Iman and Durian

Iman really likes durian... well she carries both Mummy's and Ayah's gene that like durian. Of course she will like it too...

Some poses of Iman eating durian during the trip Cik Han (Iman's aunty) and cousins made to our house.

Iman & Cleo Balloon

11 August 2007

We were invited to Aunty Kauthar's son's 2nd birthday party at the swimming pool. Iman was actually not feeling very well that day but Mummy thought the trip to the birthday party would do some good to Iman since Iman has been cooped up in the house while Mummy attended a meeting with Mummy's friends.

It was indeed a good idea coz Iman started to eat the meehoon (which was actually very hot!) and started to be in good mood. The clown gave Iman a balloon shaped into a poodle. Iman called the balloon Cleo - the poodle who is Clifford the Red Dog's friend.

Iman's First Trip to Aquaria

14 August 2007

The teachers of Young Ambassadors have arranged for a field trip for everybody to visit Aquaria. Again, Iman being in the group of 2 - 3 years old, has to be chaperoned otherwise she can't join the trip. Furthermore Teacher Aza was not around, so Kakak Sharmini would not be able to handle too many 2-3 year-olds.

Mummy had a meeting that day! Tried very hard to change the meeting date but could not! Mummy was really torned between attending the meeting and going with Iman. If Mummy didn't chaperone Iman, then Iman wouldn't be able to go. Mummy and Ayah can always bring Iman to Aquaria later, but Mummy didn't want Iman to miss the adventure of going with friends in the school bus! That's something Mummy won't be able give later... so Mummy had to make a final decision - to go with Iman and to miss the meeting.

That's what Mummy learnt to accept - Iman comes first!

We were in Young Ambassadors Setiawangsa to wait for the school bus by 9:20 a.m., only to find out that the bus would only be there by 10:00 a.m. We went into the school and Mummy met Nurin's mummy for the first time. We had a nice chat while waiting for the bus.

Iman was very excited to go on the school bus. Didn't even want to eat the bread given for her snack. Didn't want to drink her milk. But by the time the bus moved, Iman was already sleepy. We went to Young Ambassadors Ampang Jaya's centre to collect the kids there.

Finally arrived at Aquaria by almost 11:00 a.m. Waited a while before we could get in and then everybody started to move at their own pace. Iman and Mummy went to all the aquariums in Aquaria. Iman was quite uncomfortable with the darkness that she wanted to be carried all the time while we were there. Nearly broke Mummy's back having to carry Iman..



Towards the end, Iman couldn't concentrate on the fish anymore since we have been separated from Nurin and Iman was looking high and low for Nurin. When we went into the souvenir shop, Iman was ok a bit.. excited to see the "Nemo" stuffed fish and also with other items being sold. Iman finally decided that she wanted the accessory for handfon, in the shape of a pink fish! Since it didn't cost much, Mummy just bought it for Iman..

By the time we went out to look for the rest of the gang, Mummy was having splitting headache! Managed to insist Iman to eat some fish biscuits Mummy brought along. Then after we arrived back in Young Ambassadors Setiawangsa at about 1:30 p.m., Mummy just walked home. There goes Mummy's plan to go to the office. Mummy was just too tired and had to sleep off the headache. All in all we had a nice time in Aquaria.

Iman's First Telekung

A few (9 to be exact!) of Mummy's friends went to Bandung during the same time we went to Bangkok. Originally Mummy wanted to go along with them to Bandung but didn't want to disturb their fun since Mummy have to bring Iman along, if Mummy join them. So luckily we made our own plan and we went for our own vacation during the same time they went. At least Mummy didn't feel so sad being left behind. He..he...he..

Anyway, Aunty Bee, Aunty Nieza and Aunty Tif bought a telekung for Iman! It was very sweet of them. Mummy has been wanting to look for one for Iman. Alhamdulillah they got it for us!!

Here's some photos of Iman in the new Telekung. Siap posing performing the prayers.

Iman's sense of colour and fashion

Today Iman woke up and commented "tak sama..." when she saw that she was wearing a different colour pants with her pyjama. It was not a one suit thing! What she didn't realised was that at 2:15 a.m. when Mummy woke up to go to toilet, checked Iman in her cot and found that her pyjama pants was wet! So Mummy changed her diaper and also her pants. Mummy was wondering whether she would notice in the morning that she is wearing a different pants.

True enough, when she woke up, she saw that the colour of the pants doesn't match her pyjama and she made her comments. Mummy couldn't help but laughed.

To cater to her sense of colours and matchingness, when we went to Bangkok, because she seemed to suddenly like her pink sneakers (which she never wanted to wear at all previously since Mummy bought it way back in March or April), Mummy had to make sure that Mummy packed all pinkish t-shirts and pants. Mummy just didn't want us to fight over the unmatchingness of the entire outfit every time we were getting ready. So, we never had to go through any argument about colour and matchingness at all during the trip.

Learned from one previous incident when we were at Nenek's place. Mummy brought a blue pyjama for Iman to change to after she took her shower. When she realised that the sandle we brought for her was pink, she refused to wear the blue pyjama because it won't match!! So, Mummy ended up letting Iman wear her pink t-shirts that she was wearing before so that will match her sandal!! What a freak she can be at times!!

After that incident, Mummy made sure that Mummy will pack extra clothings for her that will still match her sandal or her shoes or her pants. Everything must match!! Oh boy!! Very tiring... Thank God there is only one Iman... to handle.

Iman Mengganas

These last few days Iman has been acting really strange! She seemed to be so "geram" with Mummy. Every nite for the past few days Mummy has been attacked by Iman. She will bite and cubit Mummy's arms (which are usually exposed - maybe she geram to see Mummy's arms yang besar!!). Iman will wrestle with Mummy whenever she sees Mummy resting on the sofa or on the bed.

Iman will be starring at Mummy with strange look in her eyes whenever she wrestle with Mummy. Mummy wonders what is going on in Iman's mind whenever she's acting that way.

Iman want Snow

We are already back to our regular timetable and activities after the holiday trip. Iman will be asking for Cartoon as soon as she steps in the house after we fetch her from her school in the evening. It's the same routine for her. She would get into the house, before removing her sandals, she would already be saying "Nak cartoon..."

As much as we don't want her to be a tv addict, we just couldn't deny her the wish for cartoon. After all, we think it is ok for her to watch cartoon after a whole day in school without tv! Anyway, her favourite channel is PHDC - Playhouse Disney Channel 63 and we observed that her English vocab is increasing in a great pace. We know that she's not really getting the good English exposure from her teacher in school, as she doesn't speak English that well. So, it must have been from TV!

Her routine shows are:

• 5:30 - 6:00 p.m. - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. - Little Einstein
• 6:30 - 7:00 p.m. - PB & J Otter
• 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. - Out of the Box
• 7:30 - 8:00 p.m. - Clifford
• 8:00 - 8:30 p.m. - Rollie Pollie Ollie
• 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. - Jojo Circus

She can sing along all the songs from these shows! She will also immitate the way the words are said like she will say "I cannot believe it!" following Little Einstein.


Watching all those shows she get exposed to many things. One nite, a few days back, when Mummy was hanging the laundry at the balcony, Iman suddenly said "Mummy, Iman want snow!" I was so surprise to hear that! So Ayah quickly told Mummy to think of a country to bring Iman next so that she can experience snow! And there I was thinking very hard to how bring her to those places since the flights are very long.

Then I got a bright idea! We can always bring her to Genting where they have a snow house. Cheaper and we don't need to travel so long in the plane. But we would have to wait till she's 3 otherwise she can't get in!

Good night, my princess!

It's now a little past 11 pm. Mummy just went to kiss Iman in her cot. Iman will always shows Mummy where she wanted Mummy to kiss her ~ all over her forehead! Not too many on the cheeks. More on the forehead.

It is Mummy's special time of the day, to kiss Iman good nite. Whenever Mummy kiss Iman, Mummy always think of all the little girls out there. Mummy hope someone is kissing them good nite too.

Then Iman would also give Mummy a few pecks on Mummy's forehead. It is so precious!

Thank you Allah for blessing me with this child. Mummy hope Iman will grow up to be a great daughter.. That Iman will take care of Ayah and Mummy when we are old and grey and probably a nuisance already.

Bangkok Trip Day 3 - Leaving Bangkok

29-July-2007

We arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport by about 1 pm! Somehow the trip to the airport was shorter than when we first arrived. Iman was already expressing her feelings about not wanting to go on the airplane! It must have been the trauma of the flight to Bangkok when she threw up in the plane that's making her feel that she didn't want to go on the airplane. I was getting worried on how to handle her when it was time to board the flight.

When we arrived, the check-in counter for our AirAsia flight was still not opened. We went to sit down and to have our lunch. The fried rice was so...so... delicious! Iman thought so too... she had quite a lot! Mummy was glad to see that. Ayah didn't quite like his fried noodle because they didn't fry it the way we like it. It was ok...Mummy helped Ayah to finish his noodle too.

By the time we went to find the check-in counter for our flight, the queue was already so long! The problem with AirAsia is that even for check-in all party travelling must be together, so Mummy and Iman can't just sit somewhere while Ayah went to settle the check-in process. So, there we were queueing up together. Out of a sudden another counter was opened! We rushed there and we were 4th in the queue! Compared to like being the 30th or so! After checking-in we went down to look for the Surau. There were signage everywhere showing where the Surau is! And the Surau was very big and comfortable! For a non-Muslim country, Thailand made a good investment for provide for the Muslim tourists! We were so glad to be able to pray comfortably before we finally went to gate to wait for our flight.

Some slides of the scenery in the Suvarnabhumi Airport. Very beautiful airport unfortunately the aircon could not cool off the entire airport, somehow.

Mummy met Mummy's ex-student from MIDA at the gate while we were waiting for the flight. We chatted a little and when it was time to queue to board the plane, Ayah was already there! We were supposed to be 2nd in line to board, of course after all the X-press boarders. But somehow as we were walking towards the plane a few people actually passed us! And we were already almost running to the plane! Some people!!

Luckily Iman was not making a fuss when we were going into the airplane. Alhamdulillah. She must be very tired and sleepy after the heavy lunch that she didn't protest when we buckled her seatbelt and asked her to sit quietly. She told Ayah that she didn't want to sleep. So, we let her sit in her seat. Once the plane took off, she quietly put her head on Ayah's lap and her feet on Mummy's lap! Mummy also managed to catch a few winks! Iman slept throughout the flight. We woke her up only when we were landing in LCCT!



We arrived in LCCT at about 6:40 p.m. By 7:15 p.m. we were already in the taxi to get home. The traffic was quite heavy! Luckily Iman was in good mood. She was humming away one song after another in the taxi while we were stuck in the traffic. We finally reached home at 8:30 p.m. Just in time for Maghrib! Mummy called for Pizza from the taxi because Mummy knew that Mummy will not have the energy to cook and Ayah was also too tired to go out again to buy. The pizza was finally delivered at 9:10 p.m.! We were very hungry already by then.

It was a great trip after all! Iman has proven to be quite a good traveller. She has passed the 2-hr flight test. We need to try her for a 4-hr flight next. Must think of a place that takes 4 hours of flight to go next for our holiday. Ultimately we need to get her to be able to handle 8-hr flight if we want to go to Sydney to visit Aunty Habsah!! And of course if we want to go to Capetown...

But whatever it is, wherever we went, it is always good to come home.....

Bangkok Trip Day 3 - Trip to Floating Market

29-July-2007

Our last day in Bangkok. Our flight was supposed to be a 3:15 p.m. Originally, we needed to check out from the hotel and leave for the airport by 12:00 noon. I thought we would not have the opportunity to go anywhere that morning. We were lucky we went for the half day tour the previous day with Ana and the gang. She has arranged for the group to go to Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market. Since was going to be a private tour for 6 of us, we need to pay 800 Baht each for that half day tour. Everybody decided to take up that offer and we were supposed to meet Ana at the hotel lobby by 7 a.m. (Bangkok time) which was 8 a.m. (Malaysia time).

We were up by 5 a.m. (Bangkok time) to shower, pray and do the last minute packing. Even Iman was up by 5:30 a.m. Her earliest so far! We went down for breakfast by 6 a.m.! Ayah was quite worried in case Ana won't turn up. So, he suggested that we go down to have breakfast and leave the big bag in the room and not to check out yet. Only if Ana turned up, he would go up to the room to fetch the bag and we would check out!

Thank God at 6:45 a.m., while we were having our breakfast, Ana turned up. The older couple from Singapore was already downstairs but we were told by Ana that the young couple from Malaysia would not be joining us since they just came back and was very drunk. So, in the end there were just 4 of us with Ana and the driver!

We drove out of Bangkok for about 1 hour, driving through 3 provinces, before we arrived at a market. The market was very popular since everybody has to pass through the street to go towards the Floating Market. They hawker in the market are selling fruits that came from the surrounding orchards. The fruits were supposedly very sweet. We didn't buy any because I thought we couldn't bring fruit into Malaysia and I don't want to risk the items being consficated at the airport. Ana went down to buy some fruits for her family.



We drove another half an hour towards the Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market. The scenery looked like the typical scenery of kampung houses in Malaysia! Then we arrived at the Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market. Very nice scenery!! We went on the boat and the driver, a woman, brought as along the canals to see all the goods being sold at the market. Whenever a seller wanted us to see the things they were selling, they will just hold on to our boat when we were passing in front of their stalls. Very unique experience!



The Venice of Asia!! We spent about 1 hour walking about the market after we reached back the boat pier. Saw many sceneries of musicians playing music on the boat; there was also a boat collecting donations along the canal. The environment was very humid. Mummy was sweating away. Iman wanted to have an ice-cream and ended up dirtying her t-shirt! We didn't buy any much there either! Mummy bought a wodden cabinet with miniature tea sets in it. Ayah bought a Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market which was nice but we found out that it was too small for him when we arrived home! Ayah also bought a white cotton shirt. That's it! Oh?! We also bought a tube of glue. Mummy's long serving bag was torned when we arrived in Bangkok the other day, so need to glue it up for temporary measure.

We stopped at a Wood Carving Factory on the way back from the Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market. We were advised to use the toilet there before we continue with the drive back to First Hotel. Saw some nice carvings!



After a short stop at the Wood Carving place, which nobody bought or ordered any items, we started back the journey to Bangkok. Iman dozed off for a while and that was good for her to catch up on the loss of sleep for getting up so early! We were brought back to First Hotel since the van that was supposed to pick us up and sent to us to the airport from the hotel. Good thing we went back to the hotel! One last chance of eating food from Halong Restaurant! Mummy went to 'tapau' fried rice and fried noodle from Halong Restaurant for us to eat at the airport. While waiting for the food to be ready and the van to arrive, Mummy and Iman made our last trip to the loo to change Iman's diaper and her t-shirt since the t-shirt she wore in the morning was soiled by ice-cream she had at the floating market.

The van finally turned up at 12:15 noon and off we went. Goodbye First Hotel! Goodbye Halong Restaurant! Goodbye Prechatburi Road! We might come back next time... C u!!

Bangkok Trip Day 2 - The 2nd half of the day

28-July 2007.

It was still the second day we were in Bangkok. Ana, our tour guide, offered to drop us anywhere we wish to go after we were done at the Gems Gallery. Mummy was contemplating about going to any Shopping Mall or to Chatuchak Market! It was Saturday and it would be a good opportunity to go to Chatuchak Market since it is only in operation during the weekend. Ayah has given Mummy the power to decide, so Chatuchak Market was Mummy's final decision. Anyway, there was supposed to be a Halal Food Stall in Chatuchak Market, so Mummy thot that was the best choice... a place to eat and then to do some shopping. At least that was Mummy's original plan.

We went along with other groups of tourists. The van droppeds us at JJ Mall which according to the tour guide that went in the van along with us is the same as Chatuchak Market but in an air-con environment. We walked about in JJ Mall for a while. Asked for any halal restaurant in the mall and was told there was none! So we walked out to Chatuchak Market.

The Chatuchak Market is like Petaling Street. It was very hot when we first arrived and Iman refused to walk at all, so Ayah had to carry her all along the way. We decided to eat first before we start to look around or shop around. So we had to look for the Halal Stall which was supposed to be beside the Clock Tower according to Mummy's internet research prior to the trip. So, we need to first find the Clock Tower before we could look for the Halal Stall. We saw the Clock Tower but there was no sign of the Halal Stall. Luckily Mummy saw a Malay girl we met during breakfast in Halong that morning, so found out from her that the stall was just around the corner.

When we reached the stall there were so many people! The place was very crowded and the surrounding didn't look so clean but Mummy just kept Mummy's eyes on the table. Mummy didn't want to see anything unappealing! There were quite a lot of choices of dishes being served. We decided to order Nasi Beriyani Ayam. Sat next to a Malay guy from Singapore. He was friendly. Kept making small talk but Mummy didn't want to really entertain him since Ayah wasn't in such good mood. Must be tired having to carry Iman and also because the environment was very hot! Anyway, because there was no extra space next to Mummy, Iman had to sit next to Ayah and Ayah had to entertain her. The food came. It was very nice and tasty! Cost us only 210 Baht (about RM21) for 2 Nasi Beriyani Ayam, 2 Air Kelapa Muda and a bottle of drinking water! Not bad for a nice meal. While we were eating suddenly it rained!! Very heavy rain! A couple of guys from our hotel (the husband of the girl I asked for direction to this Halal Stall, with his friend) joined us at our table. We chat a little. Again Mummy was not so keen to be my usual chatty-self with Ayah in his foul mood. Mummy actually thot we should just sit there for a while since it was raining anyway, but with Ayah's mood like that, the best was to just go with his flow.

It was still raining when we started to leave the Halal Stall. Iman just refused to walk so Ayah had to carry her. There were so many people because these areas are covered, so since it was raining most people from the other part of the market came to this part to take cover! Mummy barely had time to stop to take pictures, let alone look at the items being sold or even stop to buy anything. We walked and walked to get to the exit of Chatuchak Market so that we can go to the Train station. Mummy's original plan was to go to Mo Chit Sky Train Station and take the train from there to Ratchathewi station which was supposed to be only 2 minutes walk to First Hotel. Somehow the direction we got from the two Malay guys we met at the Halal Stall was to get to an MRTA, an underground train system.

We walked out from Chatuchak Market in the rain (luckily Mummy brought an umbrella in my knapsack - call it Maternal intuition, forever trying to protect Iman from rain and shine) and arrived at the MRTA station Kamphaeng Phet. Went to ask the guard for direction but unfortunately he couldn't speak English. He asked some youngers to assist me but they couldn't speak English at all either. The good thing is they have a map of the entire train system pasted on the desk of the guard so I had to figure out myself. Another good thing! There was a lady in-charged to giving a plastic bag for us to put the wet umbrella. Everybody will be expected to put their wet umbrellas in the plastic bag, therefore no water will be dripping from those umbrellas to the floor. And they also provided a thick floor mat where everybody must step on it and wipe their shoes. We were very impressed with the system. Very good idea! With that, there is no need for a floor to be wiped every now and again like what's happening in Malaysia.

Went to the ticket booth to buy the tickets. It cost 30 Baht (RM3) for 2 adults to go to Mo Chit station, just one station away. Not that bad... By the way, with all this commotion, Iman was still sound asleep on Ayah's shoulder. Iman, you are really an adaptable girl! I'm glad for that. You can sleep anywhere and in any condition.

Went downstairs to the platform. Once again we were impressed with the size of the platform and the cleanliness of the whole place.

Here's some slides of the MRTA and Sky Train Experience.

We disembarked at Chatuchak Park Station and changed to BTS - Sky Train system at Mo Chit station. Funny system at the ticket booth. When I went to the ticket booth and told the lady I wanted 2 tickets to Ratchathewi station, I thought she would just give me the tickets. She told me how much it cost (60 Baht for 2 adults) and when I paid her, she gave me coins (the usual coins they are still using) and told me to put the coins in the ticket machines and pressed 4 to specify where I'm going. It thot it was not quite an intelligent way of doing things. Well... we see some good stuff in Bangkok and some not so good, eh?!

The platform of the Sky Train was really high! Good view of the buildings around. Again... Mummy couldn't really took much photos coz Ayah was still in foul mood.

We arrived in Ratchathewi station and found the exit to the road towards our hotel. The 2 minutes walk from the station to the hotel was definitely not 2 minutes walk! Mummy was really really tired and breathless already. Can't imagine Ayah's tiredness having to carry Iman all the way!! Mummy suggested that we took the Tuk-Tuk but somehow there was no Tuk-Tuk around when we want one! Ayah asked us to cross the road, maybe it would be easier to find a Tuk-Tuk across the street. We continued to walk and there it was, our hotel!! So glad to reach the hotel! Ayah was very tired and thirsty. Decided to sit in the lobby with Iman while Mummy went to buy some water. Ayah thought Mummy was going to buy the water in the cafe which is in the hotel lobby... but actually Mummy decided to just walk out and see whether there was any sundry shop or 7-Eleven nearby. Mummy was right! There was a 7-Eleven nearby and Mummy had a feast buying Mineral Water!! We had been buying Drinking Water, so it was really a treat to find Mineral Water! And it was cheap too!! Just 7 Baht for 500ml! That's only 70 cents!

Iman was already up when Mummy arrived back at the hotel lobby. She seemed to be so alert and active. Well.. after all she has been getting her rest! So, when we went up to our room, while Ayah fall asleep... Mummy had to entertain Iman! Luckily she decided to just play with her jigsaw puzzle, so Mummy could lie down while entertaining her. The trip to Chatuchak was useless and tiring... anyway, at least we could all say, been there, done that! Tasted the halal food there!

After only about 1 hour of rest, Ayah suggested that we go downstairs and just walk along the Petchaburi Road. Oh well... why not?! We came to Bangkok not just to rest in our room. We could always rest in our own home. So, we refreshed ourselves, did the necessary prayers and set out for just a walk. There still many traffics on the road eventhough it was a Saturday evening. We walked and walked till we reached Pratnap Mall, a Computer Mall like Low Yatt! You could practically found anything regarding computers that you want there. Mummy was looking at some DVDs but decided to buy them in Malaysia because Mummy have a supplier who can find very clear but cheap DVDs from Penang.



We walked quite a bit in Pratnip Mall then headed back toward our hotel to go for an early dinner in Halong Restaurant. We had to pack up our things to get ready to check-out early in the morning before we joined the group to go for a tour to Floating Market.

We decided to order seafood dishes in Halong Restaurant. Ayah chose a siakap to be steamed with lemon and some squids for sotong masak sambal. We also ordered a mixed vege dish. The mixed vege came first. It was so delicious!! Iman enjoyed it so much. She didn't refuse at all when Mummy fed her rice with the gravy, some mushroom and kailan leaves. The waitresses were looking surprised when they saw Iman eating vege!! Iman had quite a lot of mouthfuls of rice and Mummy was so glad. Finally she wanted to eat!! When the steam fish came, it was very very delicious!! We really really enjoyed the food. The squid was also very nice!! Not the way we normally cook it nevertheless the whole dinner was marvelous!! We ordered mango lassi and strawberry lassi for Ayah and Mummy respectively. Very nice drink too! The whole meal cost us 700 Baht (RM70). Not bad for such a marvelous dinner.



Ending of day 2... we went back to the hotel room to pack up our things. Ayah fall asleep right after he did his prayers while Iman stayed up with Mummy to help Mummy finish packing up.

Good nite Iman.. sleep well. We had to wake up early tomorrow!! I love u!!

Bangkok Trip Day 2 - Half Day Tour

28 July 2007

Today is Ayah's birthday! Mummy forgot to bring the birthday card for Ayah! Of course no present yet either because Ayah has not decided what he wanted. Mummy thought if we found something that Ayah likes, then Mummy will buy if for him.

We woke up well rested. Iman was in good mood because she woke up hearing the song "Aku Memang Pencinta Wanita" (which is her all time favourite) from Ayah's PDA! We got her to shower and get dressed and Iman asked Mummy "nak balik rumah ke ni?" Mummy's heart sank because we had 2 more days to go before we can go home and it somehow seemed like Iman was not quite enjoying herself and was really looking forward to going home. After Mummy explained that we were going for sight-seeing, Iman seemed to stop asking about going home.

We went down to have breakfast in the Rendezvous Cafe. When Ayah went in and showed the breakfast voucher, the waiter invited him in. You knowlah, how Ayah looks like. He fit in very well in Thailand actually! He..he...he... The moment they saw Mummy walking in behind Ayah, they said "Oh?! Muslim?! Please go to Halong Restaurant! Halal Food there!" So, to Halong Restaurant we went and had a nice breakfast there! There were a lot of Arabs and Indians and a few Malaysians already eating there. Apparently all the Muslims and Indians were directed to go to Halong for their breakfast. Good idea!! Everybody seemed to enjoy their breakfast. Nice fried kuew-tiau among other things served!

Our tour guide for the half day tour arrived just when we were about done with our breakfast. Her name was Ana.

We were brought to visit 2 temples - Temple of Dawn and Temple of Standing Buddha. To get to the Temple of Dawn, we had to take a boat across the river. Nice experience for Iman! She was calm and cool while in the boat. She was really a trooper!!

We just walked around outside the compound of Temple of Dawn. Took photos while walking about. There were stalls selling souvenirs so we stopped to buy some fridge magnets. Ayah bought a hand-made dress for Iman.

We then travelled further to Temple of Standing Buddha. Iman managed to catch a few winks while we were travelling in the van. Mummy managed to take some photos.

Arrived in Temple of Standing Buddha. We went to listen to Ana explaining about the temple for a while before we went out and had a nice cool and sweet 'Air Kelapa Muda'!

The last venue we were brought for the half day tour was to the Gems Gallery where we were given a glass of drink when we arrived. We were then brought into a room to watch a video about gems in Thailand. After that we went to see how the gems are handcrafted into different types of jewelery. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photo of the work being done.

Then we were brought to the gallery where all the jeweleries were being displayed. Beautiful jeweleries!!
Picture from www.gems-gallery.com

Ayah insisted that Mummy bought something as a token of rememberance of the trip and offered to pay half the cost of the item. How can Mummy reject such offer eh?! Managed to finally decided on the 1.5 carat of blue sapphire with 2 diamonds 18-karat gold ring!

We took picture with the salesgirl - Sawatree who was very nice and very sweet.

After the half day tour was over, Ana has arranged to drop us at Chatucak Market.

Bangkok Trip Day 1 - First Outing

Iman was upset when she found out that we didn't bring her portable DVD player as we usually did on our other local trips in Malaysia. Tried to explain to her but she just didn't want to listen and started to act up. So, Izani decided that we should just go out for a while and maybe go to a Shopping Complex to buy for her a new set of jigsaw puzzle just to get her mind off the absence of DVD player. So, we decided to go to MBK since it's one of the shopping complexes close enough to our hotel. We went downstairs and I asked our 'bellboy' for direction to the Sky Train station. He said 2 minutes walk to Sky Train station but it was only 15 minutes walk to MBK! I thot of walking to MBK but Izani didn't want to walk, with Iman, and also he didn't trust it really would be just 15 minutes walk.

We went out of the hotel and at that very moment a Tuk-Tuk (traditional taxi using motorbike as the engine) arrived to drop off its passagers. We decided to try the Tuk-Tuk just for the experience. It was quite nice because we were not stuck in the jam since the Tuk-Tuk could be manuevered to go between cars. I was quite worried because I read in the internet that it is not quite safe to take the Tuk-Tuk. Iman was quite excited once the Tuk-Tuk started to move! The driver can really manuever!!

MBK is a shopping complex that looks like Sungei Wang and Bukit Bintang. They have one whole floor for hp and another whole floor for some other things. There were so many people there!! Not quite the kind of place I'd like to go. Couldn't find the jigsaw puzzle at all. Wanted to buy some Snow White t-shirts for Iman but the discount was not that good. Decided to just walk around.

Since Iman has not eaten anything for lunch (she refused to eat the nasi goreng that I fried and brought with us), we went looking for the Food Court on 6th floor of MBK. Mummy's friend, Aunty Chom (who was in Bangkok about 2 or 3 weeks before) told Mummy about a halal stall at the food court. So there we went. We found an Eygptian stall and as Mummy was putting Iman to sit at the table with Ayah, a group of Malaysian guys sitting next to our table said hi to us. They told Mummy that stall No. 21 is the halal stall, selling 'nasi ayam'.

Bought a plate of french fries for Iman and she finished them!! So glad to see Iman finally had something solid! The guys chat with us for a while. They were nice people. Gave Iman a donut glazed with pink sugar! They also warned us about pick-pockets which made me kinda worried.

We didn't buy much in MBK coz it was not conducive to shop with a kid and also because we wanted to rush back since we didn't do our prayers yet. At first I wanted to suggest to Ayah that we take the sky train, but then Ayah quickly made his decision that we should take the Tuk-tuk again so that we won't take so long. So, on another Tuk-tuk we went! The driver drove behind buildings in small alleys. Made me quite worried. When we arrived at First Hotel he charged us 100 Baht, whereas the other driver only charged us 60 Baht. So we haggled and he finally agreed with 80 Baht. You have to be street-smart with these drivers! Apparently sometimes they will try all sorts of tricks with the tourists.

After performing our prayers we decided to have an early dinner at Halong Restaurant. We went for buffet dinner which cost us 210 Baht each. That's RM21 each only! You can't get buffet hi-tea at that price in KL, let alone buffet dinner. It was nice. I had beriyani with fried fish, sweet sour fish and also fish fried with chilly! There were also chicken soup and fruits and some local desserts. We went upstairs feeling very full. I was so tired that I fall asleep almost right away while Iman was entertained by Ayah. According to Ayah by 7.30 p.m. Bangkok time (8:30 p.m. Malaysia time) Iman was already in deep sleep in her cot. Mummy woke up at 11:30 p.m. to pray Jamak Isya' and Maghrib. Iman and Ayah were sleeping so soundly that they didn't even move an inch when Mummy was moving about in the room.

Bangkok Trip Day 1 - Arrived in Bangkok

We arrived in Bangkok by 11:45 a.m. Bangkok time. Went through custom very fast. Thank God! Luckily we didn't have to wait for so long. We met a group of Malaysian guys who had arrived on the previous day and they told us that they had to wait for 2 hours before they got through Custom. Phew!! Ours was like a breeze actually. Alhamdullillah. Waiting for the baggage was longer, I think!

After we got our bag, we went out to the arrival hall to look for the travel agent who was supposed to fetch us. There were so many people there waiting, so it was quite difficult to find the signboard with Mummy's name! I was quite worried that they were not there to meet us, but alhamdulillah again... there were 2 guys waiting for us with my name of the signboard. We had to wait for another person and ironically the other guy they were waiting for was a Malaysian too. He was there for a holiday, his second time. It took us about 45 minutes to get to our hotel. We dropped Azlan first on the way. Iman caught a few winks again while we were travelling in the van to the hotel.

The highway in Bangkok was very good. The traffics were not as what we expected. We expected very packed traffic jam and very noisy honking on the road. Not there!! The journey was smooth and nice. Good start of Bangkok tour!

We were brought to our hotel, First Hotel on Petchaburi Road, a very busy street. The hotel was 3* but it was acceptable and clean. The bellboy (who should be referred to as bellman since he was quite old) gave salam to us and told us that the Halong Restaurant downstair is a Halal restaurant. We were glad to hear that! We will definitely try to eat there soon. From our room 418, we could have the view of the swimming pool. Iman was happy to stand in her cot and watch people playing in the pool.

The only set back about the hotel room are:

• there is no water heater/boiler in the room but the hotel provided a thermos to keep the water. It was quite upsetting for us travelling with milk-drinking toddler, hot water is a very very important facility required. We asked housekeeping to get the water for us when we first arrived. Then we found out that there is a pantry near the lif area, so after that we went to get our own hot water whenever we need.
• there is no coffee or tea provided. This of course can be rectified by bringing our own next time we decide to go to the same hotel.
• no iron! I had to wear my tudung without ironing. Luckily I'm not so fussy and I brought tudung that looks ok even without ironing!

The big plus of the hotel:

• Halong Restaurant - halal restaurant and nice food!!

Bangkok Trip Day 1 - The flight

27-July 2007 @ LCCT

We arrived at LCCT about 8:30 a.m. Pity Iman having to get up so early to take her shower and get ready. Luckily she was cheerful when she woke up eventhough this is the first time she had to get up so early. It was quite a shock to see the LCCT.. it reflect the "low costness" of the whole thing. Like being in a hanger. Somebody told me that if we were there when it's raining, the whole place will be so noisy.

Since it was my first time in LCCT, I took some photos of the surrounding.

We found out that now AirAsia no longer consider travelling with kids a privilege that entitles us to board the flight before the others. If you take up the X-press Boarding, which you have to pay RM20 each, then you will have the privilege of boarding the plane before the others. Now money is the key to all privileges eh?! So, we had to rush with the rest of the passangers when it was time to board. Actually there should be seats for everybody, including Iman, but people just like to rush to find the so-called better seats that the others. Oh well?!

Iman was ok when the plane took off and stabilized. We kept on trying to get her to sleep so that Mummy and Ayah can also catch a few winks. Somehow due to the excitement and also because she already slept in the car on the way to the LCCT, she just didn't want to sleep.

Then suddenly the inevitable happened! I was really not looking forward to such incident, but it is destined to happen. Iman pooped!! And she can't sit when she pooped, so Mummy had to experience cleaning her up in the tiny cubicle thing called the plane toilet! It was quite difficult but funny experience trying to do that. Luckily Iman was very cooperative with Mummy during the whole ordeal. We were laughing away in the toilet... enjoying the Mummy-daughter time. Somehow Mummy felt as if we were inside there so long, but I guess not since there were nobody waiting outside. He..he..he



After we got back to our seats, Iman started to be restless and refused to sit on her seat. She was just standing and playing with her Frog. Then the weather started to be bad because it was raining in Bangkok. The plane was shaking quite a bit and she started to look quite green. Mummy was getting quite worried so got the air-sick bag ready. Call it the maternal instict or lucky guess... she started to throw up into the air-sick bag!! Thank God we had it ready. Right after that she sat on her seat and dozed off!! At that time the plane landed in Bangkok in the pouring rain. We sat in the plane for a while waiting for a bus to come and pick us up since it was raining to walk to the terminal.

Mummy met an ex-student from MIDA and we chatted for a while in the bus. Ayah had to carry Iman who was fast asleep!! Iman was oblivous to the surrounding and didn't even realised that we have arrived in Bangkok!!