Video of Haji Ahmad area, Kuantan

I'm bringing you a video of the Haji Ahmad area of Kuantan. This video is amongst some recently new shoplots which have been built up just around the corner from my house. Hope you enjoy it!

Fidelia's Friday - My Precious Ones

Here are the three most important people in my life. I love them so much. They lighten up my life and I will love them always.

Leah fell asleep on Duncan when he was on the computer

Lauren watching her cartoons

Leah and her lollipop

These are my precious ones. I am so lucky to have them in my life.

Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend everyone!

Fidelia's Friday - Happy Birthday!

This October we are celebrating two of the most important people in my life.

Tomorrow, 8th October will be my dearest sister, Florianna's birthday and she will be celebrating it with her friends and my youngest sister, Florina who is flying from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur tonight. 

Then on the 16th, it will be the birthday of the wonderful husband of mine! We will be celebrating his birthday with a free night stay at Vistana Hotel this Sunday. We will still be in Kuching on his actual birthday. 

I love the both of you. Hoping the two of you will have a lovely birthday this year and wishing you both many more wonderful birthdays to come!

My sister, Florianna

Duncan and Lauren when she was a baby...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUYS! LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH...

CPB members, vote for my photos here

Fidelia's Friday - Dissatisfied customer

Yesterday, Duncan decided to print out some pictures so we could put them in our frames at home. So, he went to this printing shop which he truly trusts (because he was satisfied with their service the last time he went) nearby our house.

When he came back, I saw his unhappy face and he said "I am not very happy with them!" I asked "Why?" So, he showed me the pictures. My reaction was "Oh my, what have they done to our pictures?" I couldn't believe for the first time Duncan didn't say a word to them when he saw those pictures and instead he just paid them! Seeing those horrible looking pictures just completely destroyed the start of my lovely day.

Duncan decided to make things right. So, he cycled to another photo shop about 20 minutes away. When he reached the shop, he asked them while showing the awful pictures, "Can you do better than these?" They answered, "Of course!"

So, I am now a happy lady again after we developed better ones. We are now able to put them in our beautiful frames and make our house look even better.

Here are a couple of pictures that really got me angry. Are you ready?

On the left, I looked like I have a third degree sunburn! The right one is better quality!

As you can see in the bottom picture, I screwed it up because I was so angry! Look at us? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw this. Now I can laugh about it though.

Anyway, I also fixed our printer today. We can print out pictures ourselves now so Duncan and I are happy bunnies. Save a lot of money as well because we don't have to send the printer to a computer shop to fix the cartridges. 

Have you ever been a dissatisfied customer before? If yes, do you tell them that you are not satisfied or you just keep quiet and get on with your life? I think we have the right to say what we think is not good enough. CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! 

Fidelia's Friday - Wonderful husband of mine!

Where do I begin? Today's post is all about my dearest husband. I would like to make a small contribution for my lovely husband which he totally deserves.

I was inspired to write about Duncan when he cycled to the National Registration Department yesterday to get Leah's MyKid (Malaysian Children Identity Card). I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband who is willing to cycle for 30 minutes rather than having me drive there and leave Leah at home. Leah needs me because I am fully breastfeeding her and I don't like to pump my milk and store it in a feeding bottle because she doesn't like it. 

When I gave birth to Lauren and Leah, he would cycle to the hospital to see me. He didn't want to trouble anyone to take him there. Every time he arrived at the maternity ward, there would always be a big smile on his face despite all the tiredness and sweat. Cycling from our apartment to the hospital takes about 20 minutes. To cycle under the hot and humid weather back and fro? Yes, it is very hard work! Kudos to him! Not many people can do that.

Duncan will also cycle to the post office to pay our bills. It saves time to find a parking space if we drive there. He can just lock his bicycle in front of the post office which is very convenient. 

Another thing that Duncan always does is food shopping. With two young children, that can be very difficult. Duncan always volunteers to do it himself. He will walk all the way to the supermarket with his back-pack and come home carrying all the food. He prefers me to stay with the children at the comfort of our home. How sweet and thoughtful of him.

There are so many things that he has done that I could mention here but the most important thing that I want everyone to know is that he is a husband and a father who is willing to sacrifice himself so me and the children  can have a better life.

Lauren wouldn't want any other daddy than Duncan. She told me herself. She loves her daddy so much and she can't be apart from him for a long time. She would ask "Where's daddy? Why is he so long? I miss him!" Most of the time, he'll only be gone for 3 hours. Try to imagine when her daddy goes to Singapore. Yes, I have to answer her all the time!

Leah is always excited when her daddy comes to talk and play with her. Duncan knows how to make Leah smile and laugh. One of the reasons I fell in love with Duncan is he is a very funny guy. I love it! 

I am the luckiest woman alive to be married to him. I wouldn't want anyone else. We've been married for more than 5 years and I am still so much in love with him. I am looking forward for many years to come with him. 

How do you find your married life? Do you love it or you wish you never got married? Or you prefer to stay single? I love mine. I love being married and a guy named Duncan David Horne makes it a wonderful experience.

Fidelia's Friday - Finally I'm going back to Kuching

I finally will be going back to Kuching after 5 years. I couldn't believe that the tickets are booked and I'll be flying in October.

I was so excited that I couldn't sleep the night the tickets were booked. I had all sorts of things in my head. Thinking about my favourite noodle, Kolo Mee and one particular rice porridge from the open-air market in town.

I had to persuade Duncan to agree with me because he didn't want to go through the hassle of travelling with young children. Being a photographer at my eldest sister's wedding reception got him thinking! I know he would love to take new photos for his blog. Something different to share with his fellow bloggers. 

So, we will be staying there for a week and I know it will go by so fast. I will spend my time wisely there because it might be another 5 years until I go back again.

I am over-the-top excited for our trip back. Not looking forward to the bus ride from Kuantan to KL though and the long flight back to Kuching. I am hoping the children will behave well. Hoping it will be a stress-free journey (which I doubt it will).

So, have you ever been over-the-top excited about something until you can't sleep at night??? Even Duncan is excited to go back to Kuching now!

Fidelia's Friday - A typical day in my life!

My day starts the moment Leah wakes up in the morning around 8am. Then, I will feed her and if I am lucky, she will go to sleep again. If not, Duncan and I will play and talk to her for a while on the bed. She can be very talkative. So cute!

Around 10am Lauren will wake up. While waiting for her to wake up, I will have my breakfast. Usually cereal with milk. 

Laundry is also done in the morning. This takes about 1 hour! The reason is because our washing machine is semi-auto so it takes more work than fully-auto ones. Not complaining as long as I am not doing the laundry by hands.

When it's 11am, it's time for the children to go for a bath. Duncan usually bathe Leah and I will dress her up. After Leah's turn, it's Lauren's. I will take care of Lauren after that. Comb and tie her hair! Lauren knows how to dress herself up. She'll say "I can do it all by myself!"

Lunch will be around 1pm. Thinking what to cook for lunch is always difficult. So, sometimes we just have sandwiches! 

Nowadays we will go for a walk on the field around 6pm. Lauren and her daddy will play football while I just walk around with Leah. The walk usually ends up with Lauren playing the slides and see-saw. We love our evening walk!

Dinner time will be around 7pm or 7.30pm. Duncan and I will take turn to cook dinner. We usually have "Sweet and Sour Fish" or soup.

At 8pm until 10pm, Duncan will have his class and I will take care of the children. Put Leah to bed around 9pm and watch television with Lauren.

10pm sharp is our CSI: Miami! It is a MUST-WATCH action series! One of our favourite action series called NCIS:LA that starts at 11pm just finished last night. So, we need to find something new to watch!

I normally go to bed first, then closely followed by Duncan. That would be around 12am or earlier. Meanwhile, Lauren will fall asleep on the couch and Duncan will carry her to her bedroom before he goes to bed!

I love my typical day! It is good to have a routine. It kinda make things a lot easier to handle and plan.

So, how is your typical day? Is it a hectic or a relaxing one? Mine certainly looks not so hectic but let me tell ya, it can be sometimes! 

Fidelia's Friday - Being a young mother of two young children

When I first gave birth to Lauren, I was 22 and in my final year of university. I was taking a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering. This course takes 4  and a half years to complete. During my final year, I found out I was pregnant with Lauren and I had to put my studies and scholarship on hold for a year. 

I gave birth to Lauren via emergency C-section on January 7th, 2008. It was the happiest and most emotional day for me when I heard her first cry. Too bad Duncan wasn't there in the operation theater with me. I had to go through a painful experience before she was born. I was diagnosed with Impending Eclampsia (IE). My blood pressure suddenly went up during the last few weeks of my pregnancy. I got dripped on both of my hands and blood pressure taken every 15 minutes using the automatic machine. I felt like I was going to die! I just couldn't wait for Lauren to be born.

Now Lauren is 3 years and 7 months old! I can't believe how fast the time has passed. I had to leave her with Duncan when she was 6 months old because I had to resume my studies. It wasn't easy to have a baby and study at the same time. Sometimes I went back home late at night because of night classes. Two years later, I finally graduated! I couldn't believe it myself that I managed to complete it and my results were better than some of my friends who were not married and had no children at that time. I am proud of myself! I am grateful and thankful for the support I had received during those couple of hard years, especially from my husband, Duncan.

After I completed my studies, I went to work and I had to leave Lauren with Duncan again but this time she was a lot bigger. I didn't feel that bad!

Last year, I found out I was pregnant again with Leah, at 25 years old. We were all so excited especially Lauren who finally would have someone to play with. She was born on June 15th 2011. Today she got her 2-month injection and she cried as loud as she could. I felt for her! Giving birth to Leah was a lot easier than Lauren. I was having natural contractions and  I was in a short labour before she was born. So, that was good! Duncan had many problems with the hospital staff and he could go on and on about that! They didn't tell him anything at all. They don't really involve the husbands when it comes to their wives being in labour! 

Anyway, this time Duncan was there to witness the birth of Leah. It was again the happiest and most emotional day of my life! It was the same as when I had Lauren. I love them both so much and being a mother of two is a very busy life for me. Need to bathe, feed and keep them occupied. I love being a mother. Waking up in the middle of the night is a normal routine for me. I have no complaints!

So, how do enjoy your motherhood/fatherhood? Have you ever thought of being a mother/father one day? I always wanted to be a mother! I am now and I love it! I love every single moment of it!

Fidelia's Friday - Life in Kuantan

Life in Kuantan wasn't so exciting for me at first. It was back in June 2004. I spent most of my time in my university campus and went to town once in a while. I felt it was a small and boring place with only one big shopping mall! It is so different from my home town Kuching. 

I only started to enjoy staying in Kuantan when Duncan and I moved to our apartment in Bukit Sekilau. I lived off campus and drove to university every weekday for my classes and sometimes on Saturdays. It was a 45-minute drive for me. I have my friend, Thinesh to thank because he helped me to find a place to live. 

Our apartment is situated in a very strategic place. We are near a private hospital, a government clinic, a pharmacy, a supermarket, a night market, a petrol station (or a gas station) and right now the most happening shopping mall in Kuantan called East Coast Mall! Also we are near the only 5 star hotel in Kuantan, the Zenith Hotel! One more thing that would make this place complete is a bus stop! I barely see a public bus around Bukit Sekilau. 

The food in Kuantan is also so different from my home town but it is nice and delicious. I miss my kolo mee (a famous noodle in Sarawak) and my dad's bamboo chicken once in a while and I miss my sago worms now and again! The Bak Kut Teh in Kuching is more delicious than Kuantan. So, in terms of food I prefer Kuching food! 

We make more friends as time passes by. Most of them came from being Duncan's students' parents. We love our friends here in Kuantan. They will help us whenever they can if we ask them. So, that's good! During festive season, they will kindly invite us to their houses and we really appreciate that. We love food! Free food! Who doesn't?!

Right now, I enjoy my life in Kuantan. I don't enjoy all the firecrackers being set up at night during festive season but I enjoy the fireworks they put on show during Chinese New Year just outside our apartment on the field! Beautiful! Although my Lauren is scared of the loud noise, she also enjoys the beauty of it!

So, are you enjoying your life in a place where you are currently living now? Because I am definitely loving my life here in Kuantan!

Fidelia's Friday - Route to Kuantan

I am a small woman born in a city called Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak. Sarawak is situated on Borneo and it is a multiracial state. So, I am so used to being around a lot of races. I come from an Iban family, which is the biggest race in Sarawak. To learn more of the Iban people click here.

I grew up with four of my other siblings. We are all girls. I am the second one and the one who always gave my dad a big headache when I was a teenager. I was a tomboy for a good couple of years during my teenage years. I played football with my neighbours (not that I was good at it) and most of my friends were boys. I never missed watching live football when my state team called the "Bujang Senang" (otherwise known as Sarawak) played at the stadium. Back then they were good with a few  foreigners playing but now they are quite rubbish. Sorry to say! I am more interested in Manchester United now after I got married. My husband got me into English football and taught me everything he knows about his favourite team. To my surprise, I was a fast learner! So, I have been supporting Manchester United for more than 5 years now!

Anyway, after I finished high school at the age of 17, I continued my studies to pre-university. There I was learning foundation in Science. I spent a year on an island called Labuan. This beautiful but small island is not far from a state called Sabah, which is also on Borneo island. I loved my time there! The only memory that I don't want to conjure up is the frequent shortage of water! I had to get up at 5am to fill up a bucket of water from another hostel. We had to walk down our stairs and up the stairs of another hostel. One good exercise after we filled up our buckets! 

After I finished my pre-university, we were given 8 choices of universities we wanted to apply for. So, one of my choices was University Malaysia Pahang which is here in Kuantan. I got that offer and I studied here for 2 years before I met Duncan in Kuching during my semester break. We got married during my 3rd year of university and he came to Kuantan to be here with me! After 6 years of hard work and ups and downs with my studies, I finally graduated. 

After graduation, I don't feel like being a chemical engineer because it is a very demanding job. It has tight schedules as well. I chose that career before I was married because I didn't think I was going to get married at the age of 21. Things changed along the way. I have other commitments now. My highest priority is being with my children and taking care of them. I want them to have the memories of me being with them when they were young. Something they can tell their friends when they are older and say "my mother was always there for me whenever I needed her!"

So, here we have been living in Kuantan for more than 5 years already. I thought we would be moving out after I completed my studies but no, we didn't. Kuantan is our home now. The home to both our children because they were born here.

So, have you ever thought about moving out of your hometown to settle somewhere else? I never thought about it but here I am! Born in Kuching, settled in Kuantan!

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday my wife and I marked our 5th wedding anniversary. The time has gone by so quickly!

My wife prepared a most beautiful lunch of roast chicken and potatoes with gravy, which we eat on special occasions. I decided that we should dine out on our balcony. Despite 34C temperatures, our balcony fortunately sits in the shade during the day, and we had a fan placed nearby to blow welcome cool air over us.

I also printed out our wedding pictures from 5 years ago so we can put them into an album. Previously they have just been stored on cd, but they are so nice that I want them to be more accessible :)

Our wedding pictures from May 2006:

And here are a few pictures from yesterday, 5 years on...

This great cake was made by our neighbour, Dora

Our anniversary lunch out on the balcony

Your blogger, Duncan D. Horne

Christmas Party Christmas Eve

We were invited to a party on Christmas Eve by our friend Shirley. Her boss was holding the party at Kuantan's Mega View Hotel. It was due to start at 8pm but began closer to 8.30pm. It was a small party with about 60-70 people in attendance, but the food was sufficiently adequate and delicious too. Funnily enough, it was the butter rice with yellow raisins that I loved the most! Lauren couldn't stop eating my chicken - I barely got a look in!

There didn't seem to be a schedule in place - children ran wild, pulled down the decorations, and threw balloons everywhere - even before all the guests had arrived! There were a few games afterwards, which I helped to plan, and a lucky draw for which my wife and I won two water bottles and our neighbours won two Tupperware boxes. We missed out on the food hampers, but at least we enjoyed the food; my lovely wife pigged out on the corn-on-the-cob!

I was proud to have my particularly stunning wife sitting beside me

Me and my gorgeous wife

We sat at table number 7

The food...

...and the dessert

Lauren has a great time playing with a balloon

Our friends and neighbours, Sharon and Shirley Tong

Shirley with Lauren

Lauren just couldn't keep her head still.
L-R: Dora, Melvin, Duncan, Fidelia, Lauren, Shirley, Sharon

Tour and Interview With Zenith Hotel General Manager, Jerina Foong

This morning I had the privilege of meeting the General Manager of the Zenith Hotel, Jerina Foong, along with Assistant Director of Sales, Michelle Wong. Michelle was the first to meet us as we entered Zenith Hotel on this glum morning as the drizzle lightly fell to the earth. She had a very pleasant demeanour and welcomed us warmly as soon as we came through the doors. Before long, the vibrant Jerina joined us as we engaged in refreshing conversation about my promotion of the Zenith Hotel on my blog, which has caught the attention of a number of Zenith Hotel employees, like Jerina and Michelle.

Our guided tour of the Zenith Hotel soon began after I had the opportunity to ask several questions to Jerina about the Zenith Hotel. Luckily I had prepared a few questions and brought along some paper and a pen. I found it very easy to speak with both Jerina and Michelle, and they both gave detailed answers to my queries.

I first asked whether the Zenith Hotel will provide healthy competition with other hotels in Kuantan. Jerina responded that it's not as much 'competition' as it is 'working partners'. This is due to the fact that Zenith Hotel will be attracting a whole new market of people, and not necessarily be 'stealing' customers from other hotels. For the first few months at least, the main market will be local Malaysians. I came to learn from her remarks that the Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre (SASICC) will play a big role in attracting business to the Zenith Hotel, through various activities such as meetings and weddings.

One of the first questions I asked was the first question that is on most Malaysians lips - Why is the price of rooms so expensive? And how on earth is Zenith Hotel going to fill 500+ rooms at such rates? I discussed this with Michelle earlier, and then Jerina, and they both explained how the prices on the website www.thezenithhotel.com are merely the published prices which they have to show. The actual prices are likely to be reduced slightly and are subject to continual change according to amount of traffic and seasonal adjustments. I personally feel that when one has walked around Zenith Hotel and appreciated the quality and good service, they will gladly pay whatever the current price stands at.

I asked Jerina about the time scale of the construction of Zenith Hotel. She replied that Zenith Hotel is still as yet, far from finished. It is a great work in progress, with 10 floors expected to be opened and ready for occupancy by the end of January, with a more high-key opening planned for January 1st, 2011. She estimated that the Zenith Hotel will be fully completed by March 2011. I also took this moment to enquire concerning Menara Putra, the office block, and was informed that it will be complete by June 2011.

Today's soft opening is extremely low-key with only a fine dusting of visitors arriving, of which, I'm rather quite proud to say, I was the first! There are no reporters or government officials, which typifies the owner of Zenith Hotel, Dato' Seri Tew, who sat quietly at a distant table with a friend as I conducted my interview with Jerina. He also owns the nearby East Coast Mall.

Another question I asked was concerning the old flats situated behind East Coast Mall and the pink Health Officials Quarters just beside Zenith Hotel. There is nothing they can do about those particular flats, Jerina commented, as they are government property. However, there are plans in the pipeline for the old flats behind East Coast Mall to be demolished and the residents relocated to proper housing.

Jerina Foong, an avid runner, is a very well-spoken lady of 51, who looks more like 31, and speaks immaculate English, as does Michelle Wong, who originates from Kuching, Sarawak. Our conversation turned towards education and the importance of the English language, and my tuition classes here in Kuantan. We both agreed that English grammar is the absolute necessity and foundation of the language but sadly, is the weakest element of English amongst many Malaysians. It was a pleasure for me to be engaged in conversation with two people proficient in the English language, because it is an extremely rare occurrence, and a total delight when it does come!

The one big concern harboured by Jerina was the lack of support from the tourism ministry in promoting and advertising Zenith Hotel. We were both of the same mind that a lot, lot more could and should be done by the government in the way of tourism.

Zenith Hotel will be including a shuttle bus to Teluk Chempedak (TC), the popular beach on the coast of Peninsular Malaysia, a mere 10-15 minute drive from Kuantan town. The shuttle will be arriving on 31st December, 2010 and will drop off passengers at a number of tourist spots including TC, which are still being determined. Jerina understands that visitors don't just want to stay in a hotel during their holidays, but they need to get out and see things, so the shuttle is a way in which Zenith Hotel is fulfilling this need. Other places a little farther away are being considered too, with Sungai Lembing the most appealing of places.

The Zenith Hotel is opening slowly, step-by-step as it continues to work on finishing touches and preparing its staff, which is currently 200, for 5-star performance, which admittedly will take time and follow a trial and error format. However, after seeing the inside of Zenith Hotel for the first time this lunchtime, I have nothing but admiration for its structure and design and I gained a better understanding of its situation and striving to be recognised and profitable. The hotel industry after all, is a very sensitive industry, which can easily be affected by political unrest or health issues, so you can never be quite sure how successful it can be.

Let's all hope for the best and support this new development in Kuantan, which could be the start of a whole new line of hotels. Here are the pictures of my guided tour accompanied by Jerina Foong, General Manager, and Michelle Wong, Assistant Director of Sales

Jerina and Michelle, thank you so much for taking the time to show us around, answer questions, and treat us to lunch! We very much look forward to a free night's stay at Zenith Hotel which you have graciously offered us in January 2011. We are very grateful for your generosity and kindness!

The men's toilet

And the ladies toilet!

The view from a room on the 5th floor - shame about the dismal weather!

Lauren's excited to try out the swimming pool!

Here is the king-sized bed in the room

Flat screen TV, study table. A nice and simple room, yet elegant at the same time

A separate shower and bath tub; much more convenient!

Simple bathroom with a nice protruding wash basin

Me and Lauren in the elevator

The flash elevator controls

The mirrored elevator doors

No pets, durians or mangosteen welcome here!

Jerina gave us a sneak peek inside SASICC. To the left is Exhibition Hall 1

Exhibition Hall 2 is vast!

Viewing the right side, all the furniture is stacked up ready to be sent to the ballrooms

On the left side, portable stages and cutlery from the Middle-East

Work goes on, but a wedding has been booked for this ballroom on 15th January, 2011.

The stairs are brilliantly illuminated in blue, primarily to help people see the steps as they are difficult to detect since they are made from the same marble

Lauren couldn't leave the stairs alone!

Close-up detail of the staircase

Standing at the Christmas Tree - (L-R: Michelle Wong, Jerina Foong, Lauren, Fidelia, Duncan)

Lauren posing at the water feature in the lobby

Close-up of the water feature

Seating in the lobby area

Detail from the window at the seating area

Lines of grain lie in between the glass

Top of the door handle leading to the outside eating area

The lounge bar

View of the dining area

A private room in the dining room

Like Beijing's Bird Nest Stadium, this wall separates the private rooms from the dining room without completely isolating them

Another private section

Dining room wallpaper detail

Metallic motifs of Malaysia's hibiscus flower at the reception desk

More detail behind the reception desk

Taking a rest before lunch

The menu

Hot chocolate

I had to try "The Zenith" Nasi Lemak! It was great and the beef rendang was particularly tender

Fidelia opted for the Seafood Hor Fun. I wonder what Gordon Ramsay would make of these plates?!

Michelle, who accompanied us for lunch, enjoyed the Nasi Goreng Istimewa

Enjoying our lunch at Zenith Hotel

A Fruit Platter went down a treat afterwards

L-R: Jerina Foong, General Manager, Duncan, blogger, Michelle Wong, Assistant Director of Sales, Lauren, cute child, Fidelia, amazing wife and chemical engineering graduate

I will be back at the Zenith Hotel tonight to take some pictures of the hotel in all its nightly glory! Check my blog tomorrow for the pictures!

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