Yogyakarta Day 2

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

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.

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.

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 ⌉

15Feb2015

Yogyakarta : Cakrakusuma Hotel, Jalan Kaliuran

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

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.

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.

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.

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

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

15Oct2014

66 Hours in Phuket : Halal food

Posted in Food and Drinks, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat by Minci 先生

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

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

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!

JUNGCEYLON FOOD COURT

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.

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.

KOH PANYEE FLOATING VILLAGE

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.

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

26Aug2014

Medan 2014 : Istana Maimoon

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

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?’

15Jan2014

Kitty Kitty Itinerary

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by Minci 先生

“The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” –

G.K. Chesterton

We went to Johore for our anniversary. A rough itinerary of what we did with Baby Zeeq.

Some thoughts;

SILKA HOTEL

Not bad for a 3 star hotel although Ive seen better. The lobby was comfortable but the room we got had a smell. Like tabacco. We were offered a different room earlier, one with twin beds but hello.. Baby Zeeq is still co-sleeping with us hence we need the room with the King Size bed. It was otherwise clean and doesnt have a dingy stench to it which makes Solat comfortable on the carpet.

There were confusions on how many nights were booked for that room despite already having a proper and early booking through Agoda.Com. I mean, what is so difficult? Dont you guys communicate with each other?

On one particular morning, we didnt even have breakfast coupons and eventhough the receptionist said to just mention our room number, it didnt feel right to swallow down the food and we noticed the staff at the restaurant flipping through their papers looking for our room number. We felt illegal to be there to be exact. We were not thrown out or anything. We just felt we did something wrong.

Location otherwise is superb. theres a nearby Tesco and giant Hypermarket. Also the famous Sate Wak Radol a few minutes away.

All in all, the stay wasnt a total disaster. However, I wouldn’t choose the same hotel if I were to make a trip to Johor again in the future.

LEGOLAND

I wished I was warned earlier that no outside food was allowed within the area. I risked a packet of my crisps being confiscated at the entrance gate though the guy manning it was kind enough to let me keep the other packet. God bless him. Thank god I didnt bring a whole crate of drinks or prepare a picnic basket to Legoland.

We spent approximately 2 hours inside. We didnt get on all the rides partly because Baby Zeeq was either to small for the rides or him just being cranky. We did enjoy the 4D movie to which we went in twice – one show after the other.

Perhaps we will reconsider coming again when Baby Zeeq is bigger and understands the concept of theme parks.

HELLO KITTY LAND

Amazingly Baby Zeeq was in a good mood to participate in all the activities. We got on the teacup ride, painted cookies, made jewellery et cetera. We even managed to rescue Kitty from the Dark Towers and got a certificate.

BARNEY/THOMAS & FRIENDS

Hightlights of this place : the Barney show which features Barney with a medley of sing-a-long songs. Our favourite was the Raindrops song. Perhaps the Thomas section was more interesting as they had lots of ride suitable for children under the age of 2.

Still, we made Baby Zeeq wore a tutu!

The trip was ok. All the tickets were booked in advance through the internet. Total money spent for tickets and rooms were MYR707.00

Hoping for more wonderful trips to come.

Love,

YASMIN MUSTA

Minci Moss

Influenced by everything. You knew me first ;)

Tag Archives: holidays