Day Out at Hartamas

Day Out at Hartamas 8, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman. For the slideshow, click here and here.

Irfan was going on all week to get me to fix up his Wii. In his wisdom, he managed to navigate the file system and deleted the 'crack' program. We ended up only able to play the originals, and he missed out on his Wii Sport. We had to send it back to our 'dealer' in Hartamas and it will take another few days to get it back.

It has been a while since we visited the Hartamas Chopping Centre. The place was relatively new. We were more familiar with the adjoining Plaza Damas when we stumbled upon the place. It was around the time of Idlan's first birthday back in 2005. We were looking out for a party planner and from the 'net we heard about a shop in Plaza Damas. Unfortunately the shop was already closed, but they made us really cute goody bags for the party.

We had lunch at TGI Friday. I forgotten that kids eat free if you order a main adult meal. There was a Toy'r'us right opposite so while waiting for the order, I was literally dragged there. Lunch was nice although all the drinks tasted the same. Like bubble gum! The boys had chicken fingers and chips. I ordered some spicy prawn cocktail and roasted chicken for the main. Anita had sizzling chicken in cheese sauce ..... hmmmm! Hers tasted better I must admit!

Bulls eye!Irfan filling up the fountain! You can just about see the balls spewing out the top!Next stop, the indoor playground. I stayed behind with the boys while Anita went shopping. As their measure to combat H1N1, the proprietor of the playground checked the temperature of everyone passing through. We spend more than an hour in there and the main attraction were the cannons and the 'volcano' of course!

Idlan was so excited that he had an asthma attack later that night (last night). He is OK now, but I had to suffer the whole day due to lack of sleep and ManYoo losing to Chelski in the Charity Shield. I guess in the spirit of charity, we did the decent thing and let Chelski win! I had to wake up early though as I had a lecture to give at 8 am.

Pullman Day 3 - The Return Journey

Lunch at Marriott 2, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

All good thing must come to an end. So was this short break. The boys did not wake up until about 9.30, and check-out time was 12 noon. They just cleaned their faces and brushed their teeth before running down o the breakfast hall. We did not get back until just before 11 and we had only an hour or so to pack.

On the same weekend, the Putrajaya Flower Show was also going on. We decided to head there after check-out. Unfortunately the weather was too muggy and Idlan got restless. After a quick stroll to buy some fruits to take home, we left for lunch. We stopped for buffet at nearby Marriott Putrajaya. We used to frequent here quite a lot when the boys were younger. Both of them actually took their first steps at the huge flat lobby there. I was introduced to the place back in 2004 when the Malaysian Society of Haematology Scientific Meeting was held here. I was only a couple of month with UMMC then. Anita was heavily pregnant for Idlan, but that did not stop her from coming. There was a nice Italian restaurant at the terrace and we enjoyed a dinner we had there. We vowed that a year later we will return with our child, and we did.

The huge lobby has a little pond and water feature right in the middle. The high ceiling really made the whole place cool and cozy. Idlan took his first steps there when he started to walk. About 18 months later, it was Irfan's turn. Again the nice flat lobby helped. Since then. every now and then, we would drop by for the buffet lunch. The place has been upgraded since. There used to be a series of sofa in the cafeteria. This has since been moved to make way for more seats.

The main lobby. Look at the open space ...The food was still reasonable, so was the price. During weekends, there will be live music and a clown for the kids. As you can see, Irfan was really excited to see him.....

There is also a nice little cafe on the opposite side of the lobby with nice comfortable settee. However, we were getting tired and decided to skip coffee. We finally reached home about 4.30pm.

All in all, the best thing about the Pullman was the pool and 'The Village'. The price were however rather steep, and the service should be better. 'The Village' however offer the best service, and the waiter there treated us like patrons, rather than just a local person that they can mess about with.

Day for updates

Idlan and Irfan also updating their blogs!8th of August every year seems like a busy day for me every year. It is the date when most of my online services' subscription were up for renewal, from MobileMe to other free services etc. I also took the time to update my SmugMug site. Unfortunately I lack the Javascript skills needed - need to learn some kung foo. Will spend some time scrounging through other's SmugMug sites for ideas. The site has so much potential for update, it's sickening. I also explored some of it's hidden functionalities such as integration into facebook and tweeter.

Apart from that, I also had to run some errands, and Irfan is due for some jabs, hepatitis A I think. Brought him to Pantai to see our Paediatrician. He was surprisingly cool about it. Not a sound during the injection. We then decided to have some tea. After hearing my tales about Urbanscapes, my wife was keen to have a look at KLPAC. We had tea and pasta at the cafe on the ground floor. It was too warm to spend too much time at the Koi Park. Idlan and Irfan ran around the turfs like a madman, simulating Transformers along the way! Unfortunately, of all things, I forgotten to bring with me my camera! Boo hoo! Need to go out to buy some dinner tonight as I don't want Anita to cook. Will blog later on the last day at Pullman later tonight! Please visit my updated .mac photosite and of course my SmugMug installments.

Weekend in Putrajaya - Day 2

Pullman Day 2 - Dinner at The Village 4, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

This is the only real full day that we spend in Putrajaya but unfortunately I had to return to UMMC for my ward round that morning. On the way back, I was stuck in traffic due to the anti-ISA rally in the middle of town. There were roadblock everywhere and the Federal Highway was turned into one giant car park.

I finally reached Putrajaya after lunch. My wife has ordered in, and we decided to head to Alamanda since it was rather hot outside. The boys had already had their dose of swimming in the pool when I was away so they are pretty content. We spend a good few hours there walking around.

It was nearly 5 when we reached our room. My wife decided to have a lie in. I went out with my camera to take some shots. Unfortunately the weather was overcast then. Initially we planned to go out for dinner, but everyone was pretty tired by then. I decided to check out another restaurant in the hotel. It is on the jetty by the lake overlooking the hotel. Nice ambiance. Wide open space. Sounds of crickets in the air with cool breeze.

'The Village' serves Western fusion food. I ordered some salad and halibut as my main. It was gorgeous. The kids ran around on the jetty. There is a small little air conditioned room smack in the middle of the jetty. They went in there to cool off before running around again.

One thing that impressed me about 'The VIllage' is the waiters. They went the extra mile to make our patronage an enjoyable one. They explained to us the content of the menu, attend to our request for food for our kids and delivered food to the room for our parents. It was certainly a nice change.

The lobby for Seri Tanjung WIng

H1N1 hitting UMMC

Prof Aw in his H1N1 Address, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

We have to face the fact that the pandemic is going on. No point hiding away or pretend that everything is hunky-dory. At the same time, there is no point going overboard on pandemic that has been on the horizon for some time. A couple of academic staffs and another couple of doctors are awaiting further tests, while another two patients are in ICU, presumed due to H1N1. It is a serious matter, but the panic surrounding the whole situation may prove to be just as if not more dangerous.

Yesterday, one of UM alumnus, Prof Aw Tar-ching gave a talk on the steps taken in UAE where he is working now. It was clear, in a country that depends on tourist traffic, a panic will hurt the economy hard. He outlined that the most important thing we have to do now is to have a consistent and accurate portal for information dissemination. What is happening now is more of sporadic, knee-jerk like statements from the powers that be on this policy and that. It will just create confusion. Or even worst, it in itself may give the public a sense that the government is also panicking behind the scene.

Remember, consistent and accurate information .... I think that is what we need .......