Alysa & Ayra's Majlis Konvokesyen & Kecemerlangan

 Last Sunday on 4th Dec, Alysa & Ayra's kindy held their convo. Alysa had been practising for her performance for over a month. She still had to attend her practices even after school holidays started. She had to go to school as early as 7.30am and got back after 4pm when they had to practise at other branch. By the time she got back home she was really flat. Sometimes slept at 6pm until the next day. But she was an early riser. She'd woke up at 5am! Watching cartoons by herself... and got ready to go to school by 7 am.

On the convo day, Hubby had to send Alysa to Politeknik Permatang Pauh as early as 10am. The convo actually started at 2pm. I was worried Hubby would fall asleep while driving coz he only had 1 hour sleep the nite before as he had a day trip to KL the previous day. But, he managed to send Alysa safely.

 The convo started at 2 pm and we arrived just in time. But, we had to sit at the back as many parents were there earlier. The graduating kids were from 5 branches. There were over 300 kids to be awarded that day. Alysa got 2 awards i.e her graduation & best in academic for 6 y.o. Ayra got 2 too..best in academic & iqrak tertinggi for 5 y.o. I was so proud of them as they were among the best out of nearly 300 students ( to be exact ; 262 six y.o and 295 five y.o ). Rasa macam sebak lak..hehe.. Anak baru graduated from kindy, mama emo la pulak!!haha..

 Alysa was involved in a performance too. They performed " Hambamu " . She looked confident & dah macam anak dara lepas kena solek by the teachers.. All in all, it was a day to remember . However, I wished I had a DSLR & photography skills to capture their best moments.Hmm..Lagipun tak menang tangan I sorang yg ambik gambar coz Hubby pening2 lalat tak cukup tido. So, he was stuck at his chair..:-( . Oh..Their tok & Baby were there too to share the big moments..

Alysa - waiting with her friends

Alysa - with her cert

Part of the graduating class

Ayra - with her trophies

Alysa - Akademik tertinggi

 Alysa - performing 'Hambamu'

 Alysa - Receiving her cert. Look at the screens. There were 3 screens. When each graduating kid when on stage, their biodata was projected.  Alysa nak jadi " jururawat - nak jadi macam mama"..:-) Hello sayang, sejak bila mama jadi jururawat ni? Tu lah, my profesion ni the kids tak familiar..

   

Proud mama

Top students list at the back of the hall

Airis is 1

 Last thursday Airis turned 1. Initially I didn't plan any celebration for her. It was a busy week with me having a course for 3 days which ended at 11 pm. We were also in KL at the beginning of the week. So, on wednesday, I told hubby if i have the energy, I'd make something for her.

Then, Mak came over on Thursday morning. Kak & family were also here that afternoon. Ila & family also planned to spend the nite at our house. Since everybody was at our house, I made a quick pan. When I got back at 3pm that day, I started making a cake for Baby Airis & prepared something for tea. Abang Ari turned up for tea. Tp...my Oreo Cheesecake was not ready by the time I had to go for my course at 6pm. It had to be chilled some more. So, had to postpone to that nite.

 By the time I got home at 10pm, Baby Airis was fast asleep. Alysa was whining to cut the cake. Tp bday girl dah tido camne? Alysa was crying herself to sleep coz she'd miss Baby Airis cutting the cake the next day as she had to go to school.  Pagi Jumaat tu kesian pulak kat Alysa. So mama let her ponteng...:-)

 To my sweet & cheeky Baby Airis, Happy 1st birthday my sweet. At 1 year old, You already have 4 teeth.. trying to stand on your feet albeit wobbly. Your smiles really make my day. You clapped your hands to the tune ' tepuk amai-amai', wiggled your hands to the sound 'twinkle twinkle little star', raised up your hand when being called . You moved to the sound of music. You like to fight with K.Cik Adalia for my iphone, pulling vehemently to get control of it..:-). You can say mama & papa now which makes me proud of you.

 My darling Baby Airis, May Allah be with you in whatever you do.  We love you heaps.

Bye Bye & Welcome

 We finally sold off our reliable & trusted Nissan x-trail. Sayang kereta tu..Tak buat perangai & banyak berjasa. Tapi since family members dah bertambah, we have to find something bigger to accomodate all of us.

 When we bought the car, we were looking for something reliable. Previously we had a bad experience with our Perdana V6. Siap kena tow lagi kat highway masa balik Johor. Balik je ke Penang terus survey kereta baru. We had a few friends yang guna x-trail at that time. They didn't have a problem with it. So, that was the reason we chose it besides the good reviews from auto shows.

This photo attracted the current owner to buy it...:-)
 

 Masa nak serah kereta ni kat owner baru, macam sedih lak I. Tp tak de le sampai nangis..:-). But ada le cakap dgn keta ni..:D Macam tak betul je.
 During the process of selling the x-trail, we surveyed a few 7-seater SUVs & MPVs. Tp dah terbiasa bawak SUV, we finalised on buying an SUV.  Ada le test drive a few cars. Again, we decided on the current car based on its good reviews, specs and extended warranty offered. It took over a month to get the car coz hubby wanted PKJ XXXX to acompany hubby's car with JKP XXXX registration no. Masa booking tu baru PKG. So, lama le kena tunggu. But it was worth it.
 This time we chose white. The princesses & I wanted white while hubby wanted black. So, kalah le dia..:-) Girls power! Masa test drive keta ni I dah mmg jatuh suka. Tp hubby nak gak p test drive keta lain. Finally. we all pilih gak keta ni. Dah le dapat a good deal at this branch lepas nego dgn manager dia..:-) ( We went to 3 branches of this brand until I call the manager at this particular place. He met my requests, so we bought here..)

Our new car

Pssst, I dah test physical strength kereta ni. Td I terlanggar our gate. Keta ok. Tp gate yg senget..huwaa.. My neighbour heard a loud bang! Another neighbour tegur what happened to our gate! Keta ni ada calar sikit je kat bumper depan which was almost invisible. Badi kereta baru kut. I never crashed on my gate before. But then again, masa I baru beli my first car which was also white, I crashed on a wall at a shopping complex. Kemek giler. Melayang RM. Dah le tgh kumpul duit nak kawin masa tu..:-( Hmmm..Me & WHITE cars..



Adik's 5th Birthday

Hujung tahun ni berderet lak our birthdays. This month we celebrated Adik's birthday. The day before she turned 5, she had high fever. She was shivering & had to be given medications every 4-6 hours. We promised her, if she got better on her birthday, we would take her out for lunch.

Adik is 5 years old

 Alhamdulillah, She was better on her birthday. But, still lacking in appetite & energy. Her eyes looked sunken. Tapi...masih ada energy nak bersolek before keluar..;-). We took them out to Jusco. We let her choose where she wanted to have her lunch. Kalau Alysa & Baby, confirm pilih McD. Tp, Adik ni kan tak makan anything related with roti, so, she had few choices. Finally, she picked The Chicken Rice Shop..:-). Sempoi betul! But, Hubby bought something from KFC for Baby. Lepas lunch, we bought a birthday gift for her.

Having fun with her sisters

   Adik was lucky this year. She got to celebrate her 5th birthday a few times. First kat kampung together with Baby & Afif. Then on 13th nov which was her birthday. Tapi tak de cake that day coz mama was not in a cooking mode. 3 days of hearing her request of a birthday cake, I made her 'American Choc Cake' as requested. Then today, on her final day before school holidays, they had a birthday party at her kindy. I made her another choc cake. She said there were 5 cakes today for all the birthday girls & boys.

Baby , Adik & Afif's birthday celebration with their cousins. Baby requested Oreo Cheesecake. Kat luar ada BBQ tu..:-)

Yeay! Dapat gak bday cake sendiri..

Choc Cake utk bawa ke kindy. Still motif princess as requested.

My dearest Adik, Happy 5th Birthday sweetheart. Semoga menjadi anak solehah & bahagia dunia & akhirat. We will always be there for you to watch you achieve what your heart desires. We love you forever.

Kambing

 Haha.. nak sangat tajuk pendek... Tapi tempat yang kitaorang pegi last saturday memang famous dengan kambing pun. Diaorang ternak kambing & ada cafe yang served mainly kambing dishes.

Yup, as most penangites would know this place, Hubby & I went to Puncak Mutiara Cafe kat Kg Pelet tu. Tempat ni dah jadi macam eco tourism dah. Ada homestay tak jauh dari situ. Lepas makan boleh bawak anak2 melawat ladang kambing, tengok ostrich & bagi makan ikan. I like the ambience. Tp foodwise ok la for my taste. Hubby had nasi beriyani paha kambing & I had sup kambing & roti benggali. For me, nasi beriyani dia mmg tak leh lawan Beriyani Gam Batu Pahat. Tapi, cendawan goreng dia sedap.

Actually, dah lama nak try tempat ni tp tak berkesempatan. This time pegi mkn dgn Buyung & family for late lunch. Kitaorang tak bwk pn the princesses. May be nx time blh bawak diorang tgk ostrich..:-). Cafe ni beroperasi from 10am to 2 am. Ada surau yang besar. Tempat makan yang ada privacy coz ada individual gazebo. Ada juga tempat makan ' kayangan' kat atas bukit yang boleh nampak semua gazebo tu..

Nasi Beriyani Paha Kambing

Sup Kambing & Roti Benggali

Puncak Mutiara Cafe

Potong

 Last week was minggu potong for Alysa & Ayra..:-). When we got back from HCM, we were surprised with their hair. Tok dah potong rambut diaorang... Hubby was speechless. Yelah, bila I trim rambut diorang pun dia tak suka, inikan pulak kena potong pendek.

 Alysa terus lost her curls. Pegi kindy pun pakai tudung sampai balik rumah pun tak bukak2 tudung tu ( According tu K.Jun la ). When I got back, the first thing in my list was to buy them hair accessories. Nak beli cekak yang ada rambut tu, hubby kata nanti tok dia tengok sedih lak. So, beli je la cekak yang ada ribbons. Baru le nampak girlish sikit diaorang. Kalau tak, dah macam tomboy.

Then, on tuesday 25th Oct, kitaorang bawak Alysa & Ayra jumpa Dr Barizah utk berkhitan. Actually, dulu bukan tak nak sunat. Tp we got different views.. ada yang cakap wajib & ada yang cakap sunat. We were also looking for hadis sahih tapi tak jumpa. Recently, after bertanya a  few ustaz & hubby search & jumpa fatwa kebangsaan pun kata wajib berkhitan bagi kanak2 perempuan, dia dah tak senang duduk. So, Alhamdulillah dah selamat 2 orang. Another 2 to go..:-)

Masa berkhitan tu, Alysa melalak samapai keluar. But, Adik cool je. Berkerut sikit je muka. Siap boasted lg lepas tu kata dia tak gheyiau pun.. I tak inform pun diorang before berkhitan tu. Masa bawak masuk Alysa ke tx room, Hubby bawak Adik minum2 kat restoran sebelah. Masa dah jumpa Dr baru bgtau, Dr nak check sebab nak masuk sekolah. So, kena cucuk sikit.  Adik pulak I bagitau nak tindik sekali ( since dia beriya2 nak bertindik since dulu). Tp unfortunately, Dr Barizah tak wat bertindik. But, she was ok & cooperative during the procedures.

Alysa & Ayra - still boleh tersenyum before ke klinik

Cuti-cuti Ho Chi Minh - Part II

We booked a tour to Cu Chi tunnel at our hotel which cost USD9 per person. Actually, you can get USD4 per person at backpackers area at Pham Ngu Lao st. However, we didn't have time to browse over there. Our plan to go to Mekong Delta was cancelled too as it is a day tour. If we went there, we wouldn't have time to do our shopping.;-).

The tour guide picked us up at our hotel and picked other tourists at a few other hotels. There were 18 of us inside the coach. It took 2 hours from HCM to Cu Chi tunnel. We stopped at a craft centre for a short break.

The entrance fee to Cu Chi  Tunnel is VND80K ( USD4 ). We were first briefed about the tunnel before proceeding to see various interesting spots inside the area. At the end of the tour, we were served tapioca and tea. It was a long walk and I think I burned hundreds if not thousands of calories by the end of the tour...:D. Boleh lagi kurus kalau selalu ikut tour macam ni..

Buying the tickets

Sape2 yang rasa badan terlebih comel, don't try this. Tak jamin blh keluar..:-)

Making rice paper

Inside the tunnel. Hubby tak turun. Takut sangkut..:D. Lutut dia pun dah kong. Gelap giler kat dalam ni...

On the way back to HCM, everybody was so tired. They dropped the 4 of us at War Remnant Museum. Actually, museum is not my thing. But since it is listed as a must visit place, we decided to pay a visit. The entrance fee is only VND8K. We only visited the ground and 1st floor as it was distressing to see those photos.

After that Hubby took over as our tourist guide..& we got lost..:-). Instead of going to Central Post Office, we walked farther away. So, we took a cab to Dong Du Mosque. After solat, we headed to Parkson as we didn't feel like eating at Halal @Saigon which is opposite the mosque. However, D'Anjung ( 4th floor at Parkson ) was closed on Friday. Hubby & I had briyani at a pakistani stall while Liza & Sumai tried the indonesian food at the next stall.

Masjid di Dong Du St

Le Loi St - Kat sini byk hotel2 5 star & branded good outlets eg LV, Chanel etc. Masjid pun just around the corner je.

One of the things that  I like about Ho Chi Minh is its parks. It has parks right in the middle of the city. So, penat jalan2 boleh lepak2 kat park. The pavements are also pedestrian friendly.

Makan delima bought at Binh Tay market

Our hotel lobby

Good bye saigon. We will definitely be back. Trip kali ni memang best ( Semua tempat ada keistimewaan sendiri ) . Si Liza tu sampai cakap if kitaorang nak pegi lagi & if Sumai tak nak ikut, dia nak ikut kitaorang sorang2..:-). To Sumai & Liza, thanks for joining us. Korang memang best & sempoi. The only thing that spoilt the trip is that I lost my sunglassess ( a present from Hubby ) in the night market. May be while trying out the clothes...:-( . Oh ya, During this trip, Hubby had a penchant for red colour. I nak beli jubah, dia suruh beli red. But I did't..:-). Then, nak beli glasses pun dia suruh pilih red, which I relented. Tapi bila dah siap, I rasa muka I macam mak nenek lak..:D. Tp dia kata tak pe, bagi nampak mature sikit muka..hikhik

With the jovial Dr Liza.kat airport..Kan muka I dah jadi macam mak nenek with the new glasses..:-(. Got a new glasses but lost the old one..sob..sob..

Shopping and Eating in Ho Chi Minh

Transaction in Ho Chi Minh can be done in USD or VND ( Dong ) and even RM in Ben Than market and the night market. 1 USD = VND 21300; 1 USD = RM3.145. It's easier to use USD. However, it's better to pay in VND for food. In my case, I prepared 3 currencies in my purse. I used the one that gets me better price ;-) 

We started our day early at 7am. We had breakfast at our hotel. The hotel serves no pork food considering many malaysians stayed at this hotel. The food was okay and there were many choices.

After breakfast, we looked for the bus station near Ben Thanh. We boarded bus no 1 to Binh Tay Market located on Thap Moui Street in District 6, Cho Lon. It is also known as Chinatown. Binh Tay Market is a wholesale market selling various stuffs. You need to bargain at least half of the quoted price. Some stalls do not sell in small quantities as they normally cater for retailers. We bought some cotton here. The bus fare to Binh Tay is only VND 4000. ( RM0.60 ). Bus No 1 goes from District 1 and stops at a bus station just across the road from Bin Thay market.

Binh Tay Bus Station

Binh Tay wet market

Bus ticket

Garlic nicely decorated

The fruits here are so cheap. Mango was sold at VND 15K per kg ( RM2 ). Fruits like Avocado, pomegranate and dragonfruit were very cheap. We were tempted and bought some. Of course we had to buy a knife which was sold at 80 cents!

Then, we went back to district 1 and had lunch at Vn Halal. Hubby & Liza had Pho i.e viatnamese noodle ( pick the spicy 1 as it tastes better and yummy ). Sumai & I had rice. Mine was okay but Sumai's Nasi ayam hainan looked unappetising to me..hehe.. The cost for our lunch was RM70 - 80 for 4 persons.
( Vn Halal, 14, Pham Hong Thai St. Tel: 84-8-38220252 ).

Pho ( pronounced 'fer' )

After zohor prayer at our hotel, we headed to Ben Thanh Market. The famous cotton shop for Malaysians i.e Dam, shop 433 didn't offer good price. So, we didn't buy anything there. Personally, I prefer the night market, may be because there are many muslim sellers. Bargaining can be done in Malay. I didn't buy much at Ben Thanh market coz i did't get a good bargain. Just bought some polo t-shirts and smocking dressess for the princesses.

Tired of browsing in the market, we went to Le Than Ton Road next to Ben Thanh market. I wanted to buy a pair of glasses. There are many opticians along the road. But we went to Nhat Quang ( 126, Le Than Ton Rd ). Glasses here are cheap. Sumai & Liza ended up with a pair each. They said normally they spent around RM700 to do glasses  in Malaysia. But over here it was only RM100++. You can choose a range of branded and imitation glasses. You can get imitation Dior, Gucci etc with latest designs at just over USD30. The glasses can be collected the next day.

Just across the road from Nhat Quang located Minh collection ( 189, Le Than Ton St ). Jubah & beaded baju kurungs are sold from USD10 . But, beaded baju kurungs in the night market are better with more beads. We bought a few jubah & baju kurungs.

Then, we had dinner at a stall in front of Basiroh's fashion. They sell viatnamese nasi lemak; about the same like Malaysian nasi lemak. The food here is cheaper which was around USD3 per plate. 

After dinner , we started our shopping spree. The famous stall for baju kurung is Gerai Aziz located at the street near My Sang tailor & Ha Tam goldsmith. You can ask them to order kopi ais or kopi susu while you browse their collections. Next stall also sells baju kurung and cotton. I bought vietnam simcard here. It was cheaper to call malaysia. I bought for VND80K and got a credit of VND115K. With this credit, I could call Malaysia 5 times.

Night market opens from 7pm - 12pm

Bargaining price: vietnam t-shirt USD2, Polo t-shirt USD5, 3-zipped vietnam purse USD9 for 10 pcs, handluggage USD8, Smocking dress USD5, Trung Nguyen Coffee USD 4 for 1/2 kg. For best price, be friendly to your fellow malaysians. Ask them what is the price that they got and bargain lower..:-) . Normally, mat salleh got higher price...hehe..
 

Other shopping places that I wanted to go but didn't have time;
Mery boutique, 156 Bui Vien St
Hong Anh Collections, 110Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St & 75 Ly Tu Trong St.
Russian Market. 225,Ben Chuong Duong St. ( Winter clothing )
An Dong Plaza. 18,An Duong Vong St.
Saigon Square. Went there but didn't have time to browse.

Halal restaurants:
Parkson. 4th floor. 3 halal stalls; D' Anjung, Pakistani food & Indon food. 45, Le Than Thon St.
Halal @ Saigon. 30, Dong Du St
Sulayman Restaurant. 40, Tran Hung Dao St.
Kedai Shamsudin. 445, Le Hong Phong, District 10. Delivery; tel 84-8-62717494.
Bombay Restaurant. 66 Dong Du St.
Pro Doner Kebab. 169, De Tham,Pham Ngu Lao Ward.
Satay House Malaysia. 307/25, Nguyen Van Troi St, Phu Nhuan Ward.
Zam Zam. 26, Bui Vien St.
Masala Kitchen. 28 / 21, Bui Vien St.
Mumtaz Restaurant. 226, Bui Vien St.
Mohamad Aly. Delivery; tel 01218747096 , 0933799621.

Ho Chi Minh city

Ly Tu Trong St. Look at all the motorbikes being sold!



Bui Thi Xuan St where our hotel is located