We went for our first overseas trip with Alicia in tow! It was very challenging for us as Alicia had to endure the 9-hour trip up to Cameron as we took the newer, longer, but supposedly safer route. It was very difficult as we hardly disrupt her schedule on normal days and so, besides having to cope with the loss of her afternoon nap (she refused to sleep in the car), she had to handle the winding path and the pressure building up in the ears as the car climbed higher. She was fussing so badly that she even refused to nurse so we had to endure a crying, fussy baby for more than an hour. I kept coaxing her to nurse as that would make her feel better but she simply refused! It was a relief to finally have Hotel Equatorial in sight and we all clapped for Alicia as she had survived the trip up to Cameron!

I must say that fortunately we had my mum and aunt together on the trip or we really wouldn’t have survived the homesick toddler. She cried two out of three nights there, where she insisted that that wasn’t her room and our bed. I had already packed along some of her soft toys so that she would have a feel of home, but I guess it just wasn’t good enough for her. I even brought along her usual food she has at Singapore so that she wouldn’t have to adjust too much. Unfortunately, my hubby who was in charge of packing the slow cooker forgot to pack in the heating element and so we spent the first evening searching Brinchang town for slow cookers. In the end we couldn’t find a slow cooker small enough like mine to cook the small amount of porridge Alicia eats so we decided to go back to the hotel to ask for assistance on this matter. The receptionist told us that we could ask the chef of the restaurant at the hotel to cook Alicia’s porridge and so it was settled. Every night, we would pass the organic brown rice grains, organic green lentils and stock to the chef and my hubby would collect the porridge the next morning.

On the second day, she finally learnt to sleep in the car. That meant some peace for all of us – well, at least for awhile. Somehow, during the trip, she mastered the art of telling me that she wants to nurse – something that I’ve been teaching her prior to the trip. She would climb onto my lap, point at my breast and say “milk milk”, then get into position when she wanted to nurse. And when I ask her if she wants more, and she doesn’t, she’d say “no” and shake her head. That certainly makes things a whole lot easier!

We took the shorter route (the more winding and dangerous one) down Cameron as the jam towards the route we used to go up Cameron was phenomenally bad due to the fact that it was the weekend. Fortunately I managed to nurse Alicia to sleep and she slept all the way down the highlands and only woke when we were nearing Tapah town (that’s at the foot of the hill). Thank God for the very good timing. Also, we actually intended to eat Hokkien Mee and Char Kuey Teow and of course the very yummy strawberry cheesecake from T-Cafe but it was closed. It was really a blessing in disguise as if I had managed to eat all that food from the cafe, I would have most certainly puked everything out on the way down the hill. Luckily I didn’t puke; I only felt nauseous and the minty mentos and the medicated oil my mummy brought along saved the day!

We really enjoyed the trip…! 🙂 Alicia woke up this morning looking for my mum and aunt. When she couldn’t find them, she gestured and said “no more”. Such a darling. 🙂

Here’s a photo album of some of my favourite photos taken during the trip.