Short Road Trip Up North

Just returned from a short road trip to Malaysia. As the kids had activities waiting back home, we spent fewer days there than I would have liked. But I was glad for whatever little time we had together as a family. It gets harder to go away together as the kids grow older. They're so busy with their own activities and all important appointments with friends! Also, we can't really spend too much time away from home. I was told that our dog waited by the main door mat every day that we were away. How do you tell a dog a date that his or her owner is returning on? They just wait in hope. Thinking about this brings a lump to my throat.

I'm not going to detail what we did. But we did have a blast at Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur. The theme park has been around for a long time but we've never had the time nor inclination to visit it.

Sunway Lagoon, Kuala Lumpur

We went there expecting to be able to buy tickets for only one or two of their several 'parks' however, the ticketing booth informed us that that option was no longer available and we had to pay a standard price for 'all parks' instead. Realised that Malaysians paid a cheaper price. That's make a whole lot more heart sense than what I can say about some Singapore tourist attractions!

Anyhow, we skipped the water park and decided to explore the rides instead. I don't know if it was because I was lugging a silly big bag (as usual, the Mummy is the one carrying all the passports, hotel check in documents, local and foreign currencies, camera, water bottle) or if it was because I didn't feel like getting dizzy or whiplash but I declined riding any of the crazy rides.

Mike was different.

360 degree swinging Viking!!! Yikes!!!

A picture paints a thousand words. Need I say more? Mike was the only one amongst us 4 who was on the 360 degree swinging Viking! Even the kids politely declined. We stood below sucking on our lime green popsicles instead, watching in awe at how brave (or crazy) Daddy was.

Thereafter, we spent some time at their Wildlife Park (it's tiny) and not really a park but a walk-in enclosure with caged up animals. Rode several other rides.

This River raft thingy ride -- I didn't bother to find out the name of this ride but it was soooooo awesome and soooooo much more fun than the one at Universal Studios Singapore (which was sooooo boring). We got off and wanted to ride it again but it 'broke' right after we got off. The kids declared triumphantly that 'it was Mum who broke the ride'! Gee, thanks. Despite it being a water ride, we managed to stay relatively dry.

We ended the day getting SOAKED because we tried out this 4D simulator. You get into a room and the it's a simulated ride where the chairs move too and you actually get wet when you're in or on water. Anyway, it was really fun. Pretty cold thereafter when we emerged from the air-conditioned room all soaked. We walked past the kids water park with all the slides and fountains and I thought that would have been really fun (except that we were rushing to leave by 6pm). We had on these hand tags and if we were to get our RM10 per person deposit back, we had to return them by a certain time.

All in all, it was a pretty fun time we had. Was it value for money. I don't know. Several of the rides are closed, some were cordoned off. A gigantic slide was being built. As with all Malaysian theme parks, they build it nice but don't care to maintain. It is, as it was. The park is huge so get ready to walk and climb. Good family fun. Not sure if we'll ever go back though.

Anyhow, we spent the rest of the trip eating, shopping, shopping, eating. He he.

Meanwhile, back to the grind and also back to Christmas preparations. Here's wishing all my Catholic and Christian friends, a very Blessed and Merry Christmas and remember, Jesus is the reason for the season!



PCOS (not) Update Dec 2012

Spent 6 hours at the hospital for my invasive scan and PCOS review. The doc gave me an all clear. My womb, my ovaries are looking good. (Thank you, God for this!) Based on the lack of symptoms and my now 'quite' regular cycles without medication, I have been declared by the doc as 'No longer having PCOS'. Was this ever possible? Can a person ever be cured of PCOS? Well, evidently all the while I thought I could not, I could get cured. I truly believe it's all because of the healing hands of Jesus. I took NO MEDICATION. I prayed. Alleluia! I'm jumping for joy! Thank you, Jesus for always watching out for me! I've to go back to in 6 months' time and if I'm still 'all clear', then I'll be discharged. Yes!

And here's Mike and I, legs wobbly and heads spinning after riding the Cylon Roller Coaster (Battlestar Galactica) at Universal Studios Singapore. We'd all 4 sat the Human at the start of our trip there. A fair queue but the locker area was more jammed than the ride itself. Barely survived the Human roller coaster. As we spun around, I recall yelling at my daughter and declaring that 'we're on the WRONG one! Are we sitting in the WRONG one???'. Yes, while on the Human, I'd felt it was so crazy that I was so sure we were on the Cylon. He he. Survived it anyway.

Then at the end of the trip, after we'd circled the park maybe twice (only riding the MUST rides, that is), my very brave and crazy husband says he's going on the Cylon. He asks me to join him. I politely decline. He throws me his bag and tells me to watch it. The kids are not going either because the girl's got a stuffy nose & headache (came down with the flu BAD) and her brother decides to sit it out with her. Then both kids sort of force me to 'join Dad'. I refuse but they are relentless. By the time I decide to, I've lost sight of the man. I run in but am delayed by 3 adult foreigners, poking and tickling each other. 1 male Filipino and 2 ladies. Yes, adults. I'm impatient to meet Mike and am worried that he'll get on the ride before me, which would mean I would ride the Cylon by myself. Wah piang oi.

The ONLY 3 ADULT people ahead of me are still playing. The male decides to hide and scare the 2 females as we climb some steps. I couldn't believe it when he jumped out and scared the sh*t out of his female companions. The ladies scream and then they realise I've stopped behind them very annoyed. They laugh and apologise and I very, very 'fed-up-ly', overtake them. I run the rest of the way. My heart skips a beat when I spot Mike already being lined up for the ride. I can't get to him. I tell the staff to call out to him. She ignores me. I yell his name. He hears nothing. I yell and yell. He finally hears me and phew, gets out of the queue to join me again.

We get into the queue again and he wants to take the front seats. NO WAY, I SAY!!! We let 2 young girls take it instead. They look to be about 13! They tell us it's their 3rd time riding this. I feel my legs giving way. I just get onboard, buckle up and wait to see if a malfunction will cause the electronic seatbelts to give way and throw me into the air, hitting structure, breaking my bones into a million pieces before they break into a gazillion pieces when I hit the ground. There, I've spelt out my fear. I'm NOT afraid of the loops a roller coaster makes. I'm usually scared of heights but I'm not even scared of the height a coaster takes me. Nah. I'm scared the seat belt malfunctions. But I've sat many loops in my time. Each and every time, I worry about the same thing. Can they not have bloody manual seat belts AS WELL??? If the MRT can stall, so can this piece of spinning, flying machine!

All the time we were on the Cylon, Mike was laughing and going Woo-hoo!!! Waving his arms and legs. He told me later that he was trying to spot the kids too. Me.....my daughter guessed it right. She said, 'Mum, I bet you were praying in tongues throughout.' Ha ha ha.....no kidding. How did she know that? Am I so predictable? The candid pic of us taken by USS at the photoshop? No thanks. Looked terrible, like a pumpkin, holding on for dear life.

We get off and I can barely stand. Those 2 young girls at the front seat? They tell me they're going to try the Human now. What? Cylon first then Human? I laugh and tell them, 'That's nothing compared to this!'

Anyway, it was a really nice day. I just wanted to add this. Don't take this so seriously and keep your criticism if any to yourselves. The weatherman had predicted showers. The sky was dark grey when we headed for USS. In the car, I asked the Lord to please, please, bless us with sunshine because we'd waited so long to go to USS. The kids teased me and said I was selfish cos maybe other people needed rain. I said 'yah, but please Lord, if for some reason you need to send rain to Singapore, then please, please, just not the area around USS? Please just let us have a nice day here? Please and thank you'.

I'm not saying it didn't rain because of my prayers but believe you me, when we were leaving USS that everning, we heard a clap of thunder that was so loud and scary. I literally jumped. We'd just had dinner at the diner's, Mel's and were standing in a souvenir shop. Then as we drove off from the Resorts World Sentosa carpark, it started to pour. I mean POUR. Whatever the kids wanted to make of it. Make fun of me. I don't care. Thank you, Lord for the great weather that day! Nothing is impossible with the Lord! You can believe it's coincidence. I'll believe it's the work of the Lord.

Note: The Transformers ride was my favourite. I enjoyed the Mummy ride too (whachamicallit). Don't give Shrek's 3D movie a miss. It's actually quite entertaining.