men in ladies' coach..?

i must congratulate KTM Berhad for their initiatives of introducing the Ladies' Coach for KTM Komuter services, which started the operation in April last year...to tell you the truth, i have not been using its services for quite some time now, but i'm glad that this effort benefits many ladies out there who use KTM Komuter as their main public transport, to ensure a comfortable and safe journey and reducing the risk of sexual harassment in a congested environment..

unfortunately, many are still unaware about this privilege are for ladies and boys below the age of 12, accompanied by a female guardian/relative...why is this so..?

my dear husband had such experience when he boarded the KTM Komuter some time last year from Bandar Tasik Selatan to KL Sentral for a seminar (after so many years not using it services)... it was at peak hours...the station was sardine-packed with passengers who waited to board the commuter...obviously, you can't even see the area where the ground is painted in pink, stating that's the area where the Ladies' Coach would have stopped...when the commuter arrived, the door opened and everybody rushed to the coach..and my husband just followed the crowd...when he was inside the coach, then he realized that he was in the Ladies' Coach..and all ladies were looking at him and few other foreigner men who was together in that coach...there were voices expressing their dissatisfaction and frustration with these selfish men on board...(they thought my husband was a foreigner as well, by looking at his look...so they thought my husband couldn't understand Malay)... 

yes, my husband felt embarrassed and got off the Ladies' Coach at the next station and hopped on to the adjacent coach, which was the normal coach...the other foreigners remain on the Ladies' Coach..

according to my husband, pity him that he didn't know that that was the Ladies' Coach...he couldn't see the special stickers attached on the door, which was obviously hidden when the door opened to let the passengers in and out..and that particular commuter he boarded did not paint an extraordinary colour for the Ladies' Coach, thus making a "first timer" like him unaware and confused about the special coach...KTM Berhad also claimed they have special pink poles and banners at the designated area at the station, but that was not clearly visible during peak hours...

i agree that some men are just being ignorance and become the opportunists here, enjoying their ride in the Ladies' Coach because it is less packed and more comfortable...hopefully, KTM Berhad will make the Ladies' Coach more significant from afar, to create less confusion among the passengers...and to men out there, please make yourself aware of this special privilege and put them into practical...and my dear hubby, he will never board the commuter again... ; )

MAHA 2010

we went to the recent MAHA 2010 for the first time...our aim was to bring the kids to see live farm animals and trying out some good popular foods...shopping for goods was very down the list ; )

anyway, we arrived quite early at around 9.45 am, the weather was just great and there were already many people marching towards the venue...we managed to get a good parking spot, but still had to walk up and it was a good exercise...

posing with the cow

our first spot was the farm area...we got a ride on the RapidKL bus and the kids were so excited to go on the bus..this was the first experience for Imtiaz...he was extremely excited and cannot stop humming the sound of the bus while on it...

we went to see the cows and goats and sheep and i took this opportunity to introduce to Imtiaz all these animals...Jihan, even though she knows all the animals by looking at their pictures in books, sometimes she got it mixed up when seeing it live in front of her eyes...so i corrected her and she was amazed when she saw the big cows and buffaloes (not like the ones she saw during Korban recently)...

yummilicious roast lamb

next we filled our gastronomic needs with roast lamb...it was so succulent! the kids got to see some chicks and chickens, ducks and ducklings, rabbits, turkey and  geese too..we went to see some of the producst exhibition as well..then back on the bus ride to the main exhibition halls...and the kids loved the bus ride so much..

at the main exhibition halls, we marched our way to the Popular Food Stalls...crowd of peoples have started to arrive and filled most of the corners of the large MAEPS area...we tasted nasi kerabu, mee rebus, cendol, murtabak singapore and murtabak mengkasar...boy, our stomachs were full with yummilicious food!

then we made our way to one of the exhibition halls but got out after a while because the kids were already exhausted...before heading home Jihan bargained to get some balloons...so a Hello Kitty balloon for her and Upin Ipin balloon for Imtiaz...

the weather was getting hotter but still lots of people started arriving...MAHA was a great place for the whole family...learning, shopping and trying out good food all under one roof...

Imtiaz in his sling while munching beef balls

we brought Imtiaz stroller along and he behaved well while in it..when he fell asleep, we put him in the stroller so that he could have a somehow comfortable nap...but when he was up and about, we let him to be on his feet, especially in a less crowded area...or else he would be in his MiniMonkey sling with me...Jihan took the opportunity to sit in the stroller while Imtiaz was in the sling...

tired Imtiaz

it was a tiring day for all of us, even though we didn't explore the whole area...luckily the kids got stroller to ride on and a sling to hop on, so they were less tired than we were...

weekend getaway- kuantan

an ad hoc plan to have a short weekend getaway in kuantan in early January and this time we headed to swiss garden resort and spa....the kids were excited as usual, even us were so excited to have good feast of food there....

the kids had so much fun in the sun at the swimming pool...Jihan got tanned and her body was like a chocolate eclair....half tanned and half normal skin colour, following the shape of her swimming suit...Imtiaz continued his excitement in the bathtub in our room as well....it was hard to get him out of there....

we had good food as usual....the "must-do" list on our feast - Ana Ikan Bakar Petai, satar and keropok lekor at Kuala Kemaman... we also had lunch at Pantai Batu Hitam and a mamak style dinner at Taj Point...

Imtiaz had a change of his usual food...no more porridge but he had ikan bakar, satar, roti canai and roti naan, and omellete for breakfast....

before heading back to KL, my dear friend Dilla invited us to her house for lunch and we had an array of delicious kampung-style food - ikan patin, kerabu umbut and sambal udang....wow!!! that was the best meal ever we had during this trip...! thanks buddy....

our next stop...? hmmm....we'll let you know later..

travel cheap, healthy and nutritious

usually when we travel outstation, we usually eat at the local restaurants/stalls...but on the recent vacation (a 3D2N package with daily breakfast and 1 BBQ dinner), i chose to prepare homemade food plus some other healthy snacks for my family...

i made egg and tuna sandwiches with lots of lettuce and tomatoes and cheese (yummy!!)...and i packed some Jacob's biscuits as well...i also brought some packet drinks (Ribena and Yakult - bots are Jihan's favourites!) and the 3-in-1 drinks.....not only that, i also brought some raw materials (namely mayonaise, tomatoes, cheese, bread and tuna in can) so that i can feed myself and my loved ones with sandwiches....

we travelled almost 5 hours to Lumut and had lunch in the car with my homemade sandwiches....a lovely, healthy and balanced lunch!....that night for dinner, there were still some leftover sandwiches so i finished them off and ordered room service (nasi goreng) for Jihan nad hubby....

we had good buffet breakfast the next day...we were all hungry after splashing and swimming in the pool....i made a cup of hot milo and nescafe for me and hubby and we had a few biscuits and bread too...we planned to go to the Lumut Jetty in the afternoon and i prepared yummy tuna sandwiches for our lunch....

that night, we had scrumptious seafood BBQ dinner (inclusive in the package)...

i was glad that we finished all the raw materials that we brought...on the way teravelling back to KL, we stuffed ourselves with strawberry wafers and Jacob's Crack (my favourite!)...we stopped at R&R Tapah to pray and treated ourselves with a single scoop of Baskin Robbins and a mocha ice blended (shared by the 3 of us)....

we save quite a lot in this vacation in terms of food....furthermore, it's homemade and you know how clean, healthy and safe the ingredients used...this can prevent events that you hate most during a vacation - to fall sick!....

another hectic weekend...

yeah, this time we were off to Cameron Highlands...i had to attend a Managing Cardiovasular Risk Workshop there...i brought my dear hubby and Jihan along as this workshop is fully sponsored by Astra Zeneca, so we can have a "free" holiday at The Equatorial ...please believe me that this is my FIRST time to Cameron Highlands...(please don't laugh at me....)

we took the Simpang Pulai route instead of the usual Tapah way...people said that this route is less winding...for me, it was ok...no motion sickness...(which was good!) we stopped by at a strawberry/vegetables/flower farm and had an afternoon tea at the Cameron Valley Tea Shop...

after check-in, i started attending the workshop while my 2 loved ones enjoying the cozy room...(but iwe don't like the bathroom, it wasn't Muslim friendly - no water hose to wash after you pee)

anyway, the atmosphere was good...it was still cold up there...some people said that Cameron is not that cold anymore...we went down to Brinchang town and it was very busy indeed as there was a pasar malam there....

before going back the next day (after i finished my conference in the afternoon), we strolled along the weekend market at Kea Farm and bought vegetables and strawberries...i was so thrilled shopping for the fresh veggies...16 packets for RM 10...3 medium packets of strawberries for RM 10...1 bunch of corns (about 10 sticks) for RM 10...wahhhhh!!!! and we bought some tea as well including the strawberry tea...

we went back the Simpang Pulai way as well...it was quite hectic travelling but was worth it....i baked some fresh strawberry tartlets and it came out nice...

Jihan enjoyed herself so much...she loves eating the strawberry....she behaved quite well but sometimes would just throw her tantrum especially when we were trying to have our meals...

i think Jihan had a slight motion sickness when we went up there...she was sitting in her carseat quietly, then suddenly she cried....i took her out of the carseat and cuddle her comfortly...then she became calm again...



more picts at our fotopages (ooppss....slight problems with fotopages...unable to upload the photos...will do it later ya...)