And the rest of the holidays

Nasi daun pisang, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Well, my holiday break did not end well with the illness I caught. I seemed to be feeling better but decided to stay put today. Still too groggy to drive. Decided to sort out the paperworks, update my blogs and websites. Preparing coming lectures. I will need to go to the GP later for a quick check-up and sort my MC out.

In the last couple of days, we mainly spent time visiting families, but obviously not yesterday. Anita and the rest of the troops went out for a few open houses while I spent most of the days in bed. Since the blog is a few days out of sync, I thought I include some pics from our latest outing, and the now infamous Irfan's guide to making a good cup of tea!

The venue

Some sushi to start withStep 1 - dullops of sugarStep 2 - Now in come the milk ... full-fat ones of courseStep 3 - Stir franticallyStep 4 - Testing time!Step 5 - .... wipe the face

Cuti Raya Day 8 - Penang and Permatang Bertam

Permatang Bertam 4, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Irfan's fever is better. He started to eat and oh boy, was he energetic. Julia has also settled in. We decided to cross over to Penang to visit my Grandmother. She lives with my auntie at the old family house right in the middle of the city, in Jalan Pahang. She suffered a number of strokes in her old age, and as a result, she is paralysed on her right side and was not able to speak.

We went there straight after breakfast at the resort. We arrived at Pahang Road around noon. Two of my uncles were also there, plus a couple of my cousins who also came over for visit. We hang around for a bt until the children got restless. We then headed out for lunch. It would not be a visit to Penang if we do not have nasi kandar.

Hameeeeeeed!Apparently this shop that we went to was run by a guy who used to cook at my father's favourite curry house in Kuala Lumpur. The curry was OK, but the one in Kuala Lumpur, at the shop we frequent was better. We should've gone to our regular near Chowrasta. It was however nice to try a new one from time to time.

We then headed back to the mainland and stopped over at Kepala Batas. I was born there. However the old house was empty since my grandfather passed away in 2006. There are three houses on that piece of land, one occupied by my uncle. The rest was however empty and the old house has turned derelict. It's a sad sight. Unfortunately as the land is not mine, I was not able to invest in it. I am sure those who were involved with 'harta pusaka' in the past understand the situation. I then visited one of my Mum's cousin at another kampong before heading back to Sungai Petani.

The pool at the ResortWe finally reached SP after 5, and both the boys wanted to try the resort pool. We spend an hour there before heading back to Kepala Batas to visit another uncle of mine. We had dinner there and finally settled in back at the resort before midnight. Tomorrow we will be travelling back to KL, so better rest up.

Cuti Raya Day 7 - In Sungai Petani

Irfan having a temperatureAs mentioned, Irfan has a temperature. We had to postponed some of the plans for today until tomorrow. Tomorrow is better anyway since Julia will only reach Sungai Petani today. At least we can hit Penang tomorrow together.

We had breakfast at the resort - since it was included in the room fee. I must say that we got there quite late and the bulk of the crowd have already came and left by then. It seems that everything was finished, even the eggs. We had to cook breakfast for the boys later at Julia's house, but not before doing some groceries.

Julia's house at Taman Puteri JayaJulia arrived at around 1. I went to buy some lunch with Mum and got Teh to come over at Julia's to join us for lunch. Irfan was asleep at the time in the hotel room and we had to wake him up. He was well grumpy.

My favourite dish for lunch as prepared by TehIdlan at the CarnivallIn the late afternoon, we took Idlan and Julia's children to a water theme park right next to Cinta Sayang. It's called the Carnivall. It was actually surprisingly good. As expected it is family-friendly and the admission fees include snacks, which is a change. The layout is simple. Upon entering, there is a canal at the perimeter of the park. Within the canal are a few water pool for kids, with waterslides and all suitable for the less than 5. Idlan and his cousin had so much fun that we had to practically pull them off the pool.

In the evening the whole family had steamboat dinner at the resort. Anita booked for a table for 12 but when we arrived we were surprised to learn that firstly, they did not provide a table for all 12 of us, and secondly, they did not have the table ready for us when we arrived. Complaint? None of the waiters speak Malay or decent English. They were all foreigners! Finally we grumpily split into two adjoining tables. The meal itself was just about OK. There are stalls that serve better food than those, but we were hungry anyhow and it was Syawal.

The Journey to Sungai Petani - Cuti Raya Day 6

On the way to Sg Petani 1, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Woke up early this morning to get everything set up for the trip. Got the car ready, got everything hauled in, but only one thing missing. Well two actually - Idlan and Irfan! They are still asleep!

Wake up!All packed up!We had a tough time getting them ready and all set to go. They went to sleep just before midnight last night as they were so excited. We finally managed to set off at 9.30. We went over to pick up Dadi (my Mum). She was coming along with us, with Julia, my sister bringing my Dad the next day.

The traffic was light and we were all but cruising. We did not actually stop as all the R&R are full. We reached our destination at 2pm and was already in our room by 2.30. Time for lunch then.

View along the wayI hate to go all environmental on everyone but when I was young, the hill was whole. Unfortunately the money men have other ideas.We went over to my Auntie - Teh's house for lunch. All was done by 4 when we managed even to do some shopping at Tesco. Then we realised that Irfan had a temperature. We stayed in an rest in the evening.

I managed to explore the resort during my late afternoon walk. The resort has been on the map for almost 20 years. I remember staying here once back in 99, but not much else. The resort is actually pretty basic although it claimed to be much grander. There are a few cafes a full-sized 18-hole golf course complete with an academy and driving range. On the website, they advertised 'chip-and-putt'. This has however been turned into a member only practice area. Idlan was disappointed.

Finally arrived at the destinationThere are of course facilities for weddings and conferences, gym, swimming pool and squash courts. All available for us as guests. The pool was particularly nice, with separate areas for children and changing facilities. As Irfan is having a temperature, we decided to give this a miss for the day.

We checked in, then Idlan and Irfan checked out the roomI went to one of the local Mamak restaurant with my mum to get some take-out later that night while the boys stayed in. To our surprised, all the cooks were Indonesian. I had my Mee Mamak prepared by one, and I wonder if it was any less authentic?

Happy Hari Raya

Lemang, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

Wishing all a Happy Hari Raya. Maaf Zahir Batin.

Sorry that this entry is a couple of days late. You will have to excuse me as I was busy with the festivities, and the planned holidays and all. We celebrated this year as usual in Gombak. I attended the prayers at the mosque near our house. It was packed as expected and most of the dwellers were planning to hit off to their kampong right after the prayers.

Idlan - balik kampongAfter prayers, we had some ketupat and rendang - the must-haves for the Eid here locally - and had our family photos. We then head off to my parents' at Bukit Antarabangsa. We stayed there for a couple of hours, mainly having food. My sisters had left for Melaka - to her in-laws - the day before.

Irfan showing his silat skills in Baju MelayuBack in Gombak in the afternoon, we received visits from friends and cousins. One of Anita's close cousin, Ros came over with her family. Chit chat, more food. Unfortunately, I was then reminded that I have to nip out to the supermarket to get some stuffs for tomorrow's journey. Fun's over.

I was so surprised how many people were there at our local Jaya Jusco at Alpha Angle. The Jusco staffs were all in their Raya wares, which is a change from their usual uniforms. The queue was rather excruciating though checking out. I then had to rush back to watch the Manchester Derby. Time to put City in their place this time.

Stopping over at McDonald's to get chips for the boys on the home from Bukit AntarabangsaThe game started where we expected with Rooney netting within the first couple of minutes. Unfortunately City came back. In fact, United went ahead again twice, both times being pegged back with equalisers. City got their third equaliser thanks to Ferdinand's mistake on the 91st minute. I thought the game was over. Then Owen stepped up and got the winner late on, on the 96th. I can understand why the City manager is furious, but then again, that's what make ManYoo strong. The game is only over at the final whistle.

I went to bed just before midnight as I will be doing some driving the next day. Everything was packed up by then. Looking forward to the trip.