Night In

After spending the last few nights outdoors, we decided to chill out and stayed at the apartment, had the dinner in and had a Wii U challenge. Obviously the boys didn't let me win, but I didn't do too badly on the Mario Kart game.

I ended up having to wait for them to finish as they kept on winning points. I preferred the more physical games such as the Wii Sport Tennis game or something similar. Gets the sweat out .... But on second thought, is give that a miss. My arms and knees were still sore from the trampoline yesterday evening.

Irfan using the wheelWhile Idlan using the monitorCan Daddy play Wii U Sports next?School would open again for them next Tuesday, so it seemed that they wanted to spend as much time at the apartment as they can. Would be a challenge getting them out of their rooms this weekend ....

Jump Street

While relaxing at my Mum's place during the recent Raya break, on the TV there was a documentary about this trampoline park in KL. A new concept and an interesting one. The boys saw it and they asked if they can have a look at some point during their holidays.

Anita took them there on Monday while I was at work, and today, they begged to go there again. Anita booked a session after work, forgetting that I had an afternoon clinic. As a result, I had to rush back and the whole gang were late for the start of the session.

Jump Street was located in a converted factory building, right next to the refurbished Jaya One. Opened in the last couple of months, it was just officiated by KJ earlier this week. The place was brand spanking new, everything was clean and the crowd after work was big despite this being the middle of the week.

Entering the place. As you can see, it used to be an old storage delivery area.Check out the priceThe charge for entry was divided into sessions, which last for an hour starting at the top of the hour. The price depended on the time of the day, and the day of the week. It was more expensive during peak hour - at about RM25. You would also need a special pair of socks with extra grip apparently in order to use the facility.

The space looked deceptively small from the outside but big and airy once you entered. They had separate area for general play, a high performance area for the pros - or those who would like to show off, dodgeball courts, a children area, trampoline for slam-dunk and an area for high bounce and flips into a pool filled with sponge cubes.

Irfan having a tumbleAnd Idlan also did not sit stillThe operator would sound a whistle every five minutes indicating it was time to rotate if an area was packed so that everybody could enjoy the facilities during the session.

Trust me, one hour sounded short, but not when you were busy jumping around. A great work out actually, much more taxing that I originally gave it credit for.

Hmmm! These dodgeball players looked rather gay. And by that I did not mean happy ...The obligatory perasmian was only done yesterdayI was left with a sore knees and back at the moment, suffering from the work-out. The boys I was sure would be in bed early with all the running and jumping. Definitely worth a go, but best if you could get there during the off-peak periods - like early afternoons during school days when the place was less packed.

The place appeared to be well-run with decent toilet facilities, lockers and storage area, a cafe and designated surau for prayers. The were plenty of staffs and they appeared friendly, especially to my kids. Definitely worth a visit or two, and a decent way to get some work-out.

More information about the place here. 

The Ferry Ride

Back when I was a young boy, a trip to Penang from Kepala Batas would mean a trip on the ferry. The First Penang Bridge was only opened in 1985, and since then the ferry was reserved for those who prefer to take a motorcycle or cross by foot. But a tragedy in 1989 when a section of the old Butterworth Jetty fell down due to overcrowding made the ferry ride less popular.

Nowadays, almost everyone - unless you're making the journey on foot - would be using the bridge. We now have two bridges, but traffic was still a problem especially getting on and off the bridge.

When I was in primary school, my parents tended to take us across to Penang on foot as he was not keen to find parking spot and wading through the heavy traffic. We would take either the bus or a taxi from Kepala Batas - still a tiny town then - to Butterworth Jetty. Walk across into the ferry, enjoy the 20 minutes ride before alighting in Georgetown and took another bus to the shopping malls.

On our last trip to Penang, I took my boys on the ferry again. I suspect that there was only a small number of ferry still in service at the wait at the jetty was quite long. The ride took about 15 minutes, and all of us actually got out from our van to enjoy the crossing. It was nice to feel the wind brushing our space, and not to mention the smell of diesel ..... memories ....

Definitely worth a ride if you were not on a rush. Since we took the trip from Georgetown to Butterworth, I was not sure how much the cost of the crossing. You'd have to pay for a single way from the mainland. Not sure how patient I would be if I was short for time.

Digging the Sunday Morning

It was always nice to wake up in the morning not having to rush for the ward round. And since we were at the apartment for the week, the drive to the hospital would only take me 10 minutes. I was able to chill out and take my time.

And this was despite being woken for an admission at 6 in the morning. The case could wait, and I had breakfast and enjoyed my morning shower before setting off.

Better enjoy it while it lasted. On call tomorrow ...

Heritage House?

The Pahang Road house in Penang had formally changed ownership as of last month. It felt kind of weird not be able to visit the house this Raya. It seemed to be our usual congregation point.

One of my cousins alerted me that the house was being renovated and would be changed into some sort of heritage house. I had to go and check it out if that was for real. And it was.

The old verandahStill, I was not really sure about what the new owner had in mind. But they seemed to be putting a lot of effort and money into the project. And the signs on the wall - quite literally on the wall - was pretty interesting. The sign said "Rumah Kampung Mohamed Hj Md Ariff", which was my late Grandfather.

Should be interesting to find out what would come out of this ....