Visits: Kidzania

It's been a while since we paid a visit to Kidzania (Mummy needed a looonnnggg break after a few early visits). But with Girl #2 turning 2, we decided it would be fun to bring her there ... never too early to start exploring career options.

Not quite tall enough for over the counter transactions

 

A knee-up from a friendly Kidzania staff

Best activity ever ... despite being under the height limit, she was allowed in with her older siblings and dressed in the cutest oversized lab coat ... and who ever says no to Vitagen!

Brick-laying is a very handy skill

The older kiddos got to do their own thing too

And little one wanted to join in some of their action ... say "Cheese!"

Visits: PD-Seremban Day Trip

It's the school holidays! Yay!

Since we didn't have any big holiday activity planned, we decided to make a day trip down south.

It was a relatively economical, yet activity-packed, much-needed break.

Sand, Sun & Surf

The kiddos wanted some beach time, so we left early in the morning to Port Dickson.

It's been a long while since we've been to a Port Dickson beach. In fact, I don't think the kiddos have ever been.

Based on a friend's recommendation, we packed some buns/pastries and made our way to a stretch of public beach at Tanjung Kemang.

It was a public beach, but we were pleasantly surprised at how clean it was.

We bought some (overpriced) beach toys from the nearby stalls as our own had become too brittle as they were left out in our sandpit.

We got to make use of yet another new picnic mat Mummy bought (Mummy loves picnic mats!), and it was so comfy to lie down and chill as the kiddos played in the sand and sea.

What a sight to start a morning!

Visits: BNM Museum & Art Gallery

A little known treasure in our Central Bank's vault is the Bank Negara Malaysia Museum & Art Gallery at Sasana Kijang.

The Museum gives you fun and interactive lessons on economics, banking and financial planning matters. 

It's air-conditioned with several floors of exhibits, and the kids were kept busy running up and down, looking for special country rubber stamps to mark their "Asean Passport".

Best of all, it's free. Our foreigner friend who was with us kept asking, "Are you sure it's free? This sort of place would be so expensive in my home country!"

There's a special Children's Gallery where you can go through a RM1 million tunnel, be a bank teller of a day and try your hand at special kid-targeted exhibits.

Visits: Lost World of Tambun

We also had free tickets (included in our Banjaran Hotsprings package) to the neighbouring Lost World of Tambun, which is part of the Sunway Group.

It was a very quiet on the weekday, which made for a lovely morning stroll for mummy and daddy (sans kids).

Entrance to the petting zoo from the resort's side

Educational exhibits showcasing Ipoh's tin-mining history

Time to "mendulang"?

Cool breeze through limestone hills

Holidays: Adventure in Surabaya

Baby Boy had a treat by his grandparents, who brought him for a short holiday to Surabaya, Indonesia.

Interestingly, the name Surabaya came from "suro" (shark) and "boyo" (crocodile), two creatures that fought each other in local legend.

One of the highlights was to visit a factory, which is like Disneyland for Baby Boy. There were tractors and forklifts and cranes.

Watching the tractors at work

Getting a personal tour of the plant

And a special ride

Comparing his miniature crane with the real thing

Another highlight was a visit to Sidoarjo, where a "mud volcano" erupted in 2006 (and is still erupting, albeit at a much slower pace). It's also known as "Lapindo", named after the oil and gas exploration company that was deemed responsible for triggering the mud eruption.

Parks: Walking with Elephants

I've heard a lot about the Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary in Pahang but never made my way there. After all, it's in a different state, and I really didn't know what to expect.

Thanks to my friend who made all the arrangements and allowed us to tag along with her family this past school holiday.

It was a pleasant and relatively easy 1.5-hour drive from PJ, mostly down the Karak Highway with a 10-km trunk road to Lanchang. There is a huge sign right after the Kuala Gandah toll so you'd know to turn right.

Nice scenic drive

Hard to miss this

There were several packages available for visitors. If you just wanted to bathe the elephants (the main touristy attraction), it's RM10 per adult, RM5 per kid, plus RM50 for a guide fee (for a group of up to 10 pax).

Since it was our first visit, we decided to take the educational tour package for RM120 (we took 2 packages because of our large troop). This included a guide, a chance to get up close to the baby elephants, food preparation and feeding. The elephant bathing was an optional extra. There were different coloured stickers stuck to our ticket to show what we paid for.

There were several informative exhibits near the reception lobby.

Visit: Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm

We made a trip down south to the little town of Kluang, Johor, with the extended family. Hubby spent many of his growing up years there, so there were plenty of family and friends to catch up with.

We stayed a new hotel, GL Hotel, which is pretty decent. The rooms are quite small, but the family suite was perfect for the kids.

We made the mandatory stop at Barney's for a scrumptious Western dinner. Definitely a must-try when you are in Kluang.
Open daily from 11.30am to 10pm
Address: 5 & 6, Jalan Yayasan, Kluang
Contact: 07-774 4992

The chef showing his chops

We also had another mandatory stop at the original Kluang Station Rail Coffee, located at the railroad station. for its trademarked kaya buns and nasi lemak.

The Kluang-ites in our group also got a chance to experience something new at the Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm (KOREF), which is about a 40-minute drive from our hotel. The sun was hot, but the breeze was so cooling that it was an enjoyable day out.

There were many activities you could try out, such as rafting, water obstacle course, farm tour,  fish feeding, flying fox and water walking ball. There are several packages you can choose from. We paid RM35 per adult and RM25 per kid for 2 water-based activities and lunch.

We spent a lot of time on the rafts!

Floating in the middle of nowhere

Obstacle course fun

Visit: Fire Station

Following Boy #2's obsession with fire engines, we organised 2 trips to the local fire stations at Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur. We wrote in to the stations, requesting permission to visit, and they were more than happy to oblige.

The visit usually begins with a fire safety briefing, from the use of fire extinguishers and how to crawl through smoky conditions.

Kids get to dress up in actual fireman garb, including the hefty fire-resistant jackets, gas masks and fire boots.

The Sri Hartamas is larger and has a fireman's pole the kids can slide down! Kids could ride rounds in the fire engine and climb up its ladder.

The highlight of the visits are usually the water hose time — kids get to play with the hoses and run in the cool spray. Definitely a free and fun-filled educational trip everyone should go for!

Visit: Royal Selangor Visitor Centre

Royal Selangor is one of the renowned international brands that's synonymous with Malaysian handcrafted skill and pride, and its Visitor Centre in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur is a masterful showcase of it all. Unfortunately, most KL-ites would not have been there before, so it's really a hidden gem for both local and foreign visitors.

Record-breaking pewter mug

Admission is free and includes a tour through a museum and the factory. Very educational and eye-opening.

Tin-mining history

Money of old

 

Twin Towers made of stacked pewter ware

Visit: Farm in the City

It's the school holidays! We decided to bring the kiddos and some of their friends down to Sri Kembangan to visit Farm in the City. As the name suggests, it's a farm-cum-petting zoo in the middle of housing estates and shops.

I found the ticket pricing (RM30 for adults; RM25 for kids) a bit on the high side, which was what stopped me from going all these while. We took a promotional family package, which included a teeny-round pony ride — else I wouldn't pay RM7 for that! The animal show was also a little disappointing — the one at the KL Bird Park was much better, I felt.

Other than that, there were quite a lot of interesting activities that kids of all ages would enjoy, so I guess it's worth a trip.

Map of the Farm

Explore a vegetable garden

Feed the animals

Catch fish (or attempt to)

Match the ducks

Visit: Life in the Science Centre

The haze was back. With a vengeance. And school was off for the day.

So we had an impromptu visit to our favourite haunt, the National Science Centre.

This round, there was a special counter with the various life stages of the butterfly, which gave us a good close-up of metamorphosis.

There was also a little petting zoo area. Boys were a bit squeamish with the turtle and budgie, but Girl spent a long time cuddling up with the bunny.

It was a quick pitstop, but a welcome relief from the sandstorm out there. I do wish the NSC would ensure all its exhibits are in good working order. At any time, maybe 30% are faulty, which does mar the experience a little.

Visit: National Science Centre

Our National Science Centre is one of the hidden gems in the Klang Valley. At RM3 per kid (and RM6 per adult), it's definitely one of the best value-for-money places to visit.

In the concourse, you're treated to an eye-catching aquarium, as well as a touch pool.

There is a fascinating science show 3 times a day (mostly conducted in BM, with a smattering of English).