Past update...Parents and nieces trip to Malacca...

My nieces were so excited when knowing
that they would be going to Malacca...
so they mentioned some of the places they wanted to visit...
like mini malaysia, zoo air keruh, A Famosa...
Yeap... we only covered a bit of that...
we went to Banda Hilir...
Jonker Street...my father loved it since it has many
antique shops...and quaint looking...
we had cendol there...the original nyonya cendol...
then we went looking around...
bought myself beads accessories and my mom
surprisingly bought for herself too...
hmm...
then we went to Dataran Pahlawan so my mom
could find a place to sit...
then we went to Christ Church....there was no flower there as
i think they were replanting...
anyway...took the two kids to the museum....
then we walked all the way up to A Famosa...
The kids were so happy...
on the way looking for food we stopped by
the Maritime museum...
which i had never visited...
the after dinner we went to the Eye of Malaysia...Malacca...
Luckily there was a holiday promo so the ride
was cheap...
RM5 for kids and RM10 adult while senior citizen RM8.
My mom didn't dare to go up...
the kids were scared at irst as my dad kept
scaring them but luckily they
were brave enough to go up...
and weee......
what a ride...
6 times...round and round...which was petty fun....
it was quite late by the time we got down so we
headed home after that...
thought of bringing my mom up but then...
the drive home was one and a half hour
and Chin had a headache...
so yeah....
It was memorable for the kids tho...

KL trip with parents and nieces...

Wednesday outing...
we went KL...
Kim and Sasa were so excited....
and kept asking about the distance...and
how far it is...
and how long would it take...etc...etc...
the car was a tight fit but we managed somehow...

First stop was the Curve...
We had lunch there and then walk around looking at the Xmas
decoration and took photos...

Then on the way back we went to The Science Centre PSN)
in Mont Kiara...
It was a really good experience for the girls...
The entrance was free...
and it was slightly different from my last trip.

My nieces were so excited...
There was the aquarium at the entrance arch way...
with really big fish...
Then there was the science discovery section
where they got to try some of the gadgets and read
on how they work...

Then, there was the Science show at 4 pm...
and bothe of them got to participate...
Sasa got to do the inertia experiment...
whereby she had to swing a cup of water...
real fast and not a single drop fell splashed on her...
Kim got to blow a balloon...
and she asked Sasa to come up and poke it...

After PSN, we went to KL Tower...
Entrance fees were quite expensive...
Senior citizens and children paid RM28 and adult RM38.
Sasa was nervous...as she thougth it was open space up there...
My mom didnt want to go up when she discovered that
i did not go up initially...
so finally...all of us went up...
The view was spectacular from up there...
Tho yesterday was cloudy and a bit hazy...
But the night lights were breathtaking...
We came down at 7 sumthing...
and complimentary to the tickets...
there was the ticket for pony ride...
Since we adult weigh more than the minimum weight,
the 2 of them got to do 3 rides each...
woweee....

After KL tower, we went for dinner in KLCC and then
photo taking...inside at the xmas deco and then outside
in the park...
the two girls were over the moon...
ahhh...wat a day...

Of 'kecek kelate' and savouring Thailand tom yam...

The jam in Raub

Unplanned trips sometimes are
exciting as we do not know
where it will land us
most of the time...

We just had one as recently as 3 days ago...
Chin and I drove all the way to
Kuala Krai on the 1st day of the
New Lunar Year...
(26 January)

Chin suddenly decided to send his nephew back as his
grandma passed away on that day...
so...after a quick packing...
off we drove to the East Coast...

This is my second trip to Kelantan...
I have an 80% of amnesia
on the first trip...
whereby we took a train to Krai instead
of driving...

We planned to surprise Kak Kam...
my bestest friend from St Co days...we planned to just turn up
in Pasir Mas to give her
a pleasant heart attack...

It was a long drive from the karak high way...
heading east...
We passed by Bentong...then Raub...and then
Kuala Lipis...Gua Musang and finally Kuala Krai...

Entering Gua Musang conquistador...(y?)
the scenery change is very obvious...
The granite hills that harbor hidden caves
can be seen from afar...
thus the name Gua Musang i think...
Those hills are beautiful...
they mark one's entrance into the Gua Musang area..


The granite hills that is signature of Gua Musang


The scenic view along the road..

Gua Musang itself is a small town with
lovely scenery...
most of the country side is covered in lush greenery
and this is occasionally broken
by the granite hills far in between...
Very lovely indeed...

Another lovely view

We arrived in Krai at about 6.30 pm...
luckily there wasn't any jam...
going into any of the towns we passed by...


Krai itself is an old town...
Charming in itself...
very quite and for some maybe a little bit
boring...
but there we had good conversation...
with my sister-in-law and her husband...
and that made up for what Kuala Krai lacks...

The next day we went to Pasir Mas to look up
Kak Kam...
My old friend of long time ago...
in St Co...
It is not difficult to look for places in
Kelantan...
the signboards are clear and precise...
so we found Pasir Mas easily...

Kelantan is a beautiful land...
colourful is the word i use to describe it...
Take for example the name of the places:
Pasir Mas, Pasir Putih, Tanah Merah, Ayer Hijau
(all these are colours by the way)

Breathtaking paddy fields

The scenery from Krai to KB is one that
will not be easily forgotten...
You can see many shades of green ...
the vast rolling paddy fields...
with mountains as the background...
really takes one's breath away...
It is like paintings come alive...

The view of the mountains

Green fields

Couple that with the graceful language...
i may not be able to 'kecek kelate'
or understand most of what is spoken
but yet i find the language fascinating...
What is more fascinating is
the Chinese in Kelantan...
They speak fluent Kelantanese Malay...
They may not be aable to speak standard BM
but the local dialect just
flow out of their tongue gracefully...

Our beloved Kelisa in all our adventure...

Honestly...i only see this happening in 2 states
in Malaysia...
Sarawak and Kelantan...
In Sarawak...the Chinese are
able to speak the various local
dialect fluently depending on
where they stay...
They could pick up Iban, Bidayuh or the
local Malay in that matter...

So...the Chinese in Kelantan has the same trait...
which never fails to fascinate me...
If i see one talking...i would listen intensely...
My brother-in-law cannot speak BM
but my ears always perk up
whenever he speaks Kelantanese...
Kecek Kelate...as he says it...

We had Tomyam Merah in Pasir Mas...
That was the best tomyam i ever tasted...
yummy....
and the manggo chicken too..

Kak Kam brough us to Rantau Panjang...
the border town...
we had a look around at a lot of stuff...
flowers...dirt cheap...arrgghh....
You wouldn't find it that cheap in Nilai...
The pure silk cloth only cost 200 riya
for 4 meters...
(after much bargaining...of course
and must be in Kelantanese)
I bought a purple material that look like songket for my sister...
i know she'll love it...
Kak Kam bought me a green one...
and well..she got herself one too
with the colour "hijau kepala itik"
Ahahahahahhaaa....
Itik Mat salleh je kepala hijau Kak Kam...
Itik Melayu Kampung sume kepala itam...
dan berlumpur-lumpur...
hahahah...
dah sampai ke London tgk warna kepala itik...
and i learn that phrase in Kelantan...

I remember my lecturer used to say...
'The roa' to Kelate is smoo' and lice'
(U have to pronounce it in the dialect itself...)
and Yesh...that is very true....
throughout the way from Krai to Kb...the road is
smooth and lice...
and from Krai to Gua Musang too...
but once we were outside of
Jajahan Gua Musang...
there were bumps all the way...


The signboard...

I decided that i love Kelantan after all...
It may not have big shopping complexes...
but it has Rantau Panjang...
which offers many quaint little things...
It was abrief visit but one
that warrant a come back soon...

Cameron Highland Trip....

Monday morning dawned bright and clear.....i was awake at 6 am....excited that we were going to Cameron Highland on this day....rushed through all the washing etc and by 7 am, woke Chin up...by 7.30 we were ready to go.
By 8, off we went....towards the highway to Simpang Pulai and from there to Cameron Highland...
The journey took a long time...2 and a half hours later, we were in Simpang Pulai....ascending the Titiwangsa range to Cameron Highland.....the road is not as winding and we were able to enjoy the view along the way....it was a hot day so we were grateful to be at last reaching a height where the temperature finally dropped a by a few degree...but still it was just cool to the skin.
We went to Blue Valley first before ascending further. Along the way, we discovered that Strawberry farming and products are the main commerce in this area.
We went around to Rose Valley before finally checked in to the hotel. Country Lodge - suggestion - don't stay here the next time you are in CH....it's noisy....maybe it was our luck.....there was a group of secondary school children staying there that night, so we came at the wrong time. Chin said they were very noisy that night and several people had complaint about them...haih...whatever happened to their teachers.....
Anyway, we visited the Pasar Malam and there wasnt mush to see since we were not interested to buy vegetables....
I guess there were too much vegetables around that some of the stalls used a cabbage to stick the strawberry stick onto it as display....hmm...
That night, we had nasi daun pisang but it wasnt that delicious....kena tipu lagi...Chin asked the person if both shops are own by the same owner and he said 'ya, sama.' So we thought we were having the same nasi with a group of chinese next to us. Apparently we discovered that the nasi from the Brinchang Restoran is better tasting...hahaha....
The next day saw us in Sungai Palas Tea Plantation...a beautiful place....definitely....we took photos, had scones and tea and sat on the verandah of the restaurant enjoying the strong cold wind.....It was truly a breathtaking place to sit back and relax....the scones weren't as delicious as the ones in The Smokehouse Hotel though....before we left, we bought some tea and took loads and loads and loads of photos....just the 2 of us...
Then, we checked in at the scenic Bala's Holiday Chalet...picturesque and quaint little place...very peaceful....and natural....cold...the temperature had dropped and it was cold now...or was it because we were hungry.....
We slept for an hour before we continued with our exploration. We went to have afternoon tea in The Smokehouse Hotel...a Tudor style setting...very English...the roaring fireplace, the Christmas deco, the English landscaped garden, the scones...glorious scones...delicious scones...hmmmm......with afternoon tea.....yummmy....
The next time we go to CH, we'll stay there just for the sake of staying there...to experience the quaint little setting.....
Throughout, the trip was enjoyable....but the place is too commercialise....i can't remember if we had ice cream but i am very sure we had 2 glasses of strawberry juice, one is a free drink because we said the first glass was too sweet and the owner of the stall apologised and unexpectedly made us a new one....we were grateful for his effort though...a good man....