Who can resist an offer from a time sharing company of free accommodation to Bali?
The condition? Tim and I had to attend a 90 minutes talk on this scheme.
Not one to miss up such a deal we decided to include the children as well. Anantara Vacations gave us a 2-villa accommodation with private pool in Seminyak, Bali. The name of the villas was Kunti Villas.
It was beautiful. Paying a little less than RM700 for a 2 night stay in the villas (normally US1,200) was a real deal we figured.
The villas were stunning. Bedrooms were pure luxury with open air bathrooms, an upright bathtub and sky-view toilets. The villas opened up to the swimming pool that was simply clean and warm. The kitchen was open and well equipped with drinks and cooking facilities.
The garden was manicured and all kinds of insects could be found in their natural habitat. Once settled in the villas we decided that this 6-star lodging was well-worth every cent!
We booked a tour that included a Balinese massage and a sunset dinner at Jimbaran Beach. The Balinese massage was relaxing to say the least. All kinds of oils and fragrance were used to massage us. The masseuse were very experienced. We then had a scented bath with flowers strewn in the water in an adjoining bathroom.
After the massage we went to Jimbaran beach for the sunset dinner. The beach was clean but the dinner was so-so. It consists of watery soup with bits of vegetables and barbecue fish, prawn, mussels and cuttlefish. The only thing appetizing was the sambal which I finished off quickly and polished off the children's too!
Some things about Bali to note:
1. People here adopt the same names for the first child, second child, third child and so on and so forth. For e.g our taxi driver was no. 4 so his name was Katut. The next time you meet another person with the same name you know that he is child no. 4!
2. The uniformity of merchandise/food sold in one place. Jimbaran is the place for dinner yet at every restaurant in the place the meals are the same.... barbecue fish, prawns, mussels and cuttlefish! Maybe some variations can be found in the seafood sold but the style of cooking remained the same!
3. At Jimbaran beach, barbecue corn was sold on the beach. However if you were to wander off from your seats to enjoy the sea fronting the restaurants thinking that the corn stalls will be your marker, you will be very confused as many duplicate corn stalls were set up in a row on the same beach! Anyway the grilled corn was fantastic...better than the seafood dinner actually.
First night at Bali and we enjoyed a good night's sleep in the stunning villas!
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
The painful blood test
Was taking blood from a vein in the soft part of the elbow so difficult?
Apparently so.
We went dutifully to look for clinics in Penang on CNY eve to do her blood test. Although a no of clinics were opened most of them could not promise the results on the same day as the labs were closed. We did find one clinic though. However they wanted to charge us RM100. We agreed as we were desperate.
However Amanda and I was shocked when the senior doctor could not find her vein. She poked with the needle the first time and no blood came out!
Nervously she asked my daughter "Where does the doctor usually poke you?"
Ai yo....how can a doctor ask her patient that? Mydaughter was thinking how could you not see the tiny holes where the other doctor had taken my blood earlier?
Panicking my daughter told her never mind. It was obvious from the pain in her face that she did not want this doctor to draw her blood.
In fact the clinic assistant asked the doctor to poke the veins in her hand which really alarmed my daughter and confirmed that she was rather inexperienced for a doctor.
Finally we looked for a lab and thankfully found one. The lab only charged us RM15 for the platelet test and the results were also ready in 20 minutes. Well...well...just goes to show how doctors make their money.
Thank God that the results were good & the platelet count had improved from 133 to 199!
Apparently so.
We went dutifully to look for clinics in Penang on CNY eve to do her blood test. Although a no of clinics were opened most of them could not promise the results on the same day as the labs were closed. We did find one clinic though. However they wanted to charge us RM100. We agreed as we were desperate.
However Amanda and I was shocked when the senior doctor could not find her vein. She poked with the needle the first time and no blood came out!
Nervously she asked my daughter "Where does the doctor usually poke you?"
Ai yo....how can a doctor ask her patient that? Mydaughter was thinking how could you not see the tiny holes where the other doctor had taken my blood earlier?
Panicking my daughter told her never mind. It was obvious from the pain in her face that she did not want this doctor to draw her blood.
In fact the clinic assistant asked the doctor to poke the veins in her hand which really alarmed my daughter and confirmed that she was rather inexperienced for a doctor.
Finally we looked for a lab and thankfully found one. The lab only charged us RM15 for the platelet test and the results were also ready in 20 minutes. Well...well...just goes to show how doctors make their money.
Thank God that the results were good & the platelet count had improved from 133 to 199!
The dreaded dengue
After hearing so many tales about dengue, our hearts were really in fear when the doctor confirmed that our youngest daughter had it. Well at first, he said it was measles...then he said it was dengue and we got thoroughly confused!
It started with fever then came the spots all over her body and her face. After doing the blood test, the doctor said that the platelet count had dropped. He advised against traveling anywhere as she may have to be hospitalized at short notice.
You see we were in the midst of the CNY and we were making plans to travel to Penang and then to Bali! The saddest was our youngest daughter who was told that she could not make the journey to Penang. The truth was she had bought the loveliest cheong sam from a Penang boutique and could not wait to wear it! Of course the RMs in ang pow which she did not want to miss out getting.
Praise God for the continuous prayers of our church friends! Her platelet count stabilized on CNY eve and her father decided that she was fit to travel! However the condition was she had to do another blood test in Penang!
It started with fever then came the spots all over her body and her face. After doing the blood test, the doctor said that the platelet count had dropped. He advised against traveling anywhere as she may have to be hospitalized at short notice.
You see we were in the midst of the CNY and we were making plans to travel to Penang and then to Bali! The saddest was our youngest daughter who was told that she could not make the journey to Penang. The truth was she had bought the loveliest cheong sam from a Penang boutique and could not wait to wear it! Of course the RMs in ang pow which she did not want to miss out getting.
Praise God for the continuous prayers of our church friends! Her platelet count stabilized on CNY eve and her father decided that she was fit to travel! However the condition was she had to do another blood test in Penang!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Gold Coast Morib Resort
This Groupon holiday is a real bargain.
At RM168 for 2 rooms with Jacuzzi, we found the rooms spacious. The boys took one room - the one facing the water park whilst the girls took the room facing the carpark.
The water theme park was more for little children. With a lazy meandering river, wide slides, gentle soft sloping slides, a long and winding tube ride, we could see many families taking advantage of the holiday season to enjoy themselves in the park. The peculiar thing was many of the holiday makers (being Malays) were wearing swimsuits that looked like track suits. Apparently this type of swimsuit is acceptable to them. Bikinis are a no no.
Amanda found the water a tad dirty even murky. Declaring that she was not going into the water again, she cut off her wrist tag that allowed admission to the park. We followed suit and decided to spend the afternoon exercising in the gym. The gym was well equipped. Samuel had a blast. It was amazing to see the energy of the children. They can do sit-ups, pull-outs and carry heavy weights. Me - I was huffing & puffing after a round on the cycle and the treadmill!
After the gym, we spent almost an hour soaking & sleeping the Jacuzzi. Amanda even watched a movie.
The buffet dinner was good. With tempura, chicken rice, koay teow, salads, roast beef stew, curry chicken, tau foo and vegetables, we were spoilt for choice.
After dinner, we adjourned to the boys' room to do a short family devotion.
We spent most of the night answering Amanda's riddles (some hard, some easy) and playing word games.
The next morning we had a great breakfast at the beach. The beach was pristine white. The sand was clean and fresh.
All in all I could say that it was a refreshing holiday but we probably would not go again as it did not offer much in terms of activity/attractions for young adults like ours!
At RM168 for 2 rooms with Jacuzzi, we found the rooms spacious. The boys took one room - the one facing the water park whilst the girls took the room facing the carpark.
The water theme park was more for little children. With a lazy meandering river, wide slides, gentle soft sloping slides, a long and winding tube ride, we could see many families taking advantage of the holiday season to enjoy themselves in the park. The peculiar thing was many of the holiday makers (being Malays) were wearing swimsuits that looked like track suits. Apparently this type of swimsuit is acceptable to them. Bikinis are a no no.
Amanda found the water a tad dirty even murky. Declaring that she was not going into the water again, she cut off her wrist tag that allowed admission to the park. We followed suit and decided to spend the afternoon exercising in the gym. The gym was well equipped. Samuel had a blast. It was amazing to see the energy of the children. They can do sit-ups, pull-outs and carry heavy weights. Me - I was huffing & puffing after a round on the cycle and the treadmill!
After the gym, we spent almost an hour soaking & sleeping the Jacuzzi. Amanda even watched a movie.
The buffet dinner was good. With tempura, chicken rice, koay teow, salads, roast beef stew, curry chicken, tau foo and vegetables, we were spoilt for choice.
After dinner, we adjourned to the boys' room to do a short family devotion.
We spent most of the night answering Amanda's riddles (some hard, some easy) and playing word games.
The next morning we had a great breakfast at the beach. The beach was pristine white. The sand was clean and fresh.
All in all I could say that it was a refreshing holiday but we probably would not go again as it did not offer much in terms of activity/attractions for young adults like ours!
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