A Different Route to MRT

Taking an MRT has never been the same for us since having the little Chickadee.

We used to have such easy access to the MRT.

With a stroller, we now need to wait for longer and travel further to get to the same place.

So for those of you who do not need the lifts, please don't take up its space. You have a shorter route than us in and out.









 

Baby Stroller: To Bring or Not to Bring

When we go out these days, the decision to bring a baby stroller is a big one . When you do not own a car and you bring along your baby stroller, you are stuck with it the whole way.

Taking a baby stroller with you means having a makeshift trolley around to carry your things including your kid. Convenient? Yes. 

But a regular kid will not sit in the stroller all the time. 

After feeling "tired" of sitting in the stroller, the Chickadee is allowed out of her stroller as long as she walks with me. Eventually she thinks pushing the stroller looks like fun and she wants to do what mummy does. So she becomes my little helper who really is just slowing me down as I have to follow her pace and be careful not to bump into her.

I know the child labor phase will not last long and I try chatting, singing and acting like a crazy person to make pushing the stroller exciting. The next phase is not somewhere parents want to be in.

It takes a split second for the stroller to turn into a burden. The chickadee suddenly realizes the mundane work she has been doing and starts to do her own thing which means going the opposite direction of where I am heading. 

I am now stuck with a kid moving the other way and a big stroller that I can't maneuver fast enough to chase after her. I can't dump the stroller as it now carries my personal possessions (not to mention the stroller itself cost a small fortune).  

This is the exact moment, I regret bringing the stroller out.

But I learnt that Singapore is great for safety. I can leave my stroller at a safe corner to run after my child who obviously acts like she is bored out of her mind.

When I finally go back to claim the stroller, with all the excitement gained on her own, I am able to coax the Chickadee back to her rightful seat. 

Until the vicious cycle begins again..

The Heat and Rain

The one thing that we are still trying to cope with is the weather in Singapore. You would think the weather in Penang and KL would prepare me for this. You would think as a full bred Asian, I would want every part of me to soak up the glorious sun and not complain. 

Here's the first lesson about Asians and our weather. We get the sun pretty much all year round. When you get one thing long enough, you tend to not want it so much.

Another fact about Malaysians; we all drive. This is not because we are a rich nation. We just have to because our public transport is not exactly top notch. So imagine us hopping in and out of our air-con cars to get to places.

Our mode of transportation in Singapore so far has been tough. When you are on a shoestring budget (please refer to earlier post, we are not expats!), you are your own transport. 

My only comfort is that we are living a healthier lifestyle as we are made to walk everywhere. Don't judge us with our umbrellas until you have lived in this heat as long as we have.  

Occasionally, we get a break from the heat. We get torrential downpours instead. 

Now you understand how important this great creation is for us. In Asia, no matter the size of the bag we are carrying, one will still be able to whip out that wondrous gadget to shield us from heat or rain.  

We are not as big a fan when it comes to raincoats. But they are rather cute.

From North to South

I have decided to give this blog a new look to celebrate the chickadee's promotion to toddler-hood. This blog is now colored pink or within the same color spectrum. Pink is the only color acceptable at this age. I kid you not.

So Big News - We have migrated.     

We have gone down south to the Lion City. 

Migrating is like a big breakup. You are saying goodbye to your world of familiarity and comfort. Your country has done just about enough for you to willingly let it go. You have stopped listening to the old and your ears have now leaned towards the whispers of a better life from the new.

There are lots of articles covering migrating as a single person or an expat. 

Moving on an expat package is just cheating. It is similar to going on a tour where you do what you are told and everything is sorted out for you. Try backpacking. 

There is just not enough credit given to parents who move with their kids on a local package. It can be financially challenging when you are moving to one of the most expensive cities in the world and you have to do it on your own. 

But with our "pros" outweighing the "cons", we lifted our roots, packed everything into boxes and made our big move.

Redang : Beach at Taraas

When we were at Redang, we stayed with The Taraas Beach and Spa Resort, which is owned and managed by the Berjaya people. 

There was one thing that really made my trip. So much so that I am dedicating a blog post for it.

Here's why... 
 

The picture opportunities you get from this place is crazy.

You can feast your eyes on the blueness of the sky and ocean the whole day. On top of that, you can watch your little ones play while you lounge under the shade.

Occasionally you can go up the ocean and enjoy splashing around the waves. 

We got creative with the sand at Taaras beach. We sculptured an elephant, dinosaur, mickey mouse and all other requests by the chickadee.

The sand was perfect. The weather was perfect. (Note: Watch out for red ants. They were at certain spots when I visited)

If you are into geography, this is where Taraas is located on Redang island. Great spot isn't it?

For divers, I can't imagine how much better it can get. For those interested, here are the dive sites as shown at the Taraas dive center.

Honestly, I wouldn't trade seeing the little chickadee being so happy at the beach for a million fishes.  But then again, I am not a diver.

Up in the Air with FireFly

The Little Chickadee has officially flown on all local airlines. Malaysian Airlines, AirAsia, Berjaya Air and her latest conquest - Firefly! What a feat for someone so young! Makes me wonder if we are flying a wee bit too often. 

Like Berjaya Air, Firefly flies out of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Seriously, no wonder people calls it Subang Airport or Skypark. 

The little one really loves flying. And this time, she got her very own seat! *How do I stop time?!!*

Firefly is a small no-frills plane. There is no TV screen and no magazines. There is the usual safety card, a laminated A4 card displaying their merchandises and a barf bag. Beat that AirAsia.  

I still get the jitters when I fly with the bub. Is it just me? Or do all parents make a bigger-than-usual prayer during take-off? I find that I also break into a Barney song ("flying in an airplane") for the little chickadee. The tune and simple choreography distracts me and excites her; making it a great therapy for us.

For our one hour journey, firefly served snacks and drinks. There was a choice between a small pack of peanuts or a pastry.

It was alright. But for a made-by-Delifrance muffin, the lack of filling was kinda disappointing. 

Next came the drinks, mango or apple juice? Difficult choices.

As the muffin was crumbly (admittedly I can be a clean freak), I started wiping and cleaning up after the little one. As a responsible passenger, I started wiping down the seat too. Big mistake. *yuck* 

I'm assuming all other airlines will be the same as "rubbing down seats with wet wipes" will not exactly make top 10 in their to-do list. Understandably. But omg I would think an occasional wipe down is justifiable after having carried like a gazillion number of passengers.    

Having that wet wipe in mind, the bub was no longer allowed to put her face or mouth anywhere near the seat.

Instead, I started distracting her with the window. (safety alert: of course the seat belt lights were off and she had me as a human seat belt or in any mother's case; human shield would be a better description *bear growl*) 

It rained when we disembarked. The firefly crew were pretty swift in handing out the umbrellas. Bear in mind that like any other budget terminal, there will be a bit of walk under the open sky to the aircraft.

We flew during the monsoon season. Entertainment aside, any airline that can take us up and down safely, deserves a golden star.

Here's to you Firefly.

You can read my review on Berjaya Air here http://zchicchick.blogspot.com/2013/10/taking-flight-with-berjaya-air-to-hua.html

KL Hilton's: Pool and Slide

My lil sis stayed at KL Hilton for a few nights during her last trip back to Malaysia and asked if I wanted to bring the little Chickadee over for a swim. Hell yeah. People always encourage you to live in a landed house when you start a family. But they forget about the lack of facilities available like a freaking swimming pool which is obviously something your kid ends up loving the most.

If your living space is landed and you are one of those Gen x "I want to make up to my kid for spending most days in office" mothers, you will understand how precious pool moments are.

KL Hilton and Le Meridien at Sentral shares the same pool. If you face the hotels, the KL Hilton pool is on the right and the Le Meridien is on the left. Of course, this doesn't matter as you get to swim and use the full length of the pool.

There is a connecting bridge for you to cut across the pool to the lounge chairs on the other side. The bridge is also at the spot where the hotels split up.

On the right side of the bridge, there is a slide which is only meant for older kids. Trust me. Make sure they are old enough, it does go down pretty fast.

On the left side of the bridge, there is a kiddies section which is very shallow. You will be able to tell in the next few pictures where the Chickadee is standing up. All the smaller kids looked pretty comfortable sitting in that section of the pool. Must have reminded them of their bath tubs at home. Just bigger.  

KL Sentral area (where these hotels are) is rapidly developing. You can see construction by the pool. It was a tad bit noisy while I was there; but when you are in the pool with a kid, minor construction noise is not something you worry about.

Hooyeah. This is mummy having a good time capturing the bub having an awesome time. 

A very satisfied baby...Mission accomplished. 

Taking Flight with Berjaya Air to Hua Hin

I am re-posting this from my old blog. This review was earlier uploaded in June 2013.
________________________________________

This is not the first airline the little chickadee has flown with. But it will be the first I will be reviewing. 

Berjaya Air flies from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah airport (aka Subang airport; SZB). It is a smaller airport compared to KLIA and LCCT; but it has enough eateries and if you are looking to avoid crowds at the check-in counters, this is the airport to be.

(Picture note: "goth" = my hubby as referenced in my old blog)

Berjaya Air is currently the only commercial airline that flies into and out of Hua Hin airport (HHQ). Their inaugural flight was back in 18th November 2012. Prior to that, Hua Hin airport mainly catered to private jets. 

This airport is still fairly empty as it is still new to public. Check out the space. May be an idea to let the kids run around and drain that energy before flight.

There are only two counters available at this airport and both are Berjaya's. Before Berjaya Air provided air flights into Hua Hin, the only way for the common people to get into Hua Hin was to fly into Bangkok and going through a 3 hours road trip.

Now we get to fly like the private jet-ters and get free baggage check-in of 15kg per passenger. 

Be warned. Do not plan for any last minute duty free shopping here as there will be none. However, you will still need to part with THB400 for airport departure tax. 

Going through the departure gate was a breeze as there was no queue.


Like any small airports, you will need to walk to the aircraft. Be prepared for loud noise. But other than that, it's not a long walk. 

So here we are in the plane. It's a bit tiny. But good enough for us and the little one. 

For entertainment, they have screens on top which airs movies. But one can barely hear the audio and no earphones are provided. However, they do have newspapers and magazines. Berjaya Air appropriately carries a Hua Hin magazine called Approach that you can read about the happenings in Hua Hin. 

Berjaya Air provides snack boxes in-flight. Finally! An airline that includes meals without passengers having to fumble around for currencies. On top of that, they were actually pretty good. The jelly was gorgeous.

Berjaya Air definitely made it a breeze for us while travelling with the little chickadee ....

Note: Berjaya Air currently flies to Hua Hin on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. 
Booking site: https://bookingz1.sita.aero/asp/asp/berjayaair

Thistle Port Dickson Resort

Ever since the Chickadee came into our lives, facilities offered by a hotel have become quite important. 

Everyone raved about how great Thistle is for kids which got me curious. There wasn't a lot of information or pictures showing why it was so special for the younger ones. But I believed the recommendation and went anyways. 

For the benefit of others, this is my review on Thistle for others considering going there with their kids.

We went last month (September) and stayed in a Deluxe room with sea view. It's pretty standard but is beginning to look a bit tired. There was even a hole in the day bed. 

The bathroom comes with a bathtub. Be careful when showering younger children as it tends to get slippery. Bath mat is not provided.

There is a balcony with the room. Be watchful over your kids as they can easily climb over. There are also lounging chairs and table on the balcony which they can also climb on.

The thing that I find most annoying is the fact that there were mosquitoes in the bedroom. One bit the chickadee's ear while she was sleeping! There was a red dot on her ear lobe and a dead mozzie on the bed. Please do bring along repellents apart from sun block.

Room review aside. These are probably the top reasons why Thistle is great for kids...

1) Children's playroom
The playroom is simple but equipped with toys and even a baby changing room for privacy.

2) Swimming Pool
The water slides are the main attractions. Safety is a priority here. There were floater balls which indicated the depth of the pool and there was even a lifeguard around.

3) Big board games
Don't they look like a lot of fun?! Only thing is these boards are right under the sun with not much shade.

4) Other ground games
The chickadee loved this. So did we..

5) Outdoor playground
I can watch her play the whole day. The play structure is fairly new. Just be careful of some ants on the ground.

6) Beach
Going to PD means going to the beach. Thistle has a strip of beach at the back. It was scorching hot but I saw some children playing under the shade . 

Heat or no heat, the chickadee just wanted to walk along the ocean. 

I'm sure glad she did.....

Thistle Port Dickson Resort
KM16, Jalan Pantai, Teluk Kemang, 71050 Si Rusa, Port Dickson 71050
Phone: +606 648 2828
http://www.thistle.com/en/hotels/malaysia/port_dickson/thistle_port_dickson/index.html