Another night flight. Another midnight check-in. Well at least this will be my first time to this bustling Indian city.
Ok Bangalore, here I come …
We were back in Muar two weekends back for a short getaway. It was good to break our weekly routine, where every weekend is almost the same as the one before.
Muar can be a boring place if you do not what to do. But to us it was heaven sent; We were surrounded by family, had free babysitting help, no house chores (heh heh …), had our choice pick of favourite local food and plenty of shopping.
Eat .
It was ‘Ready- Set – Eat’ from the word ‘Go’. Even before we reached the borders of Muar on that Friday night, we had already placed our order of ‘Wan Tan Mee’. These is one of Vicky’s favourites, the noodle stall opposite Chuan Tin Restaurant.
The next day, we had Hainanese Chicken Rice Balls for lunch. These yummy balls are slightly bigger than their Malaccan counterparts, but smaller than the fist-sized balls that are also found in Muar. Dinner in Muar is usually Zi Char but with the many new restaurants sprouting around town, we were spoilt for choice. In the end we decided to try the ‘Yu Tou Wang’ (Fish Head King) restaurant. The food (Nyonya-styled fish head, sambal sotong and prawns) did not disappoint.
Other must try in Muar includes the Mee Siput (get a pack of six), Seremban Siew Pau from Fung Seng, and Bak Kut Teh (for breakfast).
Shop .
Yes, you read it right – Shop. What can you find in Muar that you cannot find in Singapore? Well, cheap baby formula milk for one. It might be lacking a few extra ingredients (eg DHAs, AAs, probiotics) compared to their Singaporean cousins, but at half the cost, it is a bargain that is hard to ignore. There are many other baby and household essentials that are selling cheaper in Malaysia too.
And if you have missed any movie titles or are finding it impossible to go to the theaters with baby around, the DVD shop is just a hop away from the shopping mall. I finally got to see Jayden doing his best impression of the Karate Kid, Stallone-Arnie-Willis doing a scene together, Ah Niu and gang acting out a teenage love story, and hearing the iconic A-Team theme song again.
Love .
Well baby got plenty of lovin. With no other babies or grand kids to vie for attention, Chey naturally got all the attention. She enjoys it. And looks out for it. So much that she would sometimes stare blankly at us, her parents, but turns around and smiles at any stranger that catches her eye. She will look up eagerly at waiters who serves our food or stare at the people on the next table, hoping to catch their attention. At least it keeps her busy and distracted while we have a chance to eat in peace.
Too bad we only had two and a half days to spend in Muar. It only makes us look forward to the next trip home.
If you are guessing what happened to pray, we did not quite make it to church. The 6 to 7pm slot happens to coincide with Baby’s nap-bath-dinner time.
Mee Siput anyone?
Back in the 80s, mid-autumn nights were especially special. When the sun sets, we gladly welcomed the night as it heralded the lantern sessions. Our toys of choice were either the multi-colured foldable paper lanterns or plastic wire framed character lanterns that we took out once a year from the back cupboard. Of course, we had to be sure that we were well stocked up with candles and a short stick or two to hold our lanterns. Then it was time to round up the troops. These usually made up of our old neighbours Patrick, Pauline and Steven. This was one of the rare nights that we were granted the license to roam the neighbourhood streets instead of hitting our books.
So with lantern in hand, we would prowl the few Lorongs (lanes) that made up our Taman (housing estate). This was not a boring walk in the dark. To us kids, the estate was a giant playground with endless possibilities of fun. There were pit stops to be made along the way; usually to pay a visit to homes of friends or school mates which dotted the Taman. Our reward would be an offer of a drink or some snacks. There were also houses of teachers to peep in, enemies to confront, dogs to avoid, and crazy antics like shouting a persons name and running off (a particular house in Taman Sri Maharani was often the target). We would also sometimes play hide and seek, splitting into two groups and trying to find or avoid each other.
Ahhh… miss those simple times. Who would have thought a lighted lantern would bring so much joy and leave so many fond memories. Can’t wait till my daughter is old enough to walk around the neighbourhood with her own lantern.
Till then, Happy Mid-Autumn…
It was a long overdue meet-up and farewell of sorts, done over a Penang buffet spread at Penang Place. Saye Chuan, Julia and Kirsten, who moved over to this sunny island just a year plus ago will be hopping over to another bustling capital on an equally sunny island. The food was so-so, the company was great and the suggestion of a trip to Yogyakarta sounded very enticing.
Here is a nice cheery photo of our group.
“Bos, teh tarik satu lagi!”
“Ok, one coming up. Hey, you’ve moved your blog arh?”
“Yeah, after five happy years at blogger. I thought it was time for something fresh. Haha… didn’t know you read my blog.”
“Want more roti?”
“No, teh cukup. My stomach no more like last time. What goes in will stay on as part of the spare tyre…”
The Birthday Boys
With the rest of us
VS 
At the end, the ex-missus took the cake. In fact, it was both the cake and the icing. With both main oscars in the bag, she has finally stepped out of James’ larger-than-life shadows. Well, personally I had preferred ‘Avatar’ to win. For me it was a 3D epic adventure that was just more memorable and exciting than the rest of the lot. I had watched the Hurt Locker on DVD last weekend; it was gritty, engaging and ‘real’ but it would probably just stay on mind as long as let’s say ‘District 9′, meaning just good enough for a night’s reflection. Maybe the war-movie meant a whole lot more to the Americans who has loved ones in the thick of the action. Anyway, the blue army of Pandora gets my nod. Here are a few noatable (and laughable) quotes from the academy awards.
“I want to thank the Academy for not considering Na’vi a foreign language.” — Argentine director Juan Jose Campanella, after winning the award for best foreign language film.
“Oscar and Penelope (Cruz), that’s an uber-Bingo.” — Christoph Waltz, accepting the best supporting actor Oscar. Cruz was the presenter.
“Never did I dream that making a flip book out of my third-grade math book would lead to this.” — Pete Docter, accepting the best animated feature film award for “Up.”
Is the 100th day suppose to be a milestone for a baby? Though not as significant as the full month (where she sleeps her way through the celebration), or first year (where she gets her first cake and solitary candle) or the 21st (where she gets the keys to freedom), I heard from someone that it is when the baby gets a litle easier to handle and to read. Well, maybe not exactly on that day, but Cheyenne has indeed changed in the past three months. Here are a few that I can point out …
1) She is sleeping longer at night now. Although she still gets up for her pre-dawn drink, she sleeps about seven to eight hours straight through the night.
2) She has sort of fall into a routine where she keeps these 3-hour cycles throughout the day, made up of drink-activity-sleep.
3) She has learn to communicate with us in her own way. She will focus on you, maybe let out a spontaneous smile, and sometimes break into baby googly talk which looks like she is trying to tell us something.
I guess in a way, she has also trained us, parents, to read her moods, cries and actions better in the past hundred days. Here are to many more days with Cheyenne!
Yep, the festivities are over, at least at my end. I had a week-long restful break back in Muar with plenty of family gatherings and feasting. There was little time for friends though as I now have a little girl in tow who subcribes to a 3 hour drinking schedule. You do not want to mess with this one when she is hungry. So no more late nights out catching up with friends or playing ‘in-between’ till the wee hours of the morning. Well I did get some game-time though at Vicky’s place when her aunts and cousins converged on the fourth, fifth and sixth nights to gamble on black-jack. As parents, we had to tuck baby up to bed first before thinking of joining the lievly crowd at the gaming table. The baby monitor sure comes in handy in times like this.
Here are some photos of the first day gathering at my place.
Cheyenne looking cute in pink
Outpouring of emotions and welcomes as relatives start to arrive
At the main table, from left CW : Janet, Annie, Un.Gan, An.Gan, Un.George, Un. Kay (satnding), An.Mary, and Mom
What are kids up to these days? They definitely do not need TV cartoons to keep them entertained.
A family portrait
More shots …
