Quality time with familia at Johor!

Hubby kata, cukup cukup sudah, cukup sampai holiday ni aja (mcm lagu lah kan...)  According to him we have had many vacations this year.  Alaa, baru pegi Bandung, Cameron Highlands, PD, India and recently Johor. Manede banyak, belum pegi Mekah, Madinah, New Zealand, Italy, Japan and Korea.  Hamboi berangan... Hahaha...

Initially memang saya and Mr. hubby planned nak pegi shopping trip to Johor Premium Outlet (JPO).  Kebetulan kakak saya pun planned nak ajak the whole family pegi Legoland.  So, we decided to tag along, apelagi.  Kebetulan lagi, my hubby dapat discount for only RM65 per ticket untuk masuk Legoland.  The full gate price for an adult is RM140 while for a kid is RM110.  Alhamdulillah, rezeki bercuti kali ni... 

We stayed at Thistle for 3D2N.  The hotel is clean, nice and spacious.  Tapi the services were quite poor.  Masuk2 our room, we found out tak ada full set of towel.  Pastu masa breakfast, the waiter would only replenish food upon requests je... Hurm... 

This is the view from our room... Cantik...

After we dropped off Mama and my aunt, Cik E at Thistle, dengan sikap yang tak berapa nak sabarnya, cepat2 pegi JPO.  We dropped them off sebab takut diorang tak larat nak tunggu kitorang survey goods at JPO.  Maklumlah kitorang ni bukan kaya raya boleh shop the whole JPO, mestilah perlukan masa untuk pilih yang sesuai and necessary saje...  Shopping pun kena ade iman ni... Hehehe... So my hubby bought a pair of PUMA shoes for himself and couple of Fossil watches for me and him while I bought a Coach Leather handbag for me.  I shall give credit and salute to the Coach retailer yg sanggup tunggu lama dgn penuh kesabaran melayan karenah customer ini yang agak cerewet la...  Murah ke? Takdelah murah mana, tapi worth buying la.  For instance, Fossil tu giler tak beli, cos dah lah bagi 30% discount from boutique price, tambah lagi another 50% discount for the 2nd purchase... Ape lagi grabbed la kan...

The last day at Johor, we went to JPO again.  This time around we went there with the rest of the family... Tgk aje happy faces kat above picture selepas bershopping.. Eh eh my sister tak sempat shopping ape2... Unbelievable!!! Tapi dia tetap sporting berposing sengeh sampai ke telinga... Kesian dia tak sempat nak shopping sebab melayan my niece, nephew and baby brother...  Kali ni, I bought 3 purse at Fossil for Cik E, my niece and myself... Tak sia2 pegi JPO 2 kali..
~Happy thoughts... 

2nd day kat Johor, kitorang pegi to a colourful theme park ~ Legoland... Mama didn't follow us, I hope she had a good rest at the hotel sebab I didn't encourage her to go along. I bet she won't enjoy it as the weather was very hot and the crowd was super packed! All of us kena sunburned.  We didn't expect it was going to be that hot.

Since the weather's too hot, kitorang pakai sunnies, hubby and me love our Rayban aviator sunnies.  We also brought 2 umbrellas. Kebetulan tiba2 je hujan after we took couple of rides. Because of the weather was unpredictable, skarang ni saya kena combo of demam, selsema, batuk,  headache and sore throat...

For those who are keen to take your kids to Legoland, please be prepared of the hot weather, pakai sunblock cream or spray and such, pakai cap, umbrella and sunnies. Bring wet wipes, kipas and drink lots of water...  Water bottle kat Legoland is quite pricey.  Its price is like twice the price at  regular shop.  

All rides kat dalam Legoland ni free,tak ade additional fare pun...   Tapi disebabkan kitorang pegi hari Ahad, cuti sekolah, jatuh pada minggu christmas plak, terpaksalah queue panjang sepanjang2nya... The place was like full of people from all over Asia, ade yg cakap philipina, indonesia, hindi, thai, mandarin, cantonese, mcm2lagi laa... The best time to go theme park like this is on weekdays and BUKAN cuti sekolah please...  We would love to go again because the park was pretty, colourful and banyak harmless fun rides that we have not tried yet...

Legoland is so awesome for a family vacation especially to those yang ada primary school kids.  They would love all the things in there!  Tapi rasenye tak perlulah bawa senior citizen to such theme park, sebab I saw one old lady dah macam nak pengsan, terduduk atas wheel chair... Kesian sangat...   Masetu terfikir nasib baik Mama tak ikut...

These are replicas of buildings in KL and Putrajaya, which were made of lego.  They were intricate and beautifully done... 

 

Ni kitorang berposing kat replicas of buildings in Asia and again they were made of lego... Look at that, Taj Mahal pun ade... Baru je pegi tengok the real Taj Mahal, and its replica is almost real minus the size...

We had so much fun!!!  Legoland memang awesomeness!!!Nak pegi lagi!!!

Incredible India Pt. 3

Taj Mahal is the 2nd place of "7 wonders of the world" which I had the chance to see for myself after the great wall of China.  Now I can definitely see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world...

A Shrine of Love

Taj Mahal was known of a shrine of love.  The Mughal Emperor Shahjahan ordered Taj Mahal built in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who died only a few minutes after giving birth to her fourteenth child, a daughter.  The final request of his wife was for him not to marry again and prove their endless love by building a dreamlike beautiful mausoleum.Taj mahal was built in 22 years (1631-1653) it was dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shahjahan. 20,000 workers labored during the construction of the monument and it was built according to Islamic architecture. It is one of the Unesco world heritage site and one of the most beautiful and costly tombs in the world.  Taj Mahal is taken from the name Mumtaz Mahal.

This was my 1st view of the magnificent Taj Mahal... Upon entering the door to Taj Mahal garden, I shed a tear after looking at the most beautiful building right before me... Betul2 nampak macam palace yang portrayed in all the fairy tales I have grown up with... Cantik sangat2... I was told that it was designed by an architect from Turkey. But the buildings I saw at Istanbul are nothing like Taj Mahal...   The tomb is encased in white marble which is decorated with flawless sculptures and inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy cut from precious gems.   The building was built flawlessly proportionate, and built almost entirely out of marble.  Masya' Allah...

Tengok ni , kitorang sempat lagi acting cerita Bollywood depan Taj Mahal...

 Ni aksi kanak-kanak riang yang tersangatlah excited dapat jejak Taj Mahal...

~Graceful-Violet.

Incredible India Pt. 2

Where was I... Owh cerita pasal India...  I personally think India is one of those places yang worth for individual traveling concept.  Kalau ikut group tour, rase mcm not satisfying.  Traffic kat sane plak giler sesak, so a lot of time was wasted on the bus ~ sleeping...  People there LOVE to honk...  Memang asal naik vehicle belum jalan lagi pun dah honk... I definitely won't survive if I have to drive at India cos I hate to honk at people and vice versa. 

Janpath Market

Qutb Minar ~ It's the tallest stone tower in India made of fluted red sandstone covered with beautiful intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an.

 The tomb of Humayun was built with red stones  by the orders of Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun's widow, and begun in 1565, nine years after his death,
and completed in 1572 AD. 

Humayun was the 2nd Mughal Emperor.

Above: Red fort. 

We went to watch Light and Sound at Red Fort but I didn't enjoy it.  Perhaps I was so tired and disappointed cos tak dapat shopping kat kedai2 kat luar Red Fort tu sebab kena pressure by the tour guide suruh masuk cepat2... Argghh!!!

Below right: Mother temple ~ Lotus temple.  Yang ini, I was a bit confused. Sebab this temple katanya if I'm not mistaken laa, to worship the creator so anyone can just masuk the temple... We were asked to keep silent.  Our CEO kata he was surprised sebab kitorg boleh remain silent for a few seconds... Sebab kalau kat office, nak senyap 1 second pun tak boleh... Hahahaha...  

 Haaa... ini gambar my hubby n me yang kena tangkap curi from 2 different cameras... 

Tau2 je my colleagues tagged me kat facebook... Hahaha... LOL...

Lepas ni, part 3 nak share experience tengok one of the 7 wonders of the world pulak... Stay tune!

Incredible India

Been extremely busy... But still love to share my experience at India... This year we went to Delhi and Agra, India for our annual trip last couple of weeks.  Mula2 tu quite reluctant bila dengar India kotor especially air dia.   Ramai yg kena "cherry berry" caused by the dirty water.  Tapi on the 2nd thought, why not I give it a try to see it for myself... Tapi kat sane disebabkan my tummy yang sgt2 sensitive dan mudah mengamok, I played safe.  I took mineral water all the time, I even gargled mineral water when I brushed my teeth... I avoided fruits and meat.  Boleh kurus macam ni kalau duduk lebih lama kat India! Most of the times, I took cooked vege and rice or naan.  Food diorang tak menepati citara my taste bud. My citarasa has always been masam2 manis, sweet sour, tom yam, asam pedas, laksa asam... hurm ape2 je la yg asamnya tak lebih n tak kurang...

Paling regret sekali, tak dapat shopping byk2.  The 1st time I brought back balance of RP4,500... Owh aci tak stress sebab tak dapat habiskan duit!  Indian tour guide tak sporting, slalu suruh "challo" whenever kitorang berenti nak shopping.  Sia2 je bawak trolley bags sampai 4.  Pastu kosong je... Daamn!

Here are some pictures we took at Delhi:

President's office tu ala2 macam PM'soffice at Putrajaya.  Gate of India tu my friend kata mcm Gate kt Paris... Alamak ape identity Indian? Hindustani la tu... :P

Asia Kitchen was the only restaurant that has halal sign.  Tempat lain semua mcm tak berapa nak confident dgn halal statusnya.

Jama Masjid built in the Mughal dinasty.  It's located at Old Delhi.  Cantik Masjid ni, tapi tak dapat masuk sebab dia suruh bayar kalau nak bwk masuk camera...  So tengahari tu kenalah pulak mode kedekut, lepak kat luar dgn chairman's wife je la... Layanlah Datin bersembang...  Below pictures are the Masjid's surroundings... Mcm tu lah keadaan sesak kat sana...

Ni dekat Memorial Mahatma Ghandi.  Sini byk squirrel yang gemok2 dan lincah.  The school students kat sana memang always got excited when they see tourists.  They would gladly greet you and they would love it when you call them to take pictures together.

I am writing this blog dlm keadaan yang tergopoh gapah sebab dah nak hit the road to Johor... Itu yang ayat, spelling  dan grammar ke laut.  To be continued.  Stay tune!

Blue Safari Baby Shower

Alhamdulillah my mom dah balik dari menunaikan ibadah Haji.  Dia nampak lebih lively and healthy.   I have been extremely busy with work lately.  Dah lama tak update blog, rasa rindu pulak.

Selalunya orang organised baby shower untuk 1st baby. Tapi kali ni we threw baby shower for our dear friend for her and her second baby. Sebab mase dia got pregnant pertama kali, tak sempat organise baby shower untuk dia, tapi this time, kitorang 'make' time since she's been very good and sweet to us... 

Since she's expecting a baby boy, I suggested the theme to be "Blue Safari Baby Shower".  At first we invited 10 people to join since the guest of honour wants it to be small.  Tapi yang showed up only half.  Takpelah... although it was only a small party, tapi I'm glad orang yang diraikan nampak happy sangat!

Masa balik, tak sempat nak give her a hug... But I know she always knows that I love her, just like my own baby sister... (although I've been telling people that she 's MORE mature than me) Hehehee... Kadang2 I can be like kanak2 ribena, kadang2 je laa... Nasib baik lah hubby rajin melayan... Alhamdulillah... Allah bagi jodoh yang paling baik untuk saya...

Inilah tempat kejadian... Cheh, macam cerita penyiasatan plak... Hehehehee...

 

Camwhoring before the guest of honour arrives.

Inilah dia Mommy D yang diraikan...

 Time for opening gifts!

"Girls just wanna have fun"...

Whoopsie ade hensem boy terselit di tgh2 gadis2 ni, gadis sangatlah! Hehehe...

My personal choice of the best dress girls! :P

~ Graceful Violet.