tanggal 31

Tanggal 31
Bulan 8
57...
Merdeka, Merdeka, Tetaplah Merdeka
Ia pasti menjadi sejarah
Tanggal 31
Bulan 8
57
Hari yang mulia, Hari bahagia
Sambut dengan jiwa yang Merdeka
Mari kita seluruh warganegara
Ramai-ramai menyambut hari Merdeka,
MERDEKA!!
Tiga satu bulan lapan, Lima puluh tujuh
Hari mulia negaraku
Merdeka(2x)
Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka....!MERDEKA!!

English translations
On the thirty-first
In month of August
1957
Merdeka, Merdeka
It surely be the Malaysia's history
On the 31at
In month of August
1957
A noble day, a joyful day, a noble day, a joyful day
It surely be the Malaysia's history
Come on let's all Malaysian be proud and joyful
Together we all celebrate Merdeka, Merdeka!
Thirty first month of August, 1957
A noble day, my country Merdeka(2X)
Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka......!Merdeka!!

Tanggal 31 Ogos is a popular Malaysian patriotic and national song. This song is one of the songs that are sung during the National Day celebrations throughout the nation. This song was played by Sudirman Arshad in 1990


i shall always remember that song and what it should have meant to the nation... but would our kids know how significant is 31st August 1957 ? i, for one, have to teach the meaning of 'kemerdekaan' to my 2 kids especially to Aliyah cos Malaysia is not her 'tanah tumpah darah'...

its not about 'sambutan merdeka' at Dataran Merdeka on the eve of 31st August; nor the merdeka parade nor just another public holiday in Malaysia...

back to school...

yesterday after Aisyah's riding class, we went out for 'back to school' shopping. the kids go back to school next week after summer holidays. we were not alone; lots of other parents left the shopping at the last minute.

aisyah has just turned 9, will be in year 5, stands at 4'5" and wears a size 3 (wide fitting) shoes. we scouted around for her uniform at various shops and managed to grey pinafore from Tesco, polo shirts from Sainsbury's, royal blue cardigan from BhS & grey trousers from Marks and Spencer. last year she wore the same cardigan & polo shirts from the previous year. she got a High School Musical school bag for her birthday.

the only problem was looking for a decent, reasonably priced black pair of school shoes which suit kids her age. finally we found a pair which she likes, decent, comfy and hope to last...but i had to pay almost £40 for them. i never paid more than £20 for my own pair of shoes !!!

at the end of the day, we spent quite a bit on her school uniform this year; nasib baik beli ONCE to last for the whole year...

i know parents in Msia would spend a lot more than us when the school term starts - uniform (sekolah kebangsaan & sekolah ugama), kasut, buku, bag, stationery... our only consolation, we dont have to buy text/exercise books and stationary cos everything is provided at school and there is NO school fees to pay.

summer bank holiday 08

Monday 24th August is the summer bank holiday and Ina invited us to stay at her place in London for the long weekend. coincidently ada pulak Notinghill Carnival. penat balik from Msia pun belum habis! we took the coach on Saturday morning, mimi & family drove down.

Ina fetched us from Victoria Coach Station and on the way to Bayswater, we stopped at Duke of York Square on Kings Road, South Kensington; ada weekend market ... 'pasar tani' or 'pasar minggu' ala mat salleh. jumpa pulak stall melayu jual meehoon goreng, karipap..

petang we took the kids to Kensington Park; the kids had a great time playing in the sand.

on the way home, singgah TAZA beli Lebanese Rice & Lamb/Chicken Shawarma for dinner; both kids were fast asleep, kepenatan....

the next day, we went to Nottinghill Carnival. tak banyak parade cos that day is Children's Day; managed to get a pic or two of the dancing parade. Monday was supposed to be the 'happening parade' tapi dah nak balik ke Notts. so we just walked and joined the crowd, looking for lunch.

we found Mr T Halal Jerk Chicken & Goat Curry stall; punya panjang queue...Jerk Chicken is a famous Jamaican cuisine.

for £6, we got a hefty amount of Jerk Chicken with rice, salad and plaintain (pisang) bakar.

semua menjamu selera on the pavement...

lepas makan, took the girls 'face painting' while joining the crowd dancing on the street.

i got slightly dizzy after passing by the crowd smoking 'pot' which is quite common at this carnival.

our last week in Msia

during our last week in Msia, we tried fulfilling more requests to meet up (and eat) with friends & family.

on Monday morning, hubby & i watched Susuk at TGV KLCC. the show was at 11.30am, tak ramai orang. the actors were Ida Nerina, Sofia Jane, Diana Rafar and Adlin Ramli as the Dewangga. overall i think it was a good movie, not so predictable.

then later in the evening, i went out for 'updating/gossip session' with my dearest friends Onnair, Niz and Hisham who happen to be 'the pioneers of tcd'. we had dinner at Penang Village, Alamanda. had Assam Laksa and finished off with my favourite dessert - a bowl of cendol durian.

on Tuesday we went to Subang Jaya, had lunch with hubby's old friend Catherine who is now a mom of 3.

then squeezed some time to visit my ex boss, Puan Yusmah who is now residing in Riyadh; became lady of leisure and was back in msia for a holiday.

dinner was at T'Mor Place, Ann's restaurant at Taman Dagang. Naza & Meor, Lyn & Haris, Oya, Ainol & Eddy, Sapi and Torai joined us there. the food was good - tauhu bakar, kerabu daging bakar, ikan 3 rasa, tom yam, kailan ikan masin and the signature dish - 'the kunyah' which is an array of deep fried battered mushroom, seafood, potatoes.

on wednesday, i went back to KB on Air Asia with Aliyah; to visit my aunty Cik Mun and also menziarah kubur my late dad and grandparents.

cik mun's grandchildren - ammar & alya'

on Thursday afternoon, we had lunch at Abg Yeb's house. Kak Wan masak gulai siput sedut & keladi which is our favourite.

that nite, we had dinner with Herlina and Atan at Unique Seafood at Section 13 PJ; taking Safian with us. Ina happened to be back Msia for couple of days and she insisted on taking us for 'ketam telur masin'. the food & company was great.

lepas dinner, had supper pulak with Yan, Hasni & Tasha at Ipoh White Coffee Kopi Tiam at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.

that was the end of our jalan jalan cari makan in malaysia.....

but not just yet !!! Aisyah had her last durian before our holidays were over..and gave Aliyah another taste of the king of fruits.

i was quite dissapointed cos tak sempat makan durian and rambutan before we left for the airport.