The Couplehood Journey of a Distort Soul....

Lunch @ Alamanda...

We had our morning breakfast at the Executive lounge and I think we spend almost an hour there; it was so private and Arief enjoy watching the TV while having his cereal. We then went to Alamanda for lunch with Fadzli, Azura, baby Mikhail, Acik Nan & Acik Zakiah. We opted for the food court as we have fond memories there with Arief. Eliza had Ipoh Hor Fun while Arief ate nasi with chicken masak merah. I opted for sizzling chicken mushroom yee mee. We had a blast catching up with all of them and baby Mikhail is so cute with his chubby cheeks :-)

CPA & Marriot Putrajaya...

I finish my tennis session earlier as we had plans to visit CPA Open Day at Gardens; Eliza recently register for ASCPA and will do her first paper in early May; with 5 more papers and we target full completion by end 2014. This is part of our plans to work in Australia by 2015. We then went shopping at Mark's & Spencer, Eliza bought jeans and we bought gifts for the birthday celebration at Marriot Putrajaya today. We the drove to Marriot Putrajaya for the birthday gatherings. My friend Dref have booked a private room and all of us enjoy the massive buffet spread. We were supposed to suprise his wife upon their arrival but the wifes mistakenly waited by the lift and that is where they come out. But it was still a big suprise. Eliza & Arief went to our room at Marriot Putrajaya and I continue with my club meeting until 5pm (continue eating as well). We went down to the swimming pool by 6pm and Arief was so happy. He didn't play on the slides though but we did went into the big pool; and the best part it is a heated pool. Arief went up to our hotel room with Eliza by 7pm while I continue to laze by the pool with my friends. We went for our dinner at Restoran Mohd Chan Bangi but Arief fall asleep in the journey; tired from playing in the swimming pool. We decided to take-away nasi goreng cina for him and it was an excellent decision indeed as Arief woke up upon entering our hotel room and ate his dinner :-)

Days of Family sickness recovering....

Monday
We started our journey from Taiping by 9am and we reached Shah Alam by noon; and we immediately send Arief to Little Caliphs for his Silat Reheasal. We then went straight to Poliklinik Damai Seksyen 7 for my medicine and we went home for lunch; home cooked meal from my mom. I opted to sleep after lunch for some needed rest. 

Tuesday
I was still not feeling well and I was supposed to send Arief to his Silat presentation at Little Caliphs this morning. But Arief upon seeing me not feeling well opted to stay at home to watch over me instead of going to his Silat presentation.  I was feeling very dizzy from the medicine and fever and was just spending most of the time laying on the sofa while Arief continue to play with his PSP & iPad nearby. I manage to push myself at noon and we went to Shah Alam Mall where we sent our WISH for detailing and we bought Mcd & KFC's for our lunch. Arief continue to eat his lunch while I opted to just rest on the sofa downstairs.

Wednesday
I'm feeling a bit better but Arief started to cough and running a slight fever.  I took him to Poliklinik Damai for his medicine and send him to Little Caliphs by 10am. I then went to One Utama to watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal with my sister + Abg D + Iffah. I was so hungry that I ate fish & chips at the cinemas with popcorn. I picked up Arief by 3pm and went for our lunch at Restoran Ayam Kampung Seksyen 7. We had to drive to Menara TM to pick-up Eliza in the evening as the Aveo alarm is not functioning properly; lucky for us the traffic was clear. But Eliza's is sick and we immediately went to Poliklinik Damai for her medicine.

Thursday
Both Eliza & Arief is resting at home and I went to play tennis at Seksyen 7 Shah Alam with a few of my friends. I bought roti canai & roti krim from Eliza & Arief for their breakfast. I finish my tennis at 11am; tired but in need of the exercise. We ended up having our lunch at 2.30pm at Restoran Famous Thai Shah Alam Mall. We opted for Cantonese Kueh Teow with Pineapple Fried Rice & Claypot Taufoo.

Friday 
Eliza opted to go to the office while I spend the day with Arief; going for breakfast at Restoran Hakim Seksyen 7 as Arief wanted to have the fried chicken. Arief is still not feeling well and he has a slight fever in the evening. I do need to monitor his condition and if it still persist then we have to bring Arief to visit Poliklinik Damai tomorrow morning.

Kenduri di Matang...

I was not feeling very well today due to rambutan and durian that I consume yesterday night. Arief woke up early and play helicopter with Ilyas & Irfan at our courtyard. We went to Matang by noon; and arrive just is time for the doa selamat. The meal was superb; ala nasi kenduri with nasi minyak + kari daging + ayam masak merah + daging rendang + kerabu perut and my mom prepared bubur kacang with durian. We thoroughly enjoy our lunch and family gathering and we went back to Pokok Assam by 4pm. I was exhausted from the mild fever and I slept until 6.30pm. We went back for dinner at Matang by 8.30pm; Arief was already sound asleep. It's the same menu and still delicious. We drove back to Pokok Assam by 10.30pm; and we need to drive home early tomorrow as Arief has a silat reaheasal for a show on 27th December :-)

Aqiqah & Taiping...

We had our morning breakfast at Mcd Seksyen 3 Shah Alam (we opted for the breakfast set) before we began our journey to Bandar Baru Bangi for my cousin's Kenduri Aqiqah for his new baby girl. We reached my cousin's in-laws house by 12.30pm; assisted via my trusted Papago GPS. We manage to arrive just in time for the cukur rambut ceremony. They served kari kambing with sambal tumis udang and gulai lemak ikan. We enjoyed our meal tremendously and we waited for my sis to arrive from Shah Alam; they arrive by 2pm due to miss-direction along the way (got lost as well). Arief then played iPad with Ilyas & Irfan while we chatted with Wan Jah & Pak Pian. Irfan has grown bigger as he has started to eat Appeton to increase his weight; evidently with his tight pants and bulging tummy. We then started our journey back to Taiping by 3.30pm from Bandar Baru Bangi. My father-in-law told me that my sister-in-law is stuck in a jam on NKVE and advises us to consider other routes; luckilly Eliza contacted her sister and the traffic jam was kinda manageable. We opted for NKVE and true enough the traffic jam is bearable and we reached Taiping by 7pm; where my mom's home cooked dinner is waiting for all of us :-)

 

La-Gomera Spanish Buffet...

We went to La-Gomera for our lunch; spanish buffet. I bought the GroupOn coupons weeks back and we manage to book our reservation. We arrived by 12.30pm and it was quite crowded. We were ushered to our table and we began selecting our meals. Arief ate the vegetable fried rice with grilled salmon. Both of us opted for grilled lamb, beef & chicken with pizza. The salad bar is quite impressive but the lamb stew was a bit smelly. They do serve a lot of seafood of which I avoided. The beverages is free-flow and the dessert is just nice :-)

TTDuta Single Super Tie-Break Tennis Championship 2011...

The day finally came; TTDuta Single Super Tie-Break Championship 2011. After weeks of planning the event was a success. Total 39 players out of 40 turn up. We had a massive breakfast pot-luck gathering with nasi lemak, kuehteow goreng, pasta, karipap, bananas, watermelon, chocolate cake, sweets & cookies, sandwiches etc. It was more of a food fest than a tennis tournament. Weather was excellent until the end @ 4pm. I won all my group games; the closest game was with Pang which I won 12-10 and was trailing 9-6 it I was not mistaken. I won my R16 against Jab by 10-3 but lost in the quarters to Abg Roslan by 4-10. Overall it was a great achievement and I won a medal with Wilson wristband :-)

Teluk Intan @ Day Trip...

We had our morning breakfast with Yeop at Restoran Syed Sekyen 11 Shah Alam before driving to Teluk Intan via Kapar, Kuala Selangor & Sabar Bernam route. It took us 2.5 hours to reach Teluk Intan and it was such a smooth driving despite the light drizzle. We immediately had lunch at Ijam's house and we drive back to Shah Alam by 2pm as Arief has his tennis lesson at 5pm. On the way back I stopped to buy pisang goreng, jus mangga and jagung rebus. Well the goreng pisang is so sweet and nice; Jus mangga was fresh but a bit dissapointment on the jagung rebus. I opted to use LATAR via Ijok to Shah Alam as I plan to escape the evening jam at Kapar. The new highway is quite interesting; total RM4 in toll and it will linked back with Lebuhraya Guthrie. I arrived home by 4.45pm; picked up my laundry and rush to Kelana Jaya for Arief tennis lesson; just in time :-)

R.E.A.L. School, Kenduri, Teluk Intan & BBQ

I went for my usual tennis session in Bangsar very early @ 7.30am as we have a full schedule today. I arrived home by 9.30am and we drove out to my sister house in Subang Permai by 10.30am. We visited R.E.A.L. School; options for Arief in 2013. The school is quite impressive and the fees is affordable but our main challenges will be the logistics as it is quite far from Seksyen 7 Shah Alam. From R.E.A.L. we drove to Haza's house in Damansara for Dekda Kenduri Doa Selamat; she will be giving birth in February 2012. The lunch menu (ikan masin, ulam kampung, sambal belacan, sambal nyor, daging kawah, ayam masak merah and mix veggies) is home-cooked and it is indeed delicious. I really like the green apam that Kak Zah make; different and sweet. Even the bubur kacang is excellent. We started our journey to Teluk Intan by 2pm and arrive by 4pm; the journey was so smooth and the weather is excellent. We immediately went to check-in at Intan Hotel; nearby to Ijam's house. I duly rested before we drove to Ijam's house for our BBQ gatherings. It took me awhile to start the BBQ fire and we started cooking by 8pm; chicken + frankfurters + squids. Ita cooked nasi goreng + fries as well and we ate until 10.30pm. By then Arief was already due to playing all over the house with his cousins and we retreated back to out hotel for a good night sleep :-)

Otak2, Puss in Boots, Rasa Thai & Tutti Fruitti...

We went to One Utama for our weekend family outing and it was a blast. We went for our breakfast at Otak2; where Arief again bought his glider and played Snaps & Donkey with Eliza while waiting for our food to be ready. We ordered nasi lemak set, vegetarian BBQ chicken pao, kaya & butter toast with omega half-boiled eggs. After breakfast we went to Parkson; Arief bought remote control car, Cars 2 Bag & Water Bottle, Spiderman pencil box and stationeries. Arief even bought shoes for Eliza @ birthday gift. And we also bought Reebok shoes for Arief; of which he immediately wore. Eliza manage to get a hair-cut for RM15; cutting for charity campaign. As we were rushing to catch Puss in Boots at 12.30pm; a professional hair-dresser decided to cut her hair instead of the students and it turn out excellent. We bought the usual popcorn and all of us enjoy the movie. We drove back home for a short rest before driving to Shah Alam Mall for our late lunch @ Rasa Thai. Arief ate cantonese kuehteow while Eliza had clear tom yam soup. I ordered pineapple fried rice with sizzling bean curds. Everything was delicious and Arief finish all his servings. We then went for our monthly groceries shopping at Giant. It was raining heavilly when we wanted to go back and we decided to enjoy a bowl of Tutti-Fruitti :-)

 

Breaking Dawn Part 1 Premier Screening...

Eliza is looking forward to the premier and we even watch "Twilight: Eclipse" on DVD yesterday night to re-fresh our memory of the movie (well Eliza had actually read the book; so it was just for me to remember). I fetch Arief at Little Caliphs by 5pm and we drove to Seksyen 13 where we will meet with my sister; Ilyas & Irfan Day-Care Center. Arief was so happy to meet with his cousins and he brought along his iPad and PSP to play with them. I then drove to Menara TM to pick-up Eliza and we drive to Pavilion; arriving there by 7pm. We went for our solat at the surau located at the basement before heading to Carls Jr for our dinner. I called my sister to check-up on Arief and my sis sent the MMS of them playing together; all in their superhero suits (Batman, Superman & Spiderman). We went up to the screening by 8.30pm and it was already crowded with fans wearing the official t-shirt. We took our free cup-cakes, popcorn and soft drinks and proceed to the cinema hall. As we opted for couples seat, it was indeed spacious and comfortable. We laugh at the beginning of the movie as one of the fan shouted "I miss you Edward" as well as during one of the serious moments when one of the phone rangs to the tunes of Doraemon. The movie finish earlier; with a lot of deleted scenes (need to watch it again on DVD) and we arrived at my sister house by 11.30pm. Arief was already sound asleep. A big appreciation to my sister for babysitting Arief :-)

Kama Lodge, Auto-Gate, Eye Operation & Sea Games...

We drove back to Taiping with Elina's family and my in-laws on Sunday morning as my father-in-law will be going for his eye operation on Monday morning. We arrived in Pokok Assam by 2pm and we had our lunch at Pokok Assam as usual. It was raining rather heavilly in the evening and we went out for my mother-in-law birthday dinner at Kama's Lodge. I ordered lamb steak while Eliza opted for Kama's Lodge Nasi Goreng. It was empty so we received our food quite fast. Arief fall asleep immediately after dinner as he didn't sleep at all the whole day. The next day Eliza went with her siblings to TMC for the eye operation. I opted to stay at Pokok Assam with Arief as I have a few errands with my mom and one of it is installing Auto-Gate. We also went to Taiping Sentral as Arief wanted to buy his Bakugan playing cards and I also bought our lunch at Restoran Pelita. The Auto-Gate finish all the installation by 3.30pm; no more rushing to open the gate when it is raining or at night. We went to Sri Kota to visit my father-in-law late in the evening; his operation was done around 4pm in the evening. I bought Nasi Ayam Doli as well as Yong Tau Foo Bomba Food Court for their dinner and we went back to Pokok Assam by 8pm; just in time to watch the Sea Games Football Final of which Malaysia won by penalties 4-3 after 1-1 in normal and extra time :-)

Aidil Adha 2011 Part 2...

We went for our Aidil Adha prayers at Masjid Pokok Assam with my mom this morning; and Arief went as well. I almost wore my Pirates Cap to the mosque as I forgotten to bring back my songkok; luckilly I notice upon exiting our car. We went back to Pokok Assam for breakfast before driving to Sri Kota for Eliza's family lunch gatherings. Arief had fun playing with all his cousins and we went back to Pokok Assam late in the evening. My mom invited Eliza's family for dinner; Laksa and nasi minyak with ayam + daging. I was so full from a full lunch & dinner that I went to sleep immediately :-)

Aidil Adha 2011 Part 1....

We started our journey back to Taiping at 8.30am; hoping for a smooth journey and Alhamdulillah we arrived safely at Pokok Assam by 12.30pm. We encounter minor crawl at Slim River and approaching Simpang Pulai. We were starving as we only had Oat Cookies and Apple Crisp for breakfast; and the lunch prepared by my mom was superb (pajeri terung + sambal tumis tauhu + ikan kayu goreng). We took my mom to an electrical appliance shop to purchase Plasma TV 43" as I upgraded my mom's Astro to Beyond recently. And we also dropped by at the nearby pet shop as Arief bought his new pets; two ikan laga. He has been asking for a pet since we have two kittens born in our shoe rack after we came back from Australia :-)

Pusat Sains Negara & VW...

It was a Deepavali Holiday and we took Arief to Pusat Sains Negara. We arrived around 11.30am; quite late for our usual standard (all of us overslept). We paid RM21 for the three of us; with special showcase of Dinasour Alive (the same one in Petrosains if I was not mistaken). Parking was a problem and we just park by the road and walked to the entrance. We then explore Pusat Sains Negara and we were quite impressive with the exhibits although some was not working. Arief really enjoy exploring the many fun aspects of science and technology. The highlight is the Dinasour Alive exhibit; Arief was afraid initially but as we walked in Arief began to explore the many dinasours in display. We let Arief play in the kids playground for awhile before we drove to VW Glenmarie; plan to test drive the new Cross Touran. The performance is indeed excellent with it's 1.4 capacity but we still like our current ride @ WISH. Btw Arief kept on asking us repeatedly after the test drive; "Bila nak beli kereta baru? Arief tak suka Aveo" :-)

Arief's Little Caliphs Concert...

Arief have been practising for weeks at Little Caliphs for his up-coming concert; we have been asking him what will he be doing this time but Arief just keep quiet. The day came and all of us went to see Arief in action; we were quite late due to the traffic jam approaching USJ. The hall was already full and we manage to book our seat on the left. Arief's performance is scheduled late in the evening. And then finally the curtains is up for Arief performance; they danced to the Nirmala song make famous by Dato' Siti Norhaliza. Arief was standing on the left of the stage and he waves to us as we are already seated infront of the stage to take his pictures and videos. Arief wore a black ansemble complete with a head gear. Arief remembers all his steps in the performance and we are so proud of him. We didn't wait until the end of the concert ceremony as we will be going to my sister house in Subang Permai to celebrate Ilyas's birthday :-)

Blisters & Gout Attack...

I suffered from a mild blisters on one of my right toe on Sunday. I had it cleaned and sterilize at the nearby clinic at Menara TM on Tuesday and on Wednesday I started to feel numb on my right toes. At first I thought it was due to my sleeping posture; was protecting my blister toes. As the pain got worsen during my morning meeting at the office, I decided to visit my family clinic at Seksyen 7 Shah Alam. Well once I open my socks, it is clearly evident of a gout attack; red right toe and I do notice the inflamation. The doctor prescribe me with pain-killers and I was on MC until Friday. All my earlier plans over the weekend need to be cancel for my full recovery. Now I'm waiting for my blood test this coming Wednesday. On a strict diet at the moment :-)

Malaysian Tennis Open 2011...

I have been attending the Malaysian Tennis Open 2011 since Monday evening; just miss out on Wednesday as I was too tired from two late night matches. I manage to catch the tennis balls thrown by the players and won 2 tickets for the semi-final of which I gave to Amri & Azzudin (my tennis buddies). Friday onwards was superb as I went with a few of my TTDuta Tennis geng. We occupied various seats around the stadium; hoping to catch the tennis balls. Well Amri manage to catch one and he won a Wilson tennis racquet. And for the final we decided to seat behind the players. I went early with Amri to Putra Stadium; we drove out from Shah Alam by noon and arrived by 12.30pm. We manage to book the second row from the front; and to our good luck we manage to book the two seat infront; for Amri & Farid. I opt for the second row @ leg room. It was an excellent final match for both doubles & singles. Congratulations to all winners. It was indeed a great gathering of tennis buddies :-)

Happy Birthday to my dearest Eliza...

I sent a suprise teddy & flower to Eliza's office on Friday morning; I was on-leave as I plan to be at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil by 2.15pm (manage to do it by having lunch at Sunway & solat jumaat nearby Bukit Jalil). I had earlier plan for morning breakfast at Delicious on Saturday morning but Eliza decided for brunch instead. So I went for my tennis session at PKNS Kelana Jaya and we went for our brunch at Papa John's Pizza Shah Alam Mall (opening day). We ordered their set meals; opted for Super Papa's Pizza, breadsticks, potata wedges; Little Papa set meals of Chicken Alfredo spaghetti as well as onion rings and two servings of Minestrone soup. It was indeed deliciouas and we even have leftovers for our dinner. We then went for our dessert at Tutti Fruitti @ Yoghurt Ice-Cream. Arief wanted to buy birthday gift for Eliza; instead he bought the DVDs for himself and a miniature pool billiard table set :-)

Tips for holiday in Australia...

We had an excellent 13 days vacation in Australia; landed in Melbourne on 4th Sept, day drive to Port Campbell on 6th Sept, drive to Sydney from Melbourne on 7th Sept with stopover in Phillip Island, Eden & Batesman Bay; arrive in Sydney on 10th Sept, flown to Gold Coast on 12th Sept and arrive back home in Malaysia on 16th Sept. It's a two year vacation plan and Alhamdulillah we manage to visit and do all things that we had plan earlier. I did a lot of research on the internet and also through various discussion with friends who has been there for their advise and it would be beneficial for me to share my knowledge to those interested to plan for their holiday in Australia.

Visa Application
This can be done online via ETA and it will cost about AUD20 per person; roughly RM60++. The process will take only few weeks to be approve provided all information is correct. The visa will be valid for one year on the date of application and you can stay for 3 months in Australia

Immigration Card
You will be given this card on your flight to Australia. Just bring along a pen and fill up the particulars before arriving. Don't forget to declare foods that you will be bringing and do not take out your airline foods; just leave it in the airplane.

Quarantine & Inspection Services
As long as you have declared that it wouldn't be a problem. They will check your bag of course; so adviseable to put the foods that you will be declaring in one bag. I brought my son milk powder, biscuits and medicines. Just make sure it is not open and it's still in it's original packaging. You can refer to this website for more information.

Car Rental
Adviseable to book early and online as you will receive discounts. Always opt for unlimited mileage and consider to take extra travel insurance. Usually the car rentals will offer theirs but there are other options.

I book Hertz while we were in Melbourne and Avis in Gold Coast. GPS is a must for better navigation. Childrens need to be seated on their own; car seats or boosters. You can rent this from the rental car or bring a portable one. Using the big 5 rental companies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Thrifty) it will be easier in terms of returning the car as most of them have their location at most airports. You will receive your rented car full with fuel and you need to return back the rental car with full fuel as well; so just be aware on the nearest petrol station before returning your car. In Australia, you need to fill-up first and then make payments at the counter inside; same goes for cash or credit. 

Also opt for Roam Express; this will be used to pay for your toll charges. I use Vroom3 for my rental bookings; very reliable and opt for travel insurance at 1Cover

Car Parking
Just be aware of their parking sign. Some you can park for free but only for a limited duration. Some you need to display the parking coupons but also for a limited duration. Example if the sign says 2P 9am to 5pm; you can only park maximum for 2 hours from 9am to 5pm. After 5pm you can park more than 2 hours but you still need to pay though. There will be offers for weekends; AUD10 for full day parking. I opt for Wilson Parking nearby Sussex Street Sydney when we visited Darling Harbour. Btw parking at attraction park (Movie World, Sea World) is free; same goes for big shopping complexes (Robina Town Centre, Harbourtown & Pacific Fair).

Driving in Australia
Be extra careful of their pedestrians, cyclist and city trams (there will have the right of way). Always use your turn signals eventhough there's nobody at your rear. Be cautious on Melbourne Hook; as you need to be on the left before you can turn to the right. If you encounter this, better option is to just drive straight and turn right on any normal intersections.

Their speed limit is 100 km/h on highway and 50 km/h in towns; 40 km/h if on school hours. So driving long distance is a challenge as we need to abide by their speed limit. We are use to travelling balik kampung at our normal speed 110 (sometimes more) and we use three or two lanes highway. Over here is just two normal lane; no dividers and a lot of overtaking lanes. And we need to be careful of wildlife crossing as well as their huge trucks (all Optimus Prime like). I don't encourage driving at nights due to limited visibility. We stayed about 7 kms from Eden town and when we drove to the town to buy our dinner; driving was quite scary.

Dining
Halal food in major town (Melbourne, Sydney & Gold Coast) is easy to find; a bit difficult in smaller towns. You can opt for vegetarian meals @ Subway Veggie Sandwiches. Some outlet do sells Halal Chicken only; so need to be extra careful.

Average cost per meal per person is AUD10; no worries as their servings is quite big so you can share your meals. To save; just visit their markets @ Coles or Woolworths and buy bread, tuna, sardines and jams for your morning breakfast. Also stock up on mineral water and fruit juices. Btw don't forget to have their latte as it is delicious; even the one served in McDonalds.

Souveniers Shopping
You can visit Paddy's Market in Sydney; accesible via their monorail system. Here you can buy almost everything for your Australia souveniers to be given to your family members, relatives and friends; made in China of course. In Gold Coast there's a wholesale shop along Surfers Paradise; same block as Hilton Towers.

Attraction Tips
Opt for VIP Pass if you plan to visit Movie World, Sea World & Wet & Wild in Gold Coast. The VIP Pass allows you unlimited entry for one year; and it's cheaper than buying individual tickets as the attraction. Same goes for Sydney as you can opt for Fun Pass. Just visit MyFun for more information.

There's Funday Sunday at Sydney Ferries; each tickets cost only AUD2.50 for the whole trip; inclusive trains tickets as well. You do need to have at least one child with you upon purchasing though to enjoy this benefit.

For Penguin Parade, do consider buying Penguin Plus rather than the normal General Admission. At Penguin Plus it is not that cold as compare to General Admission seating; as you need to wait for the penguins to swim to the shore. Small kids will have problems coping with the cold breeze from the sea.

I think that's most about it from my recent trip to Australia. Please do feel free to email me at azlanshah75@yahoo.com if you need more information and I will gladly share with you :-)