We went to The Emporium yesterday to get a glimpse of the “dinasaurs” of The Lost World. Justin knew that dinosaurs already extinct, so he told mei mei not to be scared as they are all fake. Actually, the main purpose of this exhibition is to educate us about the effects of global warming on plants and animals.

The Emporium was very crowded yesterday, and it took us a while to get a parking space. Besides that, we had to queue up to enter the Jurassic Magnificence at the first floor, but frankly, we couldn’t take our time to have a better look at the flora and fauna as the people were rushing in from behind.

Let’s see what do they have here…

A triceratops in the crowd.

It’s T-Rex!

I like the firefly house. It’s the first time we got to see so many fireflies in the dark, but too bad camera is not allowed. Maybe we should make a trip to Kuala Selangor in the future to see the fireflies in the wild. Besides that, the kids can have fun digging up the mini dinasaur’s den but my kids didn’t join in. It’s too crowded so we just made our ways to see those animals like springhare, various reptiles, and elephant, cassowary, sloth and etc outside of The Emporium.

Papa has to carry them because it’s too crowded…*Now you know why hubby is getting thinner?*

Various species of fireflies

Checking out the baby crocs

Hey dino, wanna go shopping at Louis Vuitton or Hermes? LOL!

More photos of the animals…

Top to bottom: Flamingoes, phython, white-cheeked gibbon, and a sloth.

This is how a sloth looks like, and it moves very very very slow…

An elephant and a cassowary with their species roots dating back to pre-historic times.

An African Bullfrog and Argentina Horn Frog

I missed snapping a photo of the springhare, which is very rare. Too bad…Anyway, the kids had a great time again. But for me, I think it’s too crowded and I was tempted to go shopping. LOL! But then, it’s all for the kids…

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Hubby and I have been to Chatuchak before but never with the kids. It’s a big open weekend market, but you can walk along the aisles of some indoor stores too. It’s best to check out the directory before you get yourself lost in Chatuchak as there are about 10,000 stalls or more here, so don’t be surprised about the variety of things such as clothes, shoes, bags, Harley parts, something like Alien (ya, really Alien from the movies) and etc. If you are planning for a trip there, you may check out this online directory too.

Since Auntie Wan had not been here before, we decided to bring them here for shopping. They can really walk, so I don’t have to worry about them getting too tired. LOL! We parked our car at JJ Mall and entered Chatuchak market from the other side where they are selling pets.

I was tempted to get some bunnies, but better not…

Are these baby Asian palm civets?

Isabelle had a good time checking out the animals…

Snake! I think it’s a small python.

She dared not touch the parrot.

Checking out a rooster.

If you are wondering why there isn’t any photo of Justin, here he is…

Justin missed the pet section as he’s taking a nap.

We shopped a few hours here, and of course, we ended up getting more stuffs for the kids again. LOL! Most of the goods here are pretty cheap, so again, you won’t feel the pain of spending money. However, Auntie Wan said “men kok men kok dou mai chor men sui”. She meant she bought a lot without realizing it!

Did I mention that Isabelle loves Hello Kitty lately?

Justin woke up blur, but he likes his Mickey cap and the “horse” fan.

Isabelle basically changed into everything new here. Hubby accidentally tilted her stroller and she spilled the orange juice on herself. So, after cleaning her up, she had a few set of clothes and sandals, all from the stalls in Chatuchak. Justin didn’t want to buy any clothes, maybe he thinks that he has had enough already.

The salesgirl putting on a new belt for her. That mini skirt is so cute! (Healy, want a piece or not?)

Posing for mommy. LOL!

BTW, don’t forget to try the coconut ice-cream. Nothing beats a bowl of nice ice-cream on a hot day.

Makan coconut ice-cream…

…because it’s so sunny and hot!

It’s impossible to cover every part of the market, even if we had walked for hours. My kids were tired, but we brought along their strollers, so they could take naps once in a while.

It’s my turn to Zzz…

Anyway, don’t miss this market if you are traveling to Bangkok. But then, it only opens in the weekend, so plan your trip well.

Filed under : Shopping, Family Moments

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We had visitors from Singapore last weekend, and after a few days of day tour on their own, they came to our “village” (means taman / housing estate) and stayed at BIL’s. My kids hardly see them when we were in Ipoh, but they had no problem warming up with this auntie and ah yee.

We brought them to the Grand Palace in Bangkok city, and it’s my kids’ first trip to the Grand Palace too.

The Grand Palace

If you haven’t been here, check out this info:

Open: Daily 08:30 - 15:30
Location: Na Phra Lan Road, Old City (Rattanakosin)
Tickets: Tickets sold from 8:30 - 15:30 and cost 200 baht (but we paid 300 baht each). One ticket includes entry to Vimanmek Palace and Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall.

Important Note:
A strict dress code applies. The Grand Palace with The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is Thailand’s most sacred site. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves (no tank tops. If you’re wearing sandals or flip-flops you must wear socks (in other words, no bare feet.) Women must be similarly modestly dressed. No see-through clothes, bare shoulders, etc. If you show up at the front gate improperly dressed, there is a booth near the entrance that can provide clothes to cover you up properly (a deposit is required).

Our relatives had to put on the sarongs because their pants were not long enough.

It was a sunny Saturday, thus it’s nice for photography. I snapped lots of nice photos here, but I am “roasted” after hours in the sun again. We are always out in the sun in Bangkok, so maybe I should get a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses huh? But even if it’s really sunny, my kids were doing fine. Isabelle slept most of the time at the palace, but Justin was awake and eager to look around.

Beh tahan….I take a nap first…

Some where in the palace

Many years ago, hubby and I came here as couple, but now, we are blessed with 2 kids. However, we had to bring the strollers up and down the staircase so it’s not as”convenient” as it used to be, but no complains ok? I’m not the one doing the hard work mah….

A family pic with Isabelle napping in the sun.

After a short nap, Isabelle was energetic again. The kids spent some time looking around and playing among themselves. Again, mommy and daddy had fun taking more photos of them.

Sunshiny Justin and Isabelle

Shoppingmum and Kids. LOL!

Shoppingdad and Kids (or should I say the one who pays the shopping bills? :P)

Shoppingkids?

I should be in the pic huh?

The soldiers who won’t move nor smile.

After a few hours in the sun, we finally left The Grand Palace but on the way back to the car park, my kids wanted to feed the pigeons opposite the palace. Justin likes Beauty and The Beast and he was hoping to feed the pigeons from his hand, just like the Beast (or is it Belle?). However, we advised him not to do so as there were a lot of pigeons, so who knows if he will be “attacked”? The kids just threw the corns on the ground, and Isabelle glued to auntie most of the time.

Feeding the pigeons

Isabelle glued to auntie but Justin was eager to get as close as possible

After that, we headed to Central World for lunch. It’s way past lunch hour, so you can imagine how hungry we were. My kids took their bentos in the car, and Justin feel asleep when we reached there. He basically skipped lunch that day, but at least he had taken something.

No special effect, but I managed to grab a photo of him sleeping with a smile.

On the other hand, Isabelle ate a lot that day, and even sapu some of auntie’s noodles!

We didn’t go to Mister Donut, so maybe we will go for donut decoration next time when we have another batch of visitors. We did some shopping at Toys’R'Us and Asia Books and bought stuffs for the kids again. But since auntie and Nini were still in the mood of shopping at the stalls along the road, we decided to grab a drink at one of the cafes at Big C instead. It’s quite tiring for all of us after so much walking…

Isabelle kept herself busy with blueberry blend and her Sleeping Beauty

We finally got a few Disney books for Justin, but they are not from Ladybird.

We went back for dinner at BIL as SIL cooked a banquet of Thai food. LOL! Too bad cousin Nini doesn’t take spicy food…

Anyway, it’s such a fun day for the children, even if all of us were totally exhausted. We had another exciting and tiring day after a good night sleep, but that will be written in another post.

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Starting this week, we will be expecting more visitors from Malaysia, and I guess we will be busy “entertaining” them. LOL! Last night, we went dinner with Chee Sing, a friend of hubby from university. We haven’t seen him for about 2 years. The last time we met was on our trip to Kuching to attend a mutual friend’s wedding. Do check out the link to see how “botak” Isabelle was. Oh boy, my kids have grown up so much!

Back to the dinner…Justin and Isabelle definitely can’t remember this uncle, but then it didn’t take them too long to “warm up” with him.

Snap photo with uncle first…

While waiting for BIL, the kids enjoyed the view around our table. Our table was set on a platform on a pond, and I like it.

Looking around…

The water lilies, but too bad they are not blooming now.

Isabelle keeps telling everyone not to lean against the rail so that you won’t fall into the water!

Remember the post about me hoping that my kids can order food for us one day? It started earlier than expected…

Isabelle tried to order the food, but the waiter ignored her. LOL! I also can’t understand what she’s trying to order.

I think I better add some Thai books to our bookshelves. It’s time to go to Kinokuniya again.

The dinner was great and we really enjoyed the evening breeze. But later on, there were some mosquitoes, as expected. However, they only attacked baby Thong Thong. O.o

Hubby didn’t follow us home as the men had some drinking session catching up to do. My kids were grumpy about daddy’s not coming back with us after dinner. Isabelle cried for daddy at bedtime, and that’s something we don’t see before we moved to Bangkok. I guess she’s getting attached to hubby now, and that’s great. Can hubby tug her to bed instead of me? I’m still waiting for that moment to come…

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I know that we should be revising with Justin since he’s having an exam this week, but when SIL called us on Sunday morning suggesting that we go shopping at Platinum Fashion Mall, we were all excited about it. I thought that Platinum Fashion Mall does not open during weekends, but I was wrong. It opens everyday. So, don’t miss this place if you like shopping for clothes, shoes, bags, and etc at wholesale price. But if you are looking for branded stuffs, this is not the right place for you. Don’t be surprised to see people pulling big bags of stuffs as most boutiques or store owners get their stocks here.

My kids prepared their own bentos for a quick snack in the car. I have to prepare some snacks for them when we are out as the traffic is unpredictable. Sometimes, we will just get stuck for some time in the city, and not to mention, hubby might get lost if we are not going with BIL who knows the way around. So, it’s best to have some food in the car…

I put the Hello Kitty picks by myself. I love Hello Kitty (lately…)

Me too, I do this on my own (by placing the banana, spring rolls and biscuits in his lunch box).

It took us awhile to reach Pratu Nam as we were caught in a traffic jam in the city. But anyway, it’s not a serious one. Platinum Fashion Mall was crowded with shoppers, just like it always has. Thus, we told the kids to stick around us but not wandering around. We bought shoes for Justin and dresses for Isabelle. I couldn’t find shoes for her, and I missed buying the Mickey Mouse tees for Justin because hubby said we looked around first. After that, we couldn’t find the store!!! If I’m not mistaken, it has 6 storeys, but 5 of them are loaded with shop lots and one of the floors is food court. After shopping for 2 or 3 hours, we took a break at the food court. SIL and I continued shopping while the men took care of the children. I thought they would just feed the kids with food, but later on, I found out that the men went shopping with 2 young kids and a baby. So geng…

I forgot to snap a photo of the things we bought, but never mind la. If you love shopping for stuffs at good bargain, don’t miss Platinum Fashion Mall. It will be more fun if you come with friends as you can easier pick more items from the same store to get wholesale price. I found that there were a lot of tourists from Malaysia that day as they spoke in Hokkien, English, and also in some dialects that I’m familiar with. I almost wanted to ask them if they are from Malaysia. LOL!

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My kids have been talking about going to the beach for some time, and so am I. LOL! It’s been years since my last trip to any beaches in Thailand, so I was dying for a trip! When hubby agreed on going to Pattaya on Saturday night, all of us were so excited. The children packed their simple bentos full of cookies and junks for the journey before going to bed.

Surprisingly, both our kids woke up at 6am on Sunday morning, even before hubby and I managed to get out of bed. That’s how eager and anticipated they were. I prepared some food for them for the picnic and off we went to pick up BIL’s family who were going with us too.

It took us about 2 hours to reach Pattaya, and the weather was great. It’s been raining cats and dogs in Bangkok these days, but it was so sunny yesterday.

Pattaya, here we are!

Can’t really open our eyes. It’s so sunny!

There are a few attractions here in Pattaya, but we were only interested to go to the beach. We found a less crowded beach somewhere between Pattaya beach and Jomtien. There were not a lot of people here, so it’s perfect for us.

We found a shady spot…

We are at the beach now, yippie!

We forgot to pack the sand toys for the children, so they played with the sand with their sandals for awhile. Shortly after, someone came selling sand toys to us and my kids could have more fun building their “sandcastle”.

Use our sandals first la…

Yeah! Got toys liao…

As usual, I enjoyed the sun a lot and took lots of photos of the topless angmoh girls, my kids, and the view.  The only thing I don’t like about the beach is it’s not totally clean. But well, it’s hard to find a clean beach now…Or maybe Rayong is better???

Not so clean due to the tide, I guess….

Oh ya, for my friends and family back home, here are some photos…

The leng chai koh koh…

The chubby mei mei…

 
The sleeping Thong Thong…

Something bad happened in the afternoon though. There was a family having a picnic just by our side. Their children went for a swim in the sea and 3 of them almost drown. We were playing by the waves and I heard the boy calling in Thai. Hubby thought that they were playing but I said they might be drowning. A few people heard that too and some men came to rescue.

The waves were strong, and kept pushing the children away. It took them a few minutes to get to the children and everyone was glad that one of the farang (foreigner in Thai) is a good swimmer. He managed to grab 2 children while their father got the other one. I tell you, everyone on the beach was worried. It’s like seeing the children drowning before our own eyes. Gosh…I’m glad that they are all saved, especially the older girl who’s holding onto a younger sibling. She was conscious, but motionless when they brought her up. After vomited some water, she looked better but still very pale. The ambulance came shortly after and brought the girl to the hospital.

Hubby almost jumped in, but then…..you see the photo la…Justin refused to let go of pa pa loh. My kids were very scared.

I dunno where the float came out from, but hubby pushed it to the rescuers in the sea.

The family involved thanked the farang. He’s one good swimmer!

After seeing this incident, my kids realised how dangerous it is if they go to the sea unattended. Before this happened, Justin wanted to go to the water by himself, but we stopped him. I guess he understand the reason now.

We left the beach at about 4pm and headed to Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Resort. This is such a nice place, if you have kids and enjoy photography. I snapped more than 300 photos here. LOL!

Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden and Resort

Actually, we arrived here kind of late, so we missed all the shows. Next time, we will come early, and spend a night in Pattaya so that we can have a nice walk in the big garden.

There is a small petting zoo here, and my kids went for horse and elephant riding again.

Mei mei, there’s a foal!

Can I ride on the dockey? LOL!

Waa!!! Stupid goat, go away!

I love horses!

Another family photo…

Mei mei, hold on tight ya? Don’t let go ya? (Justin really likes to watch over Isabelle)

Thong Thong is curious about anything!

On elephant ride. Too bad the professional cameraman “sao gong” already!

Feeding the elephant

We took a ride on the tour bus around the garden, and snapped more photos at the Cactus Garden and French Garden. We should really come here earlier as it’s getting sunset and the park closes at 6pm.

At the Cactus and Succulent Garden

At the French Garden

Have a stroll on the Sky Walk

The view is nice, that’s why I snapped so many photos. LOL! We should come here again some day…

We were the last visitors to leave the garden. Gosh, it gets dark earlier now, so it’s hard to have a lot of activities in the evening. We went for seafood as I was starving. It’s too dark dining on the beach, so no more photos on the nice big prawns we had.

It’s a nice day trip to Pattaya, and my kids were exhausted. They basically slept all the way back to our home, and they fussed a bit when we woke them up for shower. Have to take shower la, so “dirty” after a fun day in Pattaya.

Filed under : Vacation, Family Moments

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I know how blur hubby and I were yesterday, but we tried to make it special by celebrating our anniversary with the kids. We could just eat out, but it’s better to enjoy our meals at home so that my kids could be as messy as they wanted to be.

We bought a vanilla butter cake from S&P, and my kids were happy about it. They thought it’s papa and mommy’s birthdays, and they can’t understand what anniversary means. All they knew was they could have cake after dinner! LOL!

We put candles first…papa said 5 only.

Happy 5th anniversary!

Of course, , even if we told them to sing Happy Anniversary, the kids sang Happy Birthday. LOL!

Blowing candles…

I cut, I cut, I cut cut cut. *Actually, the cake was smashed. *

For the first time, we snapped a family photo using auto timer.

So, 5 years down the road, we have Justin and Isabelle celebrating our anniversary with us.

Filed under : Special Day, Family Moments

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I’m still getting used to the culture in Thailand, but so far, I think Thai people pray a lot. SIL organized a praying ritual yesterday, and it’s something the office staffs do on annual basis. We had to be there as early as 7.30am, so the poor mommy had to get up at 5am to prepare the bentos.

Made too much for the kids…

My kids did fuss a bit when we woke them up early, especially Isabelle. She didn’t even want to change! But then, she was happy again when I let her wear her favorite dress.

We rushed out of the house as early as possible, so the kids had to take their breakfast in the car. Luckily, we managed to reach there on time, and almost everyone arrived already, except the monks. The children were clueless about what’s going on, but I managed to snap some photos of them playing with each other, and I love it!

Playing… pushing…and laughing…

Oh gosh, mei mei, you see? Mommy’s taking photos of us. LOL!

The kids only managed to “sit through” the first 10 minutes of the praying ritual, and after that, they went out to sapu their bentos and play again. As long as they don’t disturb us, they could do whatever they wanted.

Err…what exactly are they saying huh, mommy?

The monks

After the prayers, we served the monks with some food. This is the first time I saw monks taking non-vegetarian meal.

Makan makan…

There were otak-otak, fish cake and chicken, which are non-vegetarian.

I thought that they will only take vegetarian food but SIL said the real monks will eat whatever we serve or donate. At the same time, we proceeded to the next ritual with a feng shui master, and there were more prayers.

Bai bai outside…

After that, we helped ourselves with the buffer while my kids had their bentos again in the office. Both of them wanted air-conditioning!

Frankly, everyone was quite tired when it’s over, and we headed back home shortly after. All of us headed to our beds for a good afternoon nap. It’s raining cats and dogs anyway, so it’s not a good day for outing…

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Hubby decided to bring the kids for a little picnic at the park yesterday. I quickly grabbed some food for them and there is nothing fancy about their bentos. However, they were looking forward to the picnic.

There is a big jogging track here, but we have never jogged here at the park! It’s too big for the kids, so we only walked for a distance most of the time. We found a bench by the lake and my kids started enjoying their bentos. On the other hand, I kept myself busy camwhoring all the time.

Makan makan first…

The happy boy…

And the girl who keeps eating…

And eating…

And eating…

After they had completed their bentos, they were ready for more snapshots and “exercising” at the park.

Now you see them… (the eyes la), now you don’t!

Mommy, ready, get set, go loh…Put your camera away la…

Wait…mommy got to snap the boy first…

Nah…I pose for you, mommy…

My kids like to play with the exercise equipments here. As usual, most people will ask us where we are from since we don’t speak Thai. They will always praise Justin and Isabelle “geng mak mak” (very clever in Thai) because they greet them with  “sawadee” very nicely with a bow. My kids love socializing with them and so does hubby. My Thai sucks, so I better keep quiet.

Let’s balance ourselves…

Swing, swing, swing,  swing…

I can do this!

Before leaving the park, we went for a run.

Justin loves running but Isabelle was too tired to keep up.

Seriously, it’s a tiring day for them as they have PE at school during the day, and then we went exercising again. I won’t need any diet pills if I’m so active everyday! But then, everyone had fun and……a good night sleep………….ZZzzz………..

Filed under : Fun Time, Family Moments

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Lat Phrao is not too far from our house, it will only take about 30 minutes to reach there, but last Sunday, it took us more than 2 hours to get to Central Lat Phrao because we were lost in the streets again. LOL! The roads in Bangkok is soooooooo confusing….

The main reason why we were so determined to go there is………..

Ah Min jie jie is here in Bangkok.

We were meeting our neighbors from Ipoh! They came over for a few days for a “honeymoon”. They are so bold, they go around in Bangkok city just by MRT, and they managed to visit a few places as planned! They even visited the Grand Palace on Monday morning, but thank god they are OK.

After having lunch with them, we went shopping. Justin caught the glimpse of his favorite animal in the shopping complex…

Mommy, I found a horse!!! But fake one la…

Gosh, he is so attracted to horses!  But mommy didn’t mind following him along as I was attracted to SKII too. LOL! BTW, there was an audition for Thailand Supermodel at Sofitel, just besides Central. So, we saw so many super tall and pretty girls at the shopping complex too. Oh boy, I felt so short that day.

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