Car Accident

After 18 years of driving, I finally broke the record of being accident-free. And it happened in Malacca. 

It was a sunny day.  The weather has been extremely warm lately.  I was ironing clothes since I didn’t do so the night before.  Monitoring the time, I estimated mom’s arrival around 11:30am.  The spare room has been tidied up.  So, I have another one hour or so to cook lunch.  A slight relief in me as this would be my last meal before I step into the kitchen again.  Mom does all the cooking whenever she visits me.

All of the sudden, Mom called and she would be arriving soon.  Caught surprised, I quickly put away my ironing chores and drove to the bus station.  The timing was perfect.  We met at the entrance and headed back home with my little Kancil.

Fourteen years ago I bought this car.  It has served me faithfully since then.  Believe it or not, it has never broken down before.  There was only once the radiator was over heated and I had to stop the car by the roadside for it to cold down.  That was also due to man’s negligence.  The mechanic who serviced my car prior to this incident didn’t fix the hose properly.  It was my late father-in-law who discovered the cause as Andrew was in Teluk Intan.

Back to the story, Mom and I were on our way back home.  There were a few traffic lights (okay, quite a few actually.  Malacca is famous not only with their local food, but traffic lights as well) from the bus station back to my house.  I stopped at the traffic light next to Jusco.   Mom and I were exchanging stories.  Out of the blue, suddenly, I felt a knock on my car and the force pushed my car forward hitting the car in front of me.  What happened?  For a split moment I was speechless, ‘Oh no’!  I came down from my car and checked the damage.  Since we were blocking the main road, we drove to the road shoulder and parked there. 

I have heard of many stories of drivers who were at fault trying to find excuses to cover their crime.  However, this was not so with this driver.  This man, in his 40s’, was very apologetic.  He admitted his wrong but politely asking us not to report to the police.  He is willing to pay for the damages.  We exchanged our phone numbers and discussed the issue at hand.   Just then, my hero came to my rescue.  He took over the matter and I happily retreated to be a bystander. 

It wasn’t long before we parted ways.  With the help of Mr Wee, a church member, hubby sent my poor Kancil to the workshop.  To my surprise, the driver apologized to me again via whatsapp.  We notified him on the repair cost and he agreed to pay the sum right away.  Hubby arranged for a meeting point and went over to collect the money from him. 

So, after 18 years of driving, I finally broke the record of being accident-free. 

Well, I did encounter a few minor accidents.  The first one happened soon after I passed my driving test.  I was driving around my neighbourhood with my mom.  It was a cross junction and I didn’t stop to look, but simply slowed down.  Then came a motorcycle and I knocked into him.  He fell down from his bike.   We checked on him but he looked fine.  Instead of asking us for compensation, he said everything is ok, so no need to make any reports to the police.  He fled the scene as fast as he could.  It was as though he had committed a crime.  I felt pretty bad though. 

The second incident occurred at a T-junction.  I was following behind my former assistant pastor to visit a person.  It was a busy road when I saw my chance of turning out, I pressed the accelerator without realizing my assistant pastor have yet to move an inch.  Knocked on his bumper but there was no damage at all.  He just stared at me speechless!

Early this year, it was at a T-junction again, a lady knocked onto my car instead.  Just a soft nudge.  No scratches whatsoever.  But what’s more hilarious was, instead of me complaining to her, she said she had a shocked of her life.

That’s all the car accidents I experienced as far as I can remember.  I doubt I am a skilful nor a careful driver.  In fact, I am much more reckless than hubby yet he has met more accidents than me (though none of it was his fault).  I am just thankful that none of us were injured and that hubby was around to see to every details.  It’s good to have the man of the house around.  After all, he is more experienced in this area. 

Gunung Ledang waterfall

The idea came about when one of the churches Andrew is serving wanted to have fellowship among the members, so they thought of going to Gunung Ledang waterfall for a picnic cum service.  However, it didn’t materialize in the end.

Andrew knew that I love nature.  So he suggested for both of us to pay a visit to this place.  During one of his off day, after sending our kids to school, we headed to Gunung Ledang.  It took us around one hour and 20 minutes’ drive to reach our destination due to the heavy traffic.  But the park was rather quiet as there weren’t many visitors on a weekday.

A small fee was charged as we drove through the ranger’s booth.  After that, we took a stroll around the area, climbing up the staircase and followed the pathway, exploring this place with curiosity. 

Many years ago, my former church used to come to another site nearby to conduct the baptism.  It was a fun outing as a church unit.  There would be a convoy of cars and church van driving all the way here.  We were excited to witness the members of the church being baptized one after another.  After the baptism of each candidate, a song chosen by the candidate would be sung to celebrate this joyous occasion.  Yes, it took a long time.  But what’s the rush?  In fact, I was baptized in that place.  

Hubby and I didn’t linger for long as we needed to rush back to fetch the kids back from school.  It was a pity we didn’t climb all the way to the top.  But I enjoyed the scenery, the melody of the nature, and the sun (Wait a minute, not the direct sunlight but a good weather).  I was so upset when I woke up that morning and found out that it was drizzling.  Thank God it stopped.

Will I go back again?  Oh yes, why not?  Would you like to join me to indulge in God’s masterpiece?

Bukit Gambang Resort Part 2

The next day, we woke up with much anticipation as today we would be visiting the Safari Park.  Knowing that this would be another energy draining day, we filled our stomach with the complimentary buffet breakfast at Caribbean Coffee House.   The park only opens at 10am, so we have a lot of time to indulge in Nasi Lemak, porridge, toast bread, cakes, fruits and other typical Malaysian food.

The Safari park covers a total of 138 acres of land compared to 45.8 acres for the Water park.  The tram brought us to the park lobby where we redeemed our entrance tickets and bought the park map for RM1.  Henceforth, we walked towards Simba Hill where we saw their prized collection - the white lions.  It's the one thing that all visitors must not miss.

Next, we visited the Little Farm House.  Children had fun feeding the rabbits, goats and birds.  Of course, we needed to purchase the animal feed (which is basically carrot slices) at RM5 per cup.

Our next destination was the Forest Land.   In there, you will be surrounded by butterflies, insects, snakes, turtle, birds and even lizards!!!   

But we also had lots of fun feeding the bears, deer and lemur  This was our first time feeding the bears.  Although we couldn’t do it up-close, seeing the bear stand up and lurching forward for the food were good enough for us to keep feeding them.  Feeding the deer was another humorous event!  We have done so in the past but there were always a fence between us.  This time, we entered into their territory and fed them directly.  The deer were so enthusiastic (or maybe they were really hungry!!!).  The photos below showed it all.  They even licked Erwyn!!! Does Erwyn taste like food?  I’m not so sure about that.  But that definitely reminds me of our previous Australia trip to Cavershem Park whereby the kangaroos kissed Erwyn non-stop.  Oh boy oh boy, looks like my boy is a charm.  Even animals are attracted to him.   

The lemur was a cutie.  It was very shy, too.  It doesn’t allow us to touch it but I managed to steal a moment when it was busy eating. 

All the walking had definitely worn us out and we stopped for lunch and tea break whenever we had a chance.  However, the kiosk and the restaurant do not have much variety of food as compared to the Water Park.  Not to mention everything is marked up here. 

Since little feet were tired, we took the tram to visit the Wild Savannah.  This area is divided into 3 zones, i.e. Afraican Savannah, Tropical Rainforest and Australian Outback.  The tram stopped from time to time at various spots for us to watch the animals up close.  Each tram is guided by a park ranger, who acts as a tour guide during the ride.

Land of Predators was the last place we visited.  That’s where we rode on a 30-year-old camel.  This was Erwyn and my first time riding on a camel; but Elyse did so 2 years ago when we visited A Famosa.  Camel riding reminded me of my late mother-in-law.  She tried it once when she visited Israel and she lamented that she was so scared till she felt she was about to die.  A bonus for Erwyn as he was given a chance to feed the llama although it was not meant to be.  It was feeding time and the park rangers graciously gave a few loaf of bread to Erwyn to feed the llama, without any charges on the parents!!!  hehehe…

There were 5 shows staged, namely Multi-animal Show, Bird Show, Predator Show, African Yabara Fire Show and the Tarzan Adventure.  The last two were performed in the evening. 

Few months ago when we visited Zoo Negara we thought the show was bad; shame to say that the shows here were worse!  Most of the time, the animals just walked out from their enclosed, ate the food, and headed back to their familiar ground again.  Perhaps the only bonus from the Predator Show was that the tiger preferred to entertain us with his art of defecating rather than eating the chickens hanging around.

Erwyn enjoyed the Bird’s show although it was average.  I guess that was the result of his sweet memory when Daddy brought him to Malacca Zoo.  He took a photo with a parrot on his shoulder at Malacca Zoo.  That was a huge step for my boy.  Perhaps the only thing that electrifies me at the bird show was holding the eagle.  Both kids wanted to do that but the personnel said the eagle was too heavy for them.  Hence, he suggested mommy.  I was exhilarated coz I, too, wanted to hold the eagle.  But it wouldn’t be nice to grab that golden opportunity from my children.  Now with peace of mind, I proudly hold the eager and even brought it nearer to me for picture taking.  This was definitely another highlight of this trip.

We only managed to have an hour break to go back to our room to freshen up before heading back to the park for dinner.   We expected to be welcomed by a clean room but it was not so.  The night before, we moved the bed nearer to the fan as the air-cond was not very cold.  To our horror, we found lots of rubbish under the bed.  Hubby picked up the rubbish and threw them in the bin.  But the floor was still very dusty.  When we returned from the park, the room was still the same.  One of the rubbish bins was cleared but the house-keeping did not replace the plastic bag.  They refilled the complimentary coffee and tea sachets but everything else remained the same.  We called up the management and made a complained.  Since we were in a hurry, we only requested the house-keeping to sweep the floor and clear the other bin.  The rest… we just bear with it for another night.

One of the highlights in this place is dining with the white lions at Simba Hill Gourmet Hall.  We made our way there as the price is average but the additional benefit is certainly alluring.                                                       

After dinner, we went back to Safari Park for the nocturnal animals.  The Night Jungle Square was a let down.  I thought it would be an eye-opener for the kids since they have never been to a night Safari. 

The only show that was worth watching was the Tarzan Adventure, a stunt performance, in the evening.  But this show involved some effect (loud sound) that may frighten little children.  My kids were fine though.
 
Finally, we retreated to our room.  Exhausted, we called it a night after a long day. 

The next morning, we had our breakfast and then headed to the swimming pool.  We failed to explore some outdoor fun such as flying fox, sky trail or driving the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) as time was running out.  Upon check-out, we bid farewell to this place but carried lots of sweet memories back home with us.

Thank you, hubby, for this family getaway.  Please spoil me with more of these holidays… yes, greedy me. 

Bukit Gambang Resort Part 1

We have never thought of a getaway as Andrew is super busy since the beginning of this year.  Meetings after meetings… and traveling here and there.  Not to mention his extra responsibilities are keeping him on his toe.  On the other hand, I am extremely stressed out with the new routine in life.  The kids are driving me to the wall; and the emotional vacuum is draining me.  Finally, I suggested for a family getaway and Andrew agreed instantly.

I checked out on a few family orientated holiday destinations and finally we settled for Bukit Gambang Resort.   We bought a package deal for 3 adults 1 child.  This includes 2 breakfast 1 dinner and entrance tickets for both Water and Safari parks.  Perhaps this isn’t the best time after all.  We left on Monday and came back on Wednesday.  Wednesday evening itself Andrew had a church meeting; followed by another 2 days in Segamat and finally occupied with church seminar on Saturday and Sunday.  Nevertheless, the children had so much fun in Gambang and we wished we could spend more time together.

We left Malacca around 8am on Monday.  Stopped for an hour lunch break and reached the resort by 2pm.  It was raining the entire journey.  We were a bit concerned as our initial plan was to submerge in the water park when we arrived. 

Children were a bit restless and the all-so-familiar question was raised throughout the journey: Are we there yet?  When we finally arrived and passed through the signature arch-shaped tower, their face were literally glowing under the sun!  The check-in took awhile as there were many guests at the front desk.  We decided to head to the water park right away without wasting any time.  Thankfully, the rain has stopped and Mr Sun was shining brightly.

Free trams were provided to transport guests from hotel to the park.  It only took 5 minutes to reach the parks.  Both Safari and Water parks are side-by-side.  We quickly changed into our swimwear and immerse in the funfilled-water!

Erwyn had been to A Famosa Water Park but not Elyse.  The concept is similar but this park is much smaller.  Moreover, there are a lot of rides in A Famosa that require a certain height requirement which my kids fail to comply.  Not so in this park though.  Hence, kids enjoyed themselves to the max.  One of the rides that both kids love the most is the Family Raft Ride.  Hubby and I took turn to accompany the children for this ride.  As a result, both of us caught the dizzy spell for the rest of the time.  I’m sure if the children can do it by themselves, they would have gone for it over and over again and not just stop at the 7^th time.

I encouraged Elyse to try out the 6 Lanes Racer, which is supposed to be the longest slides in Malaysia.  She was tempted to do so, but back-off when she stood on top of the slide.  The height was a bit alarming to her.  Perhaps mommy should try it, but she was too dizzy to do anything else.

The kids spent a lot of time at the Aqua Play.  Erwyn was very happy with the small slides at the pool although it was very crowded.

The park closes at 6pm and we returned to the lobby to retrieve our hotel room key.  We opted for the studio room in the Carribbean Bay Resort.  It isn’t big but it’s good enough for a family of 4.  I was glad to find the toilet clean, but annoyed that there were no towels and floor mat in the room.  Called the housekeeping and it took them quite awhile to send it over. 

Tummy was rumbling after all the screaming and fun at the park.  Time to treat ourselves with the buffet dinner at Arabian Bay Resort.  This was part of our hotel package deal as well. 

The buffet dinner was average.  Nothing to shout about.  Surprisingly, mommy had quite a big portion as compared to her usual meal.  Even hubby noticed that.  Perhaps too much energy was expended throughout the day; perhaps the jovial mood of being together as a family boost her appetite.

After the dinner, we took a leisure walk, exploring this place with curiosity.  That’s where we ended up at the Amusement Park at the other side of the hotel.  There were a number of children rides available.  The management is really intelligent in making money.  Each ride is RM3.  The noise pollution is on the high end, I wondered how those occupants on the top floor managed to sleep at night.

To be continued...

Calligraphy and me

After the calligraphy competition organised by Confucious Association last year, Elyse was eagerly anticipating the next competition.  Finally, the teacher informed her there would be one at Taman Merlimau.  I didn’t even know where it is???  Thankfully, the teacher was one of the judges and she graciously offered to bring Elyse there with her.  I was spared from chauffeuring and baby-sitting.  That was good news!  So, I packed some food and water for her and then rushed her to the teacher’s house after Sunday Service.

With prior experience, I foresee that Elyse could probably be back around 4 or 5pm.  On the hind sight, I was happy because with her absent, I need not to play the peace-maker role between the sibling rivalry.  The whole afternoon passed by swiftly with me thinking, ‘Is Elyse bored there?  Did she drink water?  Have she eaten the food I packed for her tea break?  Is she alone?’  Mothers will always be mothers.

Tick Tock Tick Tock … it was already 6pm but still no sign of Elyse.  I was anxiously waiting for the teacher to call me so that I can pick Elyse up from the teacher’s house.  Finally this concerned mom tried to get in touch with the teacher.  ‘doo… doo… doo… doo…’  No one picked up the call.  Perhaps the teacher was occupied.  Perhaps the hall was too noisy.  After a few attempts, mommy decided to go to the teacher’s house without waiting for her call.  Her reasoning is: By the time the teacher called, it would take her easily another 20 minutes to reach the teacher’s house.  Then another 20 minutes to drive home.  Darling would be starving.  If she waited for her daughter there, it would save 20 minutes then darling can come back home faster to have her dinner.  Mommy even packed dinner for her darling in case she wanted to dig-in in the car.

Finally, the teacher called me back while I was driving.  She told me that they are now on the way back from Merlimau.  I reached teacher’s house and waited there for quite awhile.  Waiting for our kids is a norm for parents, don’t you agree?  The only guilt I have was that my son has to wait together with me.  Thank you for your patience, my little prince!

Elyse was overjoyed when she saw me waiting in front of the teacher’s house.  She couldn’t wait to share the good news with me.  She won the consolation prize!  Looking at her sparkling little eyes, I swallowed all my complains and cheered her up for her achievement.  Indeed I worry too much, my darling was not a least bit hungry nor tired.  On the contrary, I was famished and wearied. 

Lesson learned:  It’s time to let go… my kids are growing up and they can take care of themselves.  So, does that mean that hubby can bring me for our second honeymoon soon?!!  hehe…