Media Visit for Pesta Babulang (Lumba Kerbau) Limbang. Part2.

Before I write about Pesta Babulang in Batu Danau in Limbang .I thought it is better for me to insert the photograph that I shoot during our trip to Merarap Hotspring in Lawas & my experience traveling off-road journey with gravel, riverbeds, mud, rocks, and other natural terrain.Our guide and experience off road driver is Chong Teah Lim (Mr Lim) from Borneo Touch Ecotour and Encik Amirul (Paul) from Sarawak Tourism Board base in Miri.

Upon arriving Lawas, Sarawak, we drove another 15 mins to the entrance of the forest. The journey to get into this hot-spring took us another 2 hours. Partly because it was an off-road journey with gravel, riverbeds, mud, rocks, and other natural terrain as you can see from this album. One mistake you could be in disaster. Only experienced 4WD drivers dare get in (for now). Along the journey, I learned a couple off-road driving communication signs especially to oncoming trucks and 4WD. Since its deep rainforest, phone lines are yet developed. Whether you’re Maxis,Tune Talk,Celcom or whatever telco..all zero.

Actualy from Lawas to Merarap our journey started late evening after Magrib prayer and dinner & the photograph that I share here is shoot during our return trip from Merarap.We arrive quite late in the evening and almost midnight as Mr Lim could not drive faster due logging truck activity also active during the night.We arrived safely. From the entrance of the Lodge, I heard water rushing loudly. Curious me.I saw a huge muddy river with powerful water that brushes over stones. From my judgement the width of the river is at least 100ft wide. It rushes from left to right. Its already very late and we are tired so everyone say goodnight.When I woke up next day ..wow !! I see such a beautiful scenery this place is blessed with various attractions.. from diverse flora and fauna. Nevertheless, it is still largely unknown to the rest of the world, even to most people of Sarawak or Malaysia.More effort need to be made to promote this region. It's world class.. we should be proud of it..

Encik Amirul enjoy the hotspring spa.

• Get closer to nature.
• Enjoy the surrounding at the same time enjoy the nice cold weather.
• Enjoy beautiful scenery along the long and winding road on a 4 wheel drive from Bakelalan to Merarap Hot Spring.
• Take a dip in the lukewarm water in the pools.
• A great place to relax and rejuvenate your body and mind. Do bring along your reading material; here you can rest and read comfortably at the common area while listening to the sound of the stream nearby. 

End of part2 & next part3: On our way back to Lawas from Merarap Hot Spring we stop by Tagang Long Lidung Eco-Tourism.

Ramadhan Break Fasting.......

The festival of Ramadan (Ramadhan, or Bulan Puasa in Malay) is an important event in the Muslim calendar, a time of personal reflection and bonding with one's family.

At the end of the day, Muslims break their fast (buka puasa) with a huge meal called iftar, usually eaten communally at home or at bazaars that are set up specifically for Ramadan.

Ramadan Bazaars in Malaysia

The Muslim majority in Malaysia (Muslim Malays constitute about 60% of the population) eagerly anticipate the Ramadan bazaars that help them break their fast at the end of the day.

The shoppers in the bazaars aren't all Muslim, though; Malaysian Chinese and foreign tourists also benefit from the bazaars' great eats and bargains.

For Ramadan, the Ramadan bazaars all throughout Malaysia operate the entire holy month, opening at 4pm every day. 

KIM SOYA BEAN @ Petaling Street.

The third day of Ramadhan,I'm still in the city of Kuala Lumpur @ China Town or commonly known as Petaling street.It's almost time for break fasting.So what i did was I went to KIM SOYA BEAN and bought (take away) a soya bean drink and tau foo fah then heading to central market for break fasting.

Tun Mahathir like their soya bean.

Kim soya bean is famous with their tau foo fah & soya bean drink.Even our Malaysia former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir love their soya bean(it was shown at one of the newspaper cutting).

Central Market Food Court KL.

 

All the above photos shot from my Panasonic Lumix LX3.

Fireflyz-New Hub & New Route.

Firefly said: Firefly starts a new chapter in its expansion plan with a new hub in Johor Bahru.The new routes is from Johor Bahru to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.

Fireflyz   offer daily direct flights 2 times a day from their new hub of Johor Bahru (JHB) to Kuching (KCH) and Kota Kinabalu (BKI).The aircraft Boeing 737-400 first flight began on May 19 and June 16, 2011 .

In conjunction with celebrating the introduction of these new routes,fly for free promotions as low as RM9 one-way ticket (Fare RM0.01 + RM8.99 tax) for online booking starting from Feb 22 until Feb 28 2011

 

Photo credit to Airliner .net.                      (The interior view of Boeing 737-400)

The new exterior look, the new owner should consider retrofitting the seats, by just replacing the Business Class seats with normal Economy seats. Through this option, the Boeing 737-400 will have slightly more capacity at the same time retaining the luxurious seat-pitch it currently have.The new hub "The Sultan Ismail Airport" Johor Bahru is the first step to make it the site for Firefly continues to expand, especially in the next plan to introduce new international routes flying from Johor Bahru to Jakarta , Surabaya and Bandung .  Obviously "orange power" Firefly is now more advanced and faster after the successful invasion of the blue cloud of direct flights of Boeing 737-800 aircraft from their new route to KLIA to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu since January 15, 2011.

Congratulations ......

FIREFLYZ.COM

Tip from me:  All low cost carrier in Malaysia  is a perfectly good airline to fly if you book early, don't carry much luggage, have no special requirements, and you are certain that nothing will arise that will require you to engage with any aspect of the airline's "customer service". .

The World's first Cat Museum......

From my mail box this morning from Malaysia Airline System (MAS).

or you also can go to Kuching from KUL (KLIA) by log on to this website 

FIREFLYZ

For those from West Malaysia who wish to visit Kuching,Sarawak now is the time to plan & book your seat.You don't need many things to carry if you are travelling to Kuching .A small bag pack to put necessary things like.map,travel document,camera and a bottle of drinking water .Clothing(cotton) and shoes is casual and comfortable (sport sneakers).

If you are within Kuching City,beside walking the Kuching Street and enjoy the Kampong view from the Kuching waterfront, I suggest you take a tour to the World's first Cat Museum in Petra Jaya Kuching.

The World's first Cat Museum,is devoted to all things feline,is in Petra Jaya in the Kuching City North City Hall.Cat lovers will find range of exhibits,photos,feline art and cat

City North City Hall.Cat lovers will find range of exhibits,photos,feline art and cat souvenir open daily 9am to 5pm (closed on public holidays).The admission is free but if you have camera......fee is Rm3.00 for camera and Rm5.00 for video.You can take a green bus from Kuching City centre and ask the local.

"Saya mauk pegi opis DBKU' or 'Saya mauk pegi museum Pusak (pusak is Cat in local Malay of Kuching).

See you in Kuching.

Your Travel Destination- Kuching,Sarawak.

Beautiful scenery awaiting you at Anah Rais Long House......

FIREFLY AIRLINE Irresistible fare !!! fly from KLIA to KUCHING from RM28.00

All-in air fares from Rm28.Booking from now till 16 Feb 2011. Travel period from 17feb to 31 March.

Travelling to Kuching on your own is not difficult as you may think.To-day I am going to list down one of the few places or attractions that you should not miss when travelling in Kuching.

 

 

If you want to stay over night just drop by this little Home Stay in Annah Rais Longhouse.

If you really don’t have time and budget to travel inland to places like Rejang river’s Iban longhouse, then Annah Rais Bidayuh Longhouse is your best choice. This is a very real authentic Bidayuh longhouse located at some 90km away from Kuching City Centre .They are working very hard to preserve the way it should be. If you prefer to stay back and to experience yourself the local way of living there, you can opt to stay with one of the local villager there who run a homestay program called Annah Rais Longhouse Adventure.

 

Beautiful isn't it...experience walking thru bamboo floor .

It is patronised by the tourists daily and many say that it has become a tourist place. Nevertheless, the local people still carried on with their traditional life there, despite lots of tourist visiting the longhouse everyday.

They still use traditional way to crush sugar cane for juice and the oldest skull still on show case and don't forget to ask them what the history behind the skull. Although the longhouse itself has already equipped with satellite or antenna, the main longhouse structure still remain pretty much original.

 

Even though the modern way of cooking is available but the people here still prefer using fire wood.

From Kuching city go to Annah Rais Bidayuh longhouse will take you about 90mins drive.Although the journey take a very long on single dual road but your will not feel bored because you will be amazed by the scenic countryside view,like the beautiful mountain range,limestone hill and paddy field.I found that taxi is  the only public transport to go here.This is because, Annah Rais Longhouse is so remote and not many local people come here. So, no bus services as the Bidayuh in this longhouse are mostly working in the city and almost all of them own a car. The only public transport available for visitor is Taxi. Generally, the local taxi will charge RM90 to RM110 for 1 way transfer from Kuching city to Annah Rais Longhouse. Besides, the other way  to go here  is rent car. The normal price is RM70 by small private car Perodua kancil, maximum 3 adult; or by 10-seater van at RM120 or the best way is join the local tour agent.

Travel Experience....

Lately I try to conduct my own research and talk to people who have flown with Firefly Airline.I ask him about how you manage to book your low fare ticket.Firefly has a pretty easy to use Firefly's website and I am able to pick seats and order meals in advance. It is user friendly and I also like the fact that it offers a Premium package  which include a free hot meal, bottled water, extra legroom seats, baggage allowance and priority baggage delivery and he say It will be nicer if it can include priority boarding.

Kuching International Airport Boarding gate.......

Now can you tell me the check-in process at the counter in Kuching International Airport?? I find this experience to be the most disappointed part of the whole travelling experience.In KIA the MasWing conduct the check-in and boarding and two counter are used for check-in activity .The agent (MasWing) was not particularly friendly or polite and were really slow in processing the check-in especially with bags.

Kuching International Airport night view........

What about boarding activity ? . Well in KLIA boarding supposed to take place according to row number and of course ended up like everyone board at once.However the boarding staff  at KIA just let every passengers board at once,except the family with small children or special care passengers.There was no attempt to form a single file line and it was chaotic.I think if they should enforce the boarding order,the boarding would take much shorter time.

Firefly Airline is adding a 3rd aircraft, a B737-400 to its fleet very soon, and it will be used to serve destinations within Peninsular Malaysia. Firefly Jet's flights also code share with MH's.For more information and online booking just log on to firefly's web site 

FIREFLY AIRLINE.

Firefly Airline-Media Fam Trip(part6)Malacca Full Day Tour.

Before I continue  writing about our day tour in Malacca let me share something about seating on the airplane and why I am so concern about where I want to seat on the airplane.Airbus A320 vs B737-800,Which is smoother? funny question isn't it...ok,ok now look here the smoother of the two is always the one not in turbulence.Where you seat on the airplane has an effect on how much 'TURBULENCE' you perceive.The further you away your sit from the centre of gravity the greater the moment .The aft section of any airplane is always not the passengers first choice .So  if you  plan to travel with firefly's I suggest you pre book your seat.

What is a Standard or Premium set of services on Firefly Airline ?

Standard and Premium are great ways for passengers get more value for their money when they fly on our Boeing 737 aircraft or B737. When booking your ticket, opt to purchase the Standard set of services for just RM38 and you’ll enjoy an in-flight meal of your choice, bottle of mineral water, freedom to choose your seat (subject to terms and conditions) and 20kg checked-baggage allowance. Purchase the same services individually, and the cost would be RM64.

Although the B737s offer all passengers sufficient legroom and ample overhead cabin space, there are selected seats with more legroom and seats that let you disembark faster. To ensure you get to enjoy these Preferred seats, passengers have the option of reserving them when they book their tickets online or purchase their tickets at a sales office for a fee. To enjoy even greater savings of up to 40 percent, opt for a Standard or Premium set of services that include Preferred seat selection.

Let me continue about our fam trip , Malacca full day tour......even on the bus I chose the front seat so I can  view the cityscape scenery clearly .

Before heading for lunch we go to Dutch Square and Stadthuys,Muzium Warisan Baba & Nyonya Melaka and Muzium Samudera.

Photo Credit to Justin K C Yap.    Dutch Square and Museum Samudera.

Don't tell me if you have been to Malacca  and you did not go to this two places Dutch square & Museum Samudera.You will see all the heritage building at Dutch square are red in colour.There are many fascinating tourist spots here in Malacca, aside from the above mentioned. Malacca is a compact town filled with many tourist attractions which delight tourist all over the world.

 

No photo shot are allowed inside the Museum  Warisan Baba & Nyonya Melaka.

The men are known as the 'Babas' and the women 'Nyonyas'.  The Babas & Nyonyas are said to be very Chinese in spirit and tradition but Malay in form.They also know as Peranakan the Strait-Born Chinese.They speak Malay mixed with Chinese phrases.I have a chance to join the media to the  museum and I can see the beauty and uniqueness of Baba-Nyonya traditional costume,antique furnitures and wood-work art.

But you are allowed to have a photo shot outside the building.

A visit to the house would be an unforgetable experience of a journey back in time.

 

Lunch @ Indori restaurant.  Photo Credit to Justin(Sarawak) and Norfazlin Nor (Melaka).

Every one of us from Sarawak & Sabah enjoy every meal we have.Day one we have Seafood Lunch at Putrajaya and Balinese dinner at  Borak Ombak Restaurant in Ampang and day two in Malacca we have Minang food lunch at Indori Restaurant and  a taste of Nyonya Heritage dinner at Seroni Restaurant..

After lunch, I was told  that we are heading for Museum Kesultanan Melayu Melaka,Bukit St,Paul,Porta De Santiago,Kampung Morten(villa Sentosa) Homestay  Kampong Morten ,'Old Town' Harmony Street....

To be continue.......on part7.

This entry was written offline via Window Live Writer and will be Publish late then I expected because on this date 25th January at 10:00AM my 5 years old USB HuaWei E220 was send to KL (free of charge of course) for upgrade .And If I'm not occupied somewhere, hopefully I can surf the net at WIFI station in my area.Meaning here I maybe offline for time being..

Thank You for the support & Cheers everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firefly Airline-Media Fam Trip (Part3)

First of all many Thanks to Miss Sin Hoi from firefly's marketing & communication team being so kind greet & meet us at Kuching International Airport and flew with us onboard FY601. And  also, thanks for arranging  in flight meal for us.

FY601 new fleet B737-800 touch down KLIA smoothly  and the flight slightly delay  from ETA: 11:15 to 11:35 AM...That's normal .To the fleet Captain and the crew ,congratulation and job well done .I know few of the passengers onboard comment negative about the in flight services and I  agree with them but we must bear in mind that most of the cabin crew are new to this kind of working environment with 190 seated aircraft .I am very sure they can improve when most of them have clock about 10 hrs flying and get use to serve the guest by asking what the passengers wanted for meal etc,etc..Like I say during my trip back KUL/KCH the cabin crew have improve a lot and the services is just superb for a low cost fleet...Well, I suppose 'We get  what we pay for' & this is low cost premium flight that I am really proud off and I'm sure you guy should continue to support our Community Airline.

On arrival we are introduce to firefly's local staff and to our tour guide which is arrange by Tourism Malaysia.Later we go to Putrajaya Seafood Restaurant as a special guest launch with Tourism Malaysia staff and we are then introduce our self .The media from Sabah could not join us for lunch due to unforeseen problem but manage to join us for the tour.Our lunch at Putrajaya Seafood Restaurant is superb and the food is 'Marvelous'. Thanks to Tourism Malaysia

 

Photo of Putrajaya Seafood Restaurant by Justin KC Yap ( Business reporter from The Borneo Post) Credit to Justin's Photo.

The 5 star services & the food 'marvelous ' .....Credit to Justin's Photo.My new friend from Sarawak Tribune (sub-editor) enjoying the food.

Credit to Justin's Photo.

This are the transport that carry us from Seafood restaurant to Taman Botani,Morocco Pavillion and Cruise Tasik Putrajaya.If you are in for a little exercise and some leisure activities then the lake Boardwalk is absolutely perfect for you.Tram ride (picture above) around the park is suitable for families

 

After lunch we proceed to Taman Botani where we are being brief by the Senior Officer from both  Taman Botani & Perbadanan Putrajaya regarding the tourism product, Q&A from the media etc,etc..very educational information indeed .

The photojournalist in action at Moroccan Pavilion in Putrajaya and we discover the unique and amazing Moroccan Pavilion.

 

The architectural features based on the heritage of Morocco are actually inspired by the world of plants.Here, you can plan your exciting family day or even a splendid garden wedding at a very affordable price.

We are welcome by the crew members of Kelah Cruise  in Putrajaya lake.

 

The best way to see and experience or discover Putrajaya is by taking a leisure cruise to see and marvel at the city's many attractive landmarks and view the beauty of the lake and I can see and experience the most breathtaking sights of Putrajaya.

For those of you who is planning for a family vacation I suggest this is the place.To discover Putrajaya  fly to KLIA from Kuching by  logon to Firefly Airline web site.

Next entry I will blog about our trip to Putrajaya Maritime Centre ..still on first day of Familiarisation Trip.Isn't it wonderful in just 2 night and 3 days I can discover Putrajaya,Melaka and Kuala Lumpur.

So see you guy on part4 ...Cheers.