FEMALE ONLY

During the mid-term school holiday, I made a bold decision  to drive 540 km to Hat yai, Thailand with my sisters and their daughters.

Hat yai famous for its toot-toot car, food and elephant....

Of course my dear worried husband would not allowed but eventually he relented and give in to my daily whining demands.

We started our journey at 6.30am on a cool Wednesday morning and made a stop at the Tapah Rest Area for a late breakfast and continue our journey to Alor Setar at about 12.30noon for lunch.

Mesmerizing view along the highway...

After lunch, we visited a relative whom we have not seen for a long time.

At about 3.00pm, we proceed with our journey and the drive from Alor Setar to the Thai border was a beautiful sight with green padi fields lined up all the way on both side of the road.

Suckling pig is a famous delicacy in Hat yai also..

Upon reaching the border, we parked our cars at the Bukit Kayu Duty Free Complex and boarded a rented van to Hat yai.

All female holiday :)

Our stay at the Lee Garden Plaza Hotel was a pleasant one and did not scares us one bit although it was known for its notorious bombing last March.

Overall, Hat yai is still the same to me after my last visit 2 decades ago except that the traffic has gotten worse in term of human and machine.

The food is still great but it is no longer cheap and you can find more massage parlors in every crooks and corners.

Crafts and food found at the morning market...

On day 2, we hired a van to take us on a day trip to Songkla which is about an hour drive from Hat yai.

Places of worship in Songkla..

Basically, Songkla is more of a place for worship and it is famous for its elephant farm.

Feeding the elephants at the farm..

It seems Samila beach is a must visit in Songkla because it is famous for its white sandy beach and the symbolic mermaid statue.

Samila Beach...

Shopping in Hat yai is nothing to shout about but we truly enjoy the foot massage.

After a relaxing foot massage...

After spending 4 days in Hat yai, its time for the long drive home.

Traffic was fine except that when we were crossing the Malaysian border, there was a long queue because only 2 counters were open at the immigration. Guess the people working there are still in Hari Raya mood.

The drive home was smooth sailing all the way until half way through the journey, a monkey dash out from nowhere along the highway and went right in front of my car.

Driving at 120kmph, I would not risk the life of everyone in the car but to drive straight through.Everybody was shaken but otherwise fine.

Souvenirs my daughter got for her friends..

I feel so sorry for the poor lost soul and could not do much but said a prayer for it.

We reach home past Cinderella's time at half past twelve midnight and of course logically, our cars did not turn into a pumpkin nor do the human change into any kind of animals except that we are all dead tired.

The worried hubby a.k.a. daddy was waiting anxiously for his queen and princess with a face full of relief....and so the journey ends with a beautiful note...AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

A DAY OF FUN WITH MOM, THE KIDS AND THE DOGGIES...

I never knew I can derive so much pleasure on such a simple outing with mom and her grand and great-grand children, which of course makes me their grand aunt.

The outing was plan in accordance with the mid-term school holiday.

Mom was looking forward to this outing as she has not had such an adventure for a long time.

The afternoon takes off well with the weather on our side although chaotic because there were eight children and eight adults in tow which total up to  sixteen of us. What a lucky number!

We went to a nice and cozy coffee shop where they serves fresh hot toast and heavenly tasting freshly brewed coffee.

Coffee & Toast

Mom enjoying an afternoon of delight...

After coffee, it was time to put mom,s new wheelchair to test.

We went to the dog park which was located behind the coffee shop.

Mom was so delighted to see so many cute and angelic doggies..

She even made friends with some dogs and their owners and a cute little beagle named Hugo even adopted mom as his grandmother,...awwww so sweet.

Mom giving Hugo a good squeeze on the cheeks..

The children has their fair share of fun playing at the park also.

The kids having fun...

under the watchful eyes of their granny...

When we were about to leave the park, a rainbow peep through the clouds and form a kaleidoscope of colors in the sky.

Beauty from above...

Everybody was so in awe to see such magical display from mother nature and we are all so blessed to have such a united and loving family.

Me checking-out mom,s new wheels...

We ended the day with a sumptuous dinner  at a nearby Chinese restaurant.

And I am looking forward to have more outing with mom whenever times permit me....

Wholesome food to tantalize the taste bud...

CANDY CRUSH CRAZE

The game has become hotter and sweeter....

After Farm ville which got many potential farmers hook including myself, now people has develop a sweet tooth for Candy Crush.

I remember swearing under my breath that I would not get hook on games anymore after I have wean myself off farming.

But it seems that the candy is too much to resist.

I was tempted when I see people playing the game on the LRT, in the restaurant and it is no help when I receive request on my Face book to play the game.

Needless to say, after my first taste, I was craving for those two dimensional, calorie-free candies.

The game requires you to arrange three or more candies in a row so that you can pop them and achieve certain objectives for each level which gives me the sugar high everytime I did it.

My favorite non virtual sweets....

As you go to a higher level, there are more tricks to be solved and as an amateur, I was quite proud of myself when an aunt who has been playing the game way ahead of me enlisted my help when she was stuck in a certain level.

Yours truly is now waiting for tickets from fellow gamer to continue my journey to level 156 which is quite an achievement for someone who started playing just about a month ago... LOL, ego boosting can be good for the sweet soul.

But than again, the enthusiasm for Candy Crush is reminiscent of other crazes.

On a normal human interacting days with my daughter.. .

Remember Pet Society, Restaurant City, Angry Birds and a few others which was such a huge phenomenon worldwide?

But the things with crazes and fads is that they fade.

Popular games on Facebook....

We get all  hot and heavy over something when the fire is burning bright  but move on soon after, forgetting the previous phase.

Unbeknownst, I wonder what will be the next craze when the sugar fizzles...

AVID GAMERS....

Online games has really catch on with the oldies.

A very common sight on our weekend gathering..

I was bombarded by an uncle for not giving him lives and tickets which he has requested for his Facebook games....LMD!

It used to be the youngsters craze when Facebook first started and practically most parents are dead worried about their children's game addiction.

Looks like the ballgame has been turn around.

A familiar scenario is at the dinner table.

The young and the old will be fully engrossed in their electronic gadgets instead of communicating with each other.

Ipad has become the expensive toys for young children in order to keep them quiet and  their parents happy.

People commuting in public transport looks extremely busy tapping away on their smart phone.

In the home front, I am guilty as charged also although it happens only on weekends.

This is no good excuse for my sins as weekends should be spend more meaningfully with family members rather than a piece of machine.

Uncle Jay, and avid online gamer....

For not calling the kettle black, whether it is weekends or public holidays, we should make sure that we will have a good balance of quality time for human and machine for the sake of sanity.

And of course, the young ones also....

In the meantime, happy gaming if you are one of the guilty ones...