The FIRST Passport Stamp- 2 Dec 2012

Gerrard had his FIRST trip out of Singapore today! We drove to visit Grandma's hometown in Malaysia and plan to stay one night there and coming back to Singapore on 3 Dec. Sounds relatively straightforward? Well, our bags were filled to the brim with the usual "staycation" kind of stuff but somehow, it felt like there are more things to pack because it's in the kampong and I just had to bring extras of everything in case I can't get it there. I even brought along an extra tin of milk powder!

Just for fun, I tried to wiki Sagil (the kampong we went to) and true enough, there isn't much write-ups as it is a small village. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagil

Sagil is a small town in Tangkak, Ledang in Muar region in the northern part Johor, Malaysia. Sagil is situated not far away from the border of Johor with Melaka. Air Panas Water Fall is located here, and to access to the peak of Gunung Ledang.Gunung Ledang is around 5 minute drive distance from sagil town.
We didn't go to Air Panas Waterfall as it is a distance away and is not really safe for small kids to play in.

An idea of where Sagil is situated..it's about 250km from Singapore!

It was a rather long drive, about 4 hours from Singapore and our bodies were aching by the time we reached in the afternoon. We spent the 1st day visiting our relatives but the weather wasn't good. By dinner time, it was a huge downpour and Derek was drenched to the skin while sheltering us with a small umbrella that was the only one we had. We didn't sleep well that night as it was very cold so as expected, I woke up with a very bad case of running nose and was sneezing non-stop since morning.

Had a "farewell" lunch of Bak-Kut-Teh at Tangkak (the nearest "town") and started off for Singapore. Upon reaching the causeway, it rained heavily again, in fact, I think it was raining the whole day in Singapore too. Came back, did 2 loads of laundry and felt really tired. Poor Gerrard also had 6 mosquito bites on his hands and legs =( Although the trip was nothing exciting to talk about, I felt truly grateful for 2 things:

1. Derek is such a great help during the trip, he entertained Gerrard, helped to carry him, chatted with my relatives and encouraged me when I am feeling upset over the minor things eg. weather too hot, room too cold, waiting too long etc. 
2. Gerrard is such a good natured boy during the trip. Despite us making wrong turns on the way, the food not to his liking, no internet for him to watch Hi-5 and so many mosquito bites, he didn't complain and made me laugh instead. 

I love these 2 boys in my life. So much.