I acknowledge my feelings.

I acknowledge  my feelings. I’m not going to hide it anymore. I’m mad. I’m sad. I’m happy. At this age, I really don’t care the way I present myself to everyone else. I used to be crazy about wanting to be seen as strong and perfect, without flaws. But now, I acknowledge that I’m sad. I carry myself through the day with smiles and high enthusiasm WHILE being sad and I don’t think anything is wrong with that. That’s how I should live. Gone are the days that I compensate sadness with being bitter, egoistic and vengeful. I stopped trying hard to project my feelings to people so they would notice and sympathize and got my back. I stopped seeking for other people’s validation. If I fucked up, I fucked up. I’ll have no regrets and I’ll learn through it. I don’t pretend anymore. I acknowledge that I’m mad, confused, frustrated and lonely. But above all, I’m okay. I’m fine. I can carry myself and the weight around while doing my jobs. I have myself and The Almighty always got my back. I know that everything is going to get better as the time goes by, with changed of season and faces. Tonight, I’ll cry while burying my face on the sejadah. I’ll weep and I’ll hold no more. I’ll let all my sadness flow with the tears and I’ll tell Him and only Him, the solution giver. Then I’ll rise and continue about my goals. There’s no turning back and downfall era for me in acknowledging my feelings.

Short story | We met again

We met again,

I thought.

The hall was filled with wave of people gallivanting around, happy faces occupying every corners of the hall. Some with a half full glass on one hand and ‘kuih’ on the other hand, while talking to the other person. You were among others, were just sitting there with plain face.

I wonder what runs in your head.

I picked another piece of ‘kuih lapis’ and took a small bite before putting it back on my plate. Then, I stole another glance at you.

You dressed nicely like you always do, cross-legged and composed. I looked beside you and of course, you were sitting next to your best friend.

Best friend.

A term used for platonic relationship we used to have. That time when I was once your best friend.

At this moment, I felt the entire thing around me- the people, the decorations and the hall melt to spaces and I was taken back into our small bedroom. Dark and silent.

We were laying down on our single beds, 1 meter from one another.

You giggled in between silence and continued talking about your dreams, the boys and us.

“One day when we both get married with the man of our dreams. Let’s open a clinic together. We’ll make our husbands join us too!”

“You dreamed of getting married with doctors? What are you going to talk to each other over dinner?” You giggled again.

I can’t help giggling too as my eyes get watery.

“I don’t know. Probably about an 80 years old uncle with acute appendicitis asking for my number for a date during my ward rounds.”

“HAHAHAHAHA”, we both burst into laughter.

Your laughter was once so addictive. You would slam your one hand against the bed several times while laughing on top of your lungs and took a high pitched inhalation after every laugh.

I haven’t get to appreciate that laugh for the longest time.

Time passed by like water running out of the tap.

We’re where we are now, not knowing a single update about one another, and not even making effort to change that. We’re stuck.

Are we really stuck? Or we chose to be this way since keeping ourselves apart keeps us from bickering and having dispute with each other?

I got back into my senses and took my glance back to look at the bridal dais.

We’re at our friend’s wedding and she’s really beautiful with her charming husband, both laughing and looking into each other’s eyes affectionately. It was a wonderful wedding.

Someday, it would be our turns and I wonder if we’ll do as what we planned.

That small, half-jokingly but sincere and almost-forgotten plan.

Or are we just going to meet at every crossed paths for a while and carry on our life as if we never had that plan?

At that moment, I could feel a glance from you.

I hope we’ll meet again one day, I whispered.

How To Pass The Professional Exam (Pre-clinical) in CUCMS

2 weeks following the day my professional exam was announced, I am so eager to share everything I know- preparatory wise to how the actual exam day goes. Before I begin, can have a chance to rant on how relieved I feel after passing the exam as it was the biggest one after SPM- 1 week, 4 papers and entire syllabus of year 1 and year 2 medical degree, just to qualify your eligibility to enter clinical years successfully. As I'm usually an average scorer, I affirmed myself that passing the papers would be the ultimate goal but little that I know of my capability that on the result announcement day, my name was ranked 7th in the batch, right after the top 6 names were announced as distinction receiver. HAHA. So sad because how close I was to distinction but I was more surprised/ shocked/ astonished and all the vocabulary there is to describe how I felt on that day to be ranked so highly that way. Anyway, I'm going to share what I did preparatory wise and I'll include some of what my friends practiced as well, some tips, do's and don't and probably most of the things that you need to know on how to pass the exam. let's jump right into it.

Long term preparation

1. Form study group earlier in 1st year.

This is an important initiator for the pro exam preparation. I know that some people may not suit themselves in study groups because they prefer to study alone but in terms of efficiency, you are able to discuss critically and finalize the concepts more accurately, gets more push, less distractive and higher chance to learn from other people's curiosity. Who knows, some questions that your group-mates point out during study group would come out in the exam, right? Forming a study group is also quite tricky as you have to find someone to give and take benefits both ways. In my opinion, you should find the friends of the same level of performance that you're comfortable with and some smarter friend who could help correct if there is any misleading concept on certain topics. It's also okay to be changing circles until you find the group that you can benefit and learn the most from.

2. Be organized.

Compile all your notes, extra infos (that was not written in the lecture notes) and bookmark of topics that your lecturers told to really focus on in one place. Provide a ring binder file for every system and 

create a divider for the lecture notes, case study and PBL. This will come handy for your revision as you won't have to swarm through hundred of papers mixed up all together. Another tips that I have is to buy an Ipad, any model with an Apple Pencil in which you can write all the additional info on your digital lecture notes, not having to print it and carry papers around. I saw a lot of my friends using it, enjoying it and finding it more easier to have all their notes in one place and accessible anytime via the icloud.

3. Get enough rest in between studies, eat healthily and find a way to sweat a bit.

I can't stress enough how important this is for yourself in long-term run. Cramping topic by topic until it is well understood and on top of that, having to multi-task in learning new things in class are extreme sport. You could get tired and easily worn out that leads to what scares me most, the feeling of giving up. What I did was to write my to-do list- the topics that I'm most weak at and needed revision, lecture notes for next classes that I have to pre-read and then setting the deadlines so you're always aware of your tasks and the time you have. Once the deadlines are met, I allowed myself to go out for some hangouts, swimming with a friend or simply lay in bed and watch kdramas.

Less than 6 months to exam

1. Revise past systemic blocks one by one. 

Since CUCMS is quite unique as students are taught on a specific body system by block (1 system/month), we tend to forget to certain important things as we proceed to the next block. Therefore, it's important to go through the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pathology and microbiology of a system one by one and it's better to revise from the your own personal notes. And by go through, I don't read the lecture notes as if it was the first time I've seen it. It's more of flipping through the pages and recalling the important informations that has been repeatedly discussed as I put back the puzzles back to places. Also, don't forget to review the case studies and PBL.

2. Ask help from smarter friends. It's the season of note sharing.

I was lucky that my study group-mates are quite dynamic and tolerant in taking and giving knowledge. We were definitely not perfect but individually, each and one of us tried our best to benefit each others by sharing notes, mnemonics or explaining certain concept several times to other members until we understand clearly. We divided topics among us and when there are free times, we will gather and present the topics, came out with discussion and tried our best to grab the most amount of knowledge we could.

3. Don't procrastinate.

This goes without saying. Time flies so fast without you could even realize it so don't make it a habit to push your plan forward, thinking that you have several more months to pro exam. There are a lot too cover, too many details to remember and on top of that, you might also have to re-revise it in case you forgot some concept so make sure to make progress every day.

1 month to pro exam

1. Do past years. 

This is VERY VERY IMPORTANT. 80% of what came out in my pro exam was from past years with a little bit of twist on the questions and I can safely say that doing past years helped me build a chunk of confidence resulting me to pass the pro exam. Since CUCMS does not provide us with past years directly, our seniors helped to compile the questions and they were definitely high quality questions. You could also add some more information that you consider important from the lecture note, simply to get yourself prepared with a little bit more understanding.

6. Regularly practice OSCE . 

By this time, you most definitely has learned all the clinical skill trainings (CST) that you need to know in pre-clinical. Therefore, it's important to get used to doing the examination perfectly as you clear each step in the checklist. Practice the script or what you want to say to the patients and most definitely you can't just visualise yourself doing it. You have to perform it precisely on your mates before taking turn to reverse roles. Get used to several differential diagnosis too as it will also being asked during the exam.

6. Spend some time every week in the LRC (learning resource centre) and medical science lab to familiarize yourself with the body models, microscopic slides and pots that they could be using for OSPE.

5. Don't re-read every piece of lecture notes prior 1 month to exam. 

You've already know whatever there is on the notes. It's about time to look through critically by answering past year questions relating clinical correlates from a body system to another system. Based on my experience, it took A LOT OF TIME to finish the lecture notes of 1 systemic block, and remember, the amount of thing that you'll have to retain is a lot so spending too much time on a certain topic would lead you to overlook on other more important ones. Be systematic.

6. Team work

Remember the point I made about asking help from smarter friends? This time it's not just for yourself, it's for the whole batch too. As we approached the exam, we narrowed down some 'spots' that we expected to come out. Not that I would suggest you to make 'spots' because it's now always reliable but at least, if you can't remember everything, some topics are within your power to score. It's crucial to know that I have read and understand all the core knowledge in the syllabus but I focused on some topics more than the rest for this pro exam. How? The topics are sorted out from our PBLs, case studies and past years. Therefore, some of my batch-mates made an effort to write it on mahjong papers and stick it on the wall along the LRC for everyone to refer to. They practically camped out there- eat, sleep, read. Literally.

That would be it. I hope some of you could gain some ideas on what to do as the pro exam approaches. It's a big exam and the first leap you'll make into clinical year but please don't disregard your self-care and health. All the best and may you pass the exam with flying colours xoxo

Penang Trip: ESCAPE theme park

Last week, me and my sister went for a short trip to Penang during my 2-weeks holidays, which is the longest holiday I could get in a year, and in an attempt to keep my blog alive (yes, it truly needs a reincarnation), I would loooove to share some tips I took up from the trip. First of all, We were staying in Georgetown for 3 days 2 nights at a female-only hostel which is just a kilometre away from Jeti Pangkalan Uda. Our budget was around RM 20 per night for the accommodation that is very conveniently located and it was quite easy to fetch on the bus service (Rapid Penang) there if you're depending on public transportations. To make it easy for you to check on the provided transportation to your destinations, I would suggest the app 'Moovit'. It shows you the bus schedule and the accurate location of bus stops. This app is beneficial in other states too which are Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bharu. At the same time, make sure to check on Grab rates as some of the destinations wouldn't cost much and at times when you're catching up with packed tentatives, it would help a bundle.

In this particular post, I'm going to share mainly on my experience at the ESCAPE theme park, which is a fully operating waterplay + adventureplay that has opened for only about a year. It is the perfect place to release some stress while challenging your stamina and fright of height. We travelled to Teluk Bahang by bus at 8 AM (too earlyy) and reached ESCAPE theme park an hour later, giving us extra time to exchange clothes and rest for a while before it opened at 10 AM. The tickets are cheaper if you buy them online and could get cheaper if you buy it a week or a month earlier. Starting a few months ago, they also do not sell separate tickets for waterplay and adventureplay. You can check out this website for more info -> https://www.escape.my/

The theme park opens from 10 AM until 6 PM everyday except Monday and just like any other theme park, weekdays are the most favourable time to come here as there aren't as much people compared to weekends. If you're travelling here by bus No. 101 or 102, make sure to redeem the ticket money at the park entrance as the they provide free bus ride. Upon purchasing your tickets, there is a 5-digit code that you have to remember and is used for entrance, eWallet and for locker accessibility at all time. This is quite convenient because you won't have to carry cash or keys around.

There are a total of 23 attractions at the Adventure Play and 19 attractions at the Water Play. If you ask me whether it's possible to go to all the attractions without missing one, of course it is ! But only in non-existent state of people queueing and taking up most of your time :') The manager also told us that they are upgrading and working on some new checkpoints in a few months and will be operating within this year. So here, I'm going to list down hot attractions (based on my personal thought) that you shouldn't miss or should be given priorities.

Adventureplay

1. Monkey Business- This checkpoint consists of level 1/ 2/ 3 in order of difficulties. You have to finish the round by overcoming the obstacles mid-air. It was definitely an exhilarating workout and people usually take 45 minutes to 1 hour to finish the round. Pheww

Monkey business

2. Kite Flyer- Strapped on the huge kite with your partner, they'll let you fly from quite a height and it was sooo fun. This checkpoint takes a long time to queue, usually taking 15 minutes for every 2 people to put on the gears and it also take time for the kite to stop completely from swinging.

 Kite Flyer

3. Atan's Leap- This was labelled as 'Height Fright Eradication Zone' because you literally have to jump (of course with safety gears on) from a 20M platform. If you've done bungee jumping before, then this would be less scary but hell, it was so damn scary for the first 2 seconds to me.

Atan's Leap

4. Flying Lemur- This is similar to flying fox and if you feel like screaming on top of your lung and release some tension, this would be funnn. There is also flying fox game in monkey business but at lower height.

5. Family Trail- Here, you're going to be carried up the hill by Pajero car and you will have to cycle down. This is quite nerve-wrecking and fun at the same time.

6. Aerobat- I didn't go to this checkpoint haha but it's very famous and everyone seems to enjoy doing the games here. You are able to perform some tricks mid-air while being given a clear instruction by the staff there.

Aerobat

Waterplay

1. Banana Flip- Omg, this is literally the main attraction at the water play. It was a little terrifying as you are thrown mid-air before hitting the water. You need a proper landing to reduce the impact but nothing serious or scary, just funnn. They also hold a competition every day at 5.30 PM for anyone who would want to join and show their skill in doing backflip. The winner gets the exclusive 'Flipper of the Day' tshirt.

Banana flip

2. Family Twister & Tubby Rapids & Tubby Tunnels - These 3 attractions are about the same, sliding down on the tube while getting the thrill from the loops and beautiful scenery. The Family Twister has a record of the longest slide in the world, spanning 1 kilometre. It's very relaxing and enjoyable.

3. From left- the green one is Super Looper, next to it is the Mega Drop and the slides with blue, yellow and pink colour are the Speed Racer.

These slides once again test your ability to overcome height fright. It was definitely fun but I was very nervous several minutes before getting on the slides especially Super Looper and Mega Drop. They were insane ! My sister told me that the Melaka Wonderland has an even steeper and higher Mega Drop than this one. Not sure about that but I still enjoy it and they can take my 5 stars anytime.

I guess that's all for this post, I hope you would benefit a little from the informations shared here, probably a little more introduction to the theme park before you could experience it yourself. As much as I enjoyed playing the games, I hope you would enjoy them too ! 

Happy holidays! xoxo

Crush

"Stimulation of sympathetic system causes the production of epinephrine from the adrenal medulla and prolonged activation and binding of the hormone to adrenergic receptor would elicit the effects seen in fight or flight reaction", she mumbled while writing the statements in her notes.

She flipped to a new page, gripping her pen even tighter but this time it slipped off her hand again. She frowned when she realized how sweaty her palm has become.

"In what flight or flight situation am I in right now?', she asked herself with a sigh. She pretended not to know the reason why, gently opening the zip of her bag to take a piece of tissue out of its pocket and slowly rubbing it against her hands.

It has been 21 minutes, she thought. None of the notes on the table has attracted her more than a group of seniors sitting at the table in front of her. Her eyes were constantly trying to steal a glance at one of the figures.

She stopped when she felt blood rushing to her face, slowly gasping for more air down her respiratory tract, with her heart beating fast and the lung expirate faster.

'I must have gone mad', she pulled her glance away from that person who was just having a silent conversation with one of the friends, flashing the most innocent and pure smile.

'Should I sit comfortably or cross-legged ?'

'Am I being watched?'

'I want to get noticed but I'm not confident to get noticed, am I on my right mind?'

Her mind started speaking subconsciously at a rate of 100 thoughts/ min.

She started imagining what could have happen if she was just as attractive enough to be friends with that person. Could they talk comfortably and go out very weekends for a lunch together? Can she stare at that beautiful face as long as she wishes? Can she ask everything she wanted to know about each other? What about going to the most beautiful park, walking several rounds for some pretty shots together? Does she have to split bills for all the fun? She quickly brushed that one off, gladly convincing herself that she would do so as long as they're both happy. 

I'd give all I have to own that smile, she thought.

She raised her head once again and her eyes met with that person. 

"Gulp", she choked but her eyes were still fixed on the others. It was a gentle 1 second before that person pulled the gaze away first. She was still in shock but she tried to breath normally again.

'What was that? This is not happening. It's so embarrassing', she immersed her head under her papers. Her face has gone absolutely red. She felt hot and shaking. She could feel that other people in the library must have noticed her being weird so she slowly went back to her posture. 

She can't seem to forget the sweet gesture and charisma flowing through that figure. The image of all Hollywood's sweetheart heartthrob started crossing her mind but none match the beauty of that person sitting before her. Not even Chris Hemsworth. She lifted her head up again and realized that the person has left with the friends. 

'Ouh', she sighed.

And at the same time, she was also relieved. 

She started noticing other things in the library as she got back into reality.

Most of the tables are occupied with people who are engrossed into discussions, some of others are silently typing on their keyboards, looking serious while browsing through thousand of words on the laptop screen. 

She looked at the time on the wall and realized she was almost late for her next class. Packing up her stuff, she glanced back at the table in front of her before carrying her items out of the library. She walked hastily to the elevator and tried to get her conscience back. 

The initial plan to revise on her notes was ruined and she felt even more devastated that it's not even the first time it has happened. 

Her best friend once said, "sometimes, we confused our mind with the feeling of love over admiration. The person probably have a characteristic that we like and that explains the reason for getting so attracted to them. We haven't got to see more people in this world yet. It's fair to give our hearts a rest before it founds its true love, shall we?" 

'Crush? Probably not', she affirmed.

The elevator's door opened and there she goes again, hot and shaking but she still dragged her weakened limbs into the elevator.

Her heart went pit-a-pat again and her face blushed a sweet red colour. She idly fidgeted her fingers with her eyes pinned down on the elevator's doors. 

"Hey, urm.."

She turned around to the source of the voice and finally, looking at that beautiful face again although she had to crane her face upward to meet the eyes of the tall figure. She stunted and was a bit confused too.  Her mouth was closely shut, completely numb. 

"I just noticed you around.."

She listened to the words closely.

"Have you ever imagined your crush listening to your mind?"

Her face turned pale. With her frozen body, she wouldn't even blink once and tried to digest the current situation. 

"So you're saying that I'm a better looking than Chris Hemsworth?" The person smiled bashfully. "That would be a too masculine comparison for me, don't you think?" The person continued. "I don't even have facial hair", this time it came with a giggle.

The girl or the person who she thought was a boy looked at her with a grin, showing off half of the perfect teeth.

'I'm definitely out of my mind, am I? She even read minds?!' Her mind speaks up for her frozen lips while looking at the person before her. Right at that time, "Ting!", the elevator opened and she slowly slid backward and out of the elevator. 

The elevator was about to close before she saw the girl nodding while waving, she was still smiling bashfully.

From that day onwards, she never met her crush again. 

The rest was history.

Trip to Japan (Day 3-8)

I sort of celebrated my new year 2018 in Japan with my sister and a friend, Ali and I could say that the trip turned out a lil challenging but it has been fantastic! We went for the 8 days trip from 11-18th January, planning to discover the places in Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and Osaka. Ali was the mastermind for the itinerary planning so he deserves all the credits for his effort and eagerness even months before the trip had actually happen.

Also, I've been pushing the progress of writing this post from one weekends to another because I have been too busy burying myself under piles of medical notes and thousand terms to memorize while procrastinating- which actually makes my life even more more miserable so I'd like to say sorry to myself and to my precious blog for not updating beautiful moments in my life routinely :(

Anyway...

Back to the story beforeIsuddenlywentintounnecessaryrants,

We decided that the highlights of our trip would be Universal Studio Osaka and ice skating at Mount Rokko, thus allocating 2 full days for those occasions respectively. I still can't get over the excitement we all had and already missing the entire moment we were there :')

Day 3- Osaka Amazing Pass

We bought the pass from a tourist information centre at Osaka Station for 2500 yen/1 day and the pass includes free access to several interesting places around Osaka. We tried our best to rush for every places but we only managed to tick off Tombori River Cruise, Osaka Castle, HEP5 and Umeda Sky Building.

Day 4- Mount Rokko Kobe

This is the one of the most exciting parts of this trip because I've always wanted to ice ski so badly and when this day came, I get to take ice skiing off my life bucket list. Basically, we had to pay around 2000 yen to ride on the train moving up the mountain and including a bus after which brought us to several other free access places along the way up such us Musical Box Museum and Snow Park. When we reached the skiing spot, we went to rent all the skiing equipments for around 3500 yen and immediately get changed to a proper outfit. Skiing was extremely fun but frustrating at first for a beginner. We kept stumbling and fell down the slope due to zero knowledge on the basic skills. Luckily, some Malaysian students and their French friends spotted us and were nice enough to assist on some of the important techniques of skiing so that at least we could ski down the slope and do the same routine over and over again. It was definitely the coolest thing I've done so far.

Day 5- Universal Studio Osaka, Japan. 

The most anticipated day came out quite sunny and less freezing than any other days. We set out early to reach Osaka and reach there at the same time USS opened. As we have bought our ticket pass at the airport on our first day there, we skipped the queueing part and went straight for the thrills and fun. The difference between the Studio in Singapore and Japan is the additional Harry Potter World in Japan which is pretty cool for a lowkey Potter-head like me. It was also funny that almost all the characters there were talking in Japanese instead of English, even Hermione and the Spiderman !

                                              

Day 6- Fushimi Inari Taisha, Yasaka Shrine and Gion.

Our cultural visit continues until the 6th day as we visited some of the famous temple near Kyoto Area, took several marvellous photos, walked around Gion to taste the finest matcha ice cream and Udon in Osaka (which is the hardest to find because we had to make sure if it's really halal to eat).

Scenes at Fushimi Inari Taisha

Yasaka Shrine

Gion !

Day 7- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Nijo-Jo Castle and Kiyomizu-Dera.

We considered our 7th day as the last moment we had in Japan due to early flight on the 8th, therefore we went all out to find some souvenirs for our family and friends and of course, good photos !
Unfortunately, the day started raining as soon as we left the house until the rest of our trip so you'll see a lot of our photos with raining coat and umbrella but despite that, we enjoyed the view and memories we had here.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Nijo-Jo Castle

Kiyomizu-Dera

Day 8- Home !

We left early after Subuh prayer because the distance from Tambaguchi to Kansai International Airport is quite far by 2 hours and by the time we were there, we thought we had some spared time to walk around for more souvenirs but when the time came for us to get on board, the officers told us that we were late by 20 minutes. We rechecked our ticket and realized that the time has been changed. Luckily, AirAsiaX was nice enough to cater problematic kids like us so they made us run through the airport to reach the plane. Everything was so haywire and to make things worst, my Note 5 slipped out of my pocket and hit the floor. I didn't realize that until I saw my phone doing a triple rolls on the floor and the screen was in utter blank when I picked it up. I continued running and got on our seats in the plane to check that my phone has really passed away :( 

Overall, I really enjoyed my Japan Trip although we didn't get to explore Tokyo and generally the eastern Japan because of our tight budget but we vowed to work hard and gain more money so we can come back to Japan in the future for more memories and new knowledge. The weather was so cold and I have started to miss my clear and smooth skin while we were there hahaha. Hoping to share more travel stories on this blog ! xo

Trip to Japan (Day 1-2) | Exploring Tambaguchi, Nara Deer Park, Harukas 300, Nipponbashi Den Den Town & Dotonbori.

I've never experience travelling on my own in my entire 19 years of living until recently when my sister and her friend planned to explore Japan. The plan was between the three of us and several money spared from whichever source we could dig, mainly our bank accounts :')

Day 1
We touched down at Kansai International Airport after 5 hours flight journey, picked up our luggage and went straight to a telecommunication centre to buy a portable wifi. It costs 4500 yen which is quite expensive as we're only going to stay for 8 days so we decided to split among us three.

We also bought an unlimited 5-day pass for Nankai train and subway and Universal Studio Japan immediately at the tourist counter before making our way to our airbnb house at Tambaguchi. My first time being on The Land of The Rising Sun during it's winter season, I was shivering so badly and could hardly adapt fast. With my shaky body and trembling hands, we walked for another 1.5 KM to reach our small crib.

Upon checking in, we hastily looked for the heater and hot blanket to immediately warm the whole house. We were literally freezing with our numb hands and everything that we touch feels like slicing through our skin- even when we're already in the house but yeah, our heater took a lot of time to get heated up. The first day was all about exploring so that night, we went out to walk around the area and to 7eleven for dinner.

Day 2

Our first journey was about to be so amaaaaazing. No morning was early for us to wake up for a train ride to Nara Deer Park in which we could even make time to get new friend from Miami. He's a freelance artist who is on a solo vacation to Kyoto and Tokyo for 2 weeks before heading back to work. We talked about a lot of things including his fascinating experience going to other places in the world and he even said that me and my sister look like twins! I can't recall his name because it was a bit peculiar but I do feel miserable for losing contact with this wonderful man. 

Back to the story, we reached the park when the sun was shining so nicely and winter wind are blowing quite gently and that's when we knew that the deers that we've been anticipating to meet are EVERYWHERE IN NARA ! At first, we thought the deers would be staying at one place probably within the parameter of fence but we were wrong. They are indeed harmless but my first approach with them weren't really sweet - they sniffed my body and grabbed anything in my coat pocket with their mouth and swallow them straight down their throat and that time, it was my tissue. Can you imagine how freaking scared I was? But all was good. They are so cute. There were several stalls selling cookies that the deers love for 100 yen so we can feed the deers while walking around the park to other attraction sites like some of the temples and museums. A friendly warning here: feeding a deer would draw attention from other deer as well so you might end up getting swarmed by 10 deers at one time so I think it's better to feed a solo deer rather than a group of them.

While in the park, we walked into Todaiji temple and its museum. It was my first time stepping into a temple solely to appreciate their culture and practice. I get to learn a few things from my observations but it would've been a better experience to have english translations for every sculpture and architecture displayed in the temple :')

After having our home-cooked lunch on a public bench, we continued our journey to Harukas 300- an observatory roof garden on top of the skycrapper, Abeno Harukas in which we gained a wide view of developmental area of Osaka City. The view was stunning and on top of all, entry to that place is free. I bet if winter weren't too freezing, I would 100% sure to stay there for more beautiful photos.

It gets dark earlier during winter- 5PM. During the evening, we went to Nipponbashi Den Den Town where the anime geeks assemble for their favourite anime items such as figurines, comics and games, before heading to Dotonbori after that. Dotonbori is basically a place for night walk with vendors selling hot Takoyaki, udon and other Osaka hot menu for tourists.