My Little Terrors

Last weekend, my ex-colleagues organised a trip to Sg Klau in Pahang to check out a waterfall and feast on some durians.

We woke up at 6am in the morning and made our way to the BHP station at the start of the Karak Highway at 7am. We exited the highway at Bentong and continued driving to Raub and Sg Klau. Along the narrow road from Raub to Sg Klau we saw lots of durian collection centres with baskets overflowing with durians. A sign of good food to come

The waterfall we were headed to is called Lata Berembun and can only be accessed by 4WD (30 minute bumpy ride up the jungle route). The favourite mode of transportation there is a 4WD which looks very much like MacGyver’s green Jeep. Some of them are actual Jeeps with extensive modifications. Others are Mitsubishis. One thing they have in common are gigantic tyres, a rojak of parts inside and an insane driver.

Bump, bump, bump, all the way up the hilly road. Everytime we hit rough roads, Braedyn would laugh with glee while daddykhong had to try very hard to hang on to the vehicle and the boy. It is clear that the 4WDs are used to ferrying tourists up to the waterfall. When we came to a bridge over the river, they opted to drive through the river for fun. When we came to a straight and clear road, they opted to drive off road just so that they can climb a 45 degree obstacle! What we went through can be seen here.

We arrived at the waterfall after a very bumpy but fun ride.

At Lata Berembun

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Today while I was taking a short nap with the two terrors watching a cartoon, I was awakened by the sound of the toilet flushing. With the thought of Shayanne trying to flush Braedyn down the toilet in my mind, I quickly jumped off the bed (no mean feat for a mummy my age!) and rushed to the toilet to find Braedyn looking mighty pleased with himself for having done his shee shee on his own.

He placed his stool in front of the toilet bowl, raised the toilet seat cover, climbed onto the toilet seat (WITHOUT the potty seat) and sat on it.

I’m speechless. I never knew my son’s backside was that big!

Ouch…my neck hurts 

Another first for Braedyn. Daddykhong received a call from the school asking him to come immediately to pick Braedyn up or else they will have to send him to the nearby doctor.

Braedyn was dancing with his other friends when suddenly he clutched his neck on the right-side and starting screaming. The teachers tried checking his mouth and ears but they were fine. He kept saying “Pain. Pain”.

We quickly brought him to the doctor who was equally concerned.

Infection - no

Swallowed something - no

An ant in the ear - no

Mumps - no

Sprained his neck muscle - YES!!!!

So he prescribed some Yoko Yoko ointment and by the next day, he was back to his normal self. Gosh! Kids these days.

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Daddykhong had a company trip to Cameron Highlands last week but before I tell you more about the trip here, I have to make a PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. If you are ever in the vicinity of The Smokehouse Hotel in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands and you have to answer the call of nature. Don’t even bother walking into The Smokehouse Hotel there to ask them if you could use their washroom. You are much better off doing your business in their front lawn!

Why? Because I had a very urgent need to go to the ladies and The Smokehouse was the nearest spot I could find. I rushed in and decided to ask for directions to the washrooms but instead of receiving directions, I was told that the facility is for guests only!!! WTF! We were about to stop there for some afternoon tea and give them 21 heads to chomp on their scones and sip their tea and they had the nerve to assume that I won’t be a guest of their restaurant after I finish with my toilet stop. Here’s a snippet of my conversation with the receptionist.

Mummykhong: “Excuse me, where’s your washroom?”

Receptionist: “Sorry maam, it’s only meant for guest use”

Mummykhong: “But it’s very urgent. PLEASE!” (with the possibility of staining their carpets any moment)

Receptionist: “Sorry, our GM is in today. I’m afraid he might catch you!!!” (there you have it, a hotel GM who doesn’t put the customer first. A Good-For-Nothing Manager perhaps?)

I rushed back out and over to the next hotel, Rosa Passadena where the receptionist AND the manager-in-charge rushed me over to their washrooms because that is logically the better option than having urine stains on their carpets.

So to hell with The Smokehouse. I will NEVER give them my business EVER again. Needless to say, our party never had our afternoon tea there.

Back to the trip… we stayed at Strawberry Park Resort. We expected them to have renovated the place given the high rates they charged. Instead, they left it as it is - old, tacky and not worth anyone’s money to be frank.

We visited the usual places; the Boh Teahouse (old one, not the newer Brinchang one), honey bee farm, Brinchang night market and day market. We had charcoal watercress steamboat for dinner topped off with tonnes of food from the night market. After dinner we made our way to Cameron Highlands Resort to have drinks at their lounge. The manager came over and asked us where we were staying and daddykhong (1/2 expecting the question so that they can determine whether to let us stay and kick us out) answered, “Not here!”. Then we realised the manager was just trying to make conversation and not trying to be a “Smokehouse GM”. See, customers always come first.

During the trip, I discovered for the first time in my life that you can actually eat a corn raw and it did taste very juicy and sweet. Since then I have been asking everyone I cross paths with whether they knew that a corn can be eaten raw.

Flowers at Bee Farm

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Daddykhong likes to sneak into private places for the fun of it. Some months back, we sneaked into Opal Damansara to check out the swings. Now, we managed to sneak into Southlake Terraces, Desa Parkcity to check out the homes there. To think that I actually allowed myself to be dragged along!

There’s a small park in the middle of the development for the residents there. We thought it would be good for Braedyn and Shayanne to try their new bicycles there.

Braedyn and his new bike.

Shayanne on her “new” bike - It’s been handed down from Braedyn who used to push it around the house. We had to get her the same helmet as Braedyn as she wants everything that he has.

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Daddykhong dragged us off to Bagan Lalang to catch the sunset a couple of weeks back. We were meant to spend a night there but the only hotel there, Seri Malaysia Bagan Lalang, was fully-booked and all 3 hotels in Nilai were also full! Amazing…maybe the Japanese GT queens were still in town.

We managed to get there in time. Never knew that there was such a place a short 30 minute drive from KLIA. There were lots of people walking around and many wedding couples having their photos taken. Fortunately for us, once the sun started to set, they all disappeared (must be scared of the dark).

We went back soon after that but apparently we should have stayed for the grilled seafood and fresh coconuts. Maybe next week…..

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Daddykhong is very spontaneous nowadays. Last month, without any notice, he told us that we’re off to Avillion Admiral Cove.

We left after lunch on Saturday and decided to not take the Seremban-PD highway but instead exit the NS highway at Pedas/Linggi and take the trunk roads to PD. What an enjoyable experience it was - to see the small towns and kampungs - though I did hear daddykhong mumble something under his breath along the lines of how much more fun it would have been for him had he been driving the new Audi A4!!!

We arrived at the hotel and checked ourselves in. The place is a disappointment when compared to Avillion Resort in PD. A classic case of eating the juicier apple first! It’s a nice place nonetheless but apart from the marina (which is out of bounds to us common folk), there’s nothing else to see there. Just perfect for a relaxing weekend.

The view from our hotel balcony. It looks better in the picture.

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We headed off to Melaka the following weekend after we returned from Hong Kong. This trip was booked many months back as a family trip for the 4 of us. It was just that the Hong Kong trip was slotted in the preceding week as the extended Khong family were all available then.

We left KL Friday evening and arrived at 10pm, in time to make it to Jonker Street for supper. We stayed at Hotel Puri behind Jonker Street. The hotel takes up 3 adjacent pre-war shophouses and it is very rustic in feel. So rustic that even the mattress in the room creaked whenever we sat on it (so much for bedtime acrobatics without waking the neighbours ;)). Never had such a lousy mattress offered in a hotel before.

This time, it is daddykhong’s 1st visit to Melaka and my 2nd.

Decorations on a trishaw

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Day 3 - After a delicious Dim Sum breakfast (the only food that is cheaper in Hong Kong than in Malaysia), we headed towards Hollywood Road where you can find a lot of high class antique shops.

One of the antiques that Mummykhong found dumped in front of a junkyard at Cat Street.

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The week after our go-kart session, we brought Braedyn and Shayanne to Hong Kong together with daddykhong’s family. He and his brothers thought it would be good to bring their mum for a holiday to celebrate her xx birthday (can’t reveal it here - she’ll kill me if I did) instead of opting for a massage chair or some La Mer cosmetics!(Sidenote - daddykhong made the biggest mistake of his life when he bought her La Mer for her birthday last year. She’s been bugging him for more ever since!)

Embarassed to say, it was my first trip to Hong Kong. Kampung mummykhong was eager to see Hong Kong for the first time and when I set my eyes on our lovely hotel, I knew it was going to be a memorable trip.

The facade of the Peninsula. Wait till you see their fleet of limos.

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After hearing many things about this place from Chin Nee, Jazzmint and Sue, I pestered my Mr Garmin to bring us (or me?) there. I even sent Sue’s directions link to him. He glanced at it, and said he already knew where it was (hmmmph….and he never took me there).

2 weeks back on a lazy Sunday morning, we headed to Ampang for Yong Tau Foo. On the way back, Mr Garmin decided to detour to Menara Tinjau using the back roads linking old Ampang to old Cheras

Fortunately, the weather was nice and cloudy even though it was only 2+ pm then.

So here are the photos:-

Braedyn & Shayanne all grown up

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