The Drive Home

I was dreading the drive home for the past few days. When the day finally arrived, I decided the route to take with the help of one of my cousins. It would be through the new Lebuhraya Pantai Timur via Kuala Terengganu.

The drive was smooth once we entered the highway, but getting to the highway entrance was another story all together. We set off from Kota Bharu after dropping my father-in-law at the airport. We left at around 11, but only entered the highway just before 4 pm. The drive was horrendous. It seemed that there was traffic lights every half a kilometer and getting though the lights easily took 20 minutes each.

The powerbank was charged!We stopped for lunch at Jerteh as we were starving. Traffic was heavy both ways but luckily the boys were behaving themselves. It was just the sheer number of cars, there were no accidents and to be honest, they could do with less traffic lights.

Once we entered the highway, it was smooth going until we entered the Karak toll just after Bentong. The traffic piled up again and we decided to take the Janda Baik road, again reentering the highway at Genting Sempah. We finally arrived at Gombak at 8.30 pm.

I slept as soon as I unpacked at the apartment. It was blissful sleep until I woke up thie morning to send Idlan to school.

A Day of Rest

I had a good night sleep last night, dozing off despite the TV blaring away. The 7 hour drive up to Kota Bharu certainly contributed. We set off just after noon and everything was moving swimmingly all the way to Gua Musang.

In fact it took us only 3 hours to get there. But the drive from then on was a completely different proposition. Kuala Kerai to KB took almost 3 hours. So many cars ... and too many roadworks. The initial estimate of getting to the hotel by 6 pm was certainly an optimistic one. But a 45 minutes delay was. To too bad.

The day then kicked off with a visit or two ...We soon got settled in, went for an early dinner with one of Anita’s Aunt joining us. Not long after, we were back to our room, hitting the shower and soon enough, I was already in the bed. But not after getting some family Raya photos from the morning sorted out.

Woke up this morning fresh, got the boys sorted out and we down for breakfast at the cafe. Unfortunately, the place was already packed, and we ended up in the smoking section.

Irfan had something to tell ...The rest of the day went by pretty swiftly. I went to the airport to pick up my father-in-law who caught the flight from KL in the morning. Then we went straight to one of my Anita’s Uncle’s place for lunch.

I spent the afternoon having a walk into town but it turned out to be a boring one.

Not much else happening in town ...Most of the markets were still closed and the shops were deserted. The malls were opened but it was nothing special. I turned back to the hotel empty handed, with only 10 shots on the camera. Next stop would be taking the boys for a swim at the hotel pool, before another family dinner later tonight. Hopefully another early night as I got a long day tomorrow.

Time to Leave

So, it was time to load up abd head back South to the fair city of KL. The boys were supposed to be back at school today. So, they would definitely be back to class tomorrow. I was still on leave until Friday. Wouldn't mind a day chilling out tomorrow. Maybe catch the movie.

Packing went smoothly, although we departed at 10, later than planned. All filled up courtesy of hotel buffet. The hotel appeared empty, so there were hardly any queue checking out.

All packed upTraffic heavy leaving KB

We might have a pit stop at Gua Musang again. Praying for a smooth journey home.

More thoughts on the trip here.

After Dinner

Decided against dinner outside. We had some relatives coming to visit, and straight after that dinner by the lobby. The town seemed to be quiet tonight, making the decision easy.

Just had a hearty Chinese dinner. Not at the usual place we tended to go. Since the hotel was new, we thought of giving the restaurant at the lobby, called Jade a go.

Disappointed with the service, although the food was quite decent. Maybe they just need some experience to iron out service side of things.

I was full and rather than rush upstairs, we sat around chatting with the relatives. It looked like Irfan was getting restless. Don't think I could hang around here for too long ......

More entries here.

Lazy Afternoon

Who could blame us? We would be traveling back to KL tomorrow. Was at the mosque during Zohor prayers and lunch, to sample the Qurban cooking. Hung around for a bit - the weather being almighty hot - before deciding to head home.

Wa contemplating a dip in the pool until I realised that I left my gears in KL. Too lazy to head to the supermarket to buy a pair of new swim pants. So, would be bigging it in the room with Anita and the boys, accompanied by room service.

We planned to head to Sun Two for dinner tonight. We planned to go out early, have dinner there, maybe some shopping and an early night.

We would be leaving after breakfast tomorrow, hopefully reaching KL before 5 pm.

I could always hit the pool at the apartment of I fancy it ......

More entries here.