66 Hours in Phuket : What We Did

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

Itinerary ⌉ Our Hotel ⌉ Halal Phuket Food ⌉

In short, there were 2 highlights of this trip.

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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.

All in all, it was a good trip.

15Oct2014

66 Hours in Phuket : We stayed at Arman Residence

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

Itinerary ⌉ What We Did ⌉ Halal Phuket Food

Arman Residence or sometimes known by locals as Aman Hotel boasts of being a Halal hotel. However, may I just remind you that Halal may not mean you have a Quran in your bedside drawer. Or Islamic housekeeping staff with niqab and all sorts. Halal here I think refers more to the cuisine it offers – which is good enough. At least I can have hot, freshly made sausages for breakfast at the hotel prior to my island hopping activities.

The taxi driver seems to have difficulties in trying to find Arman. Strange though, cause I have always thought that this is a ‘famous’ hotel among Muslims especially Muslim Malaysian bloggers. We should have just mentioned Arman is the hotel in front of Galaxy Club for future references. He he.

Arman has all the basic necessities on top of their in-house restaurant – a lovely,clean, quaint and adequately sized room which fits a king size bed, clean toilets, fast WIFI connection, air conditioning which has its bouts of ailments once in a while. We were contemplating on changing our rooms because of the latter. but then the AC miraculously behaved. I only had to ask 2 things from the reception ; The direction of the Qiblah and a mini kettle to boil my sons hot water.

The interior designs of the place however does have an eerie feeling to it. I understand its Thai concept but still… Some may call it art but to be honest, I was initially worried that a Thai ghost could walk out of the elevator any minute. There was one time I accidentally pushed the button for the wrong level. The lift opened to a totally empty and dark floor. It was yikes! creepy.. off-peak season, whadya expect right? Not many people were staying at the place. In fact, now… I couldn’t even recall bumping into any other guests there – not even during breakfast. *hyperventilating*

Considering the price we paid for the hotel – very budget I have to say, we were satisfied with the service and facilities available. The staff were extremely quick and helpful and excessively cheerful, their scrambled eggs tasted like home and they kept saying Hazeeq is a cute boy.

Would we stay there again for god- knows- when next Phuket trip? I would explore other options available – but have the Halal breakfast at Arman. Lol.

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.

13Oct2014

Pretty Phuket – Another trip to Thailand

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

Our Hotel ⌉ What We Did ⌉ Halal Phuket Food

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:

29Aug2014

Medan 2014 : Shopping on a budget?

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

I can see why some people take pride in being able to do their shopping overseas. And I totally understand why online retailers and ‘pemborong’ in Malaysia gets euphoric while shopping in generally, Indonesia. Even I find it difficult to shop for my own collection without having to deal with the Indonesian retailer who keeps pushing for me to buy more so they could give me a good price.

For God’s sake, I just want 1 pair. Still, we gathered experience shopping at their many pajaks and malls.

MATAHARI DEPARTMENTAL STORE

Bless Medan for having Matahari departmental store. It reminds me of Aeon we have back home. We were lucky that Matahari was having a sale. Almost all the items on sale have a 50-75% discount – perhaps in conjunction with the Indonesia Independence Day – and other offers include Beli 2 Gratis 1 (buy 2-free-1 deal).

I got myself a batik-motif jacket with a matching mustard top. Nice. Also a few other tops for my boy Hazeeq and nephew Adil.

I was however ‘conned’ into making a contribution to the store. The cashier was speaking so fast in her Indonesian accent that I ended up nodding my head – only to realize that she has deducted 50 000 IDR from my change for the donation. Pffftt.. I could buy another top with that.

I learnt my lesson though.Hence on my 2nd visit to Matahari at a different mall, I quickly said ‘enggak mahu sumbang.. mau kembali”. Sounds very kedekut but feeling mehh at the same time. I am a tourist! He he.

PAJAK IKAN

I did not enjoy going here. In fact, we spent less than an hour at this place after I’ve got my travelling telekung.

While I agree the price tags were cheap, I dislike the idea of having these persistent peddlers following us everywhere and persuading us to buy things from them – key chain, kids clothes etc.. Even Mr Husband described them as a being ‘aggressive’.

After a half-hearted haggling session at one of the stores, we angkat kaki and left the place.

I secured these travelling telekung for 60 000IDR/piece. I have to say though that the material was super lembut and not transparent which was important for prayer. I currently don’t wear them for my travels but use it in the comfort of my own home. Its like too attention seeking to wear a minty green telekung in public.

MEDAN MALL

Medan Mall reminds me of Wisma Satok, Kuching with more variety despite its small size. It is also connected to a another open-air pajak and that is where the shopping happens. I bought 3 jubah/long dress and a mini batik top. The jubah price ranges from 180 000 IDR/piece. Some garments are sold at as low as 100 000 IDR but agak-gaklah kan.. murah tuh murah tapi kualiti???

PAJAK PETISAH

This was Mr Husbands favourite place. He morphed into a masculine shopaholic and of course, he treated me to a few clothes as well. Hehe.. rezeki jangan ditolak. Hazeeq and I ended up sitting at the side, exhausted while waiting for him to get the best deal. We wanted baju batik sedondon and material -wise was a challenge. Men can’t wear silk and most nice designs were made from silk.

Still, he walked out from the place a very happy man as we managed to find what we were looking for plus a few telekung and jubah for his mother. I was a happy wife too.. yeay yeay baju baru lagi..

MEDAN FAIR

Last but not least, we also strolled at this mall. This was like any other shopping malls we have in Malaysia. I browsed through their selection of hijabs and scarfs at the little boutiques but I daresay that tudung designs by our young Malaysian entrepreneurs online lagi classy and interesting. So if you want to shop for hijabs, JOM VISIT MALAYSIA.

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In between our shopping session, we also come across nice smelling bakeries and local products yang sedap. Hmmm.. local ke.. tak sure.. but we did brought back boxes of tea and coffee to try at home.

The days in Medan were definitely well spent. We burnt calories by walking/shopping and as for Hazeeq.. I guess he is glad for naptime.

Minci Moss

Influenced by everything. You knew me first ;)

Tag Archives: muslim travel