Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah - The Journey

HB is full of surprises. OK... need to rephrase that. He is full of spontaneities which make us surprised or sometimes panicked. Yes, that's more like him ;-) Like when he surprised us with a 2 meter tall pine tree. He was home alone for a weekend (technically was only for like 14 hrs, he was doing daily flights) & bored, visited a nursery & planted that huge tree at our front yard. I was in rage, the girls were thrilled. At that time the tree looked rather out of place. Being the tallest, mounting the other trees which I was familiar with. Now, I begin to enjoy the new make over of my garden by dear HB (hopefully have the time to blog about it). My garden table now is quite shady with the other 2 trees accompanying my surprised tree, a bamboo & a fir.

Right, back to what I was intended to write here. Last Wednesday, HB was supposed to operate a five days trip & scheduled to return on the coming Sunday. However, on Thursday he was informed that his flights on Saturday were all canceled & he was only to operate a single sector evening flight back to KL from Kota Kinabalu (KK). In other words, one & a half off day in KK! What do you reckon he did? Yes, he bought tickets for us to fly to KK.

Of course he did inform me over the phone but I was really not convinced. Such short notice & I doubted he was able to get hold of the tickets. So, when he rang me up on Thursday night telling me to pack things up I was speechless.

I hate packing. Don't mind selecting the attire & all but when it comes to packing itself... ergh! HB has been doing the packing all this while whenever we are holidaying. Glad that I found a big luggage which I could dump almost everything... Nothing at all like what HB stresses "space saving" & "travel light". I even packed myself 3 pairs of shoes! Hahaha!

My ma was concerned over me traveling with 3 girls & a baby. True that we were to join HB's flight at KLIA but from the house to the airport, we were on our own. She insisted to send us off but I refused. It is just a short drive from my house to Putrajaya Sentral. In fact, it is safe to leave the car there. At last, she gave in & there I was together with the girls starting off our journey to KK, first by car to the LRT Station.

Nadeen was in a good mood. Entertained by her sisters' excitement. Singing away & talking endlessly about the trip. I parked my MPV quite near to the elevator. Still we had to make about 50 meters walk. Luckily the weather was on our side. If it rained, it would be a major problem.

I instructed Yasmin to take charge of Nadeen in the stroller. Wardah volunteered with our huge luggage & I did not trust anyone to handle Balqis but me. That girl had a couple of disappearing stunts (you can read here) & I was not going to crack my head with another.

We had to cross a road. Even though it was not a busy road, I did not take a chance. I was the sergeant major controlling my troop. First Yasmin with Nadeen, I was in the middle with Balqis (being at the centre was easier to take control over either Yasmin or Wardah) & finally, Wardah struggling with our red & yellow luggage.

As approaching the elevator & Yasmin was already safe on the pavement, I allowed her to go ahead & wait for me in front of the lift. From far I saw a man (perhaps a security guard who was normally there but this one was not in uniform) leaning against a pillar very near to the elevator. I assumed he was in his dreamland. With one hand hanging on to Balqis, I helped Wardah. Once she was also secured on the pavement I headed towards Yasmin.

Wardah was enjoying herself maneuvering the wheeled luggage. Seeing her approaching I told Yasmin to press the lift button. It immediately opened. Yasmin with Nadeen & Balqis went inside. I was still outside holding on to the button for the lift to remain open. I didn't realise the broken cement right in front of the lift. That slowed down Wardah. She was using almost all her energy pushing the luggage which was really about her size. Remember the man I mentioned earlier? He was less a meter away from the luggage. I was wrong, he wasn't asleep. His wide awaken eyes were actually trailing us without any sense of attention to assist. Not that I couldn't manage but come on, the little girl was only a meter away struggling & he was sitting on his arse with legs stretched.

After Wardah's couple of tries failed, I instructed Yasmin to press the open door button & ran to drag the bag. I was too pissed off to even look at that self-centred thing. Good thing none of the girls realised or I had to start preaching about egocentrism!

We were early by 10 minutes. HB kept calling to check on us. I assured him things were under control. As usual traveling with them 4, I got the attention from the public. Am not sure... were they admiring my adorable girls, impressed with my single parenting or confused over me as the eldest of 5.... ;-O


The girls with our luggage waiting for the LRT to KLIA

While waiting I was sharing a bench with this young man. Looked like a college student to me. As the train approaching, I was again frustrated & disappointed with this Malaysian attitude. He grabbed his small bag which looked almost empty & rushed forward. He was standing right in front of us instead of offering a helping hand. A supermom had to do what she had to do. I secured the luggage first with Wardah helping, next the stroller with Yasmin assisting & of course holding Balqis's hand all the time. We did not have the chance to sit together. Yasmin & Wardah babysat Balqis (was eyeing them all the way) & I was guarding our luggage & stroller with Nadeen still in a joyous mood.

In the LRT


Nadeen seemed to understand & was happy all the time

KLIA was the last stop, so I did not have problem leading my troop out. Headed straight to an MAS counter to check in. That somehow took me about 15 - 20 minutes. The girls were occupied with Nadeen, taking turns pushing the stroller.

Once I was done, Nadeen was crying for me. I knew that she was sleepy. I carried her & let Balqis sit in the stroller instead. Since it was still early I offered them to snack at Burger King. At least with them busy eating I was able to nurse Nadeen. By then HB had touched down from Penang.

At Burger King

HB met us at the waiting hall. He brought the girls in first, leaving me with Nadeen who was sound asleep in the stroller. Wardah requested to sit with Yasmin. I allowed her, since my previous experience before, Balqis was not that difficult to handle.

The trick was to get her occupied. I brought along her activity book & colour pencils.



There was a problem though.... it was this girl.



She got bored. Nobody was playing with her. Sneaked to join the party... and



managed to grab a pencil. Good thing Balqis acted fast.




I fed her instead.



Yasmin & Wardah were seated at a different row. Still I could monitor them from my seat.



Balqis & her dinner. She finished off the pasta cheese all by herself. Big appetite for a small girl. Notice the sunset?



After meal, I found Yasmin & Wardah quietly doing the worksheets they brought along. Their test was in a week time.


This flight to KK was via Labuan. There was a transit of 25 minutes. Here are the girls with the engineer in Labuan, Iswadee who is our supplier to our duty free chocolates ;-) HB buys in bulk through him whenever he flies to Labuan.



Wardah was always in the cockpit whenever allowed. A photo with the co-pilot.



At last, we were in KK. Posing at Kota Kinabalu International Airport.


* to be continued

21 comments:

Salt N Turmeric said...

respect! that cant be easy doing the transfer alone with 4 young kids. kalau kat msia tu susah sikitlah nak harap the men or women to help. sedih kan?

Banshee Creative said...

Kudos to you, Ja!!!! Well done :)

I tell you, people really are so inconsiderate! your girls are blessings and so helpful.

haha My sons got big mouth, will say "Why isn't that man helping, mummy?"
"why don't they wait for you to come out before they go in?" (cos I've been teaching them that's the polite thing to do.

hehee not that it really matters I guess. These people buat tak tau only!

jabishah said...

Hello farina (pardon me if I get the name wrong),
Memang sedih... I bet it is very different in the States. Such terrible attitude. Very inconsiderate!
You take care.

jabishah said...

Hi Lia,
Tx babey. Sometimes I wonder, who to blame? Their parents? What crap would that be if the excuse is simply - wasn't brought up that way. Pleassse! Very selfish. I know, I somehow look like those supermoms... stillllll!
So, moral of the story - if you choose to travel with kids alone, go abroad! ;-)

Banshee Creative said...

:) Yeah, I know what you mean. Just want to smack em around their heads some days.

Ok hun, I've tAGGED you hehe

http://cuddlyfamily.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/yet-another-tag/

Lee said...

Hi Jabishah, hey, nothing wrong with your this page...I masuk terus.
Maybe it is your ISP, or the Blog doing its very often maintenance?
I too on and off experience some hiccups, but always read Blog having the coughing spells.

Okay, I think your blog healthy again.
Jabishah, your blog postings, your beautiful pics of your 4 lovely children always never fail to warm me, and I always smile when read your lively posting. Love your humour too.

And you travelling with three young girls and a baby....and we have friends here, only one kid, 2 years old and refuse to fly, always saying, "aiyaaa, so troublesome la, he/she sure to make a fuss etc".

Jabishah, you one heck of a mom. And your hubby...he sure one very lucky and fortunate man to have 5 lovely, gorgeous girls to love and care for.
From what I read he is a wonderful gentleman...and Jabishah, I hope one day should I balek kampong, to meet you and him and your beautiful daughters.

That Pine tree he planted is his love for you, and the home he loves...jangan lupa to water it daily.

Jabishah, do me a favour...tolong ask your hubby whether he knows or have heard of a pilot named, "Tengku Shamsul', (I think, hope its the right spelling, ha ha)...but by now obviously retired.
He and me were good friends back in London in the 60's...met at Malaysia Hall, Bryanston Square...
Never forgotten he and me walking back from Picadilly Circus all the way to Malaysia Hall when we missed the last Tube, ha ha.

Best regards to all of you, have a great weekend, a big hug to cute Nadeen, Lee.

Lee said...

Hi Jabishah, saya lupa...regret to read of the 2 guys who turned a blind eye to your needing some assistance.
If I was around.....ha ha. Lee.

jabishah said...

Hey Lia,
OK.. will cx out what you tagged on. Now who am I to tag? Hmmmm.. can double tag ah? ;-)
Enjoy ur wkend!

jabishah said...

Hi Uncle,
I still have problem to access my official URL. If you notice, my 1st comment to you was using blogger account (the one unpublished) but the 2nd comment which you were able to masuk, I did not use blogger acc but typed my id & copy/paste my aug archive. Still sakit lah my blog. In fact some friends have started calling to require abt it.
N'way, thank you for your compliments on my girls. I have to admit, they are gorgeous.. it runs in the family. Hahaha!
Yes, it's true what you said abt the pine tree. I will definitely cherish & care for it.
HB has heard of your friend but doesn't know him. If they both were to fly together, that'd be in jumbo. He never did fly jumbo before. He was in the A330 fleet when offered for command. Was only 26 then. Been 8 yrs now in narrow body. Tiring for him I know... But what to do, based on seniority, he is a juniour. Once all of his seniors are secured in wide body then only, he'd be offered.
Take care now.

ps- yes, how I wish you were there... ;-)

Lee said...

Hi Jabishah, okay, have done re your 2 request. Ha ha.
I'm in again...you know, as I have no problemos penetrating all the blogs of my readers...I think it is your side....
Try signing out and get in again. Do you have problems with your email site? Other sites?

But, go to Blog and inform them your problem...
Do you have anti-virus security protection in your pc.
I think...only thinking...maybe it can be a virus or malicious cookies, that is slowing or preventing you to get in.

Most people don't know, but by earning money via all those adverts in their blogs...they are actually giving access to advertisers to masuk all the blogs they visit...and cookies will follow, hide in our computers and track our every movement.

My Apple has very good immigration control, ha ha, so I have no worries.....but let me know what security you have...as some cookies are malicious.

Thank you for info re the Tengku...I guess he now my age, retired.
Last heard long ago he was in Jumbos.
He was horribly handsome, very tall, very fair, real ladykiller looks too....infact we were fooling around with a few Malay girls...semua tiga girls gila dia la...and this buaya da la no chance, arhaaa ha ha. He big rascal too.
Oh well, the good old day.
Get back to me re your blog hiccups. Lee.

Yatie_T said...

Jabishah,
finally I got into your blog. Sheesh... so susah nak cari jalan ke rumah you lah! A lot of Bloggers are having the same problem. You have to report it here https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pDGYK68-cO4sA0J2wa9fYBQ

Back to your original post, your girls are great kids. Dah lah jadi anak yang baik..... comel pulak tu! Bakal menantu you banyak untunglah. hahaha

10 years ago there's still some of the men that will help u when they see you're struggling with your stuff or give you their seat to mother with child/pregnant lady, etc. I guess it all change now and the worst thing is when people starts blaming the parents. :(

Salute to Jabishah for handling this trip very well. :)

Anonymous said...

hello U.Lee, jemir here. honestly, i don't know him (tengku shamsul) personally but i've heard of him quite a number of times tho. like ja mentioned, we were never in the same fleet so, that means we're never in the same 'time zone', i.e. i fly mostly during the days and he at night, vice versa... BTW, for ur info, he has a 'Datukship" supersedes him. not sure when he got it. the cabin crew always had problem to announce his name inflight...datuk captain tengku shamsul? captain datuk tengku shamsul? etc etc etc...LOL. kinda difficult to have too many titles, huh? he would still be flying if he's under 60, retired otherwise. ok, take care..!!

Waterlily said...

Hi Ja

I was just replying to your comment in my blog...and I did ask what happened to your blog? Tengah pasang tol ke?..heh heh..

Anyway - I understand what you went through "commanding your troop" single handedly from your house to KLIA. Bunyi senang, tapi tricky woo... Girls are normally more matured and responsible that boys...I have 2 boys and one young daughter. Berpeluh I tell you nak jaga dia orang nih..

My time will come this 15th, when I have to fly back to Abu Dhabi...

Yatie_T said...

Jabishah,
I can access your front page with no trouble at all. I think the problem is fix. :)

Have a great weekend!

Fadhil said...

You're one strong lady to be able to handle all 4 daughters on your own.

Sorry to read about the the lousy guy who refused to help. A real gentleman is sort of endangered species these days.

So, apa yg dibeli kat pasar Filipina tu? ;-)

jabishah said...

Hi Uncle,
Tx a lot for your help. To answer your question I use AVG for anti-virus. Heard of it? Do you think it is reliable? But my blog is OK now. Yatie sent me the URL that I should report. Thanks both of you for your trouble! Friends like you don't grow on trees ...;-)
Take care.

jabishah said...

Hello yatie,
Thank you so much for the trouble. Pandai you cari jln pergi rumah I... Terror! Im saving the URL for later. Manalah tau I can also assist other bloggers.
Well, thanks for the salute.. ;-) I punya troop tu pun tak pernah salute I. Hehehe! But, hv to be frank... I am very firm in parenting. Garang pun ye jgk. That's why senang to control them. I chose to play the dirty job. Coz as their mom, garang mcm mana pun they never fail to apologize, hug & kiss their mama.

jabishah said...

Hello Waterlily,
Now I know your real name. Met Eileen last night... hehehe.
I had problem with my blog recently yes. Now it has been fixed. By blogger I assume after I sent a report.
True, girls are way easier to handle. My 2 elder girls are 9 & 7. Dah boleh harap tolong babysit their sisters. I can imagine you with your youngsters. Esp ur 2nd & 3rd. Those years of attempting to break free. Did you read abt my 3rd girl disappearing act at MOE? Mmg spoil shopping mood mama dia...
All the best on the 15th ;-)

jabishah said...

Hello Oldstock,
Thanks. A supermom had to do what she had to do... ;-) But true you said abt the endangered species. In Malaysia alone I assume ;-)
Hehehe... adalah shopping skt2. Will update in my next post, I hope. At the moment, sort of busy with the elder girls. Test coming up next week...
Have a good Monday.

Anonymous said...

Ja, u r one superwoman!! I wldnt dare do what u did. Really enjoyed seeing the lovely pics. So geram seeing Nadeen!

jabishah said...

hi a&a's mom,
hehehe.. tx but hey I'm not the only supermom around. with the Malaysian attitude that I highlighted, lots of Malaysian moms are indeed supermoms! ;-)