I arrived early morning in Schiphol and Frank as usual, was already waiting for me at the gate! Oh and it was my BIRTHDAY!!!

As Frank’s family discussed earlier the week, I will have my birthday 7 hours longer this year! Awesome!

So we took the train to Leiden which took 20mins and on our way, the sun was saying hello!

It was a really beautiful morning and the sun made everything beautiful!

For my birthday, I got a collection of DVDs and he got me one of my favourite movie, Conan The Barbarian! In the evening he gave me a bouquet of flower and planned to have a nice dinner at one of the restaurant in town.

We made a mistake to go to the bar first. Will come to that.

Sabine the owner put on a Happy Birthday song and they guys sang Happy Birthday song. Was a bit shy of course! But I appreciate the welcome back greetings from everyone.

So we had too much drinks and when Frank told me to go for dinner, I was already feeling comfortable sitting in the bar and did not feel like walking out.

So lesson learned, always have dinner first before drinking.

On Friday, went to the market, and met up with Patni. So she bought a few things for us to cook at her house. She is a good cook! And I learned a few new recipe from her too!

From her house, I went to Frank’s office borrel. They were having Italian food. His colleagues were very friendly and I got to meet the people he works closely with daily. I thought that was cool. Visited his office and the company has 3 big building with few floors! When I arrive the office I was not aware that they have 3 different site.

On the weekend, we went to Sint Maartensdijk to visit his parent and sister.

On our way the train had some technical problem so we had to alight the train at Zevenbergen. With snow and ice, the railway station is always in a mess.

Normally the train company will organise a bus if the train have problems. So we waited in the cold but luckily the sun was shining.

We visited Frank’s parent first since Frank sister will only finish working in the evening. And don’t forget the train problem that she has to endure.

The next morning we went to Antwerp, Belgium. It was a 30mins drive to Belgium. It was not far at all!

This was also the first time I experience‘driving’ in the snow. Everywhere was white! Not so sure how people know which is the path with all the snow on the road.

I visited Leiden and The Hague again since I could travel there using bus easily.

I was going to Leiden one evening and the plan was to meet Frank there after he finished work, but ended up in The Hague because I took the wrong bus.

In Leiden we went to the English Bar and had dinner in a Greek restaurant. And that is when I fell in love with Tzatziki! The most delicious dip in the world beside guacamole!

The souvlaki tasted so good and I would recommend any Greek food to everyone!

The only Greek food I have before was, Greek salad and for some reason always assumed that they are all famous with their vegetable recipe which is not really something I would go to a restaurant and ‘try’.

Since I did not have much time in Leiden as I was lost in The Hague, I just walked around the centre and saw people skating in the canal!

If you look at my previous blog post on the trip to Holland last year, then you would recognise some of the place is in the same area for this trip too.

If the canal is not frozen, you will them all swimming instead of skating.

A windmill and a bicycle- I am definitely in Holland!

A few days later I went to The Hague and after Frank finished work we met up in one of the famous bar Schelemmer. Where politicians and journalist normally hang out. It was a nice bar and Frank saw one Dutch politician which I obviously don’t know about.

While waiting fro Frank, I spent time walking around The Hague. I went to the Binnenhof and the lake was also frozen and everyone was skating on it. So I went and walk on the ice and it was scary. When you walk on the ice, there are parts when it makes a sound. And for me who never walk on ice, of course was quite ready to die of hypothermia if the ice would break!

I then visited the Gevangenpoort(The Prison Gate). The entrance fee is €7.50.

It was the main gate of the Binnenhof then around the 15th centuries, it was used as a prison. The upper room was the room of the judges, and when the sentence is given, it will be announced from a window facing the Binnenhof.

The door to the prison was shorter than me. I had to bend to get into the prison room. There were different types of prison rooms. For the poor and for the rich. If you have money, you can have a bigger room and you can have visitors to bring you food etc.

Poor people Prison Room

The Knight’s Chamber – Prison Room for the rich

The Hostage Room – debtors imprisoned

This is where the people who could not pay their debts sleep. VERY SMALL place!

A drawing of a ship in the 18th centuries.

Prisoner’s writings on the bedsteads

ZMDWDVS -  are the first letters of the days in a week in old Dutch, so the prisoners could tell which day it was.

Above are some of the equipment in the Hostage Room which I did not want to know the usage!

Below are the photos in the Torture room.

The Delft blue marble tiles on the wall are the rejects tiles. If you see the pictures on the tile, some of it are upside down, because these were not used as decoration in the torture room, but it will make it easier to clean when something is going on in the room.

After the rich historical knowledge of the prison (!) I went to drink hot chocolate and spend my time waiting for Frank reading my novel.

When Frank arrived, after a few drinks we went to have dinner in a Turkish place. The food was not bad but the tzatziki was different from the greek place. Then we took a cab home. And yes, it was a Benz!

Most of the days were spent walking around Voorschoten. At night normally we go to the bar and managed to have good convo with some of the people there.

The canals in Voorschoten were also frozen and everyone was skating!

Bird foot prints frozen on the ice in the canal

Above are photos taken while we were walking on the frozen canal.

Above is how you learn how to ice skate.

FAT CAT!

The last Saturday I was there,Frank and his friends in the bar had a Boonake (Dutch card game) Tournament in the bar. The tournament was against another bar in a different town. So they came to the bar in Voorschoten and play. Not an easy game at all!

On Sunday afternoon I flew back to KL and it was a great trip and was good to meet Frank again. Till we see again!
 

Walking on the canal in Voorschoten!

Frank normally look good in photos, but the cold is affecting his looks while taking photos.

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

One of the positive side: you will get to see the locals doing some cultural show or performance and get to see how a certain festival is celebrated.

Some of the negative sides: most shops are closed (restaurants, food stalls, markets), it is always busy when you visit a historic place or town, the hotels are all fully booked and transportation cost would be at least 30%-40% more than normal.

This happen in the smaller town of course where all the business are owned personally.

So, it was long weekend for CNY end of January that I decided I was not going to stay in KL itself and hope on the bus to Taiping.

As usual, I only buy my ticket the day I was going. Not a smart plan but that is what happen when I don’t feel like walking too much.

How to get to Taiping from Kuala Lumpur?

Go to the North Bus Terminal (Puduraya Bus Terminal)

From Titiwangsa LRT Station, stop at Plaza Rakyat LRT station and it takes about 5 minutes to the Puduraya Bus Terminal.

I took the bus from KL to Medan Gopeng Bus Terminal, Ipoh, as there were no more ticket to go directly to Taiping. Cost around RM20 and it took about 2-3 hours.

From Ipoh, I bought another bus ticket to go to Taiping from Medan Gopeng Bus Terminal, Ipoh which cost RM7.50 and it took an hour plus to arrive Taiping.

The bus actually doesn’t go into the proper bus terminal to stop in Taiping, it just stopped near the terminal and I don’t recalled them telling people it was Taiping Bust Terminal. So, I went up till I arrive Kamunting which was not too far.

I took a cab to the hotel I stayed in. I could see that Taiping was decorated with all the big tree where the trunk, growing to the opposite side. Beautiful!

The hotel that I stayed in, was a 20minutes walk to the Taiping Zoo and a 5 minutes walk to the Taiping Lake.

When I checked in, I unloaded my bag and went out to the Zoo and the lake.

It was the most beautiful lake I have ever seen. You just feel like putting everything down and lay down and enjoying the view.

I realise that I put too many photos in my blog, but that is because I don’t really know which ones to pick when I think all the photo is nice

I just walked pass by the Lake and took some photos before I continue my walk to the Taiping Zoo. I was deciding to go to the Night Safari, but I could only buy the ticket the night itself. So I decided that just visiting the zoo in the noon would be good for the day.

It was really a nice Zoo. Smaller than the one in KL. It was a clean and surprisingly there were no mosquitoes at all the whole time I was there.

Enjoy some of my favourite photos.

After the Zoo, I walked back to look for place to have dinner. It was the eve of Chinese New Year and most of the restaurant are closed! But I found out a place to eat satay just 3 minutes away from my hotel! The famous Satay Kajang. So I had to go and see for myself what is it all about.

Chicken and Beef Satay

The chunk of meat was bigger than the normal satay meat. I am not sure whether it’s normal or not, but this was the first time I receive a sauce with dried chilli in oil together with the peanut sauce.

YES it was delicious!!! I ordered 20 sticks and ate 18 sticks and till today, I still think of the other 2 sticks of chicken satay!

After my delicious dinner, I walked back to the hotel room and it was POURING! I was lucky I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel receptionist, so I was not too wet.

The next morning, I decided to go to the lake. So I rented a swan machine (no idea what it’s called) and peddle my way to the middle of the lake!

Spent some time reading walking around the lake found out that it was awarded to be the largest urban Lake Park in Malaysia.

Went back to the hotel to check out around noon and since I have time till 4pm,  I went to walk further and decided to go to the famous Bukit Larut or a.k.a Maxwell Hill.

Along the way, I made some detour to some of the places where the locals normally have their recreational time.

Equine Park

Burmese Pool

Taiping War Cemetery

Road to Bukit Larut

I climbed for an hour plus, and reached the 1st hut. I was asking along the way how long will it take to reach the top, most of them say 5 hours! By the time I reached the 1st hut, my jean was already very wet from my sweat. So I decided to come another time instead to finish off the Maxwell Hill!

You can also go to the peak using land rover no problem. It cost RM7.

You can also stay in the chalet and enjoy the view from the wettest place in Malaysia! The hill experience the most rainfall throughout the year. Larut means dissolved.

Then I walked down and had lunch and got into a cab to bring me to the bus terminal.

Opposite of the bus terminal, I saw a market so I went to see whether they sell my favourite fruit, and YES they did sell Rambutan! So I bought some for the road and also bought Petai (Parkia) to bring back to KL!

Petai (Parkia)

No, I didn’t take any photo of Rambutan. I expect everyone to know how the best fruit in the world to look like!

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

Frank made a trip down to KL middle of December to visit me and so we decided to spend the time exploring the other states in Malaysia.

On Friday and Saturday, I brought Frank around KL City and walked the path that I normally use to work and taught him about the LRT and Monorail. Brought him to few different malls and bar that I hang out at. It was an easy day spent just walking around and catching up with one another.

Then on Sunday, we went to Batu Caves. There, we saw an old lady, with the longest hair I seen in my entire life! I call her Malaysian Rapunzel!

We went up the stairs and have our late lunch at one of the vegetarian restaurant in front of the temple. It was vegetarian so Frank liked it. He ate with his fingers too. Other than holding his food with his finger like holding food with 5 chopsticks at a time, he did very well.

After Batu Caves, we took the train to Bank Negara and made our way to Dataran Merdeka. Unfortunately, it was closed for some autodrift racing. We stopped for a while to check it out. There were car racers from different Asian country.

After spending half an hour watching them burning fuel, we continued our walk into KL city centre. Walked around Petaling Street, Pasar Seni then made our way to Bukit Nanas Nature Reserved. So using the back way, we did some hiking at Bukit Nanas Nature Reserved. That was a good quick escape from the noise of traffic in the city.

We walked till we reach the main entrance which was the KL Tower. So we spent a little bit time touring around the KL Tower, and watch some cultural performance and also the heritage house that was open for visitors. Then we just sat outside enjoying the view and the little garden that was around the KL Tower.

After spending half an hour relaxing at KL Tower, we decided that we have seen enough for the day and went to Bukit Bintang to sit and drink.

That evening I received a phone call from Lisbeth, who was visiting KL and they are planning to have a small hang out. So we all met at White Rajah Restaurant at Bukit Bintang.

During the weekdays, we tried to met up for lunch and after work, Frank will wait for me at his favourite bar, Racks Bar and Baby Backs.

The next Friday on the 23rd Dec, we went to Genting Highlands. We took the bus from Bus Station Pekeliling which goes all the way up to Genting Highland and only cost us RM5.90 each! It was an hour journey and the pressure surely made me equalize a couple of times.

When we arrived Genting, it was raining heavily. Since we arrived during lunch, we walked inside to find a place to eat. We had some local dish, Asam Laksa and Curry Noodle and we each had a cup of coffee. The food tasted so good in the cold weather. After our delicious lunch, we started walking around the buidlings. It was still raining so we could not walk outside. It was a really busy day since it was also a school holiday.

I was in Genting 3 years ago, and did not remember Genting to be so busy and hectic. It now looked like a shopping mall and a circus in the same building. It was very noisy too! For me, it really spoilt Genting natural beauty! It was just another busy town on a mountain.

The next morning, we took a bus to Ipoh, Perak. From Plaza Rakyat, we walked to Pudu Raya Sentral which was just 5 mins away, and bought our ticket to Ipoh. I forgot how much it cost exactly but it was between RM15 – RM17 each for one way ticket. It took us 4hours to arrive Medan Gopeng Bus Terminal in Ipoh. From the bus terminal we take a cab to go to our hotel.

The cabs in Perak do not use Meter as they are mostly private owned. Irritating at times and I wish that the government do something about it. Set a stricter rules for people who get licence to drive a taxi and not just allow anyone to drive the taxi.

We arrive Perak almost 4pm. So we check-in and spent the evening walking around the town. The hotel that we were at was really strategically placed. There were restaurant everywhere and Ipoh is also well-known for it’s good food!

We saw an open air market and decided to sit and have a drink. I had their Satay and Frank had their Rojak Sotong. The satay tasted really good! A very good way to start a day in a new place!

For dinner we went to a Chinese Restaurant next to our hotel. The food there was really good too!

Frank wanted to order beer, so I asked the price. The lady said that it was RM10 for 3 bottles. At least that is what I heard. And of course I kept on repeating the price just to make sure it is right. The lady not speaking fluent Malay did not help very much. But after trying to get the price right, it was still RM10 for 3 bottles. So happy with the cheap price, I told the lady we want 3 bottles. When it came, it was 3 big bottles and it was RM13 each. )*&*^$%$@%()_P

Oh well!

So the next day, we decided that we wanted to go to Gua Tempurung. The receptionist at the hotel was not so helpful and they were information-less! Very disappointing. We tried looking for Tour Agent to get us there, but we found out that all the Tour Company was closed on Christmas Day! We walked around the whole town and nothing was open except for the restaurants.

We continue walking and decided to skip Gua Tempurung and go to Cameron Highland instead. So we continue walking till we saw the KTM Station. It looked so beautiful!!!! I did not know that they have such a majestic looking station in Malaysia!

Frank searched in his Four Square and read a tips about how to get to Cameron Highland without having to go to Medan Gopeng. Just 10minutes walking distance from the KTM Station, was a local bus stop and they have a direct bus to Cameron Highland. So we walked to the local bus stop, the minute we arrived, the bus to Cameron Highland left the station and saw that we had to wait another 4 hours for the next bus to Cameron Highland. So we hop on the bus to Medan Gopeng Bus Terminal and there was a bus ready to leave to Cameron Highland! Perfect timing.

It cost less than RM15 each to go to Cameron Highland from Medan Gopeng, Ipoh.

It took us 4 hours plus instead 3.5 hours to get to Tanah Rata and I was really not feeling good because of the zigzag road! So I forced myself to close my eyes not avoid feeling wagon sick.

There were some parts of the journey, the road was straight and I open my eyes and the view, breath-taking!

I really enjoyed to view and I wished that I have a house on a mountain!

There are 3 main town in Cameron Highland. Ringlet, Brinchang and Tanah Rata. So we stopped at Tanah Rata, where the bus brought us. At the bus terminal, there is a tour agent company. You can book your tour if you don’t have a car and you can also get them to book hotel room for you. Since it is almost impossible to travel in Cameron Highland without a car to other places, so getting a tour is the best way to mobilize around.

We also booked our room there and it was the best place I have been so far. The guesthouse was located on a hill and it is a colonial bungalow surrounded with flowers and little garden. It looked just AMAZING!!!!

Our room was facing a garden and outside the room, they have coffee table for you to just sit and enjoy the view.

I was in love with the place right away!!! Wished we had more time and would love to spend a few more night there!

Once checked-in, we walked into town and it was just 3mins away from our guesthouse.

It was cold, but not too cold that we had to put on a jacket. While walking, saw people who wore a full set of winter clothes and also an ear warmer!

They for sure had a better clothing than what I had in Holland!

For dinner, we had Chinese and one of the menu was fried mushrooms. It was surprisingly very nice. With the nice weather, everything tasted good!

After dinner, we went to a bar and had some drinks and on tv was some rock concert on. That kept us entertained.

In the morning, around 9.30am, we checked-out and went on our tour.

We went for the nature tour and it cost us RM60 each. It covers the Boh Tea Plantation, the factory where they make tea (there are shops for you to buy tea and cafe facing the tea plantation which is beautiful), and a short jungle trekking in the mossy forest, at Gunung Brinchang. It was slightly more than 2000m.

We walked to the peak for about 2km and could not see anything as it was foggy!

Then we had a 15minute jungle trekking. It was really muddy and if you are unlucky you will get your shoes dipped in the mud! There are some parts of the trail we were just walking on the roots of trees and it was not even a proper ground! When we look under, it was just an empty space and goes all the way down to 2000m!!!

Our driver was a local Cameron Highlanders who knew the way very well and knew the traffic condition very well…. He drove like there were no other cars on the road. He was quite a good driver and there were no road that was impossible for him!

After our tour, we took the bus back to KL. That took us about 5 hours. The jam was not too bad.

Then the next morning we took a bus from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan to go to Melaka. It took us 2 hours so that was a nice ride. From Melaka Sentral, we took the cab to our hotel. Of course another taxi driver who want to rip people off. Pffft…

In Melaka, we walked around and went to all the historical places. Went to the chicken rice restaurant for dinner and had a really nice meal.

The next day, around 9am we check-out of the hotel and took a bus from Melaka Sentral to Larkin, Johor. We took a cab from the bus terminal to Puteri Habour, where Frank left Morning Light.

Whatever plastic canvas that we put on to cover Morning Light was gone and she was a bit dirty with all the green mould growing on her. So aired the boat and started cleaning and washing whatever we could. Did not take us too long to get it clean again.

The next day, we went into town with the van that the Marina provide every Thursday, and did our shopping. It was a good day and we just enjoyed it together at the mall looking at things and bought some drinks for us to have our own little party at the Marina.

We were late for dinner the last night and the restaurant was close. So we just drank and eat some chips that we boat earlier.

The next morning, we start packing and took a bus to Singapore. It took us less than an hour to arrive Singapore. We had some problem at the Immigration because we did not have any pen to fill the arrival form. But other than that, it was ok.

We went to Little India and had lunch. Then we walked around and then decided to go to Habour Front to have coffee.

We sat at a German restaurant and had our dinner there too. I ordered a cheesy sausage and I don’t think I want to eat sausage for at least another 6 months!

It was a beautiful day and also it was a sad one because it was time for us both to go back to reality. We took the train to the airport and I flew from Singapore to KL and Frank to Holland.

Till we meet again….

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

Joy has a car so transportation was not a problem anymore. She has a GPS so that made it made it easier…..At least that was what we thought.

I made some reading on how to get there and we drove all the way to Taman Melawati, and there were few hills there. We couldnt find the entrance for the hill, so decided to ask the people around who were also exercising. To our surprise, when we mention Bukit Tabur, we could see their expression was blurry. No one ever heard of Bukit Tabur! From the map description and also some other blogs on how to get to Buit Tabur, we were definately on the right track!

So we decided to just follow our instinct, and managed to find the entrance of the hill. Thefirst half an hour, it was very steep. So we being unfit, sweat like a pig.

We had a good hike although it was not till the end. But we managed to reach a certain peak. It was beautiful!!!

We didn’t want to hike till the end, because we were not that familiar with the hill. There are lots of ways or options to go to walk up the hill. Reading all the advise about being a first timer to climb the hill, also made us extra careful. It is also considered an ill fate hill.

We spent time talking and catching up and enjoyed the breeze and the beautiful scenery made us feel at peace.

Enjoy the photos! Photo from Joy and myself.

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

I passed Pulau Payar while sailing with Frank on our way down to Johor Bahru.

I search the island in google and saw good review on it to dive since it is a Marine Park.

How to get to Langkawi by Bus?

From Pudu Raya, take a bus to Kuala Perlis. From the Kuala Perlis Bus Terminal, it is just a 3-5minutes walk to the Jetty to Langkawi.

I went to Pudu Raya Bus Terminal and went to all the counter and ALL the bus going to Kuala Perlis was fully booked!!! Not such a great way to start my journey.

So I tried calling different bus terminal and I guess everyone was busy and there was no answer.

I didn’t want to cancel my trip as I booked my hotel already in advance. So I decided, I could just try to go to any place up north and catch a bus from there to Kuala Perlis. So I saw that there were still seats to Butterworth, so I bought myself a ticket to Butterworth and got on the bus.  yay!

  Photos taken from the bus along the way to Kuala Perlis

It took 5hours to reach Butterworth and I went down and walk to the ticket counter, hopping that I am in luck for a seat to Kuala Perlis! I had to be fast to because the last ferry to Langkawi was at 7pm.

I was really lucky and there was a seat for me on the 3pm bus. I arrived Kuala Perlis at 6pm and took the ferry at 6.30pm and arrive Langkawi around 7.30pm.

On my way to Langkawi, called the East Marine Divers to make my diving arrangement for the next day. They were very helpful and I got myself a place to dive the next day.

Bus

KL – Butterworth = RM45

Butterworth – Kuala Perlis = RM11.80 (every hour bus service)

Kuala perlis – KL = RM50

Ferry

Kuala Perlis – Langkawi = RM18

Langkawi – Kuala Perlis = RM18

Diving

2 dives, lunch, marine park fees, equipment, transfer from hotel to the East Marine Office and back = RM350

At 9am in the morning the next day, the van from East Marine picked me up and brought me to the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club where the office was located.

It didn’t changed much from the last time I was there.

We register and fill in some forms had coffee and tea before going to the island.

It took us 1 hour boat ride to the island. It was a big motor boat and was air-cond too.

Upon reaching Pulau Payar, the divers transfer into a smaller boat which brought us to our diving spot. Made friend with another lady who was in my dive team.

Pulau Payar Marine Park

Some of the underwater world photos in Pulau Payar.

There were LOTS of Nemos which I loved, but I didn’t dive just for that.

An engine! Scorpion Fish

Lion Fish

  Nude Brans

I did 2 dives and I was not so impressed. When you call a place a Marine Park, you have an expectation. But with my only 2 dives there, I can’t judge too much and it won’t bring justice to the place itself. You will just have to dive and see for yourself.

At the beach, you can see baby black tip shark swimming around. I thought that was special.

In the hotel, I made friends with a German couple and they were nice people and very experienced travelers too. It was fun to share stories with them and knowing about places they have been and also lots of travelling tips from them!

The next morning, I left to the ferry terminal for Kuala Perlis around 8.45am. I arrive Kuala Perlis around 9.50am. Went to the Kuala Perlis bus terminal and the ticket back to KL was sold out. I was lucky that they have extra bus service to Kuala Lumpur so I bought the bus ticket and it departs at 12.30pm.

While waiting, there was a crazy guy harassing the girl next to me. So she asked me to help her, so I brought her away to the ticket counter since there were few guys there. The crazy man followed us and when he saw us talking to the men there, he walked away. One of the man there shouted at him and told him not to come to the station anymore. According to them, he sometimes, will hug you and kiss you out of nowhere! Beware ladies!

That is the jam along the way back. There were few accident I saw from the bus. There were ambulance passing by too. Always sad to see people getting hurt.

After a 11hours bus ride(!), I finally reach KL! It was a fun weekend for me and I had a good time meeting new people and made diving buddies too!

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

Woke up around 5.30am and was awake till 7am, so I decided I was not going to stay home and watch movie all day long. So I went to the internet and Google on things I could do in a day in Kuala Lumpur.

Then it occurred to me that I have not been to Batu Caves which is just not so far away from Kuala Lumpur.

Batu Caves is a very famous Hindu shrines in Kuala Lumpur. During big festivals like Thaipusam and Deepavali, there are lots of parades going on.

How to get to Batu Caves?

From KL Sentral, you can take a direct KTM (train) to Batu Caves.

I took the train to Bandaraya Station (LRT) from my house, then change train to Bank Negara Station (KTM), and directly to Batu Caves Station.

The Batu Caves temple is just next to the train station which is very convenient.

All in all, it was less than RM10.

I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was quite a big place and there were a few big temples. The famous thing to do there is to climb the 272 steps to the limestone cave.

Entering the area, there was a temple on my left, and shoes are not allow if you enter the temple. Some people walked bare footed in the whole area! It was a really hot day.

Murugan Statue guarding the temple entrance to the Limestone cave.

They also have another ‘mini zoo’ before you reach the stairs to the limestone cave. It was a nice place and looks like a floating village. Entrance was RM15, which I didn’t go to. Saw some snakes in the photo so didn’t want to scare myself.

So I make my way to the steps of the cave and walked near the rail. Just in case I faint half way. But it was not that high as I thought it would be. In no time, I reached the top. Along the way, there were monkeys, and the people who climbed to the temple to pray fed them along the way, with bananas and mangoes.

The entrance when you reach the mouth of the cave.

Praying or getting blessing from the monk.

So I walked in the cave, and there were more shrines and it was quite a big cave. There were people praying and having their lunch at the shrines.

After walking in the caves, I walked down and there was another route to another ‘dark cave’. When I walked through the gate I saw 3 monkeys climbing and was pulling the fences aggressively.

So I walked through and the monkey that was pulling the fence, got down and came towards me. So was the other 2 monkeys. So I stopped and felt abit scared looking at their behavior. When I stopped, they kept walking towards me and whisking and showing their teeth at me! One actually tried to touch my legs and it did, so i lift my leg up wanting to kick it. But I have to be careful as I was in a shrine. So I shoos it away instead while walking back myself. After a couple of shooing, they left me alone and climb back on the gate.

Crazy monkeys that almost attack me. There was another one, but it went away to get more food.

It is worth the visit if you are in KL for more than 2 days.

Things to bring:

Bottled water, umbrella, sun block.

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

From KL Sentral, we took the KTM to Station Kuala Lumpur, then walk t the bird park and it took us 20minutes to arrive. It was not so easy to find, so we asked people along the road for directions.

There was an underground tunnel to cross the road and it lead you to the National Mosque.

We almost enter the National Mosque thinking it was the Bird Park.  

From the tunnel, you just have to walk straight and on your left side will be the mosque. After 2 minutes of walking you will pass by the Methodist Girl’s School. Just walk straight till you see the Bird Park sign board and follow the sign board. Before the Bird Park is the Butterfly Park.

The entrance fee and opening hours:

The Bird Park was quite big. The flamingos and peacocks were let to roam around the park freely which was very nice! Some of it is used to human feeding them, and actually chased Yi Ven’s brother for bun!

Indian Blue Peafowl

Love Birds

Yellow Billed Stork

Cattle Igret

Mandrin Duck

Japanese Koi

Ostrich

Emu

Managed to take photo of the eye closing! It is not easy because it move in a second!

Black Eagle

The Amphitheatre. At 12.30pm was the bird show. They have funny opening. First they let a chicken walk across the ‘stage’ then a school of ducklings running across the stage! Not running slow, but very fast!

Around 1.30pm, it started to drizzle so we took a cab back to KL Sentral, which cost us RM14! But we were not ready to get soaked so we had to pay the price.

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

We all packed early to make sure that we didn’t leave anything behind, but Hobert managed to forget his shirt!

Everyone was leaving for Berau except for Eka and Pak Komanden. They have guest visiting on the island to see the baby turtle. Before we left, Eka left to make his round around the island for baby turtle.

Eka (in glasses)

We left the island with a heavy heart.

Neighbours in the island beside the turtles.

No you are not allowed to eat these. (I asked!) Sangalaki is a nature reserved island.

The Team that made the holiday so great!

From left to right – Myself, Tini (the youngest and the cutest of all!), Kak Vol (our guest star!), Kak Van (always very wise with her words and action and very sensitive to others feelings) , Kak Ver (our super cook!)

We took the speedboat and arrived Berau in 3 hours. We took an angkut back to the house and there were to little school boy in the angkut and they were basically squeeze by all our big body and big bags!

When we got home we greeted Kak Ebe (Kak Hang’s wife) whom couldn’t join us as she is 6months pregnant.

She cooked us a delicious lunch as she is also known to be a great cook! All the while on Sangalaki, Kak Hang was mentioning to us that Kak Ebe’s cooking is much more delicious! Haha.

In the night, they brought us to chill out at the river bank. It was a really a nice place to just sit and relax. They have all sort of juices served and they also served us Lebaran snacks.

Kak Ebe who couldn’t join us

Kak Fan

Hobert with the Ladies

The next morning,Hobert and I had to get up very early to catch our flight to the airport to fly to Balikpapan.

I felt abit sad that I have to bid farewell to everyone. Gave everyone a hug. Kak Hang and Kak Fan brought Hobert and I to the airport. It was really a great time they gave us and I would never forget all their kindness and hospitality! God Bless them bountifully!

The Ladies

After Kak Hang and Kak Fan left, we both check in and waited for our plane.

Goodbye Berau!

In Balikpapan, we were picked up by Hobert’s cousin on his father side and also (Hobert’s Eldest brother) Albert’s wife Linche whose house we stayed for the night with an excellent hospitality.

At first we were planning on to visit the Orang Utan centre, but it was too far so we cancelled our plan. We then went to Linche’s house to unload our luggage. Then we drive around and went to have lunch at a local restaurant. I ordered Soto Daging and it was delicious! I am really going to miss all these Indonesia food!

After that delicious lunch, we went to the Mall to purchase some clothes for Hobert. I bought a travelling / camping mat at a really good price! Now I can sleep anywhere I want!

Then we went to see Hobert’s cousin’s house and she drove us around Balikpapan. We passed Pertamina HQ and also the housing for all the staff. It reminded me of all the SSB houses at Piasau.

The next day, Satya picked us up from the house and brought me to the airport. I am always worried that I miss my flight and couldn’t say goodbye to Satya coz he was looking for parking space.  

After I checked in and when it was almost time to board the plane, the announcement on the flight was delayed came on! So decided to have a drink at the small bar they have in the departure hall.

Finally around 12.30pm, I departed leaving Balikpapan. Arriving KL again was totally a different environment. So sad. Everyone stares at you like you are some kind of an alien, and the haze was really bad when I arrive home coz I couldn’t see any building in the city from the place I live and I live pretty high in the sky!

From fresh air to dirty aired KL.

Walking down memory lane….

Saimamar Island (above)

Sangalaki (below)

Sun rise in Sangalaki

Turtle tracks.

A U turn because there was no place to lay egg….this was just a small sand bank which you can only see when it is low tide.

Can you see the black spit on the water?? That is a school of baby Black Tip Shark!

The sand bank you can see when it is low tide. Lot of sand bank all around Sangalaki and also Derawan. You can play football in the middle of the sea!

Paradise!

We will be back!

Doei!!!

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

We fished for 2 hours and we were not as successful as the previous night they fished for us.

Fogen caught 2 red snapper, and Kak Fan caught 1 big red snapper and Kak Hang caught a small snapper and let it go, and I caught a whole lot of corals and stones! You won’t believe what comes up on my hook!

At almost 11pm we decided to call it a night and head back to the island before being stranded on the corals on the beach!

Fogen, Kak Fan and Kak Hang fishing dinner

One of my dream diving place would be Palau. There, it is famous for the non-poisonous jelly fish!

Little did I know I would be going to a similar place during this trip! When Kak Hang told us that there is a lake in the middle of the island, and that lake is full of jelly fish.

My small mind, could not comprehend the word many for some reason!

Early morning we all start getting ready to leave for Kakaban. The ladies cooked a delicious nasi goreng and also we have doughnuts for breakfast. We also brought some nasi goreng with us as we are all big eater!

It was a very nice island. It looks bigger than Sangalaki. In the middle of the island, there is a big salt water lake.

 See the brown spot in the water? Those are the jelly fishes!

Our route down

   Arriving the lake!

Kak Hang

It was a big lake and it was really beautiful too! Despite all of the beauty of nature there was, I can’t stop thinking about Lake Placid or Anaconda!!!! Stupid Hollywood movie messed my mind!

Not being a jelly fish fan myself, made me think twice before jumping. After Kak Hang and Eka jumped in, and saw the jelly fish didn’t sting them, then I myself jumped in too! It was so beautiful and I touched the jelly fish just to make sure that it didn’t sting, and it didn’t!

 Wonder who jelly fishes sleep or rest?? Wonder no more.

Skin dived to take this wonderful videos!

We snorkel for couple of hours till i saw the signal of my battery went low!

Towards noon, there were people starting to come to the lake. So we decided that it was time to go. When we arrive our boat, we saw that there were 3 other boats on it’s way to Kakaban. Guess we were lucky to have the lake for ourselves for hours!

On our way back to Sangalaki, we decided to snorkel again and try to look for the Mantas. It was a really sunny day and the visibility was at least 30m! There were not much fish around and the corals was ok. We didn’t see any Mantas so the guys decided to head back. I told them I will continue snorkeling and will swim back to the island. So they climb the boat and I continue my Manta search!

After a while, I gave up and start snorkeling back to shore. 2km from shore, the water was really shallow that I couldn’t snorkel or swim anymore!!!!! I was snorkeling and didn’t realize that the tide was going down!!!

I was thinking whether I should just swim back to the sea and look for the boat entrance that we used the day we came, which was on the other side of the island! So I swam back a few meters then decided that it was a long swim and I might not make it in time for lunch!

So I swam back to the island till I couldn’t swim anymore. Then I stood up. It was a long walk with my fins on too!!!! I had to walk a few steps then stop just to rest. It was full of dead corals and some were pretty sharp too. I was only scared of sting rays and also stone fish or scorpion fish! The water was below my knee so to walk I had to lift my leg extra high with the fins stuck on my leg.

This was just half way!

I walked for an hour and when I reached the beach I just had to sit down and relax my feet!

I was lucky that they were still cooking when I got home so at least I didn’t missed lunch! The most important meal of the day!

At night they went fishing again and I decided to stay and fell asleep without having to taste the fresh fish they caught that night. I definitely needed that rest after my fin walking!

The Team

To be continued…..

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com

Then SPLASH!!!!!! We were all in the water!!!!!

And we saw this!!!!

Welcomed by Manta Rays near Sangalaki Island!

It was the most beautiful and most graceful sight I ever seen in my whole life!!!! We were welcomed by a SCHOOL of Manta Rays!!!!

I was so excited!!! There were so many of them and Steve Irwin flashed in my mind and then I realised that all the Rays was swimming passing by near me from behind. And for a moment I was scared that they got aggressive and attack me with their sharp tail .

But I managed to get hold of myself and put the scary thoughts aside and just enjoyed them swimming around me!

It compensate all my disappointment of not being able to dive when I was swimming among all the beautiful Mantas!!!

That was definitely a good way to start our day at Sangalaki!

I am trying hard to recall, how on earth we managed to stop snorkelling and got back on the boat. Hmmm…

But the story goes on…

We arrive the little island and it was low tide when we arrive. So we went through a small channel and got as nearest as possible to shore. For about 1 km we walked to the beach carrying all our stuff because the boat couldn’t go nearer.

We were greeted by Kak Fan and his wife on shore. They brought us to the ranger crib where we spent the rest of our week.

The ladies, started cooking and the men starting BBQing the fishes they caught last night fishing.

For the trip, we have a really good cook! Kak Ver. Everything she cooked we managed to make sure that the plate was wiped clean!

She also made a potato doughnut which I will try it when I have time here!

In the evening, we followed Kak Fan and Eka to do their round around the island to check see wether there were any baby turtle hatched and trapped in the sand at the roots. We found quite many and it was the first time I hold a baby turtle!!! They were so cute and they couldn’t stop moving!!!

Kak Fan and Eka both have a metal long stick they bring together to poke into the sand to feel whether there are eggs in the sand. On our way, we saw a turtle in the sand not moving and was worried that it die.

They checked the turtle tracks on the beach and found that this turtle was in the hole overnight. We touched the turtle to make sure it is still alive and we were relief that it moved!

Don’t do this at home!

The baby turtle trying to get out of the egg.

Hatchery

We put all the baby turtle that we collected in a basket and will only let the baby turtle go during the night.

In the evening when it was almost dark, we walked to the beach to let the baby turtle go into the sea. While I was walking along the beach, there was a school of baby Black Tip Shark swimming at the beach waiting for the baby turtle!!!! That was not a nice scene the see the baby turtle swim into the mouth of all that sharks!

The egg takes 45 – 90 days to hatch, depending on the climate. They will then crawl out of the sand and into the sea at night. We took out the baby turtle and it immediately direct itself to the sea. We always wondered why and Kak Hang explained it to us.

These baby turtle are sensitive and they will move towards light. At night, the sea is brighter than anything on the island that is why they move towards the sea. However, should there be any other lights on the island that is brighter than the sea, then you will see the baby turtle crawling towards the brighter light on the island.

The rangers try to keep everyone informed about that especially now that there is a resort being renovated next to the ranger’s house. It is always a worry that this will disturb the life of the baby turtle.

I hope they will managed to work things out in order not to harm the life of the turtle around the island.

After dinner, we joined Kak Hang, Kak Fan and Eka to make another round around the islnad to see how many turtle came on shore to lay egg. We look at the sand for their tracks.

Unfortunately, while watching this turtle laying eggs, my stomach was not too happy. So I walked back to use the toilet! Too many Chili!!!

To be continued….

Rachel Raymond

www.mshachi.wordpress.com