I Just Had a Holiday, Now I Need Some Rest!

Perhaps we can call it a “sudden lapse of judgement”, when I thought it would be a good idea for all of us, i.e. our entire household, to go on a holiday. Since this includes 4 adults, a 3+year old boy and a 1 year old boy, a local holiday seemed more reasonable and we chose Langkawi.

Our maid had a shock when she saw our huge suitcase which could probably have fit both my sons in it. When she arrived from Indonesia to stay with us for 2 years, she had a smaller bag and fewer things than in our carry-on luggage!

We managed to rent an MPV but were a bit concerned that the boys would not have car seats. I believe the only place you can rent children’s car seats from is AAM but they don’t have an office in Langkawi. We did consider bringing the boys’ own car seats but didn’t want to risk it being broken by the baggage apes handling the check-in luggage. In the end we just did what most other Malaysian parents do – let the kids loose in the car!

The first day we arrived it rained quite heavily so it pretty much confined us to the room and the coffee house. No swimming, no playing on the beach, no walking around the resort – just a dash in and out of the coffee house. Dinner was room service. Not too daunting, we were all tired anyway.

The next day we drove out to Kuah town, checked out the malls which, when you are used to KL shopping, seemed very small and unexciting so decided to go look for some “local” food. You know, the Mak Minah’s something-or-other. We ended up at KFC. How original is that?

The skies brightened up and we hit the pool with the boys. Splish splash, we’re all taking a bath! Lots of fun for everyone. It started to get a bit hot so we headed back to the room. There was no way Abang was going to take his nap, not with all this excitement. So we decided to take in an early dinner at the hotel’s beach front restaurant. While waiting for the food, the boys took turns taking their parents for a walk on the beach. Nice, clean and with plenty to see and do.

Early night for everyone. And an early morning it was too, the next day. Those creaky wooden floors are just, well, extremely creaky! Even walking to the bathroom is enough to wake everyone up at 5:45am.

After breakfast we decided to just drive around. After lunch we drove north towards Tanjung Rhu. What a scenic route. We drove all the way to the end of the road and ended up at the Tanjung Rhu beach that had these tourist traps, I mean shops where tourists can buy souvenirs, as well as food stalls. We found Mak Minah! So we decided to come back that evening for a beachside dinner at a “local” food stall.

As expected, Abang fell asleep on the way back to the hotel. I guess after 2 full days of excitement - which generally encourages more play and less eating - his body just gave in to the tiredness. His Daddy, brave and strong soul that he is, decided to carry Abang from the lobby all the way up a steep slope to our chalet to make sure Abang continued his nap. Taking a shuttle van would definitely have woken him up.

By the time we headed out again for our local dinner, it was Adik’s turn to be sleepy. So we took turns eating and rocking Adik to sleep, while fending off hungry mosquitoes.

Another early night, please!

The next morning it was time to head back. And not a moment too soon – Mummy needed her CSI fix, Daddy had plenty of e-mail to go through, Abang and Adik just wanted the comforts of home.

Upon arrival at KLIA, the boys just hopped into their car seats like it was the most natural thing to do. Within 10 minutes both of them had passed out in the car. Mummy and Daddy were so ready to join them!

Now, can we get some rest?