Sunday, August 26, 2007

Trip To Melaka

The second term school holidays had just come by here in Malaysia, and just as in other parts of the world, parents are somewhat busier than usual during these period, given the fact that the kids are anxiously awaiting to be taken on a great holiday... out of town, of course.

So, deciding on a particular destination was next on the list, where should we go? And all of a sudden there comes along my brother, who mentions that they have planned such a trip to Melaka and offers us to join-in. Now, this was great, as it's been a while since my family has gone on a holiday.

My kids (and my wife too ...) were overwhelmed with the idea, as I have in a way been neglecting the aspect of a holiday for the last two and half years, since the birth of our daughter, Ayesha, who was born with something called Charge Associated Syndrome. This situation had caused most of our plans to come to a halt and since then life has been a uphill struggle all the way.

So, anyway we decided to join my brother and headed to Melaka around 10.30am last Tuesday and reached Ayer Keroh's R&R by 12.00pm to have a quick bite at KFC. The thing I was amazed with, was that it takes me the same time to get to work, and that's in our city itself!


This is a picture of my two boys, Akmal Ashwin (R) and Afiq Eshan (L).

Reaching Melaka town was just another fifteen minutes away and we headed straight to the hotel which was directly behind the famous shopping landmark of Melaka, Mahkota Parade.

Reservations were made at the Mahkota Hotel for our stay. We really enjoyed the stay here as the apartments were given full hotel facilities, like 24hour room service etc.

After a good rest, the two families were ready to venture out for some good food. I suggested to have a go at some great sea food (ikan bakar, for us local's) and after much confusion into the directions on getting there, we finally arrived at Medan Ikan Bakar Pernu/Umbai, which is on the way to Muar, Johor.

We had loads of great sea food; crabs, fish, squid, mussels and prawns. The best part is that it's relatively cheaper compared to the prices at restaurants in the capital city, KL. You get to choose if you want the fish to be grilled, fried, steamed or any other way you like (telling you about it is in itself making me hungry all over again...)


The next day was dedicated to the kids where they spent almost half the day in the pool, swimming. After all, the holiday was for them! Looking at the picture, you'll notice that they're tired but they're not giving up, yet.

Overall, the trip to Melaka was indeed a great escapade for both , the kids and the parents. We will miss Melaka for now..... but there's definitely a next time!


20 comments:

darlene said...

glad to see you had a great trip, welcome back!!
love the pics of your boys!

NIHAL said...

Hi there Darlene,

It's always a great feeling when you come by. I really appreciate it. Ya, the family had a great time and I hope to take them on another adventure, soon. I really love my kids, I would be lost without them.

Thanks once again :)

Trix said...

Hello Nihal, I see you have a new av pic, it looks great and I prefer it to your last one as its clearer!I was reading this post of yours and I must just say its very well written and all the pics bring it to life.I am glad to hear that you and your family had a break from the norm, its a neccessary thing, but often it goes overlooked because we are so busy.I myself havent had a break for years..ha ha , I'm not sure that I ever will.Oh, I forgot, I have planned to go away with my daughter for a week to Gauteng to celebrate her birthday with her cousins.Apart from that, I cant recall the last time we got away from the city.Your children are all so cute and adorable.They sure look so happy in these wonderful pictures.I hope that you share lots more of your family with us in time to come.Little Ayesha looks like a sweet doll, I am just googling the phrase 'Charge Associated Syndrome' ..so that I can learn a bit more about it.I have never heard of it, despite having worked in a hospital for a good few years.They all look so amazing in these pics, bet your wife was Very glad for the unexpected break,hey.Enjoy the day further, Nihal ...Jesse :)

NIHAL said...

Hello Jesse,

Needed a change in the picture as the last one was taken some years back. This was actually taken during our trip to Melaka, so it's just a couple of days old.

Yup, the kids (wifey included) sure had a great time, and they're practically anticipating another one in the near future.

Have planned to write a post on my daughters unique syndrome sometime soon. Even to us it's still a mystery, as we've been in and out of hospitals for the last two and a half years and surprisingly have yet to meet another child who suffers the same faith as little Ayesha.

I really wish you will have a wonderful time at Gauteng with your little one, it's special moments like these that really matters to them.

Anonymous said...

nice blog. good work.i like it.

NIHAL said...

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for taking the time to visit. Am glad that you found my site to your liking & hope to see you around again :)

Mariuca said...

Nihal!! Your medan ikan bakar is making me crave for some at 5.30am! LOL ;)

Yay, finally we get to see pics of ur kids! Kesian ur daughter la, she looks totally adorable, but am glad that u are doing the best u can for her, ur such a great dad Nihal! :):):)

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Kim said...

sounds like you had a wonderful holiday Nihal....
Your three children are beautiful !!!
I would be interested to read about your daughter's condition..... I have never heard of Charge Associated Syndrome.......

NIHAL said...

Hi Marzie,

Ha ha ... Tell me about it, even writing on the subject makes me hungry all over again.

To be honest, Ayesha's mom should get all the praise, she has sacrificed so much.

Now, if she saw this post, she would be asking... hey, where is my picture??? :))

NIHAL said...

Hi Kim,

It's so nice of you to come by :)

Oh the kid's, they are our life! That's the beauty about being a parent I guess, we simply adore our children.

Most of our research materials on CHARGE and its related conditions were from Australia (my sis lives in Melbourne), so, that really helped us a lot.

Once again, thanks Kim.

Anonymous said...

Hi Nihal,

looks like a wonderful trip...great photos of your kids!

Thanks for droppin' by my site...when are you off to Vegas?...It will be another fun trip for you and your family there for sure...

see you around my friend :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Nihal;
It is nice to get away once in a while. I would imagine it must get pretty hectic for you and your wife trying to juggle everything. Everyone needs a break, now and then. I'm counting the days til my trip to NY. It'll be great not to have to think about work and life in general, lol.

The new avatar is great, btw.

I did a little research on 'Charge' since the last time you stopped over. There isn't much out there on the subject, is there? I remember when I began researching on 'NLD', Canada had virtually nothing on the disorder and I had to order in material from the Unites States.

PS. I think you out to take your wife out to dinner and tell her how much you appreciate her!

;) Take care;
Anna

Erina Hart said...

It is wonderful that you and your family had so much fun! Your children are too cute. They seem darling.

I wish I had some fresh seafood. The only thing I can get here (Midwest, United States) is an assortment of frozen fish. It isn’t nearly as tasty.

Your blog posts are quite enjoyable. They are also well written. Wonderful job!

Trix said...

Hello Nihal,just popping around to say hi! I would love to read a post about this rare condition that your daughter has.As you say, its still a mystery to you and your wife.Its astonishing that you have never met a child with this same condition.Well,despite these setbacks,I can see you still have a lovely family, all of your kids are beautiful.Enjoy the day further

Adrian said...

Nihal! Glad to see that you managed to get away for a family holiday! It can be really fun and rejuvenating!

Malacca is such a nice place! I like the quaint old buildings! :) My brother loves to go to Umbai for the Ikan Bakar but me not being a big fan of fish has actually never been there! LOL

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

You know Nihal, just today the wife was showing me a holiday promo for Melaka and then I came across your post on Melaka, talk about coincidences :) I have to agree with you, Melaka is indeed a great place. My mom was from there though I was born here in KL. Looks like you guys had a great time. Great looking kids you have. I'm definitely going there with my family for the next holidays.

NIHAL said...

Sorry for the delay in replying, my Internet connection was down for a couple of days :(

Rebecca @ Thanks for dropping by, it's really nice to hear from you. Ya, the family had a great time indeed. Vegas is definitely on my list of places to visit, gotta make the money first... *he he he*

Anna @ Struggle, that's the right word I must say! It's not easy BUT somehow or rather GOD is always there for us and he makes things work out just nice :) Dinner.... she's hoping for something more like a gigantic diamond ring of sort :)

Erina @ Wow, I'm glad you came by. Like they say, don't judge the book by it's cover... these kids can really drive us up the wall but we're not complaining *ha ha ha* Yup, Malaysia is blessed in a way, we have loads of fresh seafood throughout the country. You definitely gotta try these if ever you come over :)

NIHAL said...

Jesse @ Thanks once again for another visit. My next post is definitely related to my daughter's condition. Yup, it's kinda surprising that we haven't met another parent who has a child with the same condition, that's really hard coz we can't learn from people's experience :( And thanks also for tagging me recently, give me a couple of days and I'll get to completing the task :)

Adrian @ Hi Buddy, thanks for the visit. Gotta agree, holiday's can be really fun but it sure burns a major hole in your one's wallet *he he he* To be frank, I'm not really a fan of fish as well but all that changes when you're on a holiday I guess. You should definitely try this out when you get a chance :)

Nick @ Wow, ya, what a coincidence right?? One things for sure, Melaka sure has changed from the last 5 years ago, for the better, I think. There's more eateries and shopping centres especially at the surrounding areas of Mahkota Parade. Hopefully we could one day get the whole gang (You, Marzie, Adrian, Jean, Zubli, Emila etc) for a group tour there??? That would be happenin!!! Thanks, buddy :)

J@n!ce said...

Nihal, I finally get to see your kiddos. You are a great daddy to make a trip for your family. The kids sure have fun at the pool :)


Janice Ng

NIHAL said...

Hi Janice,

Hey , I missed you lah! How have you been?

Tell me about it, they practically spent the entire day at the pool ... but I guess, they deserved to have a good time :)

Will come back later to your site, take care and happy weekend :)