Here we come!

Todays’s the day – Deli’s department trip to Kuantan.

All of us were up quite early for a Saturday. The kids didn’t complain when I made them wake up as early as 7am. Adik had an early incident – even before the trip started.

Kakak: Mummy!! Adik kencing kat carpet butterfly!

Me: Adik, kenapa tak kencing kat toilet??

Adik: Bukan adik la. ‘Bird’ (pointing to his p*n*s) ni yang buat sendiri. Adik tak buat!

Me: Erk!!


Left KL at around 10.30am. Adik and kakak refused to nap during the journey. The enjoyed the view and sang to tunes from the radio. Kakak even did a bit of disco-dancing, John Travota-style (read: cucuk bintang). She can do a bit of The Calling’s Anything and Hoobastank’s The Reason. She’s quite good at picking up songs – unlike adik. Adik only recognize songs as ‘lagu mummy’, ‘lagu kakak’ or ‘lagu adik’. There’s no ‘lagu dada’ coz Deli, how do say this – well, he’s not very good in singing or memorizing lyrics. I blamed him for teaching adik a very weird version of Baa baa black sheep!

Made a stop at Temerloh rest area. Deli was grinning ear to ear when the scent of ‘gulai tempoyak ikan patin’ filled the air. Temerloh is very well known for this dish. Left the area half an hour later to resume the journey.

We decided to make an exit at Gambang. I can barely recognize the place! Ten years ago, it was only a two-laned road. Hypermarts, community colleges and u-turns - you can find a lot of these along the road. It was simply incredible!

Deli spent ten of his schooling and growing years in Kuantan. He can pretty much remember the area and was excitedly pointing to the kids of his old schools and the places he used to hang out.

My favourite restaurant – The Swan is still standing. I totally love their shrimp fried rice! Restoran Pattani is still there as well. This is like the most grand restaurant (read: according to our budget). All grand dinner events and parties were held here.

Reached Duta Villa around 2.30pm. Spent half an hour in the chalet before the monsters (kids and the father) were off to the pool. Games were from 5 to 7pm. Deli had a great time participationg in all the games but complained of multiple muscle aches afterwards. Very typical of you, dear!

Dinner was supposed to be by the poolside but had to be moved to the top floor of the restaurant due to heavy downpour. The food was amazing for a decent resort like Duta Villa. Even adik asked for a second helping of the fried rice.

Three of the senior managers were invited to say a few words before dinner. Among other things, they repeatedly apologized to their staff’s spouses for the long hours the staff spent in the office. It was a very nice gesture. I for one, hate it when Deli had to spend a lot of time in the office. Especially when it’s past 9pm and weekends. But when the acknowledgement came from those people, you kinda feel a bit relieved knowing that Deli’s bosses recognized his hard work and everything. Knowing that the long hours are well spent in the office and not somewhere else!

Our table was so conveniently placed beside the prezzies area. Adik had his eyes on the presents – especially the tele-match hamper. It was full of Mamee, biscuits and other junk food that can make him drool. Kakak on the other hand, was eyeing on a rather large present with teddy bear wrapper. I’m not sure if it’s the present or the wrapper that really enticed her.

Now, Deli and I have never been very lucky at lucky draws. The Japanese managers however, were very, very lucky indeed. There were five of them and interestingly enough, their room numbers were picked - all five of them! What are the odds, eh? They were kind enough to refuse the winnings and let five other room occupants to become lucky instead. Hey, we actually won for the first time! Kakak was all smiles and adik literally jumped from his chair when Deli excitedly walked towards the MC to collect the prize. Guess what? We won the teddy-bear-wrapped box!

Diner ended at 10pm. We were too tired to do anything else but watch tv. While watching cerekarama on TV3, I noticed that kakak was sobbing.

Me: Kakak, kenapa ni? Kakak nangis ke?

Kakak: Mummy tak sayang kakak *sobs*

Me: Kenapa kakak cakap macam tu? Mummy kan sayang kakak. *hugged her*

Kakak: Mummy tu peluk Dada aje. Tak peluk kakak. *sobs*

Me: La.. Come, mummy peluk kakak *Aiyoh! Anak pun pandai jeles*

Deli: Habis tu, siapa nak sayang Dada ni? *konon-konon sobs*

Me: *pengsan*