Day 5 Hong Kong

We started our day by taking the MTR from Tsim Sha Tsui to Causeway Bay. We had to switch to the Island Line at Admiralty in order to get to Causeway Bay. 

Our aim was to go to Times Square first so we should have chosen Exit A and exit from there before we tapped the Octopus card at the automated turnstile. However, we made a mistake by exiting from the automated turnstile first then tried looking for Exit A. Sadly, that was a mistake and we could only exit via Exits D, E or F. So we took exit F1. We went to Sogo. Along the way, we saw the baricaded area for the HK protest group. No one was in sight but we did see some tents and policemen.

Got myself a Marc Jacobs bracelet for HKD 437 at Sogo. Saw a pretty wallet from Samatha Thavasa in Tiffany Blue retailing for HKD 1200. Contemplated on buying but did not buy it in the end (regretting it now :/ ). It is a Japanese brand and has stores in US too.

We met a nice and friendly Malaysian diplomat and chatted for a while.

We then made our way to Times Square. Along the way, hubby entered a three-storey Nike store. We did not get anything from there nor at Times Square.

Christmas decorations outside Times Square

It was already 3 p.m. and our stomachs have started to rumble. However, a look at our Samsung Handy showed that some of the halal restaurants were quite a walking distance away. Since we wanted to go to Ladies Market, we decided to have our meal there instead. So we took the MTR. There is a link to the MTR from Times Square itself. 

We took the MTR from Causeway Bay, switched to the Tsuen Wan Line (red) heading towards Central and stopped at Mongkok. Made our way to Argyle Street, better known as Ladies Market. We bought a small bag for Ulfa and a leather bag for hubby. We did not get anything much. The things sold were not that cheap. Do bargain a lot if you want to buy an item. I normally quote half the price of what the stallholder offers. From there we decide on the appropriate price.

We then had our meal at Ottoman Mediterranean Cuisine at Ladies Market itself. This is a halal-certified restaurant by the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong. The owner is a very nice Turkish man named Jameel. The restaurant has free Wi-fi (thumbs up for that!) and the owner gave us the password. We ordered Lamb and Cheese Pide, Chicken Doner Roll, Beef Kebab with Rice, Marinated Chicken Wings, Baklava and Potato Wedges. Hubby also ordered the Turkish Mint Tea (green in colour) which was pretty nice and refreshing. The beef for the Beef Kebab was very soft and goes very well with the rice. The Lamb and Cheese Pide was delicious! The bread was soft and the cheese goes very well with the sweet and juicy lamb.

View from inside the restaurant

I love that yellow HOT chili sauce. Really HOT!

The best pide I ever had. The kids agreed.

After the meal, the sun had started to set. So we headed back to our hotel, The Mira, at Tsim Sha Tsui using the MTR. It was very crowded. At Tsim Sha Tsui station, we returned the Octopus Card at the counter and was refunded the unused amount together with the deposit, minus the admin fee of HKD9. We got back to our hotel, informed the hotel to book for us a taxi to the airport the next morning and started packing for Korea. 

Hong Kong has very nice shopping areas but the prices are not extremely cheap either. Some brands are cheaper though because there is no tax on the goods. Overall, halal food is on the pricey side in Hong Kong seeing that it is not as readily available as it is in Singapore.

Do wait for my next blog post on our trip to Seoul, South Korea.

Legoland Malaysia - Themepark

On the second day of our stay, we had to chekout from Hotel Legoland at 10a.m. So after checking out, we left our luggage at the Baggage Services provided in the hotel and then we made our way to  Legoland Malaysia Themepark. It was the first day of Chinese New Year so we were treated to our roaring display of lion dance. My girls and my nephews were excited of course.

Instead of going in a clockwise direction, we went anti-clockwise simply because we saw a lot of people heading clockwise. So to avoid the crowd, we went the other way. Because of that, we reached the Driving School and Junior Driving School. Driving School is for kids from 6 to 13 years old. First, they had to queue (about 15mins or so) then they will enter a class where they watch a video and learn a bit about the driving they are going to do. Thereafter, they get to drive on the driving compound with traffic lights and many lanes. Sounds fun, right? It is, except the long wait. The queue was too long that the older kids gave up queuing halfway and opted to go for other rides instead (but we came back later when the queue was shorter and they managed to get to drive). The Junior Driving School  on the other hand did not have a long queue but it only caters to children from 3 to 5 years old. So Ulfa get to go on this ride. The children only got to drive one or two laps (depending on the queue). But it was enough to keep the little ones happy.

Driving School and Junior Driving School

The kids getting ready to DRIVE!

There was a Boating School but we skipped that due to the long queue. We then went on the Rescue Academy. Basically, you will have to work as a family and compete against three other families on a rescue mission to put out a fire. Lots of hand pumping work involved! It was fun, nonetheless especially when you are competing with people you know. The plus point to this was that it involves teamwork and working as one family.

Rescue Academy from the outside.

We also played at the Lego City Airport. The little ones will enjoy this. Next we entered the Land of Adventure where the children rode the Lost Kingdom ride. They get to shoot laser at spiders and such. Hubby had to give it a miss as Nuha could not enter. I rode with Ulfa. Seeing that Auni had no one to ride with her, one of the Legoland staff volunteered to go on the ride with her. I thought that that was a really sweet gesture as Auni did not want to sit alone.

The older kids then went on the Beetle Bounce. Ulfa had to give it a miss as she did not pass the height requirement.

At the Lego Kingdoms, Auni gamely went on two rollercoaster rides with hubby - The Dragon and Dragon's Apprentice. Ulfa and Nuha went to play at the Forestmen's Hideout ( a playground).

The castle in the Kingdom.

The Dragon

Auni on the ride with her daddy.

At the Lego Technic, the children rode on the Technic Twister. Auni and her cousins were excited to ride on Project X, a fast rollercoaster ride. I think this is the most terrifying ride in Legoland itself, hubby queued with Auni while I waited with Nuha and Ulfa. While waiting, suddenly, the rides of Project X stopped. Two cars were stuck on the tracks at the top under the scorching sun. I quickly made my way to the queue to check whether hubby and Auni had gone on the ride. The ride had to be closed and thus people were streaming out. Thank goodness I saw Auni, hubby and the rest came out. I told Auni that she was forbidden to go on anymore rollercoaster rides (haha!! I could not go through another scare like that). However, Legoland managed to get the rides going again in less than 5minutes though they suspended the ride for a while to check.

Project X

One of the rides Auni wanted to go on but I did not allow after the roller coaster scare.

At the land of Imagination, the kids went on the Observation Tower. There were lots of people but they managed to get on the ride in about 10minutes. Thereafter, we went to the Lego Studio 4D to watch a 4D show on Lego Racers. It was disappointing. I felt that they did not showcase the 4D effects well. It was a painful 25-minute show. Even the kids could not wait for the show to end. They have other shows at different timings as well. I hope those shows are better. There was also the Duplo Playtown, a big play area with slides for kids. Both the little and big ones enjoyed the time here. Even Nuha was happy to play here. She even got to ride on Duplo Express, a small train meant for little kids.

Playtown

Inside Playtown

We stopped for a break at Pizza Mania. We did not really like the pizza. There were not many choices  available but the mushroom soup was nice. It was here that my cousin last saw her wallet. She only discovered later that she had lost it. While walking, we saw one of the staff on walkie-talkie and told him about it. He told us that he would inform all the staff to keep a look out for the wallet and told us to check with the guest services before we go off if anyone had returned the wallet. True enough, when we checked with guest services at the end of the day, one of the staff had found and returned the wallet. We really thank Legoland for the help and professionalism of its staff.

We also went to the much talked-about miniland. Honestly speaking, when people talked about miniland, I was never intrigued. I mean, why would you want to look at miniatures when you have seen the real thing. But boy was I blown away! It was beautiful. The whole set-up was beautiful and beyond my imagination. Some of the vehicles in the set-ups were also moving. We spent quite some time there.

A small part of the Miniland.

We also had a short break at The Cafe where we were serenaded to by a band. They can sing just about anything, except for 'Oppa Gangnam Style' (the kids asked for this). Apparently Legoland does not allow them to sing that. The kids opted for 'Let it Go' taken from the movie Frozen. And these people could really really sing.

Overall, we love Legoland Malaysia. The toilets are clean. There are lots of rides. If you have little ones who do not meet the height requirements, there are also themed playgrounds in the different areas for them to explore while they wait for their older siblings.

The Legoland Express. We did not manage to ride this as it was already closed by the time we reached it.

One thing to take note of is that there are not many shelters in Legoland. The weather can get really hot so arm yourselves and family with caps or umbrellas and have lots and lots of water with you. Ensure that the kids stay hydrated at all times.

You might want to consider staying at Legoland Hotel if you are there. We started our day at the themepark at 10a.m. and ended at 8p.m., yet there were still some rides we missed. We will definitely make a return trip to Legoland Malaysia.

Legoland Malaysia - WaterPark

Day 1 (30 Jan 2014, eve of Chinese New Year)

After checking-in at Hotel Legoland (see our post earlier) and exploring the hotel, we headed to the WaterPark at around 1.30p.m. The WaterPark is opened from 10a.m. till 6p.m. We had purchased 2-day combo tickets earlier when we booked our hotel.

It was not crowded at all. We rented a big locker for RM20 and dumped our stuff in there. There is a small locker for rent too (Note: Use pin instead of fingerprint scan so that your family members can also access the locker without you having to get out of the waterpark to open up the locker). There have cabanas for rent too for RM300 (whole day) or RM150 (from 2p.m.). The cabanas are for four people. It consists of chaise lounge chairs, a mini fridge and a safe deposit. You can also get the staff there to assist you with buying of food. 

We did not take the cabana as knowing our kids, we will not have time to sit down and relax. It will all be fun and play.

We went straight for the Build-a-raft river. The kids had to put on life jackets which can be found near the entrance of build-a-raft and wave pool.

After that we played a while in Splash Safari. This is for children under 5 years old. Then headed for Joker Soaker which is a water playground. It is easy to lose your child here as they get very excited to explore all the slides and water cannons.

Joker Soaker (pic from Legoland website)

Auni gamely went down the Twin Chasers while hubby and I looked after Ulfa and Nuha. We had a break and ate at Brick Bay Café. Thereafter we repeated some rides like the Joker Soaker and Build-a-raft. There were some rides that we did not go on especially those where Ulfa and Nuha could not take. Lastly, we settled in the wave pool.

Twin Chasers (pic from Legoland website)

Wave Pool (pic from Legoland website)

At around 5p.m., we decided to call it a day. We decided to go back to the hotel although there were family changing rooms provided (still segregated by gender though). Before that, we dried ourselves in this big dryer machine. It cost RM10 and can fit your whole family comfortably.

* We brought our camera along and then accidentally left it in the locker. We were having too much fun to go back and get the camera, thus the lack of pictures :)

On Trip, Tremors, Tots & Kids - Travelling with Small Children

During the June holidays, my family and I went on a trip to Jakarta and Bandung. We were all really excited as we were travelling together with our extended family members. So it was a big group of us. It was also to be Nuha's first flight.

Our flight was an evening flight so as soon as we touched down in Jakarta, we proceeded straight to the hotel for a rest.

The following day, we made our way to Bandung. On the way to Bandung, we stopped by Taman Safari. Taman Safari now is sooooooo much better than the last time I went (which was 5 years ago, I think). The kids (and the adults) enjoyed themselves so much. The animals will come really close to you. Some will wait by the window of your vehicle hoping that you will feed them. You can buy the food from the roadside stalls (you'll see them as you are nearing Taman Safari). The stalls sell carrots and some other vegetables. We did not buy any so we did not get to feed them. I am not sure whether Taman Safari allows us to feed the animals though I did not see any signs prohibiting one from doing so. I did see a few other people who fed the animals. If you ask me, I don't think one should be feeding the animals unless the Park itself sells the food for the animals' consumption.

I recommend making a trip to Taman Safari if you are travelling between Jakarta and Bandung. Your kids will really love this trip. Even the tigers and lions were up close.  We had to stop our vehicle to allow a tiger to cross. But please remember NOT to open your windows especially when you are around the tigers and lions. We saw one person who actually opened his car door while at the tigers' area and another car actually honked at him to stop him. Thankfully nothing happened and he closed the door. I have no idea why he opened the door in the first place.

There is also like small area for children to play. There are rides and of course, pony rides and elephant rides. There is also a foodcourt where we stopped to have our lunch. While having our lunch, we saw the clouds descend. It was truly a beautiful sight! (I forgot to mention that Taman Safari is on high grounds). It started to get cold and drizzle.

After lunch, we made our way up to Puncak. I've been to Puncak a couple of times. 'Puncak' means 'peak' in English. So we literally travelled up to the peak. What you can do here is have a break, sit at one of the stalls and enjoy the Pisang Bakar with tea while taking in the beautiful view around you. However, this time round, we did not stop as it was raining. Instead, we made our way to Bandung. We made a couple of stops along the way for toilet breaks and prayers. For Muslims, there is actually a very big and beautiful mosque up in Puncak. I can't remember the name of it though.

Unfortunately for us, we got stuck in a very bad traffic jam (both Bandung's and Jakarta's traffic are really bad). A tip though, if you are driving to Puncak or Bandung, avoid the weekends. After 3p.m. is also bad coz of people returning from work.  Due to the jam, we reached Bandung in the evening. Even so, we managed to visit 2 factory outlets. (Shopping in Bandung is a must!)

After that we checked into our hotel, Ibis Bandung Trans Studio. It is a new hotel. Nice, clean and awesome breakfast. It is located next to the Trans Studio which is a new theme park. We checked into the hotel around 10.30p.m. Everyone was tired and ready to sleep. So once we get into the room, everyone changed into their pyjamas. Ulfa started crying and Auni wanted to watch a little television so hubby and I decided maybe we could order some midnight snack. Hubby then went to boil some water. He felt a bit woozy and went to sit on the bed. We were all on the bed looking through the menu when we heard the knock on our door. When hubby checked, there was no one there. Then there was a second knock. This time round it was my brother and his family. He told us that there were tremors and people are evacuating the building. That explains why hubby felt woozy. He thought he was getting dizzy when in fact it was the building shaking. I didn't feel it coz I was on the bed. We just had time to grab whatever was important and go down to the lobby.

My proudest moment was looking at Auni, who took upon the role of the carer. Seeing that my sister-in-law was experiencing vertigo and nausea, she held on to my sis-in-law's hand and stayed with her throughout the wait. She kept on checking whether sis-in-law was alright and when the building was declared safe, she sent sis-in-law to her room and told her to have a good rest and that everything will be better the next day.

I must commend the staff of Ibis Bandung Trans Studio. They kept us updated on the situation and provided drinks to all who were at the lobby to calm our nerves.

When we returned to our rooms, hubby and my girls all fell asleep instantly (they were beat). I kept a bottle of water (half filled) next to me so that I could see if the building was shaking (Yes, I was paranoid!).

The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast. We were torn between checking our Trans Studio Bandung and Tangkuban Perahu. We thought of letting the rest go to Tangkuban Perahu while hubby, the girls and I have fun at Trans Studio. However, Auni and Ulfa wanted to join their cousins who were going to Tangkuban Perahu so we didn't get a chance to explore Trans Studio Bandung. On the way to Tangkuban Perahu, we say a demonstration going on. Another interesting experience...

Demonstration in progress

View on the way to Tangkuban Perahu

We then went to Tangkuban Perahu, which is a volcano. It was truly a sight, except for street vendors who follow you everywhere you go, insisting that you buy whatever they were selling, at exorbitant prices. That kinda spoilt everything for me. I felt so claustrophobic cause these people were following us around and talking to us about whatever they were selling. I felt that I couldn't enjoy the scenery and I couldn't even bond with my family members cause these people were constantly interrupting us all the time. My advice is, you can skip this place, unless you do not mind the street vendors.

Thereafter, we returned to Bandung for more shopping before heading back to Jakarta. We left Bandung at around 7p.m. and only reached Jakarta at 1A.M.!!! Why you ask, we were stuck in a jam. Yes, traffic jam, at night, on the highway. This time round with the heavy vehicles. I supposed all the container trucks were out doing their deliveries at night. When we reached Jakarta, we got caught in a flood. Our bus did go through the flood. But some areas were too deep so we took a detour.

We spent the next 2 days in Jakarta. We did lots of shopping (I am so glad that I've got all GIRLS, and they love shopping too). We decided to give DUFAN a miss coz we were afraid the area could be flooded.

All in all, I thought our trip could have been better planned. I would love to go to Trans Studio Bandung. However, it was tough planning as we did not expect the traffic jam to be really bad. But I am glad for the experience (tremors and floods). I was able to see the side of Auni that I have not seen before. The experience I had there, was one that I will never forget.