Graduation Day

It's been almost two month since my return home from my mini Euro expedition. I cannot deny encountering a massive Europe hangover after being back in Malaysia. Reality check!!! My return home had put me in dissatisfaction as my journey to take on the world seemed to be unattainable due to the 3rd world country we reside in. But of course nothing is impossible yet only time was required.
I had been down for more than a month, desiring to be in back in Europe or elsewhere rather than stuck practicing something that im not interested in. Pressure mounts me as peers and family had questioned why am i not working yet? Well how can i be someone that i am not? How can i proceed to do something that i am not passionate in? Im done pretending what that i am not!!!
Graduation Day had just went by. After 5.5 years of studying, i conclusively received my Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (hons). I do not regret taking this course hence of the exposure that i had, the people that i met, the life experience thay i gained and most of all it had sharpened my mechanical mind only to discover what i really wanted in my life. All in all, i did it for my beloved parents as they had been supporting me through the years. Once, about half way through my years in UNITEN, i had requested my dad that i could not take anymore of this course as it was getting more complex and complicated. My dad responded with full of support and just saying just to finish off my degree. Since that day, i vowed to complete it. From that i learned to complete what i had started and my determination to hold on to a commitment. An advice from my academic advisor had changed me into whom i am today. She told me to expand my network within my course so i can achieve better or at least to survive with my academics. I had been less conservative since then, and had consumed more knowledge from others by forming a study group and finding tutors among friends, in my definition 'Parasite'. It may sounded negative, but the friends that i had made i would cherish forever as a way to say thank you. I would say half of my degree belongs to my friends that had helped me along the way in accomplishing the certificate that i have today.

Some would ask why did i go through with it? Well there was no one to blame, only to say that i was fickle minded and indecisive of what i want during those period of days. Growing up as the youngest boy in the family, most of my decisions had been made since during preschool. perhaps i was too pampered to know what i want or perhaps i was not revealed to other fields beside science related. Yup, i grew up in the 90's era where science in Malaysia was growing fast and seemed to be the only way to be successful in life as opportunities had widened. Even during my secondary school, for those who did not yet made a choice and had a good result for PMR were put in the science stream classes automatically.
Alhamdullillah that Ramadan had cleared my mind spiritually. I only need to believe and to be patient to achieve my real goal in life. After conversations with friends, wise individuals and observations, i can only understand that i need to execute with what i want in life to be happy ever after. Only time will tell. And after all that, it all came down to qualifications and experiences in the related field, which i had none, only personal experiences which was not presentable enough. And without that, money was always the factor. So therefore, i may need to get a decent job for a year or two to build the foundation of my dreams. One step at a time. It's healthy to have a plan rather than those that does not have any. InsyaAllah i can achieve it.

Euro trip: Milan (Italy) - Paris(France) - Den Haag (Holland) - Amsterdam - Brussels (Belgium) - Back to London

My Euro trip came down to the final part of the journey despite having more cities in more countries to be explored. My time in Switzerland had left me passionately attached as I embraced my exploration to Milan, Paris, met parents from Malaysia in Den Haag, Brussels and back to London for my return ticket home.

Day 26
Andy had left for work that morning following our goodbyes to each other. I carried on sleeping for a couple more of hours and packed my bags just before noon. I reserved a night train from Milan to Paris the day before. My prepaid ran out of credit and my communications to my contacts were only by public phone. I left Zurich at 1pm and reached Milan about 4+ pm which had left me around six hours to bewilder around in one of the world capitals of design and fashion city. The grace of refinement and beauty in manners of the Italians had alienated me to a total tourist. The Gucci handbags, the Prada shoes, the Armani suit, the Versace perfumes, you name it... it was visible of my surrounding. Approaching the Cathedral, I went through a passage surrounded with shopping malls, inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which was covered over by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for 19th-century arcades. I continued my walk searching Da Vinci museum but to my disappointment it was closed by the time I was there. The sunset in Milan had slowly illuminated by the shopping and street lights of the elegant city which had left me perceiving the scenario before leaving to Paris.



Day 27
I shared a room with two Argentineans and a random Arabic speaking fellow in a room with six beds hanging beds, three on each side. My night train had brought me to Paris in the morning. I had wasted for more than 3 hours going farther away from the Eiffel Towel until I realized it was only 25 minutes away by metro train. I had only chosen two locations due to shortage of time, the Eiffel Tower and Art De Triumph. I had been to Paris before but that was 14 years back with my family and one place that I was astounded with was the Art De Triumph, where the insane fast cars without traffic lights roundabout. I rushed for the train to Den Haag at 3.35 only to miss it since I didn't do my reservation to cross country. We took the next train an hour later and reached Den Haag around half past eight. Couldn't find any public phone and didn’t remember the name of the street of my hostel reserved room. I arrived at the train station and the first thing that was on my mind to find for Scheveningen beach as that was my only remembrance of where the Jorplace, my accommodation for the next three nights. Reached my dad by public phone once I’m Scheveningen and he told me to look for Kaiserstraat the street where Jorplace hostel. I met my sister again but this time with Don, as I checked in for my room with Don. After perceiving the sunset, we sent Doya to Ambassadors hotel nearby Centrum which was 20 minutes away by tram, where my parents had stayed.



Day 28
Pa had some consultation to get an agreement with the Dutch relating to Palm Oil. Whiles Ma, Ma's friend, Doya, Don and I gathered at the Ambassador hotel as we went for window shopping at the shops and malls in Centrum which was nearby.



Ma had showed us Noordeinde Palace which was one of the four official palaces of the Dutch royal family. Pa had studied there for his masters in business when it was the Institute of Social Studies, based in the north wing of the palace between 1952 and 1976. Ma and her friend had separated with us as she went for shopping and Doya, Don and I went for lunch with a friend of a friend of mine in UNITEN. Feisal had lived in Den Haag since he was born and was a teenage friend of my course mate, Faizal who had lived in Den Haag before furthering his studies in UNITEN. Feisal came with her younger sister and had conversed with another two friends for the lunch. A bomb threat had arisen outside the restaurant as the waiter informed us that the police did not let anyone out as they safeguarded the place only to find out it was a false alarm.

Soon later, Feisal had showed us a little more of the town as we walked to the tram station. Doya and Don went to Moduradom (miniature Holland buildings) and as for me; I went back to Ambassador Hotel to reunite with Ma and Pa. Before night falls, Ma and Pa had brought us walking along the beach of Scheveningen heading to the house where they had lived 35 years back. Ma and Pa were extremely happy as they had presented us down their memory lane with new unfold stories of their past. The year was 1974 when Ma and Pa married and lived together for the 1st year in Scheveningen at the age of 24 (and now I’m 24 doing this???) and was impregnated of Elal about a year later (No wonder he loves the Dutch football team.




Day 29
I was in Amsterdam with Don and Doya approximately to 3pm and met Azfar again minutes later. Azfar went from Rome to Milan to Paris to Munich and to Amsterdam after the split. We used the tram to get inside of the town. We walked around town with some miss direction searching for the one museum that Doya wanted to go to. We bought souvenirs at the hard rock cafe and went to the park next to the Van Gogh museum for a photo session with the 'I amsterdam' sign. Vondelpark was a few kilometers away, so we wouldn’t want to miss that, as it had an average of 10 million visitors yearly. We had a night walk just after sunset just to sneak peek a delicate bit of the nightlife before we went back to Den Haag for the night. Sent Doya to my parent’s hotel and said my goodbye to my parents and Doya as we couldn't meet up the next day and I had to overnight in Brussels to catch my return morning train the day after.





Day 30
I was supposed to meet Azfar in Amsterdam before going to Brussels but he went off just before I reached Amsterdam. I had a little walk around the town for the last time whiles waiting for the next train to Brussels. After four hours train ride, I finally arrived in Brussels at 8.25pm. I only had a few hours of the sun before the night falls. Azfar had picked me up at the station and brought me to a famous park with administration buildings nearby. Just before dark, we walked towards the town and stopped by for some dinner, before enjoying the night life in Brussels. We checked in a random hostel exactly next to the main train station so we wouldn't miss the train next morning at 7.59am.





Day 31
We were on time for the morning train and arrived in London about 10am. The initial plan was to meet Nafeez in Portsmouth, but Nafeez had to work for the rest of the day, so we preferred to be in London to finish off our remaining cash before our return flight. We had lunch at Malaysian Hall which I just realized how lovely it was to have Malaysian food after not having a taste of it for the last two weeks. I met a schoolmate of mine Liza. Adah brought me to Oxford street soon after for some shopping. I had a dinner again at Malaysia Hall. Met Ema, an old friend and met some of Raja's family, my neighbour. It's the weekends and Malaysian Hall canteen was the preferable place for a meal. We slept at Jeff's place for the night, as Hadi (Jeff's housemate) had entertained us before bedtime.

Day 32
I started my day searching of Craven Cottage as I had to get a Fulham jersey on my brother's friend request. It took me two hours until I had found the only shop that sells the jersey which was a few kilometers away from the stadium and only to find out that it was closed on Sundays. I met Jeff at 4.30pm as he was from Northampton from his working place. Again, had my dinner at Malaysian Hall and this time I met Farahana.

Day 33
Jeff brought us around town with his company car. It seems that having a car in London was really expensive as you have to pay for congestion in central London, parking which can be expensive and of cause the fuel cost. First we went to Malaysian Hall again for lunch. Then we went to Putney Bridge where I had to get Fulham jersey. Soon after we went to a shopping mall as Jeff had meeting to deal with. Azfar and I had left London Paddington at around 6.30pm heading to London Heathrow for our return flight at 9.10pm.

Euro trip: Zurich - Luzern - Locarno - Lugano - Gruyere - Bern - Rheinfall - Uetliberg (Switzerland)

One of my foremost time in the course of this exploration i would say Switzerland!!! In Switzerland, i spectated the Swiss-German, Swiss-Italian and the Swiss-French parts of Switzerland. Besides that, the people in Zurich which i had only met once or twice before were superb as they had treated and exposed me around Switzerland with full of hospitality. Special thanks to Allahyarham Michael Isaac Sarajuddin and my good friend Khalid (Michael's cousin) who had introduced me to these people in Malaysia.

Day 19
Due to the cancellation of the night train, our alternate route was to Zurich. By this time, i didnt had much rest because the alternate train was with standard sitting not the night train where they had bunk beds. Our train reached Bern at around 6am and therefore we had to transit to another train to Zurich which was an hour away. Andreas Caduff (Andy) picked me & Azfar at the Zurich airport that morning and brought us to his place in Lufingen which was ten minutes away from the airport. Had coffee at Andy's place and slept for a few hours. It was a cloudy day in Zurich but what I am seeing was simply tremendous as Andy sneak peek us of the largest city in Switzerland. Andy brought us nearby the lake of Zurich where we scattered around for pictures.

Day 20
After settling down and having a long sleep, Andy had brought us to Lucerne which was about a hour drive but it took us longer as the main roads were shut. The appeal here had been the 204 metres Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) which was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge was a series of paintings from the 17th century, depicting events from Lucerne's history. It was constructed in 1333 crossing the Reuss river that connects the Lake of Lucerne. We walked across the bridge, beside the lake, into the town where I am surrounded by aged and modern buildings.



Day 21
The cheerfully sun had waken me up for my Swiss-Italian exploration. Azfar decided to go his way that morning, as he wanted to spend more time in Italy. He had a friend in Milan and was planning to head for Rome. Andy and I had parted with Azfar at the train station as he went to Bern before heading Italy. Auntie Ruth (Michael's mom) had joined us for the tour for the southern Italian part of Switzerland. So we took the train to Locarno, a three and half hour journey. To my astonishment, the alterations of the German buildings to Italian buildings which occurred after going through the mountains of the Swiss alps which separated the two sides. First, we had some drinks at Piazza Grande, Locarno which was the place for important film festival commemorated every year, the Locarno International Film Festival.
Then we went to Swiss minitour at Mirende, nearby Lugano. Swiss minitour was the emplacement where i saw the various great buildings in Switzerland in miniature form. Before heading back to Zurich, we expended some time in Lugano where the atmospheres were totally contrast from Zurich, i signified more Italianate. Lugano lies at the edge of Lake Lugano, which is situated between the lakes Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como, south of the Alps. Besides the lake, Lugano is surrounded by mountains. The mountains provide several opportunities for sports or sightseeing.






Day 22
Another sunny day for us to explore the Swiss-French side of Switzerland. Andy drove me and Aunt. Ruth to Gruyeres which was a hour and a half away and we went to the Castle of Gruyères located in the medieval town of Gruyères, Fribourg, was one of the most famous in Switzerland. The building was built between 1270 and 1282, following the typical square plan of the fortifications in Savoy. The castle itself was on one of high peaks in Gruyeres and the place surrounding the castle was like an old village which was maintained for tourism. We had tour inside the castle and was mesmerized by the architecture and lifestyle they had during the medieval days. Gruyères also known for their cheesy cheese.



At 5pm we arrived at Bern which lies in the Swiss plateau within the Canton of Bern, somewhat west of the center of Switzerland and 20 km north of the Bernese Alps. The landscape around Bern was formed by glaciers in the last Ice Age. The city was originally built on a hilly peninsular surrounded by the river Aar but outgrew these natural boundaries in the 19th century. Several bridges were built to allow the city to grow beyond the Aar. The buildings were outrageously splendid as we went pass the Zytglogge clock tower and the city's medieval covered shopping promenades.





We planned for Basel but couldn't find the time to do so, instead we met Simone back in Zurich about 9pm. Simone & Andy took the same course with Michael and went to the same school during their college years. We had some drinks and Andy uncovered me a bit of the nightlife in Zurich. I drove for the first time in Europe (on the left hand side) sending Aunt. Ruth to her house and went back to Andy's to sleep.

Day 23
The weather wasn't on our side as it was a rainy day. We had something to eat at Andy's parent house where I met his parents and his youngest sister. By 3.30pm we met Simone as we planned for the Rhine Falls, the largest plain waterfalls in Europe. The falls are located on the High Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich. After Andy parked his car, we had to walked with our umbrellas and drenched shoes to capture the perfect view for me. The weather played a role on the moods of the Swiss. Simone said that it would be much beautiful on a sunny day but for me it was beautiful enough on a rainy day. After having some drinks, we head back home to Andy's and minutes later we sent Simone to the airport as she head back her house by train.



Day 24
Today I spent my time in Zurich contrastingly. Andy had to work.I met Simone at the train main station. She arrived with her bike which was her common transport for her and other citizens of Zurich (and most of the European towns). So she recommended me to ride along with her around with a bicycle around the town of Zurich. The bicycle that i had used was for free as we only need to pay the deposit. Another great experience, cycling inside the town of Zurich. Simone brought me to her friends house Simon for some coffee. It was a cloudy day but sometimes the sun would show up. Simone, Simon and I decided to cycle to the lake of Zurich and go on the Pedallo (Pedal boat). So we did just that, rent a Pedallo and went cycling (water cycling) to the center of Lake Zurich and simply just chill whiles enjoying the sightseeing of Zurich. Later that evening we went to Simone's house for her homemade Pizza whiles waiting for Andy to pick me up.






Day 25
After having lunch at a famed vegetarian restaurant, Hiltl, i went to Üetliberg which is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to 873 meters high. The Uetliberg offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich and the Lake of Zürich. The tram ride from Zurich was about 20 minutes away. Later that evening Andy cooked for me and Aunt. Ruth dinner which was delicious as it was my last night in Zurich. I am gratefully happy for my stay in Switzerland as these people had really brought me into the life of Zurich and Switzerland. Thank you Andy, Simone and Aunt. Ruth for the lovely time.