Swimming Lessons Restarted

Since Idlan had his summer break, we didn't have much of a swimming lesson. So, it was time to catch up as well as get Irfan to join along as well.

The coach was occupied during the SEA Games and now was the time to get going again. Irfan especially seemed to be enjoying it. The coach started with the basic breathing exercise, and next came floating.He was catching up fast.

Waiting for the coachNice sunshinePutting my feet up ...While they were in the pool, we were at the side soaking up the sunshine complete with a bit of nachos and dips. It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon for me as well, hence I was able to head home from work early.

A New Addition

Our track record when it came to pets had never been a good one. I was not sure what got to Anita when she bought a couple of goldfish in a tank and parked it in our room. Maybe it would be trial run for a wall aquarium which I had been talking about for the last few months.

Idlan and Irfan had been taking turns feeding them. We had yet to need to change the water so far. I wonder who would be doing that. While we were away, our maid was given strict instructions about the feeding, as if she didn't know. She would probably taken better care of the fishes than us .....

Let's see hong the fishes would last this time around ...

A Day in Penang

Everyone got up earlier on the Saturday after having a nice rest at the hotel the night before. We were up in plenty of time for breakfast before joining my Mum and Aunt again at her place. Then came the plan to head to Penang Island to visit more relatives. My Aunt tagged along as well.

We arrived at my other Aunt's place well before lunch - there was hardly any traffic getting there. We decided to have lunch at one of the nasi kandar shop near my Aunt's apartment and it was a delight. Irfan especially felt sleepy after the curry and ended up on the sofa while we were waiting for Zohor prayers.

Irfan contemplating what to try next ...Then came the sotong kangkung ...Making acquaintance with the local wildlife ...Next stop .... Padang Kota. As per custom, we would order pasembor, laksa, sotong bakar, sotong kangkung and ais kacang; not necessarily in that order. It was gorgeous although the laksa could have been better - it didn't come with shrimp paste.

We just sat at the esplanade after the meal with the boys playing with bubbles and running around the place.

Nah! We stick to the bubbles ...That's Butterworth at the far end ...Let's start ...

Next stop was at another Aunt's place in Kepala Batas. They had recently moved there from Butterworth and this was the first time I came over to visit them at their new place. More food and by this time, the boys were already getting grumpy. When we finally dropped my Mum and Aunt, it was already past sunset. Another early for the long journey tomorrow ...

A Day In

We had to spend the Raya day quite literally recovering. We started the day off visiting one of our friend for a second breakfast. They happened to be in Sungai Petani at the time, and more importantly, they had food ....

We then went to my Aunts where my Mum stayed, had some more food before heading to the mosque for prayers. We then got stuck with nothing to do and after the ordeal driving up yesterday, we could do with just a day chilling in the hotel room.

And that was just what we did.

We didn't even bother to go to the pools, we ordered some afternoon snacks to the room before going to one of the hotel restaurant for early dinner before turning in early. And the dinner turned out to be a delight. The Japanese restaurant at the ground floor of the hotel was a great find ...

Everybody was happy and full by the time we were done, and I was asleep soon after ....

Back to KL

We were hoping that the journey back would be easier compared to the journey up North. We were partly right. Usually the journey would take around 4 hours. Going up was around 10. Coming home took us 7 and a half, with a couple of short stops en route.

They are yet to be really awakeChecking outStill it was tiring since I will be at work on Monday despite it being a public holiday. The boys would get an extra day off however.

Quick stop at Sungai Perak R&R

There were no major accident. It was just due to sheer number of cars on the road. So, of the 4 days break which I had, two of them were spent on the road. All in all, not a great break ...