Hello Kamakura

It was to be a long, busy day ahead. The plan was to leave the house by 8am as we needed to take a train for 1 hour to reach Kamakura. Pek Kong wanted to come along with us, but he didn't feel too well in the morning, so daddy was our tour guide for the day again. We took the train to Tokyo station to catch the JR Train. Our JR pass was still valid, so we took this train for free. You slept all the way there. By the time we arrived in Kamakura, our bums were roasted! The seats were heated, and boy, were they hot!!

We bought tickets for the Enoden and off we went. First stop on this train was Enoshima. We walked across the Enoshima Ohashi Bridge that linked the mainland to the island. Not a very short walk, but when we arrived, we saw many stalls selling souvenirs and also seafood there. So where to for the first stop? We walked and we walked and we walked first up the steep slope and then on steps and more steps before we came to this temple. It was a temple of the Dragon King. We continued walking and we came to this beautiful beach with many people carrying buckets and eagles flying overhead. Daddy stopped to take some pictures before we walked a little bit more to reach the Enoshima Iwaya Cave.

Enoshima Ohashi Bridge

It was an interesting place, made up of 2 caves. Some parts were low and there was a bridge linking the 2 caves. We saw something interesting on our way to the second cave. I guess it was naturally made by the waves that come crashing in and out. Looks like a tortoise, right?

After exploring the second cave, daddy took you down to the beach to have a look at the little fishes in the water. I wonder what else was there...

Eagles soaring nearby

And now we have to walk and walk back to where we started. But halfway you made a lot of noise, asking to be fed, so we decided to stop and have lunch. It was a simple restaurant with a beautiful view. No time to take pictures.. hehe.. Had to look for a place to breastfeed you and after that we had our lunch of yummy tempura with rice and you also shared some of our food. Only a little...

We wanted to go to the lighthouse, but it was another long walk and we were all too tired, so we decided to head back to the Enoden to take a train. We stopped to buy some things before arriving at the train station and waited for the train.

Next stop: Hase. It was several stops away and the train was VERY crowded. I guess it's because it's a weekend. We were packed like sardines. Luckily mummy managed to get a seat and you entertained a nice Japanese lady sitting next to us. After getting of the train, we walked and we walked again, with you walking too, but in the end, we put you (protesting away) into the stroller as it was very crowded and the sidewalk was rather narrow. And finally, we arrived at the Great Buddha Statue of Kamakura.

We strolled around the compound, sat a while to rest our tired legs and you also had a feed. I actually noticed people feeding there too.. Under their cape, but since i had nothing, daddy sacrificed his jacket for you to have a feed. I guess you're hungry and tired. And off we went after that to go to the next site in Hase, Hase Temple. We had to double back the way we came.

On the way to the Great Buddha, we saw a lot of people holding large rice crackers in seaweed. And of course we also had to try it out. Er.. nothing spectacular. In fact after a while it felt very dry. Hehe.. Never try, never know, eh? And we continued until we reached the Hase Temple. By then, everyone was too tired, so we abandoned the plan to see this temple. Instead, we headed back to the train station.

It was quite a wait before the next train arrived. By then the crowd waiting for the train was very big. And when we finally got into the already packed train, it was very full. And I'd thought the earlier ride to Hase was full! We had to make a few more stops before reaching Kamakura station and even though the train was already packed people still pushed their way into the train! We were all thankful when we finally arrived at the last stop. And if you think this was the crowd leaving Kamakura as it was already late, there was an even BIGGER crowd waiting for the train.

Another short wait and we were off on the train heading for Tokyo station. And so ends, another long day. What was on the menu for dinner? Pek Kong cooked for us, his "house specialty" and it was delicious, after having eaten out for more than a week.

Rest Day in Tokyo

Or so that was originally planned. In the end, we did not stay at home as planned. Instead we started the day by taking the subway to see the Imperial Palace Gardens. Remember that picture that I had posted earlier of the night view from our apartment? Well, we decided to go there and explore the beautiful grounds. And it was worth the time spent there. You had a wonderful time, walking around, and most importantly, jumping on the man holes as well as the leaves that were on the ground. It was then that we realised that this trip to Japan is also your first time walking on the roads and streets. After all, when we're back in Malaysia, most of the time is spent in malls.

Checking out the manholes!

We walked around, took some pictures and you enjoyed running around a garden too. There were many people enjoying the sun and the beautiful garden. As we were leaving you walked by yourself and lost balance. So... you had a bungalow on your forehead. It was all read and spotty as you'd fallen on the road. Poor little thing. Luckily you were easily consoled and continued the walk, jumping on the drain covers as we walked towards the exit.

Running around the Imperial Palace Gardens

We wanted to have a look at the Imperial Palace. Since it was a different entrance from the one we took, we had to walk a distance. That was when you started whinging and crying. We had to stop on and off to pacify you, but it only worked for a while before you started again. in the end, we gave up and mummy had to carry you in my arms, with you indicating that you wanted to be fed. We crossed the road, trying to make it to the subway station, but ended up on a park bench. It was a beautiful park, and so mummy fed you and you fell almost instantly to sleep. I had to carry you for a while more before we managed to put you in the stroller.

We had to change trains to finally arrive at the station to ride on the Yurikamome Elevated train. It was late and we were hungry too. So where did we stop? We stopped at Daiba Station to try to get lunch at Aquacity. But.. as always, all the restaurants had a long queue. Sigh.. so we walked to Decks to try our luck there. Not much choices, but we just made do with a simple lunch. Something that resembled Chinese food. You'd woken up just as we arrived at the station and so you joined us for lunch too.

Beautiful view in Decks

These 2 places weren't too interesting so we hopped on the train to go to Venus Fort. Ah.. that's my kind of place *grin*. Went to buy something that my friend and asked me to help her get. The outside is deceiving as it looked like some warehouse, but when you enter...behold... Venus Fort:

Cool eh? It's got lots of little shops and a beautiful fountain and the "sky" changes like the sky outside.

We had to head home soon, as Pek Kong was coming back to Japan from his trip today. But before we left, we decided to ride the train to the end of the line and back to the first station, Shimbashi. As we were the first to be on the train in Toyosu, we got to sit in the first seat to enjoy the beautiful view all the way back.

We changed trains to get back to Akasaka and you had your dinner while we waited for Pek Kong, in the end we went off for dinner as it was late and we weren't sure what time he'd be back. While you were sleeping we noticed that your cheeks were rather red. Looks like 2 possibilities: sun burn while we were walking in Imperial Palace gardens or heat from the heater in the elevated train. Hhmmm...

Our Trip Out of Tokyo - Continued

Our third day out of Tokyo was spent in Nara and Osaka. As with the day before, we all woke up early to get ready for another long day. We arrived at Shin Osaka station to change trains to Osaka, then to Tennoji and then to hop on another train to bring us to Nara. It took almost 30 minutes by rapid train to reach Nara. Upon arrival, we got some information then hopped on a taxi that took us to the Nara Park where another UNESCO World Heritage site was located, Todaiji.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the residents of the park. See...

They were everywhere. And we even got to buy food to feed them. So we need to beware when carrying any packaging, as they seem to think it's food! Goodness...

We walked a little bit and soon arrived at the beautiful temple of Todaiji, which resides Japan's largest Buddha statue and also being the world biggest wooden structure. The weather was VERY cold. Thank goodness mummy bundled you up well. So hopefully you were warm. As with all the places that we have been to so far, it was rather crowded. There were local and foreign tourists there. We walked around the temple and its grounds before buying some souvenirs and leaving the temple grounds. As we didn't have anything else planned, we walked around the park for a while before trying to eat lunch, as you were hungry. Too bad.. the restaurant nearby was crowded. So we headed back to the station (daddy bought rice crackers for you.. and you were contented with that.. phew) and since there was one direct train heading to Osaka, we decided to have lunch in Osaka.

Family Picture in front of Todaiji

In Nara Park

Another 1 hour train ride, with all of us napping all or most of the way back to Osaka. We took a late lunch at one of the restaurants near the train station before hopping on another train to Osaka-ko. Where to next? The Osaka Kaiyukan. Where?? The AQUARIUM.. yay.. finally we get to see something different.

Got out of the station into the freezing weather. We're near the harbour. That's why... So we tried to walk as quickly as possible to reach the end of the road where the Kaiyukan was supposed to be. Sadly we met with an accident on the way there. We'd stopped at an intersection and daddy was zipping up your jacket (you were walking) when a big gust of wind blew and the stroller went off like a bullet! It zoomed so quickly that before daddy could save it, it crashed into a van that was waiting for the light to turn green. Phew.. luckily no damage there and the driver was ok with the little accident! It was a scary thing when we saw the stroller zooming away, but we all had a good laugh after that... Good thing you weren't on the stroller. We are still wondering if the stroller would have run off if you were seated on it. Lesson learnt: put on the brakes when no one is minding the stroller.. or make sure someone holds on to it all the time.

The Kaiyukan had multi levels, starting from the 8th floor, we worked our way to the lower floors. Here are some of the attractions that we saw there. The main attraction was the Whale Shark. Of course there were others too. Can you guess what species this is?

Haha.. it was the attraction of the season: swimming Santa. Cute, eh? We met him on the way to the nursing room. Yup, they had a nursing room there. So convenient. Of course, we could not leave without a souvenir. So what did we get you? Haha.. a whale shark soft toy.

As it was still early, we tried to take a picture of the Christmas tree there.. But it was SOOOO cold, so we attempted to take a picture before running to the warmth of the nearby shopping center. Walked around a little, had dinner before heading back to the station to take a train back to Shin-Osaka. And that was the end of another day.

The plans for our final day was to be a lazy day before heading to the train station to take the Shinkansen back to Tokyo.. but NoOooo.. you decided otherwise.. You had to wake up at 7am and so all of us also had to wake up. Since you were up, we wanted to go to Osaka to walk around the shopping mall.. but NooOooo... you had other plans in mind. You decided to fall asleep just as we were leaving. So we lazed around the hotel room, until you woke up, we checked out, left our luggage at the station before heading to Osaka. But we only had 1 hour to spend before rushing back to Shin-Osaka, buy lunch and hop on the bullet train back to Tokyo.

Xmas Decoration in Hankyu Department Store

As always, you napped almost all the way back to Tokyo. Daddy managed to get this beautiful scenery on the way back. Mt Fuji...

Oh yeah.. by the way, we saw this place that caught out attention on the way to Osaka on Monday. It was a factory with little babies showing their bottoms to us. Hehe.. it was a Unicharm factory, makers of Mamy Poko, the diapers that you are using.. Too bad it was too fast for us to get a picture.

Our Trip Out of Tokyo

We had to wake up a little earlier on Monday. Our bullet train would be leaving Tokyo Station at 11am, but we needed to get there early, in case we got lost. Furthermore, lunch was to be on the train, so we needed to buy our bento lunches and drinks. We had our yummy lunch and soon we all fell asleep, despite the spectacular view.

We arrived in Shin-Osaka Station right on time. After a short walk, we arrived at Laforet, our company's corporate hotel. It was a simple hotel, but daddy loved the room. Have a look and see why:

Can't figure out why? Have a look again:

Got it? Yup, this massage chair. Daddy's favourite spot the moment we get into this room! And he was on it most nights after our long long walks.

Well, after checking in, we rushed off to the train station again. We wanted to either go to Nara or Himeiji. We hopped onto the train with the intention of heading to Osaka and changing trains to head to Nara. But we changed our minds when we noticed that we were on the special rapid headed for Himeiji. Yikes.. what a BIG mistake! It was the "slow train" heading to Himeiji, taking almost an hour to arrive at Himeiji. We rushed all the way to Himeiji Castle, but we were too late. Just missed the last entry at 4pm. So what to do? We took some pictures before heading back to the train station to book our Shinkansen tickets back to Shin-Osaka. Since we had time, we had dinner in Himeiji before heading home.

We woke up early on the next day to head to Himieji again, as we were behind schedule. Since we had already booked our tickets, we knew the time and did not have to rush for the non-reserved seats. We arrived at Himeiji and took a cab to the castle. Hehe.. save our legs to walk the castle grounds. It was a beautiful castle, being a UNESCO World Heritage too..

There were times when we entered the castle area and needed to remove our shoes. It was interesting. We even climbed the castle. It was 6 floors high. Ah Ma gave up after the 3rd floor. You on the other hand obviously followed us. So you got "imperial" treatment, being carried up the stairs by Ah Kong or Daddy. They had to take turns. Mummy could not carry you, as the steps were narrow and rather steep. We even got to stamp on our brochure to "prove" that we reached the top. There were 2 groups of school children at the top too. They were there on a school excursion. How lucky...

After that, we headed back towards the train station. But before that, we had our lunch. Ah Ma insisted that we had lunch in Himeiji as she had read somewhere that wheat was grown in Himieji and so the noodles there is delicious. And it sure was. We all had udon cooked in different styles. And everyone agreed that it was DELICOUS!

Next we took the Shinkansen to Kyoto, our first choice location which we did not manage to get a room. And now we know why we couldn't get a hotel room. The crowd there was AMAZING! So many people in all the places that we visited. So where did we go to? First stop by cab was to Sangjusangendo a temple with 1001 Kanon, Goddess of Mercy. Too bad no pictures were allowed. So we only walked in to have a look pray a little and off we went to the second stop.

Where to? Next stop is Kiyomizudera, another temple. But we didn't see much of the temple, instead enjoying the wonderful scenery there. We took lots of pictures, but here's one of the beautiful view. Amazing, don't you agree?

We were a little late, so we decided to catch the later Shinkansen and so dinner was at Kyoto Station. We originally planned to eat nearby, but it started to drizzle just as we were leaving the station, so we doubled back to the station, walked around, looking at the many restaurants before deciding on one restaurant. Remember how I said before the food that we have eaten is great? Well, the food in this restaurant was... not the best. Too bad.. We did a little shopping before heading to the platform to wait for our train. And so that's the end of our second day away from Tokyo.

Busy Part of Tokyo

It's Sunday and we started of with a lazy day before heading out to Shinjuku. What was the plan for the day? Well.. we needed to get our Ordinary Pass converted into a Japan Rail Pass. Ah.. mummy and daddy bought this before leaving Malaysia as it was only for foreigners. You didn't need it as children under 6 years old travel for free! Cool... eh?

Anyway.. after looking for the office and also booking our tickets for Osaka on the shinkansen (bullet train), we were off to tour this shopping district. It sure is a busy area... We walked around, looking at the malls, the scenery and the people. We walked and we walked and we walked until we got hungry. Lunch time.. Yikes! It is Sunday and looks like the whole world is out here for lunch! In the end.. we had.... (drum rolls, please... ) Mc Donalds. Daddy had mentioned when we first arrived that he would like to try it.. but we didn't expect to eat it so soon. Anyway.. even McDonalds was crowded. It was on the second floor and seating was either on this floor of the third floor. We had to wait a while before finally getting a place to sit. Worst still.. the third floor had a smoking area! Can you believe it? A family restaurant.. Anyhow, we later noticed that people were allowed to smoke in most places..

After that, we walked around in one of the malls.. It was full of branded goods! Wow.. never seen so many brands under one roof. Anyway.. we only "cuci mata" for now. We will wait for Pek Kong to come before really looking at some items to buy *grin*. While looking for Ah Kong and Ah Ma around the mall, we came across the Christmas decorations. Couldn't resist this picture moment.

It was still early and so we came to this little street... See.. it's so narrow, but full of little restaurants to select from. Too bad we've eaten. Anyhow, I think we'd have difficulty trying to get you to sit on the stools!

Managed to get a shot of the large crowd in Shinjuku.. but I didn't bring the cable for that camera.. Darn.. Remind me to load the picture later, okie?

Went home for a rest and you had dinner before we all bundled up to have our dinner. It was sooooo windy that my teeth were chattering. So, we didn't take our time to look around at the restaurants in Akasaka. We just saw this restaurant at the end of the road, peeked at the menu and quickly hopped in to order our dinner. Phew.. out of the cold for a while. Dinner as always was delicious. Must be the cold weather.. Improves the appetite. Or rather.. we feel hungry all the time

Ok.. time to sleep.. we have a long day ahead tomorrow. Oh yeah.. Here's the night view from where we're staying. The dark area is where the Imperial Palace is. Nice? Daddy's getting better with his camera.

Sick in Japan

Yup.. I think mummy infected you too. Sigh.. You woke up very early this morning, crying away. Perhaps it's rather dry too, so you took a feed, but seemed uncomfortable still.. So mummy gave you some of your medicine (thank goodness we brought them!) and to our surprise, you fell asleep again, and only woke up around 9.30 after mummy had taken my bath. Phew... so you freshened up, took you moi moi and off we went. We left the apartment around 11am. Pek Kong had already left the apartment. He's going travelling and will only be back on Friday. Where did we go today?

We went to Asakusa to look at a famous Buddhist temple. We took the subway to Asakusa which was the last stop on the subway. The train ride took less than 30 minutes, but you sat quietly on daddy's lap all the way there. Perhaps this new experience is a little scary to you. We got out and slowly made our way to the temple. All along the way there were vendors selling souvenirs, all types of biscuits and snacks that were made there, and even clothes. They had the adorable Yukata, that Pen Kong had bought for you last year when daddy came to Japan.

Finally we came to the temple. It was massive and there were lots of people visiting this temple. Seemed to have many locals there too. Perhaps it's because it's a Saturday. Everyone is out! We walked around, and daddy took some pictures before we walked back to the shopping area to look around. What to eat for lunch? There were so many shops to pick from and we didn't know where to start. We finally settled for a shop, after looking at the displays outside. It was a good choice, being a family restaurant, they even had a baby chair for you and even served kiddy meals. But since you'd already taken your moi moi, you ended up eating the Chawan Mushi that came with Ah Ma' s lunch. The food was yummy. Hey.. in fact, all the food that we've tried so far has been delicious and new to us. We walked around a little more before heading towards the subway to go to Ueno.

Ah Ma was thinking of cooking dinner tomorrow, and so we hopped off the train at Ueno. Got a little lost trying to find the market area. But we finally found it and it was interesting. There were so many stalls, selling from shoes to clothes, to raw food to cooked food. We bought some things and headed home.. without the food for tomorrow's dinner! I guess we'll be trying another restaurant for dinner tomorrow. Or maybe Ah Ma will buy some things to cook at the convenience store nearby tomorrow.

You'd fallen asleep in mummy's arms (sigh.. didn't bring the stroller with us today) and daddy took over to carry you. My arms were already aching this morning from carrying you the whole day, yesterday! But you woke up 30 minutes later when we were just about to reach home. Luckily you played a while in the house and went back to sleep again. So we all took this opportunity to siesta too.

Dinner was at a little 24hour restaurant that daddy recommended. He said that the beef or chicken meal was nice. So we took a little walk and had a simple meal as compared to yesterday, but still delicious. It is more quiet in Akasaka today as fewer people come here, with it being a business district and today being Saturday. I guess they headed elsewhere unlike yesterday when it was Friday and everyone just headed to the nearest bar to relax after a long weeks' work.

Everyone is sleeping now, and I haven't gotten the time to figure out how to load the pictures from daddy's camera. Must make a note to self to ask him tomorrow. I think I'd better hop into bed too. Goodnight. Hope you get better tomorrow. I wonder where we're going next...

Our First Dinner in Tokyo: Fugu

Welcome to Japan..

After a long flight, were here in Japan. Mummy's voice decided to stay back in Penang and so I'm now croaking like a frog! Anyway, you were fine on the flight from Penang to Singapore. In fact, you had a wonderful time playing on the travelator while waiting for Ah Kong and daddy to buy some stuff before entering the departure hall. But by the time we got onto out flight heading to Narita, it was WAY pass your bedtime and so you were rather grouchy. Hey.. it was already 12 midnight! Anyway, you finally fell asleep and the stewardess came to fit in your bassinet. It was really small, but that didn't bother you obviously. In fact you slept quite well there until perhaps it got too dry and you woke up. You spent the rest of the time sleeping on my lap. They served you a wonderful breakfast of mashed potato, minced chicken cooked in tomato sauce and something else that we cannot figure out. It also had a box of fresh milk and fruits. Too bad you didn't eat too much. Only ate most of the mashed potato and some of the milk. Probably too early. Hey it was around 4am Malaysian time! As we were arriving in an hour's time, daddy changed you out of your PJs and you continued your sleep on my lap.

We arrived in Narita airport at 7.00 local time. You were up as we were disembarking the plane as the stewardesses were saying "bye bye" to everyone. After clearing immigration, collecting our luggage and clearing the customs, it was nearly 8am. We bought our bus tickets and waited for our bus which was to arrive at 8.30am. And boy was it punctual. They loaded our luggage onto the bus and we headed towards Tokyo. As ours was the last stop with the bus ride taking almost 2 hours, we managed to catch up on our nap. Especially poor daddy. He has difficulties sleeping on the plane.

At our stop, The Exelsior Hotel Tokyu, we hopped off, took a short walk (you were still sleeping, by the way..) and finally arrived at our destination, Prudential Towers. That's where your 2nd Pek Kong lives. It's in Akasaka, a business district. He'd left instructions along with a spare key for us. So we dropped our luggage and relaxed around the apartment, while waiting for you to wake up. After that, we headed to this Ramen shop that your Aunty Ashley had discovered when she was here recently (with instructions from Pek Kong, obviously). Lunch was delicious, with the hot soup being served in the cold weather.

We walked around and went to buy some groceries before heading back to the apartment. Ah Ma cooked moi for you and after you had your lunch, it was siesta time again for all of us. Phew.. this travelling sure is tiring.. We were going to have dinner with Pek Kong, but he said that he would be late. So after everyone had freshened up, we fed you the balance moi moi that Ah Ma had prepared earlier. To our surprise, Pek Kong came back earlier than expected. His meeting ended early.

So what was for dinner? Japanese food, obviously. Guess what was on the menu? Fugu! Yup.. you got that right.. it's the pufferfish. We'd walked a short distance to come to this quaint restaurant. Not a small one.. it had several floors! We had left our shoes in the lockers and were seated at 2 tables. Hey.. there are 5.5 of us.. He ordered the set. So we had the pufferfish served raw, fried (we loved that the most!) and also the rest of the bony parts to be cooked in a steamboat, along with tofu, veggies and other things. Last of the meal was rice which was cooked in the steamboat broth with eggs. That was delicious. Of course dessert was also served. It was "asam boi" flavoured sorbet. Hehe.. I can't for the world figure out another word for "asam boi"! My dictionary (daddy) is sleeping, like you!

After dinner, we took a short walk, stopped by the subway station for Pek Kong to show us how to reload the subway card and went home. But before that, the trees outside our building was beautifully lighted, so we stopped (in the cold!!) to take several pictures. After a long, tiring day (despite all the naps), we all finally fell asleep..at nearly 12midnight.

p/s: No pictures to put up yet. Dunno how to figure out daddy's camera. Will do it another day when he's up.

And We're Off...

Sayonara... We're going to Japan for 2 weeks. We will be heading to Japan tonight on the night flight to Singapore and then transit to Japan.

Hopefully I will have time to blog while we're in Japan. I'm sure Ah Kong will be bringing his notebook with him. Or maybe your 2nd Chek Kong, whom you will be meeting for the first time has a computer that mummy could borrow. Till then, tata!

Catching up

Phew.. it has been a busy 2 weeks for mummy. It is financial year end and so I had to rush to complete my work before we go off on holiday. I had several things to blog about, but no time to..

So here's a summary of what's been happening:

~ 8th November was baby Audrey's full moon celebration. Too bad mummy had to work that day. But Aunty Michelle (mummy schoolmate) sent the package to the house. We all ate something from the package. It was yummy. Of course mummy and another friend, Aunty Je Lyn managed to meet up with Aunty Michelle at her house to see little Audrey and also to give them a gift on Sunday, just in the nick of time...

~ On the same night, we all went to G Hotel's Sesame (the Chinese restaurant) to celebrate Grand-Aunt Doris' birthday. Dinner was delicious. And to make it a complete night, you and Annabelle che-che had to tear off the wallpaper on the restaurant! Luckily the Captain said that it was alright and he would get someone to fix up the wall! Sheesh.. mummy just left you for a minute and you both decided to entertain yourselves this way!

~ Mummy and daddy both got a little sick, with both of us having sore throats. But thank goodness we're fine now. Hopefully, you're did not catch the bug from us.

~ We had great retail therapy sessions lately, buying all the necessities for our trip. We borrowed a more compact stroller from Aunty Jamie. Luckily you are OK with it. We took it earlier to ensure that you are comfy in the stroller before going off on our trip

Time for a Haircut...

Haha... you must be thinking "again?!". No.. actually time for daddy to have a haircut. But we proceeded as planned and brought you along to watch daddy have his haircut.

We arrived at the shop after 6, but Uncle Austin was still there. Phew.. luckily. But guess what? You were happily walking along the corridor when we stopped in front of the shop. You obviously can recognise the place as you immediately stopped dead in your tracks. And flatly refused to enter the shop. Daddy tried to coax you to go in with him, but you didn't want to. Mummy had to carry you in but you kept making a lot of noise and insisted that you wanted to go out. So we stood in the heat outside for a while. But in the end, mummy carried you in again and after some noise, you gave in and willingly sat on the sofa.. away from the area to cut your hair!

Mummy had to take things slowly to convince you to go nearer so that you could see daddy having his haircut. After washing your hands I managed to get you to sit on the little chair, nearer to daddy.. and you seemed interested to see what was going on with daddy. You were also interested in the hairdryer.

We didn't manage to let you have a haircut today as there were other customers in the shop, but hopefully after this round, you'll be better next time.

Greedy Evan

You're still on your milk strike. Or to be more specific EBM (expressed breast milk) strike. Instead, you prefer the fresh milk that we take.. probably because it's cold. Or so we thought. Ah Ma gave you cold EBM which you instantly rejected the moment you caught a whiff of it. Even though it was in a cup. And she tried giving you cold formula milk too.. After enticing you with fresh milk first.. but she said you took ONE sip and immediately rejected it.

BUT the moment mummy is home, you immediately indicate that you need to be fed. Any effort to redirect your attention was in vain. You will remember that you wanted your nen-nen and will insist and start fussing if mummy tries to stall any longer.

I guess that is a way of your self weaning from breast milk? Maybe... But the weaning from the breast part seems like a more difficult task. Nevermind.. we'll take one thing at a time.

We have been feeding you food that we eat in hope that it would be easier when we travel in 2 week's time. So far, we will give you rice mixed with some of our dinner dishes. But to be on the safe side, kakak still cooks moi moi for you. You seem to be OK with the rice.. But perhaps it's too dry or just too much effort to eat that you will sometimes spit the food out. And since you sit next to daddy during dinner time, he's the one who's got to prepare your food and feed you as he eats dinner.

But you seem to be better with our food now days. In fact being able to recognise foods that you have eaten before. We were watching the Food Chain which is hosted by the Singaporean actress Tan Kheng Hua yesterday when there was a segment on "kaya roti". You got so excited and kept pointing to the TV telling mummy and daddy that there was toast on TV!! Hahaha.. Ah Ma says that you're such a clever boy now days, being able to finish one whole slice of toast for breakfast or tea-time. And when the program finished, you kept showing the hand signal "no more" and saying "boh".

So guess what you had for breakfast today?

Yikes... Sausage Lips

What happened? Perhaps you forgot that we had the 3 steps from the dining room to the living room. Perhaps you were too happy to be back in our house and playing with your toys.. No one knows the reason, but on Monday, you decided to forget about the steps.

Ah Ma said that she's just taken her eyes off you for a while to look at the new Japan Visa forms and the next thing she knew, you'd pushed your little jeep off the 3 steps and so you landed on the living room floor. It was already 5pm by then. Yikes.. what followed? Lots of crying lo.

Poor Ah Ma was shocked. After she'd managed to calm you, she called daddy who then tried to call mummy, and he headed to the carpark to get the car. Mummy's reaction when he called was a loud "WHAT?!" that everyone sitting nearby heard the panic in my voice. That was a scary moment.

By the time we arrived home, you were already calm, with Barney playing on TV but still manja as Ah Ma was carrying you. You didn't give us your customary toothy grin when you saw us. Instead we were greeted by you with your 2 swollen lips and Ah Ma's bloody shirt. I guess when she carried you with your bleeding gums, it dirtied her shirt.

Thankfully, you could still latch and eat your dinner. By night, you were back to normal albeit having sausage lips (as dubbed by Aunty Joanne).

As of yesterday, your lips looks perfectly alright, with only a little tell-tale mark on your lower lip.

Another Passport Sized Picture

We tried to have your picture taken over the long weekend on one of those days when we were in Gurney Plaza. Unfortunately, you were rather cranky and un-cooperative. So we asked them to redevelop your passport sized picture. The lady at the shop said that she will change the background to white, but sadly she didn't and our pictures looked ghastly! We looked like convicts.. or worst still illegal immigrants. So to be on the safe side to ensure we don't have problems in getting our Japan visa's, we decided to have our pictures re-taken. And so last Thursday we left work early as Ah Ma wanted to have her hair set for our trip to Singapore.

We all changed and got ready to go have our pictures taken. You just look to adorable. Daddy reckons better than the passport picture.

After having our pictures taken, we also went to the airport to pay for your plane ticket to Singapore. Unfortunately we were too early and the counter wasn't open yet. So we waited around a while, with you climbing up and down the stairs, until the counter opened.

Singapore Day 3: The Last Day

We weren't too surprised when you only woke up at 9am (it was a very long day yesterday). As usual, mummy was already up by then and showered. That way, it's one less person fighting for the bath. And since you used the bathtub while daddy used the shower, there was no queue that way. Like yesterday, you went down in your PJs and the rest of the family were already there, having breakfast. Ah Kong wasn't around as he'd already gone off for a golf game with Uncle KK. Again, you were given the nice highchair, plate and cutlery. This time they also gave you a nice plastic cup. Like yesterday, mummy got you cereal and also shared with you my cheese omelet. On top of that you had one whole chawan mushi (small cup only la..)

After everyone was ready, daddy passed the ang pow collected from last night which was kept in our room back to Aunty Lee Mei and we were all packed, we moved our luggage to Kor Poh and Aunty Sue's room. After that we checked out and were off on our way to Takashimaya in Orchard Road for a little look-see. Nothing much to buy, so we just walked around and headed to Paragon across the road for a little more look-see before heading to the dim-sum restaurant, Crystal Jade Palace. Again, you were given a highchair along with a plastic plate and a spoon. The food there was superb, especially the roast pork. You enjoyed the pau and some other things.

After another round of kisses (you've been giving endless kisses to everyone this trip to Singapore...) to your aunts and grand aunts, we took another cab back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and wait for Ah Kong to return with Uncle KK and Aunty Ruth. They arrived shortly after we arrived at the hotel. We said a quick bye bye to Uncle Eu Jin and Aunty Lourdes (with more kisses) and also to Aunty Ruth. As the car can only carry 5 adults, she decided to go shopping in Suntec City while Uncle KK took us around before dropping us at the airport.

We started off with a tour of Sentosa Island. You decided to sleep just as we entered the island. We did not visit this part of the island on day1 as it was the private part of the island accessible only to selected people. There were beautiful bungalows and condominiums (very expensive) that were being built there. Our next stop was the private marina club, ONE °15 (the location of the club off the Equator), which Uncle KK was a member. Mummy had to carry you as we walked around the club house. You must've been very tired as you did not wake up to the loud noise as there was a Halloween Party going on for children with a clown entertaining them. The view there was amazing. There were yachts docked there. And what caught our attention was this:

Hehe.. having a snack in your swimsuit. No need to get out of the pool! Cool, eh?

View of the Marina

All this while you were sleeping. And you continued to sleep until we arrived at the airport. I guess it was a little noisy in the airport and you had already napped for 1 hours, so you opened your eyes (with that grouchy look) while we checked in for our return flight to Penang. While waiting to board the plane, we went to look at the shops around the airport. Mummy got you a little Thomas the Tank Engine. As you were still a little grumpy, you didn't want to play with the train. Never mind. Soon it was time to go to the departure gate and board our plane.

Again, we got priority to board as we were travelling with you. The nice stewardess brought you the extension seat belt and also a Sponge Bob baggage tag for you. Again you were served the "post-weaning" meal which had the same egg and jam sandwiches. On top of that, there was a strawberry mousse cake, jelly and a box of fresh milk. You tried most of the food, except for the jelly. So mummy had that *grin*.

Just as we were landing, you made a big fuss. Mummy tried my best, but I could not calm you down. Guess why? Coz you wanted to do a poo! Yikes.. and so mummy had to make "mmm..mmmm" sound to help you poo. And you had a relieved expression on your face. Too bad for the rest of them on the flight, as they were treated to your "aromatherapy". Hehe.. luckily we were seated near to the front of the plane and so we quickly took you to the nearest bathroom to change you.

We took a taxi back to our house to be greeted by an overexcited Furbie. I'm sure you missed him too.

Singapore Day2: The Wedding

As Uncle Eu Jin said that the bridal convoy was to leave the hotel by 7.30am, only daddy planned to go with them. So we got to sleep in.. or so I thought. Daddy was moving around the room, getting ready and asking mummy this and that, in the end, mummy decided to wake up and get ready before you were up. I had to shower and keep an ear out for you in case you wake up and don't see mummy. Luckily, you slept and continued to sleep until Ah Ma came into the room. I guess she was talking too loudly as shortly after that, you woke up.

So we all went down (with you still in your PJs) to enjoy the wonderful buffet breakfast. You were given a high chair with plastic plate, spoon, fork and knife. Chek Kong, Chim Poh and Kor Poh were already dressed for the tea ceremony, and enjoying their breakfast in the coffee house. After breakfast, we went back to the room to get you ready. You are also one of the "main character" for the day, as Uncle Eu Jin had requested that you "opened" the car door for him when they arrived at the hotel. After everyone was ready, mummy and you waited for the bridal entourage to arrive at the hotel. When the car finally arrived, they had to wait a while for daddy to arrive as he had to help you "open" the door. You were given an Ang Pow and 2 oranges.. Too bad the picture did not show you clearly (mummy is lousy photographer).. maybe one of your aunts got a better picture..

Next was the tea ceremony and we also got ang pow from Uncle Eu Jin and Aunty Lourdes. Hehe.. mummy and daddy also got one each. And of course, we gave them a gift. To be more specific, a gift to Aunty Lourdes. After that, you got really restless and so we both went up to our room for a rest and a quick feed. After having our photograph taken, we went off in a bus for the church ceremony.

The church ceremony started around 12.30pm. After sitting around for a while, you got restless and noisy. There was one moment when you were standing on the pew when you toppled backwards.. Luckily mummy managed to catch you as you tipped over. That certainly scared you a bit as you sobbed a little with teary eyes. But no loud speakers! Phew.. We spent the rest of the ceremony outside, letting you run around, exploring the church grounds. When the ceremony was over, we were treated to a buffet lunch. You must've been hungry as you sat on the stacked chairs, happily eating the fried rice and fried fish that mummy gave you. Of course shortly after that, you wanted to explore again.. So since daddy ate while you were eating, he entertained you while mummy had my lunch.

You dozed off on the way back to the hotel in the bus. I had to feed you on the bus. Luckily we had Ah Kong's coat to "cover" mummy up a little while I fed you. You continued sleeping when we put you in your cot. But when we removed your pants.. that was the end of it.. What a BIG mistake.. you were up and refused to go back to sleep. In the end, mummy left you with Ah Kong and Ah Ma while daddy napped and mummy went for a walk in Suntec City.

Soon it was time to get ready for the wedding dinner. We went down for the cocktail party and family photo. It was rather late and you started to get cranky. Lots of pictures were taken and I have picked some to add to the slide show below. You were happily giving everyone kisses, but by the time the dinner actually started it was almost 8.30pm. You were hungry and tired from such a long day and lack of sleep. So after having brought you up and down so many times, mummy and you ended up in the room and daddy had the porridge that he'd ordered for you to be sent to the room. Perhaps that ballroom manager sensed that we were agitate from waiting for so long.. he told us the porridge was compliments of the chef. And it was very delicious. You ate almost 1/2 of that very large bowl before finally falling asleep at 11pm! Another long day has ended... Phew.

Singapore Day1: Here we come....

We're all packed and ready to go to Singapore. Daddy was initially certain that our bag was too big. But in the end, everything went in just nice. After all, we needed to bring along your diapers too. Thankfully we will be "leaving them behind"; or most of them anyway, at the end of the trip.

Mummy woke up earlier today to make sure that we have enough time to get ready before Aunty Jamie came to pick us up. By the time you were up, mummy was ready and so we went down for breakfast before having a bath and dressing up for your first trip on the airplane.

We arrived at the airport to find a long queue to check in. Luckily, Ah Kong was an Elite Gold member, and so we waited only a while before it was our turn to check in. When all was done, we went in to clear the immigration and then waited around before it was time to board the plane. We were given priority to board the plane as we were travelling with a child, you. As we settled down, the nice stewardess gave us a seat belt for you which was to be attached to mummy's seat belt. On top of that, she gave you a colouring book which also had some crayons. Thankfully that kept you occupied throughout most of the flight, other than when you were served your "post-weaning" meal comprising egg sandwiches and also jam sandwiches which you liked.

It took us a while to clear immigration and by the time we were out, Uncle KK was already waiting for us at the arrival gate. We dropped Ah Kong and Ah Ma at DBS bank before heading to our hotel, Conrad Centennial Hotel in Temasek Boulevard. It was a beautiful hotel and they had great service too. As we waited for daddy to check in, the concierge gave you a box of cookies. Aunty Sue and Aunty Lee Mei were around to keep you entertained too.

After we checked in, we rested a bit and we were off. Where to? To the Underwater World in Sentosa Island, where else?

We asked for directions to get to the City Hall MRT station. Unfortunately, we got a little lost and I think we were directed to the longer way too. But after walking around, we were finally there. We switched lines at Outram Park to get to Vivo City. By then, you were tired and grumpy. When we reached Vivo City, mummy had to carry you in my arms and you finally fell asleep and we let you sleep in the stroller. We rode in the Sentosa Express and took a bus to the Underwater World. You were still sleeping until we entered. You woke up a little grouchy and only glared at the fish in the "Living Fossils" section. See.. this was the fish that you glared at:

We walked around a little until we came to this:

The tunnel with a travelator. That caught your attention. Mummy had to bring you out of the stroller as you were getting restless in the stroller. So we stood on the travelator while daddy took pictures. Or tried to anyway... Too bad, you weren't interested in the fishes, sharks or even the dugong. As daddy could not get any good shots, we went another round on the travelator. It was rather uncomfy as there were many people, but you finally showed more interest in the fishes that were swimming around. Phew.. at least our trip was not in vain. As it was rather late, we decided to forgo the Dolphin Lagoon. We needed to reach the hotel to get ready for dinner with the rest of the Ban clan.

While mummy got you ready for dinner, daddy went up to 6th Chim Poh's room, as there was a 'briefing' on the wedding ceremony tomorrow. We joined them later and guess what? Uncle Eu Jin bought you a nice cap. He was worried that you could not wear it, but it fitted nicely. Your aunts also bought you a box of chocolate filled biscuits, that you shared with them.

Dinner was at Tony Roma's in Suntec City. Daddy had been promising me this restaurant ever since we found out that we had to go to Singapore for the wedding. I've not tried it before, while Ah Kong, Ah Ma and daddy tried it in US. Of course, we ordered the famous Baby Back Ribs and you got your macaroni and cheese. While waiting for our seat and also waiting for our orders, daddy took you to the nearby fish pond where you had fun feeding the fishes and tortoises.

After dinner, we all went for a little retail therapy (to be more precise shoe shopping with your aunts). Daddy kept you entertained but went back to the hotel earlier in the end to try to get you to sleep. Too bad mummy reached just as you were falling asleep. So in the end, I had to put you to sleep. By the way, have a look at the adorable cot they brought for you. It came with the standard cot runners, pillow and blanket. On top of that it had a miniature version of the teddies, miniature bedroom slippers and also a toiletry bag with baby essentials! Now that's what I call good service!

It's all Gone

Didn't see it, but the rain yesterday must have been a sign of more bad things to come. We had parked the car in the carpark that was very near the office as we were back early from lunch. The next thing we knew, it was raining heavily and that carpark was prone to flooding. Mummy went down to check on the car, and was thankful that it wasn't flooded where our car was parked. When the time came for us to go home, it was still drizzling, but most of the flood water had subsided. Unfortunately, daddy had to remove his shoes in order not to get them wet to get to the car.

When we reached home, kakak had to manually open the gate as one of the electrical phase at home was out. There was also no electricity going to the fridge and so daddy had to put an extension from the power point that had electricity. Since there was no electricity in the dining area, you had lunch in the living room, while daddy, Ah Kong and mummy ate on the small table behind. A little cramped but you also joined us for your second round of dinner.

After dinner, you did you big business and daddy cleaned you up and while we were lazing in the bed upstairs, poof, the electricity went off. We were sitting in the dark. But you weren't too worried at all. All you kept saying was "boh.. boh", telling mummy that there were no lights. Luckily you pooped before the lights went off! Otherwise, we'd be cleaning you in the candle light!

We sat around for a while and you got grumpy as you wanted to sleep. In the end, we went off in 2 cars to the condo, to sleep in air-conditioned comfort! And also to watch Astro. Ah Ma stayed at home with kakak.

You woke up really early this morning. 6am. And so mummy also had to get up and get ready to go home. And since you were up so early, you napped a while on the way home, but woke up recharged but a little grumpy when we reached home.

That was when mummy made the gruesome discovery. All my stock of expressed breast milk in the freezer has thawed. Sigh.. and the fresh one that was expressed yesterday at work didn't even cool down. And so today you will have to take frozen milk. Mummy had to throw away yesterday's milk. I hope you will be co-operative and take the frozen milk, as you have been on a milk strike lately, refusing to take the frozen milk that Ah Ma gives you, preferring to take other food.

Please take the frozen milk. Don't let so much milk go to waste. Mummy already had to pour away some this morning... Unless you would like give formula milk another try?

A Visit to Ipoh

It's been a while since we last went back to Ipoh, and so we decided to make a trip this weekend, before we went off to Singapore next week. As expected, we did not leave very early. For one thing, you decided to sleep in on Saturday. So mummy got up to have a bathe. But of course, 5 minutes in the shower and I could hear that you were up already! There goes my plan for a leisurely bath. Of course, neither was it a "mandi kerbau". Daddy had to handle you a while, while I finished my bath and dressed up. By then, it was already 8am.

So down we went for breakfast and while you took your bath, daddy fixed the carseat and Ah Ma went out with Ah Kong to get the ang koo kuih for Ah Tai. It's her favourite and Ah Ma had already called to order for them yesterday. We were off by 9.15am. Actually considered quite good, since you only woke up at 8am...

It was a longer drive than usual, as we took a leasurely drive back and there were quite a lot of cars on the highway. By the time we arrived in Ipoh it was almost 11am. We met up with 5th Chim Poh and Chek Kong and their friends for brunch. We wanted to eat curry mee but our favourite shops were closed, so we went for second best: noodles with "liu" (yee tan fun: noodles with fish balls) in the old town area. Mummy ordered noodles in soup and shared with you. You loved it.

It was soon time to go back to the Ipoh house and Ah Tai was waiting anxiously to see you. I'm sure she missed you a lot. We hang around for a while and after daddy went off for golf with Ah Kong, we also went out with Chek Kong and Chim Poh. Chek Kong wanted to go to the hairdressers and so he dropped us at Jaya Jusco for some retail therapy. Since there was no stroller, you walked happily. Of course, towards the end of the 2 hours, you got whiney and grumpy as it was way pass your nap time. Luckily you behaved quite well as we had a drink and waited for Chek Kong. He arrived around 4pm and you fell asleep almost immediately in the car. Hhhmm... maybe it's the new Harrier that lolled you to sleep. Nice and comfy..

When you woke up from your nap, you were in relatively good mood, giving kisses to everyone who was there. Including Aunty Lee Mei who was playing the piano. By the time bath time came, there was no running water. Luckily there was some in the tank, but cold water. So we filled with sink with water from the tap and added hot water that daddy had boiled over the stove.

Dinner was in East Ocean restaurant in Menglembu. It was raining heavily and starting to flood on the way there, but we managed to get there and had a delicious dinner. Our car was delayed as mummy forgot to pack your little feeding spoon. Perhaps it was a good thing too. We were stopped by the police car on the way back and was told to take a detour as it was starting to flood up ahead. Luckily the detour wasn't to far so we were home shortly after Chek Kong.

We left Ipoh after 9pm. Again, you made a fuss on the way back, not wanting to sit in the carseat. Since daddy was driving and had a better tolerance towards your wailing, we just let you sit in the seat screaming away. Thankfully your volume is not that loud, so after a while, you gave up and sulked in the carseat. Everyone was warned not to talk to you and let you sulk. In the end, you got tired of sulking and dozed off to dreamland until the next day!

What a long long day.