SPEND YOUR HOLIDAYS WISELY…….

The holidays for our school-going kids began a month ago. Now that December is here and Christmas is just round the corner and the end of the year is approaching, many families are taking holidays together.

The month of November came and went, my own two kids have been spending time in front of the TV and the computer, going out with friends and playing badminton in the evenings. Looking at the four pastimes, I can’t help but pick out playing badminton as the best activity thus far. My husband had bought my son a new Yonex racquet and it has been used well. I have told them to watch ‘good programs’ like Discovery Science, National Geography, Sports, Travel and even the Asian Food Channel. I think they enjoy these programs and the past week, my kids have been experimenting with cooking, I don’t mind, they are allowed to explore new recipes and come up with their own lunch, tea or dinner!

They have since made chocolate brownies, spaghetti and today, baked mashed potatoes and bacon strips. I think everyone enjoyed their tea. Well, its December and I have also told my kids they have had enough rest from their studies and now they have to hit their books again. Yes, they will have to prepare for the new school term which is just a few weeks away…
Most holidays come and go, whether we spend them wisely or not depends on the individual. I have taken a couple of holidays here and there but have yet to really go off for a long break, at least not yet. I am looking forward to the long 6 day break for Christmas and also a few days at the New Year in Penang. Most weekends I would spend going out with the family, exercising at Bukit Jalil, eating together and shopping together.

One of those weekends we went to Pulau Ketam. Always heard about the place but never been there. So, we decided to take the trip there and try the seafood there as well. Turned out, the speedboat ride was fast though the boat itself was quite old and one could hardly see anything out the windows cos’ the panes were too old and misted to view anything. I made sure that everyone knew which life jacket to take in the event it was needed. They had plenty of life jackets above the passenger seats. On arrival after a half an hour ride, we hopped ashore and proceeded to visit the island. Of course one is at once greeted by the rows of seafood restaurants and stalls selling foodstuff. After that we walked past houses on both sides of the road (one can also rent bicycles at RM5 per day).

To my pleasant surprise I found a stall selling fried ice-cream or “ice-cream goreng”. I thought it was only a speciality of Terengganu. There were, however, too many dogs running around freely, much to my dislike. Nothing against them if they are kept indoors and not fight in public places! One can see the exposed wounds festing on the dogs concerned..urghssssssss. My daughter and I were utterly disgusted.

Another horrible encounter was the enormous amount of rubbish that was just strewn everywhere, beside the houses as if that was their common rubbish bins! I found it very disgusting that people could just live next to so much rubbish. No matter how beautiful the houses looked (some really looked nice), the rubbish put me off. I wonder how we could promote Pulau Ketam as a seafood eating paradise (I saw groups of tourists), when the primary hygiene of the area leaves much to be desired. We quickly walked past the houses, made an about turn and went back to the front where the seafood restaurants beckon.

We settled on one, and proceeded to order. The food was good, we had crabs, prawns, fishball soup, vegetables and fish. All in all, it was a good meal. I must confess I didn’t want to check out the kitchen or the toilet just in case …The trip back was made more exciting because it rained and it was troublesome getting back to the car which we had parked nearby the terminal. We drove back to town and was I glad to be back in one of my favourite shopping places, Sunway Pyramid. With its wonderful Xmas décor and numerous shops, that made my weekend quite perfect. So as you can see, folks, my holidays often include shopping and eating.

Another place we visited on another weekend was the Sepang Goldcoast. Yes, folks, its ‘cuti-cuti Malaysia” for us. That weekend trip was a pleasant surprise. My husband decided we should drive around and look for a beach near the Sepang area. We have heard about it but nevertheless, we won’t know till we get there right? The drive was quite scenic, we stopped at a local restaurant for some tea (fried mee and stuff), then passed rows of dragon fruit orchards, which was a wonderful surprise. My girl took lots of photos.

The fruits plus the plants are rather unusual if you haven’t seen them before. There were also stalls selling the fruits. Then as we drove further, we chanced upon the Sepang GoldCoast, which was quite a wonderful sight. I grew up near the seaside (lived in Stulang Laut for ten years.), worked in Kuantan for thirteen years, so the beach and the sea have always fascinated me.

Having been to Kuantan dan Terengganu recently and visited the beaches there, I was extremely excited to see again long stretches of white, silky and soft sand. Perfect to the touch. My kids loved the beach and we took lots of pictures and my girl, Jo, of course loved all the posing. We ended up taking a long walk and also visited the Sepang Goldcoast resort area. It is in the process of being built and I am sure with the number of people there, it will be a successful venture. There was also horse riding on the side, kite-flying and other activities. I haven’t seen that many people on beaches for a long time and everyone was enjoying themselves. There were also numerous shops selling souvenirs and a number of interesting seafood restaurants. So another interesting outing for us. You know, holidaying in Malaysia isn’t too bad after all. Let us spend more time “dengan menjana ekonomi tempatan”.

Other than that, most weekends are also spent parent-sitting and mall-walking! I love holidays and spending quality time with the family. Most nights though, I love to just ‘lepak’ at home with the family, cooking their favourite food, having some karaoke sessions and also internet surfing. Just relaxing and having fun, away from all the tensions and politics at work… I am sure you all have your own holiday experiences to share. Holidays are for us to take time off to relax, reflect, re-energise, re-synergise and re-charge ourselves for the new year ahead.

So to everyone,

Happy Holidays,
Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year.