God. I'd better not get used to NOT blogging for more than a month!
All rusty already.
Ayah has been asking me every now and then, "You ada blog posting baru tak?"
I guess, with him being so ultra-busy nowadays, reading my blog might just be the only way he could keep up with what's happening with me and the kids kot? Hehehe...
The last one month had been okay. In fact, more than okay!
Did I mention that we went to Gold Coast?
Well, yeah, we did. We were there for a week - terbang there on 19 November, and terbang balik on 26 November.
It was a really nice break for just us family, and we had a wonderful time there.
We stayed at Mark*am Court, Broadbeach - which was just about 5 minutes walk to the beach and The Oasis Shopping Centre, and 5 minutes drive to Surfers Paradise and Pacific Fair Shopping Mall. We rented a 2-bedroom apartment with 2 bathrooms, a kitchen (fully equipped), a living room, a dining hall, a utility room (with washing machine, dryer, and ironing facilities), with a secured basement parking - only accessible by residents. Worked well with us as we had rented a car for the full one week we were there.
We had booked our car online from Coolangatta Her*z Car Rental and we didn't have to pay any booking fees at all. Right after clearing the customs check-point, we just walked to Her*z Counter at the airport with our rental reference code, and within 15 minutes we got our car - a Camry Sportiva(o?). And on the day we were flying back to KL, we drove to the airport, parked the car at the parking lot, dropped the key at Her*z counter and went straight to the AA Check-in Counter. All done within 10 minutes!
Mark*am Court is located just off the Gold Coast Highway which brings you straight-ish to all the Theme Parks - Movie World and Wet n Wild (20 minutes drive), Dream World and White Water World (25 minutes drive) and Sea World (10 minutes drive). We bought VIP tickets to all the Theme Parks (valid until 30 June 2011 - a good excuse to go back to GC before the tickets expire, huh? ;)It's cheaper getting the Family VIP tickets + 1 Adult ticket compared to getting individual tickets for all) and we did in fact go to Movie World and Dream World TWICE over 4 days - the first time just to go on the rides and do a bit of shopping, and second time - to indulge in more shopping there! Hehehe... :)
Even though it was mostly gloomy throughout most of our stay there - with intermittent showers and sunny intervals here and there, that didn't spoil our fun at all. Well, we just didn't linger on the weather facts even though we only had ONE full sunshiny day in the 6 days we were there. We made sure that, came rain or shine we were on the rides at the parks for most of the times! (Well, at least the kids were :)).
The day we arrived (we arrived at Coolangatta Airport at 7:50am, and at the apartment at 9:30am) we just spent the time resting and lepaking at the apartment, and later that afternoon, we went to The Oasis to shop for our one week grocery stock, and also to purchase our Theme Park tickets.
The next day was spent at Movie World and later at Broadbeach (even though it was freezing cold!)
The day after that was spent at Dream World and White Water World, and later that night we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at Pacific Fair Mall. Like la cannot watch the movie in Malaysia, kan? But, the kids insisted on watching it there that night! Aiyooo... But, Ayah said, "This holiday is mainly for the kids, so, we just do the things they want to do to make them happy lah, kan?". So, the Boss (who's also the Menteri Kewangan) won, and the kids got their movie treat :)
The day after that was spent at Wet n Wild, Movie World (again!) AND Dream World (again).
The day after that - it was my turn for some thrilling "rides" at Harbourtown Outlet Centre, and later that night, we spent some time souvenir shopping at Surfers Paradise.
The day after that - we went to Broadbeach again, and we later went to Sea World, and then shopping (again) at Pacific Fair. And of course - being our last night there - malam tu pulun shopping for souvenirs at Surfers Paradise again!
Hanna and Hasya went on MOST of the BIG THRILL rides at the parks. You just name it, they were on it (except for the ones which were under maintenance on the days we were there). THEY DEFINITELY DO NOT HAVE MY GENES, unlike Hilman who was rather selective when it came to choosing his rollercoaster rides. He opted to NOT go on the ones which would leave one with a zero-gravity sensation and those which would make one feeling ultra-dizzy, post-ride. So very like his Mommy... Hehehe! :)
Apart from the Theme Parks and the occcassional shopping trips, we didn't really go out that much as the kids preferred to just sleep and rest at the apartment. And what with Ayah subscribing to a week Wifi connection to the apartment, the kids had a field day going online in the evenings!
Anyway, as we were not really rushing to go to all the places around Gold Coast and Brisbane recommended for tourists, all in all it was quite a relaxing break for us, for Ayah especially, as he managed to catch up on some sleep over there. (But, having said that, he had to spend a few hours on Tuesday to work on his MM article which he had to submit that night for the Wednesday issue! What to do? Orang Gila Kerja like that lah!)
After spending 6 days in Gold Coast, we checked out of Mark*am Court on Friday morning, took the 9:50 am flight back to KL and by 3:30pm (Msian time) we were back on home soil.
Syukur alhamdulillah, everything dipermudahkan for us from the day we left KL until the day we came back :)
If it's a relaxing but fun break in GC that you're looking for, I think 1 week is just nice with you renting an apartment and a car (with a GPS), and do as what you please in your own time, having a good nap here and there. Just like what we did.
BUT, if you feel like you want to explore a bit more of what GC and Brisbane have to offer, you should rent an apartment and a car (with a GPS, of course!) and stay for 10 days. OR if you can't afford to stay that long due to limited cuti and all, then, alternatively you can go for a 5D4N OR 6D5N packaged tour (which will be pretty hectic as there are so many things to do and so many places to go to (on top of the 5 Theme Parks!) within that 6 days.
Anyway, I had wanted to post an entry on our GC trip earlier, but, after coming back to KL I was pretty buried in an avalanche of exams invigilations, and of course - with the task of marking the exam scripts lah pulak after that. And on top of that, two days after we came back, it was my MIL's turn to go for a vacation, and we were "house-sitting" for her for a couple of weeks, while she was in London.
Nak jadikan cerita, her maid ran away last Friday, 2 days before my MIL was due to come home!
I was not at home when it happened. In fact I was on my way home from the office. My SIL Rubiah was there with her kids, along with Hasya and Hilman, and Bibik Dar. Everybody was inside the house, while the maid - Eton - was sweeping outside. We checked the CCTV recording after she cabut and it showed her tawaf the compound a few times, looking out to the main road nervously every now and then, and at 4:57pm, she went down to the garage with the penyapu lidi, pretending to sweep there, walked towards the garbage closet, walked through it, and never came back in!
And I reached home at 5:25pm.
And we only knew she was gone at 6:45pm when Dar could not find her when she was supposed to start cooking dinner then! All those while everybody was thinking that she was outside watering the plants, and doing some gardening.
And the recordings also showed that the guard was standing about 30 feet from the garbage closet when Eton went out. He was looking out at the back, probably enjoying a breather of the angin petang, watching the golfers doing their thang. And he was oblivious to the fact that Eton had cabut lari right under his nose...
Anyway, like Hilman (maybe rightly?) put it, "The guard is supposed to make sure nobody comes INTO the house, NOT goes OUT of the house, Mommy..."
My MIL came back on Sunday night, and with her being maidless now, we are extending our stay at her place so that Dar can help her out around the house.
So, begitulah ceritanya...
So, that's all for now. Hopefully, there'll be another update from me soon, insya Allah.
In the mean time, here are some pics from our Gold Coast trip. Enjoy!
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
P/S :- Please be warned : A friend took nearly 3 days to go through the pics (in between his free time and work schedule, of course :))
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan, and Down Memory Lane...
The last time we went for a family holiday was in November last year (I think?) Even then, I wouldn't really call it a "holiday" as such, as it was only a 3D2N break in Genting, and we were there to tag Ayah who had a meeting there. We only spent time as a family when Ayah had fulfilled whatever obligations he had during the meeting. Even then, the second night we were there, Ayah had to turun bukit as he had a prior commitment in KL, and he only re-joined us the next morning. Like most of our "tag-along" breaks, all accommodation and meals at the hotel were taken care by Ayah's sponsors. So, we only had to foot the bills for all the fun stuff at the Theme Park :)
The school holidays which had just passed was no different, as yet again we went for another tag-along break with Ayah. This time to Penang. Ayah was one of four speakers at a Cardio Meeting held at Ho*id*y Inn, Batu Feringghi, and he was given a couple of duties for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, and again, all expenses for our stay at the hotel were sponsored by the organizers.
(Hehehe...So, by now you all have surely got it - we only go for a holiday when we don't have to pay for it! Hahaha! Cheap-skate, huh? ;))
Anyway, we decided to start our trip up to Penang on Friday morning and break our journey in Taiping - spending the night at my Brother Jame's place before continuing our drive to Batu Feringghi on Saturday morning.
It was somewhat a different experience this time around as we brought along Zaidy to drive us, and as we were in no rush, we managed to take a few "Jalan-jalan Cari Makan" (JJCM)and "Down Memory Lane" (DML) breaks along the way. It was a leisurely drive, and Ayah managed to get some sleep during the journey (which was just as well as he only had a 2 1/2 hours sleep the night before - NOT because he was watching a World Cup match, but rather because he had to attend to an emergency until 5:30 in the morning).
Suffice to say, the trip brought a lot of memories, and not to mention a few kilos back! Dang...Whatever kilos I had managed to shed in the last couple of months, I gained back half of them over the four days break :(
Anyway, just to summarize our JJCM and DML trip, the first stop we made on our way to Taiping on Friday, was at the Sg. Buloh R&R for our breakfast (where I had a bowl of Meehoon Soto - calorie counter started its duty then). The next stop was at the Tapah R&R to buy some fruits as buah tangan for my brother and family - the normal Jambu Air, Jambu Batu and Mangoes with the Serbuk Asam Boi and Kuah Rojak. We then proceeded to Kuala Kangsar as Ayah wanted to bring and show the kids his alma mater. We spent a good 45 minutes just walking around the school compound and taking pictures, after which we had lunch at the Sungei Perak Resort (where I had a plate of Char Kuey Teow pulak. "Kachiiiinnnggg!!" screamed the calorie counter!) The next stop was the Masjid Ubudiah Bukit Chandan, and I must say that we were very impressed with how the exterior of the Masjid was being maintained. It was simply beautiful.
We left Kuala Kangsar at around 3:45p.m, and ended up taking the jalan lama up north instead of the North-South Highway when Zaidy missed a turn - which was in fact a blessing in disguise as we ended up in Bukit Gantang. And of course, when you're in Bukit Gantang, it would be a sin NOT to indulge yourselves in their famous durian, right? And that was what we did. We just stopped by a durian stall along the jalan lama, and had the most delicious durians beramai-ramai. I think I probably had 7-8 pieces of durians at one sitting (calorie counter on over-drive!) I swear I could have taken in more durians, but the plateful of Char Kuey Teow which I just had barely 2 hours before that just didn't leave much space for me to do that! :( Silap strategy wehhh...
We reached Taiping Town just after 5:00p.m, and went around the beautiful Lake Gardens, and I decided to show the kids my primary school - Treacher Methodist Girls School. Tak mau kalah... Ayah dah tunjuk sekolah dia, Mommy pun kena tunjuk sekolah Mommy...Hehehe! I have to say that we were REALLY impressed with how clean the whole school was. Kudos to the teachers and pupils of TMGS! One thing I realized - the things that seemed huge around the school when I was schooling there seemed so much smaller last weekend. So many things have changed, but having said that, I was still overwhelmed with the familiarities and memories the visit to the school had brought back to me.
We later brought the kids to visit my Uncle Yang who was staying at my Arwah grandparents' house in Kamunting, and yet again, memories of how I had spent my days at my Atok and Atah's house when I was a child flooded in. I remembered playing hide and seek around the kampung, and I remembered how my siblings and cousins used to hide in our Atok's neighbours' houses. We were free to roam the kampung, and we were welcome to hide in all the houses there, tak kira mana ceruk rumah. We were known as "Cucu Tuan Haji Ismail" - the Tok Mudin Moden :)
After Kamunting, we made our way to Assam Kumbang to show the kids the two houses I lived in before I left for boarding school in JB. The house in Rodger Place (government quarters) where I spent the first 5 years of my life is still there and I must say is quite well-maintained, compared to the house in Jalan Sekolah Arab which we rented from 1974 to 1982. I could feel a heavy tug on my heart when I saw how the latter was pretty much abandoned and rundown, and I suddenly realized that my eyes were welling up with tears looking at the house which was once known among the orang kampung as the "Rumah Putih Jalan Sekolah Arab". It was not the only house which was abandoned there. A number of other houses which my childhood friends used to live in and which I used to frequent were also in similar conditions, if not worse. It was just so sad.
I left Assam Kumbang with a heavy heart, and we made our way to the Taiping Railway Station where my Brother Jame was to meet us. He and his family had just moved to a new house and I was not familiar with the new area. Jame met us outside the Railway Station - another place which brought a lot of memories back to me as that was where I used to bid farewell to my Mommy and Abah and shed buckets of tears everytime I had to go back to JB on the Keretapi Mel at the end of every school holiday in the 80's. I must say, the Railway Station didn't seem to have changed that much, even after 25 years since my last train ride from there. It was as if time stood still there.
We had a late tea of Satay Basree and Popiah Basah Cashier Market at Jame's place. It was sweet of Jame to remember my favourite - Satay Perut and Limpa/Paru, and I dare not reveal how many sticks of that sinful stuff ended in my tummy that day!! (calorie counter kerja kuat!) As if that was not enough, we had a late dinner and yours truly had Rice with Daging Merah and Telur Bungkus that night. Tak hengat dunia...
Breakfast the next morning was the customary Nasi Lemak and Roti Chanai (and I just couldn't be bothered with my diet dah at this point. Hehehe!) We only left Taiping at 11:00a.m.
The journey to Penang took us slightly more than 2 hours, as we were not that familiar with the roads. We checked-in at the hotel just after 1:00p.m and were given two rooms - the girls got one room all to themselves, while our Boy Chiman had to settle with sharing a room with his Ayah and Mommy :) We had lunch just before 2:00p.m and yours truly had a plate of Mee Goreng Mamak (the damage has been done anyway, kan? Might as well...LOL!).
The time after lunch was spent making myself busy unpacking stuff and making the rooms homely while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting. But, by 4:15p.m when there was no sign of Ayah coming back to the room, the kids and I decided to go down to the beach first. The kids went horse-riding before starting their sandcastle-building project, which later transformed into a dam-building effort, but which ended up as deep hole-digging venture between Hasya and Hilman and a few new friends they made on the beach.
Ayah managed to get away from his meeting and joined us at 5:30p.m. and what better way to welcome him to the beach than by getting him to watch Hanna go para-sailing! (I tell you...I know for certain that she definitely does not follow her Mommy. I would have peed in my pants even before I were to take off with the parachute!) So, that was fun. For Hanna. But, not for her Mommy who literally stopped breathing a few times watching her daughter floating/gliding so high up in the air! Lomah lutut den...
We had a poolside BBQ and Buffet Dinner at the hotel (which meant I basically walloped whatever I fancied at the buffet station) after which we decided to go for supper at Hard Rock Cafe. Malang nasib kami, as we didn't make any reservations, we couldn't get in. That place was filled to the brim. (A note to self - next trip to Penang, have to make sure I make reservations first). We made up for the disappointment by shopping sakan at the Hard Rock Shop, and later jalan-jalan at the night gerai along the main road leading to the hotel.
Sunday morning - after a breakfast of Teochew Porridge, Fried Meehoon, Scrambled Eggs and sausages (some in big and some in small portions...Hehehe!), the girls accompanied Hilman who wanted to go for a swim in the pool while their Mommy started to pack everybody's stuff back in the room. A good 2 hours were spent at the pool before the kids came up to have their shower and help me with the final packing.
By 12:30p.m everything was ready, and while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting, the kids and I had a few rounds of table tennis (which I'm sure did not help much in burning the newly-gained calories in me...) Ayah finally joined us for a couple of games at about 1:00p.m before we proceeded to have lunch at the Terrace Cafe. No need to tell lah what I had for lunch...too sinful :) Suffice to say there was Lamb Korma somewhere in it ;)
We checked out at 2:00p.m and started our journey back to KL. Again - a slow drive down as we were not in a rush. We made two stops on the way. The first stop was at Kuala Sepetang, just outside Taiping - for the famous Mee Udang Mak Jah just before 5:00p.m. I had the Mee Udang Special (with loads of udang and 2-3 Udang Besar thrown in) and we all agreed that the prawns were the freshest we've ever tasted. I have to say that the taste of the Mee Udang was not really out of this world, but, the fresh big prawns were definitely worthed the detour to Kuala Sepetang :)
We left Gerai Mak Jah just before 6:00p.m and continued our journey back to KL, making one last stop in Tapah to get some fruits and petais for my Mommy and MIL.
We reached my MIL's house just after 9:00p.m, syukur alhamdulillah...
Kesian the kids - had to go to school the next day, but, luckily they had prepared all their uniforms and schoolbags for Monday before we left for Penang, and I think they went to sleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow that night.
And with all the mix and match of food going through my esophogus over the four days, you would have thought that I would end up with a tummy upset, right?
Syukur alhamdulillah - nope.
But, the next day, I got this text from Zaidy -
"Salam, puan. Hari ini saya MC boleh? Sakit perut".
So, there goes my leave for Monday as I had to be on supir duty the whole day. His perut is not as durable as my perut it seems :)
Hmmmm...Maybe that's God's way of helping me to shed the excess kilos I gained over the weekend, kan? ;)
* Click here for some photos ;)
The school holidays which had just passed was no different, as yet again we went for another tag-along break with Ayah. This time to Penang. Ayah was one of four speakers at a Cardio Meeting held at Ho*id*y Inn, Batu Feringghi, and he was given a couple of duties for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, and again, all expenses for our stay at the hotel were sponsored by the organizers.
(Hehehe...So, by now you all have surely got it - we only go for a holiday when we don't have to pay for it! Hahaha! Cheap-skate, huh? ;))
Anyway, we decided to start our trip up to Penang on Friday morning and break our journey in Taiping - spending the night at my Brother Jame's place before continuing our drive to Batu Feringghi on Saturday morning.
It was somewhat a different experience this time around as we brought along Zaidy to drive us, and as we were in no rush, we managed to take a few "Jalan-jalan Cari Makan" (JJCM)and "Down Memory Lane" (DML) breaks along the way. It was a leisurely drive, and Ayah managed to get some sleep during the journey (which was just as well as he only had a 2 1/2 hours sleep the night before - NOT because he was watching a World Cup match, but rather because he had to attend to an emergency until 5:30 in the morning).
Suffice to say, the trip brought a lot of memories, and not to mention a few kilos back! Dang...Whatever kilos I had managed to shed in the last couple of months, I gained back half of them over the four days break :(
Anyway, just to summarize our JJCM and DML trip, the first stop we made on our way to Taiping on Friday, was at the Sg. Buloh R&R for our breakfast (where I had a bowl of Meehoon Soto - calorie counter started its duty then). The next stop was at the Tapah R&R to buy some fruits as buah tangan for my brother and family - the normal Jambu Air, Jambu Batu and Mangoes with the Serbuk Asam Boi and Kuah Rojak. We then proceeded to Kuala Kangsar as Ayah wanted to bring and show the kids his alma mater. We spent a good 45 minutes just walking around the school compound and taking pictures, after which we had lunch at the Sungei Perak Resort (where I had a plate of Char Kuey Teow pulak. "Kachiiiinnnggg!!" screamed the calorie counter!) The next stop was the Masjid Ubudiah Bukit Chandan, and I must say that we were very impressed with how the exterior of the Masjid was being maintained. It was simply beautiful.
We left Kuala Kangsar at around 3:45p.m, and ended up taking the jalan lama up north instead of the North-South Highway when Zaidy missed a turn - which was in fact a blessing in disguise as we ended up in Bukit Gantang. And of course, when you're in Bukit Gantang, it would be a sin NOT to indulge yourselves in their famous durian, right? And that was what we did. We just stopped by a durian stall along the jalan lama, and had the most delicious durians beramai-ramai. I think I probably had 7-8 pieces of durians at one sitting (calorie counter on over-drive!) I swear I could have taken in more durians, but the plateful of Char Kuey Teow which I just had barely 2 hours before that just didn't leave much space for me to do that! :( Silap strategy wehhh...
We reached Taiping Town just after 5:00p.m, and went around the beautiful Lake Gardens, and I decided to show the kids my primary school - Treacher Methodist Girls School. Tak mau kalah... Ayah dah tunjuk sekolah dia, Mommy pun kena tunjuk sekolah Mommy...Hehehe! I have to say that we were REALLY impressed with how clean the whole school was. Kudos to the teachers and pupils of TMGS! One thing I realized - the things that seemed huge around the school when I was schooling there seemed so much smaller last weekend. So many things have changed, but having said that, I was still overwhelmed with the familiarities and memories the visit to the school had brought back to me.
We later brought the kids to visit my Uncle Yang who was staying at my Arwah grandparents' house in Kamunting, and yet again, memories of how I had spent my days at my Atok and Atah's house when I was a child flooded in. I remembered playing hide and seek around the kampung, and I remembered how my siblings and cousins used to hide in our Atok's neighbours' houses. We were free to roam the kampung, and we were welcome to hide in all the houses there, tak kira mana ceruk rumah. We were known as "Cucu Tuan Haji Ismail" - the Tok Mudin Moden :)
After Kamunting, we made our way to Assam Kumbang to show the kids the two houses I lived in before I left for boarding school in JB. The house in Rodger Place (government quarters) where I spent the first 5 years of my life is still there and I must say is quite well-maintained, compared to the house in Jalan Sekolah Arab which we rented from 1974 to 1982. I could feel a heavy tug on my heart when I saw how the latter was pretty much abandoned and rundown, and I suddenly realized that my eyes were welling up with tears looking at the house which was once known among the orang kampung as the "Rumah Putih Jalan Sekolah Arab". It was not the only house which was abandoned there. A number of other houses which my childhood friends used to live in and which I used to frequent were also in similar conditions, if not worse. It was just so sad.
I left Assam Kumbang with a heavy heart, and we made our way to the Taiping Railway Station where my Brother Jame was to meet us. He and his family had just moved to a new house and I was not familiar with the new area. Jame met us outside the Railway Station - another place which brought a lot of memories back to me as that was where I used to bid farewell to my Mommy and Abah and shed buckets of tears everytime I had to go back to JB on the Keretapi Mel at the end of every school holiday in the 80's. I must say, the Railway Station didn't seem to have changed that much, even after 25 years since my last train ride from there. It was as if time stood still there.
We had a late tea of Satay Basree and Popiah Basah Cashier Market at Jame's place. It was sweet of Jame to remember my favourite - Satay Perut and Limpa/Paru, and I dare not reveal how many sticks of that sinful stuff ended in my tummy that day!! (calorie counter kerja kuat!) As if that was not enough, we had a late dinner and yours truly had Rice with Daging Merah and Telur Bungkus that night. Tak hengat dunia...
Breakfast the next morning was the customary Nasi Lemak and Roti Chanai (and I just couldn't be bothered with my diet dah at this point. Hehehe!) We only left Taiping at 11:00a.m.
The journey to Penang took us slightly more than 2 hours, as we were not that familiar with the roads. We checked-in at the hotel just after 1:00p.m and were given two rooms - the girls got one room all to themselves, while our Boy Chiman had to settle with sharing a room with his Ayah and Mommy :) We had lunch just before 2:00p.m and yours truly had a plate of Mee Goreng Mamak (the damage has been done anyway, kan? Might as well...LOL!).
The time after lunch was spent making myself busy unpacking stuff and making the rooms homely while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting. But, by 4:15p.m when there was no sign of Ayah coming back to the room, the kids and I decided to go down to the beach first. The kids went horse-riding before starting their sandcastle-building project, which later transformed into a dam-building effort, but which ended up as deep hole-digging venture between Hasya and Hilman and a few new friends they made on the beach.
Ayah managed to get away from his meeting and joined us at 5:30p.m. and what better way to welcome him to the beach than by getting him to watch Hanna go para-sailing! (I tell you...I know for certain that she definitely does not follow her Mommy. I would have peed in my pants even before I were to take off with the parachute!) So, that was fun. For Hanna. But, not for her Mommy who literally stopped breathing a few times watching her daughter floating/gliding so high up in the air! Lomah lutut den...
We had a poolside BBQ and Buffet Dinner at the hotel (which meant I basically walloped whatever I fancied at the buffet station) after which we decided to go for supper at Hard Rock Cafe. Malang nasib kami, as we didn't make any reservations, we couldn't get in. That place was filled to the brim. (A note to self - next trip to Penang, have to make sure I make reservations first). We made up for the disappointment by shopping sakan at the Hard Rock Shop, and later jalan-jalan at the night gerai along the main road leading to the hotel.
Sunday morning - after a breakfast of Teochew Porridge, Fried Meehoon, Scrambled Eggs and sausages (some in big and some in small portions...Hehehe!), the girls accompanied Hilman who wanted to go for a swim in the pool while their Mommy started to pack everybody's stuff back in the room. A good 2 hours were spent at the pool before the kids came up to have their shower and help me with the final packing.
By 12:30p.m everything was ready, and while waiting for Ayah to come back from his meeting, the kids and I had a few rounds of table tennis (which I'm sure did not help much in burning the newly-gained calories in me...) Ayah finally joined us for a couple of games at about 1:00p.m before we proceeded to have lunch at the Terrace Cafe. No need to tell lah what I had for lunch...too sinful :) Suffice to say there was Lamb Korma somewhere in it ;)
We checked out at 2:00p.m and started our journey back to KL. Again - a slow drive down as we were not in a rush. We made two stops on the way. The first stop was at Kuala Sepetang, just outside Taiping - for the famous Mee Udang Mak Jah just before 5:00p.m. I had the Mee Udang Special (with loads of udang and 2-3 Udang Besar thrown in) and we all agreed that the prawns were the freshest we've ever tasted. I have to say that the taste of the Mee Udang was not really out of this world, but, the fresh big prawns were definitely worthed the detour to Kuala Sepetang :)
We left Gerai Mak Jah just before 6:00p.m and continued our journey back to KL, making one last stop in Tapah to get some fruits and petais for my Mommy and MIL.
We reached my MIL's house just after 9:00p.m, syukur alhamdulillah...
Kesian the kids - had to go to school the next day, but, luckily they had prepared all their uniforms and schoolbags for Monday before we left for Penang, and I think they went to sleep as soon as their heads touched the pillow that night.
And with all the mix and match of food going through my esophogus over the four days, you would have thought that I would end up with a tummy upset, right?
Syukur alhamdulillah - nope.
But, the next day, I got this text from Zaidy -
"Salam, puan. Hari ini saya MC boleh? Sakit perut".
So, there goes my leave for Monday as I had to be on supir duty the whole day. His perut is not as durable as my perut it seems :)
Hmmmm...Maybe that's God's way of helping me to shed the excess kilos I gained over the weekend, kan? ;)
* Click here for some photos ;)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Bali Trip - 5th and 6th Day
Hi y'all. I'd better get the posting on our Bali Trip over and done with. The new Academic Year will start next week, and I would be pretty busy for the next 2-3 weeks, at least.
Anyway, the 5th day in Bali started off with Ayah and moi going for a morning walk around the hotel area. It had been quite some time since we last had a quiet alone time just the two of us, walking hand in hand, enjoying the fresh air and each other's company. We must have been the only people up at that hour as we could not see anybody else, except for the hotel staff that morning. So, that was nice :)
We went back to the villa after about an hour, hoping to get the kids up and join us for a splash in the pool. But, we had a tough time waking the girls up as apparently they stayed up until very late watching DVDs with the other girls the night before. No problem in waking their brother though, as Hilman being Hilman, he just loves the plunge pool. So, Ayah spent some time with his son dipping in the cold spring water that morning.
We managed to get everybody ready and have breakfast by 10:00a.m, and we then took the shuttle bus to Ubud Village for some shopping. Suffice to say, by the time we took the shuttle bus back to the hotel at 3:00p.m., everybody was exhausted. Nasib baik Ayah and I had booked a massage session at the spa for that afternoon, so from 4-5 p.m., we had a blissful time 'di-uli' by the Balinese masseurs with some Balinese music playing in the background for just over an hour. Best giler...
And while we were having the Balinese massage, Hilman was having his own foot massage session, which must have been so relaxing for him that by the time we were done, he was snoring away like nobody's business! Hehehe! As Hasya was having her final practice for the performance that night, we booked a massage session for her and Hanna for the next morning.
Ayah and I went straight back to the room after our massage as we had to get ready for the special dinner and performance by the students of DiDance at the hotel. They were to perform the Rejang Dewa and Legong Dances which Cok Ratih had taught them over the last couple of days. Everybody was excited and also nervous at the same time. Hilman especially - because he only had about one hour of lesson with Cok Ratih, and he was supposed to dance alone. The girls on the other hand had about 6 hours of lessons and practice, and they were not that pressured as they would be performing as a group.
All the dancers started to get ready with the make-up, hairdo, and the attires from 6:30p.m, and they only managed to get everybody ready at 9:15p.m. By that time everybody was already hungry, and all that waiting had made the little dancers a little anxious, I must say.
And when the time came for them to perform, they did REALLY well indeed, considering that they only had 6 hours of lessons over the 2 days. And Hilman amazed everyone present as he was SO, SO, SPORTING, and went on to perform his Tarian Baris with Cok Ratih's guidance, even though he was not sure of the steps at all! I had tears watching him perform, not because of anything but because I was so, so proud of him for giving his best that night even though he was rather sceptical that he could do it initially. Throughout the day, before the performance, he kept on asking/telling me, "What if I don't know what to do?". And I kept telling him, "It's okay. You just follow Cok Ratih and just have fun!". And I think he had fun alright that night :)
At the end of the show, all the students were presented with special certificates from Cok Ratih for attending the workshop and also for the public performance. The Dance Performance was the highlight of our Bali trip, and I think everybody had fun learning the new dances. And I think all the girls became so much closer over the 6 days of our Bali trip.
The next morning, Ayah gave a treat to his daughters by letting them go for a massage at the spa before breakfast. Even though Hanna had been to the spa with me before on previous vacations, it was Hasya's first experience, and I think she was a bit ticklish at first, but later found it pretty relaxing indeed. I think she was still feeling sleepy at the end of the session, and wanted more! :)
We checked out of Furama at 10:00a.m. as some of us in the group were flying back to KL on the 1:50p.m flight (which unfortunately was delayed until 11:30p.m that night!). After dropping them at the airport, the rest of us proceeded to Kuta, as we were flying on the 7:20p.m. flight later that day. Dida, who was extending her stay in Bali until the 20th June, was checking in into a hotel in Kuta for the rest of her stay, and we decided to tumpang our luggage at her hotel room while waiting for our evening flight.
We had about 5 hours to kill before our bus was to take us to the airport, and what better way to spend the time than shopping in Kuta! Hehehe! We also managed to jalan-jalan along Kuta Beach, and Hanna had a field day oogling over the Mat Salleh hunks there!
We managed to get changed and freshen up at Dida's room before leaving for the airport. Syukur alhamdulillah, everything was smooth (even though I rasa our luggage to dah nak macam terburai coz' sendat habis! Hahaha!)
The flight was on time, and we reached KLIA at 10:05p.m. No problems at all at the immigration and customs points (Syukur alhamdulillah! :)). Everybody was so tired (and I think was feeling sad because our Bali trip had ended) that nobody said a word throughout our journey home to SD...
We had a truly wonderful time in Bali, and insya Allah we'll return to the island again soon!
Here are some pics taken over the last two days of our stay there.
Enjoy!!!
And oh ya... I also got a belated birthday present from Ayah which he bought at Ngurah Rai Airport, in the form of this -
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DEAR!!! I LUUUUUUURRRRRVVVVEEE IT!!
MMMMUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHSSS!!!
:)
Anyway, the 5th day in Bali started off with Ayah and moi going for a morning walk around the hotel area. It had been quite some time since we last had a quiet alone time just the two of us, walking hand in hand, enjoying the fresh air and each other's company. We must have been the only people up at that hour as we could not see anybody else, except for the hotel staff that morning. So, that was nice :)
We went back to the villa after about an hour, hoping to get the kids up and join us for a splash in the pool. But, we had a tough time waking the girls up as apparently they stayed up until very late watching DVDs with the other girls the night before. No problem in waking their brother though, as Hilman being Hilman, he just loves the plunge pool. So, Ayah spent some time with his son dipping in the cold spring water that morning.
We managed to get everybody ready and have breakfast by 10:00a.m, and we then took the shuttle bus to Ubud Village for some shopping. Suffice to say, by the time we took the shuttle bus back to the hotel at 3:00p.m., everybody was exhausted. Nasib baik Ayah and I had booked a massage session at the spa for that afternoon, so from 4-5 p.m., we had a blissful time 'di-uli' by the Balinese masseurs with some Balinese music playing in the background for just over an hour. Best giler...
And while we were having the Balinese massage, Hilman was having his own foot massage session, which must have been so relaxing for him that by the time we were done, he was snoring away like nobody's business! Hehehe! As Hasya was having her final practice for the performance that night, we booked a massage session for her and Hanna for the next morning.
Ayah and I went straight back to the room after our massage as we had to get ready for the special dinner and performance by the students of DiDance at the hotel. They were to perform the Rejang Dewa and Legong Dances which Cok Ratih had taught them over the last couple of days. Everybody was excited and also nervous at the same time. Hilman especially - because he only had about one hour of lesson with Cok Ratih, and he was supposed to dance alone. The girls on the other hand had about 6 hours of lessons and practice, and they were not that pressured as they would be performing as a group.
All the dancers started to get ready with the make-up, hairdo, and the attires from 6:30p.m, and they only managed to get everybody ready at 9:15p.m. By that time everybody was already hungry, and all that waiting had made the little dancers a little anxious, I must say.
And when the time came for them to perform, they did REALLY well indeed, considering that they only had 6 hours of lessons over the 2 days. And Hilman amazed everyone present as he was SO, SO, SPORTING, and went on to perform his Tarian Baris with Cok Ratih's guidance, even though he was not sure of the steps at all! I had tears watching him perform, not because of anything but because I was so, so proud of him for giving his best that night even though he was rather sceptical that he could do it initially. Throughout the day, before the performance, he kept on asking/telling me, "What if I don't know what to do?". And I kept telling him, "It's okay. You just follow Cok Ratih and just have fun!". And I think he had fun alright that night :)
At the end of the show, all the students were presented with special certificates from Cok Ratih for attending the workshop and also for the public performance. The Dance Performance was the highlight of our Bali trip, and I think everybody had fun learning the new dances. And I think all the girls became so much closer over the 6 days of our Bali trip.
The next morning, Ayah gave a treat to his daughters by letting them go for a massage at the spa before breakfast. Even though Hanna had been to the spa with me before on previous vacations, it was Hasya's first experience, and I think she was a bit ticklish at first, but later found it pretty relaxing indeed. I think she was still feeling sleepy at the end of the session, and wanted more! :)
We checked out of Furama at 10:00a.m. as some of us in the group were flying back to KL on the 1:50p.m flight (which unfortunately was delayed until 11:30p.m that night!). After dropping them at the airport, the rest of us proceeded to Kuta, as we were flying on the 7:20p.m. flight later that day. Dida, who was extending her stay in Bali until the 20th June, was checking in into a hotel in Kuta for the rest of her stay, and we decided to tumpang our luggage at her hotel room while waiting for our evening flight.
We had about 5 hours to kill before our bus was to take us to the airport, and what better way to spend the time than shopping in Kuta! Hehehe! We also managed to jalan-jalan along Kuta Beach, and Hanna had a field day oogling over the Mat Salleh hunks there!
We managed to get changed and freshen up at Dida's room before leaving for the airport. Syukur alhamdulillah, everything was smooth (even though I rasa our luggage to dah nak macam terburai coz' sendat habis! Hahaha!)
The flight was on time, and we reached KLIA at 10:05p.m. No problems at all at the immigration and customs points (Syukur alhamdulillah! :)). Everybody was so tired (and I think was feeling sad because our Bali trip had ended) that nobody said a word throughout our journey home to SD...
We had a truly wonderful time in Bali, and insya Allah we'll return to the island again soon!
Here are some pics taken over the last two days of our stay there.
Enjoy!!!
And oh ya... I also got a belated birthday present from Ayah which he bought at Ngurah Rai Airport, in the form of this -
THANK YOU SO MUCH, DEAR!!! I LUUUUUUURRRRRVVVVEEE IT!!
MMMMUUUUUAAAAAAHHHHSSS!!!
:)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Bali Trip - Day 3 & Day 4
I have been meaning to post an update/continuation to our Bali trip postings, specifically on our 3rd and 4th days there, since the weekend, but, alas, I only managed to upload the pics to Slide.com today. Again I shall let the slides do the talking, while I just give a brief summary of what we did in those two days.
Did I mention in my last posting that the food at Diwangkara was nothing to shout about? Well, because of that, the kids decided not to have their breakfast at the hotel restaurant on the third morning, and instead they had their breakfast at the Villa. Seperti biasa, we normally bring our stocks of Maggi Cup Noodles of pelbagai perisa, packet drinks, kaya/tuna/ikan bilis buns, and a range of 3-in-1 drink sachets on our trips, and this time was no exception. So, while I had my breakfast eating the lumpy congee and condiments, and I-dunno-what noodles at the restaurant, the kids had Maggi Cups, some buns and Milo, which I'm sure was much tastier than what I had!
Straight after breakfast, we made our way to Cok Ratih's Puri again for the second day workshop, whereby this time the girls were taught the Tarian Legong, while Hilman continued with his Tarian Baris. After the lesson, we were brought around for a tour of Cok Ratih's Puri. Sorry - no pictures of the inside of the house. Didn't think it was proper to click away and take pics of the inside of somebody's house, kan? Hehehe! But, it was indeed a VERY nice house.
We were then whisked away to Warung Made at Jalan Seminyak for our lunch, which served a variety of Fusion Food. And Yeay!!! Within half an hour of us reaching the restaurant, Ayah, whose flight from KL arrived at 12:30pm, joined us there! Happy, happy, happy! Now we have somebody to take over the role of the family photographer...Hehehe! And of course, I was happy because I was missing him so, so much already. It's just not the same if he's not there with us on vacations like this. Rasa macam the "semangat" was not there. You know what I mean?
After lunch, we were given a couple of hours to shop along Jalan Seminyak, and we managed to get very nice blouses and dresses and also accessories for the girls (including me - the big girl ;)) Hilman, who was already contented with his PS2 Games CDs which we bought on our second day in Kuta, didn't ask for anything at all, but, by the second hour, he was already feeling restless and bored watching his Mommy and sisters choosing stuffs at the shops. So, he was really happy when we decided to go back to the bus at 4:30p.m, and made our way back to Diwangkara.
Back at the hotel, Ayah and the kids managed to spend about an hour at the Swimming Pool before they had to come back to the room to get ready for the programme lined for that night. Dinner was to be at Cok Ratih's Puri, whereby she had gathered her students to perform a few Balinese dances, accompanied by her own Gamelan group. The girls and Hilman managed to watch how exactly Tarian Rejang Dewa, Legong and Baris were performed that night to have some rough ideas as to how they were supposed to dance the dances when it was their turn to perform nanti. Dinner was held in Cok Ratih's garden, where the entertainment continued throughout the evening.
Back at the hotel, we invited everyone over for a lepak session at our Villa as it was our last night in Sanur, before we proceeded to Ubud. With our Villa being the biggest, with a huge living and dining area to fit everybody in the group, it was only natural and proper to have everybody over for a Midnight snack. What with our supply of Milo 3-in-1, and crisps, and cookies - all specially flown from KL, it was like a Midnight Feast for us, much to the delight of the kids :) I think everybody slept after 1:00a.m that night!
The next morning while yours truly was busy with last minute packings of our stuff, Ayah brought the kids to enjoy the beach after breakfast. We checked out of the hotel at 10:30a.m., and made our way to Ubud.
The journey to Furama Villa and Spa Resort, Ubud, took us nearly 6 hours, as we made a few stops along the way. We visited the Batik Centre, the Silver Craft Shop, and stopped at Padi Prada for lunch. The Crispy Duck at Padi Prada was simply heavenly... And, oh course, we also spent nearly 2 hours shopping at the Ubud Art and Craft Village before going to the hotel. Please don't ask how much the damage was, okay? Hehehe!
We arrived at the Resort just after 4:00p.m and were served with Balinese Tea with some local kuehs and snacks before we were shown our rooms. The kids were delighted with the Villa which was so much nicer than our Villa in Diwangkara, Sanur. The villa housed two rooms, and had it's own dining terrace, massage hut, and not forgetting - it's own plunge pool. And the Master Bathroom was of a semi-open concept, and was REALLY huge - bigger than our room in Diwangkara! It gave me the creeps every time I needed to go to the loo in the middle of the night while at Furama. The fact that the resort is surrounded by padi-fields didn't help much, either...
The kids managed to take a dip in the pool (fully-clothed, mind you!) before getting ready for dinner. This time, we were brought to Bebek Bengil (which literally means "Dirty Duck"), and we were given the choice of having another round of Crispy Duck, OR Crispy Chicken. All the kids opted for the Chicken, except for Hanna. While Ayah and I decided to take the Duck again. It's just that, we were so sure that we would never ever eat ducks back home in Malaysia. So, apa lagi...seize the opportunity lah, kan? And the Crispy Duck at Bebek Bengil was REALLY yummy, too, okay?
We reached our hotel at about 10:00p.m, and Hanna and Hasya invited a few of the other girls over to watch DVDs at their room. I think it was about 1:00a.m., when they finished watching the movie, and yours truly, together with Hanna and Hasya had to accompany the girls back to their respective rooms coz' Ayah dah lama sampai Dreamland masa tu. Bagi chance lah kan - cuti sekolah...and we were in Bali, kan?! But, seram jugak coz' it was REALLY quiet, and REALLY dark outside the hotel fence tu. (What do you expect - the resort is right smack in the middle of a padi-field!)
The kids went to bed just after 1:00a.m., while I found it really hard to sleep after that. It had been a long time since I last experienced a night so quiet, with only the sound of crickets continuously serenading the night...with the full moon shining bright, with the clouds weaving in and out in between...The feeling I had that night was indescribable.
I didn't know when exactly I finally dozed off, but, by 5:00p.m, I was already up - awaken by the sound of the roosters cockadoodle-do-ing away in the distance...It was so serene, and so calming.
If only the kids were up then - I'm sure they'd love the sound the roosters were making.
But, alas... they preferred their sleep more. This I know because I had a difficult time waking them up on that 5th day in Bali :)
To be continued...
Here are some pics.
Enjoy! :)
Did I mention in my last posting that the food at Diwangkara was nothing to shout about? Well, because of that, the kids decided not to have their breakfast at the hotel restaurant on the third morning, and instead they had their breakfast at the Villa. Seperti biasa, we normally bring our stocks of Maggi Cup Noodles of pelbagai perisa, packet drinks, kaya/tuna/ikan bilis buns, and a range of 3-in-1 drink sachets on our trips, and this time was no exception. So, while I had my breakfast eating the lumpy congee and condiments, and I-dunno-what noodles at the restaurant, the kids had Maggi Cups, some buns and Milo, which I'm sure was much tastier than what I had!
Straight after breakfast, we made our way to Cok Ratih's Puri again for the second day workshop, whereby this time the girls were taught the Tarian Legong, while Hilman continued with his Tarian Baris. After the lesson, we were brought around for a tour of Cok Ratih's Puri. Sorry - no pictures of the inside of the house. Didn't think it was proper to click away and take pics of the inside of somebody's house, kan? Hehehe! But, it was indeed a VERY nice house.
We were then whisked away to Warung Made at Jalan Seminyak for our lunch, which served a variety of Fusion Food. And Yeay!!! Within half an hour of us reaching the restaurant, Ayah, whose flight from KL arrived at 12:30pm, joined us there! Happy, happy, happy! Now we have somebody to take over the role of the family photographer...Hehehe! And of course, I was happy because I was missing him so, so much already. It's just not the same if he's not there with us on vacations like this. Rasa macam the "semangat" was not there. You know what I mean?
After lunch, we were given a couple of hours to shop along Jalan Seminyak, and we managed to get very nice blouses and dresses and also accessories for the girls (including me - the big girl ;)) Hilman, who was already contented with his PS2 Games CDs which we bought on our second day in Kuta, didn't ask for anything at all, but, by the second hour, he was already feeling restless and bored watching his Mommy and sisters choosing stuffs at the shops. So, he was really happy when we decided to go back to the bus at 4:30p.m, and made our way back to Diwangkara.
Back at the hotel, Ayah and the kids managed to spend about an hour at the Swimming Pool before they had to come back to the room to get ready for the programme lined for that night. Dinner was to be at Cok Ratih's Puri, whereby she had gathered her students to perform a few Balinese dances, accompanied by her own Gamelan group. The girls and Hilman managed to watch how exactly Tarian Rejang Dewa, Legong and Baris were performed that night to have some rough ideas as to how they were supposed to dance the dances when it was their turn to perform nanti. Dinner was held in Cok Ratih's garden, where the entertainment continued throughout the evening.
Back at the hotel, we invited everyone over for a lepak session at our Villa as it was our last night in Sanur, before we proceeded to Ubud. With our Villa being the biggest, with a huge living and dining area to fit everybody in the group, it was only natural and proper to have everybody over for a Midnight snack. What with our supply of Milo 3-in-1, and crisps, and cookies - all specially flown from KL, it was like a Midnight Feast for us, much to the delight of the kids :) I think everybody slept after 1:00a.m that night!
The next morning while yours truly was busy with last minute packings of our stuff, Ayah brought the kids to enjoy the beach after breakfast. We checked out of the hotel at 10:30a.m., and made our way to Ubud.
The journey to Furama Villa and Spa Resort, Ubud, took us nearly 6 hours, as we made a few stops along the way. We visited the Batik Centre, the Silver Craft Shop, and stopped at Padi Prada for lunch. The Crispy Duck at Padi Prada was simply heavenly... And, oh course, we also spent nearly 2 hours shopping at the Ubud Art and Craft Village before going to the hotel. Please don't ask how much the damage was, okay? Hehehe!
We arrived at the Resort just after 4:00p.m and were served with Balinese Tea with some local kuehs and snacks before we were shown our rooms. The kids were delighted with the Villa which was so much nicer than our Villa in Diwangkara, Sanur. The villa housed two rooms, and had it's own dining terrace, massage hut, and not forgetting - it's own plunge pool. And the Master Bathroom was of a semi-open concept, and was REALLY huge - bigger than our room in Diwangkara! It gave me the creeps every time I needed to go to the loo in the middle of the night while at Furama. The fact that the resort is surrounded by padi-fields didn't help much, either...
The kids managed to take a dip in the pool (fully-clothed, mind you!) before getting ready for dinner. This time, we were brought to Bebek Bengil (which literally means "Dirty Duck"), and we were given the choice of having another round of Crispy Duck, OR Crispy Chicken. All the kids opted for the Chicken, except for Hanna. While Ayah and I decided to take the Duck again. It's just that, we were so sure that we would never ever eat ducks back home in Malaysia. So, apa lagi...seize the opportunity lah, kan? And the Crispy Duck at Bebek Bengil was REALLY yummy, too, okay?
We reached our hotel at about 10:00p.m, and Hanna and Hasya invited a few of the other girls over to watch DVDs at their room. I think it was about 1:00a.m., when they finished watching the movie, and yours truly, together with Hanna and Hasya had to accompany the girls back to their respective rooms coz' Ayah dah lama sampai Dreamland masa tu. Bagi chance lah kan - cuti sekolah...and we were in Bali, kan?! But, seram jugak coz' it was REALLY quiet, and REALLY dark outside the hotel fence tu. (What do you expect - the resort is right smack in the middle of a padi-field!)
The kids went to bed just after 1:00a.m., while I found it really hard to sleep after that. It had been a long time since I last experienced a night so quiet, with only the sound of crickets continuously serenading the night...with the full moon shining bright, with the clouds weaving in and out in between...The feeling I had that night was indescribable.
I didn't know when exactly I finally dozed off, but, by 5:00p.m, I was already up - awaken by the sound of the roosters cockadoodle-do-ing away in the distance...It was so serene, and so calming.
If only the kids were up then - I'm sure they'd love the sound the roosters were making.
But, alas... they preferred their sleep more. This I know because I had a difficult time waking them up on that 5th day in Bali :)
To be continued...
Here are some pics.
Enjoy! :)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Bali Trip - Day 1 & Day 2 :)
Salams, and hello to all! :)
I'm baaaacccckkk!!!
My apologies for the 2-week hiatus. As most of you would have known already, we were in Bali from Saturday 6th June, and only came back last Thursday. Sampai KL I was down with a really bad sore throat and demam tak demam, while Ayah was down with very high fever and a tummy bug. Syukur Alhamdulillah, the kids were fine. Nasib baik jugak we didn't have any fever on the day we came back. If not, ada chance kena quarantined at KLIA on suspicion of us having the H1N1 virus!
For the next couple of days after coming back, yours truly had been catching up on the much-needed sleep and rest and was walking around like a zombie for most of the time. Pantang nampak bantal, mesti tido tak ingat dunia :) And we had a water crisis after Sya*as did some maintenance work in our housing area - our water tank ran dry, and our master bedroom floor was damp, and water was seeping through the floor right through our living room wall. Something to do with a leakage in either our, or our next door neighbour's aircond drain-pipe...So, we had to put up at my MIL's place for 2 nights. Sigh...
Anyway, I will let the pictures do the talking on our Bali trip. For this posting, I will only share on what we did over the first two days we were there. And my next posting will be dedicated to what we did with the rest of our stay in The Land of the Barongs, insya Allah :)
Our Bali trip was organized by Dida of DiDance Cultural House where Hasya and Hilman have been going for traditional dance classes for the last 2 years. The trip was meant to be a fun/study trip for Dida's students whereby they would be taught basic Balinese Dance by the Primadona of Balinese Dance herself - Cok Ratih. The dance workshop was scheduled to be held over three days, leaving us with only 2 days to do the touristy stuff.
There were 11 junior students altogether (with Hilman being the only boy), 3 adult students/parents, 7 parents, 1 sibling (Hanna) and Dida, altogether totalling to 23 of us in the group.
6th June 2009 - We left the house at 7:00a.m, reaching KLIA just before 8:00a.m., only to be informed that our 9:50a.m flight to Bali was delayed by more than an hour. But we were okay about it as it meant we could spend an extra hour with Ayah who had to stay on in KL due to his work commitments that weekend.
The 2 hours 40 minute flight to Bali was smooth, and we landed at Ngurah Rai Airport at 1:45p.m. (there's no time difference between KL and Bali), but the immigration people really took their time to clear everybody through! The last person in our group only got through the system at 3:15p.m!
Once outside the arrival hall, we were greeted by Nyoman – our tour guide, and were driven straight to Diwangkara Holiday Villa, in Sanur. The kids and I were placed in a villa which housed 3 rooms – one for us, one for Ai*i and her daughter Ri*qa*, and one room was reserved for Ayah when he was to join us on Monday. It has its own plunge pool, lounge, dining hall and a kitchenette. I would highly recommend this place if any of you are planning for a family getaway in Bali. But, be warned - the food served at the hotel restaurant was nothing to shout about. The hotel has its own private beach which we didn't really have time to enjoy, unfortunately :(
We had our packed lunch upon arrival at the hotel, and the kids later went for a dip in the plunge pool, before we went for dinner at the hotel's Legenda Restaurant. After dinner, we were then taken for a night drive around Kuta and Jalan Seminyak – the most happening night spots in Bali, and only got back to the hotel just before midnight. I think all of us fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
7th June 2009 - the next morning, after breakfast, we headed off to Cok Ratih’s sanggar at her Puri (palace) for the first session of the kids’ Balinese Dance Workshop. Cok Ratih is considered as the Primadona on the island when it comes to Balinese dances, and she’s a Royalty. Her Puri was really amazing. Needless to say, the ladies in the group were in awe admiring the wood carvings around the place. Truly exquisite, I tell you… nothing like what we have here in Malaysia. Her Puri is divided into several quarters – the main family residence, the dance/practice hall, the main performance hall, their praying hall/temple, and the servant quarters at the back of the complex – all in true Balinese architecture.
The girls were taught "The Rejang Dewa Dance", while Hilman was taught the "Tarian Baris" - also known as "The Warrior Dance". The students spent a good 3 hours learning their steps and familiarizing themselves with the music and rhythm that morning, and the session ended at 12:30p.m.
After the workshop, we then proceeded to Restaurant Natrabu for our lunch. Apparently they serve the best Masakan Minang in Bali, and after tasting the lauk-pauk segala, I dare say, I would agree with that. And I'm sure Hilman would agree, too...because he finished 3 pinggan nasi that afternoon! Hehehe!
After lunch, we were dropped at Kuta Square/Discovery Esplanade for a bit of shopping, while some in the group opted to go to the nearby WaterBom (something like our Sunway Lagoon). No prize for guessing which option we (or rather, I) opted for. Hehehe! We were there until about 6:30p.m, after which we went straight to Restaurant Ketupat for dinner. We were made to understand that it's one of Mick Jagger's favourite restaurants in Bali, and it's very popular among foreign celebrities. The restaurant serves authentic Masakan Bugis, and has a very nice ambience. A must try for those who plan to go to Bali nanti.
We went straight back to the hotel right after dinner and the kids spent about an hour dipping in Teacher Dida's plunge pool, before calling it a day.
Another long day awaited them the next day...as they were supposed to polish their Rejang Dewa Dance before Cok Ratih started them on another dance - "The Legong Dance".
And the kids and I were especially excited because Ayah would be arriving from KL and joining us the next day!
YEAY!!!
Here are some pics of the happenings on the first two days of our stay in Bali.
Enjoy! ;)
I'm baaaacccckkk!!!
My apologies for the 2-week hiatus. As most of you would have known already, we were in Bali from Saturday 6th June, and only came back last Thursday. Sampai KL I was down with a really bad sore throat and demam tak demam, while Ayah was down with very high fever and a tummy bug. Syukur Alhamdulillah, the kids were fine. Nasib baik jugak we didn't have any fever on the day we came back. If not, ada chance kena quarantined at KLIA on suspicion of us having the H1N1 virus!
For the next couple of days after coming back, yours truly had been catching up on the much-needed sleep and rest and was walking around like a zombie for most of the time. Pantang nampak bantal, mesti tido tak ingat dunia :) And we had a water crisis after Sya*as did some maintenance work in our housing area - our water tank ran dry, and our master bedroom floor was damp, and water was seeping through the floor right through our living room wall. Something to do with a leakage in either our, or our next door neighbour's aircond drain-pipe...So, we had to put up at my MIL's place for 2 nights. Sigh...
Anyway, I will let the pictures do the talking on our Bali trip. For this posting, I will only share on what we did over the first two days we were there. And my next posting will be dedicated to what we did with the rest of our stay in The Land of the Barongs, insya Allah :)
Our Bali trip was organized by Dida of DiDance Cultural House where Hasya and Hilman have been going for traditional dance classes for the last 2 years. The trip was meant to be a fun/study trip for Dida's students whereby they would be taught basic Balinese Dance by the Primadona of Balinese Dance herself - Cok Ratih. The dance workshop was scheduled to be held over three days, leaving us with only 2 days to do the touristy stuff.
There were 11 junior students altogether (with Hilman being the only boy), 3 adult students/parents, 7 parents, 1 sibling (Hanna) and Dida, altogether totalling to 23 of us in the group.
6th June 2009 - We left the house at 7:00a.m, reaching KLIA just before 8:00a.m., only to be informed that our 9:50a.m flight to Bali was delayed by more than an hour. But we were okay about it as it meant we could spend an extra hour with Ayah who had to stay on in KL due to his work commitments that weekend.
The 2 hours 40 minute flight to Bali was smooth, and we landed at Ngurah Rai Airport at 1:45p.m. (there's no time difference between KL and Bali), but the immigration people really took their time to clear everybody through! The last person in our group only got through the system at 3:15p.m!
Once outside the arrival hall, we were greeted by Nyoman – our tour guide, and were driven straight to Diwangkara Holiday Villa, in Sanur. The kids and I were placed in a villa which housed 3 rooms – one for us, one for Ai*i and her daughter Ri*qa*, and one room was reserved for Ayah when he was to join us on Monday. It has its own plunge pool, lounge, dining hall and a kitchenette. I would highly recommend this place if any of you are planning for a family getaway in Bali. But, be warned - the food served at the hotel restaurant was nothing to shout about. The hotel has its own private beach which we didn't really have time to enjoy, unfortunately :(
We had our packed lunch upon arrival at the hotel, and the kids later went for a dip in the plunge pool, before we went for dinner at the hotel's Legenda Restaurant. After dinner, we were then taken for a night drive around Kuta and Jalan Seminyak – the most happening night spots in Bali, and only got back to the hotel just before midnight. I think all of us fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.
7th June 2009 - the next morning, after breakfast, we headed off to Cok Ratih’s sanggar at her Puri (palace) for the first session of the kids’ Balinese Dance Workshop. Cok Ratih is considered as the Primadona on the island when it comes to Balinese dances, and she’s a Royalty. Her Puri was really amazing. Needless to say, the ladies in the group were in awe admiring the wood carvings around the place. Truly exquisite, I tell you… nothing like what we have here in Malaysia. Her Puri is divided into several quarters – the main family residence, the dance/practice hall, the main performance hall, their praying hall/temple, and the servant quarters at the back of the complex – all in true Balinese architecture.
The girls were taught "The Rejang Dewa Dance", while Hilman was taught the "Tarian Baris" - also known as "The Warrior Dance". The students spent a good 3 hours learning their steps and familiarizing themselves with the music and rhythm that morning, and the session ended at 12:30p.m.
After the workshop, we then proceeded to Restaurant Natrabu for our lunch. Apparently they serve the best Masakan Minang in Bali, and after tasting the lauk-pauk segala, I dare say, I would agree with that. And I'm sure Hilman would agree, too...because he finished 3 pinggan nasi that afternoon! Hehehe!
After lunch, we were dropped at Kuta Square/Discovery Esplanade for a bit of shopping, while some in the group opted to go to the nearby WaterBom (something like our Sunway Lagoon). No prize for guessing which option we (or rather, I) opted for. Hehehe! We were there until about 6:30p.m, after which we went straight to Restaurant Ketupat for dinner. We were made to understand that it's one of Mick Jagger's favourite restaurants in Bali, and it's very popular among foreign celebrities. The restaurant serves authentic Masakan Bugis, and has a very nice ambience. A must try for those who plan to go to Bali nanti.
We went straight back to the hotel right after dinner and the kids spent about an hour dipping in Teacher Dida's plunge pool, before calling it a day.
Another long day awaited them the next day...as they were supposed to polish their Rejang Dewa Dance before Cok Ratih started them on another dance - "The Legong Dance".
And the kids and I were especially excited because Ayah would be arriving from KL and joining us the next day!
YEAY!!!
Here are some pics of the happenings on the first two days of our stay in Bali.
Enjoy! ;)
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... :)
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... :)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Our Langkawi Trip...
Salams, and Hi, y'all.
I know...I know... our Langkawi trip tales are rather lemau already, but, I was so busy last week, and only managed to upload the pics to my Slide account today.
I'll let the pics do the talking, huh?
But, briefly -
Second day - the weather was glorious, and we spent the day enjoying the hotel pool and beach, and later we went island-hopping to Dayang Bunting, Beras Basah, and Singa Besar (the last island - we didn't go on land, but we fed the eagles from our boat). We had fun at the beach, and also at the Dayang Bunting Lake. Hilman said that was his favourite part of the holiday :). Went back to the hotel around 5p.m., and Ayah was kind enough to let Hanna and I have a mother-daughter bonding time at the Aroamas Spa, while he whiled away the time playing ping-pong with Hilman and Hasya.
Only 18+ are allowed actually, but we told them that Hanna was 16 (tipu sunat!), and they let her in :). We went for the steam room, sauna, Balinese massage, Mandi Lulur and ended the session with the Mandi Bunga. All that in 2 1/2 hours. Bliss...(but, this surely burnt a hole in Ayah's pocket! But, sekali-sekala okay kan, Ayah?!) Thank you, Ayah... Mommy and Hanna REALLY enjoyed our bonding time at the spa...
Kesian Hasya... She was upset that she could not join us at the spa. Not even for a hair treatment session! She said it was not fair because when we were at Kuantan Swiss Ga*den, she was allowed to have the hair treatment with her Kak Long. Anyway, to make up for it, I had some bonding time with her at the room later - teaching her the right way to makan kuachi. Hahaha!
Third day - we had very fine weather, too. We spent it at the KILIM Geo Park (went to two caves, a fish farm, eagle feeding, etc - all along the mangrove coast). We then went to the Wildlife Park, where the kids played with some very cute and some not very cute birds and mammals and reptiles. Ostriches - NOT cute at all. So garang and lahap I tell you!!! We then proceeded to the Durian Perangin Waterfalls where all the girls decided to just watch Ayah and Hilman had fun in the VERY cold water. After about 20 minutes, both of them decided to call it a day. Dah menggigil-gigil...
We then went to the Oriental Village for some light shopping, and the kids had some fun time playing with some pythons... (Eeeeewwwww...Urggghhhhh...AAAArrrgggghhhh!!) They definitely didn't get their courage and bravery handling those slimy, scaly, slithering thingies from Ayah and I. That's for sure! Meremang bulu roma I...
Fourth day - it started to rain from 4a.m in the morning up until the time we reached the airport at 7p.m to catch our flight back to KL! But, no worries there because most of the time was spent indoors anyway, ESPECIALLY at the Haji Ismail Group Duty Free Shops in Kuah. I need not elaborate on this, lah kan? Suffice to say, we again burnt a BIG hole in Ayah's pocket with my Herb Country Corningware shopping spree!
It's okay, Ayah...nanti I tampal balik the holes, okay? :)
We reached KLIA at 10:30p.m, and only reached SD about midnight.
Everybody had great fun in Langkawi, and we're planning to go again next year. We'll probably do something different next time. The snorkelling trip to Pulau Payar will be high on the agenda next year, insya Allah :)
Enjoy the pics!
I know...I know... our Langkawi trip tales are rather lemau already, but, I was so busy last week, and only managed to upload the pics to my Slide account today.
I'll let the pics do the talking, huh?
But, briefly -
Second day - the weather was glorious, and we spent the day enjoying the hotel pool and beach, and later we went island-hopping to Dayang Bunting, Beras Basah, and Singa Besar (the last island - we didn't go on land, but we fed the eagles from our boat). We had fun at the beach, and also at the Dayang Bunting Lake. Hilman said that was his favourite part of the holiday :). Went back to the hotel around 5p.m., and Ayah was kind enough to let Hanna and I have a mother-daughter bonding time at the Aroamas Spa, while he whiled away the time playing ping-pong with Hilman and Hasya.
Only 18+ are allowed actually, but we told them that Hanna was 16 (tipu sunat!), and they let her in :). We went for the steam room, sauna, Balinese massage, Mandi Lulur and ended the session with the Mandi Bunga. All that in 2 1/2 hours. Bliss...(but, this surely burnt a hole in Ayah's pocket! But, sekali-sekala okay kan, Ayah?!) Thank you, Ayah... Mommy and Hanna REALLY enjoyed our bonding time at the spa...
Kesian Hasya... She was upset that she could not join us at the spa. Not even for a hair treatment session! She said it was not fair because when we were at Kuantan Swiss Ga*den, she was allowed to have the hair treatment with her Kak Long. Anyway, to make up for it, I had some bonding time with her at the room later - teaching her the right way to makan kuachi. Hahaha!
Third day - we had very fine weather, too. We spent it at the KILIM Geo Park (went to two caves, a fish farm, eagle feeding, etc - all along the mangrove coast). We then went to the Wildlife Park, where the kids played with some very cute and some not very cute birds and mammals and reptiles. Ostriches - NOT cute at all. So garang and lahap I tell you!!! We then proceeded to the Durian Perangin Waterfalls where all the girls decided to just watch Ayah and Hilman had fun in the VERY cold water. After about 20 minutes, both of them decided to call it a day. Dah menggigil-gigil...
We then went to the Oriental Village for some light shopping, and the kids had some fun time playing with some pythons... (Eeeeewwwww...Urggghhhhh...AAAArrrgggghhhh!!) They definitely didn't get their courage and bravery handling those slimy, scaly, slithering thingies from Ayah and I. That's for sure! Meremang bulu roma I...
Fourth day - it started to rain from 4a.m in the morning up until the time we reached the airport at 7p.m to catch our flight back to KL! But, no worries there because most of the time was spent indoors anyway, ESPECIALLY at the Haji Ismail Group Duty Free Shops in Kuah. I need not elaborate on this, lah kan? Suffice to say, we again burnt a BIG hole in Ayah's pocket with my Herb Country Corningware shopping spree!
It's okay, Ayah...nanti I tampal balik the holes, okay? :)
We reached KLIA at 10:30p.m, and only reached SD about midnight.
Everybody had great fun in Langkawi, and we're planning to go again next year. We'll probably do something different next time. The snorkelling trip to Pulau Payar will be high on the agenda next year, insya Allah :)
Enjoy the pics!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Greetings from....
Salams, and Greetings from Pulau Corningware!!! (Ooops! I meant to say "Langkawi" ;))
First and foremost, thank you for all the birthday wishes for Hanna, and please accept my apologies for not counter-commenting, as I had asked the tuanpunya badan to do so personally. As I'm typing this, there are still a few which she had not counter-commented, and she asked me to let you all know that she would do it soon :)
I meant to post an entry on Hanna's birthday dinner with her friends first, but, alas, the pics are all in my notebook which I have not brought here with me. And of course - a posting on the kids' new gadgets, too ;). Yup, everybody is extremely happy with their new "toys". Will blog about these once I'm back in KL, okay, y'all?
Anyway, arrived here yesterday at 3:05p.m, and after getting our rented car at the airport, we checked in at the hotel. Hmmmm...I think our firstborn was not that happy with the hotel when she saw the reception area, etc. Well, if she was comparing Sh*ra*on Langkawi with Ho*da* Vi*la, memang la like cannot be happy one! Hehehe! One is 5 Star...this one is 5 Moon (borrowing Ayah's terminology on hotel ratings. Hahaha!)
The last time we were here last year, we stayed at Sh*ra*on for 2 nights and then at Be*ja*a for another two. The Sh*ra*on stay was fully sponsored as Ayah was having a meeting there. Nak tanggung sendiri...Aiyooo...bayar instalments boleh tak? Hehehe! We wanted to stay there again, but, because they're five of us (and Hanna is already 13, and considered an adult), we were told that we had to book 2 rooms. Errrr, thank you, but no thank you! Kalau satu room tu, okay lagi lah kot...
Ayah surfed the net and the ONLY hotel which could accept our reservation online for 1 room for 3 Adults and 2 Kids was Ho*ida* Vi*la. All other hotels required us to book 2 rooms. Okaylah...it's not The Ritz, but, it's nice (ish). Hehehe! I think we've got the best room - the last room, right beside the swimming pool and facing the sea. As Ayah puts it - we don't have to wear any slippers when we want to go to the beach. It's grass - sand - sea, right outside our door :).
It has the main bedroom which has 2 Super Single beds and a Sofa bed which can sleep 2, which has an attached bathroom. It also has the living area which has another sofa bed which can sleep another one, which has an attached washroom to it. It has two TVs, and one DVD player (even though the kids have brought their own). All in all, I think 7 people could sleep comfortably here. Hmmmm, next time when dah tambah anak lagi 2, we can book this place again. Hahahaa!
It was just an easy evening for us yesterday. Ayah brought the kids to the swimming pool around 6p.m and they then went to the beach to watch the sunset. Ayah said it was pretty breath-taking. Why wasn't I there witnessing this breath-takingly beautiful sunset with them? Well, while the kids and Ayah were doing all that, I was snoring away in the room - qadha' tido... Bliss! Hehehe! I only had about 3 hours of sleep the night before, packing EVERYBODY'S stuffs to bring to Langkawi. I had been pretty busy up to the day before and didn't have time to start packing earlier. Started packing at 11p.m, and only went to sleep at 5:30a.m!
We had dinner at Maya Seafood which is just about twenty metres from the Hotel main entrance. Unfortunately (or fortunately?!) we will not be indulging ourselves too much in seafood this time around, as Hilman has developed an allergy. He has developed some rashes above his upper-lips. According to the doctor, it's quite common amongst asthmatic kids. A kind of eczema thingy. Kesian Hilman coz' he's the one yang REALLY into seafood. So, to be fair on him and so as not to tempt him, everybody agreed to order a non-seafood dish each last night.
Anyway, we don't have any specific plans just yet, but, we're definitely doing stuff which we didn't manage to do the last time we were here. I was just reading Myheartbleeds's entry on her Langkawi trip with her girls, and we're definitely going island hopping, maybe tomorrow. The KLIM Geopark package seems interesting, too. And as the kids really enjoyed themselves at Telaga Tujuh Waterfall dulu, that would be in our itinerary, too. We're giving the Cable Car, and Mahsuri Museum a miss this time. The Pulau Payar thingy takes the whole day, and we decided to give it a miss, too. Insya Allah, ada rezqi next time.
But, errrr...somehow the "Corningware Package" which will probably take the whole day, too, IS in the itinerary, buleh?! Hehehehe...
Signing off now! Will post the pics when Hanna has transferred them into this notebook.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
First and foremost, thank you for all the birthday wishes for Hanna, and please accept my apologies for not counter-commenting, as I had asked the tuanpunya badan to do so personally. As I'm typing this, there are still a few which she had not counter-commented, and she asked me to let you all know that she would do it soon :)
I meant to post an entry on Hanna's birthday dinner with her friends first, but, alas, the pics are all in my notebook which I have not brought here with me. And of course - a posting on the kids' new gadgets, too ;). Yup, everybody is extremely happy with their new "toys". Will blog about these once I'm back in KL, okay, y'all?
Anyway, arrived here yesterday at 3:05p.m, and after getting our rented car at the airport, we checked in at the hotel. Hmmmm...I think our firstborn was not that happy with the hotel when she saw the reception area, etc. Well, if she was comparing Sh*ra*on Langkawi with Ho*da* Vi*la, memang la like cannot be happy one! Hehehe! One is 5 Star...this one is 5 Moon (borrowing Ayah's terminology on hotel ratings. Hahaha!)
The last time we were here last year, we stayed at Sh*ra*on for 2 nights and then at Be*ja*a for another two. The Sh*ra*on stay was fully sponsored as Ayah was having a meeting there. Nak tanggung sendiri...Aiyooo...bayar instalments boleh tak? Hehehe! We wanted to stay there again, but, because they're five of us (and Hanna is already 13, and considered an adult), we were told that we had to book 2 rooms. Errrr, thank you, but no thank you! Kalau satu room tu, okay lagi lah kot...
Ayah surfed the net and the ONLY hotel which could accept our reservation online for 1 room for 3 Adults and 2 Kids was Ho*ida* Vi*la. All other hotels required us to book 2 rooms. Okaylah...it's not The Ritz, but, it's nice (ish). Hehehe! I think we've got the best room - the last room, right beside the swimming pool and facing the sea. As Ayah puts it - we don't have to wear any slippers when we want to go to the beach. It's grass - sand - sea, right outside our door :).
It has the main bedroom which has 2 Super Single beds and a Sofa bed which can sleep 2, which has an attached bathroom. It also has the living area which has another sofa bed which can sleep another one, which has an attached washroom to it. It has two TVs, and one DVD player (even though the kids have brought their own). All in all, I think 7 people could sleep comfortably here. Hmmmm, next time when dah tambah anak lagi 2, we can book this place again. Hahahaa!
It was just an easy evening for us yesterday. Ayah brought the kids to the swimming pool around 6p.m and they then went to the beach to watch the sunset. Ayah said it was pretty breath-taking. Why wasn't I there witnessing this breath-takingly beautiful sunset with them? Well, while the kids and Ayah were doing all that, I was snoring away in the room - qadha' tido... Bliss! Hehehe! I only had about 3 hours of sleep the night before, packing EVERYBODY'S stuffs to bring to Langkawi. I had been pretty busy up to the day before and didn't have time to start packing earlier. Started packing at 11p.m, and only went to sleep at 5:30a.m!
We had dinner at Maya Seafood which is just about twenty metres from the Hotel main entrance. Unfortunately (or fortunately?!) we will not be indulging ourselves too much in seafood this time around, as Hilman has developed an allergy. He has developed some rashes above his upper-lips. According to the doctor, it's quite common amongst asthmatic kids. A kind of eczema thingy. Kesian Hilman coz' he's the one yang REALLY into seafood. So, to be fair on him and so as not to tempt him, everybody agreed to order a non-seafood dish each last night.
Anyway, we don't have any specific plans just yet, but, we're definitely doing stuff which we didn't manage to do the last time we were here. I was just reading Myheartbleeds's entry on her Langkawi trip with her girls, and we're definitely going island hopping, maybe tomorrow. The KLIM Geopark package seems interesting, too. And as the kids really enjoyed themselves at Telaga Tujuh Waterfall dulu, that would be in our itinerary, too. We're giving the Cable Car, and Mahsuri Museum a miss this time. The Pulau Payar thingy takes the whole day, and we decided to give it a miss, too. Insya Allah, ada rezqi next time.
But, errrr...somehow the "Corningware Package" which will probably take the whole day, too, IS in the itinerary, buleh?! Hehehehe...
Signing off now! Will post the pics when Hanna has transferred them into this notebook.
Have a great weekend, y'all!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Interval : Pics from Kuantan Trip...
We had glorious weather. The kids had fun. And so did their Mommy and Ayah!!!
And the food! Drool, people...drool...
And the food! Drool, people...drool...
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Langkawi 23-27 November '07
We had FUN, FUN, FUN in the SUN, SUN, SUN!
Ayah had a 2-day meeting at Sher**on Langkawi 24th-25th November, and the kids and I tagged along for a holiday in the sun with him. We arrived a day earlier, and yours truly managed to shop for a few Corningware and Corelle sets for herself. Hehehe! And the two days when the meeting was on, we just enjoyed the hotel, as Ayah could not get away from it all. Very nice hotel indeed (but, Hasya thinks The Cyberlodge is still the "bestest" ever hotel we have ever stayed at, though!)
We checked out of Sher**on after the meeting ended and checked in into Ber**ya Beach Resort for the rest of our Langkawi stay. Although the hotel on the whole was not as nice/posh as Sher**on Langkawi, the kids just loved the beach and the swimming pool at Ber**ya much better. And I think I agree with them on that. The beach and the pool at Ber**ya were very much more children-friendly. But, in terms of the rooms we had, Sher**on got everybody's vote and won, hands down.
Despite the fact that Hasya was having fever on and off throughout the 5 days, and despite the fact that Hilman threw up nearly everytime after he had his breakfast, lunch and dinner (not because of anything, BUT because he just ate too much all the time!) all in all everybody had great fun.
We rented a Mitsubishi Outlander to get around the island, and discovered Pantai Chenang which became our place to "cari makan" throughout our stay there. Food was excellent, but I have to say that I expected it to be much cheaper than KL. Apparently, Ayah said that if we were to have the same dish, say, in Kuantan, it would have only cost us half of what we paid for in Langkawi! Anyway, we still needed to stuff ourselves with all the seafood while we were there, right?! So, no choice but to eat! Hehehehe!
We managed to cover the 'wajib' attractions (Kota Mahsuri, Underwater World, Cable Car, Telaga Tujuh, etc). This time around we decided not to go island hopping or snorkelling - we're saving those for our next trip to Langkawi, insya Allah (and Hilman just LOVED the waterfall at Telaga Tujuh that we have promised him that next time we will spend more time there!)
But, I think I need another vacation to get over this vacation loorrrr...
Enjoy the pics!
Ayah had a 2-day meeting at Sher**on Langkawi 24th-25th November, and the kids and I tagged along for a holiday in the sun with him. We arrived a day earlier, and yours truly managed to shop for a few Corningware and Corelle sets for herself. Hehehe! And the two days when the meeting was on, we just enjoyed the hotel, as Ayah could not get away from it all. Very nice hotel indeed (but, Hasya thinks The Cyberlodge is still the "bestest" ever hotel we have ever stayed at, though!)
We checked out of Sher**on after the meeting ended and checked in into Ber**ya Beach Resort for the rest of our Langkawi stay. Although the hotel on the whole was not as nice/posh as Sher**on Langkawi, the kids just loved the beach and the swimming pool at Ber**ya much better. And I think I agree with them on that. The beach and the pool at Ber**ya were very much more children-friendly. But, in terms of the rooms we had, Sher**on got everybody's vote and won, hands down.
Despite the fact that Hasya was having fever on and off throughout the 5 days, and despite the fact that Hilman threw up nearly everytime after he had his breakfast, lunch and dinner (not because of anything, BUT because he just ate too much all the time!) all in all everybody had great fun.
We rented a Mitsubishi Outlander to get around the island, and discovered Pantai Chenang which became our place to "cari makan" throughout our stay there. Food was excellent, but I have to say that I expected it to be much cheaper than KL. Apparently, Ayah said that if we were to have the same dish, say, in Kuantan, it would have only cost us half of what we paid for in Langkawi! Anyway, we still needed to stuff ourselves with all the seafood while we were there, right?! So, no choice but to eat! Hehehehe!
We managed to cover the 'wajib' attractions (Kota Mahsuri, Underwater World, Cable Car, Telaga Tujuh, etc). This time around we decided not to go island hopping or snorkelling - we're saving those for our next trip to Langkawi, insya Allah (and Hilman just LOVED the waterfall at Telaga Tujuh that we have promised him that next time we will spend more time there!)
But, I think I need another vacation to get over this vacation loorrrr...
Enjoy the pics!
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