Sandakan and Kinabatangan Trip

I had a sleepless night, leaving them was not an easy task, but this was a task not to be missed but it comes with a price.

We left early to catch 6.50am ERL from Putrajaya to the airport, Hadif as usual had a tantrum and at last had a previleged to be at the back of the wheel...not a good option I would say..and we tehm send early to the nursery compared to their normal schedule....poor kid

I was so tired and hungry but not angry..while waiting for MAS breakfast of nasi lemak sambal udang, I did what I'm good at..painting..not on canvas but on my face, had no time to make up at home, so I finished the job at 30,00 feet above sea level...

The aroma from nasi lemak was so tempting but unfortunately for me, they served it in a very small portion and the anchovies should not be included unless they served a fine quality..others are superb..not too many passenger on board, smooth journey except for minor bump due to bad cloud base...

I think this is Mount Kinabalu's peak...
it looks so majestic form up here..Subhanallah

This is the famous Kinabatangan river from seat 22A....similar to Amazon river..it was affected by a flood last week but fortunately the area that I went has fully recovered


View from MH2700..please ignore the glare and what not..I'm still learning experimenting with D90..thanx to hubby.. :-P

It was 2 hours and 45 minutes flight from KILA to Sandakan, I arrived safely but could not find my friend, I thought that I was alone in Sabah..but they were actually waiting for me at the lobby and off we drove to Swiss Inn at Sandakan Harbour Square..nice hotel by the sea but it is just a small town and I had limited time so no wandering around.

We were invited to Sandakan Court and treated with lunch at Hameed's..another round of mee goreng mamak before we left for Kinabatangan. The journey took another 2 hours and we passed by few interesting place like Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary and Crocodile Farm,...and the best thing about their landmark is every roundabout will featured a replica of Standing Crocodile, followed by Turtle and then a family of Orang Utan..

I noticed that most of the houses along the way to Kinabatangan were built on stilt even though it is situated on hilly area, quite contrast with our houses in the Penisular...and most of them already implemented storm water harvesting which the government just proposed to implement in houses and building in Malaysia...

Discussion with the contractor that need to be teach every single thing from A-Z..geraammmmm.. Kelas E tapi mcm kelas F...and that black thing on my shoulder is not a handbag but a free luggage bag from Giorgio Armani Diamond..stuffed everything inside..light travel...

We finished our job and left for the hotel at 5pm and stop by for some snack of goreng pisang and cucur cempedak and tembikai susu, I thought that its honeydew juice, but to my surprise it was watermelon juice mixed with condesed milk..boleh la...

The journey back from Kinabatangan took longer hour due to the traffic and it was already dark at 6pm, the sights are different here, schools are not properly located and the infrastructure need to be upgraded..during these journey the talk a lot about things around us, about law and order, about the project and of coz,....
Bung Mokhtar and his fourth Wifey Zizie Ezzette..they said that Dato' Bung Mokhtar is loved by everybody here in Kinabatangan, they don't give a damn about his personal life as long as he took care of their well fare, then its fine with them..no matter what stories come up..fourth or fifth or whatever is not important...

View from Swiss Inn hotel's lobby..its a decent hotel with wifi at every floor but I was warned not to walk alone after 7pm..too many outlaws from the neighbouring country


I had breakfast alone the following day and it was raining and gloomy..not a good chance to take any photographs..I had simple sausages and bread with jam and tried their local food but only took a bite and left it untouch ..tak boleh telan..

Left for the airport...nothing much at Sandakan Airport..flight delay 30 minutes..


View towards an island not far from the airport, from seat 10A...I should choose my seat properly next time to avoid having a wing or part of the plane body in my frame

Arrived safely at home at 4.30pm...Hadif and Sufiya was so excited...no souvenir for them just hug and kissess...

Penang, Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar Trip

We were in Penang last week , it was an official trip cum holiday, so we decided to brought along the whole family and hubby took a day off..its his turn this year...
We left for Penang after work, roughly around 7.45pm, had dinner on the go, as usual its Mc D at Sungai Besi and we were so tired along the journey..so we stopped by at RnR twice for a nap...and arrived at Tg Tokong at 3am...sleepy and tired..


Its not a complete trip if we did not stuffed ourselves with food in Penang, so of the kids had to sacrifice..bukan selalu... :-)
Cheese nan with tandoori at Restoran Kapitan, this is his usual hang out..but the nan is a bit oily, they did not served the chichken tandoori with lime, the best cheese nan I had was in New Delhi in 2005, the chicken tandoori was soft and tender and juicy and it comes with salad (cucumber, tomato and garlic)sprinkle with masala....

We had susu badam, it comes in a medium size glass with a mixture of badam, saffron and milk..thick and creamy...

Sufiya was at her Mami Mumtaz house, she was not aware that we left her there, too busy with her cousin. Its hard to snap these guys photo, sorang dah tgk camera, sorang lagi dok pusing...abah ready, anak pulak muka masam...the best model is of coz his sister..tak payah suruh pose

Restoran Kapitan..at Chulia Street..

I had to work on Sunday..but its was not much trouble..final inspection

View from Northam Tower towards Penang Hill and town

Monday- Handing Over:

The big boss and the client..no no they were not going for lunch at Kassim Mustafa but waiting for the elevator, the handing over ceremony was at level 5, I was the emcee of the day...smooth but I forgot to mention one person's name...too many Yang Berbahagia Dato, Yang Arif Dato'...isshhh..payah..but the fish curry and sambal udang was heavenly...

This has been planned many times before and could only be materialised last week, sunset at Long Beach Batu Ferringhi..

We mark our presence there..I dreamed of having a house by the beach, sipping watermelon juice and wait for the sunset, but it all faded away after Dec 2004 tsunami...

Sufiya was still afraid of the sea, but she's ok with swimming pool


'I'm leaving on a jet plane..' nice blue sky

Farooqi the young enterpreneur with his soya bean stall..his friend was a little bit cuak when I asked about their permit and took a photograph of their stall..peace !

We left for Putrajaya on Monday with jeruk pelam and daging merah..

Travelogue:

And this week's trip was just a short trip to Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar with KP to determined scope and site. I left at 7.00am and we were one hour early so while waiting for Dato' to arrived we toured around Ipoh Court and there were too many OKT (orang kena tuduh) and all court room were fully occupied and cases were mentioned and so on..

There were groups of OKT wearing purple t-shirt and the smell like..you know the smell of not having bath for many days..yuck..most of them are Malays aged between 20-30, we entered one court room but unfortunately it was just ikat jamin session..the corridor were full with people who accompanied their partner, family, friends and OKT, at one corner it was a sad ambience and at other corner I hate to look at them...and they were looking at me like they have not met people for many years..the eyes..it tellsa thousand stories...

After friday prayer we went to another court in Kuala Kangsar...

The ruin...first floor of Kuala Kangsar Court, it looks a little bit spooky, and this scene remindd me of Om Shanti Om where Shanti was left alone...cheehhh..
Fire started from this room and spread into other room and court, luckily its flat roof but there were cracks on the floor and wall.

Ceiling and window frame that look like kayu arang ..


Tinggal kenangan..jam yang masih berfungsi...

We left from Kuala Kangsar after being served by Yang Arif- Yang Arif with laksa Kuala Kangsar in a court room :-)
and arrived safely at home at 7pm and my house was like...whoaa...clothes were on the floor, the kids have not taken their dinner and hubby had a headache...so I just cook some rice and served them Asam Pedas Nyonya Style with Rendang Tok bought at Tapah RnR....we slept early last nite...and Hadif had a nightmare..poor kid...

Kids Update and Exam

We woke up late this morning...way too late and I had to attend a meeting at 9.30am at the office, to make things worst, kids bag has not been prepared last night so I had to do extra task this morning and since its already late, they both had a shower at home and Sufiya insisted on wearing baju kurung today.

Hadif did not display any drama the moment he step in to the nursery as usual, Sufiya was a bit shy maybe self concious beeecozzz she applied some lipstic and bid-los(lip gloss)-MAC pulak tu...memandai je....

Her teacher told me that she's now observing and following what we people do and talk, and has started talking few words in Kelantan..hahha...'Cha, mu dok sini'...this is what she said to her friend...I don't know what to say...as long as it is good and not crossing the boundary, then its still acceptable..

Its been 2 weeks we are in 2010 and many things has happen throughout this period, it seems like 24 hours are not enough...I need more time with the kids, especially the flash card session, I have to accommodate time for this no matter what.

And at the same time I need time to study for July exam once again, the first round was ad-hoc so this time around, I should not allow for this error again, but work at the office are affecting time at home.

I had to sacrificed Saturday classes which is very important, where presentation of each topic were held due to logistic problem, nobody to take care of the kids and the other half is fully occupied both days...so this is the option now...hate to say this but its always woman who had to give way......

I'm now packing my stuff for another official trip....so tired....

Yong Peng and Malacca

Its 6.30am now and this is the only time to update this space...kids are still sleeping..I came back from Johor yesterday and they were all fresh and properly dressed and were having dinner and full of table manners..but the moment I step in to the house, all hell break loose.....gone the nasi ayam and the table manners.....hehehe


My girl with her rambut dendan made up by her Cikgu Vi..she said that she wants to be pelakon...God..!! too much Hindi power and movie..got to get rid of these entertainment idea form her head...anyway she finally got her long yearning for a pair of earing, its all settled on Sunday, few mintes before the shop closed and it was 5 minutes crying to the car park and later with extra chiwi at home....

She wake up this morning at almost 6am and cried while holding her right ear, bengkak sikit...abah terlupa pi bagi makan ayam pulak...hmmm..poor girl..

This is the site, the building appeared on tv for one ragut case involving an elderly woman last night...i just realised that there are Muslim cemetery few meters away from where I stand...
The proposed ramp for the lawyers and masyarakat marhain will be from this spot climbing the slope..



New building at Jalan Hang Tuah Melaka with roman architecture..don't fancy this kind of treatment...

We rushed to Yong Peng from here for 3pm briefing...it was all settled and surprisingly 40 nos of contractor turn up for a small project..talking about unstable economic situation...

Till then...and I just realised that AJL was on Sunday, knew about it only yesterday morning at 7.15am while watching morning news ..but I only missed Search part, coz the rest tu bukan zaman i...

More than words...

I don't have new year resolution, I just wish that I have more quality time for the kids and some 'me' time to socialize, maybe with a small group of friends and conversation that is out of work and family issue..

Its been a hard week..a heavy start for this year, we just committed a new liability..

Its hard....

Kids update

Just a quick update for this year...kids are getting adventurous and Sufiya has started showing her interest in photography and art while Hadif with his 'moto..'moto'....

And this month schedule will be full and a lot of travelling around the country, its my turn, so the other half will take care of the his two angels..


'Shantipriya-Papunzel' making funny faces ..

Till then

Have a great new begining

The last time I went to Johore was more than six years ago after convocation and todays trip was like walking down the memory lane of Yong Peng and Batu Pahat with numerous 'parits'...

It was a smooth and decision has been made by Tuan Yang Arif...it was the first time I saw OKT in their lock-up..smelly and stuffy room...and some OKT was outside wearing purple t-shirt and their face tells a thousand stories..

Reached home at 6.30pm and the kids were already at home with smiling faces...

And now its already 20 minutes past 12.00..a new begining of 2010...2009 left with many unfinished task..so I'll just cruise along in the same boat with the same mission in mind...

Happy New Year folks...and have a great weekend ahead