Sunday, 7th February 2010: We went to Melbourne city for our routine window shopping and eating out activity. Our destination was the all new Direct Factory Outlets (DFO) South Wharf next to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.
To get there we took public transports from Clayton. First, we had to take train to Southern Cross station. Then, we took tram number 112 which stopped opposite the Clarendon Street entrance of the Exhibition Centre. After that we had to walk before we reached our destination.
Outlets that we visited were Anaconda (outdoor activities stuffs), Guess?, Calvin Klein Jeans, Levis, Super Chef Warehouse and Adidas.

Tuesday, 15th December 2009: This year we joined Clayton North Primary School's excursion to the Melbourne Zoo.
We departed from the school at around 9:30 a.m by bus together with teachers and students. It was a fun 40 minutes trip.
We spent almost 5 hours in the zoo observing all kinds of animals. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit all areas because we need to go back at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, 5th December 2009: We went to Blue Hills Cherry and Berry farm to experience and enjoy a cherries picking activity. The farm is located in Silvan, at the foothills of Dandenong Ranges which is 40 minutes drive from our home in Clayton.


In about 2 hours, we managed to fill 2 buckets with cherries. Of course many other countless number of the cherries was eaten directly after picking by Anis, Aina and Arfah. The girls especially Arfah really enjoyed the cherries on that day.

Last Friday we celebrated Hari Raya Aidiladha for the third time in Australia. Our celebration started with Solat Aidiladha in Monash University Sport Complex together with other members of Muslims community around here. It was a short but well-organized event because that day was a working day.
After the solat we went to a close friend's open house at Clarinda where we ate nice home cook meals. Unfortunately, Anis couldn't join us because she didn't want to skip school on that day.
At 6 p.m we went to Dr. Aziz's house which was selected as a place for Malaysian Monash University Post-graduate students' Hari Raya Aidiladha gathering this year. Nothing big was organized, it was a potluck gathering where each family had to bring one meal. For us, we brought along with us a delicious Rendang Ayam.
We went home before Maghrib and that was the end of our Hari Raya Aidiladha this year.
To our family and friends in Malaysia, we would like to wish a very happy Hari Raya Aidiladha. Hopefully we will get the opportunity to celebrate the Hari Raya in the near future. Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha.

Tuesday, 3rd November 2009: We took the opportunity of Melbourne Cup (about Melbourne Cup) holiday to go to a party. No, it was not a party related to horse racing in a racecourse. But, it was a barbecue party conducted in Monash University.

On Sunday, 1st November 2009, one of our friends here in Australia went back to Malaysia for good. Although Azhar Mohamed Burhan, Normazla Ahmad Mahir and their 3 children just arrived here early this year, they had to go home ahead of schedule due to some personal reasons.
There is a truth in this saying: 'We are only able to plan, but God determines everything'. Anything that happens must have something good behind it.
The evening before the departure day, we visited them at their house to say goodbye and to wish them well in the future undertakings.
Hopefully, everything is going good in Malaysia for them now and they manage to continue with their daily lives as usual.

I read some where about one interesting fact about Big Mac, a famous burger from McDonald's. Unfortunately, it is not about the recipe or the nutrition information. But, it is about the Big Mac's price in different countries all around the world.
The price comparison is used informally to measure the purchasing power parity (PPP) between currencies. And the comparison is well-known as Big Mac Index which is published yearly by The Economist paper.

The index for the year 2009 was released on the last February which shows one interesting fact. The cheapest Big Mac can't be found anywhere in the world except Malaysia. Yes, the cheapest Big Mac is in Malaysia. The Big Mac has a price tag of USD1.70 in Malaysia, placing Malaysia in the number one spot in the most affordable Big Mac Index. No wonder McDonald's outlets in Malaysia are always full although during the economic recession time.
Meanwhile, the most expensive Big Mac can be found in Norway (USD5.79) followed by Switzerland (USD5.60), Denmark (USD5.07) and Sweden (USD4.58).
As of Australia, the Big Mac is sold with the price of USD2.19 per piece. Well, it is not so cheap and also not so expensive. Unfortunately, we still don't get any opportunity to buy Big Mac yet because as for now we can't find any McDonald's restaurant that serves halal burger.

Sunday, 27th September 2009: It was a time for us to visit one of the most beautiful places during spring season in Victoria, Australia. It was a place where we could see the magic of colourful tulips. We went to Tesselaar Tulip Festival to see hundred varieties of tulips. On the same day, there was a Dutch Weekend on the location where we could enjoy Dutch food, games and entertainment.
Unfortunately, we couldn't fully enjoy ourselves on that day because it was a cold, windy and rainy day.

Last Sunday we celebrated the first day of Syawal month; a month of celebration after successfully performing good deeds and fasting in Ramadhan. It is known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri and the celebration continues for the whole month.
We started the celebration of Hari Raya day by first going to a sport hall in Monash University Sport Complex at around 8a.m to perform Solat Aidilfitri together with other members of Muslim community. The hall was totally packed on that morning with everyone were wearing their most beautiful outfits. After the solat, everyone gathered outside the hall to have some complimentary drinks and foods. The moment was also used to wish Happy Hari Raya to each other and to take photos.
After that we went straight to the South-Eastern suburb Post-graduate students' Open House which we were also one of the co-hosts. Lots of foods there which included satay, soto, lontong, nasi briyani, laksa, mee goreng, lemang, rendang ayam, rendang daging and many kinds of kuih. We spent about 4 hours there doing nothing except wishing happy hari raya, eating and gossiping about latest news with friends.
The next stop was our friend house near Clarinda where we ate again. The main dish was pulut kuning which Anis and Aina really enjoyed it.
We went home before Maghrib and that was the end of our first day of Hari Raya this year. Next weekend we will go to another open houses.

Insyallah, we in Melbourne will celebrate the arrival of 1st Syawal this coming Sunday, 20th September. It is going to be the second time we celebrate Aidilfitri here in a foreign land. Although we have many Malaysian friends who are going to celebrate this glorious day with us but the celebration will never the same without our beloved family members in Malaysia.


As the end of Ramadhan is just a day away from all of us, we would like to take this opportunity to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all families in Malaysia especially in Klang and Batu Pahat. Not to forget family members who are studying in Moscow, Russia and Adelaide, Australia.

Kami memohon ampun dan maaf jika ada kesalahan, kekhilafan dan ketelanjuran yang disedari ataupun yang tidak disedari di sepanjang tahun ini.

We also would like to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all of our friends (school, university and workplace) wherever they are now. Hopefully they celebrate this coming Aidilfitri with full of gratitude and happiness.
Lastly, we would like to thank those who sponsored a set of beautiful baju raya for Anis, Aina and Arfah. Thank You Nanny and Atuk in Klang for the new colourful baju kurung. And Thank You Nenek and Atuk in Batu Pahat for the new attractive T-Shirts and Jeans. We really appreciate those baju raya and thank you again.

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI. MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN

Tuesday, 15th September 2009: After breaking fast, we attended Celebration Night event in the Clayton North Primary School to see the achievement of Anis and Aina in school for this term.
First, we watched the recording of Aina's presentation about her project on insect. She was well prepared and could give a good presentation in front of her classmates and teacher. It was surely a good achievement from Aina.

Then, we went to see class project by Anis which was about human's organs and body parts. She had to make a model of human's brain and also a short description of it. And Anis managed to show a good understanding of her project.
Before going home, we watched choir performances by students in the school hall. Anis and Aina were in the choir team and they gave a really fantastic show. They sang two songs and one of it was called 'We Still Call Australia Home'

This coming Monday, 31st August is Malaysia Independence or National Day. Malaysia has become an independent country for 52 years. I hope all Malaysians, whether inside or outside the country still remember this historic day and celebrate according to their own way.
But keep in mind to celebrate with events that symbolize love for Malaysia, not with something that has nothing to do with our Independence Day.

There is nothing more sad for a country when people do not remember her birth day. And must always remember that good or bad a country is determined by its people themselves. Never denigrate your own country and never insult its symbol, the flag.
Wish all Malaysians a very Happy Independence Day. May we all stay united.