New Year's Eve..

New Year's Eve spend at home watching DVD Movies with my babies coz Baba had to go to work.. =)

2014 has been a busy & challenging year for me..

A year that's filled with grief & sadness.. A year where I lost my late maternal grams.. A year where Mom-Inlaw got hit by a stroke.. A year where family members who were once considered close to me weren't actually my own true blood to count on nor share my love with..

A year where I felt that it's only just the beginning of what is yet to come next year for my family..

InshaAllah, thru it all, we'll eventually pull thru.. May 2015 be filled with good tidings & blessings for us all..

Whatever it is, I'm ready for it.. Always & will be.. InshaAllah..

Melaka Trip Day 3 - The Last Day..

Photo taken of them, babies having their last breakfast at the hotel.. Huhu..

Everything about this hotel is GREEN.. Great service, great room, great breakfast & very close to most of the amenities including Bandar Hilir.. I strongly recommend this eco-green boutique hotel if y'all planning to go for a short vacation in Melaka.. For cheap & affordable rates though, do book your rooms in advance.. Goodbye KINGS GREEN HOTEL!! Till we come here again!!

Last day in Bandar Melaka y'all.. So what do you do when there's traffic congestion & it seems kinda bored waiting in the car? The usual stuff.. Snap snap!! Off to Hang Tuah Centre we go!!

The river that was said to be the mode of transport for the late Malay Warrior, Hang Tuah.. Love how peaceful this place is..

Selamat datang ke Hang Tuah Centre.. Love the traditional architectural design of this place.. Lawa giler laaaaaaaa..

My boy showing some Silat moves after learning some basic steps at the Centre.. Siap pakai baju Silat lagi.. Hee hee.. Muke maintain garang k Abg.. ;)

Different types of traditional Malay Keris & daggers of the olden times.. I have the one on the first photo, extreme right.. Given to me by my late maternal grandpa..

Last photo taken was called the Keris Majapahit Nogososro in Javanese or Naga Sasra in Malay.. Still have a little bit of Javanese blood in me to guess & try translate this in Malay.. LOL.. This is the only Keris there that sent chills & shivers down my spine the moment I set my eyes on it.. Only to know that it belongs to the king of Majapahit after I googled about it..

Lembings & Tombaks used by the olden Palace Guards..

Last but not least, this pair of traditional weapon is called Tekpi.. I know this weapon coz dad has a pair of these babies & he's quite skillful with the art of Tekpi.. Sadly, he's not interested to teach his daughter such art saying that it's gonna too tough on me.. -.-"

The art of 'Berasap Keris' with all of its preparation ingredients.. Till now, I strongly disagree with the idea of 'smoking your weapons' with all the mantras added just to maintain its durability or should I say, 'kekebalan' in Malay.. Suatu perbuatan yg mendatangkan Syirik.. So to speak..

Hang Tuah has his reasons why he killed his best friend since childhood, Hang Jebat, even when he knew that Jebat was only standing up for what is right & wrong.. And this famous phrase said by him during those times & still lives till this present day, has a deeper meaning to it.. It's not just any phrase that you can picked from any book, it REALLY has a deeper meaning to it.. Hang Tuah must have sense, known or foresee that something was about to happen in future generations to come..

Ni plak Hang Kementot dgn Hang Spiderman tgh rilek one corner minom air sejok lepas penat bertawab satu muzium.. Next stop, Perigi Hang Tuah.. =)

Perigi Hang Tuah.. The well said to be dugged out by Hang Tuah himself.. Till this very day, the water remains full..

Information panel & map of the Hang Tuah Centre.. It's easier for one to visit all of these historical places with your own car.. Free & easy..

We managed to make a pit stop at the nearby Masjid Jamek Hang Tuah.. One of those few old Masjids built in Melaka as well..  =)

And so we decided to fill our tummies with SEAFOOD in Anjung Melaka.. First time makan seafood ni sume dgn Nasi Lemak.. Sedap plak tu!! What can I say? Awesome food, awesome servings with awesome people; my family.. XOXO

Everyone were busy eating & posing for the camera except for the littlest one.. He's too busy with his sniper games.. Siap dgn dok berlutot main game.. Hee hee..

Last photos of us before heading back to reality.. HAHA!! We didn't get to visit most of the historical places as planned due to time constraint & kids whining of, "Can we go now? Can we eat now? Can we go to the toilet? Can we rest now? Baba & Ummi we're tired!!", but I'm glad that at the end of it all, we all had a great time there.. Few things I noticed, org Melake ni budi bahase dorg mmg cukop sopan & beradat.. Every Melakans that we bumped into never fail to smile & give assistance to us.. Salute korang la!!

InshaAllah, we'll plan for another visit again someday.. =)

Melaka Trip Day 2..

When was the last time we had such peaceful moment together, just us, as a family? Loving the nice view from our hotel room balcony.. Alhamdulillah.. As Salam & top of the morning from Melaka!!!  \(^.^)/

And my babies.. The last time they felt this happy & excited was when we all went for a long holiday to Langkawi Island.. See those faces.. Priceless.. Muke baru bangon tido.. Bau masham tapi beshhhh bile diciom..  =)

Bangon tido jer tros ajak gi stunt kat swimming pool.. LOL.. Kids long awaited for this.. Sadly, the pool is too deep for the littlest one.. But it's ok, he seems to enjoy getting himself wet in the shower & doing the feet dip at the pool!!

The Hibiscus Cafe & the walkway to the pool.. Everything about this place has got something to do with nature & greeneries.. 'Plant theme' everywhere!! Love love love!!

Ku sempat berposing kat balcony sbelom jalan2 tngk Bandar Melaka.. Hee hee..

Us, anak-branak strolling along the Malacca River.. Reminds me so much of our very own Clarke Quay.. Only this, is way much more lepak.. Less noises coz it's not filled with pubs unlike back home.. Well, except for The Hard Rock Cafe that's situated nearby & the peaceful sound of the Azan during prayer times.. =)

Queen Victoria's Fountain.. Built in 1901 & still standing..

The famous Tan Beng Stew Clock Tower..

The Old Malacca Fort.. Built in the 15th Century during the reign of the Malacca Sultanate.. Imagining how it would be like as the Royal Guards during the Sultanate days having to keep watch at the fort; rain or shine.. Rabak beb..

I can see that my family really enjoyed this short trip especially the hub.. One of the reason is becoz his pure parental lineage was from Melaka itself..

It's unbelievable that this remaining fort including those other historical places built by the olden Malays are still standing strong.. What's more unbelievable is, how the Westerners tried their very best to manipulate US by convincing that it's THEM who were the first settlers to built such advance looking buildings & weapons.. FYI, if you love history & do a lot of research, the olden Malays didn't only used their traditional keris, tombaks or even lembings to fight their enemies.. They knew how to use guns & cannons back then.. Having such a well-known fort gave them the exposure of exchanging goods & cultures with other traders from countries all over the world & this includes the exchange of weaponry.. That explains how they were able to protect their country for so long & was well known for their strong fotress & great defence.. The cause of Melaka's downfall was due to a few traitors of their own kind.. With this said, it seems easier for the Westerners to take advantage of the opportunity.. I'm proud to say that we, Malays are just as smart as them, Westerners unlike what we were made to believe, was said & written in our history books about our Malays ancestors.. Orang Melayu sbenarnye orang yg bijak & pandai.. Tetapi yg menjatohkan org Melayu adalah org Melayu sendiri kerane sifat hasad & dengki antare satu same lain..

View of the Malacca River again.. Seriously reminds me so much of Clarke Quay but this view is waaaaay better.. Sorry Uncle LKY, too many urban jungles in our country lah.. ;)

And finally, after all the walking, sweating & whining of "Baba & Ummi!! Are we there yet?!!" We finally reached our next pit stop, the replica of the Dutch Ship (which also has an indoor museum), that sank in the straits of Malacca.. But sadly, due to overwhelming visitors, it closed earlier.. Boohoo.. Mengamok anak2 aku tk dpt masok.. Dutch Ship Museum, why you closed so fast?!!!! Hurhurhur?!! Me no like!!!! Hmmmph!! Penat tau kitorg jalan.. We ended up finding a spot for us to rest while eating a packet of fish crackers that we bought from the souvenir shop nearby.. Melantak kropok ikan anak-branak.. HAHAHAHAH!! 

Just had to snap a photo of this view.. Seriously, so so much like Clarke Quay!!

Bigger babies posing for the camera with the replica of The Malacca Sultanate Watermill at the back..

Malacca River view during sunset.. So lawa laaaaaaa.. 

Kitorg sempat dok lepak skejap makan Eskrem Potong org Melake.. Sedap giler la siol!! Difference is, they added coconut milk so that you can taste the 'lemak-ness' of the santan in the ice cream.. Macam pisang goreng panas ni barang.. Skejap dah sold out.. 

We managed to visit the old Kampong Morten.. Lovely kampong houses la I tell you!! Their traditional kampong houses were all so cute & small in sizes.. So many antiques & artifacts could be seen here as well.. A very laid back atmosphere the moment you entered this village.. I wish I could retire in such a place with my family one day.. InshaAllah.. =)

And this was said to be the Mausoleum of the late well-known Malay Warrior, Hang Tuah.. Taking into account that this photo was taken late at night coz we drove there LATE at night.. And how when I said some prayers to all the companions of the Ahli Kubor there & I swear I heard a voice saying,"Boleh" & "Sama-sama", the moment I seek permission & said thank you for a photo of this place taken.. Spooky, I tell you.. The hair at the back of my neck stood up..

On our way back along Klebang, we decided to make a last pit stop for late supper.. That stall with the blue signboard saying,"Asam Pedas Claypot" sells the most awesomest Asam Pedas dish I've ever tasted.. Foooooooh!! Dahsyat beb!! Laki bini tagak makan Asam Pedas Ikan.. Heehee..

So I end today's trip with our tired faces.. Tomorrow will be the day where we're all gonna go home.. Sad much.. Huhuhu..

Melaka Trip Day 1..

Off we go!! Bismillah..

Syukur Alhamdulillah for this short little vacation.. We REALLY need this to clear our minds & de-stress ourselves.. Those happy faces are too priceless..

Got stuck in the traffic congestion going towards Woodlands Causeway for 2 freaking hours.. Tu la sape suro klua lambat? Mendak punye pasal, anak branak ber-selfie!! Akil isn't in any of the photos here coz he's fast asleep in my arms..

Hotel provides free Wifi service.. Gerek per?!! Blog-ing & Instagram-ing made easy!!

To the swimming pool we go in the morning tomorrow.. Weeeehooooo!!