Tag Archives: halal travel

Taman Agro Tourism, Cameron Highland

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat by

We have been here a few years ago and the hills of Cameron Highlands, especially at the main entrance are still as dirty and messed up as ever. I wonder what other tourists  – overseas tourist – would think about it. Of course, it gets prettier and cleaner as one gets into the small city and visit the main attractions .. but wouldn’t it be more molek if the journey to is equally marvellous?

It could be due to the ongoing construction so who am I to judge …

It was a day trip to Cameron Highlands this time – so we paid a visit to Taman Agro. Also known as the Big Red Strawberry Farm. FREE entry fee. FREE clean squatting toilets.

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Naturally we went there for the strawberry products. On top of taking gazillions of pictures with the flowers, cactus and even the hydroponic salads. There were a lot of people flocking the area as it was the school & Diwali holidays but we were not deterred. Nak makan jugak. 

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Hazeeq posed endlessly. Mr Husband was also encouraging him along the way. Well, he too loves to pose. Mr Husband kept saying he is this unfound gem in the modelling world. Muntah pliss.

My mother-in-law bought some little cactus. 6 pots for RM10. Still selling at the same price we bought them few years ago.

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We did not make time to visit the Boh Tea plantation. But we did make various stops to small retailers as we went downhill towards the hotel. We managed to buy some ubi keledek, Mutiara sweetcorn, cheaper strawberries, honey and tea in boxes.

I hope that the next time we set foot here, it will be cleaner and easier on the eyes. Insya-Allah.

Pekanbaru, Indonesia

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by
Hazeeq stepping out of the plane like a child star

Hazeeq stepping out of the plane like a child star

I got back from my 4D3N trip from Pekanbaru some time ago and colleagues were asking,

How was Pekanbaru?

We were  small group of 5 people. Our little family of 3 including my parents in law. I have to be honest – not much to shout about unless one is planning for a trip to Bukit Tinggi. There were only 3 highlights of the trip

  • Amaris Hotel
  • Pitek Lanang
  • Masjid Besar

I sound like a miserable traveller already.

AMARIS HOTEL PEKANBARU

There couldn’t be a better hotel like Amaris. We were very grateful for the early check-in. And more thankful for the offer of a late check-out. Amaris seems busy this week – catering to meetings and small workshops. A lot of corporate clients appears really important walking through the front door.

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Our non smoking room has a comfortable King size bed, a small TV with only one particular channel we understand and enjoy which is HBO, complimentary drinking water, water dispenser (hot & cold) just outside our room at the corner of the stairs, cooling air conditioning and a decent view.

We don’t have a mini fridge – but it’s okay. Although we have a water dispenser, sometimes the water seems to run out. Thank God I brought a mini thermos so Hazeeq could still have his milk at a good temperature.

Breakfast selection was commendable – I loved the coffee and the fried rice a lot. Hazeeq on the other hand loved the keropok and juice.

PITEK LANANG

This was the restaurant situated just outside our hotel opposite the small road. We had our main meals there almost everyday. If not for lunch, then for dinner. They have both Western and Indonesian cuisine. I loved its pecel lele the most. ONce I got bored of having white rice, I ordered its nasi goreng. It did not taste like the ones we had in Malaysia. They were in fact very rempah-y.

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We did try the special Murtabak and Sate Padang at another warung – that too tasted weird. Edible and interesting but weird to the palate.

MASJID BESAR

Like I’ve mentioned earlier, there is not much to do at Pekanbaru. It’s good for elderly tourist because you get to walk slowly and soak in the experience of being in a foreign country without having to rush for its public transport and such. Shopping was biasa. We did went to the Ramayana store but was fooled into thinking that we could get a discount. It did not display properly that only those with store cards get discount on merchandise. Sgtlah sik transparent.

Despite that, going to it’s Masjid Besar was WOW.

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Perhaps I haven’t been to a big masjid for quite some time – I thought it was interesting to have a huge area within the masjid compound that allows the public to come by and exercise (riadah) in the evenings. In a way, people would not have the idea that masjid is only for praying. Instead, a place where human beings from all walks of life regardless muslim or not can gather at the area as a community and a family. That we learn to perform riadah in a respectable way yet still being able to achieve one’s goals of either burning calories or just keeping fit.

Although our daily schedule involved a lot of eating and lazing around, both my in-laws were happy. Eventhough they had to visit a miserable museum as well. Ha ha. Seeing them enjoying the short trip was enough to make us happy too. But perhaps we’ll choose a better destination next time. With also cheap tickets from Air Asia.

4 days in pekanbaru? too long.. he he

Revisiting Langkawi 2015 : The Food

Posted in Everyday Life, Food and Drinks, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat, Reviews by

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The above picture is an illustration of how much we enjoy our food.

Do look for;

  • Laksa – rice based noodles served in fish based sauce. Honorable mentions include Laksa Kaw Ikan Sekoq (Airport) & Laksa Power Rosabina (in front of Padang Matsirat School) near the night market.
  • Pasembor –  a Malaysian salad consisting of cucumber (shredded), potatoes, beancurd, turnip, bean sprouts, prawn fritters, spicy fried crab, fried octopus or other seafood and served with a sweet and spicy nut sauce. The dish is priced according to the bits of food you combine to make your salad.
  • Rojak Buah –  another form of Malaysian salad only now consists of fruits mainly pineapple and fritters. This is then drizzled with a sweet sour prawn based sauce topped with crunched peanuts.
  • Cendol –  a traditional sweet dessert
  • Pek Nga – coconut pancake fried in butter. We loved the ones by Warung Mat Su – also near the Padang Matsirat school. Its a stall mind you.

 

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… and you can never go wrong with seafood especially when you’ve tasted Ikan Tiga Rasa (fish with 3 flavours) and Sup Tulang (literally bone soup with little chunks of meat usually beef). Even Thai food is easily available here in Langkawi as you taste the authentic Tomyam or Mango Rice.

All in all, it was a ‘light and easy’ trip and we enjoyed it to the max.

Revisiting Langkawi 2015 : Places to visit

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

We all have different agendas when we visit a place. Ours were more of to Eat, Sleep and Shop. A pinch of history lessons here and there. And something for the kids of course.

DATARAN LANG (EAGLE SQUARE)

This is where the iconic eagle statue is. We went there to have a stroll – loving the big space where the kids could run around. Nearby is the jetty and one could see the sea and boats. We spent less than an hour here. Took some photos, the kids were pretending to be eaten by the eagle. Then we left. For dinner.

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UNDERWATER WORLD LANGKAWI

Website : Underwater World Langkawi

As an adult, I felt this was an amazing place. Perhaps I haven’t been to a more extravagant facility but this was a visit worth many times. This centre is located at Pantai Cenang, a popular beach to the south of Langkawi Island off the north western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. We love it as a family because it has a variety of species to look at which is arranged in a manner where it’s difficult to miss out on any species and also offers reasonably good Government Rate. All I had to do was flash my work pass ID!! My parents in law got senior citizen fees as well. Yeay!

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If you go to their website, you can see that they also provide educational services to the public such as for practical training and research development programmes. Perhaps it can benefit those studying Zoology or anything animal related.

My son was really excited to see the penguins being fed. He was a bit disappointed though that elephants were not part of the Aquaria.

PANORAMA LANGKAWI

The best place to click is this page : Panorama Tickets – as it provides a lot of options for combo fares especially if you intend to spend the whole day here. We just opt for the SkyCab + SkyDome. The SkyDome was strange. It’s basically visuals of moving roller coaster rides trying to mess with your head and vestibular system while you sit still in the chair. Throughout the mini show I wasn’t sure whether I was genuinely impressed or feeling a bit ‘duh’.

The SkyCab ride was just like how I remembered it. That ‘hamba kerdil’ feeling as you see the majestic forest and waterfalls beneath you. Just wowwww.

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The SkyBridge is now opened to public. There’s also a 6D cinema – was warned early on not advisable for pregnant mothers and elderly customers. We totally forgot to have a look at their 3D Art Museum and send a postcard from the SkyPos – that is soooo Seoul Tower.

MAHSURI TOMB

You may have heard of the curse towards Langkawi that extends to 7 generations – where the land will not prosper and wither. Well Mahsuri cast the curse.

The story begins with the beautiful Mahsuri, a maiden (or princess by some accounts) born over 200 years ago, who married the love of her life during a time of conflict with the Siamese. Her husband went off to fight in the war and her mother-in-law, jealous of her beauty, vengefully accused Mahsuri of adultery.

Mahsuri protested her innocence but the village elders tried the young girl, found her guilty and sentenced her to death by stabbing. She was tied to a stake but when she was pierced with the ceremonial dagger she bled white blood, a sign of her innocence.

With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed the island with seven generations of bad luck. Later the Siamese conquered Kedah and invaded the island – the inhabitants of Langkawi set fire to their staple crop and poisoned their wells in order to halt the advance of the invaders. Legend has it to this day traces of burnt rice can be seen in nearby Padang Matsirat (The Field of Burnt Rice) especially after torrential downpours.

Source : MakamMahsuri

This attraction is not that big. Perhaps one of the few interesting thing is that we get to splash our faces with water from the ‘sacred well’ of mystical benefits across the decades. It ironically has a pipe attached to its walls. It was also said that the real resting place of Mahsuri is not the one decorated nicely, for fear it will be used for pemujaan purposes – instead is beneath one of the two trees planted near the area.

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KOMPLEKS HAJI ISMAIL GROUP

You might want to look for Klinik Kesihatan Kuah as your landmark on WAZE. The complex would be this big white building with a hotel just next to it. This is the best shopping destination for most Malaysians. It sells all this Corelle stuff, tax free chocolates and bedding sheets. Of course this may be nothing for those who hails from overseas but for us here, this is like murah kowtt.. 

This is also the place for one who wish to experience homegrown products – tongkat ali coffee, oil based perfumes (minyak attar), lemongrass balms, gamat products etc..

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I bought my souvenirs here – my chocolates and keychains and what not.. then of course we had a meal at the nearby food court. Which brings to my next post. A very short one on Food in Langkawi.