the-missus-blogs.com

Yup, the green pooping baby that we once had to baby sit will be packed off to Setiawan for NS training next week! Damn, 17 freaking years does go by in a flash I so swear.

And it surely gave us a good reason on Saturday to go on a road and makan trip to celebrate before they starve the poor bugger at camp No more cheesecake, MCDs and whatever junk food you usually stuff your face with ya.

Kuala Selangor is a tiny town about an hour away from Subang Jaya with lots of winding, one lane roads and Sime Darby plantations at every sight. Famously known for its fresh seafood and fire flies. I personally wanted to stay the night to see the fire flies but some people were not sporting enough.

We reached there hungry and being suckers for all things tacky, decided on the shop with the big crab in front.

The View:

Ordered 6 dishes first and then quickly added another 2 more coz of the hungry growing (fat) kids.

And not to forget one very hungry 31 year old attacking the fish, or what’s left of it

That’s plate No 2 of the same Chili Chicken dish:

Made sure there was plenty of food for Vinesh to stock up like a camel Poor kid will be having crap food when he’s off to NS after all. Ok la it’s not that crap according to Roshan – the first in the family shipped off to NS. Apparently they get 6 meals a day! 6 meals! And a very bad crew hair cut.

The bill came up to about RM170 (approx RM25 a head), which wasn’t exactly cheap. The food wasn’t the most spectacular BUT was definitely fresh.

We explored the town a little before developing a Cendol craving. Managed to find it at some obscure place, which was someone’s house partially converted into a Cendol stall. I’m not sure if that’s even legal ok.

Anyway the cendol – not a specialty of K.Selangor for sure.

P-O-S-E-R

We had so much fun just talking and laughing, so it’s sad to think we won’t be able to see him for the next 3 months. The upside – now all of us can fit into one car when we go check out the bapuks in LHT :))

And the fact we now have a damn good excuse to visit him briefly before going off to Pangkor

Come back home buffed ya, hahaha. And whatever you do, don’t drop the soap Baby V.

Sybil Kathigasu – that name rang some serious bells when FIL suggested we explore a little town called Papan. It was then I remembered coming across her name in a play on TAS’s website. But I really didn’t have to go for the show because on Sunday, we were at the very same spot where Sybil had been supplying medicines and medical services to the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces, before being caught and tortured mercilessly by the Japs.

Papan, about 30 minutes away from Ipoh, is literary a one street town, where time seem to have stood very still.

Everything looks like what it probably did 50 years ago.

We got there and noticed that Sybil’s shop house now serves as a little museum and a memorial ground for her, managed by Law Saik Hong to keep her memories alive. He did a fantastic job with the house and briefed us well about the history, what she had to endure and everything she believed in.

Half way through his briefing, he stops and says to me ‘you’re a very attractive woman’. LOL that really caught me by surprise *kembang seribu kali siuttt*

Ok back to Sybil – she had secretly helped to supply medicines and medical services to the anti-Japanese guerrilla forces in Papan where she and her family lived. She kept shortwave radio sets illegally and listened to broadcasts from Britain and the outside world so she could convey it to the Resistance. Because of those subversive activities she and her husband were arrested, tortured and detained until the war ended. And until the day she was released, she never disclosed a single information on the Resistance. She later went on to receive the George Medal for Gallantry in the UK recognizing her bravery and heroism just months before her death in June 1948.

I briefly asked Law what got him interested in Sybil. After all, to put in bluntly, I really didn’t see the family connection or resemblance. My question wasn’t well answered so I guess perhaps his grandfather served in the Papan Resistance and had encounters with Sybil and her husband maybe?

My imagination could be wrong.

Sitting and exploring the shop house where Sybil once lived in, where she had treated the numerous anti-Japanese guerrilla forces was surreal. It’s amazing how one woman’s persistence, faith and good heart conquered it all, despite the ill tortures she was put through.

I even bought her penned memoirs by our very own World War II heroine, and am currently fixated at finishing the book.

Every page tells a story, a story of hope, survival and tells me what my own grandparents had gone through as well during WWII. My grandmother always had stories to tell me as a kid but I never really took the trouble to pay attention to it, until today that is.

For a bit of history, Law Siak Hong can be contacted at 017-5061875

Venue: Bukit Tinggi & Genting Highlands
Date: 27/12/2008-28/12/2008

What happens when a girl plans a trip for 6 batangs and manages to secure a hotel during peak season?

A fun trip to Bukit Tinggi that happened

More so after the boys failed to book a place for Port Dickson, which was the initial plan.

So much for going to Bukit Tinggi in 2009. We managed to cover it over the weekend with my cousins since everyone felt like going somewhere on a food and drinking binge

Arrived in Bukit Tinggi around 12pm and decided to explore Colmar Tropicale for a bit. Paid RM10 as entrance free which I think is bloody ridiculous. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t as cooling as I thought it would be and it was packed!

Ooo La La I’m in France, NOT!

Although I’m impressed with the entire French lay out of the place, I can’t imagine staying there for a night because there really isn’t much to do. We managed to cover the entire place in less than one hour, including the Japanese Tea Garden which by all means does not look like one. There goes my plan to take Hubby there for his 31st Birthday next month. On to Plan B then….

We later checked into Selesa Resort. Took a 3 bedroom apartment – place wasn’t the most luxurious but it wasn’t all that bad. Meaning, it was liveable with lots of space and decent clean bathrooms and we had fun, tons of it!

We played cards most of the time in the apartment and then the boys decided to play some pool and since I suck at using a stick to hit balls into a hole I sat this one out.

I don’t think this is known to many but Bukit Tinggi has the cheapest Chinese food ever. Made our way to Kampung Bukit Tinggi, which is barely 5 minutes from the apartment. Here you’ll find nothing but rows of affordable Chinese restaurants. Imagine our shock when the taukeh asked, “what animal you want”?

Hmm….I sure as hell hope this isn’t a place that sells meat out of the ordinary.

6 different dishes for only RM85!

Stuffed and happy from dinner, went back to the apartment for some serious card playing! Played for hours, who knew playing cards could be fun. Oh yea need I mention we also drank away a bottle of Black Label and munched on one week’s supply of junk food within hours?

Thanks to the bottle of Black Label, at 3 a.m the boys were contemplating driving up to Genting Highlands. Good thing some of us *cough* me had the sense to put a stop to the silly plans.

So we settled for some mamak food instead. Good trade off

We headed up to Genting Highlands instead the next day, just to gamble! GH was exceptionally cold and foggy this time around. Brrrr

As usual, it was packed with a sea of people and finding a car park was a bit of a chore but we made it anyway.

Although it was a short trip, it was nothing but a fun trip with the cousins. More so, since I really needed this trip after the crap I went through at work on Friday.

But good news, something might be in store for me next year but I REALLY don’t want to mention it coz I don’t want to jinx it! Update when it happens.

Oops I guess I meant to say ‘beachy‘ weekend in my previous post.

Port Dickson, sweet sweet PD – literally once upon a time my second home as I have fond memories of spending most holidays in my adolescent years by the beach. And if dad didn’t sell his apartment recently, we would have stayed a night over.

Alas, it was just a day trip with the cousins who for some strange reason had a beach craving and wanted to leave at 7 a.m.

But too bad, Hubby the pilot had the last say so we departed to PD at 10.30 am, and in only an hour we were greeted by the warm blue skies, the beach and the nasty hot weather.

Being familiar with PD town, we decided to drop by Oceanic Mall to pick up some snacks and have lunch. Lo and behold, I spotted a new mall next to Oceanic – PD Walk.

Spotted their 1st Station Kopitiam restaurant, sweet! Not to mock but just so you know, PD doesn’t even have McDonalds or Starbucks so yes it’s worth getting excited over a Station Kopitiam outlet in PD Why? Coz their Thai style fried rice rocks and now PD folks will get to enjoy that.

Decided to have some Masakan Ala Thai food (which is abundant in PD, don’t know why) at the food court

Once we stuffed our bellies full with food, we drove around the town to check out every nook and corner and in search of a good spot at the Blue Lagoon beach area

This spot is about 10kms from the town – the better beach area in PD and definitely secluded from the general crowd.

After a few minutes of taking it all in, we decided to go check out the Light House.

The eager beavers

Now I remember being able to drive up all the way to the Light House, but somehow they’ve decided to make our lives hell and not allow cars/bikes in. Therefore a grueling 20 minutes walk will bring you up to the Light House.

Which we did. In the hot sun. As a results, sweated like pigs. Do pigs sweat?

Ah, got to love steep roads! They do the bum some good. Just 2 more minutes, just 2 more minutes up…..

And finally, tada – the Light House

Decided to rest in the little shed, good thing it was very windy so we were dried up in a jiffy.

On the way down the boys spotted a big ant and like a bunch of 5 year olds, decided to probe further.

And when I say boys, that’s hubby included

We did more driving around, checking out everything in sight when I spotted this:

Remember funfairs like that from 10-15 years ago? When life was much simpler? Good stuff but too bad it wasn’t opened. Yet.

Discovered another beach spot. Again very secluded from the crowd. Yes, we’re so anti-social.

The amount of hotels/motels/bungalows for rent in PD is massive, infact accommodation in PD has blossomed so much in the past few years, that the sight of many abandoned projects are also high which is a shame coz it’s a sight for a sore eye.

As a result of the sun scorching us silly, we developed a craving for some icy cold cendol so off we went on a hunt which took us a good 30 minutes to decide before settling for a tiny shop in town.

But before that, we made a quick stop at the Legends Water Chalet to check out the fuss. One word: breathtakinglygorgeousmustcheckitoutsoon

Back to cendol – two bowls came up to about RM5.40 which I’m pretty sure is a rip off, maybe coz we look like out of town-ers?

Roshan – you and your damn orange shorts

Can I probe the cendol too?

When the heat from the sun was somewhat bearable, we decided to munch on our snacks by the beach.

Hubby enjoying his priceless find – RM4 for a San Miguel beer? No way, he said. Cheap! Naturally, he stocked up.

And then drank most of it that night itself.

Out of the blue, cousins were curious if there was an Xtreme Park in PD. After a few phone calls and a quick stop at the concierge to ask, we couldn’t believe our luck.

Yes there is an extreme park in PD, near Eagle Ranch, 15kms from town. Hurrah.

It was hubby and my first time karting but we enjoyed all 8 laps of it! Will definitely do that again in Sunway when we have the chance.

Left PD at 6.30pm, all happy and satisfied with our outing which turned out to be productive.

Before heading home, we made a bee line to this place that I’ve been wanting to check out for quite some time now. Now I can cross that out from my list. YES! But that I’ll blog soon.

Date: Saturday, 8 November 2008
Venue: Swiss Garden Resort & Spa, Kuantan

It was the day all the boys’ got their hearts broken, because it was the day Mena got married

Mena and Jonas’s wedding gave us the perfect excuse to re-visit Kuantan over the weekend. Hubby and I both have a soft spot for Kuantan for it’s been our perfect romantic getaway. And it’s been a while since we last set foot in Kuantan. Having stayed there a few times in the past, we checked into our favorite hotel: Hyatt Regency and this trip confirmed how much I’ve missed Kuantan especially it’s beach.

Made our way to Swiss Garden around 6.20 p.m. Thought we were going to be typically Malaysian and be late coz our hotel is about 20 minutes away but phew for luck and less traffic in Kuantan for we made it on time.

As we stepped into the hotel, we were greeted by this

The very spot that would soon see our friends as husband and wife – saying bye to singlehood and their freedom. Okay kidding about the freedom part.

First up: Refreshments & Indian sweets – who can resist! Nuh uh, NOT ME

Okay it was really hard trying to take pictures coz the photographers/videographers/people were crowding them but I tried my best!

Here comes the beautiful bride all decked in white

The handsome groom awaiting his bride and future wife

The ceremony and exchange of rings.

After that, we were told to look for our yummy cupcakes which had our seating numbers.

After a while I was told I was holding on to her brother’s cupcake coz we both share almost similar names, hehe. But never mind, we were all on the same table anyway.

See that – wrong cupcake!

The personalized guest book with our pictures on it

Scribble Scribble away

Then it was off for dinner on the beach side – very windy night which made my hair frizz up so badly. But it was allll worth it!

Guess who got to make a speech.

Don’t we look Channel V material? Heh kidding

Being truly Malaysian, the speech was conceived just hours before the wedding in our hotel room.

I think our speech was kind of cute (because it was all my idea), so I’ll share it here – copyright and all applies okay? Hate to hear this at someone else’s wedding.

Just about a year ago, shortly after I got married, Mena asked me, how do you know if he’s the one. I simply said it’s something you just know in your heart. Cheesy, I know. Fast forward 1 year, we’re all here today to celebrate the beautiful union of Menaha & Jonas and I have no doubt in my mind that Mena has met her Mr Right. When we first met Jonas, it was obvious that they were in deeply in love with each other, and partially because of that twinkle I saw in Mena’s eyes. Their engagement shortly later confirmed it all.

To Mena, the bestest friend any girl AND guy could ask for & Jonas, I wish you both nothing but happiness in your new journey as husband and wife. It’s REALLY not that bad and Jonas, Anand will be more than happy to share some tips on how to stay happily married.

Then it was hubby’s turn:

Something something something then it was

3 tips to a happy married life:-

Now I would like to propose a toast to the newly weds – Mena & Jonas – wishing you a very happy married life and may you have many babies!!

A few more speeches followed but I’m going to be a pain and say our speech was the cutest because Mena’s mom and someone else said so, so there

Cake cutting and champagne pouring ceremony:

Followed by speeches from the bride and groom who personally addressed everyone.

Talk about a personalized wedding eh. So touched with what she had to say about us. *grins from one end to the other*

The first dance – awwww

And he cheered to that

Jonas’s God Daughter – does she not remind you of Goldilocks?

While the bride and groom called it a night around 1ish, we shamelessly stayed behind, to continue drinking and chatting up with their friends who were such wonderful company. Btw, Mena if you read this – your aunt is the coolest, she has inspired me to travel more!

And we really were the last ones to leave. Got back to Hyatt around 3.30 after a maggi goreng meal at the mamak. Have to say, while we were there, a pretty malay girl smiled at me but ahem, had to turn down the offer, haha.

And because weddings always brings out the romantic and loving side in everyone, hubby and I wanted so badly to walk on the beach but it’s a shame fatigue and sleep took over coz the beach in Kuantan is amazing.

See that?

Ah well next time. Soon. Real soon.

Woke up the next day at 12p.m, good thing folks in Hyatt were kind enough to extend our check out time.That’s what I call service.

Bye Bye Kuantan

The personalized speech addressing everyone made me realize that only the ones who meant a lot and who are dear to Mena and Jonas got invited and for that, I thank them both for the invitation. It was a beautiful wedding to commemorate the happy occasion and the union of a couple who are so in love with each other. From the bottom of my heart I do wish them both nothing but happiness. For life.

Just come to us should you need any advise alright? Heh!