Day 0: Summer Holidays

Finally, I have more or less finished packing. We will be flying off tonight to the Gold Coast and this is a calm moment before preparing for the departure. The two younger children are having their afternoon naps and I am taking a breather.

Son No 2 has been visibly excited about going to Australia - he woke up at pre-dawn this morning - and has packed his own backpack days ago, with his jaguar, 2 Secret Seven books, Gameboy and 3-D glasses, amongst other things. He has been talking about Australia continually - how he would be fearful of swimming in the ocean due to the presence of sharks, how poisonous the spiders were - and he has been poring over the map of Australia to learn its geography.

Yesterday, Son No 2 received an early Christmas present and demanded to know who was the real giver (as I have told him it's from Santa since he has been good the whole year). "Santa Claus cannot be true", he declared adamantly. The gift is a Gameboy cartridge, Star Wars Episode III, which he can play during the flight. Wow, Santa Claus really knows him well and it is a timely gift too!

Son No 3 is also looking forward to the trip. He received a Ben 10 watch from Santa - "is it really from Santa?" - and is thrilled to bits. He cannot wait to show it off to his friends in school when school reopens. He has packed his backpack too and he will be bringing his bolster, tiger, 2 Topsy and Tim books and his Ben 10 watch.

Son No 1 woke up at 11am this morning and I have told him to pack his bag. He is not bringing his MacBook, but his bag should contain his mobile, his i-pod, a pack of Uno cards and his personal effects. I also reminded him to bring a book or two to keep himself occupied. As of now, he has yet to pack his bag. Sure, there's no hurry. He has just finished watching Grey's Anatomy, Season 3.

I will be bringing my laptop - it should provide some entertainment during the flight. Our flight is at 10:30 pm but we will be leaving at 7 pm as the cab-ride to Sepang takes close to an hour. From now till 7 pm, we need to run some last minute errands including taking the maid to SS2, buy dinner and feed ourselves. Oh yes, we haven't forgotten the hamster - it will be provided with enough food and water for one week.

So, thus begins this travelogue...

And the song to go with it: Summer Holidays by Cliff Richard.

"We're all going on a summer holiday
no more working for a week or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
no more worries for me or you,
for a week or two.

We're going where the sun shines brightly
we're going where the sea is blue.
We've all seen it on the movies,
now let's see if it's true.

Everybody has a summer holiday
doin' things they always wanted to
So we're going on a summer holiday,
to make our dreams come true
for me and you."