SunVentures- Part 1
Category: Journey
Well I traveled some places, and I want to share my experience, and some information about certain places and show some interesting stuff i found along the way.
MalayVentures: Day 6
Highlight: Bowling
In the morning as usual we head out and went to places.
There was a mouth-watering bookshop full of delicious books. I gawked around drooling wondering what I should buy. In the end I took J.K Rowling’s “Beedle and the Bard” and two other books.
So it was malls, malls malls until sunset.
After breaking the fast at home, it was time to get ready to do some major strikes at the bowling alley…or some gutter balls if you are lucky.
We wore sneakers and divided into two teams. Let’s call it beginners luck as I knocked out a lot of pins at the first try. It was really fun and frustrating too at the same time. Because you may aim well and the ball may go straight towards the pins but at the last moment it just takes a stupid turn and roll down the gutter. But it was awesome. So let’s cross it off from the bucket list shall we?
So after popcorn and playing billiard for a while it was time to head home. Damn, how I miss the car rides though.
MalayVentures Day 5
Highlight: KL tower
We went to the KL tower. Wasn’t at the very best state so couldn’t enjoy as much as I wanted. The tower was so tall! In the elevator as we went up, it didn’t seem as if we were going so high up.
At first they took our picture which we got later in a very pretty glass cover. Bought some postcards which were just 1MR. We looked through some cool binocular thingy which allows you to see the view outside.
After the tower we went to Subway to eat an awesome sandwich. Unfortunately I didn’t have an appetite, thanks to that stupid dizzy Izzy, so I took one home for later that night.
The road trip ended with queasiness and I rested. The midnight however was blissful. I was feeling way better. It was so peaceful and quite and it felt like you got the whole world to yourself. The view outside the semi-lit city was just incredible. It was a perfect time to write something…and I did.
If I recall correctly, the following day was Hajj day and decided to go for the first ”international fast”.
Malayventures: Day 3
A word of advice: Do not space out while you are in an escalator. I mean don’t get too absorbed in taking a picture or something while you are going up on that thing!! Or else….should I elaborate? Or do you want to find out yourself? Haha! Don’t, cause you will end up humiliating yourself like me.
So day 3 started with the escalator fiasco, as well as…..wait for it…. Shawl Premire! Gawd I love it so much now. It’s so pretty and way better than the squares. What was I thinking all these days? I guess you never know how awesome something is unless you try it. (My friends know what I’m rambling about) There was shoe hunting as well. I bought 3 pairs of shoes that day! Enough to last for….until it breaks :3 I was so sick of my old pair that I wore the new one once I bought it. True story bro!
I searched for a pretty bag too, but couldn’t find one that matched my criteria. But I did find some “cool stuff” that day. Shopping is so much fun. But you know what’s even more exciting? Sorting out through the bags of shopped items and trying them out at the end of the day.
We had lunch at some place in the mall. I remember the chicken being very delicious.
That day we came home early and went down to the pool. Not everyone, just me and the gang of three. The water was too cold but it was so jolly. It was my second time in a swimming pool and I had a blast. There is this game we play every time we go to sea /pool. Each of us make Jutsu, you know like, in Naruto. For example, water style-water slice jutsu! And then we send out the attack to the opponent. It was a silly game but we enjoy it a lot. We also went to the baby pool to splash around a bit.
It started to get cold so we decided to go back up. There was the heated discussion about who’s getting the toilet first. So in order to maintain peace I decided to wait until they are done.
Well, that was pretty much that day. At last, we freshened up and ate home-made fried rice that night.
Malayventures: Day 2
It was pretty much the same thing as day 1. Malls, shopping, window shopping and drooling over expensive yet adorable outfits, cute shoes, glamorous accessories, beautiful bags and much more. There was this make-up shops where they put make up on you and take a picture for free. I almost agreed to do that, ‘cause it sounded fun and cool. And gawd! Let me tell you, their marketing skills are excellent. They are so convincing and if you are not careful you will end up emptying your wallet. So be careful ;). They are very friendly and fun to talk to as well.
Then we went to the burugaa market, where colorful shawls were available at such an affordable price. I deeply regret not taking a handful. Or perhaps, the cart was full but the heart wasn’t . Ha-ha! I ain’t kidding. There were pretty good shawls almost all below 10 MR. And that is as cheap anything can ever get. 
$1= 4 Riggits =15 MRF (approx)
They charge you 20 to 30 cents if you want to use some toilets in the malls. Well, at least, your poop is worth a few cents.
I couldn’t take so many pictures that day because my phone was taken to a little surgery that day in IT land. So these were taken from someone else’s.
Ooh ooh and there was this cool staircase that acted like a piano. As you walk on the stairs it makes the sound of the piano. It makes you want to run up and down the stairs like an idiot. But this wasn’t the mall we went on the second day.
Malayventure: Day 1
Day 1
So we arrived at the airport at around 8. As we were making our way through the airport, the first thing that came to my mind was “multi culture”. Because I saw so many different types of people just like according to the articles I had read about. So after all the immigration stuff and baggage claim, we went to the parking lot. It was almost an hour long drive from airport to home. I remember seeing lots of magenta coloured flowers on the middle of the road. Just like japan, the traffic wasn’t that heavy at first. I saw a few motorcyclists, all wearing helmets. I have always thought that wearing helmet is not so dumb, but Maldives people is far from realizing that.
I saw greenish places that made me want to take a stroll right then. The drive and the scenery reminded me of Need For Speed a bit.
Evening
After taking a nap in the afternoon we got ready to go for a road trip! Well , mainly just shopping. I’m glad I’m not one of those people who get car sick. I really enjoy long drives. What is there to be bored about when your mind is too busy exploring the world.
The Mall
Gosh! It was fantastic. All the cloths looked so beautiful that I wanted to buy the whole shop! I tried a few but didn’t buy any from there cause I couldn’t simply choose! I saw a gorgeous pair of shoes and nearly bought it, but it was too expensive. It would be so fun to go shopping with MOSAC one day! #goals Cause then that would be level 1 excitement. (you know what level 1 is from the last post).
Then I saw the bookshop! Oh my god! It was an all you can eat buffet! My mouth watered as I saw the juicy covers. After roaming around a bit I bought two books that really captured my interest. “The Alchemist” and “Book Of Tomorrow”. Cant wait to write a review about it! But first I have to finish the “love story” I am currently reading.
Nandos break
The little gang is crazy about this place because of the 24 hour marinated chicken that happens to be extremely delicious. It really was. But honestly, my mom’s homemade chicken curry is way better. Oh and I ate the real garlic bread which was tastier than the packaged ones.
So here I am at midnight, with my sister’s laptop because of the irresistible urge to write about the whole day. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. Stay tuned!
2013 moments-Part 2
Japan
This was the first time I have ever been to another country! So it’s kind of a big deal you know. The first time I have been in an international flight. So let me share the silly, yet amazing moments.
The flight
It was so huge. Much bigger than the Maldivian flights. And they have this Screen on the back of every seat so you could watch movies or cartoons or whatever. They offered various types of food that Maldivian flights does not. I enjoyed the food since it’s not something you get to eat every other day. First we landed in Colombo and after sometime we boarded in to the flight that will take us to Japan.
I made an acquaintance with a Srilankan lady. She taught me how to eat using a chopstick. It was fun and I even took a picture with her and we exchanged the address cards. She said she works for a pharmaceutical company. And guess what? She thought Maldives was one whole piece of land. She knew Male’ was the Capital but she didn’t know the island were separated by the sea. It was quite shocking to realize that there are some people with limited knowledge about Maldives. Then again, this country is not that big isn’t it? Normal foregin citizens might never have heard of this place. Its barely visible on the map. Have YOU heard of Corfu? No right? I sent her an email after coming home, but sadly I got no reply. There might be lots of reasons for that ofcourse.
So I want to give you a piece of advice. Travelling is about getting new experience right? So don’t be uncomfortable if you are not sitting with your friends. You can get to know each other and become friends right? I mean some of us cannot breathe without spending each second with our loved ones. You can be with your friends all the time. But at rare times like that, you can get to know new people.
Responsibility
I have never imagined going to another country at a young age without a family member. Let alone, a complete group of strangers. (strangers may seem a strong word but..) So handling the passport, money and your own luggage was all new. If I went with a family member, im sure they wouldn’t dare giving me a wallet full of dollars to walk around with. So having to look after these all by myself gave me a new sense of responsibility. It felt great!
I exchanged the currencies (dollars to yen of course) all by myself! It was such a grown-up thing to do and having done that made me feel awesome. We were also given key cards for our rooms without which we won’t be able to get in. So we had to take extra care of it as well.
The Bus
It was a beautiful tour bus, air conditioned, with comfortable seats. Each of us get a new bottle of water every day. All we had to was lie back and stare out of the window into the beautiful landscape of Japan. Before coming to Japan, a teacher from CHSE taught us how to pray in the flight and bus. And it was the first time I prayed in a bus so that was pretty cool. All the lower grade Islam lesson came pretty handy that time.
Nihon Characteristics
Politeness
Japanese people are really polite. They bow when they greet you and they smile when they talk to you. Even the shopkeepers respect you. Every time, someone purchases something, they bow and say thank-you cheerfully over and over again. But look at us, so thin-lipped and hardly looking up at the customers.
Hygienic
They are extremely hygienic people. You will never see rubbish on the street, no graffiti on the walls, and no unflushed toilets. I want to point out a memorable incident. One day, I and some friends went to get some ice cones in the market place. They told us to finish our ice-creams while standing/sitting near the ice-cream shop. Walking around while eating was prohibited. And I didn’t see anyone walking around with their cones. There was a trash can near the shop as well. How wonderful are they? They take cleanliness really seriously, don’t they? That is how it should be here as well. It’s indeed what Islaamdheen ask us to do.
Disciplined
No robbers, no muggers! I saw expensive jewelries displayed on the street shops, the shopkeeper unattended! Will we dare to keep our phone on a restaurant table for one second? How trusting are they! Crime rates are pretty low there. Do we hear a Japanese bank getting robbed? Buildings getting torched or girls getting raped? That’s because crime rate have been decreasing year after year. Yep they should teach discipline to the youth of this country.
Obedient
They strictly stop at red lights. I saw a man who was waiting for the lights to turn green. He was on the other side, while we were on the opposite. There were no vehicles in sight, yet he stood patiently! But we went on walking since the road was vacant. Suddenly a bus turned the corner which nearly hit us. It was so silent, so we didn’t even hear it approach (damn their super tech vehicles). It was of course our fault, because we should have obeyed the traffic rules. In Maldives however, its about speeding up, no color whatsoever.
Punctual
If you look carefully enough, you would notice they walk pretty fast. Because they get to their destinations on time. You can count on them not to be late for any event! Our tour guides were really punctual as well. They will be waiting sharp at the promised hour, and will be really upset if we were late. So do you know the secret of their rapid development? Punctuality. 
Departure Day
Well this was the day when we had to depart from Japan. So Shajan and I planned to wake up extremely early to make the best of the day. You are not going to believe how early the sunrises, when we were there. The time difference is 4 hours so when it’s around 5 AM the sun will be shining pretty bright.
Anyway so we planned to wake up early. But did we? After staying up till 1-2AM we overslept. The huge soft bed swallowed me making me stay there. But before the wake-up call, we got out of the room and made ourselves towards the breakfast hall. The long route we had to take was really beautiful. There were so many trees and colourful flowers. We took a lot of pictures along the way. Boy, was that fun! We saw a beautiful wedding couple as well.
So we had our last breakfast there and on the way, we took some more crazy pictures. Everyone, including the Srilankan group and Afganistan group, gathered at the lounge after the breakfast. There were the last minute Selfies and group pics and crazy poses. We exchanged the rest of the souveniers. I still have a keychain a Srilankan girl gave me. I sat with Shajan on the bus and watched as Japan flew past. After the plane ride, it was time to resurface into the reality. 
Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum
We went there on the same day as the day of the Sankein Garden visit. You know, where the tea ceremony was held. Well it was later that day we went to this Museum.
It’s all about science and technology. The most advance technology that I have witnessed. There was a robot who talks! How much more advance can you get. Well people have invented mind blowing things than that probably, but the talking robot was pretty awesome.
Then the next thing I saw was this big space suit. You can climb on something like a step ladder from behind it and poke your head out the suit like that. It was really cool to take a picture in it.
Then there was this incredible flight simulator. After all those comp classes of simulators and CAD and such, it was amazing to see one for real. Scratch that. TRY one for real. It was these great side effects and everything which makes you feel like you really are in a plane. It’s more like a 3D game where you had to take off and take check points. I crash landed on to the sea, as far as I remember. I heard there was a helicopter simulator upstairs which was way cooler but didn’t get enough time to see it. Actually the line for this flight simulator was pretty long so I had to wait forever for my turn. I didn’t want to go anywhere else, for I feared I may never get this kind of opportunity ever again. So waiting for my turn in the simulator pretty much took all of the time we got.
But I did manage to see some other parts of the museum like this bazooker-thingy.
This museum is actually divided into 7 zones
- Aerospace
- Ocean
- Transportation
- Daily Life Discovery
- Environment/Energy
- Technology Quest
- The History Vehicles
So I guess I managed to see the Aerospace exhibit only 🙁 minus the helicopter part :’(
