Corus Paradise Port Dickson August 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Port Dickson Trip, food, hotel review.Tags: cape rachardo, corus paradise resort, eagle ranch resort, kaya puff, marmite crab, port dickson, seremban, seremban siew pau, tanjung tuan lighthouse
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Found some of the pictures I took that are already uploaded on my Picasa , so here it goes
The hotel outlook, very grand looking I know and its cheap too (like 150RM only inclusive of breakfast) but nowadays I checked the price on Wotif and seemed to have increased. If they have not done any renovation to the room, well the room is normal and nothing special compared to the room pictures I featured in this blog like the Gardens or the Banyan tree room.
The hotel lagoon, when filled up, its quite nice and people can kayak around it. Overall this hotel is very good for families, their pool is big and nice too, some parts are semi-indoor (roof above it) and there are some small slides too.
Me at the lagoon, very hot in Port Dickson and the beach, virtually none at this hotel, only sand and lagoon. Though there is the public beach with jet ski and banana boat rides quite nearby (still need car)
View from the room, the lagoon semi filled-up, in the early morning its nearly empty, but too lazy to take a pic, its not a nice sight anyway. Breakfast in the hotel was not that good, well a simple hotel with simple standard.
They have a few old arcade games at the lobby and a few karaoke boxes too. but the lifts are like forever damp and smelly.
The only Port Dickson attraction we went to, a lighthouse, its name is Cape Rachardo (Tanjung Tuan) Lighthouse. Its still in operation and the hike up from the carpark where there is a hotel too, then we can just park the car there.
since its located in a forest reserve, there is plenty of flora and fauna around but, we are sweaty and we are no hikers into jungle. The hike up and down is as much exercise as we get for the entire year (cos we do not exercise at all)
At the top, we managed some very decent pictures of the sun going to be set
This one taken with my sunglass acting as polarisers (since then the sunglass has been retired due to broken legs)
The pool back at the hotel , very inviting right
No beach activities but the view is quite alluring and relaxing for a short getaway.
Seremban is just half an hour away so we have dinner there at the amazing crab restaurants they have and I always visited seremban every time we went to KL (Genting) because their Bah Kut Teh and seafood is very good. Not to forget the Seremban Siew Pau and my favourite Kaya Puff ( its chewy – the kaya and crispy – the puff , smooth – its more like a pancake on the outside, and better than any macaroons that cost like $2 in SG, this one cost less that a buck and its huge!) yes traditional and no-nonsense but its really wonderful, next time I will remember to take a pic before gobbling them all up
the lagoon empty is really ugly!
the sky is always super nice blue
island in the distance visited by many ships, wonder why?
Seremban in a rainy evening, many buildings still british inspired.
My crustacean friend we had for dinner,
and on the way home, we came across this place
Eagle ranch resort
Each of those wagon is 2 rooms (upstairs and downstairs), quite unique rite, and there are many things on their resort (archery, go-kart etch) but its a little bit far from port dickson and not sure about the food around it.
mainly for team- building i guess, but maybe its popular? not sure but sure look very interesting decor
One last look at the cute wagons
till next time’
Tioman pt 3 (the last part) July 25, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Tioman Trip, blabber.Tags: berjaya, jusco tebrau city, tioman
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Today we signed up for a half day tour round the island.
Early morning we took a boat out to coral island for 2 snorkelling spots and then back to renggis island for final snorkelling.
I am very sea-sick prone but they do not provide any tablets so I just ignore it. we brought our gears to the sea sport centre at the other end of the resort and we missed the shuttle cos we were a little late. it was quite a long walk.
the fee is rm 100 each or so inclusive of gear rentals.
soon we were on the boat after some briefing and leaving tioman behind. it was a nice breezy morning and the sea water look so creamy, I do not remember Bali waters looking like that?
anyway I lost the underwater camera so no pic from the deep sea.
but the guides did say actually the best place to snorkel in Tioman is simply few metres away from the hotel, Renggis island.
we could just swim there
anyway after the second stop i was seasick and so did mrK, we kept throwing up our breakfast.
other than that, we are actually OK. but after a few times we got hungry and exhausted and did not go to the renggis island snorkelling. Instead, we return to the room, changed and showered and get a few winks before going back to catch another boat out.
We asked them beforehand before going back to the room whether we can do so first of course. well they dont mind actually.
so we snorkel for another 40 plus mins around renggis island before catching the boat back.
Dinner today at the chinese restaurant again. and I was having big big headache the whole day.
AT night we catch the movie the taLE of Desperaux , a movie about loyalty, apology and bravery.
its a cartoon actually. this was the first and last time I saw the laptop during the trip and it got stolen.
its a laptop installed with windows 7, and its BIOS n hard disk is password protected. good luck selling it u rotten thief!!!
anyway after the movie we shared a few glasses of Malibu Pineapple, also the only bottle we brought back though we bought 2 other hard liquor.
well in the morning we just had our breakfast and then check out.
the ferry arrive super duper late, and I think its usual, cos we saw ppl strolling in only at 1 pm for the supposedly 12 pm ferry, so we bought some tidbits from the nearby markets.
coconut for some reason is expensive in tioman, so we didnt have any, quite weird considering its a beach destination. maybe the forest behind it makes the water not so salty?
anyway back in mersing, we had durians at some roadside stall.
btw parking is approximately 8rm A day and night so its quite reasonable and very safe. Nothing has been stolen so far.
we also bought the POOR cousin of mangoes. they are small, taste like mangoes but when they are ripe they rot too fast. they are very cheap and usually used unripe for rojak and the like.
do not buy them unless u bought the unripe ones
so we went to JB for dinner at our fave place, Vivo restaurant in Jusco tebrau city. This time instead of parking at our usual basement car park we park upstairs.
we are quite careless and left our bags in the second row, fully visible.
and after grocery shopping and dinner, we found ourselves losing 2 big valuable bags.
one red nike bags containing all our snorkelling gear and clean clothes and another containing our electronics such as my laptop and cables for charging our electronics.
but we still have our phones and digi cam, and another bag containing our dirty clothes.
then we spent the whole night making police reports in malaysia and singapore. we only came back like 2-3 am, and nothing we can get back from the insurers cause the theft is in Malaysia and thats not covered. and nothing happened to the car except for the fact that windows had been forced down and yet no real marks or defects happened
very bad way of ending our very nice holiday
oh well lets close this chapter.
btw I have since went back to JB, its quite ok just do not bring anything and put anything visible inside the car. plus i did not go to tebrau city, i just went to the tesco next door. cheaper stuff but nothing to buy shopping wise unlike topshop and mango in the shopping mall.
but i guess thats why more thief are prowling that area. cos ppl spend longer there with the movie theatre and numerous restaurants n shops present
Penang with JetStar (1) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR.Tags: jetlight travel challenge, jetstar asia, penang
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yes, as mentioned before, I was selected to be the participants of the Jetstar’s JetLight Travel Challenge.
It ran from the 1-3rd July 2009, the mechanism is quite simple yet super exciting
first we get to go to Penang with Jetstar (air tix provided inclusive of taxes, and other charges) with just carry-on luggage, on their Inaugural trip to Penang, the flight left at 1505, but subsequently, they will have early morning flight, like 7 am or something, maybe to cater to the business travelers and day trippers.
then we get 2 N stay in Penang for free , I was selected to stay at Berjaya Georgetown, seems fated with Berjaya huh, just checked out of Berjaya Tioman and now I am at Berjaya Penang.
we are also given S$60 as pocket money (this is the amount saved by opting for carry on luggage only for 2 persons), initially it was stated to be RM 120, but since its in Sing Dollar! its now MORE!!!
we changed at a rate of 2.42
in return, I gotta blog about my experience, do a star jump at the most memorable place and take a pic of it, and also I had to maximise the budget! lastly, i gotta give u guys tonnes and tonnes of pictures!
and if they like it, the GRAND PRIZE is a pair of RETURN air tix to HONGKONG (Disneyland and Shopping here I come!!!!) and 2 N hotel stay in a Kowloon hotel.
well I really want to win of course, after all me and MrK travel together the furthest is to Bangkok, ok maybe Ayuthayya since it’s further north from Bangkok 
. it was the trip that make us caught the travel bug, a 14 day road trip round THAILAND.
Nowadays, we are not that adventurous with the car, probably furthest we went is Kijal in Trengganu. but Penang is definitely has been in our list. WE have never been there, this is our First Time/VIRGIN trip to Penang, so we definitely have alot to see and do but limited time, so stay tune to our version of the best places to see and the best recommendation for FOOD, yes i am sure followers of this humble blog will notice that Food is very big in our hearts and of course our Mouth!
anyway, I cant imagine if I have to drive to Penang, usually Coach trip there take about 12 hrs, and the jam along Penang bridge during peak hour can be a killer!
so flying, takes about 1 hr, and airport transfer is quite easy even though Penang does not has subway or MRT like KL or singapore.
our itenary has been posted before, those interested can just do a search or can look under categories
all related posts will be filed here too
MrK showing off our passports and jETsTAR folder
and me modelling it of course!
Ciao, we are leaving for penang now, from Terminal 1, the advantages of leaving from Terminal 1, you get to enjoy T1,2,3 at the same time! they are all just a skytrain or short walk away, but budget terminal is separate and can be reached by bus transfer only
we had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe in t3, but thats another story!
OT: why I am wearing my Pearl Necklace, well cos Penang is known as the Pearl of the Orient, so without Pearls, I am not complete in my Penang adventure right!
Look out for part 2!
Penang with Jetstar (2) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR, hotel review.Tags: berjaya georgetown, gurney drive, gurney place, gurney plaza, Ice Age 3D, island red cafe, jetstar, penang, wednesday RM 6
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now blog about the trip proper,
btw we are team 8, so maybe, i CAN split the entries into 8?
oh well, in the plane, very smooth ride, I was initially quite afraid, cos I remember long long time ago, someone told me that the skies from Singapore to KL is always cloudy and thus expect a bumpy plane ride, and I rode on Aeroflot (on the way to Moscow in 2000) from Singapore to KL and I had bad motion sickness. but on wednesday, there was no bumpy feeling on the plane at all!
mrK busy filling up forms (he is so nice really!, usually he doesnt even wanna look at the forms except to put his signatures)
me busy camwhoring in the plane, well actually, even though I have a camera with me, I seldom take picture of myself, so my camwhoring skills suck! just look at my DOUBLE chin , ahhhh the horror!!
but with the iPhone, there is so many photography applications so its like having ur own polaroid camera, with a lomo, fisheye whatever lenses there is thrown in but of course, the results is not as satisfactory.
but for the easy fixes and watermark adding, there is always Picasa!
so yeah, I dont photoshop, i only do very minor touches with Picasa.
SO, back to the flight, it was inaugural flight, so Penang Tourism WELCOMES us with a bang!
Pretty ladies giving out flowers and goodie bag while the guys tirelessly beating their drums!!
The Pilot should have announced it! everyone loves to be part of History, they should know that it is the inaugural flight and that Penang Tourism is welcoming us with a bevy of pretty ladies in national and traditional costumes! Oh well, I am sure by the end of it all everyone will realise, but I knew it, thanks to kelly and michelle so I was super EXCITED about receiving the pretty flowers (made of rattan and pretty laces!) and the goodie bag, an eco friendly blue bag with Penang tourism T shirt (I dont have to buy any Souvenir already!) and maps of Penang.
The flowers made a nice addition to my bag too!
Then another surprise, the organiser give us FREE AIRPORT TRANSFER to our hotel! so happy, save at least RM 25 (BY TAXI) to maybe rm 8 (by bus which will take forever cos it was rush hour already (5pm) by the time we cleared immigration and get onto bus)
Berjaya Georgetown is located at 1 midlands Park, Jalan Burma. Midlands Park is not exactly a park, its more of a shopping/hangout place. There are many entertainment outlets such as snooker/billiard, KTV, bar, Pub, Computer gaming and food place like KFC, Dimsum restaurant and 7-11. At night, the hotel’s bar is also very happening with live music! very very loud, but I stay in 27th floor outta 29 floor so it was peaceful and quiet and very good view.
so heres what the room look like, simple and most importantly, clean
BTW, there is this cafe just opposite the hotel, called Island RED cafe. AT night, like 7 onwards, it is FULL! all the parking lots are taken up, all the way until 1-2 am, then ppl started leaving, but really, always patronised. It served normal cafe western food, we didnt try it because we are always full by the time we return to hotel sooo the next time we are in Penang, we are definitely going to try it to see whats the hype all about.
there is no pic, its easy to find, just opp the hotel, right next to the Nokia centre and the Penang Adventist Hospital.
after we put down our stuff and freshen up abit, I practised my starJump!!
then took in the views from the room,
KOMTAR on the left, highest building in Penang, at 60 storeys high, the centre of government offices and heard alot of good food are nearby, more on KOMTAR on the other parts!
on the right, should be Jerai Mountain, the mountainous area near Penang National park (i think!)
Right below, our neighbours, school , condos, cafes etc.
then we go to Gurney Plaza, its so near the hotel so we walk there!
its easy to walk there, just follow the road, take a left at the first opportunity, walk straight ahead and you will see Gurney Plaza, supposedly the best mall in Penang.
There is a nice Playground just next to the mall, so we play for a while there, while practising more starjumps!! and try our hand at capturing the colours, we love this super well maintained and colourful playground!!!
We got hungry so we walked round the mall to find out whats available, then at the top floor (7th storey) is their cinema, 1st July was the opening day for Ice Age 3 : the dawn of Dinosaurs.
Then we saw a banner, wednesday night is movie night, shows only at RM6!
we got excited, but then we find out that its not applicable for ice age, its applicable for shows like transformers though.
well its still cheap plus I am sure we can still make it within budget since we have extra RM thanks to exchange rate difference.
so we bought tix to Ice age 3D!! RM 30 cos its 3D! still cheaper than Singapore (3D movies not applicable for any credit card discount!) and the cinema is really quite clean and well maintained!
now we get really hungry and head out to the famous Gurney Drive hawker centre.
Thats the huge hawker centre behind me, a very crowded place!
Their muar Chi is sold out! 
and Char Kway tiao Q was super duper long (well only this particular stall actually) so we eat asam laksa (very different from any kind of laksa in singapore), fried oyster, Rojak and Sotong Bakar (grilled sotong)
for drinks we had sugar cane and soya bean
total dinner cost RM 24
then we take a walk along gurney to enjoy the sea breeze
before catching our movie!
us in cool 3d glasses!!
ICE AGE is damn funny and highly recommended. 3D is really cool, sharp and super clear pictures!
CYA tomorrow for More adventures!!!
Penang with Jetstar (3) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR, food, restaurant review.Tags: cendol, claypot briyani, dajie desserthouse, Goddess of Mercy temple, kapitan, Kuan Yin temple, little india, masjid kapitan keling, penang
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After last night usual Malay/Chinese fare,
we should eat Indian food today, we have it for brunch!
at the famous KAPITAN claypot briyani place. Ask any local about the best Indian food, their answer will be little India (DUH! in singapore too right, race course road for the best Indian FOOD) and then of course, we ask where in little India, and most will point you towards Kapitan
Here is their outlook, right in the corner from Little India,
probably because its easy to find, bright big red signboard (No one wants their guests to be stranded and hungry, as the saying goes, a hungry man is an angry man!) and of course they serve good food! and Look at their extensive menu!
actually we wanted to try their prata/roti canai as the Malaysians called it (supposedly very good) but they run out already and will only start making again at 4pm
so we just “settled” with their Tandoori set and of course their claypot briyani!
total bill (RM18.7) inclusive of Ice TEH (tea with milk and brown sugar, taste very refreshing ) and the traditional Mango LASSI
The food here is absolutely SUPERB! I will return again for their prata and more claypot briyani, it was simply the best briyani I have eaten, and usually briyani gives me stomachache, ever since secondary school I avoid eating briyani, but this one is served with grilled chicken, so the taste was different and the rice in claypot is absolutely flavourful
the Tandoori set also good, the chicken is full of flavour, moist and tender! and their bread, taste as good as the bread I ate at Prego!, with the curry or the sauce given, they are just fantastic
Definitely 5 stars for food!
after the satisfying brunch, we walked round little india a bit more.
Little India in Penang is not as happening as the one in Singapore, just the blaring Bollywood music indicate you r indeed in Little india, the usual Jasmine and spices smell is not as obvious. In fact, the streets are quite empty, perhaps its still early in the morning.
but of course, there is the street hawkers peddling the usual mind boggling varieties of Vadai, and other Indian snacks
after all the food, we walked over to the Goddess of Mercy temple. this temple, not to be confused with the Kuan Yin temple or the Kek Lok Si, which also worship Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy), yes Penang has many Kuan Yin temples, but this one near Little India is particularly special, it was mainly dedicated to the Goddess of Sea “Ma Chor Poh” as well as Kuan Yin
more information, you can read here.
as its quite a special place, many people can be seen praying here!
MrK haggling for the best jossticks, and then praying!
More pictures of the temple
It was a particularly Hot DAY! all the josssticks burning just adds to the temperature, so we need to cool and just across the road, we find this, Da Jie Desserthouse
I had the See KoR Thng (similar to Chng Thng) , MrK the Cendol! (RM 5)
Of course we walked further, along the way is whole road full of money changers, everyone in Jln Masjid Kapitan Keling is a money changer, AWESOME!, there is at least 100+ money changers in that road alone, not counting the ones in inner alleys ( I spot several)
and One cant miss the building in which the road is named after, the Masjid Kapitan Keling (Masjid=Mosque in Malay).
this building is Persian inspired, and the huge clock tower is awe inspiring, and I am sure when it was prayer time, it will be filled with people, luckily we are there on Thursday and not Friday!
I shall end the post here, it is getting too long
well one last look at the mosque, from another angle
Penang with JETSTAR (4) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR.Tags: kek lok si, khoo kongsi, penang, tortoise pond, Yap temple
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WELCOME to part 4,
So further walk along Masjid Kapitan Keling, then slight twist and turn, we end up at the charming temple belonging to the Yap Kongsi,
Chinese make up the majority in Penang (60%), alot of the clans (kongsi) have their presence here. Thus for many Chinese, visiting Penang is like a “pilgrimage” aka History lesson to know more about their ancestors. We use GPS on my phone to find our way round so we can save on taxi (a lot of streets in the alleys in georgetown are one way, sometimes walking is easier n faster! ) we also took rapid penang bus everywhere!
well back to the pics, Here is the charming Yap Kongsi temple
we then reached the famous Khoo Kongsi, the Jewel heritage of Penang. we bought our entrance tix (RM 5 Each so its RM10)
and proceed to the museum, their museum is designed to be self explanatory with lots of dioramas and explanations. We were lucky to meet one of the curator and the designer of the museum himself, Mr Khoo of course! so we can learn alot more.
a little OT : I thought Khoo will be related to MrK (whose surname is Kok), because I have seen his relatives spell their surname as Koh. As you might know, many Chinese spell their surname differently because of dialect influences, but they are actually the same surname like Tan and Chen etc.
but I was wrong, of course, The Khoos r different,
though they did use Kok as a middle name in their 16th generation.
pictures of the huge place, and the interiors.
Khoo Kongsi when lighted up at night, this building is actually just the main temple/prayer hall. all the surroundings little shophouses also belong to the Khoo clan, and they are rented out to shops etc. There are total more than 50 houses in that area all belonging to the Khoo clan.
They were a site for filming the movie on Siam Kingdom, Anna and the King.
I cook,
they are enjoying the fruits of my LABOUR
they have many foreign influences too in their buildings, such as this guard, He wore a turban, just like Gurkhas?
WE cannot roll the granite ball inside the lion, I didnt know it can be rolled in the first place. I thought its usually fixed?
after visiting kHOO kongsi, we walked to KOMTAR, all rapid Penang bus stop/transit here, so we took a bus to Air Itam where Kek Lok Si and Penang Hill is located
since its located on a hill, it might be too steep for some to climb, so they build a road, so the place is now accessible to everyone young and old
Me taking in the hillside view
Kek lok si pictures
Pic of the famous pagoda and the surroundings, plus more of the God/Goddess statues
MrK praying,
A lot of people has experienced miracles from this temple, one of the most visited place in Penang. and it is also known as the temple of supreme bliss.
Fann Wong in Ah long Pte Ltd was forced (in one scene of the movie) to pray here by her mother to find a spouse. Well one of the belief is that the temple can help you to find your spouse.
MrK, bought a “roof” of the temple, inscribed it with his name as well as pineapple candle also inscribed with his name to get some of the Supreme Bliss.
Then we took a walk down, via the staircase this time and visited the Tortoise pond
OH MY!, never seen so many tortoise in my life before, there is at least thousands of them, we bought Kang Kong (RM 1) to feed them
The GUY on the right most pic, is Particularly huge, and push others by force in order to get to FOOd, a clear example of survival of the fittest?
after this, we walked to the train station for the funicular train ride up the Penang Hill, along the way spotted a bus, and hop on it, bus 204 straight to the station!
I shall end the post here,
before that, one more look at Khoo Kongsi
and of me, near the many many statues, lining the whole place and the pagodas
Penang with Jetstar (5) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR.Tags: air hitam, penang hill, Rapid Penang
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We proceed to go to Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill)
we quickly bought tix to take the funicular train up the hill (RM8 for both of us)
we camwhore inside it while we still can
The GPS device that I was using to guide me all over Penang. If you want to know about my maps and some of my POI (point of interests) that i have collected over my road trips in Malaysia or my current Penang trip, you can visit malfreemaps.com (for the map) or mail me if you are interested in a certain place and wants a coordinate.
The steep train track, on the way up, afraid that the train will go backwards cos of our weight and on the way down, thinking that the cables might snap after many many years of service and we will go down on a roller coaster ride
then we had to transit at the middle station to change onto another train.
Exact Location of the middle station
the middle station is about 300m high, and the view is amazing,
we are already liking this place! and prepare lots of Star Jump shots!
then we took another train to go to the top of the hill at 881 m, what a height, and along the way always afraid whether the train will be able to make it up the hill.
well once we are up there, we are rewarded with a generous view,
MrK cant pass up this good deal, see his incredulous look when I said I wanted to borrow!
Well we love Penang hill! The weather is cool. There are actually hotels, restaurant, hawker centre, temples ( both Chinese n hindhu temple) also a Mosque
More pictures!
The historic cannon that protect penang! now MrK is manning it with water bottles!
One of the temples at the top of the hill
We wanted to go on the canopy walk but it was closed!
But we rewarded ourselves with chocolate ice cream from nature! 
And meet giant spiders! i TELL u, this spider is as big as the palm. and then See more great flora around
My attempt at macro shoot failed! My camera too lousy! Need to get new one soon, maybe this time a Lumix also! My Taiwan trip pictures some of it were from a lumix I’ll show side by side comparison next time
Then it was sunset n time to go back down! I don’t know why but the down bound train will always be packed! They made me wait for more than half hour inside a packed train and the train before was empty!
Their train schedule is quarter and three quarter of every hour. So English rite? Use quarter thingy
Oh well it was going to be dark but still have to take pictures with the train station rite!
They also dug tunnels to make way for the train, the tunnel is just right for the size of the train, next time if they wanna change this train for some reason (one of the most compelling is that the current one too slow n too crowded already even during weekdays), they need to make new tunnels or maybe next time they will do cable car.
we are at the BOTTOM, wanted to take more more pictures of this beautiful, serene and cosy place
A few snaps n MrK said 204 is here! So we forgot about picture taking n ran for the bus!
Well it was their interchange stop, so actually we could have taken a few more pic cos the bus will wait
Not satisfied with the limited camera time in the station. So we took more inside the bus. This time round seated sideways so could really feel the RAPID part of the bus!
I tell u taking rapid Penang is almost as good as taking a taxi. There’s only a few stops n they drive as fast if not faster than taxi. Of course the downside is that u don’t always get a seat. But it’s cheap n efficient. Though the frequency of the bus could be further improved. Waited quite long for a bus usually about 15 or more mins
one last shot, an attempt at an “Arty” shot
this one is of one of the many staircases in the hill.
Ciao, see ya in Part (6)
Penang with Jetstar (6) July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR.Tags: air hitam market, durian, georgetown, KOMTAR
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WE stopped at Air Hitam market for some DURIANS!
Its durian season now and Penang is very famous for their durians. Their most famous (and thus tastiest) durian plantation is located at Balik Pulau, and their plantations offer those all u can eat durian eating. But we have no time for those and besides how much durian can we eat after eating all the yummy Penang food.
The durians sold in Penang are usually from Balik Pulau, but the ones in Air Hitam is definitely from Balik Pulau, the Penang ppl said so, the durian sellers also display signs that said so, and of course Balik Pulau is just a few km away from Air Hitam.
only 1 shot of durians cos hands were dirty afterwards
we then continue on to search for our dinner this time round, near KOMTAR, where many famous food outlets are located.
First, since Penang is located close to Thailand, we need to eat at some Thai joint.
this one is particularly full of people despite just serving simple dishes like fried rice and tom yam
we ordered their Pattaya fried rice (rice wrapped in omelette).
She cooked with passion, really very loud and with large movement of the pan and you can see rice being tossed about metres away
Our food is finally here, MrK is starving so he said no need pics just eat
Next we have Tang Yuen for dessert, this tang yuen stall is located right opposite Traders Hotel (next to Komtar) really very nice “soup”
its made of young ginger (very fragrant and warm taste) not old one cos the warmth of young ginger is a lot more compared to the old one. and this one is mixed in with Gula Melaka.
The best Tang Yuen I have eaten in life easily
Next to it sell some kueh, but we need to save stomach for other things
So we walked further, and checked out Sunway Hotel, some of our competitors are staying here and of course we need to stake them out rite? haha JK!
anyway there is a mini hawker centre just below the hotel, so we eat some char kway tiao (prev day at Gurney the queue was horrendous) and some satay.
not bad the food.
we are full now and thus we head towards the bus stop, but before that, the GPS told us that Sun Yat Sen Memorial is nearby
so we visited it
I am also a PATRIOT. (statue of the 3 patriots, Dr Sun Yat Sen is the one in the middle)
then we took the bus home 101, right to our doorstep, oh well need to walk a bit actually
our early morning flight worries us, cos we are afraid of the rush hour traffic. BUT let me tell u, when they say there is traffic, it just means there is lots of cars on the road, but u can still move along quite comfortably, unlike Singapore, when u said traffic jam, u r moving at snail speed or not moving at all.
so the concept of traffic is different.
well we reached the airport on time of course
and us having breakfast at the hotel,
the plane that brings us here, will now bring us back
and me with the memorable JETSTAR plane
we took a group pic, but my camera died, I will “steal” one of the pic from the other blogs
well onto Part 7, whats next?? of course our star jump!!
Penang with Jetstar (7) – The aftermath July 7, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, Penang with JETSTAR.Tags: aftermath, budget, penang hill
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Our most memorable place, hard to choose, each one is special
but we had a romantic walk in Penang Hill and spend quite a long time there, we enjoyed the weather and thus
we crown it our most memorable place
Thank you Jetstar,
we love Penang and of course we love Jetstar
now onto our budget
we calculated our spendings and wrote it down on Hotel paper
so here is the breakdown
Ice age 3D movie = Rm 30
Dinner at Gurney drive = Rm 24
Brunch at Kapitan, Little India = RM 18.70
Khoo Kongsi entrance fee = RM 10
Penang Hill Funicular train = Rm 8
Dinner at Komtar area = RM 20.5
Bus rides =Rm 11
Durian feast =RM 20
Water from 7-11 = Rm 2.50
total = RM 144.7
of course our donations to some temples are not included.
but we made it within the budget!!! with 50 cents left!!!
we changed at 2.42 so 60×2.42 = 145.2
and do so much things!!
Onto the itenary,
all the things we stated in the itenary post,
all of it was fulfilled except for Batu Ferringhi beach. We decided to skip the beach because a beach will be a beach and there will be nothing so special about it. Of course the huge nightmarket in Batu Ferringhi is very famous, but many penang people we met said that place is mainly catered for tourists. in fact a similar market, albeit at smaller scale is quite nearby our hotel is called Thailand market by locals, which from the name can be implied that it sells thailand goods. However, these market are nowhere near the quality of JJ market or more commonly known as Chatuchak market.
but in return, we visited Khoo Kongsi, and the Goddess of Mercy temple and walked round Little India.
I feel its better to know a little more about Chinese heritage in Penang than go shopping, plus there will be nothing we wanna buy cos we are travelling light!
anyway I am missing Penang already
and PS: there is no part 8, even though I said I was going to do 8 parts.
I feel its gonna be too long, so yeah dont look out for 8 parts, Only 7
and its ending here
Hope you all enjoy it, any qns pls feel free to ask
now I am back to writing my thesis
and start researching on Hongkong!!
well one last pic, this one is of uS in Kek Lok Si, the grandest temple in all of malaysia, or maybe south east asia?
jetSTar (but no) jump!
ok thanks for reading it will definitely end here. dont wait for part 8
Tioman Trip Pt 2 June 28, 2009
Posted by ferreroroche in Malaysia travel, food.Tags: berjaya resort, canoeing, renggis island, snorkelling, tioman
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Today we woke up pretty early to catch the breakfast in hotel.
then we rented a canoe to go to renggis island.(60rm/hr for 2 seater canoe)
given our limited canoeing skill, we manage to dock our canoe at the floating platform and do some snorkelling.
basically in renggis island, the sealife is still quite well preserved. I spotted nemo(clownfish) on my last snorkelling trip.
there are reef sharks etc too
well here is dinner pic from day one and some sunset pic
plus alligator …well i am kidding, its monitor lizard, very common in tioman, and they are quite big too.
have not been spotted much near the beach but very common in the rivers, waterways etc.
well its been such a bliss. I mean waking up everyday and just walking by the soft sand, enjoying the sea breeze. go canoeing, snorkelling and then back to the room for some rest, drink some beach liquor such as Malibu.
yeap bought malibu pineapple, contreau, and hennessy fine white wine, the other 2 bottle stolen!!!! at tekek main village on second day.
today we also had dinner at the restaurants outside berjaya. this time round at the malay food one!
ordered tom yam fried rice and some veg. while its cheap at almost half the price of the chinese restaurant. we dont like the food and went back to the chinese restaurant
well tips to stay away from sandfly is to rub baby oil.so before we head outta the room, we rub baby oil generously. we bought ours from johnson and johnson in Giant at Mersing before we board the ferry.
well actually we also bought snorkelling gear in Mersing. almost 200 bucks worth!! now all stolen though!!!
well stolen story is for another part
meanwhile enjoy the pics
this pic is taken at Renggis island, just throw a tiny bit of bread (we bought a loaf at giant only at 2rm, better than buying stale bread from hotel at 5rm) and all the fish flock, free fish spa!!
but mrK Are terrified of them. n would not go topless while swimming for fear of fish bites!
presenting to u, tioman’s monitor lizard. sorry for blur pics. my camera has bad zoom capability!
lastly, its me sipping my orange/pineapple juice by the beach.
i think i have lost weight (happy!) from all the canoeing, swimming etc and of course the stress free life
my skin also look fantastic here. though my eyerings are still as bad as ever.
well alot of ppl ask me what did i do to keep my skin look clean all the time.
i can assure u no photoshop, cos i dun have any installed in this laptop. my other laptop is stolen.
its just that i dun wear any makeup at all everyday. only for very special occasion, eg going for dinner at posh places, attending a party etc i would wear my powder foundation, some blush and lipgloss.
but thats a topic for another time
look out for my part 3 (final part) on my round island trip of tioman and our sad journey back!
tips on making police report in JB (OUR STUFF GOT STOLEN there)
