Our happening long weekend - Kuantan and January birthdays

I have one surviving grandparent. Only one left. My paternal grandmother will be 89 years old on 21January2014. When I was much younger and kid-free, I used to write to her. Letters that is...the kind that require an envelope and a stamp.

But this is a different season of life and I don't even have time to comb my hair let alone write letters. Still, I didn't want her to feel like I've forgotten her and so over a month ago, I planned to make a trip to Kuantan to visit her, mainly to show her my new baby and to celebrate her birthday. 



It was our first trip with 4 kids and it was very tiring for us. Winding, hilly highways and unfamiliar roads made it all the more challenging. Thank God for very adaptable kids - they took the journey pretty well, ate and napped when convenient. Isaac slept the entire journey to and fro.

Arriving in Kuantan at about 1pm on Friday, we looked for a convenient place for lunch. If it had been just Daalin and myself, I'd go for the famous curry mee. But with half a dozen young kids, it just wasn't practical. So we ended up here... 

 

Food was ok and the tau ke soh was very friendly and air conditioning keeps the kids comfy and myself sane.

 

I tried the nasi dagang. Too spicy for my liking and the portion too small for the price (RM4.90)

After lunch, we made our way to the hotel - De Rhu Beach Resort located at Pantai Balok.

It's a 3-star hotel but has a 5-star pool!

This is supposedly the largest lagoon pool in the country. The kids sure enjoyed themselves. It's a very family-oriented place. Certainly not the place too strut around in a bikini nor to sunbathe. Even men swim with shirts on!!!

After their swim and shower, we went to Alor Akar Seafood (Jalan Kubang Buaya) for dinner. We arrived at about 7pm and promptly got a table even without reservation. However when we were finishing at about 8plus, it was very crowded and people were waiting for tables.

Food was good. We (5 adults and 4 eating kids) had 5 dishes in total - foo yong egg, yim kok kai, ham yee (salt fish) taufu, yau mak vege and butter mantis.

Including rice and tea, the bill came to only RM93.

We then went to get a cake (my grandmother loves cheesecake) and made our way to my aunt's house where she is currently staying. Because we were unfamiliar with the roads and it was dark, we got rather lost and arrived only at about 9.30pm by which time the kids were tired and cranky. Joe and Joy fell asleep (exhausted from their swim) and I had to almost drag them out of the car.

After spending over an hour with grandma, we sang Happy Birthday to her and prayed for her before saying goodbye. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was about 11pm. Exhausted after a long day, the kids knocked out pretty fast after a shower and milk.

 

The next morning, we let them sleep till whatever time they wanted, which wasn't very late. They were all up by 8.30am. After water and milk, we went down to De Rhu Café for a buffet breakfast - standard hotel fare.

 

Then the kids spent their energy at the playground...

We took some photos before going back to the room for a shower and to pack up.

It was also Joy's 6th birthday!

The kids watched tv while Daalin took a power nap. This was how we slept....

...with 2 extra beds plus a extra-large king sized bed.

We arrived home at about 5pm and quickly washed the kids, unpacked and put the dirty clothes into the washing machine. Soon after, our cell arrived for a pre-cny potbless dinner.

first lou sang for 2014

They also helped us celebrate Joy's birthday...

with her favourite White Chocolate Macadamia cake

Then after dinner, I was pleasantly surprised that there was a durian cake in the house! Yup, they also celebrated mine and another cell member's birthday.

January girls

The durian cake was from Australia Cake House in Seapark. Evelyn (the other January birthday girl) is also a durian fan and we were both sooooooooo happy!

I anticipate a few more birthday cakes to come.....yum yum yum!