Raya Recap 2

We barely made it to the taxi which arrived promptly at 11 a.m., what with my penchant to engage in last-minute clothes-washing, and dishes-cleaning. Also not to be left out, choosing the clothes to bring along for the four-day trip. Should we bring more casual clothes and throw out the traditional ones?

But luckily the taxi waited for us even though he had arrived much earlier than the appointed time. Bless him to be working on the second day of Raya.

His driving on the other hand left a lot to be desired, zigzagging on the open road despite a relatively empty highway. As long as it didn't disturb a sleeping Sadia, we had no reason to complain.

A quick check-in later, we scuttled towards the security checkpoints. After buying some goodies at the duty free kiosks located at the main entrance of the domestic Departure Gates, we wolfed down some Whoppers for lunch at Burger King.

The flight which lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes seemed longer largely thanks to Sadia who was excited to bits. She kept standing on either one of our laps to play Peekaboo with the two Malay kids sitting infront. Luckily, those tweens didn't mind entertaining her.

Excitement later turned to restlessness as she grew bored of the narrow space and wanted out! Armed with my oft-reliable lactating secret weapon, it soon put matters to right.

My MIL, younger SIL and older SIL's daughter, Zeti picked us up at the airport. MIL was so eager to meet her latest grandkid that she quipped she wouldn't mind if we sent Sadia back first to Kuching after we got back from Delft. The last time she saw Sadia was roughly a year ago when we 'accidentally' came home for Raya.

As wont, the apprehensive Sadia takes some time to warm up to new people. However, when my MIL flashed the pair of shiny bead bracelets worn on her left wrist, she was transfixed and hooked on them until one of the bracelet's strings came undone. All the beads popped out and strewn all over the backseat and the car floor!

Such is a sacrifice to get into Sadia's good books. :)

As soon as we landed at PIL's place, hubby distributed the gifts while I settled the rest of luggage upstairs. When I came down, Sadia already went over to the house next door with MIL where hubby's (late*) grandfather resided with the family of MIL's eldest sister. Somehow, Sadia had warmed up to MIL! That was quick. Probably she remembers MIL's face and the area we were in.

In the course of four days, Sadia was having the time of her life - chasing a rabbit named Snowy, cats and kittens outside the house, running practically non-stop around the coffee tables which rendered MIL and some others speechless, bathing in a big shallow basin and playing (or rather bullying to play) toys with anxious cousins. On the downside however, whenever she immersed herself in all these activities, she rarely ate. She's like a cat on catnip!

At one relative's house, Sadia was in her element again, helping herself to some toys on a corner and encircling the spacious living room. A range of glassware - some of which were Delft Blue - in numerous cabinet displays and a flight of steps leading from the toy area to the living room caused us some concern, but Sadia heeded most of our (and MIL's) command during the short Raya visit.

Since this Kuching trip marks the first time we spent the second day of Raya in Kuching, I have to say that I'd prefer to be in KL instead from the second day onwards. My feeling has nothing to do with the in-laws' treatment of me - far from it, they have always been a bunch of exemplary hosts.

It is just that after the second day, Raya (at least in hubby's family circle) celebration simply died down, without any warning to the uninitiated. And with the second Raya day being spent travelling to Kuching and thereon stuffing our face at my PIL's, we lost a day of congenial house-visiting. The only time we ventured outdoors that day was to buy essential provisions.

So when we went visiting relatives on the third day, people served mostly the ubiquitious Raya cookies and no longer wore their Raya fineries. After the umpteenth house, I couldn't bring myself to see anymore cookies in different flavours, shapes and sizes. Luckily, one cousin bucked the trend at her Open House and served delicious Nasi Beriyani and several lauks, along with Laksa Penang.

On hindsight, it is probably too presumptuous to generalise that festivities tapered out for the whole clan. After all, if it were not for my grandma's Open House on the third day of Raya, we wouldn't be going out anywhere save for hopping to the neighbourhood mall! My husband too confirmed and concurred with my observation of Raya celebration in Kuching. Due to this circumstance, we came to an important agreement that Raya eve and first day of Raya should always be spent in Kuching. On the other hand, we can always fly back to Kuching on the night of first Raya day and spend the second day of Raya thereon. But, we reckon it'd be too exhausting for the little one. :)

Moreover, another reason contributing to the sombre note on which we savoured the Eid holidays was due to the deteriorating health of hubby's grandfather aka MIL's father. The second night we were in Kuching must be the longest for my MIL and her surviving siblings when grandfather took a turn for the worse during which most people thought that was IT. Fortunately, it proved to be a false alarm, albeit a brief one. *Grandfather aka Nenek (In Sarawak, Nenek is used for both male and female grandparents) passed away a week later on Tuesday, October 23rd while we were in PD for a short vacation. We plan to go back next year for the 100-day Kenduri Arwah, God willing.

On a separate macabre note, one incident that would haunt us for some time involved hubby's accidental killing of one of the kittens! We were already in my SIL's car to go to the mall (what else!), and my husband put the car in reverse and suddenly heard the most agonising of sounds. Ekk! was the last squeak from the thin kitten. As the car continued backing up, we dreaded what was waiting for us to see. Then there it was, with its head plonked down around a splat of blood. Hubby was too distraught to take a closer look that we resumed driving away. Poor kitty, Sadia had only played with it a few hours before. Thanks to my FIL for burying the kitten.

On coming back to KL, I experienced a personal sort of calamity which bogged me down for a few woeful days. Oh well, que sera sera. Things happen for a reason.

Soon after that, the beach getaway to Port Dickson ('PD') recharged my battery and so did the Ikan Bakar ('Grilled Fish') and other seafood we bought at Pengkalan Pernu/Umbai in Malacca. And a heap of thank-yous go to Rizal for filling up our tummies shortly before we departed for PD at the conjoined Open House held at his parents' in Ampang. I especially love your Death By Chocolate cake! Do you take orders? :)

On top of other Open Houses we went and the small one that we mustered, Raya 2007 was rather quiet on the whole. A sense of listlessness that pervaded the air seems to describe my inner state, struggling to keep apace with a new kind of life, a more mature role to fill and familiar/familial territories to tread on.