Hong Kong : Ocean Park (25-11-2011)

We initially scheduled Ocean Park to be on a Sunday, but due to the Christmas season approaching and also Malaysia's and Singapore's school holidays, we anticipated there to be a big crowd on weekends. We pushed forward Ocean Park to a Friday but it turned out that the place is really packed!


Entry passes to Ocean Park is marked with Ocean Park's animals. I think the passes in Hong Kong are always so colourful and cute. Upon arrival, we found the wind to be quite strong. The weather is fine for the day. Nice day to walk around and explore the park. This park is definitely bigger than Hong Kong Disneyland.



After getting the park maps and schedule for showtime, Uncle Othniel and little Brendan started scrutinising the maps. While Disneyland itinerary was mostly mapped out by Chanel and myself, Ocean Park's highlights was practically marked by the guys. Unfortunately, most of the rides are more suitable for older kids.

 

We started by taking the cable car up to The Summit where most of the "chee-kek" rides are. For us, the main focus at The Summit will be the marine mammals show at the Ocean Theatre. There are tons of rides like the crazy roller coaster rides, Flying Swing, The Abyss, Eagle, and many more. I would have love all this if I'm still a teenager, however now, I'd rather just standby and watch. Some of the rides at The Summit are not for the faint hearted. My kids would love to go for it if not for the age and height requirement. Oh, thank goodness. haha.



Taking the cable car up to The Summit. You get spectacular views of Ocean Park Waterfront and overlooking Ocean Park's area.

  

The top left picture here is actually many, many toys vending machines. Just so many of them to tempt young kids. Here, we see Eryn posing with a Mermaid and the kids taking the kiddish train ride "Toto The Loco". The kids got excited and posted inside the huge teeth. Err..... I don't know what species that would be. A shark, maybe?



The marine mammals and trainers show at the Ocean Theatre. The dolphins are such fine creatures. They're a sight to behold.  The kids were thrilled in seeing a real sea lion and was amazed at their huge sizes!



One of the two major giddy roller coaster rides in Ocean Park. Just looking at this from the top of the Ferris Wheel makes my tummy churn. Can't imagine going through this. The previous day's Space Mountain ride in Hong Kong Disneyland made me feel like puking. This would probably make be faint. This ride was close though. We later found out that another monsterous roller coaster ride was located near the Raging River ride. Apparently, this roller coaster ride was not in the Ocean Park map. Must be something new, I think.



View from the gondola on the top of the Ferris Wheel.



The interesting looking train called the "Ocean Express" which we took from The Summit to get back to The Waterfront. This ride is so much more faster compared to the cable car. The train resemble a submersible machine. It's a little dark in there and it looks like we are riding in the sea, with videos of the sea above us, on the ceiling of the train.



The Ocean Express Summit Station looks really cool.

 

Kids love this place. Nice place to just walk around and 'lepak' too. It's not really that cold. Heard that the summer heat can be a hindrance. So, make sure you plan your trip during November  which I think would be a good time to go.

 

More fun stuffs to see and do. Those cute jellyfish keychain are so cute.

 

Hey, what am I doing with 6 kids on the Frog Hopper ride? hahaha.... Well, for each ride, only one adult is allowed and therefore, I'm the "chosen" one. Looks like a kiddish ride, but you can see the kids' faces that the hopping can make your heart skip a beat or two!

 

The panda  bears we saw. Managed to take one during feeding time. The rest were sleeping. The picture below the panda pictures is Brendan and Jeriel with Ocean Park's mascot.

 

The Grand Aquarium is amazing. There are tons and tons of fishes and sea animals and lots and lots of sharks swimming around. Here, we see colourful sea cucumbers, starfish, a sea dragon and squids. There are many other other fishes as well swimming in huge aquariums. There's even big snow crabs and a very, very huge sand shark that looked bigger than a human! The photo we took of it wasn't that clear, so am not posting it here.

  

Little baby sharks swimming around in one of the tanks

  Sharks, sting rays, fishes, swimming in one of the tanks in the Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park.

"Symbio!" -a multi-media nighttime spectacular 360° water screen show at the Aqua City Lagoon in Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Disneyland (24-11-2011)

The following day after our arrival, we went to Hong Kong Disneyland. Although it was a Thursday, it was quite crowded.


We got our cute Disneyland entry passes. It was such a nice and sunny day.



Disneyland, here we come! Ya, feel shy only, to say that this is my first Disneyland trip too.

 



Right in the middle of Main Street lies a tall Christmas tree. Everything in here is so fun and colourful.

 

The front and back view of the Disneyland Rail Station near the entrance of Hong Kong Disneyland. We took the train ride to Fantasyland as our first itinerary of the day.

  

Goofy, Minnie and Mickey Mouse joined us for a ride on Dumbo The Flying Elephant too!



See the boarding pass? That will be given while you are queueing up for the Dumbo The Flying Elephant Ride which will be collected once you're in the Dumbo ride.

  

In a rush to go for a show, we saw Tinkerbell!! Unfortunately, we didn't have time to stop by and take a photo with her. In fact, we didn't have the chance to snap a photo together with any of the Disney characters due to the long queue which I think can take at least 20 minutes.



The newly opened Toy Storyland. We didn't manage to go for any of the rides here. Brendan wanted to go on the Slinky Dog but we had to negotiate with him for other rides as we had to rush for The Golden Mickey Show. Most shows require you to be present 30 minutes before showtime.

 

We queued up for about half hour for this Soldier Parachute Jump before decided to call it quits. We didn't want to miss our Golden Mickey Show and therefore, we didn't manage to experience this new ride in Disneyland. I think the queue is easily 45 minutes long.



The Golden Mickey Show!! This was the show that made us missed the rides in Toy Storyland. It's one of the main shows and it's truly a remarkable performance they have there. Not to be missed.

 

Beauty and the Beast dance performance. Sooooo romantic.

 

The casts from The Golden Mickey Show - you definitely won't miss the main characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Stitch, the characters from Toy Storyland, Belle and many more.



Colourful balloons that lights up at night!

 

Flights of the Fantasy Parade is a must to see. It is only shown once a day in the afternoon and therefore, it would be good to grab a good place prior to the parade to get a clear, good view of the whole parade. Dumbo The Elephant was the first car parade to show up .



Winnie the Pooh and friends. Tigger and Eeyore are so cute!!



It's amazing to see people strapped to harnesses springing up and down. They're the tiny little "bees" jumping on the trampoline.



The Lion King and jungle characters

 

Lilo and Stitch

  

Tinkerbell and cute little ferries on little lady bug cars 

 

Disney princesses.



One of the "fairy" pulled out some kids from the crowd to have a dance in the parade.




Toy Storyland toy characters. They look just like the ones in the cartoons, except that these ones are bigger than humans instead of the other way round.



One of the happening area : Tomorrowland. A warning for those who are afraid of fast roller coaster. Avoid Space Mountain. It will drive you crazy. Brendan and his friend, Jeriel, went for two rounds. Chanel and I went in without thinking and came out 'mabuk' for a while. hehehehe...We screamed our heads off. Well, literally.



Wooooo.... I love the castle at sunset. It's so beautiful!!



We visited the toilet a lot in Disneyland. Apparently, the fever Eryn developed was due to her stomach pain and diarrhoea. She practically visited the ladies every hour and kept complaining of stomach ache. What an adventure. Sigh!

The fastpass machine. This prints out the fastpass tickets for faster entry into three of the rides in the park i.e. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Space Mountain and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This saves you lots of time as you can always come back at the stipulated time with minimal queueing time.



Day and night scene for "It's A Small World". So pretty right?




Different illuminations at night at the castle. I'm in dreamland.......




One of the photo taken in "It's A Small World". Most of the other photos taken are not so clear.




Such a wonderful sight!




We spent some time lingering at Main Street at closing time. It was "snowing" and we had fun in the snow and looking at the almost empty street while waiting for friends to finish shopping.




Cheerful mood after Hong Kong Disneyland. All feeling extremely tired, especially Eryn who went to the toilet more than a dozen times!! We actually spent  approximately 12 hours in Disneyland (^--^)



Taking the MTR train from Disneyland to Sunny Bay for transit to Tung Chung. From Tung Chung, we had to take a commuter bus. It was too late to take the hotel shuttle from Disneyland, and Tung Chung too. I love those Mickey windows and the Mickey handrails on the train. So, it's worth spending more time back in Disneyland and miss the hotel shuttle. At least this would be an interesting experience for the kids.

Here are some snippets of some videos taken in Hong Kong Disneyland  :

Fireworks in Hong Kong Disneyland

The Golden Mickey Show
Festival of the Lion King Show
The Toy Soldier Parachute Jump at the newly opened Toy Storyland. The queue for this ride is tremendously long.

Hong Kong vacation 23rd-28th Nov. 2011

We recently took the kids to Hong Kong for our first ever family overseas trip. We have kept this a secret from the kids until the night before we were to fly.

When I took the kids to make their passport two weeks earlier, they asked what is a passport and after explaining it to them, they asked why do they need the passport.

We went together with Chanel and her family. It started when Chanel called sometime in July (I think) to ask whether I'm keen to go for family trip to Hong Kong together. It was quite a rush decision at that point of time and after discussing with hubby, we decided to go for it. We were lucky that we got extremely good rates to stay in Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel at a fraction of the actual cost.

A quick check with hubby's Enrich points showed that he has some points expiring in December this year and is good for a one way trip for two adults. However, buying the tickets for the kids separately is quite costly. We took Air Asia there and came back with MAS. The rates we got for Air Asia were considered quite expensive too. Oh well, you can't have it all.

Thus, began the journey of lots of planning and researching on our itinerary for a 6 days 5 nights trip, or rather, a full 4 days trip as the first and last days were our arrival and departure days.

Kids eating french fries while waiting for our hotel shuttle at the Hong Kong International Airport. Noticed the mask below Eryn's mouth? Upon arrival, Eryn was diagnosed as having fever at 39.5c. We were called to fill in some forms and and interview to check on the symptoms for bird blu. Gosh, that was really a bad start for us cos we've just arrived Hong Kong. The airport health authorities told us that if Eryn's fever is not down below 37c, we'll have to see a doctor and give him the airport health check-up slip.



Our 6 days 5 nights stay in the 5-star Hong Kong Skycity Marriott Hotel. The room is quite big with two double bed and a sofa too. What a pleasant stay we have there. Which was also the reason why we forgo staying a night in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort which would have cost us at least 4-5 times I believe.




Brendan and Eryn looking out from our hotel window the next morning (day 2). We have arrived Hong Kong at night around 8:20pm and by the time we reached the hotel after the health interview, buying kids' paracetamol and a quick dinner, it was almost 11pm. Eryn didn't have a good sleep, kept tossing and turning due to her fever. As Chanel as arrived earlier than us, she had dinner with Jazz, who was kind to pass over her daughter's, Faythe's unopen bottle of fever medicine from Malaysia. I kept getting up because of Eryn and only manage a total of four hours sleep.



The cards on the left are Octopus cards for two adults and two children. If you are visiting Hong Kong for a few days and plan to travel around a lot, the Octopus card is extremely convenient to use. The card on the right is our Hong Kong Skycity Marriott room card.

Will continue to blog and post more photos on our Hong Kong trip later on.

My baby girl



Little Korean Princess.



It's around this time of the year that kindys have their school concert. Eryn had hers last month. She looks demure dancing a very beautifully choreographed Korean dance.

I see Eryn dancing at home in front of the mirror all the time, saying that she has to dance well since she's standing at the front.They have practiced for months.

In the earlier practices, Eryn complaint that she's not keen in the dance as it's boring and it's so repetitive. Part of the kindy schedule for the second half was having a dance practice slot almost every day. She was clearly bored.

As time passes and the timing between the girls were perfected, they were then introduced the fans which sparked up the interest in practicing harder.She stood at the front, just like her last concert, and performed the dance extremely well with her group of little 'korean princesses'.



My baby girl is no longer a baby. She's grown into a little girl with a mind of her own. Just can't imagine that she'll be entering primary one next year. It is really hard to imagine how 6 years have flown by just like that.

Decaying human values

The news on the little two year old girl in China created a huge outcry all over the world. It is just so sad to know that that little girl has died.

Being hit twice, and left to die on the road, with the TOTAL ignorance by 18 passers-by definitely is not something you can really imagine.

Humans are getting smarter, and sadly, more self-centred, greedy and lacking in moral values nowadays. This kind of news sadden me, and while questions are being pointed at the huge populated and developing country, I'd have to say that this applies to everywhere else in the world, including our country.

True human values are decreasing and even if they do, the main priorities are to "take care of my own rice bowl first" and not giving a damn at other people.

May you rest in peace, little Yue..

Stretch Hummer

Can't resist posting this Hummer I saw. I actually came down from the car just to take this pic.

Such a beauty!

"Khao Jam" (Nasi Kerabu)

"Khao Jam" ('kao jam'), or locally known as nasi kerabu, is a famous Kelantanese/Thai rice dish which is extremely healthy. Apparently, it helps to keep the body "warm" and is known to be good for people under confinement after delivery or those whose body are prone to chills and rheumatism.

Recently, my MIL and hubby's aunt was down from their kampung (village) in Kelantan and stayed in our house for a week. They brought along lots and lots of fresh herbs and vegetables and frozen bags of dark green coloured water.  The greens are totally fresh and free from pesticides.

The "khao jam" rice is actually made from the juice and blended herbs of more than a dozen herbs in Kelantan. I was told that you can't get it anywhere else except in Kelantan. Some of hubby's aunts make the most authentic "khao jam". They get their supply of fresh herbs and vegetables from a friend who collects the herbs which are mostly grown in his own backyard and some collected in the wild. The herbs have to be pre-ordered to allow time for the farm owner to pick and choose the leaves for you.

When I asked hubby's aunt what are the types of herbs used, she gave me names which are totally alien to me. She says that she doesn't even know how to describe it to me as it requires special knowledge to pluck the kind of leaves and herbs together. There used to be a time when people would use approximately 100 types of herbs to extract the juice.

"Khao" actually means rice in Thai while "jam" is the blended mixtures of all the herbs and vegetables. It's a Kelantanese favourite with thai influence and is totally different from the coloured rice that you normally see in the normal nasi kerabu which is sometimes made from a type of blue flower or added with colouring.  The taste is totally different and cannot be compared with the normal nasi kerabu that you normally get in malay restaurants. Our friends who recently tried this for the first time, went for a second helping. It kind of boost your appetite and makes you want to eat more.

How do I describe it? It's extremely fragrant and appetising. Hubby's aunt used the blended herbs and juices extracted from it and cook it with the rice like how you cook normal rice. She would also add in some daun limau purut (kaffir lime leaves), pandanus leaves and some gula melaka (palm sugar) on top of it for extra fragrance.

For the fresh vegetables, it is extremely important to use pesticide free vegetables. The chopping of the vegetable into fine pieces can be quite tedious. So, be prepared for a few hours of preparation.

For our preparation of our "khao jam" last night, we used the following fresh and raw vegetables which are mostly chopped finely, except for the beans :

•  normal petai (smelly green bean in pods)
• baby petai (this has tons of health benefits!)
• jering (a type of bean which is slightly bigger than petai but with a much lesser stinky smell)
• daun kesum (a kind of fragrant leaves)
• serai (lemongrass)
• bunga kantan (torch ginger flower)
• small raw mango
• taugeh (beansprouts)
• small bittergourd (this has tons of health benefits too!)
• cucumber
• onions
• young jantung pisang (banana flower)

You may also add in long beans, daun pegaga (pennywort) and other type of ulams (raw vegetables and herbs).

Over and above that, we added these :

• fish flakes (we use ikan kembung)
• kerisik (grated coconut that is briefly pan fried for the crispiness
• budu sauce (fermented fish sauce)

Budu sauce is widely used in east coast dishes. We added chopped chilli padi (bird's eye chillis), shallots and lime juice for the extra kick. However, be warned never to watch how the budu sauce is made in those small "factory huts" as you'll find it pretty disgusting and a big turn-off. haha... It is extremely salty, so watch the salt intake.

Here are some pictures to whet your appetite.




colourful types of fresh,  raw vegetables - such a pretty sight!



"khao jam" rice - cooked with more than a dozen types of blended herbs together with the juice extracted from it. The picture above here is a big rice cooker pot cooked for 15 people.




check out the budu sauce (top right), baby petai (top left), fish soup cooked in asam gelugor, green chillis and onions (middle left) and stir-fry chicken with petai (bottom left).



Brendan's value of money

As I watch my kids grow day by day, I am reminded of their uniqueness and the special personality in them. They never fail to amaze me with surprises every now and then.

When it comes to money, I've come to realise that Brendan will be someone who would be very careful with his money. He doesn't really know how big the value of money can grow but he can be quite frugal when it comes to money sense.

Just recently, while we were having pan mee for dinner, a salesman walked into the restaurant and showed my kids some toys.

I've always taught my kids that we should never shun these people and the least we can do is just smile and politely decline them as they've spent hours walking around shops and restaurants trying to sell their stuffs. At times, I'd kind of threaten them that they would have to resort to that if they refuse to study hard. hehehehe.

Anyway, Eryn gave the man a smile and shook her head, implying a "no" when the man showed her a toy aeroplane.

The man then walked to Brendan and showed him a car. Brendan being Brendan, just continued eating his pan mee. The man continued, "RM10 only".

Brendan blurted out "RM10?!! Soooo expensive!! I can buy 8 honey apples with RM10".

Now, I could have scolded him for answering the man, but it was really funny to see the man's reaction and we all just have to laugh at the scenario.

Just a few months back, I remember Brendan asking me to take him to the bank as he kept saying that he's got a transaction to do. I kept saying "later" until  I finally asked him why did he keep asking me to take him to the bank.

He said that he's got some money to put in the bank and then I asked him how much. He replied, "RM12". I told him that he's got to have at least RM100 before he come asking me to take him to the bank as it would be a waste of petrol and time and having to pay for parking. So, I gave him a little piggy bank for him to keep his money. He said he'd rather keep it in his wallet which he kept in a special place.

And then, there was this time last year when I was planning to change car. I told the kids about the cost of living, the rate of inflation, expenses going up and we shouldn't spend on an expensive car. Brendan said, "Mummy, I want to buy you a car. Do you think RM8 can buy you a big car?" Gosh, I'm so touched. He actually took out all the money in his wallet and gave them to me. I told him a car cost more than that and we would need a 5-figure amount for that. He can't seem to comprehend anything more than a thousand, or maybe even a hundred and kept asking how do people even afford to buy a car or a house.

He doesn't get pocket money for school cos I pre-ordered food from the canteen for him, so that he doesn't have to queue and rush to eat in his 20 minutes recess. There is a coin box which I told him he can take some coins out if he needs to buy anything extra and he'd just brush it off and say he doesn't need it as the uncle in school always give him too much food.

And just a few hours ago, Brendan said, "Mummy, when my birthday comes, please don't buy me a cake. It's not good to eat too much cake right?" Oh dear!! There he goes again. So, I said, "ok, then maybe we go and celebrate over a simple dinner". He went on and said, "Ok, but don't spend too much. We should save money. Maybe we can go to Disneyland one day".

Oh! That's my boy!! He makes me want to cry for being way so sensible and matured for an eight years old boy.