First family trip

A place that is not too far (to save journey time) and packed with educational sightseeings to awe Ya tou.. Where on earth can I find such a place??

The first criteria helpfully sieve out faraway lands. I'm much left with Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The latter two seems a little chaotic, so they were struck off. I finally decided on Desaru of Johor because of its farms and beach.

There was some mad rush.. Initially, i thought Ya tou doesn't need a passport to travel. (In the past it was so, just tag the child's name to the parent's passport.) Just the 1.5 week before departure did I realize it no longer works this way. Thanks to ICA's efficiency, her passport was produced within 5 days.

We took a ferry there instead of driving, hoping to enhance the travelling experience for Ya tou. There she is posing a shot at the jetty with the little (pathetic-looking) ferry at the back.

She wasn't as excited as we'd imagined. But she did enjoy running around the ferry exploring the open deck and enclosed cabin. That's Mummy and Ya tou inside the ferry cabin.

After settling down at the resort, we head off to Desaru Fruit Farm. It has claimed to grow over 100 fruits but the guide only showed us about a tenth-- dragon fruit, breadfruit, jackfruit, passionfruit, banana, custard apple, pineapple, soursop, figs, mangosteen, pumpkin and some herbs. Here are pics of Ya tou with dragonfruit plant and in a herb garden.

Another highlight of this farm is the animal sanctuary. They keep a galore of animals! Ostrich, turkeys, peacocks, eagle, owls, chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, monkeys, tortoises, snake and lambs! Ya tou was exhilarated to see static pictures seen on books go live right before her eyes.

Back to our hotel, we took Ya tou swimming. It was a mind-blowing experience for her cos she didn't like water (like Mummy)! It took Daddy a long time coaxing and assuring before she entered the water. Below, Daddy teaching Ya tou how to blow bubbles in the water.

Next morning, we took a walk at the beach. Ya tou timidly retreated when Daddy invited her to play near to the water. She was also quite apprehensive in the beginning when we led her to walk on the beach barefooted. But soon she got used to it and started making more adventurous moves. :)

It was a short 2 days 1 night trip, but it did fulfill our purpose-- to relax and let Ya tou have some fun. Some more pics to say a few more thousands words..

 

    Ya tou 'warming-up' before her swimming class.

   This is inside the wardrobe. Ya tou loves sitting on the short table.

   A children's play room in the resort. Ya tou enjoying herself.

  

Daddy shed blood for Ya tou

Not to complain about how poorly shoes are made nowadays, but it is quite the fact. :P I remember my grandparents telling me how long their pair of shoes usually last-- it is Decades! The second pair of Bubblegummers footwear we bought for Ya tou broke apart within just few weeks' of occasional wear. (erm, it's the 'Pooh bear' picture label that came off..)

Daddy suggested sewing the label back though I rather take the easy way out-- to super-glue it. When it comes to making such domestic decisions, the 'greener' option always win. Sewing is definitely more earth-friendly than buying a super glue which is almost always left to dry up after its first application.

So one fine Sunday afternoon, Daddy spared time out to repair the sandals. His sewing skill is quite remarkable. He can actually use the antiquated 'Singer' sewing machine to mend his clothes, while I confessed that all my Home Economics class sewing work was done by my best friend Lao mong. haha..

The shoe material is quite thick and Daddy had a painful (literally) time piercing the needle through it. He pricked his thunb as a result..

Daddy is also a quick-witted man and thought of using a piece of wooden puzzle to push the needle.

Taa Daa... Done!! Like brand new!!