Europeans. As for us Malays, we have class too. When it comes to eating rice with hands and the wearing of Sarong. Can anyone beat us to that? My note of self consolation. ERHAN MISSED HIS FLIGHT Erhan missed his flight yesterday from Bratislava. He called Ömer from there. This morning we are still waiting for him to arrive from the airport.

Karlsruhe, Germany, 21st September 2011

LONG BUS RIDE: VIENNA - KARLSRUHE I've just arrived at Karlsruhe and now waiting for Ömer at the hauptbahnhof. He's supposed to arrive at 11.53am and I was supposed to have arrived here at 10.30am. I am close to one hour late. Actually it was the coach that's a bit late. Anyway, as long as I can catch my plane, it's fine. I was quite worried just now as I wasn't sure where I was most of the time. I have to bear this in mind. Wherever I go on my own especially, a map and a dictionary should be a must. Researching on the destination can help enhance the experience as it can add meaning to what I see. Otherwise everything is just wow and nice. Well, I'm just here for a break. The bus ride just now was really long. It's a long 12 hours. For the last 3 or 4 hours, I had two seats to myself as the bus was more empty. I wanted to read or write on my ipad but with the bad lighting, it was better not to or I'll just end up getting sick. The view fortunately was nice. There were industrial areas which I didn't quite like but there were also the greens and the nice towns that we went through. No exotic looking buildings. Just simple buildings. This is where pragmatism prevails over aesthetics. Nevertheless, it had the nice small town feel. NICE YELLOW TRAIN The yellow train just left. It's a change from the red trains that is so common in Germany. The inside of the yellow train is also not as spacious. Anyway, just something different worth noting. METRO RIDE IN VIENNA Yesterday, in the afternoon, after waiting too long for the rain to stop (it didn't stop), I decided to go out anyway. To venture the Metro/subway... Whatever they call it. Ok, I'd call it U cause that's the symbol they use for the station. The ride brought me to parts of Vienna that looked more normal. Normally designed residences, landed ones, although the houses seemed small compared to the yard that each house has. I wanted to walk around the neighbourhood but it was cold and raining, not the best kind of weather for a walk. So I just enjoyed the view from the metro. Then it went underground so, there's nothing to view. So, I had to stop at every stop and go up to see what's above ground. Same old nice buildings as I've seen the day before. Then I arrived at this station with the word museum in it's name. I went up, still the same type of buildings but the whole place had a slightly different feel to it, like more plastic than usual. There was also a modern-looking building which turned out to be a museum. And I decided to explore. The building turned out to be a museum surrounded by shops. One of them was a bookshop and I went in to look at the books they have. Quite a lot of books on the arts and humanities. Design, fashion, architecture, photography, philosophy, culture. After the bookstore, I went on to explore some. The whole area turned out to be full of museum. Even the design of the surroundings was like out of a museum exhibit. The architecture of the building, the cobbled walkway, the sidewalk cafes... Mozart seems to be a great influence and the theatres and orchestra is a big thing in Vienna. So engrossed was I, I kept on walking until I realized I lost my way. So, more walking to find the U station.

Vienna, 20th September 2011

MARRIAGE UNBLISSED As usual I'm writing from my couch-bed. It's 8am and the shops are not opened yet and I'm not that ready to face the world yet. While this is supposed to be a holiday, yesterday's experience was like a reminder in life. Married life to be more exact. Yesterday, the talk revoLved around the fact that the words 'marital' and 'bliss' don't always come hand in hand. When I first met Ömer, he said he couldn't see the point of getting married when it would only make one cry. His friends were unhappy because they couldn't be with their wives and children. Yesterday were some other realities of marriage: the reality of divorce, the building of a new relationship at the expense of severing existing ones that have been around for years and the pain of maintaining strained relationships. Every person has a different experience. Some good, some bad. Maybe not entirely good or bad but a mix of calm and storm. I think what can help is to keep old relations or legitimate relations outside of marriage for some kind of support. Not that I'd do it for the purpose of support. If friendship and family ties should 'break' it would have to be a natural progression of growing apart, not a forced one. I have no concrete experience yet. I'll see.  A WALK IN VIENNA Apart from all the talk on divorces and marital problems, I got to do some walking on my own. In the morning, I took a walk just to see what the neighbourhood was like. I took the safest route of walking straight with minimal turns just so I won't lose my way. Timed myself for a half hour walk that eventually ended up over an hour. I didn't have to go far when I arrived at the city center where we were at the day before. So the house I was staying in was not that far from the city centre. Later, while in a car with Erhan's brother-in-law and his friend I came across some beautiful, majestic buildings. One of them was the Parliament. I so wanted to see these buildings again. So when we arrived home, after breakfast, I rested for a few hours and went for another walk in search of the Parliament.  Looking at the buildings around, the whole place was like a big classroom to study architecture. I googled and found the right name to describe it: Renaissance. There is this gothic feel to some of the buildings also. I couldn't keep my eyes to the ground. Even the humble neighbourhood has nicely designed buildings. So as I walked, there were too many nice buildings to distract me. One of them was the City Hall. I didn't know what it was until I asked the guard at the gates. He said I could go in, so I did. I saw one opened door and went in. It was really gothic. The steps, the pillars, the ceiling. I would like very much to take a picture of the interior but I wasn't sure if it's allowed. I just let my eyes feast on the majesty of the interior. I thought I could only see these in the movies or museum. It's not. It's a design that is still in use. After the City Hall, I thought it was all right if I couldn't find the Parliament. There were so many of the other buildings I could visit. So I just went for another one of the majestic buildings that was in sight. Lo and behold, it turned out to be the Parliament building that I was looking for. I was just going for the very grand fountain that I saw from the car. If it wasn't so cold, I would have spent a bit of time sitting there. Anyway, I made my way back and along the way, I came across what I thought was a museum but turned out to be a University. Students coming out from the entrance confirmed this. Then I got tired and went to have a cup of hot chocolate and chocolate muffin at a cafe. There's nothing gothic about the cafe other than the dark chocolate muffin I was having. FROM HOT TO COLD The first day I arrived in Vienna, it was very hot. The second day, it rained in the morning and I thought the sun will shine again but it decided to lay low. It was quite cold the second day and I was less than prepared for the cold weather. Luckily I had my hooded long-sleeved T-shirt on. That kind of helped. Today, it's been raining since morning so I stayed in. Till when, I don't know...

Vienna, Austria, 18th - 19th September 2011

MUNICH Sitting in the living room of Erhan's broher-in-law's apartment, I hear the noise of children playing in the school downstairs. It's a Jewish school and the kids put on a skull cap. Nice... We arrived Vienna early in the morning from Munich. Munich was a nice city. It was very crowded though. The Germans (and of course everyone else all over the world including some groups of American tourists) were celebrating the Oktoberfest. The festival that seemed to be about drinking and getting drunk. I walked down a stretch of road where all the shops were. By shops I meant the fashion stores. H&M, UCB, bla bla.. The names have left my head already. I didn't really buy any clothes just walking down. That stretch was really crowded with restaurants along the way.  I took my time to just look around and soak in the atmosphere. Erhan and Ömer on the other hand were walking so quickly and chatting away. I lost them a few times and had to call Ömer on the phone. Neither of us could find the landmark the other was talking about even when we were on opposite buildings about 10m away from each other.  In the crowded place with shops and buildings all so different, everything became the same. I found them after 15mins and two phone calls later.. After Ömer left us, we decided to sit at one of the alfresco dining places for tea. While there, there was this man who was putting up a show for everyone. He was playing pranks on passers-by. Onlookers were really entertained. Most of his victims were also very sporting playing along with him. I was wondering why he was doing that. Then... After about a half hour, the answer came. He took out a bag with a '€' sign on it and he made a hand gesture to show eating. Then I understood he was busking. That's a first. JETLAG IN VIENNA It's almost 6am and I have problem sleeping since 4. In Singapore I will automatically wake up at 10am so my body is still on sg time. Anyway, it's not so bad. I'm just an early bird in Europe. I'll take a walk later to greet the sun. Yesterday, we (Erhan, Namık and I) had a walk in the hub of Vienna. Vienna is very much a mix of a few places. If I hadn't been to Baku, London or Munich, Vienna would be really authhentic. Anyway, as I walked, I saw some nice buildings. There were horse carriages but that was very much for touristic purposes. Namık is Erhan's nephew who's settled down in Austria. He lives one level above Erhan's brother-in-law. While I was standing around the waiting area for these horse carriages, I heard the sound of water being poured onto the road from a pail, like a prolong splashing. Then I saw where the sound came from. One of the horses was peeing. That was a lotof pee. The horse must have a very big bladder. Another notable feature about Vienna is the influence of Mozart. In London, there's a Beatle shop. in Vienna there is a (few?) Mozart shop(s). There is even a toilet that played orchestra music. I could hear it as I walked past. I guess the music helps the flow of bladder and bowel movement and also maybe to mask the funny toilet sounds. They should also make some music with the toilet sounds. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT I'm reading this book for a second time and the neighbourhood that we are staying in, if it was a little bit more dilapidated, i think it will be a good setting for the movie. JEWISH SCHOOL  I was looking out of the window after waking up. Jewish families were sending their kids to the school downstairs. Mothers with prams, fathers driving cars, kids cycling, kids walking. They all streamed into the gates. The gate was a heavy, blue metal gate that closed on its own. Many a times, the prams were pinned between the gate. The mothers would have to push it open. Kids on bicycles had to get down and push their way through the gate. One of the kids tried to ride through the gate but fell off the moment he passed through the gate. All of the men going to the school wore this black long coat and a hat. Some looked like those fedora type, another small group would have a skull cap. The men and kids also have these two strands of hair down their sides like sideburns but not quite. Most of them were in black or mostly black. Everyone was in a hurry. This was a rainy Monday morning.

Schwabisch Hall, Germany, 17 September 2011

My first stop from Frankfurt. We came here by train. There were some problems at first trying to find our way around at the train station. Apparently, we were not at the right train station as what Erhan has bought online. So we took sometime to figure things out. Then Erhan went to ask the travel centre for the rail company and the guy gave us a new ticket at no extra charges. What more... The price of the new tix were more than what we had and we would arrive at Schwabish Hall earlier than the tickets he bought. But still, we paid no extra charges. Erhan stopped complaining about Germany already. He's loving the country already. While waiting for one of the trains, he said to me, "Let's move to Germany. I'll come and work at one of the Turkish restaurants." Yes, Germany is a good country, so far. When we arrived at the train station, we had to wait a long while for Ömer. We alighted at the wrong station :s Luckily he was only about a half hour away. The rest of the day was spent walking around Scwabisch Hall. According to Ömer, one part of the town has a long history dating back to 1000 years.  TEA GARDEN.. NO, BEER GARDEN When we arrived at Schwabisch Hall, as we were making our way to Ömer's room, we came across a park. Ömer, being a good tour guide, pointed out to the benches in the park and told us that was the tea garden. I knew he was trying to be polite but I, on the other hand, trying to be a smart ass, corrected him: Beer Garden. Ömer: You know the Germans already.

MH006 KL to Frankfurt 15th to 16th September

Japanese neighbour: The flight was not very eventful. Food was fine although the wet wipes were missing. I slept through the flight. Erhan was amazed I could sleep so well. I was kind of too but not that surprising for someone who can sleep with lights on almost every night. It has affected my sleeping habit. When it comes to sleeping I guess I have no respect for time and at times, place. When I woke up from my sleep, I got friendly and talked to the guy beside me. Japanese guy who's into Judo. He's going to Germany to visit his friend and probably do some Judo. He told me Judo is not a sport in Japan. Wow.. it must be a way of life then. He said it's not healthy to train for Judo in Japan. It's very tough so he wanted to know how it's practiced in other countries.  This guy told me he's studying Clinical Psychology. When I joked that he could read minds he laughed and said. 'Oh.. Not yet. But I can if I'd known someone for about a month. My supervisor could do it at the first meeting.' Then he told me his first degree was in philosophy...  Another reason for his trip to Germany... He asked me if I was going to munchen.. I didn't understand... Then I realised he's referring to Munich when he exclaimed, 'Oktoberfest! Beer! Beer! hahaha!!'

MH610 2230 hrs 15 September 2011

Air Traffic Jam Flight MH610 was delayed by about one hour. Cause of delay: air traffic congestion. That's the first time I hear of such. I wonder what it can be due to. Is it a common problem? The crew said that KLIA is not taking in any incoming flights with two flights from Singapore being rejected. There was worry among the passengers with connecting flights in KLIA if we should miss our flight.  The delay was to be for 50 mins so we were allowed to disembark but the ground crew told us we had to return to the plane in 10 mins. We were having second thoughts about getting off but Erhan was hungry and I was thirsty so, we disembarked anyway for a quick bite at starbucks. Then the call came.  MH610 will be leaving at "ten fifteen", or was it "ten fifty"? My watch showed it was 2210 so I guessed it must be "ten fifty" so we bought our sandwich and drinks anyway.  As we were walking back to the Gate, the ground crew saw us and said to hurry or the plane will have to wait another half hour. Then she spoke into her intercom: 'Last two passengers found'

Singapore? 15 September 2011

I'm making this entry from my bed at 10am Singapore time in Singapore. Why? That's hardly a holiday so why put this into my holiday blog? Well I thought I'll just try to do this blog entry for my coming trip before I go for the trip. Later today, I'll be flying off for a break that I deserve. Do I really? Let's try to justify this next trip from my bed... My last trip was to Azerbaijan in june 2010. (Oh... That's not so long ago. Next...) Second try. I have not had any rest for my last two semesters' break. (Ok, this one sounds better.) I've been going away with the students to Wuhan the last two semester vacations and didn't have time for myself. After my trip, it was even more work. So I hadn't had any nice self time since then. Halt!! Last June, I took two weeks of leave and just bummed around throughout that time. Well.. That's a break away from work but no going overseas. Well actually I tried to buy tickets to Bali during that June break but because of the last minute-ness of the so-called planning, I couldn't find any good flights to Bali but what I did chanced upon was this promotion from Malaysian Airlines (which turned out not to be a promotion after all cause Erhan got the same tickets for a better price after the promotion period. oh well...) and I chose my flight to Frankfurt. What do I know about Germany? Zilch, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo. But... Ömer Faruk the future Mr Governor is there. Ok the trip is to visit Ömer Faruk. So I contacted Ömer, and one thing lead to another, he came up with an itinerary which till now is rather vague to me but still.. Splendid :) I know I'll have things to do in the 24 days that I'll be in Europe. Hope I won't get exhausted :o And just a few days ago, I met up with Erhan and he decided to come with me to Europe. So, no solo trip after all for me. I have no intentions of going solo anyway so it doesn't really matter. I'll have a friend with me for this trip. Nice... :))) Ok. Time to start my day now. Will go for lunch with Noraini, fetch Altay and maybe catch up with Hamza. And I still have not finished packing up, have I? I don't know. Will I have time for last minute packing before going to the airport? I feel so unprepared. What shall I bring with me? I hope I'll be fine... Ok stop worrying now and just get going... Passing of Wak: a struggle with my tears I was doing my bit of shopping at about 2.30pm when Emak called to say that Wak has been admitted into hospital. He vomitted blood. I didn't think it was that serious until she said 'the doctor said to just wait... His heart is failing' that didn't sound good at all. I was thinking how i could squeeze in time to visit him. I went on shopping anyway. 20 mins later, i received a call from home. Aidil was on the line. Bad news.. Wak has passed on. Well... Numb... I walked on... Then i felt tears in my eyes. I held back the tears... Walked on... Held it in..  Then I went to fetch Altay. And Hamza called. It came to a point when I had to tell Hamza my uncle has just passed away. That was when i just choked. The conversation ended abruptly. Altay came and the tears just welled up.  Emak called to tell me again. And my emotions got the better of me. And the tears won. I just broke down. Alfatehah to Datuk Achmad Syahbuddin. This brought back memories of December 2006 when Yai passed away while I was away in Thailand. I felt so hopeless then. It was a Sunday and no one picked up the phone at the airline office. I just had to wait till evening to get back home and the following day to visit his cemetery. I missed the burial of my late Grandfather and I wasn't there in his final moments. This time round, I was already getting ready to go. I don't think I could change the flight. It's several hours away. So I dropped by the hospital.  And with this breaking news, I forgot to tell Bapak that I'll be leaving for Germany for three weeks. When I called him half an hour before my flight, he scolded me for not being around. Then I said I was leaving for Germany and I was at the airport, he calmed down. Then I said for three weeks he said "why so long?" I was confused. He never made it a big deal how long I leave for my holidays.