CABLE CAR RIDE, PULAU LANGKAWI

The cable car experience at Langkawi

Sentral, ERL, Langkawi, Berjaya Langkawi ……

Last Tue, Allan and I went to Langkawi – mainly because MAS had their zero fare promotion

So we went to this beautiful island but FORGOT TO BRING THE CAMERA!!!!!

that’s why all the pics are not so clear lor – used a handphone camera…..

Decided not to ask anyone to send us to KLIA this time, so we took the Putra LRT to Sentral but the time was too tight to risk taking the bus to KLIA, so we hopped on to the ERL. Both are really easy, just go upstairs from the LRT stop and look for the ERL signboard or go downstairs for the buses.  Just be careful not to take the wrong bus – some go to KLIA and some to the LCCT. Paid RM35 (I think) per person for the ERL but it would have cost us only RM10 per person for the bus. Sigh!

The ERL is comfortable, spacious and FAST!!! Reached the airport in 35 mins.

Arrived at Pulau Langkawi and was really angry at myself for not bringing the camera, the clouds looked magnificent.

Rented this Proton Wira from one of the counters inside the airport – found out that the prices are not very different from the ones operating outside.  You might just get a cheaper rate from the touts outside, but I don’t think I’d want to save RM10-RM20 and risk getting a car that’s not good or worse still, with a badly maintained air-condition! That’s like SUPER important for a place like Langkawi. The guy at counter 22 (they are also at Counter 28) gave us the Wira for a special rate of RM120 for 2 full days, ie, from Tues night till we left on Thurs evening. The normal rate for a wira is about RM80 per day, but you can bargain for a better price during the off peak season.  DO CHECK the car before you go off.

Berjaya Langkawi Beach and Spa Resort – nice place

Their rooms are done in chalet style, lots of privacy and surrounded by trees and lush foliage.  

Rooms are really cosy – remember to lock the balcony door at all times – the monkeys like to be cosy too:)

Great place for quiet contemplation and relaxation

Some chalets are bigger for more people and some are doubles and quads.  

Be careful though, to ask for easy access like this one here if you are holidaying with older people who have limited mobility.  Some of the chalets are really high up or below road level with a series of steps to get to it, either up or down.

The beach is close enough and private, but I noticed a lot of dead leaves brought in by the waves, a good sign actually cos they come from the mangrove swamp nearby.  I also noticed that Berjaya has workers cleaning the beach.

Chalets by the sea – probably the more expensive ones

Never stepped into the pool as the sea was what I wanted

The chalets are far off from the lobby, so they have shuttle buses going up and down 24 hours.  Very efficient too – didn’t have to wait more than 5 mins for one to come when we paged for them.  We took a walk one morning and it was a pleasant 4 mins walk to the Lobby – not too bad.

One other thing I like about them – they extended our check out time till 1pm

Al Nafourah – Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur

“A contemporary oasis with private silken dinner tents, Moorish arches, ornate paintings, and richly woven carpets lend an enchanting ambience scented with spices. After the feast, intriguing belly dancers perform and flavoured tobacco is available.”

PROBLEM!!!!

Where were the belly dancers???

Guess we came at the wrong time, huh?

Anyway, we did enjoy the experience, having lunch in a totally different environment and ingesting stuff with totally different taste.

we were early for our reservations, so we explored the place first. this is the Le Meridien in Sentral, Kuala Lumpur – its really pleasant, almost an oasis, I must say, in the heart of the city.

Looks like this will be the place we’ll be staying at this year under our Starwood Club Membership facility. 

So, how different was the food? 

SO DIFFERENT that we did not recognise the olives till we ate it – actually, I think they should do something about the presentation of the olives.  Much as this sounds terrible, I thought the olives looked a bit like mini stools at first glance……. 

OK la, maybe we’re just plain blur …….

It was a 3 course set lunch, and although the portions look small, don’t be deceived…..they’re VERY filling

The first to arrive – salad – i like it well mixed with the sour cream and the small pieces of nut (pecan?)

Main course, sword fish with some spicy chick peas. I only managed to eat half of it and so Allan had almost double portion – NOT A GOOD IDEA.  Why? Well, we noticed that the result of eating too much of the sword fish is ……… a lot of oil released from the other end……… yeah, you literally poop oil!!  I was spared because I had much less. Allan pooped oil for 2 days ….. ROFLOL!!! 

Its nothing to do with the quality of the food, just a reaction with this kind of fish

Oh, and Halibut gives the same effect

 

My hero who spared me the oily pooping :p

Finally, the desert…….

it looked so good that I forgot to take a pic of it.

Then of course, the customary coffee or tea.

One more thing, the air cond is really cold.

blog a blog everyday ….. its good for the blog

i’ve been told that i should blog everyday if i want to get a high amount of traffic ……. of course i don’t need that, but its worth a try, just to experiment.

ok, so i’ll blog about what happened today

i went to tesco to shop, then went into popular book shop with my cart, placed it by the side, then bought some stuff, paid for them and walked out of the shop …….. if you think i forgot my cart, you’re wrong, I DIDN’T. 

so i went off, unlocked the car, arranged the seats so that i could put everything in. (the boot of my avanza is not in use for the moment – the catch on the door is rosak)

anyway, i turned to the cart and ….. HORRORS!!!! 

i had taken somebody else’s cart!!!!

so it was, quickly close door, lock door, then push cart back into tesco. as i was walking back in, i saw this harrassed looking man, looking around with his hand on his forehead and i knew this was the owner of the cart as i remember (my memory not so bad after all) seeing him walk into popular with a cart, like i did.

so, i rushed over to him and apologised profusely, explaining and then push the cart into his hands

…….. walked coolly (must not look too guilty or harassed or embarrassed, mah) into popular, took the cart and left ……… oh and on the way out, i met the guy walking back into popular…….. and apologised again

poor guy, i hope he doesn’t have a poor heart condition.

More pics from yesteryear

All the pictures will look a bit out of balance because I took a photo of the photo with a camera but at an awkward angle!

This is a very important picture.

Allan and I sang at a few weddings but we didn’t usually sing as a family. I’m glad we did for this one, and I’m really glad we have a pic of it. You see, Raymond passed away at the end of 2006. It was unbelievable because he was in the prime of his life (30+), in the pink of health, the husband of a beautiful wife and the father of 2 young children.  Life is so uncertain – that’s why we MUST live it to our fullest capacity, and to God’s glory, something Raymond certainly did.

This was taken at the Astro Roadshow in PJ.  I remember Allan was the emcee/game host for the stage performances and Jien and Azura from Disney World had a few slots as special guests – Our children were really excited to have met them.  Don’t know why Anna was not in the picture

I don’t care what others think, but I think they’re just SO CUTE!!! Again, where is Anna?

this was during the time when digital P&S first came into the Malaysian market. I remember a 1.0 mp camera was SOOOOOOO chun! Anyway, this was a great trip to Redang/Lang Tengah.  Might just take them there again next year when Anna gets back and before Andy goes anywhere, IF he goes anywhere!

chinese new year is a time we always take family pics. can’t do that anymore now that Anna is away. sigh!

2002 trip to Damai Laut with Andrew and Yvonne. I remember Andrew had this top of the range (then) P&S with 3mp and we were all going “wah……”

 

 

memories of yesteryear

its been lots of late nights for me……catching up with ex-classmates on Facebook (and Peklyn said I’ll never find anyone my age on FB!!! *sticks tongue out at her*)

then because of that, all of us are busy digging out old photos and posting on FB. Wow! its been really exciting. So I also dig out, lor…. and re-discovered some interesting pics and some of them have interesting tales……

I’m sure the youth will have something to say about uncle Allan and his long hair, ha ha ha!

Our hero in Snowy mountain without a shirt – after that sure regret one, hero only for the photo

the early 80’s look

i’ve told a few people about “sand-less” beach at Brighton and they couldn’t understand me, so here it is, all pebbles – the only spot with sand is an area where they BRING the sand in for children to play with. i noticed that the “orang putih” found it painful to walk bare footed on the pebbles, unlike me who just walk “no sweat”!

our one and only flight on a really small plane, (can’t remember if it was 9 or 12 seater). could feel the turbulence every single time there was a bit of wind! so scary! this was on our trip to the Mulu Caves

The trip to Sydney and Melbourne was special because of 2 things – firstly, it was to attend Kenny Koay’s wedding and secondly, after the it got us started at the gym after we saw the pics from the trip – all the big tummies – there’s one of Allan that really shows his flab – not showing it here out of respect for him :p

this was also the trip that set off my travel bug – the next year I went to London, then to US, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Bali, Bandung, Solo, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hongkong, Phuket, Bangkok, Macau, and to East Malaysia and we are still rolling. Next year will be Hanoi, Krabi, Gold Coast, Manado and hopefully, Cambodia.

This is also a special pic – this was the day Air Asia had its inaugural flight to Penang and we bought the ticket for RM10. We went there in the morning, visited and ate at all our favourite makan stalls which included the asam laksa, chendol, fried kway teow and durian stalls. then after that, out of guilt, we went to the Penang Botanical Garden to walk off all the food, then made it to the airport in time to catch the evening flight back to KL. 

My 21st birthday.  See Aunty Ding and Granny Ding behind?

Bangkok 5 – Khlong Toei Market

Like I said earlier, Allan loves to visit wet markets, so I accompanied him to the Klong Toei market, the place that supplies half the city’s fresh produce.  To get there, take the MRT line to Queen Sirikit Convention Centre, then take exit 1 to the Rama 4 intersection and it’s just around the corner

 

Walking from the station to the market.  Turn left at the end of this junction to get there.

Its a HUGE market

Mostly locals here and very little English spoken, so you’d have to be very good with sign language if you can’t speak Thai.

Sea Food

Everyone busy even though it was drizzling

Cheap stuff here

Live chickens

Cooked fish

Me and the babi-babi

We bought a lot of these big bags to store our mascot heads.

Barisan Nasional in Thailand????

After we came back from the market, we went out with the children, Allie and Sasha for the river trip and had lunch at Pier 9

BANGKOK 4 – RIVER RIDE

Prelude to River trip

Allan & I went to the market early that morning (yup, the wet market) – its Allan’s idea of being a tourist – he’s not happy until he’s visited the wet market. Says that’s the life of the place, to take in the sights, sounds and smells! I went with him dutifully as a good wife

OK, back to our story – Sasha, who sleeps at 7.30pm, naturally gets up at 6am or 7am and shoutshollers, “Is the sun awake yet? MUMMMY, IS THE SUN AWAKE YET?!!”

And so she was pretty much awake by the time we were.  She was all ready and excited about going out for the river ride that day.  It was already 11am by the time we got back from the market and our dear Sasha had already been all hyped up for 4 hours and starting to tire out…..

……which was not a good start to a trip……

she was cranky almost throughout the trip (poor Allie) but she knew and at one point said, “I’m soooo… tired!”

This pic was one fluke shot when she managed a smile.

Sasha on the ferry

 

Just can’t get enough shot of her – even when she is cranky! (oh Sasha, you’d absolutely going to hate me for this when you’re a teenager!)

Angie, Andrea and I on the ferry

On the river

River was very full and had lots of weeds

All kinds of ferries.

Church

Houses along the river bank

Interesting activities

this Wat looks a bit like Borubudur

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and guess what?

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Angie missed everything because she was sleeping! If only Sasha is able to just drop off like that!

Bangkok 3 – Cabbages & Condoms

One of the great places we went to was this restaurant named Cabbages and Condoms.

Basically, it is run by the population and Community Development Association (PDA), Thailand’s largest private-voluntary organization. It was founded in 1974 by Mechai Viravaidya as an organization to promote family planning. Khun Mechai recognized that unless radical steps were taken to contain Thailand’s rapid population growth, the government’s efforts to promote development would be fruitless.  Using a new approach, PDA established community based distribution networks throughout the country, providing villagers access to pills and condoms.  

The name Cabbages and Condoms comes from Mechai’s belief that for any program to be successful, birth control should be as accessible and easy to buy as vegetables in the market!

(Write up extracted from leaflets obtained from the restaurant)

C&C restaurant is one of the most unique restaurants in Metropolitan Bangkok and located in a main business district.  It is very popular among both local and foreign guests.

Besides the restaurant, they have a handicraft shop too.  All products on display were produced by villagers from rural areas of Thailand and all proceeds from the handicraft and restaurant will be used to fund development and social welfare activities of PDA. In fact, the whole place was conceptualized to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning, thus the various posters and stuff like that.

There’s a condom for my clowns

And one for pianists – Andy immediately thought of Jee Yann and took this pic just for him

their creativeness is brilliant 

these mannequins are dressed ENTIRELY with condoms and strips of contraceptive pills

Ingenious

 

the ambience was just fantastic, the place well run and the food good, although most of the Thai food is toned down to suit “ang-moh” taste buds, ie, not so spicy

Aren’t these lamp shades pretty? You guessed it, also made of condoms – I’d say functional in EVERY sense of the word :p

Family pic but without Sasha – the girl was asleep by 7.30pm!

Condom Santa Claus – wondering if we can try that this Christmas?!!

For those who want to visit, its at Sukhumvit Soi 12, one of the roads in Sukhumvit and a short walk away from the Sukhumvit-Asoke MRT/BTS Stations.  They are open daily from 11.00 – 22.00 with lots of parking space.  Call them at 0-2229-4610 for reservations though its not really required.

Bangkok 2

 

Although Bangkok has 4-lane highways, many of the roads in the town are narrow, and to compound things, there will always be a stall or a car at the side of the road.  Our taxi was “stuck” on the road to Allie’s place because of this stall and another gigantic car coming from the opposite direction.  

That’s when i saw the beauty of the Thai way of life.  NOBODY lost their cool – they just waited and allowed the other vehicle to pass first – no sign of impatience – no blaring of the horn! Amazing and beautiful

There is no end to the creativity of the Thai people – fancy setting up a sewing machine to do minor repairs on a side alley

The road gets even smaller just before turning into Allie’s place!

….. and then suddenly you come to this beautifully landscaped block of condominiums…..

I must say its a joy to come home to……

the reception area of the condo

the hallway at the first block

Allie and Phill’s living room is HUGE for a condo

Dining and kitchen

Sasha “baby-crib-into-a-bed”

they also provide “tut-tut” service to the main road.

The children made full use of the pool – I didn’t even go near it

Getting Sasha ready

Sasha-mon was the best bit about Bangkok

THIS IS A TALE OF 2 SWIMMERS ……

Andy’s more serious about swimming now cos I told him that his chest is too small and his frame too skinny.

He learnt the front crawl and breast stroke when he was younger but never really got the butterfly. So he’s always wanted to be able to do it. 

He came running up from the pool and exclaimed excitedly, “I can do the butterfly….. I did TWO strokes!”

I was like, “ok,…. wow, Andy, TWO strokes“

Then we have little Sasha – she’s one girl who needs to do whatever she’s doing without any help from others. So, she’s swimming and going, “Momest there, momest there” (translated – almost there) and NOT moving an inch, in fact, she was going backwards. 

She was really getting tired, and almost in tears, but doesn’t want help, so how to help her?

EUREKA!

Angie thought of an idea.

Create waves behind her and let the waves carry her along!