Raya 2014 : Homestay Taman Lavendar

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

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.

30Jun2014

20 things to do in Seoul, Korea

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

This is honestly a blog entry way overdue since last year. It was a week long trip together with my in laws and no, it was not terrible. In fact, it was uh-may-zing!!

We booked our flight with AirAsiaGo for 5 adults and 2 infants at the time.

We went during Autumn so the weather was just fine for the kids and our dear warga emas = elderly. I decided to just summarize the Top 20 things I l.o.v.e.d doing in Seoul.

Eat Kimchi. Enjoy the pickled radish too. Its delicious for a side dish. Enjoy other Korean delicacies as well.
Listen to K-Pop music or any other Korean artists. I was really into Lessang at the time since I was overly infatuated with Kang Gary through his appearances on the Korean variety show – Running Man. I bought one of his albums as a souvenir to bring back home.
Immerse in Korea’s history at the war museum. It was a sad and harrowing time for them yet inspiring as the Koreans manage to build back their country and stand on its own two feet in less than a century.
Lodge at a comfortable Bed & breakfast. Experience the interestingly insulated wooden floors beneath your feet as you walk in the room with your bare feet.
Walk with Seoul. Or if you (more like the kids) are exhausted, use the super efficient public transports. All one needs is the Travel Card.
Order your meal/ticket in Korean language. Greet someone as a start. They get super excited seeing tourists speak the language. They take pride in their language.
Purchase specialised merchandise – Korean silk, brooch and accessories, their cutlery, seaweed, kimchi!!
Wear a Hanbok and take a family photo.
Send a postcard to yourself from Seoul Tower.
Smile to an elderly – shake the hands of the young.
Frequent the numerous coffee shops – consider making yourself a Coffee Pasport if you intend to stay in Seoul for a long time.
And if you’re sick of coffee, have a banana milk instead
Taste the spicy Korean food and be prepared to drink lots and lots of plain cold water.
In Nami Island, take a picture with the breastfeeding lady and her two children.
Get beautiful with the specially formulated BB Creams, lip tints and face maskers. I then realized that Etude House was a Korean brand.
In Everland theme park – be a kid. Why so serious huh?
Perform the Salah at Korea’s National Mosque at Itaewon
Lock your own love padlock at Seoul Tower.
Snap lots of pictures at the 3D Trick eye museum
Take the cruise ship along the River Han – very relaxing with hot coffee on board.

What did you enjoy doing?

18May2014

Krabi : Final Tips

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” –

Jawaharial Nehru

It is worth to invest in waterproof beg, camera casing, underwear… you name it. Take this from a first time traveler to a beach setting with a toddler. Despite the care a Mother takes to not drop her diaper bag in the water, baby would just tip it at every chance he gets.
Drink lots of water. In fact, drink bottled water. Boil the drinking water. I tried boiling H2O from the tap but urgh.. it was payau. Limestone flavour to it, I have to say.
Haggle but do not bring down the price too low for the tour packages. Even though it did not happen to me, I have read of some tourists being given packed lunch as opposed to some who had a buffet lunch and they were on the same boat!!
Even if you’re on a diet, enjoy the culinary adventure. You are most likely to burn off those extra calories on the next hike up the tiger temple steps.
Be prepared to give a tip. When the lady-boys grab your arm for a picture, they are not doing that for free. They want you to part with your mullah.
Wear comfortable shoes or well surfaced flip flops. Mine had thin soles and I felt I was braving the lava soil. I had terrible muscle cramps at the end of the trip.
If you have small kids, bring a mini life jacket. The sizes they have on board does not fit and unless your child swims like a fish, its worth getting one if you’re thinking of another beach trip to someplace else. I got mine for Baby Zeeq at ToysR Us for MYR 19.
Forget Facebook. Be in the now.
If ever I go to Krabi again in the future, I would love to ; rent those scooters and roam around town, get proper massage from the parlour, and eat more pancakes!
Be in the holiday/travelling spirits. In other words, be happy, nice and open to new experiences. Its a norm to come across people of different nationalities when you’re on a holiday. They too are looking forward to having a good time and although they speak or dress differently from you, or in my case am a Muslim traveler… Id rather you not say nasty things about my hijab or my religion behind our backs (literally, the seat behind me). You’d be surprised that Mr Husband actually speaks and understand your foreign language eventhough its not English!

Krabi : Tour Packages

Posted in Leisure & Travel by Minci 先生

Our tour agent was LetsGoKrabi.Com . It was recommended by a dear friend who went to Krabi last year and booked his tour package from this company. He said the packages offered were of a reasonable price and the lady manning the front desk, who calls herself Min definitely gave us a good price. We didnt book through the website. We went to the shop in person so we could haggle more, in a friendly manner that is.

We chose a 2 day package for 2 adults and 1 child (not paying, 2 years old)
Phi Phi Island + Jungle Treking = 3400 BHT in total.

Phi Phi Island Tour

Being a fat muslimah and all (haha..) I purchased a burkini online. I wanted to look picture perfect during snorkeling and all those sandy beach activities. On top of complying with the shariah and all. I also packed a tab of antiemetics in anticipation of being sea sick on board.

I was a first time snorkler (gosh.. is that even a word) and I kept reminding myself to breath from the mouth. And not to panic!

Krabi3-001

This tour took up nearly a day already starting from 9am till 4PM. Just enough time to get a shut eye back in the hotel for a while before going out again for dinner. Thankfully there were free flow drinking water and pepsi to quench the thirst on the boat. My little boy had no complaints and he gulped on the Pepsi like a pepsi-holic!

Continue reading →

Krabi : Food Gallery

We came mainly to try the classic Tomyam Gung and Somtam (Papaya Salad).

Soon, we discovered other simple streetfood varieties which included the famous pancakes, fresh fruits, critters, finger food like prawn tempura et cetera.

Even I had something Western on the last day of the stay. Mr Husband thought it was ridiculous to have Penne Arabiatta in Krabi. I beg to differ. I felt compelled to try Western dishes at places that carters to Western tourist. I wouldnt want my pasta to taste anywhere near to the ones served in Secret Recipe or Pizza Hut.

I shamelessly gained 4 pounds from the culinary adventure itself.

Word of caution, Thai food is spicy and not palatable to my little toddler. So he technically had bread and plain rice with clear soup to go with it. Food pricing overall, to me was reasonable. I did not feel that I had to starve for the rest of the month till payday.

Enjoy the pictures. Go on, drool!!