Sunday 19 February 2012

10 activities to make your kids occupied during travelling

There are times when I go travelling, I leave the kids behind and most of the times I will bring them along. Can't live with them, can't live without them either.... Travelling without my children seems like my life ain't complete but going with them can also be nerved-wrecking. Therefore, to avoid myself from being more stressful than it is, I come up with a few coping strategies up my sleeve. We need to have activities ready for the kids so that they won't get bored as bored kids will always create disaster! Here are 10 activities that I always do with the kids during my travel days.

1. The most famous activity that parents will always keep in mind!

The pool can keep the kids occupied for hours and parents can just lay down
on the lounges and catch up on some readings or even blogging. Be careful, some
hotels have no lifeguard, so we need to keep track of the kids even while resting.
 [Berjaya Georgetown, Penang]
2. Know what your children love

Farah loves painting so much. So, most of the time, she will pack
her painting kits whenever we go travelling. That will definitely
saves me energy rather than chasing her all over the place. [A'Famosa
Resort, Melaka]
3. Involve them in chores
Faris n Farah helping me with the laundry at the DIY laundry. [Seri
Malaysia, Melaka]
4. Kids club will definitely keep the kids occupied for long...
A lot of hotels are kids friendly. Disney Hotels, Mariotts, Mercure, Holiday Villa to
name a few.They have their own kids club with plenty of activities to deal with the
 kids all day long. [Farah @ Malibu Toyhouse, Disney Hollywood Hotel, HK]
5. Evergreen fun place, the playground
No matter where they go, kids will always be fascinated with playgrounds.
Let them play and have fun at the playground. To us, all playgrounds look the
same, but to them, every playground is different. [Everly Resort, Melaka)
6. More water 4 the kids...
Kids love water, well that includes the sea. However, sea can
be dangerous  at times. Be careful!  [Port Dickson Beach]
7. Wheels on the bus go round n round. My kids love public transports like bus, trains and stuff. They seldom go on a bus, train or even LRT rides. So, taking them on public transports are a lot of fun to these kids. 
Besides, if u take them on HoHo buses, they'll learn new things/info by
  listening to the commentator.  [HoHo Perth, @ King's Park, Perth, Australia]
 8. Some kids love reading. So, bring their favourite books along!

Farah @ LCCT, while waiting for our flight
to Kuching, Sarawak.
9. Bring along their gadgets such as ps2, psp, i-pad, etc. These things come in handy especially for long journeys. Sometimes, i will bring thumb drives full of movies for the children to watch on the lappy or tv. We must make sure the hotel has LDC tv for us to plug in at the USB port.
Sorang satu...kalau x, bergadoh pulak...
10. Let them try new things... Fishing, hiking, snorkelling, etc... Children love to explore.
Faris fishing for the 1st time @ Kenyir Lake, Tnganu.

There are many other ways to help us deal with children when travelling. Above are some of them which i always use when travelling with my kids and they work! So, do u have any other ways to keep the kids bz? Let's share!


farikicasworld@blogspot.com

Saturday 18 February 2012

Kenyir Lake (Part 3)

Part 3 is nothing much as we started to pack ourselves for home.  I guess the trip this time was very different than the normal trips we always venture into. Overall, i could say this trip has added positive effects on my quality of life. I realized this trip was one of the best ways to connect and bond with my family. Activities such as cooking, fishing and BBQ made everyone worked and spent quality time together. I also think that this trip had made us inculcate the love for nature. U opened your window in the morning and u'd see the greenery of the forests and the sound of the chirping birds, priceless, i won't get this at my very own home. Last but not least, this trip was very cost effective. I will jot down the expenses that we needed to spend for the 4 days 3 nights trip.
No idea what type of fish was this..My hubby caught them last night. Jadikla
daripada x da...We didn't cook the fish... X sanggop nak makan pasal
rupa die pelik sangat. So, we just left the fish at the bungalow. Perhaps
the cleaner would take the fish.
The kids @ the staircase to the
bungalow.

All of us before we went home.




















Bye bye Kenyir!

3 dara pinggiran, on the way back to the mainland.




GROSS TOTAL EXPENSES TO KENYIR:Boating 2

Bungalow at Kertih: Rm100 per family
Bungalow at Kenyir: Rm 100 (2 nights)- I paid for my friend, since it was only rm100.
Boat to Kenyir (Return) : Rm50
Food: +- Rm200 (Itupon banyak lebih, bawak balik rumah, beras sume tinggal kat Kenyir)
Fuel : Rm130 (860km-return)
Toll: Rm58 (return)
GROSS TOTAL: RM638.00 (Bolehla tu kan... for a 4 days 3 nights trip for 4 people)

Thursday 16 February 2012

Kenyir Lake (Part 2)

There are many activities to keep yrself occupied here, i mean activities that relate to nature. Do not expect to go shopping, or eating out here. What can u do here...? U can visit the spice garden, go to the waterfall (there are a few waterfalls here), picnic, fishing, BBQ, kayaking, relaxing, blogging (they have free wifi at certain spots) etc..etc... U can even do just nothing, rejuvenate! The invigorating fresh air is great for health.

So, on the 2nd day, we planned to go to Bukit Sauk Waterfall..Ada jugak Bukit Sauk kat sini, ingatkan kat KK aja ade...

Our breakfast, courtesy of Rna..Bangun2 aja dah siap...:) Nasi lemak
n cekodok
After breakfast, packed our lunch and off to the waterfall. Since it was monsoon season,so the weather was not on our side. It was raining on and off that day but we still proceed with our plan. The boat to the waterfall cost us rm5 per person. Kids were free! The journey was short and luckily when we arrived there, it was not raining. The hubby group brought their fishing gadgets, addicted to fishing, it seemed..ha..ha.. Better luck, guys!

Tranquil


The herbal garden from our boat




A few more metres...
Virgin forest...
Sampai dah...
This was the 1st time Faris experiencing swimming at waterfall.

Original slide
Trying his luck!
The other side if the waterfall
We didn't stay long as the rain started to pour in the late afternoon. So, we went back to the bungalow. In the evening, children went playing at the nearby playground and we had bbq at night.

Bye bye waterfall
Getting ready...
Bz mengipas

Banyak tol makanan..sampai x abis...notice the spaghetti in the drainer..?
semangkok jelok.
Yg kelaut pon ada....
After BBQ, the daddy gang went out for fishing again. They went out with the bungalows' workers. Bayar sikit kat budak tu, mereka bawak p tempat jaoh sket..Lewat tengah malam baru balik... Di kenyir ni, pukul 8 pon dah rasa mcm pukul 12 malam. Suram dan sunyi but sometimes when u change the environment memang seronok. No traffic jam, no noise, u are surrounded by the forest. But, i can give myself plus minus 4 days the most and that's it! I can't stay longer here...
Muka x puas hati semua..repeat mancing. Kali ni di tasik dalam plak
The hubby group came back nearly 1am...By the time they came back, i was already curling under my blanket in my cozy room. I heard from my room that they got fish..Nah, the fish could wait for tomorrow. I was so lazy to wake up and shared their triumph... Night...night...PJs

Saturday 11 February 2012

Kenyir Lake (Part 1)


Hello, all! My next budget trip i'm going to tell u about is 'My Kenyir Lake Trip'. This time we went there with a family friend.  Before i start, let's look at some info about Kenyir.

Tasik Kenyir or Kenyir Lake is an artificial lake located in the state of Terengganu in northeast Malaysia created in 1985 by the damming of the Kenyir River to create the Sultan Mahmud Power Station. Kenyir Lake is also home to numerous species of freshwater fishes and exotic wildlife”.
Adapted from: Wikipedia Online





The distance from my house to Kenyir is approximately 430km. Wow!!! Jaoh tuh....So, we decided to break the trip into 2. Actually, if we departed in the morning, we should made it to Kenyir by evening, but since we departed from home after lunch, so we arrived at the east coast quite late in the evening. 

Stop by at Mesra Mall to buy grocery for the trip
Gerai Kak Lah: Sedap betol keropok lekornya... Dekat rm20 kami
makan... 
Berehat sambil makan2 kepok...

 After eating, we drove around the place to find a place to stay the night. Carik punya carik jumpa satu banglo nih, satu malam rm200. Bolehla...ada 3 rooms and 2 bathrooms. So, we checked in, couldn't remember the exact place but definitely we were already in T'nganu. 
The next day, after checking out, we continued our journey to Kenyir.
Ni la rupa banglo yg kami sewa malamnya...
Had our brunch, nasi kukus + sirap = RM5 (pakej dah tu...)

Enjoying our meal, very tasty! The authentic T'nganu delicacy

In front of the stall, kenyang dah...
In 2 hours, we were already at the jetty. I had called the supervisor beforehand and he asked me to call him, one hour before we reached the jetty. I did what was told and he promised to pick us up at 2pm.

This way to Kenyir 
Before we arrived in Kenyir, we stopped by at a fishing shop
to buy some baits.
View of the jetty from the parking lot. There are ample parking
space for u to park your car at the jetty. 
While waiting for the boat, isik tangki dulu..
Ikan patin kat jetty, 1st class!
Kids were the bz ones

Already in the boat. Look at our stuff, those were  mostly food!
Attention to All...There's no restaurant or grocery shops on the island..so, u need to provide enough food for the whole stay..Let say if u really need to buy something, u can try to ask for help from the boys who work there as they always go to the mainland from time to time. Boleh jugakla kalau nak order food from the mainland, tp time sampainye x tau la..
In the boat..kejap je tripnyer..around 1/2 an hour gitu.. Yg bawak bot tu, En
Alias, the supervisor. Farah was so excited...she always will!
Snapped from the boat.
Pasal nama pon percutian bajet kan, so kami tinggal pon kat RPP Kenyir. RPP Kenyir ni hanya khas untuk government servants and pensioners only... Nama pon rumah kerajaan, so harganya memanglah sangat memuaskan hati. Our 2 bedrooms house which can accommodate more than 6 people only cost me rm50 per night. The house is fully furnished. All the cooking utensils are complete. Senduk, sudu, kuali, lesung, rice cooker, u name it..! Banglo ni w/pon murah tp ada Astro jugak tau.. Pendek kata sangat puas hatilah... Kalu ada apa2 yg u nak, u can just call or go to En Alias's house. He's the supervisor of the place. Vey nice man. Nak naik ke rumah ni, ada tangga yg sangat tinggi ala2 kat Batu Cave, mini Batu Cave ibaratnya. Pendek kata, kalu u dah naik rumah, bercintalah nak turun ke bawah...

Actually, i wanted to book for a 3 bedroom house but they were fully occupied. so, 2 bedrooms pon 2 bedrooms la... Tp w/pon 2 bedrooms, each bedroom has extra ma tresses under the bed. So, kids bolehla tergolek kat ruang tamu...


Semangat tuh nak fishing... Joran baru
Cik Adik ni pon nak cuba nasib gak...
Faris n Papa gigih menunggu
Ikan memang banyak tp semua hanya bermain di gigi air...sekor pon x terarik kat pancing kami...it's ok, we have 3 days here... boleh cuba lagik...

Our dinner (1st night)
If u're interested in booking the bungalows, u can check them out at  http://www.bph.gov.my/ .  Howover, u need to book very far ahead in advance as these bungalows are like hot cakes!


~To Be Cont in Part 2~

OVERNIGHT AT THE BERBER DESERT CAMP

Selepas lunch, kami teruskan lagi perjalanan yang panjang sampai lah petang.  Look at the view.. Magnificent!  We crossed the High Atlas Mou...

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