my first stop in this eurotrip but last one in sightseeing list. actually i went to cork, ireland before returning to london, but didnt do any sightseeing there. just hung out with ameen, kucai n their friends. somehow no pics were taken

in london, we walked along river thames, on tower bridge and london bridge, saw (but didnt ride) the london eye, went into (but didnt buy anything from) harrods, watched a movie and a play "woman in white", saw the buckingham, big ben, the greenwich meridian line, etc. met up with more friends at a shisha place one night. tons of fun and them 'londoners' were awesome

from edinburgh, the three of us plus leman rented a car and went to manchester. stayed in a hotel near old trafford (fully paid for, thanks to someone i dont know) for a night to catch a liverpool football game at bolton. after the game, we visited some friends (mursyid, sharil etc.) in manchester. stayed a night at sharil's, then went to see the kop: anfield stadium. yep, i'm a huge fan of liverpool fc oh in case you're confused, manchester-bolton-liverpool are just half-an-hour's drive from each other

after italy, we went back to london. from there, alvin (the big indian guy) and i headed to edinburgh (he studies here). at edinburgh, we went our separate ways as i was greeted by wafi and zamir at the bus station. edinburgh is famous for its grandiose hogmanay street festival every new year's eve. for two nights, we hung out at the streets where parties and concerts were like crazy. my camera sucks at night, apologies for the hideous pics. we also went inside edinburgh castle and climbed up arthur's seat (a small hill) the morning before new year. fireworks that night was spectacular.

venice is a city above water popular for its gondolas and canals. unfortunately we didn't try the gondola ride. it was a tad cold and rainy. it's also famous as a shopping bazaar, mostly for jades and crystals and milano-brand (gucci, prada etc.) ripoffs. we mostly just walked around, crossing bridges, enjoying the view, breathing refreshing, salty ocean air. supposedly it's a romantic city. maybe i'll return here when i have someone to share romance with ngehehe

not many pictures were taken so i'm piling them in one entry

we stopped by to see the leaning tower of pisa before arriving at firenze (florence). there's basically nothing in firenze. after seeing some naked statues, we had dinner (more pizzas and pastas) then head out to milan the next day. milan is of course famous as the uber-high-class shopping center. old women in fur coats with dogs on leashes was a weirdly common sight, but we were never to quick to get a picture. surprisingly heavy snow hit milano. poor 'londoners' who'd never seen snow were excited hehe but that also meant we had to cancel trip to the famous lake como

a.k.a. the vatican city, the capitol of christianity. did you know it is actually a small country by itself, within the state of roma? i didn't til i got there. note the date: it's christmas, so it's packed with devotees. of course the new pope made an appearence. we also went to see the art museums but no pictures were allowed in them. if you've read "the da vinci code" you can see some of the paintings mentioned it in. a real eye opener. i actually istighfar-ed the whole time i was here. takut terpesong na'uzubillah..

my series of travels this year begin again, this time to europe. dropped down to london and meet up with friends who'd join me to rome the following day. we were saw everything that we could fit in three days: colosseeum, mouth of truth, spanish steps, various piazzas ( and of course tried original italian pizzas), monuments, structures and churches of which i forgot their names, and walked everywhere through the ruins of rome. learned a lot of history. great fun and informative.

i traveled a lot this year. even in the middle of school. it's thanksgiving break so some friends and i got together in philadelphia, PA before heading out to neighboring states. went to the place where rocky (sly stallone) did the jogging thing to 'the eye of the tiger' song and saw the liberty bell in philly. then strolled around in new york city. shopping at woodbury outlets. "gambling" at atlantic city. lastly went back to philly-a fancy dinner and just lepak2 before heading back to minneapolis the next morning. good times..

it's that time of the year again. some photos were taken a couple of weeks before raya to give adequate time for utusan to print a picture hehe. the rest were taken at st. paul convention center (where eid prayer were held) on the day of raya itself. there was a celebration held by persisma (malaysian student association) but somehow i am missing pictures of it. hm...

fine print says:
"under the surface trying to breakthrough
deciphering the codes in you"

brand new, only tried on for size. adult size S. us$30, still negotiable.