The Journey of a Distort Soul....

Langkawi Part 6...

We woke up early as we wanted to have our breakfast at Padang Matsirat (buffet breakfast was not included in the package, blessing in disguise as the hotel is currently renovating the cafe and swimming pool). We went to Restoran Mempelam and had nasi lemak, nasi goreng and roti canai. The food here is delicious. We went back to our hotel for check-out and we drove straight to the airport which was just next door. We were again the first at the queue; no questions from the customs (we didn't buy that much and no blue plastic bag @ Idaman Suri). Our total luggage weight is within the allowed limit; Alhamdulilah. BTW the flight is almost full; must be due to the school holiday. We went for our dose of Starbucks Coffee while waiting to board our plane and Arief decided to pooped (better here rather than on the plane). We went into the boarding area by 11.25am and it was already full. By 11.50am I just stand up and queue; we were the first and others followed. Arief as usual can't wait to board the plane. Our seat is No 28 (favourite); not to near to the toilet and few of the first to be serve refreshments. BTW we were tempted to order the Oriental Mee but decided not to as we will be having our lunch at Abg Ngah house. We arrive at LCCT a bit late due to traffic congestion; 1.25pm. It was an excellent and enjoyable vacation to Langkawi and we can't wait to come here again next year :-)

Langkawi Part 5...

We drove to Idaman Suri from Galeri Perdana; where we did our shopping (kain batik, kain pelikat, handbag, chocolates, utensils, dining set, jug etc etc). The place was so crowded with bargain hunters and holiday shoppers. We had to watch Arief carefully as there is a lot of fragile things on display. We finished shopping by 12.30pm and we rush immediately to Padang Matsirat for lunch at Jom Ikan Bakar (I did stopped by to buy minyak gamat). The place was crowded and lucky for us we came in just before the tourist bus. We had three ikan keli, one each of ikan pari & kembung for lunch; even Arief enjoy eating the ikan bakar. It was started to rain when we were enjoying our lunch; we really like the ikan bakar and it's air assam. We arrived at Helang Hotel by 2pm but our room was still not ready and we need to wait for another hour. We then drove back to Kuah to finish our shopping (done at 3.30pm and Arief was sleeping inside the car). We were thinking of having laksa first but we decided to go our room instead. I lost my cool at the check-in when a family just simply cuts queue and demand their room keys (no manners). We finally got our keys and I decided to push the luggage trolley myself as I don't want to wait for them to send it up. We were really impressed with our room; spacious and clean :-)

We refreshed ourselves and waited for the rain to stop before heading out to eat Laksa and Cendol nearby the airport runway. It is delicious and we manage to see a plane take-off from the runway. We then went for our last drive to Kuah and we stopped by at the Jetty where Arief went to play his favourite Daytona at the arcades. We bought KFC for our dinner and Arief ate in the car as we were driving to Pantai Cenang. I wanted to buy nasi lemak bungkus for our dinner but we couldn't find any there. Arief was already sound asleep when we reached back to our hotel and we can't wait to get a good night rest today after an exhausting shopping day :-)

Langkawi Part 4...

It was so quiet at EcoPark Hotel and I had to turn the TV through-out the night to keep us company. We woke up early as usual and we went for our breakfast at the Rockside cafe nearby. The buffet breakfast was simple; kuehteow goreng, baked beans, scramble eggs & toast with orange juice. After breakfast we take a short tour around the vicinity; it was quite odd as there was nobody around. We checked out at 9.30am and we proceed to drive to "Air Hangat Park" and we took the scenic route there. It took us about half an hour to reach there and Arief fall asleep in the car. I did stop by at the Craft Complex (survey for our next visit). When we reached "Air Hangat Park" it was still close and we proceed to Galeri Perdana @ Tun Mahathir gallery. As Arief was still sleeping soundly, we decided to drive back to "Air Hangat". Then we noticed that it is undergoing a major renovation. We then drove back to Galeri Perdana and went it. It was truly an amazing collection of souvenier from various countries, the best is a horse cart given by Argentina. I really like the car collection while Arief enjoy looking at the many model airplanes on display :-)

 

Langkawi Part 3...

We went to check at GeoPark Hotel on our reservation and the room is ready. I duly re-parked the car infront of the hotel and took our luggage to our room. Eliza & Arief was waiting at the lobby; resting under the air-cond after the tiring climb on the stairs. From the hotel we drove to Padang Matsirat for lunch. We wanted to visit "Jom Ikan Bakar" but it was closed. We went to Restoran Mempelam instead and we had ikan bakar (pari, keli & siakap) for lunch as well as ABC for desserts. After lunch we drove to Langkawi Water World. The last time we went here Arief was still small and he was sleeping. Arief was very excited to visit the Water World and he wanted to see the big shark (none here). Arief likes looking at the penguins; actually Arief was tired and sleepy but he was too excited to sleep. He did sleep during the drive back to EcoPark Hotel :-)

We went for our evening tea at Loft Langkawi; looking forward to their scones but it has already finished. We ordered pastries instead with hot chocolate & ice lemon tea. From here we drove to Kuah to do some Duty Free window shopping. We went to about 4 shops around Kuah; didn't buy anything yet as we still have a full day tomorrow. We went for our dinner at a foodcourt nearby to the jetty; Nasi Lemak Saloma (one of the cleanest shop there and it was quite delicious) :-)

 

Langkawi Part 2...

We had our complimentary breakfast at the Hotel; the spread was just nice and we really like the kuehteow goreng. We check-out by 9am as we wanted to go for the famous Langkawi Cable Car. We reached there by 10am as I got lost along the way (I should have use Google Map on my BB for direction as I drove to Pantai Cenang instead). We parked at the back and had to walk on the small suspension bridge (quite shaky). I called Maleck (my ADBA senior) as he had FB me last night saying that he is working there and he gave discounted tickets for the cable car. The journey up to the top took less than 5 minutes and it was an enjoyable ride; Arief was at awe with the amazing scenery as well as watching a lot of eagles flying around the mountain. We stop at the highest peak and decided to walk on the suspension bridge. BTW we need to walk down to the suspension bridge; stairs provided of course. The view is amazing but again it was quite shaky, But the worst part is when we need to climb back up with Arief. I carry Arief up the stairs and it was extremely tiring. We rest for awhile before taking the ride down while Arief drank his milk during the journey :-)

 

Langkawi Part 1...

We had to change our earlier plans for the Langkawi trip as Eliza needs to attend an interview in KL (promotion). I'll fly with Arief first while Eliza is taking the evening flight. We went our from Shah Alam at around 7am and reached Abg Ngah house by 8am; arriving at LCCT by 8.15am. The check-in counter was not open yet; I decided to wait there and within few minutes the counter was up and running. As it was still early, I went for breakfast with Arief at Marry Brown (fried chicken and chicken burger). Arief was busy taking pictures with the digital camera. We went into the departure hall by 9.30am and Arief can't wait to board the airplane. I had to coerce him to listen to my iPod while waiting. Arief enjoy looking outside the window during take-off and he asked for his milk. As long as he did not pooped during flight, I'm okay. We reached Langkawi as schedule and our rented car @ Vios is already waiting outside. I drove to our Hotel at Kuah town @ Langkawi Seaview Hotel and overshoot the turn until I reached the jetty; but thanks to Google Map on my BB I managed to locate the hotel with ease (should have use this in the first place). BTW Arief fall asleep in the car :-)

As our room is not yet ready, I decided to drove out into town to locate the famous duty free shop @ Idaman Suri;  managed to locate it with the direction given by the hotel staff. We went in for a brief survey before heading out to the shopping mall located at the Eco-Park and bought Arief's Big Ultraman @ RM10. We had our lunch at McD where Arief went and play at their mini playground and Arief specifically asked me to sit at the nearest table. BTW the service here is slow due to many customers, most of them are tourist. We went back to out hotel to freshen up and I even managed to take a short nap; only to be waken by Arief as he had pooped. We went out to Kuah Town by 5.30pm; we went to Haji Ismail Duty Free Shop where we bought a lot of chocolates as well as a cabin bag to carry the chocolates. I even had time to share "nasi lemak" with Arief before we drove to the Airport to pick-up Eliza (arrived at 7.35pm). We went straight for dinner at "Airport Corner"; rice with ayam masak kunyit, kailan ikan masin and telur bistik (they cook telur bistik differently here). It was raining quite heavily and we went back to our Hotel by 9.30pm :-)

 

Hard Rock Hotel Penang Part 4...

I woke up at 6am today eventhough I stayed up until midnight to update my blogs via the free wifi provided by the hotel. The dawn view from the balcony is outstanding. The bed is very comfortable. We went down for our complimentary buffet breakfast at Starz by 8.30am. It was still emply but by the time we finish it was almost full with patrons. I went out with Arief to the hotel lobby while Eliza continue to have her breakfast and I asked the staff on the complimentary platinum records; given to the first few who had booked to stay here. He immediately went to check at the registration counter and he immediately gave it to us; an excellent souvenier. We rushed back to our room to change as we plan to take Arief for a last dip in the swimming pool :-)

As were about to enter the swimming pool, it started to drizzle. Arief cried as he wanted to play in the swimming pool but we finally manage to convince him to play at the Lil' Rock Club first. 15 minutes after that it was all sunshine and Arief gets to play around in the swimming pool. We were there until 10.30am as it was already hot, Arief manage to play on the slide as well as enjoying the water playground. We checked out at around 11.30am and it was again smooth. I bought HRH Cap for my souvenier as well as HRC one shot glass for Faiz @ ADBA junior. It was an excellent vacation; the staff is friendly and the hotel is fun. We will come back here again for 2010 :-)

 

 

 

Hard Rock Hotel Penang Part 3...

We went to the bare-foot BBQ for our dinner and I immediately went to the buffet spread and took lamb, beef, oyster, crab, shrimp and chicken (it was actually salmon and it is extremely delicious). Arief & Eliza was enjoying the salmon and I went for the second helping (at this point that I realized it was Salmon after asking the chef). I really like the lamb, beef and oyster while Eliza adores the crab as well as the oyster. We also had the HRC special salad and it was delicious too. They do servsed fried rice which was just nice and crab nuggets too. BTW Arief pooped during dinner and Eliza had to bring him back to our room to clean him. While waiting I had another round of BBQ and finish it off with sweet desserts. Arief really likes the choc mud cake and he ate one small portion with his hands (well he did start dinner with choc mud cake).  After our dinner, we sat at the lobby and listen to the Live performance from a local band. We had plan to drive to the night market nearby but Arief was so sleepy that he wanted to go back to the room. We duly went back and Arief upon entering the room, he just lie down on the carpet trying to sleep :-)

 

 

Hard Rock Hotel Penang Part 2...

We went down to the swimming pool and we had a blast. Arief was really enjoying the slides and he even tried the big slides; with me and Eliza of course. We enjoyed it too and we really like the water playing area by the pizzeria; fill with a lots of water sprinkler shooting from all over the area. It was really happening over here with water volleyball being organized by the staff as well as beach football. Not forgetting the non-stop music. It did took us awhile to convince Arief to stop playing at the swimming pool and he finally agrees after he is really tired. BTW I met with my old friend from UiTM at the swimming pool; small world. While we were drying ourselves, I overheard from the beach deejay that they are having bare-foot BBQ at RM55 per adult and we decided to have our dinner here. I had planned to drive to Batu Maung for some seafood but considering the distance; we might as well have our dinner here as it is much more happening :-)

 

Hard Rock Hotel Penang Part 1...

We arrived at Hard Rock Hotel Penang by 4pm (all of us wore HRC t-shirt); a good one hour an a half journey from Taiping (Arief was sleeping soundly during the journey). HRH is located at Batu Feringgi and it is just opened on 19th September 2009. There is no basement parking but we managed to find a nice parking near the main entrance. The hotel staff were dressed in striking red ensemble and I really like their black lanyards. I immediately went to the registration and check-in; it took about 20 minutes to confirm our room. We were served with the customary welcoming drinks and it was quite good. Our room is 403 Sea View and we request for the concierge to send our luggage first as we wanted to tour the hotel. It was filled with music memorabilia and we took a lot of pictures; the best one is with the signature guitar. We went to their merchandise shop; there's three actually One for HRC and two for HRH. We bought HRC Penang t-shirt at RM90 for our souveniers. We went up to our room and we were really impressed with the design and view; can't wait to go down and enjoy their big swimming pool with three slides. Arief was already jumping up and down in the room asking us to hurry up and go down :-)

 

Genting Highland Part 1...

We went to Awana Genting Highland to celebrate our 4th Year wedding anniversary (we honeymoon here after driving back from Awana Kijal). I managed to buy the vouchers via Lowyat for RM45; free one night stay at Awana Genting Highland among it's many offerings. We started our journey quite late; at around 11.30am and we stopped for lunch at McD NKVE (Petronas).  We arrived at Awana around 2pm and we proceed for check-in. It took awhile as the queue is quite long. It was worth the wait as upon the confirmation of our room via the vouchers, we were given a free breakfast buffet vouchers by the Hotel staff (she thinks that Arief is cute and it would be a hassle for us to go and buy breakfast in the morning). Our room is on level 11; and the finishing of the room is very impressive as compared to our previous experience. Thumbs up to Awana Genting Highland :-)

We drove up to the theme parks at around 4pm and we parked at Genting Resort. Arief was already excited to explore the new surroundings; and it was quite cold too. The journey to the indoor park is quite far from here with many escalators and walkways. We passed by their Casino and as well as the Vision City (arcade games). Upon arriving at the Indoor Theme Park, we asked Arief whether he would want to play with all the rides but he declined. We ended up just touring all the retail shops available. I did bought Ultraman stickers for Arief to keep him busy while we have our early dinner later. We wanted to have something hot but not the usual fast food outlets; we eventually went for dinner at Hou Wei. We ordered roasted chicken rice and Hor Fun Soup; both is quite delicious :-)

As promised, we took Arief to the arcade game where we spend RM30 playing the arcades; from Daytona to Drum Machines to Dance Mania and basketball. All three of us likes playing "Go-Go-Balls" where we hit the object on the screen with small plastic balls. Arief also join in the fun by throwing the plastic balls. We also play the water fire and baseball. We collected about 179 tickets and we redeem it for a set of fridge magnets and stickers. Btw it took us awhile to coerce Arief to stop playing at the arcade. On our way out we bought KFC Snack Plate for Arief. It was already 8.30pm and it was quite foggy and cold. The drive down to Awana was a bit dangerous with the low visibility. Alhamdulillah we arrive safely and Arief fall asleep in the car :-)

 

 

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 7...

We went for our breakfast at Restoran Getaran Jiwa; we had the usual nasi goreng, toast and cakes. After breakfast, we went back to Tune Hotel for check-out (impressively very smooth; just remember to return the towels). The drive to the Airport took about half an hour. I had to wait for the rental car company representative to come to the airport to pick-up the rental car (excellent rental service). My father-in-law bought fresh prawns at the airport; RM96 for 2 kilos. We immediately went inside the boarding hall after checking-in. We went to Gate A2 but we were asked to change to Gate A5 instead. We boarded a connecting fight from Taiwan to Kota Kinabalu to KLIA. Arief spend most of the time watching DVD and he fell asleep upon boarding. The meal served is rice with chicken or fish; we do prefer the meals on our previous flight though. Arief only woke-up when we were about to land in KLIA. BTW Arief took home the small pillow from the flight :-)

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 6...

We went back to Pasar Filifina as my mother-in-law wanted to get clarification from the seller on her new bought pearls. We managed to find a nice parking spot in-front of the pasar. Arief and my father-in-law walk to the back of the Pasar Filifina to watch the sea and to our surprise it is full with street vendors @ pasar malam and we noticed a lot of stalls selling fried seafood. Without hesitation we took our seats and ordered our meals; fried squids, prawns and ikan merah. It was delicious. But Arief pooped and we had to clean him inside the car as the toilet there is not "hygenic friendly". After our scrumptious dinner, we went to Wawasan Complex nearby. It is an office building with numerous retail outlets and the ground floor. We had our cham at Olden Kopitiam there before heading back to our hotel. BTW we did make a brief stop at Dubai Textile at Alamesra; selling muslim scarfs. We went for our last tour of One Borneo before calling it a night :-)

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 5...

We were supposed to wake up early to drive to Mount Kinabalu Park but we ended up having our breakfast at 8.30am. We went to Restoran Senaria at Alamesra nearby and ordered roti canai, bihun goreng and nasi goreng lalap (chicken strips). The service is very dissapointed; they make a blunder on our orders and the didn't deliver roti bakar. After breakfast we began our journey to Mount Kinabalu Park; driving towards Tuaran. BTW there is a lot of roundabouts over here but less signage guiding to Mount Kinabalu Park. Upon reaching Tuaran, I stopped at the nearest Shell Station and my father-in-law ask the attendant on the direction and he suggested we proceed towards Danau. From here the driving is mostly uphills; tiring as I need to overtake a lot of big lorries. We are at awe at the view of Mount Kinabalu while driving there and we reach the Kinabalu Park at around 10.30am. It was very windy and we spend about 45 minutes there taking pictures and admiring the view. Arief enjoy the watching the scenery as well as playing all around the park. We drove back to Kota Kinabalu and reached there just nice for our lunch; we decided to have our lunch at Restoran Getaran Jiwa at Alamesra :-)

 

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 4...

We drove for our dinner at Anjung Selera located nearby the sea-front and opposite the floating mosque. We wanted to avoid the dinner and we went there early. There were a lot of shops there serving mostly seafood plus chicken wings and satay. We ended up choosing the nearest shop to our parking. We ordered chicken wings, squids, prawns, telur bistik and kailan ikan masin. Arief was busy playing all over the Anjung Selera; throwing and kicking pebbles everywhere. The meals was just mediocre; a bit dissapointed actually. It was beggining to rain as we were about to finish our dinner and we drove around Kota Kinabalu town before heading back to our hotel. Arief was already sleeping and we decided to walk around One Borneo exploring the many retail shops available. We also shared a hot white chocolate at Gloria Jeans located at the Tune Hotel reception :-)

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 3...

I went searching for breakfast with my father-in-law around One Borneo; finally we found Mom's Shop and bought nasi lemak, sandwiches and doughnuts. Our rental car came at 9am; one hour earlier. It was an auto Proton Persona with built-in DVD player. Our first venue is to go to Pasar Filifina; I called Fazlan and asked for direction (nearby Promenade). It took us about half an hour to locate it; we were actually here earlier but the place did not have any signboard to indicate that it is Pasar Filifina. We managed to find a nice parking spot and the shopping spree begin. We bought varieties of crystal bracelet, pearls, souvenirs and t-shirts; Arief was also in the mood and he continue playing with the crystals. I was waiting outside the Pasar Filifina with Arief & Abah and we were greeted by a lot of street peddlers selling various products (imitation watches, belt, wallet and sunglasses). I bought an Oakley Flak Jacket for Arief @ RM10. We went for our lunch at Restoran Mars nearby before heading back to our Hotel for our needed rest :-)

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 2...

We took the airport taxi to Tune Hotel. The journey is about 20 minutes and the driver drive along a scenic route by the sea; he even showed us the place for seafood. Tune Hotel is located nearby to UMS and it is part of a huge shopping mall @ One Borneo. The entrance resemble a cyber cafe; with a check-in counter sandwich between a petite 7-11 and Gloria Jeans. Check-in was very fast and we were given our towel as per our booking. The lift to the rooms is located at the public toilet and we need to carry our bags to our room. The room is small but just nice. We put our big bag into the empty room to maximise our space. As the room does not have windows; we decided to add aircond for RM21 @ 24 hours of usage. We also paid RM7 for TV @ 24 hours (limited channels). We went down and explore One Borneo; I bought a Fred Perry Pink polo shirt and Arief bought an immitation bumblebee. We had our dinner at Syiok Cafe; it is like a food court concept but they take your orders at the table. Eliza's parents ordered nasi padang, Eliza had nasi ayam lemon while I ate laksa sarawak. We went back to our room by 8pm. I tried going online with my Celcom BB but the reception was poor. I ended up buying wifi for RM12 @ 24 hours :-)

Kota Kinabalu Holiday Part 1...

We are going to Kota Kinabalu for our Holiday; with Eliza's parents (Ijam & Ita was supposed to join us but Ijam was transfered to Teluk Intan after years of applying and he will start there on 1st August; therefore he needs to arrange for his re-location). We drove to Banting in our Satria as Elina will send us to KLIA with the new Exora. We reached KLIA by 10.15am and I immediately went to check-in; I did try at the kiosk for our boarding pass but system error. The process took less than 5 minutes. We were hungry as we skip breakfast this morning; luckilly Eliza's mom brought nasi lemak and mee goreng. BTW Arief was keeping himself busy by taking pictures all over KLIA. We requested for a wheelchair assistance for Eliza's mom and it was a very smooth boarding process. We were actually waiting anxiously for our meals; they served Arief first @ nasi goreng with satay daging. The satay was very tender; a bit spicy for the nasi goreng. We both had nasi briani ayam and it was delicious. I lost count on how many drinks that I ordered; guava juice and soft drinks. Arief fall asleep as we were about to land at Kota Kinabalu :-)

Indonesia Holiday Part 6...

We went for our buffet breakfast at around 8am; it was just a small dining area with nasi goreng, mee goreng, eggs & toast station. I went to the hotel convenience store and I managed to buy soya for Arief; and over here it is known as Susu Keldai. We really like the nasi goreng especially with the salted vegetables. The keropok was excellent too. Arief was having his breakfast while watching his portable DVD @ Ben 10 Alien Force and he also likes the keropok. We drove out to Kartika Sari to buy brownies; and we bought chocolate chips and almond. From Kartika Sari we went to Batik Danar Hadi and bought batik for my father-in-law as well as a gift for Eliza's former boss who will be moving to another unit in TM. We went to Alisha where Eliza bought tudung. Arief was enjoying his time at the shop and he can't stop playing and running all over. Then we went to Jalan Ir.H.Juanda where we shop at Blossom (bought Crocs Kids, socks, caps and shorts) and Grande (Lacoste & Nike Polo T-Shirts). We even stop for mee sup at Grande as Arief was hungry; btw it is quite delicious :-)

We had our lunch at Restoran Simpang Raya; the one that we went last year. We had Ayam, Rendang Daging, Paru, Telur Puyuh Kentang, Pegedil and Sambal. It was delicious. We went back to our Hotel for some needed rest and we went back for one last shopping at around 5.30pm. We went to Merdeka Factory Outlet and we manage to buy jeans for Arief. BTW Arief bought Kung-Fu Panda T-Shirt. We had our dinner at Dakken Coffee & Steak where we share onion rings, pisang goreng keju and steak with lychee and watermelon smoothie. This time we sat outside and Arief was keeping himself busy by watching his Ben 10 Alien Force :-)

 

Indonesia Holiday Part 5...

We had our morning breakfast at our floor lobby; benefits of the Executive Suite. We were very impressed of the service and buffet spread. Arief was again watching his DVD while having his breakfast. Our rental car came at around 9am and we drove from Jakarta to Bandung; the scenic journey is about 2 hours. Arief and Eliza fall asleep during the journey but I stay awake to watch the scenery; it was indeed beautiful especially when we passed by the many railway tracks. We reached Bandung by Noon and we immediately went to Rumah Mode where we bought three pants; 2 for Eliza and 1 for me. We had our coffee at the nearby Bistro; where Arief enjoy playing around the mini pond. From Rumah Mode we went for our lunch and we requested for our driver to drive us to the nearest Nasi Padang Restaurant and he took us to Simpang Jaya. We had Ayam Bakar, Tempe, Capcai, Sambal, Rendang Sapi and Telur with the usual sosro. After lunch, we went to our hotel @ Cherry Homes located near the Toll Road. Driving to the Hotel is quite challenging as the road was not properly maintained. The check-in was smooth and we were ushered to our rooms on the 1st Floor (no lifts) :-)

We went to Heritage and Cascade which is just beside each other and bought t-shirts for Arief as well as pants for Eliza. Arief was sleeping in his stroller while we continue window shopping. It was about to rain when we wanted to visit Toko Tiga; Eliza and Arief stayed inside the car while I choose my Levis 512 and a few polo t-shirts. We had our dinner at Merdeka Shopping Mall (we came here last year) and they were having their Transformers promotion. I bought pink t-shirt for Aiman at the local distro and we have our dinner there; local fast food. Arief was his usual self; running all over the shops and he bought a Transformers Colour Pencil on his way out :-)

 

 

Indonesia Holiday Part 4...

We went for lunch with Mira, Wi-Ent and Andri at Social House (SOHO) at Grand Indonesia; it is located above Harvey Nichols. This is a place to be seen in Jakarta. We ordered Bimbimbla and roasted chicken. I took Arief to Grand Indonesia (same building) as I wanted to visit the Oakley Store there and I noticed that they were having a big promotion on Ben 10 with huge stage, LCD projector showing Ben 10 episodes and props but it was closed on Monday (no character appearance). I did bought Ben 10 stickers book for Arief at their promotional booth. The food in SOHO was very delicious; even Arief enjoy eating Bimbimbla. We chatted with Ibu Mira after lunch; catching up on things :-)

We went for a mild shopping at Mothercare Grand Indonesia as they were having 70% sale and bought t-shirts for Arief. And Arief also managed to coerce us to buy him a Ben 10 watch with illuminator. We window shopped for awhile before we went to Ambassador to buy DVDs (The Office, 30 Rock & Ben 10 Alien Force) and CDs. I also bought covers for my Blackberry Bold; the hp accesories is located on the top floor. We went back to our hotel to rest and we were placed at the Executive Suite Level 12. It has it's own lift with dedicated concierge on each floor. We went up to our room first while they pick-up our bags from our previous room. It was indeed very luxurious as compared to the normal room :-)

We went to Senayan City in the late evening for our light dinner; we took a taxi from the Hotel. They were having a huge Spongebob promotion at their main concourse. We went to the Ground Floor and survey the many food outlets available and we decided to have dougnuts at Krispy Kreme. We ordered the SpongeBob doughnuts promotion with one free SpongeBob book in Indonesian language. Arief was colouring with the free crayons and colour pencils provided at Krispy Kreme :-)

 

Indonesia Holiday Part 3...

We had our morning buffet breakfast at the Hotel Cafe downstairs. The spread is satisfactory and we really like their nasi goreng; it is always delicious. Arief was not that hungry and he started to walk all over the cafe and hotel lobby. After breakfast, I went to discuss with the hotel concierge on our room as I feel we were not given the Executive Suite as per the voucher. And I was right as they had been a mistake during registration. We will be upgraded to the Executive Suite in the evening; moving up to Level 12 from Level 7. I told them to take our bags from the existing room as we will be out shopping the whole day :-)

We went to Tanah Abang with my friends from Asiatech; Wi-Ent and Andri. Andri is familiar with Tanah Abang and it makesit easier for us to shop for our things. It was quite jam heading to Tanah Abang from our hotel and we immediately went up to the 6th floor for textiles. Arief was tired as he slept late last nite and we had to carry him during our shopping. We bought lots and lots of textiles and it is quite cheap. Eliza & Arief went to relax at their food court at Level 8 while I continue to window shop. We had ANW while Arief was sleeping at the food court. I bought California Fried Chicken for Arief  after he woke up as he was hungry; he didn't ate much during breakfast and I also bought chicken strips at Texas Chicken for take-aways :-)

Indonesia Holiday Part 2...

We went to the nearby Senayan Mall; it is one of the many HUGE shopping mall in Jakarta and they were having massive school holiday sales. We went into Lacoste Boutique and their famous polo shirt is on 50% but before I manage to grab it; it was taken by another shopper (reminisence of a scene in "Confessions of a Shopaholics" minus the cat-fight). We had our evening snack at the food court and I ordered nasi cobek at Sate Khas and nasi goreng special for Eliza & Arief at Tamani Express. BTW Arief bought his Ben 10 figurines at Sogo Plaza Senayan; Four Arms, Accelerate and HeatBlast. He began playing with his new toys while eating his chicken at the food court :-)

We began exploring Plaza Senayan and ended up at Metro Department Store. And Arief bought his Ben 10 and OshKosh collar t-shirt. As always Arief would like to wear his new t-shirt immediately and we change him at the cashier counter. As it was already dark, we decided to visit Hero supermarket to buy our groceries. I was looking for soya bean (since my last visit to Indonesia last year) and couldn't locate it. I guess they didn't sell soya bean at their supermarket. But I did bought Teh Sosro though :-)

Indonesia Holiday Part 1...

We drove to Abg Ngah house at around 7.15am and we reached there by 8am. Kak Zah prepared mee goreng basah for our breakfast. Ijat send us to LCCT and we arrived there just in time for our check-in. We immediately went into the boarding area and took our seat; Aisle 1. It was very comfortable with ample leg room. Arief really enjoy flying; sitting near the window and watching the ground as we took off. Arief fall asleep during the journey with Eliza. BTW I bought AirAsia Transformers T-Shirt and a sticker book for Arief. Arief woke-up as we were about to land at Soekarno Airport; the journey is about 2 hours and we arrived a bit late than scheduled (delayed due to operational issues). With the recent H5N1 outbreak, we were requested to fill-up the "Health Declaration Card" and to be given to the medical personnel at the immigration counter. The immigration took awhile to settle as they was a huge crowd. And Arief lost his stickers along the way and was crying for me to buy him a new set. We did managed to convince him that we will buy on our way back home to LCCT on Thursday. After finish with the immigration, I went with Arief to the airport McDonalds and bought Happy Meal with Spiderman Toy as well as nuggest. We took a taxi from the Airport to our hotel; Atlet Century Park. The driver at first was driving towards Chiputra Hotel; and I showed to him the voucher to the Hotel. We reached the hotel within 20 minutes drive. It took awhile for the hotel to prepare our room and we decided to have our drinks at the nearby cafe; Crash Infusion. The room was ready after an hour of waiting; clean room with nice view of the Istora Senayan :-)

Rennaisance KL...

We arrived at Rennaisance KL by 3pm; and I dropped Eliza & Arief at the West Wing Lobby before parking our car at the basement. I went to the check-in counter to register for our room (Junior Suite); 1209 with breakfast. The suite is just nice with an elegant living room, spacious bedroom with the most comfortable pillows and matress, excellent view of Concorde Hotel and Menara KL and also not forgetting toilets with bathtub, separate showers and bathrobes. They provide us with cookies and apples. We really refreshed ourselves with the luxury on the Junior Suite and  Arief was busy playing all over the room and exploring the many cabinets as well as playing with the apples. We went out after Maghrib for our dinner and I decided to visit "Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa" at Kampung Baru (nearby). I bought "nasi lemak pegedil and paru with extra sambal". BTW Arief was sleeping inside the car as he didn't slept the whole evening. We dropped by KLCC; hoping to window shopped but Arief woke-up and we had to cut short our trip to allow Arief to get some sleep at the hotel. We did however bought Chicken Pie and drinks for dinner. Eliza & Arief slept after dinner and I watch Arsenal vs Everton at the living room; Arsenal won 3-1. We woke-up early as usual to the KL morning sun and went down for breakfast at around 7.45am. There were a lot of Moto GP fans staying at the hotel; obvious from the t-shirts that they wore. Breakfast was simple and delicious. We walked by the swimming pool after breakfast and watch a group of players playing tennis. We check-out at around 10am and I had to pay RM10 for parkings. It was truly an enjoyable stay in Rennaisance KL thanks to Mix FM Pandora's Box :-)

Damar Laut Part 02...

We woke up early to catch morning sunrise; indeed it was magnificent. We went for the complimentary morning breakfast at the cafe beside the resort huge swimming pool. We opted to have our breakfast at the courtyard. Arief was keeping himself busy by playing with the small birds around the courtyard. I went with Arief to walk beside the swimming pool while Eliza continue to have breakfast. Arief was at awe at the light reflection on the swimming pool when I trickle the water. We went down the stairs heading to the private sea; it was clean with white sandy beaches. Walking up the stairs was quite tiring though. We refreshed ourselves before checking-out; we have a wedding to attend in Taiping (Eliza's cousin). Arief and Eliza was enjoying feeding the fishes at the resort lobby while I pack everything into our car. I stopped at the "Look-Out Point" and took a few pictures of the golf course. We went to Lumut to buy "ikan bilis" before heading back to Taiping. I got confused with the direction at Lumut and I ended up going to Ipoh instead of Taiping. I did however found a route to Taiping but it was a long journey indeed. We safely arrived in Taiping by 12.30pm :-)

 

TGV Sunway Piramid & Damar Laut...

We are going to celebrate our third year anniversary at Swiss Garden Damar Laut. We wanted to do a lot of personal errands in the morning but we woke up late and haven't packed yet;so  we just went to Sunway Piramid to watch Mummy 3. We did dropped by at GDex to pick up Mix FM Goodie Bag that was sent yesterday but the courier had already taken-out the package to be delivered to our house, so I just asked to leave it by the shoe-rack (two CD's pack). The movie starts at 11am and we managed to share A&W Chicken Sandwich for breakfast. We bought popcorn as usual; the movie was enjoyable but missing the chemistry between Fraser & Weisz (new actress play her role for this sequel). After movie we explore Sunway Piramid and I bought two SEED shirts at 50% discount. We were still full from breakfast and we decided to have our late lunch in Tanjung Malim @ Mastan Ghani. We went to pick-up Arief at his babysitter house and I drove to Tanjung Malim via NKVE exiting at Bidor. The journey is about 3 hours and Mastan Ghani was closed (I later found out that the owner is on leave and his son couldn't make the same mee rebus gravy). We went to food stalls nearby and ate fried rice and paprik (ok lah to satisfy our hunger). We arrive in Swiss Garden Damar Laut by 6.30pm and the road towards the resort caught us by surprise. We need to drive about 5km along a small path beside huge swamps. Our plan to have our dinner outside have to be cancel (dangerous to drive out at night). Our room is facing the sea and we manage to watch the sunset over our balcony; beautiful :-)

 

Langkawi Trip Part 3...

We drove to Langkawi Cabel Car hoping that it has resume services. The journey to the cable car is quite far; luckily we have a map to guide us. We reached the bottom of Gunung Mat Cinchang (Eco-Park) but the cable car is still halted due to bad weather. We walked briefly around Eco-Park and visited the rabbit & deer farm. Arief was absolutely excited watching the many friendly rabbits; a bit scared of the deer though. We went to "The Loaf" afterwards; did get lost along the way. It was located at a beautiful marina. We ordered pastries with flavored tea and enjoy our tea-time with the magnificent view. Arief was busy playing around "The Loaf"; luckily the arrangement is much more friendlier as compare with the one in Pavilion. After finish eating, we drove back to Kuah to buy cabin bag to carry our extra luggage. I re-fuel RM10 worth petrol; the nissan is fuel guzzler :-)

We are undecided on what to eat for dinner and we drove to Pantai Cenang for some ideas. At first we stopped at one big Malay restaurant but it was dirty. We the chose a "chic" restaurant and began ordering our dinner. I ordered nasi goreng seven spices and fries for Arief. Eliza wanted to try Black Pepper Lamb. The nasi goreng was delicious but the "stupid waitress" make a blunder of Eliza's Black Pepper Lamb; trying to serve Chicken Cordon Blue to Eliza instead. The "stupid waitress" insisted that we ordered the chicken. We were so pissed of the whole incident and decided to just leave (of course paying for the meal served). We went to the restaurant nearby to Langkawi Underwaterworld and Eliza thoroughly enjoy the noddles. BTW Arief sat and enjoy "Geng Bas Sekolah" at the restaurant. We arrived back at the Hotel; tired and can't wait to refesh ourselves. But the car rental people was not at their desk and I had to call their HQ in order to return the rented car :-)

We manage to pack our bags before we go to sleep; and I even managed to go on the internet (Celcom 3G) on my notebook and watch the online score-tracker of the wimbledon final (I first thought Federer won but Nadal triumph at the end). We woke up early as we booked the earliest flight; managed to have breakfast at 7am (we were the first to arrive). We arrived at the airport at around 8am and the immigration has not opened yet (had to wait until 8.30am and we were the first). Flight was on schedule and we took our normal seats. I did bought Air-Asia lanyard for souveniers :-)

Langkawi Trip Part 2...

We woke up early and proceed to have our breakfast at the hotel cafe. It was quite small and the buffet spread was acceptable; we really like their "cucur udang". After breakfast we took a short walk along the beach; view is excellent. By 9.30am, we went to get our rented car (inclusive with the rooms booking) at the hotel lobby but the car is not available (being used) and will only be back by 10.30am. They suggested for us to use their spare car; Nissan Sunny. It was an old car; still drivable but scary. I drove the car to the nearest Petronas Station and filled up RM50 worth of fuel (forgot that I'm using this car temporarily before changing to Iswara). BTW it was raining heavilly and our plan to take the cable car cancel. We drove to Kuah instead and visited Dataran Helang. Nothing much there apart from few souveniers shop as well as Duty Free Center near the ferry jetty. From there we drove to the many Duty Free Shops in Kuah and bought souveniers for our families. We even stopped at the famous "minyak gamat" shop along the way back from Kuah. It was already noon and we decided to visit the famous "ikan bakar' restaurant near Padang Matsirat. The restaurant is called "Jom Ikan Bakar"; btw this area is crowded with "ikan bakar" restaurant. The restaurant is full with customer but we managed to find a table. I immediately took 3 "ikan kembung bakar" from the grill and proceed to take our rice with varieties of ulam and vegetables. I went again to the grill for "ikan keli"; waited close to 5 minutes but managed to grab one. It was truly delicious and Arief likes it too. Drinks is self-service; 50 cents per glass. Total cost is RM24; cheap :-)

Langkawi Trip Part 1...

We treat ourselves to a Langkawi vacation from our "increment bonuses". We went there way back in 2006 when Arief was 3 months old. I booked Air Asia late evening flight (cheaper) and lodging at Langkasuka Resort. We went to Abg Ngah house for lunch; Kak Zah prepared chicken rice for us (delicious) and my cousin Moly was there too with her families. Arief was keeping himself busy by playing PS2 with his cousins. Kak Zah also prepared "kuehteow goreng" for tea-time; the one that I missed the during the trip to Bandung as I was rushing to LCCT. Hazry told us about the best restaurants and places of interest in Langkawi and he sent us to LCCT by 5pm. We immediately check-in and waited at the departure hall. It was a full flight and as usual we took express boarding; the queue is horrendous. Flight was on time and smooth. I really like the magnificent ocean view upon landing. We decided to wait for others to board down as we still have to wait for our luggage; no need to rush. By the time we reached the arrival hall, our luggage was already on the conveyor belt. We took the Airport Taxi to Langkasuka; RM12 for less than 5 minutes journey. The hotel looks old but clean. Registration was fast and we got upgraded to Suite; complete with living room. We were quite tired and Arief was already yawning, we decided to just buy dinner at the hotel "hawkers fare" beside the swimming pool. I ordered mee & meehon goreng; but they don't do take-away. So I had to bring it up to our room; complete with plates and utensils. Luckilly our room was just nearby :-)

Vacation in Jakarta Part 5...

Our flight back to Malaysia is scheduled at 2pm; ample time for us to explore Jakarta in the morning. After our morning breakfast at the Hotel we immediately took a taxi to central Jakarta. Again we were early and the driver suggested that we went to Plaza Senayan but it was still closed. Plaza Senayan is huge, you can actually spend one day just walking around. We did passed by Istora Senayan; the famous badminton hall. It is within a huge sport complex. BTW along the journey to Central Jakarta I noticed a lot of people by the roadside gesturing to hitch a ride; so I asked our driver and he replied that certain roads in Central Jakarta only allows cars with full passenger to enter and if violated is subjected to summonses. So these people actually make money from ensuring that the empty cars is full with passenger; RP1000 per trip :-)

We ended up going to Grand Indonesia instead; a shopping mall adjacent to a business center. Eliza's sister had won an HP online contest and the prize (notebook bag) is to be redeemed at HP sales outlet in Grand Indonesia. We waited at the food court (still not open) and I noticed Mothercare boutique which is on sale. We went up to the Cinema Hall (where HP sales outlet is located) and claim the prize (it took awhile as they need to verify). We went down to Mothercare and bought 4 t-shirts for Arief. We did managed to walk around Grand Indonesia before going back to the hotel for check-out. We took the same taxi to the Airport; journey took about half an hour due to a minor traffic accident on the opposite side. Upon arriving at the airport, we immediately went to the check-in counter. Our bag is being taken over by the airport staff; this is normal with "tips". Arief doesn't want to put his Barney bag into the x-ray machine at the immigration counter; I need to carry him passed the machine with his Barney bag :-)

This time bag was within the allowed limit and airport tax is RP100,000 per person (including Arief). It was still early and we decided to have lunch at the airport lounge. We ate at A&W but Arief decided to pooped; a lot. I took him to the nearest toilet; which is at the end of the airport. It took me awhile to clean Arief; then I realize that I forgot his diapers. I just carry Arief to Eliza who is waiting at A&W; luckilly he didn't pee. We rushed inside the departure terminal; not before I bought fridge magnets at the airport souvenir shop. As usual, we took express boarding and we were seated at a separate lounge. We took our normal seat in the plane and the flight back to KL was smooth :-)

Vacation in Jakarta Part 4...

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was simple; I really like the bubur nasi while Arief & Eliza ate mee goreng. I noticed a lot of the crowds eating "instant mee"; we need to request as it is not served in the buffet. We went out to explore central Jakarta and our taxi driver suggested that we went to Tanah Abang (we had initially plan to go to ICT Mangga Dua but it was not open yet). The journey to Tanah Abang was very interesting as we passed by a lot of Jakarta famous landmarks. BTW Tanah Abang reminds us of Bandung Pasar Baru. It has many floors selling various things; we bought jerseys for Arie & Ilyas, jeans for me & Ijam as well as kain batik for our moms. We don't particularly enjoy Tanah Abang as it was too crowded and the walkway between shops is quite narrow. We went to Plaza Indonesia after finish shopping at Tanah Abang.  As it was still early, most of the shops is either closed or just about to be open. We went to Starbucks for some needed refreshments after our shopping trip to Tanah Abang. We dropped by at Hard Rock Cafe near Entertainment X'ter (within Plaza Indonesia) but the merchandise shop is still closed and will only open at noon. We wanted to avoid the lunch crowd so we decided to visit Plaza Indonesia foodcourt. I ordered Nasi Penyet with Satay Kambing while Eliza requested for mee goreng. Nasi Penyet here is different from the one that I normally eats in Cyberjaya but it was still delicious. Arief was making himself busy by arranging the trays in the foodcourt. We went to buy Hard Rock Cafe merchandise; t-shirt for Arief, Yong and myself. Arief was enjoying playing with the free balloons at Hard Rock Cafe. BTW Arief was really tired as he did not sleep this morning. We decided to go back to our Hotel and rest :-)

Arief was so tired that he slept soundly in the evening. We cancel our plan to explore ITC Mangga Dua and decided to rest at the Hotel. I was feeling quite bored as I couldn't sleep so I went to GIANT (beside our hotel, located at LTC). LTC is like a big hardware @ DIY store, you can find almost anything here. I bought SOSRO tea sachet but I couldn't find any soya bean (weird). I did bought instant mee though and a universal adapter. BTW I went to GIANT again later in the evening to buy more SOSRO tea sachets (for our families).As Arief was still sleeping, I bought our dinner at the nearby Penang restaurant; direct walkway link from the hotel to the restaurants (Pizza Hut, bakery and Japanese restaurant). I bought fried rice, char kueh teow and their combo appetizers. I request for extra "cili padi". The food is delicious :-)

Vacation in Jakarta Part 3...

We thought of resting in the hotel but Arief was awake; so we decided to wander around the many shopping centre around Mangga Dua vicinities. They have ITC, WTC and MTC which is nearby to each other (walking distance). As we wanted to avoid crowds, we went to MTC Mangga Dua. The first thing that we saw upon approaching MTC was J Co Donuts. We walked around the many small shops around MTC, nothing much that fancies us. They do have a lot of events in MTC; child singing competition as well as basketball arcade game tournament. I did bought DVDs; one for RP6,000 which is very cheap; 3 seasons of "The Office" cost RP84,000 @ RM30. We had our early dinner at Wendy's; we ordered double cheese burgers with large fries. On our way out, we stopped at JCo and bought half a dozen donuts with ice blended caramel cappuccino. We arrived back at the hotel and Arief was already yawning. He immediately went to sleep, but not before eating JCo Donuts :-)

Vacation in Jakarta Part 2...

We initially plan to do some window shopping but after realizing that Seaworld Indonesia will only be open from 2pm onwards on weekdays, we went there instead. Bluebird taxi has a post outside Jayakarta making it easier for us to plan our journey. It was just 10 minutes drive from our hotel to "Taman Tema Ancol". Ancol entrance fee was RP12,000 for adult; RP24,000 for both of us (no fees for Arief). It was so crowded. From the entrance to Seaworld it took us about 5 minutes and again it was crowded. We had to pass a security check where they inspect our bags and they use a metal detector (precaution due to the previous bombing incidents in Jakarta). I bought our Seaworld tickets; RP100,000 for 2 adults (Arief is free). Arief was sleeping so we decided to have our lunch at Seaworld foodcourt. I ordered nasi ayam "something" at Senayan Express while Eliza took chicken fritters set meal with fries at Popeyes (fast food outlet). Nasi ayam was ok; fritters was excellent. Btw, I drank "teh botol sosro". Arief woke up after we had finished lunch and he ate fries before we proceed to enter Seaworld. The attractions is the piranha, shark and dugong. Arief was excited to watch the sharks (he is afraid of the IKEA shark toy). Pity we missed out on the feeding time. We bought t-shirt for Arief at the gift shop but no fridge magnet. On our way out we noticed that the food court is crowded (luckily we ate early). I bought battery powered bubble gun for Arief and he enjoy playing with it; it took us awhile to persuade Arief to go back to the hotel as he still wanted to play with the bubble gun. It was quite difficult to find a good taxi in Seaworld; one driver requested for RP60,000 for a trip to our hotel (cost only RP25,000). We decided to walk to the Bluebird taxi post, and to our luck we found one vacant Bluebird taxi just around the corner :-)

Vacation in Jakarta Part 1...

We redeemed the Mix FM contest voucher; free trip to Jakarta; and it was not as easy as it seems (minor hiccups but manageable). The AirAsia voucher expired by end August 2008 and hotel voucher expired by end September 2008 but cannot be used from July to August (both vouchers are not applicable on weekends). Therefore we only have June to plan our trip. I went to LCCT in May to booked the tickets (cannot do online) but they require passport number. I had to go again; this time at KL Sentral. The process is about 45 minutes; require confirmation from HQ. Finally I got our flight tickets with Arief as well (purchase separately) :-)

As our flight is scheduled at 7am, we drove from Shah Alam at 5am (woke up at 4am) and arrived at Abg Ngah house by 5.45am. Hazry accompanied us to LCCT and we reached there by 6pm. It was already crowded but our check-in process was smooth (done by 6.20am). Arief was sleeping along the way but woke-up when we arrived at LCCT. We took "Express Boarding" and we sat at the back, near to the toilet and pantry. Flight was ok apart from the major turbulence at around 8am and it was scary. Eliza hold Arief tightly while I tried to balance our hot drinks from spilling over (btw we ordered nasi lemak and sweet buns). The turbulence lasted for about 5 minutes. Luckily everyone was ok apart from just spilling their hot drinks on themselves. Well I manage to balance my chinese tea; should have ordered canned drinks or ribena next time. Arief was ok after the ordeal and he even played "peek-a-boo" with an uncle behind us. But he pooped, about 10 minutes to landing. We hurriedly clean Arief in the toilet; finish just in time :-)

The plane landed smoothly at Soekarno Airport on time. The queue at the immigration was fast as it was still early in the morning. We immediately went to the "Baby Changing Room" and washed Arief again; this time properly. We booked our transport to Jayakarta Hotel, Silverbird limo (RP210,000 @ RM75 for a Camry). The journey to Jayakarta Hotel took about half an hour. We were quite tired and needed to freshen-up and lucky for us, our room was ready. It was a deluxe room facing LTC, ample space but mediocre in cleanliness. We can‘t wait to explore Jakarta :-)

Singapore Business Trip Part 2...

The breakfast in Hyatt is satisfactory, ample varieties but small cafe. Their swimming pool is excellent though. I came down with a Korean tourist group, it‘s a bit packed. We used the same taxi as yesterday, Radzif and we went to Pan Pacific to pick up our colleagues. It was already 9.30am and the journey was smooth. Upon reaching Rochor, we took the MRT to Singapore Expo. It was quite packed but manageable and we reached CommunicAsia by 10.15am. We immediately visited BroadcastAsia and were amazed at the latest broadcasting equipment. We had lunch early to avoid the noon crowd and I ordered white rice with pari assam pedas with pegedel and vegetables. We visited Yahoo booth again for our dessert; free ice-cream :-)

We took the MRT back to City Hall and I went to La Vistana to check on the jersey for Arief; it was still out-of-stock. We did have our RnR at JCo again; I ordered strawberry yoghurt this time. We took the MRT to Bugis and walked to the taxi stand; Radzif was already waiting for us. The journey was better as compared to yesterday, less jam as it was still early. BTW I noticed a Red Honda Civic Type R Euro on our way back (awesome). We stopped by Hyatt to pick-up our bags and proceed to the airport. We arrived at the airport by 4.45pm, the journey cost us SD60. When we check-in, we were informed that our flight is delayed to 9.10pm from 8.30pm :-)

To kill the time, we ate at the airport foodcourt and hang-out at Coffee Bean. Luckilly I have my new 3G USB port to surf the internet, updating my blogs. We entered the departure hall by 8pm and at around 8.30pm they informed us that the flight is delayed to 9.55pm. MAS provided us with dinner coupons, redeemed at Mary Brown for one chicken burger and mineral water. We were tired and bored of waiting, and I again kill time by surfing the internet. The sight of the airplane landing at Senai was a huge relief; we boarded at 9.55pm and reached KLIA by 10.40pm. It was a long walk to the arrival hall; I pity Fadzly who had to wait for me from 8pm onwards. I finally reached home at midnight; tired but with new acquired knowledge :-)

Singapore Business Trip Part 1...

I went to Singapore with Che Zul to attend CommunicAsia2008. Our flight departs at 7.30am at KLIA; arriving in Senai International Airport. I went out from Shah Alam at 5am (woke up around 4.15am) and Fadzly drove me to KLIA. We arrived there by 5.30am and I check-in via the kiosk (impressive). We plan to have our breakfast at the cafeteria but it was not opened yet. We ended up having breakfast at McDonalds. I went in the departure hall by 6.45am and I forgot that I brought along my HP Swiss Army Knife on board (had to leave it behind). Flight was on-time, packed and smooth apart from the minor "air pockets". We arrived at Senai International Airport by 8.10am and I booked the airport taxi to drive us to Hyatt Regency (RM40). As it was still early, the road heading to the Hotel was jammed and we arrived there by 9am. Luckily for us our room is already available, we put our bags and booked the Hotel Limo (RM150). We arrived in Singapore Expo by 10.45am and we were quite hungry. So we went to the small food court (it was a good decision indeed as some of our colleagues had to queue for ages to order their lunch around noon). I took "Nasi Goreng" with "pegedel"; it was delicious :-)

We had to register at Hall 7 to get our visitor pass. I think we walked close to about 5km in the Singapore Expo; visiting many strategic booth while at the same time enjoying the event ambiance. We went to visit most of the IPTV players; SingTel caught our attention with their Mobile TV and F1 simulators; PCCW with their IP Phone @ PCCWEYE. We did managed to eat free ice-cream at Yahoo booth and visited TM booth at Hall 1 (furthest end). By 3pm, we were already exhausted from walking and can't wait to rest. As the MRT is just nearby, we decided to try it. From Singapore Expo to City Hall is about SD1.50; total journey is half an hour. We went to the nearest shopping mall to rest our tired legs over a cup of coffee and JCo donuts. While I was munching on my Hazel Dazzle JCo Donuts, I remembered that few of my Arsenal friends shop for the merchandise in Singapore. I sms Anand who is on his way to London and ask him about the location of the shop. To my delight, it was located nearby (Peninsular Plaza). We went Peninsular Plaza (the shop, La Vistana is located at the 2nd Floor); it is within the Peninsular Hotel. I was hoping to buy Arsenal jersey for Arief but they don't have any stocks. I did purchase Arsenal cuff links (SD35). We took a cab from Raffles to Rochor; and the driver told us that it is just nearby (we should have taken MRT instead, Bugis station). We took a cab from Rochor back to JB and it cost us SD45. It was already 4.55pm and the driver warned us that it would be jam at the causeway. It was indeed a massive jam and we reached Hyatt at 6.45pm :-(

We went out for dinner at the nearby hawker stall (hawker van to be exact, lining up beside each other selling mostly steamboats) in front of the hotel. We ordered steamboat with "sotong kangkung"; both were delicious except for the steamboat choice of "kuah cicah", I do prefer the "sotong kangkung" spicy "kuah". Che Zul even ordered "Bakso", I am tempted to eat "tauhu bakar" but I was already full. We were exhausted while walking to our hotel but still managed to grab "teh tarik" at the hotel lounge :-)

Birthday Celebration at Penang Part 2...

We were the first to have the buffet breakfast at Delifrance; the offerings is again minimal. Arief enjoys his honey stars cereal and watermelon; for awhile before he started throwing it down. I do like the nasi lemak though with sunny side up. Arief was showing his tantrum as he wanted to play in pool nearby; luckily we have my in-laws maid to keep him entertain while we hurriedly finish our breakfast. We brought Arief to walk at the beach; it a private beach so it was clean (as compared to the beach in front of TM Resort). It only lasted for 10 minutes and then we went straight to the pool. I had bought beach ball, donut floats as well as ToyRUs swim vest. Well Arief wore the most cheapest one (RM4 donut floats bought at TESCO); we had to coaxed him to wear the vest (RM49). Arief enjoys playing in the kiddie pool; with the help of the float Arief is able to walk freely around and play ball with us. He even managed to play with the other kids. Ucop and Zakuan came at around 10.30am but Arief was already cold (1 hour in the pool). Ucop tried the vest and Zakuan seat on the inflatable car float; they both look so cute even though Ucop cried :-)

We managed to sleep at around 11.30am; tired from playing with Arief. The others went out for some morning shopping around Penang. For lunch, we all went to Nasi Kandar Line Clear and we arrived there by 3.30pm and everybody was starving. I took chicken with pedal, lots of kacang bendi, sayur kobis and kuah campur. Not forgetting the green minty sambal. Arief didn't eat rice but he munch on the papadom. Eliza on the other hand just ate ayam goreng with nasi and sayur as she is in her first trimester and curry is a big no-no. We went back to our hotel after our "Line Clear" escapade and I went to wash our car at the nearby car wash. BTW I managed to find "cempedak goreng" for Eliza. For dinner, Yong had already made reservations at the seaside cafe; and it was quite hectic due to the Hotel shareholders event organize on the beach (we were indirectly entertained with music and sexy singers). I ordered "mee karapoley" while Eliza shared Fish & Chips with Arief. The "mee" is quite currylicius; but can't finish it as I was still full with curry from "Line Clear". The hotel provide us with a birthday cake for Abah at the end of our dinner; pity it was started to rain and we adjourned to our hotel room to enjoy the cake. As the others went out to Padang Kota, we ordered "sotong bakar" and "air kelapa muda" :-)

We went to breakfast early as usual as we plan to drive back to Shah Alam by 10am for Eliza check-up. We make a brief stopover in Taiping to meet with my sis before driving to Air Kuning to purchase "kekabu" for my mom. As it was approaching noon, we decided to have "laksa" in Kuala Kangsar. We did try to find my old family house in Bukit Chandan but I couldn't seem to remember the way. We arrived at Subang Permai at around 4pm; and ate my mom freshly cooked "cokodok pisang". We finally arrived home by 6pm and was already tired from the long journey; we ended up postponing Eliza check-up to Tuesday. It was an enjoyable family vacation apart from the hotel slip-up on our BBQ dinner; we really enjoy the room as well as "Line Clear" and Arief had a blast in the kiddie pool :-)

Birthday Celebration at Penang Part 01...

We went to Paradise Sandy Beach Resort in Penang (thanks to Yong for buying the hotel voucher) for Arief & Abah birthday celebration. We plan to start our journey early; and as usual we start driving by 10am. We reached Pokok Assam by 1pm and my sister had already prepared home-cooked lunch for us and it was delicious. My sis also bought McD porridge for Arief and he immediately refuse to sit on the baby chair to eat; instead he sat down on the small table and chair and feed himself using the plastic spoon. It caught us by surprise. We continue our journey to Penang by 4pm with Abah (the others went first) and arrived in Paradise Sandy Beach Resort by 5.30pm. The hotel was fulled due to a wedding reception tonight. We were placed at 16th Floor, 3 separate rooms. Ours is the biggest one with excellent view as it was the family suite. Arief was really enjoying the space and the huge balcony; as well as playing with his cousins.

For dinner, we had already arranged for a BBQ dinner beside the pool but we ended up having BBQ buffet dinner at Delifrance instead (the hotel's cafe). It seems there is a slip-up in the reservation by the hotel. Well we did enjoyed our dinner, I managed to grab BBQ squids before it was finish and I really like the BBQ beef. The pasta with spicy seafood sauce was delicious too. We went up to our room after dinner to celebrate Arief & Abah birthday. Abah gave his heartwarming birthday speech and cried briefly at the end (cries of happiness). We had prepared a "Photobook" of Abah for his birthday present; and during the unveiling it really caught Abah by surprise. Abah was so ecstatic at the "Photobook" and began telling us about the photos; especially the one that Abah gave to Mak during his courting days. It was a joyous birthday celebration and Arief received a lot of RM :-)

Vacation in Bandung Part 5...

This morning we woke up according to Indonesian time; a bit tired as we were busy packing our stuff last nite. We went down for breakfast and as with yesterday; Arief plays around in the courtyard and I enjoyed the "bubur nasi". We already told Pak Herman to pick us up at 9.30am; just in time to do some last minute shopping before our flight at 1pm Indonesian time. The check-out was extremely fast; I would highly recommend this hotel. Pak Herman arrived on-time as usual; and I requested to visit the currency exchange center. It was just nearby and it operated like a normal bank; the staffs (about 40 of them) dressed in the same uniform. I had to queue in the request line and fill-up an application form; stating the number of Ringgit I would like to exchange as well as providing my passport for identification. Then they provide with a number and I wait for my turn to collect. It was efficient and the exhange rate is much more higher :-)

We went to Mode In (I don't remember where it is located); a textile shop. It seems most of the textile shops in Bandung opened a small outlet in Pasar Baru and over here they accept credit cards. We bought garments for Eliza baju kurung & batik for myself, gold motive @ RM66. As Arief didn't eat that much during breakfast, we drop by at KFC which was located nearby and bought fries and ice milo for Arief. I also bought "pegedel" at KFC; and it was suprisingly quite delicious :-)

From Mode In, Pak Herman brought us to buy brownies at Andaman. Pak Herman advised us to buy straight from the factory as some that was sold along the streets could have passed the expiry date. We bought the original, chocolate and bakar. I wanted to buy banana chocolate but it was not ready yet. As the time was still early, Eliza suggested that we went to buy more tudung. As we were about to reach the outlet, Pak Herman asked whether we would like to buy original jeans e.g. Levis. He hit the right spot and we immediately asked Pak Herman to drive us there instead (Toko Tiga). It is a shop selling mostly jeans from various brand. Levis is located at the back of the shop and it was on sale. We bought 2 jeans for Eliza; Levis & Lee Cooper while I bought Black 512 Levis. Total cost is RP659,900 @ RM230 :-)

Pak Herman send us to the airport by 11.30am; we duly exchanges gratitudes and promises Pak Herman that we would use his service again in the future (we plan to make this an annual trip) and also recommend his service to our families & friends. We pay Pak Herman RP950,000 @ RM330 for his transport services (RP300,000 on Saturday, RM500,000 on Sunday and RM150,000 on Monday). The queue at the airport was minimal; we managed to be infront of a group of Malaysian tourist that was causing quite a commotion as it seems that one of them lost RP1juta that was put inside their passport. The process was smooth but our excess baggage was 7kg (due to the jeans I guess); we ended up paying RP315,000 @ RM113 (RP45,000 per kg). Airport tax was RP60,000 per person. BTW they were renovating the departure hall and it was quite hot (no aircond). Arief can't wait to get into the plane and he was  running all over the departure hall. We managed to sit in the same seating; 3 rows from the back. Arief was awake throughout the journey and making his usual noises. Once we landed in LCCT; makcik infront of us said "Ni ke baby yang tak tidur dalam flight tu" :-)

We waited for about 20 minutes to receive our bags and when we about to pass the immigration counter; the officer just waived us through (guess he saw us with three bags and one diaper bag while Eliza was holding Arief, family vacation). Abang Ngah was already waiting for us at LCCT and we went to his house to pick-up our car. We refreshed ourselves while having evening tea at Abang Ngah and ate the brownies bakar. We finally reached home by 7pm and we spotted Fadzli Kembara along the highway. It was tiring but it was worth every RM spent. BTW it was my birthday today :-)

Vacation in Bandung Part 4...

We came down from our room quite early (4pm) and Pak Herman was still having his meal at the nearby restaurant; so we waited at the courtyard while Arief plays the swing. Pak Herman arrive as promised; 4.30pm sharp and we went to Rabbani and bought "tudung" for my sisters. Arief was running all over the "surau" which was located in the middle of the shop. From there, we wanted to buy DVDs and Pak Herman drove us to the shopping mall (don't quite remember the name). Pak Herman parked the car across the shopping mall and he guide us how to cross the road; Bandung Style. It was frightening. We didn't purchase any DVDs but we went to McDonalds and ate cheeseburger with fries. There is a long line in McD's; and I just went in and join the Q. Then I notice the other counters are empty; and I asked the person in-front of me; "Ni berbaris untuk beli apa?" and he answered; "Ice Cream". So I immediately went to the empty counter and ordered our value meal. McD's here is full with patrons using notebook as the wifi is free. BTW we went back to the car using the pedestrian bridge and we were the only one using it :-)

On the way back to our Hotel, we asked Pak Herman to bring us to the best sate restaurant and he duly took us there. The restaurant is located nearby to a bus terminal and train station. It is quite small but clean. We ordered 10 cucuk of sate kambing; and they actually slice the lamb meat on the spot (fresh). The difference here is the gravy; they have peanut sauce (just as we have in Malaysia) plus soy sauce with cili api and fermented vegetables. We ate sate kambing in our hotel room and it was delicious especially with the soy sauce; even Arief likes it too :-)

Dr Hadi came with his family at around 8.30pm. We chatted for awhile in the hotel lobby before proceeding to dinner at Restoran Sari Sunda. It seems that Sari Sunda have a lot of outlets all over Bandung.  The restaurant was nicely decorated with wooden ornaments; and we were seated in a wooden gazebo surrounded by an artificial pond. Dr Hadi ordered the house specialties as well as other "Bandung" speacialties e.g. Bangret (hopefully my spelling is correct; it's a tea mix with ginger, gula melaka and isi kelapa). The taste goes up to your head, literally. Arief enjoys playing with Dr Hadi children and he kept on gesturing them to follow him watching fishes. The food served was excellent, I personally like the fish as it was cooked like"sambal tumis". The "ayam kampung" is delicious too. We went back to our hotel at around 10.30 and we were so tired. BTW Arief slept during dinner :-)

Vacation in Bandung Part 3...

I was mislead by my dopod; as it automatically change to the local time based on roaming services. Impressive actually but it caught me by surprise. We woke up early for our morning buffet breakfast. Arief ate cereals and bubur nasi; then he went out with Eliza to play around the courtyard (we take turns watching over Arief as he plays around the courtyard). I on the other hand continue enjoying breakfast; the bubur nasi is delicious. After breakfast, we refresh ourselves before going out for shopping. Pak Herman is already waiting for us at 9am. We ask Pak Herman to bring us to the best boutique selling kids clothing. He brought us to Happenings, along Jalan Ir H Juanda. It was just opened and we have the whole shop to us. We bought 5 clothes and GAP cap for Arief, bermuda shorts for me and Aiman; as well as blouse for Eliza. Arief was actively playing around the boutique while carrying bags (CARS motive) around. From there, we went to Grande and bought Esprit shirt and Gucci tie for me and two Nike t-shirt for Neng & Yeop. We walked to Blossoms (which was just nearby) and we bought Harley Davidson outfits and toy bus for Arief, Quiksilver shirt for Haziq, Tickle Me t-shirt & Armani tie for me.

We are heading to Rumah Mode and we were caught in a mild jam at the morning market @ pasar pagi. Pak Herman also drove by the Zoo and Universities. By the time we reached Rumah Mode at Jalan Setiabudi, it was already crowded. As it was approaching lunch, we decided to have lunch at Bumbu Desa; sundanese food outlet inside Rumah Mode. I had to choose from the varieties of offerings on the counter; then it is cooked on-the-spot (I took ayam bakar pencok, paru, tempe and pegedel). The veggies is already prepared, but I don't seem to know any of it so I stick to the usual one; terung and ulam. The bill came up to RP83,548 @ RM28 (a bit expensive as this is a upmarket factory outlet). The wash basin is very interesting; turtle motives. Eliza didn't like the food that much; they served on a bamboo bowl covered with banana leaf hence the weird smell. I was dissapointed with the paru as it was not cooked crispy enough; the chicken and terung is delicious though. Arief didn't ate much and he was enjoying looking at fishes at the surrounding pond.

We went inside Factory Outlet and it was fulled with eager shoppers. We managed to purchase DKNY jeans and Hugo jacket for me. Eliza went to shop at the ladies section while I watch Arief playing around the outlets. He likes to play with the hangers, using it as a microphone to sing. Arief was getting restless and we walked to the ladies section and I spotted toys; CARS Lightning McQueen and I immediately purchase (last one). We lost Eliza for awhile as it was too crowded and our roaming was not working properly. Finally we saw Eliza at the entrance; we were relieved to find each other. I should have brought along my walkies. BTW Arief fall asleep and we went back to our car. We stop at Danar Hadi to buy batik for Abah, it is quite expensive as it is hand-made. From there we went to For Men and bought Next cuff-link shirt for Fadzli and Versace shirt for me. It was already 2pm and we were tired from shopping and needed to refresh; so we went back to our hotel to rest and plan to shop again at 4.30pm :-)

Vacation in Bandung Part 2...

The first thing that we did was asked Pak Herman to drive us to the best "Nasi Padang" as we were hungry; it was already 4pm Malaysian time. Pak Herman brought us to Restoran Simpang Raya; the best in Bandung. They served a total of 12 different servings; and we choose chicken, daging rendang, pegedel, ulam, sambal & paru. I ordered "teh botol" and I really liked this drink. Arief ate few bites of rice and then started to run around the restaurant and playing peek-a-boo with the waitress. The total bill was RP52,000 @ RM18. After lunch we proceed to Pasar Baru; reminds me of Arked Mara in Taiping. It is a 6th floor of small retail outlets selling various products; and Pak Herman had to drive up to 6th floor for parking as it was full. They don't accept credit cards here and the place is quite hot as there is no air-cond. We managed to buy tudung, kain sembahyang, shirts and textiles. BTW Arief pooped while shopping at Pasar Baru :-)

From Pasar Baru, we went to Jalan Riau and shopped at the first Factory Outlet; Heritage & Cascade (which is just beside each other). We bought t-shirt for our nieces & nephews; and vest for Ijam. I bought Hugo jeans, Fubu army short and vest while Eliza bought a zipper jacket. We haven't bought anything for Arief yet and Arief was busy playing around the indoor waterfall. We went to Dakken Coffee & Steak which is just nearby for dinner. I was really impress with Dakken decor. At first they offered us the coffee table seating but we decided to sit outside. Arief was again exploring all over Dakken. We ordered Tenderloin Bali beef, french fries, lychee fruit juice, vanilla shake and ice lemon tea (RP118,000 @ RM42). The lychee was different as it was ice-blended and the beef was tender and delicious. By the time they served our food, we had already moved back to our original seating as mosquitoes was all over us when we were seated outside. Arief was playing "tag" with an Indonesian girl (4 year old) and she sang an Indonesian song as we were about to leave. We arrived at Grand Preanger at around 10pm Malaysian time and was already tired from shopping. The best part, the bellboy carries our shopping bags to our room :-)

Vacation in Bandung Part 1...

We are off to Bandung via Air Asia for our family holiday (first oversea trip for Arief) as well as celebrating my 33rd Birthday. I booked the holiday in late January during Air Asia RM0.00 offers (RM820 for 3D2N in Grand Preanger). We went out early with Fadzli (the plan is to park our car at Abg Ngah house in Enstek and Fadzli will drive us to LCCT in his Kembara); and had morning breakfast at McDonalds Section 22 Shah Alam. We arrived at Abg Ngah house by 10.15am; Kak Zah prepared kuehteow goreng for us. Out of curiosity, I checked our ticket and our flight was at 11.30am, not noon. We were rushing from Abg Ngah house to LCCT and I drove the Kembara "Fast & Furious" style minus the drifting. We arrive LCCT by 10.40am and we were the second last passenger to check-in. What a big relief. BTW we did managed to eat the Kuehteow goreng while waiting for our flight :-)

Arief was making gestures about the airplane as we usually ask him to point to one everytime it passes over our house. He is very excited to board the plane; he did board it twice previously but he was still small. We took the three last row in the plane; nearer to the toilet and exit. It is the Indonesia Air Asia flight; hence the indonesian menu (much cheaper prices due to currency differences). Ikhwan (we met while waiting at the check-in counter, he's from Bandung and study at Sunway College and will be going to US on 29th April to complete his degree) sat beside us and we engage in an interesting discussion on Malaysian politics. His proposal paper was "Scandals in the Health Ministry" and he got 80/100; the lecturer told him that he needed more elaboration. We joked that he should include the "video" in the proposal. Arief seems to like playing with Ikhwan and he was awake the whole journey; playing with everything. We arrived in Bandung by 2pm Malaysian time (1pm in Bandung; 2 hours flight).

The airport in Bandung is small; it was a military airport. There is only two immigration booth with two officers, one for local and the other for international. We were lucky as we were the first Malaysian to board down. The process was fast but we had to wait for about 20 minutes for our bags. There is no luggage turnstiles, just an x-ray machine and then the bags are placed nearby to the immigration officers. It was quite hectic as people are waiting for their bags. As we were walking out of the arrival hall, I noticed my name on the placards (we requested Airport transfer from Grand Preanger). Our driver is "Pak Herman" and he drives Kijang @ Unser. The Kijang is quite comfortable, excellent air-cond and clean. The first thing that we noticed after leaving the airport is way they drive in Bandung (so near to each other) and brownies sold along the street in their cars. It was just 10 minute drive from the Airport to Grand Preanger. Pak Herman offered his car service to us for the duration of our stay and we duly accepted without hesitation. The hotel is a combination of dutch and modern architecture and it looks awesome. The hotel service was very efficient and we were given our room within half an hour (Room 510). The room is spacious and we can't wait to explore Bandung this evening :-)

Legend Water Chalet PD Part 02...

We had our complimentary breakfast at the Resort. The breakfast buffet was satisfactory with ample offerings. The only problem was the flies as PD is quite famous for it. We checked out at around 10am and took the back route heading towards Sepang. As we will be passing Cyberjaya & Putrajaya, we decided to have lunch at Alamanda. Arief was barely awake when we arrived. We walked around Alamanda for awhile before deciding to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with Arief at 2.30pm; free movie courtesy of GSC opening new branch in Alamanda. We had lunch at Alamanda food court; Arief as usual enjoy walking around the food court while playing with his two new ballons. We finished lunch at 1pm and Arief looks tired from playing in Alamanda. We went back home to rest and miss the movie; maybe next time. We thoroughly enjoy the trip apart from the bad "pari" dinner :-)

Legend Water Chalet PD Part 01...

We decided to stay overnight in PD after attending Eva's wedding in Rembau and we chose to stay at Legend Water Chalets; famous for it's glass floor. Eliza was looking forward to this trip; so was I after looking at the brochures. We arrive at around 3.30pm and Arief was already sleeping during the journey; we located the place without any fuss. There were a lot of people at the Resort; I guess they came for the voucher promotion or they are selling the vacation program. BTW we were driven to our chalet (Room 026) in a buggy (first time). The room is impressive with the glass floor in the bathroom; and the bathroom is spacious with huge bath tub (pity the tub plumbing is faulty). We went for a dip in the swimming pool and Arief really enjoys the splashing, as always. We went for dinner; searching for ikan bakar and after driving for about half an hour we finally pick a restaurant (didn't remember the name as it was bad). For start, the child seat was dirty. Luckily our orders came early but "pari" bakar was late; really late. Eliza was already too full to enjoy the"pari"; and the "pari" was'nt that nice either. It cost us RM35 for dinner and we vowed not to return back. We drove around PD town for awhile before heading back to the resort. Arief was already asleep in the car but he woke up when we arrived in our room. It took him awhile before he fell to sleep again. BTW the sound of the ocean wave at night was really soothing :-)

Holiday in Morib...

I attended TMRND Workshop in Morib from 14th to 16th March; a place that I'm not familiar. Plan to start journey at noon but I accidentally misplace the house key in Eliza's handbag; so need to drive to Menara TM. I started the journey at 2pm instead and it was raining heavily; Alhamdulilah arrived by 3.30pm at Hotel Impian Morib. I met with Dr Hadi during the workshop, my friend from Bandung and spend most of the free time discussing with him on our family trip to Bandung from 26th to 28th April 2008. Eliza & Arief join me in Morib on Saturday evening; drove back to Shah Alam on Saturday morning 11am and back to Morib by 3.30pm. As I attended the Workshop in the evening, Eliza & Arief enjoy splashing in the big swimming pool. We managed to walk around the beaches nearby and ate "sotong bakar". We did try to find fridge magnet but ended up buying Transformers Autobots T-Shirt (RM10) for me. We have our dinner at the Resort; interesting buffet spread as they have "tempe" :-)

Colmar Tropicale @ Bukit Tinggi Part 2...

All of us woke up late today as Arief couldn't sleep well last night; he kept waking up and he only slept soundly from 3am onwards. I guess this is due to his tiredness of playing around the courtyards yesterday evening. We went for our buffet breakfast at Le Blasson at 9am and it was already crowded. The buffet spread was acceptable considering that this is a resort. I personally like the cereals bar with various raisins & prunes. The nasi goreng was delicious too; with cili padi in soy sauce. Arief was again enjoying the new environment; he explore all corners of the restaurants. We checked out at around 11am; and had plan to drive to the Japanese Tea Garden. When we were about to reached the Garden (300 metres away); I noticed that the road leading up is quite steep. We should have taken the transportation @ coaster provided by Colmar. Arief & Eliza was already sleeping inside the car and I decided to just drive home. We reached Damansara at around 12.30pm and proceed to lunch at my favorite restaurant beside Damansara Specialist Centre. We reached home at around 1.30pm; quite tiring because of the late-night sleep and driving. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoy our vacation to Colmar Tropicale :-)

Colmar Tropicale @ Bukit Tinggi Part 1...

Our first vacation in 2008; Colmar Tropicale in Bukit Tinggi with Eliza's parent and Ijam. I managed to booked via the internet at a cheaper rate (Family Suite with an extra bed for Ijam). As it was not far away from our house, we decided to start our journey at around 2pm. BTW we went to JPN in the morning to change the address in Eliza's IC (election purposes) but we found out at SPR that it will take 3 months for the change to be effective; will not be in time for the anticipated election in March. Well we started our journey as plan and we had lunch at McDonalds located at Petronas Station along the NKVE before Damansara exit. We reached Bukit Tinggi at 4pm sharp; Eliza's parent and Ijam arrived 20 minutes later.

The scenery here is tremendous and the weather is just nice. Our room; Euphorbia is located near the viewing tower at the end. I managed to chat with the Bell Boy while walking to our room and found out that he is from Changkat Jering (small world). Our room is on the 3rd floor (highest, spacious with excellent bathroom and TV in all rooms) with an excellent view of the courtyard. We unpacked our luggage and went out for a stroll around Colmar Tropicale. We went to the swimming pool and climb up the viewing tower (lift provided). The view is beautiful and we took a lot of pictures. Arief was really enjoying the freedom to roam free around the courtyards. We bought fridge magnet as usual and t-shirt for Arief (RM20). There is a few "French-Themed" cafe here; word of caution as the price is quite expensive. We decided to try L'Orient as Abah would like to eat rice. We ordered 2 fried rice and a bowl of kuehteow sup. It was different but delicious. Pity our drinks was served after we finished our meal; I didn't manage to enjoy my peppermint tea with the food. We went up to our room at around 8pm and plan to go out again at 9.30pm to catch the scheduled night show. But Arief was already asleep and everyone was tired. We did eventually went out, me and Eliza for supper at "La Flamme", we ordered cappuccino and chocolate vienna with fries :-)

Umbai Terapung Melaka...

We went to Melaka to celebrate my in-laws wedding anniversary. We were still in Taiping and plan to start our journey early; ended up we started at 10am. We were treated to a home-made breakfast of nasi lemak at Acik's house with the newlyweds @ Fathin & Families. The journey to Shah Alam was smooth apart from the minor jam approaching Tapah. We reached at around 1pm and we proceed to lunch at KFC Shah Alam Mall. We started our journey to Melaka at around 5pm and we reached Alor Gajah at 7pm; as it was dinner time and we are hungry for "ikan bakar"; we decided to have dinner at Umbai terapung. Eliza asked her colleagues on the whereabout of the new umbai and her sms guided us tremendously. The new place is cleaner and friendlier. We waited for the others to arrive before deciding on the respective "gerai". I chose one with the TV showing BPL. We ordered sotong, kupang, ikan cencaru,ikan pari & ikan siakap. BTW Arief was enjoying running all over the place and we had to take turns to watch him. On the way back to our Hotel @ AFamosa Resort, I started to feel excruciating pain on my left knees. BTW we supposed to stay in Seri Malaysia but due to miss-communication earlier in the morning; we stayed in A-Famosa instead and brought extra pillows and mattress @ toto for Ijam. The pain in my left knees was so painful that I need to take pain killers to assist me to sleep. My in-laws were worried that I got gout but Alhamdulilah upon reaching Shah Alam the next day we received the good news from our doctor. It is a muscle strain; due to my mini football on saturday previously :-)