As my in-laws aren’t getting any younger, they have summoned us to fly back home to visit them every school holiday from here on so they can spend time with their beloved rascals. We have no choice but to oblige and besides, it usually gives me a good break despite the additional 3 kilos!

The one gripe I have about Kota Bharu is that it’s so frigging hot. Even with all the air-conditioning and fans on, I’m still melting; so you can imagine how drenched we all get when we go on our many road trips – to the beach, to another beach, to the Thai border, to the farm, to the temples etc.

HOTTTTTT!!!!!!

The girls have an awesome time every time we go home and it’s amazing how suddenly, we don’t watch an ounce of TV, there is no DSi nor iPad, nor any electronic gadget in the world in Kota Bharu; yet they are simply………….happier!!! Does this mean I can get rid of our TV at home? Hmmm……food for thought. Because I’ve noticed that they really become more creative and have tons of fun just playing with simple things, like leaves, fly swatters and sand. Back to basics. Try it, Moms. Try it!! I highly recommend it. Boycott commercial toys!!!

Here are some of what the monkeys got up to in Kota Bharu:

T2 got to play with water a lot and watered the plants every day. It is every 2 year old’s dream to be given a free hand with water and a pouring device.

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They also played soccer every evening in the garden. After T2 got bored of always missing the ball, she’d start running round and round the trees (Indian blood surfacing again). I kid you not. She did 32 rounds (I counted!) one evening and enjoyed herself tremendously, just by running round and round the plants and trees. And she did it with a look of glee in her eyes, laughing all the way. See? Simple pleasures. And us, the adults?

We just absorbed the moment of it all – the joy of our kids playing happily…..

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Kong-Kong brought the girls to buy new bicycles (T2’s first). The woman spent half an hour trying out every tricycle in the store but kept coming back to this hideous looking pink and blue tricycle!!! ARGH!!! It’s so UGLY!!! I kept persuading her to like one of the cooler black ones or red even. I don’t mind her having a pretty pink tricycle, but not this UGLY one!!! I think she liked it because of the baskets in front and behind. And the fact that she spent SO LONG whilst we all waited bored out of our minds whilst she kept pointing to bicycles and saying she wanted to try them, tells me that she is a discerning shopper. Kind of like how I spent an hour in Chanel – huhuhu…..

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The kids got to draw on sand with twigs picked up from the many beach visits we made…..

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I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but every time we go to the beach, it’s always EMPTY!!! It’s almost like we own the entire beach! The arrow pointing above is how far T1 and Amah walked away from the rest of us and you shall see later what they brought back from their expedition.

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A rotting CHAIR!!! The girl was crazy enough to carry this chair ALL THE WAY BACK that distance for Kong-Kong, so Kong-Kong could sit down since he was an old man……

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But really, who ends up sitting on it???

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Kong-Kong picked up a coconut so T2 could play with it – A Gentle Introduction to Kampung Life 101

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One day I found T1 drawing on the stair landing. The house is massive and there are many tables and chairs but she chooses to lie down on the floor to draw. And not just any floor, it has to be the floor of the staircase landing.

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Every time we went out, T2 would con her Amah into buying her some RUBBISH, complete junk. Nothing of which was safe to consume, so she just played with its packaging.

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The girls continued their BONDING in Kota Bharu amidst the heat(ed rows).

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T2 test-driving her new ugly tricycle in Kong-Kong’s garden.

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T1 was out cycling first thing every morning at 8am whilst the rest of us snoozed away still in bed. That’s how excited she was after learning how to cycle without training wheels!

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We took tons of photos and I regretted forgetting the DSLR because Kong-Kong’s garden really warrants a DSLR.

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We celebrated Amah’s Birthday!!! Just us…..we had gone out to buy Amah a cake (amazing options in Kota Bharu, not) and T1 chose it and said it was a surprise but kept telling Amah when we got home that she was not allowed to open the fridge. I just love the innocence.

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The girls played happily together – here, sorting animals and their habitat cards – T2 can match the Mummy animal to the Baby animal, but not their habitat. Yet.

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T2 got to observe a live hermit crab…..

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We had a lot of fun! Happy Days!

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I’ve already told T1 that we can only go to Kota Bharu during Raya IF she promises to be a good girl every day. Flights to KB are not cheap. And she offered to pay for them. One day, girl…..one day.

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