Visiting Cik & Cik Ida

Kulaijaya was only an hour away from BP. It was easy to find Cik Ida's house since we were using GPS. We got there around 2pm. Cik Ida was very kind to cook lunch for us- ayam masak asam pedas, sayur goreng dengan sotong & ikan masin. She also prepared some appetizers for us - ubi rebus & karipap sardin.

We chatted for a while afterward. Hafiz hasn't came home yet because he had extracurricular activities; and Nurul was busy at school. So we didn't get a chance to meet them both. Well, next time then..

We left the house around 4pm, got on the highway. Just past the Sedenak exit (about 5km from Kulai), the car's engine broke down! Amin cruised the car to the side of the highway. We didn't really know what to do. At least here in US, we had Onstar which is a Roadside Assistance program for our cars. Basically if anything happened to the car, we can just call the toll free #, and the operator will find a nearby mechanic/tow company to help us.

So, we just called auntie. She was also clueless, and she said she would just call some friends/mechanic to ask about us. Well.. that didn't really helpful.

15 mins later, the Plus police came in a pickup truck. They helped towed our car to Simpang Renggam exit toll. The police said they could only help us until there. If we wanted to find a workshop, we were on our own. Auntie also called and said we had to figure out how to get to a workshop over there since nobody was coming to help us :S

Fortunately there was this guy, named Adik who stopped his car behind us because his car's engine got overheated. I think he worked at a workshop in BP, and he got connection to a workshop around Simpang Renggam. So he made some phone calls to help us.

It was so hot that afternoon. We couldn't stay in the car, so we just sat under the nearby trees while waiting for a tow truck to come and tow the car to the workshop. What was funny was that there was this guy who walked passed us, and he kept staring at us all the way to his car. I bet he might think that we were doing something bad like 'khalwat' kot :S

After 45 mins waiting, Adik was so kind he gave us a lift to the Proton service center and let the tow truck came later to get the car. It was so nice to get to the office since they got A/C there. We stayed for a while, then the car got there and the mechanic took a look at it.

The mechanic said that the part that dealed with sparks plugs wore out already, that was why the car's engine won't start. So he just changed that, and viola.. the car was back alive!

We left the service center and got back home around 7.30pm. What an adventure! Fortunately this didn't happen to E somewhere in the middle of nowhere. It would be harder for him then to figure things out. We were so lucky that there were good people who helped us during that time. Alhamdulilah.. may Allah reward them for their kindness..

Cuti-cuti di Malaysia 2010

It was overall a happy trip, especially when we were able to meet most of our relatives and friends in a short time. I was quite nervous at first, and I even told Amin the possibility that we might stop for a while or not able to meet some people if I got sick, somehow. But alhamdulillah, I am very grateful that I was able to keep up with our trip: from KL to Arau, to Sungai Petani, then to Temerloh & Kuala Terengganu, then back to KL and finally to Batu Pahat.

Hello Kitty station at Taipei airport. I guess the kids over here are crazy about Hello Kitty.

Amin's trying the Japanese Vegetable Noodles at Taipei airport.

Meeting Aiman, Amin's little nephew. He is just 5 months old and totally the opposite of Irfan. He plays his toys all by himself & he likes to 'talk' & smile to people. Once I saw him laugh while he was sleeping.. he looked so sweet!

We met with Rizmie's family during our trip to Perlis. They were very kind to us & they made us feel like home. We stayed one night at their house before heading to Beseri to meet with Amin's uncle & his family.

We had lunch with Pak Jee's family at Hunan Chicken Rice Shop. Amin tried this Spice Hunan chicken rice while I just got chicken porridge. I also tried a new jelly they sold in Utara called jelly kelapa muda. It tasted really good and mushy like dadih. Yummy..

Then we met with Mak Ngah Amin's family for a while in Kangar. Mak Ngah is Amin's mak younger sister. She gave us ikan pekasam that I brought all the way to Batu Pahat hehe (thank you so much!)..

We stayed at Mak Tok Amin house for the night in S. Petani. She invited the other families (Mak Teh Amin family, Pak Su Amin family & Hanisah & hubby) for a dinner gathering. Amin enjoyed meeting his cousins. We had a great time together!

The next day, we went to Taiping to meet Amin's Tok Ayah, Opah & Cik Adah.

We love to come to Taiping because we got to eat & drink fresh air kelapa. Also the fact that Opah always save some frozen durian for us :) But no mandi sungai this time since I'm pregnant.

The next day, we met with Pak Aat Amin & family before heading to Temerloh.

We met with our newlyweds friend, Hase in Temerloh. They just got married a week before, and it was sort of an arranged marriage. His wife Aatikah was a bit shy when we met her. I think that they are a funny couple because they looked so awkward together (they even whispered while talking to each other)... while me & Amin looked like best buddies hehehe..

We convoyed together to Kuala Terengganu for Yeng's wedding. It was a bumpy trip all the way & I didn't really enjoy it that much. We got there quite late around 4pm due to heavy traffic. Fortunately other Penn State friends stayed back & we got to meet them all. What a reunion!

Then, a short trip to Pasar Payang & Losong for shopping for keropok segera. We then rushed to Kuantan to meet another Penn State Alumni family, Abg Zainal & Kak Wati.

The next day, we visited Pak Aa Amin & family. We stayed at their house for the night.

Then, we stopped at Segamat for a while to met Anyah, Mira & Nina while on the way to Batu Pahat.
Anyah cooked a lot of food, along with dessert & kuih2. My favorite was mangga kerabu with peanut sauce. We were so full that Amin got to take a nap for 2 hours afterward :D while I had a long chat with Anyah. To my surprise, Nina was a bit shy. When I sat at the living room, she stayed in the bedroom or hanged out outside the house looking at I don't know what haha.. I chased her here and there just to talk to her. Very funny..

In Batu Pahat, we went shopping at Carefour & BP Mall. We tried the new durian flavor donut at Big Apple at BP Mall. People said it was soo good, and their donuts are tastier than Dunkin' Donuts. Well for me, it tasted okay and very sweet. But can't beat the soft, moist donut at Dunkin'.

We visited Tok Mai & family, Cik & Cik Ida, Tok Timah, Pak Uda & Mak Uda. I showed them all photos of Janet, Zuhri, & Irfan. They were so excited to see it, especially Tok Timah. Also thanks for all the great food. I seriously ate a lot more than I should, and I think my tummy grew bigger a lot faster since then hoho..

I managed to meet Elya & another friend, Faradilla back from TMS. I was in 6 Biru class while she was in 6 Kuning. I barely remember her, but she recognizes me instantly on Facebook. The only thing that I remember is that I got a wedding gift from her back then in 2006. I didn't know who that was, and I still kept the little note she sent with the gift. After all this time, the mystery is finally solved :)

Saturday, the day before our flight back to US, we all headed to KL. Mak, ayah, Meng & Auntie stayed at a hotel near KLIA, while Amin & I went to Mak Long Amin’s house to pack our last baggage. We met with some more Penn State alumnus in Shah Alam.

Chineh & wife with their daughter, Aisya Alina. And Ranjit, Amin’s Best Man during our wedding.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast with Mak Long & family, & kak Mirah.

Then we went to LCCT to pick up E and straight to KLIA. We got there quite early at 11.30am. The earliest time to check-in was at 12.30pm. So we all lepak2 at KFC, and I couldn’t resist to get the Zinger burger!

Thank you so much for having us for such a short time. If we were going to stay in Msia for another week or two, then it could be more relaxing and we would have more time to spend together. But with so little time and so many people to meet, we tried our best to make everything worked out. Having said that, Amin & I had a wonderful trip, and can’t wait to see you guys again!

new version of me =))

new version of me,,believe it or not??yes pls believe it,,now im wearing shawls,,hehehe shawls skng howt2 kat malaysia,,is it okeh if im wearing shawl??or did my face look booollaatt??hehehe pllsss i need ur opinion,, =))