Hong Kong Day 2: How to Go to Macau

When we were in Hong Kong, B and I didnt  really go with out itinerary. Like, going to Macau! It was a last minute decision after I saw some beautiful photos at The Venetian and also the memories of watching Goong, a korean drama. Not a fan of korean series though but I still has a soft spot for the drama. Ahh... Chae Kyung and Shin Gun...hehe

Anyhoo, on the 2nd day we decided to go to Macau.  a short one-day trip just to see. 

We got up early as we wanted to catch the earliest boat to Macau. Before that, I have to tell you that I was kinda 'controlling' the trip.haha so confident I knew everything, all the places in Hong Kong based on my readings. So back to the story, I studied the map to go to China Ferry Terminal days before.

China Ferry Terminal: Ferry to Macau or Mainland China

Star Ferry Terminal: Ferry to Hong Kong Island

 

From Nathan Road we walked to Star Ferry Pier then walked to Ocean Terminal (still not the right place..haha) asked a guard thennnn only we arrived at China Ferry Terminal. Haihhhh =')

So we were lost for at least 30 minutes. Yea..my bad. Got confused.hahaha You can spot China Ferry Terminal from far because it looks like a golden building.

  This is how the building looks like

Anyhoo, taking pictures while searching for direction

First time seeing a titanic cruise. It's really huge, guys! This is at Ocean Terminal. Phew..they do have many terminals.haha

Back to the story:

Important Information to Macau

1.There are 2 different ferries to Macau - Cotaijet and Turbojet.

2. Macau has 2 terminals:

•  Macau terminal
•  Taipa Terminal

If you plan to go to The Venetian, take Taipa. We didnt plan so we chose the earliest one and arrived at Macau Terminal.

Since we arrived around 8.30 am we missed the earlier ferry. We chose the next one which is Turbojet.

3. Price for economy class per pax: HKD169 = RM76. Buy at the counter. Your seat number will be given before you enter the immigration door.

4. Bring your PASSPORT!

5. The journey took 1 hour to arrive at Macau. We slept most of the time.hahaha coz got nothing to sea except sea, more ferries and small islands.

6. Be careful and hold your patience

There were many visitors from Mainland China going to Macau as well and some of them were very rude. They cut queue like nobody's business and not only that, one cut one whole village follow. Kiasu level super high! Yea I'm exaggerating coz we had a few bad memories with them.huhu Hongkese were fine tho. Just had to be patience. I did curse them in my language coz i was just damn angry.huhu glad they didnt understand. Well, to be fair, I dont understand their language either.haha

 It's very comfortable inside the ferry. They sell food and drinks as well if you want.

 I think Hongkese loves this kind of design for their buildings. We saw quite a number of buildings with similar design. Bangunan berlubang.haha

Now, off we go!

Hong Kong Day 1 - Tsim Tsa Shui

We booked our room with Canada Hotel at Tsim Tsa Shui a couple of months before the trip. Tsim Tsa Shui is a popular area among tourists because most attractions are nearby - Avenue of Stars, Ferry Terminal, Museums and Shopping streets. Easy to get HALAL food too as Kowloon Mosque is just nearby.

But... I dont really like our guesthouse because it's in Chungkin Mansion -  a 15 storey building with a lot of other guesthouses. There are only 2 small elevators that can only squeeze max 8 pax so during peak hours the queue could be quite long. Apart from that, there are many Arabs, Indians, Filipinos and Africans around so I didnt feel very secure most of the time. Plus, everytime we arrived at the ground floor there would be people shoving us flyers offering halal food or room to rent. It got suffocating and frankly intimidating too. Anyhoo, if you can afford it, please choose a hotel instead. hehe

So this is...... our room. 

I expected it to be small but never THIS small. We barely had room to move around. It's a bit suffocating because we couldnt open the window without letting a bad smell of rubbish and God knows what. Luckily it was the starting of winter so we were okay. and also it was a good call to leave Minmin. phewww!

After we rested for awhile, B and I embarked our journey in Hong Kong.hehehehe We walked for about 5 minutes to Avenue of Stars. We were there for a while before heading to Star Ferry Terminal. We wanted to experience a ferry ride to Hong Kong Island. We forgot to take photos of this except a few. Too mesmerized with the beautiful views MasyaAllah...

The ferry ride costs around HKD1 ++ Cant remember the exact amount because we just tapped our Octopus Card.hehehe The ferry ride took around 5 minutes, plenty of time to take photos and all but we didnt. You get to see the development in Hong Kong, their tall buildings... and winter.

 Hong Kong Island from the ferry

 Something we stumbled at subway... =)

hahahaha a shop near our block.hahahahahahahah

Anyhoo, our itinerary for Day 1 was supposed to go to The Peak but we couldnt find the MTR station which is Central. From Central, it's just withing walking distance to The Peak.The ferry terminal is near HongKong station so we were kinda lost. We spent almost 1 hour walking around. It was getting dark and was raining lightly so we had to end the night early. By the way since it's winter, Maghrib is around 5.18pm. huhu

We had Arab meal for dinner at I-dont-know-where coz we were brought by the guy distributing flyers in front of our block.

Ordered Kabob as we thought it would be the same as Malaysia version but we were wrong.hahah and we also ordered Briyani. Our Malaysian briyani definitely tastes better.hihi

This is Kabob (kebab la..)

Came back to our room, showered then krohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Hong Kong Trip Day 1 - What to do at the airport

So we went to Hong Kong by we I mean my husband and I.hehe We didnt bring Minmin because he was down with flu and also his protective grandparents didnt let us. Anyhoo, it was a good decision not to bring him because it was raining most of the time and the temperature was cold and not good for Minmin.

We departed from KLIA2 at 8.45 am 1st December 2014 and landed at Hong Kong International Airport arount 12.40pm. hehe

What I love so much about this trip is B and I just followed where our feet brought us. We did some studies and prepared the itinerary but didnt really follow it. Coz..yea...for the first time i wasnt a schedule freak.

Anyhoo, after collecting our bags, we went searching for 1010 Shop to buy Traveller simcard. I kehnotttt live without internet.hahah then went to buy Octopus Card for the MTR train.

here are the tips:

1. You can buy the Octopus card at the arrival gate. If you miss it, go to the arrival level, there's a bigger counter where you can buy the card. The price is at HKD150 including $50 deposit that you can refund when you return the card. DO NOT BUY TOURIST OCTOPUS CARD cause it's more expensive. Octopus card can be used for transportation - train, bus, ferry and even at 7E. So it's freakin' important.hehe

Octopus Card (image googled)

2. You can buy Traveller Simcard at 1010 Shop located also at the arrival level 5 (previously located at departure level). The simcard offers unlimited Internet Data for 7 days which is a yeayyy for us. We bought only 1 card and shared the data. Thethering la. oh the price is HKD88. Unlike Korea, there are very limited places that offer free wireless connection so if you cant live without internet, go buy this.

1010 Shop (image googled)

3. If your accommodation is around Tsim Tsa Shui, you can use bus A21 at the Airport Bus Terminus. The bus frequency is around 10-15mins so you wont have to wait long. Go down at Pitstop 13 for Tsim Tsa Shui. The trip costs around HKD34. Cheaper than taking the MTR plus you get to see Hong Kong.

So, enjoy the not-so-quality photos of Hong Kong city. =))) 

z

mm

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This area reminded me so much of Jackie Chan movies.haha

 

 

 

We didnt have photos of Tsim Tsa Shui station as we were busy looking for our guesthouse. And also not so comfortable surrounded by people offering accommodations. One turn off for Hong Kong.hehe

Bye!

I fell in love over and over again

I was lifting Minmin from my bed to put him into his own cot just few minutes ago. I stopped for a moment and just stared at him. I used to hold him like that in my arms when he was much a baby. I stared at his face scrutinizing every details. From the nose and below, he got the features from me. The nose, the lips and the chin. I watched his chest moved when he inhaled and exhaled. Then my eyes moved to study his bottom. He's grown so much as both his legs extend longer than he was a baby.

Minmin physical now resembles a little boy than a baby. He is tall, definitely he didnt get the gene from the midget me. Hehe my baby has grown.

I am so melancholic tonight. Watching my baby i gave birth more than a year ago grows so much. I guess all mothers experience the same thing too. We feel like they grow too fast.

I'm not sure for others but for me motherhood came bit by bit to me. As much as i wanted to be like those moms i saw on tv or read in the novels, i struggled my way through motherhood for the first year. I experienced baby blues the first few weeks Minmin arrived. Then the struggle to breastfeed him which in the end i failed, then came the endless cycle of pumping for milk, Minmin refusal for frozen EBM so I had to depend on chilled ebm drown me into mild depression. And of course my husband was away most of the time though he tried to cheer from far but it wasnt the same to be physically close tho.hehe maybe i was being a baby. Maybe I was a baby who had another baby when i was not ready. Funny, because i thought i was 100% ready to raise a human being.hahaha

Lucky though i stay with my parents. They were there when i had my rainy days when i was so tired after work, when i was so tired with B's pending transfer, when i was tired of pumping. My family was there and with that i am truly grateful.

My life improved so much when Minmin hit 1-year-old. When i decided to stop pumping tho actually God knows how guilty i felt at that time. I know I told my husband,my parents or even in my blog how happy i was with my decision but Allah knows how much i cringed when people brought up the issue of breastfeeding, when people around me wasnt supportive of my decision. The only person who stood by was my husband although i knew in his heart he wished his son to receive the best till at least 2 years old. He never forces me and that's why I love him.

Ok back to my life improvement, when i stopped pumping once Minmin celebrated his 1st birthday I noticed the changes in me. I was not as tired as i used to be. And the most important thing is i didnt feel stress which i used to feel on daily basis FOR 1 YEAR!. The stress to fulfill the demand, the stress of not having enough rest when i woke up at night and early morning to pump and also the work at school. I only realise i was very unhappy after i stopped pumping. Because it had been my routine for a year i didnt notice it till i stopped. NOW I feel more energetic, i have extra time to rest, to catch up with my reading and also to be a mother.

So when i looked at minmin just now i had a pang of guilt because for a year i didnt really enjoy being a mother. Tho i tried but i know i didnt try enough. I didnt sit with him and played, but most of my free time (well i didnt hv free time anyway).was spent on expressing milk, school work, stole some time to nap or just being depressed. And this problem also affected my marriage a lil bit but the rough time had passed. Alhamdulillah.

I'm still improving myself. Starting to pay more attention to Minmin. Starting to teach him things, objects, language. We had our usual evening walks if it wasnt rain and now i am starting to cook for him. I am starting to feel like a true mom finally.

I am not sure what's the purpose of this post. But when i read back what i just typed i am glad i did this. My life was  chaotic this whole year. And i am going to change it. For us for minmin. Hehe

Not sure whether other moms experienced the same thing as me. I love Minmin all my heart buy i stop loving myself hence the stressful year i had. I'm starting all over again. And i hope the future will treat us better.

Random

Yesterday I went outing with MOm,lil bro and Minmin.before we headed home, we stopped for awhile at Mitc Mosque for Asar.

Just a moment before we left the mosque, a man approached my bro asking for something. My bro came to me and asked whether I brought extra diapers for Minmin. Apparently the man was asking whether we could buy from us.

Went to the car,grabbed 2 diapers from Min's bag and gave it to the man. He said they (he & the wife) accidentally left it at home. Their baby is not feeling well.

A few months ago, i was with B at Giant Mahkota Parade. B was at the cashier when I noticed a couple with with a baby in front of B.the baby was crying. Before we left to the parking lot, we bumped into the couple again at a bakery.the baby was still screaming and the mom tried to sooth him. The father was in the bakery holding an empty feeding bottle. I told B that they might be looking for hot water for the milk.

So B approached the husband who looked stunned and offered some hot water. The panic-looking father was relieved. He was indeed looking for hot water. We watched them pouring the hot water,opening the box containing the milk they had just bought and finally fed the baby. As a mom, i couldnt help but gave out a huge sigh of relief watching the baby quietly sucking the bottle. We then left after exchanging few words. God knows what happen to them till they have no milk to feed the baby.

Dont get me wrong. I'm not judging the 2 scenarios mentioned above. As a young parent to a toddler,things happened even with careful preparation. B once forgot to bring EBM when he came to fetch me from school with Minmin. And last month i brought all Min's necessities for outing BUT forgot his feeding bottle. Things happen.

That's why I usually shut off people who are quick to judge other parents. Some more they share the 'weaknesses' on Facebook and what even sadder strangers who dont even know join the party to condemn these 'weak,bad' parents. You,of all people in the world should understand the hiccups we as parents sometimes have to face. Dont be so quick to judge and worst share it on facebook. Are you waiting for tables to be turned at you?

I have to admit before i had a baby i did judge certain parents whom I saw left their baby rolling on the floor screaming or let their child running around the restaurant or let the child wore dirty shirts and not changing into a clean one. I judged. But things hv channged now that the tables might be on my side now.

There were times when Minmin refused to sit in his stroller so we just went around with him screaming while people looking or he eefused to sit still at a restaurant and started throwing everything on the floor or changed his shirts a few times in a day but still he crashed biscuits on his newly changed shirts.

Those were just tiny examples. Let's not go into breastmilk vs formula milk, pro-vaccine vs cons, to babywearing or not, co-sleep or not, organic food or not and the lists go on.

Well just a random thought. I am sad with a status of Facebook judging other parents. I hope this person will stop because parents should support parents. No one else outside this circle will understand the things we face other than us.

Have a great week ahead peeps!

Post exclusive pumping

Just like when i started my journey as a pumper, i received many comments about my decision to stop pumping.

"Eh anak kau baru setaun kan? Kan afdholl sampai dua tahun?"

"Laa..susu ada lagi kan? Sayang nya nak berhenti...."

"Kalau ikut sunnah ko kena bagi susu anak sampai 2 taun bla bla bla..."

Those who has been with me through out the journey's responses...

"Takpela ..ko dah bersusah oayah buat yg terbaik selama ni.ok dah tu"

"Respek ngan ko.sebab EP mom ni m
mg susah.aku yg blh direct feeding ni pon bila nak pam buat stock hazabbbbedah rasa"

Well mix reactions I wud say. Though it hurts my feeling when people condemns it doesnt stop me of my decision. It is damn hurtful,as if I stop loving my baby by doing so.

Well again,there's a silver lining behind every dark cloud. A few days after I made my decision, i was down with coughing. A couple of nights ago a bad cough followed by asthma attack left me almost breathless and weak. Yesterday i went to see the doc again.

And this time i was prescribed with a higher dose of medication because the last dose has stopped working. The doctor said i cannot feed my baby the milk but to dump it.it's in her record that i breastfeed. Hee

I feel relieved. Hadnt i decided earlier i would have problem introducing formula to him. Alhamdulillah. Indeed what ever it is, this thing was written by the Almighty for me.

I just want to be healthy again so that Minmin can enjoy having a mom who is healthy physically and mentally. It sucks to be sick when you have to take care of a baby and the husband is thousands miles  away and there's no Doraemon pintu suka hati.

I just want to be me, again.

End of the journey

Hello!

I've thought longggg befor9e i want to post about this and finally made my decision to share it. Before that, to all obssessed breastmilk moms, please steer away from this page before you give yourself and bad day.

I have finally decided to stop my exclusive pumping journey. I was in doubt for a few weeks now but last night after a discussion with my husband (he did not tell me what to do) i have decided to end this love-hate relationship with my pumps. I want me all for myself. I want to drink coffee everyday. I want to eat anything that crosses my mind. I want to be me again.

Unlike breastfeeding mom, ep mom like me has no emotional attachment to the process. My struggle for a year is solely to give the best for my baby and i think i am done with this. For almost a year I struggled emotionally as an ep mom. I couldnt recall any other happy moments for all these time except my milk has done good for Muhaimin. I convinced myself that I love the journey but the truth it i dont like it. But i survived! I survived and Minmin got what he deserves.hehehhe

The decision to stop has not come easy to me. I've started to give Minmin formula since Ramdhan as the production dropped pretty bad. But I only gave him at night. Then after raya, came August which was the most strressful moment for this year. I was under stress at work, tired and emotionally not stable for some reasons. So i had to continue with FM again for night feeding only.

Until last week.

I was driving to school early in the morning. I was tired and extremely sleepy and was fighting to keep my eyes open. 30mins into the journey, i think i accidentally blacked out because when i came to my senses, i was driving 70km/h and the car in front of me was about 2meters away and was stopping at a traffic light. In shock, spontaneously i steered to the left lane and i was lucky there was no car coming that way and kept driving,panting and sweating.

Minmin could have lost his mom that morning.

In school, i was thinking the whole day. I am tired with school work and the pumping was taking a toll of me. I decided to stop. Minmin now needs me more than the milk. And that was not the first time i fell asleep but it was the worst one. I have to do something.

I still pumped 3-4 times a day since but my production was very low. So I had to feed him FM during the day too. Suprisingly, i feel okay. I didnt feel stress for giving him 'the poison' like some moms would say.

So here I am. Feeling contented and happy. I am still sleepy everyday but i dont have to wake up at midnight to pump and i can enjoy a cup of coffee before I drive to school. For 2 days now, i was sober while driving to and fro school. Hehehehe

I am proud of myself to be able to survive for a year as a pumper. My initial target was until confinement, then to 6 months and now a year. I have never thought i could go this far but i did it! I did it! I did it.

In this one year i bought 5 different breastpumps. One was broken, 1 sold to SIL, 1 manual bpump, one to be used at home and the other one at work.hahah funny that I spent so much on these gadgets.hihihi

I'm laughing now. And smiling. I feel free.

Dont worry. Minmin is super healthy. He is now almost 10kg.

I hope for my next baby, i will succeed to direct feed her and do not have to go through this journey again.