Little Cozy Corner

GOsh, I’ve been wanting to get on with this post for as long as I can remember but I keep putting it off plus the fact that I’m hardly in the mood to blog when Arianna is awake. Also, it’s hard to blog la when the small fler keep whining and whinging…..ish, so have to layan her first la.

Anyway, this is mainly a picture post but I do have to add my 2 cents worth of thoughts as well. As you know, we were in Malaysia not too long ago, when petrol prices was still RM1.92 and we took a short vacation to Penang island. We spent 3 days and 2 nights at Parkroyal Penang [PR]. I chose this over Lone Pine. Perhaps it would be been a better choice compared to PR but I guess I’ll never know.

I can’t remember how much we paid but it was approximately RM300+ per night and I felt totally scammed when the happy hour by the pool side bar was just atrocious! I know that we have to expect the drinkies to be expensive BUT RM20 per pint not including tax is a little steep. So that was that la - am thinking if they charged us for the peanuts as well. Then again, the price must have already been included in the drink eh? Marketing tactic la konon….

The room itself was nice and despite asking for a huge king size bed, we ended up with 2 queen [?] beds instead. In the beginning I was a little pissed because I was looking forward to a giant bed so I can roll from one side to the other and jump like I’ve never jumped before but then I realised that chances of me EVER having to sleep alone on a single bed will not come by often and what more a queen size bed to myself so I pretended to reluctantly be ok with the arrangement with the reception staff. But inside, I very teh syiok! *lol* But…..the view outside our balcony was another big scam!! I felt so cheated. It was suppose to be a coastal view so I thought okla, should be quite nice what….wake up in the morning and can see the beach…but what did I get? I got this….

So yes, I was pissed but I couldn’t be bothered to go and fight la. Malas since I was here on holiday might as well enjoy it as much as possible, scammed or not. But technically, can see a bit of the coast line la…passed the trees n all like this…

I guess the thing that we most enjoyed was the swimming pool not that Australia got no swimming pool or anything like that but it was nice weather all the time we were there and Arianna really enjoyed herself. She must have been thinking that this is the biggest bathtub ever!

I expected her to be a little intimidated and perhaps a little scared because not only was it her first time in the pool but the water was slightly cool but nup, this water baby went straight into happy land!

But surpringly, the only time she cried was not when she was face to face with a horse we chanced upon while taking a walk in the evening but when Ted held her so she could stand on the beach while the waves broke at her little feet. She screamed! She wasnt a happy tropper then…

Needless to say that, I enjoyed my buffet breakfast a lot especially the fresh fruit juice without any sugar. It was really yummy and having someone make it for you made it taste even better. As usual, our first night in the hotel and we were pooped so we ordered room service and of course la, the prices are like cut throat prices! Watodo….we were too tired to go out so no choice la. The next day, we made sure we had all our meals outside it was less than a fraction of the price - which is normal but like I said, still TOO steep!

I ended up getting the cheapest thing on the menu which was a club sandwich which was like RM29++ but it was really huge and filing. O, and lunch the next day which included fried rice and fried squid for me, ted had sweet and sour pork with rice and prawn salad with beer and I had teh ais plus one teh panas bungkus, and the total didn’t even reach RM29!! See la - this was just at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel. Siao man!

But overall, I think we had a nice time vacationing as a family and next time, maybe we might go a little further, maybe to Tanjung Aru in KK? Only time will tell….

I gotta admit that the sunset was really gorgeous and I’m glad I managed to get this shot with the horse in the view - I like!!

You know for a fact that man has has meddled in the ecosystem and the animal kingdom when you see this….

Monkeys invading your home and can be found jumping and ruining your gutters, ransacking your rubbish bins and worst of all, terrorizing your kids! Ok, so it wasn’t as bad as the monkeys scaring the bejeebers out of my aunt’s grandkids but they did scare them when the monkeys daringly came forward to grab the bananas out of their hands. As to why they were eating bananas in fronts of those monkeys is beyond me. It’s like dangling a carrot in front of a donkey and expect it not to eat the carrot - impossible!!

Anyway, it was a real shocker for me to see these wild monkeys in abundance in the taman [housing estate], Taman Desa in Kluang to be precise and we’re not talking a mere handful, we’re in tens that could reach a hundred! Jokes aside, I was so afraid that they’d jump at us while we watched them climb over the the neighbors gate and into their house rummaging for food. The poor things really….I mean, the only reason that they have resorted to coming in such close contact with humans is most likely because they have no choice. Only the strongest and the smartest, not to mention the most daring will live.

There was a whole jimbang there right from tiny baby monkeys to the great-grandparents, all walking along the roadside, sitting on vehicles and swinging from the branches in the nearby jungle. It was such a scary sight especially when you’re so close to the wild ones. It’s different if you’re in a zoo and in a controlled environment. I was actually very afraid but I kept my distance. Lord knows what we will see next! O, I also caught a glimpse of an iguana - huge bugger! But it slipped away into the drain….or we would have had it for lunch! *lol*

My aunt says that if you don’t disturb them, they won’t disturb you. But like us humans, they are unique and have their own temperaments so you really wouldn’t know what to expect from these wild animals. And just because they have been in close contact with human on a certain level doesn’t make them any more safe. I personally think that it is a worry but it was quite obvious that the people who live in the area are quite accustomed to these monkeys roaming freely around the taman. And just as we were talking about the huge number of monkeys in the area, a huge pack of stray wild dogs come running down the road!

Boy, what a learning experience for Arianna*…. It was like she was on a safari - saw many animals up close and personal : cicak [lizards/geckos], Margaret the fish, monkeys, dogs, flies and mosquitos. *lol*

*I’ve uploaded some random pix, go check it out.

What a great feeling to be back home!  :wub: I think the happiest person is Arianna because for most of the time we were in Kluang, we were out and about getting all our issues settled and all at the expense of my little girl’s rest. Poor thing was most exhausted by night time and I’m sure that whatever beauty sleep she got at time was pure bliss!

For a small thing like Arianna, she has become a rather seasoned traveler.  At only 7 months and 2 weeks, she’s been flying, going on car trips and and even taken a 13 hours train ride - how awesome is that?? And she dealt it all very well except for getting that cold but praise God that she has recovered. Will be updating our trip in due time….but have to go wash up all those clothes we took with us. Aiyo….so much to wash and no sunshine to help dry it!!

With Sis leaving for Kulim this Sunday, Ted & I took her to the newly opened Sydney Wildlife World down by Darling Harbour, right beside Sydney Aquarium. Like me, Sis is also an animal lover and absolutely loves visiting zoos and petting farms. We had plan to visit Oakvale Farm in Newcastle but my aunt told us that it was closed due to the floods. That is a real pity coz I love that farm! You can hand feed all the animals there including kangaroos, piglets, kids [baby goats lar!], a little orphan joey, cows, calves, horses….if it’s an animal and if it lets you, you can feed it. It’s just AWESOME!

But we had to make do with this, I guess. On the average, you could finish cover this place in about 1 1/2 hours but since we are slow and stopped to take shots of this and that, and then backtracked to see the bird show and all, it took us more than 2 hours. But it was a good 2 hours.

Me and Sis at the entrance of Sydney Wildlife World. See how nice and sunny it is? Pretend you don’t see us all bundled up, ok? :smug:

The only thing that I wasn’t too happy about was the fact that we weren’t allowed to hold any animals and I, for one, will never turn down a chance to hold any animal given the opportunity. So, yea…I was a little upset. The lady at the koala sanctuary mentioned that if we wanted to touch or pat the koalas, we would have to purchase a photo taken by them coz they would have to literally wake the koalas up. And the koalas were all fast asleep at that time. I didn’t think it was right to wake the koalas up just for that reason plus, it costs a bomb for the pix so I passed on that. After all, I’ve taken pix with koalas before so it was no biggie for me. Just upset I didn’t get to hold em’.

Did you know the first solid meal that a baby koala [a.k.a joey] eats is its mother’s droppings? Female koalas produce a special paste-textured dropping in order to pass on to their offspring bacteria essential for the digestion of eucalyptus leaves!

The following picture is one of my favourites! It reminds me of how Zorro sleeps….

The similarity is just toooooooooooo obvious….need I say more?? :LOL:  :LOL:

I still have a few more pix to put up and will do so in the next few post. Gotta go get some rest. My heels feel like the are going to just split open! So tired….

Hope you all had a nice 2-day holiday. I had a rather interesting one which left me more tired that before I went!

 

 

 

Mum, Sis and I joined the Kedah Eurasian Club members on a picnic at Gua Kelam a.k.a Cave of Darkness, and shopping spree at Padang Besar. Mum woke up at 4am to start cooking and due to the hacking that she was up to in the kitchen, I was up and about by 5am, helping her where I could coz Mum dominates the kitchen when she’s at work. So most of the time, an extra pair of hands is not normally welcomed - “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is one of her favourite quotes. There were about 40 of us and we met in Christ The King, the Catholic Church in Sungai Petani at 7.30am and were the first to arrive although we traveled all the way from Kulim! There were 3 cars in our convoy : Uncle Winston & family, my aunt and her family and us. By the time the people [Those in SP itself mind you!!] and bus arrived, it was about 8am. After Father Dass gave us a blessing, we were on our way…. 

I didn’t realise how long it would take to reach Gua Kelam although I’ve been there a couple of times. I found myself waking up numerous times along the journey and yet, we still haven’t arrived at our destination! So long!! But stop we did a couple of times along the way coz many of us love depositing what we can at most petrol kiosks.

 

Finally, after some 3 hours of so and multiple toilet-stops, we arrived at Gua Kelam. It hadn’t change a bit so I found nothing new there. But I do love the refreshing feeling as the whole place is covered with foliage. On the other hand, I absolutely hated it when it started to get humid coz by then, all sorts of insects and mozzies were attacking me! I made a huge mistake by not bringing with me any insect repellant - bodoh betui! Anyway, as soon as everyone arrived at a designated spot, out came the food and soon, a hungry bunch of Eurasian were going at it. Most of them were ravenous coz everyone had a very early brekkie, including myself but I thought ahead and brought along with me, 10 chappatis from my favourite chappati place, Abang Chappati. So that kept me filled up while on the bus. No, I did not finish all 10 chappatis and the number came in handy coz it was passed around in the bus. I know I have to eat for 2 but I believe in quality, not quantity. Heh.

After already being to Gua Kelam a few times, I don’t find it interesting or special anymore. Here’s a little bit of history and info about the place :

For decades the locals have used this cave as a short cut through the hill between Kaki Bukit and Wang Kelian. The surrounding area has been mined for tin since World War 1. In 1935 an Englishman had a 370m long wooden suspension bridge built through the length of the cave, to allow the miners to transport the ore. This walkway has since been used by pedestrians and motorcyclists to avoid the long detour up and over the hills. In later years the cave was fitted with electric lighting and turned into a tourist attraction. There are information boards throughout the cave. Outside the area has been developed as a recreation park. Gua Kelam is located about 35 km from Kangar, at Kaki Bukit near Wang Kelian in northern Perlis. Info taken from here.

 

Being only some 370m long from entrance to the back, it takes an average of 15 to 20 minutes to complete the walk on a rather sturdy wooden bridge. But despite the sturdiness of the bridge, my Sis being a coward for such ‘heights’ was hanging on to the railings and had caused a slow down on ‘traffic’ on the bridge. After being the first to enter the cave, we ended up being the last to come out! There is no way she could ever survive the suspended bridge in Penang Hill, no way! There is a small fee of RM1 per adult and RM0.50 per child below 12 years of age. After visiting other caves such as Gua Tempurung and of course, the magnificent Jenolan Caves, this was pretty boring. If you’re into cave touring, I would suggest Gua Tempurung as I found it a lot more interesting and there are tours of the cave you can take depending of your fitness and sense of adventure.

What really pissed me off the most was the graffiti on the stones and all the hand marks that were so noticeable. I wished the authorities were more strictly about the behavior of tourists that come by, day in, day out. A simple signboard is not enough. People should be educated not to touch anything in the cave for any residue from human body spoils the natural minerals of the stone. But yet, I see people happily touching and experiencing the feel of the surface. I had half a mind to tick this lady off as she continuous rubbed her hands all over it! Aiyooo…..so infuriating!!!! It literally broke my heart when I saw what people can do to hurt such precious creations which take millions of years to form in just mere minutes.

  

O well, there is just so much one can do, no? Anyways, after the picnic, we started our journey to Padang Besar which took some 1/2 hour. In the beginning I was very excited about the whole idea coz I was looking forward to actually checking the place out as I have heard so much about it despite not being a shopperholic. Plus the fact that I had so much fun in Wang Kelian which is quite nearby but in the opposite direction, very near to the Thai border. Both Wang Kelian and Padang Besar boast a very wide variety of items on sale from clothes to knick-knacks to tidbits which would drive any junk food junkie into overdrive but being one who is not big on shopping, I had my eye on just getting myself a new purse.

 

Sadly, when I got there, all I saw was clothes, clothes and more clothes! Blek!! If there were all sorts of clothes, it wouldn’t have been that boring but every shop had the same type and design of clothes that you only needed to ensure one that was of a cheaper price before you start your haggling. Even the shops with bags and stuff were so few. We didn’t have much time to walk around but with the whole dinky little market place jam packed with people, we only managed to check out the complex, and not the stalls outside although I would have passed on it coz it was stinking hot anyway. So the covered bazaar was most suitable for me. At the end of the 2 hours, I made sure I got me something coz I was not going to leave that place empty handed and so managed to get a purse for me and Mum, and a small handbag for Sis. Overall, I think I did a good job at haggling. However, this is one place I wouldn’t want to visit again. Give me Wang Kelian any time! Then again, I have yet to check out Bukit Kayu Hitam which is said to be the best - anyone can vouch for this?

We started for home at 4.30pm and I guess the bus driver was taking his own sweet time that we only reached SP at about 7.30pm and by the time we were in Kulim, it was close to 9pm. Had dinner outside, came home and crashed like a bag of potatoes! Although I was tired and my legs were slightly achy….I suffered greatly the the next day. I had swollen feet and my legs were VERY VERY achy in comparison. SO I spent the whole day at home trying to recuperate. Because of that, I had to give Queen’s Bay Mall and the newly opened Giant Supermarket at Seberang Jaya a miss. But come Saturday, I’ll be off shopping for baby stuff again coz aunt just told me that one could go crazy at Giant. So here’s hoping that I can hold my horses then. After all, I’m shopping for Kecik, not me!

 

I found this parasite tree so interesting. It makes use of the trees around it to extend its limbs from one place to another. Obviously strong enough to hold all these little monkeys! It’s called Akar Beluru. 

 

Note this monitor lizard? Well, this fella here is lucky that my Daddy ain’t around or we would have had him for lunch!! Best cooked as dry curry! YUMMYLICIOUS!!