Penang - Teluk Intan Trip

My brothers and I have planned a trip to Penang and Teluk Intan by the flight of Air Asia. We have 4 days and 3 nights stays at Penang and Teluk Intan, Perak. It was an enjoyable trips and we felt that it was quite not enough time for us to cover all the attractions there. I hope I could visit there again someday...

Day 1

On Friday morning, our parents send us to Senai airport, Johor about 6.10am. The departure time was 7.20am. The time allowed us to have some breakfast and tea at the airport restaurant. Soon after that we have to check-in and passed the luggage at the service counter. It didn't took us a long wait and later it was ready for the passengers for queuing up to get in to the plane right after the announcement. I was excited because it was my first time experience in the plane.

Inside the plane was just like a bus, but the experience was actually good. At the start when the plane began to fly, I would felt very dizzy and it forced me to close my eyes immediately to reduce my dizziness. While we were reading some magazines there was a flight attendant lady showed the passengers about the safety precautions in the plane. We were chatting and laughing.

After about more than an hour, soon, we reached Penang airport at 8.30am. The landing of the airplane didn't cause much dizziness. The time had just passed away very fast. Though I had only slept for 4 hours, my mind was still fresh and alert. If you drive from Johor Bahru to Penang would definitely took you more than 8 hours. So it was a tremendous save of time.



At the Penang airport, we were looking for the washroom and later we were having a tea break again at the restaurant within the airport. After a sit of 30 minutes, there was a phone call from our cousin, Ah Meng who had just arrived and waiting outside of the airport ready to fetch us. We were greeted and met with his two friends, named DC and Ah Seng. There were very friendly, having sense of humors and talkative. We were having some good chats inside the car. In a few minutes of drive there,  we were looking for a place for foods and drinks. Finally we found it..and we found a parking space too. Inside some were ordered Loh Mee, Char Kueh Teow and other ordered for Prawn mee. The foods were very delicious. I really love local Penang foods here :).

When we went back to the car, unfortunately, Ah Meng's car was fined for no displaying a coupon. So we were looking for a place to pay a fine. We'd found the place to pay a fine, and had been informed that the fine was for the local cars only (Penang), so there's no need to pay a fine..hmm I think was quite lucky too..We continued our way to Kek Lo Si Temple. It was a mountain road and when we had reached the temples about 10.30am. The scenery was beautiful indeed. We had stepped into the temples. From there, visitors can take alot of good photos.

There were actually more than 100 photos being taken during the visit of Kek Lo Si Temples, sleeping Buddha statue for example.. and I can only managed to publish few photos here :D. We had spent about 2 hours of walking and photo shooting there. Some souvenirs were bought. Then the time was 12.30pm. We exited the Kek Lo Si Temple.

In 10 minutes of drive, we stopped and having Penang Asam Laksa food nearby. It was tasted very nice. It was original Penang laksa made.

When we finished eating, we drove to Burmese and Thai Buddhist Temples. And there will be lots of good photos to take too.

We exited the two temples. Later we took a rest and waiting in the car for Ah Seng's friend nearby. After 10 minutes, Ah Seng's friend had arrived. We met and greeted him, and his name was Daniel. He showed us the way of Penang roads. We followed his car.

All we did is jalan-jalan and cari makan... We stopped and found a parking area. Daniel treated us a lunch.

 

After that, Daniel lead us the way to the place where we have booked 3 rooms. We checked-in and stayed one night at Sri Sayang Resort apartment. It is located at Batu Feringgi, Penang. It was quite inexpensive which cost us RM150 per night (3 bedrooms air-conditioned). I could see that Internet services were also available for people which would charge about RM10 per day. We actually stayed on the fifth floor where it was (high enough to view the scenery from the balcony).

 

Sri Sayang resort apartment also offered the facilities where people can swim in the pool. In the evening, they enjoyed swimming in the pool while I took a nap in the room. Till at night, we went outside for dinner. We followed Daniel's car to Gurney Plaza. We parked in Gurney Plaza car parks and we have a brief window shopping inside. Later, we went to Gurney drive Penang local hawker foods stalls nearby by a few walks. There were lot of famous and delicious hawker Penang food stalls which we just can't miss. The food stalls tables and sits were certainly full of people. It was almost no empty sits for us to occupy. We have enjoyed a variety of local foods there. Ais Kacang, char kueh teow, loh mee, chee cheong fan, fried oysters, steamboat, everything was there.

After that, Daniel have brought us to Penang waterfront city of recreational park. It was called Tanjong City Marina. Most people went there for relaxing, sight-seeing, walking, and photographing there. I could see some of the boats were scheduled ready to be sailed to Langkawi island.  There was also a cafe or bar for people to relax and have drinks. We have great shots of photography here that night. 

Soon after that it was a time for us to go back to rest and having shower. We were all tired and were watching tv and some were already going to sleep earlier at that night. I slept at 2.00am.

Day 2

It was Saturday morning when we all woke up about 10.00am. We were busy packing and ready to check-out before 12.00pm. Daniel brought us to the place where we can have a lunch. We also had gone to Komtar shopping mall looking for new & old camera stuffs at the shops.

Later we drove to Chew's jetty heritage village. It was really beautiful scenery. We managed to visit there and took a few good shots.

  

The time have gone to 3.00pm. It was a time we went to visit Teluk Intan. The journey from Penang to Teluk Intan was more than 3 hours. We drove through PLUS highway. The time was running and soon after that we realized that we had reached Teluk Intan at 6.30pm. 

We took a rest at our cousin's restaurant, Al-Fresco. We have met and greeted with our brother-in law, Jeff and cousin, Lee Yee. We have tried different cuisines prepared especially for us. It tasted really nice :).

We were also having dinner together at Tai Chong restaurant. 

And then at night, we took out our packs from the car. We stayed at Ah Meng's house for 2 nights. Late at midnight, Ah Meng had brought us to historical Teluk Intan Clock Tower. I have never been to Teluk Intan Clock Tower especially at night. The view at night for the clock tower was absolutely fascinating. It changed and shined with different beautiful colors. 

We enjoyed the sight of photographing there. Later near to midnight, Ah Meng had bought Teluk Intan's famous chee cheong fan ready to eat together at Al-Fresco restaurant.

Day 3

Woke up at 10.00am Sunday morning, we went to the place for mee rebus as breakfast. The taste of mee rebus at Teluk Intan was quite similar to Johor Bahru mee rebus. From there we have met Ah Meng's friend, uncle Chai. He treated us with drinks. We have good chit-chatting and after that, we went out together to the huge paddy crops ( though I can't remember the name of the place).

  

Most people visit there for bird shooting photos. The landscape photography is also very good and interesting. Uncle Chai enjoyed bird shooting too. We enjoyed and spent more than 3 hours bird and photo shooting there. In the evening there was actually not really hot and the sky and weather were perfect. There was a bit of raining for just a moment. We having a second round around the paddy fields. There were many different types of bird species available for bird camera shooters. 

Soon the time was close to 6.00pm. We decided to heading back home. At night we having dinner together with Uncle Chai. We were having a good chat too. 

Day 4

It was a last day of the trip. We woke up earlier in the morning about 10.00am. We had a breakfast by mee rebus. We packed and ready to go to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur airport) by car in the evening. On the half road, we stopped and managed to get a beautiful scenery pictures.

We went to KLIA with Ah Meng and Ah Seng. We were having some drinks at the Starbucks KLIA around 5.30pm. Soon after that it was a time for us to leave and say farewells to Ah Meng and Ah Seng. We reached Senai airport at 10.15pm. 

It was indeed a cool and memorable trip...

Jonker walk, Malacca

On Sunday afternoon at 2.00pm having a trip with family from Johor Bahru to Malacca through PLUS highway. First destination was Muar. It took about an hour, stopped and rest there and having lunch.

We continued our drive to Malacca. By only more than an hour we had reached Malacca. Malacca road was congested with too many cars, that was during school holiday break. There will be always not many car parks during the school holiday.



There was a hawker stall that selling famous popiah, a fresh spring rolls. We stopped there, and bought some. It was hot and delicious, it cost about RM3.00 per roll.

We did some shopping around the shops. The shops were decorated with Christmas trees and and I could see there were sellers sellling various Chinese New Year decoration items too. My mum had bought some of the decorations for Chinese New Year 2012.

After about an hour of walking, it was near to 6pm. We had decided to do our ride to Jonker walk. Many area of the roads were also congested, so it may required some patience to reach there. The day was near to dark too. There were actually many changes and developments at Malacca. There was a tower built called Menara Taming Sari, with a height of about 100 metres, which offers people to have a sight of historical Malacca city.  

 
Soon we reached to Jonker walk. Jonker walk area was surrounded with historical heritage building shops. It is available on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6.00pm till midnight. I could see many people were taking photos too. Some of the antique shop owners doesn't allowed people to take photos inside. It was quite a long night markets.

A few walks there was a cafe where people can rest and take foods and drinks inside. The atmosphere here was very crowded and happening.

We felt thirsty and we bought some drinks from a drinks stall. After a while, unfortunately, the rain was starting to fall. All the stalls owners were busy keeping their stuffs away from the rain with umbrellas while other people were searching for a place for shades. It took around 30 minutes for the rain to stop. After the rain had stopped, the people continued their walks and shopping. We decided to take dinner from a hawker stalls that selling asam laksa and cendols. 

One Day Trip to Desaru, Johor.

Desaru trip started at 2.30pm on 6th November 2011 by car.

We went there through Senai-Desaru PLUS highway, which approximately took 45 minutes to reach there. 

We had made a wrong way to Desaru, so it took another more than half an hour to reach there.

Finally we reached Desaru beach. We were not alone there, as there were many people came here for visiting and picnic. Since it was not safe to swim there, we did not bring any swimming trunks. But I could still see many people swimming in the sea. The purpose of this trip we came here for was relaxing and chatting. We didn't stay longer there as the sky was getting darker. There would be no lampposts on the road heading back home, so it was safer to ride home in the evening.

Hmm..I guess my next visit for Desaru is stay one night at the hotel as I could see few established hotels. The chalets are also available for visitors to stay. The scenery here was good and perfect place for camping, barbecue, picnic etc. Definitely will visit again next time.

One Day Trip to Kukup

Went to Kukup, Pontian district, Johor, Malaysia on 31st August 2011 (Our National day holiday) for one day trip with my family (Only 4 of us). We decided to go there as it has been a very long time about 13-14 years ever since last time we visited there.

It was 10.30am when I woke up in the morning and had some breakfast, at the same time fed my fish aquarium. Kukup fishing village was not far away from my home, Johor Bahru, which took us more than 50km away. We started the trip at 1.00pm by car. It was not much jam at Toll expressway Taman Perling (the way can reach to Nusajaya) at that time (I thought all people have already 'balik kampung' during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, so there would be not much vehicles on the highway). We just followed the signboards of Pontian and Kukup on the road.

After the drove of 1 hour, we finally reached Kukup fishing village around 2.20pm. I felt very happy and fascinating to see there were some changes of the sceneries since our last time visit.

   

The first thing to do when we reached there was to find a parking area. There were not much parking area for the cars. Luckily, we saw a car had just moving away from the parking space and we took the place. You will see there was a chinese school, S.J.K (c) Ken Boon nearby too. There were many visitors' vehicles from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Perak.

I also saw there were many holiday tour buses out there too..some people were busy taking out their packs from the buses. Some groups of visitors were delighted to stay for few nights here.

It was a sunny day. May need umbreallas if you don't like to expose to heat of sunlight...After a few walks, we felt hungry and we were looking for seafood restaurants. There were few old famous established seafood restaurants out there..We were having lunch at the seafood restaurant (though I couldn't remember the restaurant's name).  When we entered the restaurant, there were too many people inside at that moment, which only left one table for us to occupy the seats. We checked for other seats in an air-con room, inside all unoccupied tables were left with uncollected dishes (there were no enough of workers to collect the dishes away at that moment). So we went back to the table we had just seen (hot area). We ordered the foods and waited for about 25-30 minutes. Later, foods were served...it was tasted really nice~ seafoods here were fresh and tasty and 'I think' you may find the prices here less expensive if compare to urban restaurants. 

Above is a picture I took from the view of seafood restaurant. It was quite relaxing and enjoyable for sight-seeing. The business hours: 11.00am - 9.00pm. We enjoyed ourselves by sitting down and chit-chatting..The lunch cost us about RM115..we ordered 1 kg of crabs, big prawns, vegetables, and so on...

After the lunch, we took a few walks and did some shopping at the shops..The shops sell varieties of foods and drinks, snacks, noodles, toys, souvenirs, etc. My brother and I bought some nice souvenirs..I could still remember from the past 14 years, when I was only kid, my parents had bought us Boy London wrist watch here for about RM16 each. Fruits and drinks were bought, and my mum bought clothes, shoes, and slippers  :D. 

                                                                                                              

The time allowed us to shot several unique pictures. Above pictures are beautiful and relaxing sceneries of Kukup fishing village. In other word, the local people usually called it kelong, which is an offshore platform built in wood. It would be great for the eco-tourists and natural lovers to enjoy a sight-seeing here. The photos were taken at 5.00pm.

    

 

This location also allowed people to ride a boat from jetty around the kelong. We didn't ride a boat, so I don't know the price of the ride..but I had heard some people said that you can ride a boat to the Johor National Park to visit.  We also did some brief walking around the living areas of the village. Soon after several shots of pictures, the day was quite near to dark..It was 7.15pm! We actually didn't fully explored the village and residential houses..I hope my next trip of Kukup will be come along with at least 10 people together by bus (relatives or friends) and stay for one night there to truly enjoy the whole trip. Though it was only one day trip, I still found it quite enjoyable day for me ;D. 

Below is my personal rating of my one day trip to Kukup:

Food: 3.5/5

Parking: 2/5

Sightseeing:  4/5

Shopping:  3/5

Cleanliness: 2.5/5

People: 3.5/5

Things to bring if I have an opportunity to come again and stay for 2 days and one night (my own suggestions):

- Fishing rods (if possible)

- Own favourite dvds for karaoke

- Playing cards

- Barbecue kits

- Fire crackers (if available)

- Laptops 

- Torch lights

- Magazines/newspaper

Soon it was a time to go back home..

 

On the way home, we took a short rest in the car and above was a giant pineapple photo took at Pontian district, Johor. I think Tanjung Piai is good place to hang out with and good pictures to shot and quite not far away from where the picture was taken here, but we didn't manage to get there..we think maybe next time..

We reached home at 8.30pm.