In Search of Yasmin Ahmad

This is a pictorial post on our trip to Ipoh early March 2017. My one quest was to visit Yasmin Ahmad's museum and I was more than happy to step foot there. 

Enjoy the pictures.

Hatta Dolmat: More Than A Celebrity

His story

Born as Muhammad Hatta bin Dolmat in December, 1982, he has always shown interest in Art. Encouraged by parents, he was sent to participate in different Art competitions. He believed that participating in these competitions had made him competitive and always made him to evaluate himself.

Another earlier interest was towards hospitality management. He was working in a hotel after SPM so he knew the in and out of hotel management. Hence, he never intended to further his studies as he has fixed his aim to work in the Hotel and Management industry. However, in order to fulfill his parent's wishes, he accepted an entrance in UiTM and that too in FSSR (Fakulti Seni Lukis dan Seni Reka). 

Soon his interest steered towards Fashion and there he graduated as a best student in his final year. As a student, he was inspired to create a collection for Nasha Aziz, whom he mentioned as a lady of class. He specifically mentioned Laila Isabella, a movie Nasha starred. However, instead of Nasha, he was awarded with the opportunity to design for Erra Fazira. That, he took as a blessing in disguise.

Celebrity

His design was worn by our beloved Dato Siti Nurhaliza, Yuna and Christina Aguilera. He designs bridal wear as well as street wear. His brands are Hatta Him and he has a collection of hijabs for the Muslim women.

He is currently in discussion with Tabung Haji to develop attire for Malaysian pilgrims.

He is also doing research on a possible line of Muslimah collection.

Advice

This event at Setiabudi Primary was mainly to educate teachers and parents on styling and communication. These two aspects are very important when it comes to teachers who deals with parents and students on a daily basis.

Hatta points out that we should dress comfortably. If we are uncomfortable in a certain material or trend, it doesn't serve a purpose. It all boils down to who we want to be. He adds that trend can be a guide and just that. He urges us to refer to different role models if we want to dress differently. On that note, he mentioned Vivy Yusof several times.

He also emphasized that as a teacher, dressing up is equally important as teaching the subject. The students are often observing what we wear. We might attract them closer to our subjects just by portraying our best self in classrooms.

Styling

He advices the female not to go over the top by dressing out of context. He reminds that if she dresses in plain colour, her hijab can be in plain but contrasting colours. Else, she could opt to have printed scarves. 

He also encourage men and women to experiment with colours. He reminds that Indians and African wear strong vivid colours yet they look very good in their attire.

I think he is encouraging us to find our taste by figuring out what looks good on us. 

Communication

He admits that as a shy individual he has opened up and learnt to accept opportunities to speak in public. It must take him a lot of courage to do that. Just thinking of speaking in public gives me the shivers. He adds that with these opportunities he get to meet a lot of interesting individuals.

Hatta reminds us to leave a good impression everytime we meet someone. He adds that we might never meet the same person twice so it is better to leave with a pleasant experience rather than a negative one.

Inspiration

Hatta said that there was no particular method or way of getting inspiration. He did imply that inspiration comes when he least expected it, especially when he was about to doze off. He did mentioned in particular that nature directly inspired his collection of bettle design on hijab and sweatshirt. 

End Note

To wrap it up, Hatta advised us to be cautious with the current economic situation. He smilingly mentioned that when we are under pressure, that is when we think creatively. 

He suggests that we opt for a mix and match approach in choosing our attire. Instead of just sticking to the same set of baju kurung, day in and out, and buy a new one out of boredom, he suggests that we try out different combination of tops and skirts.

This is our group from IISM (S). From right is Mashi, myself, cik Mah and Yan. Kak Rahmah joined later on.

Rashdan (the host) and Hatta Dolmat on stage.

That is us. There were others who were queuing for a snapshot with Hatta but we managed to slip in. 

What did I tell you about the queue? He was all smiles 

That is us again.

Teacher Shazrina from IISM A-Levels

He was still standing and taking pictures. This is like my third already.

Yan wants to get a selfie so I took a photo of them.

Hatta with Deputy Rector of IIUM, Dato Mizan and IISM (S) Principal, En Zulfan Haidar

Fan of Hatta

Kak Rahmah has officially announced that she is a fan of Hatta now.

A simple yet extravagant look with the background light

Hatta and Dato Mizan in discussion

Nik Amir and Syafiq Anas joined the forum after their Oral IGCSE exam.

There we are with the amazing host, Rashdan. 

Langkawi: Underwater World

This is mainly going to be a pictorial post. Our visit to Underwater World was best shown visually than explaining. It was simply beautiful. You may click the link below to find out on the opening and closing time as well as the entrance fees.

http://www.underwaterworldlangkawi.com.my/fees.html

So, here are the pictures.

Below are all murals found at the Underwater world

Back to the water tanks.

It was amazing to find all these beautiful creatures underwater. It was as beautiful as Aquaria in KLCC. It made me just wonder on the Creation of God. SubhanAllah.

Langkawi: Ayer Hangat

Ayer Hangat (pronounced Ayaq Hangat) literally means hot water. Never heard about this place during my first visit to Langkawi so I thought we should have a look. I Googled the placed and I found out that there is a hot water spring. The water is actually salt water. Never been to one so, we made a plan. Mom loves to dip her leg in hot water. She had issues with her knee for ages.

The Ayer Hangat or Ayer Hangat village is just by the roadside. It is so easy to miss if you are driving fast. It was raining cats and dogs the day we decided to go there so we missed the stop. We were using Waze and it got confused as well.

This is the hot water village. Inside, there are two wells. Also, there are rooms where spa services are offered. I only remembered we were charged RM5 per entry. Since dad is considered 'warga emas' he was charged RM2.

The benefits of sitting in a hot spring well.

These are the minerals contained in the well.

This is the view from one of the well. The well is deep. It was built in a way that the water is distributed from the well to the plank areas you see in the picture above. However, the best place to enjoy the hot water is the well and the areas around it. As it flows away, the water became cooler.

Among the places we visited, the highlight was the hot water well. There were no crowd as we came right after it poured. You may want to bring extra clothes to change. There are some stalls after you buy the tickets if you want to buy pants or blouses (in case you forgot to bring extra).

Langkawi: Sky Cab and Sky Bridge

It has been a while since I went to Langkawi. I have never been to the same place twice for long holidays but this trip is for mom. She has been residing in Malaysia for 40 over years but she never made it there. So dad and I decided to take her there. Since was also on break, I thought it would be refreshing.

I can't remember how much we spent for the ride up and the sky bridge. All I could remember is we drove about half an hour from Cenang beach and reached at Sky Cab area around 5.45pm. Thankfully the place closes at 7pm so we didn't rush. As we had parked, we walked inside an area where there were Oriental Village, 3D Museum and souvenir shops. It was a huge area with a beautiful pond. We had to walk until we reached a water fountain to buy the tickets.

The ticket counter is right opposite this fountain. All I remember is Malaysian's ticket was cheaper than the foreigner's. They made us show our ID as a proof.

There were two stops. We didn't get down at the first stop because we want to spend some time at the Sky Bridge which was at the second stop. You can see the gondola that carried us all the way to the peak of Gunung Mat Chinchang. The background would be Pantai Kok if I am not mistaken.

As soon as we reached the second stop, we could see the Sky Bridge. One can choose to walk there via the stairs or take the cable car. There is also charges for the car.

You can feel the vibration as you walk along the bridge. The view was breathtaking. It was amazing to know that only one pylon holds the bridge and it was said you can view the Andaman Sea from here.

Mid-way at the Sky Bridge you can take a look of the jungles beneath through the glass panel.

After coming back from the Sky Bridge, we took the stairs that leads to the top most platform. There were hundreds of love shaped locks hanging. Probably of couples.

Love shaped locks.

View at the top most platform. There was a binocular where you have to insert RM1 for it to work.

The visit took us about 2 hours roughly. We wanted to stop by Telaga Tujuh but it started to get dark so we stopped by Kok Beach briefly before heading back to Cenang Beach.

Back view of Maharaja Restaurant.

Entrance to Maharaja Restaurant.

A picturesque view.

We were just thankful that it didn't rain on the first day.