Taking A Break In Langkawi

Took the kids on a short 4 day-3 night trip to Langkawi. Hubby was busy the last few weeks so I had the task of finding suitable accomodation. I looked up the internet and found this little motel at Pantai Chenang called White Lodge Chalet which was within our budget of below RM200 per night. Nothing fancy, but comfortable and clean.

the entrance of White Lodge

the porch of our chalet

Left on Monday morning at around 7 am to fetch hubby's sister who was coming along with us. It's a 6-hour drive from KL to the jetty at Kuala Kedah. Reached the jetty at 2pm after a few toilet stops and a quick lunch at KFC in Autocity, Butterworth. Couldn't get tickets for the 2.30pm ferry so we had to wait till 3.30pm for the next ferry to Langkawi :(

our ferry arriving

Ferry ride was an hour and a half, our ferry left only at 4pm and we finally reached Langkawi island at 5.30pm. Had already arranged for a rented car a few days before the trip so we met up with Kapten Rosli, who is a friend of a friend of a friend. We had booked a Proton Saga but was given a Kia Rio instead because the holidaymaker who had used the Proton Saga broke the steering wheel....strange things people do! He charged us RM90 a day, which was really cheap since most car rental companies I looked up on the internet charged around RM150 during the school holiday season. 

 zooming around in our little rented car

Was glad we stayed at Pantai Chenang because according to the locals, it is the most happening place at night...something like the night market at Penang's Batu Ferringhi. Had dinner and walked around, CoolTeen managed to buy some interesting T-shirts and hubby bought a nice white linen shirt for Chinese New Year.

The next morning we got up early and visited the Langkawi Cable Car which was about 30 minutes' drive away. We reached there at 9am but there were already people queueing up at the ticket counter, which opens at 10am. I really dislike cable car rides and this one is really scary because of the very steep incline, but the view from the top of the hill made up for it...a cool and very windy place, sometimes the gust of wind is so strong that you feel you might be blown off the viewing platform!

cable cars...my most un-favourite form of transportation!

The shops at the foot of the hill have a variety of clothes, bags and souvenirs at quite reasonable prices. Nice place.

After lunch we headed for the Langkawi Wildlife Park and the kids were complaining about why we needed to go see animals but changed their minds the moment we stepped into the enclosure. Most of the animals were left free to roam about and we could really see them up close or even touch them. Had some fun feeding the deers and rabbits. The duty-free shop there had some of the lowest prices of chocolates compared to other duty-free shops in Kuah town.

Had dinner at Pantai Chenang and walked the night market as the stretch of road is quite long and we didn't manage the cover all the shops last night. Picked up some souvenirs.

Day 3, the kids wanted to ride the go-karts at Morac International Karting near the airport. It's RM37 per person for 10 minutes. CoolTeen and PreTeen had lots of fun, their dad's wallet felt lighter.

Then we walked around Kuah Town and realised that the prices of goods are not that cheap after all, even though it's supposed to be a duty-free zone. Things like perfume we can get back in KL for almost the same price.


things that are cheap in Langkawi

Went to the Underwater World and spent about an hour there. Some of the fishes there are really huge and there are a lot of species on display. It's a lot more spacious than the Aquaria in KL, and benches are provided here and there for people to take a rest and enjoy the undersea creatures. Nice.

the penguins were like those from the movie "Happy feet"

The widely advertised Wednesday night market at Kuah town was a real disappointment. We could walk the entire pasar malam in 5 minutes and things are really pricey there, probably because it mainly caters for tourists...but the tourists are smart too, they go to the night market at Pantai Chenang where things are cheaper and of better quality!

Day 4, checked out of the motel early at 10am and headed for the jetty where we returned the car, and thought we could do some shopping at the supposedly duty-free shops there but found that things are really expensive compared to the rest of the shops in Langkawi...and the toilets are in poor condition although we pay 30 sen, compared to the ones at the Kuala Kedah jetty which were clean...and free.

Boarded the ferry at 11.30am, reached Kuala Kedah at around 1pm and headed for home. Had a relaxing time in Langkawi where the pace of life is so much slower and driving around is quite easy. Hubby was disappointed we couldn't walk the curved suspension bridge at the cable car place because it was closed due to strong winds, but I was happy I got to step on the famous black beach. Next time we will go island-hopping instead!

Pantai Pasir Hitam - black beach

Had A Great Week

Now that I am mobile again the first thing I did was...yup...go shopping! Went to MidValley Megamall the other day and this year's Christmas decor is absolutely gorgeous because I have a soft spot for soft toys...


I heart those giant teddy bears!



Also went for our 3 day-2 nite church camp in the little town of Kampar where storks (or flamingos, not quite sure which, because we only saw them from afar) can be seen hunting for fish in the lake. Stayed at the Grand Kampar Hotel.

The day that we arrived back in KL, someone dropped by with this....

...and it really made my day. These mini cupcakes are from Wondermilk Cafe and they are just heavenly...the cupcake is so small that I could finish it in 2 delicious bites!

Christmas is just 5 days away...looking forward to it!

Freedom Again!

It's 4 weeks since my surgery and I'm feeling good physically. Finally able to go to church on Sunday. Tried reversing the car on Saturday and there was no pain at all. That gave me the courage to actually drive on Sunday but didn't venture too far. By Monday I was zipping around in my little car terrorizing other motorists (ok, that was an exaggeration!)  and it feels GREAT to be mobile again after not driving for a whole month.

A few days ago, hubby decided to redecorate one of the walls in our home. We had taken some pretty nice family photos back in October and had framed some of them. I am pretty hopeless at hanging up pictures on the wall, I can't even hammer a nail straight, so I left it all to hubby to get the job done.

There were lots of stuff on the dining table....nails, hammer, measuring tape, wall putty, even a laptop....yes, a laptop...and this is what I saw on the laptop monitor...

Every thing was meticulously drawn and measured out on the laptop by my engineer husband who likes things to be orderly...and this is the end result....

A wall of memories :)

3 Weeks Post-Op

It's been exactly 3 weeks since my surgery and I have been enjoying the total rest from housework except for some simple cooking. We tried a home food delivery service for a week and decided that we didn't enjoy their style of cooking. So I am now queen of my kitchen once more, with a little help from Ms PreTeen.

The kids have been very helpful around the house...they can wash and dry the dishes, mop the floor and wash the toilet, PreTeen tried ironing for the first time last week (thankfully she didn't burn a hole in her skirt!) and she can cook rice and do laundry.

To show my appreciation for all their help (while I lay on the sofa and watch TV), I thought I would order fastfood delivery once in a while as a treat. There is a McD's very close to my place and I called the toll-free 1300 number to place my orders but was told that there is no delivery service from that outlet (which I later found out to be untrue) so I looked up the internet and found that the Kenny Rogers' Roasters nearby did deliver, and the food came all neatly packed, warm and smelling great!

I have also gone for short shopping trips to the nearby shopping mall...PreTeen says I need the exercise but the real reason is so that she could go shopping too :D
Hubby's car is rather tall and I cannot climb up into the passenger seat because my abdomen muscles are still healing, so he came up with this idea...

...a 'royal footstool' for the 'queen'...(haha)...

Did You Know?

Did you know that...

An ostrich's brain is smaller than its eye.

Non-dairy creamer is flammable.(uh-oh!)

There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with orange, purple and silver.

Roses may be red, but violets are indeed violet.

Men can read smaller print then women can, but women can hear better.




Yup, it's impossible to lick your own elbow


111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey


People spend about two weeks of their lives at traffic lights!

Pearls melt in vinegar.(so be careful with those pearl necklaces!)

My kids can actually do household chores without my supervision...I'm impressed, all those years of training has paid off!