Hoo..Ho..Hoo..Balik Kampung ~ As Life Goes On...

You all ader kampung ker? kiter orang kampung.. mesti lar ada kampung. So, everytime raya balik kampung is the best moment to think about :-D Apatah lagi when it happens...emmmm siokkkk!

Normally I'll start my journey at sun rise, 5-6am. Less vehicles on the road, no road block and not too hot if travel within this period. By 10-11am dah sampai kampung :-) Alhamdulillah setakat ni blum pernah stuck in the middle of super heavy or traffic jam yg slalu kluar kat paper time festive season tu. Yang penting plan your journey.

I'm leaving KL for Kedah after work next Monday - yeeha! quite risky actually but I believe many of us start balik kg on saturday or sunday. Here few important things need to prepare before balik kampung:

service keta - checked
Ini mesti. Almaklumlah more than 400km/way. Pegi balik + jalan2 raya lagi dah 1000km. Jauh tu. At least 4-5hrs drive. But my personal record KL-AS is 3.5hrs - Warning! watch your speed limit. Do not speed. Bahaya!

Petrol & Toll
Full tank of course. When reaching Sg Perak dah tinggal 1/2. Refill lagi.
Reload T&G at least rm150. It's easy using Smart Tag tapi I'm still wonder kenapa masih ramai lagi yang using manual on festive season. Kalo sampai Tol Jelapang/Ipoh & Penang, fuhhh! panjang betoi Q. Pastu cilok line smart tag plak tu..huh!kacau jar pemanduan tanpa henti kiter

Will pass by this beautiful Bernam Jaya Bridge - another prestigious project completed by my company 3yrs ago

New Jelapang Toll Plaza opened few days ago. Wider & convenient

Don't really like reaching this area (somewhere @ Perak). Hilly and winding up & down road. Absolutely can't speed

When reaching this tunnel, it means I'm almost half way of my journey :-) Bibi likes passing by this tunnel as she will stand up at the window and enjoy the lights & tunnel echo sound

Packing - checked

Dah! awai2 lagi dah siap. since last week pun dah..hehehe semangat balik kampung. It's a habit of mine to make a list of what I supposed to pack and bring back with me. By this way, insyaallah I won't left anything behind, pastu baru nak kelam kabut which I don't like :-{

1 bag jar..HA? mana bulih..at least 3-4 bags. Sorrylah, memang banyak barang. 1bag -daily & nite wear outfits, 1bag -baju raya & outing outfits, 1bag -accessories & make up, 1bag - undies & toiletries, and many bag for shoes!!! Pastu ada berbeg2 of kuih muih, kerepek, tempeyek & tumpi (Kaktah bagi-TQ) pastu Bibi & her needs lagi..iskk..isk..pendek kata penoh lar..tak celuih. serious! Like previous years I used to fly home for raya. So what I did, I'll curier all those kuih & kerepek and anything that can fit into a 29" tv/desktop pc box first. Sometimes I need 2 boxes..dasat2

Raya Notes & Peket Raya - checked

Pun sudah. Tukar note RM1 & RM10. Buat duit raya bagi budak2. Kena ada kroni kat bank or else alasan standard depa is this "bank negara keluarkan skit jer tahun ni, sapa cepat dia dapat". Itulah dialog tahunan kalo p bank :-( Tapi ya ampunnn rupa2nya....hemmmm ;-P

Inform security that I'm away
Another good thing to do. Every time I'm away more than 3days I'll inform the security guard. No harm telling the security guard (if any) or even your neighbour that you will be on long holiday. So at least there is someone could watch your house for u incase of anything. Pastu, pandai2 lar bawakan kuih raya for them :-) Tapi nasib baik I ada Kaktah..tolong Kaktah ekk..tengok2kan rumah I yg best tu ..hehehe

Hold / temp stop any newspaper/magazine subscription
This one no need to worry. I don't subscribe anything. Everyday baca online paper jer ;-P

Siram pokok bunga

Ha! ni lagi satu. Penin jugak kalo cuti more than 5days. Kesian pokok2 I..dahaga

Usually I'll water my plants more than usual so at least it can survive 6-7days in hot weather. Tapi balik jer KL, first thing to do is siram pokok dulu!

Home safety

Finally before you leave, please unplug all electrical items/devices. Close & lock properly all windows & access doors. Check, check and re-check

********************************************

Ok sekarang bulih balik :-) Well, itulah ragam orang balik kampung. Kalo yang family ada anak 3-4 orang tuh lagi kalut & meriah. Yang penting how do you "organize & manage" it. Kalo feel sleepy or drowsy stop and have a cup of coffee to wake yourself up..arghhhhh - refresh! Think about your precious cargo, of course yourself and other road users as well ;-)