start again

Alhamdulillah I arrived in Brisbane safely yesterday. I still feel soooo tired. I couldn’t sleep on my entire 26 hours travel: Jeddah-Dubai-Singapore-Brisbane. An airplane is the worst place to sleep. I prefer to sleep on the floor than on the plane!

My "trip" in Singapore was really short. By the time I arrived in Changi at about 2.30 pm, I rushed to the Left Baggage and leave my belongings there. My arrival time was supposedly earlier than that; but the weather was the reason of the delay. So I went to the train station and bought a ticket. When I came to Spore exactly a year ago, I didn't pay attention to how the transportation system in Spore works. A friend recommended me this website and I found it very very useful!! It tells me where to depart, where to alight, etc. So I didn't have to ask to the stranger heheheh.

My purpose going to the city was only to buy books! So I went to Borders at Wheelock Place. I spent about 3 hours in the bookstore — the longest record I've ever had. I really wanted to go to the other malls at the Orchard Rd, but was very scared of missing the flight again (a stupid mistake I made before hahaha). These are the books I bought:

• Princess: The true story of life inside Saudi Arabia's Royal Family (Jean Sasson) — She is an author of Mayada: Daughter of Iraq that I previously read. For many people, this book tells shocking and rare stories about the life of Princess ‘Sultana' and her family (but for me, some of the stories seem to be familiar). She lives in a land where men have the power to do anything they want, while women are locked by men (father, brother, or husband) from the outside world. I just finished reading this book and found it very interesting. I'll write about it in details later.
• A million little pieces (James Frey) — It's one of Amazon's best selling biography books.
• Night (Elie Wiesel) — Although I've only read no more than a half of the book, I love and enjoy reading it sooo much! It's amazing how the author describes his memories and put them into beautiful words that are easily understood. This book is about a boy (Elie) who witnessed the horror of Nazi’s Auschwitz concentration camp.
• The Great Influenza (John M. Barry) — I've heard about 1918's deadly flu pandemic that killed millions of people in the U.S. and have been so curious about it since the SARS and bird flu spread around the world. Few weeks ago I watched Oprah and learnt about the great impact if the bird flu becomes a pandemic. I think this book is worth reading.
• The file on the Tsar (Anthony Summers & Tom Mangold) — I have always been curious about Anastasia and her family since I watched a cartoon movie called Anastasia when I was a kid.
• Confessions of an economic hit man (John Perkins) — well, another curiosity of mine
• and two other computer books.

Oh, by the way.. I met an old Australian man who sat beside me on the flight from Spore to Brisbane. I’m always happy to talk with people who have different backgrounds and experiences. But this old man was the one I never forget. He’s a security officer who had served his country in a military service. He told me about his experience in Yemen and Malaysia; where he served as a secret agent who spied on enemies. He has a very wide knowledge about different religion (incl. Islam) and ethnics around the world. I was basically so surprised when he told me: “I like how your country acts against drug users.” Hahaha. He was the first ever Australian (probably the last) who openly approves the verdicts of Bali 9 and Corby. He said that he doesn’t like living in Gold Coast and wants to move to another peaceful place; drugs, violence, and alcohol are the reasons of him escaping from that place. He said to me: “You are a good Moslem, and you come to Australia, where criminals, drugs, and alcohol are everywhere!! That’s just a mistake.” I was just speechless. We also shared our opinions about terrorism and the cartoon’s controversy. It was a very interesting conversation.