Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (July 2009)

Still remember we once said that we wanted to pay a visit to Avillion Port Dickson one day? (Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (December 2008)).Well, recently we did actually. In fact it was a double trip to the hotel, trying out different types of room on each stay! :P

Well, I would say Avillion PD is far better than Legend Water Chalets in almost everything, be it the hotel rooms, bathrooms, facilities (24 hours pools, no kidding!), ambience, and even location. I think once a person has been to Avillion, they won’t go to Legend anymore, unless of course they somehow had a bad experience with Avillion, he he he. In terms of the price, I think the rates is not that much difference, probably Legend is cheaper by RM100 or so. So if you can afford it, I would say add up a little bit more and give Avillion a try instead.

As for the room, they are offering three different types of chalets (they even have water villas too if you’re coming in a slightly bigger family). We’ve tried two of the chalets, which are the garden and the premium water chalets. I think each of these rooms has its own specialty.

We first tried the garden chalet. It was indeed a beautiful room! We totally love the room setting, the HUGE bathroom, the complete toiletries that comes together in each room…he he, and the location of the garden chalet building itself. It’s nearer to the main building (where most of the outdoor facilities, games, pool, etc located) compared to the water chalets.

As for the premium water chalets, well the first impression we had was not as good as the garden one. One thing is because the location is quite far away from the main building / area. It’s kind of secluded (duh…that’s the reason why it’s so popular among the lovebirds anyway: P). The room also looks slightly smaller, probably due to the way it’s being designed. Unlike the garden chalets, the water chalets have an open shower concept (but I think I still prefer the HUGE garden chalet’s bathroom although it’s a close shower concept). But one great thing about the premium water chalets is its spacious balcony, overlooking the Straits of Malacca, which you can’t experience it if you were to stay at the garden chalets.

So, the questions now are:

Will we ever go to Avillion again in the coming future?

A big YES to that, due to its great hotel + distance from Klang valley, make it a perfect and convenient place for weekend gateways.

Which room will we stay?

Probably a mixture of both coz hubby seems to like the spacious garden chalet’s room and bathroom + location near to main building and we also had a great time at the water chalet’s balcony, enjoying the view of the vast sea while reading a book, and fishing till midnight while playing card games…aaah heaven.....But sadly to say, we didn’t able to catch even one fish, not even baby crab / baby fish, blame it on the polluted sea, LoL!

Till then...enjoy YOUR trip to Avillion PD yah! :)

Terengganu (June 2009)

Went to Terengganu for a short trip with the whole lot. My…my…Terengganu is still scenic as always! We stayed at my BIL’s house there so no review on any hotels this time :). It was very fun, with lots of shopping around and of course, the food, they were grrreatttt! I even have my very own favourite stall in Terengganu now where I had the most delicious nasi air I’ve tasted. Can’t remember the name but I have included it in our GPS’s favourite list. It’ll definitely be a regular stop whenever I go to Terengganu after this! ((Hmmm, it just crossed my mind, have I ever said any bad reviews on food before? :D)

Well, however, apart from the great food and the lovely ambience, I would say the best thing was having almost everybody there together on a same trip! There were many havoc and lively moments created by different people, which you totally can’t experience it when going on a trip alone or duo. THAT..what makes this trip special in its own way and definitely something worth to be remembered :)

Fun time at the beach with the family

Happy faces of people having a grrreat time!

a MUST thing at the beach: burying someone up to her neck in the sand :)

A trip to Terengganu wouldn't be complete without bringing home some batik as souvenirs

I'm smilling because: Yeyyy, I finally got my batik!
Hubby's smilling because: Yeyyy, she finally got hers, so I can call it a day!

Bandung, Indonesia (March 2009)

We went to Bandung recently. This was actually the first trip to Indonesia for hubby and me. Bandung is known for its shopping heaven and yes, the reason that we went there is to shop of course! :)

Our chosen hotel is the Arion Swiss-Belhotel (http://www.swiss-belhotel.com/index.html).We took the Air Asia holiday package which comes together with the flight ticket + accommodation. We heard quite a number of good reviews on Arion Swiss-Belhotel so we thought of giving it a try. Alhamdulillah, we made a good choice. The hotel is very comfortable, not too far away from the shopping places, good spread of food (buffet as well as ala carte), friendly and helpful staff, and has very good spa facilities too (but according to our 'supir', the best hotel in Bandung would be Aston, due to its location. Holiday Inn is not bad either).

In front of the hotel.

We hired a ‘supir’ through Total Car Rental. The supir that we got, Yayat, is very friendly and sporting guy. He really made our trip a memorable and a smooth one (if anyone wanted to hire Yayat as your ‘supir’ in Bandung, you can pm me at m2rs(at)yahoo(dot)com) to get his direct line instead of going through the rental service. I think it's gonna be cheaper).

The guy in the black t-shirt, well that's our guy, Yayat.

We spent 1 full day (and a half the next day, he he) at Pasar Baru. You can really go crazy here because there is lots of stuff like kain kebaya, telekung, blouses, etc. They are not just beautiful but VERY cheap as well. You have to pay cash at Pasar Baru so make sure you bring enough cash to shop. Roughly, budget for at least + - RM500 per woman for Pasar Baru.

Your visit wouldn’t be complete if you didn’t go to the hundreds of Factory Outlet they have there. If you love some branded goods like Polo, GAP, Esprit, Guess, then this is the place for you (most of those stuff are original. I bought the same clothes in Bandung that they have at the boutique here in KL BUT at a much cheaper price. How did I know? I went to check some Esprit shops in Malaysia after I’m back and saw them, no kidding). However, we didn’t buy goods like designer handbags or shoes, as most of them are imitations. We find that most of the F.O are selling about the same stuff so we end up didn’t go to all of them, just some selective ones. But in my personal opinion, if you are tired / lack of time, you can skip the rest but Pasar Baru and Rumah Mode is a MUST! (Btw, F.O accept credit cards so no need to worry about bringing enough cash for F.Os).

The beautiful setting of Rumah Mode.

Apart from going to the F.O and Pasar Baru, we also visited some of the shopping malls like Matahari Mall and Bandung Super Mall. Bought lots of stuff here as well since some of the branded stuff is not available in Malaysia. Plus at least we know that all of the stuff here are original, no need to worry about 'kena kelentong',.....he he :)

In terms of food, it’s quite hard for us as my sister and I are not into Minang and Padang food but Sundanese food is fine. So we end up keep on eating at only two Sundanese chic restaurants which is the Dapur Sangkuriang and (oh man…sorry, can’t remember the name of the other restaurant, but we ate there twice). Oh but once in a while we filled our tummy with McD so that’s how we survived :P. We didn't dare to try out the street hawkers as we are not too sure about the cleanliness as well as the 'Halal' status.

Dapur Sangkuriang.

We are supposed to visit Mount Tangkuban Perahu but my mom in law has been to the mount and she said nothing much to see there. So we decided to keep on shopping since we thought that we haven’t had enough (.....of excess baggage.....LoL!).

For those who just love to shop (especially for apparel and textile), you definitely need to give Bandung a visit one day. Even hubby who’s not into shopping did say that he wanted to go there again to shop for his office wear! So...need I say more…:)

A picture of us, compulsory for every posting :)

-The End-

Johor Bahru, Johor and Singapore (December 2008)

It was actually a last-minute trip. Hubby and his golf buddies wanted to play golf somewhere nice instead of their usual places so hubby suggested why don’t we drive to Johor Bahru and try out the golf course at the Pulai Spring Resort!

Pulai Spring Resort

There are many good things about the Pulai Spring Resort (to know more about it you can check out their website and see for yourself what they have to offer http://www.pulaisprings.com/pulai_springs_resort.htm.) We’ve been to this place twice and so far we’ve not been disappointed :)

View from our room.

However, the funny thing was hubby end up didn’t able to test out the golf course after all, he he. Actually since we wanted to go to JB, my MIL thought of asking us to drop her off at Singapore. One of her daughter + family is staying there. The traffic was bad at the custom complex (is there a moment where the custom complex is not congested? I don’t think so…). We know that we are going to arrive at Pulai Spring Resort very late in the evening so hubby told his golf buddies to proceed without him :( (It’s ok-lah hubby, next time we plan for another golf trip with the gang to JB again, ok?) At night we had a lovely dinner with everybody (ala, the dinner and socializing was so great, totally forgot to take pictures, aiseyman…)

Our 3 days 2 nights stay in JB have been filled in with wandering around shopping complexes, shopping, few games of bowling, hanging out at the Danga Bay, and cocooning in the room while watching dvds (yeah, JB seems to be our fav. holiday destination because there is where we can stock up our dvd collections, at a very cheap price. During this visit alone, we end up buying a collection worth of RM500++, no kidding, :D)

Danga Bay.

After JB, we went to Singapore to stay for a night at my SIL’s house. We heard so much about Singapore’s Night Safari and thought of giving it a try. It was a great experience, nothing compared to what I’ve experienced at Zoo Taiping Night Safari with my colleague, Noris quite a few years back. Probably our night safari lack of fund, support, and bad management, I don’t know but that may be the few things which explains why our version of night safari is not something that people talk about :(.

Hubby with his niece, Kamelia Jane.

Singapore Zoo Night Safari.

Looks like we don't have the chemistry. The wild cat wouldn't even want to look at me, bluh...:D

The two of us.

We also visited the Boat Quay. Well, it was just a short visit to Singapore. However, I would say a very compact and fun one.

Had Indian food for lunch at Khusbu, Boat Quay. The food? Superb!


The superb food I'm talking about.

Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan (December 2008)

We bought the PD Legend Water Chalets 3 days 2 nights voucher during 2008 Matta Fair, which we managed to get at a slightly cheaper rate than the normal one. Hubby and I have been postponing this trip twice since August due to busyness but since the voucher will expire at the end of 2008, we decided to utilise it this month, finally! :)

The hotel? Well, I’m not too sure whether we were the one who’s having high expectation of the place since it’s a brand new 4-star hotel (launched in 2007) or was it the hotel who’s not up to its supposedly standard. Being one of the latest hotels, this place has a lot of weaknesses in terms of compound area, the way it’s being built, small swimming pool, lack of landscape, gardens, etc. Everything is just not right about this hotel, except for the food (their buffet breakfast spread is delicious though, at least something to remember about, he he).

Ok, that’s about the exterior. As for the interior, the room is pretty small but the bathroom is big, with a huge bathtub in it! So the bathtub is where we’ve been in most of the time (oopsy!) since it’s a little bit cramp in the room. Apart from spending time at the hotel, (well, of course you don’t expect us to spend the whole trip just in the bathtub, do you) we took a drive around PD town and went to one of the most hype mall there, which is the Oceanic Mall. Had few games of bowling and I lost terribly (guess I need to persuade my colleagues to start the bowling ‘practise’ again when they are back from their studies!).

At the hotel lobby, pretty small for a 4-star hotel.

Chalet area.

Take a walk at the beach.

The trip was over all ok. At least we had given the Legend Water Chalets a try. While we were there, we went to the Avillion to have a look and boy, from the outside the place looks far better than Legend Water Chalets! We are planning to give it a try in 2009, InsyaAllah. Will definitely share our reviews on that :)

Till our next trip, tata!

Penang Island, Perlis, and Cameron Highland, Pahang (November 2008)

We went for a trip with the whole family recently, covered 3 states in 6 days (Penang Island, Perlis, and Cameron Highland, Pahang).

Our first stop was in Penang Island. I think for this year alone, we have been to Penang thrice! Well, blame it on Penang for having so much finger-licking food there, he he. Seriously, the main reason we choose Penang is because of its food (apart from for a break from work of course). Some of the food that we like to gobble up every time we’re in Penang are Khaleel Nasi Kandar (specifically at Gurney Drive), Anjung Gurney for its Ayer Hitam Laksa, and Char Keow Teow + Rojak mamak at Padang Kota Lama. Now there is an additional eating place where after shopping for dv*s at Ferringhi market, we will make a stop at this one place where they have this juicy homemade beef patty burger at a very cheap price. I can’t remember the name of the road though, sorry! (will check the name of the road in the next trip).

Well, enough about the food! Oookayyy…we stayed at the usual place, which is the Paradise Sandy Beach Resort. Thought of not renewing the membership next year as we’ve been visiting Penang too many times and we thought of giving other hotels a try in our next visit, as the Malay saying goes, “tukar angin” :) Below are some of the pictures taken during our stay in Penang:

Makan-makan at Gurney Drive Khaleel Nasi Kandar, yummy!

At the hotel lobby (perasan ringan ler ni :D ).


The beach is so happening!


Shopping at Queensbay Mall.

Next, we drove up north to Perlis to visit Padang Besar.....yup, again, on hubby's request :). I bought few stuff and hubby bought A LOT. Oh ya, in our previous Perlis trip, we stayed at the Putra Palace Hotel. Perlis don’t really have that many hotels and according to a friend of mine, that’s one of the good hotels there. So to avoid disappointment at that time, we stayed at the highest range room they have at Putra Palace. The bathroom was VERY clean but the furniture totally needs refurbishment. So due to that, we thought of giving another hotel a try for this trip, which is the Putra Brasmana Hotel. This hotel looks newer compared to the Putra Palace. Well, indeed the room is a lot better and the same goes for the breakfast buffet. So for those who might need to go to Perlis for a business trip or leisure, you can give Putra Brasmana a try (however, your experience may be different than mine, bear that in mind :) )

Medan Ikan Bakar Kuala Perlis. The place is just opposite Putra Brasmana Hotel.

After a night stay in Perlis, we headed to the next destination, Cameron Highland. It was a long drive! Initially we booked two MARDI bungalows to accommodate 3 families. The bungalows look beautiful from the outside and inside, however the cleanliness is below zero :(. There are a lot of dusts below the bed and the bathroom isn’t that clean. We end up decided to check out and move ourselves to the Century Pines Resort <http://www.centuryresort-cameronhighlands.com/> nearby. Glad that we did as the resort have very beautiful and spacious rooms (not to forget the clean bathrooms as well). During our stay, we visited the usual places like Boh Tea Plantation, Strawberry Park for its scones, market for veges, few towns and shops along the road.

MARDI bungalows, the place that we wanted to stay initially but end up moving to Century Pines Resort due to the cleanliness issue at the bungalows.

Delicious scones at Strawberry Park. They will only make the scones upon ordering, so you'll always get freshly baked scones (that what makes it so special *drool*).

Cameron Highland now has its own Starbucks Coffee, cool eh!

Hubby surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of roses, thanks darlin'!

Enjoying the scenery (and some desserts) at the Boh Tea Plantation cafe.

Shopping for veges on the way back.

6 days had passed sooo quickly. Wish the holiday could remain longer.

Oh well, now back to reality....… - The End-

Langkawi Island, Kedah (November 2008)

Whoa, feels like it's been ages since our last trip! (no kidding, the last we went for a holiday was in July, my...my). Hubby and I have been real busy with work for the past few months. We were supposed to go for a weekend gateway at Legend Water Chalets, PD in August but even that event has been postponed twice (from August to November and now to December). Things are getting more stable now and finally we can take a break, phew!

Our destination this time is Langkawi Island. It’s my 3rd visit and 1st for hubby. Oh ya, we didn’t go there alone but were accompanied by my mom and mom in law. We are trying to make at least two holidays in a year where one will just be the two of us and another trip is to bring our moms along with us.

We flew there by MAS (bought the tickets during the promotion. It’s very cheap, about RM152 per person). Reached there in the evening and straightaway headed to our accommodation, which is the Holiday Villa. It’s a very nice hotel with good rooms (acceptable toilets, which is my number one priority in rating a hotel, he he), and large swimming pool. The beach area is also lovely with clean white sands (no dog’s poop like in Penang). It’s my 2nd time staying here and I can say that the hotel has managed to maintain its standard and cleanliness (my 1st stay was yearsss ago).

We didn’t visit most of the attractions, as the main agenda is to shop! Well, what do you expect when three ladies go on a holiday together to a duty-free Island :). Hubby has been very patience and supportive throughout the trip, thee he he…Most of the things that we bought are clothes, exclusive batik cloths, chocolates, T-shirts, and fridge magnets. Since we are going back by flight so we can’t really shop all the heavy stuff like Vision, Correlle, Corningware, etc. I just can’t imagine how much more we will end up buying if we were to go back by boat…..scary!

I would say Langkawi is a good destination for a holiday. If you like to shop, they have many stuff to offer. If you just want to unwind and relax yourself, Langkawi has many beautiful beaches, hotels, and spas, just choose according to your $$$. If you haven’t been to Langkawi, I would say you should give it a try one day. Hope you will enjoy Langkawi as much as how we have enjoyed our 4 days trip there!

In the plane

The entire Chenang beach road is lined with shops and stalls on both sides, ahhh heaven!


One of the beautiful beaches in Langkawi

At the Holiday Villa Beach Resort and Spa, Langkawi. Didn't manage to try out the spa as our schedule has been very pack from morning till night, everyday.

Some entertainment for the guest of the Telaga Harbour Park. Can't really understand the musical theatre though cos it is in Kelantan accent.

We (ummm, more of 'I') make a point to have one of our dinner at The Loaf, a Japanese style bakery & bistro, which is owned by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. The food, place, and ambience is great but a little bit pricey. Oh well, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for so it's totally worth dining at The Loaf (especially at night) for a great experience at the Telaga Harbour Park!