Genting

Safely back from Genting Highlands yesternight. It was a pretty relaxing trip, something that i had not had for a verryyy long time. Since my mid-term pregnancy, LK had avoided taking me on any holiday. And since arrival of Bryan, we take him everywhere we go, so it is usually quite tiring.

Although we did not take Bryan to Genting, he was constantly on our mind. Everytime we see a cute ride at the indoor theme park, we'll go,..."hmm..you think Bryan will be able to do that next year?" or "i think Bryan will love that ride by this time next year". Or when we saw a huge aquarium with huge fishes at one of the casino entrance, the first thing i said was, "Bryan will love this". And LK would say,..."eh how is our cutecute boy doing..." and that's a signal for me to call my mom to check on Bryan.

So taking Bryan to Genting is definitely in our plans when he's about 2 so that he can enjoy the indoor theme park.

But one thing i dislike badly about Genting is the poor air quality...there are just too many people smoking, indoor and outdoor. Arrgh...my nose was terribly irritated the entire journey. That makes it less attractive as a vacation spot for kids. So i certainly would not take my kid(s) up there frequently. Once in a while (i mean a few years) ok la, but for a yearly holiday getaway, i would prefer some place like Camerons. Yeah, LK and i like the cool places. We are not much of a shopaholics so highlands serves us very well as vacation spots.

So was Bryan a good boy in our absence. Except for the extended bed time, he was a pretty good boy at my mom's place. No complaints. Normally at our house, he'll be asleep by 830 - 900pm but at my mom's place, 1030- 1100pm. Too playful, i guess. Luckily he slept through the night, so my parents can still have a good night's rest.

My dad slept with him the 3 nights while my mom shares my sis's bedroom (in my old bed). Guess Bryan is a real kong-kong grandbaby. My dad even took 2 days leave so that he can help babysit and take him kai-kai. No wonder Bryan did not miss mommy and daddy at all! He was treated like a prince the entire 3 days.

And he almost finished my entire frozen breastmilk stock (about 30 bags of 3-4 Oz) during the 3 day stay at my mom's. So that goods news. Before that, he rejected frozen milk and i had to throw away a few bags coz they have expired (> 3mths old). Luckily he accepted frozen milk again, otherwise, i will have to start him on formula when i am away.

So now, i can start again with the storing, ...not that i have that much extra to store anymore since i am very lazy to pump now. :P

And i just read in the breastfeeding forum that HA formula tastes bitter and some babies don't like it. Cham la. Bryan quite particular about milk taste, so i hope he will be cooperative when i need to start supplementing with formula.

Ipoh & Cameron: Conclusion

This trip has been fairly laid back because it is the first time we took Bryan on a holiday. There are plenty of rest in between so that Bryan can nap. Then again, we have been to these 2 places many many times, so no regrets.

When Bryan is older, we will probably squeeze in more places to visit. Then I guess, he will be able to enjoy the trip more too.

Happy weekend everybody....

Cameron Highlands: Day 2

What better way to start the day than breakfast at the tea plantation. My favourite is the Boh Bharat Plantation tea house. Wanted to order their masala chai but no stock. So settled for strawberry tea instead. LK and my parents had sandwiches and me…scones again.

Tea plantation

Hot tea and scones.

After having scones at Old Smokehouse, these really pale in comparison taste-wise, though they do look great in photo.

The 2 wise men…

Hey what are you guys staring at?

For lunch, we went to the Watercress Valley farm for steamboat. Best steamboat I ever had at Cameron. I have been to 2 restaurants at Tanah Rata before and a few at Brinchang but this one is the best.

Their soup base is herbal with wolfberry, ginseng root and other Chinese herbs. And you get unlimited servings of really fresh watercress. Their steamboat ingredients were also fresh. Better than the ones we had at Brinchang/ Tanah Rata. Result - soup that is really “cheng-tim” (clear & sweet) and superbly refreshing. After the chicken overdose the day before, this is really welcoming.

Traditional charcoal fire steamboat

This photo was taken seconds before Bryan upset my bowl of soup all over my jeans.

Cameron Highlands: Day 1

Since it was a windy road uphill, we kept Bryan strapped to his car seat. So he did not sleep at all during the 1.5 hr journey. When we arrive and check into the hotel, he fell asleep almost immediately, after getting his milk.

Our hotel room…guess which one it is?

The garden below our hotel room.

With gong-gong & po-po at the garden.

It was a rainy afternoon, so what better to enjoy a cold afternoon than a nice cuppa tea. I decided to take my parents to the Old Smokehouse hotel for hot tea and scones. It is just minutes away from our hotel and the scenery is very nice.

Bryan still sleeping when we arrive at the Old Smokehouse hotel.

Ain't it nice & cosy?

Bryan just loves the flowers.

Hmm….come to think of it, I don’t think he’s ever had such close encounters with the flowers before.

A romantic dinner for 3?

Two's a company, Three's a family! :)

Bryan, kong-kong, po-po

Bryan really love the cool crisp air. He was very accomodating...no fuss at all, when we take him here & there to snap the photos. hahaha...we were like passing baton. I think he was the star of the day (and everyday). It seems as if every single photo we took must have him in it.

He started fussing the moment we got indoor again....

Ipoh: Food glorious food

All we did in Ipoh was to go to different places to eat. And all poor Bryan get to do is stare at our food.

Day 1: LK wanted to have the “cheong” satay at Kong Heng and I wanted the egg custard. We arrived there shortly after 1pm, and they are all sold out.

For dinner we went to have bean sprout chicken at Cowan St shop. Then back to hotel to rest coz we were very tired. LK spent the evening glued to the tv while I read a book I brought along.

Day 2: Morning is coffee time. And when u are in Ipoh, there is no better coffee than white coffee at Ipoh Old Town.

Ipoh old town...this place bustles with activity in the morning but will be all quiet in the afternoon, after lunch in fact. Ipoh people really contented...business so good, why not continue till later?

Our favourite is the coffee at Sin Yuen Loong/ Sin Yuen Foong.

Lunch – we wanted to have an early lunch at Foh San to avoid the morning crowd. But too bad, when we arrive, most of the items were sold out. So we tah pau my mom’s fav lotus paste pau (frozen ones). The pau was Rm3 each and we bought half a dozen + 2 other types of pau (cooked ones). Overall, we spent over RM22 on paus…ridiculous hor!

Then we head to the salted chicken place and found that they had turned the entire shop into a big kitchen. There are no more places to eat at the shop. They only have take-aways. So since we are already there, mah tah-pau one for snacks later.

Turn turn turn, looking for a good place to eat, in the end have bean sprout chicken again at Onn Kee, since it was just nearby. And met a fellow Agilent colleague (Tock) there too with his family. They just came from Cameron.

Bean sprout chicken (again) at Onn Kee for lunch.

I think we had a major chicken overdose in Ipoh…..BURRRRRP!! No more chicken in the next few days.

Ipoh: Check out our hotel

We stayed at Heritage Ipoh...which is smack right in the middle of the Ipoh town. It is a regular business hotel..nothing much to brag about.

Admiring the carps outside the hotel's restaurant.















Getting a sip of water after a tired day out.















"Mommy & daddy, why are we still here...let's go explore the city...."

Cameron/ Ipoh: The road trip

Getting Bryan to sit in his car seat during the journey turned out to be a major challenge. I prepared a bag filled with his toys, rattles, and teethers to keep him occupied. I even keep his teethers in my cooler bag so that they are nice and cold. Bryan likes to chew on his cold teethers. But even then, he will only be entertained for like 15 minutes before fussing to get out.

While most babies will sleep during the car journey….Bryan was fully awake the entire journey. On the way there, we made him sit in the car seat. He did not sleep a wink at all. But doze off immediately when we checked into the hotel.

On the way back, I know he is very sleepy already, so I held him in my arms and he slept more than 2 hours in the car. And once he’s awake, he will be wriggling around to touch this, see that…oh baby baby.

Let me go, let me go.....

Mummy, daddy,...help me...get me out...

Bryan going on a holiday....tomoro, tomoro, tomoro

Tomoro morning, we'll be taking Bryan on his first holiday @ Ipoh and Cameron Highlands... I will be taking my lap top along and will take notes of our adventures along the way. Of course, there'll be lotsa photos when we're back.

Be sure to check out our blog to read all about our adventures...