Hishgraphics

European Adventure IV: Malaga - Arrival

After we checked out of our hotel in Amsterdam, we went to the train station and caught the train to Brussels. It was a 2.5-3 hour train ride and I'd love to say that I took beautiful pictures of the passing scenery. We went through Rotterdam and several other cities in the Netherlands before crossing into Belgium. Unfortunately, I was so zonked out I slept most of the way. So...suffice it to say we took the train from Amsterdam to Brussels, and from there we caught a plane to Malaga, Spain.

European Adventure III: Amsterdam

The next leg of our European adventure started out by taking a train from Surrey to Gatwick Airport where we were catching a plane to Amsterdam. Now, before anybody gets overexcited about Amsterdam, we were only there for less than 24 hours (1 night) and so we did not get the full Amsterdam experience. Yes, no bike riding along the canals, no canal tours by boat, and we didn't make it to Anne Frank's house even! And no, we did not make it to the Red Light District... I think this means we must go back to Amsterdam and spend a little more time there!

European Adventure II: Stonehenge and Salisbury

To continue our European adventure, Mei took a day off work and we went gallivanting around England while poor Colin had to work. We went to Stonehenge and Salisbury. Stonehenge was about a 1.5-2 hour drive from Surrey, and due to being tired and our body clocks being screwed up, we didn't leave until mid-morning. But it was worth it.

European Adventure I: Surrey and London

Recently, Vin and I went on a 16-day vacation to Europe. We went to a few countries, visited with many friends and for the first time ever, I travelled around the European continent. Prior to this, I had only been in London for 2 weeks in the winter of 1997.

We started our vacation by flying to Gatwick where we were picked up by Mei Chin (my bestestestestest friend in the whole wide world) and Colin. We were to spend the first part of our trip hanging out with Mei and Colin at their place in England.

*grumble* this is the 2nd time I'm doing this entry. My stupid computer froze and IE died when I was completely done with this entry. All was lost. :(

Irfan Around Lumut

Last weekend, we were back in Sitiawan to attend a couple of kenduris. On Monday, Irfan's grandparents decided to take us to Teluk Batik and Lumut. It was great, but the weather was hot and there were too many people about thanks to the school holidays.

It's Been A Year Already?

Brief Pahang Incursion

Ain's good friend from Univerity Malaya, Jalilah, got married last Saturday.

It was, of course, another Family Trip to parts unknown; this time to FELDA Lepar Hilir 1 in the state of Pahang to the east. Since the car's suspension was repaired a couple of days earlier, I felt confident in making the trip without having the car losing its tyres halfway there. So, at 1030 hours on that day, we left the house for Pahang. We didn't take the new East Coast Highway, cause I miss driving on the old Federal main road east through Karak, Mentakab, Temerloh and Maran, which have better roads now and less traffic thanks to the new highway.

It was quite a feat, trying to locate the bride's home via the map that was on the invitation card. And who would have thought PMG meant "Pusat Mengumpul Getah" (Rubber Collection Centre).

Exsanguination Day at the Mall

Because Irfan's Cik Emma missed having her blood drained out of her body, we took a drive to nearby Cheras Leisure Mall where a blood donation drive was underway last Saturday. Cik Su F, a-visiting from MIAT, was along for the ride.

There was a great number of people in line signing up for the blood donation. As Cik Su F covered Emma's six, Irfan, Ain and I traipsed around the mall window shopping.

Comp Copy Number 1

Cake on the First of May

May 1st is Irfan's Cik Su F's 19th birthday. Her sisters, including Ain, chipped in for a cake for a little get together. The cake had oranges and strawberries and mangos and kiwi fruits and grapes. Irfan also wanted in on the cutting of the cake, as usual. For the main course, Ain made bihun goreng, which was delicious.

It's all gone now. Snif snif.

Phoenix: Part II

To continue our adventures in Arizona, Becky took us to Sedona where we decided to climb up a rock.

This rock, in fact:

Well, it wasn't as straightforward as that. Before the climb, we did wander around Sedona and viewed some more art galleries and open hacienda-styled malls.

Phoenix : Part I

In March, Vin and I took a trip out west to Phoenix, AZ to hang out with his cousin Becky and her husband Phil. Coincidentally, Phoenix is where the Chicago Cubs have Spring Training. And even more coincidentally, in March, they have Spring Training games against other teams that do Spring Training there!

OK maybe not quite so "coincidentally," we were there, taking advantage of Phil and Becky's wonderful hospitality. ;)

The Amazing Hisham and Son Balancing Team

Irfan's Cycling Saturday

Thanks to Irfan's Tok and Opah, he now has a brand new bicycle with which he would rule the world. Or at the very least the play area at the KLCC park. Quite eager to try out his new vehicle in the morning, we took a drive to KLCC last Saturday morning.

As usual, the queue into the parking lot is atrociously long for the simple reason that the coin machine at the entrance gate sucks majorly. It costs a ringgit to enter the parking lot. It took me a brazillion tries pushing in the 50 cent coins into the slot until they finally dropped in, raising the barricade arm.

To KLCC: Get a new gate system. The current one sucks. Or have someone there weekend mornings to receive money with one hand and the gate lever in the other.

Additionally, a pox on the testicles on each of the drivers that jumped the queue that morning.

Squiddies!

The best fried calamari (sotong celup tepung) on this planet, as well as several other planets and moons (including the seafood industry on Europa), is located at the Medan Ikan Bakar FELCRA at Simpang Dua, Sitiawan. The taste and the texture is just right. And saying that the price is very affordable there is an understatement. In Sitiawan, this is where we'd like to engorge ourselves on seafood on special occasions.

Last night we went there to celebrate Irfan's grandparents 34th anniversary. Here are three of the photos from the dinner.

Northern California: Part V

Here it is, the final installment of our northern california vacation, Part V: The Petrified Forest and more! To recap, we had just gone Seal Hunting and found the (almost) mythical After-Christmas Seals. After running around on the beach with the seals (well, we did the running, the seals just laid there relaxing), we headed back up the little road out of the beach.

Along the way, there were small parking areas overlooking some cool rock formations in the ocean.

Northern California: Part IV

The saga continues with Part IV: The Christmas Seals? Christmas day dawned rainy and foggy in Santa Rosa. When we went to bed the night before, the weatherman had predicted another sunny day. Phaugh! Never trust the weather man!

Nevertheless, Vin and I decided we would go on the hunt for Seals (we were told by my former-colleague Don Floyd that the mouth of the Russian River was a good place to find elephant seals). We looked for seals in Eureka and Trinidad with no luck! No ewoks turned up in the redwood forests either. So, after a great breakfast buffet, Vin and I went off to look for the mouth of the Russian River and hopefully some seals!

Northern California: Part III

I do feel a little guilty for piling on the pictures but we really did have a good time in northern california. Part I should be subtitled "Rainy San Fran", Part II is "Eureka! Redwoods!", and this Part III is really "Avenue of the Giants, a.k.a. You thought the other redwoods were big? Get a load of this!"

In our journey so far, we have covered the first three days of our trip. It's now Christmas Eve and we hang out with Jeff and his family that morning before we take off southwards.

Northern California: Part II

Eureka!! We finally arrived there!! To Eureka, California that is. We drove the 5-6 hours north on highway 101 until we reached Eureka, and we checked into our hotel with great relief. It was pitch dark, we were tired and hungry, and it had rained the entire drive.

The next morning, we woke up to sunny skies and beautiful weather. So we got together with Jeff (Vin's buddy from La Porte High School, IN) who lives in Eureka, and he took us to see the sights.

Northern California: Part I

For Christmas, Vin and I went roving again...this year we flew to San Francisco, and stayed in Northern California for 8 days.

Part I will cover the first few days we were there - these are the days we spent in San Francisco proper (we arrived in San Fran Tuesday morning December 20th, and stayed until Thursday December 22nd early afternoon). The rest of the time was spent driving up and down the Northern California Coast.