Japanese Day

Seminggu lebih Asha dengan Nina dok kepoh pasal Japanese Day di UMP.  Since you guys were sooo crazy about going and also because we didn't have anything else to do and also because it's fun to watch you guys having fun, we brought you there.  Asha was the most excited because she's an anime freak and also and amateur anime (and sometimes chibi) artist.  So, after lunch that day (hmmm... a few hours after lunch, actually), we took you there.

It was almost 4.30pm when we arrived and many stalls were either already closed or closing. But there were still a bunch of people around, mostly UMP students manning the stalls or friends of them.  Meen was excited too.  She was running here and there and I couldn't keep up.  So, I let her wandered around on her own.

 When we arrived, this doorway greeted us.  So, naturally, we had to take a picture under it.  Well, the shape of the doorway also represents the symbol of the shinto temple, if I remember the information from my Religions of The East class correctly.  It also looks like the doorway to a shogun's house, am I correct? Or... am I correct? The doorway was made of cardboard, that's why they had to hold it with the tall crock.

 Since this stall had large anime posters, Asha was naturally attracted to this stall first.  The posters were quite expensive - more than RM25.00 per piece.  So, I didn't permit her to buy them, mainly because she can draw those characters herself.  So, why waste money?  Use it to buy the stationeries instead.  But, we did spend the time there.

 Before this photo was taken, we actually went into a room showcasing the Japanese culture.  There were kanji letters, costumes, knick knacks, etc.  But there were too many people and I didn't have a good angle to focus my camera.  So, we came out from the room and stopped here instead.  Well, this was also fun.

 A small cosplayer will cost Anime Dollar 888,000,000 (dead or alive) hee hee hee.  This cosplayer was all smiling.

 A cosplayer in action for her mugshot.

 Then we moved to another room.  This room was filled with many UMP students.  They're clearly enjoying themselves.  It was a good thing we decided to go into this room because there's a kimono rental service there and it was very cheap - RM2.00 a piece.  So, we waited for our turn.  Since it's cheap, many people were also waiting for their turn as well. 

While waiting, Meen and Nina wandered off to this booth. It's RM1.00 for each net, regardless of the number of times you're able to use it.  The net was made of paper tissue.  So, it's very fragile and an easy way for them to make money.  I spent a few ringgit on this and in the end I became agitated because Meen wasn't able to catch any fish and the fish was also very cute and I think they know it's difficult to catch them.  Mama pun geram tengok fish tu.  So, I had to come to the rescue and got 1 fish for Meen.  There's a technique to catch the fish.  You must hold the cup very close to the surface of the water in the tub and since the fish was hovering on the surface for air, you need to quickly use the tissue-fishnet to scoop the fish.  OK? So, one fish is enough. Meen was very happy with the catch because she's a future 'kind-hearted veterinarian' - that's how she describes herself with her ambition.

She was very excited and ran off to show Papa of her catch (well, Mama's catch really, but who cares kan?) Papa as usual puji Meen melangit of her ability to catch the fish.  The fish was immediately named Mr. Tom.  I don't know where she got the name and she promised to take care of Mr. Tom.. So, the next day, Mr. Tom died.  So much for the kind-hearted veterinarian.  Hahaha... Anyway, when I got home from work the next day, Meen ran towards me and asked whether I could help fry Mr. Tom and I was, frankly, very surprised and I gave her the 'huh?!!!' answer and look.  So, she told me that Mr. Tom died and since she didn't want to waste anything, she wanted to eat it.  Hahaha...  Good thinking but not the correct decision, though.

After waiting a little longer, it's Nina's turn to wear the Kimono.  Waaah... She's very excited.  It turned out the person helping her with the kimono was her silat instructor and also a UMP student - Shafinaz.

Asha was the most excited person that day.  Being and anime-freak (is it called otaku?) and a fan of everything Japanese, she was beaming and kembang hidung while being prepared and helped with the kimono.

Meanwhile, Nina was all set and ready.  So, one pose from her first while Asha was still trying to wear hers.  There were many people inside the room and memang Nina tak segan pun. So, here's her pose.

Asha masih lagi tak siap.  So, we took this picture together.  Mama pun berminat but the kimono was only for thin people. :-p

Everyone's ready! The umbrellas helped them into the mood.  Oppsss! It's called Yukata, not kimono.

Seorang budak yang sungguh happy hari tu! Dulu masa kat Japanese Garden, Bukit Tinggi tak boleh try and mahal, RM20.00 per kimono!

Thank you Kak Shafinaz for allowing Meen to also enjoy herself for free.  Meen pun happy lah jugak sebab dapat Mr. Tom and was also able to wear the kimono - double happiness for her.

And now, it's time to go outside.  Asha was already into character!

Hihihi... Nak tergelak tengok depa.

Nasib baik Papa ikut.  Boleh jugak Mama join you guys ambik gambag.

At first, you guys were quite reluctant to give back.  Masih nak pakai.  Tapi since ramai lagi yang menunggu giliran, terpaksa lah jugak buka balik.

Although it was only for a couple of hours, we did do something together - minus Tareeq, of course.  We don't need to spend a lot of money to enjoy ourselves.  Malam tu Asha and Meen mesti tidur nyenyak and mimpi yang indah-indah sebab Asha dapat pakai kimono and Meen dapat Mr. Tom (walaupun Mr. Tom mati esoknya).

Pekan Riverfront, Pekan

We've been to Pekan or passed through Pekan a few times before but we never took the time to stop at Pekan Riverfront, and this time we did.  The main reason we stopped there was because I was very tired of driving from Kuala Rompin, non-stop.  We were actually on our way home from Desaru (woot! woot! ni the bestest!)

It was in the evening.  There weren't that many people around except for some boys skateboarding and a few families enjoying the atmosphere.  So, to me that was nice.  Tak yah dok serabut dengan orang.  Memang cantik because the square was right next to a river - hence, the name.  It was also clean with some fruit vendors on the other side of the square, and also the famous Hameed Cendol.

Letih memang la letih especially the driver and the co-pilot (Papa of course!) tetapi terhibur because anak-anak enjoyed themselves despite just waking up from their looooong nap from Kuala Rompin.  And as usual, tak segan langsung posing in public.  You guys just can't be bothered when it's posing time.

Getting ready.

Everybody's in their places. :-)

Meen couldn't wait to explore the square.

Adik nak pi sana!

Mama pun jerit suruh jalan tepi-tepi sebab budak-budak tu dok main skateboard.  Takut accident pulak.

Dah sampai ke tepi sungai.

 Ada batu bulat-bulat yang tak diketahui fungsinya except maybe for people to rest their butts. Oh well, it's not very comfortable, though. So, I guess the round stones/boulders were only for aesthetic purposes.

The steps to go down near the water.  The water flowed slowly.  Occasionally air bubbles were seen on the surface. Overall, the water was clean. 

Jangan la ada buaya pulak! Sila naik atas balik!  Berani terlebih. Seriau Mama.

Lihat lah pemandangan sekitar mereka berdua. It was also not very hot that day.

 

 Not many visitors were there.  So, they made this place their own.

Meen dan Mama wajib ada la.

 Acting.  Meen memang restless macam biasa la jugak.

 This was actually for his FB profile picture. heeheehee..

 Pun acting jugak.

 Acece... Behind her was the square.

Tudia! Kembangnyaa....

So, the moral here is that take time to stop and enjoy the beauty around you.  It may not be here the next time you're here.  We took that time and glad that we did.

Lembah Bujang, Kedah

This visit was actually unplanned.  But then, when did we ever really plan our trips?  Most of them were at the spur of the moment. And very few were really planned.  The unexpecteds were what spice up our lives together and I hope you will remember and pass those memories to your children.

So, this trip was originally for a wedding reception of Papa's second cousin in Sungai Petani.  The reception only took at most 2 hours.  So, it'd be a waste of time to head back home.  Since, it's already near Merbok, Papa decided to bring you guys to Lembah Bujang to visit an old civilization, before Islam came to our country.  That's why we didn't dress for the occasion but we didn't care as long as we're able to enjoy our visit, we'd be fine.

Lembah Bujang dates thousands of years ago. Kedah has the oldest kingdom in the world, more than 1000 years old and even older than Thailand.  And the Hindu civilization there was even older.  So, the Kingdom of Kedah was originally headed by a Hindu King - I think of Malay descent, not an Indian. But who knows.  There were many temples and some are still buried underground next to people's houses in villages in the vicinity.  Excavation works are still ongoing there but in a much smaller scale than previously headed by a British (I think) curator.

Well, anyway, there are many versions of why and how the civilization ended.  Some say due to the changes of the weather and climate, the temples slowly started sinking underground.  Some also say that after the last Hindu King converted to Islam, he ordered the temples to be buried under ground.  I'm willing to go with the second opinion.  It's more logical.

Elevated pose.

There's a waterfall and quite a number of visitors having a picnic.

Inside the museum there.

Most artifacts there were made of stones - stone pillars, stone tablets with inscriptions, hinduism-buddhism religious relics, statues, clay plates, religious icons, beads etc. 

The atmosphere in the hall was cool, not stuffy.  There were not many people inside the museum as many were having a picnic or enjoying the temples outside.  Papa and I decided that you guys should have little knowledge about the place before we explore further uphill towards the temples.

This was outside the museum.  Asha and Meen tengah melompat seperti yang diarahkan Papa.

Why was Asha hanging? She looked like a cliffhanger.

There's an artifact behind us, but we're more interested to take pictures of us than of it. Hahaha...

These were the steps uphill towards the temples.  Tinggi oooo!  Nina yang rendah terpaksa berdiri atas step belakang Asha supaya sama tinggi dengan adik dia.

At one of the temples there. Amboi sayangnya Mama dia kat dia!

Papa pun nak la jugak.

There were many pathways, either uphill or downhill.  Pilih ja larat jalan kot mana.

Another one of the ancient temple there.  There were more uphill.  Tapi setakat ni pun dah termengah-mengah.

Tempat tu memang cantik dan nyaman. Maybe sebab hari nak hujan jugak kot :-)

Asha tu pandai panjat, tapi nak turun terkial-kial. Kena pulak pakai baju kurung.  Hahaha.. terjun ja Asha!

I was looking for a place to sit. Tak larat nak jalan dah.  Penat naik bukit tadi tu.

Green, green, green everywhere.

 

Mama masih tak mau jalan. So, depa pulun ambik gambag depa dulu.

O yeah! I like this one! Ni idea Asha la ni. People were watching you, but what the heck. We don't know them and will never meet them again.  Pulun ja....

On the way home, we stopped at Pantai Murni.  But the weather wasn't cooperating.  The sea was a bit rough.  The waves were crashing.  So, we didn't stay there long.

Balik rumah keletihan but always fun!  I miss Kedah!