It was a 5 days weekend last week and my feet itched to be
somewhere else days prior. As it was a
holiday (CNY) most common irritating words are booked up, peak season, and
crowded. Ding dong! If I don't want to be ripped off right in
front my eyes forget the itch, settle down, think more, and take the most
logical path. So here's a recount of
those days and I hope it was the most logical path hehe.
Jan 31 - We are not Chinese but we are so
in one with the celebration. We waited
for midnight and see how it's going to be in here. I expected for ows! and wows! coming out from
my mouth but I can only hear questions after questions. The fireworks were not what I had expected
and it was only a random kabooms here and there. Or is it only well celebrated in the other
parts of Malaysia? Maybe!
The mood was saved with something sweet.
We had Akachan no hoppe (baby cheeks) a Japanese delicacy pastries,
mochi for that matter. For us it's masi,
only of different filling and needs no refrigeration. Stay at home was our theme of the day on that
CNY. Z finished his sand art, Jack with
his e-book, and me with my TV shows.
Zs' sand art
ang pao for Z and the akachan
Feb 1 - As the rightful heir to the
throne of 2014 took its post our journey began too. We've taken the reins and saddled our way to
a touristy, educational, regal, sweaty, historical, and wallet-friendly
Saturday. We went to museums, the new
national palace, and park. Because I
don't want to bore you with a lengthy update I will have a separate details of
each, okay?!
1. After many attempts we
finally made our way to the old Istana Negara or the old palace of the King of
Malaysia which is now called Muzium Diraza The Royal Museum. This is very near to our place but I don't
know why after all these years it was only last week that we were able to visit
hehe. No regrets, it's now a museum so
we can get in! Visit cost: RM20 for the 3 of us. Z and I were given a discounted rate for
being Jack's dependent but Jack paid the foreigner's rate hehe.
our family picture at The Royal Museum
2. Next is Muzium
Negara. It's near to KL Sentral you can
even walk from there but if you doesn't like to sweat it out take the taxi or
the hop on - hop off bus which can also take you to other KL attractions (with
a fee, of course!). The museum is in a
two-storey building which for me is having more of a house feeling ambiance
rather than a building. It's partitioned
into 4 galleries:
Gallery A - Early
History
Gallery B - The
Malay kingdoms
Gallery C - The
Colonial Era
Gallery D - Malaysia Today
Entrance to the museum
There are 2 mini museums outside the main museum, these are:
·
Muzium Seni Kraf Orang Asli (Orang Asli Craft Museum) - like us they also have native tribes and
even has a tribe called Semang or Negrito.
Orang Asli means original people.
·
Museum of Malay-World Ethnology showcases the traditional Malay
house, activities, games, and stuff which we Filipinos are also familiar with.
No entrance fee for the mini museums. Visit Cost: RM12 for the 3 of us. It was the most well spent RM 12 because
aside from the 3 museums we entered there was an exhibit hall and an array of
kiosks of various product offerings.
kiosks --- herbal stuff?
carving and popsicle
I love the beads exhibit.
One word to describe the workmanship or craftsmanship -- exquisite!
3. Moving forward, we
visited the new Istana Negara or national palace. Yey!
We once passed by it and actually, we can see it from our place but a
closer look is a different experience (hmmm excuses, excuses! ☺).
It's a massive palace sitting on a hilltop. It's not as accessible from the old palace
but it is where a palace should be.
There were 2 gate guards that resembles to that of the Buckingham palace
and I saw 3 policemen sitting in a corner behind the guard's wall. I don't know if there were policemen on the
other side because I didn't visit the other guard☺. You can take pictures of the guards
or with the guards. From the parking lot
to the gate the gap is huge, super spacious!
From what I read the new palace has an area of 100,000 square metre with
a total cost of $US261.37M! Wow!
from gate to the palace.
photo bombers at the back :). gate of the new Istana Negara.
We were there around 4PM and yikes! Sunscreen, umbrella, and cold water with more
ice please! The heat was draining
:(. Since you can't go beyond the gates
and we don't know the time for the changing of guards (they might have a
ceremony like that in Seoul
and Buckingham) so we said goodbye and off to the last pit stop.
4. As usual, it's at Lake Gardens. What made the visit something new? We played Badminton, yehey! Not the ideal venue because of the wind but I
miss the fun part of the game and there were other families playing the game
too. We call it a day by 7:00PM. The sun just started to set so it was best to
start hitting the road back home.
Dinner was chicken, pizza, and pasta! My comfort food, our comfort food! It was a
very busy day but very new and edutaining!
Lunch was at RM21.50 but dinner was at RM94.76 ☺☺. Still! It was the cheapest tour ever hehehe.
Feb 2 - Only the boys made it to church because my best friend migraine
pinned me down to bed. Argh! It could be from yesterday's heat and delayed
meal times that caused my BFF to spring forth.
I had to borrow Jack's shades and wear it indoors. The more sunny it is for my eyes the more
painful it becomes. So, lunch was a take
away. Dinner was sandwich and uneaten cake slices, alright!
war of the bacons -- beef VS pork
the sandwich. secret recipe cakes -- red velvet and absolute choc
Feb 3 - Last day of the long
weekend. Sewing stuff is not easy to
find in here. It's not readily available
in most malls. I searched the net and at
last bumped into a blog that speaks of sewing stuff. It was not an easy search btw. Z and I went to the place last Jan. 30 but we
missed it as they closed early. So last
Monday's visit was a seamless one. No
more wrong turns and no more "excuse me blah blah blah is?". The store is called Syarikat Bunga Reben. I got the hook and eye I needed and other
stuff to make the trip a bit worth it.
When I received the plastic bag I was wandering why it became heavy when
I only bought weightless stuff.
Tada! They gave us 2 ponkan
oranges and a small lychee juice .. yehey! post CNY gift! Terimah Kasih!
From Bandaraya we went to KLCC and we stayed there until dinner
hehe. Jack worked OT and Z doesn't want
to go home yet .. actually, me too! Had
lunch and hang out at Kinokuniya bookstore.
Z read Adventure Time and country books and me? As usual, looking around for cute stuff and browsed
books. Gladly, 2 chairs were vacated so
legs were put to rest. Whew! Since I was just waiting for Z might as well
read a book! I saw a very familiar book
and read The Little Prince again. Tick-tock-tick-tock! Jack returned and so we did a little trip to
the grocery. I connived with Z to gang
up with Jack and have dinner at Chili's.
Hehehehe. Do you know what is my
favourite there? Aside from Z eating for
free from an ordered main course, it's the Skillet Queso and Tostada
Chips! Why? Because the chips are bottomless. Yes! Chips! ☺ ☺☺. It is a feast of chips hehehe and
after the refill, "take away please!".
cheese and beef dip and tomato based dipping sauce
Ow gad! Sorry, I try hard not to make this a lengthy one hehehe
unfortunately, I got so carried away. The end!
Have another great bonding moment this weekend with your family
guys!
note: pictures are taken from my phones except for the family pictures.
