A pop song blasted by sudden in the early morning. My body jerked as I heard some incoherent mumbles from the other bed. F is waking up and my body felt drained from my short nap because we both slept late the night before.

I snatched that bloody phone, scratch my bedside and looked at the time.

"Damn. Wake up, it's already eight!"

I bolted towards the bathroom while F was taking her time. We tried to pull an all-nighter but we dozed off the minutes we prayed for Subuh.  

Half an hour later, we strapped on our sneakers and ready to explore the city. Stepping out of the apartment, we were immediately swept up by the buzzing of motorbikes, the yelling drivers and the constant drumbeat that seemed to pulsed from all corners. F and I walked along the local train station and crossed over to the other side.

Then, as I sauntered up to the taxi's passenger window, F sputtered "Wait. Do you wanna try Careem?"

I turned to look at her. The taxi driver was starting to sounds impatient. "Bisur'ah, lau samah!"

I took a quick look on my Careem account and saw seventy Egyptian Pounds balance on my online wallet. I bid the taxi goodbye, muttering sorry while the driver shouting profanities towards us.

F and I look at each other and shrugged.

"So, where do we go first?"

I explained a little about our activities of the day while waiting for the Careem driver to pick us up near to a big chai place. Fifteen minutes later, we hopped in at the back of the car while the driver was trying to communicate with us in his broken English with thick Arab accent.

"You been here before?"

F answered yes while looking out the window. "But it was like six years ago, so I can barely remember this city anymore."

I was awe-struck. Alexandria has been different from my last visit. Beautiful as it was, I quickly learned that the city's aesthetics had nothing on its characters. We bid him goodbye when we arrived at our first stop - Pompei's Pillar.

The autumn in Egypt is not so different than summer. With temperature ranging about 30-37 degrees daily, it felt like summer never ended. 

It was two days before Eid Adha that I first suggested to a close girlfriend of mine about going to Alexandria. We were sitting on the floor while watching Modern Family in her room. She looked at me for a few seconds before shrugging her shoulders and agreed.

"What do you say if we spend our holiday in Alex for a few days?"

Pregnant pause ensued.

"Yeah, cool. I haven't been there since our first year."

After we celebrated Eid Adha on the 12th, I sat on the floor of my bedroom to pack my backpack, close to midnight. With the budget of 400 Egyptian Pounds for three days and two nights, we were trying to be as cheap as possible.

I even bought a toothbrush for two freaking pounds because I forgot to bring mine on the trip.

The clock turned to nine in the morning when we finally took off to Alexandria. We sat at the back of an old black Peugeot with other locals, which never would have happened without a little bit of luck and a lot of spontaneity. 

We arrived at the main station in Alex around noon. The three-hours car ride took us through the string of small cities and vast lands. F and I would look out to our respective windows every once in a while to see the unfamiliar surroundings, commenting on the things that we saw.

We bought a mineral water and a couple of Molto for the journey and then we took a taxi to get to our accomodation as soon as we arrived.

"Ya Ammu, maugud 'adat?" 

The taxi driver immediately shook his head no. 

I was contemplating to take another taxi that will use meter ('adat) but we didn't see lots of taxi there. We hopped in and prayed that the charge wasn't exorbitant.

But, there's no such luck.

Cheap my ass.

Once we got there, we checked in and rest for while. It was almost three in the evening when we settled down and most attractions will be close by five. After a casual discussion (we discussed while lying on the bed and laughing on The Big Bang Theory), we decided to go to the main mall in Alex and bought some foods and supplies. 

We took a tremco (minivan) for three pounds each near to Mubarrah, a little close to the railway station. We arrived at the mall twenty minutes later and heading to Carrefour. We took what we need and paid. We took the same route on our way back (we saved a lot of money because it can go up to 50 pounds per taxi ride), ate our dinner and watched The Big Bang Theory until midnight.

"So we're gonna have a full day tomorrow, eh?"

I nodded while keeping my eyes on the screen. "Maybe. We can still go on our last day if we have no time for all of the places tomorrow, no worries."

F hummed with approval.

"Sounds good."

"See you guys soon."

My little brother couldn't be more subtle as he sped away in his car when he dropped us off at the airport. Ika and I carried our backpacks along with some food to munch on. It was still early in the morning but the airport was already bustling with travellers.

Our flight left Kuala Lumpur at seven forty-five in the morning, heading to Langkawi International Airport. We were re-routed to Penang due to bad weather. After stranded for an hour and half in Penang, the flight jetted off to the intended destination.

We originally planned to go to Banda Aceh but it sounds even better to go travel locally. So yeah, we decided to start with Langkawi this time.


We were on another of our road trip- the third during this trip home - and once again, my youngest brother wasn't available to join his sisters.

Over the past few days on the road exploring Langkawi, we have scrambled over tree trunks, stood on wild wind-swept Cenang Beach and consumed about galleons of water because the weather was devastatingly hot. My little sister patiently sat on the passenger seat while tolerated my temper when we were stuck in the jam. She'd accompanied me to a place I just had to hunt down and visit after a friend recommended it or after seeing it on Instagram. 

"You should turn here, sis. Can you please follow the GPS for once?"

Annoyed, I replied "I did. Can't you see that we're so far away from the place that we're supposed to go?"

or something like "Are you sure this is the right way? We're so far off right now."

Lil sis, thank you for being patient with me.

Somewhere in amongst the dreams of a road trip, the idealization of sunny weather and perfect photographs, reality sets in. And that's how we rolled with reality and dealt with bumps along the way that has helped us become most excellent road trip buddies.


From island hopping until Beras Basah Island to fumbling and bumbling at the Cenang beach, I am always considering the context in which I am here.

Our trip began as soon as we registered with SB Guide tossing blue-black sticker to plastered on our shirts and pointing the way to urban minivans. After racing through the mid-afternoon streets to a beach, we switched to boats heading towards Tasik Dayang Bunting.

Today is a weird day. 

I look around as I drive by the magnificent city. I see how a city can be both futuristic and exotic. The urban texture of Kuala Lumpur is designed in a way that unites nature and the people reside in it rather than separating them. It's always one of the main reason as why I love KL apart from the city is the capital of my motherland, Malaysia.

Walking in the shade of the skyscrapers that dominate most of the city, I realise that even these tall buildings doesn't bother me - I find peace in their tranquil glory. I familiarize my senses with the hectic surroundings, welcoming any feeling that greeted me. It felt kinda surreal - coming home after such a long time. 

Kuala Lumpur is also famous for the harmonious coexistence of the Malay, Chinese and Indian populations. I am proud to be one of them eventhough I no longer live in Malaysia. I am proud to tell my foreign friends and family that I am Malaysian, no matter where I am. 

I parked my little purple car near to KLCC's LRT station. I decided to take the LRT to see lots of things in Kuala Lumpur because of the little time that I had. Ethan would love to be here, he always told me in his annoyingly excited voice back in New York - he undoubtedly wanted to go to Malaysia and eat lots of amazing delicacies and experienced the wonderful harmony between the people in Southeast Asia and their unique lifestyles. 

Ethan is weird in his own style. Whatever.

I went for a walk in Chinatown, I smell the scent of incense from the Tao temple nearby. Some chanting immediately echoed in the air, I saw many tourists going in and out of the temple. I made a stop near a small stall, ordering Ice Tea in this hot weather. 

"Very hot today, eh dik?" 

I smiled. "Yes. But I just strolled around, uncle."

The old Indian uncle chuckled while making 'Teh Tarik' for another customer. Who in their right mind to order Teh Tarik under the scorching sun, I wonder.

When the humid and suffocating air starts overwhelming me, I went to another tourist spot, the beautiful Lake Garden, comprising Bird Park, Orchid Garden and Butterfly Park. With more than hundreds species of mesmerizing colours flying around, the park allow the visitors to experience a majestic forest atmosphere in the heart of the city. 

"It's almost seven. I should find something to eat."

I leave behind the realm of birds and sit at one of the best restaurant that is really known for its naan cheese with a friend. 

I expertly guided my ride into a parking spot, almost hundred metre far from the Turkish Airlines office in Tahrir Square. Aini went out from the passenger spot, telling me to just wait for her in the car. I wordlessly nodded while looking out the window.

Hit songs were playing on the radio and the air-conditioner was on full blast but the stagnant African heat out of the car can still be felt. Mind you, it was nearing forty-five degrees Celcius that day.

Like every other summer in Egypt apparently.

The roads were filled with a sea of cars, buses, motorcycles and tremcos. Transportation in Egypt is quite a bittersweet, and in Cairo even more so. The metro line didn't quite extensive as any other modern cities, the taxis were always causing me losing more money than I should (or I'm gonna end up with profanities from the drivers). But you can always rely on tremco that will get you from Point A to Point B in crazy, bizarre way that you might not get to experience in other country.


  

It was sensory overload the first time our Arctic Circle train came to a stop in Abisko, a small town with a breathtaking view of the snow blanketed the town and their surrounding nature. 

I took my green backpack along with my other belongings, waiting for my crew to join me. I spotted Abisko Turistation STF from my spot, and took rest beside a trail of bronzed statues. It was the third day of our journey and my third time in Abisko. My ears rang with extremely cool wind and the hustle and bustle of my surrounding - people (read : tourists) were chatting while carrying their things, cameras hanging on their necks with some children in tow behind. The accomodation was only a hundred-meter away and I was relieved to see that everything went smoothly. The sun shone on the sky but the weather was still very cold.

I picked myself up from where I sat and head together with my friends to the hotel. Abisko is one of the town that didn't have any hostels, the nearest would be in Kiruna. I made reservation at the hotel that I used to stay once upon a time, but this time we didn't get the cabin, we only got dorms. 

It's been four years since the last time I was here. I'd been in Cairo for almost six years now and found myself gallivanting around the world while managing my university life. I always questioned whether or not it was a privileged notion that travel could cure you of some rat race. 

My dad once said, "Travel is a way of pilgrim, you know."

For hikers wanting to experience raw adventure and avoid crowds, the Kungsleden Trail at Abisko National Park of Abisko is one of the most enjoyable and epic treks. Spectacular geology and out-of-this-world views are the calling cards to this incredible place.

"We can hike ahead, the trail ran for many miles."

Every step we took, unbelievable panoramas unfold right before our eyes. 

"This is way too beautiful." Sofe chimed in.

"Just like a winter wonderland, huh."

The rest agreed with my words, we were indeed in the winter wonderland. Abisko National Park (specifically Kungsleden trail) should be included in every adventurer's buckets list, the trail is easily one of the best ways to experience the raw and unspoiled glory of this most magnificent nature. 

My nomadic heart was baffled at the sight of the beaut, believing that I had made the right decision of coming back here. Back in Cairo, some friends teased me and asked what I believe can be gained by traveling.

"Just be who you are. Depends on how wide your eyes can see, how deep your heart can feel."