Journey to Korean Music Wave 2011 in M'sia part 1 : BIGBANG

Uri BIGBANG, be the undying stars in the sky! 

Warning! This fan account is a very long and self indulging post by a seriously ‘love sick’ VIP. I had to write every single detail of the event, as I do not know if I’ll ever encounter such an opportunity again. So, please read at your own risk!! XoXo!! 

Intro
I think I’m a very lucky VIP. I came only to know about Bigbang last Feb 2011 and yet I got the opportunity to see them performing live in my own country for the 1st time ever!! (Yes, you can yell at me my fellow VIP..I know deserved it..). Well, I do know a few Kpop groups but was never really into the Kpop scene. I was pretty curious to see their long awaited comeback spreading like a viral outbreak in all the Kpop websites! And of course, BIGBANG had me at LOVE SONG! Ohmaigod! Who are these 5 unique+awesome+dashing boys? How come I've never heard of them before? Where have I been all these years?? (Banging my head to the wall). Before I even knew it, I became one devoted VIP and the rest is history.The excitement of seeing our precious boys, GD and TOP and V.I (Seungri) from BigBang started from the DAY the KMW organizer in Malaysia confirmed the line up itself! I had planned my itinerary the best that I could, but I knew I can’t do much. Who am I kidding? What can you expect from a 30 years old ahjumma, 1st time Kpop concert go-er, and a new self proclaimed VIP like me?   


Pre-KMW Concert - Kuala Lumpur International Airport

On the 24thSept 2011, I took the first Electric Train Shuttle (ETS) from Perak to KL Sentral at 5.40am. Arrived in KL Sentral around 8.10am and went straight to the Airport Coach ticket counter. The bus to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) departed exactly 8.30am and arrived at the airport at 9.30am. It’s my first time in KLIA since most of the time I travels with budget airline at the LCCT terminal. Nevertheless, the excitement surpasses the hesitations! I asked for the direction from a girl in my bus. What do you know, she’s there to welcome BB as well!! Yeay..I met another fellow VIP! BB’s flight was scheduled at 10.50am, so we went to grab some breakfast at McDonald on level 5. I promised to meet up with a few of my forum buddies at the airport, and the atmosphere was so overwhelming! We were there for the same reason; Welcoming GD and TOP and Seungri to Malaysia for the 1st time! I could see various fan clubs with their banner waiting eagerly for our boys too.  


Guessing which passage the boys will exit was really mind boggling! Is it going to be the normal arrival hall? Or maybe the VIP passage? After much discussion we finally settled at the VIP passage level 5 since the other Kpop acts used the same passage when they arrived the night before. Each of us took our spot with all kinds of camera on standby. My spot was exactly next to the escalator. There was a glass partition, no so good for the camera recording but definitely good enough for my eye’s satisfaction! There were two Chinese girls standing next to me and they shared stories of bumping into Tae Yang and GD at the recent Vogue Fashion Show in Korea! They even showed me their photos! How cool was that!  


It’s already ½ hour passed their arrival time; still there was no sign of BB. The officer on duty was not really helpful either. Out of no where, someone screamed that BB will exit from arrival hall level 3! I felt someone pulled out my hands and subconsciously I ran together with the crowd to level 3. When we reached level 3, people started to give us the suspicious and annoyed looks (but they still give way for us to run!). One girl was talking on the phone for awhile, and suddenly told us to go up to level 5 again! So the crowd started to run, again. I ran half way, but decided to give up. That was it for me. I decided to just wait at level 3.  


Still panting, I heard people screaming and yelling “OMG, They are out side!!” Err, What?? Boragu??? How was that even possible? I was standing right in front of the international arrival gate! (It was discovered later that our boys were diverted to the Domestic arrival gate to avoid the crowd). This time, I gathered all my energy and stormed outside the airport. OH YEAH! I saw our freakin’ handsome boys in front of my very own eyes! As always, there were policemen and crew guarding them at all time. I was trying to see my GD closer but there were too many people at the front so I ran to the back of the crowd and guess what, I was walking behind TOP the whole time! And yes people, he is GORGEOUS, no doubt. TOP was wearing red leather jacket (it's hot here in Malaysia darling! Loose the jacket plzz!), a blue military hat and brown shades. I did saw Kim Boram (Tae Yang’s manager) and I was like oh my, is Tae Yang coming too? Nahh..No luck guys. Towards the end I saw a delicate creature, I saw my GD. He was wearing a green and white checked shirt, blue cap (his cap was unbutton, only GD can do that..), shades and a neck pillow. I saw Seungri earlier, but couldn't see him anymore when I got closer. He was already in the SUV, with the super dark tinted glass! (From my friend’s video cam below I could see that Seungri also wore a blue checked shirt and shades, and he looked so HANDSOME in person!). The SUV waited for a few minutes, so fans chanted and displayed their banners proudly for the boys. I wish they had lowered the window a bit, but they didn’t. One girl managed to shake hands with GD!! She sat flatly on the chair in disbelieved and I envied her so much! Well, I had my camera with me but I just lost my sense of direction when saw the boys! I end up capturing mostly the policemen, running fans, YG crew, TOP’s backside!! (Banging my head to the wall again!). It was the worst fan cam EVER!! 

TOP'S perfect jawline!

TOP's brown shades and navy blue cap..

TOP's red jacket

TOP's neck

                                                       

   

SEUNGRI's backside

more SEUNGRI's backside..

SEUNGRI's legs!!

Tae Yang's Manager!
(Kim Boram)

I replayed the videocam like a gazillion times,
and the thing I managed to capture of uri GD is 
his neck pillow! Arghh!! 
SOMEBODY SLAP ME PLZZ!!! 

But I must say Malaysian fans are still very courteous. Nobody attempt to grab or pull the boys or screaming hysterically, we just walk together with our boys but keep our distance and let our digicam and DSLR do the job. That’s why I don’t understand the needs for security to change their arrival gate at the very last minute just to divert loyal fans like us from greeting BB properly. The whole incident happened so fast, I still couldn't believe what I’ve just witnessed. It was too much for me to contain. Here's a more believable pictures of our boys from my friend's camera.

Who says GD didn't waved to the fans? 
He did! Briefly, but with style. Like "how ya'll doin' mate?"

Baby looking confident, 

as always.
Yeah, work it maknae!

GDragon & TOP.
Look at GD's unbutton cap!

   



 

     



Seungri walking calmly before 
the crowd noticed them outside.

  

 

 

Hunky Choi TOP. Spot the bunny 

cardboard & manager Kim 

carrying GD's porcupine knapsack?

 

Pre-KMW Concert - Double Tree by Hilton Hotel 

We exchanged our video recording and phone numbers at the airport. We also saw YG dancers came out from the international arrival hall after BB had left. My forum buddy coxed me into going to the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel with her car! Hahaha..it was not even in my itinerary to go to that extend, seriously! Traffic was really heavy during lunch time. When we arrived at the hotel we couldn’t see the SUV, only the crew’s van. We asked some girls waiting outside but they heard BB will go straight to the stadium for sound check and only their crew has arrived at the hotel. 

Pre-KMW Concert - Merdeka Stadium 

Yup, our next pit stop was the Merdeka Stadium (venue for the KMW Concert). Though I doubt the boys will go straight for sound check before their lunch, we just had to try our luck. And this time, lady luck was not on our side. We were told that they will only come for sound check at 5pm. I didn’t follow this dear friend afterwards since another group of friends were waiting for me. (I met a lot of new friends because of BigBang! Yeay!). A lot of people already started camping outside the stadium! Some were distributing tickets and selling merchandises. I saw a big banner from Bigbangisvip fan site with Daesung’s, TOP, Seungri, GD & Tae Yang's pictures on it! Malaysia will wait for all 5 of you..  

Since it’s still early for the sound check we decided to go pick up another friend and get ready for the concert tonight. Oh my god, the waiting was nerve wrecking. Just a few hours more to go and I will be seeing GD & TOP and Seungri performing live!

Last Ramadhan : A reminder to myself

It’s the last fasting day for Muslims today. Masyaallah, how time flies! I had set a goal to make this Ramadhan a month full of ibadah (good deeds) and self-controlled (from lust and desire) starting from day one. But I must admit that it is very easy for you to go off track and deviate from your original plans.

When you are not allowed to consume food from sunrise to sundown, you get tired, sleepy and bored very quickly! Instead of reading the Holy Quran, praying or reading books you went to couching in front of the TV or surfing the internet for hours. Such a waste, isn’t it? But then, when some senses came knocking on you head again, you’d kicked your butt off to find something better to do. At least, not slacking or idling. Oh! It is such a waste to let any day in the month of Ramadhan passes by without full utilization.

In the month of Ramadhan, all the reward for our good deeds are doubled. The reward for voluntary prayers will be like that of performing an obligatory prayer. The reward of an obligatory prayer will be doubled. Grab this opportunity that has been blessed upon us, the followers of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (source: http://www.muis.gov.sg/)

It is very hard to tame the heart, but that is not an excuse for us to not trying and making an effort. I have always believed in starting small, but with ample effort and persistence. It is never too late to start, as long as God still permit you to breathe His air. As you learn and comprehend the true hikmah (benefit) behind everything that happened and everything that you need to do, it helps to discipline your own good self, apart from religious obligatory. Without doubt you will find yourself doing it voluntarily, not by forced. Insyaallah.

Ramadhan is bidding us goodbye very soon..It's very sad to be parted, but with God's willing, may we meet again many years to come..Insyaallah..

AL SADAQAT AL JARIYAH – THE ACTIONS WHICH OUTLIVES YOU..

SADAQAH JARIAH – KEBAJIKAN YANG TIADA PENGAKHIRAN..

 1. Berikan al-Quran pada seseorang, dan setiap dibaca, anda mendapatkan hasanah
Give a copy of Quran to someone and each time they read from it, you will gain hasanaat

2. Sumbangkan kerusi roda ke hospital dan setiap orang sakit menggunakannya, anda dapat hasanah
Donate a wheel chair to a hospital and each time a sick person uses it, you will gain hasanaat

3. Berbahagi bacaan yang berfaedah dengan seseorang
Share constructive reading material with someone

4. Bantu Pendidikan seorang anak
Help in educating a child

5. Ajarkan seseorang sebuah do’a. Pada setiap bacaan do’a itu, anda dapat hasanah
Teach someone to recite a doa. With each recitation, you will gain hasanaat

6. Berbahagi CD Quran atau Do’a
Share a doa or Quran CD

7. Libatkan dalam pembangunan sesebuah masjid tenaga atau harta
Participate in the building of a mosque thru wealth or strength

8. Letakkan pendingin air di tempat umum
Place a water cooler in a public place

MARHABAH YA RAMADHAN..

Tanah Abang, Jakarta

Salam and howdy uollz?? Tim is back in the house! It’s good to be back. Can’t believe that I’ll be missing Malaysia this much after only a mere 3 days in the neighboring country! Ngee……..

Okay, let’s talk about my recent trip to Jakarta, Indonesia. It was a sudden request from my friend, in early of June. She needs somebody to accompany her to buy her wedding stuffs in Jakarta. She can’t go with her fiancé, coz it’s not very appropriate ya know..Why Jakarta? Well, I have no idea myself. But many people have said that we can get a good quality of fabrics and cheap wedding goodies in Tanah Abang, Jakarta. As for me, I just need a vacation! Jalan-jalan cari makan, (sight seeing and food quest). 

Since it was an unplanned trip, I didn’t allocate any special fund in advance for shopping spree or luxury, so I try to keep it as low budget as possible. I took the night train on Monday to KL Sentral and arrived at midnight. Couldn’t get any sleep as the guy next to me was snoring like nobody’s business! Dang! Then, I spent a few hours again at the 24-hours McD outlet while waiting for the first shuttle bus to LCCT, which is at 3.30am. Accompanied by my non-stop Big Bang playlist on my mp3 player, a book from L.M. Montgomery, a cuppa coffee, and a box of fries and nuggets, 3 hours seems like a short period of time. I try to get some sleep in the bus, but I’m not really good at taking short naps. It makes me dizzy…Arrived at LCCT at 4.30pm, went looking for my friend (she took the plane from Penang earlier) and then continue to doze off in the surau for another hour. We took off with the morning flight to Jakarta at 7 a.m, and landed safely at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after 2 hours. My friend suggested taking the local town bus to Tanah Abang as we carried only 1 bag each. Haha! We did! I can’t remember when was the last time I took the local bus in my own town..

Arrived at Tanah Abang, but we had to walk quite a distance to the exact mall. There are so many malls here, I’m still confused what’s the difference between each of them. But we choose to stick to Tanah Abang Mall Block A and B., which has approximately 7 to 8 levels each! We had our lunch here, and then continued our journey by walking to find a budget hotel near the malls. I almost gave up, not because of the fatigue, but because of the uneasy feeling, and the staring from people by the roadside! Actually Tanah Abang is slump area (err, not sure if it’s the right word) or we called it as ‘setinggan’. Not that I’m being judgmental, but I really felt cautious all the time, hugging by beg tightly while looking for the hotel. Nothing like when I was in Bandung few years back, I just loved the place so much!  It felt so comfortable to be there.

Finally we reached Nusantara Hotel, ask for a room, and quickly check in without hesitation. Haha..the hotel was alright I guess. It’s a bit old, but clean, secure, and within our budget. So our journeys starts after we showered and finished our prayer, off to the mall for a quick scan and target which floor we should come back for the next day. That night, we went to a restaurant called Sate Padang just across the street from our hotel. We had murtabak, oxtail soup, and nasi padang. The taste was okay, but I’ve had better ones in Bandung, and even Malaysia! Of course, I wouldn’t dare trying the food sold by the road side..NO..NO..NO..

I only bought a few items like some scarves, blouses, and a sling bag. Oh, I bought a bangle too which I loves so much! But honestly, I don’t think things here are that cheap. I think Bandung is far better. But my friend, yikes! She was like a mad girl buying fabrics from every store she laid her eyes onto. Yes, I did help her to pick the fabrics for her solemnization ceremony, but when she keeps on buying stuffs which is not related to the wedding, that she thinks she could sell, I just gave up! I really did! I even stop talking to her coz she was so carried away! But she didn’t really care you know, making me waiting like zombie for 1 hour when she said she just wanna go grab a pair of prayer cloth, but end up with countless bags of fabrics again. Hahaha..I vowed to myself this is the last time I would go shopping with her! hahaha...

Well, we manage to find a salon near our hotel and went there after Maghrib prayer for a massage and hair treatment. It was damn cheap! Less than RM30! But then again, it’s no 5-stars service either. I guess it was okay. We didn’t go out for dinner, I was so exhausted, plus I couldn’t really digest the food there. It was dry, without the soup or gravy. So we end up eating instant noodle and instant Mochachinno! I went straight to bed after dinner.

On the last day, we had our breakfast in house. The usual mihun goring, nasi goring, telur goring (all Indonesian style) and banana. Off we go to Tanah Abang again, my friend continued her crazy shopping, and I end up yelling at her coz we had to check out before noon and she hadn’t pack her things yet! Haha..We had our lunch at another mall called Thamrin City, I dragged my friend to come here coz I insisted on buying a sling bag here, and of course she’s not very happy with that. I know she wanna continue her shopping spree at Tanah Abang.  Hihi…We took the bajai (tri-motorcyle) to get back to the hotel and then took a taxi to the airport. From only 1 bag, my friend ended up with 3 bags, 2 boxes, and 2 plastic bags. As for me, I still manage with 1 bag. We were quite early to arrive at the airport, there’s nothing to do but wait, read, and doze off a little. I had a conversation with a nice Philippine guy named Ep, sitting next to me while waiting for our flight. He’s going back to S’pore after a holiday in Vandung. Well he’s kinda cute, but I didn’t ask for his FB or neither did him. Hehe..Our flight was at 8.30pm, we arrived LCCT at 10.30pm (Indonesian time). When we passed the Malaysian Custom, the nightmare begins for my dear friend…she had to pay taxes for her stuffs! Hahaha…she was in an argument with the officer, and I choose to back off, I mean I’ve already reminded her about the taxes, but still she’s confident it’s gonna be okay. Well, I guess she’s wrong this time. After much argument, she paid RM70 for the taxes.

I went to the surau to get some sleep. We wanted to take the 3.30am shuttle bus to LCCT but my friend’s cousin was kind enough to drives us instead. My friend had to leaves some of her stuffs with her cousin, and travel back with her 2 bags. Hihi…It was actually so funny thinking about how determine she was! But still, I hope she will have a wonderful dress made out of the fabric she bought. I was very sincere when I agreed to accompanied her, even though there’s some bitter part included. But hey, friends fight all the time,  kiss and make up, right? Till next time….tata!

Intermission : My Innocent Obsession




Can you spot the similarities with my blog's layout?? :) :)
 

Intermission : Relationship with your God

Salam and hello! I'm off to Jakarta soon, no doubt next month's travellogue gonna be all about Jakarta, Indonesia baybeh!! So until then, I would like to leave you all with a fantastic post I came a crossed recently. It made me felt so humble, so please do share it peeps. It's never too late to make an effort, so let us try to be better Muslim everyday, Insyallah.

XoXo,
Tim.

I've talked a little bit about the importance of having a strong relationship with yourself, but essentially the most important relationship we will ever have is our one with God. He is the only one that we can truly rely on to be with us throughout everything, no matter what. It makes sense then that this relationship is one that we should nurture to ensure it stays strong and lasts (beyond) a lifetime.

One of the best opportunities to connect with God is in our daily prayers. The thing is though, to actually connect with God when we pray takes more than actually praying. It requires focus, concentration and preparation; we need our heart to be present.

As Muslims, we pray 5 times a day; however doing something this often, combined with the hustle and bustle of daily life means that it's a potential slippery slope from prayer being a connection to our Creator to an autopilot action that our minds disengage from.

Each prayer that we disengage from is a wasted opportunity. Your prayer is a conversation with God. He wants you to talk to Him. He listens every time we talk to Him. Don't miss that wonderful opportunity to connect with God again, to forget this worldly life for a few minutes and to wholly connect with the Almighty.

* One way to resist auto-pilot in your prayer is to change it up a bit.

Before you pray, choose the verses from the Quran that you want to recite, and make sure you know the meaning of it in your own language. You could make it a habit to recite different verses with every prayer

* Pray as soon as you can

When the time for prayer starts, pray as soon as you are able to. Don't leave it to the last minute - if you leave it then you'll more than likely be worrying about praying to get it done with, rather than connecting with God. If you pray as soon as you can, then you can take your time and really have a present heart.

* Read the tafsir of the verses you are planning to recite.

If you understand the bigger meaning behind those words, it will be easier to engage your heart with what you are saying

* Start your day with Fajr

Seriously, Fajr (the morning prayer) kicks butt. It's awesome. Praying when everything around you is still and quiet, when the sun has barely risen, when it's just you and God - that is the best way to start a day.

* Think about how grateful you are and all the blessings God has given you.

Before you start praying, you could list off your own Blessings & Loves in your mind and thank God for all of those things. How could we not focus on God, once we realise all that He has given us?

* Concentrate when you make wudhu' (ablutions).

I'm sure this is another wisdom behind ablutions before prayer - it prepares us not only physically but mentally as well. Instead of jumping straight from watching TV to trying to connect with God, we've got wudhu' in between to ease us into it. Think of it as a warm up - athletes always stretch before they play a game, and we too need to prepare ourselves before prayer.

* When you're finished prayer, don't move on straight away to something else.

If you had just caught up with your best friend, you wouldn't jump up and run off when it came time to say goodbye, would you? No, you hug each other goodbye, you talk about when you are going to catch up again, and you say how nice it was to be able to spend this time with them.

So likewise, don't jump off your prayer mat and rush to watch TV or make dinner. Talk with God a bit more - tell Him what you're doing until your next prayer to Him, ask Him for help or strength to make things easy. Thank Him for listening and being with you. Show Him your gratitude.

These are just a few things you can do to turn off that auto-pilot during your prayer and to put the controls back in your hand. It can be a challenge, but remember this:

On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear. [Surah Al Baqarah, 2:286]

It is possible to turn every single prayer into a connection with God, we just need to have faith and try.

Do you have any tips for turning off auto-pilot in prayer?

Post taken from: http://chloeingadesigns.blogspot.com/2011/04/soul-sparkle-turn-off-auto-pilot-in.html.