Help me with my smart phone!

What era are we in? An era of touch...I mean touch phone or rather smart phone as far as communicative device is concerned.

My HTC Wildfire S with its 'non-original' case

HTC Wildfire S

This unit was the only one left in the store. I love the pink!

I have finally gotten myself a smart to keep up with the Joneses, that is after much ding dong. With the perception that a touch phone is not going to give me any hard time, I went hunting for one.  Nobody who is 'in-touch' with technology should be opting for anything less than a smart phone. However, being more cost-conscious now, I am not willing to part with anything near 2gran just to get the 'made for human' Samsung SIII phones, I am willing to settle for less hi-tech phones.  IPhone is definitely a big NO for me. As what Hoe said, it's not for people like me who seldom FB (Facebook). He's right, I am no big fan of IPhone.

So, my next logical choice is a Nokia, I am soooooo loyal to my old E71 (by the way, my loyalty WAS not questionable as all my previous phones were Nokia phones) which is starting to give me problems after 3+ years of faithful service to me. Lumia is what I was eyeing for,being a smart phone.  I even walked into a Nokia store, tested a few Lumia's but unfortunately Nokia salesmen weren't aggressive enough.  Otherwise, a Lumia should already be in my possession.

The sales went to HTC instead.  To cut the long story short, after some persuasion but not really hard sales, an HTC Wild Fire S (a 2010 model) sale was closed.  At RM699, I want to believe that it is a value buy.  AFTER paying for the phone and after a few enquiries of the price from other stores, it is confirmed that I did get a good bargain.

To cut another story short again, my HTC phone isn't as user-friendly as I would like it to be. Typing SMSes can no longer be done at lightning speed.  The keypad is too small for my fingers making composition of each message become more of a cautious task rather than an effortless one.  Frustration and stress are now part of sending messages.  I can never composed a zero-error SMS, not to mention a speedy one. Shuts! So, I have countless messages ending up as Drafts. And to go through the list of messages in the draft folder needs tonnes of patience as the latest draft will appear on the top of the list, whereas the phone always takes me to the bottom of the list ie the oldest draft. 

Calling someone is not a breeze anymore. Instead of selecting the person to call from Contacts easily, sigh.... some adjustments are really needed, a whole long list of contacts with any common first or second alphabet or number will appear. 

Having said all the above, my worst problem is still on texting.  I am even contemplating buying a new keypad phone to replace my smart phone!  Talking about being hi-tech....

Should I worry about my PID?

Do I have to be needlessly worried when my gynae gave me a clean bill of health?

Perhaps not. I should have full confidence in him, a gynae specialising in oncology.  Afterall, he was highly recommended to me by my ex-colleague who had her cancerous breasts and womb removed by him.

True enough, he is a very experienced gynae.  After seeing him and his diagnosis, I am more relieved.  

In 2007, this Dr Wong diagnosed me with PID which stands for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Check this web for more information on what's PID.  Never would I imagine myself contracting this disease with all the discomfort felt on the right side of my hip.  They were just dull but lingering pain which lasted for a few days, came and was gone.  As I was posting this, I had not had this pain for the past few days. Only sporadically.  In fact, I had gone to see a female gynae before going for a second opinion with this Dr Wong.  As I wasn't very comfortable with this female gynae's advice of going back for a follow-up 3 months later, I proceeded to get a confirmation from Dr Wong on this PID issue and another problem.

Just as what he had previously advised me 5 years ago, there is nothing I should worry about as I still have my normal menstrual cycle and that the dull pain isn't bothering me.  His last words before I left the clinic was if I am still worried I could follow up again after 6 months although he had initially told me to see him again a year later.

You look gothic!

Just because I put on my eye-liner, nude lipstick and blusher does not make me look gothic! But, that comment came from Hoe when he looked at me wide-eyed for a good few seconds, at least 10, I think.  I wasn't sure whether I should feel flattered or not!

Having a nude face most of the time except for the occasional lipstick during weekend shopping spree for the past few years invited that kind of remark from my observant son.  I wasn't even completely dolled-up.  And when I showed them my recent studio photos where I was all made-up and dressed to the nines, they drew 'yerrr'  (not equivalent to 'Yes', more of 'dislikes') and sarcastic giggles from them.

I just wished they could be fairer to me and give me a sincere compliment.  Those photos were the masterpiece of professional hands and touch-up as well. Can't be that bad, especially when Mom could still make some heads turn, err...maybe a decade ago.  Now? Not sure, daren't find out.

Mom needs help!

I've procrastinated getting an extra hand to help me with my....house chores..of course. What don't we procrastinate, by the way? Not because I'm trying to be a super woman. Probably, I can handle some house chores along with my home business.  And, I have a pair of teen hands to help out on Sunday (yes, only on Sunday) which means I am left with other endless house chores to cope with.  Oh! I should not forget my Mom (my sisters will kill me for being ungrateful) who helps me with the washing and cooking for dinner so that I have less things to worry.  At least, the kids have home-cooked food on the table for dinner.

After more than 2 years of staying in this bigger house of mine, I am calling it quits! Enough of rushing  frantically on a day when everyone is supposed to be relaxing or slowing down their pace or going to church.  It's one chore after another.  And by the end of the fourth chore, I'm drained!  When I am drained, other things go chaotic (a different story perhaps on this..).  Working from home doesn't mean I have to work 7/24.  I need a deserved break too.  

With my eczematic condition, the more I should be staying away from 'wet' house chores.  Anyway, it's a mountainous task maintaining a clean and reasonably tidy and presentable house with only so few hands willing to chip in some energy.  Thinking that it's easy to get help, I have asked my neighbour to give me the contact of her existing part-time domestic help.  To my surprise, she's fully booked and can't accept more jobs.  What!

There are dozens of cleaning services companies out there I can choose from, actually. But, no way, with news of cases of burglary or what not. No way am I going to let total strangers, especially those without any recommendation, to stay in my house for at least 4 hours.  So, I have to rely on recommendation from people I know.

There's another contact which I can call.  I've gotten hold of the number for about at least 2 weeks now. Too busy to call, I suppose.  Sigh... procrastinating again. My hands can't wait. 

No home-cooked lunch

It went on for one week since last week.  Pity my kids, have to make do with tapau-ed (packed home) lunches.

Not because Mom is lazy or an aftermath of the drought. It's just my hands playing tricks on me again.  In order not to aggravate the condition, I've decided to stay water-free with my right hand and stayed away from the kitchen basin as much as I can.  

Hoe is not complaining at all as he walloped anything to satisfy his hunger pangs.  Wyng, though he isn't really whining but from the speed he gobbles his food, I can tell he still prefers Mom's soup for his meals.

My eczema skin condition doesn't get any better, not that I expect it to.  It's been a while since I get this dry cracking of my skin.  But, this was the worst of all.  I've never had such deep crack before and it lasted for about two weeks.  Such discomfort whenever I contact with water.

I am encountering problem uploading my photos on Blogger.com.  The only picture I managed to upload was the one below which was taken about more than a week after my skin started to itch and dry again. There was no crack yet then.  I will upload a picture of an aggravated condition.

Apart from my fingers, the palm was not spared. Notice the red buldging rashes on the palm.

A week later...It's so bad that it began to crack,  deeper and it had spread to the adjacent pointer as well

He is awesome

This was posted on 5 June 2009 in my previous blog.  Here is a reposting.


I couldn't believe the effort he is taking to help me promote my venture among his classmates in school. If only he put such effort and talent of his in other areas such as his studies, I think this guy will fly. But, ....

Never have I taught him to use such method to publicise this. He did it when I was not aware of it, using the little home 3-in-1 printer, scanner and photocopier to photocopy his home-made flyers complete with coloured graphics of his favourite anime (which are not related at all to what I'm doing). He was too selective and cautious with the people that he was going to approach. So, I explained to him the law of 'the more you approach, the higher is the success rate'. He seems to understand it. 


As I am writing this now, this is the defiant teen of mine now. Wasn't he angelic? Mothers of teens will understand what I mean. How an angel can turn into someone as 'devilish' as to break all possible rules. Well, maybe some mothers out there are fortunate and are able to have obedient teens, but certainly not me.


For the record, he managed to secure one customer who has been with me for almost 3 years now. 

My teen always gives me surprises

Unfortunately, they are mostly the shocking ugly truths which always never fail to send my blood pressure shooting sky high.


You see, he has been attending Kumon since December last year.  It is his choice to go for this class. Hence, he should be giving all out to make sure he does well, isn't that logical?  Once, I caught him 'breaking' the first rule of the Kumon routine.  He didn't record down the time he took to complete the set he was doing which receive 'hoo-hah' from me. Upon interrogation, all he said was something that didn't make much sense and not even worth my remembering.  


In another instance again about Kumon, he was seen copying answers of the worksheets he was 'doing' from his previous completed worksheets. How 'creative' is this fella in making shortcuts? 

Catching him clicking away his handphone while he was supposed to be revising his work is already quite common scenes nowadays. It ended up with the custody of the phone taken over by me which always got rebutted by him or getting an earful from me.

How about some of his non-academic books under his reference books? Not unusual.  Oh, how I hate to step into his room all because of the fear of discovery of some shocking truths!  Believe me there are worse things that had taken place in that room!

The number one rule about coming back home after school was long broken by him.  He is supposed to come back home straight from school and if he ever needs to stay back at school, he has to call back home. Not only he doesn't do that when he stays back at school at some occasions, he even came back late when he promised earlier to be home for lunch or on time for Kumon class. Again, his replies to my queries show that he didn't bother much to keep his promise ie to come back on time. Further questioning will reveal this difficult teen's indiscipline.  This is the typical Hoe!

" I hung around in school because I want to join my friends..." or "I played basketball ..."
"Why couldn't you come back by the time you promised even if you played basketball?"
"I didn't keep track of the time..."

What do this tell about Hoe? Blatant ignorance to comply to rules! Sigh...

Not only he wasted the lunch cooked for him, he also had to miss the Kumon class as my schedule does not allow me to send the kids for Kumon too late in the evening.  Having to wait for Hoe means Wyng will also miss Kumon, something that I don't want to happen.  Putting all these 'losses' aside, what is disappointing is his failure to see the negative implications of his defiance and laid-back attitude.

"Why? What's wrong?" These words uttered by Hoe each time an 'offcence' is unfolded are enough to drive me up the wall.

Mom's lessons are many to be learnt and I just wish the pain of learning to cope with my teen is lessened.

Press charges against neighbours

Staying in this neighbourhood is becoming stressful with the presence of certain 'hooligans' who choose to disturb the peace of the residents for their own pleasure.

I'm beginning to realise the disadvantage of staying in a house where there is a small area right in front of the house.  This area is being abused as a football field! Not because there is low traffic but this is just a walking distance from where the hooligans stay.

You can see ball flying as high as the height of a double-storey house. The impact of the ball falling on any unlucky car is enough to cause a damage.  Pray hard! That's all I can do, most of the time.  Telling them off doesn't work, that is how they got their names, hooligans!  So, what happen to the parents of these hooligans whose age range from middle primary to early secondary kids.  I believe either they don't give a damn because the area is safe from their own houses and no damage will be suffered by them. Or, they are also no different from their offsprings. 'Like father like son' holds true most of the time.

Come most evenings, whenever I hear balls bouncing, I start to panick.  Can't blame it as I slowly develop a phobia to balls.  If my car is parked outside our home,a great chance it will not be spared.

Breaking a car window (happened to my next-door neighbour when they just moved in), breaking a car bonnet (which belonged to one of the hooligans), flower pots, banging gates, hitting cars parked by the roadside are just common.

Wyng, sensing my annoyance and I believe he too disturbed with their stubbornness, suggested an action that I should take.  It happened after the ball banged my new gate.  A great thud ensued but upon interrogation, none of them admitted kicking the ball to my gate.

"Mommy, ask them to pay la if they break our things."

"How to do that when they don't admit doing it?"

"Press charges against them la..."

I guess even Wyng can't stand the hooligans' notoriety.

Burger for dinner

Nothing unusual but it's a first for the family by the roadside!  Where else if not at Wangsa Maju's Kaw Kaw Burger.

RM10 for a meal set consisting of a burger, 2 sausages and a drink, still not too costly la.. But, if you ask me to stand in the long queue to wait for a meal, I'm afraid my hunger pangs cannot beat my impatience.

Hoe gave a 'best' rating for this meal. Wyng? I believe, it's ok for him as he was already half full after taking the 2 sausages.  Grandma who was with us (but did not take burger) commented that he should not have eaten the sausages first for they filled his stomach too soon before he even savoured the juicy burger.  Grandma only had char kueh teow, Malay style for dinner, available at a nearby stall which hardly had a single customer.  The serving was too small for her and it was for a RM4. A burger is better only if I can convince her to take this forbidden food.

Reliving the tradition

This was posted on 18 September 2008 in my previous blog.  Here is a reposting.

With the presence of the grandparents, the tradition of gathering for a dinner during mid-Autumn festival (or commonly called Moon Cake Festival) is still alive. What about when they are not around? I'd like to continue with the culture of eating mooncakes and having the kids playing lanterns. For the story of how this festival comes about, go to story of 'Woman Of the Moon'.

I still remember when I was young, our family used to have a mooncake party at the car porch after dinner. Delicacies such as the must-have moon cakes (during the day, moon cakes are shunned by everyone due to the overfeeding of this cakes prior to this auspicious day), pomelo, ground nuts, fruits, 'bulls' horns' (can anyone tell me what's the name for this food?), jelly, and chinese yam are generously placed on a table for everyone in the family to savour.

We invited our neighbours to join us and they too had their own table full of food, we basically exchanged food. We didn't tire of telling stories of the moon (concocted by us just for fun).

This tradition has since stopped since the departure of my father. I wish to relive this sometime in the future.

Mommy is out of earth!

This was posted on 14 October 2008 in my previous blog.  Here is a reposting.

Wyng drew the earth. His circle was almost perfect. Patches were added (he was drawing with a pencil without any colour pencil with him). I tested him the colour each of the patch signify.


Next, he drew the face of Mommy. He then wrote 'Mommyoutofearth' with no space in between the words. I corrected him and subsequently he wrote it the correct way on another line.


He was elated after completing his drawing and kept chanting 'Mummy out of earth'. I really couldn't manage to get the meaning of his drawing. 

I can't believe Mom is sewing

It's eye-straining, it's finger-pricking. Something I don't enjoy doing now at my age. I can't even thread the needle as easily as how I used to do it 5 years ago. I'd rather leave this mountaineous task (I mean just the needle threading part, to Hoe).  It's not about saving a few ringgit to get his pants altered just because it's too long.  It's about convenience at the right time.  This is always required urgently on weekends when the next day is a school day. Somehow, holes always must be mended on weekends and not earlier.  So, it leaves Mom with no choice but to fulfill this motherly responsibility. If I have a choice, I'd rather have a heart-to-heart conversation or a revision session with the kids than doing this sewing stuff. It's best left to the expert who can just do this in the blink of an eye, effortlessly.

What it means to have a myopic kid?

It definitely means higher maintenance what with a kid like Wyng who always tests the durability of glasses.  He hardly takes care of them.  After only two years of being diagnosed with myopic, he has ruined 3 pairs of glasses.  He was wearing the fourth pair of glasses with no damages until a few days ago, unfortunately, we had to give him a new set of lenses as his power (for myopia) has increased by about 100 for both eyes. His fourth pair of glasses was only a few months old, less than six!  Thankfully, he manages to maintain his astigmatism at the same level as last year.

Left with no choice, we had his lenses changed whilst still retaining the old frames.  On top of this, we made another pair of spare glasses for him as a contingency for 'accident', just in case. At a power of 200 and 175, this can be blinding enough for this avid reader.

Having an increase in his myopia just means that this boy has been writing or reading at a distance with his eyes too close to his books.  Sigh.. I have caught him a zillion times with his chin on the desk whilst doing his homework. This does not include the time he spends alone in his room alone for his bedtime stories or reading during other times of the day.

I'm glad that his astigmatism doesn't increase. It shouldn't be as he hardly has access to the computer and television watching is mostly at a 'safe' distance.

The best joke book for the family

As usual, Wyng was babbling about jokes from his favourite joke book.  He had been rattling during the weekend, at home and in the car.  Even when we were eating at the table outside, he couldn't stop telling his jokes.  Talking about grabbing attention!

Somehow, this time, his Qo Qo bothered to entertain him and answered his jokes which start with a riddle-like question.  Now, this is hilarious to me.

At the table, Wyng was still enthusiastically pestering us with his jokes. Although his parents ignored him, we couldn't stop laughing when he gave out the 'funny' and 'senseless' and 'impossible-to-guess' answers.  Wyng just couldn't stop despite being told not to do so.  While all of us were waiting for our dinner to be served at the restaurant, Wyng took the golden opportunity to ask us another question.  Probably due to the fact that not many riddle jokes are easy to answer, Daddy replied to one of Wyng's questions which sounded like this.

"If a dictionary goes from A to Z, what goes from Z-A?"
When we thought that nobody was listening and bothered to answer, Daddy quipped, "Zebra!" not expecting the answer to be correct.
"Yes!" Wyng smilingly responded.

Hoe and I were amazed with Daddy's intelligence and ability to answer Wyng's jokes.  This even motivated Wyng to continue to ask us more jokes.  For a particular joke, he said, "I already said a lot, you all were not listening just now."

Then, came a joke riddle which sounded like this.

"What is in the centre of gravity?"  This instantly rang a bell in Mom's head.
In just a second, yelled Mom, "V!", much to the amazement of Wyng and Daddy. Hoe was still pondering why was the answer so.

Cackling at the dinner table, this was a nice ending to Wyng's jokes for the night.  Our plates of food were slowly served, one by one.

Wyng's jokes actually managed to tickle our funny bones although we may be, at times, slightly irrirated by this relentless 'joker'.  At times, we can't help it but laugh when he revealed the 'absurd' and 'unguessable' answers to his riddle jokes.  This make us 'dread' answering his riddle jokes.  But, one lesson I learn is such laughter and joy can only be felt when the entire family gets involved, to laugh together, no matter how silly the jokes are.

My kid made a confession

He did it first thing in the morning at the breakfast table before he even sat down.

"Mommy, mommy, you don't be angry."
"What?"
"I created an account last night."  he confessed. Instantly, my mind digested that early news and knew what he meant.
"How did you do it?" I asked curiously.
"When you were downstairs..." he explained.
"You don't be angry. I created an account. I had a nightmare after that. You go and delete it,ah."

As Hoe was late that morning, I didn't have the chance to interrogate him.  He dashed outside as Dad would be impatiently waiting for him to get into the car.

I wasn't mad, no, I was fuming that he 'meddled' with my computer again despite all that had happened, but my anger was just for a moment.  I am actually glad that he confessed his guilt to me.  At least this time, he knew he was wrong to do that unlike previously when he was caught creating an account and yet he did not feel regretful.

So, does this mean that rules for Hoe to have free access to the computer can be relaxed?  Frankly, I don't think so unless he can prove his discipline.

Don't leave home without your Mykad at Langkawi

With your Mykad, the entrance fee is cheaper. We were able to enjoy discounts at two places at Langkawi, the Underwater World and the Cable Car but not the kids as we don't carry their Mykads around.  The savings is RM10 with a Mykad at Underwater World.

Not wanting to forego the opportunity to visit the steepest cable car in the world, our enthusiasm drove us to rise early to be the first few at the Cable Car ticket counter.  We were not the firsts but still okay as the crowd was starting to build. Here, you can see the queue spilling to a portion of the Oriental Village.

The cable car station is right inside Oriental Village

A panoramic view of the island from the cable car

Wyng, always the intrigued one, 'wow' at almost every angle.

I'm 700 metres above sea level

The spot to enjoy a breathtaking sunset

Hoe couldn't resist snapping away with his Dad's camera.

The deck at one of the stops when we took a ride in the cable car

At each stop, three altogether, visitors have the chance to disembark from the cars and enjoy the mesmerising view of the panoramic mountain and sea view.  Shutterbugs will be snapping away whilst other holiday makers will breathe the freshest air and breathtaking view all 360 degrees.

The sky bridge which was closed for maintenance

This is the attraction which brought us to Langkawi and yet we didn't get to enjoy it. Perhaps, a second visit will make our dream realise.

The crowd-puller deck for a glimpse of the stunning view of the sea and mountain

Guess what! Mom shunned getting onto these kinds of decks.  Somehow, I develop a fear of stepping onto such concreteless deck or platform regardless of the view that I get to enjoy.  If I get to see the mountain or sea below my feet, no way! Perhaps, the closure of the sky bridge is a blessing in disguise for me.  Even if it is opened, I believe I wouldn't dare to walk on it.  Sigh....My guts only allow me to settle for the concrete platform such as the one below.  This is safe enough for me.

Our final spot before leaving this beautiful island was the Crocodile Farm.  Not something that Mom fancies as I was resting at shady spots while waiting for the boys and Daddy walking around the reptile farm. We got to witness how workers transferred two crocodiles from one enclosure to another. Not an easy task to move them although the enclosure was just next to each other.

No tail porosus

Where are the mating crocodiles?

A stuffed reptile at the education corner

Well, that's the end of our trip at Langkawi.  A pleasant surprise awaited us as we were given VIP seats in the ferry.  This was much less crowded than the normal seating.

Overall, we enjoyed our trip and the kids want to go back again to this beautiful and interesting island.

Pulau Langkawi is the best island destination - Part 2

We had originally planned to go to Langkawi Cable Car after island-hopping.  To our dismay, it was raining when we reached the station and due to the rain, the cable car had to be closed temporarily until the rain stopped.  We also discovered that the Sky Bridge was also closed for maintenance. Sigh... we may be missing 2 very crowd-puller spots.

Not wanting to waste our time, we headed for Underwater World after checking the map for the next nearest tourist spot.  Mom and Daddy are actually not very keen on visiting this kind of park but for the sake of the kids, we don't really mind especially with the disappointment of the closed cable car.

So, after paying for the fare, Dad 'summoned' all of us to better spend more time in the park with the money that he had parted with to get us in there.  Thinking it is just any normal waterworld, we started our venture without much expectation. We were quite impressed when we discovered that there are a few sections, namely the Tropical Rainforest, Sub-antartica, fresh water, marine life, coral and even the reptilium.

Striking a pose in front of a shoal of fish

Don't the fish look huge? 

The guys posing in front of one of the many enormous aquariums

For an entry fee of RM38 per adult and RM28 for child, all of us agree that this is the best underwater world we've been to, beating even Singapore's Sentosa Underwater World. Oh, after discount, adults needed to pay only RM28 provided we show our Mykad.  Kids can enter with just RM18 but unfortunately we don't carry their Mykads around.

A fur seal, hanging upside down, in its tank

The fur seal, known as a social animal, here seemed to be enjoying life in the water tank.  When we were there, the seals were joyfully swimming around, as though somersaulting in the water.  What's being captured here was one of the seals performing a 'headstand' whilst clapping its flippers.  They really looked contented and happy living in the tank and they even seemed to be enjoying our company as we watch their antics in amazement.

Wyng's eyes literally opened up when he feasted his eyes on the countless creatures exhibited.  Most of these were those he has seen on TV and a chance to see these creatures in real life excite him.

Jellyfish, the invertebrate without brain, nervous system and blood

Mom was amazed with this spineless creature. They seem mysteriously elusive and lethal although superficially they look fragile.

This was one of the many miniature seahorses we saw

Yellow cup coral

We've seen many corals elsewhere but not this yellow cup coral at Langkawi's Underwater World.

Lobophyllia brain coral

The name speaks for itself, brain-like.

Bubble coral

After a satisfying and educational visit here, we proceeded to a duty-free shop just adjacent to this park.  As it was still drizzling, we gathered that the Cable Car might still be closed.  Our plan to visit it had to be postponed to the following day, our last day on the island.

We spent the rest of the evening walking along Pantai Cenang. This place is something like those shops along Penang's Ferringhi Beach.  Though there are numerous souvenir shops, they are almost identical except for a handful of unique shops.

Pulau Langkawi is the best island destination - Part 1

Having been to this island 18 years ago, little did we realise that this island has transformed into a bustling tourist spot, packed with numerous places of interest ranging from the mesmerising marine view and aqua activities to the historical museums and parks.

After our arrival at Kuah Jetty and gotten our rented Viva, we headed for our hotel, Bayview City. Car rental promoters swarmed us like bees as soon as we touched the jetty from the ferry.  So, no worries about where and how to get transport to move around this small but bustling town.  Wasting no time, we drove to the nearest spot, Eagle Square. There, Wyng was intriqued by the giant eagle.  We snapped countless pictures with the breathtaking horizon as our background.

Enjoying sunset at Eagle Square with the boys

Let's fly!

Dinner was just nearby at Saloma Nasi Lemak. Saloma, if this is the name of the owner of the restaurant, is enterprising enough to have her restaurant signage placed in a few places all over Kuah town.  There are various types of nasi lemak sold, from the common rendang ayam and beef to the sambal kerang.  Their speciality is rendang itik (duck) but we didn't try as we don't fancy ducks.  Nice ambience, good food, not too expensive.  We also ordered 3-flavour fish (ikan 3-rasa) from a stall next door.  The 3 flavours were spicy, sweet and sour. Not too bad for our first dinner meal there.

Wyng couldn't resist but blow off the little flame on the table. 

My sinful rendang beef nasi lemak

My rendang beef nasi lemak came with only a few pieces of beef, not enough to satisfy my hunger pang.  We called it a night after dinner and headed back to our hotel.  After being on the road for more than 8 hours, all of us especially Daddy were dead tired.

On the second day of our 3D2N trip, early in the morning, we made a beeline to the jetty to take us for island-hopping.  This was the first time that we woke up sooo early to have our buffet breakfast in the hotel. We couldn't believe the discipline that all of us had by being at the cafe before 8 am.

At the jetty to Island of the Pregnant Maiden

We were supposed to go island-hopping at 3 islands ie Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island), Pulau Dayang Bunting (Island of the Pregnant Maiden) and Pulau Singa Besar.  Pulau Beras Basah was where we were supposed to snorkel but due to miscommunication, we missed it.  The boys had a swim and frolicked for a while at the white sandy beach.  Without any toilet, this beach was surprisingly filled with soft and fine sand.  

                                                      The boys had about an hour swim at Wet Rice Island

Our next stop was a fish farm where we were supposed to see some of the biggest and most aggressive fishes.  Truly enough, the fishes were swimming aggressively as they were being fed.


Eagle-feeding is something new to us.  Although it was just a short sighting of the birds feeding themselves on the food thrown by the boatmen as we were in our boat, it was an eye-opener for us. 


Pulau Dayang Bunting was our last stop. If you believe in myths, this island was named after a pregnant maiden.   

                                                    Pulau Dayang Bunting (Island of the Pregnant Maiden)
                           Imagine a pregnant woman lying down with the head on the right of this picture.  

                                                             Dayang Bunting Marine Geoforest Park

                                                                     The scenic jetty at the Geoforest Park

                                                                         Let's snap first before we swim


Who would not be tempted to snap some pictures here at the scenic jetty f this beautiful island? 

Our trip to Langkawi was too short

Simply because we didn't get to walk on the much-talked about Sky Bridge.  It was closed for maintenance until further notice when we got there.  There was much anticipation about 'walking in the sky' but all was tarnished as soon as we reached the cable car station.

Langkawi Sky Bridge was closed for maintenance

Not only that, we were taken for a ride (literally we WERE taken for a boat ride to a so-called bat cave) when we were supposed to visit a place called Gua Kelawar (Cave of Bats). Instead, we were taken to this place, as shown below. Even our small boat couldn't get into the cave.  Alas! we were charged an extra RM15 per person for a ride to this place, the fish farm and the eagle feeding place.

Where are the bats?

Pulau Payar is supposed to be a place for snorkelling of which the kids were looking forward to.  But, we were told that this island is far from Kuah and needs about a day to reach. Hence, we had to forego this plan since we had limited time at Langkawi.

We also didn't get to go to Bird Paradise. The only bird we got to see was a talking parrot at Underworld Park.  Go-Kart was a place we wanted to go if there was enough time. Hoe would be enjoying this kind of sports car ride.

Perdana Gallery, we were told about this PM Museum at the jetty. We'd love to visit this memorable place to have an insight of what kind of gifts our former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir received during his tenor as the head of Malaysia then.

We missed these places too Snake Sanctuary and Lagenda Park. I remember passing by this park which is just a stone's throw away from the Kuah Jetty but we just didn't even have time to pay a visit here. What a waste!  Waterfalls, all three of them, Seven Wells, Temurun and Durian, we missed going too.  Just for the kids to experience, we should just drop by Pasir Hitam (Black Sand) Beach.

Daddy said we probably need a 7-day trip to be able to visit all these places.  I really don't mind another visit especially when we haven't even stepped onto the world-renowned Sky Bridge yet.

Crazy about TCG cards

This was supposed to be Wyng's latest craze until we discovered how expensive is this hobby.  As collectibles, one card can cost as much as RM5 or even higher.  A pack of about 10 can be costing something like RM40 or so depending on demand.

Apparently, there are people who go round scouting these cards as collectibles. As collectibles, the price depends on supply and demand. The rarer it is, the more expensive it will be.

Not just that, these cards can be played and there are certain ways of playing them.  We met this guy at Viva who apparently is an avid hobbyist and the owner of the shop which sells an a variety of such cards.  We were also told that there are competitions held each year to determine winners of such card game.

Discovering the high cost of such hobby, Wyng's enthusiasm was immediately watered down, much to his dismay and agitation.  He had been harping us to take him to Viva to buy these cards.