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?