Halal Food in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hey ya peeps! I haven't managed to update much of my travels lately and I am quite behind in updating the blog unfortunately. I am trying my best, inshaa Allah and here's some of the places/ restaurants that I went to when we were in Vietnam, September last year. 

So before I left for my study leave last year, we decided to have a family trip to commemorate the occasion and this time it took us to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. There's plenty of halal restaurants and eateries, so there's absolutely no worry of you being deprived of your favourite food. Vietnamese food is absolutely delicious, there's a mix of sour and sweet, pretty much like Thai food, but a slightly toned down version than Thai food. I love, love, love their pho (a soupy noodle dish) and their seafood is also nice. So, here are some photos of the places that we went to:

On the first day we went to Tandoor. Usually most halal outlets would be located near Ben Thanh Market however, Tandoor was located slightly further from Ben Thanh Market, I think perhaps about 20 - 25 minutes walk from the market. Unfortunately, I am not able to pinpoint it's exact location, except perhaps, it's located near the area where the buildings have a slightly noticeable French architectural influence to it.

So, here's the address of the restaurant. 

Considering that it's an Indian restaurant, we ordered the usual Indian fanfare, briyani, chicken curry and naan bread. The food was delicious, and the service was good. However, price wise, it's slightly expensive. This is most probably due to the fact that most of their spices are imported from India, so there's a higher cost to it. However, if you're wanting Indian food in Ho Chi Minh, I'd absolutely recommend it. 

If you're interested in the restaurant, you could also check out their website click [here].

There's quite a steady influx of Malaysian tourists to Vietnam, I suppose, and there's plenty of signage written in the Malay language, such as the one in this photo. Vietnam is also famous for it's coffee, among them is the coffee chain Trung Nguyen, so you may want to try them out. To read about Vietnam and coffee, there's an article [here] by the BBC on Vietnamese coffee.

Malaysians definitely will not be deprived of their local Malaysian food when they visit Ho Chi Minh. There's plenty of restaurants and stalls offering Malaysian cuisine. The one in the photo above is Restaurant Halal Kampung Melayu located next to Ben Thanh Market.

Another restaurant that we visited was Salima Restaurant. I must say it served one of the best pho I've ever tasted. 

Seriously. 

It's located above a hotel, known as An Tam Hotel (hotel website is [here]), and to go to the restaurant, you have to walk past the hotel lobby and take the elevator to the first floor. Salima restaurant would be next to the elevator. 

We ordered pho. It was delicious. The soup was light, and the beef was fresh and sweet. Even the sauce (soy sauce with chilli) was also yummy. Pho is basically a rice noodle dish served with beef, beansprouts and some herbs. It's a simple dish, usually served hot and the combination of light flavours from the meat and herbs is definitely an unforgettable experience (at least for me it was, I'm still thinking of the pho I ate a year ago at the restaurant *drool*).

We also ordered prawn spring rolls. Usually you'd dip the spring roll into the sauce (which is sweet and sour) and eat it just as you'd eat sushi =).

Considering that there's a sizeable Muslim population in Ho Chi Minh, there are several mosques catering to the needs of the Muslim population. This is Jamia al- Muslimin mosque located behind Sheraton hotel. If you're interested to locate other mosques in Ho Chi Minh, there's some information from this website [here].

As it was lunch time, we decided to have our lunch at Halal Saigon, located right across the road in front of the mosque.

The food was okay, but unfortunately I don't remember this dish that I ordered. To check out their website, you can click [here]. 

Another restaurant which we visited is Warung 1 Malaysia Saigon. It's located near Ben Thanh Market and due to it's convenient location (and of course yummy food) I think this was the only restaurant that we went to twice.

Here's the menu. They had a lot to offer. 

The price was reasonable too. 

We ordered rice, soup and fish. And I must say, this is among my favourite too. The fish was absolutely tantalising. It's fresh, so you know how soft and sweet the fish is when it's cooked fresh. 

Steamed fish with soy sauce and herbs.

Clear soup. Both dishes are absolutely recommended. 

There were other restaurants along the road that we didn't get to visit such as Restaurant Hjh. Basiroh. 

And this Nasi Goreng Ayam food stall. You'll notice when you're walking along the street (which leads you to Ben Thanh Market), there's about maybe 5 -7 halal restaurants along the street. 

The Daun Restaurant is also among our favourite. It's not located directly along the pathway leading to Ben Thanh Market, but it's not far from there either. I think it's about maybe 10 - 15 minutes walk from Ben Thanh Market. 

Here's their address as well as social media sites. 

We ordered prawns and soup as well and it was absolutely heavenly. I would definitely recommend this restaurant for the ambience as well as good food. For more information on the restaurant, you can visit their website [here]. 

On our last day in Ho Chi Minh, we decided to try something different, so we went to Sahraan Restaurant which serves Egyptian food. It's also located not far from Ben Thanh Market, perhaps about 7 - 9 minutes walk away. 

I had grilled chicken while hubs ordered chicken fried with bread crumbs. The food was okay, however, in terms of price, this restaurant is also slightly pricey compared to the other restaurants. If you like, you can visit their Facebook page [here].

So if you're thinking of visiting Ho Chi Minh, the best place to stay would be somewhere near Ben Thanh market, as around the market there's plenty of halal outlets and everything would be within maybe 5 - 20 minutes walk, which is convenient. However just a word of caution, just like any city, there's pickpockets, thieves as well as fake taxis (this is very common in Ho Chi Minh unfortunately) so do take care of your belongings.

Happy traveling!


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista Mommy Adventures: Parenting Matters Part II

So here we are at Day 2 of the course and here's another gem that I'd like to share, something that Islam has always emphasised on us, i.e. lineage. According to a hadith, the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. said that a woman should be married based on four (4) things, which among them is her lineage. The speaker shared many stories on the lineage of some very notable scholars and leaders of our time. Let me retell those story.

Story # 1: Caliph Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz 

Narrated `Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: When I was accompanying `Umar ibn al-Khattab (radi Allahu ‘anhu) on his patrol of Madinah at night, he felt tired, so he leant against a wall. It was the middle of the night, and (we heard) a woman say to her daughter, “O my daughter, get up and mix that milk with some water.” The girl said, “O Mother, did you not hear the decree of Amir al-Mu’minin today?” The mother said, “What was that?” The girl said, “He ordered someone to announce in a loud voice that milk should not be mixed with water.” The mother said, “Get up and mix the milk with water; you are in a place where `Umar cannot see you.” The girl told her mother, “I cannot obey Him (Allah) in public and disobey Him in private.” `Umar (radi Allahu ‘anhu) heard this, and told me: “O Aslam, go to that place and see who that girl is, and to whom she was speaking, and whether she has a husband.” So I went to that place, and I saw that she was unmarried, the other woman was her mother, and neither of them had a husband. I came to `Umar (radi Allahu ‘anhu) and told him what I had found out. He called his sons together, and said to them: “Do any of you need a wife, so I can arrange the marriage for you? If I had the desire to get married, I would have been the first one to marry this young woman.” `Abdullah said: “I have a wife.” `Abd al-Rahman said: “I have a wife.” `Asim said: “I do not have a wife, so let me marry her.” So `Umar arranged for her to be married to `Asim. She gave him a daughter, who grew up to be the mother of `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz (rahimahullah) who was called 'Umar al Thani (the second 'Umar).

Story # 2: Imam Abu Hanifa

It is narrated that in the first century of the Hijra Calendar  there lived a pious man who constantly looked for knowledge and used to give all his time to this cause but he was poor. One day he left home due to his extreme hunger since he had found nothing to eat at home and so he ended up heading towards one of the gardens on the roadside. This garden was full of apple trees and one of which had a few of its branches hanging outside the fence on the roadside. His inner self started whispering to him to eat an apple to remove his hunger and that no one would see him. After all the apple garden wouldn't be affected by the absence of only one apple. He plucked an apple and sat down to eat it until his hunger disappeared. But when he went back home, his consciousness (al nafs) started aching him and he started to ask himself how he could do such a thing (this is always the case of a mukmin, a believer i.e he always judges and punishes his soul for the wrongdoings he does). Sitting down, he started asking himself how he could eat an apple which is of another Muslim's wealth and possession and yet he never asked his permission before plucking it. Neither had he asked the owner for his forgiveness. Getting up the next morning, he headed outdoor in search of this garden's owner until he found him. This young man then told him (the owner), "Uncle, yesterday extreme hunger got great hold of me and I ate an apple from your garden without you knowing and today I have come to ask for your permission for having taken it." 
The owner replied, "By Allah I will not forgive you.. In fact I am angry from you until the Day of Judgement where I will complain to Allah about you." 

The young lad then started crying and pleading to him to forgive him and that he was ready to do anything for him on condition that he forgives him and makes him clean of sins again through this forgiveness. He continued pleading and the owner refuses and grows more and more stubborn insisting on his point. Leaving the garden, the young lad followed at his heels pleading that he change his mind until finally this owner arrived at his own home, entered and closed the door. The young lad remained waiting by the door in anticipation of seeing him once again when Asr prayer would come when he had to leave for prayers. When at last,the owner came out, he found the lad still standing outside the door with tears streaming down his beard making his face glow with more light(noor) than the light of Iman (faith) and knowledge which had already previously prevailed on his face. 

The lad, "Uncle, I am ready to work as a garden worker in this garden of yours without a salary the whole of my life or any other thing you wish me to carry out for you on condition that you forgive me." 

At this moment, the garden owner stopped to think for a while and then said, "Son, I am ready to forgive you now but on one condition...." 

The lad got so happy and his face once again got filled with joy and he replied, "Give me any condition you wish, uncle." 

The owner, "My only condition is that you marry my daughter!!!" 

The lad was shocked from this condition,got stunned and couldn't understand this condition. 

The owner continued, "But son... you must know that my daughter is blind, deaf and cannot talk. She doesn't walk either and is always sitted. For a long time now, I have been searching for a husband for her whom I can trust to take care of her and accept her as she is with all her features which I mentioned to you. I will forgive you only if you accept to marry her." 

The lad was once again shocked with this second disaster. He then started thinking how he would be able to live with such a burden especially that he was still young and on his first steps in his career life. How could she take care of him and look after his house when she had such defects? He then started telling himself, "Have patience regarding her and at least get saved from the Hereafter's punishment which this apple would cause you." 

He then looked towards the owner and said, "Uncle, I have accepted your daughter and I ask Allah to reward me well for my intention and that He rewards me with something better than what He inflicted me with." 

The owner replies, "Well then son....your date is next Thursday at my place for the Walimah (celebration) of your marriage and I will be responsible (take care) of her Mahr (dowry)." 

When Thursday came, this young lad came walking with heavy steps, full of sorrow, with a broken heart unlike any other groom on his wedding day. When he knocked on the door, her dad opened the door and let him in. After they had sat and talked a bit, the bride's dad told the lad, "Please feel free to enter the room where your bride is sitted..and may Allah place His baraka (blessings) on you both and around you both. May He bring onto both of you all goodness and mercy .." 

He then took him by his hand and led him to the room where his daughter sat waiting. When he opened the door and looked inside, the lad found seated a girl whose face was whiter than the moon and whose hair hang loosely on her shoulders like silk. She then got up and walked towards him with her shoulders stretched outwards and told him, "Assalamu Alaikum my husband." 

Standing in his place, the lad stood staring at her as if he was in front of a hooreya (i.e one of the beautiful ladies of Paradise who have never lived on Earth before) from the hooreyats of Jannah who had instead come to earth. He couldn't believe his eyes and just didn't know what had happened or why her dad had said such bad things about her. She at once understood what was going through his mind and at once went nearer to him, held his hand and kissed it saying, "I am blind from looking towards forbidden (haram) things and I am deaf from listening to forbidden talk and I am unable to talk about forbidden things. My feet too do not walk towards haram things.... I am the only child of my dad and for a couple of years now, my dad has been searching for a good pious husband for me. So when you came to him asking his permission for an apple and weeping for its sake, he told me: 'Whoever fears from eating an apple for which he hasn't asked permission for acquiring it, then he will sure look after my daughter and fear Allah in treating her badly'......so congratulations to me for having you as a husband and congratulations to my dad for having you as his son-in-law." 

(They would later have a son named Nu'man aka Imam Abu Hanifa (ra))

Story # 3: Abdullah ibn Zubayr and Umar al-Khattab

A son of the Hawwariyy al-Rasul, Zubayr ibn al-`Awwam, and Abu Bakr's daughter, Asma’. He was the first child to be born of the Muhajirun at Madinah in 1 H. The Prophet (saws) placed a chewed date in the infant’s mouth when he was presented to him after birth, and named him `Abdullah. Once children playing in the street saw `Umar ibn al-Khattab coming towards them, they fled in fear – except Ibn Zubayr. `Umar asked him why he hadn’t fled. He replied, “Neither have I committed a wrong, nor is the street too narrow. So why should I run away?” `Umar was pleased with the courageous reply. 

So, what does this tell us? It tells us that our children are a reflection of who we are. They become our mirror. So if you want children who are good, pious, God-fearing, then make sure you are one, then your children will follow suit. Going back to lineage, wouldn't you want your descendants to be a leader like Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, a scholar like Imam Abu Hanifa or courageous like Abdullah ibn Zubayr? 

Why is our children so important to us? This is because, based on the hadith of the Prophet p.b.u.h., when a man dies, his good deeds come to an end, except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge and righteous offspring who will pray for him. Thus it is definitely in our favour to raise righteous children.  

Another analogy that the speaker gave was, imagine if the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. were to visit you in your home, would you change your tv channel? Would you change the clothes that you are wearing? Would you speak in a different manner? Thus if you want to be in Jannah with the Prophet, make sure you lead a lifestyle that befits a neighbour of the Prophet p.b.u.h.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista Mommy Adventures: Parenting Matters

So here I am, always ending up to find myself attending a course here and there in KL. And I think that's only because KL has all these fantastic courses with an equally impressive line up of speakers that I feel that I wouldn't be doing justice to myself if I were not to be in attendance. Today, and tomorrow as well, I am attending Al-Kauthar's Parenting Matters, The Art of Raising Righteous Children Seminar. 

Okay, the seminar has not ended, but I am indeed very, very excited to write on one parenting method which the speaker, Sheikh Alaa Elsayed has shared with us this afternoon (and this explains the sudden motivation to blog, because if I don't, I might forget it). Among the various methods that we can use to nurture a child's development, i.e. storytelling, direct and open communication, encouragement, praise etc etc, is one term which is called "word association". 

Children normally look up to their parents and people who are close to them such as the grandparents, maid, school teacher, classmates, cousins etc, therefore whatever we do and say in front of them would have an effect to how they perceive the world. For example, if we were awed by a stunt which we had watched in the tv or movie, and then praised the actor for doing such a good job/ stunt, children would associate doing similar activities as something praiseworthy and then try to imitate such actions. That is why nowadays we see there are numerous videos on YouTube of children as young as 2 years old being able to dance like Beyonce, do karate like Bruce Lee and retell the Red Riding Hood tale from memory. It is simply due to practice (of course) and the praise of their parents/ guardians on how great they were doing those stuff. 

Children live by praise and they absolutely love to be praised (as would any other normal human beings), it's just that as adults we tend to take a more humble approach when someone comes up and gives us praise. Therefore to encourage (or discourage) them, we should be aware of the words that we use, as children would then associate those words and give them meaning. For example, if you would like your child to have a good role model (which you want them to look up to) then you should relate your praise to that role model. Let's say you want them to take on the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h. as an example, then associate what they are doing with what the Prophet does. If they share their toys/ food with another child, then you can say, Mashaa Allah, you are following in the footsteps of the Prophet for he also love to share his food with his companions. Then you could perhaps end the praise with a story of the Prophet. Similarly, if you want to stop them from doing an act like shouting and screaming, then if you catch them shouting and screaming (and even fighting) say astaghfirullah, and explain why we don't scream or shout to each other. The child would then associate the words Mashaa Allah with a good act and astaghfirullah with a bad act. 

Similarly, for parents who would like to encourage their child to become doctors, engineers, or even religious scholars, you could start by adding the title "Dr/ Engineer/ Sheikh etc" before their name. However, other parents might find this to be suffocating to the child or even cause excessive pressure towards the child so proceed with caution. In my opinion, it would be a good thing, i.e. positive reinforcement is always a good thing, but only if I feel that my child is comfortable with the title. If he or she looks uncomfortable, then maybe we can discuss about the matter and drop the title. Knowing kids, the girls would definitely go to various phases such as Princess, then Doctor, then Engineer, whatever. Which is not a problem. But make sure you are guiding your child towards becoming a more confident individual who knows that he or she is capable to achieving their goal and knows how to go about it (with the help of supportive parents, of course). 

In regards to the parenting course, I find it to be extremely beneficial. Even just by attending half a day (I had class this morning) I have learnt a lot and I look forward to learning more tomorrow. I believe that as a parent, we all try our best for our children and often times there may be occasions that we feel guilty due to certain actions that we make (well, I know I do). There even may be people who (gleefully) point out what they deem to be "mistakes" that we are making. Believe me when I say, if you are doing you're best, Allah knows and inshaa Allah things will turn out to be the best. But when things get hard, make dua'a because a mother's dua'a for the child is the best dua'a. Imam al-Sudais credits his mom to be the cause of him becoming the Imam of the Haram and even Imam al-Bukhari (who was blind as a child) was able given back sight because of his mother's tenacity in making dua'a. Especially when you are angry at your child (due to whatever mischief that they have managed to land themselves in) that is the best times to make dua'a, and this is as evidenced by Imam al-Sudais. He mentioned that whenever he made mischief and made his mom angry, his mom would say,  May Allah make you the Imam of the Haram. Mashaa Allah, her words came true. 

Am definitely going to practice word association with Alexa. May Allah make her a hafiza (memoriser of the Quran), Ameen!

To becoming better parents. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista 

Al-Fatihah Mak

Sometimes you meet extra-ordinary individuals, under the guise of the ordinary life. And I must say, my late mother-in-law is just one of those individuals.

Quiet and unassuming, she always kept to herself and never imposed on anyone. Many would underestimate her strength and character but after listening to many of her stories on her childhood, I knew that she did not have an easy life.

She was orphaned when she was small (both parents passed away when she was still a child), and had never undergone proper schooling and education; even then she never blamed her childhood or circumstances for everything that she went through. Indeed, she fought hard for what she wants; when she was a teen she decided to study Quran recitation properly with a religious teacher and because of that, she had to take a boat to cross the Sarawak river and then walk a couple of miles so that she'd be able to reach the place where the teacher staying. Suffice to say she completed her studies and continued to teach others within her community.

I did not spend much time with her unfortunately, simply because I was too busy with life and the many things that were put upon my shoulders. But within the few years that I knew her, she has been extremely kind to me, and just as loving to Alexa. In our last conversation over the phone, I was leaving for Kuala Lumpur then, just 5 days after Aidilfitri because I had an exam to attend to and she was crying because she didn't get the chance to cook for me. I guess maybe she knew her time was coming to an end. She was hospitalised just over a week later and succumbed to her illness on the 18th of August 2015. She passed away just a little over a year after my late father-in-law.

Alexa with my sister-in-law, late mother-in-law, and brother-in-law just two months before she passed away.

I could only hope that I would be able to be the kind of mother that she was, strong, patient and pious. She never had a bad word to say about anyone. Even when others treated her badly (there were many incidences in the past), she would forgive them and leave the matters to Allah. May Allah place her in the highest level of Jannah and protect her from the trials of the grave. Ameen.

Al Fatihah Mak, Hajah Dayang Aieshah Awang Hamid, 1946 - 2015.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's University Review: INCEIF, Malaysia

This is my first university review.

And (I hope), there'll be many more to come. Inshaa Allah.

I've always wanted to do my PhD and I think that this has to do with the fact that both my parents are PhD holders (in an age without google, science direct, elsevier, emerald insight *gasp*) and when I first made the decision to study at INCEIF, I wasn't able to gain more information on the university except for the university's website, official twitter and official Facebook page. So, I hope this post will help future students of INCEIF gain insight on how it feels like to study at INCEIF.

Firstly, what is INCEIF?

INCEIF is a university that offers programs exclusively in the field of Islamic finance (and nothing else) so it is basically a meeting point that brings together a group of scholars (professors, associate professors, lecturers, tutors etc) and students who are involved (or would like to be involved in) the field of Islamic finance. The name, INCEIF is actually a short form for International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance.
There's not that many programs in INCEIF (because of its specialised nature) and all programs are postgraduate programs (i.e. they offer masters and PhD programs only). This is good (in my opinion) because the students basically already have done their undergraduate somewhere else (so they're not green out of high school), the classrooms are small and cosy (the maximum number of students in a class is about 40, but that would be rare, usually depending on the subject, there'd be around 6 to 20 students in a class), and due to the small setting, the relationship among the students and their professors are more intimate (in a sense its easier for you to develop a close relationship among your classmates and get to know each other well, and also it's easier for you to approach your professors because there's only a small group of students in the class and it's also easier for him or her to address any questions in and out of the classroom).
The university itself is located right next to Universiti Malaya at Lorong Universiti A (right off Jalan Universiti, the small road where KFC is located) so if you're a travelling student (like I was in the first semester), to get to the university you can take a cab for RM7 from University Station or wait for the shuttle (INCEIF provides free shuttle service at scheduled hours) at Taman Jaya Station.
There's only three buildings, one is the academic building (where the library, classes and academicians are located) and the other two building are for administration, bursary, and ISRA researchers.

Secondly, why INCEIF?

I chose INCEIF simply because it offers only Islamic finance programs which is the area of research that I would like to specialise in (there're other universities that offer PhD in Islamic finance such as IIUM, UNITAR and UiTM which you can check out if you like) and also because I knew that because of it's specialised nature, I'd be mingling with people who already are (and are hoping to be) involved in the area of Islamic finance. Thus I would be learning about Islamic finance and also be able to network and hear on what is actually happening in the field from those who are working in the industry.
Another reason for me to select INCEIF is because the PhD research program is coupled with courses (i.e. I'd have to pass the courses and also a comprehensive exam before undertaking my PhD research), I feel that the courses would help me to enhance my understanding in the different aspects that are related to Islamic finance such as Islamic capital markets, Islamic accounting, Islamic economics, risk management, etc and this would provide me with a broader view of Islamic finance compared to if my PhD is involved strictly in research.

What have I experienced so far?

What I genuinely like about the university is the atmosphere. I love the fact that the students are always so helpful with each other and there's a certain brotherhood (or sisterhood) feeling that you get with each other.

Here are some photos of my experience at INCEIF:

New students' registration are usually accompanied by orientation day and this was my orientation day. This is Daud Vicary Abdullah, the President and CEO of INCEIF.

A typical classroom at INCEIF. This photo was taken during our Tajweed session with brother Ziyaad Muhammad. 

Fiqh Muamalat class with Assoc. Prof. Ahcene Lahsasna.

A typical class discussion between students and their Professor. This one was taken during Islamic Economics class where brother Alam Asadov was discussing on gold dinar with Prof. Zubair Hasan.

Sometimes we have Professorial Lectures. So this one was taken off Prof. Abbas Mirakhor's discussion of the book by Thomas Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century.

Sometimes we also have visiting Professors giving talks to us, this one is Sheikh Prof Dr Ali Muhyi Al-Din Ali Al-Quradaghi. It was in Arabic so Assoc. Prof. Ahcene became his interpreter.

We also have bankers coming to share on what's happening in the industry. This is Dato' Mohd Redza  Shah Abdul Wahid explaining to us on what's in the pipeline for investment accounts (post IFSA 2013).

We also have Fire Drills...

And visits from other universities. These are my students from UiTM and I am glad to say that one of these students will be joining INCEIF to do his masters next semester =).

PhD Colloquiums are also held once every few months.

And dedicated syndicate rooms for group discussions 

For more information on INCEIF, feel free to check out their website [here], Facebook page [here] and twitter [here].

To life-long learning


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Thank You to the Medical Staff at Sarawak General Hospital

Last Saturday, my mother-in-law suffered a heart attack. She had suffered a few complications a few months earlier arising from various factors such as a weak heart and diabetes and this caused her to be on medication and regular check-ups with the hospital. 

My view whenever I am with her. 

Am extremely thankful to all the medical staff of Sarawak General Hospital.

She has yet to recover from the heart attack and the past week have seen me flying back to Kuching and helping out the family with taking care for her at the hospital. Usually our shift would entail us (me and hubs) to take over the graveyard shift as hubs has to work during the day and he's only able to be at the hospital after office hours. During my stay with her, I have seen the staff of the Sarawak General Hospital doing their work with the highest level of efficiency and courtesy. Despite working until wee hours in the morning (usually I'd be awake from 9 or 10 pm until 3 - 4 am in the morning to make way for hubs to sleep so that he'd be able to work the next day) and even then the medical staff have been very attentive and professional in conducting their work. Despite my mom-in-law being unconscious, they always greeted her before doing their work on her (from changing the sheets to checking up on her vitals and feeding her). They would always tell her before hand what they will be doing to her and warning her beforehand that it might hurt a little (this is especially true when they are changing her tubes, taking blood sample for tests etc). 

So this is our thanks to the doctors and medical staff at Level 8, Ladies Ward, Sarawak General Hospital. Thank you for being so attentive to our mom, thank you for your proficiency, efficiency and all the help that you have provided and may Allah repay your deeds with the best of rewards. 

My mom in law still has a long way to go in terms of recovery but thank you for making her recovery as comfortable as you can. May Allah grant her the best in this dunya and the hereafter. Ameen. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Travels: Sepanggar Island, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Photoblog alert!

Hey ya peeps!

I know I haven't been updating as regularly as I should and I've been going to some very beautiful places lately, so I feel this would be a great opportunity to share the photos of the places that I've been visiting. 

First up, Sepanggar Island, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. 

I went to Kota Kinabalu just two months ago for a conference and felt that a much needed island getaway is perfect for this trip. The island is located just 20 - 25 minutes boat ride off Jesselton Point (Kota Kinabalu). I booked the accommodation via Agoda (the link to the resort is [here]) and communicated with the resort via email afterwards. 

It was cloudy when we arrived in Kota Kinabalu. 

You have to register with the resort office at Jesselton Point prior to leaving the jetty. The payment that we made with Agoda includes accommodation, food (breakfast, lunch and dinner), snorkelling gear rental and unlimited beach snorkelling. We need to pay RM47.60 more per person for jetty fees and return boat transfer. 

Our boat was waiting for us at the jetty (and nope it's not the big one to the left, that one leaves for Labuan, it's the small one to the right). We had beautiful sunny weather on both days while we were at the island.

Our kind and extremely helpful guide (I am so sorry but your name seemed to have slipped my mind, unfortunately).

Beautiful blue sea and bright skies. What more can a girl want?

We've arrived! Can you see how clear the waters are?

The jetty at the island.

Clear waters *drool*.

The view is similarly breathtaking no matter if I looked to the left or the right of the jetty. 

Love, love, love this view =).

It was just after Kaamatan when we arrived so there was a small Kaamatan welcome for us. 

We stayed there for two days and one night and this was the view that greeted me the morning after. Subhanallah!

Our clean and simple room. 

Balcony. 

The view from the balcony. 

All we did was just laze on the beach and swim all day. Definitely got myself a healthy tan those two days. 

Sepanggar island, I will be back =). 

Just a bit of info on the island, it's a private resort therefore Sepanggar Island is not under the Tunku Abdul Rahman park (which are managed by Sabah Parks) group of islands. It's managed separately and because of this, there's less people at the resort (which is perfect for me), and the only mode of accommodation and food is provided by the resort. Good news is that your food is included in the accommodation package, and the food is delicious to boot!

The chalet where we stayed at. Simple, minimalistic design. Consisting of just a small bedroom, toilet/ shower and balcony. No air-conditioning, just a simple fan. 

The view during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Major love!

Since it's a small resort, just remember to bring your sunscreen and mosquito repellent (I don't think they sell any at the resort). The mosquitos are very, very aggressive. For more info on the island and it's operator, you can visit their website [here].

Will share more beach/ island photos soon! I have one more trip to share, this time it's to Perhentian Island, Terengganu. 

Note: We left Kota Kinabalu just a day before the earthquake happened in Ranau, Sabah and our deepest condolences goes out to the friends and family of those who were affected by the earthquake. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista