Snacks for Thought

Snacks for thought are things that may or may not matter but are thought worthy, at least for me that is. Today's thought to munch on is:

Have you ever noticed that dogs in most cartoons are not given the ability to talk? Odie in Garfield, Buster in My Friends Tigger & Pooh, Dog in Word World?

Seriously right, I wonder why it's like that? Is there a particular reason? These are just a few..there are a few more but my memory fails me..

Update: Pluto (Mickey Mouse's Dog)

Sabah Road Trip: Sapi Island

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park was named after Malaysia's first Prime Minister. It consists of 5 islands, their surrounding reefs and of course the sea!

An interesting fact:

• Geologically, the islands are part of the Crocker Range but became isolated from the massif when sea levels rose after the last ice age.

Sounds interesting right. These islands are a MUST! You cannot not visit at least one of these islands during your visit to Kota Kinabalu (KK). If you are travelling with a toddler and a baby, like me, then an island or two would suffice. As I mentioned earlier, there are 5 islands:

• Gaya Island


• Manukan Island


• Mamutik Island


• Sulug Island


• Sapi Island

We visited Sapi Island. Check out our ride : ) We bought our lunch at Jesselton Point, Nasi Campur (Malay mixed rice) and ate it at the island. Yummy!

At the island you can rent large tikars (mats) for RM15, tubes for kids (RM5) and so on. What's great is that they don't take advantage and charge you hourly. Instead it's a flat rate.

There are many operators at Jesselton Point offering rides to the islands. We bought ours from Green Holiday. We left at 2.30p.m and they said when we wanted to leave the island all we had to do was call them and they would get us! What a bunch of bollocks! We saw a storm brewing and wanted to leave the island and when we called them at 3.45, they said there wasn't anyone available to get us and we had to wait until 5pm when the last boat leaves. Then, around 4pm they were rushing to get us off the island as it was already raining heavily at the jetty. It was a rough ride and I truly believe the Lord's hand was upon us guarding us and keeping us safe. The rain was beating hard on our faces and bodies, ruthless bullets as we held our precious little ones close. I praise God for His mercy...Yup it was that bad..

I'm definitely going back to the islands someday but I'm definitely not going with the 'Green Holiday'.

Yup you're Green alright...Unripe in the brains!

InteRastic!!

InteRastic is what I call anything that I find INTEResting or find to be fanTASTIC or a little of both (INTER)!!

and speaking of chickens...

Being an occasional plant eater myself, I've never seen it from this point of view before! LOL

  Ohh this was so true for me as a kid..

Hope you like it as much as I do.. To be enjoyed with a pinch of salt and lots of sugah!!

Sabah Road Trip: Tip of Borneo

The journey to the Tip of Borneo@Simpang Mengayau in Kudat was endless. I really felt like we were headed to the end of the world! We just kept driving on and on and on and still kept going. Get the picture? By the time we reached I was a little apprehensive. It was late Sunday evening and we were to drive to Kota Kinabalu after visiting the TOB (Tip of Borneo). Based on my self created itinerary, we were supposed to do a little shopping that night at one of the shopping complexes in KK. However, by the time we reached KK, all I wanted to do was to take a bath and rest. Besides, all the shopping complexes were closed. Was so looking forward to some retail therapy *sigh.

You can see many Catholic churches along the way

Our first view of the ocean..

The view from the car park...

The view from the car park

The view from the car park

From the car park we walked down this beautiful path....

And WHAM this greets you! We drove like forever to get there and then we had to walk quite a distance...(but it's worth it!)

My favourite photo

It's my favourite because you can see the current pulling inwards and outwards. You walk on...

And on...

And finally, the Tip of Borneo...

A truly beautiful place. Both my husband and I definitely want to visit this place again and stay a night or a couple of nights.

My Little Nuggets of Gold..

For the past week or so, my son who just turned 9 months yesterday (Happy 9 months my darling boy!) has been taking a step forward unaided. And promptly falling on his tush. Full of giggles, smiles and glee while Mummy beams on and his sister cheers.

Yesterday, he started doing something new. He'd quickly squat to prevent himself from sitting/falling. It really is wondrous to watch the natural instinct that leads a child of any age to do and say so many things. Who says I teach my kids, they teach me so much more. They show me what it means to be determined, patient and not give up and heck, smile while doing it.

They remind me to laugh and not be so uptight. They MAKE me laugh when I'm uptight. Whenever my daughter tries to get out of her car seat she'll say, "Help, Acha (Dad in Malayalam) I'm stuck, I'm stuck" to which my husband would promptly reply, "You're stuck for a reason". She would never acknowledge this with a response but would continue squirming. And start the cycle again. Then, one day as she was walking, she said, "Help, Acha, I'm stuck, I'm stuck". (Her slipper was slipping off) My husband worriedly - "Why, what happened?" She looks at him and gives one of her signature forlorn looks and says," I'm stuck. Stuck for a reason!" Ha,ha,ha really sometimes kids just blow you off with their replies and reasoning.

To my little nuggets of gold.. you will always be precious to me and Mummy loves you for what you are and who you make me...xoxo little ones...

Update: After I had posted this post, I found this on Parenting.com. What a coincidence!

Sabah Road Trip: Kota Belud

When my husband asked if I wanted to eat at a restaurant in Kinabalu Park, I said no because I knew our next stop, the Tip of Borneo, was quite a distance. So, I heroically said we'd just grab something on the way. The journey from Kinabalu Park to Kota Belud (nearest town) is about 66.5 km and takes about 1 hour 11 minutes according to Google. Yours truly was not aware of this and was actually already a little hungry. Oh why do maps always make everything look so close by?? So, by the time we reached Kota Belud I was cranky - let me correct myself, I'm almost always cranky so that would make me -crankier than usual! : )

At Kota Belud, I did not feel like eating fast food (there was a KFC). Blame it on my crankiness. So, we looked around - round and round that little town and finally saw a restaurant that got my stamp of approval - read 'fussy'.

The food was delicious and it was a happier albeit fuller me that stepped out of this restaurant. 'Pencarian' means search (noun) and 'bersama' means with/together. Just like the search we had together looking for a place to eat...how apt.

It was a hot day and we didn't have sun shades so I had to improvise. The car we rented from Hertz, was a Hyundai Matrix. It has wide, wide windows. For the window on my side, I used an old napkin! What a sight, right! But who cares..comfort comes first!

Let me tell you a little about Kota Belud. The main attraction of Kota Belud is the 'tamu' or Sunday Market and is really famous. Almost everyone you meet will mention this market if you were to say Kota Belud. It is a melting pot of the various different ethnic groups in Sabah. There is also an annual Tamu Besar (Besar means big) which is held every October, with cultural displays, dances, handicrafts and the famous Bajau horsemen.

Not much to share as we only stopped here for makan. Onward, onward towards the Tip of Borneo!

Sabah Road Trip: Kinabalu Park

Ohh to have been able to climb Mount Kinabalu would have been awesome! I would have collapsed half way, though. Halfway? Who am I kidding? With my stamina and non existent exercise routines, I wonder how far I'd have been able to make it..

When reading up about the Park, I found out several interesting facts from the Sabah Tourism website:

• UNESCO declared Kinabalu Park as Malaysia's 1st World Heritage Site in 2000


• it's 74,500 hectares


• it's larger than Singapore!

You have to pay a meagre conservation fee of RM3 to enter the park. Within the Park, you can find from budget to high end accommodation, the Natural History Gallery, the World Heritage Monument, and restaurants. You could opt to watch slide shows at the Visitor Centre Building or join guided walks, shop at the souvenir shop, check out the Exhibit Hall or hang out at the Mountain Garden. We did not do any of that as our next stop was the Tip of Borneo@Simpang Mengayau, Kudat. Oh and the park also has Mount Kinabalu!!!

When you enter, turn LEFT if you are driving as it's ONE WAY...and be alert on your way out or you'll have to make an entire round again!

Timpohon View (on the way to Timpohon Hut)

To get to the Pondok Timpohon entrance you have to drive up a winding road. It's very narrow and it would be a really tight squeeze if a bus were to come the opposite way. Some oncoming vehicles were people who drove recklessly and came into our lane at high speed.

The Entrance

Wow 2011 climbathon champions...(happens annually)

Pondok means 'hut' in Malay

The Summit Trail

'The Gates'

As you can see above, we paid RM5 each to go up to Layang- Layang Hut but we only went as far as Carson Fall because after that it was all slippery, slippery rocks. A big no no when one parent has a baby in a sling and another is carrying a toddler. Besides, being able to come this far was an experience itself and quite a feat.. Here are snippets of our trail to Carson Fall. As soon as you pass 'the Gates' this greets you. Especially fun on the way up!

It was quite chilly here and the sound of the water was lovely...

Looks like a 'Predator' right?

For those who do not wish to pass 'the gates'- they were quite daunting and gave a cagey feeling- there is an open area above the hut that provides a scenic aerial view. Here a couple attracted a squirrel from a nearby tree and we were amused by its antics. Here's a shot of our furry friend of the wild...

Say 'nutsss' lil' fella....*click

I loved it here.. even if you don't plan to climb Mt Kinabalu you have to come here.. You just have to : )

For more information on the mountain guide and porter rates, climbing permit et cetera check out www.sabahtourism.com

Sudden Change of Plans

The afternoon after my last post saying I miss cooking, my husband told me his assignment (or as they call it; detachment) was over for now. We'd already purchased tickets for a visit to KL from the 18th to 28th so we'd be travelling back as planned but we don't need our return tickets! What a waste right. I mean, come on I only said I missed cooking not everything! : ) Hmm..

I've come to love life here in East Malaysia and well, I knew we'd go back someday but anticipated it a few more months down the road..The thing is although we are form KL my husband works in Kerteh, Terengganu and that's where we live. Don't get me wrong, Kerteh is a nice place. That said, everyone has their preferences and so do we. However, we do know that God is control of our lives as we surrender each day to Him. Let's see how this pans out...

Life as a SAHM

Life as a stay-at-home is always challenging as many of you know but it is a joy and there is no where else I'd rather be than with my kids. I used to be a lecturer at a local uni before I got married and moved with my husband to another state. Soon after, my daughter was conceived and I suffered from terrible all day long nausea. Thank God, our finances didn't require me to work and so staying at home was a possible option. I do miss teaching and I hope to return to work someday once both my kids are bigger. But for now I'm happy where I am. Why? Definitely because of the peace of mind. We do not have relatives who can take care of the kids if I were to work. How about daycare centres and nurseries you may ask. Almost every month you're bound to hear or read about children being abused, ill-treated and even dying. I know I could never forgive myself if someone hurt my children when I could have been taking care of them. So, for now my career aspirations take a back seat as I spend this wonderful time of their childhood with my precious darlings.

My current aspiration is be, in the eyes of my children.....

their very own exclusive super Mom : )

ha,ha,ha but seriously I'm far, far, far, far away from this..I think in the eyes of babies and toddlers, this is how they see their moms. Some grow up and still see their moms this way and if mine do I'd be thrilled no I'd be ecstatic. This cool clipart was from a site called www.123rf.com Check them out! I think they're fab.

So where was I? Currently, my list of chores have been cut down as we're in Sandakan, Sabah and living in a hotel so I can't cook. I love cooking and will share some recipes soon. We'll be going back this month for a short visit and I hope I get a chance to cook. I really do miss cooking for my husband and children.. I do not however miss washing the dishes
 : ) I still need to do it here...

My days revolve around my family and I have to say these are the best days of my life...