Friday, March 18, 2011

Rained Out @ Pular Ular

Our second day at Lis Na Ree came after a long evening of rain.  I went down to the beach early to see the possibilities of making it out to Pulau Ular on a day-trip as we had done two years ago.

Storm Over Pulau Ular
It didn't look good.  In fact, the clouds were moving quickly towards me from the island beyond which was a black mass indicating rainfall.  A little further to the south, the sun was beginning to poke out from behind the cloud bank that was coming my direction.

Red Sky at Morning, Swimmer Take Warning

As the weather poem states:  Red sky in morning, sailor take warning...., this was a sign that bad weather was to be our day.  Thus, we canceled our island trip for this vacation, and played in the pool instead.

Rain Day

Some Swimmers Were Rained Out, Not Us!

Dripping Eaves







Learning to Snorkle @ Lis Na Ree

In our second vacation at the Lis Na Ree resort in Kampung Sungai Ular, we hosted a Malay family whose children had never snorkeled before.  It was our intent to use the pool for practice, and then head out to Pulau Ular to view tropical fish the next day.  But, we were rained out on the second day as the subsequent post informs.

Pools at Lis Na Ree
Our first visit to Lis Na Ree was on school holidays two years ago (June 2009 post), and we hosted the children of a colleague for an afternoon of swimming.  This time, we convinced a Malay family with three energetic children (ages 8-11) to go along and learn how to snorkel before taking their first snorkeling trip to Pulau Ular.

Fitting the Mask
All three children took to the water confidently and were using the masks and snorkels within minutes.  I had had some apprehension in that many are afraid of putting their faces in the water and breathing through a tube, but these children had no such qualms.

What Can You See?
The father and I spent several hours in the water with the children, part of the time with the snorkel sets and part of the time just throwing an inflated bladder around (rescued from a soccer ball).  The mother, like many, simply sat and watched from the sideline.

Mother Watches
They can certainly appreciate that children and water go together like bread-and-butter, or more likely (in this culture) teh tarik and roti canai!

Where Does The Energy Come From?
And still, at the end of the day, these children still had the energy to go shell-collecting and star-gazing at the beach until late.  So, how does a 20-kilogram package of child create so much energy?

Shell Collecting


Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Warung Mizi : Still THE Place to Eat @ Kampung Sungai Ular

Cuti Sekolah (school break) is upon us this week and that means another trip to Kampung Sungai Ular for a family vacation.  This time we went with a wonderful Malay family whose three children brought energy and excitement along.  Life looks so much more interesting through the eyes of children and that is why we like to bring some along with.  And, of course, a trip to Kampung Sungai Ular means eating at Warung Mizi, the best that KSU has to offer, and which was highlighted before.