Malaysia Trip Diary Part 6: LANGKAWI 01 August 06

Our last day in Langkawi...last day of our holiday as well.
It never feels good, but the only good thing is I can be with my family again soon.

Waken up at 08.30 AM...Me, Eva, and Merry went to the pool. Evert was still sleeping but he managed to tell us that he'll be ready at 9 AM...well, just wait n see...:)
The water chilled, and nobody's there beside us. Then I checked out the beach, only couples that played on the beach at that time.

I came to Water Sport Booth near the Beach Bar to get the information about "Flying Fish". The price is RM30 per person which equals to Rp75.000,-...and it is much cheaper than the price in Tanjung Benoa, Bali. Well, got exicted already, I asked the girls whether they want to try it or not. All agreed and we planned to play it at 10AM.

We swam in the pool for a while until I realized it's 15 minutes pass 9 already...and Evert was nowhere to be seen. Hell, he must be still sleeping right now. I tried to call him on mobile, didn't answered, tried to knock on the door' room and still didn't get any respond.
He was in the bathroom at that time, that's why he didn't answer...:)

Jump to the point, we didn't play that Flying Fish after all since the wind was not great enough to fly us and it was almost 10.30 AM which we must be ready in 30 minutes to check-out.
Managed to make it in 40 minutes, drove to the airport then checked-in at Langkawi International Aiport after returning the car.

At 11.25 AM, off to KL by Air Asia...bye Langkawi, see you again someday!

Malaysia Trip Diary Part 5: LANGKAWI 31 July 06

Yuhuuu…wake up guys!

It’s time for Langkawi…where we can sit back and relax after days of thrill and shopping.

Our flight was at 11.25 AM…so we need to get hurry. After having our fast & quick breakfast, we headed for the airport by taxi.

At around 10 AM, we’ve already arrived at LCCT…then at 12.25 PM we landed at Langkawi International Airport.

Suddenly, we decided to rent a car which the stalls offering many cars were ‘fighting’ each other to get the customer.

Then we rent Nissan Sentra for only RM90/day…actually I asked Evert to get X-Trail instead but he insisted to rent sedan as it was cheaper…huh! That red X-Trail was really ‘waving’ me to rent it…hahaha.

Off we went to Pelangi Beach Resort which located only 15 minutes from the airport.

We got room number 1605. It was an old style room, the one in KL was more spacious than this one, the bathroom was OK and has separate shower.

Actually it wasn’t something we expected…especially after 2 nights in Renaissance KL. But, well…we’ve decided by ourselves so we must take it as it is.

Evert managed to take some pictures at the beach area…he said it was so-so.

Our hungry stomach couldn’t take any longer, we went to what they call “the largest shopping mall in Langkawi”…it was Langkawi Shopping Fair…located at the other side of the island which took us 20 minutes to go there from the hotel.

It was dodgy, not big, and only has few restaurants including McD.

We took upstairs and headed for the food court…well yeah, food court! But we had a quite nice late lunch at that time, not to mention a very cheap price. Me & Eva opted for Special Tom Yam with rice, while Merry got Tom Yam Noodle and Evert had Paprika Fried Rice.

Huhuhuhu…look at Evert guys! He was sweating all over his face, neck, and head…and that wasn’t because of his food, but because of ours. Just by smelling the spice, he could be drained like that.

After finishing our meal, we got inside the store named Factory Outlet Store. These 3 girls didn’t have any idea that we’ll be going to swim at the beach right after lunch without going back to the hotel.

Well, we didn’t bring any proper swim suit. So we bought a short in FOS, Merry & Me chose the same one, a Red & Navy Blue Paul Frank short for only RM24. I also took one pink-colored beach sandal cost RM17.

Our 1^st destination was Tanjung Rhu beach; it’s at the north part of the island where you’d find 2 great resorts: Tanjung Rhu resort and Four Season Langkawi.
We couldn’t afford those resorts…the cheapest would cost us USD250/night…J

After passing by Four Season, we found an interesting place named “The Sands” which own by Tanjung Rhu resort.

The Sands is a pool with bar and tables. We were attracted by their design, it was decorated stylishly posh.
Too bad, that mouthwatering pool & all the chairs designated for hotel guests only.

But, hey…we came here so far…so let’s just try the beach.
We changed clothes inside the car with Evert near by…pretty sure he turned his back on us at that time…J

Then played the whole afternoon on the beach…took some pictures…and finally bought some drinks from the bar. Hey look, the guests were all foreigners and surely not Asian.

I borrowed a shirt from Evert, and so the other girls. It turned out we got green ones…all 4 green!

We ordered some nice drinks…smoothies and juices; as usual Evert had his alcoholic drinks…J

From The Sands, we followed the road at the north side, and then found a nice place to have dinner. There were some waterfront-restaurants: Mare Blue, USSR, The Tapas, and some that I forgot the name.

We chose for The Tapas…it was an unmistakable choice sine I had a really nice dinner there…nice atmosphere, nice food. I ate Grilled Tuna Vinegar teamed with Fries & Mediterranean Salad…cost me only RM25…Yum!

Then we went back to the hotel. Took a bath and sat on the beach bar for a while before playing Billiard. Evert taught me how to play it…we had fun! At 1 AM, we headed back to our room and went to sleep. Nite Everyone!

Malaysia Trip Diary Part 4: KUALA LUMPUR 30 July 06

Our 2^nd day at KL, it was Sunday, and we planned for whole-day shopping.

Had our breakfast at 09.30 AM, we made a full one. Everything’s available there, from toast to Omelet, from porridge to fried rice, from salad to dessert.

Our 1^st visit was to Bukit Bintang. Took the monorail to go there and paid RM1.20 each…we arrived at Bukit Bintang station in just 5 minutes time.

Sungei Wang was our destination…and Vincci was the store. Popped in some shoes and sandals, we walked around the shopping centre and found many interesting stuffs there.

Then I asked them to follow me to Lot 10-my favorite mall in Bukit Bintang. I landed my foot first at MNG Isetan then eyed for some Malaysian Brands as well.

Went outside Isetan, I rushed for Topshop where I could see ½ Price banner displayed in the windows. Me and Evert really went mad in Topshop.

At 5 PM, off we went to Suria KLCC; we managed to get a bus to KLCC with only RM2/person though the driver was very unpleasant to us.

We strolled in that big mall separately. We really went mad one more time, especially me.

At 8 PM…we stopped shopping and had our very nice dinner at Madam’s Kwan. Thanks once again for Evert that took care all the bill.

Before leaving for the hotel, we took some pictures in the backyard of Suria KLCC while watching for the fountain.

At the hotel, we did the packing, and got rested at around 12 AM.

Nite everyone…sleep tight!

Malaysia Trip Diary Part 3: KUALA LUMPUR 29 July 06

At around 2.30 PM we arrived at KL Sentral and got a cab to take us to the hotel. We stayed at Renaissance Hotel-Jl. Ampang, got 2-interconnected rooms, one with King Size bed for Evert (him, all alone for God sake!), and the other room with twin bed for 3 girls.

It’s a nice and expensive hotel room, the bath was quite extensive, and Merry fell in love at the first place…!

At 4 PM, we walked to Dang Wangi station, and catch the train to Kelana Jaya. Our destination was IKEA & Ikano Power Centre at Damansara.

Luckily we could catch the free shuttle to Ikea from Kelana Jaya station, though we must ran for the bus. We got Evert as a laughing stock that afternoon when he tried to understand the sign written in the station said: “Shuttle Bus to Ikano Power Centre PERCUMA at cross road”.

Didn’t you know PERCUMA means FREE or ‘Gratis’?... J

In 15 minutes time we’ve already walked around IKEA Lobby. I crossed my fingers not to get mad with the amazing and not to mention cheap stuffs inside. And for worst case, it was on sale at IKEA. Damn…!

First of all, we rushed for the café where we had our very late lunch. Merry & Evert had their meat balls, while I got Chicken Nuggets + Fries, and Eva chose Fish & Chips as her meal.

Felt full in the stomach, we were ready for the ‘tour of Ikea’. I pop many things in the basket, ‘coz everything was mouthwatering-stuffs.

At the cashier queue, I really had to sort them out, and I did it broken heartedly….but I kept remind myself that I wouldn’t be able to carry all those things even with 2 luggages without being over-weighted.

With the help from Evert, that gave me suggestion which one to buy, I paid RM160 for my IKEA shopping.

Then we found Padini Concept Store at Ikano-the adjacent mall to IKEA, we got mad again and this time for fashion. Vincci, Padini, Seed, you name it…they’re all Malaysian famous brands available in just 1 big store.

Finished there…I rushed for Aussino to get the Jersey Bed Cover I’ve been dreaming of. I spent RM220 for the cover plus 4 pairs of Bolster Cases. Everyone else waited at Starbuck downstairs when I finished.

We took a cab to get back to Renaissance hotel…cost us RM30.

And we started to pack our shopping stuffs into the luggage. Then we all prepared for club-hopping. Hey, it’s Saturday night…time to have fun in the clubs.

I wore my new red MANGO tube top bought in MTA just before I left Jakarta, teamed with my favorite True Religion jeans + Black ZARA shrug + Long Black MNG Necklace + Black flat VNC shoes + Black chick waist bag.

Ready to dance baby!

We walked to the left of our hotel and headed for ZOUK-our 1^st destination. There were 2 clubs in the area of ZOUK, one is ZOUK itself and the other is Velvet Underground.

Evert bought all of us the cover charge to ZOUK which cost him around RM130 (for 4 persons)…thanks bro’! But it turned out that ZOUK was too quite for a club. Only 1 or 2 couples danced in that big dance floor. Music was OK but not amazing and it wasn’t my kind of music. After our drinks emptied (Evert got a beer as usual while these 3 girls opt for Orange Juices), we hopped for another clubs.

Firstly we wanted to get inside Velvet Underground, but the queue was too long and it didn’t move at all since it said FULL HOUSE at the front door.

Then we decided to try some clubs at Jl. P-Ramlee, near Hardrock Café. We walked to the area while munching on some meat balls satay.

Landed our foot first at in front of Beach Club, the music was nice but the crowd was not what we hoped for. Then we walked along the street, tried to find some cool ones.

Finally, we got in San Gria club which thanks God it was RnB music playing inside. And we also could go upstairs to Novou to have Trance/Progressive kind of music which is the most favorite one for Evert. We felt more comfortable at Novou than SanGria…it was the crowd after all that plays most important thing.

Well, we felt at home suddenly when we realized the people mostly Indonesian, not to forget the DJs…wasn’t that cool?

We eyed for some good looking girls around. But they were far too crowded to be approached.

Felt sorry for Evert…J

I started to like the music in Novou, which approved happily by Evert.

We were quite surprise by this country rule where all clubs must be closed at 3 AM sharp. Hmm…my mind rushes back in Jakarta, where I know for sure that most of them will be closed at 5 or 6 AM.

Yup, the light was on and the music was stopped at the exact 3 AM time.

Even though the crowd screamed “we want more” as if we were watching a concert, they were strictly obeying the rule.

OK team, we really must get back to the hotel.

We slept off at 3.30 AM.

Malaysia Trip Diary Part 2: GENTING 29July 06

It's our 2nd day at Genting. Time to try the thrill rides we wanted to play.

Waken up at 08.30 AM…we missed the breakfast. Got ready & packed all the stuffs, at 11 AM we headed for Sky Venture. All the expenses paid by Evert, ‘coz he won the gambling last night (if you recall my previous diary)…thanks Pe!
With RM38/person (‘coz we’re the hotel guests, otherwise public pay RM50/person)…plus RM10/CD, we got 2 minutes ‘flying’ time and got recorded as well.
Hey…now I could sing: “I believe I can Fly”…J…and now I could tell my dad how flying feels.

It’s not easy though….it was quite a thrill!

After that we rushed for Flying Coaster. This time we paid RM12/person plus RM8/person for the picture. Compared to the previous ride, it was nothing, though I also had fun with this ride.

12 PM sharp…off we went to get our luggages at the room…did an express check-out…a cool way of hassle free check-out where we just drop the key in the box at lobby area.

Headed straight to the bus station, bought a ticket and a quick meal. We got 1 PM bus to go to KL.

So that was it our time in Genting. I didn’t know what happened but suddenly I missed Sydney a lot it made me cry a bit.

Well Genting, at the 2^nd visit, I think I sort of liking it. I might come back soon with my son in tow. He must be grateful spending time in the theme park.

See You next time Genting…J

Malaysia Trip Diary Part 1: GENTING 28July 06

After 7 months since we booked the flight ticket...finally we are really travelling to Malaysia.
Waken up at 3.30 AM...got ready...dropped at the airport by my hubby.
Evert, Merry, and Eva got the airport first...so I checked-in by myself.
At 5.55 AM the air asia flight QZ7602 took off...left Jakarta behind...hmm...Malaysia-the truly asia-, we're coming!

At 9 AM (Malaysia Time) we arrived at LCCT (unfortunately it's not KLIA)...got a cab to take us to KL Sentral. After bought the local SIM Card and had a quick lunch at Kenny Rogers, then we headed for Genting by bus which took 1 hour.

At 2 PM local time, we were on the way to First World Hotel lobby. Amazingly, it was station-like check-in counters, there were 30 counters serving the hotel guests.
We got the room, Tower 2, 25th floor, room 805. The room was small as well as the bathroom. But it's a-5-year-old hotel, so it's still clean, though surprisingly there was no airconditioner in the room, despite the cool weather from outside.

I only slept for 3 hours last night, too much packing I guess..:). But I didn't feel tired at all, in fact we felt so fresh and ready to run around.
First visit was to Outdoor Theme Park, the gloomy weather and fog covered the park, we just took few pictures there then off to Indoor Theme Park.
Suddenly I missed my son, he'd be thrilled if he's here with me right now. I should come here with him someday.

We wanted to try Flying Coaster but it was raining outside, so all the rides out there stopped. And it happened also for Sky Venture.
Evert tried Soccer Goal game, hit the 2nd place, then we headed for Bowling Alley at 5.15 PM and played 1 game. Damn! He bit me again.
We even tried Casino de Genting, Evert lost RM100, he was fine...I felt a bit un pleasant. Weird!

OK...it's time to shop...hehehe. We explored the mall, found Padini Authentic Store as well Padini Concept Store, hoorraayy! I told Evert that it's Malaysian Brand.
Got something for Varen and myself. Suddenly my stomach asked for attention, yup we're hungry...got a hainan rice as our early dinner.

Got so tired then off we went to our room. Took a bath...tried to sleep for a while but failed, envied Evert that snored right after touching the pillow. Huh!

At 10 PM...more or less...we headed for Casino, and it's Star World Casino. The one located below our hotel...it's a new one.
Well, I really felt the real gambling at this moment...it wasn't me who played it but I felt nervouse as well, as if it's my money, I was just the one who keep his money.
Evert played baccarat & roulette, but mostly won from baccarat.
At 02.30 PM we finished and slept off the night.