November S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E

We decided to surprise the munchkins with a trip to Lost World of Tambun last month. We had to attend a wedding of a relative in Tanjung Malim, so I persuaded Lan to go for a quick road trip to Ipoh. Lan was hesitant at first because of the school holidays and the dreaded traffic jam, but he is no match to my power of persuasion :p

Anyway we had tons of fun the two days we're there. The kids did not stop thanking us on the way back which were very sweet, but being stuck in the traffic jam with them was not  fun, esp with the 3 of them refreshed from a long nap and bored to death inside the car haha.

Can't wait for Road Trip 2.0 (Birthday Edition) next week, InshaAllah. May god give me strength and patience to deal with the trio *yes I'm melodramatic like that*

For the ones who has been asking for review of the theme park and hotel, click on the links below for more information. Hope you'll have as much fun as we did :) 

• Lost World of Tambun
• Ipoh Foodpedition 
• Ibis Styles Hotel, Ipoh

Toodles!!!

101 Japan Trip - Our Winter Holiday

A friend requested that I blog a similar 101 post to my Hong Kong trip, but this time covering our recent holiday in Japan. To tell you the truth, travel tips are pretty much similar from one country to another. My basic mantra is "Be ready, prepare yourself for the worst but pray for the best"

We have a basic travel checklist which we will tweak here and there based on the duration/weather/purpose of our stay. When it comes to my children essential (milk,food and medicine), I rather over pack than under pack because you'll never know when you need things and I hate scrambling in a foreign place feeling lost.

Below are some tips and relevant links for your ease of reference. 

1. Winter Clothing and Essentials for Small Children

This is our first time traveling out of the country during winter with the the kids. Preparations started 6 months before our trip in terms of research and shopping. The best trick I learn from most parenting websites was to layer. This works real well because though it may be super cold outdoors, trains and buildings are heated so putting on super heavy clothing on your child which can't be removed may make them very uncomfortable. 

We always start with an inner shirt below their normal clothes/shirts, a vest (depending on the weather forecast of the day), and add on the final layer which is the jacket. Hats is a must because we lose heat mostly from our heads, so insist that your child put it on. Alternatively you can also get an outer jackets with hoods. Get scarfs and mittens which are made from non-scratchy material. Test it out by rubbing the material on your hands, if you don't find it comfortable, your child won't be either.

This time we lugged our double stroller,the buggy and ALL of our stroller accessories. I have to admit  having the stroller helps. Since my children are creatures of habit, the 1 hour time difference totally wrecked their nap schedule, so they took turns napping in the stroller. The rain shield helped during super windy and cold days too. You just need to be extra careful (and fast) when handling your children and the stroller in the subways.

The problem with traveling during winter is that you have to deal with heavy coats and boots, which means a lot of luggage. Since there's a lot of walking from the airport to the station to the hotel, we packed our luggage in such a way that we'll be more mobile, we used two backpacks, one large trolley bag and a large carry-on to cater to 5 people. We even had a test run to ensure that we'll be able to carry all of our luggage + handling the stroller  and the kiddies. 

2. Weather Forecast
We religiously checked the weather forecast 2 months before our travel date to ensure that we packed right. It was raining on and off  and the temperature was around 2' to 12' . We made sure everyone had a rain jacket/poncho, waterproof jackets, foldable umbrellas and extra shoes. Better be safe than sorry I say because if you think having to walk outdoors in the cold sucks, try walking outdoors in the cold while it is raining :p 

My favorite weather forecast website : Click Me

2. Pocket WiFi

Alhamdullilah we managed to find our travel locations easily, thanks to the help of internet. Despite having a very detailed itinerary and travel plan prepared, I still depended a lot on travel apps and internet search to get me from one point to another. I decided to rent a pocket WiFi for our use in Japan, for easy and multiple connectivity. The pocket WiFi is able to connect up to 8 devices at once, so between the 5 smartphone users in the family, we managed to safe quite a lot.

I pre-ordered my WIFI from the company's website,2 days before we left for Japan. When we arrived it was already waiting for me in the airport. To return I just dropped the package at the post box before boarding 

Check out website for more info:  Global Advanced Communication

3. Travel Apps
I downloaded several key apps before leaving just in case there's any problem with the WIFI. I also subscribed to Celcom roaming in case of emergency (you can never be overly cautious when traveling with 3 small children)

Anyway these are the apps that I found most helpful while in Japan:

• Japan Trains - This is super awesome because not only will it tell you the time and name of the train to take, it will also detailed out the platform/station PLUS the cheapest route to get to your destination PLUS options. Take note the different type of trains while purchasing tickets, there's express (no stops in between of stations), rapid (limited stops), local (stops at every station, cheapest and takes the longest to your destination) tickets.
• Solat/Qiblat/Halal Food Guide- There's a few options but this is good to help determine qiblat for solat and will alert you of the time. The halal food guide comes with a list and some is even linked to its location + GPS 
• Currency Converter- Oh well if your Math sucks as mine, any assistance with the numbers and figures are most welcome :p 
• Waze/Google Maps-In case you need extra help to point you out in the right direction. I did use this a few time because the road signs can be quite confusing and in Japanese

Check out website for more info on train routes : Hyperdia

4. Halal Food

You can't find Halal food easily in Japan. I would say that it is more easily available in tourist spots like Dotunburi Street and Namba. I did manage to find some Halal kebab, tempura and udon while I was there.

We were lucky that our hotel is equipped with a full kitchen, so we  prepared our own breakfast, dinner and pre-packed our lunch. We brought the normal essential like rice, pasta and Brahims (chicken because you can't bring in beef due to the mad cow disease issues) We bought the rest like veges, fruits and eggs at the nearby market.

The cold weather makes my kids constantly hungry, instead of eating and snacking every 4 hours, they need to be fed frequently especially after naps.  We made sure we had snacks like cereal and cheese crackers in hand.

Just a  reminder for people who choose to eat at seafood restaurant and buy seafood/vegetarian based food, the Japanese sometimes uses alcohol during food preparations especially in rice and sauces (most fish sauces used on takoyaki contains traces of alcohol). 

Even pre-packed food which does not contain meat, sometimes use animal fat or lard. One instance was when we were in USJ and asked the popcorn vendor if the popcorn is vegetarian friendly and his answer was no. I'm not sure if it was a mistake on his part but suffice to say we decided againts buying them for the kids. So unless you read or speak Japanese well, I advise you stay clear of things that may fall under the "vague" category. This is also based on the advice from my friend who's in Japan.

Check out website for more info : Halal Kansai Restaurant List

5. USJ Tickets
We pre bought our Universal Studios Japan Tickets from Japan Travel Bureau (JTB) in KLCC. As you know, I AM ALLERGIC TO LONG QUEUES so I made sure that we secured our tickets to USJ a month before we left (Yes I'm super serious when it comes to Harry Potter preparations :p).

Check out website for more info:  Universal Studios Japan and JTB Malaysia

6 . Train Pass
You should take advantage of the train pass packages available for tourist when traveling in Japan. Before choosing a Travel Pass, make sure that it is the one that will work best with you travel route. Based on our itinerary, I choose Kansai Thru Pass because the station is the closest to my hotel. It was also the cheapest option for ticket price for our travel route. Another plus point was they offered discounts vouchers on entrance ticket to several attractions around Kansai. I purchased my tickets at the Kansai Airport itself. There's a 2 or 3 days pass available depending on your needs. You also do not need to use your tickets consecutively.

Check out website for more information: Kansai Thru Pass

You can also purchase the JR Train Pass through JTB. If you're traveling in the Kansai area you can consider the JR Kansai Area Pass available for exclusive use by foreign visitors to Japan. It provided unlimited travel on local JR trains and the Haruka limited express train in the Kansai region around Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe for one to four days, consecutively. 

One thing I like about the JR line was its loop lines, meaning you do not need to make a lot of train change to get to your destinations.

Check out website for more information: JR Kansai Pass

7.Travel Diary
For our travel diary check out the following links:

• Osaka
• Universal Studios Japan
• Kyoto
• Nara 
• Hotel Review : Mystays Otamae, Osaka  

Fuh!! super long post, it took me 3 days to finish typing this, so hope that it helps someone :) Happy weekend everyone....

A N T I C I P A T I O N

4 more weeks to my 6 year wedding anniversary with Lan and our Annual Family Trip (inshaAllah). Loads of last minute "challenges" and headache in planning but nothing that is truly worth it comes easy :) May Allah give me the patience coz he knows how much I need it hihihi

In the meantime I will think of this little cuties (and their handsome big brother) every time someone is driving me nuts...

The one with a farm and skypark...

Gosh I can't believe that it is already June. Felt like we just celebrated new year. Next thing I know it would be December. Anyway Ryan is in the middle of his school holiday, we did not planned for any trip this time around, more like impromptu visits as and when the opportunity appears :)

Despite the school holidays, Iman and Ranya's timetable is pretty much the same. We still sent Ryan to kindy but signed him up for "Hafazan AlQuran classes" schedule on the second week of his holidays. I'm also scouting for other art/music classes to fill his time to avoid boredom on his end. On our end we try to find some fun activities for him to do at home during the weekends and not forgetting to start constructing his 3D model "homework" to be submitted on 16/06/2014. I don't know how I'll fare next year with 3 kids in pre-school *pengsan*

My parents and Ryan was away last weekend to attend a wedding in Perak. Lan, the twins and myself had to stay home because daddy was busy with work and can't take leave :p  When my parents came back from Perak my cousins Anis and Yanni tagged along, my mind started concocting plans for a quick trip to the petting zoo. Been wanting to visit "Farm in the City" since I first saw a bunch of pictures of people taking the trip there on Instagram. Managed to convinced Lan to make the last minute trip, dangling the fact that we have two extra babysitters at our disposal who can help distract Ryan (haha I'm horrible, I know) The fact that the farm is nearby also helped my case :)

It was a good trip. For more review and photos CLICK ME

We decided to checked out One City Skypark for lunch. I think the shops are not fully opened yet but they do have quite a variety of restaurants available. However, my cousins are not the adventurous type so we opted for Secret Recipe 

There's a huge checkers and snake and ladder board for some competition. Looks cool seeing people throwing giant dices around.

 Ryan and Maksu Yanni enjoying their desserts

The kiddos taking a walk on the skywalk. I was too chicken to walked on it. Gayat ok. Anyway I saw some makcik/amoi wearing jubah/skirts walking through this. Macam not appropriate kot sebab, people downstairs looking up may get a glimpsed of your undies. Given it is 10 level up but still........

 walking in the rain with my handsome fella. Thank god we always carry an umbrella in the stroller. The "ultraman" pose have taken over the "peace" sign thanks to pengaruh rakan sebaya. I think so anyway-lah since Lan and I don't really encourage watching the show at home.

Adik(s) was strapped safely in the stroller since it was drizzling. Abang got to walk about for a while since mummy wants to take photos. Hahaha anyway loved this shot of my little man.

So where to next? Can't wait to discover new places with my little munchkins.

Wordless Wednesday #20

For hotel review and more photos of our Singapore trip in March 2014 check out the following :

• Festive Hotel, Resort World Sentosa
• Universal Studios, Singapore
• Sea Aquarium,Singapore

Just because I feel like posting....

Plan A fell through at the very last minute but instead of sulking I'm moving on to Plan B :) May Allah help us make this journey easy and safe....

Anyway the pictures from our short anniversary break is up on my Travel Diary :) The reviews on travel blogs was not really convincing, but based on friends feedback and our own experience, I have to say that we had tons of fun in Gold Coast, Morib :) Do try it out, though maybe not during the peak seasons...

Hmmmmm...... writer's block :p
Oh yeah will be updating on Ryan's progress + things I learned during "A day in their shoes-V.2" session at his school soon...

Take care everyone *muacks*

The one on travelling Hong Kong with small children

Since I came back from Hong Kong, I've received several request to do a short review of my trip and to share travel "tips". Since several of my mates is planning a trip down to HK in December and early 2014, I shall do some community service (like real) and share my 5 days 4 nights travel experience with 3 children in tow.....

1. Check the weather 

Hong Kong is affected by the four seasons. Winter (Dec-Feb), Spring (March-May), Summer (June to August) and Autumn (September- Nov). According to the travel blogs, autumn is the best time to visit Hong Kong as it is not hot or cold with sunshine. I can attest to that as I find the weather very comfortable to travel in and despite the sun, it was not to humid. Typhoons seasons is in May - November so keep that in mind before booking your tickets.

2. Pre book/buy your tickets online
I bought my Ocean Park and Disneyland tickets at a discount from this site Hotel in Hong Kong, not only did we save some money on the purchases we also save a lot of queuing time, especially if you plan to travel during the weekends.

3. Octopus Card

You can buy purchase octopus card/ airport express card package at the counter right outside the Arrival Hall, the staff speaks English so they can help you choose the perfect package for your needs. We depended a lot on the MTR to get from one place to another. Even if you're traveling with children, the public transportation system is very comfortable and trains usually pass each station frequently (every 3-5 minutes). They don't accept credit card so make sure you have enough HKD to cover the expenses.

Make sure you do not dispose the card and return it to the Airport Express Counter at the end of your trip and collect your HKD 50 deposit refunds. For more information check out this link MTR Tickets

Ranya enjoying her train ride with daddy :)

4. Traveller's Sim Card

I did not subscribe to Celcom roaming, so I bought myself a broadband sim card from Smart Tone to ensure that I'm connected to the people back home (Actually I did not care much about the people back home, I'm just hooked to the internet haha) The sim card is HKD80 (around RM40), and the maximum charge per day is  HKD 24 (around RM 8 per day). There are other brands offering the same packages for consumption.

5. Halal Food

I won't say that halal food is easily found in Hong Kong but it is available. There's halal restaurant in Disneyland (Tahitian Terrace and Explorer's Club), Ocean Park (Lakeside Restaurant) and Airport T1 (Popeyes). Anyway while restaurant hunting and if you fail to find the venue, just remember to look up, based on my experience some of the restaurants is situated in 1-2 floor and may not be accessible to strollers.

Since out hotel suite has a small kitchenette we brought food from home like packets rendang, curry, cereals, soups etc.  If you have small children do remember to bring an extra packet or two of milk formula if needed and do bring some of their favorite snacks like cookies or treats for them to munch in between rides since we can't just readily buy anything we see in the cafe's or stalls (this is mostly to minimize temper tantrums due to hunger :p) Chocs like MnMs sold in 7Eleven do have halal signs so that is mostly safe to feed the kiddies (though not advisable because they'll be on sugar rush haha)

Check out this page for more info : Halal Restaurant List

p/s: mineral water in Hong Kong is crazy expensive (around HKD 20 per bottle =RM8). My advice is to bring empty water bottle from home and fill it up in the hotel. Most restaurants don't mind you bringing in your own water.

6. Travelling with small children

There's no such thing as "traveling light" when you have a pre-schooler and 2 toddlers tagging along. We practically brought everything but the kitchen sink with us :p You don't have to actually bring EVERYTHING with you as you can buy things like diapers in case you run out but just keep in mind most things in HK is a tad more pricey than in Malaysia.

Anyway I find Hong Kong to be a pretty child friendly place. They have "family restrooms" in the malls, airports and theme parks which means daddy's can come in and help change diapers too which I find very handy (imagine going in and out of the toilet 3 times.. horror to horror). You should bring your own strollers to ensure your child comfort but I suggest a small umbrella stroller because most of the streets and doorways are quite narrow for bulky double strollers.

If you plan to visit Disneyland I strongly suggest that you opt for the 2 days tickets instead of 1. Reason being the park is quite big and it would be very tiring and rushed if you plan to do a one day tour (especially if you want to go on the rides and since 80% of the rides are kid friendly I'm sure you would want your little darling to go on all of them) Anyway it is just an additional of RM50 so I say it is truly worth it :) 

If possible plan your visit to the theme parks on weekdays. At least you can avoid the crowd and minimize queuing time which can take up to 30 minutes or more. We were so lucky that we only waited up to a maximum of 10 minutes in both Ocean Park and Disneyland because we were there on work days.

First in line for the Disneyland Express Tour :)

Be flexible and be ready to change your perfectly scheduled itinerary on short notice. Alhamdullilah our trip went smoothly despite some minor temper tantrums due to overtiring and over excitedness :p I also found out on this trip that the twins especially Ranya are nervous fliers. I'm so spoil by Ryan being an awesome traveler that I expected the same experience from the girls. Thank god for 3 Tabs, smart phones and an Ipod for distractions during the 4 hours flight.

For more pictures and some commentaries on our trip, please check out the following links:
Hong Kong Day 1
Hong Kong Day 2
Hong Kong Day 3
Hong Kong Day 4&5

AWOL

I'll be away from work (and blog) for 11 days for a much deserved break with my family (or so I would love to think). Pray that I'll have a safe and fun filled holiday *In Sha Allah* and see ya later, alligator.

Which way to the Zoo??

We've been wanting to go to the zoo in ages but there's something always stopping us, be it weather, sickness, kenduri-kendara or just plain malas-ness. Last Thursday Lan and I took leave to send my parents in law off to Mekah to perform their umrah. We brought Ryan along as he was on school holidays (wow I have a child who's on school holidays- old haha). 

My PIL checked in around 11am so we had a lot of time on our hands... I had listed down a few pre-schooler friendly places for us to go to such as Petrosains, Taman Burung, Butterfly Park, Shopping complexes (haha) but Lan was adamant that he wanted to go to the zoo (oh well he must have been missing his "friends" at the primate park :p ) so we drove all the way from Putrajaya to Hulu Klang (macam jauh je haha)

We reached the Zoo around 11.30am and the sun was shinning brightly. I quickly changed to my flat-est shoes, insisted on bringing the stroller and digging out the umbrella. I was wearing a jumpsuit and a chiffon top, not the most zoo friendly outfit since I started sweating like crazy before we even reached the ticket counter, but Ryan was excited so that is enough motivation to put some spring in my steps.

The elephant, giraffe, pony, flamingo, landak and camel.

There's more animals picture but it is all in my DSLR.

I shall upload it (one day) into our "travel blog" ok :p

 

 At the ape centre discussing our next destination.

Ryan was pointing at the map and himself saying - "nak tengok Ayen"

...

Confused kejap... why would he want to see himself?

.......

ohhhhhh it finally dawned to me...

....

He wanted to see the LION-Ryan? geddit?

"A day in the life of si peyat..." 

I shall blog more about this (someday ;p) 

 Monkey facts

 Hi I'm Ellie the elephant 

I dont think it is his/her real name. 

I'm just making it up as we go along :p

Anyway we were pretty lucky that 70% of the animals are up and eating when were there.

In fact si Ellie was busy eating sugar cane handed to him non-stop by the other visitors

Ryan was entralled by the process..

 Why they chain the elephants?

Not because they're cruel ok..

It's for their own safety-la

 Miss Giraffe(s)

Who looked happy and kenyang :) 

Bringing the stroller was a good bet

because after 2 hours Ryan was too tired to walk and he got a bit moody.

It guess to hot sun got to him (and me)

Anyway I saw this woman (who I assume is CRAZY)

because she was walking around in an outfit suitable for photoshoot, full face make-up and 5 inch heels (bukan wedges ye.. HEELS)

I have nothing againts heels, in fact I love any form of shoes

but walking around uneven terraces and pathways in those shoes are just plain suicide..

padan muka balik rumah mesti blisters

I told Lan, that she must be from the "blogger tegar" community

self torture in order to get gorgeous IG photos.. hahaha

Verdict?

It was a fun filled activity for a 4 year old who's able to appreciate the animals and the surroundings

I'm happy that Ryan is happy-la

However, the condition of the park is a bit sad, mostly due to the fact that it is undergoing major constructions in some of the habitat areas. Hopefully they'll get more interesting animal back in ASAP

For example the African Lion is missing, yg tinggal is one very bony Asian lioness with not bushy hair -__-

I would also like to suggest some improvement to their "Savannah Park" which really looked like the park in front of my house je hahah

Where to next?

Maybe we should go back to Malacca and bring the kiddies to the Malacca zoo next. If my memory serves me right it is more exciting ohh and I heard the Taiping zoo is not bad as well...

Yeap we shall have a few sessions of Cuti-Cuti Zoo Malaysia planned :)

*in sha allah*

But we shall wait until election is announced ok babies

Selagi tak GE13 jangan harap la nak book any holidays coz daddy is on standby to report for duty :(

The one on our 4 days weekend :)

Thanks to Chinese New Year, Malaysians had a long weekend last week. With my parents away performing their Umrah, I was brought to task to arrange for a fun filled activity weekend to distract them from Atuk and Nenek's absence. My mum and I already made a promised to my lil man, that since he can't follow them to Mecca, he got to go to Aquaria instead (haha thank god he did not realised that he was shortchanged) So all week leading to Saturday if you ask him "atuk and nenek mana?" his answer will be "Atuk ngan nenek pergi Mekah, Ayen ngan mummy gie Aquaria, tengok Shark :p"

We arrived in KLCC around 11am-ish. Traffic was super awesome and it only took us 30minutes from Klang to KL. KLCC was also not so crowded. Heaven

Family photo at the "front gate"

Heheh above is Ryan's first trip to Aquaria in September 2012 (9 months young) and latest pic (3 years and 1 months)

Look how much my cheeky cheeks have grown, before he was no taller than an Asian Small-clawed otter, now he is taller than a smooth coated otter 

Us with the great white shark :)

Ryan in a trance. Loving the whole experience

He was so happy he got to take photo with this "still" shark. When we walked pass normal fish/reptiles display he kept on telling me to hurry up "Ayen tak nak tengok fish,  nak tengok shark je -__-"

Nya looking bored coz she's a bit under weather. Iman happy she's getting pushed around and Ryan in his "cow cap and harness" The guy asked me "kenapa lembu kak" I told him "nak attract shark's attention" (ehh sukahati aku la kan haha)

Lunch at Ben's KLCC. Again minimal crowd :) Cheeseburger for hubby, my "usual" pesto spaghetini, Ice chocolate for Ryan, bekal "boiled carrot and potatoes for Ryan and the girls" and Nacho Libre for everyone

New toys for the lil munchkins as a treat for behaving so well all week. Identical scary Chuckie like dolls for Iman and Ranya and a Happyland Police Station :) A picture of  Ryan who is of course playing with adik's toys

Homemade fish pie :) Not bad for my first try

Monday afternoon, on the way to PD and my princesses in their cute mint cheongsam.

We booked a room in Avillion Admiral Cove PD, Ryan of course wanted to swim once we stepped in the room. Love the view. The facilities is not bad but I have to say not very stroller friendly (no ramps or lift heading to LG where the pool and restaurant is situated)

Early morning walk

Ryan mirroring me. Iman and Ranya squashed in the mini stroller. Handy contraption I have to say :)

Spidey Ryan. The twins in their new jeggings and also tops from Aunt Cath from Japan :) Loving it

The hotel rooms is quite spacious, we booked the premium room with twin sharing beds (queen bed was not available during our visit) and an extra day bed. Clean bathroom and good room service. The breakfast buffet was ok. Choices was quite limited and you have to come early or you'll be stuck dining outside or even worst having to wait for a table.

We forgo our usual PD seafood spree because Ranya was still coughing and Lan and I didnt really want to drag 3 toddlers around at night. We ordered room service instead. However, before leaving PD we dropped by another of our family fave everytime we're in PD which is the Cowboy Nasi Ayam Kukus place. Love the grilled chicken and spicy sauce. The rice portion is very small though. I think the place grew almost twice its size from when we first tried it in 2011

All in all we had a good weekend break, despite the twins being on-off sick. I have to say traveling with the 3 kiddos and without extra help are not that bad. They were pretty well behaved actually (and surprisingly ;p) 

Having said that, I can't wait for my parents to be back this Sunday. I miss them... even my mum's constant nagging hahaha. I know one little boy is also counting the days (not that he can count just a figure of speech ;p) for when he's back in his atuk's arms. Ohhh and how awesome, tomorrow is FRIDAY