Vacation Photo Album

April has been a fun month for my family so far. Since the National Water Festival 2003 was officially launched in Lumut, there've been a few events for us to while away our time during the weekends.

I believe that one doesn't have to go far for a vacation especially when you live in a place like Lumut. However Malaysia has too many beautiful places to visit, here are some details:-

Spent the next 9 days eating and sleeping ..... phew it's a holy holiday. kek lapis, fresh kambing akikah added weights to my already bulging stomach. Not very eventful this time except having fun watching Nawal Shareefa's quarrels with her slightly older cousin Izzah.

Reached seri Manjung at 1 am tuesday morning and slept for a few hours before going to work in Seri ISkandar ..... what a spoiler! But not as bad as my kids who had to sit for their final term school exam the next morning.

i was one of the 230+ pioneer of Sekolah Men. Sains Kelantan and the gathering was a nostalgic one. Almost half turned up and watched video clips of us as nerds and buulies while at school. tears rolled down our cheeks as images of friends who passed away were wiped out from the screen with the background music of those days crooning our attentive ears. The thrill of playing guessing game with friends we have not met for 30 years ...... great reunion.

The next morning my family left for Kuantan after having a quick breakfast with my eldest sister Kak Za and her kids Along and Farah. Checked in the Swiss Garden Resort in Kuantan for another holiday. Stayed here before but this time service is not as good. Delay in check in, no hot water on the first night, given the wrong room ..... my wife opened the room door to see shocked faces of a family already checked into the room! It could have been a real drama had it been a couple on their honeymoon! Prrrr!!!

Another free family holiday. Great place for kids, they really enjoyed the huge pools and the games during the Hari Keluarga. Won many prizes too! Visited Turkey Farm nearby and rushed to Malacca one evening and spent the evening at the new shooping mall in Bandar Hilir and treated to Ikan Bakar by Kartini. Drove back to PD and found our bed at 1 am.

Another long drive to kuala Terengganu hoping to walked into any hotel. We did walk into a few hotels only to be told. " sudah penuh". It was 11pm when we decided to drive home to my my kampong and found our bed in Pasir Mas at 2 am. Until now my family still don't forgive me for not booking the hotel room in KT.

It was chinese near year eve in Malaysia and it was Tet festival eve in Vietnam. Who cares ... until we arrived at the empty Oasis Hotel not far from the American embassy but far from the central city centre. Closed shops, closed restaurants, minimum staffs manning the hotel .... the rest of workers had gone home to their villages to celebrate tet festival.

Then, why did the organiser chose this particular time to send us for this trip? we asked our organising colleague but didn't wait for his answer because we were too busy thinking howwe were going to spent our first night in Hanoi. The tour guide happily offered his suggestion," there'll be fireworks display at midnight by the lakeside."

Great but he's not going to bring us there ... it's not in the programme .... we need to find our own way there. We spent the early night surfing the internet at the hotel looby aimlessly. Then I typed in bowling just because I was telling myself that I'd have gone bowling in Sitiawan rather than spending the time in Hanoi on this such a dreadful night ... the only amazing thing is to see so many motorcycles going in all directions on their streets. Google offered me Fortuna Hotel. Alright I called my roommate and said," lets go bowling across the road. I was excited because Fortuna hotel is just across the road until we were told by that it is closed beacuse all workers balik kampong for Tet, but there is another centre not far away.

We took a taxi to Starhill Bowling centre and bowled for 2 games and realised that it is expensive because they are charging us peak hour rate due to TET! We stood by the roadside wondering what the hell are we going to do tonight , too early to sleep and that's not what we're there for anyway. Then we remembered the fireworks and the lake. We saw people walking with children moving towards one direction, it must be for the fireworks. we hurried and walked along a friendly local man with two kids next to him. We chatted, he in vietnamese and the two of us in Bahasa malaysia. He laughed and we laughed louder. He signalled that he has two children and was shocked when my friend showed 4 fingers to inform that he has 4 kids. The vietnamese shook his head in disbelief. So I quickly beat my chest and showed him 5 fingers and he shock to death!

But he led us to a lake, big crowd but very orderly, many young couples but well behaved ---- still "regulated" . After the show, we couldn't find any empty taxi so we just followed the crowd and walk. We walked and walked and walked and walked and walked, asking people along the way, at 2am we were still walkig along the street which by now are getting quieter and deserted. We bumped into a group of young boys on their motorbikes gathering at a dark street corner. We went and asked for Foruna hotel and showed some directions. we walked and walked till 2.30am when we saw our hotel.

The last time I celebrated aidilfitri in Sarawak was the year Ammu's niece, Nur Ashikin got married. My mum was there too. since then, for one reason or another, I didn't follow Ammu and the kids back to Sarawak.

This time, I took a long leave just to be with them and tried to forget about work for a while. Work was quite a tiring affair lately and I really felt exhausted and needed to be with the kids more. Well, in Bintulu, I spent the days relaxing, sleep, read, eat .... may not be in that order. The pace was a bit slow but relaxing.

A call from KL put me in a busy mode. I was to catch a flight to New Zealand for a road safety conference. My inclusion for the trip was a bit late but somehow the approval was obtained. Another dream came true. I always dreamt of going to New Zealand, a scenic land with unending stretch of mountains and lakes and sheeps and cows ,,,,,, baaahhh! bekkkk!

I cut short my stay in Sarawak and flew to KLIA to join others for the 10 hour flight to Auckland. Sixteen of us waited hungrily at the Auckland International Airport for an Air New Zealand flight to Wellington where the conference is held. The check-in was slow and the staffs looked confused.

Wellington was a windy city that afternoon as we walked up the steps to Victoria hill that overlooked the whole city. beautiful. Had a delicious dinner at an indian (malaysian) restaurant. The conference itself was interesting and educational.

After three days we flew to Queenstown in the South Island. Wow! A resort hotel by the Wakatipu Lake ( gua tak tipu!) surrounded by green and blue mountains. What a sight, what a place to relax. Wow! A few of us went for a jet boat ride in Kawarau River. A ride in a boat going at 85km/h in a shallow clear water of the river. Skilfully driven by a young dude who steered away from bridge pillars and river banks at the very last moment, to our horror -- our heart were in our mouth most of the time. every now and then, he would turned the boat 360 degrees amidst the screams of the 12 foreigners who paid NZ$75 (RM220) for the thrills.

Then, came the best part. A whole day bus ride to Christchurch passing through the most scenic areas of the south Island ---- lakes, lakes, stretches of mountains inc. Mt Cook ( the highest), the colourful wild flowers, sheep farms, cattle farms,sheeps and more sheeps, more farms ...... this country is so clean, damn clean!

Christchurh was over rated. Maybe I had seen too many English cities in England. So nothing much to excite me. Not even the entertainment joints around the corner of our hotel.

As usual, each time Ammu is pregnant in Manjung, a cat would visit our house. It started with Nuha's in Sitiawan, followed by Adam's and Nur Iman in Lumut,, and a couple of pretty cats keep coming to our new house. It is definitely a pleasant coincidence. The cats were beautiful and God knows where they came from. Could be from the neighbours'.

I drove anxiously home after a meeting in Ipoh. Earlier Ammu called to inform that Nawal could be on her way 'out'. Approaching home, Nuha told me that "mama dah pergi klinik dengan Achik Khairol (a family friend)!".

I knew that I don't have much time, Nawal must be on her way. A quick shower, maghrib prayer, food on the table for the kids, and I rushed calmly to Dr. Lee's clinic in Seri Manjung. Ammu was in pain and wheeled into the OT almost immediately.

I thanked Allah for allowing me to be with Ammu in that crucial moment, yet again. While the tense-looking midwives were busy with their routines, Dr. Lee was always in his calm and chatty self, expertly monitoring the baby's progress. God, this is my fifth time in an OT waiting for the arrival of my baby. Managed to see them coming out of the womb, heard their wails, greeted them with azan or iqamah, held them in my arms and smelled the blood and fluids that protected them in their mother's womb. I was experience enough to be quite cool in that cold room, but inside, GOD knows how I actually felt. While praying for the best, I must be prepared for the worst, was I prepared?

Ammu was writhing in pain, the room was filled by my chanting of whatever quranic verses I could utter to comfort Ammu's pain. It went so fast ..... phewsh.... and.... WA! WA! WA! .... loud and clear.

Allahu Akbar.... Allahu Akbar .... I repeated when I saw the slender little body with dark hair wailing and writhing in Dr. Lee's arm, the cord (umbilical) attached as if an astronaut just floating out from her spacecraft. Nawal Shareefa is delivered! Wow! That's fast! I followed every little routine the midwives did - sucking out the fluids from her mouth, cutting the cord, wiping the laqua, weighing her ( another big one - 3.9 kg ), iqamah and salawat continously, feeling Allah's greatness for such a wonderful miracle. I was always overwhelmed by the fact that little baby, with complete organs, was living in her mama's womb, kicking and turning.

Finally, I held her in my arms, iqamah and salawat to her ears and kissed her all over. The blood, stains and laqua, were always the best smell for me, like the previous four babies that I held in my arms. I held Ammu with a smile and saw that relief look on her face, yet again. She smiled and lighted up the room, yet again.

It was quite a cold day when I walked out of the Beijing International airport with a group of friends towards the tour coach. As modern as any other cities, so whats left to see. The redevelopment in preparation for the 2008 olympics is fast taking place. Traditional narrow street of Hutongs are torn down to give way to modern highrise buildings.

Checked into a big hotel a distant away from the commercial area was not a good idea. The first breakfast was a disaster when our supposedly 'muslim food' are served buffet style together with non-halal dishes. we complained and got served in separate rooms.

Most days were spent on the coachrides to factory after factory --- ori pearls, ori jade, ori silks, ori chinese medics .... nothings cheap and not necessarily cheap. In between we stopped at restaurants serving muslim food, tasty but the same menu everyday became too much to swallow.

tiannamen square was damned windy the morning we were there. The thick jackets, scarf and gloves were not enough to keep me warm as if I have never spent the five years in England. The temperature was not as low as the minus degrees in Leeds and Coventry or the wind wasn't as strong as the blizzard I was trapped in while taking a walk to my frien's house in Southend-on-sea. Beijing was so windy and cold for us that morning that we needed someone to hug and cuddle to keep us warm but who? Lucky for those whe went with their spouse!

Forbidden city was magical, images of old shaolin and kungfu warriors played in my mind as I walked into layers of the palace courtyards. Amazed at the architectural beauty and construction genius.

The Great Wall of China. What else could I ask for except to take up the whole view, keep it in my memory and told myself that it is real! Wow, it must be a miracle for someone to think of building it let alone to actually construct it. Climbed high enough to earn the certificate as memonto but my aching knee stopped me from reaching the top. Spent a good deal of time swallowing the freshness of the air and the magical beau and wonder of the surrounding view ..... undescribable feeling of satisfaction!

Shoppings in China from the chinese ..... as expected, varieties of cheap beautiful goods, the thrill was in haggling over the price. The fun was to observe my creative friends bargaining skills. great!

Came home and proudly unpacked all my "beautiful but cheap goods" I bought and beijing. Grinning proudly from ear to ear waiting for my wife's appreciations, only to be wiped out by her revealation that they are available at the local Biilion supermarkets across our taman ...... and its cheaper in Sitiawan and Ayer tawar.

I licked the curry off my finger after eating the last chunk of roti canai at a local restaurant. I need to get home early for a few friends are on their way to help me move from my house in Lumut to a new house in Seri Manjung. Earlier, I spent the whole night packing my things alone as Ammu had brought home the kids to Bintulu for the school holiday. I was supposed to join them later but decided to move to our new house so that they can just settle into it when they come back from Sarawak.

My friends arrived a shortwhile later and related to me about some houses and electric overhead cables shook and many people ran out of their houses in Sitiawan. I must have run over an undulating part of the road at that particular moment because I didn't feel anything strange or abnormal while driving home after my breakfast.

It was late in the evening when I finally manage to settle in front of the television in my new home and realised how bad was the tsunami that hit our region. Tsunami ! I always thought that it only hit Japan and Hawaii ..... never Malaysia and Indonesia or Thailand or Sri Lanka ...... infact part of Lumut was slightly hit. I was glued to the painful scenes on tv for the next few days and was so relieved that I didn't go to Batu Feringghi ... one of our regular family vacation destination ....... infact, had I not moved to my new house, I would have been to Batu Feringgi and checked into one of the beach resort.......... Well, the rests were history.

It was another stop in Kuching on our way back from Bintulu. Time for the kids to meet their cousins. Year after year, they met since they were small. While the smaller ones are getting to know one another, the bigger girls develop a strong friendship that is well reflected in the photos they took together.

Kuching remains a beautiful and memorable place for me. Magical and mystical, the city in which I first met Ammu, and fell head over heel...... the city or her? Emm..both!

Unexpectedly, Nabilah was selected by her school to attend a series of golf lesson at Damai Laut Resort. I never hit a golf ball myself and here is my 12yr old going for her golf lesson.

It was a cloudy afternoon. About 40 students from Sekolah Wawasan Manjung were taught by Mr Tan on how to hit a golf ball. The parents found out that the resort has adopted this school as part of the resort's program to promote the game among the children and commoners like me.

The fathers looked more excited seeing the kids swinging the golf clubs at the driving range. We started talking about starting the game ourselves. So, it was a pleasant gesture when Mr. Tan shouted," ok, it's time for the parents." Almost everyone of us accepted the offer.

Finally after postponing for more than 10 years, I finally found myself hitting golf balls. I had to give excuses to so many people on so many occassions whenever I was asked to start the game. Of course, I had been foloowing golf on tv since early 80's but couldn't find the luxury of time to do it.

Everybody went home happily and I believe they'd use a hockey stick or an umbrella to hit some balls when they reached home ------- that's what my kids and I did last night.

It was 8.30pm when we reached Sunway where my wife was to meet her old friend from MIri. Couldn't get a room there, so decided to let my wife and Nur Iman stayed with her friend since she wanted to catch up with their stories (13 years stories). The rest of us managed to get a room at PJ de Inn, the room is okay but have to worry about parking my car well away from the inn in a makeshift car park.

The next morning, headed early for the expo. Wow! Putrajaya skyline keeps changing. Majestic, beautifully designed. Mahathir's face immediately came to my mind, followed by the controversies that surrounds the city.

The expo itself was great. Big crowd, informative and interesting exhibits. Alas, Nur Iman decided to leave her mark right in the centre of the big crowd. After failing to persuade a girl to sell off a diaper which she exhibits, I reluctantly walked out to fetch it from the car. It was a long walk under the heat and through the endless crowd.

After four hours stroll in the expo centre, my girls are all tired. Reluctantly, my wife and I had to oblige. After another round of sightseeing around Putrajaya, we headed to Jayajusco in Puchong for our lunch and did some shopping.

It was a cold morning the day I drove (fast drive) my family to this alien place. After going over the majestic Raja Permaisuri Bainun bridge, the ride along Rt. 60 through Pantai Remis town wasn't that pleasant. I had to overtake many trailers along that not so wide road. I hope the Govt. will launch the construction phase of the road widening project soon. After turning into Rt. 73, at Batu Hampar town, towards Taiping, the road became a bit winding. Eventually after almost an hour's drive from Lumut, we saw the signboard that lead us to the waterfall.

Never heard of the place until someone suggested that our sports club should try this place , for a change, as our Family Day retreat this year. Reluctantly, I had to bow to the majority and wondered how the place looks like.

A narrow road via the Alaga estate led us towards a rolling forest. The green forest was a welcome sight and gave a good first impression to the tranquility and serenity of the place. Streams of clear water lined the roadside dotted with small picnic areas.

Finally, the sight of parked vehicles and sound of screaming kids welcomed us to the main picnic area. A typical calm waterfall in a tropical forest. The event began soon with all sort of games. It was a good turnout with as many as 400 people spreading their picnic mats around the area. Coconut bowling was a hit with the crowd. Colourful coconuts were used to bowl on the natural ground. The one nearest to the marker was declared the winner. It was a real challenge to roll those coconut fruits with odd shapes along the quite flat ground.

Having ulam, pecal,kari ikan masin and sambal belacan for our lunch, surrounded by tall canopies of green trees by the waterfall with the sound of the rushing water against the rocky streams, was a real treat for the hungry stomachs.

After spending the night at my sister's house, Kak Za in Wangsa Melawati, we took a slow drive to Kuantan in the morning hoping to breath in the fresh air of Titiwangsa Range. It has been 12 years since we made that trip to Kuantan. Much to my dismay, the route to Kuantan was as routine as 12 years ago without any attraction for us to include as a vacation itenarary. This time, Nur Iman's turn to be sickly. She's been coughing badly for the past few nights.

The vacation started with Ammu's mini reunion at Dr. Kay Ah's house at Taman Guru.With Dr. Zahari's (the pathologist who told the court about Anwar Ibrahims black eyes) around, the place sounded so lively with old friends laughters and kids screams. Had a long lunch break!

Swiss Garden Kuantan was a refreshing start to our holiday. With a room facing the beautiful swimming pool and very close to the beach, the kids was excited. What else, they spent hours in the pool. Nur Iman was in there too without any coughing. Wonder what a resort can do to your kid's coughs? That night we searched for dinner at Tg. Lumpur. Ate at a place called RAMBO ...... the food was so so.

HAd lunch at the McDonald in Teluk Chempedak before taking that memorable route along the sea to Paka. What a refreshing drive. The sea water was a green and blue reflection of the shining sun. We checked a few resorts along the way, for the future, before spending the night at my sister, Nie's place in Paka.

We took a long drive to KT stopping at Kuala Ibai mosque and a few places along the way to snap photos. Checked into the Grand Cont. in K.Terengganu. Had a late lunch at Yee's stall at Batu Burok food court. Not bad but long queue. Ammu bumped into old friend Dr. Mokhtar of USM and his family. The wife was also Ammu's friend. What a coincidence.

Dr. Hamidah (gynaecologist at KTGH) brought us to her house before spending a few hours at Dr. Zainurin's house for a high tea. Well, the kids had a field day playing within the big compound with their sizeable counterparts from Terengganu.

Retired early that night but woke up early the next morning to catch the scene of fishermen's boats parading away towards the deeper sea.The east coast sceneries are naturally beautiful. Rushed for the famous Nasi Dagang stall in Chendering with a friend, Kamil while the kids swam in the crowded pool at the hotel.

Another long drive along the coast to Besut stopping at Penarik beach. Took a sneak at The Aryanni. Beach after beach.......it was late when I dropped by to meet old buddy Dr. Lokman in Jerteh. Too bad couldn't spend more time at his big bungalow.

Had dinner at Restaurantt Sham in KB before checking into mother's home in Pasir Mas. Left home for Lumut the following noon. Went to the office with a tired body(1500km) but a refreshed mind. As for Nur Iman's cough, she left them in the pools along the way.....

We wanted to go a long time ago but could not find the time. This time, it was not a planned vacation cos my wife and kids followed me to KL to fetch back our handphone which I sent for a repair two weeks earlier. So, we decided to proceed to the Mines Wonderland after checking into the Mint Hotel.

It wasn't the best time for a vacation because Adam was having viral fever and coughing all the way, and SARS cases were still spreading. We had to pump him with ventolin before leaving the hotel. We had slow train ride for a start. The A famosa safari ride was more fun. Then the boat ride to catch the sunset. We see more beautiful sunsets everyday in Lumut.

But as the night sets in, the place suddenly turned into a colorful and beautiful place. Went into the Snow House not expecting the temperature to be that low, minus 10 degrees. Beautiful sculptures and a new experience for my kids and wife but had to exit early to safeguard Adam from becoming worse. We had to carry him most of the time.

Our third visit to this 'mini sunway lagoon', about 90minutes drive from Lumut. This time we brought along Wani (Khairun's daughter) and Hazirah (Nabilah's classmate) to make a crowd. As expected, very few people braved the SARS scare to have a splashing fun on that hot morning. Met a big family from Kota Baru (MD for Proton dealer) who took advantage of the special rates at the resort.

It's a perfect place for me cos without the usual big crowd, we had more room to move and relax. Nur Iman made the most of her first visit, she stayed under the hot sun for 4 hours. Actually all of us did, spending most of the time lying on the big float.

That float or was it my weight, rather overweight, that made me and Adam half drowned after the float suddenly turned upside down. Ammu laughed while I struggled under that not so deep water trying to get myself and Adam up from the pool bed. In the process, I gulped some water and gashed my elbow. We managed to laugh but thinking that Adam was actually under water for a good half a minute, we were glad that he too managed to laugh about it. Lesson learnt," if one is 80kg, one shall sit still on the float or else it will tip over."

A thunderstorm occured in the evening that forced us to stop and came home. It was another good family outing for us judging from the exciting conversations the kids had in the car before they slept snoringly on our way home.

Seeing a live turtle is better than watching it on a tv screen. The shells look beautiful and you can actually interact with them. At the hatchery, the big ones swam as if they're in a hotel swimming pool, sticking their big heads out of the water at regular intervals while making a hissing sound as if to say how happy they're to see us. The babies are about 3 - 4 in. long, black shelled, swarming another pool, behaves like what any baby would do.

The hatchery is right at the white sandy beach of Pasir Panjang, about 35min. drive from Lumut Town, and is also next to Baitul Hilal building, the moon sighting site come Ramadan and Syawal. Sitting under the casuarinas with the breeze blowing our faces, my wife was wishing how nice would it be to own a house by the beach.....mmm...maybe one day...

We then turned to Lumut Power Plant, owned by Malakoff, before driving back to Sitiawan across the majestic Raja Permaisuri Bainun bridge. Had a round of 'guaranteed fresh' coconut drink with juicy flesh at our regular roadside stall for a ringgit per glass.

Wow! I thought we're watching Formula 1 race. The 1:10 car race was a great fun especially when they crashed into each other. Watching the car making pit stops and how serious the team members were, really made me wonder whether it was a game for a kid. Actually, only two kids took part among the almost 200 racers coming from Perlis, Penang and Kedah to compete with the locals. Our sports Club co-organised the event with the local racing group. The track was by the side of the majestic Raja Permaisuri Bainun bridge, so it wasn't a surprise to see hundreds of people turned out with their families.

Our sports club organised the event in conjunction with the Pesta Air National. The beautiful sandy beach of Teluk Senangin is about 25min. away was no stranger to us. My whole family were there, not to fish, but to relax by the beach and see the catch of the day. A few ikan sembilang were hauled up to compete for the RM1500 grand prize.

Never mind the fish, for my kids, playing on the beach with their friends made up their day. As for my wife and I, sitting with friends, taking the breeze in the face, watching the green Pangkor island and surrounding Tanjongs made up our day leaving the household chores till next weekend.....don't mention it!

Well, you saw it on tv, right? Nabilah, Nuha and Adam were there with me. Ammu decided to stay at home with Nur Iman. Big crowd braved the rain for a while. The rain stopped when our Agong arrived. "Organisers always seek the 'rain consultant' to help keep away the rain," that's what people said. So if it rains in your area when it is not suppose to, would it be due to this consultant? Believe that and your faith will be questioned!

You bet, you could see Siti Nurhaliza, Misha , Scenario and the rests better on tv in the cosiness of your living room than us in front of the stage (or rather behind a row of standing crowd). You see, we were invited guests, the protocol says you have to remain seated and let the police usher away the standing 'gate-crashers'. Well, people don't see Siti Nurhaliza everyday, so they deserve to get a better view of her. That's the time when I broke the protocol and wondered around the VVIP canopy "to say hello" to a couple of them and stayed with them. As for my kids, I told them to join other invitee's kids to stand up on their chairs and enjoy themselves...they did just that! Anak Bapak!