THE TREE OF LIFE, BAHRAIN

Ya kawan2, kita bersiaran lagi dari pulau Bahrain. Kali ni nak cerita pasal one of the attractions kat bumi Bahrain ni. The Tree of Life -- di katakan satu2nya pokok berakar tunjang yang hidup di atas padang pasir di Bahrain ni. Hidupnya yang subur dan segar tanpa sebarang sumber air (dan Bahrain cuma dapat hujan purata lebih kurang 10hari dalam setahun!), ianya telah menjadikan pokok ini sebagai salah satu natural wonders of the world. Ada fakta mengatakan umurnya dah mencecah 400tahun, ada yang kata 800tahun. Ontahlahh acikk pun tak tauuu akan bila birthdate-nya pokok bertuah tu!

Nak pergi ke tempat ni memang penuh dengan challenge. Walaupun cuma mengambil masa kurang dari sejam untuk kesana dari Manama, 2 kali pergi kita sesat you, kali ke3 baru jumpa itu pun main speculate sendiri dan kali ke4, barulah puas hati! that was last friday, 23rd may.

Challenging tu bukannya apa, idakler kami kena rentas padang pasir naik unta 3, 4 hari surviving on canned food and dapur askar with penunu bunsen whatnots. Cumanya jalanraya di Bahrain ni kurang sesangat signboard nya!!. Berpusing2 kome mencari mencarinyerr. Nasib baiklah pokok nya besar dan tak jauh dari main road. Kalau cinonit, maunya 5 tahun carik pun tak jumpo!

AKAN TATAPI, lawatan muhibbah kali ini amat bermakna bila mana kami berkonvoi 5 kereta kayy. Ala2 explorace gitu. Lagilahhh amat bermakna dapat bentang2 tikar and makan2 kat padang pasir tuh. Banyak jugak makanan terhidang sampai tak terhabis. Macam2 adaaa. Siap cover breakfast for the next day kayyy. Kalau satu keluarga je, takde nye hingin kita berpicnic di situuu kan kak zaimah, kak era and cik ila???

SO, sudi2kanlah tengok gambar2 nih.. ponek dah eden menaip. Korang enterpretlah sendiri perihal pokok bertuah nih yekk sebab kat pokok ni takda sebarang plaque atau notis menceritakan kesah kewujudannya. Kalau graffity tu banyak-lahh.

YAY ! PAKNGAH DAN FISHBALL SUDAH MARI!!

My eldest brother a.k.a pakngah seremban together with my sister-in-law, their 2 boys and some other family members and friends came for a very short visit/transit while on their way to a 9-day Europe tour yesterday.

Being by ourselves in this foreign land far from home and relatives, it was sure a big day for us. With the help of two close friends, we managed to squeeze all the 17 of us in 3 cars for a brief seight-seeing around Manama City and the nearby districts.

After a self-guided and an "own interpretation" tour of the Bahrain Fort in Seef District, we rushed to the Al-Bukhari Restaurant, off the Exhibition Road, for an Arabian dinner experience. We had 3 sets of Bukhari and Mendi rice together with oven grilled and bbq chicken served in a big platter. An Arabian curry, bamiah and another type of vegetable ordered to add some gravy to our meal. Sorry guys, we do mutton the next round, okay?

We went to our flat in Hoora to complete the visit. And the fishballs and fishcakes brought all the way from Seremban did complement my mee kari, excellently!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALONG

It is KS's birthday, today. The 11th, to be exact! Moga jadi anak yang soleh dan berjaya di dunia dan akhirat.

HAPPY 38TH BIRTHDAY R.K.A

It is husband's birthday and as usual, i tried to have a cake for him, the least. So, this time around i had no choice but to walk to the nearest supermarket, Aswaq al-Awafi located about 800metres from our flat. I didnt mind the walking, really, but to walk under the very hot sun of 40celcius with KT in my hand, was a bit of a challenge.

Anyway, we made it to the supermarket within 15 minutes, bargained a BD10 cake to only BD7, grabbed a few other stuffs that were not in the shopping list (hehe, standard-lah kan?) and while wondering how on earth we could make it home, there was Cikgu Zaimah, for a resque! It was indeed a good-honda-accord ride home! I immediately hide the 2-kg fruit cake under the boys' bed praying hard that no single soul would find it especially the small tiny insects. Ahah, a surprise birthday cake was on its way, i thought.

So, husband came home at around 330pm and we had lunch as normal. I prayed again that little KT would not kompang that there was something edible hiding underneath the bed. It was almost 10pm when everyone was ready to go to bed when i quietly went into the boys' room, took the cake out, lit a few candles up, had the children with me and made our way to the living hall where husband was watching his favorite History Channel on OrbitTV.

"Happy Birthday to youuuuu"
"Happy Birthday to youuuuu"
"Happy Birthday to you, abahhhhh"
"Happy Birthday to youuuuuu"

We sang our heart out and i swear, it pitched right.

Husband placed the cake on the dining table, and let KT did the honour of blowing the candles off , cut the cake and thanked us all. Honestly, the cake tasted so-so but the fruits were superb! As everyone was enjoying the cake, husband, with his very selamba look made an announcement;

"Sebenarnya, saya dah nampak awak sorok kek ni kat bawah katil tadi", husband
"Eh, bila? macamana?", me, tak puas hati
"Tadi tu masa saya cari adik (KT), dan awak cakap dia kat dalam bilik!", husband

There went a day's hard work!

Sejak bila pulak kita cari anak kat bawah katil niii??? Benci tauuu!!!

THE ARAD FORT, BAHRAIN

It was a very quiet day yesterday and we didnt have much things to do at home. Suddenly, my 2nd son, KA suggested that we go somewhere on a higher level to test his newly bought binoculars. We got dressed and headed our way to Arad Fort which is located on Muharraq Island.

Situated near the Bahrain International Airport, Arad Fort was built during the 15th C, before the Portuguese invasion of Bahrain in 1622 A.D. Square in shape with a cylindrical tower on each corner, the Fort overlooks sea passages of Muharraq's shallow seashores. A breathtaking views of Manama City and the surrounding districts can be seen clearly from the towers. As for KA, he managed to count the numbers of mosques around the Fort, and there were about 22 of them altogether.