Pre-Balik Kampung

i've been talking about this for-like-ever! my balik kampung trip. since 2000, when i returned to malaysia after 5 years in sunny ol' england, i've been putting this on my no-dateline-to-do-list. i must go back but when, i really dont know. then of course one thing and another cropped up - jobless hence no money, new job hence no time, boyfriend hence berkepit (kah kah kah), engagement, marriage, new house, sabbatical, new job, baby-baby-baby-baby hence combination of no money, no time and no energy.

once the baby(ies) era are over and done with (ok...there's so gonna be a post on WE ARE STOPPING AT FOUR soon), hubby and i sat down and said 'its gonna be this year'. this will finally be the year when i get to pack up my bags (change to "we" and "our") and start the journey balik kampung. and its really been a good decision, alhamdulillah, as everything seemed to fall into place once we decided.

primarily, this would be the last year where we can take it easy when it comes to school - at the end of next year we'll be preparing for amir's standard 1 so a year-end trip would not be a good idea. the boys are also big enough to enjoy a long holiday, with 2 being diaper-less (1 in the process of being toilet trained) and 3 are now formula-less (1 taking only 2 bottles a day). some would wonder why would that be a factor, believe me, stopping every now and then to prepare a bottle of milk is not a laughing matter with 4 boys in tow. the fact that we no longer need to do it more than once when we're out and about is blissful! plus we no longer need to heret a thermos and formula here and there. finally (and honestly the most important) the financial aspect. alhamdulillah, its been a good year, that's all i'm going to say.

so there...everything seemed to be going our way. earlier in the year, we planned, we googled, we surfed. as the months passed by, it became more and more intense. planning started to get more detailed and my list kept getting longer. now as we're about to enter november, i've finalised 93% of the preparation, booked almost everything on the list - except tickets to 5 tourist spots, bought almost all the pre-travel items and prepared a booklet (i have gone beyond just a simple itinerary) of 65 pages (yes, you read it right...65 freaking pages, people!)

its been a wonderful phase, this planning. its very therapeutic. its very calming. its very educational. and its excellent to have a partner who shares my enthusiasm (although sometimes he gets shocked at the amount to be spent and start screaming) and even more fantastic to have 3 boys (akmal not included) who are as excited about the trip and the weather and the journey as the parents.

we still have a bit more to do, still a few things left to purchase, to book, to finalise and to research. but insyaallah, we'll be able to settle everything before the end of november. the first couple of weeks of december will be spent clearing off our work, ensuring things for the new school year are settled and tieing up some loose ends.

for now, its these items that keep us going...
part of my travel booklet...














the four we're doing this for...