Wednesday, April 1, 2009

These and those...

Posting ini adalah ditujukan khas kepada kawan yang sorang tu - yang tengah bored giler nun kat Rawang tu, untuk dijadikan bahan bacaan dan bahan rujukan di kala mengantuk dan kepala asyik tersengguk-sengguk macam ayam mematuk padi... :) Dan sempena memenuhi permintaan kawan tu, I shall call this entry as "These and Those" - a timely hapdet after my previous posting of "This and That"...Hehehe!



First, it was supposed to be just Hasya.

Then it was supposed to be just Hasya and Hilman.

Then it was changed to also include Hanna.

Under all three arrangements, Di*a assured us that she would be taking care of them in the event that both Ayah and I are not able to join them.

After much thought, we then decided that I should be with them as it wouldn't be fair on Di*a to have to take care of our 3 kids when she would have so many other things to attend to and do there.

And a few days ago, Ayah said that he will be joining us, too - either for the first, OR the last 3 nights we're there. Yeay!!!

"There" where? I heard you all say.

"There" = BALI!!!

Yes! We're going off to Bali in June, insya Allah :)

Di*a is bringing some of her students to attend a special workshop on Balinese dances over a 6D5N stay at Diwangkara Sanur and Maya Ubud, and parents are also encouraged to attend, as it would be an interesting and wonderful experience for her students and their families. It'll be like a family vacation, too!

This is not the first time that Di*a is organizing such a trip. Some of her students had the opportunity to learn and have fun in Bali a few years back and those parents who had joined them then strongly recommend that we follow the troop this year.

So, from now until June, Di*a's students who are going to Bali will be taught a few Malay traditional dances which they will be performing on a special night in Maya Ubud. Not only that, they will also be going through a few workshop sessions when in Bali to study and learn on how to dance some of the traditional Balinese Dance, after which they will be performing those dances to the locals. That will be so exciting!

As it will be during the school holidays, Ayah finally decided that ALL of us should go. Lagi pun dah lama the kids tak holiday outside tanah tumpah darah mereka...(Asyik-asyik gi Langkawi ajer kan? Hehehe!) Their passports pun dah lama expired. High time to renew them. And after that we won't have any excuse not to go holidays abroad sekurang-kurangnya 3 kali setahun kan, Ayah?! (Hehehe! Ayah dah start berpeluh dah tuh...)

And that's another thing.

Because it was supposed to be just Hasya alone going initially, last month we only renewed HER passport. And because of the Immigration policy that the father of the child MUST be present at the time of applying and collecting the passport, we had to wait until Ayah had some free time to bring Hasya to the Immigration Office. Nasib baik lah jugak kat Pusat Bandar Damansara...Kalau kat Putrajaya, mau Hasya tak jadi gi Bali kot dek passport tak terbuat-buat oleh mak bapak dia...

It was AFTER Hasya already got her new passport that we decided Hilman and Hanna would also be going, and of course, we had to renew THEIR passports, too!

It was a bit tricky as Hanna is in the morning session, while Hilman goes to afternoon school. And Hanna being Hanna - she wanted to maintain her spotless school attendance record. She received a special certificate for 100% perfect attendance last year, and she wants to maintain that. And Hilman being Hilman - pergi sekolah pun okay, tak pergi sekolah pun tak per :) So, we decided to bring them to the Immigration Office on one of the afternoons, after Hanna finished her academic session. Itu pun tricky coz' at Sr* Am*n, the students are expected to attend extra-curri activities until either 4:00p.m or 5:30p.m everyday! Nak tak nak, Hanna had to miss out on one of her handball practice sessions last week (she's in her school Under-15 Team, by the way :))

Nak collect the passports pun satu hal. The kids AND Ayah have to be there. Nasib baik lah jugak the collection counter opens on Saturdays and Sundays. So, the kids don't have to miss school again. But, masalahnya pulak - this weekend, Hasya and Hilman are following their Wan to Port Dickson. And we don't want to wait for the next weekend. Lama sangat! So, nak tak nak, Ayah had to collect Hilman's passport with him this morning. And both Ayah and Hanna are only free to collect HER passport this Sunday. Banyaklah pulak kerja, kan?!

And until and unless we've got everybody's passport renewed, we won't be able to book the flights online (which is supposed to be much cheaper than dealing with the travel agents, etc). I just hope we'll be able to book and fly on the same flight as the rest of the troop nanti. And I also hope the fare tak mencekedaghah sangat...

Everybody's pretty excited.

Hilman especially, because this will be his first time performing in front of an audience. He's going to dance the Zapin with his friend, Is* (the cute little boy in the MILO and the ASTRO adverts). Only that - how I wish Ayah could be with us for the whole 6D5N stay there. But, alas...He can't afford to close his clinic that long. He has to "mengais", remember? :)

This will be Hilman's first time in Bali. And Hasya's, too! As for Hanna, this will be her second time. The first time being 8 years ago when she followed her Wan and her aunties for a holiday there.

Although Ayah had been to Bali a few times, this will be our third time going there together. The first time was when we went for our honeymoon...(Hmmmmm....Come to think of it, MAYBE technically, this will be Hanna's third time in Bali? Hahahaha! ;))

We are ALL excited! I think Ayah needs this break (even though it's only for 3 days) and it'll be a trip to remember for the kids, insya Allah.

In the mean time, it's "kais" time for Ayah and myself. Perlu juta-juta rupiah untuk belanja di Bali, dooonngggg... :)

34 comments:

kay_leeda said...

Shana,

Good decision to go BALI. The beaches are simply breath taking. Your children will LOVE it!!!

Tak mau cerita lebih-lebih sangat, I'm sure you guys will have a wonderful time. Nothing beats experiencing majestic BALI :)

Iyaa buk, harus ada juta-juta ongkos nya...tapi juta-juta rupiah deh :) Tukaran sama wang ringgit aduhhhh...nggak apa-apa, rendah aja rate nya....

Amy said...

Alahh..bestnya!!

Naz in Norway said...

Shana,
I truly hope things will work out (logistics and all) and all of you will have a great time in Bali. Ambil gambar banyak banyak tau :)

MA said...

Wah seronok nak pi Bali.


btw, the Immigration dah relaxed the rulings on "fathers only" since many years. Now mothers too can apply on their children's behalf. (not necessarily because of single parent status)


Hope your Dad is getting on well, too.

IBU said...

Thank you for hapdeting. hehehe....

Sure tak clash with Bandung trip ek? Eh! Is it (the Bandung trip) still on?

Pi Bani said...

Ahh, you beat me to it. I will be going to Bali too... but that will be in August. For a congress lah, tapi alang-alang dah sampai sana, extend lah sehari dua. Registration fee dah bayar... flight dah book... hotel dah book. Cuma passport je belum renew. Thank goodness I only have to take care of my own passport... hehehe...

Where will you all be staying? Myself, congress is in Nusa Dua, but staying in budget hotel in Tuban. Nusa Dua hotels mahal nak mampuih.

Desert Rose said...

Akkkkkak,

Jeles ar nak ikut...I love d place, although org ckp tak bagus pergi situ byk patung, dah la ko tu lemah semangat, tak pedulikkkk.

Yesterday berjaya buat surprise 4 our 10th Anniversary this August. This year it felt on d first day of puasa so kena cepatkan sket. I book ticket to Jogja, coz bali takde on the date yg I nak.Frust nak mati.,....

I plan not to tell Kanda sampai kat KLIA baru ckp destination ha ha, tgk la tahan tak mulut I ni to keep a secret, dah tercakap kat akak pla. But come to think of it, surprise ke if I beli e-ticket using HIS credit card ???? Ahak ahak. Terpaksa la kak, as mine kena register for internet banking la , apa la, cipan la. Surprise masa tgk bill la kot ha ha ha (gelak jahat)

Anyway, enjoy ur trip nanti, as kak naz said, take a lot of pic, can also merawat kerinduan I jugak -sigh-

P/S : Dont forget dinner at Jimbaran, ahhhh blisss

Mrs.A said...

nak pergi Bali... *pout*. Cannot fly already cuti sekolah.. *pout pout*

HAVE A GOOD TIME!!

Ummi365 said...

Best tu gi Bali...

Eh mother pun boleh masa apply passport. I did it for my 4 piranhas last year.

D.N.A.S said...

Orang kat Rawang yang boring kena bed rest tu ke?
Okaylah, I will update my blog soon jugak...

MHB said...

Sis Shana,

Have fun in Bali!! btw, like the rest said, the father need not be present to apply/collect 'em passports... the first time I did for my eldest was when she was 1, so that's 9 years ago since this new ruling!!

dillazag said...

Kak Shana...
Musti mau makan seafood di Jimbaran, dong..
Bestnya gi Bali.. Nak ikut boleh??

Dalam Dakapan Ibu said...

Wow Shana! Bestnya!

June tu kejap saja tu. Pejamcelik-pejamcelik dah sampai.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time there :) Have fun dear..

wanshana said...

Dear Kay,

Yes, the kids will just love the beaches there. The only thing is, I'll just have to make sure that there won't be any of those who tanpa segan silu menunjukkan "asset-asset" mereka along the beaches!

That was what happened when Ayah and I went there for our honeymoon dulu. We were just strolling along Kuta Beach when we stumbled upon manusia-manusia tengah sunbathing in their birthday suits. Waduuhhh!!! Tak tau mana nak tengok masa tu! Hahahaha!

wanshana said...

Amy,

Bali memang best! You should go with hubby one day :)

wanshana said...

Naz,

Thanks :) Insya Allah.

The only thing we have to do is just book our flights aje. The rest - accommodation, food, transportation, and the itinerary for the whole of our stay there are all arranged and organized by Di*a. We only have to sediakan ongkos for the package once everything is finalized. I like this kind of holidays - tak payah fikir banyak-banyak. Just follow the group :)

Gambar lumayan? Udah pasti, buk! ;)

wanshana said...

MA,

Yup! Sungguh excited :)

I say...all this while I dok ingat immigration rules and regulations masa zaman the dinosaurs roamed the earth lah, ya?! Hahaha!

(But, then again, even if mothers can also apply for the kids, rasanya I akan suruh Ayah they all jugak yang uruskan kot? I ni, letih lah benda-benda macam ni...Hehehe!)

And thank you for your thoughts on my Dad. He's doing well, syukur alhamdulillah. We're still waiting for GH to confirm with us his treatment schedule. We called them yesterday, and they promised to call us back, tapi as of this afternoon, they have yet to get back to us.

My Dad just turned 80 last Monday :) Insya Allah, we're having a family get together this weekend to celebrate him :)

wanshana said...

Ibu,

You're most welcome. Harap tak mematuk padi lagi... ;)

Bandung trip - main organizer sonyap yo..

But, Labour Day weekend tu, we MIGHT be heading to Phuket lah pulak...

And you're supposed to take it easy lah weh...

wanshana said...

Kak Pi,

August will be peak season kat Bali dan akan dipenuhi oleh Mat dan Minah Salleh di seluruh pelusuk pulau tu...

The second time Ayah and I were there, we stayed at Sheraton Laguna Nusa Dua - very nice indeed (but, yes - lepas tu jenuh nak membayar credit cards...Heheheh!)

This time we'll be staying at Diwangkara @ Sanur, and then at Maya @ Ubud, insya Allah.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your extended stay there. Make sure snap photos - a lot of them, ya? :)

wanshana said...

Desert Rose,

Akak setuju anniversary celebration diadakan awal, sebelum puasa...Masa bulan puasa aktiviti-aktiviti bermakna untuk menyambut anniversary adalah agak terhad lagi dihadkan! Hahahaha!

Errr, nanti make sure ambik gambar your hubby "terkejut" masa tengok credit card statements, wokay?!

I've heard so much about Jimbaran and its seafood. On both trips, I didn't get to go there, but, Ayah went with a group of friends as I was not feeling well masa tu - was pregnant with Hasya, or was it Hilman? :)

Okay, misi mengambil gambar di Bali akan dilaksanakan pada tahap maksima, insya Allah :)

wanshana said...

MrsA,

Thanks :)

I say...no need la pout me-mout...Hehehe!

I'm sure you'll get the chance to go (again?) to Bali nanti with MrF and the kids - including the lil' teeny weeny one.

Kena plan baaaaiiiikkk punyer trip :)

wanshana said...

Ummi,

"Piranhas"?! Hehehe...

I feel so ketinggalan zaman coz' ingat immigration ruling still like time T-Rex dulu...Hahaha!

But, as I mentioned to MA, even if I could do it for them, I would still ask Ayah to bring the kids (and I tink he would want to do it himself, too, kot?)

Take care, dear. Don't exert yourself too much with the chores, etc, okay?

wanshana said...

D.N.A.S,

Ha-ah...orang kat Rawang yang tu ler...

Sila sediakan hiburan untuk orang Rawang menghabiskan cuti sakit dia tu (tapi, make sure bukan 18SX, okay?!) ;)

wanshana said...

Dear MHB,

Thanks, and noted :)

Untuk passport anak yang ke-empat (kalau lah ada rezqi, kan? ;)) I'll do his/her passport myself (kalau I rajin ler tapinyer. Hehehe!)

wanshana said...

Dillazag,

I hope trip to Jimbaran is on the itinerary :)

Jom Bali!!!

wanshana said...

Dear Ja @ DDI,

Thanks :)

I know...time will fly so fast nanti, kan? But from now until then, I'm sure I'll be kept pretty busy with so many things.

Have a great weekend, Ja. :)

MAMAMIA said...

Wah... majestic & mystical Bali. I tumpang tengok gambar U ajelah nanti...

Our passports pun dah nak expire. Banyak lagi pages yang kosong. Alahai.....

wanshana said...

Mamamia,

Make sure you all go away at least one more time before the passports expire :)

And then, bila renew nanti , you pakat with Papapia to bring the kids for holidays abroad sekurang-kurangnya 3 kali setahun. Baru berbaloi going through all the processes of renewing them bila tengok all the pages stamped :)

Bali trip tu, Mamamia kena gi honeymoon with Papapia alone ;)

Anonymous said...

I love Bali.

No, please make that "I love, love, love, love Bali".

The Island of Gods; the heaven on earth with glorious sunrise and cultures.

My first time there was 3 years ago with the husband and Luqman who was barely 3 months old, boleh gitu?

The moment we landed at Ngurah Rai airport by the beach, I knew I will return, someday, somehow.

Stayed at Nusa Dua. Nothing to shout about really, despite the steep price. Try Seminyak bungalow perhaps?

Do you know that authors go that once a year for that Ubud Writer's Festival?

Kmar said...

Shana,

Bestnya nak ke Bali!! I have never been to Bali but I heard so many nice spots to visit.

Jangan lupa ambil gambar banyak-banyak especially masa buat ´traditional Bali dance´!!! You and Haizal should join that class tu... and after that boleh berurut sebab I bet screws semuanya dah ´karat´.. ha.ha.ha..

Have fun!!

tireless mom said...

Dear Shana

I am sure the kids will love Bali. 6D5N! Wow... what could be more splendid than that.

Jenuh jugak nak renew 3 passsports ye.

Make sure to shop early in the morning at Kuta and you will definitely get good bargains.

wanshana said...

Elviza,

Yes, Bali is simply beautiful and one always feels that it's always calling you back to visit again, kan?

The first time Ayah and I were there, we stayed in Kuta. The second time - in Nusa Dua. So, we're looking forward to our holiday this time as we'll be staying first in Sanur, and then in Ubud. Different parts of Bali everytime :)

Oh yes - the Ubud Writer's Festival. If it's on while we're there, maybe we can just see what it's all about :)

Have a good week ahead. Take care :)

wanshana said...

Kmar,

Next time you all balik M'sia, maybe you all can let your parents have Syasha and Daniel all to themselves for a few days while you and Jose go to Bali - just the two of you? ;)

Errr...Haizal and I nak dance the Balinese Dance?! Mintak mahap...Hahaha! Sure buruk sangat rupa we all nanti :D

But, the spa - yes...we like :)

wanshana said...

TM @ K.Yatt,

Thanks :)

Hmmmmm....boleh ke agaknya we all sampai Kuta tu awal pagi? I guess when Hasya is having the workshop sessions, I can bring Hanna and Hilman to Kuta - potong riben, rasmi kedai. Hahaha!