Malacca Backpacking Experience – Nightlife

Malacca Backpacking Experience – Jonker Street

Malacca Backpacking Experience – Historical Places

Christmas Eve at the Zoo

I know it sounds weird and funny. But, believe me, our national zoo is pretty OK. I went to KL yesterday to accompany my father bringing my sis home for holiday. It was a day trip and we reached Kuantan back an hour after midnight.

The Animals

Multi – animal Show

P/S : I’m not in the writing mood. Sorry…

Till later…

My Second Cupcake – “Embracing Nature”

Monday ( 15.12.08 )

It has been the usual morning on Monday. The rain has stopped in the middle of the night leaving away grey cloud overruled the morning atmosphere. Morning mist at the top of Bukit Pelindung can be clearly seen from my house. Yesterday, time and time again I wished that the rain will finally go away at least for that particular Monday due to the fact some friends of mine and I planned to go to Kemaman. Main purpose was to have breakfast in Kemaman. As stupid as it might sound, this is 100% true. Travelling more than 50km just to have a cup of tea and some Malay delicacies at the famous Kemaman Kopitiam. ( even though they have a branch here in front of Berjaya Megamall ).

The original plan was to be on the road by 8 something. Due to the cold weather and chilly atmosphere, most of us were only awake by 8.15 a.m. Setting the alarm clock at 7.30 a.m must be a useless thing to do as I can’t even hear the alarm nor the vibration. That’s what you get when you sleep at 3.00 a.m watching whatsoever. By 9.00 a.m, we were off to Kemaman. Sitting at the back seat and not wearing the seat belt ( since it hasn’t been compulsory ), half of me hope that the sun will finally penetrate the cloudy sky and the rain will not fall. It would have been such a waste travelling that far to Kemaman; hoping to chill at the beaches if it rain. It’s great to have your friend all in the same car, catching up after it has been a while since we last met. Asnirah and Aimi spent the day talking about the a-level course, reed focusing on driving and me; well, I ended up listening to 80s and 90s songs on the one and only radio station in the car ( Mix f.m  if I’m not mistaken ).

Almost an hour later, we reached our first destination which is the famous Kemaman Kopitiam or Hai Peng Kopitiam. Located at the junction of the road, the 2-storey building swarmed with customers, having breakfast even though it was already 10a.m. We sat in the middle of the shop, around a rounded table with four seats. Come to think of it, almost all kopitiam in Malaysia have that kind of furniture in the shop; could have been a tradition or something. Although the shop is famous for its coffee, none of us ordered that to start off our day; except for Reed. Coffee has never been a favourite of mine. The best that I can take is Mocha ( Chocolate added with coffee ). Somehow, we ordered some bread as the appetizer and ended up eating some Malay delicacies. The eating part take only half an hour of less than that, but the mingling part takes about an hour. The bill was paid, yet we did not get up and leave. It all ended up with Aimi; suddenly called the waiter and asked: “Bang, ape tempat menarik kat Kemaman?”. Seriously, the bro looked quite taken aback since he might think we wanted to order more foods. He ended up calling another friend of his and asked the same question. “Mane ade tempat menarik kat Kemaman” ( with the thick Terengganu accent ) was his reply after thinking for a few seconds.

The guy answer kinda fails my expectation, the thought of asking the local people about the places of interest in Kemaman wishing they might know some hidden beauty that waited to be unfolded by travelers in Kemaman. We got back on our feet around noon and headed for one place of interest that I discovered a day earlier on the Terengganu official web site. It is the Visit Terengganu Year for heaven sake and surely there must e something unique in Kemaman. Located a few kilometres from the Chukai town, Telaga Simpul is noted as one of tourist stop. The journey there took us through some industrial places like the one in Gebeng but in the smaller scale. The signs along the road help a traveler to know the exact place of the Telaga Simpul, but its hidden location causes n one but the local to be there. It is a mere well which is not deep and behind it some trees with lots of knots at the end of the leaves. It has to do with an old folklore about the place and a visitor usually tie a knot to indicate their presence there. And a few metres away, there is an empty small beach. It looks like 1/10 of Teluk Cempedak and the waves there are rather calm. No surfing there for sure.

Then, we stopped at a mangrove area at the side of the main road. A path which is not well maintained; with broken fences and stuffs, is provided for the visitors along the mangrove area. There’s absolutely no visitor that day except for us, some birds and microscopic aquatic life. The rest of the day was spent strolling down some beaches. Unique beaches, I must say ( not the beautifully unique, but more to weirdly unique ). The first one was Pantai Mak Nik or better known as Monica Bay ( Mak-Nik-A? ).  My first impression was it looks similarly like the beach in Taman Gelora ; somehow, the things that differentiate both beaches was the water. It’s absolutely gross looking at the well-stuffed bubble carried to the shore by the waves. No wonder it’s another empty beach. Then, the second beach was at Cherating, located at the turtle sanctuary and Club Med. Here, you are not allowed to jog, swim at a particular time as you might disturb the hatching of the turtle eggs. The last beach is somewhere also in Cherating. The area is pretty big and it’s is pretty normal. Hot guys playing beach ball on the sand, the cottages well arranged along the shore and you can have fresh coconut drink at a restaurant nearby.

Beaches, mangrove and a well, what else can you asked for…

A handful of photographs and hundreds of memory.

Till later……

My First Cupcake

Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu

( 26th November 2008 – 28th November 2008 )

It has been quite a while since I last visited Terengganu. I always love going there as there are tones of beautifully crafted batik sold.The only down side during this trip was that it was raining throughout the days we spent there. Thus, this monsoon situation made it hard for a traveler to move around without the company of an umbrella held high above the head.

The journey to Terengganu was pretty dull as it was at night. Usually, by travelling when the sun is still up in the sky,one can easily see tones of small stalls built along the roadside. Hot corn, nira, air tuak and keropok lekor are sold in these stalls. It seems that these stalls have been one of the trademark of Terengganu for centuries and it Is one of the main attraction here. Foreigners or even some Malaysians might be thrill tasting the uniqueness of these foods for the first time. SERIOUSLY, where can we get a better keropok lekor when compared to the one that was made in Terengganu. And the best part of these keropok lekor stall is that they have specific number in the name of their stall; Keropok Lekor 007, Keropok Lekor 552..etc…

Yet, traveling at night was not 100% SUCKS. Yes, you will have bad pictures as it might be blur capturing them at night. Somehow, when you travel to Terengganu via Kerteh, you will have the opportunity to see the amazing landscape decorated with tones of light especially at the factories. It felt like having an early Christmas with the exception of the tree which has been replaced by buildings and huge tanks.

Upon arriving, it was already half to twelve. Nothing else better to do than to check into a hotel and take a good nap; wishing next day, the rain will finally stop and the sun will soon shine again. Anyhow, as I woke around 5 a.m. it was still drizzling outside the hotel room. Surely, it hasn’t stop since last night. The atmosphere was moody and gloom. Grey clouds overruled the sky and there was not a single stray of sunlight that managed to pass through the thick clouds.

Being in Terengganu, you have to try the famous nasi dagang for breakfast. The stall situated  along a road to Kuantan and it has quite a number of customers as we reached there; which was about 9 a.m. There are also keropok lekor, nasi lemak and other Malaysian breakfast delicacies sold at the restaurant. Served in banana leaf, it is only in a small proportion and one with big appetite might go for a second round.

Masjid Kristal ( a view under the umbrella )

As for this year is the Visit Terengganu Year 2008, there have been quite a number of interest places to visit. There are the famous Pulau Duyong; which currently becoming the host for this year Monsoon Cup, Noor Arfa Batik, the renowned batik paradise for those who love the unique Malaysia art, Pasar Payang, the home for more batik and traditional foods.

I ended up spending almost 4 hours at the newly opened Taman Tamadun Islam located at the outskirt of the town of Terengganu. Located near the State’s Muzium, this place is the home for 21 of the world famous Islamic architecture.  It does not only consist of mosque, but it also consist of world renowned monument such as Taj Mahal.

The Taman Tamadun Islam which is famous for its Masjid Kristal or the Kristal Mosque basically located separately from the mosque. The mosque is located  a walking distance from the main entrance and there is a tram ride to the mosque. Visitors are allowed to enter the mosque for free, to have a better view of the interior design of the mosque. The non – Muslim visitors are also allowed to have the chance to get a peek inside of the mosque, although they have to wear a specific cloth ( something like jubah ) to show respect towards the Muslims’ sacred place.

In order to enter the Taman Tamadun Islam, there is a small amount of payment that one has to pay. As for adult, with a pay of RM10.00, you can spend the entire day strolling down the park. In order to accommodate the customer, a tram service is provided with a pay of less than RM 5.00. If you prefer moving with your own pace, you can always rent a bicycle or better yet, walk with your own two feet. That’s what I did and it was not that tiring.

Quite a number of restrooms are provided in the parks and the toilets  are clean. Besides that, there is a gift shop at the entrance of the park and there is also a cafe. For those with small children, don’t sweat. There is a playground provided with brightly coloured slides and swings. And if you are too tired walking throughout the journey, there are also some benches to ease out your tiredness. Each location are equipped with a board of information to help the tourist to know more about each monument.  There are also some short documentaries shown at some of the monuments. Having to listen to each video for 5 – 10 minutes really educate the visitors more about that particular monument.

One of the mini monument

Artistic drawing

Touring Terengganu will never be complete without a visit to its beaches. Since it is a monsoon season, you can just imagine the wave at the beaches. High tidal can be seen at almost all beaches. No swimming sign was long up to warn the visitors.A totally unsuitable atmosphere to be on a beach huh….

That’s all for now..Till later.

First Timer

I went to  Sunway Piramid last Saturday together with some of my mates. Last outing session before Ramadan as I’m sure I won’t have any energy to shop during Ramadan. Amazingly,I have no mood to do what I do best – spending all the money I have a.k.a shopping.

Start off the day with a breakfast at the nearby mamak restaurant before proceed to Sunway Piramid around 9.15. Upon arrival, my friends and I headed to the ice rank. We never skated before and end up like a complete new fool on the ice rank. I manage to hold the sides of the rank throughout one round of skating. I end up managing to skate in the midde of ice rank without even touching the side of the ice rank. Yay…And I only felt once..Totally worth my 2 hours on the ice rank and my whole body aching on the next day.

Next, I try archery somewhere in the Pyramid. 11 arrows, 4 arrows felt into the ground, 2 arrows hit the middle spot..Haha..My arrows were totally not accurate and consistent ( Physics ). But overall, I do feel GREAT…haha..

Skate shoes

I watched Wall.E at the TGV Cinema.

Wrapped up the day with a visit to RanTAI.Art exhibition

Aquaria KLCC

Aquaria KLCC

I’m currently blogging from the newly opened computer lab located on the first floor of INTEC’s 4 storreys library. I’m freezing cold in here and FYI, I’ve brought no jacket ot sweater along…GREAT..My fingers are going numb any minutes from now.

Anyway, huge apologies to those who have been dying ( LOL ) for my next post. My life as a college student is AMAZINGLY HECTIC with THOUSANDS of homeworks and assignments.. Now, I know what’s like being a freshies at INTEC.Thus, I won’t be complaining about those people who seemed to left their blog to rust…..Right AIMI……BELOVED AZLEEN……REED….ETC……

There’s quite a number of events happening around me in the past two weeks. I’ll try to write all of those interesting one and try to eliminate the boring one. Firstly, ( macam bwat karangan plak ade connector ), back to the main point, I went to Aquaria KLCC 2 weeks ago. I know it’s kinda lame that not until now I set a foot into that place although it had been opened for few years. The main purpose of my visit is to conduct a research for my ESLS assignments. And the mission ACCOMPLISHED!!! At the end of the day, I was pretty worn out and stay lethargic for a week..HOH….

So, to keep this thing a short post, I’ll only upload photos SO YOU CAN SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE OF THE TRIP CLEARER :

Feeding season

House Mates

Group assignment with Mr Muta ( a Japanese tourist )

Tarantula

P/S : I’m fasting and not in a mood to write an essay. Enough essays for me in ESLS…

P/ P / S : More photos later… I’ll upload it when I get home from college…

P / P / P / s : HEHE..2 weeks from now, I’m going back to Kuantan for my mid sem break….YAY!!!!!!!!!!

Bye..Bye.. Freedom

My last day of freedom kicked off by

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waking up at 5.05 a.m

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Departing from Kuantan to Shah Alam around 9 a.m. Upon reaching, the main thing we did was to find out the location of College Cemara and Akasia for registration and the INTEC main campus. Going to the apartments ( more like flats ) are rather complicated. First, you will find many factories as the college is somewhere in industrial plant. There are various factories along the road to the apartment; you name it from foods ( Nestle, Cadbury ) to cars ( Toyota, Volvo ). The Akasia / Cemara college is situated in the middle of house lots; where there are tones of food stalls ( no worries..I will get enough foods ), fast food outlets( McD, KFC and Ayamas ) and I can do my grocery shopping easily at Mydin or Giant.All in a walking distance. Hurray for that… Anyway, as for the main campus, it is situated 2 kilometers from the apartments and buses are provided daily ( I think )… It is kinda big from the outside..More about that as soon as I get my butt into the Intec Area..

• Asiani, SACC Mall

• My lunch = Ayam percik with butter rice

• Unique food = slices of chicken, beef, tunas, cucumbers, etc folded with rice paper. Taste ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT

I went to Sungai Buluh in the evening with my aunt and parents for rose hunting adventure..

• Green roses

• ‘Batik’ roses ( available in 2 versions = red and white or red and yellow )

As for now, I kinda write this post with a blanket over my back, in the dark with only the light from the laptop and I just spent few hours at my cousin room playing cool computer games and gossiping..

One thing on my mind; “I’m not excited , exhilarate, eager, etc to be studying and entering college!!!”

By the way,

Back to the first thing mentioned here,

As the conclusion for the mini TREASURE HUNT SEARCHING FOR INTEC UITM,

I can conclude that I hate roundabouts. Seriously, there are tones, I mean TONES of roundabout ( as my mom said ; “the size of the football field ” = being melodramatic here… ) in Shah Alam; from Bulatan Jubli Perak, to Bulatan Kemajuan to Bulatan Stadium to ………….. ). Now,I finally realised, Kuantan’s famous roundabout ( somewhere at Kubang Buaye ) is damn small and NOTHING compared to the roundabouts in Shah Alam…Anyhow, I’m gonna miss that tiny roundabout….I’m gonna miss Kuantan ( Can’t believe I said this )

Till later….

Kedah Trip

19th of June 2008 – 24th of June 2008

That will totally explain the reason for the very little update..Sorry though

• View at the North – South Highway

• Cool sunset and cloud formation

• Again..Sunset

• The famous Gua Tempurung

• Raindrops on the window

• Original photograph. No effects added

Till later….