Penang Holiday with Kids - Part II

Day Two

Took a 45 minutes taxi ride to Penang Hill, cost us about RM$45.  The taxi driver drop us off at the foot of the hill so that we can purchase the ticket for the Funicular Train up to the hill top, he also gave us his name card so that we can call him when we want to go back to the hotel.  It was a slow journey up the hill and the train was rather crowded.  Baby FAN can't seems to keep still for the entire journey, luckily we have made the necessary prep.  I took out my LG phone which is loaded with kids videos, this kept her entertained for a while.  We were quite disappointed with the Penang Hill as the place was not properly maintained, the flowers, fountain, mosque and temple are all in a bad shape.  Also, as the whether was quite hot that day, it wasn't the cooling effect that we expected from a high ground area.  Basically, nothing much to view at the top except to look down at the town area.  SMALL FAN started whining to go back to the hotel after a while.

The ticketing area.

View from the top

The Indian Temple

The one and only hotel at the Hilltop.

We also visited the Bird Sanctuary at the hilltop, cost us RM$5/adult.  Nothing really much to see i think we were out of the sanctuary in 15 minutes.

We wanted to take a break at the David Brown's restaurant but the garden didn't turn out as nice as those in the website and the meals provided doesn't seems to suit my kids.  So we went downstairs to the foodcourt and tried mee goreng and ice kacang instead...We asked the hawker to cook the mee goreng without chilli, it tasted like our wanton noodle without the wanton...hi hi...

David Brown's Restaurant

After lunch we took a taxi back to the hotel for a rest before heading to the beach for a walk and a dip in the pool again.  We didn't went into the sea water as I read that there are a lot of jelly fish there.

Beside the usual water sport like banana boat, parachuting etc...they also have buggy ride and horse riding on the beach.



























At night, we took a taxi to Gurney Drive, cost about RM$30. Had Penang Fried Kway Teow, Chendol, Niang Dou Fu and Wanton Noodle for dinner at the Gurney Drive Hawker Fare.  The food was quite tasty although the price was quite ex for a hawker centre.  We had a bowl of Niang Dou Fu (about 7 items) for RM$8 and the Fried Kway Teow cost RM$3.50 for a really really small plate.  After that, we went for a walk at Gurney Plaza.  It's quite a big plaza, looks very much like the style of Vivio City. We didn't really walk around much as Baby FAN was getting tire and cranky.  So we just take a taxi outside the plaza back to the hotel, cost us RM$28.

Penang Holiday with Kids - Part I

I know I haven't been updating this blog as I have been in this lazy mode recently, got addicted to the games in facebook.  Sigh.... Well, went a trip to Penang lately.  Our first maiden trip with the kids without any help from mom or mom-in-law. Here's an account of our trip.

Day One
Took MAS from Changi Airport to Penang Airport.  The kids have a great time playing at the playground in the Changi Airport Transit while waiting for our flight. It's the first plane ride for the kids, we thought we went there earlier so that can get prepared.  We also took some light snacks before boarding as I was worried that Baby FAN will be hungry on the plane.  Boy I was right, the plane served ask spicy food for lunch, either sambal prawn or nasi brayani. So both kids ended up eating biscuits and drinking fruit juice for their lunch.

Pic at the Koi Pond at Changi Airport.

 

 

Kids passing their time at the playground.

Baby FAN taking her mid-morning snack












As we went there on a Thursday morning, the plane wasn't very crowded and boarding was a breeze. I was worried that the air pressure of the plane taking off and landing might hurt the kids, so I kept stuffing them with sweets when the plane take off.  It's seems to work and they did not cry or complain about ear pain.  However, Baby FAN fell asleep on the plane and wake up crying when the plane was landing, complaining about ear pain. Luckily, she stop crying after we fed her some sweets to appease her... SMALL FAN also started complaining about ear pain.  Luckily, he was quite brave and didn't whine much.  I think he was too excited about the plane ride to be bothered by ear pain.

We reached the Penang airport after an hour's ride on MAS.  Then as suggested by many of the internet forum website, we went straight to the taxi ticketing booth and bought a taxi voucher,it cost RM$67 to get from the airport to our hotel at Batu Ferringhi.  The whole journey took about 45 minutes and we reached Hard Rock Hotel, saved and sound.  The checking in was a breeze too since it's a weekday and the hotel wasn't very crowded (Overheard a lady during one of the afternoon swim at the pool that she has to wait 2 hours to check in on a Saturday).

Some pictures of the hotel room we stayed in, it's a seaview deluxe.

We got a king size bed.

A little disappointed with the toilet as there is no bath tub.















Views from our room

After checking in, we rest for a while before going for a dip in the huge inviting pool.  Thereafter, we had dinner at Hard Rock Cafe.  Tried the macaroni cheese and fish n chips yum yum....

 



Kids playing at the shallow sand pool.

The pool has 3 water slides and a water play area.  Baby FAN loves the slides and the water play while SMALL FAN prefer to dip in the sand pool.

Our mac n cheese dinner...yum yum...













After the dinner, we decided to just take a walk around the hotel before retiring for the night...What a day...

Hotel lobby

The lounge at our floor.

Baby FAN was so tire at the end of the day that she just get onto the bed and make herself comfortable instead of roaming around the room....hi hi...

Ducktour, Hippo Bus and Singapore with Kids - Part II

The Sky

After a short 10 minutes ride on the Hippo Bus, we arrive at the Singapore Flyers.  Maybe it was a rainy day, so there isn't much crowd there.  We get to have the whole cubicle all to ourselves.  The kids really love it as they get to run around in the cubicle and noone will stop them.  As for us (the daddy and mommy), it was a really good break for us from all the chasing and carrying.  I finally get to sit down and enjoy the view of Singapore quietly.  As the cubicle was air-conditioned, the whole journey was really cooling and nice as I frantically taking pictures of the view.  I don't mind coming back again for the flyer definitely more worth it then the ducktour.  Maybe, can come here for the night view again next time.
  
On board the Singapore Flyer

Baby FAN listening to the Audio Guid 

View from the top 

F1 tracks


Fish feeding at the Man-made Garden at Singapore flyer

After the trip, we took a bus back home, Baby FAN was really tire and was sleeping in the bus while SMALL FAN was figeting around, trying not to fall asleep as he still needs to go home and open his birthday present.  We reach home tire but happy, it was a nice and pleasant trip, thanks to the rainy day, it makes the  whole environment cooling and peaceful and also, this time round we told ourselves to just take things easy and relax and enjoy the whole experience.  Really glad we decided to spend SMALL FAN's birthday this way as compared to a birthday party and I think SMALL FAN enjoy it too....

Ducktour, Hippo Bus and Singapore with Kids - Part I

It's SMALL FAN's birthday and we decided to celebrate it in a unique way this year.  We brought him on a Ducktour follow by a Hippo Bus ride to the Singapore Flyer.  The kids really enjoy themselves, running around, playing hide and seek with daddy and basically get a good view of Singapore from the sea, the land and the sky.  Here's an account.

We took a MRT to CityHall MRT and had lunch at Citylink Mall, Xin Wang Cafe.  Big FAN and I each ordered a crispy chicken set and the chicken pieces was so big that we skip our dinner that night and was feeling really bloated for the whole day. After a good lunch, we headed to Suntec City to purchase the tickets for Ducktour and Singapore Flyer.  The Ducktour itself cost $33/adult, $17/child, $2/toddler but they have a package deal which we brought costing $49 adult, $28/child and $2/toddler for both Ducktour and Singapore Flyers plus a complimentary Hippo Bus Shuttle Service from Suntec to Singapore Flyers.

The SEA

 

We took the 3pm trip on the Ducktour which lasted for about 1 hour.  The ducktour was quite crowded that day, the whole boat was fully seated, as we were the last few to get seated, we ended up seating at separate rows. SMALL FAN was a little scared, he was worried he will fall into the water and daddy has to hold his hand. The tour bring us around the Marina Bay.  Personally, felt that the tour was quite boring, maybe because I'm a Singaporean and many of the story the tour guide mention about calling Esplanade, Durian etc, we already knew.  SMALL FAN was almost falling asleep as the boat was a little stuffy and with the sound of the boat engine luing him to sleep. Baby FAN also got a little cranky nearer the end of the trip and I have to bring out my Special Weapon (sweets) to keep them happy.  Luckily, it started to rain half way thru and this sort of created some excitment and with wind from the rain blowing at us, it makes the ride more enjoying as it's so cooling.

On board the Ducktour

View from the boat

SMALL FAN getting really sleepy....

The LAND

After the Ducktour, as it was raining, we decided to take a rest at Suntec City.  Settle for some quiche, gingerbread cookie and coffee at Gloria Jeans while waiting for the rain to stop so that we can take the Hippo Bus to the Singapore Flyers.

Active little girl,roaming around Gloria Jeans

I want the pink colour bread....

SMALL FAN ate the whole Gingerbread Cookie, was surprised he likes it as the ginger taste was quite strong.

Boarding the Hippo Bus

Next Destination, the Singapore Flyer....to be continued....

Nursery Rhymes in Mandarin

Baby FAN's first Mandarin song taught by her daddy.

Teacher's Day Present

This is a backdated post, almost forgot about it until I saw the picture taken of the card that SMALL FAN made.

Was thinking of what to get for SMALL FAN's teachers for the Teacher's Day when I thought, instead of buying something, maybe it will be more meaningful to get SMALL FAN to make it himself.  So I get SMALL FAN to the nickjr.com website and get him to colour some trucks and vehicles online (as he still can't colour very well, so by colouring online he can actually colour whatever he likes and it will look nice).  Then I printed it out in our printer, but our printer's magenta went bongas...so all the pictures turn out yellow and blue...sigh...but nevertheless, it still looks pretty good. Then I cut out the pictures and pasted it on a coloured paper.

Then the next task was to get SMALL FAN to write "HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY". However, I know that SMALL FAN won't have the patient to write the complete sentence in one card.  I thought I give him a few papers then I get him to write the word "Happy" by looking at how I write and then following me.  Then "Day", however "Teachers" proves too tough for him, so I write for him instead.  Then I cut out the words one by one and pasted it on the coloured paper.  Here's the completed work, now bad right?

Living the Natural Way

Recently I seemed to be in the mood for natural product as I have such successful story with honey.  I just have to share it here.  I have started giving my SMALL FAN 1 tsp of honey every night before he sleep.  Heard from a honey seller that honey actually helps promote good sleep, but in any case, the purpose of my giving SMALL FAN the honey is for his sinus.  SMALL FAN used to have such bad sinus that he cough every night and day and sometime even vomit due to the mucus that was stuck in his throat.  We have brought him to pediatrician, to chinese sinsei and spend thousand of dollar on his medication but it just doesn't seems to work, he visit the doctor almost every few weeks.  So one day while searching for a cure I stumble upon this miracle honey from the website http://www.earthclinic.com/  and decided to give it at try.  (Crossing my hand) I proud to say that my SMALL FAN has not seen any doctor for almost 3 months now and I never heard a cough from him anymore except for ocassionally when his throat get too dry.  One side effect I found out from this is that beside sinus honey is also very good for fever.  I have tried it on myself and SMALL FAN and on both ocassion our fever breaks after 2 days of consuming honey.  My Baby FAN is now down with high fever so I'm trying to get her to drink honey water to see if it helps.  Introduced to my mum, she always have this persistant dry cough every few weeks, but ever since she started during honey, I hardly hear her cough anymore. Beside honey I also found many natural way of healing from earthclinic, here'a few that I tried and seems to work, so do give it a try better than paying loads of money for chemcially processed medication.

• Fever - mix 1 teaspoon of honey with 1 cup of luke warm or cold water and drink it as regularly as you can until the fever breaks
• Cough and Phelgm or sore throat - mix 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with 1 tsp honey in half 1 cup of warm water and drink it 2 to 3 times a day.  (I love this concoction, always work for me whenever I have a cough or sore throat).  For those of you who can't stand the smell of ACV you can try using lemon juice to replace the ACV it works as well, my mum love this concoction, whenever she feels that she is coming up with a flu or cough she will drink this and so far she has been really healthy and seldom here her reporting sick.
• Sinus - 1 teaspoon of honey in half 1 cup of lukewarm water and drink it before you sleep. My SMALL FAN got his sinus cure this way.  I think the honey drink also keep him from getting sick easily.
• Dandruff - mix 1/2 ACV with  1/2 water in an application bottle or any container you can find,  mix them up well. Then apply this concoction to the scalp of your hair after shampooing. Leave the ACV on the hair for about 5 to 10 minutes than rinse it clean with warm water and dry your hair. I always have dandruff problem so recently decided to try out a more gentler way of getting rid of it instead of the strong dandruff shampoo.  Found this remedy in the earthclinc website and tried it out. After the 1st day, my head don't itch as much anymore, after 3rd day I can visible notice less dandruff.  Beside getting rid of dandruff, I also notice that my hair is softer and shinier, as if I have put conditioner on my hair.  Am going to continue this remedy for a while and see if I can totally get rid of my dandruff. 
• Reduce grey hair -  Mix 1 tablespoon of molasses with 1 cup of warm water and drink it every morning. As the molasses got quite a strong taste, I actually mix it with milk instead, Here's what I did, I mixed 1 tablespoon molasses with some warm water to dissolve it, then top of the cup with cold milk, it actually tasted like latte so it's easier to swollow. I'm currently drinking this every morning, it supposed to help get rid of grey hair which I have lots and lots of.  But I think it will take a while for the effect to be seen.  But here's what other people say that molasses can help, it's a good source of iron so it's very good for lady who is suffering from heavy mensus, it's also said to get rid of fibriod and also help with breast cancer.  But most of all, a lot of people has mentioned that drinking molasses give them increase energy so they dont't feel that tire.  I personally felt that I do feel slightly let tire in the day after drinking this concoction for 3 days.  

Beside such health remedy, I am now also looking out for natural household cleaning product.  My baby girl always dirty her clothes ever since she started eating solid food and want to feed herself. I tried bleaching her clothes but it sometimes distroy the coloured one.  Found this remedy from this website: p://frugalliving.about.com/od/cleaningtipsandrecipes/qt/Natural_Bleach.htm 

• Natural bleach - squeeze some lemon juice on the stain and rubbed some salt on it, then put the clothes under the sun for a few hours, then wash as normal.  Wa lah....nice clean clothes. 

Will be continuing to research on natural living and update my post along the way.  For now, toast to great health for all.