Langkawi in a Whim

Langkawi, Jewel of Kedah

A last minute decision to go on a short vacation in a short time frame and in a short budget :p Well Langkawi was chosen because Air Asia had a promotion to fly for two at RM 258 and that translates to RM 129 per person! We had about like less than two weeks to plan our trip including accommodation. This is what cheap thrills do to people :p

After deliberating a while, we decided to book the place called Casa Fina which was great except that it was not right next to the beach. It was clean and pretty comfortable and Wifi signal in every cabin! It was just across the road to Pantai Cenang and needed about 5 to 10 minutes walk to the beach. The good thing about staying in Pantai Cenang is that it is the most happening places and you can get most things within walking distance. It has bars, restaurants, souvenir shops, shops selling clothes and knick knack stalls. Here you can watch sunset at the beach.

The Room

However, I did spot a roach on one of the nights and thankfully it wasn't the the flying type and didn't see it thereafter. Moreover, the price was really reasonable which was RM 138 per weekday nights and RM 158 for weekends. The staff was friendly and helpful too. Was glad that we managed to get the cabin room as we could get good sleep as I heard another guest who spent the night at one of the rooms above the shop units complaining that he couldn't sleep as it was too noisy!

View of the Sun on Pantai Cenang

However, Pantai Cenang can be a little dangerous as they had all these vehicles on the beach, speedboats and jet skis skimming over the water where people actually swim as well. Also, the beach was a little busy.

Some Iron Rods

Prints of the Waves and Foot

Pantai Pasir Hitam literally translated to Black Sand Beach was not really black. There are only spots of it. There were some stalls that actually sold key chains that contain the black sand. I guess the black sand is getting lesser and lesser as it gets harvested for this :(

Fishing Boats Moored by the Beach

There is something unique about Pantai Pasir Hitam as there are fishing boats nearby and a wooden bridge. I even saw a makeshift hut that guts fish.

Wooden Bridge

The cable car ride to the top of Gunung Mancincang gave us a panoramic view of Langkawi Island. Along the way to the top of the mountain, you can see the texture and wonderful rock formations, greenery, the Telaga Tujuh waterfall, parts of the Straits of Malacca and parts of the Indian Ocean :) The view is so breathtaking and so well worth our RM 15. Foreigners get charged RM 30 instead. There is also a hanging bridge to walk on near the top of the cable car station.

Supporting Beams of the Bridge

Nearby the cable car station, there is the Telaga Tujuh trail to go up to three different waterfalls. Only went to the first fall which was a 10 minute walk as my sprained ankle has not healed yet. The path consists of steps but is pretty steep. Even then, the waterfall looks good.

First Fall

The Loaf is such an excellent place to chill in. Great bread, great food, great service and best of all, get view. The view of yachts and the blue sea couple with cozy environment was really relaxing. Another plus point that the restaurant is not too busy. Thus, we enjoyed our time there slowly and went there twice! Yes, it was that good :)

Jalur Gemilang

Enjoying a Cuppa

Quiche, Matcha Almond Bread and Galete

Overall, Langkawi is quite a nice place to just relax and hang out. The beaches are not superb but reasonably clean. It's easy to get around in rented car as traffic is pretty free and the road systems are simple. Saw quite a number of tourist renting motorbikes and scooters to get around but be prepared with loads of sunblock!

Eats of Padang, Indonesia

What's a trip without good local food. A recent trip to Padang brought us to try their local food, some familiar and some a little weird.

Definitely not to missed, Padang where Nasi Padang originated from. The curry chicken have always been really good. We had their Daging Dendeng which was cooked til really dry and hard but is fragrant. This is not my cup of tea although it is supposed to be famous.

Nasi Padang is served in a concept that we were quite new to. Rice will be served and plates and plates of dishes will be be brought out on the table. Just eat whatever dishes that you want to eat and you will be charged accordingly. Those which you did not touch, will not be charged.

An Array of Dishes (Nasi Padang)

Pork Satay is the best highlight in Padang for me. Available in Chinatown, this pork satay is excellent. The best in fact. The meat is lean but yet very tender and juicy. Marinated so well that no sauce is required. It comes with an appetizing serving of pickled cucumbers which is sweet and sour. We loved it so much that we had this twice during the whole trip.

Succulent Pork Satay

Being curious of what is being written beverage section in the menu, Terung Tirus or literally translated to Pointed Brinjal which does not really mean as what it is literally translated. It is just juice small sour red fruit. In its juice form, it is a little sour and sweet. A little like pineapple juice but not as sour with sugar. Pretty refreshing.

Jus Terung Tirus

Terung Tirus

Chicken intestines! Yeap, this is what we tried while having some late dinner at this coffee shop. It's not my cup of tea though as I feel that it wasn't really fresh. It felt a little disgusting although it doesn't have much taste. The texture is just like poppadoms that are not too fresh.

Deep Fried Chicken Intestines

Another delicious juice. Avocado juice or locally called Alpokat is definitely delicious and it is cheap here. The juice is creamy and thick but we do not feel that it is too cloying. A long drizzle of chocolate syrup really made this drink delicious.

Jus Alpokat

Grilled fish or Ikan Bakar was really good. The fish is really grilled and smoked with black charcoal unlike what we normally have in Malaysia where the it is normally fried on a flat pan. The seasoning coating the fish was thick and spicy compared to the grilled fish ala Malaysia. The initial plan to have this grilled fish at another stall was thwarted as it was close. This was just second best and even then, it is really good.

Ikan Bakar

Was a little surprised at how we can find good pork satay here in Padang. In fact the best ever. Satay is really popular here and we tried their beef satay but we didn't really like the yellow colour sauce that covered it. The fresh fruit juice is also very cheap here.

Taiwan

Just came back from a nine day trip in Taiwan. Backpacking style, travelling around with taxis, buses, trains and even the scooter. Staying in various homestays and bed & breakfast places. Instead of describing the day to day events, I would prefer to talk about highlights about travelling in Taiwan where we focused more on North and Central Taiwan.

Qing Jing

Home-stay at Qing Jing with European style buildings and theme. Everything here is just so pretty with mountainous terrain. At night, you can look out through the balcony and see many stars lighting up the sky.

The homestay that we stay at was called Euro Country where it is run by a team of husband, wife and Blackie! :)

Warm Tones of the Furniture

Blackie

The place is decorated with many types of flowers, shrubs and natural greenery. A great place for photography shoots as Qing Jing is full of colour but lacking in terms of interesting activities.

Beautiful Daisies

Scooter Ride Around Sun Moon Lake

Another highlight of the trip is the scooter ride around Sun Moon Lake is a great way to explore the area. Enjoy the breeze and view plus you get to get a better feel of the place rather than sitting in the comfort of a car. Fresh air and feel the breeze. There are some temples dotting the route around the lake that you can visit and different views of the lake.

Full Tank for the Ride

There is even a pagoda to visit but due to lack of time, we skipped it as it was getting dark. The photos taken here of the lake does not do justice to the place. It was a pleasant ride as there were not too many cars and in some places the road goes up and down.

Sunrise at Sun Moon Lake
Rising up early at 5am to watch the sunrise at 6am. The scenery is beautiful as if you are looking at a painting. The backdrops of mountains cascading behind forms a serene atmosphere with the mist adding a touch of mystery to the whole surrounding.

Yehliu Geopark
Enjoyed going to Yehliu Geopark where you can see nature's beauty at its best. The view is simply breathtaking as it is located next to the sea with waves crashing onto the rocks. The limestone rocks are eroded by rain, wind and salt water to form unique shaped rocks.

Works of Art by Nature

Just by the Sea


Wonders of Nature


Fossil

You can have fun by trying to identify the rocks as they have names for some of the more famous formations. It's a wonder how nature can create these creative works of art. The area is very breezy as it faces the

Jiufen

Jiufen is a nice little quaint town with strong Japanese influence in their buildings, architecture and history. There are many narrow lanes connecting to these little shops and one may even get a little lost if you wander off in one of the many other small lanes supplementing the main walkways.

Jiufen

Shops and restaurants dot both sides of the walkways. The narrower lanes have people's homes. At night, you can even sit down at one of the tea house balconies to sip tea relaxing while watching the scenery of the sea and terraces of shops and buildings.

About Cafe

Taiwanese people are very friendly and we had the chance to be the first to patronize this little coffee place called About Cafe even when it is not even open yet! At first we noticed that view was so beautiful at the balcony overlooking the view of the sea but realised that the place was not open yet but the owner was really nice to invite us and even served us excellent coffee for free. Do look out for it when you are in Jiufen, for the coffee, ambiance and hospitality :)

That is the summary of what I personally enjoyed in Taiwan.

Perhentian Island Escapade

Went to Perhentian Island August during the Merdeka weekend. Was beautiful and really enjoyed the sun, sand and sea very much!

The Private Beautiful Beach

Stayed on the idyllic and quieter side of Perhentian Kecil at Shari-la Resort. You got me right, not Shangri-la but Shari-la :) It consists of chalets and was given a pretty decent one except that the lighting in the rooms are a little too dim and we kind of have problems with the lock due to the high salt content in the air causing the locks to rust a little. The resort have access to a private beach which I think is cool. Not sure coincidentally that area is called Lover's Beach haha.

Shari La Lobby

Shari-La Room

Eating Area

The buffet fare was a little on the disappointment side. However on the last day, they actually served us dishes instead of buffet because there were too few guest and the food was good!

Seafood BBQ Platter

The water was really clear. You can actually see the fishies swimming in the water and that is how clean and clear the water is. Plenty of fishes, corals and sea cucumbers :) Do order their milkshakes when you are at the beach. For RM6, they are a steal and really delicious!

Banana Milkshake

Snorkeling there was great. There were all kinds of fishes and so abundant in marine life that even when you stand at the jetty, you can spot sting rays! Well, I don't know all the fishie names but they were really nice and colourful and a wide variety. We saw turtles too! In fact, two! Unfortunately I did not manage to see the baby sharks even when the guide kept on saying that it's there, it's there. Sigh! The corals were abundant at Rawa Islands and the water was really shallow. Got some souvenir scratches from there :(

Saw an interesting sales pitch. Haha.

Diving Advert

I am considering coming here again!

San Francisco on a Budget Day 3

San Francisco's pride, the Golden Gate Bridge is a magnificient structure and it was a mean engineering feat. Cold, strong currents and technology was still at an early stage, made it nearly impossible to bridge. We walked all the way to one end of the bridge and back. There were many cyclists who rode on the bridge, surfers below the bridge and suicide preventive signages. Apparently, many people committed suicide by jumping off the bridge.

The Golden Gate Park is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. They have a Rose Botanical Garden,

Golden Gate Park - Rose Garden Botanical Gardens

Haight and Ashbury

San Francisco on a Budget Day 2

The next day, we woke up early to get ready to go Alcatraz. We bought and printed the tickets online beforehand so that we do not need to buy it via the counter. Alcatraz have a lot of history as it is one of the most famous high security prison. It is infamous as it is believed that it impossible for inmates to escape because the water surrounding Alcatraz Island is very cold, strong currents and infested with sharks. Alcatraz was formerly a fort, a prison and formerly an Indian occupation site. Now, it is abandoned and designated as a National Park.
The 15 minute boat ride was good but I had to put on the strap that prevents sea sickness. It was really breezy and there were sea gulls accompanying us on the boat ride.

The ticket comes with a free audio tour. You can get a map on the island itself for USD5 but it is not necessary. An interesting note is that I do not see any recognition of Malaysia in San Francisco except one part in Alcatraz that says Malaysia is the top 5 countries with the most inmates! You get to see how inmates lived, the tiny cells, escape attempts, profiles of famous inmates, security measure and do you that that the prison wardens' family lived on the same island?

The Alcatraz Rose, Alcatraz Cruises, Alcatraz Island from far

We walked over to Pier 39 which is near to where the Alcatraz boats dock. It's more of a commercialized area. There we sampled Boudain's Clam Chowder in Sourdough bowl. It was not that good because I think the bread was not really fresh compared to the Boudain in Fisherman's Wharf. An interesting thing to note is that the place is not a Pier rather a plaza of seafood restaurants and souvenir shops. The place is also made from recycled wood.

Hearing an audible and repetitive sound of "honk honk honk" made us curious and followed it. We came upon a huge colony of sea lions sunning on floating pieces of wooden platform in the water. It's my first time encounter with sea lions and so many at one go!

Look who's honking!

We took a bus to Coit Tower. It has a very beautiful view of the San Francisco skyline.You can get into the Coit tower which I believe have beautiful mural walls and a 360 degree view of the skyline but you have to pay USD5-6. We skipped that cause too kiam siap! haha

Coit Tower

We took the bus to nearby Lombard Street and walked quite a distance *big mistake, we were so vertically challenged because the area is so hilly. Also known as "Crookedest Street", Lombard is a very famous street in San Francisco. I even saw a driver driving her car on the with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding a web cam filming her drive! And she was driving pretty fast! However, there's an even more crooked street called the Venice Street but maybe because it is not so well landscaped, it is not so popular.

We took the wrong bus down and ended up at the Maritime Museum but we did not step in as we were late. We then stopped over at Venice Beach which is known as Little Italy. We asked a local lady on where to dine. She recommended Monalisa which was really good! After that we head over to an Italian bakery to get some breakfast for the next day and head back to the hostel.

San Francisco on a Budget Day 1

After touching down, we took the BART train that cost us about USD4-5 to the Powell Station which is the nearest station to USA Hostel. It was quite a walk from the BART station in Powell Street to the hostel because the roads are hilly! We stayed in a 4 bedroom dorm there with a bathroom en suite with another girl from England and Germany. Feeling hungry, we wasted no time to find food.

In the BART

The walk to Chinatown takes about 15-20 minutes. We had lunch there at one of the Chinese restaurants. Here, there are many cheap and affordable souvenirs. You can get key chains, magnets, bags, shirts or anything you can think of. There is even a tea specialty shop from Taiwan called Ten Ren. The cost of our set meal with one soup, fried rice with a dish and some fried sides is about USD11 each. The portions are huge and you are welcomed to pack your food if you can't finish it.

Chinatown, Food, Views....

My friend YH noticed a pyramid shaped building from far. Being curious and having some time to spare, we walked to it by following its direction. We found out that it was the TransAmerica building. Later, we found out that there were some controversial issues when the building was planned out. There was even a terrorist threat to the building in 1995!

TransAmerica Pyramid

On our way back, we went over to the Union Square. Surrounding it are shops and departmental store that are more upscale. Union Square itself have scupltures, cafes and seating areas that are beautifully decorated with flowers.

Union Square