When
Pearly, my second sister, and her daughter, Melanie, decided that they wished
to make another trip to Malaysia, their plans for a trip from UK to Asia was
discussed months ago.
Pearly,
who made a home in the UK, have made numerous trips with and without her family
over the years, to visit us in Johor.
Pearly [Left] with her family in the train
on their visit to the city, Kuala Lumpur
Her
most recent trip was in December 2022 when she travelled alone to witness the book
launch of My Johor Stories 3: Proudly Johor, Then and Now, the final
instalment that completed the trilogy of My Johor Stories books.
As
Pearly considered their travel dates and itinerary, she realized that August
2024 coincided with the 10th wedding anniversary of her son, Jamie,
who married Kimberly in 2014, an event which my siblings and I witnessed in the
UK.
Since
his first visit when Jamie was just an infant of three months old, he visited
us again as a toddler. In their teenage years, we shared time with them on our
visits to the UK but for me, the most memorable adventures we shared was when
he and his sister were here in 2009, for the first time, without their parents.
Pearly [Left] and Melanie [Right] with the
grandkids, Jamieson and Thea
at the hotel pool, Singapore
Their
time with us as young adults gave this Aunty the opportunity to share with
them, some unforgettable experiences in a travel itinerary that peaked at
Gopeng with a wet and wild ride in a white-water rafting adventure on the
Kampar River.
My
sister thought that Jamie and Kimberly’s 10th wedding anniversary
was an excellent milestone for them to embark on an epic trip to Asia and for
the family to make new memories together with relatives and friends here.
Cousins together again: Then and Now,
Jamie holding Amanda with Melanie [Right]
Pearly
then initiated further discussions with her family about the travel plans that
would match with her two grandkids, Thea and Jamieson, aged five and eight.
Over
the next few weeks, they were able to flesh out an itinerary that worked with
arrival and departure through Singapore and destinations that spanned from
Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Gandah, back via Melaka and to Desaru in
Johor.
Once
the flight tickets were booked, they did extensive online research to secure reservations
at destinations, places-of-interest and hotels in locations like Singapore,
Kuala Lumpur and Legoland Malaysia Resort and Pulai Springs Resort in Johor.
Pearly,
who is familiar with the challenges in the border-crossing between Singapore
and Johor Bahru, wisely planned for a brief stay in Singapore for the family to
adjust to the weather changes as this was the first Asian Adventure for her
daughter-in-law and grandkids.
Jamie & Kimberly with Jamieson
and Thea at the Mak's, Singapore
While
they were in Singapore, the family had an itinerary to visit some
places-of-interest like the Aquarium at Sentosa Island and a meet-up with
relatives in the Mak clan.
Since
their retirement, the senior Mak's have been on globe-trotting adventures – from
motorcycle convoys to mountain-climbing – with a recent stopover in London
where Pearly met them in the city.
In
Singapore, the hospitable Mak's had graciously invited Pearly and her family for
a sumptuous feast on local delicacies.
While
their travel date into Johor was right smack within the weekend where Singapore
celebrated her National Day, it was a relieve for everyone that the
border-crossing into Johor went rather smoothly.
It
was much later that I learnt that their delay in arrival in Johor Bahru was in
fact, due to a miscommunication with the transporter who inadvertently, went to
the wrong hotel for their pick-up!
Thea leaving her instructions to my brother
and his wife on the care of Missy Kissy
Over
the years, my sister had stayed in touch with us through regular video chats
and made every effort to let her grandkids get acquainted with their
great-grandmother (our mother!) and grand-aunts (our eldest sister and I!) through
such video chats.
So
when we finally met physically, the experience was not overwhelming for the
kids who had already grown familiar with us via video chats.
The
English kids, who often spend time with their grandmother, have grown up with a
diet of Asian flavours so it was more than encouraging that they were ready to
try new tastes of unfamiliar food and drinks during their epic Asian Adventure.
Durian for dessert; Jamieson pinching his nose!
Prior
to their arrival, my sister had indicated her desire for a taste of durian and
as we were still within the season, I made advance arrangements to satisfy her
longing.
None
of the UK visitors knew that this fragrant fruit, packed in sealed airtight
containers, was chilling in the refrigerator until they were opened and served
for dessert after our dinner.
While
my sister and her daughter eagerly anticipated having another taste of the King
of Fruit, her son politely declined and remained seated at the table but her
grandson, Jamieson, instantly pinched his nose and made a dash for the door…
Ready to head up the Twin Towers
When
the eating started, her son excused himself from the table to be with the kids
while his wife, Kimberly, was a good sport, ready to give durian a try.
At
her first taste of durian, Kimberly found it’s sweet and creamy texture so
agreeable that she went on to have her second seed, followed by a third. After
her fourth seed, she decided that it was enough for her. When she left the
table, we congratulated her for scoring full marks in her first encounter with
durian.
My
sister’s family visit was also a time of reunion with my brother’s family who
graciously hosted their stay in their home both in Johor Bahru and USJ,
Selangor.
In
1995, when my brother and his family visited the UK for a holiday, Jamie and
Melanie had their first meet-up with cousin Amanda. 
Browsing the street market, Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur
While
reminiscing about that trip, someone shared a charming photograph where Jamie
carried baby Amanda in his arms while his sister stood next to them.
When
the three posed together for a current photo memento, we saw that Time had
certainly passed so quickly because the cousins were adults now.
I
took one look at this attempt to create a photo replica – shot to compare Then
and Now – and did not hesitate to ask, “Why isn’t Jamie carrying Amanda in
this current shot?”
Melanie and Jamie with Grand-Aunt Dato Sylvia
When
Jamie heard my question, his spontaneous response was, “Let’s get it done
then!” And they captured a special Then and Now memory for everyone.
Our
time together was also a wonderful opportunity to interact with the grandkids,
a boisterous pair who – by God’s grace – was spared any insect bites or ill
health in their new experiences travelling to various destinations in our
tropical weather.
When
they were packing for the trip, the grandkids were told they could bring along
their favourite books and toys so they each packed their own rucksack with
carefully selected items.
Feeding an elephant at Kuala Gandah, Pahang
It
was a pleasure to meet Missy Kissy, a baby doll belonging to Thea, that looked
surprisingly real and which could exercise bodily functions like drinking and
peeing.
When
the family went for their overnight stay at Legoland Hotel Malaysia, Thea was
advised to leave Missy Kissy at home as there was plenty of Lego to play in the
hotel room.
In
her absence, Thea was responsible to leave specific instructions to my brother
and his wife who were asked to babysit Missy Kissy.
Being 'fed' to a crocodile at Teluk Sengat, Johor
I
was also happy to meet with Jamieson’s pet hamster – which did not move because
the battery had gone flat due to too much activity – but I was more than
pleased when he showed me the illustrated and handwritten adventures of his
legendary hamster.
He
gently warned me that the beginning of his book was sad and it was indeed very
sad because the opening line read something like this: “On the day that I was
born, my parents died…”
As
he unfolded sheets of paper attached together as a ‘book’ I was told that this
book project was on-going and he was working on adding the next episode and the
next.
Close encounter with a lobster!
As
he turned the delicate pages to read with me, he reached the final page of the
first episode that opened up into a large poster of his legendary bulging-muscled
hamster!
I
was delighted that creative writing lives on in young Jamieson and when I
encouraged him to continue with the next exciting episodes – after his holiday
experiences – that feature this hamster enjoying its Asian Adventures, Jamieson
seemed to seriously take my ideas on board …
So
starting from Singapore, the family from UK arrived in Johor Bahru before
heading to Kuala Lumpur where they visited relatives and landmark destinations
like the Petronas Twin Towers.
They
had made advance reservations for a 6pm visit so that they could enjoy an
aerial sunset view of the Kuala Lumpur city skyline.
From
the city, the family headed to Kuala Gandah in Pahang to see elephants at the
Elephant Sanctuary. In a previous visit, my sister and her daughter had the
exciting experience of meeting the gentle giants so they wanted the grandkids
to have a similar experience with the elephants.
Lunch treat: Chicken Rice Balls in Melaka
Their
visit to Kuala Lumpur then continued with a walk through the touristy Petaling
Street to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Malaysian street market.
On
their return drive from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru, the family took a detour
into the historical city of Melaka to visit the landmark A Formosa monument.
While
the weather was fine, the humidity certainly took a toll on the youngsters
whose energy was sapped and waves of lethargy caught up with them. Everyone
welcomed a sit-down lunch and were soon rejuvenated by a meal of chicken rice
balls washed down by refreshing drinks.
This
lunch experience was at SMVKKK Hainanese Chicken Rice, a restaurant owned and
operated by an enterprising Indian proprietor who served a popular Melaka
specialty.
With nephew Jamie and grand-nephew
Jamieson and grand-niece Thea
Back
in Johor Bahru, the family rested and repacked their bags and headed off to
Desaru for a beachfront holiday with a visit to the Crocodile World in Teluk
Sengat and seafood feasts at Sungai Rengit.
Their
stay with us in Johor Bahru continued with a downtown walk to explore heritage
streets with me before packing again to go for another staycation, this time at
Pulai Springs Resort.
The
family, holders of annual passes to Legoland Malaysia Resort, have been back to
the theme park several times to enjoy the rides, the waterpark as well as
SeaLife.
From
feeding elephants to meeting crocodiles, from climbing the Petronas Twin Towers
to building a ginormous castle with moat on Desaru’s sandy beach, my sister’s
grandkids certainly had such a wide range of experiences to jot down in their
holiday dairies along with many new memories made with family and friends here.
All
good things must come to an end – especially on fun holiday trips – and then it
was time for farewells, a long flight and the return to work and school.
It
will take some time for everyone to recover from this eventful and exciting
Asian Adventure and adjust to the daily schedule but we are ever grateful for a
meaningful and memorable time together as a family, especially for the
youngsters to meet their 92-year-old great-grandmother in person.
Farewell at Departure from
Changi Airport, Singapore
P.S.
Meanwhile, Jamieson has declared that he would like to live in Legoland. After
playing the slide on the swimming pool at Mont Kiara where our Aunty Dato
Sylvia lives, he said he would like to stay there for the rest of his holiday.
Then
while enjoying countless rides down the slide at the swimming pool in the Pulai
Springs clubhouse, Jamieson said he would like to work there and shared his
ideas on how he could improve the arrangements for a better pool experience…
P.P.S.
My sister and her daughter extended their stay for a further 10 days to spend
more time with us and to celebrate our mother’s birthday in early September.
Love your writing, Peggy
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