A Baby No More

Nissa, my youngest started "real" school last week. She was in playschool the last 2 years and in kindergarten last year. So this year she starts Year 1 in a school not far from home.

She will be seven this March. Where has the time gone? Every time her birthday rolls around, I reminisce about the day I got to know I was pregnant of her. After many years of trying to conceive, I sort of gave up on trying to get pregnant. I remember having this conversation with a friend. "Aku rasa aku ni dah mandul kot...after having 2 kids." And we laughed our lungs out over that remark. And then, there I was...pregnant!! Oh nooo....a baby on the way!!!

When my gynae, Dr Haris told me..."Yup..you are pregnant alrite. And baby is due in March" Waaaa.....didn't know if I should cry and scream or leap with joy. The last time Dr Haris said this same line to me was a long, long time ago....8 years to be exact.

Nissa - 3 years

A baby would be nice...but the 9 months would be a challenge. Both of my earlier pregnancies had been awful. My morning sickness would start from the time I knew I "got knocked" and would prolong till the day I delivered.

A good 7 years have passed since that visit to the gynae. And now..before we knew it, our "little baby" Nissa is getting on the bus and heading off to school. Tears welled up in my eyes as I became nostalgic, and marveled at my sweet little cherub who has grown into a pretty, young girl.

Poem & Photo Editing

My first posting for the year. I used to write poems when I was in school. I thought I'd try my skills at it again. But this time combined with some photo editing tools.

The outcome...oh well...I'd rate it OK la ;-)

Usher in the New Year

In less than 2 hours, we shall usher in 2008. New beginnings, new hopes and new aspirations.

So how will it be for me, this New Year??

No words says it better than these wise quotes of Ann Landers.

“Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. ... Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. ... Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. ... Walk tall, and smile more. You'll look 10 years younger. Don't be afraid to say, "I love you". Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world.”

Cheers to the New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

A Life Cut Short

I had gone for a swim this evening and I picked up a local daily to later read in the sauna. As I turned to the pages, I saw the bold headlines "Bhutto Assassinated". Huh???? Did I miss something? I have been following the news and didn't catch anything earlier this morning.

As I read the news, I felt this sudden pull in my stomach. What is happening to the world around us?? Just a while ago, I watched some news clippings on CNN and the word "terrorism" surfaced many times. Was Bhutto's assassination a work of terrorist? Well, at least that's what some quarters believe. And to make matters worst, you just don't know if you can gobble down what's reported in the electronic media.

I am not much of a follower of the Pakistani politics. But I do like Benazir Bhutto. She had those deep caring eyes which displayed her love and concerns of her country and people. She had fought so much to bring modernity and education to the people in her country. It was a difficult struggle and yet she never failed to get it done with so much gracefulness.

Early this year, in the preface of her autobiography 'Daughter of the East', she wrote this, "I didn't choose this life, it chose me. Born in Pakistan, my life mirrors its turbulence, its tragedies and its triumphs. Pakistan is no ordinary country. And mine has been no ordinary life.'

Benazir Bhutto to me, is one truly great lady. One with courage and determination and this is just how I'd like to remember her.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji `oon.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays

Christmas is the season to look forward to! Love, togetherness, friendship come together to make a perfect blend on Christmas.

Wishing all the happiness this holiday season & throughout the coming year.

Salam Aidul Adha

Wishing all Muslims a blessed Aidul-Adha, 10 Zulhijjah 1428, and may this year's festivities bring us all closer to God's grace and closer to the very essence of our being, our destiny.

Amin.

Day 4 - Disneyland Here We Come

Mid day 9 December 2007

It was Disneyland right in front of our very eyes. I've never been to Disneyland before. Those 4 years in the States didn't quite give me the chance to be there. Well, when one was on a government scholarship, what could you expect. As a student, the scholarship money was just enough to cover for the basic necessities. There wasn't much left for traveling. But that was many, many years ago. And now here we were at the gates of Disneyland.

Hong Kong Disneyland park is located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay on Lantau Island. The magic Kingdom style park first opened its gates to visitors on 12 September 2005.

The park has 3 main areas - Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Adventureland.

The walk into the park was a pleasant one. The immaculate and beautiful landscape provided a warm welcome to visitors. Obviously, many of these "spots" became a favourite for photo takes.

As we were walking into the park, I heard a familiar language. A couple of ladies, were speaking in a lingo similar to the one spoken by Bibik and her friends in their morning gatherings back home. Waduh!!! Kamu ni "neng" (young girls) dari Indon ya??

My guess was right. They were Indonesian maids working in Hong Kong. Sunday is their hari libur (off day) and they were off to Disneyland. They must be making a lot, I guess. Just entrance ticket to the park cost HK$295 per person and that didn't include the food and drinks, which was on the premium side.

One of them was funny enough to say that she is now so "gendut" (fat) and udah rupa (looks like) Donald Duck!!

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Nissa and Mickey & Minnie in the background

After stopping at all the MUST take photo areas, we were finally in the park. Wow.....it was some beauty!!! We passed through the Main Street USA heading towards the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Fantasyland. Fantasyland had a couple of interesting rides.

ABE took Nissa on the Cinderella Carousel while the girls and I queued to go on the Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride.

Me & Ayna on the Dumbo ride

For starters, the ride was alright and pretty harmless. As for Mom, she sat happily on the bench by the side while watching us run up and down for our rides.

After those "intro" rides, we went to see the Mickey PhilharMagic Show. It was a 3-D show of Mickey Mouse and friends. A very good show I must say. The 3-D effects made Princess Jasmine and Aladdin flew on their carpet right before your very eyes!!!

Queue for the Jungle River Cruise

Next was the Adventureland. We decided to go on the Jungle River Cruise. Beware it said...you may get wet!!!

ABE, Mom and girls seated at the back of the boat

This ride was OK lah.... not so scarry as what was mentioned earlier. I was a bit disappointed with the guide's distinct Chinese slang in his English. Well, what was I expecting... this was Hong Kong Disneyland. But kids...no complaints. They enjoyed themselves for sure.

Here comes the train..

By the time we finished the river cruise, it was almost 2.45pm. We wanted to go see the Christmas Parade at the Main Street USA which was to start at 3.15pm. So we walked back to Fantasyland and took the train back to the Main Street USA. When we arrived, the crowd was just starting to build up.

Mom asked if there was a place where she could perform her solat. I told her from the looks of things I didn't think there was any. She then said that in a "darurat" (emergency) situation like this it was OK to perform your prayers while sitting. Well...ok...you know best Mom. Faris took out the compass and checked out the direction of the Kiblat and then they took turns to perform their solat. As for me....heh..heh....red flag mahhh....cuti!!!

At 3.15pm the parade started. The Disney characters danced and walked passed us. It was some show they put on. At the end of it, snow (huh...snow in HK?? Manmade one lah from soap bubbles!!!) came down from the sky.

Kids punyer la bergambar sakan...ala-ala tengah snowing.

After the Christmas parade, we moved on to Tomorrowland. It was here that we spent most of our time.

ABE took Nissa to go up a ride called the Orbitron. It was quite a wait till their turns came. Mom said she wanted to get something to eat. I surveyed the eating places and they didn't look like they serve HALAL food anywhere. ABE mentioned that he had sneaked in a Maggie cup and Mom could have that first until we finished the ride. So I got the Maggie cup from him and passed to Mom. She went to the food counter and asked for some hot water. She wanted to pay for it, but the girl was kind enough to just let her have the water for her noodles.

I then queued up to go on the Orbitron with the girls and Faris told me that he wanted to go on the Space Mountain. Naik je la...apa-apa yang suka....have fun!!!

When we came down the Orbitron, we were all so, so hungry. Time to eat before any of the kids fall flat. I went to check out the fastfood join in Tomorrowland and got ourselves the fish burgers and fries. Kids finished their burgers in a jiffy and they were ready to go again. This time they said,"Let's try the space mountain!!!".

Muka lepas naik Space Mountain

OK..I must confess, my days of roller coaster rides are definitely OVER. The Space Mountain ride if compared to those in Six Flags America was nothing close. I have ridden on many other challenging and terrifying rides before. The Edge, The Wooden Roller Coaster, The Cockscrew...you name it. I've been on most of them. But now at 40 something, I guess I shall pass. However, for the sake of having fun with the kids, what the heck....I braved myself and went up the Space Mountain ride not once but twice!!!

After the second Space Mountain ride, I was beat tired. ABE dah lama surrender. So he sat and accompanied Mom. Not long after that, I too had to sit down and catch my breath. The kids went on a few more times on the Space Mountain.

Then kids ajak me to go on the Mad Hatter tea cups ride. Fuhhh...that was some spinning ride. At the end of it, I almost saw "stars"!!!

Nissa wanted to watch the Stitch Encounter show. So we queued and waited for the show. We were the first ones in the queue. Yet another interesting show where kids got to interact with Stitch and his misadventures.

Let's light up the castle...one...

Two....

Three!!!

By the time we came out from Stitch Encounter it was already dark. Not long after that, we saw the lighting up of the Sleeping Beauty Castle. What a stunning beauty!!!

Fireworks..just warming up

This was the best view of fireworks I could capture on my compact digital camera

People now had started to gather at the Castle area to wait for the grand finale - the Disney in Stars Fireworks. At 8.15pm the skies over Disneyland was all lighted up with sparkling fireworks display. ABE carried Nissa on his shoulders so that she could get a better view. Huh...that was some 20 something kilos he had on his shoulders!!!

All buildings lighted up

Lighted and standing tall... the Xmas Tree

After the fireworks display, we walked slowly passed the Main Street USA and snapped a couple more shots. Tired but satisfied...that was what I could read from the children's faces.

One final family photo..before we left the park

Too bad....every beginning has got to come to an end. For me, I was glad that everything went well and the children had enjoyed themselves. After all this vacation was all planned for them to have a good time.

We then walked out to the place where we were supposed to wait for our pick up. There were some confusion over the bus and who were supposed to be on it. Anyhow, as what was advised our HK guide, we just stayed put on the bus. Too bad that some other people had to get down and wait for another bus to pick them up.

It was a long ride back to our hotel. Tired from the day's excitement, kids dozed off during the journey back. As for me, Alhamdullilah, everything turned out as how we had wanted this vacation to be.