THE PARCEL THAT ARRIVED ONE DAY EARLIER BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY

  

   9TH OCTOBER 2026    ~ A parcel arrived one day earlier before my birthday and it was from Puan Hazlina Aziz, another friend from UPM TESL Class of 1993 group. Thank God she messaged me to ask whether the package had arrived so I did not have to find out who the sender was on my own.

Thank you, Puan Hazlina. Only Allah may repay your kindness.

THE BIRTHDAY LUNCH AT TEA GARDEN

   10TH OCTOBER 2026    ~ Even though I already informed my gastronomic adventure buddy there was no need any celebration for my birthday, he still insisted that we went out for lunch. Despite the fact that I was still full from the feast at the wedding reception before meeting him [READ HERE], I did not want to let him down. I suggested we just went to Tea Garden Restaurant in Taman Nusantara and hopefully there would be something light for me to eat.

Unfortunately, there were many items on the menu that we wanted to order were not available, like the Portuguese Egg Tarts and Fried Radish Cake.

I opted for Fried Kuew Teow while Mr. Redzuan chose to have Fried Rice.

Thank you Mr. Redzuan for the birthday treat. Birthday or no birthday, the gastronomic adventure must go on.

INTRODUCING SS9 TO GUESTS FROM SHAH ALAM

    10th OCTOBER 2026    ~ Mr. Ridwan A. Wahid, Puan Suhaila Sulong and their daughter, Ms. Reihana, were back in town. We decided to meet up for dinner and this time I wanted to introduce SS9 Food Court to them.

We just had the usual food selections and it was a relief that they had positive reviews of the choices made. Puan Suhaila wanted to come back to this place to try the Rice Porridge next time.

The gastronomic adventure would commence the next morning for breakfast at another new place [for us].

ATTENDING THE WEDDING RECEPTION OF THE SON OF DATIN LATIFAH A. GHANI

   10TH OCTOBER 2026    ~ I received an invitation from Datin Latifah A. Ghani to the wedding reception of his so. It was very thoughtful of her to still invite me even though I could not make it to the first reception of the family before this. Besides, I had never taught in the same school with her but we were still acquainted.

The event was held at Danga Bay Convention Centre. It was my first time going there and was not actually aware of its existence.

As usual, there were a few people whom I recognized - ex-colleagues of SMK Taman Universiti and SMK Mutiara Rini, English teacher friend and officer from District Education Department.

I got to thank Puan Latifah again for her kind thought of sending out the invitation to me. Congratulations to Datin Latifah and family on the arrival of the new member and hope to be invited again for similar event in the future.

THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE: SEARCHING FOR TERRACOTTA ARMY IN XI'AN - PART 3

CONTINUATION OF PART ONE AND PART TWO

   4th SEPTEMBER 2026    ~ The best time to visit the Terracotta Army in Xi'an would be during the weekdays I supposed. We were there on Saturday during summer, and everybody seemed to be going out at the same time. I had to squeeze through the crowd and find a gap nearest to the excavation area to get a better view of the clay statues. At the same time, I needed to make sure I would not be separated from my tour group.

Some interesting facts about Terracotta Army:

• It was made by Qih Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China.
• The clay statues were constructed to guard the Emperor in his afterlife, a traditional Chinese custom and belief.
• The remnant was first discovered in 1974 when a farmer was digging a well in his farm.
• There are over 8000 Terracotta warriors in the museum, with the average heights of 180-190 cm.
• The Terracotta warriors are unique as each statue has a unique face with different facial expression.

This is a once in a lifetime trip for me, and I am glad to see the remnants of the past civilization that have been unearthed for people of the present.

[MY XI'AN TRIP MAIN PAGE]