Sun, Sand and the Sea

You cannot close the year without going on a holiday. Christmas time is when we normally head out for one and this year's destination ... Port Dickson.

On our way to Corus Paradise Resort for a night's stay, we stopped by Seremban. Most of the shops were closed since it was Christmas but we caught one for lunch.

The hour long drive was accompanied with heavy rain.

That's Uncle admiring the splendor of the wide ocean with me. We just couldn't wait to jump in although I had my reservations.

The clear blue sky was a sight to behold and it's the same sea that took many lives 5 years ago when the tsunami struck.

While waiting at the lobby I just couldn't help thinking about the second wave of the H1N1. With so much fear, what were we doing at a beach resort?

The town was lively with a fun fair across the PD Walk. I had a blast and took the opportunity to get on as many rides as possible as it was cheaper here.

An interesting discovery was this Christmas tree. The ornaments were leftover decorative items from Hari Raya. Cheers to the PD folks for their cost saving initiative.



Here's a video of some serious adrenaline rush at the resort's play area, gearing up to 2010 World Cup.

Picnic @ Titiwangsa Lake Gardens

Last weekend the Malaysian Vegetarian Society held a food carnival at the Titiwangsa Lake Gardens. It was a low-key affair as stalls were limited. The 2 hours spent shopping was a time of extraordinary pleasure for Grandpa and grand uncle as they are staunch vegetarians.

We had our own little picnic with the goodies we bought. The weather was fantastic, so I got into my moves with increasing agility. Uncle had a tough time keeping up.

There are days in a week I go with no meat for religious reasons so I was substantiating my points to Grandpa on meat for a growing child. He didn't look convinced at all.

Then I took it to a larger audience, Daddy backed me all the way...

We were late for the morning rides. The trainers were lazing around and we could see horse drawn carriages available sitting idle. We didn't want to wait till they opened for the evening rides so we decided for some Christmas sight seeing. Next time horsey!

We drove to Pavilion, downtown KL. The decoration was eye popping.

This time around, we were on the dot for the 15 mins Christmas act the Pavilion has put up themed A Royale Christmas. The show was interesting with elaborate costumes and a wonderful Christmas tune to go with their dance routine.

Radio Show Recording

It's the season to be jolly and the mood was in full swing everywhere. Thanks to my Uncle's Uncle who was kind enough to secure some additional tickets, we made it to the recordings of a Christmas special at the Radio Television Malaysia.

It was organized by Minnal FM, a popular radio station that caters for the indian listeners. A string of popular singers were roped in and all the DJ's played host to an entertaining fare.

The event took place at the Auditorium Perdana where leading artists in Malaysia today started their careers singing in competitions held here.

The set was not elaborate as it was made for radio but it created the needed ambience for the audience who were there. Santa was there but he was not exactly what we had in mind. An indian guy with a fake mask on and his dance routine ... I don't want to get to that.

Here's a clip from the show.



It was a great success as the show did exactly what it intended to, get the Christmas fever going.

It was a laudable effort by the oldest Broadcasting player in the country. "My Loyal Friend".

My New Nighty

I'm often called 'nosey aunty' for my rantings and comments. Now to make it look real, I've gone one up by imitating the dressing.

It's the famous 'Butterfly Nighty'.

Preschool Application!!

Goodness! This kid submitted a letter applying for admission to the Director of a premier preschool. She must be around my age.

Do I have to write one eventually? An extract of the first few lines shown in the screen capture below.

Lilybell (the applicant) and I have one key similarity, we started our early experiences at Gymboree! I'm going for a bottle of milk ... Read the full letter at the link below.

http://kareems.tumblr.com/post/252655104/preschool-application-essay

Visitor from the Wilderness

The Daphnis nerii is a moth of the Sphingidae family. The Oleander Hawk-moth are normally seen in wide areas of Africa and Asia.

This picture of the moth was taken from Arkive (http://www.arkive.org). An interesting site with a large collection of wildlife images from around the globe.

And you might just be wondering why am I writing about this ... well I guess the little fella decided to stop by Kepong on it's migratory trip.

It was found clinging on to Daddy's pants. They are known to feed on nectar from variety of flowers. Daddy's pants must have smelled like one, thanks to the floral scented fabric softener.

Karthigai Festival

Earthen lamps are lit and placed in every Hindu house to signify the Full moon day in the month of Karthigai. This 3 day celebration is often termed as an extension to Deepavali.

I was surprised that there were recipes which are made on this occasion. The Peanut Ladoo (Verkadalai Urundai), Puffed Rice Ladoo (Pori Urundai) and Appam to name a few.

This year the spirit of the festivity was dampened by the monsoon season as rain came pouring just about nightfall. Plans to light up the garden had to be put aside.

We resorted to placing them in the porch and daddy had a field day for his enthusiasm to capture the beauty of the light, was seen readjusting all that we've done.

It wasn't an SLR camera to begin with but the angles he got into for these shots was a bit much for a camera phone. To make it worse, he needed a model for some of his ideas.

This model got paid in hugs and kisses from the Art Director himself.