wordless wednesday: so in love!

school break!

so the school holiday has started, what did you already do & what are you going to do with the kids?
there's a lot of free time ahead, err well, for the kids of course.
i'm sure the kids are so looking forward for fun & interesting things to do during this break.
otherwise, they'll feel really boring because this year-end school holiday isn't short!

when i was a kid, my ayah at that time was a full time lecturer, not yet a businessman.
so he got plenty of time for the family & he always had to go somewhere for a course or workshop or seminar or conference or anything & he always brought us together with him.
so technically, we enjoyed the school breaks so much because we can go to the hotel.

haha staying at the hotel without going anywhere was still a fun thing to do back then.
because you know, we can swim & swim & swim at the swimming pool & kids never get bored with swimming pool, no?
and another best thing about staying at the hotel was to sleep in an airconditioned room!
haha yes, i know it sounds so jakun, but yeah, we didn't have aircond at the house during that era, so it was exciting to spend a few nights staying in an airconditioned room.

apart from spending some nights somewhere for a holiday, my parents also tend to bring us for a day trip to places like zoos, museums, science centres, exhibitions, book fairs, and well, you know, such educational places.

speaking about book fairs, i don't know if it's just me, but i think the book fairs back then were a lot fun than what we have today.
okay, maybe it's just me.
maybe at that time, being a kid & not knowing that there are actually so much fun things to do made me think that book fairs are fun.
now that i already a grown up, i think it is more fun to spend time for myself, like going for a spa visit, doing some window shopping & doing all the fun things to do.

but apparently i was wrong.
book fairs are fun!

if you don't agree with me, wait until you see this!

it's a book fair, plus all the fun things combined together!

seriously lovelies, you should consider bringing your children to this place this weekend 26th-28th, 9am-9pm.
the program will take place at banglo pink AinMaisarah, no. 12, banglo ukhwah, titiwangsa.

there will be loads of books (duhh, of course it's a book fair!) & many fun activities to be done.
there will be a mini spa with facial for teens & manicure services!
and also a makeover & a photoshooting session!

my kids would love to go there!
err.. not until i have one :)

details on the program can be seen here.

wordless wednesday: weekend getaway

sharing is rewarding!

in some cases, yes, sharing is caring.
for example when you are sharing your chocolates with your sisters, or when you are sharing some good deals that you found over the internet with your friends, etc.

but sometimes, sharing is killing.
well, if you are sharing your friend's secret with another friend, it may kills your friendship, right?

but this time, SHARING IS REWARDING!
how can i say so?

it is because of this..

share above image with your facebook friends & be one of the winners to win RM100 voucher from seputeh kapas spa.

there are 2 ways to do so:
1) the easiest way is to just click "share" from the picture that we put on our facebook page;
2) or you can also upload the picture manually to your facebook page.

after you share the picture with your friends, "print screen" your facebook profile with above image on it & send it to seputeh.kapas@yahoo.com.

so in that way, you actually just did 2 things in 1 time.
you shared good deal with your friends, well, that's caring.
and at the same time, you may be won rm100 voucher from us, well, that's rewarding!

what makes it sweeter..
put a short write-up about this promotion + contest in your blog & tell me.
you may have extra chance to win the voucher!

yes, i know that you are caring & sweet.
please do this, pretty please.
thanks, lovelies! :)

you are what you say

have you heard of this - "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"?

do you know why?
because when you say bad things about others, you are actually make yourself look bad, not them.
i'm not saying that you can't criticize or complaint about anything.
it IS okay to critique someone's work, but it is NOT okay to criticize others.
there's a big different between those two.

you are what you say.
what you say about others reveals a lot about you.

LOL i don't know why i came out with this entry.
i don't have problem with anyone saying bad things about others.
this entry is purely a public service message.
remind others & at the same time remind myself too.

nanite, lovelies!

wordless wednesday: cozy-ness

trip to cameron highlands (part 2 - pictures)

cameron highlands with love

breathtakingly beautiful

habu ringlet tea plantations

bee farm

the lake house

bharat tea plantations

parit waterfall

the smokehouse

celeb eiduladha

big red farm

time tunnel

old-time treasures

butterfly garden

butterfly garden?

brinchang market

mardi & rose centre

bye2 heritage

bharat tea plantations

jjcm

trip to cameron highlands (part 1 - stories)

so the other day i blogged from the hotel lobby, alhamdulillah, we made it home safe from our vacation.
we actually spent our eid holiday to have days of 13˚C (min) to 23˚C (max) weather.
well, we went to cameron highlands.

seriously, if i had to choose between staying at a hot or a cold place, apparently the cold one would be my choice.
and yes, we had a great time.

i don't have a problem with heights.
but i do worry about the safety of travelling to & from cameron highlands.
the condition of the roads were not that good, comparing with if you are going to genting highlands.
very poor maintenance & bad constructions.
i can't sleep all the way going back & forth to ensure that my husband was driving properly.
by properly i mean, in the range of speed that is approved by me.

over there, we stayed at heritage hotel.
the room is spacious & clean with a balcony & a great view, but with a bit old furnitures.
upon booking & check-in, i don't know that there are the old & the new section for the hotel, and unfortunately we were put in the old section.
however, locality wise is excellent.
it is located at tanah rata, the most peaceful area in cameron highlands compared to the others.
the hotel is just a short walk from tanah rata city centre, but of course we never walked.
check-in & -out processes were smooth & fast, but the staffs were not that friendly.
no internet connection in the room, but there was free wifi at the lobby.
overall, i rate this hotel as average.

we were actually spending 3 nights at cameron highlands.
we arrived on friday at about 930pm, so we just went to sleep right after we stepped into our hotel room.
the next day, we started our day fresh & early.

so below is the list of our activities throughout the stay in cameron highlands.
i hope this could be your quick reference guide if you are going there.

day 1
1) breakfast - as breakfast is not included in our hotel package, we went to a mapley for our breakfast.
2) habu ringlet boh tea plantation - everybody prefers to go to sungei palas boh tea plantation because it's new. but we decided to go to habu ringlet for more privacy. we went for a short factory tour, had our scones, buttercake & tea dose & did a little shopping at the tea shop.
3) bee farm - we stopped by at a bee farm & saw how they produce honey.
4) the lake house - the lake house is a tudor-style boutique resort located in ringlet. i insisted to go there just to take some pictures & to get the feeling of 'cozy romantic' the place has to offer.
5) vegetable market - we planned to go here on our way back to KL to buy some vegetables to be brought home. so no, we didn't stop by at this market.
6) bharat tea plantation & tea shop - we dropped by at this place & did some tea shopping. anyway, bharat tea & boh tea are from different companies. so you need to buy something from both.
7) robinson waterfall - severe road conditions have stopped us from going there.
8) mardi - the place was closed for hari raya. so we didn't have chance to get into this place.
9) parit waterfall - here you can do jungle trekking, but obviously we weren't doing that. the river is seriously looked like a 'parit' for me.
10) the smokehouse - again, i insisted to drop by at this tudor-style boutique inn just to get some pictures around the place. next time we are going there, i want to stay here! the place was very nice & looked very much 'english'.
11) lunch - we just tapau our lunch & ate it at the hotel before we had some rest.
12) brinchang market - it was raining, but we still went to brinchang market before we went for dinner. we did some shopping too.
13) dinner - we had steamboat for our dinner. it was at glory78 cafe, a certified halal place to eat. the price was rm23/pax excluding rice & drinks for the steamboat set.

day 2
1) breakfast - again, at the same mapley as day 1.
2) masjid abu bakar, tanah rata - yes, it was hari raya aidiladha, so we went for solat sunat hari raya at the nearest mosque.
3) big red strawberry farm - according to one of the hotel staffs, big red farm is the biggest strawberry farm in cameron highlands. so we went there. there was no charge for admission, picking strawberries activity was also free, but of course we need to pay for the picked strawberries. minimum is rm20 for half of kilogram. then, i had my scone & tea, while my husband was enjoying his waffle & icecream.
4) cactus valley - the place is situated just next to the big red farm. the admission fee was rm4/adult. we didn't get into this place because there were already loads of cactus to be seen for free at the big red farm. so no need to waste 8 bucks for more cactus, no?
5) time tunnel museum - this museum is the first memorabilia museum in malaysia. it's the brainchild of see kok shan, an avid collector who believes that all that's old is gold. i think those aged 50 and above will be thrilled to see all things from their childhood in this museum. you know things like 'darkie' toothpaste, antique home appliances, etc. the admission fee was rm5/adult. the downside of this place was it is poorly maintained. i just don't know where the money goes.
6) butterfly garden - there was admission fee of rm5/adult for this place. here, we saw not only butterflies, but also snakes, insects, hamsters, guinea pigs, roosters, birds, rabbit, etc. i don't understand why they named this place as butterfly garden since it is more like a mini zoo for me. this place was not properly maintained too.
7) rose centre - rm5/adult to get in, and no, we were not going into because the place looked horrible just from the outside. it was dirty & we didn't want to dissapoint ourselves again to get into this place.
8) lunch - we bought marrybrown for our lunch before we went back to the hotel.
9) brinchang market - again, we went to brinchang market & did some shopping before we tapau our dinner.

day 3
1) cameron valley tea shop & bharat plantation - we dropped by at this place to get my third or final dose of cameron scones & tea. ohh i love scones, i can't have enough of scones!
2) ringlet vegetable market - as we planned, we stopped by at this market to buy some stuff to be brought home i.e. fresh veges, strawberries, flowers, fruits, chocolates, etc.

so that's it!
i hope you have some ideas about what to do & where to go in cameron highlands.

ohh i have some additional tips!

i suggest you not to buy fresh things from brinchang or kea market since most of them are not fresh & some of them not even been planted in cameron highlands!
so if you want something really fresh & original, make sure you get them from ringlet (to/from tapah) or kampung raja (to/from simpang pulai) area.

and to have a calm & peaceful stay, i suggest you to avoid brinchang & kea farm area especially if it's too near to the market.

if you are a tourist especially from outside of malaysia, i suggest you to buy cameron highlands' map at the tourist information centre located at tanah rata.
it will cost you rm4/map, but it helps.

ouhh i didn't bring my camera charger & the camera was sadly out of battery.
so i took all pictures using my blackberry, so the quality was a bit off.
i need to edit the pictures first before i can put it here.

see you in part 2 for pictures!

wordless wednesday: tea & scone

happy eid ul adha

Hello my darlings!

I just wanted to wish you Happy Eidul Adha.
May Allah s.w.t. keeps showering his blessings on us & our loved ones.

So how's your raya?
This time is the first time for me & my husband celebrating Eidul Adha together.
And it is a lil bit special because we celebrate it in a very intimate way.

Oppsy..time's up!
I am actually using wifi at the hotel lobby.
Yes, my husband & I are now on our never-ending honeymoon trip somewhere in Malaysia.

I'll blog about it later because my husband already finished with his newspapers & dah ajak naik.

Till then!

spending brilliantly

it's november already, phew, how time flies!
so 2011 is coming to its end and before we realize we'll be in 2012.
wow.

2011 has been very good to me and i hope it will be the same for the following years.
this year 2011, i entered the new phase in my life - i.e. married life.
i must admit that sometimes i forgot that i'm someone's wife, yes, teruk i know!
but not to the level that i wonder what did i get into LOL.

i do think married life is fun.
it is maybe not as wonderful as in the fairy tales, because surely there will be loads of disagreements now & then.
and there will be a lot of issues to work out, but yeah, i believe there's price for everything.

i once read somewhere, "if you want a comfortable life, stay single. if you want the pleasure of having a meaningful relationship, get married. just remember, the pleasure comes with a price".
simply said, the most basic thing to do is - "be prepared!"

okay, haha i actually wanted to write about "spending brilliantly", hence the title.
i wrote the title first & started with the new year thingy.
i don't know how suddenly i was off-topic & started with the love-life stories LOL.
ouh it's actually not a good sign because it shows that i'm not a focused person.
well, staying focused might require some planning & obviously i didn't plan before i write.
there's no more rangka isi-isi penting like what we used to practice back then when we were school students.

so yeah, i actually wanted to share with you girls a brilliant deal on milkadeal.
there's this rm20 instead of rm42 for 1 personalized 2012 tabletop calendars with free delivery to peninsular malaysia.
i think it's a good grab.
i bought 2 for myself, 1 to be put at home & will force ask my husband to put another 1 on his office desk.
i know you know already, i will put our wedding pictures on that calendars.

so yeah, that's it.
i guess that's the main thing.
just wanted to share that good-grab deal on milkadeal.

happy holiday!

the duty that we owe to Allah s.w.t.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka`bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one's conveyance, provision and residence); and whoever disbelieves [i.e., denies Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), then he is a disbeliever of Allah], then Allah stands not in need of any of the `Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists)." (3:97)

Ibn `Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "(The superstructure of) Islam is based on five (pillars), testifying the fact that La ilaha illallah wa anna Muhammad-ar-Rasul-ullah [there is no true god except Allah, and Muhammad ((PBUH)) is the Messenger of Allah], establishing As-Salat (the prayers), paying Zakat (poor due), the pilgrimage to the House [of Allah (Ka`bah)], and the Saum (fasting) during the month of Ramadan."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

At this time, thousands of muslims from all over the world are performing the Hajj ritual which is the fifth pillars of Islam.
I believe all of us - Muslim - know that Hajj is compulsory for a person who fulfills the qualifications required for it.

To all Muslim who are performing the Hajj this year, Hajj Mubarak.
May Allah accept our prayers and sacrifices, and grant us with His blessings.

Don't forget to include my name in all of your Dua's (special tag: mama & ayah).

miss you both! xoxo

wordless wednesday: raspberry pink!