Langkawi, Jewel of Kedah: Fun in the SUN II

Our second day in this relaxed environment continues!  We had a goodnight snooze the previous night as we prepared for one of the highlights of this trip.  Langkawi's famous Cable Car.

The Langkawi Cable Car or Panorama Langkawi Cable Car is one of the major attractions in Langkawi Island, Kedah, Malaysia. It provides an aerial link from near Burau Bay Resort at Teluk Burau to the peak of Gunung Machinchang, which is also the location of the Langkawi Sky Bridge. The total length is 2.2 km (1.4 mi). It was officially opened in 2003.

Langkawi Cable Car is just an approximate 40 minutes drive from Kuah town and 15 minutes drive from Langkawi International Airport. (wikipedia)

We drove all the way here from our hotel.

I already experienced riding a cable car in Genting Highlands and thus I was not that excited.  However, it was the steepest (if not, one of the steepest) cable car in the world that is 42 degrees steep so I got excited.

When you reached the middle station, you will be 650m above sea level.

For you to reach the next station, you have to ride another cable car.

After the ride, a spectacular view awaits you.

This next station is 708m above sea-level is about 5 degrees Celsius (+/-) cooler than lowlands. When we were there, some funny thing happened.

Back Story:  The previous night, Sweets, Rod and Karl bought some japeyks Billabong shorts and they were very happy about it!

At the second station, we saw a familiar (not face) shorts!

We can tell from it's color and texture that it was (YES IT WAS) the original version of their Billabong shorts!

Before we head back down from the Cable Car, we ate some num num ice cream and sent some postcard back to the Philippines!

After riding the cable car, you can visit the souvenir shops within the Oriental Village.  For me the Oriental Village is Korean inspired and it's very nice and calm.

After this we went back to Kuah Town to start doing our Duty Free shopping!

I am so sorry I have to ask you to let your imagination do the picturing as I was not able to snap any of the Duty Free shops there!

Nevertheless, once you are in Kuah Town, just ask anyone and they know where to point you!

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Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah: Fun in the SUN

One of the recommended places to explore here in Malaysia is in Langkawi.  

Langkawi, officially known as Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah (Malay: Langkawi Permata Kedah) is an archipelago of 104 islands in the Andaman Sea, some 30 km off the mainland coast of northwestern Malaysia. The islands are a part of the state of Kedah, which is adjacent to the Thai border.  Langkawi is a duty-free island. (Wikipedia)

I got very excited about going to Langkawi because of the fact that it was Duty Free!!! Let me tell you about it later on.

We were lucky to get promo seats going to Langkawi, we only spent RM45 for our return tickets! Yey!

Before our trip to Langkawi, we already sourced for our Hotel and we were lucky to get one of the best hotels in Langkawi from the Matta Fair.  We got Hotel Bahagia ~ highly recommended from my side, my reasons:

1. Not far from the city

2. Very quiet environment

3. Accommodating hotel staff

4. Can help you arrange for your packages

5. Have nearby shops and restaurants

6. Free breakfast

Together with our accommodation we also rented their van.

The 4D and 3N in Bahagia Hotel with Van (on our own), we only paid RM220 per person which was very reasonably cheap!

When we arrived at the airport, we were fetched by the van.

Then since Louise and Reo will be arriving an hour later, we just rested a bit and drove back to the airport.  My husband was the one who drove the van.

Then first thing in the morning, after having our breakfast, we arranged for an island hopping package.  Island hopping was RM300 per boat (RM37 per pax) and it was a 5 - 6 hours island hopping, if we wanted to stay in an area a bit longer then we just need to inform our bangkero.

Our first stop in the Island Hopping was at the Pulau Singa Besar for the "Eagle Feeding".

It is named after a legend of the giant who possessed a lion as a pet thus it means "Island of the Big Lion". It is located between two small islands which are Pulau Bras Basah and PulauDayang Bunting. About 17km from Kuah it is a 35-45 minutes ride by boat from Kuah Jetty.  

(http://www.langkawipoint.com/langkawi-islands/pulau-singa-besar)

At first, I cannot imagine how are we going to feed the eagles, but when we stopped at the Eagle Bay and saw the eagles grabbing food from the sea then I realized ~ We stopped at the middle of the Bay and our bangkero threw something into the sea.  We asked and it was chicken.. then slowly, one by one the eagle came passing by getting the food!

I was amazed by how precised they were in getting the food. It was really an experience to have!  Not all the time we can sea an eagle grabbing food!

Our next stop was at the "Beras Basah Island".

One of the most known islands of Langkawi Pulau Beras Basah (The Island of Wet Rice) is located at the west end of Langkawi. 

Pulau Beras Basah is famous for its beautiful white sandy beaches with crystal clear blue waters.

(http://www.langkawipoint.com/langkawi-islands/pulau-beras-basah)

No doubt about it because it was really a good and refreshing view to look at.

You have an option to swim the beach or just stroll along the shore, whichever suits you is okie! We stayed in this place for close to an hour.

Our next destination was at the "Dayang Bunting Marble Geoforest Park" then we went to the "Tasik Dayang Bunting", the biggest natural lake also known as The Lake of the Pregnant Maiden. This fresh water lake was formed when a huge underground limestone cave collapsed.  

(http://www.langkawipoint.com/langkawi-geoparks/dayang-bunting-marble-geoforest-park)

 From this view, it seems that you are looking at a pregnant woman lying down which was pretty interesting.

According to legend, if any barren woman drinks the water from the lake or bathe in it, she will be rewarded and blessed with a child. It states that some fairy princess lost her child right after birth and chose to bury her child in this lake and the child turned into a white crocodile. After which she blessed the lake with fertility.

(http://www.langkawipoint.com/langkawi-geoparks/dayang-bunting-marble-geoforest-park)

If this is true then greatness! We all bathe in the warm water!
Btw it was 30 feet (or more) deep and thus we needed the life vest :)

After this awesomeness dip, we were dropped off to our hotel.

We then decided to take lunch first, sleep and rest for an hour and then hit the road again.  This time with the van.

After our quick rest, we then looked at our map and hit the road going to "Black Sand Beach".  We were all excited to see this one and it was quite fascinating.

Legends has it that there was a war between the Underwater Kingdom and Land Kingdom.  The Land Kingdom was outnumbered by the Underwater Kingdom but the Land Kingdom has an old wise man with them and told them to put a lot of fire woods along the shore and burn them.. 

When the armies of the Underwater Kingdom saw the flames, they thought that thousands of armies from the Land Kingdom were waiting for them.  With this the armies of the Underwater Kingdom never attacked and the Lang Kingdom won the war.  

The flames from the fire wood then left the black sand there.

On the other hand, this is the scientific explanation:

The result of the mineral contents in the sand such as iron oxide made the sand black. It is not overall covered with black sand but in shades of white and black sand. During the wet season it is blackeras the mineral deposits persistently wash up on the shore. 

Anyhow, after visiting the "Black Sand Beach" we went ahead to another beach which was the "Pantai Cenang Beach".

This is the most visited beach in Langkawi because of its night life.  The purpose of our journey there was to find a good restaurant to eat but when we went closer to the shore, we saw something interesting.

It's not a bird, it's not a plane and it's not even superman.  It's Parasailing!

Para-sailing also known as parascending, or "parakiting" is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle (usually a boat) while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that reminds one of a parachute, known as a parasail wing. The manned kite's moving anchor may be a car, truck, or boat. 

The harness attaches the pilot to the parasail, which is connected to the boat, or land vehicle, by the tow rope. The vehicle then drives off, carrying the parascender (or wing) and person into the air. The activity is primarily a fun ride, not to be confused with the sport of paragliding. (wikipedia)

 

The moment I saw this man flying, I immediately told my husband that I wanted to do it and without any hesitation he said "yes".  

When we got nearer to the shore, we got very excited and straight away booked for our para-sailing activity.  It was only RM50 for a 10 minute ride and for me it was enough.

I was the first one to try it, to show my sister (Louise) that everything will be alright and fun.  Everybody finished and she was still undecided whether to try it or not. I told her that it was a once in a lifetime experience and she might not have the opportunity to do it again, better do with a relative at least she would feel more secure.

At the back of my mind "Lord please take care of this one for me and give a safe and fun fly for my sister!".

After much of discussions, Louise' then tried it. :D

(Ma, Pa, wag nyo akong pagalitan ha! :D)

We then concluded the night with a yum yum seafood dinner!

Watch out for more kwelas in the next blog.
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Teaser: Langkawi, Malaysia

Yey! So funny we took our shot at the eagle's behind!
Watch out for more kwelas!

Sweets making some smiley there!
Joel making some Gwiyomi there!

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Happy Friday: Happy Mother's Day

 
The only wish a child could have is to make their Mama proud!

We wanna make them proud not by the material things that we can give them but by the things that they can see in what we do and how we are!

My open letters to my two wonderful Mamas!

 

We are living in the age of the internet world where everything is so electronic even letters and I hope I was able to extend my sincere thanks and love by writing my letter to the two most wonderful mothers on earth!

Again, Happy Mother's Day!

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Thailand: Hat Yai (Second Half)

Here comes our second day in Hat Yai.  Basically we have exhausted our itinerary on our first day and thus the only two things remaining in this journey was the authentic "Thai Massage" and the "Shopping".

Since we were all tired from the previous day's activity, we took our time to take a lot of snooze before we leave for shopping and massage.

At 8am, my husband and I decided to take a walk to the nearest hawkers where we can have breakfast, we were also looking around for more tourist spot to visit.  We stopped over at one hawkers just at the corner of the street and took our breakfast there.  

Unfortunately I was not able to take a snap of our breakfast because I did not bring my phone / camera with me. I really liked their ko-pi, this one was different from the coffee that they were selling.

After the morning walk, my husband together with my sister and friends (Rod and Beth) prepared to leave.  Our first stop was at the Lee Gardens Plaza.

Nothing much just a normal mall and then we just roamed around and looked for things to buy.  

After that we went to the clock tower where there were other stalls for shopping.  We did not immediately shopped, we did canvassing first and then decided which one to buy.

   
After deciding which to buy, my husband grabbed a quick snack which he regretted eating only a few.  The "Mango Sticky Rice".

 

Mango Sticky Rice is one of the famous dessert in Thailand.  It is basically glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk plus the famous Thai Mango.  

It was so tasty and num num that you can feel its rich taste in every chew.  I have found a recipe for this wonderful dessert and maybe one of these days I will cook it. :D Mango Sticky Rice.

I think we have the same concept in the Philippines, which is "suman at mangga".


 




Then while I was roaming around, I saw these babies!  Wowowowow!

They say that one of the best things about Thailand is their food and it was very much true!  They were all authentic and tasteful.  

When we were in the Floating Market - I can't help but drool with all the food that were within my reach but luckily I was still able to control my cravings and tasted bit by bit of what they had there.  Go back to our Floating Market Experience.





I saw a clip from youtube about night life in Hat Yai and I would like to share it to you all.  Basically these were the things that we also saw there! 


 
Before we go back to our hotel, I was told about this Thai Foot Massage very near the Lee Gardens Plaza.

There were a lot of Thai Foot Massage in this area and I was specifically directed by my colleague, Goerge, about this one.  Let me also direct you using this map.

Our masseurs! I know, I know, looks can be really deceiving!
Hands up because they were all good! All trained to do the authentic Thai Massage!

It says in their sign that it's is a "Foot Massage" but it was not.
Find out for yourself!  
One thing I know is that this massage was so "Worth it".

Wow! I am not sure if I am going back to Hat Yai but I definitely enjoyed my stay here!! Glad to have experienced these things with my sistah!

Hat Yai is just one part of Thailand to explore but there are other places to go and you will definitely enjoy them!

Now as for the budgeting - my safest allocation would be Php15,000 per person.  However you might want to add more if you have high air ticket or wanted to do a lot of shopping!

You can use this Hat Yai Map as your reference.


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I love to DANCE!

My sister is with me here in Malaysia and she will be staying until last week of May and thus the best thing to do is to bond! Yeah!

One of the bonding moments that we have thought of is creating a cover!  Yes I have the guts to make one even if I am very much aware that I am not a good singer!

Yes I have the effort and that's more important!
Sister bonding! Yown! 


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Thailand: Hat Yai (First Half)

I was very excited about this trip because We (sweets and i) will be travelling together with my sister and close friends (Beth and Rod). We planned for this since last year and now we have been into a wonderful place in Hat Yai, Thailand.

Hat Yai is a city in southern Thailand near Malaysia border.  Hat Yai is the largest city and is the business center of Songkhla Province.  The name "Hat Yai" is a short version of "Mahat Yai", meaning big mahat (Thai: มะหาด) tree, a relative of jackfruits in genus Artocarpus. (Wikipedia)
 
Our mode of transportation from KL to Hat Yai was via bus. 
From Pudu Central, we left kL at 10:30pm and we boarded the VIP bus of Konsortium.  It was an 8 hour drive and we were lucky to have chosen the VIP bus (RM60 per pax) because of the following:

1. It was very comfortable and it has spacious seats
2. It has tv with up to date movies, there was also an option for music.

7 hours later, we stopped at the Malaysian Immigration and then to the Thailand Immigration. An hour later we arrived the Hat Yai City Proper.

Few weeks back I was already preparing our itinerary for this trip and just when we arrived in Hat Yai that I realized I left the itinerary at home (Malaysia).  I was like "okie calm down KL" then I told Sweets about it then said to him "okie lang yan tanda ko naman" ~ while I swallow and hope that I remember everything. 

As we are nearing the city proper, I was imagining the things that I wrote in my itinerary and the things that George (my very helpful colleague) told me about.

Okie here we go, when we arrived at the bus station, we dropped off at the side of the Lee Gardens Plaza and we immediately went to the nearest Mc Donalds to have breakfast. 

Then we headed to the nearest Travel Agency near Lee Gardens which was the Hat Yai Varaity Travel Services.  This Travel Agency is specifically partnered with the Konsortium Bus that's why I highly recommend Konsortium for the KL - Hat Yai travel.

We then immediately booked for the following:

1. Songkhla Tour [6 -7 hours] (Thb 1,800.00)
2. Hansa Plaza Ah Gua Show (Thb 350.00 per person)
3. Bus ticket going back to KL (Thb 400.00 per person)

At 8:30am we then proceeded to our Songkhla Tour. I was expecting a Tuk Tuk to tour us around Songkhla, to my surprise, it was a van! Since it was a 12 seater van I was then expecting to have other tourist to join us but NO! We had the van on our own and it was really awesome!!

First Stop: Reclining Buddha in Wat Hat Yai Nai
World's third largest reclining Buddha! Buddha measured 35 meters long, 15 meters tall, and 10 meters wide, was named Phra Phuttha Hattha Mongkhon.
(Trip Advisor).

We were blessed that we were not bombarded by people asking for donations!  Some tourists were not lucky enough and were asked for high donations.

Second Stop: Hat Yai Municipal Park
Kanchanawanit Road and is approximately six kilometers from the city center on the Hat Yai – Songkhla Highway. 

These were our poses besides our Chinese Zodiac Years!

I love the colors! Very lively!

Third Stop: Hat Yai Cable Car and the 20meters + Buddha.

This is the 20+ meters Buddha, standing hundreds of meters above the park. Many locals make their way up by motorbike but it’s an energetic and rewarding hour long climb up. The views over Hat Yai and the surrounding hills are magical – and across to the sea in the distance (http://hatyai.thailandhappy.com/hat-yai-municipal-park/)

After these three stops, we told our driver that we wanted to have lunch first before we proceed to the next destination. We said that we can eat pork and that our only requirement would be "it has to be a cheap lunch". Then he brought us in this place, similar to a hawkers but just along the highway, in the Philippines, it is simply called carinderia.

You will be given a plate with rice and you will choose which "ulam" you like.  Normally for one rice and two "ulams" they will just charge you THB40. 

After lunch, without any doubt in my mind, the food was awesome and the price was indeed cheap! Good job to Kuya for bringing us in this place!!!

Fourth Stop: Chang Puak Camp
Karnchanawanich Road between Hat Yai and Songkhla

The elephant ride was Thb500 per person for a 30 minute ride.

Side Story:
Our Elephant is Meka, she is only 10 years old and while she was helping us roam around, she was currently 6 months pregnant!  Interesting right!! :D

Fifth Stop: Hat Yai Aquarium
Sixth Stop: Samila beach

This beach has a long shoreline but there were only few people who were taking a dip. Majority of the people in the area was having their little picnics with family and friends. I cannot blame them because there were a lot of trees that gives good shade, the wind was nice that its easy to fall asleep, the see was so calm and there were a lot of cheap food with a lot of choices.

Sweets and I took our time to walk through the long shore to have a feel of the beach. Wow! Amazing clear water! I wanted to swim but I can't, we were not prepared to take a dip.

Wow! When we were in the Samila Beach, sweets tried this dessert called "Coconut Ice Cream" it was so refreshing with some fruits in it and I got excited to write about it. When I took a picture of its name, i looked at it twice because I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me.. Look at how it was named! :D

It was literaly a "Coconut Ice Scream" ~ was it because you will scream for joy once you have tasted it? Maybe!

After drinking Luctan juice at Samila Beach we headed to our Hotel. We were greatly accommodated by Meridian Hotel in Hat Yai. I highly recommend this place, no doubt about it. 

After one hour rest we then headed to our next destination. We arranged with Tuktuk to take us to the Floating Market and then wait for us and bring us to the Hansa Plaza. For 2 hours, we were asked to pay only Thb 420.

Klong Hae Floating Market (Wat Klong Hae)
Open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 4:00pm - 7:00pm

This is not similar to Bangkok FM where the merchants are roaming around the river to sell. This one is pretty simple, all of the merchants were lined up along the river side and the people get to buy as they walk pass them.

Generally it was all food, from fried to steam sea food, different mees with different flavors, fried or steamed potato and a lot of drinks! Instead of using plastic cups for the drinks, they use bamboo or clay cup ~Very creative. We stayed there for like 2 hours and we were all burping with happiness!  You can prepare at least Thb 100 - 200 for your food trip and it will be all worth it.

Here are the vendors up close.  All of them are Thai Delicacies with some Maki (Japanese) and you will literally burp because of the food!  Rice, egg, fruits, veggies, fish and drinks, just name it and they all have it. 

They serve their drinks in these clay mug! 
Yes below is a violet corn!  More num num than the yellow one! Good try for us!

Our last stop for the day was the Ah Gua Show and it was at the Hansa Plaza! From my research it was like a cultural show but when we got the tickets it was indicated that the Hansa Ah Gua Show was a Cabaret Show. I have not experienced watching a cabaret show yet so I really cannot imagine how it will look like, we were asking if my sister can watch since she was only a minor. 

Anyhow, we all went through without any problems!
You can buy the ticket with dinner but I do not recommend it.  Just get the normal ticket with the free drinks.

We asked to take a picture then they asked for a tip; I was not surprised by it but it was a little awkward.  Anyhow, I really enjoyed the show, they were all beautiful (She-males).

Wow this was a very tiring day indeed but it was all worth it!
This was the first half, watch out for the second half!

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