In Melaka

There was a cousin's wedding in Melaka last weekend. Ram and I went down to JB a few days before the wedding to visit mum and other family members. Ram also had some personal errands to attend to in JB. We have been away in UK and thought we should go down to visit Mum.

While in JB and apart from attending to the necessary errands, we also took the opportunity to visit the grave of elders, Ram's family home, favourite food outlets and others.

On the way back to KL we stopped in Melaka to attend the wedding reception. Brother Abid lives in Melaka, so his house was our base when we attended the wedding. Mum was taken by brother Li to the wedding. Brother Joe came from KL and that made a rare occassion for the four brothers altogether in one place.

The Four Brothers

One sister and all our spouses were there in Abid's house after the wedding. We just had to take a picture together.

Four Brothers, A Sister And Spouses

Mum Had Just Arrived

Although we had our fill of food at the wedding reception we just cannot turn down the 'signature' fried noodles prepared by Abid's wife. It was a hot day. Cool iced juice and hot black coffee were both welcomed to wash the noodle down.

Fried Noodles High Tea

Sis-in-law Giving Instructions to Her Office Whilst Mum Takes A Nap

Mum Going Home

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya

Two Sisters In UK

Two Sisters, Aishah and Hani, my nieces from my youngest sister, are in UK. Both are studying to be medical doctors in two different Universities, Aishah in Dublin and Hani in Bristol. We had the opportunity to catch up with them recently.

Aishah was on a break and came to Tenby one weekend. The weather was not too good the weekend she came nevertheless we took the opportunity to go out and visit some places close to Tenby. We drove to St David and Fishguard and visited the church and interesting heritage buildings there.

Two Red Cars, Fahrul's on the Left; On The Right Is More Attractive!!

A nice drive to St David, through country roads with country view and occasionally along the beautiful beaches but too cold this time of the year to stop and enjoy them!!


In St David With Aishah

From St David we drove on to Fishguard and stopped at a restaurant for lunch, a fast food outlet and one that we were familiar with having been there once before.

Going For Lunch

Lunch In Fishguard

Last weekend Sita had some commitment to attend to in Eastleigh, a town close to Southampton. On the way there we stopped in Bristol to visit Hani. She was waiting for us in her house which is close to the University. The two little kids were happy as they could be free to move around in the house after being cooped in the car all the way from Tenby. We only stopped for a while and moved on before it got too dark. It was another two hours drive or so to the hotel in Eastleigh.

Just Arrived At Hani's House In Bristol

With Farhani (Hani) In Her House

Hot Tea On A Cold Day With Crackers To Add Flavour While Catching Up On Old Times

Don't mind me please! I'm updating my facebook!!

My New Groove

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales

More of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

From the Main South Shield Park, after Najla had her fun at the swing and the sand shovel, we went to another park nearby, by the mouth of the River Tyne, an area where there were displays of metal sculptures, in bronze I think they were, nicely made by one Spanish Artist (deceased). I forgot his name. The place is called "Conversation Corner", with stories behind them if one care to let one's imagination flow.

Hi! Little One

Senior Folks In A Meeting

A Family Gathering?

A Hand In Friendship Was Offered, Najla Shook It In Response

Looking Out To Sea In Anticipation, For The Ship To Come In?

A discussion going on?

"My oh my, look at the time", Keeping An Appointment With A Friend. Where Is He?

There were many more other sculptures similar to the ones in the pictures above. They were really conversation pieces.....

MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

View From The Top Of Castle Keep in the City Center

Of all places why Newcastle? and at this time of the year? they said..... For one its been there and we have not been there yet but for another, and this is the main reason, to visit a close friend, Henk (HVA) and his wife Norma, whom I have not met for years, more than the number of fingers in both hands. We were together in the oil and gas project of building an oil refinery. We have not been in contact since we parted ways that long time ago. Recently another friend sent me a group photograph of the pioneering team for the refinery which triggered my memories and of the times spent with each member of the team in the photograph. That was also when I decided to locate this friend whom I know lives in UK and alternate with Greece depending on the heat of the sun. Since I was going to UK very soon I thought it would be nice for us to get together. I asked around, got hold of his email, followed through and the result was this trip to Newcastle.
Another View of the City
The Colourful Millenium Bridge

After arriving at the apartment in Sandhill Road, Quayside, I called HVA who was expecting my call anytime then. I had pre-informed him of our expected time of arrival and he had expected us to call over for dinner at his home. With the satellite navigator it was no hassle finding our way to his home, an apartment some 10 minutes out of the city. Dinner was Greek food, something not quite unfamiliar for us as we have had Greek food before, and something that we looked forward to to try. The food was good but we were so immersed in exchanging stories and catching up on lost times that the food became a secondary element of the visit. The children on the other hand were enjoying themselves with all the attention given by the elders, Najla had wooden building blocks to play with while Fieras was free to roam about on all fours, most times annoying his elder sister by knocking her building blocks down!!
With Norma
On The Trampoline in The Study
HVA

Henk and Norma were most hospitable and took care of us while we were in Newcastle. They took us to South Shields, close to the mouth of the Tyne, to a museum first, then to a park and later saw metallic sculptures by a Spanish artist and sculptor in another sandy park, the Conversation Corner of South Beach, close by. The sculptures tells an unwritten short story if only one would observe closely and let imaginations flow.

At The Museum

Najla was most excited on this outing as she had opportunities to do activities that she enjoyed. Starting with the Museum in town we spent quite a while viewing the exhibits shown including some live, glass-caged reptiles.

Najla was most fascinated with the snakes. She spent quite a long time at the display.


I am not scared of the snakes

Coal Mining Displays, Stressing on Operation Safety

At The Playground

From the Museum we moved on to the park where there was a pond and several children playgrounds suitable for various ages. In fact there were facilities suitable for 'children' of toddlers age upwards, those with walking sticks included, ha ha ha!! I noticed many children, parents and grand parents, including yours sincerely, enjoying themselves. The weather was good, sun shining bright and a slight breeze on our faces.
With Granny Norma feeding the ducks
Operating a sand shovel. "I am Bob The Builder"
Lovely Day and Weather

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales

A February Birthday In Tenby

The weather was wet and gloomy, outside temperatures in the very low single digit, occasionally going below zero, the sun hiding behind dark clouds, but the day was a special day for Tok Mi, one that is celebrated annually, come rain, snow or sunshine, heh heh. If not for anything else but for reminding that the age number is up another notch although at this age we have begun to consider age as just a number, a combination of digits that keep changing annually, and secretly wishing that we add it up one by one annually as many times as possible, with the Blessings of the Almighty.....

Najla prepared a special card for Tok Mi, one she did all on her own, in her own hand, quite an effort for a five year old. I asked her in the afternoon, when she returned from school, what day this was, and she replied that it was Tok Mi's Birthday and that she has a special secret for Tok Mi to be given to her at dinner time. True to her plans she handed the card to Tok Mi just before dinner together with hugs and kisses naturally....

The Address on the cover

The Message For Tok Mi

Dinner was at a very nice and cozy restaurant in the country side not too far away from Tenby that Fahrul brought us to. It was in a large country house with a large waiting area and a proper fireplace. There wasn't a crowd that night and we almost had the place to ourselves, thus A-ok for the kids too. Normal dinners are usually starters, main course and dessert, but here the portions were big and we all could only manage starters and main course. All had to give the dessert a miss although the cheese-cake was very tempting. This was the third time I had to give cheese-cake a miss sheeeesh!

In the Waiting Lounge

Three Generations

The Fire Place

Tenby Family

We took our time for dinner and we were not rushed. They served as and when we were ready, no hurry. The food was good, the portions big and true to our family's tradition each individual orders were different and the dinner plates kept rotating amongst us, ha ha. A way of satisfying our varied tastebuds all in one dinner.

At The Dinner Table With Fieras Heading The Dinner!!
A Birthday Cake?

It was a good dinner outing, the extreme cold notwithstanding, and I think Ram enjoyed herself. About three hours for dinner was something extraordinary, easy and laid back but with overfilled tummy was something we were not used to cope with. But then, it was a special occasion and something we rarely do even if birthdays comes once a year!! But then next birthday will be quite a challenge then......

Between Starter and Main Course!!

Always In Control!!

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales

Long Distance Driving in UK

Our third week in UK was spent travelling Northeastwards to Newcastle. Fahrul could not get away from work and remained behind in Tenby. With two little kids, Najla and Fieras, we took the country road through Aberyswyth and then to Liverpool. We stopped at several places to view the sceneries and the facilities and then stayed overnight at a hotel in Chorley just outside of and to the North of Preston, Lancashire, which is further north of Liverpool. The weather along the way was cloudy with rain here and there and of course cold, but we had the warmth of the car!! Approaching Aberyswyth

No fan of the Team but just had to stop over

We had a surprise when we woke up the next morning in Chorley. It was snowing and the grounds around the hotel were all white... brrrrr.... Snowfall stopped by mid morning and we were on our way off to Newcastle taking the country roads again and avoiding the motorways as much as we can. We took the country road through Barnard Castle, a small, hilly town with the castle on top of a hill. We stopped for a while to stretch ourselves and then off on our way to Newcastle-on-Tyne targetting to arrive at our apartment before it gets dark. We arrived at Gateshead, Newcastle-on-Tyne, at just before 4pm, timely enough before it was dark, met the apartment owner who showed us the apartment, our residence for the next three nights, and got ourselves settled. The apartment is on Sandhill Road, close to the river and close to various attractions nearby, including many restaurants and shops. A Tesco Express outlet was closeby. The two kids were very excited once we got in into the apartment, clearly relieved that they could run around after being cooped in the car for hours on end. The apartment was very comfortable, nice and practically designed, big enough to accommodate 5 adults. If the couch in the lounge is converted to a bed two more adults can be included. The kitchen was well and fully equipped, hence we were well accommodated for the stay. There was a jacuzzi in the bathroom, very handy in the cold weather heh heh!!

The Apartment is with arched windows on the firat floor to the right of the Red Building

The sitting lounge with breakfast table, kitchen door at right and Bedroom door at left

The main bedroom with door to annexe room

Excited kids favourite play area at upper level of the annexe with a double bed

The couch converted to a double bed

We started planning our outings as soon as we settled down and the kids having got over their excitement. More of these in the next posting.

MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Tenby, Pembrokeshire,
Wales