Day 5: The Vacation Comes to a Close

Pre-post Vacation Blues...

I hate the feeling when your vacation has come to an end. It feels like someone whose company your enjoy so much is leaving you, and you’re left with the dreadful feeling of not knowing when you’ll ever get to see that person again. I had that same feeling when I woke up that day, and it was probably made worse by the anticipation of having to go back to the office the next day.

Someone really enjoys my coffee...

We had our breakfast at Hai Peng again that morning. Insyirah enjoyed the coffee as much as most of us, and practically drank almost a cupful by herself. I know kids her age aren’t suppose to take coffee, but really there was no way of telling her that. There was one occasion when we visited San Francisco Coffee House and we bought her a small cup of hot chocolate, she ended up finishing my brother DD’s café mocha instead, leaving DD to finish her hot chocolate. Insyirah is just a natural plain coffee lover, which I have no doubt she picked up from her 2 grandads.

Free breakfast

Our breakfast at Hai Peng that morning was made extra special when we were informed that our breakfast was already being paid by someone who was also having breakfast there that morning. It turned out that the kind gesture came from the new Information Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek who happens to be a local of Terengganu himself and enjoys Hai Peng’s coffee and kaya toasted bread just like us. He was getting the tab of all those having breakfast there that morning, and later made his rounds to all the tables meeting the patrons.

Breakfast courtesy from the YAB... Thank you YAB!

After breakfast, Dad had some administrative matter to attend to at the district land office. We later made a short stop at Kuala Kemaman to buy some keropok lekor and keropok kering (local made crackers), before proceeding back to the hotel for check out. We left the hotel just after noon, with a heavy heart of course.

The drive back to KL was the same smooth pleasurable drive as the first day when we started on our vacation, and we reached our house in KL close to 4pm. Our bodies were probably tired from the excitements and some physical exertions over the last 4 days, but I can tell you for sure that my mind had regained some vigour that it probably had lost from the hours spent at work in the office. The vacation was arguably one of the best and most eventful I’d had for a long time. I got to walk down on memory lane visiting to places which have nostalgic values to me and my family, did fun things with my family which I would normally not get the chance to do everyday, and simply enjoyed the beautiful scenic views of the east coast. I even got myself a healthy tan! We’ve already made plans to go to on the same vacation next year, in what might begin to be our family’s annual vacation plan.

I am looking forward to it already.

Day 4: Walking Down Memory Lane

Breakfast at Hai Peng

We started the day early and headed for Chukai town in Kemaman for breakfast at the famous Hai Peng kopitiam. It is fair to say that Hai Peng is as synonymous to Kemaman as Kemaman is well-known for this famous kopitiam. In short, it will just not do being in this part of the woods and not making a trip to this kopitiam for its cup of coffee and kaya-spread toasted bread. Back in the days when our family was based in Kertih, about 20 minutes drive away from Chukai, we used to patronize this kopitiam every weekend without fail. So you see, apart from the delicious coffee and savoury toasts, the place has a nostalgic value to us.

Hai Peng kopitiam... the legend continues.

Hai Peng's famous coffee...

... and kaya toasted bread.

A family photo to reminisce in the future...

My sister and brother in law had to leave for KL that day, a day earlier than the rest of us. My sister apparently had a doctor’s appointment, and given that it was difficult to make an appointment with him in the first place, my sister couldn’t afford to reschedule it and had to cut her vacation short. It was just too bad really, as our entourage now had become smaller rather considerably. And for Insyirah, without her partner in crime Hannah around, there was just a little less mischief for her to do.

Another Shopping Extravaganza...

... and by that, you know that I was practically clueless as to what to do until it ended. My mum and wifey were the perpetrators this time, and as was the case when in KT 2 days ago, I was tasked to keep Insyirah company until the ladies were through with their shopping. Apparently The Store mall in Chukai has a rich selection of batiks in the small shops of its basement level and from what I gathered from the ladies, they were bargains compared to KL prices. Really this was not an area of my expertise and we left the ladies to their shopping for what seem hours. We later had lunch at Pizza Hut and was back at our hotel by 3pm.

Another day at the beach… and swimming!

Excited by the swimming experience the day before, Insyirah was very much looking forward to another session at the pool. I managed to steal a nap at the hotel after we came back from Chukai, but Insyirah was already babbling about going to the pool the moment we got back, and was getting her beach apparatus out already. By close to 4pm, she was already tugging on my pants persistently, telling me to get up and bring her to the pool.

All set and ready to go again!

DD with his new kite!

We went to the beach first however. Wifey guided Insyirah playing in the water where the water meets the beach (what do you call this part of the beach anyway?), just like the last time we were here in 2006. Of course, being 2 years older now, there was more exuberance in the little girl as she ran around in her swim suit and pink goggles. It was very important to keep our eyes on her all the time, as she was attempting to go further into the sea in her excitement. My brother and I had another session of kite flying at the same time, although I had to keep an eye on both Insyirah and wifey at the same time. The wind was rather tame that afternoon however, and although I managed to get my owl shaped kite flying to its max height, it felt a bit lame. And of course, I missed my airplane kite. DD bought himself a mermaid-shaped kite at the amenities shop in front of the hotel, and a cool kite it was.

Mother and daughter...

... running about and playing.

We later went to the pool again, and Insyirah was once again in her elements. It was hard trying to get her out of the pool once she got in, as she kept on insisting that “I want to swim” every time we told her it was time to get out. We only managed to get her out of the pool when she informed us “I am hungry Abah, I want to eat”. By that time, yours truly was also feeling the same!

Ikan baker (grilled fish) for dinner!

The famous Awang Ikan Bakar...

I had been wanting to take my whole family to this ikan bakar restaurant that wifey, Insyirah and I patronized 2 years before, on the recommendation of the hotel’s staff back then. To me, a vacation is not complete until you’ve patronized and tried the local food and delicacies, complete with the setting! This place we went to is located just off the main road between our Kuala Terengganu and Kuantan, and is about 10 minutes drive from the hotel. To the daily commuter of this route, the place might not bear any significance, located along a rather dark stretch of the road. But holiday-goers seem to come to the place in flocks.

The food was excellent, as it also was 2 years ago. The only thing is, you would have to bear with the time they take to prepare it. We should have taken the hint of the wait that was to come when we read the sign that was hung above the entrance to the kitchen that said, translated into English, “Thank you for your patience to wait”. We made our orders just before 9pm, and only got our food close to 10pm. My tummy was rumbling and tumbling ala Winnie the Pooh by that time, and I bet so were the others. What is worse than having to wait is having to wait with a hungry stomach. I noticed some children at the other tables had either fallen asleep in wait, or crying out of hunger and boredom from waiting.

A sign of things to come... we should have taken the hint.

Well, the place wasn’t exactly McDonald’s where parents could just let their children loose playing at the children’s corner while enduring the wait. They couldn’t let them loose either for fear they might stray to the main road a couple of metres away from the restaurant. One kid was actually throwing tantrums by kicking and bringing down his chair again and again in boredom (and probably wanting to go somewhere else already), and the father patiently brought the chair up again. I salute the father’s patience, although I did notice the mother’s nerves looked like they could snap anytime.

After what seem a zillion years, the food finally arrived. And it sure was worth the wait!

Lucky for us, Insyirah was well behaved and all she did was dragged me all over the restaurant to entertain herself. By the time the food came, Insyirah fell asleep on my lap and we savoured the delicious food we had ordered, which all of us felt was well worth the wait. Although we also made a note to ourselves, we should probably either come earlier the next time or place our orders well in advance before showing up. Dad took the extra initiative of getting the restaurant’s phone number to make the advance call should we ever come here again in the future.

Day 3: The Real Fun Begins!

Heavy buffet breakfast

Arose early from bed, and woke Insyirah up as early as 7am. “We’re going to swim this morning, sayang!”, I told her. To make sure that we would be able to jump into the pool early, I was buying everyone buffet breakfast at the hotel that morning. Therein lies the irony in our judgment, as after savouring the range of food that the buffet had to offer, we found ourselves too stuffed up (and in my case, too horrifyingly ugly) to don our swimming suits and jump into the pool. Hence, the swimming plan had to be postponed again. Hannah was feeling rather edgy with the swimming pool in full view from the hotel’s café. Although she was showing early signs of diarrhea, she was a picture of excitement and looking forward to play in the pool. My sister had to take her to the clinic to check her diarrhea, and with most of the entourage feeling like reincarnated whales stranded at the beach after the heavy breakfast, we all opted to go free and easy that morning. My brother and I had a few games of table tennis that morning to get the food down, and before we knew it, it was already time to get ready for Friday prayers.

Finally, the beach and swimming pool!

I went to the beach early that afternoon. I had planned to play the kite I had bought as far back as December during this vacation, and I just couldn’t wait to get started, given that this was the earliest available opportunity that I got. We had bought 2 kites, one the shape of an owl while the other the shape of an airplane! The idea was to get Hannah and Insyirah excited when they see the kites flying. Hannah had been pressing me to get the kite out from the moment she saw me brought the kite home from the shop, and I was going to teach the girls how to hold on to a flying kite. Unfortunately however, Hannah had to rest given her state of diarrhea and missed all the fun.

I was with wifey, Insyirah and my brother DD at the beach as early as 4pm. The wind was blowing very hard that day, and my airplane kite was gaining height gradually. It reminded me of my younger days when I first flew a kite on the Tanjung Kidurong beach in Bintulu, Sarawak in the days when my father was posted there for work in the late 1980s. And although I have not really been flying a kite since then, it just came back naturally to me when I negotiated the string of my airplane kite to make it go higher and higher. Tragically however, the wind blew so hard that the string of my kite broke and let the kite loose. The kite ended up in a branch of a tree about 15 metres off the ground, and I figured there was no way I could retrieve it without risking (big time!) breaking a bone. Sigh...

Insyirah: "Pants.. wheezes... fly kite.. fly!"

Me: Ok Insyirah. You run with the kite again, and I'll navigate it to fly!
Insyirah: Aye, aye Abah!

The master at work... hehe!

The kite flying gloriously. My airplane-shaped kite had already got loose and stuck in a tree...

Losing my kite made me feel down a little bit. However, there was nothing to dampen Insyirah’s mood as she finally got herself dressed for the swimming pool! To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about her going to the pool. Up to that point, she had never wanted to get into any swimming pool and would scream and cry should we ever tried to get her in. The last time we were in Cherating in 2006, her swimming experience ended in tears when she got freaked out the moment we brought her into the water and she probably wore her old swim suit on for nothing more than 10 minutes in total.

However, 2 years is a very long time and this time she took the swimming pool with glee and pleasure. She had no apprehension whatsoever this time around, and she was kicking her feet about in the water as my mum and wifey guided her about the pool. We were later joined by Hannah, my sister and my bro in law and had a splashing time!

"I'm swimming, I'm swimming!" Insyirah complete in her swimsuit and goggles...

Hannah: "Come on mama, I'll race you to the other end!"

My mum wading Insyirah around in the pool...

Wifey and Insyirah drying up after a good splash!

Room service for dinner

After the exertions in the day, most of us were not that keen to go out to dinner. Considering that our cars could only be parked as near as 5 minutes walk away from the villa, it felt like an arduous task given the physical conditions we were in. Most of us were tired from the fun at the pool in the afternoon, and the kids were not in great conditions to go out anyway. Hannah’s diarrhea was acting up even worse that night, and she was practically throwing up whatever that she was fed. She struggled when given her medicine, and had to be held down by my sister, my bro in law and DD to make her take it! Insyirah on the other hand, slept as soon as I washed her up after coming out from the pool, and didn’t wake up until late that night for a midnight snack (so I was told. I was long gone into dreamland by that time!).

So the whole family agreed to call the room service for dinner. I finally went for the char kuey teow I had been thinking of since the first day of the vacation. It wasn’t bad, although whether it was worth the RM20 I paid for it was another matter altogether. I went to bed almost immediately after dinner, curling up like a snake that had just swallowed a goat for a meal. Wifey told me Insyirah later woke up close to midnight feeling hungry. We had bought her some fries when ordering room service, just in case she woke up. Before going to bed, she apparently told wifey, “Tomorrow we go swimming again ok Ibu”.

Day 2: A Day in Kuala Terengganu

Nasi Dagang for breakfast... and shopping extravaganza at Pasar Payang

Nasi dagang for breakfast at Kuala Ibai is a must if you are in this neck of the woods...

I had felt mightily tired when I retired to bed the night before, but somehow tiredness while on vacation is nothing compared to tiredness generated from the stress at work, and somehow I was able to rise early from bed and started the day early. If you’re in KT, it is a must for you to go to the famous nasi dagang restaurant in Kuala Ibai for breakfast. If you’re there anytime later than 11am, chances are the famous nasi dagang would have finished and you’d end up biting your lips for missing it. So we were there as early as 8am, with most of us as we were when we woke up from bed that morning.

The cheeky little girls...

I didn’t have much planned in KT that day. In fact, the reason why we actually included KT as part of our itinerary for the vacation was because my mum had plans to go shopping at Pasar Payang. Shopping never tantamount to leisure for me, and really is not my idea for a vacation itinerary. But since we had ladies in the entourage, and Pasar Payang is also known for its value for money for a place to shop, it was an inevitable outcome that most of the day was spent there. The ladies were at their mettle, looking and trying on one batik after another, whilst the men were mostly struggling to keep interested. After some hours of waiting, my dad, Insyirah and I resorted to waiting in the car. And mind you, we waited for further extra hours in the car until the ladies had had enough.

The only ladies not interested in shopping... yet! Boredom crept on them real fast...

Insyirah was boredom personified. Can't blame her. I was yawning non-stop while waiting for the ladies to be done with their shopping...

When is this ever going to end??

The men struggling to stay awake. I later took Insyirah back to the car with my dad and took a nap while waiting for the whole shopping extravaganza to end...

A visit to the Crystal Mosque
We checked out of the hotel at noon, with our destination now set for Cherating. However, we took the opportunity of being in KT to go and visit the newly built Crystal Mosque and the Islamic Civilization Park along the way, which arguably will become the new landmark of Terengganu. The Crystal Mosque is a wonderful architecture, and the Islamic Civilization Park which was mostly still under construction, has the potential to be a real crowd puller. But whispers among the people are, does Terengganu really need such an expensive structure and centre that probably cost a bomb, when the money could have been put to better use for the people of the state? Terengganu reputably have among the highest rate of poverty in the country and the word amongst the people have been that the millions spent on the mosque and the park could have been PRIORITISED to more pressing needs of its people.

Family photo in front of the majestic Crystal Mosque in KT... yours truly was behind the camera

Insyirah and I looking over the river which the Crystal Mosque is built beside. A windy and sunny day it was...

My dad and the grandkids. Dad was up to his posing antics as usual... hehe!

The kids scheming a plan. Anywhere, any place is a place of fun for them...

Wifey posing in front of a local bus designed like an old traditional house. Unique!

The drive to Cherating from KT took about 3 hours. It could have been made shorter, but hey who is rushing? Part of the vacation is the journey itself, and given the scenic views along the way, it was a pleasurable drive all the way. It probably explained the driving habits of the locals in Terengganu, who do not seem to show any urgency at all in their driving, even if you stall your car at the traffic lights when the light has just turned green. Perhaps they have that sense that they’re already where they want to be, and hence didn’t see the point of rushing themselves. Imagine the cultural shock in store for these people should they ever venture to KL with that driving mentality...

We arrived at our stay in Cherating, The Legend Resort a little bit past 6pm. As per my last trip here, we were given rooms in the Villa houses, which placed us real close to the beach. Our rooms were placed in the same Villa, so everyone was within easy reach of each other. Hannah and Insyirah were the most excitable ones, running from one room after another, exploring the place.

“It’s Gone!”

After performing my Maghrib prayers in my dad’s room, I returned to my room to get ready to go out for dinner. I was greeted by my wife at the door, who looked distressed. Something was amiss.

“What’s going on?”, I asked.

Wifey had walked away from the door almost immediately she had opened it, and responded distressfully, “Your wedding ring is missing. Insyirah was playing with it while I was in the toilet”. She was searching through the curtains leading to the balcony as she responded.

“I left it on the dressing table”, I responded, almost duh-like and obviously not affected by the stress and alarm that wifey was exhibiting.

“I know”, annoyance beginning to surface in her voice. “Insyirah climbed onto the chair at the dressing table and was messing up everything on it. When I came out I made a check of the items that were on the table, and to my horror I couldn’t find your wedding ring!”, she concluded in one breath.

Only then did my attention turned to Insyirah. She was standing motionlessly in the middle of the room, her teddy which she only recently became closely acquainted with held close to her chest in her two small hands, looking down on the floor. I deduced that wifey had already grilled her about the ring already.

“Insyirah, do you know where Abah’s ring is?”, I asked my daughter gently.

Nervously she looked up at me, and with one of her hands that was up to that point clutching on to her teddy extended out, with the palm showing upwards she replied, “It’s gone”.

She was now looking at me earnestly, giving me the look of someone who knows she’s done something naughty, and was apprehensive of the consequence that she might have to face. I was now searching on the table where I last left my ring. I asked Insyirah once again, while I continued with my search. “Did you play with my ring just now? Where did you put it?”

Like a broken radio, she chimed again, “It’s gone”. You could almost sense guilt in the way she answered.

“No point asking her abang. That’s all she’s been saying when I asked her the same. She kept on saying, ‘It’s gone, it’s gone, it’s gone’!”, annoyance apparently creeping on wifey.

I was slowly overcome by guilt. Really, it was my fault rather than this little girl that my wedding ring is now misplaced. I should have known better to keep it well out of her reach like in the drawer or something, rather than out in the open like that for her to play her games with. Father and daughter were now feeling the heat of wifey’s wrath. My eyes were fixed on Insyirah, feeling rather sorry for her. She took her eyes away from the floor again to look at me, still not moving from that same spot when I first came into the room, and probably sensing that I was going to ask her again, she prompted again “It’s gone Abah”.
I opened the drawers and searched the table again. At that point, I heard the sound of small metal falling onto the floor. My eyes quickly located the sound my ears had sensed, and I found the ring still moving in circles from the falling impact, right behind Insyirah. The ring must have gotten stuck to her sleeves or pocket and fell off from her.

I moved towards her and reached for the ring. “Insyirah, there it is! There’s the ring! It must have fallen off from you!”, I took the ring from the floor near her small feet and showed it to her face.

Her expression changed so suddenly upon discovery of the ring. The frown on her small face was immediately replaced with a look of relief, and covering her mouth with her small hand in a gesture of excitement, she responded “It’s not gone!”, and laughed out loud in relief. I gave her a hug just to give her the extra reassurance, although I sensed she was clever enough to know that she was already off the hook.

My precious...

It amazed me how my 2 year old girl could comprehend the seriousness of the situation, and how she could feel she was responsible for what had happened. I gave her a kiss on the forehead, and stroked her hair. In a matter of seconds, she was away from the spot she’s been rooted to in the last 10 minutes or so and went about the room doing the usual stuffs a 2 year old girl would do.

Stuffed crab for dinner

We had dinner at a place famous for its stuffed crab in Chukai town in Kemaman, which is about 20 minutes drive from Cherating. The food was great, and with my diet program officially suspended and thrown out of the window in the duration of this vacation, I held nothing back. On the way back to the hotel, stopped by the small shop in front of the hotel to buy some additional apparatus (small pails, spades and shovels) for the girls to play at the beach the next day. The poor girls had to wait another day...

Day 1: The Journey Begins

I woke up in the morning feeling excited and very much looking forward to the day, and the beginning of our 4 days holiday. I had been planning this vacation as far back as last December, and to be honest I had even been counting the days to this day. Now the day has arrived I just couldn’t contain my excitement.
The vacation promised to be a very exciting and memorable one. We were to stay in Kuala Terengganu (KT), Terengganu for a night’s stay, and later on moved to the next destination of our vacation at a beach resort in Cherating, Pahang. Wifey, Insyirah and I had been to Cherating on a vacation 2 years earlier and fond memories of the place had driven us to go there again. Only this time, we brought the whole of my clan along. As the saying goes, the more the merrier, and with Insyirah this time having Hannah as partner in crime, the vacation promised to be a good time.

Buckle up Abah, and drive safely! Insyirah is a picture of excitement and joy as we drive the car out of the house...

I started the long journey to KT at 10.30am. I had planned to start the journey as early as 7.30am, but was held back by some office work which I had to settle and e-mail to my boss before I could leave. Not knowing whether internet connection would be easily available at the places we would be staying, I wasn’t going to take any chances and made sure any pressing work commitments were completed and submitted before I started our journey to make sure that my vacation would be blissful and uninterrupted by office phone calls. It turned out that I still had to attend to certain matters of the office during my 4 days vacation, but nothing like the sort experienced by Robin Williams in the movie RV.

Scenic Drive

Blue sky all the way... the vacation started perfectly on a perfect day...

The drive to KT was smooth. Perhaps because we were traveling on a working day, traffic along the East Cost highway and later on the trunk road leading to KT was rather light. The view surrounding the highway was also rather scenic, and the sky was blue all the way to KT to complement the beautiful sceneries. The rest areas on the highway were also not as busy compared to the rest areas on the PLUS highway, and I could feel the tranquility which I had hoped to look forward to from the vacation as early as during the journey itself. Insyirah apparently enjoyed the scenic views as well. A couple of times long the way, she would wow in wonderment and made comments like, “wow, it’s beautiful” and “it’s amazing, I can’t believe it” again and again, drawing chuckles out of me and wifey. It hasn’t cease to amaze us the things that she has learnt to say...

Rest areas along the East Coast highway are rather desserted and quiet, so much different from the buzzing rest areas along the PLUS (north-south)highway...

We made a couple of stops along the way, an inevitable outcome given the 400 over km distance to be covered. We arrived at our final stop on the first day of the vacation, the Primula Beach Resort in KT close to 7pm, after over 8 hours of enjoyable drive and stopovers.

To infinity, and beyond! One of our stopovers, dropped by A&W restaurant in Chukai for lunch...

We didn’t get to do much upon arrival. Night time fell as soon as we arrived, and we had to suspend any plans of going to the beach, which Insyirah and Hannah had been looking forward to do all day. “I want to swim Abah” and “I want to go to the beach Abah”. Those were Insyirah’s requests as early as the morning we started on our journey. Wifey had bought her a set of new swimming suit and a pair of pink goggles for the vacation, and I can sense she’s been looking forward to donning them and swim at the pool and at the beach. I guess it had to wait till tomorrow... sorry sayang.

Dinner... and end of first day

Dad bought us dinner at the hotel that night. I was struggling choosing between the Penang Char Kuey Teow, which I had actually been thinking about while driving from KL that day, and the sizzling yee noodle. As is often the case, I changed my mind at the last minute and went for the sizzling noodle. It turned out to be a good decision and the noodle was delicious. I had a feeling my diet program was going to go out of the window these next couple of days...