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Yogyakarta : Food And Ole – Ole

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

To be honest, after the 2nd day I can’t palate another Indonesian dish. I was craving for spaghetti or something cheesy instead.

Mr Husband seems to love its food. He had Lontong, Kueytiew Ala cina, Nasi Daging and such. I could only stomach the Nasi Penyek whole heartedly as it was a familiar taste. The rest of the cuisine was just too spicy for my liking. We did however splurge on their snacks and brought back loads of interesting tidbits as ole-ole (souvenirs). You could try bringing back home its delicious brownies, their local chocolate confectionary branded as MONGGO, bakpia, fruit cake, kerepek pisang sale (pronounced as sah-ley), Good Day instant coffee and of course Indonesia’s pride.. teh kotak or teh botol.

I drank the teh kotak till I pee-d the clear colour of pure spring water. That’s how much I loved it.

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Overall, it was a pleasant and safe trip. We enjoyed it very much. We did not suffer from any food poisoning nor were we at the edge of getting mugged. We did however exceeded our hand luggage 7kg limit and had to ‘rearrange’ a few things in the bag.

Our Hotel ⌉ The 1-day tour ⌉ Taman Sari & Malioboro ⌉

 

Yogyakarta Day 2

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

Day 2 was Free and Easy. We went to 2 places. This was on a Monday.

To be honest I think Taman Sari is officially closed for some official ceremony but the guy manning the place was more than willing to bring this family from Malaysia for a mini tour around the area. I say so because we did not buy any official ticket at an official booth nor did we have to get a camera pass like the ones they talk about in blogs.

Anyway, we were grateful for the personalized tour. Even if the guy lied about the history of the place we’d just swallow it whole like a kindie kid. In truth, he did not lie. Instead his face glows as he tells the story of the place.

Taman Sari is interesting and one could easily get lost within the many spiraling and small streets. This place was once a place for the sultan to rest and play. Now, the compound is inhabited by the locals who are helping to preserve the taman  for tourism purposes. So to get to the bath house you’ll have to pass through a housing lane and to get to the underground mosque you have to use the neighbours staircase.. things like that. A palace within the commoners. So don’t be a Scrooge and just pay for a tourist guide.

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It’s a very smart and practical place to begin with. And they used a lot of natural influences in building and running the palace. For instance, the king has two beds in his room. One had running water underneath the ‘mattress planks’ for cold conditioning and if its gets to freezing temp, he’ll move to the other bed where there are hot ashes underneath the planks.

We wanted to continue with a visit to Kraton. But it was also closed for an official event. So we got on a beca and headed to Malioboro – a shopping destination.

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Malaysians just like our Indonesian cousins are obsessed with clothes and batik and such.

We bought memorabilia items like T shirts and keychains. A few batik -like outfits for Hazeeq and his cousins as well. Mr Husband enjoyed haggling for the best price. So I let him do the talking.

We did not rush but once again it rained towards the later half of the day. This time no room service but Mr Husband bought kebabs and tidbits for supper.

Our Hotel ⌉  The 1-Day Tour ⌉ Food & Ole-Ole ⌉

Yogyakarta : Cakrakusuma Hotel, Jalan Kaliuran

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

RM 559.56 . That was the cost for our trip – A return flight ticket from KLIA2 to Yogyakarta for 2 adults and 1 child plus a 4D3N stay at Cakra Kusuma Hotel. Minus shopping and touring money of course.

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I was pleasantly surprised with this hotel. It was rated as a 3 star hotel but hey.. it was worth all the money we paid for. What was important was not only the cleanliness but the kind hospitality they offered to my kid. It was like a small resort in its own world. At one time you’re on the busy streets of Yogya and once you’re in the facility, you’re like in a different place. Very cooling and relaxing.

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There were a few setbacks:

We had to weather the rain to get to our rooms situated further back from the roofed reception. Especially now when its sunny during the first half of the day and like a meteorological expert – we can predict the rain to pour by 3PM everyday. Thank god for in-house umbrellas.

There was no fridge in the room. We had a leaking sink and the walls were not soundproof.

But they compensated well:

Hot showers, daily complimentary bottled water and beverages, free basic toiletries, a resourceful reception and fine room service dining. At least we can still experience Indonesian cuisine within the comfort of our own room especially when it rains during dinnertime. We enjoyed the Free WIFI most, so Mr Husband could VIBER his parents back home and upload the pictures on FaceBook.

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Would I stay at this hotel again? A definite yes.

The 1-Day Tour ⌉  Taman Sari & Malioboro ⌉ Food & Ole-Ole ⌉

66 Hours in Phuket : What We Did

Posted in Leisure & Travel by
Itinerary ⌉ Our Hotel ⌉ Halal Phuket Food ⌉

In short, there were 2 highlights of this trip.

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First is the Phuket FantaSea and the other is Island hopping specifically to James Bond Island since we’ve been to Phi Phi Island when we were in Krabi.

PHUKET FANTA-SEA

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To me this place is a mix of a mini theme park and a circus show. Its not a big place nor is the show heavy and elaborate, but it was entertaining nonetheless. There were lots of picturesque or cute locations to take photos and just hang around.

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Prior to this trip, Hazeeq have been watching Dr Seuss’s Horton’s who – this story about an elephant who is on a mission to save a world on a speck. Hence, my boy was very excited at the sight of elephants performing on stage at The Elephant Palace. To be honest, I don’t totally understand the storyline of the play yet I remained enthralled by the beauty of their graceful traditional dances and costumes. The show lasted for an enjoyable one hour and we hastily proceeded to the buffet area.

Phuket Fanta-Sea was very kind to provide a Halal buffet spread which we enjoyed to bits. It is however sad though to see some patrons wasting precious food. Some cakes were untouched after a flick of the fork at its icing. Oh dear, why can’t these people just finish what they took. Or shove it into their partners mouth or something.

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We spent roughly 3 hours there before the transport man picked us up as scheduled. Money well spent!

JAMES BOND ISLAND HOPPING (Phang Nga Route)

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I had no idea that this trip was relatively safe for a toddler like Hazeeq. I was a bit apprehensive when they mentioned canoe-ing as part of their activity even though they say ‘can bring baby – no problem’. To be more safe, I brought Hazeeq’s swimming vest for him to wear on board. We were not taking any chances.

Subhanallah, everything was just beautiful. Whoever discovered these islands are pure lucky – bless  those who choose to share this with the world. And of course earn money from it.

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Lunch was at Koh Panyee – a  floating Muslim fishermen village. Populated by nearly 200 families who although lives surrounded by the riches of the sea still needs to go to the mainland for dry goods and fresh water. Electricity is supplied by a generator to function during certain hours of the day. Tough life.

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Followed by a 90 min free and easy activity at Naka island. Our guide was ethical enough to inform us against taking picture with the ‘baby monkeys’ on the beach when approached by the locals. He said some of them went to the extremes of killing the mothers of these baby monkeys so they would be attached to their human mothers. He didn’t really say “Don’t” but mentioned he thought he should just let us know – for he fears paying the locals for a photo with these monkeys will fuel their ‘monstrous activity’.

Most tour participants swam, sunbathed, drank cocktails and stuff. We were on the other hand itching to go home as my boy was already sleeping. So we just sat there, meditated, took a nap. .. until it was time to leave.

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All in all, it was a good trip.

66 Hours in Phuket : Halal food

Posted in Food and Drinks, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat by
Itinerary ⌉ What We Did ⌉ Our Hotel 

It’s nice to see that the culinary world has improved tremendously to cater for customers on special diet restrictions : vegetarian, vegan, kosher, Halal et cetera.. At the mention of Thailand among muslims, we would naturally go for food like tomyam, seafood, fried rice and stuff instead of where to get the best booze and things. Here’s a few of the places we get to experience during our 66 hours there. Sad to say, we didn’t get to taste Kesuma – a restaurant most Malaysians were raving about.

Arman Halal Restaurant

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As mentioned previously, our hotel has its in-house restaurant that serves all main meals of the day and they open as early as 7AM. Our free included breakfast was an ala carte dish between an American breakfast, Continental or Southern Thai breakfast. Portion was humungous for my appetite. Food was lovely. Especially when they’re free.

Tandoori Restaurant at Bangla Road

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This restaurant had a mix of Indian and Thai food. We opted for Thai cuisine with Hazeeq munching on a slice of Margarita pizza . We had a glimpse at the kitchen and saw that the cook is of Thai descent and yum yum.. the tomyam kung was delicious. Not too spicy but still leaves you that feeling of wanting more. Mr Husband had a seafood noodle platter which was equally nice.

BANANA PANCAKE

In between, we had the popular banana pancake for snacks. The vendors are like everywhere. The roti is very crispy and full of calories!

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JUNGCEYLON FOOD COURT

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The most famous stall was Islamtai Bangja. This was what most Malaysian bloggers recommended to which we did the same. I however  urge consumers to try the other new Halal stalls set up within the food court as well. For instance, Bismillah Cafe, Pad Thai Chayam and Mae-Mae. We only noticed their existence after we’ve ordered our meals. Mr Husband had white rice with seafood vegetable stir-fry mix. Mine was white rice with spicy chicken curry.

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PHUKET FANTA-SEA BUFFET RESTAURANT

Well, there’s only one buffet restaurant in the area. The briyani was rich in spices and lots of protein to choose from. Don’t forget to taste the traditional Thai dessert – cincau in white syrup. Hazeeq was so full he had to lie down. Ha ha.

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KOH PANYEE FLOATING VILLAGE

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This wasn’t really a choice – it was more of a ‘lunch-included package’. In a way, it is good for the villagers as it provides them with some sort of income. Thankfully there was always something for everybody. Hazeeq enjoyed his fried chicken very much. The Upin Ipin style .

PHUKET NIGHT MARKET

One could find almost anything at the market. We settled for its fried rice and grilled prawns. And trust me, that meal in the polysterene pack was actually for one person. Mr Husband and I had to share.

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Our mini culinary adventure went well. Now we have to burn back those extra calories on the threadmill. Huhu.