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!

Penang Island, Perlis, and Kedah (July 2008)

The chosen destinations for July's vacation:

Stayed 2 nights at the usual Paradise Sandy Beach Resort in Penang Island. It will be our hotel again for our next trip since hubby has just continued our Paradise Club membership with them. Quite a good bargain I suppose since hubby actually shared the membership with my bro-in-law. By just paying RM3++ (which they split the payment between them), we get lots and lots of dining and accomodation vouchers which totally worth the money. We get to stay at a Deluxe Paradise suite (at a good rate) instead of the normal standard room and eat most of the food there for free or at discounted price, cool-lah! :)

At the lounge area of the room

Hubby told me that he has never been to Perlis and we thought that since we are already in Penang, it would be great to drive up futher north a little bit so that hubby can experience Perlis. So, we end up staying a night at Putra Palace, Kangar. Well nothing much to do in the town itself so we went to the popular Padang Besar and end up bringing LOTSA stuff back with us to the hotel, he he.

Really can go 'crazy' shopping here. Too many cheap stuff

For dinner, we had seafood at Kuala Perlis...delicious...

On our way back from Perlis, we took a drive to Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah as hubby has never been there as well, he he. (my hubby didn't travel much before he got married I suppose, well that's nice to know :P). There's nothing much in Bukit Kayu Hitam and I think the place has gone from not-bad to very-bad. As far as I can remember, it was better during my last visit. Oh well, looks like we may not be coming here again but Padang Besar? We are so going there again in future :). On the way home, we make a stop at Pekan Rabu, Alor Setar as we need to get some stuff for my mom. Apart from getting her the fermented oranges to make the 'acar', we bought ourselves some cookies and 'kerepek' to keep us awake throughout the drive back.

Pekan Rabu, Kedah

All in all, it was a good trip!

New Zealand (June 2008)

We have been planning to go to New Zealand for quite some time but haven't had the opportunity to do so up until now. In June 2008, finally we are able to set foot in this country known for its breathtaking scenery. We went to both South Island and the North Island but spent most of our time in the South Island (only went to Auckland in the North). We did the right thing as most of the beautiful scenery and places are indeed in the South Island (Queenstown is so b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l and it is a must to visit this place if you are planning to go to New Zealand). We started off with Queenstown and drove towards Christchurch (We flew from KL to Auckland with MAS and from there took a domestic flight to Queenstown). On the way, we stopped at several towns and spent the night(s) at some of the towns as well.

The best thing is that it was a miracle that we are able to experience snow fall at Methven, as June is only the start of the winter season, so we didn't expect that there would be so much snow during our visit. I told hubby that I've played snow many times before but been wanting to experience snow fall so much. Guess what, not only we are able to experience the snow fall there, but it's been snowing heavily through out our journey from Methven to Christchurch! It was really a beautiful sight, Subhan'Allah...

From Christchurch, we took another domestic flight and flew to Auckland. Auckland is very much like Kuala Lumpur or Sydney, with lots of car moving around (and traffic jam :) ) But one good thing about a big city is that there are lots of shops that close late at night! (unlike most shops in the South Island which ended their business by 5pm in the evening, erk).

On the whole, the two weeks vacation was indeed fantastic!

From New Zealand with Love :)

Stunning view of Lake Wakatipu from our apartment

Oh Queenstown is so breathtaking...

Finally I'm able to experience snow fall! It's nothing at all like playing snow on the ground, it's even better!

It's nice to be able to play snow in a town for a change, without having to go to the mountains :)

(More pictures can be found in friendster)

-The End-

Singapore (April 2008)

The picture was taken at the Singapore Zoo.

Penang Island (February 2008)

Having buffet dinner @ Paradise Sandy Beach Resort.