Sentosa - Songs of the Sea

3X says "Dah penat jalan raya, sekarang the kids tengah sibuk spend duit raya, semua dia orang nak beli, macamlah duit raya tu beribu dollars. Beli mainan, beli makan.... beli High School Musical magazine, beli remote control car... asyik nak shopping aje.

Anyway, today we went to Sentosa, for a picnic and swim and then, at 8:40pm we went to watch the Songs of the Sea (click here to read) Normally I don't have the habit of promoting anything SG, but the show was really "WOW!". Real quality and worth the $6 (per person) that we paid for. Heck, even if it costs $20 I would say it's still value for money, and I'm not a person who is easily impressed.

Basically its a show by the beach, with a kampung house settings, and a huge water projection against the backdrop. With lots of pyrotechnics - like balls of fire, water, lasers and even fireworks at the end.




The pictures doesn't do justice, you have to be there for the spectacular sights and sounds of the show. We've never seen such a grand show, and its only for $6. So if you have the time, go there for a swim during the day, and stay for the show at night. There's only 2 slots, 7:30pm and 8:40pm.

Sentosa Siloso Beach
The girls soaking the water at the Merlion fountain

Third Day Hari Raya - Kuantan

Iman says "Hari Ketiga raya, pagi-pagi kita dah ke Kuantan. Kita tahun ni raya kat sana, pasal Aki dan Wan kat rumah Mak Long, yang akan melahirkan anak pada raya ni. Kita duduk kat situ sampai hari Rabu. Sempat jugak kita pergi Air Terjun, dengan sepupu kita Mubarak, dia seronok dan kelakar. Nadhirah asyik berkepit aje dengan dia. Selepas kita pulang dari Kuantan hari Rabu, Mak Long dah selamat melahirkan anak-nya yang ke lima. Alhamdullilah."

Second Day Hari Raya

Iman says "Hari kedua, Maya dan Mus pagi-pagi dah kat rumah kita nak pergi beraya sama. Kita orang pulak baru bangun tidur hehehe... Kita seronok mereka dapat join kita sekali untuk collection raya, so dapat jugak dia orang rasa macam mana kita selalu-nya celebrate. Kita tak sarapan pun kat rumah, terus pergi rumah Mak Ngah, so kita dapat makan dulu... hehehe"

Nadhirah says "Bermacam-macam rumah kita pergi, dan tahun ni meriah sungguh, pasal ramai join convoy, dan semua rumah ada orang, so takdelah rumah kosong. Makanan yang disajikan pulak, foooyooh semua ada! Dari ketupat -lontong - roti kirai - kekenyangan betul."

Juliana says "Last rumah kat Punggol, rumah kak Eti, by that time dah nak dekat pukul 11 malam, dan kita dapat main fireworks lagi. Seronok betul kita orang semua. Maya dan Mus gembira betul dapat jalan-jalan dengan kita, kita suka dapat kasi mereka happy sama. Terimakasih semua yang menjemput dan menjamu kami pada hari itu."

Selamat Hari Raya 2007 - First Day

Iman says "Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf zahir dan batin. Anyway tahun ni kita orang Hari Raya kat Singapore, dan nak tahu tak apa kita makan pagi Raya tu.... McDonald breakfast - delivery... hahaha. Maklumlah mana nak cari ketupat atau rendang, so talipon aje McDonald, perut dah lapar. Abah dan Iman pergi sembahyang Raya kat basketball court di block 856."

Nadhirah says "Tahun ni kita raya dengan Dusty, dia pun over-excited jugak. Dia kan asyik mengacau aje Abah dengan Mama bila dia orang tengah kemas rumah. Kelakar seh... Bila kita orang angkat barang dia pun ikut kita ke sana-sini. Bila Mama nak taruk langsir, dia pulak yang buat main langsir tu, sampai terjatuh-jatuh... hahaha. Seronok sangatlah dia ni."

Juliana says "Kita sampai kat rumah tok pukul 10 pagi. First to arrive, maklumlah, takde sedara lain kat sini, Mama punya side semua kat Malaysia, so Abah punya side ajelah kita beraya untuk hari pertama. Anyway bagus jugak kita sampai dulu, so Abah boleh test semua makanan, nak tahu something, sebelum orang sampai dia dah test makanan 3 kali... hehehe. Pada malam hari pula, kita orang main mercun. Tapi tak boleh cerita banyaklah... Bedentum!!!"

...and then there are those...

3X says "While we wait anxiously for Hari Raya, and thinking how we would celebrate with our close family and friends, anticipating laughter and joy, happiness and celebration.... there are those...

A few months ago, one of my close friend, Zul, same age as me passed away after battling with his throat cancer (ironically he never smoked in his life). My last conversation I had with him, was on the phone, and his voice was barely recognizable, and he ask me how I am, and asks for forgiveness. I knew he was struggling with the disease, and I thought I would still have time to visit him. I couldn't make it.... He leave behind his wife and a son of primary six.

A Makcik, at one of the stall in my college, was crying one day while cooking, earlier this year. She was clearly distraught and sad, as her daughter-in-law died of stomache cancer, diagnosed as soon as she gave birth to her only daughter. Makcik was sad for her menantu, but she was crying thinking about her son, who kept staring at his wife's clothes, eversince his wife's demise.

In our neighborhood, there's a mother and 3 children, who earn their living, collecting tin cans and cardboard boxes. She would bring them everywhere, and even sat at the void deck till midnight, folding boxes they had collected throughout the day. Eventually, the residents here reported them to Children's welfare services, and her 3 children was taken into custody. Nowadays, we see her alone roaming, still collecting tin cans.

Then there are those, who lost their father to the gallows, for a crime he had committed. Their mother, who is now the soul breadwinner, is even thinking of voluntarily surrendering them to the children's welfare, as she has obviously, was at a lost on how to take care of them. But as my boy wrote in his diary, we love them too, and we constantly on the look out for them.

So as we think and worry about what new clothes to buy for ourselves and our children, what colour to paint our house, and what kueh to buy and put on our table... there are those who have to make do with what they have left in their family.

So let's pray for their happiness during this holy month, and hope they, especially the children, will still be able to smile on that day.

"Ya Allah, ya tuhan ku, Kami bershukur atas perlindungan daripada mu dan kami bershukur atas pemberian mu dan kesihatan yang kau berikan kepada kami.

Lindungi mereka, terutama kanak-kanak yang sudah kehilangan atau terpisah dari ibu atau bapa mereka. Kami memohon agar mereka bahagia, sebagaimana kamu telah berikan kami nikmat hidup berkeluarga kepada kami. Berikan mereka kekuatan menghadapi dugaan dan ujian daripada mu.

Ya Allah, tuhan segala alam, sesungguh-nya Kau yang memberi dan Kau mengambil balik. Amin"

Ramadhan Rocks!

Who says we can't have fun while fasting in Ramadhan!
We had lots of fun! Ramadhan Rocks!

Iman says "Hi kengkawan, Kita sampai sekarang belum buang puasa tau, so lagi berapa hari aje dah nak dekat Raya, so Insya'Allah kita akan puasa complete tahun ini! Alhamdullilah! Tahun ni pulak kita ada kawan, Maya dan Mus, so kita bersahur sama-sama dan buka sama-sama, seronok bila kita beribadat sama-sama."



Juliana says "Kita orang ni kalau bulan Puasa, kita tak suka duduk rumah. Masa jalan slow sangat, nanti asyik tengok jam aje, kira pukul brapa nak buka. So kita jalan-jalan pergi Jurong Point, Vivocity, Whizz Kidz kat Courts, Ikea, Giant, Punggol Beach... tup tup dah masa nak buka."


Nadhirah says "Bila kita berbuka puasa pun kita suka bertukar-tukar tempat. Kita berbuka di McDonalds, Bedok Corner, Chua Chu Kang Park, Bazaar Causeway Point, rumah Bibik dan rumah Kak Yan..."

Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya
Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Our house guest.

Sumayyah and Juliana, breaking fast at McDonalds

Mustafa (Maya's brother) is Primary 4, with Iman

Sumayyah and Mustafa is our guest for this week. They staying at our house this week, as their mother had to make an emergency trip to Indonesia.

We bunk together in our bedroom.