Carnivall

After extending my stay in Sungai Petani and extra day with Julia joining us, we spent the day at a water park near Kelab Cinta Sayang, Carnivall. Yes, it was spelt with two Ls. It was a adventure park with two parts - a dry park called ‘Land of Excitement’ and the said water park - ‘Water of Excitement’, located next to each other. The water park represented a real value for money, with RM18 per adult entrance during weekdays - we were there on a Tuesday. It includes snacks and drinks - so remember to redeem them with your entrance ticket! A combined ticket will set you back RM30.

The main entranceOne of the side attractions at the entrance - Meteor ImpakLet’s see what’s on offer. There were a few separate area to the water park, but the one we played in was the children wading pool, complete with waterslides and fountains - great fun. There was also a deeper pool forming a canal around the smaller pools where children can stay on floats while the parents paddle away and push them around. Good stuff as well. There was also a bigger - adult-only I supposed - slide three stories tall. Didn’t get to try that one. Puan Anita wouldn’t let me.

The children - all five of them - Idlan, Irfan, Imran, Nana and Aliya spent about a couple of hours in and out of the pool, taking chips and drinks in between. It was great fun. The whole park was clean and well-maintained. The changing area was spacious and children friendly. They could do however with more food vendors as the queue for the free food was rather long, and it was not a particularly busy day. I wonder how they cope during peak times. Maybe they have more staffs on the day.

Imran and his Dad, Salleh, trying out the canal and flotsThe beachfrontFood time!The wading pool was children-friendly although I would advice supervision as there was no dedicated lifeguard at this particular area. There were plenty of seating areas in huts around the pools. On the day, there was also a clown going around entertaining children and organising water games for the teenagers. We will definitely head there again with the children the next time we go balik kampung in Sungai Petani.

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?

Construction completed

Construction completed, originally uploaded by Haris Abdul Rahman.

What a football it was last night, and I finally got to bed just after 2, having to wake up after a couple fo hours for Sahur. United played Spurs and as I was settling down for some noodle and titbits, Spurs scored after 50 seconds. Oh dear!

But United actually passed their way back into the match superbly and were crafting chances. After a few misses, finally Giggsy stroked in the equaliser from a freekick. Before halftime, we were were leading with Anderson hitting the onion bag. The match took a turn when good old Scholesy ... did a Scholesy and was sent off. We held on though, and it was clear that Spurs will not win if they did not score within 5 minutes of the sending off allowing United to regroup. Rooney scored another later in the match with United the deserved victor. It was a good night all around.

Woke up this morning pretty early with one thing in my mind. I wanted to upgrade my photoblog and get it up and running. I purchased a new theme last night which I thought was appropriate for it, and I must say I was pretty pleased. Setting and lining the site up took some doing however but I think it ws well worth the time. Please visit it at harisphotoblog.com and see what you think. No, I have not yet had the time to go out shooting for a themed slideshow yet. Maybe I will do that in the coming holidays.

And talking about holidays, we will be heading to Sungai Petani for the second day of Hari Raya. We have already booked a couple of rooms at Kelab Cinta Sayang, and will probably be staying there for three nights. Should be a good break. Will be bringing the Wii of course. Will definitely be visiting the family in Penang as well.