The Reconnaissance Mission

I’ve been trying to avoid the malls lately. I don’t have anything against malls, I just want to get the boys doing things that don’t involve going to the malls. So yesterday (Monday) I took the boys to Putrajaya to check out the boat ride at the lake.

Abang was having a slight cough, but his spirits were high so I decided to let him come along. I had to set expectations, repeating many times that we’re just “checking it out” and not actually “taking the boat ride”. Adik was so excited to go, he started spinning around the lounge when we were packing up the car. Since it was just the boys and me, there wasn’t much to pack because I like to travel light. Yes, I took the boys by myself and no, I wasn’t feeling suicidal.

The drive was nice and smooth, although I think I may have accidentally taken the longer route via LDP instead of the KL-Seremban highway. Both boys were munching away in the car without too much fuss.

There were clear road signs to ‘Cruise Tasik Putrajaya’ which made it very easy to find. It’s right next to the mosque. Amazingly enough, Adik fell asleep just before we turned left towards the Prime Minister’s Department. Lately he doesn’t fall asleep in the car (except after the birthday party on Sunday, when he passed out 5 minutes after leaving 1Utama).

So that presented me with a dilemma – do we turn around and head back so that Adik’s sleep is not interrupted? Or just go ahead with our plan to check out the cruise, risking a nap cut short?

It didn’t take me long to decide: I’m not wasting a 30km drive! So I gingerly put Adik’s sandals on him and got Abang out of the car. I unstrapped Adik from his car seat and slung him over my shoulder. Even more amazing, he remained asleep despite the bright sunlight and surrounding noise. (Reminds me of my cousin’s son who can sleep through a birthday party.)

We followed signs to the cruise. Good thing there was a lift! Adik’s getting heavy and I didn’t want Abang out in the sun too long. When we got to the counter, the officer patiently explained all the different packages available. In fact, when she asked me to fill in a form and I struggled (having a 10kg boy on one’s shoulder makes it difficult to write), she filled it in for me!

Once we completed our mission, we looked out for the boats on the lake. They looked pretty decent, and I would definitely opt for the covered boat and not the open perahu, especially with children. A bit expensive, but as a one-off experience I’m willing to give it a try.

On our way up in the lift Adik woke up. He was still a bit groggy when I strapped him into his car seat, so he didn’t fuss at all. Within 3 minutes of leaving, Abang said he needed to go to the loo. Of course it had to be after we left. Mummy wanted to freeload the posh toilets at the Shangri-La, but they don’t make it easy for you to do that, having the car park far, far away from the lobby. Eventually we found a more, shall we say, convenient toilet.

We made it home just fine, in time for lunch! Too bad I couldn't take any pictures, I hadn't grown enough hands. I followed the One-Child-Per-Hand rule so I ran out of hands to take photos.

Now to plan the real thing … (bringing extra pairs of hands!)