Rangoon City

After trekking volcanoes at Mt Bromo and Ijen, we're back to exploring cities and off beaten paths. Visiting Rangoon City was an eye opener to say the least. I never thought Myanmar had a multi racial society as well. 

To me, the laws created are comparable to Singapore's. Muslim food are super easy to come by. There are plenty of Indians. It is a super safe city. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. Many of the men wore tattoos. Heck, even Singapore itself is a brand!! And so so much more... 

I wouldn't have known all these if I didn't have the opportunity to visit Myanmar. Alhamdulillah.

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids#yanparkertravellogue#southeastasiantour #goal2015

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Dreams - Introspeksi 2015

I had sleepless nights prior to last Friday. I kept on dreaming that I was backstage doing my job. Some were nightmares. Some were very pleasant. Guess that happens when I'm fully focused on achieving my lifelong dreams.

Many of you know me as this sports person who love travelling. Its well documented. Not even my closest ones know that there's this part of me which is into the artistic scene as well. Throughout my life, performing was a thing. From being part of an classical ensemble to rock band to kompang and nasyid. Even video making, silat, angklung and dikir barat as well.

I love watching plays. I was gutted not to be part of Gentarasa 2015 due to my work n school schedule. However, Allah swt presented me with the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong dreams. One of my many bucket lists; to actively be part of a theatrical production.

My heartfelt gratitude goes out to those who made this possible most importantly, @simcms as a whole. They provided me this opportunity to fulfill my dreams.

Thank you.
Bucketlists  no 10✅

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Sulphur gases of Ijen

This is probably one of the things I will never attempt again. Climbing down to the sulphur pits of Ijen and dancing with super hot sulphuric gases. Oh. The emerald yellow liquid you see is molten sulphur. Yep. It was super hot. After taking this pic, I can't breathe well; I was choking. My eyes were red and teary. My body felt uncomfortable. 

For a moment, I thought I was transforming into a real-life mutant. A superhero.

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids#yanparkertravellogue #ijen

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Conquering Ijen

"The aim of every step we take should be to please and worship our Lord, and a necessary component of this is to fully appreciate the beauty around us in all its magnitude and depth. On my journeys, I realized that the meaning of being a traveller is far deeper than I had first thought. It is to see, hear and feel its beauty; to marvel at the artistry of Allah swt. 

With the right mindset, travel becomes a spiritual process that fundamentally transforms your existence, and it is essential for every Muslim to experience. In this way, I understood that the purpose of travel was not just to go, but to be."

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids#yanparkertravellogue #ijen

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To the depths of Ijen

09082015. To the depths of Ijen. 

It was a gruelling one. Just when we thought Bromo was tough... Woke up at 12.30am. We cambered super steep slopes in the dark at freezing temperatures. We were literally on our hands and feet! 

At times, we slipped on loose rocks and gravels and obtained bruises and blisters. But the challenge was all worth it. At the end, we saw a natural gas stove. This mysterious electric blue sulphur flames emerges from cracks. It was just astonishing. And behind it is the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world, Kawah Ijen. 

Subhanallah.

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids
#yanparkertravellogue #ijen

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Princess Tamina

08082015. 10.15am. Princess Tamina. As we gradually took our time to ascend the towering steps, we began to realise the air was getting weird. The higher we got, a strong pungent smell of something toxic became ever more prominent. 

Armed with N95 masks from which @frvii stole from his workplace, we scaled upwards. The wind blew away @noohadams 's mask. So apparently he became a mutant after the whole trip. So, when we reached the peak, we saw an active discharge of sulphuric gases in the middle of somewhat like a massive cauldron. Super cool! So that was where the strong sulphur was coming from! If only we could see what was inside the 'cauldron'. Probably live magma! 

As we scoured the area, we saw the vast sea of sand from which we crossed. From the top, it was so reminiscent of scenes from Prince of Persia - Sands of Time! Time stood still when from afar, the shadow of the princess I've been pondering about were casted right upon my sight. (I shall not divulge into what happened afterwards. Haha). We had a moment together talking about how tiny those people were on the ground. Unfortunately, as I have other priorities on hand, I, unwillingly had to leave her, let her go and hope she'll find a better man. It will be better off if we go our separate ways. 

Moving forward, we, #coolkids, descended the crater to our Jeep and drove back to our bungalow. 

Oh, did I mention we rented a full BUNGALOW just for ourselves and just for our 2-hour beauty sleep? Hahaha! Yup. Backpacking indeed. 😵😵 We were really broke and its still the second day plus we have another volcano to climb. To top it all off, we have not had a good sleep and a meal after more than 28 hours.

 When we arrived at our bungalow, we got only 30 mins to shower, pack our bags and grab some food and we're back on the road to Mount Ijen... 

Still hungry. No Sleep. No Money. Day 2.

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids
#yanparkertravellogue #bromo
#nofilter #xiaomi #princesstamina

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The Sea of Sand

08082015. 9.30am. The Sea of Sand. Our Jeep brought us to Mount Bromo's crater which was surrounded by a vast plain called the Sea of Sand. At the end there was this towering steep steps, which reminded me of some scenes from Mortal Kombat and also the thigh-killer steps of Wat Arun at Bangkok. 

We had no idea what was in store for us at the top. We just knew that we had to cross the sea of sand and climb up those steps... We have to know what was there at its peak. And yes, our feet were still like jelly. It didn't help that we were walking on sand and sand dunes. Every step we took, our feet sunk in. It was as though the ground leeches energy, whatever that's still remaining from us. 

As we dragged our feet, we had to avoid incoming dust clouds which at times sting our skin. They hurt more when speeding ojeks aka motorcycles and horses raced past us. So we had to cover up wisely. It somehow felt some sort like Prince of Persia-ish. A slight comfort came from wondering whether or not I'd get to find my Princess Tamina at its peak. Haha. Reality check. We haven't even started our climb up the steep flight of steps. 

And @noohadams just lost his mask after the wind blew it away... 

"My body wants to go. My legs just don't want to move."

#adventuresofyanparker #coolkids
#yanparkertravellogue #bromo#seaofsand #nofilter #yicamera

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