A Wonderful Syawal

This year Syawal was different. Firstly, I was not with my family during the eve of Syawal. Instead of busy cooking in the kitchen, I was stucked in the office on September 30th, busy with quarter end close. I was so tired that I dozed off at my workstation. My boss knocked my table few times to wake me up. Pathetic eeh? When I left office around 2 am in the morning on October 1, I have not even packed! Luckily I received a wake up call at 4 am, basically threw all my stuffs in the bag, quickly showered, packed some cookies for the guard and the cab driver, and dashed to the airport. BTW, met Hans Isaac at the airport. Handsome? Boleh la...

First destination - Kak Jah's house. Left to right: Huda, Samihah, Mir ; A'an & Man.

First destination - Kak Jah's house. Left to right: Abah, Kak Tam n her new bub, Mama; Man n Idi striking side pose...pegggh..

Still @ Kak Jah's house. Left to right: Kak Chik n Samihah looking lovely, Me, Mir & Samihah..

I reached Penang about 7.45 am. My brother, Amir was already waiting outside the airport. We drove back to Kulim but have to stop at the first mosque we passed in Kulim. Caught the Eidul Fitri prayers just by the nick of time. Alhamdulillah. My sister Lina celebrated her Eid with his hubby's family, only arrived 11 pm that evening. The first day of Eid, we went through the usual routine - tahlil at my maternal grandma's grave, tahlil at my paternal grand parents and uncles graves, visited my dad's niece , and closed the day with dinner at Mak Kiah's.
Left to right: Me n Kak Chik all smiles; Kak Tam's daughter - first time seeing her. So photogenic.

Last stop for the day - Mak Kiah's: Samihah patiently waiting for her cousins to arrive. Where is Mak Ngah??

Second day, started with photo session at the photo studio. This is the tradition of our family since I was 16, taking family pictures on Eid. Previously, when all of us are still single, we just took the pictures at home. Since the family members now grew from 8 to 15, we need a studio..he he. My family is a family of routine. And same as last year, day 2 was dedicated to my mom's family. Visited all her brother, sisters, and cousins. We closed the day with a big feast in Sungai Petani. Ditaja oleh.. Cik Norliza..ha ha ha. Apa nak buat banker, dah nasib badan.

Some personal shots at the studio. The family shots did not turn out right as the lighting was too bright. Missing in the pic - mama n abah..

Left to right first row: Lina's family, Man's family
Left to right second row: The singles, Mir's family

First destination on 2nd raya - Ngah's. The kids enjoyed themselves mandi air gunung... Grrrr sejuk...



Second destination - Lang's. Full of makan2, drama, and people dozing off..he he he.


Third destination - Ndak's. Reunited with Mak Njang's family....


Second last destination - Pak Long's. Dah lama betul tak jumpak Pak Long. Dah ada cucu pun..

Last destination - Laksa Shack.

Third day is something out of norm as bakal menantu Pak Ya came to visit us. Lepas penat berhempas-pulas kat dapur, si Labu meninggalkan teratak buruk Taman Bersatu, menghala ke Pulau Mutiara, menjemput tetamu kehormat..ha ha ha. Arrived in Kulim for lunch and sessi beramah mesra pun bermula. Left home around 5pm. Niat di hati nak ke Padang Kota. But the traffic was so bad that we reached Penang only at 8pm. We have no choice but to head straight to the airport. Had enough time to just have coffee at Coffee Bean at the airport. Nak buat camne, Nyah. Saboo je lah.

Fourth day is the last day for most of anak2 Pak Ya. So, mom decided to bring us to her favourite nasi beriani restaurant in Penang. So with 3 cars we headed to Campbell Street. I would say the rice is OK, but the fried chicken is delicious. So does the murtabak. Check out the hungry wolves!! After having lunch, all of us went separate ways. Lina headed back to Alor Setar. Mir and Man dropped me at the airport to catch flight back to KL. While mom and dad went to Bukit Kayu Hitam to drop Idi.

Overall, Eid Fitri 2008 was very colourful and fun.