North, East & South

“Reaching Up” Mural, Cannon Street, George Town, Penang

Travelling has never feel any safer.

Ben's Vintage Toy Museum, Penang

Old mosque in Pekan, Pahang

Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan, Pahang. 

Early-July. And the new school term has finally begun. We were finally home after three weeks escape to the North, East, and South of Malaysia. It was merely a vacation, more like a tag-along trip (visiting relatives, husband's client's meeting plus, etc) with my parents, but boy I/we had a whole lot of FUN with them. I believed that was one of the longest time I managed to spend with my parents, this year alone. Yep, the bitter part of married life- living away from parents. But then, two weeks of vacation is a par for me, else I would die of ecstasy aka pure laziness of doing nothing. I guess routine-life has finally engulfed me after years of being SAHM.

Like always, a week after my return from a so called 'vacation' would turned me into something that I, up until now, don't understand it. A post-vacation syndrome is what some people labelled it. I'm nor bored neither angry, nothing interests me, and I'm at loss over what to do next. Sleep is just a short-term solution. But slowly, it fades away like nothing ever happened. No remedy needed. 

Anyway, there's only a week left for Ramadan and I feel slightly panicky for not being aware of it earlier. I was so occupied with nothing (read: pure leisure) for the past 3 weeks, and I always felt I still got a month before Ramadan. I. was. wrong. Sigh. Time is sprinting across our life rather than tick-tocking like a normal clock does now. 

Adam will turn 4 in the next 10 days. Gubra. I dont care bout the celebration party whatsover. It make me slightly gabra to know that my son is going to be four. I got a four yrs old in my pocket people!! I feel rojak inside. Partly proud of myself for raising him this far, sad for he's not going to be my little guy anymore, happy as he is what he is now, and excited for what else can he put in his plate in the near future. I love him. My little man has got his own mind and saying nowadays, so I have to be very careful on how am I behaving towards other people around me, and not to forget the way I talk- bottom-line, the way I live my life. There were lot of things I wished I didn't do back then, but we would not be in this state of life if it's not for those mistakes we made on the past. Kan?

So these are some of the photos which I've captured with my iPhone during our trip to Penang, Kuantan, KL and Melaka. :) Cheers! 

Cannon Street, Penang.

“Boy on a Bike” Mural, Ah Quee Street, George Town, Penang

Little India, Penang

Ben's Vintage Toy Museum, Penang

Telok Chempedak, Kuantan, Pahang.

Jam as usual in KL.

I love this pic even-though it's a bit blur. (Little India, Penang)

Late Fall in Seoul

As always, I apologize for being incredibly slack with the updates. Since we got back from Seoul, I have been in such a rush to complete the macarons tower and few baking orders for my sister's engagement. 

Then came the so called new year celebration which I usually don't celebrate. On the eve of 2012, all of us including our close relatives gathered at my parent's house for a pot luck dinner. This year, my dad insisted on having a hotpot instead the usual BBQ. I don't know what's going on with him. Part of his healthy diet resolution I guess. :D 

The peak event of the night was to watch the fireworks display. FYI, my parents house is quite near with the A Famosa Resort. They usually launch a spectacular fireworks to ring in the New Year at midnight. According to my sister, we could view the fireworks at home. We waited, ate, waited, ate, and I fell asleep right before the fireworks started. Great...

Okay, let's talk Seoul. 

They say the best time to visit Seoul are during the fall. That is when the country is turning red, orange, yellow, purple and brown. Too bad, the trees were only seen in red shades and almost naked when we were there. Except for the ones that remain green through winter. It was freaking cold then. The lowest temperature was -9deg. Brr.. On the day we went back to SG, the snow began to fall. We were already on the plane by then. ceh 

Since the flight incident, Adam refused to do anything except playing with his toys and iPad. He didn't care to eat or drink his milk. He also had restless sleeps at night and taking him for a shower was...a pain. 

I don't want to sound bitter..but handling a  little toddler literally 24/7 is a bit tiring. I was beginning to think that the whole trip was a bad idea...but, towards the end of our trip, he began to enjoy himself and overall he was good as gold. I really thank to those who left comments on my first Seoul post here. It lifted me up. Thank you.. 

Adam caught a cold on second day. Luckily, he didn't make any fuss when I wanted to wipe his nose. Runny nose and rosy cheeks. See that cement mixer truck he's holding above? We made a deal with the little guy. "Wear you gears, and mommy'll buy you toys". 


Bad deal.


He agreed to wear the hood....Only... I should have known better. 

On the fourth day, Husband's colleague invited us for an authentic Korean Temple dinner at Sanchon. It's located in the back alley of Insadong and 100% vegetarian. A minute after the appetizer served, a Korean lady started to perform a Korean folk dance for almost half an hour. Interesting...and loud..err.. FYI, a Temple food is simple food which focused on preserving the authentic taste of the main ingredients. So less seasoning and spices are used in preparing the dishes.

I love the Hanok architecture and the interior design of the place. It feel so warm and cozy inside. We were served with assorted vegetables dishes including kimchis and whatnots. Haha.. I don't have much time to google the food names. There were more than 10 kimchis served. 

As for the photo, we could only snap the appetizers, then our little guy started to whine about getting out from that place. He he I had to quickly dig my bowl and entertain him after that. Despite that, Sanchon did give me a truly unique dining experience with a great taste of Korea. That was the only Korean dining we've ever encountered. The rest of the restaurants we went after that were either Middle East, Italian or the fast food.

Before we left that Sanchon, Husband's colleague told Adam to wear his cap and jacket as it was really freezing outside. and just like that, Adam agreed to wear his cap and put on the second jacket. Confetti.

Anyway, we stayed at Myeong-Dong area. Cafes, restaurants, street food, bakeries, you-name-it, everything are just distant away. I ordered Caramel Machiato almost everyday. Crazy. The weather is so freaking cold and a dose of sugared caffeine is a must have every time we went out.

Myeong Dong is a shopping district; from high class branded stuffs like LV, segala-mak-nenek-brand-I-dont-wear etc down to Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, etc, and to the street labels. 

The shopping crowd was crazy during nights and weekend. I don't bother sardine-ing myself with them. I went shopping right after the lunch break. The crowds are quite calm during that hour. There were sales at H&M, Zara, and few local boutiques but no size fit the giant me :( I can only shop bag and hats. Pity. Some people said you have to shop in Itaewon area for American/UK sizes. Unfortunately, we don't have time to explore the area.

I'm not that disappointed anyway..Pottery, dining wares and baking stuffs excite me more. I bought few dining wares and potteries at Namdaemun Market and Insadong. 

If you plan to visit Myeong-Dong, the closest halal restaurant is just at the back of Ibis Hotel lobby. There's an Arab-Pakistan restaurant called Saffron and the food is good. We dined in once and tapau twice. So AliaaRoslan, take note eh..he he There's also a RotiBoy shop nearby. I'm not sure when was the last time I ate Rotiboy. I had 2 buns in one go. Blame the weather and the Rotiboy itself.

On the fifth day, we dined again with Husband's colleague and this time he brought us to Kervan in Itaewon. There are lots of Halal restaurants in this area, and most of them served Middle-East food. 

The next day we went to Lotte World early in the morning, just to beat the crowd. It's a theme park with all kind of rides for people of different ages. Too bad, there are limited activities for kids at Adam's age. He had a bad flu during that day anyway. So every answer I've got from him was a NO, or a head shake. He even refused to ride his favorite carousel ride. 

We went to Gyeongbok Palace a day before we went back. We choose to walk from our hotel in Myeong-Dong, instead of taking a cab. We strolled along those small shop alleys, had a stop at Insadong and continued to walk to Gyeongbok Palace. I bought a pair of Mickey Mouse gloves at Namdaemun Market a day before that and Adam agreed to wear on them. Confetti. He finally wore everything.

Above: Insadong area

Above: Gyeongbok Palace. It was so windy and cold. We saw the guard changing ceremony. 

At Bukchon Hanok village

                  Doors at Bukchon Hanok Village. 

Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village with a long history located between Gyeongbok Palace, Changdeok Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. The traditional village is composed of lots of alleys and is preserved to show a 600-year-old urban environment.-Wiki

     Had a coffee break at local cafe in Bukchon Hanok Village. 

Above:Strolling along the Cheonggyecheon Stream. I was alone, and  busy snapping around with my camera. Suddenly, a local Korean girl came up to me, and asked if she could help me take a photo of myself. Aww..The local here are so friendly..  

Seoul gave me different kind of experiences compared to Europe trip I had two years ago. I fell in love with the people. Seoulites are so helpful and friendly. I really wish some local people here are more like them. Grr.. 

The city is quite clean compared to some Europe countries I've been. [I was a little put offed by Amsterdam and Paris.Ade je bau urine and dog poop kat celah2 alley.. cit.] Seoul might not be on the list of the most beautiful cities, but Seoul has everything travelers are hoping for. A four season city, exotic cuisines, warm-hearted people, rich cultures and historical places to explore and it's only 6 hours away from here. I'll definitely return to Korea. Definitely. 

Seoul: It's about Adam.

Yep, you read it right. We're in Seoul rite now. It's a business trip cum holiday. Business for Husband, pleasure for both Adam and I..lol 

There's nothing like holiday, at first. The journey from Changi to Incheon was rough. It was a midnight flight and Adam was a first timer. Duh..I should've had an early vision for the upcoming event, but I didn't. Where did my instinct go?  Half an hour into the flight, Adam's temperature started to build up. The temp reading was 39.4. It made me anxious a lil bit. Be cool, I reminded myself. It must be the sweater. He must be hot, since the air was a bit stuffy in our area. Adam being Adam, sigh.. he refused to let the sweater off.  I just let him be. 

Second hour on the flight, he threw up. I felt irritated as I cleaned it up. I should have had rip that sweater earlier. Still blaming the sweater. We took another half an hour to persuade him into changing into new clothes. Luckily, we bring spare clothes. And the thermometer. 

We changed him, rinsed off the dirty clothes, asked plastic bag for it, and few minutes after that, he threw up on us, and continued to do so for the next hour. It was a puking saga. I felt helpless and sad, as I watching him squeezing his tummy muscles out for nothing. He was REALLY sick and I couldn't do anything. The wafting smell was bad at that moment. We ignored the complaining passenger and continued to do our job as a parent. Adam needs us. He was having a motion sickness, indeed. 

Luckily (again), our seats were located right next to the toilet. We ended up staying at the toilet area, and it was a war zone for us. We had him sit without shirt and let him puked whenever he wanted. Poor boy, pity him. I really felt helpless. I was at the end of the rope when I took out my Minyak Cap Kapak Oitment,dropped a few on tissues paper, and let him smelled it. Alhamdulillah, it helped him a bit. I should have bring his own oitment on board next time. We wrapped him with the airline blanket and I let my husband hold him. He slept on his daddy's shoulder for almost an hour. Mind you, he's 14kg toddler, and what my husband did amazed me. I holded him for mere minutes(when Husband took his turn to eat), and I started aching here and there. 

The whole experience has taught us lot of things. First, bring spares clothes for everyone. I ended up like a zombie with puke smell after we landed. Secondly, expect all the worst nightmares before you fly with you little one (s). Bring every single thing needed. Google it. Since we just discovered (the hard way), that Adam is prone to motion sickness, we will have to find some anti-nausea med before we fly home. (So far, it's hard to find pharmacy that sell 'everything under the roof' here) .

All the crappy things about stewardess and passengers with kids won't help you were nonsense in our case. The SIA stewardess assisted us from A to Z. She helped me cleaned up the mess, covering our seat, drying up Adam's clothes, and she even sprayed some air freshener to clear up the smell, at our request. She keep asking me "are you okay, do you need anything?" (My face read HELP ME all the time, probably..ha ha ) Thank you SIA stewardesses. The chief crew even asked whether we wanted any medical help on board. We wanted to pursue it at first, but after everything was clear, we decided not to. There was another mother with kids (eight kids to be exact) on board, and she asked me what happened and how am I doing.. she was on her way to the toilet and  remember our war zone? When I was back in my seat, the nice lady came near me and offered me a Panadol syrup for Adam. There's still love and concern in this world. Alhamdulilah. The stewardess gave me the tablet one earlier, and it was hard to get Adam to chew them.   Since Adam was sleeping at that time, I told her we'll get it from her if we need it. She's a mother to eight kids, no wonder she bring everything on board.. she must have learnt a lot. :D

Last but not least, both parents should be cool with the whole situation. I know I'm not. I was the one with the helpless, sad and irritated feeling at the whole things, the whole time. My husband, on the other hand, is a great man with high patience and passion. Thank God for that. He had to take care not only Adam but ME. Yep.. I know.. silly me..I'm so gonna have to master on self-control more.. isk isk Bottom line..We are very lucky to have him as a husband and daddy, respectively. :)  

Anyway, Adam is not having fun, at the moment. He keep throwing tantrum here and there. Everything is new to him..We went for a walk yesterday, and the cold weather was indeed cold. Adam being Adam (again), refused to wear his thermal clothing. He keep screaming at me. Ouch. (And my patience is thinning..oh sabar sabar..) No cap, no gloves, no scarf, no ear puffs, no stroller's rain cover. He wants to wear his long john, jacket and hood only. That's after a loooooong struggle with him. I'm totally blank and I have no ideas on how to persuade him into wearing his cap and gloves. Oh please pour me some tips, or we have no holiday at all. =P 

Kecoh-Kecoh Raya.

Eid Mubarak! 

Our Raya morning was so kecoh! T_T

 How was yours?