Halloween Trick and Treating ...

28 Oct 2011

Our neighborhood has been organizing Halloween trick and treating walk among the residents in our neighborhood for the last couple of years. Ryan has participated since he was one. But this year was different. He went in full costumer ...as BATMAN!


The last two years, I have been having a torrid time trying to take some decent pictures but this year is much better since I got myself a Nikon Flashgun which allows me to take some rather decent pictures.


The event looked doom in the beginning. The skies were gloomy by evening and the skies opened up and poured by 6pm. We were all keeping our finger crossed because we would have to postpone the event to tomorrow night if the rain does not stop by 9pm and there is no guarantee that the weather tomorrow night would hold either.

The heaven was smiling at us. By 7:30pm, the rain stopped and by 8pm, despite the ground being wet, the participating families and children gathered at the playground. And then off we went from house to house, collecting sweets, cookies, chocolates, packet drinks, stickers etc....


The children were having so much fun and the parents were all tired walking, directing traffic, running after their children or carrying those who got a little too tired after a few streets...but having fun nevertheless....

Ryan all tired and thirsty by the end of the event....and so were we!

Credit must be given to the Residents Association and the person in charge who took pain to organize this event year after year.....

Club Med Bali - Ryan's first oversea's holiday

September 2011 (Backdated post)

We have always wanted to bring Ryan to sit in an aeroplane. We have tried a shorter distance trip last year when we took Air Asia to Langkawi. This year, when Club Med came out with a promotion of `Buy One Free One' offer, we grabbed it. We were contemplating between Bali or Phuket. In the end, I opted for Bali since I have never been there myself.

The offer, I must say, is well worth the money, considering that it is an `all inclusive package' and we paid minimal for Ryan since he is still below 4. We also got our travel agency to get us some pretty good deals from MAS. No more Air Asia when we travel as a family. The last time, we took Air Asia, not only was the flight delayed but the plane was parked right at the end of the terminal and we had to walked 25 minutes between reaching the terminal...and it was raining at 11pm!!!

As usual he was all excited about the trip and honestly, so were we! Actually, to be honest, I must confess that we wanted the holiday more and Ryan was just an excuse for us to `dump' baby Chenya with my mother in-law in order for us to travel...hehehehe (cruel leh!)

We went to airport early and after checking in, proceeded to the Premium Lounge. It is supposed to be a lounge with premium service and exclusive (catering for those frequent flyers or platinum credit card holders of certain banks). This is our first time trying it out and our expectation were high .....which turned out to be rather disappointing to say the least.

If it is that exclusive, I would expect the front desk people to be friendly or at least smile and make the guests feel welcomed. Nope! The food was nothing really fantastic to shout about. One toilet was closed for maintenance while the remaining one was so wet and dirty, definitely not befitting to be called THE PREMIUM LOUNGE.


We grab a quick bite, relax a little before we board for our flight to Bali. Ryan was all excited to be on the plane again. He was even served his kiddie on board meal. All the excitement finally wore him down. He was sound asleep till we reached our destination.
Waiting for boarding....

Fooling around with mommy on the plane...
Having his in flight kiddie meal....

Totally exhausted after all the excitement ...sleeping soundly throughout ....

Cameron Highlands Strawberry Picking

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

And finally, no Cameron Highlands holiday is complete without picking fresh strawberries. So, on the last morning before we checked out, we promised Ryan that we will bring him to pick some strawberries ...and the nearest strawberry farm that we can find is just outside Equatorial Hotel.

We paid Rm20 to pick 0.5kg of strawberries and we would have to pay for the extras if we picked more.

It was rather ordinary for me but super exciting for Ryan and that is what the trip is all about. Would I pay another Rm20 again to pick strawberries? For me...NO but if Ryan wants, YES of course....I guess that is what every parent would do anyway ..right??

Teaching Ryan how to pick strawberries properly....
Ryan enjoying his ice cream with fresh strawberries

Next ....our trip to Bali Club Med....

Cameron Highlands Ye Old Smoke House (Hot nights in a cold place)

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

OK. Back to backdated post on our recent travels. Continuing on our short holiday to Cameron Highlands, the next venue to yak about would be Ye Old Smokehouse located just after Tanah Rata on the way to Brinchang.


This quaint little English cottage style boutique hotel was once listed as the place for the rich and famous. With limited rooms, our first stay there was something like 10 years ago. Over the last decade, we had stayed there three times and we enjoyed the atmosphere very much. The service was top notch back then and the staff literally know you by your name. (Have to right? Only less than 20 rooms in total)

I must say that this is the ideal place for young couples looking for a romantic getaway or honey mooning couples looking for a romantic nest for some `hot' nights in the cold cool weather of Cameron Highlands.....(try to imagine warm bodies under the blanket on huge brass bed in rooms decorated in the old English cottage settings...need I say more....hmmmm)

Come to think of it, it would also be a cool place for `old married couples' to `abandon' their children for a hot spicy weekend (read about rekindling our sex lives in one of the post by bro Eugene from Bold Talk).

Anyway, we found it rather expensive to bring so many to stay there this round and hence we opted for a more economical Equatorial. However, we still wanted to enjoy the atmosphere and hence we went there for a good old English breakfast ...Turned out to be the most expensive meal throughout our trip (but then I knew that it would not come cheap in the first place considering that the junior suite rack rate is already close to RM500 per night).

The garden terrace where breakfast and tea are served.
Ryan in his happy mode and fooling around
Having fun with mommy...

Pretending to be zombies like in the `Walking Dead' series...
`Hello? Hello?' errr....excuse me? Shouldn't you guys be in the phone booth?

Chenya - 3 months old now!

Chenya is now three months old. How time flies. It is like yesterday that we were preparing for her arrival, the time we were in the hospital and watching her arrival. It is like just yesterday that we had a one month nightmare with our confinement lady, the headache we have to endure.

Just some pictures of her for all the uncles, aunties, kor kor and jie jie to see ...

Chenya when she was 2.5 months old ......

Chenya with 4 more days to 3 months old ..taken when she was having her holiday with us at the Golden Palm Tree Resort at Sepang Gold Coast ......

Chenya at 3 months and 2 days old ..taken at home today .....

Cameron Highlands Bharat Cameron Tea Plantation

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

There are basically two major tea plantation companies in Cameron Highlands. There is BOH Tea of course. The other is the Bharat Cameron Tea. The tea plantation for Bharat Cameron Tea is much more accessible. There are two that we encountered during our visit there recently. One is located after Brinchang before we reached the Equatorial Hotel. The tea house is modest and the plantation is much smaller. The other is before Tanah Rata and can be seen on the main road leading down to Tapah. This is definitely much more impressive and the tea plantation, much larger.

We made a stop at both tea plantations. The first was before we reached our hotel on the first day. The other was on my second day after we visited the Boh tea plantation.

Zipping a cup of hot tea while enjoying a delicious scone in the cool weather that we don't normally get in KL is definitely a welcoming change. There is such a care-free atmosphere that all the work stress and worries seemed so far away (at least for that few precious moments). Looking at the vast piece of green landscape that goes as far as the eyes can see brings such tranquility to the soul. I must said that I can not help but to be amazed at God's marvellous creation.

(This is the Bharat tea plantation located before Brinchang if you are taking the Simpang Pulai route to Cameron Highlands)

(This is the Bharat Tea Plantation located after Tanah Rata on the way down to Tapah. Located by the roadside, you just can't miss it) (2 workers working on the tea plantation. They are dwarfed by the sheer vastness of the entire landscape)
(Ryan getting bored and started fooling around with his water bottle)

Cameron Highlands Steamboat Dinner

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

Any visit to Cameron Highlands is not complete without at least a steam boat meal. There are plenty of steam boat restaurants in Brinchang and I'm sure most of you would have had at least one when visiting Cameron Highlands. We were not sure which is good but we know that we preferred one that uses charcoal rather than the electrical steamboat pot. Parking at Brinchang could be a nightmare and we were lucky that we went on a weekday instead of a weekend or a public holiday. Even that, we have some problem looking for an empty parking space. Hence, the restaurant that we chose was the one where we found a parking right in front....It turned out to be quite nice and pleasant experience...Price is reasonable.

(Ryan getting impatient waiting for the food to arrive)
(Ryan getting excited over the steam boat pot with the tall funnel)
(Mother and sister getting the steam boat ready)