LANGKAWI 2010

This year's Langkawi trip, there were a total of sixteen of us going. Yes, SIXTEEN!! Now, get all your fingers ready. There were 7 in our family (Abah, Mama, Zaim, Huda, Zaid, Husna and ME!!), plus Nenek. Kak Sikin came with her three children (Ina, Faiz and Fariz) and Kak Ella also came with her kids (Min, Adam and Iman). So 7+1+4+4=16.. Phew.. Needless to say, we were quite a hectic group and the check-ins and outs took quite a while to settle. But we managed to bring together the troops and had an amazing time nonetheless.

Kak Ella and Kak Sikin arrived at our house the day before our departure and we spent the night before at the Songbox karaoke room. Ina and Faiz practically hogged the mike, not that we cared though. But the little ones sure have some interesting song choices.. It's their fault I'm listening to Baik-Baik Sayang and Ayat-Ayat Cinta now, hmm.. And as usual I sang Gee, complete with choreography. Which is why everytime the kids get in my car afterwards they would ask for Gee.. It's a good thing I never get tired of that song or I would scream bloody murder.. Hoo..

13th December 2010 (Monday)

It was decided that some of us (Zaid, Husna, Ina, Min and me) were to go to the LCCT by way of public transport (LRT and Aerobus). It was kind of exciting for Ina and Min because it was their first time riding the LRT and also their first at the KL Central. We had lunch at OldTown in LCCT while waiting for the rest to arrive. Tragically, I ordered mocha ice blended.. Again, a reminder to myself.. Never take caffeine when you're getting on a plane. The others got to LCCT at about 3pm. We had some difficulties checking in (mistake in booking numbers and payment for luggage) but all that were resolved in due time. As most of Airasia's flight, ours was delayed and they even refueled when we were already on board. I sat at the second last row, in between Mama and Zaim.

I started getting airsick after the first two turbulences, and combined with the mocha, BO from the passenger upfront and constant prodding from behind, I was all about ready to vomit when the plane was getting ready to land. As soon as my feet hit the ground I zoomed in on the toilet. I spent quite some time in there beacuse when I got out the luggage collection place was empty. I caught up with the rest waiting for Aunty Zawiah and Uncle Malik with our rides. This time we stayed in Chenang (Best Motel) and they have reserved 4 rooms for all of us. I roomed with Husna, Huda and Nenek. Still feeling queasy, I took a nap after swallowing a Panadol.

We had dinner in Kuah, at Aunty Zawiah's cousin's place, which coincidentally is next to the place we bought Mama's birthday cake three years ago. The food was awesome. I slurped every last bit of my tom yam even with a tummyache. Thankfully, the night's sleep was uneventful.

14th December 2010 (Tuesday)

Most of us went to the beach that morning. I didn't go and opted for some net surfing and relaxing at the motel. When they got back with breakfast, we made plans for the day while munching down on nasi lemak and leftover tom yam from last nite. Yummy!

Our destination of the day is the Langkawi Cable Car. It was already noon when we got there and the line to the gondola was snaking in and out of the waiting area. Which resulted in us taking a snap everytime we inched forward in the line. It took almost an hour of waiting, but we finally got on the gondola. But the weather was a bit worrying as it looked like it was going to rain. Min apparently is scared of heights and it was hilarious seeing her squint her eyes, trying hard not to look down and made sure everybody stayed still so that we don't rock the gondola. It started drizzling when we got to the second (topmost) platform but thankfully that was it. However, because of the rain, the fog around the area made it difficult to see the surrounding view. The children were hungry, so we went to the lone cafe and bought burgers, hotdogs, icecream, potato chips, maggi and drinks. There were 10 of us and we were hungry ok? We still went up the peak but no hike down to the hanging bridge because rain were starting to pour. We got down and did some shopping and went back to the motel, stopping by the landing strip for rojak and cendol takeaway.

More beach and shopping time around Cenang for us. I went to an Al-Ikhsan store with Ayed and Abah, sipping on the caramel machiatto I bought at the nearby Big Apple and bought Nike hot pink training shoes. Double yeay me!! Dinner was at a nearby place, Haji Ramli which was not as good as yesterday's. I had a brief nap and the adults went out again after midnight, when the children was asleep. All the shops were closed by then so we ended up sitting by the beach, looking at the moon and basically enjoying the night's air and view... Until Iman woke up and asked for Ibu..

15th December 2010 (Wednesday)

All of us got ready at 9am with Uncle Malik and Aunty Zawiah already at our door. We stopped by a nasi lemak place (where they got for breakfast yesterday) before proceeding to the jetty for our island-hopping. First is the eagle-feeding session, which IMHO is the BEST EVER from all the previous ones. There were sooo many eagles around, they practically fill the sky and I got to see a few up close as they were swooping down for the chicken pieces thrown by the boat drivers. At one point it felt like they were surrounding us. And we even saw a few fishes flopping out of the water. Best ever eagle-feeding session ever, I tell you.

Then we were brought to Pulau Beras Basah. We quickly found a shady spot and settled while the kids rush off to the beach. There was a brief episode when a boy got stung by a jellyfish but that didn't stop the rest from enjoying the waves. I didn't want to get wet, so I put on my earphones and walked along the beachfront right up till the end and was joined by Abah and the kids soon after. We found a dead jellyfish and a played around with a stone crab. Since our alotted one hour was up, we headed back to the main island and what do we find? Plates with our faces on them!! COOL!! Mine turned out pretty good but there were few of us missing.

After cleaning up, we went to Kuah for lunch in Aunty Ina's newly opened shop. Zaim and me had a wonderful time finishing the steamed fish and fried ayam kampung. And the shopping begins! First is Langkawi Fair where I bought RM150 worth of chocolates and also jeans with Husna. Then we went to Pekan Kuah for more chocolate shopping. Unfortunately, the laksa Penarak shop was closed, so we had our dinner at a nearby eatery where I tried Mee Goreng Langkawi. Not that different from a typical mee goreng, just had extra slices of meat and a sunny-side up fried egg. I slept once we reached the motel but was woken up when Huda called saying she's hanging out with Zaim and Zaid at a nearby cafe and Zaid can pick me up with the motorbike they borrowed from Kak Aishah. They were 'shisha'ing at a place called Telaga Arab and I just ordered a banana milkshake. We talked and then walked back to the motel when the place closed at midnight.

16th December 2010 (Thursday)

Everybody woke up early for our last beach time. One more round of songs along the beach. Then Husna, Zaid and me watched the children playing in the sand. When the sun came up, we all walked back and start to pack up. Breakfast was nasi lemak (again!!) with the leftover fried chicken.

After checking out, we separated into two groups; the children and their mothers went to the Underwater World and the rest to The Loaf at Telaga Harbour. Time for lots of delicious buns, cakes and drinks. Just thinking about the pecan bun and oreo cheesecake is making my mouth water. Then, all of us crashed at Aunty Zawiah's and Uncle Malik's. Nenek insisted on buying the laksa power from the shop near the landing strip and brought a lot of it back, with some cendol for dessert. Total eat fest here in Langkawi.

We got ready to go to the airport, and stuffing up our luggage with our buys from the last minute shoppings while Aunty Zawiah prepared the dinner. I basically slept on our way to the airport, which was quite bare when we got there. Once again I helped with the check-in and the flight back home was uneventful. I got a window seat but had to sit all alone. As we were nearing KLIA I heard the pilot announce that it was a clear night sky and we should look out the window. And what did I see? The most amazing aerial view of KL, complete with the night lights; the KLCC and KL Tower's lights blinking. Definitely not something we see everyday. Getting back home also caused a few problems and we ended up renting the van for a freaking RM300 each! I couldn't sleep on the way back because I sat way at the back and the van kept bumping but I had no problem in the shut-eye department as soon as I stretched out on my own bed.

So that ends the account (or recount) of our Langkawi trip for 2010. This may be our last as we have been to almost all the places in Langkawi and it kinda lost its excitement and novelty. But still, it's nice playing tourist guide. We didn't go to Dataran Lang (missed photo op) and the MORAC track (no go-karts for the kids) which is kind of a shame but there's always next time for them; if not for us.. Haha.. Spending time with the kids are totally precious. Once we got to KL, we brought them to Wangsa Walk and then Aquaria and KLCC. Hope they had as much fun as we did, although it was pretty tiring for me and Husna to take care of all six kids at one time. Uhuh..

p/s Happy 24th Birthday Junsu!! Lately I've been a bit disconnected with my Arashinki. Not to say I'm not missing them, just that it's getting harder to be updated and I only realized it was Su's birthday when we got back to KL.