We seem to be having so many celebrations of Ko-ko's results.. This is a restaurant in BM which daddy had stumbled across. It's called Neighbourwood and is a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient.
And only 1 kiddy in the car going to school...
Daddy was asking me how many more years of sending you to school.. the answer: 6 more years..
But I'm not complaining. It means I have my baby with me for another 6 years before she leaves the nest for college then uni.
While your driving lessons and exams will only be in December, daddy thought that it would be a good idea to practice with you. So you have been going around Jalan 15 and 16 in the Honda City for quite a few sessions.
Today, daddy asked if I'd like to go along in the car. Er.. oh-kayyy... It wasn't too bad. For the first time, you went into Jalan 1 and the roads near the school area too. Only problem was when you approached the T-junction near the school, you shot out into Jalan 15 despite daddy and I yelling for you to stop.. as there was a white line across the road. Granted, the line on this T-junction is very odd, since it is a wide T.
You got very upset at being yelled at (I was so scared.. luckily there was no car coming). Sigh.. my boy.. you need to control your temper.
Anyhow, we did a few more rounds and also a 3-point turn before calling it a day.
Took a lot of deliberation before deciding on Japanese to celebrate your amazing results. Booked Miraku and was offered a room. Needed minimum spend of RM500 which the person taking our booking said is achievable with 6 people dining.
Left the house a little earlier and you said that you were hungry, but in the end, it still took us a long time to reach G Hotel as the traffic heading there was just so bad!
We arrived at nearly 7pm and were immediately seated. After looking at the menu, we picked the food. Here's what we had:
Checked with you yesterday and you told me it is expected to be out at around 1pm.
By lunch time, daddy told me he was feeling so nervous. Wondering if he should be at home with you when the results are published (especially since you asked if we would be working from home). Really wanted to ask you how the results were once 1pm rolled around.
But we waited a little and then we received this via WhatsApp:
We slept in a little more today, since we had nothing to do until checkout time at 11am. We were booked for the 12.00pm boat. Headed to Bayu Restaurant to have our breakfast. At the egg station, the man asked if Mei-mei liked pancakes to which you said you liked it, but didn't want it today. You didn't look too good, probably exhausted from the many days of activities.
When we reached Kuala Besut, daddy and Ko-ko went to get the car while we made our way back to the Alunan office. Before that, we had time to stop to quickly buy some souvenirs for you to give your friends.
When we finally packed into the car, we decided not to have lunch. Daddy filed up his car and off we started our journey back to Penang.
The drive back seemed slower as the traffic on the roads were much heavier than when we drove over.
All that swimming in the sea still didn't seem enough. We both headed to the pool while the boys rested in the room. It was lovely as there were no one in the pool. We stayed here for a while until more and more people came to the pool. Then we headed back to the room to shower, rest and then get ready for dinner.
After dinner, we stopped by the Bayu Restaurant to ask for vinegar. It is supposed to help with the jellyfish sting. They gave us a small container of it and daddy rinsed his forearm with it.
Our bellies were so full. But we still wanted to have a go at the Keropok Lekor. So I placed an order for 1 portion to be eaten at 9.30pm, which was the last call for the night. We went back a little earlier.. and happily ate:
The morning started with our breakfast, as usual in Bayu Restaurant. Then we headed back to the room to clear our system (Naufal had reminded us yesterday that there would be no toilets in case we needed to poo!!). Got dressed then headed to the excursion center to meet up with the group. We were the initial 4 to sign up and were told that the excursion would not go on (even though we offered to pay for the 5th person so that the trip can go on). The staff worked hard to sell the excursion and in the end, another family of 4, a couple and a gentleman signed up for the trip. Yay!
Our marine biologists for this trip were Naufal and Sara. The boatman was a new, but equally as friendly man.
After a boat ride of around 40 minutes we arrived at Turtle Bay to swim with turtles. Before jumping into the water, Naufal briefed us. He reminded us not to touch the turtle and not to feed the turtles, although other boat operators will feed the turtles so that they would come nearer to the snorkelers.
Next stop is Pulau Lima. Before arriving, Mei-mei looked a little green. So she asked if we could go to the island. Daddy brought her along. Boy was that a rough swim. The waves were strong and it was rocky to reach the beach. Ko-ko also went to the island as he needed to pee. I thought to follow but daddy told me to go back to the boat while was safer. Sara went with you all (the single gentleman also went to the beach).
After a while, Ko-ko came back to snorkel and then later after much struggle, daddy got Mei-mei back to the beach where she snorkeled with me a while and daddy went back to the boat to rest. He suffered some cuts and when he looked, his fins also had gashes. Thank goodness for the fins!
Next stop was a placed called Sand Bank. It was open and hot, but everyone hopped off the boat while daddy rested in the boat and ate his energy bar.
Later we found out that you were both heading back to the boat and there were jellyfish. Daddy tried to protect Mei-mei by kicking them away with his fins. Mei-mei on the other hand was screaming and tried to scramble up the boat sans the ladder (the ladder had come undone), and one of the others in the group helped to pull her into the boat.
When everyone were safely back into the boat, we headed to Pulau Lang Tengah. Here we had our lunch. It was a packed lunch of rice, chicken and some vegetables. The kids played in the beach again while the rest of the group just sat around and relaxed.
We then clambered back into the boat and went to the final snorkel site. It was just a 5 minute boat ride. Here was the site of a plane which was intentionally sunken to be a reef. This plane was just sunken a year ago. Too bad the waters were rather murky and we could not see anything from the top. Ko-ko did a dive and said he could see something. Daddy tried and said he probably saw the wing of the plane.
After a while, everyone went back into the boat. We were too tired to want to snorkel much. Then we headed back to the resort. As usual, Mei-mei slept all the way back with daddy keeping her safe (and not falling off the boat!).
An interesting trip, and like Ko-ko said: We've done 2 islands in this trip. No need to plan for Redang anymore.
