The month of December

Much of life comes to a some sort of standstill in December. Its the school holidays and Mr + Mrs Kong are just becoming newly acquainted with. Its a life outside of mainstream commercialism, and a life one would know only too well if one were a student, parent of a student, or teacher.

Of course, JW is not of school going age yet, but the simple venture of finding a play group for JW is something clearly new to us.

Sure it is a month for family, Christmas celebrations, meeting with friends and holidays. Mrs Kong never imagined that even play groups took a break! Oh well, we will just have to wait until next year!

Happy Birthday Malaysia

Malaysia celebrates its independence on the 31st of August 2009. Mrs Kong celebrates this momentous event with a sleep in as Mr Kong will be home to feed JW his breakfast! Everyone is happy. :)

Happy Birthday Malaysia!!

ps - Mr Kong is wondering when Mrs Kong turned into a psychic?

And we are back from Singapore

We had a good time in Singapore even though it was more of a working holiday for Mr and Mrs Kong. With JW's curiosity level on the rise, he just wants to be everywhere now, with protests if he does not get his way. Without a car seat, a simple ride in a taxi feels like a mini work out in the gym for Mrs Kong.

Needless to say, JW just did not sit still this time in the plane. Thank goodness it was only a 50 min plane ride.

Having said all that, it was so much more fun seeing JW interact with people around him and smile so much. He is becoming less of our baby and turning more into our little boy everyday. It is truly an amazing experience - to be able to witness all this first hand.

Glad to say we survived yet another trip out of the country... with JW being the most relaxed, and pampered. :)

Baby Friendly Singapore?

Just three days to our trip to SG, Mrs Kong is now trying to google "baby friendly Singapore" just to make life a little easier. Sadly, this baby friendly Singapore does not seem to exist .. at least online anyway.

Will this be another Hong Kong experience? Will we find a cubby hole in a shopping centre parading as a baby room?

stay tuned...

The Hong Kong we have just discovered

The Kongs on their first HK trip together

So, holidaying in Hong Kong has always meant one of a few activities for us. Mainly, its been shopping and meeting relatives (if any!).

For instance, we made a special trip to HK in 2003 just to buy 'equipment' for our wedding. It was well worth the trip as the same would have cost a little more here in KL, minus the quality and choice we were looking for. Its just more fun to shop in HK.

This time around we basically ditched any idea of buying anything that involved walking or looking for more than 30 mins. We tried to avoid busy streets and didn't even dare think of any activities past our fella's bedtime (which is 7!! what a life...).

checking out the museums

So what did we do?

We went to the Museum of Art, after discovering JW's interest in Chinese brush paintings. Then we went to the Museum of History, and had a good stroll around while JW had his afternoon nap. Nothing loud, nothing involving narrow streets, or bargaining or dodging crowds.

Stars on the Avenue - Uncle S, Auntie WW, Cousins A&M, Mr Kong & JW

We managed a lovely walk, as suggested by cousin WW, along the Avenue of the Stars.

And to our surprise, we loved it! Did not buy a single cheesy item from the markets (only clothes for JW oh and some nice cheap jeans for mummy), and totally loved the experience.



So, travelling with baby may not be the easiest and might even disqualify a holiday from being categorised as a 'holiday', but we would never dream of leaving JW at home!

JW in Hong Kong

JW taking his morning nap before we leave on our sightseeing..

JW's favourite item in the whole of HK: cheesy hotel art

So much of a favourite that Mr Kong had to take ANOTHER picture of it with JW. Maybe we should have taken it home with us.

We took JW to Hong Kong over Easter, for his first taste of air travel, and just to see how he would fare on an overseas holiday. We were apprehensive at first, believing that Hong Kong is just not baby friendly. We were right. It isn't!

And definitely not breastfeeding friendly. ...

...zzz...

Anyhow, it was a fantastic trip. JW slept on the plane... when we were not expecting him to! He slept well in his hotel cot - probably clocking in more sleep than he does on an average night at home. And most amazingly, he slept in his stroller at the correct times, on the bustling streets of HK!

All in all, the weather was agreeable and we managed to pack in some sights and eateries.

Mr Kong and Mrs Kong both agree that this was the best HK trip we have both had so far, maybe because we got to share it with JW. Though probably the most tiring carrying 9.5 kg around ... ;) (9.8kg since!)

More posts coming up ! ... :)

Chinese New Year for JW

papa putting on a bib for the waterworks

receiving the red packet from popo and gunggung

receiving yet another big one from ah ma and ah gung

The Chinese New Year celebration lasts 15 days and in this two week period, we have seen so many changes in our little one.

On the first day JW was brought on a marathon CNY visiting trip to see the elder relatives. By 12 noon, JW was struggling, and he slept within seconds of our settling him for a nap. JW loved the attention but even superstars need their naps.

By the second day of new year, JW mastered the art of receiving the red packet. He shows great interest when someone hands him these angpows now, but only because they are red and its something new to put into his mouth.

All in all we are not sure what JW thinks of Chinese New Year. Nevertheless we are looking forward to many more Chinese New Years to come with JW!

Happy Chinese New Year of the Ox!

We would like to wish our family and friends a happy new year, and may the year of the ox bring good health, wealth and happiness! More posts on JW's new year adventures to follow...

Baby's first holiday

For JW's first holiday, we decided to take a family trip (just the three of us) to the popular Malaysian tourist destination - Cameron Highlands. The journey was well planned, with the major portion of the trip (to Tapah) for JW's lunch time nap. Starting off at 12 noon, with JW in his new car seat, we made it to the hotel with a few stop overs. The views were amazing and the air just cool!

JW started the day being very excited. Perhaps, from the tone of our voices, he knew that this would be an exciting day for all. We tried our best to prepare him for colder air and temperature by getting a few pieces of warmer clothing. In the end, we ended up piling on the layers when the night came, as it was truly cold for our little Malaysian baby.

JW in his little cot provided by the hotel. Yes, having mummy's body heat close by did come in handy

Our son was king of the hill. We were bowled over by the attention he commanded. Waitresses loved him. Coffee shop managers came to make a cot for him to lay down while we ate. Yes, he isn't ready for a high chair yet, but never mind, he just gets his own cot in the restaurant! We looked around the restaurant and wondered why only JW got a little cot made for him!!

Rolled up between two table clothes, our fella fell asleep watching a couple of Japanese children at the next table. It was like a dream. Then again, we suspect that the waitresses would have offered to baby sit if he started fussing about. He definitely caught everyone's eye!

napping in the coffee house

waking up from a nice nap

JW and Mr Kong at the Boh Visitor Centre - JW dressed for winter in Japan

We made it to a few attractions, including the new Boh visitor centre. JW watched us as we had scones with lovely afternoon tea. (no solids for him yet!)

diapering above sea level

But on the way back to the hotel, we just had to leave our mark via a diaper change.

We had a good trip to Cameron Highlands, and am relieved that we survived the trip without too much fuss. Maybe we will go to NYC next..

Flying by the seat of our pants

Showing off the tickets to the last seats on the last flight of the day.

So we decided to take a trip to the much recommended White Beach of Borocay Island in November 2007. Much recommended as some have raved about their fantastic honeymoon on this beach, and I suppose we were going to be in the neighbourhood anyway.

But of course, we did not book ahead. Of course we would have preferred it that way, but found making travel arrangements to be quite difficult. Our tour agent could not make bookings for us, and neither could we as no one in the Philippines seemed to answer their phones!

Our first hours in Manila, involved taking a 1.5 hour bus ride from Clark (the Air Asia terminal OUTSIDE of Manila), 'wrestling' with local taxi jaga boys, and begging for an internal flight from Manila to Borocay on the same day. We did it, thank goodness!

After the domestic flight, we took a taxi to the ferry to the island, and then a taxi from the ferry point to the hotel which we had NOT booked! Luckily for us, there were a few places which were not so popular (though still a little pricey for what you get) still available just as the sun was setting.

the ferry

Hibiscus in our apartment

Diniwid Beach

We stayed in a small hotel on White Beach on the first and second night, to enjoy the life and bustle on White Beach. Nothing anyone has told us about Borocay would have prepared us for what we experienced, as we found the place to be quite busy and inhabited. There are of course quieter and more expensive parts of White Beach, but instead of forking out small savings, we decided to make migrate to a service apartment on Diniwid Beach on the 3rd, 4th and 5th night. Here we absolutely enjoyed the privacy, and seclusion of Diniwid. For one, there were less vendors trying to see us stuff.

Here we enjoyed a massage on the beach, and just chilling out in the clear blue waters. We made our daily pilgrimage to White Beach ten minutes walk away for groceries and just food. we had grilled seafood, Mexican and local dishes such as the chicken adobo and sinigang.

We did not learn any Filipino words, though lots of people spoke to us in the language having mistaken us for locals.

Here we fell in love with the very relaxed lifestyle, the sound of waves crashing against the rock cliffs, and the art of just simply doing nothing! Anyone want to share in an apartment in Borocay? Check out - http://www.sprboracay.com/ and let us know!

Our Trip to Singapore

We went to Singapore last weekend, for the SUO 2007 tournament. For one weekend, we did not think about our construction site. (A Good Break!!)



Instead of the usual hotel off Orchard Road, we stayed at the Perak Hotel, which was only 10 minutes away from the fields. It was a brilliant choice, for Little India is just filled with colours, sights and sounds. It is perhaps a part of Singapore that we have not seen, which is strange since we have both been so many times over the years.


Perhaps we have never seen Little India for the essence of this place for the sake of experiencing something different on a holiday. If you squint very hard, and look down the streets and the buildings, you could think you are in Penang! The shops and people itself remind us of Brickfields. A little like Brickfields, but a little more organised and less rubbish.

It is in places like Little India that we get slightly confused. In so many ways, it is like home in Malaysia, and yet, it is so different in other ways. I think many of us forget that Singapore used to be a part of Malaysia, and that we used to be the same country. Many will say that Singapore has progressed much further on in just 48 years, and that it is now completely different from Malaysia. (though this is in itself is a point of contention between Malaysians and Singaporeans... for we don't believe progress can be measured in economic terms alone)

Then again, no matter how different Singapore becomes as a country and society, its history and culture will remain very close to that of Malaysia.

Singapore

On a brighter note, Mr & Mrs Kong are off to Singapore on Friday till Sunday.

Mr Kong is going to play in a tournament where a bunch of people chase after a flat plastic disc. Mrs Kong is going along to lend her support, cheer and party.

Looking forward to it, Mr & Mrs Kong need a break.