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.

The Pearl Of The Orient - Penang.

Been busy lately with work, my own travels, organizing family's travels & what-nots. So here's about a trip I had with a friend, back in February. Not too long ago, tho. I can still remember.

We went to Penang Island, up in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia. Just a 2D1N stay, as a friend of mine received a free stay at a hotel there.

Since it was a short trip, we decided to take a flight from KUL - PEN on AirAsia. Parked my car at the airport & board a 9am flight. You may want to check out this site for more parking info & price rate at KLIA2.

Of my 32 years of living in Malaysia (I've never lived anywhere else anyway), that was my 1st time at Penang International Airport. I've been to Penang quite a number of times before, but never on a plane. It's a 5-6 hour drive form KL.

It was a Saturday, so traffic in Penang was good. Our hotel name was Noordin Mews. A boutique hotel in Georgetown. Read the reviews here from Tripadvisor - and believe everybody's review, please. I thought the hotel was awesome.

Noordin Mews Boutique Hotel

Art at the side of the hotel

We arrived early, way before check-in time. So we put the bags at the hotel & walk to the nearest mall - 1st Avenue Mall. Went for an early lunch, shopping & hanging out at Starbucks just to kill time before noon.

Back at the hotel, our room was ready. The hotel was only double-story, and our room was upstairs right at the end, looking down at their restaurant & pool. Instead of the usual numbers for rooms, this hotel labelled them in alphabets. Ours was "M".

Our room

Nostalgia

Everything was kept simple & traditional, and they even had wooden doors. The keys & locks are huge & bulky. The room was cooling, they had a fan & an air-cond. There's a day bed across the TV, but unfortunately for me (I don't sleep easily, so I need TV for help) it wasn't facing the bed.

After we had our rest, we went out to find a bus stop/station to get us to Penang Hill. It really has been more than a decade ago since I last step foot on that hill. We decided to take the bus because from our last trip, we learned that Penang has an awesome bus system - Rapid Penang.

Komtar bus station

Bus info

They have this huge timetable at the Komtar bus station telling us where our bus is currently & the ETA. We waited for a bout half-an-our before our bus came. The ride from Komtar to Penang Hill cost us RM2 per person. You can check their route map, schedule & fares here. It probably wasn't that far, but there's quite a big traffic, and I had to stand all the way. At this age, standing in an awkward position for at least 40mins in a crowded bus was not doing any good to my feet AND my back.

It wasn't a peak season, so there wasn't a crowd. If you are a Malaysian with MyKad, it'll be RM10 and foreigners pay RM30. Check out their pricing here. The train has now upgraded, was quite fast to reach the top. Nothing awesome up there except for the view, I guess. The view was simply breathtaking. We snapped a whole lot of pictures.

View of Penang island

View of Penang bridge

Then we just laze around, people-watching & just walk slowly to enjoy a nice evening out in the fresh air. By the time we get down to the main entrace, I had lost all my energy & I literally can hear my bones crack. So we booked a cab - oh side track to promo this app - GrabTaxi (MyTeksi). It is superb, I tell ya! I've used it twice and I loved it.

We had mutton & chicken

Kapitan Keling Mosque

Kapitan Keling Mosque

The driver recommended us a restaurant somewhere in Little India area. Had our dinner & walked back. We passed by Kapitan Keling Mosque, it was very bright.

It was definitely a tiring day for me. And when we reach the hotel, I had the best bath ever. I don't know why but I love the bathroom @ Noordin Mews! The shower was good, the shower gell, shampoo, conditioner.. everything was perfect. And of course, they provide a hair dryer so yeah.. just to add to my superb bathing experience. *grin*

The bathroom

Rain shower

Next day, we had our breakfast first thing. I had an English breakfast with coffee. Superb! The restaurant was small, so we didn't stay long.

Then we walked to Chowrasta Market to buy some stuff for family & friends at home. And yeah, I guess that's about it for my Penang trip. Wasn't much as it was only a 1-night stay. But it'll do. As long as we get to go out from KL for a bit.

KLCC @ sunset

A view of sunset over KLCC, taken last week from my apartment.