Langkawi trip afterthoughts

those carefree days when going to a vacation means just having to bring a few shirts and underwear (at least for me) are over. Now with a daughter tagging along, it will never be the same.

Now, if my wife can cram the whole house in the luggage, I'm sure she will definitely do it.

For this maiden trip with our girl, it has been a very blur kind of trip from the moment we leave our house.

Last time when we are in a vacation, we will were always on the move. We will only return to the hotel at night. Now, we get so tired easily from bringing the baby along that we need to return to the hotel after a few hours. Plus she need to have her short nap too.

During this short trip, we had lost our daughter's cap during the cable car ride and also her pacifier on the last day. If we stayed any longer, I have to idea what else will be lost. Haha.

But I guess all this small problem is just for a short while. When she gets a little older, there will be less hassle for us. Plus, nothing makes us happier than bringing our daughter together for a short family vacation.

We will have more vacation to go!

Pulau Langkawi (10.04.14 - 12.04.2014) - Part 2

going to merge day 2 and 3 as there was nothing much on the final day of the vacation :)


Day 2

second day, i woke up with a great muscle pain on my right calf. this must be due to the the all the carrying and 7 hours of walking a day before the Langkawi trip (no joke). but it is not a big problem and we proceed with our trip anyway.

Isabel waking up feeling refreshed and getting ready for the next destination.

which is of course Langkawi Cable Car. the ticket is only RM15 for an adult (with Mykad).

 

Queuing up for cable car. Isabel was very excited when she saw the cable car. i was freaked out on the thought of sitting in a glass compartment which hangs only on a cable going up high.

and i mean very high! can't blame me for freaking out, right? hehe!

taking an photo on the viewing platform. and this is only a pit stop, mind you. there is a skybridge on this level too but it has been closed for maintenance for many years. pfft!

the last stop. the temperature was cooling, but the heat from the sun was melting us at the same time!

family photo in the cable car while on the way back.

other than the cable car, there is also an oriental village down there. but i think it is forgettable. and so we left right after the cable car ride.

since we have no plans for the day, i decided to take the longer route to Kuah town. and boy, that was a real petrol waster route. nothing much to see on that one hour journey as we mostly pass by villages and hills, not much seaside to see though.

had a great Thai food at Wan Thai. food was really great and the price is reasonable too. too bad no photos as we were famished at that time.

after lunch, it is off to some chocolate price survey at the town and back to another session of power nap and a dip in the swimming pool again...

the plan for the night is to drive back to kuah town after the nap for a dinner at Teo Seafood Restaurant as we read about the rave reviews there and then stroll at the Eagle Square to have the obligatory photo with the big eagle there.

but turns out is is not a good idea to drive from Cenang to Kuah at night. the road was dark, creepy and there was not much car. but we still drive there nevertheless. reached the restaurant and we see a large crowd there. we decided to skip this and also the eagle square and return to the hotel right away...

the 17km journey feels like eternity. moral of the story, not going to drive that stretch of road at night next time. too creepy. the hair at the back of my neck were standing at that time. huhuhu...

as for the eagle square, next time then!

dinner was spend tapau-ing food from the malay restaurant next to our hotel. not bad though.


Day 3

time sure flies fast when we were having fun. an this was the last day of our vacation. nothing much was done on that day. woke up, had breakfast at the hotel and off we go to the shops beside Underwater World to get our fix of chocolates, liquors, cigarettes and perfume before going back to the hotel to pack and leave for the airport.

stopped at one of those stalls along the beach nearby airport for a laksa and cendol. the view was nice, the same cannot be said for the food though...

at the airport waiting for check-in. Isabel was tired and i think she knows that holiday was over from her look in this photo. again, she had been a good girl throughout the flight back and slept for the whole journey.

it's been a short and tiring vacation but it's been a great one. and i know there will be more fun vacation to come. this is only the beginning!

Pulau Langkawi (10.04.14 - 12.04.2014) - Part 1

it's been almost two years since we actually went on a vacation. there weren't any vacation for both of us last year due to arrival of Isabel.

but this year onwards, we will have to include our daughter along for vacation! and so, we decided to have a pilot test for her by bringing her to langkawi by flight.

and boy, bringing a baby along for a vacation is really a different level of game. i'll post about it when i don't feel lazy in the future...

in fact, the chaos started the moment i stepped out of our home. noticed that i wore a different flip flops? i only noticed that when we reached the airport. haha.

fortunately, Isabel adapted well to the flight. gave her a pacifier (to ease her ear pressure) and some kiddy videos in the phone, she is an angel throughout the 1 hour journey

the distance from the airport to our hotel in Pantai Cenang area was less than 30minute. we chose Favehotel, nice, clean and cheap hotel which fulfills our requirement for a family trip. bought a 3D2N pacakage (2 days breakfast included) with a Myvi auto for RM490 in Matta fair. quite a bargain right?



Isabel hogging the bed the moment we reached the hotel!

after a brief rest, we wasted no time for our next destination, the Underwater World Langkawi. entrance fee is not cheap , RM30 for an adult (with Mykad), but i think it is worth it.

upon entering, we are greeted by various birds which are not restricted in cage. the birds are free to fly freely in that area.be sure to lookout for the parrot that can greet hello!

seals are swimming behind us. don't let Isabel's moody face deceive you. she was in fact very exicted and was screaming around excitedly although she was a bit scared of certain big fish and don't dare to tough the aquarium! haha.

and the main attraction there, the penguins! everyone was excited as it was their feeding time too! don't miss this and make sure to check the feeding time beforehand. i've forgotten the time, i think it is around 2.30pm.

other than penguin feeding, there was also another feeding time at 3.30pm where the divers will be in the aquarium to feed the fishes. damn, the fishes are so pampered here.

decided to 'dump' her to sit in front of the aquarium as my body was aching from all the carrying (nope, we did not bring a stroller along).

once we were done with the Underwater World, we were back for a power nap. once Isabel is refreshed, off we go to the hotel swimming pool!

the kiddy pool is slightly deep than an average baby. so we have to hold her while she splashes happily in the pool. so happy that she cried when we carried away her away from the pool later on.

i'm sure she will be tall enough to play on her own in the kiddy pool the next time we come back to this hotel!

dinner time, we were thinking of what to eat, at first we we thinking of having our dinner at Orkid Ria (maybe next time) but we went to Little Mexican instead. taste not bad but the portion is quite small though.

at first we planned to go to the pasar malam nearby but we decided to give it a miss as it is just like other malay pasar malam that we have frequesnted before. so we decided to walk along the pantai cenang area.

we were dead tired that night. and to think of it, we only spend less than 12 hours in Langkawi...

Scare of our life!

Isabel was coughing non stop a few weeks ago with flu and slight fever. No thanks to us. After a visit to the doctor, all was well again.

But when she was 7month old a few days ago, she got us worried sick by falling of her bed. Due to our carelessness of not putting a pillow beside her, she rolled and thump!!! The next thing is her yelling and crying.

It was 1.30am back then and I was at the living room watching tv (more like the tv watching me as I had already fell asleep). The moment we heard her cry, we jumped to our feet and check her out. The next 1hour we spend checking if she is injured or not and also to soothe her to sleep.

The biggest worry is whether it will affect her brain or not. Spent the night checking the internet amd called up doctor the next day to confirm.

Thank goodness all is well and our daughter is now as naughty as always!

Baby on Board! (Part 3) –Things not to do during pregnancy

The list of things that pregnant lady should not do is listed as below. Again, listed in the form of ‘real advice’ and medical reason.

1. Chinese beliefs we should not move our house furniture during the pregnancy period. This is because moving the furniture (especially your bed) might ‘move’ the foetus position a.k.a. miscarriage.

Medical explanation: During our pregnancy, our back is very important as it will need to support our body weight (plus the growing belly). Moving things, if not careful enough will result in backache. Always keep in mind that our centre of gravity also changes when our belly is growing. This is also why they always say pregnant woman have got no balance when walking :P

2.   Do not renovate the house during pregnancy. As again, it will result in miscarriage.

Medical explanation: Pregnant women should avoid paint, thinner, dust and other subtances because inhaling too much of them can cause in miscarriage, birth defect and learning problem in child. For more information please click here.

3. Pregnant ladies are also advised not to announce to people (other than immediate family members) that they pregnant until she is at least on her 12th week. This is because they belief that baby might be angry or they call it ‘siu hei’ in Cantonese thus having the risk of losing the baby.
Medical explanation: or more towards logical explanation, the foetal is not stable in the first trimester and the risk of miscarriage is high during the first trimester. So to avoid disappointment, it is better not to inform anyone about the good news until the foetus is stable.

4. I found this new thing from this particular site where I think is quite interesting. It says that a pregnant lady should avoid sitting on a newly wedded couple’s bed if she attends their wedding. As this will make the couple not able to have child as much year as how many months the pregnant lady is. For example, if the pregnant lady is 5 months pregnant, then the couple will not be able to have child for 5 years. For more information, you may read here.
Medical Explanation: could not find anything scientific to back this one up though. And of course I did not try this, I do not want to get the blame if the couple really are not able to have baby for years, do I? :P

5. Please also take note that smoking is a big NO NO during pregnancy. Cigarettes increase the risk of babies having a low birth weight, being born prematurely and/or with respiratory problems, and maternal smoking is linked to miscarriage and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).


p/s: if you did notice, I did not put any Indian’s believe for pregnant women in my post because I have NO IDEA anything about it. LOL!

15.07.13 - turn Isabel, turn!!!

Day 143, at last she managed to turn over her body without any assistance from us. Weeks of practicing on her bed, our bed, her play mat, her playground and all over places did not go to waste after all.

being a hot tempered child (like me), She had been shouting when she was unable to turn or when her hand was stuck beneath her own body. It didn't stop her from keep trying though although there are times she vomited a bit of milk (due to turning here and there I guess?). in fact, she gets annoyed when stopped her from trying as sometimes she looked tired.

now that the first phase is done, the next step will be crawling and then walking. I guess we will have to chase her around by then!

*she feels so tired after this accomplishment (and also the earlier trip to the clinic and Tesco), she is sleeping like a pig now.

Baby on Board! (Part 2) – Food to avoid during pregnancy

Many woman worries a lot about how the fetus is developing in their womb throughout pregnancy and I’m not spared from the group. It’s very normal to have this type of feeling since we can’t actually see what’s happening inside. And so to minimize that worry and anxiety, I refer to some of the websites which are quite good in informing us on how the fetus is developing week by week and what mothers should do to take care of themselves during that period. One of my favorite site is baby-gaga : http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/ . They also provide parenting guidelines for infant. 

Being a first time expecting mom, expect to get loads of ‘advises’ from everyone you know. They will come with a list of things that you SHOULD NOT EAT, SHOULD NOT DO and the list goes on… In my case, I was expected to follow both the Chinese and Indian ‘rules’. Which of course… I did not. LOL. That’s because I was actually advised by my Gynea that I might end up eating nothing if I need to follow both… :s

Below is the SHOULD NOT EAT list that I was told to follow and what it says medically:

1. The Chinese beliefs that one should not eat raw (seafood sashimi or not fully cooked meat such as beef) during pregnancy.
Medical explanation: it’s not that raw seafood and half cooked meat is dangerous to pregnant lady. But it may easily get contaminated by growing bacteria which will then make a pregnant lady feel ill because pregnant woman’s immune system is lower during pregnancy so that our body will not attack out growing fetus. Please also take note that illnesses due to food poisoning could lead to minor problems such as flu and diarrhea or as serious that can cause miscarriage or other foetal damage. Click here for more info.

2. Chinese also says to prevent taking orange fruit during pregnant as it will result in too much phlegm in the baby when she is born.
Medical explanation: no harm in taking oranges during pregnancy as long as it’s in moderation as orange juice has got a lot of Vitamin C and Folic acid that a pregnant lady need to get energy from where as Folic acid is important for foetal growth.

3. Chinese beliefs that talking mutton or lamb during pregnancy will cause the baby to have seizures in future.
Medical explanation: I could not find any sites supporting the above. But, to eat lamb or mutton, we must make sure it’s fully cooked and not rare or medium well. Refer item number 1 (on top) for explanation.

4. Prevent cold drink and food such as ice cream is a common advice during pregnancy. Chinese beliefs that if a pregnant lady have too much cold water and cold food, she will affect the baby’s respiratory system where the baby might have a weak respiratory system when he/she is born.
Medical Explanation: I was told by my gynea, it is ok to drink cold water, because our body is so hot that by the time the ‘cold’ water reach my tummy, it has already became room temperature. :P But of course I only started taking cold water after my 12th week.. making sure that the fetus is stable 1st.

There are so many more things that I have been told not to eat but I could not think at the back of my head right now. But I think the list above is good enough to make the pregnancy duration miserable.

Other things that are medically proven that pregnant lady should avoid are:

1.      Deli products - as it is normally taken out from the fridge and eaten cold. This is when all the bacteria have already been residing on the Deli meat.

2.      Some types of cheese normally soft cheese – for the above same reason because they may be unpasteurized and contaminated with listeria -- bacteria that can trigger food poisoning. Unpasteurized milk will have the same effect too.

3.      Raw eggs (including homemade mayos) – they  also contain high level of listeria

4.      Caffeine drinks such as coffee and colas. Too much can increase the risk of miscarriage.

5.      Alcohol is also a big NO NO because alcohol can go to the baby almost immediately as it crosses the placenta. Baby will have risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

For more info, click here.

I'll continue with my Not To Do list on the next post. :-)