Vinaka Vakalevu

Hey there, I'm still in Fiji!

Our meeting and seminar programmes were finally over. We were then geared for the post-meeting programme that had been arranged for us ahead. This included the tour to Nadi town (pronounced as 'Nandi') which is only about 10 minutes away from our Westin Denarau hotel and is on the way to Suva, where the Reserve Bank of Fiji is situated.

The main attraction of this small town is the handicrafts, cheap flowery shirts and little souvenirs. I bought some fridge magnets for myself and a set of place mats at the famous Jack's shop.

There's nothing much to offer at this sub-urban satellite town. To compare it with our place back home, it's like Tutong town, except that it's located within a resort. Anyway, I enjoyed the tour and the Fijian people we met at the handicraft market were very pleasant and friendly. They were cheerfully singing their folk songs which indicated that they are indeed happy people.

Our next fun organised on the following day was the whole day trip to Mala-Mala Island. That will be my next chapter! So see you soon. Vinaka!

Bula .... Wase Rua

Bula again! Wase rua .... hehehe, it means 'Part Two'. Vakananumi iko, nogu matanisinga! The two days had been quite full for all of us with the seminar and meetings. Despite the tight schedule, we enjoyed the nice Fijian food.

Above is my salu-salu.

In the evening, we had dinner hosted by SEACEN -

Above are the pictures I took with fellow participants from Bank of Thailand, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara and Reserve Bank of Fiji . And below, me with

Sweet Lorraine

Bula ... Wase Dua

Bula! It means 'welcome' in Fiji. Finally, I arrived at Nadi Airport, Fiji at 5:25 am local time, with my colleague, Joedi. Our long journey started at 11.15am from Brunei to Brisbane by RBA. The flight took us almost 7 hours. In transit at Brisbane International Airport for about 4 hours before leaving for Fiji at almost midnight Brisbane time. Luckily, I had a good sleep in the plane.

(The picture from the plane on the left shows sunrise in Fiji in the very early morning)

Upon our arrival in Fiji, we were welcomed by the Secretariat Officials from the Fiji's Central Bank, the Reserve Bank of Fiji. They took us to the hotel where we stay, the Westin Denarau Resort & Spa. It is located in a beautiful resort named Denarau, nestled within a serene surrounding. I just love the spacious room. Cool! Upon check-in, Joedi and I had good breakfast at the coffee house by the swimming pool. We were quite tired though and needed our sleep to regain our energy for our days ahead have been programmed quite intensively with the Directors of Research & Training's 30th Meeting, organized by SEACEN and hosted by the Reserve Bank of Fiji.

(Picture taken with the Secretariat and colleagues from Bank of Korea who arrived at the same time)

My spacious room..... Isn't that cool? Wananavu!

There are many other hotels in Denarau resort area, including the Sofitel, beach villas managed by Hilton, the Sheraton and more. I rejuvenated myself with a profound nap after breakfast. I needed that. In the afternoon, together with Joedi, I ‘ronda-ronda’ at Port Denarau as planned, which is just 10 minutes away by shuttle bus from our hotel. It was just the right time for lunch, and we had yummy fish & chips at the Hard Rock Cafe. I bought a nice t-shirt for my Cahaya and the limited edition pin.

In the evening, together with the other delegates from the other Central Bank members - Fiji, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore etc, we were entertained at the Hotel beach front with a reception.

Menguji

I'll be flying off soon for another meeting. Guess where it'll be? Yup, it's Fiji. So I guess I won't be 'blogging' for a while.

I don't know what to feel...I don't like long flights, that's for sure. And I will be far away from my kidz and hubby. Rindu dan rindu lagi....

To my Cahaya, I won't see you before I leave. Anywayz, banyak bersabar ok... Apapun terjadi, let's look from the bright side. Lihat dari aspek hikmah dan kebesaran Allah Yang Maha Esa. Allah Ta'ala masih mahu menguji kesabaran. Don't forget, kepada orang yang berbuat aniaya itu pun, Allah sedang menguji mereka sejauh mana kejujuran mereka. Apapun, mari kita bersyukur kepada Allah SWT, Allah tetap melindungi kita dan melimpahkan kasih sayangNya, supaya kita tidak terjerumus dengan penipuan dan kepura-puraan orang yang melakukan khianat. Semoga Allah menunjukkan kebenaranNya.

Sesungguhnya Allah tidak membebani seseorang melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya. (Surah Al-Baqrah, ayat 286).

If you lihat gunung, buatkan ia sebagai contoh. Tidakkan lari gunung dikejar... This is pepatah melayu. No need to kejar the gunung my dear Cahaya. Biar kita tak untung di dunia, asalkan Allah redha dengan kita...

Sederhana

We celebrated our Hari Raya dengan cukup sederhana. Dalam kita sebok dan ‘enjoyss’ berhari raya di bulan Syawal, moleklah bersederhana, sepertimana yang diajarkan oleh Rasulullah SAW. Apapun, segalanya bermula dengan niat....

On the first day raya, the first thing we did was of course to visit our parents. All brother, sisters, in-laws and grand children gathered at Mum and Dad’s home. There are 4 of us sisters and brother and our parents have 12 grandchildren. Only Kaka Ummi, the eldest cucu nenek was missing.....

Sempat lagi potong birthday cake toh Bi.....

Once we had finished our makan-makan, we all headed to our aunties and uncles houses in Tutong....

A GLIMPSE OF OUR RAYA IN TUTONG -

Wa Hjh 'Aishah, one of our eldest aunties who is the wife of our father's eldest brothers. Dad has 11 brothers and sisters in the family. Oooopss..... introducing our YB -





Gumbiranya dierrr.... dikepit oleh cousin-cousin aweks yang cun belaka...






This is my Dad's eldest sister, Wa Hjh Saadiah.



This is the tapak rumah where I was born, located in Kg Tanjong Maya. There used to be my aunt's house, Bu Hjh Siti Hawa, but unfortunately, it's no longer there.






Mum and Dad with Bu Hjh Siti Hawa, Dad's sister.







And our Bu Hjh Halimah and Uncle Hj Thani. This aunty makes nice fish head curry...

Dewi, our cousin with the singing talent, and below is our little nephew (don't remember his name), showing off his cute belly button....hehe

Walaupun sederhana, meriah jua hari raya tu..... Alhamdulillah.