I had only 5 days before we were supposed to depart to Singapore to celebrate our Aidilfitri. At that time, we have yet to purchase our return tickets for 4 pax.

You see, my mum decided to travel a few days earlier to help out my aunt cause this time, she wanted to cook for the family. So I decided to travel by air with my dad and Juan. It happened. But not return. I wanted to wait for the price of the flight tickets to go down before purchasing but this didn't happen too. I know, it was my fault. So we resorted using the bus to come back to Penang.
One day, Juan came back from work and told me that his friend had bought a RM1 ticket to and fro Singapore via redbus.my. I told that it was too good to be true and he said that his friend managed to do it and INSISTED that we try since it's cheap. I thought why not but I was quite hesitated at first.

By the time we wanted to book our tickets, the RM1 was not available for that particular date we chose but we had a 20% discount, which is also cheaper compared to if I were to buy it over the counter. So we settled for that. Keyed in the date and total price, punched in my credit card and my card was charged but there was an error occurred on the website. I refreshed it and nothing happened. A few seconds later, Juan's mobile received a notification that our transaction had failed and that refund will be done within 2 weeks.You know what it didn't happen and no one called me.



So when my credit card statement arrived, I noticed there was a transaction from this company so I called them to verify. They denied in charging my card and advised me to call my bank for further checking. I called my bank and they confirmed that the company has charged my credit card and gave me an approval code of the merchant terminal.

I called the customer care again and at first they denied of finding any of my transaction. They requested me to give them the last 4 digit of my credit card and so I did and they found the transaction. I argued with them stating that if they did not charge my card, how can a transaction being printed on my statement. It couldn't be an error from the bank although it can happen sometimes. They later told me to give them 24 hour for further investigations with their payment team and have yet to receive any update from them.

This issue has yet to resolve but I will continue in the later part.

It was our first time staying at a place that we booked through AirBnb. I was thinking of staying at a hostel or dormitory but most of the places like that are expensive in Japan but if you're the kind of person who don't really bother about privacy, then go ahead with that option.

Then I thought of staying at hotels, nearby to the city but they're even more expensive. Plus I didn't wanna waste our funds as we will not be spending a lot of time in a hotel. So last resort, why not AirBnb.

I made all bookings 3 months before our date of departure. Looking at a few choices. Most homes in Japan will provide you tatami bed and heater (for winter) instead of a real bed frames but it all depends on your preference. We had a mix of both. Their tatami bed are as comfortable as a wooden bed cause they're thick.

Since me and Juan brought some pre-cooked meal, we wanted a home that has cooking facilities. A small kitchen will do that we can cook our breakfast before we head out for the day.

In Kyoto, we stayed with our host in a 3 floor home. The 1st floor is for AirBnb while the 2nd and 3rd floor are occupied by the landlord. Although she had difficulty in communicating with us in English, we used a lot of sign language and Google maps. Her house is about an hour journey from the main city. So we travel by metro every day for the next 3 days of our stay. It was really convenient the fact that she provide bicycles for her guest so we don't have to walk for 15 minutes to the nearest train station. You can take a brisk walk to the station too and enjoy the small town and meeting people along the road.

I could say that our stay in Kyoto was the best although our Osaka home was nearer to the station. Our Kyoto home has this modern fell to it,mix with old Japan and we get to experience the daily lives of a Japanese household. The place was very clean and organized. We had complimentary coffee and tea (landlord provided us Teh Songket as she knew we were from Malaysia).

Every basic needs were there so we didn't have any problem in adapting ourselves. With washing machines, hair dryers, towel, toiletries and kitchen.


For more details or photos, click here.

As I mentioned in the previous post, this year's Syawal is a special one for me cause after 7 years, we decided to celebrate Hari Raya in Singapore with the rest of our extended family members. Plus my dad agreed to tag us along this time which makes it extra special.

It was definitely the highlight of 2016. Reminiscing old memories where we used to ride on my uncle's lorry to go beraya. It was definitely fun. Although the gathering was not complete but I can still feel the warmth and I managed to slot in some time to meet other cousins especially the ones I grew up with and those missing in the gathering

I could see that everyone are no longer the small little cousin that I used to walk hand in hand with. They're all now young adults. Dah tahu pakai makeup, dress up, style pun dah lain. Cepat betul membesar. Made me feel so old -__-'

This time around, we didn't had the time to go for shopping. This trip is dedicated specifically for Hari Raya. Instead we focus on beraya from house to house. Tapi poket sakitla. We visited my grandma's, my uncles and aunties and a few of my cousins. It was good to catch up with each other like the good old days. Had lontong in almost every house we visited but sadly I didn't had my kuah kacang this year. My aunt and my mum cooked ayam merah, nasi minyak and rendang daging for everyone. They cooked the night before and brought it over to grandma's place the next afternoon.

Oooohh, I had the chance to fly with Tiger Air for the first time. They had this cheap tickets a few months ago so I thought why not. I've been flying with Jet Star for the past few years of my travel to Singapore.