CNY 2009 Roadtrip - Part 1
I have a confession. I still haven’t managed to get all the CNY photos actually especially those of Sarah in her cheongsam :(. However I’ll continue to write my post without those because if I wait further, this post will not only have turned stale.. it would have probably disintegrated with the wind. Alright, so here it is.
CNY has always been a happy occasion where we have the once-a-year chance to meet up with relatives. Talking about relatives I still haven’t been able to “cam muka” all my husband side relatives yet. The part of my brain in charge on recognizing faces does have some serious impairment. If I happen to bump into them without greeting, it’s because I really couldn’t recognize them, really!
Here’s a brief summary of our CNY journey. Hold your breath because this is gonna be a long one...
Penang – Alor Star (hubby family side) – Tunjang (reunion dinner) – Alor Star – Tunjang(1st day CNY visiting FIL side) – Alor Star – Sungai Petani (1st Day CNY visiting MIL side) – Alor Star – Melaka (my family side) – Penang…. phew
No joke right? This is how we travel every CNY. And like I mentioned earlier it’s really not an easy feat especially when you have to lug half your half of your house plus a boisterous toddler around. I don’t even want to start talking about the car sickness etc. I really envy those people that have both sides of their relatives in the same state at times. It’s a happy occasion but the travelling often leaves me totally exhausted. Chin Woon told me Aiyah.. why so susah? “Everybody can fly right?”. Yeah… everyone can fly IF you have the budget. AirAsia isn’t really that cheap. And the most irritating part is the airport in Melaka is God-knows when will be completed. We not only have to count in the cost of the flight, we also have to include the taxi fare to/from Melaka-LCCT. Times are bad. Comparatively driving costs about 60% cheaper.. sigh.. so driving is the best way economically. Ok but I would like to mention that after this year’s experience, I've made a personal pledge that I’ll stinge and pinch on my every cent so that I can have enough money to take a flight back next year! (Dengar dulu lar). Although driving is best economically, it's not when it comes to mentally, emotionally and spiritually... Amitabha.
Celebrations Up North
The Reunion Dinner @ Tunjang
Every CNY eve, we’ll drive up to Tunjang to have reunion dinner with FIL’s side of the family. We have a very big family here and I really mean big family. Even till today there are some aunt/uncles that I still cannot recognize. The reunion dinner is a pot-luck dinner where every family cooks up some food to be shared with everyone else and therefore food is always aplenty (grin). Our family’s food is proudly represented by my wonder-cook MIL who can cook, bake, roast.. you name it.
This CNY, Sarah got to play fireworks with the other cousins! Yippie.. was she scared?? The answer is a resounding No. In fact I was the one that freaked out seeing Sarah so comfortable being so close-ranged with the fireworks.
Getting help from Aunt
Playing with cousins
Getting a "pop pop" from cousin
Asking for more... :s
Sarah with uncle
F.A.M.I.L.Y.
First day of CNY
We took a family photo this year. Things were trickier because Sarah didn’t want to cooperate. She’s not too patient when taking photos so you really have to get the first shot right. Otherwise she’ll just run off. To make sure that she remains in the photo, I had to read to her the Cinderella story (which I’ve read for like about a thousand times!) while the photo was taken. By that time, I was already sweating non-stop. Anyway it’s not easy trying to look like you are smiling whilst reading a story at the same time. Thinking back, it was quite hilarious. Too bad this is one of the photos that I do not have with me. Here are some other photos taken during our stay in the northern states.
Before the actual photo-taking session
With Mummy @ Sungai Petani
TRANSFORMERS - Sarah in disguise
(Spiderbot: First get a steady grip, then get into position- don't forget to smile, after that TRANSFORM, ok.. cool.. keep that position, finally transform back and take a break on the sofa)
This picture is really funny. Too bad you can't see it too clearly from here because the picture was automatically resized after upload. Darn.
Alright, look out for the next post - journey down south.
CNY has always been a happy occasion where we have the once-a-year chance to meet up with relatives. Talking about relatives I still haven’t been able to “cam muka” all my husband side relatives yet. The part of my brain in charge on recognizing faces does have some serious impairment. If I happen to bump into them without greeting, it’s because I really couldn’t recognize them, really!
Here’s a brief summary of our CNY journey. Hold your breath because this is gonna be a long one...
Penang – Alor Star (hubby family side) – Tunjang (reunion dinner) – Alor Star – Tunjang(1st day CNY visiting FIL side) – Alor Star – Sungai Petani (1st Day CNY visiting MIL side) – Alor Star – Melaka (my family side) – Penang…. phew
No joke right? This is how we travel every CNY. And like I mentioned earlier it’s really not an easy feat especially when you have to lug half your half of your house plus a boisterous toddler around. I don’t even want to start talking about the car sickness etc. I really envy those people that have both sides of their relatives in the same state at times. It’s a happy occasion but the travelling often leaves me totally exhausted. Chin Woon told me Aiyah.. why so susah? “Everybody can fly right?”. Yeah… everyone can fly IF you have the budget. AirAsia isn’t really that cheap. And the most irritating part is the airport in Melaka is God-knows when will be completed. We not only have to count in the cost of the flight, we also have to include the taxi fare to/from Melaka-LCCT. Times are bad. Comparatively driving costs about 60% cheaper.. sigh.. so driving is the best way economically. Ok but I would like to mention that after this year’s experience, I've made a personal pledge that I’ll stinge and pinch on my every cent so that I can have enough money to take a flight back next year! (Dengar dulu lar). Although driving is best economically, it's not when it comes to mentally, emotionally and spiritually... Amitabha.
Celebrations Up North
The Reunion Dinner @ Tunjang
Every CNY eve, we’ll drive up to Tunjang to have reunion dinner with FIL’s side of the family. We have a very big family here and I really mean big family. Even till today there are some aunt/uncles that I still cannot recognize. The reunion dinner is a pot-luck dinner where every family cooks up some food to be shared with everyone else and therefore food is always aplenty (grin). Our family’s food is proudly represented by my wonder-cook MIL who can cook, bake, roast.. you name it.
This CNY, Sarah got to play fireworks with the other cousins! Yippie.. was she scared?? The answer is a resounding No. In fact I was the one that freaked out seeing Sarah so comfortable being so close-ranged with the fireworks.
Getting help from Aunt
Playing with cousins
Getting a "pop pop" from cousin
Asking for more... :s
Sarah with uncle
F.A.M.I.L.Y.First day of CNY
We took a family photo this year. Things were trickier because Sarah didn’t want to cooperate. She’s not too patient when taking photos so you really have to get the first shot right. Otherwise she’ll just run off. To make sure that she remains in the photo, I had to read to her the Cinderella story (which I’ve read for like about a thousand times!) while the photo was taken. By that time, I was already sweating non-stop. Anyway it’s not easy trying to look like you are smiling whilst reading a story at the same time. Thinking back, it was quite hilarious. Too bad this is one of the photos that I do not have with me. Here are some other photos taken during our stay in the northern states.
Before the actual photo-taking session
With Mummy @ Sungai Petani
TRANSFORMERS - Sarah in disguise(Spiderbot: First get a steady grip, then get into position- don't forget to smile, after that TRANSFORM, ok.. cool.. keep that position, finally transform back and take a break on the sofa)
This picture is really funny. Too bad you can't see it too clearly from here because the picture was automatically resized after upload. Darn.
Alright, look out for the next post - journey down south.
(photos in this post are taken by Harby)
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