Exploring the Island

This is the first time we travelled to a foreign country with a baby, but Indonesia is anything but foreign to us. 

I have Javanese roots from my ancestors and majority of the locals in Gili Trawangan would speak Malay when they knew we were from Malaysia.

Morning prayers is quite early, starting at 4.50am, finishing at 6.40 am, we woke the children up at 5.30am.

After prayers, the boys & me being wide awake, we went for a mourning stroll to watch the sunrise. The girls & daddy went back to bed.

The hotel area at dawn

There is a unique sense of calmness in the early morning , when everything is quiet. The sunrise is beautiful and the ocean was solemn. Umar recited his Quran memorization while playing with the sand. Uwais drank the scenery like a professional photographer, storing the memories somewhere special in his heart

The pier in front of the hotel

The lobby. These bikes are for hire 

The main pool & the restaurant beside it is the one that serves breakfast

The map of Lombok 

Creating some "core memories" I hope

My 7 years old boy took this shot. Nicely done, I must say

At 8am, the girls woke up & we went for the buffet breakfast at the hotel. Vila Ombak Hotel is a halal certified hotel so all food are halal and no pork served. The food variety is good and the restaurant being next to the hotel pool is a plus, where I could feed my baby his breakfast while having a stroll by the pool side.

Next stop?  Splash time! The water was warm and the biggest pool provided steps around it , so it was children friendly despite being about 1.5m deep. Even Uwais had fun in his floater. However it is not advisable to leave the children unattended albeit the pool being kids friendly

Uwais having a swim

Lunch was a bit of a challenge. After mid day prayers, we wanted to walk around to look for lunch. Unfortunately it was a bit too hot to do so, and a lot of the restaurants around the hotel were not halal. To cater for non Muslims tourist,they serve pork alongside halal chicken ,so we decided to find a truly halal restaurant. As the kids were famished from swimming earlier & their ice cream all melted and sticky in their hands, we took the cidomo or the horse carriage to a nearby halal restaurant.

The cidomo ride was quite expensive, for Rp 100,000 (about RM30) per ride of 1-2km. But believe me or not, it is worth it as the kids enjoy the ride so much!

Pics of the cidomo from Google

Our lunch was at a restaurant called Oda Cafe, it is situated near the public harbour . The food was decent (a bit too much MSG to my liking ) but cheap at Rp120,000 (RM40) for the 5 of us.

After lunch, we had a quick stop at the turtle aquarium in front of the cafe, before returning to our hotel by cidomo (which costed another Rp100,000).

Turtle Sanctuary

Afternoon was for us relaxing ,the boys and I had an afternoon nap while the girls played at a nearby hammock & chess set with the daddy.

Just before sunset, we took a cidomo ride to the sunset beach to watch the sunset and take photo at the famous swing set. The cidomo ride was rough as there were no proper road, I wouldn't recommend the ride for pregnant tourist. This cidomo ride is longer,about 4km from our hotel,towards the other side of the Island

It was quite cloudy but the beach was as picturesque as described by people who have been there. What surprised me was that the sea was shallow for about 1km from the beach so people could actually "walk" on water!

The famous swings at Ombak Sunset

After night prayers at the hotel, we decided to have dinner at the hotel , as the baby was tired & cranky. It was a seafood BBQ dinner,with free buffet for every purchase of fresh seafood.

We had squid, fish and prawns, and it costed us Rp575,000 (about RM190) for buffet of 2 adult & 3 kids. The ambiance of candle light dinner by the sea , listening to the waves while having fresh seafood grilled to perfection, without having to walk around other restaurants and asking if food  were halal , it was priceless indeed.

The lil guy is cranky!

Candle lit dinner

Freshly grilled

The night life in Gili Trawangan

Having been traveling with 4 kids, as contrast to our previous holidays where it was just the two of us, I realised I haven't actually took a photo of hubby & me.

So this is the only selfie of the two of us,before we called it a night

I'm crazy about this guy, but shhhh... don't tell him :) 

Gili Trawangan

Gili Trawangan from the front of our hotel, Vila Ombak

I think the name called out my name a few years ago. More than Lombok itself, Gili Trawangan is in a league of its own.

After visiting Bali in 2014, people keep telling me, that if I love Bali, I would love Lombok even more

2015 is the year I was busy being pregnant

2016 : The year of me being a super paranoid mom in protecting my premature baby.

Till the end of 2016 when we went to Kuantan for school holiday, and it made me realised that my baby is old enough to travel

Gili Trawangan it is then!

I booked the holiday package during Matta Fair at a random booth I selected. They offered half board arrangements with free upgrade to deluxe rooms , so I took it. It costed about RM4000+ for ground arrangements, hotels, food, boat fares etc.

The package from the company WSF Travel and Tour

Perhaps you can get cheaper deals elsewhere , or if you travel on your own but I am a tourist with a tourist attitude in mind haha! I'd rather have people greet us at arrival & wave us goodbye at departure hall, so holiday packages  suites me well.

I booked the ticket quite late,but I have been surveying the tickets for quite some time ,and they are quite reasonable . Costed me about RM4000 for 2 adults, 3 kids, 1 infant, 5 luggage of 20kg and 5 meals included. Knowing my kids, you can have lunch half an hour before boarding & the minute the Air Asia stewardess push that darn cart with nasi lemak, they are going to whine as if they have been fasting for 3 days!

I'd rather take Malaysia Airlines as they give priority boarding for passengers with small kids but as Air Asia is the cheapest option, we'd settle .

The flight took 3 hours, luckily my baby slept half an hour after take off & only woke up half an hour before arrival. The bad news was he was latching all the time so I had to hold him for 2 hours straight ,but the good news is I'm pretty sure I built some serious biceps during the flight

One of those rare moments that the baby is not attached physically to me hahahah

The Lombok International airport is small with a single luggage belt, but it's convenient enough with a prayer room & few shops around.

Our "supir"or driver cum tourist guide greeted us just outside the terminal.

The first leg of the journey is about an hour drive through picturesque villages and paddy fields , toward the restaurant where they served traditional Lombok chicken and fried fish. 

The restaurant was so peaceful with the sound of Quran recitation  from a nearby mosque .

The food? My husband nearly had to drag me back into the car. I refused to leave a single morsel of food because I thought my life would never be the same again now that I have tasted REAL Lombok food!

The famous Ayam Taliwang of Lombok. 5 star!

Lombok is also known as the island with a thousand mosque as it has a lot of mosques,one in every village. With 80 % of the population being Muslims,you can rest assured that halal food is not a problem , and finding a place to pray is easy as finding a bottle of mineral water. So no excuse to pray on time!

From the restaurant,it took us 45 minutes through windy roads in the midst of high,forested roads, to reach the harbour. We reached the harbour at nearly 8pm, and we could see lights on the three Gili Islands across the open sea.

The lights on Gili Trawangan Island from across the channel

A small speed boat took us towards Gili Trawangan and the 10 minutes journey was one of those life changing moments of your life. As the boat sped towards Gili, the stars was shining brightly and I swear that was the most magical, the most astoundingly beautiful starry night I have ever witnessed in my entire life. Subhanallah you cannot help but praising Allah the Creator of such wonderful creations . Even my baby was quiet during the journey, as if he knew how I felt inside.

As the boat slowed down towards the jetty,I was surprised to see how lovely and lively Gili Trawangan is.The hotel was gorgeous and the staffs treated you like you are a  royalty!

We got a free upgrade from a superior room to a deluxe ombak villa, so we had 1 king size & 1 queen size bed.

Spacious room for our family, Alhamdulillah 

The bathroom had an open concept so it was nice and breezy. Quick showers, soothing tea as welcome drinks and night prayers done, all 6 of us then snoozed at a drop of a hat!

Apa di dalam hati?

Suatu hari seorang lelaki kaya memberikan sebuah bakul berisi makanan yang sudah basi kepada seorang fakir.

Lelaki fakir itu tersenyum, kemudian berlalu meninggalkan rumah mewah dengan membawa bakul berisi makanan basi itu. Sesampai di tempatnya, dia kosongkan bakul dari isinya dan dia bersihkan. Setelah itu dia isi dengan bunga yang cantik lalu dia kembali ke rumah mewah itu.

Dia memberikan bakul yang sudah berisi bunga itu kepada lelaki kaya tadi.

Orang kaya itu hairan....

"Aku beri kamu bakul berisi makanan yang sudah basi tetapi mengapa kamu mengembalikannya berisi bunga?"

Lelaki fakir menjawab:

"Setiap orang memberikan apa yang ada di dalam hatinya".

Semoga bermanfaat..

#copypaste 

#sharingiscaring 

#selfreminder

Khatam Quran, tanam pokok & simpan harta dalam JEM

Hujan pagi ini hadiah dari Allah, utk memberi minum kpd tumbuh-tumbuhan , haiwan & manusia, 

menghilangkan kepanasan bumi kita, 

membersihkan jerebu yang menyesakkan dada

Jalan jem di sini sana, 

teringat punch card yang bakal merah bertanda, 

Mesyuarat menanti tetapi akan lewat tiba, 

Rasa stress dan risau boss sampai dulu pula 😰

Satu sahaja penawar penenang jiwa, 

💕Sabarlah ... 

💕Syukurlah ...

💕Redhalah ....

💗Ingatlah Allah...

🙂 Pergi kerja awal dengan niat tiba pada masanya : pahala 

🙂 Tersangkut dalam kesesakan tetapi hati redha: pahala 

🙂 Gunakan masa terluang untuk zikir padaNya : pahala 

🙂 Berniat pergi kerja untuk 

- mendapat redha Allah : PAHALA 

- mencari nafkah yang halal : PAHALA 

- menabur bakti berkongsi ilmu pada yang memerlukannya : PAHALA

- membantu pesakit yang perlu rawatan : PAHALA 

Subhanallah ...

Perbanyakkan niat dan amalan yang baik, 

in shaa Allah setiap detik di kira pahala 

BAGAIMANA NAK KHATAM QURAN, TANAM POKOK & SIMPAN HARTA SEMASA JEM? 🤔

🌸3 X Surah Al-Ikhlas = pahala membaca seluruh Al-Quran 📖🌸

HADITH YANG MENJELASKAN SURAT AL IKHLAS SEBANDING DENGAN SEPERTIGA AL QUR`AN

Hadith Abu Sa’id al Khudri Radhiyallahu ‘anhu, ia berkata:

أَنَّ رَجُلاً سَمِعَ رَجُلاً يَقْرَأُ: قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ يُرَدِّدُهَا، فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحَ جَاءَ إِلَى رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ، فَذَكَرَ ذَلِكَ لَهُ، وَكَأَنَّ الرَّجُلَ يَتَقَالُّهَا، فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ : ((وَالَّذِيْ نَفْسِيْ بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّهَا لَتَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ القُرْآنِ.

“Sesungguhnya seseorang mendengar orang lain membaca قُلْ هُوَ اللهُ أَحَدٌ dengan mengulang-ulangnya, maka tatkala pagi harinya, ia mendatangi Rasulullah n dan menceritakan hal itu kepadanya, dan seolah-olah orang itu menganggap remeh surat itu, maka bersabdalah Rasulullah Shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam : “Demi Dzat yang jiwaku berada di tanganNya, sesungguhnya surat itu sebanding dengan sepertiga al Quran ( HR al Bukhari, 4/1915 no. 4726, 6/2449 no. 6267, 6/2685 no. 6939; Abu Dawud)

🌸Subhanallah walhamdulillah walaailahaillallah Allahu Akbar = ganjaran pokok di syurga 🌲🌳🌸

HADITH KELEBIHAN ZIKIR SUBHANALLAH WALHAMDULILLAH WALAAILAAHAILLALLAH ALLAHU AKBAR 

Dari Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu 'Anhu, bahwasanya Rasulullah Shallallahu 'Alaihi Wasallam pernah melewatinya saat sedang menanam pohon. Kemudian beliau bersabda, wahai Abu Hurairah, apa yang kamu tanam? Aku menjawab: "Tanaman milikku." Beliau bersabda:

أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى غِرَاسٍ خَيْرٍ لَكَ مِنْ هَذَا قَالَ بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ يُغْرَسْ لَكَ بِكُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ شَجَرَةٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ

"Apakah kamu mau kuberitahukan tentang tanaman yang bagimu akan lebih baik dari tanaman ini?"

Abu Hurairah menjawab; "Tentu wahai Rasulullah!." Beliau bersabda: "Ucapkanlah olehmu Subhaanallaah Walhamdulillaah Walaa Ilaaha Illallaah Wallaahu Akbar. Maka setiap bacaan tersebut akan menumbuhkan satu pohon di surga bagimu." (HR. Ibnu Majah dan dishahihkan Syaikh Al-Albani)

🌸Laa hawlawalaa quwwatailla billah = ganjaran gedung harta di syurga 💰💰💰🌸

HADITH KELEBIHAN ZIKIR LAAHAWLAWALAA QUWWATAILLA BILLAH 

Dari Abu Musa al-Asy’ari r.a., katanya: “Rasulullah sa..w. bersabda kepadaku: “Tidakkah engkau suka kalau saya tunjukkan kepadamu pada sesuatu gedung simpanan dari beberapa gedung simpanan syurga?” 

Saya -Abu Musa- berkata: “Baiklah, ya Rasulullah.” Beliau s.a.w. lalu bersabda: “Iaitu ucapan: La haula wala quwwata illa billah -Tiada daya dan tiada kekuatan pertolongan Allah.” (Muttafaq ‘alaih)

☺️😄😌

31 Ogos, 9 tahun lalu...

31 Ogos yang paling di ingati adalah 9 tahun lalu 

Malaysia sambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 50, bunga api meriah sana sini, kami di bahagian Kecemasan Hospital Muar bawa Dina yg berusia 11 hari yg kembung perut & muntah teruk hingga doktor suspect intestinal obstruction. Dina dipuasakan selama lebih sehari, sayu sungguh hati mendengar tangisan dan jeritan dia yang rindu susu Ummi . Ummi pun asyik menangis walaupun dalam pantang 😭

Alhamdulillah rupanya ada meconium yang tersekat. Selepas puasa, semua simptom hilang. 

Selama Dina puasa tu, IV drip yang diberi mengandungi glucose. Dalam masa 2 hari, tembam jadinya Dina 😅 sampai skrg juga beringat kalau nak makan manis-manis 

Alhamdulillah sekarang Dina membesar dgn sihat. Dah umur 9 tahun & wajah seiras copy paste Ummi 😁 Minat baking, swimming & mkn sushi sama macam Ummi 😘🍣

Alhamdulillah... 

Bad mother vs good mother

Must tell this to ourselves as mothers, we ARE NOT BAD MOTHERS if 

✅ we don't cook every single day for our children 

✅ we let our kids eat fast food once in a while 

✅ our kids' school uniforms are not entirely spotless 

✅ we forget our kids' school projects once in a while (I even forgot to fetch my baby once from the babysitter, after a very long day 😖) 

✅ we lost our patience and yell 

✅ we want to buy a nice dress we don't need with our salary (because you're worth it!) 

✅ we want to spend RM300 on a spa session once a month (to restore our sanity) 

✅ we want to go to sleep at 9pm 

✅ we have a maid 

So other people might have a different opinion. 

Let them be (i.e screw 'em) 

They are not paying any of our bills 😏

Yours sincerely, 

Your fellow imperfect-mom. ❤️