It was another short holiday abroad for our little family of 3. Mr Husband couldn’t resist trying to book for another Free Flight offer by Air Asia and yippee we landed a freebie to Phuket.
At the moment, I’m still hooked up with some leftover assignments at work but details of the trip is coming soon – I hope.
Yang penting, kita enjoy!!
A brief itinerary of the trip:
Eid fell on post-call day. Post-call routine usually includes a quick hot shower at home, eat instant maggi, lower the curtains creating that dark, cozy air conditioned atmosphere and just doze off – for at least 4 hours. But its Eid!! So korban tido.. and have breakfast at the in-laws instead. *grin sheepishly*
I wore a black jubah (Mom bought at Mekah last umrah) over my work scrubs and voila.. and Eid outift in 5 minutes. He he.
SELAMAT HARI RAYA!!
Istana Maimoon has got to be the one and only tourist attraction we went to. The fun point of the visit was to play dress up and have our photos taken as the Sultan and Sultanah of long ago.
It was cheap thrill in a positive way. It costs a mere 10 000 IDR per person per costume and if we choose to have our photo printed out – it just costs another 10 000 IDR.
Total cost : a priceless 40 000 IDR ( = MYR10)
a very sulky and angry little prince
There was no entrance fee but we were encouraged to give some donation. Unlike temples or tourist sites in Cambodia, there was no donation box but we trust the nice, elderly man would keep the money for the good of the palace. In fact, he was like a human money exchange as he announced the value of our IDR donations in ringgit Malaysia.
” ini sumbangannya baru 5 ringgit bapak.. mau bagi lagi?’
“With Air AsiaGo, every ibuk can fly”
Finally, I had my birthday trip to Medan last weekend. However, I should mention that this trip has no Brastagi. No Piso-piso Waterfall. Not even a visit to Paten or Hillpark Sibolangit. No Bika Ambon. Danau Toba? Forget it. We think that our dear boy Hazeeq could not stand the 6 hours journey in a confined space. Hence, the mini adventure was limited to just Bandar Medan.. and wow it was still a worthwhile birthday ticket for a party of 3.
| 1.00 MYR | = | 3,702.00 IDR |
Why Medan you may ask. Why not Bandung or Jakarta. Well.. simply because it was cheap on AirAsiaGo. We were undoubtedly excited about the trip and took much time reading outdated blog entries regarding Medan,till we have overlooked an important fact. The international airport tax in Medan per se has risen to 200 000 IDR fr0m 75 000 IDR starting May 2014. Perghh… nasib jak ada duit lebih. Mun sik.. gine nak bayar yah..
In Medan, we lived like royalty.
We thought our hotel was a 3 star accommodation because of the price but it turned out to be a 5 star hotel. They were also kind enough to give us a room with proper double bed instead of twin single beds that we initially booked. Breakfast was not included but what the heck.. makan luar ajalah.. As you can see, our days were liven up by the spirit of food and shopping. We went to every single pajak or mall we could think of with the BETOR (beca motor) as our favourite mode of transportation despite Hazeeq’s frequent refusal, “naik motor burok agi?”
Here is a glimpse of our itinerary.
Of course the room was clean, housekeeping was superb. Mr Husband made it a point for them to replenish our shower gels that have been used walaupun pada hakikatnya it has been stashed away.. he he. Beds were comfortable. TV reception was satisfactory. We even managed to catch up on movies like White House Down and G.I Joe during Hazeeq’s afternoon 3 hour nap.
Later, stories of shopping and our culinary adventure!!
People often ask,
“Siapa ada di Kuching?” after knowing very well that my parents have migrated to Semenanjung ever since I was 12 years old. I have lost my grandparents when I was very young which means my parents loss their parents at a young age too. But we still have blood ties who are still alive. Mainly our cousins, their siblings et cetera. And this is enough to make Hari Raya a festive season for all.
This year kita raya ala-ala merantau di bumi sendiri. We do not have our own house in Kuching. Hotel rooms are way expensive hence we chose a neat homestay for the Raya week.
Homestay Taman Lavendar,
No 25, Jalan Depo,
93050 Petra Jaya,
Kuching, Sarawak
Owner : Encik Rahman
Tel : 016 867 3565
The single storey terrace house had 3 bedrooms with air conditioning in each room. 2 toilets with one in the master bedroom fuly equipped with a hot water heater. A small, cozy kitchen with its kitchen appliances, even a fridge to store our ikan masin and kuih lapis. A front porch that could fit two cars – our Persona and Myvi that we borrowed from a relative. A TV with Astro.
NO WIFI. But who needs it anyway during Raya, kan?
All this for MYR 250/night.
I felt it was reasonable for our party of 10 people ( 8 adults, 2 toddlers). My younger brothers slept in the living room which was equally comfortable because of its nice sofa and air conditioning!!
Overall, the house was clean and most importantly near Matang where all the relatives live.
Minci Moss 