In case you haven’t notice, it’s Hisham writing this birthday entry for Alya instead of Sila, because Alya was at the Tenth Floor when she turned 2 years and 2 months, and Sila thought I should write a word or two about my awesome little niece.
From the first time we met her, she was a darling. She was warm, funny (sometimes hilariously) and loved interacting with everyone. I was ecstatic that she got a long with her cousin Irfan great. They played together, read books together, and she always had something to say about anything, albeit her language skills were still that of a two-year-old.
Sometimes, she’d get me to draw animals, like bears and cats and bearcats, like I just did in the photo below, where her hair was going every direction under the sun and Atok tried to fix it. The photo was taken in the morning of her birthday in Kuala Lumpur, but not in Middletown.
Atok tried to wrangle her hair into place
It was after 12 noon local time when Alya’s birthday kicked in as per Eastern Standard Time. Achievement unlocked at this level allowed Alya to take a trip to Zoo Negara! Like her cousin Irfan, she loved animals and hopefully she’d be able to see beasts that she’d never seen before. Strangely enough, I think she did see a bearcat at the zoo.
Alya used eye protection against the glare of the tropical sun as we drove to the zoo.
En route to the zoo
Even before we set foot in the zoo, we’d already caught a glimpse of the elephant from the car park. Alya was doing her best elephant impression from the get go. The following photo was taken as soon as we got out of the car.
Mumakil
Right by the elephants are the giraffes. By this time, Irfan began writing names of animals he saw in the notebook he’d brought with him.
Looks like a two-headed giraffe
The expedition team proceeded deeper into the dark corners of Zoo Negara. Alya also saw the dozens of storks at the zoo lake that were free to fly away from the zoo’s airspace. We had seen storks perched on streetlights at the Middle Ring Road 2. I guess they’ve considered the zoo as their natural habitat and return there whenever they take to the air.
The expeditionary team
Birthday girl and Mama.
Elephantine creature in the back
Yop Irfan also helped guide Alya through the zoo.
Guiding little Alya around the zoo
We found emus and wallabies in this section of the zoo. Kangaroos were in the adjacent pen, so I guess this was the Australian animal section.
Outback creatures out back
Vin and Irfan spied a wide open enclosure and took photos of the animals within, which were…
Irfan and Ayah Cik spy some animals
…deers of some sort.
A herd of deers
Then, Sila snapped a photo of wildlife she spotted. The spider in the photo below wasn’t in any zoo cage or enclosure. It was actual wildlife which was hanging out on a web it’d built somewhere.
Arachnid hanging out
The tapir was exhausted.
Tapped out tapir
Then, we came across the big cats. The lion had a moat that separated us from its jaws and appetite.
Lion on the job
Alya used a dried leaf to call out to the lion. Perhaps she wanted the lion to know she was 26-months-old that day.
Yoo hoo! Mr. Lion!
The lions were pretty affectionate. The male even kissed the female (yeah, nuzzle, whatever) as we took photos.
Where can you see lions? Only in Kenya! Come to Kenya we’ve got lions!
It started drizzling as we rested for a bit.
The drizzle begins
The tiger was also lethargic on the warm, wet, humid afternoon.
Hari mau hujan
At the savannah enclosure, we saw these rhinoceroses, which shared their space with zebras, ostriches, giraffes and antelopes.
These are quadrupedal Judoons
It started to rain heavily at the Ape Centre. There were chimpanzees and orangutans, like this fine gentleman here.
It’s Doctor Banjo from Futurama
This cougar seemed quite agitated for some reason. We wondered if it was ready to attack visitors, if it could reach them.
Anyone want to put a caption on this lolcat?
Among the animals we found in the Mammal Kingdom was this energetic raccoon. We also saw the bearcat in here.
A raccoon giving a high five
I wondered if it was alright for us to put saddles on these Aldabra giant tortoises and ride around town on them.
Tortoises were holding a 100-metre race at this part of the zoo
The flamingos came in various shades of reds and pinks. They would be comfortable spending the night at Flamingo Hotel in Sitiawan I believe.
Looking for croquet balls
By the end of the excursion, birthday lady Alya was exhausted and fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Tapped out Yaya
However, at home she was fully recharged and went about her birthday doing her thing with Yop Irfan, including climbing onto me or giving her signature “AWP!” strike, which I think she should develop to be a coup de grâce attack once she’s older.
Yaya recharged!
Happy 26th month, Yaya. Yop Irfan, Wan Yong and I were very glad you got to have fun with us on your birthday!
