Mommy Yiau
This post is way overdue, but it’s always better be late than never, right? 
It was back in April that I had a short trip to Bali with hubby, yes, a holiday just for the 2 of us. Thanks to mother-in-law who helps to look after Dillon and Kaith while we are away.
We spent 3 nights in Bali but in reality we only had about 2.5 days to travel around because we took the evening flight (AA free seats ma, can’t be choosy loh…). We took a taxi from the airport and it cost only Rp. 45,000 since the distance is just merely 15 minutes away from Kuta. We stayed at Febri’s Hotel & Spa, located along Jl. Kartika Plaza. I booked through Agoda and cost us about US$165 only for 3 nights. It’s a good hotel with decent rooms, friendly service and reasonably price, the pool is nice and there is also a spa inhouse.
Day 1: Batuan Temple – Tampaksiring – Kintamani – Tegalalang – Ubud – Tanah Lot
After a good night rest, we met our driver guide – Wayan Darsa who drives a Kijang (Toyota Unser) at the hotel at 9.00am the next morning. Before we got there, I have already booked this driver guide by email, the cost is Rp. 450,000 per day. It wasn’t through any friend’s recommendation, I just got it from the web and we were lucky that he is a good one.
We started off our journey by stopping by some temples, which include the Batuan Temple, a Balinese Hindu Temple with lots of pretty stone carvings and sculptures, followed by Tampaksiring Temple, the holy Spring Water Temple (entrance fee Rp.6,000 per person).
By noon time, we arrived at Kintamani Lake Batur and Volcano but it wasn’t a good time because it started drizzling at that time, therefore we stopped by Windu Sara Restaurant to have our lunch. The food was nothing to brag about at all but the environment. It was quite relieve and relax to just sit down there having a glass of beer, while enjoying the cool air and a view of Mount Batur Volcano from far, the fog was pretty thick thou.
Then we head on to Ubud town and on the way, we stopped by Tegalalang for hubby to snap some photos of the rice terrace, nice greenery view.
The Ubud market is a traditional market selling lots of arts and crafts, souvenirs and beach clothing can also be found here. Well as usual, bargaining is a “must-do” if you want to buy something here and you have to be good at it.
The next stop is Tanah Lot (entrance fee Rp. 10,000 per person), we initially plan to be here for the sunset but we were late when we got there. The sky was already too dark for any good photos, what a shame! So we have already decided to come back here again during our next Bali trip in October later.
After Tanah Lot, we headed back to Kuta and we have our dinner at Mudi Restaurant nearby our hotel. Tried the Ayam Betutu (roast chicken in banana leaves), a well known Balinese dish and I like it.
Day 2: Taman Ayun Temple – Kuta Beach – Uluwatu – Jimbaran Bay
Following a tiring day, we woke up a little late today. After breakfast at 9.30am, we headed to Taman Ayun Temple (entrance fee Rp. 3,000 per person), it’s a Royal Temple of Mengwi Empire. The temple building has multi-storey roof and has a beautiful landscape garden, definitely a nice place to visit in Bali.
The itinerary was supposed to continue with a trip to Lake Beratan but since I have to meet my boss and colleagues in Bali office for lunch at Bali Bakery in Kuta Town, we have to give it a pass this time and will go there in October.
After lunch, we headed to Uluwatu Temple (entrance fee Rp. 3,000 per person) for the sunset. Perched high on a cliff over the ocean on Bali’s south-western tip, the view at Uluwatu is magnificent; I’d say you have not been to Bali if you have not seen the most spectacular Uluwatu Temple.
When visiting Uluwatu, do not take the precaution note lightly, the monkeys here are aggressive (or shall I say are “well trained”). Take off your hat, sunglasses and any accessories that can be pulled off.
After Uluwatu, we went on to Jimbaran for our dinner. Although we have heard a lot about the expensive seafood here, but we think it’s something we should not missed. There are so many seafood restaurant along the Jimbaran Bay, with tables all set on the beach. We had no idea which one to go for, they all look the same to us; at last we dine at Blue Marlin Café.
We ordered the prawns, squid and fish, together with drinks, the bill cost us about Rp. 360,000, well that’s worth paying for the atmosphere and experience.
Day 3: Tirthagangga Water Palace – White Sand Beach – Candidasa
We checked out after breakfast, and put our luggage in the car and continue our exploring. Since we only have about 7 hours before we have depart to the airport for our evening flight, we decided to explore the Tirthagangga Water Palace at the east of Bali. According to Wayan, it is not common for tourist to explore the east of Bali due to its distance, it took us 2.5 hours!!
Tirthagangga Water Palacea very beautiful garden with lovely maze of pools and fountains, stone carvings and statue, simply elegant. Hubby spent hours taking photos around the garden.
After we left the palace, the driver guide took us the White Sand Beach, also known as The Virgin Beach because not many tourists have known about this place yet. To be honest, the location of this beach is so secluded and not even many local guides would have known the way.
Then we had our late lunch at The Lotus in Candidasa before we head to the airport.
Overall, although it’s a rather short trip and a bit rush, but we still manage to go to some pretty cool places and had enjoyed a lot. We’ll be coming back to Bali in October and that will be with the kids, mother-in-law and sister-in law’s family, and I’m already looking forward to that.
After a week of Chinese New Year break, I’m officially had flew to Bangkok for my new job training on 21st Feb. Yes, after almost 7 years working with the company, I’ve decided to leave for a better offer and better prospects.
The training was 5 days initially, but then we were requested to stay for another for more practical training, which would be good for us when we do our job next time, so I’m only flying back on next Friday now. That’s the reason why I have not been able to update this blog for so long…..
Of course it is fun that besides training, I do enjoy shopping, eating and massage in Bangkok, but I really miss Dillon and Kaith a lot, and of course my hubby as well. However for work purpose, I had no choice but to be away from them for 2 weeks, which is by far the longest duration I have to be apart with them, miss them so much…..
This is soooo……..backdated.
Last December, we had a trip to Singapore with my sister’s family, my brother’s family and my mom, all in 7 adults and 6 kids. Bringing Dillon and Kaith to a trip isn’t easy at all, no joke.
The trip took place from 9th – 13th December and we travelled in 2 cars. Since we have a big group, we decided to stay at our uncle’s place in Johor and visit to Singapore on day trip basis.
On the 1st day we went to Sentosa Island. The last time I visited Sentosa was about 20 years ago, of course everything look totally different to me now. Right after having lunch, we took the luge ride and skyride at Imbiah, at first I’m not keen to play at all but since Dillon wanted to play so I have to tag along. Indeed it was fun especially the luge ride, it’s quite exciting when you do cornering.
The luge ride and skyride was fun. But Dillon was scared when he looked down from the skyride and keep holding me tight.
After that, we spent most of our time at the Underwater World and the kids really enjoyed it. Well, I didn’t really have the chance to look at each and every species because most of the time my eyes were glued to Dillon and Kaith, it was so crowded there and I don’t want to loose my sight on them.
Sweetie Kaith was posing in front of a beautiful aquarium, she loves taking photos nowadays.
A bunch of happy kids – my niece Ashley, Kaith, Dillon and my nephew Yang Yang
The last stop we went to was Pahlawan beach, it was close to sunset when we reached there, so there was very less people around on the beach and we all just relaxed on the deck chair having beer and snacks, while the kids making their sand castle.
It was the 1st time Kaith been to the beach, she refused to walk on the sand with her bare feet and cling to me like a Koala bear……lol
Kaith was lying on the deck chair to enjoy the relaxing moment.
The next day we visited the Singapore Zoo. After having the “experience” with the kids on the previous day, I rented a wagon there to pull the kids along. It was indeed a right thing I have done because it gaves me so much relief, without having to chase for them and worried that they will go out of my sight.
In fact this is the first time I’m visiting the Singapore Zoo, I used to hear people saying that, you won’t want to go to Zoo Negara after you have been to Singapore Zoo, and now I understand why……
Dillon and Kaith like the wagon very much, so does mommy….
Dillon and the “monkeys”
We also went to the Night Safari later on, but I found that it’s not worthwhile for us as we only took a round trip on the tram and that’s it. I reckon that it will be so much of fun if we can walk around on our feet, explore and spend time to observe the animals at night, it’s going to be a totally different experience. Too bad we can’t do it this time as we have young children and elderly around, plus everybody was too tired on the day visit. I’d definitely visit the Night Safari again the next time I come.
We woke up at 7.30am to have our breakfast (incl in the room) and then we were picked up at 8.30am, and transferred to the pier to board the speed boat.
It took us about 35 minutes to reach our 1st stop – Bamboo island. The sand on the beach is so smooth and the sea is so beautiful. We were the only boat there and we feel like we have the beach all by ourselves, it’s so exclusive.
Our next stop is to Maya Bay, i.e. the film location for the movie “The Beach”. The beach and scenery is nice too but we don’t really like it because it was too crowded, too many tourist there and we can’t hardly take nice photos.
After that we went for the 1st snorkelling stop at Lohsamah Bay. I didn’t go for it, so I stayed on the boat and feed the fish with bread. Next we went to Piley Bay to see the fantastic lagoon, the water is so clear and so green, just like those that you seen on postcards.
Viking cave is nothing much, we only stopped over for photos and that’s it. The cave is a place for birds nests, according to the tour guide, tourist used to go up the cave but because the crowd was too many and it disturbed the birds there so no tourist is allowed to go up anymore.
Around 12.30pm we had our lunch on Phi Phi Don island, this is the only island aroudn here that has restaurants, hotels and shops. Scenery here is not bad but it is also very crowded, so many tourtist and just like a small town.
After lunch we proceed to another 2 snorkelling locations which is th Monkey Bay & Hin Klarng. Again I didn’t go for it but hubby did. The water is so clear and you can see so many tiger fishes there, it’s beautiful.
The trip ended around 4pm and we reached our hotel around 4.30pm. After freshen up, we went to Ruen Mai restaurant near Krabi town for dinner. This is a very nice place with garden settings and the service was excellent. We ordered Seafood To Yum (again!), Green Curry Pork, Chicken with Cashewnuts & Fried Mixed Vegetables. The food portion was good and taste really yummy especially the Tom Yum. The total bill including our beers is about 520baht. Although it’s a bit of distance to come here but I think it’s worthwhile for the good food & environment.
Take a taxi from Ao Nang to Ruen Mai at 60baht per person, most drivers would know but it’s also indicated on the Krabi town Map so you can show it.
(from top left, anti-clockwise) Fried Mixed Vegetables- 70baht, Seafood Tom Yum- 120 baht, Green Curry Pork- 120baht, Chicken w Cashewnuts- 100baht
After dinner, we had a short walk in Krabitown but there was nothing much to see there, so we went back to our hotel for massage. The massage at Sunset hotel is superb, hubby & I went for Aromatherapy full body massage for 1 hour and we pay total 700baht only, you gotta try this too if you are there.
The next day before we check out, we went to the Ao nangbeach again at 7am to take some photos, the beach at this time has a different kind of beauty in it. Overall speaking, this trip is really worth the money and we both had a great & relaxing time in Krabi.
I just came back from Krabi trip with my hubby last Sunday, after spending 3 days 2 nights there.
We stayed at Ao Nang Sunset hotel, the rate is only about RM260 for 2 nights when we booked through Agoda.com, quite a good deal! The hotel is at a very strategic location, just 2-3 minutes walk to the beach, airport shuttle bus stops (150baht per person per way, if you take taxi it’ll cost you around 600baht) just opposite the hotel, with plenty of restaurants & shops nearby.
After we had late lunch, we took a walk to the nearby Ao Nang beach. It was very quiet due to low season, there’s only a few people on the beach, but we kind of like this because it feels exclusive. It is supposed to be the raining season (hence low season) but we were lucky that the weather during our stay was perfect.
There are many tour agents in the area, and many day trip packages to choose from. In the end we decided to go on the Phi Phi Island speedboat tour, which is merely 1000baht per person (normal price 1800baht). Another reason why we like to travel during low season.
We went for dinner after we booked our tour. We walked along the street and came to this place recommended by some of my friends, whcih is called Aree Bar Bar. It feels special to be having our meal in a “small hut” and there was only 3-4 tables occuppied, hence the food was served very fast and we could have a quite dinner.
When you walked passed McDonald’s on your left, just go across the opposite side of the road and continue to walk for a while, then you’ll see this place.
We ordered Seafood Tom Yum (of course!), Masamman Chicken, Fried Mushroom & Fried Kangkung, all of the dishes was delicious and I especially like the fried mushroom. Including our drinks, this meal cost us about 400baht.
(from top left, anti-clockwise) Seafood Tom Yum-120baht, Fried Mushroom- 60baht, Masamman Chicken- 80baht, Fried Kangkung- 50baht.
On our way back to the hotel, we bought the Banana Pancake from the street hawker and I’d say you should try this if you are there, it’s yummy and cost only 20 baht per piece. If you don’t like banana, there are more than 10 other variants you can choose from such as egg, chocolate, sesame, tuna etc.
When we were back at the hotel, both of us sit at the balcony chit chatting while drinking beer, it’s so relaxing. We have to rest early as the next day trip is gonna be tiring.
Following my post on the short trip to Ipoh, finally here are the photos taken by Mr. Yiau throughout our trip.
Dillon and Mummy are dressed up and ready to go for wedding dinner:
Visited the Sam Poh Tong on next day after we checked out from hotel, the weather is super hot:
The scenery of the surroundings are quite nice too:
Mummy poses as if she is standing under the Sakura tree LOL
Next we went to Guan Yin temple nearby:
The tortoise pond and Wishing Tree at the temple:
This one is funny….LOL (yes, it’s inside the temple):
So, did you guess it right? Hahahaha LOL
There are many more nice shots, to see the full album, please visit My Gallery.
Last Saturday, I travelled back to my hometown Ipoh to attend my cousin brother’s wedding. My sister’s family, my parents, my brother’s family, my hubby and I and also Dillon are travelling together in 2 cars, and this is really a big family trip that doesn’t happen often.
We stayed in Hillcity, the 4-rooms condominium, for RM440.00 per night (we stayed for 2 nights), I think the price is a bit steep for what it has to offer, but anyway, the unit is clean and it’s good for family stay. But the food in the coffee house is definitely not ok, everything is so salty and service is slow as well so stay away from the food here.
The wedding dinner is on Sunday night and it was held in Public Chinese Restaurant in Ipoh town and I must compliment that the food served is anytime better than the food I had at KL’s wedding dinner, not to mention that the price was also at a slash. I especially like the yummilicious Fish Lips soup, the fresh Tualang prawns and steamed Pomfret that is at its perfection. Aside from the food, we also had the chance to meet with many relatives and cousins that we have not seen for long time, we had some good chats and good laugh throughout the dinner.
The next day after we checked out from the condominium, we went for breakfast at a coffee shop in Ipoh town, of course no other than the famous Ipoh Hor Fun and Taugeh, Popiah, Cuttlefish with Kangkung and Curry Chee Cheong Fun, everything taste good and cheap too.
After breakfast, we went to visit Sam Poh Temple, and also the nearby Guan Yin Temple. Dillon enjoyed running around freely on the spacious ground and got fascinated by the Buddha and GuanYin statues. Besides, he also enjoyed feeding the fishes and turtles in the ponds. As for hubby, he took lots of nice pictures also.
We reached home after dinner, at about 8.00pm last night and I feel really tired because after I unpacked the luggage this time, I am going to pack my luggage again tonight as I’ll be leaving for Kaohsiung, Taiwan on business trip on tomorrow (Wed) morning and will be back on Friday. I shall share more about the trip later, stay tuned.
Myeong-dong
This is a popular shopping district for tourist, and even locals, it gets very busy and crowded in the evening. Major fashion designers have boutiques here and foreign brand name products and shoe stores can be found in abundance like Guess, CK and also many small boutiques and stalls along the street. Restaurants are mostly on the 2nd floor, and of course there are street food as well.
Things in Myeong-dong are very trendy and has a lot of varieties. Fashion accessories like earings, hair clips etc priced at KRW1,000 (approx RM3) per piece, in some shops, shoes & handbags are KRW10,000 (approx. RM33) across all designs.
Dongdaemun Market
Located in the downtown area, Dongdaemun is another famous wholesale & retail shopping district in Seoul, within the ten blocks of the market area, you can find silks, clothes, shoes, sporting goods, electronics, office supplies, toys and just about everything else imaginable, there’s also underground market near the subway station.
I personally didn’t enjoy shopping here very much, I just don’t seem to find anything that I want because the price is still on the high side for me, or maybe I was too tired on that evening to do shopping? Haha but anyway, it’s still good to look around how Dondaemun shopping area is like.
Namdaemun Market
Shopping in Namdaemun market is a different experience, although it is just nearby Myeong-dong. It has more than 10 department store, selling woman & man apparels, shoes, children clothing, and so on.
But what I like more is the street market, there are so many stalls crowded along the road and it is absolutely right to say that you can find almost anything you want in here. Children shoes, stocking & clothing are so nice, some are slightly expensive but if you are good at searching and bargaining (yes, I was using sign language & calculator as my tool, lol), you’ll be able to get some really nice stuff at unbelievably cheap price. *wink wink*
More photos in My Gallery
When we were in KL, we always don’t know what to have for lunch because we were so bored with the food. Now that we are in Seoul, we also don’t know what to eat, because we can’t read the menu and don’t know what to order. LOL.
We were more relieved that there are also photos in there, so we just pointed at the photo and ordered our lunch.
While waiting for the food, we were being served some Kimchi, but I don’t really fancy the taste though. When our food came, it looks as per the menu and the taste is quite yummy too but don’t ask me what is it called, I really don’t know, haha. This lunch cost us KRW10,500 (approx. RM35)
During our conference, we normally have lunch at the COEX Mall food court in basement for convenience. A normal Dumpling noodles or Kimchi soup & rice set will cost about KRW 4,000 – 6,000 (approx. RM14 – 19). I noticed whatever Korean meal you have, they always serve you with complimentary Kinchi & drinking water, which is good, at least I don’t have to spend on drinks again.
Popular Korean dishes: Bulgogi, Bibimbab
There is a very popular restaurant nearby the Ellui hotel, probably just 500meters walking distance, recommended by the Korean clients we met in the conference. We have ordered the famous Korean dishes Bulgogi and Bibimbab.
Look at the well marinated beef slices, and the golden mushroom, “tang hoon” (its texture is different from the “tang hoon” we have here, theirs are more chewy) cooking on the hot pan, it’s sizzling hot and smells so good….. and the gravy is so yummy.
Next is the Bibimbab, that is warm white rice with namul (seasoned vegetables), gochujang (chili pepper paste) and beef tartare, stir all ingredients together thoroughly and just look at the colour combinations, it’s just so appetizing and the taste, I would say it’s delicious.
We also ordered the Hangover soup just because we think the name is cute, hahaha. It is a soup made of bean sprout, ox blood and etc and as the name suggest, it serves as a remedy to help people to recover from hangover quickly. We were not sure if it really works, because obviously none of us were drunk by having just a bottle of Cass beer. LOL
The Bulgogi cost us KRW 25,000 per portion (we ordered 2, that’s the minimum), Bibimbab at KRW 8,000, Hangover soup KRW 8,000, Cass beer KRW 4,000 and hence the total bill for a dinner for 3 of us is KRW 70,000 (approx. RM230). Perhaps eating at a Korean restaurant in KL is cheaper? I’m not sure, I have never been to one when I was in KL though. But I’m satisfied with the good food and their service, so no fuss about the price.
Korean Shabu Shabu
On the last day before my departure, I met up with my blog friend, MeiMei who has been married to Korea for almost 3 years and this is actually the 1st time we are meeting in person. She treated me for lunch at a restaurant in Shinsegae and we had Shabu Shabu, which I have always wanted to try.
As usual, they served us a nice array of Kimchis (I especially like the raddish kimchi) before the main meal comes. We can also ask to replenish the kimchis if we want to.
I arrived home safely on Sunday morning around 2.00am and I got back to work on Monday 8th. Work has piled up and there’s just so much to do, but I still gotta blog about my trip first before I get lazier to do it.
Accommodation
I was staying at Ellui Hotel in Gangnam-gu, which is close to the COEX conference hall. The hotel room is clean, though it’s not very spacious and looks a bit old, but it’s still a comfortable environment to stay. The room cost about USD 115 per night incl breakfast.
Strange that there isn’t coffee & tea making facilities, but there are so many bottles of hard liquor lying at the minibar, I think Koreans must be very good at drinking?
Weather
The weather now is surprisingly hot during the day, a bit cooling at night. I think the better time to go might be in October.
Language
Communications with the locals was a challenge, because most of them are not able to speak & understand English, so we have to use a lot of sign & body language, lol, but the people are generally polite.
Food
Eating in Seoul is pretty pricey, if we convert it back to ringgit Malaysia, a normal lunch already cost about KRW 5,000 (approx. RM16.00) per person but this is consider very reasonable for the locals. The good thing is they will serve you free flow of drinking water and kimchi appetizer.
Transportation
Cab ride is another pricey expenses in Seoul, most people here would only travel by bus or subway but since my colleague & I were not too confident to take the subway, we settled with a cab, which cost us nearly KRW 9,000 (approx. RM30) one way to Myeong-dong (located 15 minutes away from our hotel). From the airport to our hotel (about 1 hour journey), we took a terminal bus that only cost us KRW 9,000 per person, while we heard from those who took a cab at the airport, it costs them KRW 70,000 (approx. RM230), what a huge difference!
Mobile phone
Another thing to take note when travelling to Seoul is your mobile phone, the network system are different and you can only use a CDMA phone there. That’s why they have a SK telecom counter at the airport to rent the phone and also a local sim card to you because you can’t buy a sim card in Korea (there is no prepaid service). I only rented the phone and used my own Maxis sim card, and it turn out to be so troublesome because whenever I wanted to call a Korean mobile number, I have to dial call back and I can’t call direct. So I really think the best option for us would be renting the phone & the local sim card together.
Took the MAS flight at 1.00am & arrived safely in Seoul at 8.30am on Tuesday. The weather is good, meetings going on smoothly, and the food is nice too!
Stay tuned for photos and my travelogue when I’m back on Sunday morning.
Just got back from my Jakarta trip on Monday and it was tiring because my flight was at 7.30am local time and I’m yet to fully unpack my luggage up till today.
Anyway, my trip was good as I get to fulfill what the company requires me to do there, and at the same time I get to watch my favourite badminton tournament live. I was holding the pass and hence I could sit at the commentary booth without having to sit at the crowded viewers area.
Accommodation was very good too, The Sultan Hotel where I’m staying at has very good security and the service is always prompt & friendly, the room of course is very spacious and comfortable as well.
Yummy Oxtail Soup with Rice (Room service)
Of course I won’t miss the chance to try out the famous JCO Donuts, which I have not tried in KL before due to the constant long queue. I’ve picked the Almond, Oreo & Tiramisu. It’s so nice…. don’t think my Jakarta trip is complete without eating the JCO Donuts…..
And how could I not try the local cup noodles (always the best food for traveller’s! hehe)? It’s simply yummy. hehe….
One for supper and the other for breakfast 
Last but not least, aside from work I did manage to do some (ahem…ahem…) shopping in Jakarta, Plaza Senayan & Senayan City is more like Pavilion & KLCC type of shopping malls, whereas ITC Kuningan & Ambassador Mall are middle class shopping mall that I find more suitable to me. Kids clothing here are massive and affordable, what a heaven for the shopper mums!
Yes I’ll be travelling again but this time is for business. I have not been travelling for years since I gave birth to Dillon, and all of sudden the trips come one after another…. (well at least I can make good use of my passport that cost me RM300 for renewal! )
I’ll be going to Jakarta this Friday and coming back on next Monday. This is the 1st time I travel to Jakarta so I do plan to spend some time on leisure while I’m there, although the work schedule looks quite tied up.
Also heard that shopping there is pretty ok, not sure how true it is but I’ll definitely find some time to check it out and see if it can beat Bangkok, hahaha LOL.
Will share more stories & photos when I’m back, stay tuned.
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