was a bit worried how the kids would react. this being first time in their life taking flight. yes, they were excited and cannot stop talking about it since I told them bout the trip. would they get panic, scared, start to cry, etc. once we're off the ground? will we have to travel back home by land!? well, life is full of surprises! kids will time and again proved you wrong and taught us never to underestimate them. they took to it like a duck to water ... absolutely no problem at all!
alhamdulillah, smooth landing on airasia flight AK6302. on time too. had our brunch, drove around town a bit. went for friday prayer in padang mat sirat town mosque. checked in into langkasuka beach resort and off to where else ... the pool! haris all suited up for a splashing good time!
mukhlisah ... sejuknyaaaaaa!
after an hour or two in the pool, time to head to the beach pulak. nice one (ok la ni and way better than what you can find in pd, bagan lalang or melaka). bright sunny day but with cool seabreeze from the andaman sea ... instantly, all the blues are blown away. mama nya: "... b, tiba2 kepala macam rasa kosong je, kan!". syoknya ...
budak2 pun syok jugak! where got chance to play like this in kl ... with flour-like white sandy beach, nak baring ke, nak berguling ke ... life (here, at least) is to be lived, silakan! so much fun watching and playing with them.
love at first sight for the kids. haris: "abah, kita pindah kat sini boleh tak? kat sini pun ada sekolah, kan?" hmm, if only life is that simple, son.
mukhlisah: "abah, abah ... boleh main cam ni kat rumah?!"
cool wind, therapeutic sound of ocean waves hitting the beach, picturesque scenery, fun time with the family, etc. alhamdulillah, life was so good today (add to that a simple yet superb seafood dinner we had in restoran difiqa at pantai cenang). marvellous!
day 2 saturday 25.04.09
everybody was up early. done with breakfast and another pool session, we're now ready for a sciencesational time at petrosains playsmart in telaga harbour park, pantai kok. seen here haris, mama nya and mukhlisah about to go up the lift to the 1st floor where playsmart is located. two hours and the kids just loved it here. lots of interesting and interactive exhibits here not only for kids but parents too. definitely a smarter way to learn about science. if only learning science in school is this much fun (sigh) ... i could have become a scientist instead of an adman ... but that's life ... with all its possibilities.
mama nya (or what's left of her) seen here with one of the more intriguing exhibits. you can get your head chopped by a guillotine too in playsmart if you wish so! hope more parents will expose their kids to this kind of activity. anytime a better way to take a break with the kids rather than dragging them for crockery-hunting in pekan kuah. best of all, admission is free! for more info, check out http://www.petrosains.com.my/reachingout/playsmart.html
next stop - oriental village for cable car ride. mama nya and haris were not that eager to go up in the beginning. giving all sorts of excuses. but by the time they gave up, it rained. so cable car operation was suspended due to safety reason. next best thing to do, visit the mini animal farm next door. watch out for deer harassment! you have been warned. the day ended back at the pool and beach. the nite ended with another seafood feast at restoran haji ramli (not as good as last nite, though) and stroll along row of the shops at pantai cenang.
day 3 sunday 26.04.09
adventure day. we went out for the kids' first boat ride. first stop ... pulau dayang bunting. took this pic of the island as our guide stopped the boat to tell us about the famous folklore. Allahhuakbar ... what a sight! wonders of life.
dah sampai ... a tip for those planning to go here in future ... do not hold any plastic bag while walking to the lake coz according to our guide, there are lots of snatch thieves around. turns out the thieves are just a bunch of primates! poor fellas ... they've become dependent on human to feed them and when they see plastic bag it means there is food in it.
tasik dayang bunting ... a fresh water lake in a middle of an island. quite big too. legend has it that this used to be the favourite bathing place of a celestial princess by the name of mambang sari. we malay and our never ending myths ...
good idea to have this platform built here. people can walk around and there is even a pool for kids to swim about. me, i'm standing here with my knees still shaking and rattling. my daughter piggy-backed me from the boat to the lake, you see ...
another attractions ... natural fish foot therapy courtesy of a friendly group of catfishes gently nibbling at your feet. geli wa cakap lu. it's ok to do it here but i'll never do it in shops back in kl. they never clean the water after each person finished a session ... you'll just never know, eeeuw!
2nd stop. feeding the eagles. there were about 20 - 30 of them circling our boat. pity, according to our guide the eagles can no longer find their own foods. they've lost the predatory skills and instincts. now being fed with chicken belly daily by the visiting boats. impressive demonstration from the birds nevertheless when they dived down to the sea.
3rd stop. rain welcomed us as we reached pulau beras basah jetty. rain or not, the show must go on. before this, the kids were never really hot bout swimmin' in the sea. can't really blame them. here ... different story altogether.
day 4 monday 27.04.09
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langkawi really rocks! life there was great. everybody had so much fun (and stuffs). can't wait to go back there again. hope it'll be sooner rather than later ...
