Malaysian holiday - Part II

Here are the remaining pictures from my recent Malaysian holiday.

When we first arrived at the resort, we had a nice fruit basket waiting in our room. Maybe with me being pregnant and all, I was very fond of eating plenty of fresh fruits! Especially tropical fruits which are usually very expensive in Melbourne!

One night when room service came over, I asked the lady if I could have a slice of papaya tomorrow as it was very sweet and yummy. And guess what? The next morning we got back to our room after swimming, and she left me 4 slices of fresh papaya on the bed! I asked Grumpy if he wanted some, he said No. Oh jeezz so I had to stuff myself with all the papaya in the world because I did not want to be rude to the room service lady. 

Peacocks were always coming to visit us at our villa. This time it was 3 peacocks and we were too afraid to come out from our room!

All set for the beach!

I absolutely loveeed the daily routine of putting on my bikini, a kaftan, a hat, slap on some sun screen, iPad on one arm.. then look for a nice spot by the beach or by the pool. The best part of this 5 star resort is that the staff are friendly and the service is amazing. They have people bringing us plenty of towels, icy cold water, food, anything you want!

Emerald Bay Beach

The only downside about this place is that the beach is really not that great. It is a private beach, but only half a mile. It is completely safe to swim here because there are no jelly fishes. The water is not as blue and clear like the other islands in Malaysia, and instead quite murky. However, after experiencing freezing cold beaches in Melbourne (even on a hot 30 degrees day in Melbourne, the water is very cold and really requires a lot of courage from me to jump inside!) Grumpy and I were more than happy to swim in Emerald Bay Beach where the water temperature was absolutely perfect.

On our last day in Pangkor Laut Resort, we had to check out by 11am. I woke Grumpy up bright and early (No Sleeping In, No!), practically dragged him to breakfast, and then we got changed into our bathing suits, and we were back at the pool swimming! Making the most of our few hours left! Haha

Must I really go home?

We took the boat transfer back to the mainland, and as expected, my father was already waiting for us at the jetty, to drive us back to KL. However, we stopped by at Setiawan to have lunch with our family friends. We had the very popular o-chien (oyster omelette) and sweet and sour fish stomach soup.

This three day trip to Pangkor was definitely the big highlight of my Malaysian holiday. It was a short escape from all the KL madness and a nice enough trip for a bit of luxury and rest.

A few days later, back in KL, I met up with my BFF (we are hardly... hardly in Malaysia, together, at the same time). We hung out with some bears at Pavillion..

My favourite bear, Paddy.

Of course, we went all out in KL city, and here are the boys, happy, high, drunk, at 2.30am, in Subang, eating greasy burger Ramly's by the side of the road..

When will we get to have fun in KL like this again?

23 weeks

Today I am 23 weeks into the pregnancy.. and I thought it would be fun to share with you some baby bump photos. I will try to put up a few photos every couple of weeks. That way, I myself can see how ginormous I become!

Currently at my second trimester, I have been feeling quite good. My energy levels are back, my morning sickness has gradually disappeared and I don't feel so tired anymore. Colleagues have warned me though.. hehe it doesn't last for long.. because once I go into my third trimester, I will definitely be feeling it more! Ah well, I will enjoy it for the moment! 

The baby kicks a lot more now, and it is really such a funny and wonderful feeling. 

I have also started attending an exercise program designed specifically for pregnant women called Preggi Bellies. I have attended two classes and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We do a mix of Body Attack, Body Combat and Body Pump, while sitting (or what I call a 'balancing act') on a Medi Ball. Apparently people attend these classes up until they reach full term..

Okay, bed time for me, good night!

Sydney - weddings and babies

It is already Sunday night, which means the end of my lovely weekend and soon, the start of another working week! :(

On Friday, I left work at about 3pm to get to the airport for my flight to Sydney. I decided to take it easy and not rush, and so I was very early at the airport for my 6pm flight. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed by more than 3 hours.. which meant I have been sitting in the airport, alone, for nearly 6 hours for the day. Oh jeyysus... surprisingly, I was quite patient and instead of being angry or anything like that, I was just so tired. It was also during this time, while resting on a sofa at the airport, I felt my baby kick for the first time! Hehehe it was really an amazing feeling and I was giggling by myself for most of the time!

My darling BFF Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot (which has not been drinking much these days...) greeted me at the airport, and it is tradition, that we go to Mamak for supper as soon as I arrive in Sydney! Grumpy did not travel with me this time round, which meant that I had to order two meals for myself. A roti canai and a nasi lemak! Greedy, yes! Guilty, no!

The next day, we did wedding stuff, which is something I have always enjoyed. We picked up her wedding gown (which is absolutely stunning!).. we also went past the church (where she will be married), we looked at a town house she was thinking of renting out for her family during the wedding... and we talked and talked.. about weddings and babies! Hehe

Dinner at Guzman! I love Mexican!

This morning, I met up with my lovely friend Sydney Boy. I did not take any photos, but it was nice to have brunch together and catch up on old times! I keep telling him that I am now officially a beach whale, and he assures me that he likes whales... we went for a nice stroll along Darling Harbour. And the weather was just perfect! I have always preferred the weather in Sydney because its warmer compared to Melbourne.

Finally, before I took my flight home to Sydney, I had a quick lunch with my BFF at Manly beach..

She insists we take a side view of me with my baby bump... and so here it is!

21.5 weeks
Ignore Aboriginal man having fish & chips behind me - haha!

Was he pointing at the macarons? Or the belly?

At Manly beach, I made a quick stop at Adriano Zumbo to bring home some macarons. I just had 3 macarons now while blogging, and so far, my favourite is the lychee macaron! So GOOD! While eating the lychee macaron, the thought of naming my child 'Lychee' did spring up in my head. Haha After all, Gwyneth Paltrow named her daughter Apple...

Malaysian holiday - Part I

Our holiday to Pangkor Laut Resort was booked a few months ago, and we were very fortunate that Grumpy's sister found us a package that includes accommodation and all meals at such a reasonable price.  Another bonus was when my dad offered to drive us all the way up to Pangkor on Tuesday (and then he drove back home), and on Thursday, he drove up again to pick us up and take us home.

We stopped by at Bidor, which is our usual place for wantan mee. It was Grumpy's first time, and he ordered all his meals in the largest portion available.

Three hours after leaving from KL, we arrive at the private jetty exclusively for Pangkor Laut Resort guests. It was very posh and we had people greet us and help carry our luggage! 

My husband resting with my floppy hat.. there were hardly any guests, so we felt like we had the entire jetty to ourselves.

We got on a 15 minute boat ride from the jetty to the actual resort, and then it was straight to lunch by the beach.

Here are pictures of our room. I loved everything about the room, it was clean and so comfortable! I loved the Malay traditional theme as well.

The bath!

The view from our very spacious balcony.

Not long after we settled into our rooms, I rushed Grumpy to get changed and immediately we jumped into the main pool! This is the view from the pool. How amazing is this view?! We took naps by the pool, while sipping on drinks.. Couldn't possibly ask for more.

Soon it was time for dinner, and so we left the pool to go back to our room to take a shower. On our way back, we bumped into a hornbill. My first encounter with this tropical bird! A tiny version compared to the hornbills I normally see in the Sarawak tourism ads, but still good enough for me!

This resort is actually very old (Grumpy has been here before as a kid), but considering this resort is YTL owned, the place is still kept in excellent condition and has everything you would expect out of a 5-star resort.

Our first night, we chose to have a Malay dinner.

It was quite good, we had a bit of everything - veggie curry, fish curry, sambal prawns, curry chicken and beef rendang with pilau rice.

After dinner, we got back to our room, and room service has prepared our beds for the night, cleaned up and even lit this incense, which has a very soothing feeling, and also keeps away the mozzies.

Okay, it is really bed time for me! Good night!

No need to hide

Okay so third day at work since returning from holidays, and my boss thought she was doing me a favour this morning by announcing to my team in our morning meetings that she had some news for the group, then she said I would probably kill her, then she told everyone I was pregnant! While I wished that she shared the news in a more subtle way, another part of me is relieved because at least it is out in the open, and I do not need to hide my baby bump anymore. I am just going to wear my big clothes if I have to, instead of trying to fit in to my old work clothes and then feel miserable when I can't zip things up. 

On a lighter note, Sydney Boy requested that my baby arrive on the 19th of June, because that is his birthday, and one day before my due date. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, Sydney Boy and Belgian Chocolates were requesting that I name my baby after them if it was a boy. If my baby is a girl, then I am to name her after Little-Miss-Whats-For-Lunch. They were also very concerned about the welfare of my dog, especially once the baby arrives. I assured them that the dog will not be neglected. The hospital did give me a little booklet which says "how to introduce your baby to pets". They said maybe I should get a book called "how to introduce my dog to the baby". I said, maybe there should be a book on "how to introduce Sydney Boy, Belgian Chocolates and Little-Miss-Whats-For-Lunch to the baby"and we kept going back and forth of further book titles. These guys really do keep me smiling during the days and I can't imagine my life without friends like them! :)

When my ex-boss from Dublin told my stepdad I was pregnant (he is English, Cockney in fact), first thing he said was "SILLY GIRL!" hehehe..