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Sematan, Roxy Beach 2023

The girls recovered from our horrible bout of food poisoning at Sematan. It was 1.5 -2 hours drive away from Kuching and I wasn’t looking forward to it because I was too worried about the kids and our illness. If they were to get seriously ill, the nearby hospital or clinic would be hours away.

Thankfully they started eating slightly before the road trip and Saitaoha was looking much perkier even though she napped throughout most of the car ride. That itself was great because at least she wasn’t in pain, in tears or vomiting.

After that it was a joy to watch her appetite awaken, to see her ask for ice cream and treats.

Her little cousin also finally got to play with Saitaoha jeje who was so ill previously that she couldn’t even talk to her let alone play with her. My girls were very good jejes and I was proud of them.

Spring 2023

We finally headed out shopping tonight. Even before the trip I resigned myself to the fact that it wouldn’t be my kind of Kuching trip with my favourite places, my neighbourhoods, my kind of local food. This is really R’s family trip and he really is overdue a reunion because he hasn’t seen his family for 3 years.

I still felt a bit sad being in my family home for a short while, seeing the bare rooms, the remnants of my childhood memories and my happy days. It was a wonderful home, it truly was, and even when I left Kuching for Perth, it was always a sanctuary for me when I came home. I slept so much better in my childhood bedroom. I wonder whether I would if I were to return today?

But the home isn’t a home without my family. So it doesn’t mean so much to me anymore because my parents are in Perth, therefore Perth is my home. I truly felt it this time coming ‘home’. I am thankful that we still can visit Kuching in the future though since the in laws will be here and it will still be a home to R. It won’t be quite the same, but it is still a place I hold dear to my heart.

Last day

Even though I’ve been complaining and wishing for the holiday to end, now that we’re flying out tomorrow, I can’t help but wish we could rewind back to the start of the holiday again!

The decorating of the house, buying and snacking of CNY treats, waiting for the stroke of midnight, letting off firecrackers and admiring the fireworks circling the smoky night sky.

There’s too much overeating. Always too much food.

But local food is so delicious. Saitaomei enjoyed her daily breakfast of kolo mee very much! She even picked up fallen strands of kolo mee from her skirt and ate them, 宁可杀错不可放过😅.

I was glad when we strayed from our daily kolo mee and had yummy kueh chap instead.

Foochow cha ju mein, it’s not my favourite but I wanted to taste it so I can try to recreate the flavours back home.

The Hakka association annual CNY dinner which turned out much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Thankfully my poor sisters’ families came along in a show of support, otherwise it would be a dull night. I only wish my brother had not flown home in the morning, as usual, I didn’t get to spend enough time with him.

The kids had so much fun at the playground during my birthday. I believe it was one of the highlights of their trip.

Mei mei and papa 🥰.

And just like that our Chinese New Year holiday is over!

I hope the Year of the Rat is when the kids and I become stronger and build up our immune system against all the bugs and viruses out there.

Saitaoha is sick again and I’m totally devastated about it 😭. Poor kid just doesn’t get a break, sick three days into her holiday, with all the other kids around as well, there’s the worry that they will catch her bug too and their holiday (as well as my siblings’ holiday) will be ruined as well. I know I’m being a worry wart but these things keep me awake at night. The lack of quality sleep from constantly crying and stirring kids is also making me a kill joy, I am a snarky bear to be around with and I don’t blame others from wanting to keep far far away.

Happier times of the sisters and my kids colouring together. That’s the best part of family holidays.

Let’s hope we all huat this year! Be it in health, wealth or luck.

Poor girl, she looks so worn out here. I’m glad we got to go for a spin at my favourite Kenyalang, I love this place.

All the Chinese New Year stalls were out but it felt very quiet this year.

I never get to spend enough time with my dear brother when he’s back, so I treasure all our snippets of conversation where I get a glimpse of his life in US. Every time I see him I selfishly wish he lives nearer to us. I wish my parents had their son with them. But he’s happy and that’s all that matters.

Roadside burger for supper last night, we can barely stuff anything into our bursting bellies anymore but I think my siblings did it for me.

It was nostalgic but as usual, after we devoured it, there was that tinge of regret.

We are waiting for R and my in laws to pick us up, my stint at home with my family is over and I’m already sad.

CNY holiday begins

Saitaomei was excited to be going on a holiday!

But her jeje enjoyed it the most, she adores her cousins and yee yees, so getting to travel with them was heaven for her.

This time I didn’t hesitate to get my holiday drink of Starbucks matcha latte, I know the opportunity to indulge is far and few in between so better get it while I can. I don’t even like it that much anymore but I like it that it symbolises being on a holiday.

The kids trying out their CNY costumes before the holiday. So cute hehe.

My first attempt at making kuih lapis, I quite enjoyed the process and would like to try other flavours. The only thing is now that I know the crazy amount of egg yolks, sugar and butter that goes into this cake I’m not sure I can encourage any of my loved ones to eat it!

I seriously don’t know where she learned to pose like that!

Where did she get this from? YouTube videos? This was at our favourite Spring, love it that the shopping centre is quiet even nearing the festive season.

It’s nice to be home and lovely hanging out with the family, I’m looking forward to seeing my brother again too. But I always feel bad whenever I see how stress my parents become when we’re over. It’s really tough maintaining two households and because they are away from Kuching for so long (looking after my kids *gulp*) everything is broken down or malfunctioning, supplies need replenishing and multiple errands are awaiting. As visitors of the house, we don’t know how to fix anything or get around and rely on my parents for everything. Travelling around in a big group logistics wise is challenging too and everything falls to them as the hosts when they are hardly in the country themselves. It’s really quite difficult and they could just have the devil may care attitude but my parents are just not like that, they take care of all of us and over worry and fret about our comfort too much. It’s stressful for them, and stressful for us too.

I’m hoping it gets easier once I move out because I know my little ones make everything all the more challenging. I want my parents to have a holiday too!

Post holiday blues

I haven’t had time to blog about the rest of the trip. After the initial euphoria from returning home, we have been busy unpacking, packing winter clothes and sleeping! The weather in Perth is so nice for sleeping in, the kids and I have been building up our sleep quota.

The kids finally have real beds and have upgraded from their cots. So far they seem to be loving it and it’s nice for all of us to be in the same room again. I’m also enjoying not sharing the same bed with Saitaomei, she’s no longer sleeping ON me at night, this also explains the longer sleeping hours.

Throwback to the holiday, I think this was a highlight for the kids, they enjoyed the indoor playground so much that we went twice.

That look of delight on her face as she went down the slides.

Mei enjoyed diving into the ball pit the most.

Traditional 枕头粽子 pillow rice dumplings made by one of the relatives. It was really delicious and filled to the brim with yummy ingredients like peanuts, chestnuts and pork, umm so good 😊.

I always thought the name of my childhood favourite pastry was longkoh, I only found out it actually means egg cake 蛋糕 in foochow, oops.

Papa and Saitaoha at the wedding. We didn’t take any photos at all because we were so busy helping with the logistics.

Sister in law and new brother in law 🥰.

This little terror was cranky at the beginning of the wedding but soon loosened up and started having fun towards the end.

Hehe silly cousins. Despite all the squabbling, they had a lot of fun together this holiday.

I had tomato mee for one of my breakfasts, it was a bit watery but a nice change.

Saitaomei really likes Kuching food, she ate loads of kampua and kolo mee this trip.

Sigh I’m really sad that the holiday is over, I have been so grumpy the past couple of days which I think stems from post holiday blues. Luckily Christmas is around the corner and we are heading back again for Chinese New Year.

It was a lovely trip with the highlight for me being the Singapore leg and hanging out with my parents and sister and the kids. The countdown begins for the next holiday!

Goodbye Singapore Hello Kuching

Last full day in Singapore. View of Orchard Road from the Orchard Central gallery.

Even though I already had my daily dose of kopi, I couldn’t resist a second shot for the last day. It was a hot day though so I had kopi ais, good but not as satisfying as a hot mug of kopi.

The kids had fun at the outdoor playground at the Food Republic at 313 Somerset. It’s mostly quite empty which is probably not good for business but great for us. I hate waiting to chope tables during peak hours which in Orchard Road sometimes feels like forever.

Ah ma knows me best. She got me a takeaway cup of kopi from Yakun before we set off to the airport. It was legit good kopi.

I really love these strollers at Changi, I also like the kid friendly corners at various spots of Changi. I am always impressed and appreciate the effort that goes into the planning of Changi’s terminals design. It really is a top notch airport.

Silly cousins. They’ve bickered,fought, made up and mostly played well together this holiday.

Whereas this little ball of terror showed her age 😅.

Love the heritage zone celebrating Peranakan culture, so beautiful.

Seafood dinner at Top spot with the must order local midin. I am sure every family has their go-to seafood restaurant in Kuching, for our family, it’s always Top Spot and we’ve been going there for many many years. Back in those days my grandparents were still well and healthy, they could indulge in great plates of crab and steamed fish. Sigh. Those were the good days.

The crabs were really for my sister who is a huge crab lover. We always think of her when we are eating crabs or see crab on the menu. But we never eat crabs in Perth because they are so expensive and not even that good!

This is one satisfied customer. She enjoyed dinner so much we are going back for more crab tonight!

The size of the prawns put our so called king prawns in Perth to shame. So delicious lightly grilled.

This foodie enjoyed her food a lot and we pretty much had to pry the bowl of rice away from her. She’s a 饭桶!

Our parents got up early and went to Jin Fu Ling to pick up our pre order of popiah. We are spoilt kids lah.

I haven’t had these yet but the chai kueh look good! My sister can probably demolish ten at a go, or 20?

Jeje getting a trim at the neighbourhood salon while mei mei watches on. The trim cost RM2! I had to ask ‘huh? 多少?’ when she mentioned the price. It costs her $10 to trim her fringe in Perth and that’s already the cheapest option.

Can do for RM2?

Mei mei so hot and bothered. She’s wiltering in the heat.

Posers at Kenyalang who were happy to score their loot of old school snacks.

Kuching Day 2

Breakfast of the champions, silky kueh chap with sweet and salty char kueh and a cup of thick kopi. Only problem was Saitaomei still isn’t adjusting to the strange surroundings and climate so she’s been rather tired and cranky. Pretty much had to scoff down the food and poor ah pa was eating with one hand and clutching on to the struggling Saitaomei. My ah pa is truly amazing.

Mei mei perked up after a bath and a nap so off we went to Spring where the girls enjoyed a little playground time.

I wish this photo wasn’t blurry.

So pleased with their ice creams.

Mei mei looks like she’s eyeing her jeje’s icecream!

We didn’t dare to brave the hawker centre so opted to takeaway from Hui Sen instead. The char kway teow was good, lots of wok hei.

Mei mei approved, but she hasn’t been eating much.

Back to Spring again! The kids are having a really great time, lots of outings, car rides.

And oodles of icecream 🍦 !

We are having a great holiday so far, hope it continues all the way to the end 😀.

Kuching Day 1

First of the FIL meals, many more to come I’m sure. I used to get a bit annoyed at these massive meals because I felt like we were being force fed. But it could be age or maturity, I now appreciate these meals and understand the effort that goes into making them (and my MIL who washes up afterwards). It’s nice to have someone else cook for a change and all I have to do is feed the kids.

First kopi in Kuching, a good one too.

Foochow noodles for breakfast, it was very tasty.

Hello from Kenyalang, the place of my childhood. Everyone commented that the floors were so dirty but I didn’t mind lah, I was pleased to get a photo of Saitaomei at my favourite place of my childhood.

R and his parents are flying off early tomorrow morning for the China leg of the wedding. For the umpteenth time I’m so glad that I decided not to join them for this leg. The long travel along would drive the kids (and myself) bonkers, let alone Saitaomei not adjusting to the new environment and new faces. She’s been acting up and being generally very mischievous and whiny which is quite unlike her!

We managed to finish all the errands on our to do list today. Then we had dinner at Verinice, the first time for R and his family. I told them that it has been our family go to for quite some time and when the dishes came, they could see (and taste) why.

When they dropped us off my family home and my parents stood at the front porch welcoming us, Saitaoha shouted ‘Mah Mah!’ so loudly in the car and launched herself at her favourite grandmother. I felt the same way too! Safe at last, back at home. It’s unfair towards R and my in laws who have been very welcoming, but my family home and my parents are really my sanctuary, nothing else comes even close.

When we turned off the lights, Saitaoha, Saitaomei and I slept on my childhood bed which I shared with my sister. Saitaomei was half asleep but still made hand gestures to the lullabies that Saitaoha and I sang together. It was surreal that Saitaoha and I were serenading her little sister to sleep! I breathed in the sweet scent of my babies, and felt contentment, peace and overwhelming love steal into my heart. What a good way to end the first day of our holiday.

Damai beach resort

We are back from our staycation at Damai beach resort. The resort is exactly the same as it was last year, dilapidated and in need of refurbishment. Even the buffet fare was exactly the same as last year’s haha. Despite the lacking condition of the rooms and facilities, we still had a great time, especially the kids.

Saitaomei loved the pool as expected. She has no fear that child, whereas Saitaoha was more cautious at that age and still is now.

Saitaoha enjoyed the pool a lot this time as well. But I think she’s too old for floats now so I will buy her arm bands and sign her up for swimming lessons when we are back.

Both kids had fun playing with their beach toys which their kuku and kuzhang bought for them.

She was a bit puzzled with the sandy beach but soon got the hang of it.

Papa and his baby on the beach.

Saitaoha was so happy to be with everyone, she’s a social butterfly this girl.

We wanted Saitaoha to be the mermaid but both kids refused to be buried in sand.

Guess who had to be the merman instead HAHAHAHA

Card games at night were lots of fun. It was especially fun watching the parents in law play, father in law would give a little chuckle every time he was about to win.

Mei mei and Gong Gong at breakfast buffet. We usually spent a long time at breakfast, R and his sister can really eat! And they’re still so skinny, so unfair.

Their laksa was flavourful and a favourite of R’s every morning.

Whereas I had nasi lemak everyday, very shiok.

Seafood dinner which was very yummy.

Happy kids 😃= fun staycation.

We are back from the resort now, I’m not sure about R but I felt a little sad when we were leaving because it feels like our holiday is coming to an end.

大年初一

Totally failed attempt of trying to get a nice photo of my babies in their pretty twinning outfits. It’s almost impossible to get good shots of these moving targets.

Much better shot! But why isn’t mummy in the picture ? Why aren’t mummies ever in pictures?

Asked Saitaoha to smile and this is the grin she gives me 🙂

The kids discover the joy of CNY snacking early in life.

She really really liked all the snacking, even figured how to open the lids by herself.

The focus of this picture is the giant prawn cracker in her hand. She had many many crackers today.

It’s nice to see Saitaoha having fun with R’s siblings and the in laws. I’ve been luckier in life in that my kids get to spend a lot of time with my family, so these festive occasions are fantastic for the kids to bond with R’s family.

She is the funniest kid, rushing upstairs to place her angpaos carefully in the left side of the drawer, she even helps mei mei to store hers on the right corner.

There was so much food. My stomach is hurting from the overeating so I’m going to go on a detox tomorrow. I’m also suffering from a cough, yucks.

Ok I might still have some prawn crackers with achar, my favourite combination.

Look at that hopeful girl!

I’m glad we found some time to visit my parents and mah mah today. I think the kids are missing Gung Gung Mah Mah a bit, Saitaoha didn’t want to go home.