27 February 2011 (Sun):
This afternoon, we learned more on pitch & time values. The kids listened to the CD player & learned how to differentiate asscending & desscending pitches. Then they also recapped note values & did "titi " & " tata "
More new songs were taught & also playing with some musical instruments. I loved it when they used the rhythm sticks & tapped to the song of " BINGO ". And another song entitled " Where is thumbkin, where is thumbkin, here i am, here i am....... " making use of a little puppet & changing it from one finger to another each time the verse changes. The kids always counldnt change the puppet from one finger to another in time. Hehe.
Rachel learned to play a new piece today, named " Ode To Joy ". Teacher Marcia would like Rachel to practice & then played it for her during the next lesson. Her previous piece, "Cuckoo Bird " was also played & commented by teacher Marcia that she can play slightly better already, in terms of speed & accuracy.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Martial Arts Results
27 Feb 2011 (Sun):
This afternoon @ 1230pm, Lionel had his grading exam @ Chong Pang CC. He was excited & i asked him to show me a few moves he learned & in which he would be graded on. Hmm, looks okay to me except there are no strong & firm movements. Uh oh!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoDfCz1WrE8
The coach giving some instructions.
This afternoon @ 1230pm, Lionel had his grading exam @ Chong Pang CC. He was excited & i asked him to show me a few moves he learned & in which he would be graded on. Hmm, looks okay to me except there are no strong & firm movements. Uh oh!
Some warm up exercises.
The VIPs - must be those chief assessors, martial arts shifu, etc. Colourful belts for those who passed the grading.
The VIPs - must be those chief assessors, martial arts shifu, etc. Colourful belts for those who passed the grading.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoDfCz1WrE8
The coach giving some instructions.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Martial Arts Grading
25 Feb 2011 (Fri):
Just got back his Chinese Martial Arts Student Grading Examination Booklet this evening. Lionel is due to be assess this Sunday for his progress & if pass, will be promoted to level 2.
Wow, i didnt know there is even a name of the school in which Lionel's wushu belongs to. Its called the Wanling Pugilistic Centre (Southern Shaolin).
Just got back his Chinese Martial Arts Student Grading Examination Booklet this evening. Lionel is due to be assess this Sunday for his progress & if pass, will be promoted to level 2.
Wow, i didnt know there is even a name of the school in which Lionel's wushu belongs to. Its called the Wanling Pugilistic Centre (Southern Shaolin).
For level 1 - white belt, he will be graded on: 四平马,拳掌加连打(上),请功,三角马. Each student will be allowed 3 attempts on each of the above syllabus & then the final results.
Levels: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown, Junior Black, Junior Black 1, Junior Black 2, Junior Black 3. I will pose the results here after his grading on Sunday. Wish him luck!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Practice
24 Feb 2011 (Thurs):
Her teacher commented she is still not very good in her alphabets, as in writing so she's got to practice more at home. So lazy mummy here did the printables & bind all into a file, from A~Z, both capital & small letters. Rachel can do straight lines perfectly, such as E, H, T, F, L, etc but when it comes to curve, its just no good.
So here is our little princess doing the alphabets every evening from tracing each individual letter to practising writing on her own.
Her teacher commented she is still not very good in her alphabets, as in writing so she's got to practice more at home. So lazy mummy here did the printables & bind all into a file, from A~Z, both capital & small letters. Rachel can do straight lines perfectly, such as E, H, T, F, L, etc but when it comes to curve, its just no good.
So here is our little princess doing the alphabets every evening from tracing each individual letter to practising writing on her own.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2 shows in a day
23 February 2011 (Wed):
I bought the tickets for these 2 shows after much consideration. As these 2 shows are only showing during the coming March school holidays & only for a few days, i decided to go for 2 different shows on the same day. Yup. Its costs me a bomb! But its once in a lifetime, maybe i should say a decade, so why not. Heh!
Fan Yang's Gazallion Bubble Show is only showing from 18 -20 March 2011 & Disney on Ice is showing only from 17- 20 March 2011. So i will be catching these 2 shows at the below time slots:
@ 2pm: 19 March 2011 (Sat) - Fan Yang's Gazallion Bubble Show, Downtown East D'Marquee.
@ 6pm: 19 March 2011 (Sat) - Disney on Ice, World of Fantasy.
Anyone interested to join us? Do come along. It will be great to meet up with both old & new friends :)
I bought the tickets for these 2 shows after much consideration. As these 2 shows are only showing during the coming March school holidays & only for a few days, i decided to go for 2 different shows on the same day. Yup. Its costs me a bomb! But its once in a lifetime, maybe i should say a decade, so why not. Heh!
Fan Yang's Gazallion Bubble Show is only showing from 18 -20 March 2011 & Disney on Ice is showing only from 17- 20 March 2011. So i will be catching these 2 shows at the below time slots:
@ 2pm: 19 March 2011 (Sat) - Fan Yang's Gazallion Bubble Show, Downtown East D'Marquee.
@ 6pm: 19 March 2011 (Sat) - Disney on Ice, World of Fantasy.
Anyone interested to join us? Do come along. It will be great to meet up with both old & new friends :)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Went Missing
20 Feb 2011 (Sun):
This story was related to me by Daddy who in turn was related to him by his sister.
Rachel found a $1 gold coin on the floor at the shop & happily, without infoming anyone, went ahead to the uncle selling ice cream on tricycle & bought herself a chocolate ice cream.
LK, together with my ils, realised that Rachel was not anywhere around the shop, started looking for her. LK found her sitting at the pawn shop ( we knew the owner very well as he is always buying stuff for Lionel & Rachel), eating ice cream. She (Rachel) told her how she got the $1 & how she ran to buy the ice cream.
When asked why she did not return to the shop after buying the ice cream, she replied: " Wait u all scold me for eating ice cream & moreover its chocolate". Haha! Smart Alec!
So she quietly sat at the pawn shop eating her ice cream when my sil saw her.
3 spanks on her backside, warning her never to do this again.
When i heard this story, it reminds me of the incident that Rachel "went missing" 2 years ago a day before the eve of CNY. I sternly told Rachel never to play such games again, else the cane is inevitable. She nods her head profusely.
This story was related to me by Daddy who in turn was related to him by his sister.
Rachel found a $1 gold coin on the floor at the shop & happily, without infoming anyone, went ahead to the uncle selling ice cream on tricycle & bought herself a chocolate ice cream.
LK, together with my ils, realised that Rachel was not anywhere around the shop, started looking for her. LK found her sitting at the pawn shop ( we knew the owner very well as he is always buying stuff for Lionel & Rachel), eating ice cream. She (Rachel) told her how she got the $1 & how she ran to buy the ice cream.
When asked why she did not return to the shop after buying the ice cream, she replied: " Wait u all scold me for eating ice cream & moreover its chocolate". Haha! Smart Alec!
So she quietly sat at the pawn shop eating her ice cream when my sil saw her.
3 spanks on her backside, warning her never to do this again.
When i heard this story, it reminds me of the incident that Rachel "went missing" 2 years ago a day before the eve of CNY. I sternly told Rachel never to play such games again, else the cane is inevitable. She nods her head profusely.
Friday, February 18, 2011
A night without diapers
17 Feb 2011 (Thurs):
I know this should have been started, tried & error (errored?), learned & done much much earlier but i just wasnt ready to get up every 2-3 hours every night.
But when you gotta, you gotta. My little princess told me to take a shower first so that we could both lie down in bed together to play a little game. I found her sleeping soundly after i took my bath.
I then carried her to the toilet, whispered into her ears that it time to take a pee, sat her down on the bowl.... Her eyes were closed & her head nodding. Cannot be sure if she's aware of what's going on or if she knows what's she supposed to do....then the sound of water trickling.... yeah i got her to pee. Time checked: 1120pm.
Fast forward to 0340am ( 18 Feb 2011). I got up & did the same thing; carried her up... whispered into her ears her "job"... sat her down on the bowl.... yup, she did it. Whoppee!
Supposingly to do so another time round maybe at 7am or 8am but later at 0750am, i figured since she's dry & sleeping soundly, oh well.
When my little princess woke up this morning, i told her she succeeded her 1st night without pampers, will continue tonight, tomorrow night & so on.... till the day (hopefully it will be soon) when like Lionel, she's supposed to wake up on her own. She jumped for joy & guessed what?
I told her we can now save $$ on pampers since she wont be needing those much longer & she told me in return we can use the $$ & buy more strawberry lollipops instead. KIDS!!!
I know this should have been started, tried & error (errored?), learned & done much much earlier but i just wasnt ready to get up every 2-3 hours every night.
But when you gotta, you gotta. My little princess told me to take a shower first so that we could both lie down in bed together to play a little game. I found her sleeping soundly after i took my bath.
I then carried her to the toilet, whispered into her ears that it time to take a pee, sat her down on the bowl.... Her eyes were closed & her head nodding. Cannot be sure if she's aware of what's going on or if she knows what's she supposed to do....then the sound of water trickling.... yeah i got her to pee. Time checked: 1120pm.
Fast forward to 0340am ( 18 Feb 2011). I got up & did the same thing; carried her up... whispered into her ears her "job"... sat her down on the bowl.... yup, she did it. Whoppee!
Supposingly to do so another time round maybe at 7am or 8am but later at 0750am, i figured since she's dry & sleeping soundly, oh well.
When my little princess woke up this morning, i told her she succeeded her 1st night without pampers, will continue tonight, tomorrow night & so on.... till the day (hopefully it will be soon) when like Lionel, she's supposed to wake up on her own. She jumped for joy & guessed what?
I told her we can now save $$ on pampers since she wont be needing those much longer & she told me in return we can use the $$ & buy more strawberry lollipops instead. KIDS!!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Seimpi level 2 lesson 5
13 Feb 2011 (Sun):
We recapped more topics today such as Note Values - quaver, semi quaver, semi breve, dotted minim, minim & crochet & we did Pitch in assending (treble clef) - middle C D E F G A B high C & dessending (bass clef) - middle C B A G F E D low C.
We revised Dynamics - f for forte - loud, mf for mezzo forte- moderately loud, mp for mezzo piano - moderately soft & p for piano - soft.
We did 2 exercises below.
Pitch - Middle C to G. We got to listen to tracks 13, 14 & 15 to see which animal reaches the other side of the river first.We recapped more topics today such as Note Values - quaver, semi quaver, semi breve, dotted minim, minim & crochet & we did Pitch in assending (treble clef) - middle C D E F G A B high C & dessending (bass clef) - middle C B A G F E D low C.
We revised Dynamics - f for forte - loud, mf for mezzo forte- moderately loud, mp for mezzo piano - moderately soft & p for piano - soft.
We did 2 exercises below.
Then for unit 6, we got to listen to tracks 20, 21 & 22 to arrange the carts of the choo choo train. f - forte & p - piano.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
CNY 7th Day 09 Feb 2011
09 Feb 2011 (Wed):
Then, we went over to Siloso Beach for some water fun. From rolling up their shorts to taking them off to being naked, the kids were having a wahle of their time. We spent some 45mins on the beach, went for a wash up & took the skyride up back to Imbiah Lookout.
We drove out of Sentosa & headed straight to Changi Airport. No, we are not going overseas but to meet & greet my ils who were returning from their trip to China. The kids were screaming & yelling when they saw their grandma, grandpa & aunties. Couldn't stopped them from screaming so; they were too excited. Haha.
I called the school at 830am this morning, checking on the reporting time since they kids will be having a CNY celebration in school.
MZ: Good morning. Little Footprints.
Me: Good morning. This is Lionel's mum
MZ: Yes, Mrs Seah?
Me: Just want to check. The school is having a CNY celebration today, yes?
MZ: Yup. The lion dance performance starts at 9am, followed by a party at 10am.
Me: (What! Looking at my watch at the same time) Oh okay, we will be coming in shortly.
Mz: Sure. See you.
Rushing the kids & telling them they better hurry if they do not want to miss the lion dance performance. We arrived the same time as the lion dance team were unloading their stuff.
We reached Sentosa at about 2pm plus & proceeded straight to Imbiah Lookout. Nope, we did not visit any of those tourist attractions like the Underwater World or Fort Siloso or Images of Singapore, etc. Instead, we purchased a promotion package.
We went onto the Luge Ride next. We had a crash course on how to operate the ride & down the hill we go. Whoosh! Great fun!!!
Sentosa Choice Packages: SGD36.90/adt & SGD26.90/chd for Choice of Fun
Cat A (choose any 3 attractions)
Fort Siloso. The Merlion. Images of Singapore. Segway Fun Ride. Tiger Sky Tower. Sentosa Nature Discovery Guided Tour +
Cat B (choose and 1 attraction)
Unlimited Skyrides. Sentosa CineBlast. Sentosa 4D Magix. Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom Guided Tour.
Sentosa Choice Packages: SGD46.90/person for Choice of Trill
Cat A (choose any 2 attractions)
Parajump@ Megazip Adventure Park. Desperados. The Flying Trapeze (1 swing). 1 Lugeride + 1 Skyride. Wave House - Catch a wave (2 attempts)
Cat B (choose any 1 attraction)
Wave House - FlowRider. Megazip @ Megazip Adventure House. Segway Eco Beach Adventure. Sentosa CineBlast + Sentosa 4d Magix. 2 Luge rides + unlimited skyrides
OR
At Sentosa CineBlast & Sentosa 4D Magix
Exteme Log Rides + Pirates
SGD29.90/adt (U.P SGD36)
SGD17.90/chd (U.P SGD22)
Extreme Log Rides + Desparados
SGD26/adt (U.P SGD30
SGD20/chd (U.P SGD23)
Extreme Log Rides + Desparados + Pirates
SGD37.90/adt (U.P SGD48)
SGD25.90/chd (U.P SGD34)
OR
Stars of Sentosa: 3 must-see choices in 1 star deal.
Butterfly Park & Insect Kingdom + Underwater World + Dolphin Lagoon
SGD29.90/adt (U.P SGD38.90)
SGD19.90/chd (U.P SGD24.60)
** Disclaimer: All packages as advertised were according to Sentosa's promotion. I did not amend any pricing or inclusions. Discounts said were suggestions given by the ticketing counter staff. Promotion validity per the day we purchased - 09 Feb 2011. Though i'm not sure when this promotion will end.
We took up the 1st package & we chosed Desparados + 1 Luge Ride & 1 Sky Ride + CineBlast & 4D Magix. Paid SGD46.90 each only for the adults. Lionel paid separately for his package of SGD25.90 for the CineBlast & 4D Magix & just need to add on SGD2 for a carry ride on the luge. (sitting together with an adult) So for a child, we only paid SGD27.90 iso of SGD46.90, a total discount worth of SGD19. We have to thank the staff for this suggestion.
Rachel goes in free for Desparados, CineBlast & 4D Magix. We also paid only SGD2 for a carry ride on the luge.
** See the above highlighted in red to see a better picture of what we have purchased **
Look at the kids in their 4D glasses. They enjoyed all the rides & shootout. I was worried Rachel may be frightened off by the stimulated log ride in CineBlast but she proved me wrong.
We drove out of Sentosa & headed straight to Changi Airport. No, we are not going overseas but to meet & greet my ils who were returning from their trip to China. The kids were screaming & yelling when they saw their grandma, grandpa & aunties. Couldn't stopped them from screaming so; they were too excited. Haha.
So this concludes our holiday from the 03Feb - 09 Feb 2011. We hoped you have enjoyed reading as mush as we enjoyed ourselves. Once again, Gong Hei Fatt Choy to one & all.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
CNY 6th Day 08 Feb 2011
08 Feb 2011 (Tues):
First thing first, Lionel felt much better already. He did not vomit out his breakfast which we had at Century Pines Resort. Although we did not allow him to eat too much. Farewell, Century Pines. We will defintely recommend you to our friends.
Our first stop was the strawberry farm. We went over to Healthy Strawberry Farm & Kasimanis Strawberry Farm but they did not have strawberries picking facilities. We ended up KL (Kok Lim) Strawberry Farm which was just next to the Time Tunnel we went yesterday.
For 500g, we nid to pay RM30. There was only a limited area where you can pick strawberries. There were workers around to direct you to the correct area & they also made sure you do not eat as you pick. Haha.... try telling us that...who do not eat as they pick?? We did!
Our loot of 700g. We need to pay another RM10. Sheesh!!! See the above photo (bottom right hand corner). The 2 kids looked as if they were trying to hold up the giantic strawberry. Hehe...daddy made them posed this way. Rachel was super happy. To her, strawberry is her world. Everything she does & has, it must be strawberries.
First thing first, Lionel felt much better already. He did not vomit out his breakfast which we had at Century Pines Resort. Although we did not allow him to eat too much. Farewell, Century Pines. We will defintely recommend you to our friends.
Our first stop was the strawberry farm. We went over to Healthy Strawberry Farm & Kasimanis Strawberry Farm but they did not have strawberries picking facilities. We ended up KL (Kok Lim) Strawberry Farm which was just next to the Time Tunnel we went yesterday.
For 500g, we nid to pay RM30. There was only a limited area where you can pick strawberries. There were workers around to direct you to the correct area & they also made sure you do not eat as you pick. Haha.... try telling us that...who do not eat as they pick?? We did!
Our loot of 700g. We need to pay another RM10. Sheesh!!! See the above photo (bottom right hand corner). The 2 kids looked as if they were trying to hold up the giantic strawberry. Hehe...daddy made them posed this way. Rachel was super happy. To her, strawberry is her world. Everything she does & has, it must be strawberries.
Next on our agenda is the Sungei Palas BOH Tea Plantation. It was closed yesterday. We visited the tea processing factory & learned about the stages:
Rolling - machines used to twist & break leaves, liberating & exposing its juices for fermentation.
Fermentation - chemical process whereby the enzymes are exposed to oxygen. This stage takes about 1.5-2hrs during which the characteristics flavour & aroma are developed.
Drying - femented leaves are fed into machines with 100 degrees, halting the fermentation process, reduces the moisture & crystallizes the juices, thus converting the leaves into crisp black form.
And the last stage , sorting - tea is graded according to particle size by passing through a series of vibrating sieves. Each grade of tea has its own density & flavour characteristics.
We also tried some cakes & had tea to wash it all down. Cost: RM14. Look at all the greenary. Surrounding us are all tea plantations. This plantation is not located within the town area but rather on another hill of it own, quite some distance travelled before arriving here at BOH.
After lunch at Water Cress Valley again, we made our way downhill. Daddy got both kids to sleep & the roads got winding again. We went down via Simpang Pulai since Tringkap is located towards Simpang Pulai. Nope, Lionel did not vomit. In fact, he slept thru & only woke up some one hour later after we hit the highway.
We arrived into Malacca at about 7.45pm ( we left Cameron at 2.15pm), had our dinner & proceeded back to Singapore. Initially, i thought daddy would wanna stayed 1 night first so that he can get some good rest before driving back but no, he insisted on driving all the way back. We arrived Singapore at 11.30pm.
Next day, we will be going to Sentosa but not before the kids had their CNY celebrations at their school.
Monday, February 7, 2011
CNY 5th Day 07 Feb 2011
07 Feb 2011 (Mon):
This morning, we visited the Time Tunnel. This must be a newly open attraction since i don't remember seeing this attraction the last time we went up, which was like 5 years ago or is it already there? Anyway, the admission fee was RM5/adult & RM3/child, Again we bought tickets for only 2A & 1C. Rachel's FOC.
A little intro: Experience the rustic charm of a unique museum that captures the spirit of the Malaysian life. View a treasure trove of heartwarming artifacts that depict life as it was lived then. Behold rare nostalgic photographs revealing the history and significant milestones of Cameron Highlands. Truly, a journey back in time not to be missed!
(Courtesy of Time Tunnel flyer)
(Courtesy of Time Tunnel flyer)
Noticed the wooden rocking horses we rode as kids back in the olden days? And also the type of TV we have where u can actually slided the door closed if you do not want to watch anymore?
Then the kind of soft drinks we have, corked in glass bottles like 7 up & Root Beer? The marble coffee tables in coffee shops? The very old kind of iron our parents or grandparents used for ironing our clothes? The fire place or kitchen in old kampong houses where ashes & smoke roamed freely? Milo, Ovaltine & Nestum?
You see Quacker oats & Nespray powder milk? Ever ate or drank those before? Baby chair & children tricycle, coffee tea cups & saucers? Remember? Of course there were many more items which clearly brings you down memory lane. If you still cannot visualised, try going down to the Children's Museum back in Singapore. You should see many similar items but here in Cameron, there are much more.
Next, we went into Rose Valley. Admission: RM4/adult & RM2/child, 3-11 years old. So many different types of roses, other varieties of flowers to see. We spent quite some time here, marvelling at all the buds & petals.
Both kids enjoyed the slides & loved taking photos. I was exhausted so i sat down on the nearby benches while the kids have a whale of their time.
Next, we adjorned for lunch @ Water Cress Valley, Tringkap. Lionel, who was well 1 min, told his dad he wants to vomit. Daddy rushed him to the sink. Whatever breakfast we had at Smokehouse, his was not digested & he vomitted all out. We ordered egg noodles & water cress soup with dumplings for lunch, spent about RM40+. Our little princess was already sleepy & while we waited for the food, she fell asleep.
Lionel ate very little. Thru out the day, he wasnt feeling too good & whatever he ate, it all came back out. I suspect Lionel's having motion sickness cos we need to travel along winding roads to visit different places of interest.
Rachel had already fallen asleep on the way to Century Pines & she slept right thru to about 6pm. Daddy decided to tapao (takeaways) for dinner. We went to You Hoo (another forum recommended restaurant) located at Brinchang. Cost: RM56. I thought of taking Lionel to the clinic which i saw at Brinchang. But daddy said its not a cause to worry yet. Its just a motion sickness in Lionel.
A video clip inside Time Tunnel. Found or seen anything which brings u back fond memories?
Cactus Point was our next destination. It was only a touch & go, spending at most 15 mins there.
Lionel vomitted again after we visited the bee museum. I gave him a little of my anti giddiness/vomit tablet. We decided to check into Century Pines Resort for some rest. I loved this hotel. Strongly recommended!
Not be missed out were the butterfly farm & bee museum. A comparison made, the butterfly farm is a attraction not to be missed out. There were many varieties of buttetfly & they flew freely inside an enclosure.
There were also many different types of creepy crawlies such as beetles, scorpions, snakes, lizards, etc. Of course, they were all caged up or inside glass tanks. Lionel was very excited about seeing so many of this crawlies.
As for the bee museum, it only showcased the different types of bees & their position in the bee colony. We saw the Queen bee, the workers, honet, carpenters, etc. There was also a blocked off area where they kept & rear bees. The guide explained that some bee stings are curable with the help of medical intervention whereas others are deadly. He metioned that a little boy was killed when he was stung by a killer bee last year just at their compound. What do you think?
Lionel vomitted again after we visited the bee museum. I gave him a little of my anti giddiness/vomit tablet. We decided to check into Century Pines Resort for some rest. I loved this hotel. Strongly recommended!
Rachel had already fallen asleep on the way to Century Pines & she slept right thru to about 6pm. Daddy decided to tapao (takeaways) for dinner. We went to You Hoo (another forum recommended restaurant) located at Brinchang. Cost: RM56. I thought of taking Lionel to the clinic which i saw at Brinchang. But daddy said its not a cause to worry yet. Its just a motion sickness in Lionel.
We saw some other recommended cafes & restaurants like Oldies & Goodies, Strawberry Golden Moments but no, we did not try those. In the night, Lionel vomitted yet again & i made a note to bring him to see a doctor before we go down the hills & onto the highway. Yes, we will be checking out tomorrow & might just stayed 1 night at KL or Malacca before returning to Singapore on the 09 Feb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4-tBi8Sd9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4-tBi8Sd9Y
A video clip inside Time Tunnel. Found or seen anything which brings u back fond memories?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
CNY 4th Day 06 Feb 2011
06 Feb 2011 (Sun):
Our last morning in Ipoh before we head up to Cameron Highlands in the afternoon. After breakfast, we went across to the Polo Club for some horse riding or so we thought. Daddy saw an advert in the hotel's lobby on this. But alas, there was riding classes going on that morning, hence its not open to the public for horse riding. Nevertheless, we were still allowed in on the grounds for a look look see see.
Then we proceeded into Giant supermart to buy a container of milk formula as i only brought less than half container up this trip. Also brought a pair of sandals for myself & a pair of shoes each for the kids.
Upon reaching Brinchang, Cameron, which took us about 1hr 15mins, we stopped for lunch. We took the new route, Simpang Pulai, which is less winding & the road is wider.
We had our lunch at OK Tuck Restaurant, located at Brinchang. This is one of the recommended place to eat. We ordered spare ribs, hotplate tofu, shrimps omelette & stir fry mushrooms, spent RM71.80 in all.
The kids got themselves a lollipop each after lunch & then we proceeded to check in at the below hotel.
Our last morning in Ipoh before we head up to Cameron Highlands in the afternoon. After breakfast, we went across to the Polo Club for some horse riding or so we thought. Daddy saw an advert in the hotel's lobby on this. But alas, there was riding classes going on that morning, hence its not open to the public for horse riding. Nevertheless, we were still allowed in on the grounds for a look look see see.
Upon reaching Brinchang, Cameron, which took us about 1hr 15mins, we stopped for lunch. We took the new route, Simpang Pulai, which is less winding & the road is wider.
We had our lunch at OK Tuck Restaurant, located at Brinchang. This is one of the recommended place to eat. We ordered spare ribs, hotplate tofu, shrimps omelette & stir fry mushrooms, spent RM71.80 in all.
The kids got themselves a lollipop each after lunch & then we proceeded to check in at the below hotel.
Yes, the Ye Olde Smokehouse @ Tanah Rata. Yah, the English experience. Cool. But we experience a major hiccup here. You see, when we did the booking via Agoda.com, we indicated as 2 adults. We wanted to have the children sharing the same room as us. Usually, most hotels would accomodate this kind of arrangement with no problem. But not Smokehouse.
When we checked in, the staff ( small reception area) informed us that all rooms are designed for only 2 people, regardless of adult or children. They CANNOT accomodate 2children of only 3 & 5 years in the same room as the adults. Isnt this RIDICULOUS???
I argue the fact that the kids are still young & normally, most hotels do not have this problem. Well, they claimed that this is their resort policy. Upon seeking the management's help, the manager came up to us to offer another suggestion.
We paid USD114 per night. So what she can do is to give us another room, we pay another USD114 but the rooms cannot be adjoining. So means to say, we have to split. Another suggestion, we upgrade to the family suite at the same price of USD114. The manager also claims that usually the family suite cost RM800.
Let's do a little calculation here: USD114 ~ RM350 (approx). So apart from what we have paid Agoda @ USD114 ~ RM350 for a Superior room, we got to pay ANOTHER RM350 for a family suite = RM700 for that room alone. So its only a RM100 discount afterall. The most expensive room we ever stayed.
You may asked. Why do we not scoped around for other hotels? We really intended to do that cos paying RM700 for 1 night is too much. But we have also thought of the CNY period & we're sure those other hotels wouldnt come cheap either & there might not be rooms avaialble as well.
You may asked. Why do we not scoped around for other hotels? We really intended to do that cos paying RM700 for 1 night is too much. But we have also thought of the CNY period & we're sure those other hotels wouldnt come cheap either & there might not be rooms avaialble as well.
So we got no choice but to pay ( with a broken heart) that RM350 & checked into the family suite. Well, what a room! ** i found that the layout/design tof this room is weird. In front of the 2 single beds you see in the below photo is actually a cupboard, separating the living area. Funny! **
Fast forward slightly. (since i lumped all Smokehouse photos together) We had breakfast the next day & they served only English breakfast. 2 types of meal to choose from:
Light breakfast consisting of a selection of juices or fresh fruits, a choice of cereals (cornflakes) or porridge (quacker oats), toasts & croissant or muffins with marmalade & strawbeery preserve, coffer or tea, costing RM26.
Traditional English breakfast consisting of the above mention but with additional country eggs with bacon & sausages, costing RM39. So with eggs, bacon & sausage, you got to pay additional RM13. How's that for a choice? You decide.
Light breakfast consisting of a selection of juices or fresh fruits, a choice of cereals (cornflakes) or porridge (quacker oats), toasts & croissant or muffins with marmalade & strawbeery preserve, coffer or tea, costing RM26.
Traditional English breakfast consisting of the above mention but with additional country eggs with bacon & sausages, costing RM39. So with eggs, bacon & sausage, you got to pay additional RM13. How's that for a choice? You decide.
(Back to today's post). After a little wash up, we went out into the town areas to have a look. Knowing that BOH will be closed tomorrow, we came upon Bharat Plantations instead. And we stopped for a little snack, strawberry flavoured tea, 1 carrot cake & 1 brownie @ RM20.
Then we went around Tanah Rata's pasar malam & looked at their market place.
For dinner, we had ours at a Hongkong Restaurant, ordered fried rice & noodles, costing RM40+. Then we retired for the night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmU2WBl3M-Q
Cameron Valley Bharat Valley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmU2WBl3M-Q
Cameron Valley Bharat Valley
Remember to look at 05 Feb's post to keep track.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
CNY 3rd Day 05 Feb 2011
05 Feb 2011 (Sat):
Up at 830am, well rested though i still feel lazy. Hehe. We had our breakfast at the hotel before setting off to The Lost World.
We arrived at The Lost World at about 930am but just look at crowd. The theme park opened at 10am. Admission fees: RM38/adult & RM32/child, 12 years old & below. Children below 90cm free though. However, for guest staying at Heritage Hotel, we got a discount @ RM34/adult & RM30/child. We paid for 2 adults & 1 child. Rachel? Well, she got it FOC as she is just slightly above 90cm but we kept quiet lah.
They did not allow the customers to bring outside food & drinks. The security did a very tough check on all bags brought in. One customer queue-ing in front of me got his food confisicated & a RM2 summon. I find it ridiculous but rules are rules.
After about an hour inside the children's pool, we went over to played some rides & games. Both kids got a fur toy. Per token = RM2. Depending on the type of games played, some games could cost more than RM2, meaning at least 3 or 5 tokens were needed. Tokens were not included as part of the admission fees paid.
This was the petting zoo. We saw many small creatures such as racoons, rabbits, pocupines, peacocks,birds, goats, sheep, etc.
After more walking, more games & more water fun, we stopped for lunch inside the Rainforest Cafe. Nothing much of interest. Maybe Maggie mee special? Haha.
We hopped over where we decided to have tze char. We ordered salt eggs crab, stingray, can't remember what else. Cost: RM140+. We then walked around the nearby stores as we wanted to buy a longevity peach made of sugar for praying. Nope, no chance. We suspected it could be Ipoh people were mostly Cantonese so they may not use longevity peach for praying, hence no production.
So its back to the hotel for a good night rest. Opps...look at the time. Its close to 11pm.
Enjoy the below videos.
Some ice cream treat for the kids & we watched a lion dance performance. By 5pm, yes 5pm, the kids were worn out & we went back to our hotel for a bath & some rest. Well, just a little rest.
Soon we went out again for dinner. Remember i mentioned about the Lou Wong Tauge Chicken? Well, i waited ard for a table while hubby parked his car. To my disappointment, the waiter announced to those standing around waiting for tables that there was no more chicken. Only left tauge & noodles. Haiz....there goes my hope of trying this recommended dish.
Nevertheless, we tried some other restaurants, coffee shops, cafes but all were equally crowded. We saw Hainanese Chicken Rice & decided to have that for our dinner. We were able to find some empty tables when hubby spotted a open air roadside food stalls (something like our Singapore's Smith Street) selling all varities of food.
Nevertheless, we tried some other restaurants, coffee shops, cafes but all were equally crowded. We saw Hainanese Chicken Rice & decided to have that for our dinner. We were able to find some empty tables when hubby spotted a open air roadside food stalls (something like our Singapore's Smith Street) selling all varities of food.
We hopped over where we decided to have tze char. We ordered salt eggs crab, stingray, can't remember what else. Cost: RM140+. We then walked around the nearby stores as we wanted to buy a longevity peach made of sugar for praying. Nope, no chance. We suspected it could be Ipoh people were mostly Cantonese so they may not use longevity peach for praying, hence no production.
So its back to the hotel for a good night rest. Opps...look at the time. Its close to 11pm.
Enjoy the below videos.
Water fun.
Carousel ride.
Lion dance performance. Short clips.
** Do stop by 04 Feb 2011's post so as to keep track. **
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