Funny Vacation Contest Winner!

Fisrt of all, thank you to all participants of this contest! Wow! Persaingan sengit! What a vacation you all had, and all those funny moments! I had a hard time choosing ONE winner, because this is my first time and I didn't expect such overwhelming submissions!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

Also, my apologies to any participants whom I didn't leave a comment. It's not that I didn't, but I couldn't! Internet or Blog mengong :P But I swear I visited all participants nearly every night to shortlist. Again, it's really difficult because all are SO funny! But I have to make my final decision, so I after considering all the criterias, I again make another shortlisted participants, closed my eyes and empty my minds, then visited the entries again.

So my choice IS....................................*drum rolling*

Ibu Airis - Ayu!!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

You can read more in her entry for Funny Vacation Contest. The first time I looked at the pic, I choked on my biscuit, tersembur Milo yang diminum *grin* Then every time I went in to do shortlisting, again I can't help laughing at the pic. And last night, I told myself I really have to make a decision, and again, I can't help going back at the pic! Gaya Airis tu! Can you see his head? Before reading the story, I was wondering what was the father carrying...It's like his father is carrying an octopus! With 4 tentacles...hihihi... This is my fav entry of all and our winner for this round! Yes, I said THIS ROUND ya! *wink wink*

To other's, don't worry, there'll be other contests which I will do. You all did great! Keep on travelling and capturing your special moments with the family! I bet those precious moments will be cherished!

To Ayu, please leave your email in this entry so I could contact you to get more details for the prize ya!

Got a young traveller?

Actually, I stopped travelling for almost 2 years since I was pregnant with Nisa until she was nearly a year old, and the 1st place we went was Bukit Tinggi, At that time, Nisa could already walk and eat normal food instead of baby food, and she was fully breastfed so travellingis not hassle for us. But while pregnant with Idlan, my hubby moved to work in KL so we take turn each month to see each other.

The 1st time I went there, I was in 1st trimester and not advisable to take flight, so we booked Aeroline Bus from Penang to Sunway Pyramid...

You can choose between double seats or single seat, but since I was travelling with Nisa, I took double seats. All seats are in the 2nd level as the 1st level is the lobby with toilet, but we never get to try the lobby as tourists already 'berkampung' there. The seats are pretty comfy as they are very big and adjustable. The bus also provided meals but both of us didn;t take any bite, no appetite...

Travelling with a 2 year old toddler is no joke! I was very worried if Nisa gets bored and started fussing so I made lots of preps. Since she loves jigsaw puzzles, I bought a new one and hide it from her. I also bought a coloring book with new set of color pencils and a few of her fav books with 1 new one. Althought we are going to spend 3D2N there, I didn't bring 2 sets of day clothes and 1 set of pyjama. Nisa was not on diaper during the day but we still put her on diaper at night, but I didn't bring any. And since Nisa is VERY picky about public toilet, I put her on diaper that day just in case, though she wasn't very happy. I bought a packet of anymal shape biscuits, a bottle of water, a bottle of her milk. So in summary, I travelled with one very small backpack but I still brought along my travelling luggage bag which was empty, coz I wanted to shop a lot in KL *grin* Just my luck, Nisa slept the whole way on the bus, saving me from having to entertain her, but as we are approaching Sunway Pyramid, the road was badly congested so Nisa finally woke up. She started to get so excited and bored within 5 minutes, and all my preps - the puzzle, books and others lasted only half an hour before she started to make fuss, but luckily the bus arrived at it's destination in the next minutes! My hubby bought all the diapers and new pack of milk, saving me from heavy luggage.

My next travels to KL after that was by flight, but I would highly recommend using MAS rather than Airasia if you are traveling with small kids. Yes, the tickets may be a bit pricey, but my few times experience with Airasia was, even though Nisa's ticket clearly stated she's a small kid, the check-in person keep putting us at the seat by the emergency door, and we ended up having to wait for anyone who is willing to change since kids can't be seated at the emergency door *Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* 1-2 mistake is acceptable but every time I went they keep making the same thing so I like MAS better, and they entertain kids too!

When Idlan was about 6 months old, we travelled to KL by car. This time, since Idlan is not fully breastfeed and he can already eat solids, we have to do a lot of preps. For his formula milk, I still bring the whole container, but I packed a few times meal in this as I'm a fan of this type of container:

It's easier to prepare for his milk rather than having to measure how many spoonsfuls...it's a long journey, more than 4 hours at least, and with a toddler and a baby, it feels like days :P We do bring a little flusk of hot water, apart from a bottle of drinking water. We stopped for lunch and Idlan's food which is his cereals are packed in these:

You can easily get this in any Toys 'r' Us stores and I just LOVE these! It's so easy and convenient! I just put in a few spoonfuls of cereals according to how much Idlan is taking in each meal, into the containers. There are 6 bowls with lids so I put in 3 bowls with one extra empty one, just in case. When we stopped at any R&R, we just request for hot water to mix in the cereals and WALLA! Idlan's ready to be served! *Grin*

Yes, some moms like to prepare home cooked food for their babies even during travelling, but after Idlan's incident of Rotavirus, I avoided this and take precaution by feeding him commercial food instead. It's only for a few days anyway, and much safer than the risk of being contaminated.

For Nisa, I bought a packet of alphabet shapes biscuits and she can also eat with us at the R&R.Our main challenge is making both kids enjoy the journey. For Nisa is simple, we just bring along a few of her fav cd/dvd and she can watch them all the way on the portable player. I also downloaded some Barney songs and other cartoon's songs, and also bring along Nisa's fav cd for songs. Idlan was the biggest challenge, and apart from some toys, we still has to stop a few times to let him out to distract him.

As usual, I don't bring much clothes as we'll buy them there, together with Idlan's diaper (though we still bring about 6 pieces from home to be used on the way. Apart from that, I will always bring the head cooler packs (for fever), insect bites cream, ointments, Panadol Actifast (this is for mama & papa), hand sanitizer and thermometer. Of coz, not to forget some toys and books too to keep them busy.

Nisa usually doesn't like to eat much during travels, but she needs her energy so taking a tip from a friend from India, who is a cameraman for Hindi movies and travels around the world with the family for his work (you know how Hindi movies always change loocations in one song, it can be in London in 5 seconds and India another 5 seconds and in Alaska perhaps next? Well, apart from them changing their clothes *grin*). He got 2 toddlers too and while travelling with us around Malaysia trying to find a nice scenery for a scene, he keeps reminding us to stop at either KFC or McDonalds. Why? He feeds them with the fries/wedges or whipped potatoes! Yes, if you want to think of the sodium and fat intake, of coz it's not healthy but he said the energy is much more important. They only it healthy food at home so travelling is also a treat for them to eat something that is forbidden back at home *grin* So, that's what we did also with Nisa, since it's kind of true too, she rarely gets to eat these food unless travelling, and we travels like once in a month only. Apart from that, she loves Italian foods especially tomato-based spagetti so if we already settled down in our hotel, we'll order or find spagetti restaurant around.

I think that's all I can remember what I did when travelling with my kids. I admit I'm not an expert, but just sharing :)

Traveller's Tips

Since I haven't been travelling for some time, I'm going to make an entry on some tips for travellers. Maybe some of these you have already known and practicing it, and maybe some you can find useful, hope it can help to ease your travelling experience.

1st of all, whenever we are travelling, especially oversea, our main concern is of coz - FOOD. Either on the halal food (for muslims) or maybe you or the person who are going with you are a bit picky...that's a normal thing! :) Another reason might be because you are on budget vacation, saving on food so you can enjoy shopping or maybe the spa? For typical Malaysian, most of us can't LIVE without having at least one meal of rice a day *grin* When I travelled to Seoul from Japan, 2 days before the flight, I cooked a few dishes likes rendang and sambal, and packed them in small plastic packets in one meal portion. So, let's say you are going for 3D2N trip, minus breakfast which is usually provided, you may need 4 packets for each lunch and dinner. Freeze these packets for at least 24 hours so that they are well-frozen. This is only applicable for dry type of dishes coz if those with heavy gravy, you have the risk of messy incidence...

Next, for those who will die if they don't have rice *grin*, you can buy these at any Jusco groceries dept...

See how creative Japanese are? That also shows they can't live without rice as well...*Grin* These can either be boiled or microwaved (please read the instructions first before buying). I'm sorry we don't have the local rice as these are Japanese rice which taste a bit like 'pulut'. But if you don't like Japanese rice, then you've got no choice either to cook and freeze the rice as your packed dishes, or else you can bring the uncooked rice itself :)

Your most important gadget of all is this....

My hubby and I call this 'geluk hikmat', as in P Ramlee's movies *grin*...Why? Because it's what makes your vacation magic! You can reheat your dishes and cook rice, also boil water or eggs! And it's so small for such a convenient and genius thing! You can buy this at any travel gear stores or at the airport.

Also, to save ourselves from doing laundry, we usually bring disposable underwear...

A tips shared by a friend, to reduce luggage, her brother rarely brings any clothes but just buy the cheap white t-shirt sold by the road for tourists, even though her brother is a millionaire! Or is it because he's a millionaire? Hihihi...But my health coach said the same thing too. Why put on so much stress to pack for vacation unless you are going inside the jungle or some place very deserted that you can't buy anything! *Grin*

Anyway, back to my story...
So on the day of travelling, you need to put the dishes in a sealed cooler box like the white polysterine thing. This actually depend on the country you are going to, how their customs are. Some are strict and won't allow even unopen box of baby milk powder, like Australia. When I was going to Japan from Malaysia, and Seoul (Korea) from Japan, both are ok, so better check on the rules and regulations first ok? Once you reached your destination, quickly put the food in the fridge so it won't be spoiled.

Hope the tips will help *wink*

FINAL CALL FOR FUNNY VACATION CONTEST!

Final call for Funny Vacation Contest submission! If you've already submitted, THANK YOU! You can help to tell your frenz too! Details in Funny Vacation Contest! Contest ends on July 30 12pm Malaysia time :)
I will post the result once decision has been made so stay tune!!!!!

Century Pines Resort

Star rating: ***
My rating: ***

In our latest visit to Cameron Highlands, we tried out another hotel which we never stayed before - Century Pines Resort. It's actually quite a new hotel, and as usual I would do a little research to see it's review and most said it's good and value for money so I go ahead to book it.

It was actually close to Chinese New Year but we travelled a day before to avoid the crowd, since the Chinese would be having their Big Dinner that night so we expect them to be at home. The trick works well so we had a very smooth drive and check-in.

The room is considered ok but even though we requested non-smoking room, we can still smell it in the room but I won't put the blame on the hotel but the illiterate people who stayed here before...grrrrrrrrrrrr

For dinner, we tried their steamboat and though the food itself is just ok level as we had other steamboats which tasted better, but having it out in the open air in a misty night really made a different...we really enjoyed the steamboat!

But we were wrong to expect a smooth breakfast the next day coz what a crowd it was! We couldn't even get a seat and the staff were so occupied that they couldn't help the other customers waiting in line outside the restaurant like us. I don't know when did these people came in but luckily we were already checking out that day so we had an early check out first and then went out for breakfast in town.

Even though we left early, we still stuck in the traffic as more and more people coming to Cameron. I did managed to stop buying my mom's fav plants - wild orchids. And I guess it's kinda spring here because we can also see wild orchids and other flowers blooming on the way.

So the hotel is located in Tanah Rata:

Strawberry Moment

My rating: Exceed Expectation
Rating: Improvement Required, Below Expectation, Meet Expectation, Exceed Expectation, Outstanding

If you read thru my blog, you'll realize I travelled to Cameron Highlands frequently as this is my fav place to be. I actually even considered buying a property there for retirement! *Grin*

Anyway, during one of the trips, we discovered this cafe called Strawberry Moment, and they even have a website so please check it out for more details here

It's located in Brinchang, just behind Star Regency Hotel, very closed to Brinchang market, which is very convenient. Why? Well, we usually stroll along the market to buy the fresh veggies, flowers and also hawker foods and after all the shopping, it's great to sit down and relax while enjoying your tea or desserts here :) You won't miss the cafe's board:

So what's good to have here? Basically, everything! And really, everything looks and sounds yummy here, even if you are not a strawberry fan, and I guess strawberry fans would think they had died and gone to heaven here *grin* On the first visit, since we were not well prepared, I didn't take any photos but we had tea with their strawberry cheese cake and the special dessert made of sago.

In the next visit, we had these:

My hubby ordered the fresh strawberry juice and strawberry crepe but I just have my old sago dessert and tea. My girl had her fav home-made fresh strawberry ice-creams. The ice-cream is  tasted so different than those in the market so that's why we always return here. I must salute the cafe owner for her creativity in creating the sago dessert which is just out of this world! You have to try it to know why *wink wink*

So, if you ever go to Cameron Highlands, don't forget to drop by here and try the desserts yourself!

Passions of Kerala

My rating: Meet Expectation
Rating - Improvement Required, Below Expectation, Meet Expectation, Exceed Expectation, Outstanding

When my hubby first went to this restaurant with his boss, he was so excited to bring me here, as we both share the same interest - travelling and search for good food. This restaurant was featured in The Star before which you can read here. So Passions of Kerala is a banana leaf restaurant located in New World Park.

The main meal is of coz, rice and a few vegetable dishes which is called the Vegetarian Set which cost RM5.50 (price may changed). There's 2 types of rice, white rice and tomato rice, but we took the white rice. Next you can order the side dishes which can be lamb, chicken, seafood and vegetables cooked either in curry masala, black pepper, normal curry, sambal or fried. The first time we went there, we took crab masala, fried fish and I can't remember the other one :P My hubby chose Mango Lassi while I took Teh Tarik for drinks. I must admit, it's better to take the lassi coz it goes better with the spicy food *grin*

Anyway, we went there the 2nd time today and this time we took our little girl too. Again, we took the Vegetarian Set but this time with different dishes, and guess what? FISH HEAD CURRY! We also took 1 fried fish (bawal), small dish of chicken curry and small dish of lamb masala. Drinks - Mango Lassi of coz, I learnt my lesson :)

The Mango Lassi is good but not that yummy as we tried in Kassim Mustafa Restaurant in Little India. But the FISH HEAD CURRY is just SUPERB! MARVELOUS! MMMMMUUAHHH! The fish head is so big and fleshy that we were wondering what fish it was, and piping hot too! The rice is actually free flow so you can keep on asking them to add on, but for those on diet, all I can say is pity you! *Grin* Sorry we didn't take the photo os another dishes coz my girl was so hungry. But I must say, apart from the yummy fried fish which is crispy on the outside but fleshy on the inside, the other 2 dishes is considered so-so coz they are cold, maybe due to the air-conditioned hall??? But my girl loves the lamb masala so much!

So how mush does everything cost? RM70 and a few sen (I can't remember how many sen actually), with the fish head curry costing half of the whole price. Cheap huh? If you don't take the fish head curry, it may cost you less than RM40 so I take this as a good deal for good food *thumbs up*

Funny Vacation Contest

I'm actually moving the contest from my other blog That's about it since I think it's more appropriate to be in this blog instead.
So, in every vacation, there'll surely be a happy and also FUNNY moments, right? Did you manage to capture that in the camera? Like this?

Share with me and my readers!
So how to enter?

1) If you are not my follower, add yourself as my follower for THIS blog as this is open only to my followers
2) Post an entry in your blog with the title "Funny Vacation Contest" and send the link in the comment for THIS blog so I could read them
3) In the entry, post a picture of your family in that funny moment. Usually this scene is captured in candid, right? It can be you, you partner or the kids!
4) Tell me about the vacation, like when, where and what happened so I can relate to the photo
5) Each can submit only one entry and also one photo
6) Submission from July 2-30

Winner is based on the funniest pic and story.
There'll be only one prize which is RM200 in cash which will be transferred into the winner's account.
The winner will be posted in my entry when the result is out, so then I can contact you on the details.
So don't delay! Dig out your vacation photos and post an entry then send to me ok? *wink wink*

Golden Sands Resort

Star rating: ****
My rating: ****

Since my hubby is working in KL and only return to Penang weekly, we have very limited time to go for vacations even when we badly need one. So during one of the public holidays, we decided to try Golden Sands Resort. The reason - papa wanted to go somewhere nearby as time is very limited, mama wanted a nice and cosy place (hopefully quite too), Nisa wanted to go to the beach and also swim in the pool, and Idlan..well he can't say out what he wanted but I know we would need a baby-friendly place, so after doing a bit of a research, mama booked a room there.

Checking in takes so long, apart from they only have 1-2 counters, the tourists had lots of questions to the staffs. I really appreciate their courtsey, friendliness and politeness, but with 2 kids who are getting more and more impatient, I was steaming up with fury by the time I had my turn, but the staff seems to be familiar with the situation and they gave the biggest smile which you can't resist *grin*

Anyway, cutting this short, we got to our room and it's comfy enough :)

The resort also got a kids zone, some kind of a toys/games park. To enter you have to pay about RM20 (price may changed now) and the kids have to wear long sleeves shirt and pants and also socks so please don't forget to bring those or you'll have to buy them there. Nisa really enjoyed the park. Then she had a dip in the pool too...

Breakfast buffet here is not so bad, lots of varieties and some you may not see in other hotels/resorts, but there were too many people due to the public holidays so we couldn't really enjoy it.

Overall we are happy with our stay here and maybe will return here again one day :)

Boulevard Hotel Midvalley

Star rating: ****
My rating: ******

One of the time when I visited my hubby in KL, we stayed here in Boulevard Hotel at Midvalley. It's actually part of Midvalley Mega Mall so it's very, very, VERY convenient for me, not only to dine but also satisfy my craves for shopping *grin* FYI, I was pregnant at the time so I have an excuse *grin*

We booked Executive Deluxe room coz we wanted to experience the Executive Club facilities, but when we arrived for check-in, the staff said there was a misunderstanding and our room was taken, but they'll replaced with another room and guess what? We were upgraded to Studio Suite! Of coz we were happy coz this room is more expensive...hihihi

So how does a Studio Suite looked like?

The room was superb! We really love it! The bathroom is so classy! Even Nisa was so excited with this hotel :D

We had llunch and dinner in Midvalley as we shopped. It's so convenient as we can return to our room to rest and let Nisa has her naps, then return to shop or dine again. On check-out day, somehow Nisa dropped her fav bunny soft toy and we only realized it when we reached Penang. I called the hotel in case their house-keeping staff found it and they said they'll look for it. They really took the pain to search for it and return my call on the same day that they couldn't find it, but will keep a look out. 3 days later, they called again to say they found the bunny under one of the chairs at the lobby instead of the room! Wow! I was so touched, nearly even cried coz Nisa loves the bunny so much, she never sleeps without it, in the staff took lots of extra effort in finding the worn out bunny!

So, papa went to fetch it at the hotel after work and by the end of the week, Nisa got her bunny back when papa returned to Penang. No word could describe the reunion of the little girl with her beloved friend, and I guess even Bunny is happy...