Holiday Stories Continues

And so continuing from the point where we landed up at Penang International Airport…. if you are still guessing where are we headed to… Aija..IT”S PHULET ISLAND lo !!

There here goes our tickets..

Boring wait at the airport..

Boarding the plane....

And up up up we go…… bye Penang .. 

Here comes muffins and grape juice (not bad Firefly’s service… )

After bout an hour in the air…. down down down we go

HELLO PHUKET.. (not much of friendly smiles from the officers at the aiport )

Anyway… what a feeling to finally reach our long-awaited holiday destination. Our hotel was about and hour and a half drive from the aiport.

There here is our Hotel. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a sweet Thai hotel staff. She asked our name and immediately summon a bell boy to get our luggage (we only had one black luggage). And then ushered us to the tram to the check-in lobby. When we reached the check in lobby we saw many ang-mo(s) carrying their own luggages but we did not have to. I felt weird.. Then at the check in counter many guest were waiting  in the sitting area but we were ushered to the front desk. Once again at the mention of Lionel Lim’s name… we were ushered to another desk which has the sign “Hilton honors”..They served us with guava juice and prepared cold towels. What a treat!  We had a quick check in and after all was done the staff handed us a card asking us to fill it up since we are returning guests… SHOCK!! I’ve never stayed in Hilton, How Could I Be A Returning Guest even??????

Looking at the details of the card we found out they made a mistake. Lionel Lim’s name was mistaken for another Lionel Lim residing in Singapore who owns a Hilton Club Membership. Now it clicks.. That’s why we were treated so royally from the start. Anyway the cool thing is that the staff told us, it’s ok, it was their mistake but the service they intend to provide will still go on for us..

So can you imagine paying a cheap package offered by Firefly but able to stay in a super high class room with superb view. And cleaners cleaning your room 3 times a day. Even our room door, bed and toilet was decorated with orchid flowers. Lovely.

 

Here’s our room… Room 306.. notice the big toilet and the toiletries’ brand.. CRABTREE & EVELYN!!. the toilet papers were rolled into that fan shape evryday and the hand towel folded into that cute little Dumbo evryday too..

The sun was scorching hot… the monsoon ended two days before we came. So with light shirts, shorts and cool shades, we walked out of the hotel grounds on Karon streets to rent a bike. We got one for a good deal of RM 30 for 2 days. With a Suzuki automtatic scooter we decided to tour the whole town of Karon. First stop was lunch at a boutique hote by the beach. I particularly love the ambience anchitecture beauty of each boutique hotel. It’s unique each in its own way.

Lunch is over.. what else???? GUESS?? shopping la…. here comes a long list of souvenirs for a long list of people back home. hahaha.. so we got all of it at Karon that day. Welcome to Karon’s Town and sunset view and Karon’s beach.

Dinner at Karon, we decided to go for the locals. Pancake. RotiCanai pastry with toppings and filling. Interesting blend.

By that time of the day, it really felt we were bout to crash due to exhaustion from a WHOLE day of travelling. Back at the hotel we took a nice hot bubble bath, drank coffee, ate chips, watch TV and zzzz.

Arise and Shine…I was looking forward to our buffet breakfast. Eager to taste what a 7 star hotel buffet breakfast would be.. And i was indeed pleasantly surprised…. A BREAKFAST BY THE POOL… Awesome.. with a high canvas roof over our heads to keep direct sun.. we got enough sun to warm the cool morning surrounded by the sounds and sight of blue waters and a man made waterfall. The food was luxurious. LITERALLY an INTERNATIONAL buffet. There was large and variety selection of pastries, buns, cakes, cheese, hams, cereals with all kinds of nuts (including cashew nuts), thai dishes, western dishes, oriental dishes, Malaysian dishes (pau, wan tan), korean dishes, SUSHI, etc….. etc….. etc.. Oh and also 5 selections of juices excluding coffee and tea. We at so full we skipped lunch that day.

Well here we are on the second day at Phuket. Second day took us to the town of Patong (the town that got hit badly during the tsunami). Patong has a flat landscape compared to Karon which actually made it vulnarable during the tsunami. We shopped and rode through the streets of Patong. Beautiful archituring. Nice long beaches. Interestingly though they were badly hit due to the tsunami, the town actually bloom back almost overnight. Not forgetting, we also spend sometime soaking in the sun on Patong’s beach and enjoying the clear waters of Patong waters. Wonderful experience.

We did not stay long at Patong. By mid day we headed back to our resort for a good swim at the pool. As we were laying on the pool chairs we were served with juicy dragon fruits and watermelons.

Evening came another beautiful sunset….

Tonight we decided to visit Kata Town. Kata beach was more rocky and doesn’t really have long beaches. It was Our last night here at Phuket so we decided to go for a romantic beach seafood dinner. We rode and rode and stumble upon Mom Tri’s Kitchen-Fine Dining by the beach. As we step inside the building it was as if we were stepping into Wonderland. Lush gardens build on different tiers, nice round steps leading the way down to the restaurant. Fountains surrounded the place creating a calming effect. The whole place was litted with huge lanterns hanging from the trees. finally we heard the music of the piano. Located deep in the garden, was the little restaurant that stretched out ABOVE the sea. Build on rocks, the whole place was magical. It was like a dream come true. As we ate we could hear and see the waves hitting the rocks.

 

 

Since it was suppose to be a fine dinner for us.. we ordered the most expensive dish on the menu (this is another first time experience). We had SEAFOOD PLATTER for two. The meal began with starters of bread, bread sticks, tortillas and baked aubergine with cheese. A plate of fresh green salad…Then comes the big bang of … mussels, white prawns, tiger, prawns, huge lobsters, and a whole white Garupa. Later we were served with Strawberry Fondue for deserts.. Exquisite dining. Great service. How much better a dinner could I ever asked for.

We rode the bike one last time through Kata and Karon stopping on the fly at one shop cos I spotted a beutiful skirt. LOL.. Yup I got my favourite souvenir on the last day the last stroll through town. Back again at our room. We opened and all the gifts and souvenirs we bought and started figuring out how are we to pack them into one Black Luggage.

That Night I slept peacefull, with deep gratitude for God’s blessing ONCE AGAIN. A wonderful gift from God.

Bye PHUKET

  

counting my blessings and naming it one by one

Pangkor Island Holiday (Part 1 & 2)

 Day 1:

We started our journey after a quick lunch and headed down from KL to Teluk Intan. We stayed there for one night at one of my former church member’s semi-D house. She hasn’t really shifted in yet, so our company opened ceremony for her new house. We really did WARMED the house with our presence of 23 adults and 6 kids!!! By the time we reached Teluk Intan we were really a bunch of HUNGRY people and gratefully we were treated to a wonderdul dinner at RIVERVIEW SEAFOOD

RESTAURANT. REALLY yummy yummy yummy food.

Ps. Rachel Kala (right) together with my mom and dad

Together with us was our member’s Pastor,

Pastor Rachel Kala. She pastors Faith Assembly (AG) at Teluk Intan. After dinner we headed to Faith Assembly for a visit then it was supper at Teluk Intan’s famous chee cheong fun shop. There was so many of us and the shop was rather cramp, we literaly filled up the seats in that shop.

chee cheong fun shop

Then we headed back for alittle more chit chats and then snores…… 

Day 2:

It was 7am almost everyone was awake. All was trying to get to use the toilet first. I pushed myself up from bed got dressed and then when for a good morning walk and devotion with Lionel, around the housing garden. The area was cool and serene. The air was fresh because the housing garden is surrounded with green trees, jungle, oil palms…….

Once we got back from our morning walk, everyone was now ready for breakfast. We drove to the town’s open food court and had breakfast that were good and CHEAP.

St. Anthony School

Imagine a bowl of curry noodle only costs RM 2:20. Lionel and me shared a bowl of Kuey Teow soup, curry mee, yong tau foo and a few spoon of nasi lemak. How nice if PJ food were this cheap today.

After breakfast we visited the St. Anthony school to watch my church member’s husband’s brass band group play. The missionary school architecture was nice. I always admired missionary school architectures. The high doors, the arches… they are just great. And the unique thing about this school is that the motto of this school is “charity without hypocrisy”

 

Our next stop was the famous leaning tower of Teluk Intan @ Teluk Anson.

Menara Condong

We even got the opportunity to walk inside the tower. There is about 3 stories accessible to the public, the rest was closed off. But we did get to see the interior of it, walk out to the balcony at each leval, admire the wood structure of the tower… according to history, the tower was made to store water. However due to the soft foundation the tower was built on, the pagoda structure tilted.

Gate to the towerThe water tank built within the Tower's structure

A view from the top of the Tower's balconyIntricate wood structure seen inside the tower

 

Just next to the Menara Condong, was Kompleks Menara Condong. In there was a shop with local antiques. Things like, the old school cameras which were used when my parents were kids, sports trophies of their time, weighing scales (dacing), magazines, calendars, mugs, typewritters, fan etc…..

And as city sleakers, we cannot miss our shopping. We headed next to a small shopping mall nearby the leaning tower. It’s no match to our huge midvalleys and pavillon. But I managed to get Lionel a nice pair of leather boots as his Birthday gift for only RM 49 and I got myself a brown heels for RM 27… What a treat!!! 

Close to noon, we left Teluk Intan for Lumut. There were quite interesting sights on the way to Lumut. At one point of the journey we passed by huge vast paddy fields on both side of the roads. And there were Stalks in the paddy fields too. Then the scene changes to acres of oil palm plantations. Later we passed by the coconut tree plantation. We don’t get to see these along our city streets. LOL….

Finally here we are at Lumut Jetty. A good break for a short Photo Taking Session.

 

 

 

 

  

   

 

Not very long after that we borded a bright yellow ferry. I slept all the way til we crossed over to Pangkor Island. The weather then was gloomy with light rain. It had rained heavier a couple of hours before so the roads were muddly and puddles were everywhere. We got a taxi to taxi us to Vikri Huts Resort. Located just opposite the beach, our lodging was a comfortable kampung house chalets with private patio for each hut, fully furnished with water heaters in the toilets and tiled floorings. The place is comfortable and economical. The journey was quite exhausting which made me ate quite little during lunch.

Lunch was over, we settled down in our rooms. Right after that our intinary for the day at the island began. We went for an island tour in two taxis….. It was drizzling lightly as we started off.

We look at giants posing at the mini Great Wall of China

We visited Nipah Bay, satay fish factory,

 

 

a Dutch fort and a Chinese Temple where we got a chance to see huge Koi fishes, 4ft  Apiranas and some other species that were big but i forgot their names. There were also a part at the Temple where big Turtles were reared. One of the attractions of the Temple was the exact miniature structure

Giant Turtles

 

of the Great wall of China, built along the slopes of the Temple. By that time the rain was staring to pour heavier. 

Dutch Fort

As we toured on round the island we passed a small airstrip, beaches, fishing areas, rocky beaches, boat making factory and finally we landed up at Pangkor main town. That was the end of our island tour.

 

 

 

 

 

All I wanted after the wet tour was a warm shower….

The very good thing about mealtimes was that it was all homecooked dishes with fresh from the sea seafood….. Yummy!!!

After dinner we all sat down to fellowship, and later chilled at the beach for awhile before supper was served. And day 2 ended.

Day 3:

6 am I pulled myself out of bed. The temperature in the room was cold…I washed up quickly grabbed my shawl and went out to meet Lionel. We decided to bike over to the other side of the island to watch the sunrise. it was really a cold windy ride. The sky was dark still. As we rode on it started to brighten. Just as we reched the spot…. The view was awesome!!!!.. The sea was calm serene, boats were chugging out to sea. Sea gulls, eagles and hornbills were flying above the beautiful scenery. The waves lapped gently on the rocks by the beach. Then the sun started to peak over the horizon and as it rises, we could see the rays shining over the sea, and the colors of the sky around the rising sky was like some work of art. Truly that morning was like watching God working on his art. It was beautiful. And even more amazing to know that God does this every day – Perfectly!

Later after breakfast we headed in a speedboat for an insland hopping. Scenery was great. The weather was a blessing. Sunny warm and the sea was calm and crystal clear. Sea creatures could be seen right from the boat itself. We had the opportunity to snorkel and see some really nice sea fishes, corals and other sea creatures.

After a good day of sun sea and sand, we headed back to our lodging huts for lunch and some rests.

I was tired out by then and a quick nap did me a whole lot of good. By mid afternoon, some of us when on bike and rode round the island and got to the town for some shopping. I got myself hand accesories, a wrap-around-skirt for only RM 9 and a wrap-around-shorts.

I looked forward for that evening’s meal. IT WAS BARBEQUE DINNER!!! after a long day, it was nice to have a barbeque. The weather was lovely that evening and food was sumptious!!

Day4:

After hearing my news about the sunrise the day before, today the entire group set out to watch the sunrise. The weather wasn’t as clear as the day before but we enjoyed too. After our last meal on the island we played a game of volley ball. There was lots of laughter and sweat even minor bruises…LOL…

Since it was our last day…. we just had to go back to the beach for one final deep, splash and tan……

Then it was time for pack up before heading to the jetty. Standing at the jetty awaiting the ferry, I missed the island. It was time to say goodbye to one good holiday which I haven’t had since a long while. I stood there letting my thoughts run through the few days we had on the island and deep inside me I thanked God for all this good blessing He gave.

When the ferry arrived, we were glad to see that it has an open deck where you could stand up there and watch the island passed as we headed back for mainland. It was lovely with the wind blowing and the smell of the sea breeze and the familiar sights of the island…… i missed the holiday….

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For more photos click the link below:

Pangkor Island album

I’m Back!!

I’m Back from my four days and 3 nights holiday at Teluk Intan and Pangkor Island.

It was AWESOME!!!!! *shouts*

I love the weather the scenery, the tranquil sights and scenes, the sun, sea, sand.. I just loved it!!

Well I really got a good unwinding for the year.

Dear readers, I will blog about it the next post. In FULL DETAIL with THE PICTURES.

STAY WITH ME TILL THEN!!

chaoz!