COVID-19 and 2020

Unprecedented year.  This is how 2020 is described and there is no better description.  A year filled with COVID-19 related hashtags.  A year that is like never before.  For a family like us, who goes travelling every year, we certainly feel the impact.  We've been grounded for almost a year.  Not only grounded, 'trapped' in the house too most of the time.  I have children at all levels of education.  While universities continue with online learning, I've no idea at the moment on what will happen in the near future for primary and secondary schools.  

We are in the fourth wave of COVID-19.  Maybe fifth, or maybe sixth, I've lost count.  The numbers are still worrying and far from subsiding.  At our end, we can only pray and hope that things will get better and better soon, and of course we have to do our part to curb the spread.

Alhamdulillah, we are still one happy family here under this one roof.  There are so many blessings in disguise when we take time to contemplate.  For once, we are able to consistently perform daily Maghrib and Subuh prayers together, which would otherwise be so challenging on weekdays, especially the latter.  A lot of cost cuttings as well here and there, though they may probably be 'transferred' rather that cut :)

Others may not be as lucky, we know.  Whatever the situation is that this pandemic has brought us into, we pray for a good ending for everyone and we really mean it.  Amin.  

Switzerland in 25 hours

In June last year, I was on my way to attend a research meeting in Porto.  But I yearned to go to Switzerland since God knows when.  We didn't have the chance to go there when we were in Denmark at the end of 2018.  The weather was not that good at the time too.  So, this time around, I made it a point to drop by Switzerland on my way to Portugal.

It was a long journey indeed.  From Kuala Lumpur to Zurich with Emirates via Dubai.  I left KLIA during the wee hours of 15th June 2019, arriving Zurich Airport at about 1.30pm on the same day.  I was due to leave Zurich for Porto on the next day at 3pm, hence the 25 hours.  I quickly hopped on a train to Interlaken, which took me about 2 hours.  Such a beautiful place to be at.  It was picturesque all along the way, the rivers, the buildings, the snow capped mountains, the lakes, the houses, the countryside and everything.  A dream came true for me.

I spent that afternoon in the small town of Interlaken, in the heavy rain, with two friends who arrived there a day ealier.  The next morning, we went to one of the mountain tops where there was still snow.  We left Interlaken in the afternoon so that we can spend a few hours in Zurich, before boarding the flight to Porto.

At Mürren

Sønderborg by chance ...

What a title :). But that was what actually happened.  On one of our last days here in Odense, we would like to visit Aarhus.  We landed on Zealand and staying in Fyn.  A visit to Jutland would complete the picture, thus Aarhus.

We left the apartment as early as 7.50am to catch the 8.00am bus.  Everything went on smoothly, we boarded the supposed train, knowing that it would later split at one of the stations along the route where the other half would go to Sønderborg.

So we made sure that we were in the right coach, or at least that was what we thought.  The trip to Aarhus should take about one and a half hours and we should get there by 10.43am.  Since this was our first time and there was neither printed map nor internet connection for us to verify, we could just assume that we were on track when the train splitted and when the next stop was Kolding.

But somehow I could see that we were moving away from towns into countrysides and small villages, which was not what I would expect if we were bound for Aarhus.  I began to think that we could be sitting in the wrong coach and were on our way to Sønderborg instead.  When the time was 10.50am and the next station name was still not Aarhus, my thought was confirmed.

Since it would be both costly and time consuming to backtrack, we changed our plan and continued to Sønderborg impromptu.  What a beautiful place!

Breathtaking view

Research attachment at Odense, Denmark

Wow.  So many incomplete posts in the draft list.  An evidence of how little time I have for the blogging activity.  I hope this one goes through.

Looks like we're ending 2018 in Denmark, or more specifically, in the plane.  It has been almost two months since we landed here, the first time for us all.  This time, for a longer period of time and commitment, unlike our previous trips.

I am serving a two-month research attachment at the Center for Energy Informatics, University of Southern Denmark, which is coming to its end.  Life has been great, and colourful here, though dull at times.  You come to work ...  So ...

A personal achievement for me too, as I have never had experience working with international research team.  Looking forward to complete my work here and further collaboration in the near future.

Breathing fresher air of Malaysia

Wow.  The past couple of days have been overwhelming.  Great, happy, suspense, surprised ...  All blended together in anticipation of what is going to happen next.  Yes.  Malaysia is going to have a new government, ruled by what was once, opposition.

Our 14th general election held on the 9th of May 2018 was definitely history making.  BN, who has been ruling the country for 60 years, was defeated by the coalition of opposition parties.  Something that once upon a time seemed impossible to happen.  The news has been making headlines across the globe.

I am proud to be Malaysian.  I am proud of my fellow Malaysians who are brave enough to embrace change.  I am  happy that the people now have finally realised that they have the power to decide and I hope that they will be more confident and wiser in exercising the power.  Above all, I am extremely proud as Malaysia has managed to undergo this transition without any riots and the like.  A new Malaysia that is more mature, Insya-Allah.

And proud to be part of the history making event