Fidelia's Friday - Great trip

We finally went back to Kuching on 12th October 2011. We stayed there for 7 days. It went by very fast for us.

Kuching City, looking down from the plane...

When we reached home, my three sisters, Felicia, Florianna and Florina were there to greet us. My grandma (my dad's mum) finally was able to meet her English/Iban great grandchildren. She wasn't aware of our second daughter, Leah. Nobody told her that I gave birth to the second one. So, she was like "Whose baby is this then?" Oh, bless her!

Our grandma with her granddaughters and great granddaughters...

The first day was just a rest day for us. My dad cooked us lovely dinner! He is a very talented cook. He has been cooking for us since we were born even until now.

Home sweet home...

The second day was a busy one. We had to do all the preparation needed for the reception. After our dinner at home, my dad took us to Kuching Riverfront. 

Kuching Waterfront

The third day was a Friday. My dad took a day off work so he could take us to Damai Beach Resort. Before we headed to the beach, we went to Sarawak Museum. At night, we double checked the list for the reception and packed our stuff for a one night stay at Penview Hotel.

Damai Beach

The fourth day was THE BIG DAY for my sister, Felicia and for all of us. We enjoyed ourselves. We sang along with our dad when he sang "Only You". I had to go up to the room early because it was too noisy for Lauren. Leah was being such a good baby! She didn't cry even when people were passing her around like "pass the parcel" game.

Singing with our dad

The fifth day was not a good day for us. When we were about to check out we discovered that Felicia's jewellery box which she borrowed from the bridal shop was stolen from our room. It was there before we all went down for breakfast. It must have been stolen while we were not in the room. The hotel staff didn't seem to care and told us we must have misplaced it and insisted it wasn't the hotel or the housekeepers' fault. My sister had to pay RM500 for it! We were not satisfied with the hotel at all.

Penview Hotel, Kuching

Anyway, let us move on to our sixth day. My sister, Florianna flew back to Johor in the morning. We went to MJC, a place not far from my house to get some lunch. Of course we ordered Kolo Mee. My favourite noodle of all time. We also went to Sunny Hill to buy the best home-made ice-cream in Kuching.

This is where we bought our Kolo Mee...

Kuching Kolo Mee... yummy!

Sunny Hill Ice-cream...

On our last day in Kuching we went to Wisma Saberkas to meet a couple of my university friends. We went to my all time favourite restaurant called ALL JOY! They have the best ginger chicken ever. Our flight was at night and before we boarded the plane, we met my ex-classmate to give her DSLR camera back and she bought some chocolate for Lauren. 

ALL JOY Restaurant...

We really had a good trip! We are now looking forward to the next trip back to my home. 

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!! FOR LAUREN, HER HOME IS KUANTAN AND SHE IS HAPPY TO BE HOME!!!

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Fidelia's Friday - My childhood home

I decided to write about my childhood home. I grew up here since I was 8 years old. There are so many lovely memories here with my sisters and parents. When I arrived back home for the first time in 5 years last week, I shouted out loud "I'm home!!" It was good to be home!

Here are some pictures of my home taken by Duncan...

Looking down from the stairs...

The dining area...

The living room...

The kitchen...

Upstairs...

We love our childhood home. We spent most of our time at home when we were young and now the house is so quiet because everyone has their own life. The only noise we can hear is the dogs barking outside the house!!

In the white cage is Coco. He loves barking at NO ONE! In the black cage is Lucky. Lucky is quieter and more reserved. One more dog Fifi is somewhere outside...

I would love to go back to Kuching once a year for a special occasion for example Christmas Day but sometimes other commitments that we have will get in our way.

Do you still live in a house where you grew up? I hope this childhood home of ours will never be sold and will be forever there for us to treasure!

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Blog Flashbacks Saturday

On this weekend a year ago, in September 2010, I posted some information about the nature of my blog and published images of our home as it was then. It was interesting to see how much it has changed in just a year!

Our home called Kuantan, September 2010

In September 2009, I was, as I am currently, busy watching great tennis from the U.S. Open. I'm a Federer loyalist and he is looking good this year. A couple of years ago he had just beaten Djokovic in the semis to book a final meeting with Juan Martin Del Potro, who famously beat my man in 5 close sets. 

Roger Federer performing a "tweener" - a shot hit between the legs with his back to the court. This shot was a sensational winner, flying straight past Djokovic!

Federer's semi-final from 2009

I'm hoping that Federer can go all the way this year. He may be 30, he may have 2 young children, but he's still got the star quality!

Planking

So there is a fairly new craze called "Planking". I don't know if you are all aware of it, but it's caught on all around the world. If this is all new to you, check out the wikipedia explanation.

For a gallery of planking pictures from around the world, amuse yourself at this link:

funny planking pictures

I decided to give it a go because I think it's hilarious, and I got Lauren to come and try it out with me. These are pretty simple planks at home. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed those starter pictures!

What do you think of planking? And would you try 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!

9 days to Christmas

Christmas is just 9 days away, so I think I better show you around my home at this festive time of year. We have certainly decorated our home more than any of the last four years, and we think it looks kind of nice!

This area of our house has kind of been transformed into a Christmas shrine! More Christmas pictures coming soon...

Our Apartment Block, Kuantan

I recently took a few pictures of our apartment block on a stunningly hot day here in Kuantan. We have been living here in this unnamed apartment block for the last four and a half years. It may not be beautiful on the eye or impressive in style and structure, but it is located in the most convenient place in Kuantan, nearby every needful thing, food, shops, hospital, malls, hotels, bus terminal, stadium, pharmacy, clinic, hairdressers, all within a 10-minute walk. 

Here is the place we call home:

Spot the lizard!

One of two laundry shops on the same row

Joss sticks hang in a pot outside the hairdressers

The block is guarded by palm trees

The end of the block

View from the east

and from the west

Flowers grow around our apartment block in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan

The owner of this lot is taking security seriously!

Ugly water pipes like this are found in strange places in Kuantan

This is the small court where we play badminton