Langkawi - April 2015

It's been a while since I last updated. Laziness happened. And also an all-girls trip to Langkawi (again!). And I still have not written about my 1st trip there.

So anyway, for my 1st trip to Langkawi (this year) in April, I went with my Mum & aunt, Makton. 3D2N and we stayed at 2 different hotels. I wanted to spend 2 nights in Berjaya Resort, but it was kinda out of my budget range. We get a rental car, RM130 for a Perodua Viva. It's the smallest car just to fit the 3 of us & 2 luggages. And the price was slightly low because it was not a peak season.

We arrived early, about 10am. So we went to the jetty first. I wanted to take picture of the eagle. "Helang", in Malay. As in "Lang", part of the name of the island. Lots of tourists, and they had some kind of filming about to go on. Then we headed Haji Ismain Group in Kuah town for some shopping.

Dataran Lang

The women of Malaysia loves to shop here, I tell ya. They sell imported chocolates, cultery, pots & pans, trolley bags, etc. And it's cheaper because Langkawi is a duty-free area. They do have cigars, cigarettes, wines on the island, easily found if you go to the duty-free shopping malls by the jetty or The Zon in Pantai Chenang.

Our first hotel was Alia Residence. I booked through Expedia for RM128 per night for 3 person. They were kind enough to give us an upgrade from an extra mattress to an extra bed.

Our room. 1 double bed & 1 single bed.

The hotel was clean, reception was of course very nice & helpful. Their pool is always open but I didn't jump in. Location of the hotel is just OK for me. It didn't have a nice view (ours was overlooking other houses & trees next to the hotel) and there doesn't seem to have any nearby shops. It's on the quieter side, I guess. But, as I was only there to relax with my family, I'd say it's a nice place to stay. Breakfast was not a buffet, they'll have you choose from a menu, but this is OK by me too. They do have bread, juices & fruits on the small buffet area.

Pool

Clean surroundings

View from the back of the hotel

View from our room

That evening we just went around the island. Went for more shopping @ Kuah, then headed to Beras Terbakar, then drove up to Tanjung Rhu for an evening view. But it was raining, so I guess no sunset for the day.

We checked out at 12pm the next day and headed towards the airport. There's this area behind the airport where mostly Malaysians like to hang out. There's a few food vendors open up their trucks for some "pasembor", "laksa" and other local food. It's an island, so naturally, you know you'll be sitting under trees & by the beach. The view you'll get here is Gunung Mat Cincang - where Berjaya Hotel & Langkawi Cable Car are. And from time to time, you'll get to see airplanes land. I really like to hang out here.

Us having laksa & pasembor

View from the beach

View from the beach

When time came for us to check in, we headed to our next hotel, Berjaya. The Danna was on the way, so we saw yachts. I came to Berjaya a few years ago on my own, and I love it there. So now I had my Mum & aunt with me, I wanted to show them how beautiful this hotel & it's surrounding are. There was a large crowd at the lobby as it was a peak time for checking in & out. And you can only take the hotel buggies to go to & from your room to other parts of the hotel.

In front of our room

Our room.

Please excuse the mess

Our room was in the forest. Smaller than the room I stayed in when I was alone, but excellent nonetheless. After checking in & settling down, we head over to Langkawi Cable Car. The hotel provides free shuttle so it was the easiest! Makton is afraid of heights, so did not look anywhere. Shut her eyes & told me that that will be her first & last time going on it. Oh, poor Makton! Hehe. Mak was enjoying the view, taking pictures. She's cool about it, although she too, said the same thing.

View as we go up the mountain

View from the cable car

View from top of the mountain

It was a hot evening, so we had a clear view of Langkawi & the sea. They were having a renovation going on, so tourists were occupied to only 1 side of the lookout point. I wanted to go onto the Sky Bridge, as I did a few years ago. Registered, paid RM5 & walked my way down. It's a 450m hike and I managed to go until about 200m when I fell like dying. If I were to continue, I literally would die out there, in the forest, where there's a signboard that says they'll be hogs & snakes. Nobody in their right mind would want that! And so I climbed back up, with my lungs about to burst and covered in sweat from head to toe. Thank goodness I've been there once, in my 20s when I still have the energy.

The hike to get to the Sky Bridge

I was the happiest to reunite with the bed back at the hotel afterwards. I called up Pahn-Thai Restaurant to make reservation for us during sunset. The restaurant is above the water and have an excellent view of the sun going down behind the mountain.

The walk to Pahn-Thai Restaurant

Unfortunately, it rained heavily. I didn't want to cancel, so after the rain we went out to enjoy what's left of the view. But it was still a nice, cool evening. Food was not great. It's not that it's bad-tasting, but the portion's too little but it's way too pricey. The three of us had sweet & sour fish, green curry chicken & somtam. Plus our drinks, everything totalled up to RM230.

View from Pahn-Thai restaurant

Nighttime at the lobby

Going on a trip with the elders means the only night activity is sleep. So we had some rest & woke up early the next day to enjoy our buffet breakfast. They had a promotion, so the extra person only costs us about RM40+. It was a good deal since they have a lot to offer at breakfast. And we had a little bit of everything. After that we just went chilling by the hotel beach & checked out at 12pm.

Me, while waiting for the buggy

The pool

Private beach @ Berjaya Hotel

View from the beach

Entrace to Berjaya Hotel

My friend's mom is a Berjaya shareholder, so we had a voucher that gave a special price. Our room cost us around RM330++ per night. It's another good deal, I'd say. So our total spending in Berjaya is just a few Ringgit more of RM600.

Pantai Kok

Pantai Kok

Our flight was at 3pm, so we chilled out at a small beach beside The Danna, went out to get food from the food trucks again & then to airport where we handed back the car keys. Of course, I had to purchase extra baggage allowance because we had almost emptied out the store at Haji Ismail.

Tanjung Rhu, after the rain

All in, I really enjoyed this trip. We had loads of fun driving around the island. It's a nice place to enjoy with family & friends. But if you're looking for a party scene, this is not the place for you. Langkawi gives a very laid-back & chilled-out environment - good for relaxation.

The greens of Langkawi

View from Berjaya Resort Langkawi. Which will be in the next post, about my birthday trip to Langkawi.

I love Langkawi. It's so chilled-out, it's green & the sands on the beaches are smooth & white. It's just awesome to take a break once in a while to this island up in Kedah.

Monsters do PD

Port Dickson, 1st August 2009 - Teluk Kemang beach was under attack by 7 monsters on Saturday morning.

The 6 monsters, plus 1 taking the picture

They bought food and drinks and stayed around for a few hours for a picnic and some gruesome action in the beach. They were nowhere to be seen in the area when the rain pours down again around noon.

After an hour of peace, they were being seen again in PD area. Reported by some witnesses, they then roamed over the firehouse at Tanjung Tuan for some uphill view of the sea.

The monsters going thru the woods in Tanjung Tuan

While they were lost in the woods, people in the area can feel the grounds shaking. A witness said that they were taking pictures.

"Yes, I saw them with my own eyes! They were trying to take jumping pictures. It was ugly.", said Ali, the cleaner at the area.

Around 5pm, they were seen heading back towards Sepang, but stopped by PD Town to attack a mamak stall at the roadside.

"They ate all my cendol, ABC, rojak, cincau drinks and goreng pisang!", claimed Mutu, the stall owner. "But thanks to them, my business was really good that day. I get to close early and spend time at home with my children", he added with a grateful smile.

Port Dickson is now in peace as the monsters are gone. The people of PD can sleep soundly from now on.

Lexis Hotel Port Dickson

I was in Port Dickson recently for a weekend break. Decided to walk in to Lexis Hotel Port Dickson and try my luck if there's any room available - and it did!

RM580 inclusive of breakfast for an Executive Water Chalet. For 1 night. The spacious room comes with a very comfortable king bed, a day bed, a spacious jacuzzi that fits 2 & a balcony.

Other plus points about this hotel is that it each room comes with an iron & board, a safe & an umbrella - which are rare. Normally we will have to request for these things.

Room service is good - from the point of the variety of menus, time of food being delivered & presentation. The taste of the food, however, is only an "OK" to me. Our lunch as captured above, cost us RM82.

The beach is clean, and that's all I can say about it.

We did't jump into the swimming pool, bcoz of the many families with young children hanging out there & the pool size is not as big as it may seem in the pictures.

There's kareoke center, gym & other sports activities that you can try out - with a price, that is. Since we're single travelers who just want to chill out, we decided to just sit back & enjoy the sun.

One of the must-do thing if you're staying here is catching the sunset. Walk along the chalet area until the very far end where you can get an awesome view.

At night we went to Port Dickson town to check out the Waterfront area. It's still new, I guess, but there's a lot of restaurants to choose from. Fast food, western, Italian, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and the list goes on. There's a Starbucks nearby Maybank. And then there's another Starbucks with drive-thru just nearby.

Apart from eating, I don't think there's much to do there. And the town is pretty much quiet after 9pm anyway.

For breakfast, choice of food wasn't bad at all. Of course they have nasi lemak - every hotel in Malaysia does - with different kinds of sambal. Then they have confectioneries, porridge, western, salad, fruits & cereals. There's about 5 types of juices if you're not a coffee/tea drinker.

All in, it was a very good stay. From the helpfulness & friendliness of the hotel staff to the cleanliness of the hotel grounds.

 

So if you're in PD & looking for a not-too-expensive hotel to wind down, be sure to check out Lexis Hotel. It is formerly known as The Legend Water Chalet - in case your GPS can't find it (like mine did).

It's fun for family & comfy for couples. For more info, log on to lexispd.com . Alternately, you can look for offers to this hotel in Agoda website.

Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan

Every year I'd plan a trip during my birthday. Unfortunately this year, it was cancelled - because the situation in Bangkok was uneasy. Plus my friend & I just got back from another trip earlier, and we were both busy with work.. bla bla bla.. So I opt to go somewhere in Malaysia, within reasonable driving distance. Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan came to mind as I haven't been to the East Coast for quite some time. I need keropok lekor & nasi dagang.

Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan

I booked my room earlier on Agoda so checking in was smooth, altho there were a slight of a crowd at the lobby. Oh btw, I love the lobby - it's so spacious and airy. A lot of seats where you can just chill out. We stayed for 2 nights, which cost us RM680.92 for a Deluxe Room including breakfast. The room was spacious & clean but the condition is a bit old. And if you plan to use the water heater, please check it out first because ours was rusty.

Our room 

We had ourselves a single bed each, and bed condition is only an "OK" for me. The bathroom was a bit small, tho. Bathtub can barely fit me in, not in width but in length - and I am short. 

The small bathtub

Sink

The toilet

It was about a 3-hour drive from KL in the middle of the day with the hot sun and all.. so by the time we checked in, we were starving! Since I was the only driver & was too tired to drive out for food, we had dinner at their restaurant - The Garden Terrace.

My western food - beef

Local nasi goreng

Food was awesome. No, it's not because we were super hungry but it was actually good. We had nasi goreng & some-western-food-I-can't-recall-the-name. Service was not so good - slow; but then again it was 3pm (after lunch hour) and I believe the staff are all tired. Let's just give'em a break, shall we? This cost us about RM70++.

Moving on to the beach. Oh before that - the walkway. Full of greens, it's so soothing to the eyes. And again, it's airy.

Green open field towards the beach

As for the beach itself, may not be as "awesome" as some of the other beaches in the area, but it was great for me. Mainly because it was not a public beach, so it wasn't crowded. The water is not so blue but a beach's a beach - and I take it as it is.

The beach

Beach activities

An almost-empty beach

Sunset behind the hotel

That night we had dinner at their Chinese restaurant - The Blossom. We had lemon chicken, dried chili chicken, broccoli & can't recall others, it was one of the dinner sets that they offer. And it came with a pot of chrysanthemum tea (with the flowers) & it's refillable. This cost us around RM80++.

Hotel lobby

After dinner we hanged out at the lobby. There's a flow of water, it was soothing & cooling - I loved it. It looked out to the beach, of course. Since it was night time, all we can see was lights from the lamppost.

Sunrise @ the beach

So anywho, the next day we checked out the sunrise. And after breakfast we headed towards Kuala Terengganu. Just because I missed Pasar Payang.

Terengganu is mostly occupied with Muslims, so on a Friday afternoon it was seriously deserted. We had trouble finding food for lunch, so we stuffed ourselves with keropok lekor & headed back to Kuantan.

Pantai Batu Buruk

Pantai Batu Buruk

We took the beach road, to get some scenery. Earlier my GPS directed us through a new highway towards Kuala Terengganu, which was such a turn off! So we had our stops - 1st was at Pantai Batu Buruk.

The beach was nicer here than in Balok Beach, Beserah (where the hotel is). I was the only one who went near the water. You know Malaysians, we have a lot of sun on a lot of days, so none of us wants to expose ourselves to the afternoon sun.

Shop along the road

Took a few snaps of pics & continued the journey. 2nd stop was at a shop by the roadside. We were getting hungry so we bought some sata. There was a small pondok behind the shop for us to sit, eat & enjoy the view and sound of the waves from the South China Sea.

My fav picture throughout the trip

Above is a picture of the pondok, earlier occupied by an old man who walked away as the kid in white & his family approched. It is one of my favorite picture from my entire collection.

Afterwards we drove again, but about an hour away from hotel, I started to feel dizzy from hunger. So we made another pit stop by the roadside where a stall was selling nasi dagang. A plate cost us RM3, a price you can never get in KL - but the portion was a bit small tho. Enough to just get me going again.

Later that night, it was time for room service since we were still hungry. (Yes, I could eat a horse & it can actually fit in my huge tummy). We ordered 3 dishes - Fish & Chips, Beef burger & Mee goreng. Plus 2 cans of Coke & it cost us around RM80++ if I'm not mistaken. Again, the food was excellent.

Random guy in the water

We spent the next morning in the waters before heading back to KL. It was a good thing that we checked out on a Saturday because the crowd was getting bigger. There were a whole lot more families with young children & there was a seminar for Petronas staff.

So all in, it was an OK stay. I may come again if there's no other places that I can go to. Much more suitable if you're bringing a family instead of on a couples/single trip.

Check out the Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan website to get more details.