Friday, September 30, 2016

Calligraphy






Never have I thought that my daughter would fall in love with calligraphy.  After all, she is such an “English” girl.  She grew up in an English-speaking environment.  It was a big struggle for her when she entered Standard One in a Chinese primary school.  She did not show any interest in its language nor its culture.  But now, she would trade everything to learn calligraphy, a pure Chinese art.

It started out with her Mandarin tuition teacher posing a simple question: Would you like to learn calligraphy?  It was at the end of her Standard One.  Officially all Chinese school teaches calligraphy when a child reaches Standard Three.  She came back home asking us what is calligraphy.  We didn’t support the idea at all.  I thought she was too young to pick up this ancient skill.  We gave her a few excuses, ie. time, money, and hoping that that idea would quickly diminish in her little mind.

On the other hand, the teacher thought that she was not interested.  So she too, dropped the idea and stopped asking her.  A couple of months later, in one of her conversation with Elyse, she found out that Elyse is interested but due to the conflict of time (Mommy’s DG also falls on the same time), Mommy was unable to send her for calligraphy class.  So, she suggested that Elyse stays put at her place until Mommy is done with her DG.  We really appreciate the teacher’s effort but we declined again as Mommy’s DG finishes pretty late.  This is the only time Mommy gets to mingle around and fulfill her quota in speech throughout the week. (Side Note: Do you know that scientifically a women speak about 20,000 words a day - some 13,000 more than the average men?)

We thought this was the end of discussion as so far, we as parents did not show much interest.  To our surprise, the teacher did not give up.  She took the extra mile by suggesting teaching Elyse alone for an hour extra before she starts her Chinese tuition.  We were taken aback when we heard that.  That is the determination of a dedicated teacher, bending ways so that our little girl could learn calligraphy.  Finally, we agreed. 

So, Elyse started learning calligraphy.  Initially, she came home with a book full of writing a single character, number one ().  Subsequently, three (), four () and other simple strokes.  It was rather dreary repeating the same stroke over and over again.  For weeks, I was wondering did we make the right choice.  As for her, she persevered on although I could sense the tingling of boredom seeping through in her.  Finally, the fruit of her labour begin to show.  I am glad she enjoys writing the characters.  Her progress trigged my hidden desire: I, too, have a passion for this beautiful art.  Yet, I did not have a chance to learn in those days. 

A few months later, there was a competition organized by the Confucius Association (孔教会).  The teacher encouraged Elyse to participate.  It was on a Sunday and we rushed over after the Sunday School.  Thankfully, my mom was around that weekend as hubby was outstation.  My boy stayed with my mom and I accompanied Elyse.  I have prepared her a simple lunch but none for me.  Thought I would just starve for two hours and then enjoy some home-cook food.  Little did I know that the event took longer than I expected. 

The registration started at 12 noon but we reached around 12:30pm.  I thought I was late but seems Malacca operates in a different time zone.  We waited, and waited, and waited.  Initially it was so crowded that Elyse did not even have a place.  I consulted the organizing committee but they only asked us to wait.  When the teacher saw us, she managed to find a spot for Elyse.  How thankful was I!  About one hour later, the committee called for all the adults who participated in the competition to move to another venue nearby.  Finally, some air to breathe… So we thought, it’s going to start soon right?  But it was another hour of waiting.  Excuse me, what’s the problem?  No one could answer.  Some of the committee members were just sitting on the chairs reading newspaper.  Here I am, hungry and tired… and I had been standing for the past 2 hours with my heels.  Argh…

You can imagine how happy I was when the competition finally started at 2:45pm.  The participants were given an hour to complete their writing.  Each participant was given two sets of papers.  They may write on both sets and then select the best to submit or simply focus on one.

Elyse took 40 minutes to finish the first set of paper.  She was cautious in writing every single stroke.  The words were difficult.  It was all in traditional Chinese character (繁体字), not the simplified version (简体字) that they are now learning in school.  She used the remaining time to complete the second set of paper in a hurry.  The teacher helped her to identify which was the best and submitted it to the committee.

It was another hour before they released the result.  But the teacher advised us to go home as this was just meant for Elyse to gain some exposure.  I was so happy to hear that as Elyse was determined to stay for the result.  The teacher told us later that although Elyse did not win, her paper was amongst the finalists.  She was very satisfied with her progress in such a short period of time.

Keep it up, my girl!  I love to see you enjoy Chinese culture as I was very “Chinese” before your daddy ‘converted’ me.  I am proud to confess that Elyse’s calligraphy skill is so much better than me now.



Sunday, September 18, 2016

Zoo Negara



31st August our country celebrated 59th Independence Day.  Since hubby and children had a day off, here comes the Lim’s family plan which came unexpectedly - a day trip to the National Zoo.

The last time we visited this place was in year 2012, together with Audrey and Ah Gong.  Click here to read the blog.  Only 4 years later we re-visited this place…. don’t you think it’s a bit too soon??!  Anyway, this is all because of our two little kiddos…

Some pictures from 2012:


The miniature horse at the Children's World





We reached Zoo Negara around 10am and the place was already packed with people.  Hubby went straight to the ticketing counter.

Admission Fee is RM44/adult, RM16/children and RM21/senior citizen.  So, a total of RM 141 for all 5 of us.  There was a huge increase of the fees because of the additional panda attraction.

We were surprised that we need to purchase the zoo map at RM1.

Then, we were ‘ushered’ by the staff to take lots of photos although we didn’t really want to.  To purchase this ‘professional’ photos each piece is RM40; but a special rate was given in honor of Merdeka Day, RM140 for 7 photos.  Thank you but no thanks!  :p

Now, our personal FOC tour guide took over.  Our first stop: The Butterfly Garden


 Here are the moments captured on my handphone.... didn't even bring a proper camera. :p



I was hoping for one or two butterflies to land on my hand or shoulder… but too bad, not a chance! 



Butterflies are so beautiful. Just look at their wings! God is the best artist, don’t you think so?



Next up - Giraffes!  They are so graceful...


Painted storks (birds), lots and lots of them.


To be honest, I didn’t take as many photos as the previous time.  4 years gap is really too close to visit the zoo again.  Not to mention we visited Malacca Zoo twice, and A Famosa Safari Wonderland twice within these 4 years.  OK, seriously, I think I have enough of ZOO for quite awhile.









After an hour plus, we stopped by at one of the kiosk for toilet break and had a few scoops of ice cream to cool us down.  Thank God for a cloudy morning.  Still, we were sweating profusely. 

A pleasant surprise when we met one of the TMC PJ members here.  They saw Andrew first and they thought this person looked like Pastor Andrew.  It was after seeing me then only they realized it is Andrew!!! Hahaha… that was quite a joke.

Finally we reached the Giant Panda Conservation Centre.  A staff was stationed right at the doorway to instruct us the do’s and don’ts.  We were given 20 minutes to be upclose with the pandas.  To avoid causing distress to the pandas, we ought to be quiet the whole time.  The pandas are named Xing Xing and Liang Liang.  Both of them were laying still.  But their baby was very active.  How I wish to hug this cutie pie!!!



As I looked back at the photos taken 4 years ago, found out an interesting fact.  This OrangUtan was in this position when we were here 4 years ago.  4 years later, he was still in this position when we came.  This time, I didn’t take a photo.  If not, we could actually compare and play the game of SPOT the Difference. 



A lot of construction is going on.  Thus, the place looks a bit messy.  Perhaps this is really not the right time to visit.  I don’t remember seeing that in their website.  If not, would have considered coming another time.

The Children’s World is really a let down.  There isn’t any animal there except two miniature horse. 

We actually completed our zoo adventure around 2pm.  Our personal tour guide advised us to miss the 11am Multi-Animal Show.  So, we waited for an hour to catch the 3pm show.

While waiting, hubby brought the children to watch the 6D Motion Adventure.  Mom and I waited at one of the nearby shades.  Suddenly it began to rain.  Thank God it didn’t last for more than 5 minutes. 



Erwyn pleaded to take the tram ride.  Since we still have some time to kill, hubby brought the kids for the ride while Mom and I went to the Animal Show amphitheater and waited there.

The show was a big disappointment.  Four years ago we remembered it being much better.  Guess the quality degrades over time.  I was a bit taken aback as the staff communicated with the audience mostly in Bahasa and not English. 

As we depart rain was pouring heavily.  What a perfect timing!  We reached Malacca around 6pm.  A big thank you to our personal driver, tour guide, and ATM for this zoo adventure.  Personally, I love the panda the most.  Glad to catch a glimpse of them before they are transported back to China.  But seriously, I think I will not step foot to this place until.... further notice.



Monday, September 5, 2016

Submarine Museum

It was just one of those hubby's off day... We were free and the kids are in school.  So, I suggested to visit Klebang beach as I've seen beautiful photos of this latest attraction in Malacca: Desert look-alike shore.  Since we weren't sure of the exact location, we drove around looking for this famous spot.  The funny thing is: We were not the only one.  There were a few cars driving aimlessly just like us.

Finally, hubby and I parked our car in this piece of no-man-land.  The sun was blazing hot but for the sake of stunning shots we exposed ourselves under its scorching heat.  Well, we are not great photographers, neither are we supermodels.  So, these are some photos we captured to keep in our memory bank.





On our way home, we passed by the Submarine Museum which caught us by surprise.  Never knew there is such a place in Malacca.  So, hubby and I decided to drop by with the children that very afternoon.

The children were excited upon hearing that idea.  The entrance fee is RM3/adult and RM1/child. 
Right at the entrance there are two fighter jets.




From the outside the submarine may look big but it is very compact on the inside.  The walkway could only fit one person at a time.  There are altogether 3 sections - the Torpedo Room, Staff Quarters and finally the Command Centre.  We could only view these rooms from the corridor as there is a barricade at the entrance of the rooms.








The visit was definitely worth while as we could actually see and touch a real submarine.  One could not imagine how the crews live day and night in such a confined space for months.  However, we would appreciate it if more information were given.  Hubby acted as the tour guide to the kiddos.  Later we found out that the kids were actually expecting the submarine to be under the sea.  So, they were a bit disappointed.


The entire tour took only about 20 minutes the most.  Nevertheless, it is a good experience not to be missed!

For more information on the Submarine Museum, click here

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Istana Negara Jalan Istana

School holiday was around the corner and this mother, again, was busy planning some activities to occupy the kids.  A few other parents from the parenting forum that I joined recommended to visit the old palace.  Sounds interesting!  A sneak peak for the outside world to how lavish our King lives.


Surrounded by a beautiful park, Istana Negara, was the official residence of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.  A new palace has been built, so this old one was opened to the public on 1st February 2013 for viewing.

The front gate





The guard house has been converted into a ticketing counter. Fees for Malaysian is as shown below:-



A long walk before we reached the palace building.




Front view of the palace


The museum consists of 2 buildings, the palace gallery and the Balairung Seri.  Visitors are only allowed to take pictures at the Balairung Seri. 

We had a glimpse of the conference rooms, dining areas, royal bedrooms, bathroom and even a laundry and dentist room.  Seeing the main royal bedroom, Andrew says that is how he imagines his dream bedroom to be.  Accessibility to most of the rooms are limited to the entrance only.  We had to extend our necks into the rooms to get a proper view (felt like an ostrich).  Though there were some information on the plaques, but it was extremely brief. The lack of information was rather disappointing.  But there are a lot of photos and captions to read along the corridors.  There is also a video room which played the installation of the fifth King of Malaysia.

Replica of the King's and Queen's throne

It only took us around 30 minutes for the entire tour.  Once again, daddy acted as the tour guide the entire visit.  Although mommy did the planning, looks like daddy needs to equip himself with better knowledge each time we visit a museum.

Parenting is never an easy task!!!  :p