Hello Kitty Town @ Puteri Harbour Johor

The lucky kids got to spend 3 days in Johor over the Merdeka weekend.

All planned by hubs :)

This is a great place for 3-6 years old.

Any older and they will probably think it's lame.

 Most rides require a minimum height of 90cm.

The night before, the lil girl tried on accessories that didn't belong to her.

  Tiger's hat and my sunnies :)

 It only took about 3.5 hours to reach JB from KL since we left early (about 7am)

Again, it was hub's impeccable planning.

We had out breakfast at Tua Thow (non halal).

Super delicious kuay teow soup and cheap too.

 Cooks in JB really put a lot of effort into their cooking. Be prepared to wait.

So, I entertained everyone by irritating them.

Hubs had a large one with innards and all.

Then we made our way to Puteri Harbour and got there at about 11.30AM

 Confession time. I brought my DSLR but I forgot the SD card!!!

Geez man...stupidity in all it's splendor =.="

Thank God for Iphones. 

On this trip, Dragon was super cooperative in our photo taking quest.

I must have taken at least 1000 shots.

How to resist this lil sweetheart? She looks so adorable from every angle.

It's called maternally biased syndrome.

Tell tale sign: You think your kid is always the cutest. 

We paid rm91 each for entry to both Hello Kitty Town and Little Big Club.

The ground floor was souvenir and cafe.

First Floor: Hello Kitty Town

Second Floor: Little Big Club (Barney, Pingu, Bob and Angelina)

Third Floor: Thomas

First up, picture with Melody! 

Barney's school house. 

They really need to fix the lighting here. 

Instead of flatscreen TVs, I wished there were photo props.
It was just a little sparse.

We have the same puzzle at home but this is BETTER =.="

 

 I don't know who Pingu is but hey, look free arcade games.

My kids LOVE arcade games.

Spent 30 minutes here, I think :)

 

 The middle shot was when the puck went in :)

Bob The Builder Play Structure

 

This is the schedule for the weekends for Hello Kitty Town.

 And this is for Little Big Club

 We rushed back downstairs for the show.

"Starlight Sing-a-Long"

She was captivated by the giant cats.

Some craft and photo time

 Before the neext show, we 'chop' places first.

  

Hello Kitty's home

 

 

 

 

Then we spent a lot of time at with Thomas.

The bus ride that goes round and round,all the way to the ceiling.

 

'Don't hold me, I am a big oy now!"

 Harold the Helicopter ride was Dragon's favorite. 

She kept asking for more :)

 The most boring ferris wheel in the world :p

Last ride before closing time

Tiger really enjoyed Bob's show as it was more interactive. 

 

 

Closing show

Photo time!

 

The place wasn't too big and yet we spent the entire day there.
There were many play gigantic play structures like those in Ekids which my kids love.
One entry to Ekids is Rm 50
Here, you get shows, free games, free sand art, free crafts, and all the rides.
Definitely worth the rm 91.

 The kids slept so well that night!
All excited for Legoland the next day :)

We Are Going to Legoland

Since the Ringgit is falling like bird crap, literally; our plans for HK Disneyland is colder 

than Anna Wintour. 

And Hubs being the indulgent father that he is, is still adamant to bring the kids to Legoland instead.
Given the current economic situation, the prices are bonkers but
Tiger was already over the moon about the trip at this point.
He has even decided on the Pirate Room for his stay. 

Pirate. Adventure. Kingdom.

According to Tiger.

 

After a brief discussion, Hubs and I decided to stay at KSL to save some moolah. 

Since the kids are still besotted with dinosaurs, they didn't make a fuss :)

Tiger, who is five isn't a big fan of Lego yet. We have two sets of Lego Duplo and one box of assorted Lego but no one likes them. *shrugs*. Too many other options? Not into building yet? 

In order to get them excited about the trip...we did some random activities pertaining to Legoland
on top of our daily lessons.

The pirate toy sets from ELC and LEGO are crazy expensive, so we make do with this.

RM 27 from Bookxcess.

We are getting thrifty :)

Lucky us, he got a mini Ninja Turtle set from a friend's birthday party. 

He worked on it immediately the next day.

We used some printables from Carisa's Lego Kindergarten Printable Pack 

He didn't complete the whole pack and I don't expect him to,

Just the ones he enjoys, like this cut and paste.

Celebrating their trip in advance like a couple of drunk sailors.

 

And this is the plan I asked for.

A map of legoland and a scary Freddy lookalike pirate.

Will post more pictures after we return :)

Our Kakak Went Back to Indonesia for Holiday

Our darling Indonesian helper requested for a 2 months holiday after working here for 2 years and 4 months. She promised to return, so I renewed her 2015 permit, prepared her KTKLN documents and bought 2-way flight tickets.

Her initial salary was rm 700.
I raised it to rm 900 plus a smartphone after 2 years.
When she went home, I didn't retain her salary but I deducted the rm 1700 I paid for her permit renewal and return ticket. It's unnecessary losses on my part should she change her mind.
She agreed.

She left on June 26th and we kept in contact until the first day of Raya.
We were in IKEA and we wanted to wish her Selamat Hari Raya! but I couldn't get through.
I called every single day and it was always the telco operator on the other end.
I had to face the fact that the line was terminated.
After a few weeks of hearing the telco's voice, we became friends. I call her Ain.

"Nombor yang anda dial.... "

Hi Ain, have you heard from my kakak?

Hello Ain, kakak saya sihat keh?

Hello Ain, boleh suruh kakak call back?
 .
.
.
.
One MONTH of anxiety, worry and sleepless nights will turn you into a nutcase.
Except for a select few, everyone and I mean EVERYONE told me,
"She's not coming back"

It reminded me of The Carrot Seed.
My MIL, husband and I were the little boy.
We had sown the seed and just waiting to see if it turns into a carrot despite all the pessimism.


On August 15th, I waited nervously for my turn on AirAsia's Live Chat
to check if she had boarded the plane.
It's absolutely no fun when you are number 74 and the line is disconnected when you're 65.
*curse words*

 Reconnect....and I am number 86
*more vulgar language used*
After one hour of waiting impatiently and nervously,
I typed in her booking number, flight number and name and waited for what seemed like an eternity.
"Yes boarded."

Yes.
Boarded.
 The two most beautiful words in English language.

I screamed in joy and startled Tiger. Haha.
Then we all rushed to get to the airport in time.
The happiness and excitement in the air was palpable :)

On the way to KLIA2, Winnie called, "Why are ALL of you going?"
.
.
.
"Because she is family."

It's been three days since she's returned and I still cannot believe my luck.
My sister said it's like winning the Grand Prize of 4D.
The odds were 1:1000

The reason we couldn't contact her was as suspected: phone theft.
 Still, she came back!
She must really love our Little Dragon :)


Notes on KTKLN card and documents:
It is still a requirement.
So is surat cuti. Her salary is stated as rm900 in the letter.
The documents cost me rm 650 via my agent.
If you do it yourself at the Indonesian Embassy, its only rm 230.

Back in Indonesia,  she asked an agent in her town to do it since
her place is very far from Semarang.
It cost about rm 300


Her traveling back cost:
2 months paid leave + surat cuti documents + KTKLN card + gifts+ flight tickets
rm 1800 + 650 + 300 + 300 + 800
Total: rm 3850