Surprise Anniversary Trip - Langkawi

The weekend after we went to Tioman, my husband took us to a surprise vacation in Langkawi. We got married the week after his birthday, so this trip is our 6th year anniversary. Funny how 6 years just whizzed by.

This is the view from our hotel (Westin). He really spoiled us this time. Adam said 'This is the best 'house'* ever!

Cool rock pool in front of the hotel

the children pool

We stayed for 5 days and got to visit all the interesting places in Langkawi.

Kilim mangrove river cruise was my favourite one. I wonder why this place isn;t more popular.

We took a small boat, just the four of us, and it went around the river surrounded by mangrove forest. It was so beautiful there. Reminds me a bit of the Amazon river.

 Fish farm, one of the stops along the river

The next day we went on the round island trip and went for a swim in this lake - Pulau Dayang Bunting. Again such beautiful natural surrounding. Wild swimming at its best, I'd say. The lake is situated in the middle of the island, surrounded by trees and it was so serene and calm. Loved it!

My loved ones swimming in the lake. I've been dreaming about lake swimming in Malaysia and this is the first one I've been to! Does anybody have any recommendation for swim-able lakes in Malaysia?

The day after that we went to Telaga tujuh. This is a place with 7 natural wells/pools that you can swim in. When we got there, we found out that you have to hike up a VERY steep hill to get up to it. I'm talking so steep you can probably fall back down the hill. A very difficult feat especially if you have children hiking with you. Half way there, there is a waterfall. When we got to the waterfall we were so hot sweating and out of breath. Then we see this gorgeous waterfall. Subhanallah it was amazing.

Not a lot of people here eventhough it was tourist season. I'm guessing because of the hike. But it makes for a lovely quiet swim. Nice.

There is a little green pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Beautiful. Makes me think of Survivor. (yes i'm a fan)

A lot of people talk about the taxfree shopping when they go to Langkawi but I'm glad that this time we get to discover some of the amazing natural landscapes and wild swimming spots in Langkawi. Alhamdulillah..

Thank you to my darling husband. This has got to be our best anniversary ever. I'm so glad I married you :) Lots of love and thank you for putting up with me for 6 years!!! (can't have been easy hehe)

Surprise birthday trip

Last weekend we went to a surprise trip for my husband's 30th birthday. 

A little slice of heaven, for the guy who spoils us all year long so once a year he definitely deserves a good bit of spoiling too..

This is Minang Cove resort, Tioman. I definitely recommend this place. The location is gorgeous, unspoilt and the service there is exceptional! They cater only to a small number of guests and we all receive personal, charming treatments from the staff. They know us and our kids by name. Love this place!

the kids think it was their treat instead. We couldn't keep these kids away from the beach the whole time we were there...

beautiful view from the jetty

my little boy goes exploring a lot around the rocks and corals. He had many cuts on his legs, splinters on his fingers, but nothing could stop him from enjoying the place. He fit right in.

the kids having afternoon tea with Sophia, the owner's beautiful 9 year old daughter. She looks english but talks malay fluently and is a real island girl. She knows where all the nemos are when snorkeling, she can dive deep with no equipment to pick up dead corals and sea cucumber.

Snorkeling is really good just off the jetty. Lots of corals and fish and good visibility.


Adam jumping in. He was fearless! water was 5-10m deep. my little island boy.

the birthday boy with his surprise birthday cake. The staff picked it up for me far from Tekek, they had to take a boat. tq guys!

don't know why this pic is coming out senget. My girl wearing her sunhat that she requested urgently and was sewn by a very tired mama the night before we go on the trip.

one of the highlight of the place - nighttime fish feeding off the jetty. We could see some big black tipped sharks!

time passed by way too fast on the island. It's time to go home...

we'll be back little fishies...

I *heart* Terengganu

We're having some quiet days here in this house. The kids and the daddy have caught a nasty virus. Lots of cuddling, sleeping, sponging, resting around here since last week. But we did have a nice short get-away early last week when my husband was out-station in Terengganu.

Enjoy the pictures!

The view was so beautiful, masya Allah. The ocean water is blue, now that monsoon season is over..

my girl having lots of fun in the sand

collecting pine cones to decorate their sand castles

when she was done she announced "Good at this!" I noticed recently whenever she accomplished something new (like learning to use the water dispenser on her own, or using the toilet and water faucet) she declares quietly to herself 'good at this!'. What a brilliant method of building one's own confidence. I think I might take that up myself.

aahhhh knitting at the beach with kids around me busy making their castles. Such bliss! I seriously wish I lived there...

Amazing rocks at Pantai Kemasek. In the picture we were pretending to be dangerous barnacle collectors :) - like in BBC Human Planet.

This beach is awesome...there are lots to discover - snails, crabs, seashells...

hope we can come here again...

Holiday in Bath

I'm sorry for neglecting this blog for quite a while..been really busy...i know i promised photos of Bath trip..

My inlaws were in London visiting and we wanted to take them to a farm for them to enjoy the English countryside..we chose to go to Bath because i haven't been there either. My husband went there masa bujang2 and he sent me photos (we were just friends at the time). So it's time we went there together..

We stayed at Greyfield Farm (dkt2 nama the other farm? total coincidence. we tried booking another farm, but they were full and they suggested this farm to us). We really fell in love with this farm. Even better than Great Field Farm. When we arrived...this card was on the table..

sweet tak? the owner kasi kitorg kad anniversary..and they left homemade apple juice and chocolates too..the personal touches made us feel at home..and the cottage was beautiful and cosy. Their bed linens were the most comfortable i've ever slept in..even Mia slept through the night, didn't even wake up for her usual feedings..

Here we are picking fresh eggs in the morning. They have chickens, goat, ducks and geese. Everyday they pick fresh eggs and the guests can have free range eggs for FREE everyday! Delish! Adam really enjoyed it there...everyday he fed the goat, Billy Joe..hehe..

We loved it so much we even extended one more night there..they have a gym, a sauna and best of all...a HOT TUB! oh we loved the hot tub!!

i would really recommend this farm, please go! i bet it'll be gorgeous in the summer..

From the farm we went to beautiful Bath..

cantik, mmg cantiklah Bath ni..i think my inlaws loved it there too..

mu husband tak habis2 nak amik gamba kat dinding tau..hehe..

amik gamba dia lak kat dinding!

two thumbs up for Bath and Greyfield Farm!

alamak Mia's waking up...

Day 4 - Brussel

We drove up to Brussel! it was quite a long drive..about 3.5 hours. We stopped here by the side of the road, to let Adam watch cows grazing...hehe...he loves cows...moooo! dia panggil...hehe.

First pitstop was Mini Europe. This place holds a special meaning to me and my husband actually, ade kisah sentimental...hahaha...Adam happyla main kat situ...

then from there we went to Brussel city. Cantik kan bangunan2 dia...this square in the middle of the city is really beautiful...breathtaking.

The famous Belgian waffle...oh, yum! mmg sedap sgt2lah...

Mannequin pis - patung budak kecik kencing..hahaha...beribu2 batu org dtg nak tgk budak ni kencing tau...ntahla whats the history behind it...my husband said this kid pee to try and stop a fire a long time ago..it's so popular..

Relaxing in the square..tired by this time. If u look closely there, Adam is trying to give his Daddy a kiss. He'd just done something naughty...hehe..

that's the end of our little trip. The next day we just relax at Imi's house before we board our flight at 7pm. i can't believe we don't have any pics at his house! Thank you Imi bwk kitorg jalan2 and masak sedap2....

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Selamat berpuasa! Here Ramadhan starts tomorrow, Saturday. How about in Malaysia? In german Imi is already fasting today. Hope our Ramadhan will be blessed, insyaAllah...

Day 3 - Trier and Luxemburgh

In the morning we went to Trier again, singgah this park. Let Adam mandi manda kat sini...seronok dia...

The view from the park is amazing. I was supposed to take a pic of him jumping here tapi tak berjaya...hehe...

Unfortunately Imi lost his usb at the park with all his work. Hish...geram betul sape yg amik tu...i really hope he will get it back...

From there we went to Luxemburgh, about half an hour drive from Trier. ni gamba dpn cave...tgk2 tak byk pulak gamba kat Luxemburgh ni...

Adam dah penat....yeke??? he's never really tired...always active...unless kalau tido...hehe...

Day 2 - Trier

We went to Trier, about an hour from Saarbrucken. Imi's university is here in Trier. Trier is quite a tourist spot. In the photo above we were in front of Porta Nigra or 'Black Gate', from the time the Romans were here.

Here we are at the Amphitheatre (i don't know what that means). Macam tmpt gladiator berlawan zaman dulu2...

Adam had his potraite drawn. This artist is the same guy who drew caricatures of my arwah Abah, my sister, and myself in 2005 when we came to Trier to visit Imi after my graduation. I still have those caricatures, my dad had them laminated. I can't believe this guy is still there.

Here we were in the middle of the city. Everybody and all the signs are in German. Fuh....power Imi ckp german...kalau dia takde mmg kitorg sesat barat dan kebuluran la...hehe...

Later in the afternoon we went to a baby shower for Lolita, Imi's housemate at her cafe. She cooked really yummy food..here Adam is posing while Imi takes his photos. Tibe2 dia ade mood nak posing manja...haha...