#121 - Adios!

Signed. Sealed. Delivered. (Well, technically)

I tendered my resignation today and am currently serving my 3 days notice. Am taking such a drastic move here, I know. Risky? Definitely. But, at this point I rather clean up after Inas rather than coming to work feeling all stressed up.

The stress started after my manager resigned, leaving me with all the pending assignments. Then, I found out that the babysitter is going back to Indonesia. After deliberately thinking of other options, the pros and cons, I decided to resign. But unlike the first time, this time around requires a lot of sacrifices.

But I must say that I am frustrated with my working life. If only I could put a stop to this. 

Anyway, at this point of time my main focus and priority would be my family. I don't want to burden En. Suami with my never ending work issues. 

I will get back to work if I find something interesting. I might or might not go back to corporate line. Only time would tell.

Till then.

Bye office. Hello huge pile of laundry!

#120 - Adelaide (Last Day)

Our last day in Adelaide. Obviously, it's going to be a shopping day. 

Our first stop of the day was, Harbour Town. We've been told that the outlet is not as big as the one in Perth so we took our own sweet time to shop. Halfway done, we realized that it was not. We didn't manage to cover all the stores. I didn't even get to peek inside Nine West. What a bummer!

We shopped like mad in Pumpkin Patch and I thought that was the quickest way to spend the last couple of hundreds. Needless to say, it was kinda tiring because so little time, so many dresses.

After Harbour Town, we went to have lunch in the city at a place called Mamak Corner. We decided to go separate ways after that because the elders wanted to look for Corelle while the rest of us wanted to look for souvenirs.

From the restaurant, we walked to the city centre and shopped for souvenirs. We were actually quite disappointed that we didn't get to shop at Central Market because of the price difference. 

Anyway, from the city we took the tram for the last time and headed to my MIL's place. We had our last dinner in Adelaide and called it a day.

Once we reached home, there was another task waiting for us. Packing. 

Imagine we have to pack all of these plus other things. It's a challenge I tell you. But, we managed!

It has been a wonderful holiday. I'm glad I went to Adelaide despite hearing "Adelaide bosan" "There's nothing to do in Adelaide" To me, different people has different preference and interest.

So to the people out there, go and explore the world with an open mind. Open your eyes and accept the city/country as it is. Trust me, you will enjoy more!

#119 - Adelaide (Day Three)

Things has not been looking great at the office at the moment. A lot of tension and stress. Motivation went down the drain. Urgh, I wish I could leave everything behind and stay at home. I felt so unappreciated. I could not stand when people keep on questioning my every move and decision. 

IT. IS. SO. FREAKING. ANNOYING.

Anyway, I shall continue with my Aussie travelogue. The day's itinerary went on as planned. Since we left out Caversham during our trip to Perth, we decided to visit Urimbirra Wildlife Park. It was about half an hour trip from the city centre. It was nearing to wombat feeding time when we got there. Aahh lucky us! 

But this guy felt it was okay to cut queue. We took turns feeding the kangaroo. This particular kangaroo was quite gentle as compared to the ones in Melbourne. Lebih sopan santun. Siap pegang tangan kita time nak makan tu.

Initially we thought that we can feed the wombat. Unfortunately no. We could only pat him. Bummer. So, we took a few photos with the wombats.There were other animals at the park such as emu, cassowary, reptiles, wallabies and a few more.

There was also a picnic area inside the park so you can bring some food along with you and spend half a day over there.

Then, we off to Victor Harbor. There's a wooden causeway that connects the mainland to Granite Island. You can either walk or take horsedrawn tram to Granite Island. Mula-mula ingat nak jalan sampai Granite Island tapi memandangkan my MIL tak pegi and my aunt tak larat nak jalan jauh so we just walked half halfway and patah balik.

Bila patah balik tu nampak pulak orang jual jam donuts so we bought some. Masa tu my MIL said she wanted try the horsedrawn tram so all of us pun naik jugak.

The view was breathtaking. I wish I could swim. It looked very tempting. After the whole ride, my nephew wanted to give a try at miniature golf. And I am the partner in crime. It was quite fun actually.

Me in action. I managed to do hole in one but the rest of the course was total failure. Haha. We had a lunch over there before heading back to the city.

On our way back, we made a stop at this farm;

The alpacas farm. They were so cute. You can see the farm by the roadside. These alpacas are for sale so boleh pilih-pilih nak mana satu. The one in the picture above is so cute and looked slightly different than the rest.

Enough sight seeing for the day. Time to head home.

Till then.

#118 - Adelaide (Day Two)

It was a lovely day and the weather was perfect for little sight seeing. We started our day slightly later than intended. It was almost noon when we finally left the house so we went for lunch first at the Central Market (it looked like Chinatown to me) . 

Central Market would be the perfect place if you want to shop for souvenirs. Good quality and cheap. But since we were rushing, we didn't get to explore the place except for Aida. She skipped lunch and went souvenir shopping instead. Good move I might say.

After lunch, we went straight to Hahndorf which was about 30 minutes away from the Adelaide city centre. Hahndorf is an old German town. Though most of the people there speaks English with an Australian accent but you can see traces of German decoration and heritage at most of the premises.

It was quite interesting to explore the city. After that, my BIL wanted to bring us to the animal farm but it was already closed. Bummer. So, we went for strawberry picking instead at Beerenberg Farm. 

The strawberries were big and sweet. For a container that can fit 1kg of strawberries, it cost us AUD10. Nasib baik sedap. There was a shop at the farm. Besides strawberry goods, you can also get other homemade products by Beerenberg. We bought honey, mustard, pickles and mango lime with chili dressing. Yummy!

On our way back to the city, we made another stop at Mount Lofty Summit.

This is the view from the top. Such a breathtaking and panoramic view. Took a few photos and we called it a day.

Till then.

#117 - Adelaide (Day One)

Let's continue where we left off.

We reached Adelaide at about 12 p.m. It was quite a smooth journey except for the last few minutes before we landed. Kapal terbang tu macam terhuyung hayang. Sampai the moment we landed, most of us nak tepuk tangan sebab lega. Haha. I think because the runway dekat dengan city jadi dia kena slow down (assumption dari seorang orang biasa bukan Pilot). Anyways, we were truly glad that we landed safely. 

Remember that I told you that we have someone from Malaysia waiting for us? Well it was our friend, Aida. When we were planning our trip, we asked a few people around us if they would like to join us for the trip. Aida was one of them. Initially, she wanted to join us for the whole trip but since it coincided with Hari Raya Aidiladha, she decided to join us only in Adelaide. 

After we settled with the car rental, we headed to the first house where my MIL, aunt, BIL and nephews would be staying. Again, we had to stay separately as we already did our booking so much earlier than the rest. If we cancel our booking, we won't be getting back our deposit so we decided to stay separately. AUD200 is a lot, okay! 

We took the opportunity to freshen up and performed Zohor prayer before we off to Rundle Mall Street for lunch and sightseeing. We had our lunch at this place called Swinging Bowl. They served nasi campur, Malaysian style. Sambal belacan FTW!

I didn't plan to shop yet as I already allocated one day to shop later so we just roam around and took some photos. Oh, but we shopped for some groceries. Bought salmon and banana for Inas and that's all.

After we had our dinner, my BIL sent us back. We stayed at Casa Barzana in Norwood. The place is so cute and homely. Perfect for the 4 of us.

The living hall

The master bedroom

The second bedroom

The kitchen

The backyard

I loved the house. We booked this place through stayz.com. There's a coffee joint in front of the house which was very convenient to us. Hahah.

Till my next entry.

#116 - Bye Perth, Hello Adelaide

Perth travelogue continue...

We spent our last day in Perth shopping at Harbor Town. It is a shopping outlet for all branded stuffs. Our initial plan was to go to Caversham to see the animals especially the kangaroos but considering the journey, time and Inas was not feeling too well, we decided to cancel the trip. 

I don't know about my husband but I didn't really quite enjoy shopping at that time; one because Inas was not feeling too well and we still can't splurge as we were heading to Adelaide the next day. We mostly shopped for Inas. OMG I went totally crazy looking at those cute dresses.

For myself, I bought one pair of Nine West wedges and bag. And that's it!

After Harbor Town, we went to the city to find some souvenirs for people back home. 

We bought our dinner on the way back to the hotel. We decided to have it at the hotel as we need to start packing for Adelaide. Our flight would at 6.45 a.m. and we have to be at the airport by 5.45 a.m. Whether we like it or not, we have to finish packing by that night.

After I'm done nursing Inas, I passed her to En. Suami so I can start packing. It took me almost half of the night to pack. It was such a chore as we can't fit everything inside our luggage. With a toddler in tow, I tried not to have so many carry-ons as we might overlook it. Takut akhirnya tercicir dan tertinggal.

We woke up at 4 to get ready and finished packing all the small stuffs. As we stayed at different place, we thought it would be better to go to the airport separately. Jadi, tak payahlah rearrange alll the luggage banyak kali.

We arrived at the airport on time. Initially, we wanted to do self check in but since we have wheelchairs we had to do counter check in. The best part, the person who served us at the counter was a Malaysian. 

The flight to Adelaide took about 3 hours. We were served with muesli cereal and yogurt. They have another set of meal but we were not too sure what were the ingredients so we have to settle with the cereal.

We reached Adelaide at about 12pm and we have someone from Malaysia waiting for us.

Till my next entry.

#115 - Perth City (Day Three)

Assalamualaikum.

It's going to be a quite a lengthy post with many pictures in it. Let's continue with my Perth Story.

Perth City: Day Three

On 15th October 2013, Muslims all over the world celebrate Eidul Adha. Alhamdulillah, we had the opportunity to celebrate this auspicious day in Perth. Obviously, the best place to be would be Makkah but one day, insya Allah.

That morning, instead of going to the mosque, we joined other fellow Muslims to perform our prayer at King's Park. It was truly one of the best experiences and it was a beautiful sight on its own. 

While performing Eid prayer in Malaysia could mean one thing; sea of people wearing white praying attire (telekung), over here you could see so many different attires, colours and fashion. Interesting.

After taking a few photos, we went to the other side of the park for another photo session.

Initially, I wanted to find the exact spot where Adam (Aaron Aziz) came to see Hawa (Nadiya Nisaa) from the famous drama "Adam & Hawa" but we were running out of time. But we managed to take beautiful photos with panoramic view.

After, we headed back to the apartment for breakfast. We brought along nasi impit, kuah kacang and ikan bilis goreng berlada just for this occasion to have that Hari Raya feeling.

Our humble dish. 

After performing our Zohor, we continued with our touristy itinerary of the day; Araluen Botanic Park.

Personally, I am not a fan of flowers but considering my MIL and aunt are fans of flowers, we decided to include that in our itinerary.

The park was about half and hour away from the city centre. It has so many attractions but we couldn't cover everything as some of them were not accessible by wheelchair. So, we just enjoyed with whatever we can and called it a day.

We went for early dinner at an Indonesian restaurant. The ayam penyet was delicious. I even ordered porridge for Inas  which was also very nice.

On our way back to the apartment, we made a stop at South Perth. At this point, Inas was getting restless and cranky. So I took a few shots and went back to the car and waited for the rest. 

Before we went back to our holel, had a skype session with the families back home. I thought I saw Inas cried upon seeing her Tok Bah. Guess, she misses her Tok Bah so much.

Till then.

#114 - Perth City (Day One & Two)

Assalamualaikum.

Let's continue with my Perth travelogue. 

Perth City - Day One & Day Two

We reached Perth from Geraldton about 8pm. By this time, everyone was hungry including yours truly. But, we have to collect the keys to our rented apartment from owner first. We also took the opportunity to change Inas's diaper as well. After a little bit touring inside the apartment, it was time to go for dinner.

Finding a halal place in Perth was not that difficult as there are plenty of halal joints over there. For our first dinner in Perth, we went to Restaurant D'Nyonya Penang at Victoria Park. 

I though the food was okay. 

The next morning and this is the view from the apartment. Based on our initial itinerary, we were supposed to go to Fremantle for sightseeing as well as have our lunch over there. However, since it was one day before hari raya Aidiladha, my MIL wanted to fast so we made a slight change in our itinerary.

We went for sightseeing within the city itself.

After all, the weather was perfect. We were up quite early that day despite the long journey the day before. Probably we were too excited. Since my MIL and aunty had to wait for my BIL to get ready, we decided to go the city by ourselves. In fact, it is the best way to explore a foreign city; on foot.

The 2 nephews were really excited and keep on saying they wanted to go to Target. They already had something in mind, I think. We went to a few shops, London Court and it's time to have lunch.

While finding halal food is not that hard in Perth, I never thought I could find halal Japanese food.

The restaurant is called Shimizu Donabe & Bento and situated at Murray St. I had Tori Kaarage Don (Crispy chicken, rice and salad) while En. Suami had Tori Katsu Don (crumbed chicken, rice and salad). We also ordered the sushi platter. While the main course was delicious, I couldn't say the same thing about the platter. Well the salmon sushi specifically.

Overall, it was a satisfying lunch.

Later in the evening, we went to Fremantle for break fasting. I wanted to roam around Fremantle actually but since we arrived there slightly after 6, most of the shops were already close. Such a bummer.

We went to Kailis, famous for their fish and chips though I personally think I've tasted better ones. In fact, the one we had at Tropicano's at Geraldton was way better. 

At this time, Inas wasn't feeling very well and was a bit cranky so we hurried up with out dinner and go back to the hotel.

Till my next entry.

#113 - Perth (Part Two - The Road Trip)

Assalamualaikum.

Let's continue, shall we?

Day 3: Geraldton to Perth (& Places in  Between)

Morning of the 13th October was a bit chaotic and we checked out later than designated time. After everything sorted out, we made a move to out first pit stop of the day. Nambung National Park.

We were there to see The Pinnacles. You can find more information on the Pinnacles here .

Though it was only rock and sand but I think it's not something very usual. In certain part of the the area, you could also noticed the small pinnacles that were about to develop. Amazing. Allah is Great.

As we were pressing for time, we made a move to the second/last pit stop. Lancelin Sand Dune for some sand boarding action.

En. Suami, BIL and nephews had jolly good time trying on sand boarding. We could see from afar how difficult it was to climb on top of the sand and do sand boarding. Wish I could join them though. But, it was almost impossible to bring Inas along for this kind of activity. Those fine sand could be very harmful for Inas.

After collecting sand in those pants, we called a day and head to our final destination, City of Perth.

But before that, I shall leave you with this picture;

Sunset in Lancelin. Magnificent view.

Till then.

#112 - Perth (Part One)

Assalamualaikum.

I shall start my Australia travelogue while everything is still very fresh. I would try to share everything though I can't promise anything as time can be very limited as I can only blog from office.

So, here goes. 

Day 1: KLIA, Perth & Geraldton

Our flight was on 11th October 2013 at 9.30 a.m. so we left home at around 6.15 a.m. Due to some technical issues, we didn't take any breakfast. By the time we were about to board, I was starving. Oh, we were flying with Malaysia Airlines.

The flight took off slightly later than scheduled as there were heavy traffic that morning. Inas was a bit cranky as she wanted to roam around but we couldn't let her. Alhamdulillah, right before take off, she fell asleep. The journey was alright. No screaming kids despite having 3 babies on board. Phew. Didn't get to finish any movie though.

We landed half and hour earlier than our ETA which was quite surprising. Not that I'm complaining. The process at the immigration was quite smooth. We were quite lucky because my MIL was on a wheelchair (she can walk but can be very tricky if it's long walk) so we managed to cut queue. Masa nak declare items, instead opening our bags, the officer asked to stand in line then ada lintas hormat anjing diaorang. So, our budu, kuah kacang, instant noodles semua selamat. 

After all the immigration process, settling on car rental, we went to Victoria Park for our early dinner. We went to Makan-Makan Restaurant which according to En. Suami the quality of the food has dropped. 

Bought some snacks and off to Geraldton. Geraldton is about 4 to 5 hours drive from Perth. The journey to Geraldton was quite smooth and managed to reach there before midnight. 

Day 2: Port Gregory & Kalbarri

The initial itinerary was to roam around Geraldton and then to Kalbarri National Park. But, after more readings and research, we decided to go to Port Gregory to see this:

The Pink Lake

The Pink Lake formed because of alga (please wiki for more information) and was informed that it is not always pink so it totally based on your luck. Upon seeing the pink colour lake, we were screaming excitedly in the car and immediately stopped by the road side for some photo opportunity. 

Then, we continued our journey to Kalbarri National Park. 

Above picture is one of the attractions. We didn't stop at every single attractions though because at times they looked similar. We had our simple lunch at the seafront and continued to the last attraction of the day.

Please, please google the image of Nature's Window as the view was breathtaking. Despite the rocky road, the journey was worth it. We had a wonderful time taking photos. I mean, with an amazing view like that, who won't?

Till my next entry...

#111 - Travelling with Inas

Assalamualaikum.

The picture above was taken at one of the attractions at Kalbarri National Park. The view at Kalbarri was breathtaking and made the 2 hours journey worth it.

Before I blog more about the attractions in Perth and Adelaide, let me share my experience travelling with a baby/toddler. When En. Suami mentioned we would be going for a holiday in Ausralia a few months back, the first thing that came to mind was, how am I supposed to travel with a baby.

Part One: Packing The Essentials.

I love to travel but I despise packing. It took so much of my energy and time. Sometimes, it took me more than a week to plan what to wear and pack. Imagine, now I have to pack for a baby too. Not helping when Inas does not have that much of long sleeve tops. We are living in Malaysia for heaven sake.

After rummaging the whole wardrobe and came up with a decent number of outfits, I called it a day. Told En. Suami, we can always do laundry over there or better still, just get new one. End of story.

Prior to the trip, I did a lot of research and reading on travelling with a baby to prepare myself for the holiday. I came up with a checklist for Inas and me so I won't be leaving out any important stuffs.

I must say the checklist is a huge help. 

However, we did leave behind the stroller. One, Inas does not really like to seat in a stroller. Two, with all the luggage and my MIL's wheelchair, I don't think it would fit into our rented van.

Part Two: Entertainment

Unfortunately for me, Inas is not really into toys. She will only be interested with a toy for 10 minutes and that's it. Then, she would go and find something else to amuse her. But we do pack her new toy, just in case. 

During our flight, instead of playing with her new toy, she insisted of walking down the aisle and socializing with everyone. Though I'm a bit worried she would disturb others but at least, better than screaming her lung out.

But, I was really thankful when En. Suami decided to downloaded Ya Hanana on our iPad as it did come in handy every single time. When she was being a bit clingy, refuse to seat in her car seat or even sleep. Put Ya Hanana on, tadaa!

Part Three: Change of Weather

When we reached Perth, we took another 5 hours journey to Geraldton. And that 10 hours journey finally take its toll on Inas. She started to develop fever and cold on the second day. Being such a darling, she never cries. Only being a little bit clingy.

Her fever was on and off during our stay in Geraldton. But when in Perth, her temperature went slightly higher. That was when I got really panic and keep on blaming myself. To make things worse, I don't have any medication with me except for vicks. I did everything I can to lower down the temperature. Alhamdulillah. On our last day in Perth, she was no longer has fever and looked so much better.

Lesson learned. Must always prepare medicine. 

Overall, it has been a wonderful holiday trip. Besides the little hiccup, Inas did really enjoy the extra quality time with the grandmother, cousins and of course her beloved parents.

#110 - Back in the City

Assalamualaikum.

Alhamdulillah. We are safely back in Kuala Lumpur. It has been an amazing and wonderful holiday. Like always. 

I actually learned a lot during this trip. Especially with a baby in tow. It's something that I should not take for granted in the future. But I am glad we went there with families and friend. We really appreciate the extra hands.

I will blog more about Perth and Adelaide.

Till then.

#109 - Experience West to South

This is a scheduled post.

By the time you reading this, I am already on my way to our family little vacation. This will be our first time flying with a baby in tow and first overseas holiday for Inas. My MIL, Aunt, Brother in Law and Nephews will be joining us for this trip too.

We will be heading to these 2 places;

 Perth

Adelaide

I am quite excited as I always wanted to go to Perth. Wanted to come here for our honeymoon but we went to Bali instead. We will be spending 6 nights in Perth then off to Adelaide for 4 nights.

This trip will be a birthday treat for Inas (yes, she still too young to understand this but let the parents enjoy this trip and pretend this is her birthday gift) and delayed celebration of our 2^nd Wedding Anniversary.

Please pray everything will be smooth and according to plan. Please pray for our safety.

See you guys back on the 21^st October!

#108 - Twinkle is One

Assalamualaikum.

Our little princess.

Our little bundle of joy.

Our little shining star.

Is One today.

Can't believe how time flies so fast. I wish I could stop the time for a while so I can stare at my Inas a little longer. 

Inas has been a wonderful, amazing and healthy baby. Alhamdulillah. I could never ask for more.

Our little girl is a charmer. She smiles to people around her, would attempt to talk to anyone who is friendly to her, loves to socialize. 

Grow well my little hafizah. I pray nothing but the best for you. Always strive to be the best that you can be. Don't you worry. Mama and Baba will always have your back.

Happy birthday, Inas Hanani.

#107 - Hopeless Shoes Addict

I. WANT. THESE.

Croc and Suede Ankle Boot from Karen Millen

Classic Buckle Boot from Karen Millen

Suede Leather Gladiator Sandal from Karen Millen

Peighton shoes from Hobbs London

Karina 120mm from Christian Louboutin (it's freaking RM4+++K)