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Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacation. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Kisah cuti-cuti Australia, Jun 2015

Assalamualaikum dunia!
Hehehe, punyalah lama dah pergi vacation ni tapi baru ni nak up blogpost. Gila punya penyakit pemalas nak menulis ni. Tiap kali nak mula menulis tu rasa macam nak kena mencangkul bukit batu, punyalah berat tangan nak mula memetik keyboard ni ha.
Kalau nak ikutkan, cerita dah lama basi. Tapi kalau tak letak dalam blog, nanti dah tua-tua tak ingat pulak dah pernah pergi bercuti kat Sydney dan Melbourne, ye tak?
Oleh kerana kisah dah lebih sebulan berlalu, sebenarnya akupun dah tak ingat perasaan aku masa pergi vacation ni. Yang aku paling ingat, makan pizza dan kebab dekat Liverpool St kat Sydney tu sedap gila. Tekak musim sejuk ni memang lain macam sikit. Kalau dalam cuaca panas, aku memang dah mudah muak bila Nampak pizza. Tapi, bila cuaca sejuk below 10 degrees, macam-macam benda la pulak aku mengidam.
Dekat Sydney kitorang pergi tempat-tempat yang touristy yang penuh dengan orang Malaysia. Hahahaha! Termasuklah Opera House dan Blue Mountain. Sempat jugak tengok Olympic Stadium dan naik water taxi.
Yang penting, memang banyak jalan kakilah kat Sydney. Syok juga sebab budak-budak tiga orang ni kalau kat KL memang dah spoiled abih. Pergi balik sekolah hari-hari berjemput hantar. Pergi sana, kenalah jalan kaki beberapa km setiap hari.

Breakfast dekat Hyde Park
Kitorang lepak kat Sydney 3 hari je sebab rasa macam tak banyak pun benda yang nak diexplore. Hotel yang aku ambik tu Ibis Hotel namanya. Lokasi memang strategic abis. Betul-betul kat depan World Square. Kat situ memang banyak kedai dan yang penting ada supermarket Coles yang bukak sampai midnight. Walaupun hotel tu takde dapur atau microwave, senanglah jugak nak beli canned food, buah atau keropok.

Tingkap bilik kat Ibis Hotel yang mengadap ofis orang
Sepanjang kat Sydney memang langsung tak shopping sebab simpan duit untuk makan. Yelah kan sini takde dapur nak masak, hari-hari kena makan kat luar. Harga makanan pun lebih kurang kat Europe gak, mahal nak mampus. Maka, duit beriban-riban habih beli makanan je. 


Zarif tu memang kuat posing.



Aktiviti kegemaran kanak-kanak
Al kisah masa kat Melbourne, kitorang dok hotel apartment. So, bolehlah setakat nak panaskan pizza, masak apa-apa kat dalam microwave oven. Tapi still, semorang asyik nak gi belasah kebab jugak. Masa kitorang kat Melbourne cuaca belum cukup sejuk dan salji asli belum turun. Maka kami pun pergilah main salji buatan manusia je. Tak kisahlahkan, janji sejuk dan berais. Itupun budak-budak ni dah cukup excited. Aku sebenarnya tak suka salji. Dahlah sejuk, jalan lecak, kena pakai banyak lapis pulak tu. Tapi layan jugaklah sebab nak menggembirakan budak-budak ni ha.

Salji buatan manusia ni best gak layan.

Pergi gym sebab rasa bersalah lepas makan tak ingat dunia.
Kat Melbourne CBD (central business district) memang ada banyak Fitness First. Dekat-dekat pulak tu. So, kalau jadi gym instructor yang banyak kelas kat sini, mesti best. Boleh jalan kaki je nak pergi dari satu kelab ke satu kelab. Jimat duit minyak, tol, parking etc.
Aku pergi FF club yang paling dekat dengan hotel kitorang duduk tu. Yang ni namanya FF Melbourne Central. Kat atas shopping complex macam kat Empire tu jugaklah.
Beza kat sini takde free drinks. Semuanya kena beli. Awal-awal lagi awek kat front desk tu dah bagitau aku, "Miss, unlike Malaysian FF, you'll have to purchase the drinks here." Pastu, towel kecik pun diorang tak kasi. Ada towel mandi je. So, kau bayangkanlah bila masuk kelas, semorang dok bawak tuala mandi. Agak kelakarlah pemandangannya.

Dalam flight otw balik. Muka reluctant sungguh.
Patutlah muka dia camtu, flight tu kena turnback.


Masa dah last day kat Melbourne, aku cakap ngan husband aku, "rasa macam dah lama gila dok kat Melbourne ni." Husband akupun setuju. Pastu kitorang pun mengemas baju dengan sungguh excited sebab dah balik Malaysia (dan aku tak perlu makan kebab banyak-banyak lagi). Tapi, nak dijadikan cerita, adalah pulak adventure tak sengaja. Masa flight ke KL dah berlepas dalam beberapa minit, ada announcement mengatakan aircraft kena buat turnback sebab ada technical problem. Walaupun suara kapten tu macam cool je tapi kitorang semua dah tahu memang akan stranded lah kat sana. Kalau dah turnback, mestilah nak kena buat checking kat aircraft tu, kan?
Ternyata memang betul. Kami semua kena turun, ambik balik segala bagasi dan pergi lepak kat hotel. Masa tu diorang cakap next flight will be on the next afternoon. Tapi, bila kitorang dah kemas barang dan check out, katanya flight tu tak jadi jugak. Kena tunggu lagi satu hari, ada flight lain dari KL yang akan ambik kitorang.
Masa ni passengers semua dah mengamuk bagai nak rak, especially non-Malaysians. Orang Malaysia, macam biasalah, penuh sabar dalam menghadapi dugaan dan rintangan.

Kesian tau. Stranded 3 hari. Habis takde baju dah nak pakai.
Pada hari ke-2 kami sangkut kat sana, flight yang dijanjikan tak boleh take off pulak sebab dia punya back-up system ada problem. Maka kamipun baliklah ke hotel dengan penuh sumpah seranah. Hari ke-3 baru betul-betul dapat flight untuk balik KL.
Nasiblah kan kalau kena macam tu waktu hujung-hujung cuti sekolah. Walaupun ada banyak flight dari Melbourne ke KL setiap hari, semua flight pun penuh. Ada juga passengers yang pergi naik Singapore Airline, land kat Changi, pastu balik Malaysia.

Segerombolan manusia yang stranded.

Maka begitulah, betapa adventurousnya percutian kami di Australia. Tak shopping, tak jalan-jalan sangat, tapi adventure kat airport yang lebih.
Kawan aku suruh tulis novel pasal pembunuhan di airport. Hmmmm..... nantilah, kalau aku rajin.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Happy New Year 2013 !!!

We celebrated the new year in Melaka, at a homestay in Umbai, called Limastiga. The place was quiet, we were the only guests. According to the owner the place had been busy during the school holidays. As school was opening in just 2 days, it seemed we're among those who just didn't know how to slow down. School opening doesn't mean that all the fun should stop, right?

There's a wading pool and an adult pool (depth about 5 feet, I think)

At this age, my children are only interested in swimming pools, play grounds and video games. When we went to Langkawi in November, they complained when I suggested to visit some of the historical places. Thankfully Langkawi is a chocolate haven. So, it didn't take me long to convince them that we should do some chocolate shopping. 

We're in the water most of the time.

My children love water. We should find a house by the lake, someday.

Mr. Hubby invested in a new Olympus camera just because of underwater shots.

Rumah 2 of Limastiga. Just nice for our family.


Friday, September 17, 2010

Of 2010 Raya, Zarif kekudisan and our 10th anniversary...

Pictures first, stories later sebab makcik rushing nak kena pegi Giant nih... hehehehe...
Family photo taken on 3rd Raya before we started journey back to Bera.

Candid Photo taken on 1st Raya after Aidilfitri prayers.
The children monkeying around at Busu's place on the 2nd Raya

Zarif's chin kena kudis

Zarif's chin improved a lot after seeing Dr Ali @ SDMC

Our 10th wedding anniversary celebration @ Figs & Olive (translated: At-tiini wazzaituuun)

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Pesanan special sempena nak raya

Okay, korek punya korek punya korek.... ini satu je gambar yang aku jumpa yang ada muka lima-lima orang (dan posing agak senonoh). Take note: must snap more family pictures this raya. Selalunya, bila nak snap gambar, asyik-asyik muka Wazif ngan Zarif je yang banyak. Memang gila glamer dua-dua orang ni.

Family picture kat Avondale Rd. Lancaster. June 2010.

Maka bersempena dan ramai orang berduyun-duyun balik bercuti di kampung ni, saya ada beberapa pesanan penting (kalau nak buat checklist pun boleh) supaya hari raya kita lebih meriah dan happening:

1. Baju raya yang nak pakai kat kampung tu biarlah yang tahan lasak. Sila strike out silk kaftan dari list anda... hahaha. Ada harapan boleh tersangkut kat buluh lemang tu.

2. Kalau anak-anak tanya mana bunga api tahun ni, cakap kat diorang bunga api ngan mercun sekarang ada banyak radioaktif. Kalau diorang tak tau apa tu radioaktif, boleh tunjuk gambar mangsa bom kat Hiroshima & Nagasaki dulu.

3. Kalau tidur kat rumah kampung tu tidur berselerak kat ruang tamu, pastikan position anak bini anda yang sebenarnya so that, kalau bangun pegi toilet malam-malam takde lah confuse nak tidur semula kat sebelah mana. 

4. Masa on the way balik kampung, memang mengantuk bila drive sorang-sorang. Jadi, tukar-tukar pilot & co pilot setiap jam. Boleh? Hehe...

5. Mari tukar duit shilling kat bank untuk tahun ni. Dah boring lah letak duit kertas dalam green packets tu. Kalau duit shilling ada sound effect sikit.

6. Kepada kanak-kanak yang datang beraya semata-mata nak duit raya, kalau boleh lepas bagi salam semua berdiri tegak dalam barisan kat luar pintu pagar. Senang sikit nak bagi lima posen sorang. Sapa yang mengaku dia nak makan kuih je boleh masuk dalam dok kat kerusi (ya Allah, zalim jugak aku ni..)

7. Cara untuk mempastikan ketupat dan lemang sentiasa fresh dan tidak basi ialah dengan memasak lemang/ketupat yang baru pada malam raya pertama, kedua, ketiga, keempat dan seterusnya sehinggalah semua sedara mara dah kembali bekerja dan tak larat nak beraya.

8. Pada hari raya ketiga, juadah yang paling afdhal disediakan untuk menjamu tetamu ialah Nasik Lemak dan roti canai. Gerenti ramai orang datang.

9. Pada hari raya keempat, budak-budak semua dah mengidam nak makan KFC, sebab dah muak tengok ketupat/lemang/rendang. Maka orderlah KFC beberapa barrel untuk hari tersebut.

10. Jangan cuti raya lama sangat kat kampung, takut nanti ada pakcik/makcik yang sound, "ko ni dah kena buang keje ke hapa? Lama sangat cuti nya..."

Eh, aku sempat tulis 10 pesanan je ni sebab dah nak kena pegi masuk meeting. Yaaaaaa..... saya masih bekerja. Selagi tak keluar muka penyimpan mohor besar Raja-Raja kat TV tu, selagi itulah saya akan bekerja. 

Drive safely dan jangan nakal-nakal.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Travelling with infants

When Wazif and Shawqi were infants we decided not to travel until Shawqi was 2 years. The farthest we went was Kota Kinabalu for a short family vacation. During that time Shawqi could run and spoke a few simple words. We went to London in 2008 when Wazif was 7 and Shawqi 6; both were big enough, independent and busy playing games/watching movies throughout the journey.

I couldn't remember what made me decide to travel with an infant during our trip to UK a few weeks ago. My friends asked whether we're going to leave Zarif with relatives, I told them NO and they all looked very worried.

I had no experience travelling with an infant, so I asked around. A few of my friends brought their babies on even longer flights. The tips they gave me were really useful. I also went to see Zarif's paediatrician at SJMC. She was very supportive when I told her that I was going to bring the baby for vacation.

So here's a few pointers that I'd like to share with you, hope these will benefit us all:


  1. If you think you'll be travelling or you really love going places, never let your baby sleep in the 'buaian'. Yes this is the traditional Asian cradle I'm talking about. Usually, babies who are used to sleeping in the cradle will have problem falling asleep on matress/bed/comforter/sleeping bed/floors. They would cry and cry until you put them in the cradle and rock them. Carrying the buaian around is no easy task. They're bulky, heavy and certainly not allowed in the cabin. 
  2. When you book your flight tickets, make sure to mention your baby's age and request for the seats where the cabin crew could hang bassinets. The weight limit for the bassinet is 10kg and your baby's length shouldn't exceed 65cm. Otherwise you might risk the bassinet to fall off or your baby won't feel comfortable if he is too long that his legs are hanging out. 
  3. Plan the holiday only after your baby has taken most of the compulsory vaccinations. The cabin, the airport, foreign countries and even the airport limo are full of germs. New places could mean new germs/virus that your baby is not yet immune.
  4. 48 hours before flight, feed him moderately. If he overeats he will poo-poo more often and it's not really convenient to change diapers in the cabin/toilets.
  5. Buy a new toy a few days before the flight. The baby will be playing with his new toy with great interest during the journey.
  6. It's okay to give him some flu medicine about 30 minutes before the flight so that he won't have much problem falling asleep. (This was the advise given my Zarif's paediatrician.... hehhehehehe...)
  7. Pack his bottles, formula, diapers, pacifier, lotion, wipes, cereal in one hand luggage and make sure it's easily accessible to you when you're seated in the cabin.
  8. Feed the baby with formula milk (if he's not breastfed) before you enter the gate (about 30 minutes before departure). It's a common thing in airports now that passengers are not allowed to carry 100ml of liquid. If the bottle is 100ml or more but half filled, you will be asked to either drink or throw it away. Toothpaste, shampoo, shower gel, ointment, cream, moisturizer and even expressed breast milk (should neither of you drink it there and then) will be thrown away. 
  9. When the plane is about to take off, give your baby his pacifier or prepare his formula so that he would be sucking something when the pressure changes. Some babies become upset when they feel the change of pressure in their ears. 
  10. Once the seat-belt sign is OFF, and the baby is sleeping, you can put him on the floor in front of you (if cabin crew advised you that the baby is too heavy/long for the bassinet). Ask for more blanket an pillows so that your baby feels comfortable. (In Zarif's case, he slept for 10 hours on the floor.) Whenever the seat-belt sign is ON, you must hold the baby in your arms and put his belt on. The cabin crew will teach you on how to secure the baby.
  11. If the baby is up and becomes restless, carry him around in the cabin while you take the opportunity to exercise your numb legs.
  12. Distract him during landing (especially if it's a rough one) by singing or playing with him. 
Well, Zarif is a happy baby, so he didn't cause us any problem during the long haul flight (to and fro). Other babies might have different experiences. For instance on our way back, I was seated next to an Indonesian couple with a 4 months old baby who's constantly on her mom's tits. She would just sleep for awhile, and then  woke up and cried.  While Zarif slept soundly, I was wide awake throughout the journey. I could almost memorize the mom's Indonesian lullabies.

However, Alhamdulillah the UK weather really suits Zarif. His usual problems (mild fever, diarrhea, rashes etc) were non existence during our vacation. He was excited every time we went out and happily played with his cousins when we stayed indoor. I think he'll grow up into an adventurous man. He likes new things, new places and most of all---- new toys. 

Friday, June 11, 2010

I cannot reply comments on my own blog.... entah hapa hapa ntah...

The web is playing tricks on me. Could it be because the servers are detecting that I'm now logging from another part of the world? Facebook requested additional authentication when I tried to log in. Then, I couldn't post comments on my own blog, although I could create new entries... funny huh?

So, since the geographically smart servers managed to detect my whereabouts (probably based on IP and service providers), I tried to play smart too. From my iPhone I tried to browse iTunes store. You see, when I was in Malaysia, I could never access iTunes store neither from my laptop nor my iPhone. It always said iTunes Store is not supported in your country (Malaysia Darul Boleh la tuuuuu....tapi iTunes store tak boleh pulak). When I launched iTunes Store from here, I received the same error..!! Cheh!! That was when I baru teringat that the device ID was tied to the location it was first registered. Isk... benci... benci...benci!

Since I teringat that part, suddenly another thought has been playing and replaying in my head. What if I buy an iPad here, in the UK? Register it here? And then adakah mungkin I'd be able to access iTunes Store UK dari Kolumpo? Mungkinkah? Hmmmm....? Wonder if anybody has tried this before.

But then, the possibility of mengusung iPad ke hulu ke hilir (in a brand new and bigger handbag, of course) di Kolumpo rasanya macam sangat menariklah... Hmmmmm.... Let's korek-korek wallet. If I could find 429 pound in the wallet, ada kemungkinan akan mengangkut iPad (Wifi tanpa 3G) dalam hand luggage this Saturday afternoon.

Argh.... sekarang kena Google kat mana location Apple store di bandar Lancaster ini.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

It's 16 degrees la here, my darlings

When I decided to spend the school holidays in Lancaster my friend asked me why, because this time around it'll be hot in the UK. I just told him that it would be better because I'm bringing a baby. Cold weather might not suit him well. Furthermore, he's been having on and off flu and fever lately.
So, I didn't pack many clothes. Only my normal weekend clothes and a few jeans. Same goes with the kids. There was ample space in our bags that we then filled with dry food.
The first day we were here, the weather was sunny and quite hot. It was around 19 degrees I think. The children were complaining and we had to bring bottles of plain water whenever we went out. We had ice cream whenever we saw the ice cream van.
On the third day, it started drizzling in the morning and it went on until late afternoon. It was quite chilly and as I only brought my weekend clothes, I had to put on my jacket most of the times (luckily I remembered to bring a jacket). On the contrary, Zarif was really enjoying the cold weather. He loved cold wind, the chilly mornings and the cold nights. He wasn't even wearing long sleeved shirts at night. His feet and hands were cold and sometimes I saw him shivered but he was so happy.
His brothers and cousins teased and played with him and he was laughing most of the times (when he's not sleeping). He went to bed quite early (around 8pm) and only woke up at around 6am. Yeay!!!
... and I could have my much needed beauty sleep!!  Double, triple yeay!!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Where to go?

March is fast approaching. Wazif and Shawqi are all excited that the school break is getting near. We promised them that we'll have a proper vacation this time. When there's a baby, a lot of adjustments need to be made. We didn't go anywhere further than 100KM for the past 6 months.

The problem is I don't know where to go for a short vacation in Malaysia. My children are not that into sight seeing, shopping or going to theme park. They just want to stay in a good hotel with a nice huge pool and the room service food is excellent. We've been to Kuala Trengganu and Kuantan many times in the past as their favorite foods were easy to find in the east coast. However this time, they demanded to go somewhere cold; Wazif was suggesting London. But then, it's not easy to bring a 6 months old baby on a long haul flight.

I am planning to go to Cameron Highlands, although I know that place is not that cold anymore. But at least I think it's not as hot as KL/Selangor. Bukit Tinggi is out of my list as we've been there before and I didn't like it. Genting is also not an option as good food is not easy to find.

So, I'm left with only Cameron Highlands. Now I have to find a good hotel. My problem now is I don't know which hotel in Cameron Highlands has big swimming pool. Been there a few times but none of the hostel has it. Regardless of how cold the place is, my children will still insist to go and swim for hours. After that they'll return to the hotel room, not to sleep but to continue playing in the bath tub. Yeah, I have male mermaids staying in this house with us.

So, people... if you know of good hotels in Cameron Highlands, please recommend. I need to make reservations by this week as it's going to be peak period. Am not complaining though because I'll be on leave ... yeay!

Monday, January 26, 2009

A breezy CNY

I am spending CNY break in Kuantan. It's just after monsoon season; it's breezy and beautiful waves are gracing the beaches here. This is the first time I'm watching people surfing in Malaysia. Never knew this could be done here. I heard people also go to some of the beaches in Cherating to surf.

CNY in Malaysia is celebrated just like Hari Raya Puasa hols. Everybody will try to find a reason to leave KL for a few days. In a way this will give the city an opportunity to detox, I guess. Less people, less pollution, less crime and less damage done on wallets and credit cards.

At the hotel I'm staying, about 80% of the cars here bear Wilayah plate numbers. The rest are Singaporeans. Most schools in Selangor are going for 1 week leave. More reasons to travel around the country this festive season. But we're only spending the holidays in Kuantan and my hometown. My pockets already have so many holes. LOL.

Happy CNY to all my Chinese friends! Be strong as an ox this year as we all know that global economy recession is not going away so soon - not even by some magical announcements from Obama.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

The tale of 2 cities

In this country there are 2 cities that really make me feel most welcomed and at home: Kuala Terengganu and JB. (Bera is my hometown, so it doesn’t count.) As for JB I can understand it because I used to spend 5 years of my early life studying there, but Kuala Terengganu?

 

I was not born there, don’t remember having more than 1 relative staying there, never lived there and definitely not planning to move there. It’s kind of funny whenever we went to Kuala Terengganu, it felt like going back to my origins. The food is unquestionably good, the beaches are definitely beautiful, the people are friendly and caring, cost of living is considerably low and I really don’t mind having to visit every customer we have there for the whole week.

 

It’s quite difficult to explain, but my favorite vacation (and sometimes work) destination has always been Kuala Terengganu. A friend once asked if I were to become a stay at home mom, what I would do. My answer was, I’d become a full time writer in Kuala Terengganu. I know it’s funny but I just couldn’t help it. There were times when I hoped and prayed that Mr Hubby would be posted to the East Coast so that I could live my dreams (that is to stay at home, lounging on the sofa and pretend to have some book writing in progress).

 

Now I think my dream almost came true when Mr Hubby will be working outside KL for a year and a half, but it’s in JB not KT. Still, JB is my other favorite town, so I’m quite happy. Although the dream to become a stay at home mom seems far fetched now due to some financial factors (hutang credit card yang berlambak, car installment etc), I’m just glad I’ll be going to JB at least twice a month. Driving alone at night with the kids fighting in the car is quite a challenge, no doubt about that. My motivation throughout the 3 hours drive has always been THE GLORIOUS JB FOOD! Hahahaha. No offence to Mr Hubby, of course I’m excited to see him but the main motivating factor is still the FOOD.

 

Now the kids are always looking forward to visiting JB because Mr Hubby has moved into a rented apartment with a biiiiig pooool and 2 playgrounds, yeay!




 

It feels really good to be able to escape KL life once in a while. I just don’t feel I fit in this hectic KL lifestyle, I don’t understand why. Maybe I am the country living type. I have a small piece of land in Bera, it’s near Tr1ang River. Someday….. maybe someday I’ll build a small house and live there after my retirement.

 

By the way, my boss asked me a few weeks ago on how long I plan to continue working, I told him 10 years. Well, I lied. Hehehehehe…

Monday, October 06, 2008

Asal Raya je aku demam, asal aku demam aje time Raya.

Okay, tell me what's the point of going back to work so early after raya? I bet most of my colleagues are now busy updating each other on their balik kampung stories or at least how they got stuck on the Karak highway for 5 hours. How much work can be done right after a long celebration? Usually some would start, but none completed. There'll be just too much distraction. People would come to our cubicle offering raya cookies, serunding, invitation to open houses and then we would end up chit chatting for 20 minutes only to realize that it's already time for lunch.
My point is, don't bother going back to work on the first week after raya - continue celebrating or hibernating in your nests.


If you're done gossiping with the girl from the next cubicle, here's my raya picture taken in front of our Bandar Kinrara house right after the Raya prayer. My baju was made for my niece's wedding that took place in August. Since I was so lazy to go and buy another baju, I just wore this one - macam baju kumpulan Berzanji je kan?

Baju Melayu Johor yang dibeli kat Angsana aritu. Shawqi will always ask for Baju Melayu Johor because the collar is more comfortable. But the seluar didn't make it until the end of the day sebab sudah terkoyak kat lutut after tersagat kat tanah when he fell at one of the relatives' houses kat kampung.

Isy.... pagi raya pun kena jugak check eBay. Kang kalau ada Jersey lawa-lawa kang, kalau tak bid melepas pulaaaak.

Anak orang Melaka kat atas tangga Melaka di negeri Melaka. Now Wazif shapes his 'remos' like an awning. Jangan sentuh 'remos' dia, nanti dia marah....

My Kebaya Raya. Putih tuuu..... macam tak percaya pandai pakai baju putih. Wazif in his baju askar.

I realized I would be down with fever during raya whenever I attempted to prepare the juadah and lauk pauk on Raya eve. Maybe there's just too much heat absorbed by the body during the cooking or by just simply being in the kitchen.

Daging lembu Australia masak rendang style Nyonya Mansoor. I didn't go to the Pasar Borong sebab malas nak bangun pagi-pagi.

Sambal udang petai style Masak-masak Rumah Sewa. Actually one of my housemates in Seri Serdang taught me how to cook this a long, long time ago.

Sambal kacang style orang Bera. Less sugar, less salt, extra chilli boh.

Masak Lodeh ala Nyonya Mansoor. However, not suitable for vegetarian sebab ada tumis udang kering.

All the Nyonya Mansoor recipes were from my MIL. Dia kan dulu duduk Singapore. So, all her cooking are either Singaporean or Malaccan style - super creamy, super hot and super deliciousssss... yummm...

To my friends who are having open houses this weekend, have fun OK... I'll not be able to attend as I'll be in JB and Kulai during the weekend - ada wedding. But if you're having your open house in JB on Saturday, please invite me... hehehehe... (muka tak malu sungguh...)

Monday, September 29, 2008

Yeay yeay! Nak Raya!

Yoohooo! I’m still in the office while most of you are already masuk hutan mencari buluh lemang. Since we’re celebrating raya in Melaka and only going there after the Raya prayers, I don’t take extra leave before Raya. Instead, I will be taking extra days off next week.
So, this year’s puasa has been the most sempoi yet still meaningful. Puasa is when we will be doing some soul searching and count our blessings. Learn a new thing or two (like how to prepare sambal goring Jawa style!)
This year’s preparation for raya doesn’t involve much shopping as we’ve done a lot of it during the holidays. I also didn’t buy any raya cookies except for Kuih Lapis Sarawak from Kak Ieka. Well, actually I missed the deadline to order cookies from my regular bakers this year. How stupid. I actually went for their cookies tasting, but forgot to place the orders. So, I decided to bake a few simple recipes that I was so sure won’t go wrong.

Oatmeal raisins cookies. I found the recipe somewhere in the net. My SILs love this one. They called it The Healthy Cookie.

The superheroes were down with fever on Monday, so I had to take the day off to look after them. But they were sleeping most of the days.


So I baked these cashew nut cookies. The recipe is from DSUS recipe book with a little tweaking here and there (to match with what I have my pantry). Well, the pantry is just 2 shelves of the kitchen cabinet which I used to store plates previously. Now there are stacks of MFM flours, choc chips, cocoa powder, castor sugar, nuts etc. I have been dreaming to have a pantry like the one in Chef At Home. Hmmmmm… plus the huge refrigerators too.

Besides that, we tried not to spend too much for buka puasa this year. Everybody is saying that the political climate is one of the reasons why this year’s puasa and raya are not as meriah as usual. Although the fuel price has been reduced further but people could feel the world economic is not doing any better especially with the current condition with US – those bail out and everything. 


So, we only went for Ramadhan Buffet at Kelantan Delight, which was among the cheapest in KL. This restaurant used to be in KLCC, they've moved to Sooka Central. I sooka sangat because of this strategic location, only 20 minutes from Puchong.


Mr. Hubby also sooka coz we got to makan bersila in the middle of the restaurant. And we met Fa.rah.Fau.zana there too.



The weekend before that we went for buka puasa at Bubba Gump at the Curve. Well, actually there's nothing to shout about. Beverages were quite pricy, but I love the Clam Chowder because they served it with the packed chowder biscuit. It tasted just like the one I had in Boston.



Went out for buka puasa with Queen, Alien (plus family) and Jade at Restoran Salero Negori, Kelana Jaya too. However, I totally forgotten to take any pictures because I was so busy doing parenting. The kids were running around buat macam rumah sendiri.

The only Hotel Ramadhan Buffet I attended this year was at Grand Blue Wave, JB. I planned to go to LC catering, but we didn't have much time that day as it was just a short trip to JB. It was also one of the cheapest (kalau compare dengan KL memang lah murah gile). Anyway, my friends and I succeeded in our effort to boikot all Hotel Ramadhan Buffet in KL due to the price. Ya lah kan, we all know that harga ayam naik, minyak naik.... but RM95++ for buka puasa is just 'tak masuk akal'. How much food will I actually eat? Just a plate of beriyani, small pieces of murtabak, fruits, 5 kuih, keropok and a few glasses of drinks. All those for Sembilan puluh lima hinggit? Pembaziran di tahap BFF with syaitan, ok!

So, tonight and tomorrow I'll be busy hunting for daging lembu, ayam, serai, santan, lengkuas, halia, kerisik and what nots at Carrefour, Giant, Pasar Borong etc. Just wanna wish you Selamat Berhari Raya sakan, bersedekahlah kepada saudara mara dan rakan taulan yang sangat-sangat memerlukan dengan ikhlas. Maaf Zahir Batin.

Lastly, Jangan Emosi Di Jalan Raya!

Friday, September 05, 2008

Cerita-cerita masa pegi UK aritu

Many friends asked what did we do in the UK during the 1 week vacation and I suddenly realized I didn’t blog about it. I posted the photos at Facebook, but I totally forgot to write about the trip. You can click on the following links even if you don’t have Facebook account:

Photos part 1

Photos part 2

Although we received many suggestions from friends before we departed the main agenda was still SHOPPING. Hey, it’s not my fault we managed to find places still having Summer Sales or Clearance or Moving Out or Closing Down tags, ok…

The first 1.5 days in London we spent snapping photos at famous landmarks. Only photos. We didn’t even go into any of the museums. It was a high speed city cruise, I couldn’t feel my legs when I went to bed at night.


                                             Right in the middle of Tower Bridge.

Then, the next 1.5 days we went shopping. I felt my wallet thinning by the hour. The kids were complaining as they were dragged along to every shop and they had to carry some of the shopping bags. Hehehe. Susah, kena jadi buruh paksa.

And they hated the tube. So did I. Regardless how efficient they are, I don’t think I can survive living in a city such as this and having to take tube everyday. Maybe because I couldn’t walk as fast as the Londoners. Or maybe metropolitan life is not so appealing to me. That’s why I hate Singapore too.

(I should be awarded Citizen of the year award because I only like living in Malaysia. Full stop.)


So, from London we rented an MPV to take the 6 of us (my family plus my SIL and her hubby – my biras) to Lancaster, where the other SIL lives. The original plan was to take a train there, but after some really wonderful suggestions from my trusted sources we decided to drive and make a few stops along the way.

We ended up stopping at Wembley, Oxford town, Stratford and Coventry for sight seeing, taking photos, eating, shopping and toilet hunt. No matter how often we stopped at the Services station along the motorway, the kids will still need to go to toilet when we reach the place. Maybe that was their main agenda – to visit every toilet at the towns we visited in UK.


                                                      Shawqi in front one of the toilets.

When we arrived at Lancaster it was already dark so we had dinner right away before retiring to bed. The next day we went to visit Manchester, specifically UMIST where Mr Hubby used to study. My SIL lent us her TomTom but we still got lost, how interesting. Anyway, I liked Manchester – quite peaceful and suitable for families with growing up children. We passed by Old Trafford a few times when Mr Hubby was looking for ‘Kedai Ayam Halal’, but we didn’t stop at the stadium.


A gift from Mr Hubby's friend. (No, the iPod was not included.)

We also visited Mr Hubby’s old friend at Manchester. He’s a Muslim Indian with 2 cute little girls: Sofea and Aisha. How funny, because I used to gossip Wazif with a girl named Sofea Aisha who went to the same daycare not long ago. Oh, he still blushes whenever I mentioned Sofea Aisha in front of him.


The kids clowning at Sofea and Aisha's house. 

While we were at Manchester, my SIL went to rent another vehicle for us to travel the next day. It was a minibus (in Malaysia we just call it Transit) that can fit 15 adults in it. So, you know what the agenda was the next day – Rombongan Che Kiah melawat Anfield. Hehehe. To the uninitiated, the TV drama ‘Rombongan Che Kiah’ was shown in Malaysia back in the late nineties when a group of kampong people came to KL to visit Stadium Bukit Jalil for the Commonwealth game.

Mr Hubby was rather frustrated because the Anfield tour was fully booked when we called. So, we just did some shopping, photo shoots and visit the museum there. As if Liverpool understood our need for adventure, we got a surprise one! After everybody was done with their shopping at the Liverpool Club Store, the Minibus passengers went back to have a snack break in the vehicle that was parked at a nearby road. Then, as my biras opened the door on the driver’s side a young hooligan came out of nowhere and snatched the TomTom. My biras (who luckily is skinny and fit – and not overweight like me) ran after the young man to get the Tomtom back. After a brief struggle (wrestling sikit-sikit la kot) he managed to seize the Tomtom and had a minor scratch on his hand. Luckily the Tomtom was not damaged; otherwise Rombongan Che Kiah will be lost for the rest of the day.

After that, we continued our shopping agenda at Chester – one of the famous factory outlets in the UK. Before Maghrib, we stopped at one of the mosques in Preston before we went to get Halal Ayam supply for the rest of the week. Being typical Malaysian Muslim women we headed straight into the mosque and asked where the toilet is. One of the elder men approached us and told us that women are not allowed to pray in the mosque. We were quite shocked (pura-pura je sebenarnya), but the man explained that they’re from a different Mazhab. He was nice enough to bring us to a nearby madrasah so that we could perform our solat.


Part of the Rombongan Che Kiah, waiting impatiently for the adults.

Actually that was my second experience. When we stopped at Coventry 2 days earlier, I was also not allowed to enter the mosque. The man simply told me in his thick Indian accent, “Women cannot pray here. You can go and knock on house number 82. A lady will open the door and let you pray there, insyaallah.” Thank god dekat Preston ada madrasah, kalau tak ntah rumah nombor berapa pulak kitorang kena pegi ketuk agaknya.

The next day, my two SILs and their families went up to Scotland in the minibus while we decided to go to Kendal for shoe shopping. We made a few rounds in the town but couldn’t find The ‘K’ Village – that’s where we’re supposed to get all the cheap, original Clarks shoes. That day we didn’t have the TomTom as the other group had to take it in the Minibus to Scotland. So, we had to be happy to bring the living TomTom instead – my nephew Amin. He’s a reliable living TomTom – he couldn’t even remember when was the last time he went to the place. Hehehe.

Luckily Mr Hubby talked to a few strangers and found out that ‘K’ Village has been closed and they’ve moved to another place which was very near to the place we parked our car. And then, the shopping frenzy continued. I bought 11 pairs of shoes – tak cukup banyak, kan?

That day we concluded our shopping (sebab duit dah habis) and went home to pack our bags.

Before I end this entry, you have to know that that was the longest vacation I ever took, even my cuti kawin was shorter. Looking forward to Europe Tour pulak - sometime in the future, insyaAllah. Kena kumpul duit starting today.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Eden nak poie London....

I’m going to London this Friday and I have no idea what to expect or do there. I’ve been to a few parts of the world but never the UK. I know there are many ‘must go’ places where you have to snap photos as proofs to your relatives that you’ve been to London, but I’m not the showing off kind (wargh hahahahaha!). Maybe I should visit museums, historical buildings and art galleries but the kids will lose interest after 2 minutes.

Shopping will not be the main agenda as I’ve spent most of my money on the new Stream. Even if I have the money to shop, I wouldn’t know what to buy because miraculously these days I am feeling quite happy with everything I’ve stuffed in my wardrobe. So, who says women are insatiable (when it comes to shopping)?

Sightseeing with the cam-coder should be quite interesting; I can get one of my nieces to become the narrator.

This is the thing about me, whenever I’m planning for an overseas trip I don’t know what to do yet I don’t want to do things that other people would usually do. I always visualize the trip will somehow turn into one of the Explorace series.

There was a time when I was on business trip to Turkey, my colleagues and I only planned to go there and complete our work. Then on a sunny Sunday morning, the three of us just jumped into the company car and drove aimlessly to the Asia side. Equipped with an unreliable city map, we just drove until we reached a really dense squatters area where the roads could only allow one car to pass at one time. We stopped at a local wet market and bought fruits. The people’s lifestyle and living condition just humbled me in every way. The view at that village was not something that will ever be featured in the Visit Turkey pamphlet. Getting out of the village was quite an adventure as we had to squeeze the car through the narrow dusty road with a few pickup trucks coming from the opposite way.

When I visited Las Vegas, my colleague and I decided to walk from our hotel at The Strip to Hard Rock CafĂ© – just to snap a few photos with the giant guitar; and then we walked back. The next day we took the bus – just to get the daily bus pass so that I could put it in my album.

When I went to Dubai, my colleague recommended me a textile shop which sold really cheap 'kain ela' and I decided to have a Baju Kurung custom made for me - just for the sake of wearing a Baju Kurung made in Dubai. They completed the baju overnight, but the cutting sucked, okay.

During the time when my family went for umrah, my brother and I didn’t stay at our hotel rooms at night. Instead, we went into every perfume shop nearby Masjidil Haram just to find one smell which I found so intriguing at the mosque. We never found the perfume and we didn’t buy anything. We were not even sure whether it was Attar or what. A few years later I found out that it was actually Burberry.

I am always looking for some kind of (stupid) small adventure at foreign places. I just don’t want to do the normal stuffs. So, people please suggest what I should do in London.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Acara balik kampung koi

It has been about 3 months since we last balik kampung. I blamed it on weekend project tasks. Too bad I can't claim double when it comes to working on weekends. Cheh.
Kebetulan, it was my eldest anak sedara punya birthday that weekend. He just turned 18 and enjoying his freedom and young life like nobody's business. Look at his hair! My god, this is the first time I have an anak sedara berambut karat, okeh. I couldn't guess whether he bleached or colored it.


His name is Anik and we are certainly confused with his chosen hairstyle this New Year. Is it supposed to be punkish or 'Ah Beng'ish? Anyway, he's enjoying his honeymoon period - just finished SPM. Come March he'll be getting really serious thinking about his future, I guess.


Since Maklang Dayang was so pokai to buy him any iPod Nano or new handphone, Anik was only getting these cuppies, lah. He took a few spoonfuls of his cakes, then vanished into the night to join his nocturnal friends. Guys.... teenage guys... At times I felt so tempted to tell Anik and his friends that one day they'll be the ones paying the bills. But, then again, I'm not the parent.... so takkan nak lebih-lebih pulak, kan?


The rest of the cuppies were put in another box. This pic was taken before the journey. When we arrived at my mom's place all the cuppies were senget benget because of all the konar baring along the Kuala Kelawang road.


The best thing about balik kampung (from Wazif and Shawqi's perspectives) is getting the chance to ride in this jeep with the uncles and cousins - dan tak payah pakai seat belt pulak tu. Will never get the chance to do this in KL. By the way, the jeep was from WW2 period. It has been with the family ever since I could remember. My brother (seen driving the jeep in this pic) took all the trouble to re-register the vehicle in Negeri Sembilan. All the engine, tyres and accessories are new. The original paint was greenish like army jeeps jaman dolu-dolu lah. This is the most successful pimp-my-ride in our family history so far. Wait till I pimp-my-jazz pulak. Hehe.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Kids and Raya

I'm still recuperating (from the Raya madness). Here are some pics from Raya@Kampung in Bera. Stories will be posted soon.