Showing posts with label homestay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homestay. Show all posts

Sunday, May 15, 2011

CAMERON HIGHLAND, PAHANG OR PERAK??

Salam..What’s cookin’ ya’ll? How come I didn’t smell anything smokin’ lately?? (Err, please excuse my Jenny-From-The-Block slang. Okay, I know, it’s pathetic). My weekend has been extremely boring lately. I anticipated chilling with my girlfriends; instead I end up home alone watching Big Bang Parody on YouTube (which is excellent, by the way). Either they were really busy or they were trying to avoid me. Haha! At one point, I even thought of going for blind dates, with ANYONE, I don’t really care! Not that I’m being horny or anything (yikes!), I just desperately need something to kill the time until Monday comes. I’m now 30 and single. I lived and worked in a laid back small town. The main highlights here are either super cheap family stores or the Sunday market. Most of my friends are either married, or working in KL and Selangor. I mean, let’s face it. I can easily fall into depression in no time! Thank God I still have Anuar Zain and Big Bang to keep me sane, at least for now. The thing is, I can listen to them non-stop 24-7, but sadly they can’t listen to me. One way relationship doesn’t last long, you know. Aiyyoo…my life is so in vain la..It’s about time to go for that deep soul searching again…

Our travelogue venue for this month is, Cameron Highland in Perak. Grr…Can you feel the chill?? I’ve been here a few times before, but what I want to brag here is my D.I.Y vacation back in 2009! It was actually my 10th years college reunion gathering. I was one of the volunteered committee for this project and my task was to collect money & allocate the budget. At the beginning, the committees were very ambitious. But slowly we (they!) just lost the drive and the whole thing almost got canceled. Here I come to save the day! Hehehe…(Pls vomit anywhere convenient, at your own risk..)

You see, people started to bank-in money in my account, yet the person in-charged hasn’t even decided on the venue yet alone make reservation for our 2D1N event. Can you feel the pressure on me now?? I’m always very nervous with other people’s money. I don’t know why. I can’t sleep thinking about it. So out of no where, I just stepped in, drag a friend with me, and DRIVE to Cameron Highland for the first time. With the budget that we had set earlier, we went to a few places that we (read: I!) had searched earlier in internet. Finally, we came to Marina Chalet & Home Stay, located in Kg. Sedia, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highland. It’s located on slight hillside, surrounded by bushes of flowers and big old pine trees. It was homey and welcoming, nothing like the fancy chalets or resorts. The person who greeted us was of course, the chatty Makcik Marina herself. We were captivated by the host and the place in an instant! After much discussion on how to organize the rooms between married couples with children, married couple without children and the ‘soloist’, we end up booking ALL the rooms they have! Well, minus the log cottage build just near the entrance. It was just too ‘public’ for us. Hihi..
 The room rates ranged from RM130 (2 x queen bed with bathroom, front area), RM120 (1 x double bed with bathroom, private area), RM60 ~ RM80 (home stay style rooms with 2-4 single beds, sharing bathroom) and RM60 for the log cottage (mattress & pillow with small bathroom). (Note: room rates on 2009)

 Other than Marina Chalet, there were a few other home stays available in Kg. Sedia settlement. One has different charms from another. We have children playground, waterfall (What? Swimming? Are you crazy? It’s freezing peeps!) and the Surau just across the street from our chalet. The best thing was, we get to enjoy the strawberry and vegetable farms, which is just a walking distance from our chalet! How convenient was that! I’ve stayed in apartment in Brinchang area, which is the peak of Cameron Highland. Man, the place was crowded. There were too many people so you can’t really enjoy the experience. We definitely enjoyed the privacy we had in Kg Sedia. The place was totally ours! Do enjoy the pictures below.

waiting for our strawberry ice cream..shedappp uollz!

crazy time

yeah..walking & hopping!

Strawberry farm, walking distance from Marina Homesstay

@Marina Homestay

@Marina Homestay..Daebak!

Klik Klik

the early birds..

Registration..

BBQ time

Ladies..

Gents

Marina Homestay-in front of our room

Our gathering's banner!! Awesome rite?

Marina Homestay

Marina Homestay Cabin
Contact: Pn. Marina
Tel: 6054911295 @ 0169884433
http://marinachalet.blogspot.com/
Additional service: BBQ, Breakfast, Karaoke, etc.

Monday, January 3, 2011

MELAKA

Salam & hello! 
This is my first entry for my travelogue project and I am so excited to share it with you. This time around it’s going to be a long self indulging entry! Hehe..I’ll make it short for the next entry. :)

Family trip is one of the things that I anticipate most every year (besides Bonus). It’s really a joyous moment when you get to spend quality time with your loved ones, catching up with each other on life’s updates. That keeps the family bonding nourished & stay strong. I just wish my late Dad could be here with us (May Allah bless his soul).

So for 2010, the trip to Melaka was discussed months ahead but the actual arrangement was done, the very LAST MINUTE of course! L. Itinerary and accommodation was in-charged by yours truly. It’s no joke to arrange a trip for 21 people. Yikes! Btw, all of us agreed to cook our own meal during our visit, rather than eating out. So below are the criteria shortlisted for the selection of our accommodation:  

1. Spacious for big group (5 families)
2. Cooking facilities & utensils
3. Fully furnished (bed, pillow, blanket, etc)
4. Easy access to grocery store, tourist attraction, etc
5. CHEAP! Hehe..

That leaves me with only 2 choices. Apartments or home stays. But due to our limited budget (MINE, actually) I opt for home stays. I spent a week surfing the Internet & asking from friends to find the best accommodation that suits our criteria. Bear in mine, December is the month of long school holidays so anywhere you go the hotels would be fully booked! Same goes to home stays. I guess people are really into the Home Stay concept now. I did found several good places but unfortunately all are fully booked. Finally I came across YUNUS HOMESTAY, Bachang, Melaka, advertised in one of the website. No pictures included. It’s a double story house with 4 bedrooms and cooking facilities. It just opened in October, so non of my friends knew the place but all agreed the location is good. I called the owner (Pn. Mariam) and lucky for me they still have vacancies on my planned dates. I’m afraid we won’t find anywhere else to stay so I straight away book the place for 2 nights. Talk about GAMBLES, huh! A few days before our trip, I found this blog www.yunushomestay.blogspot.com) and thank God was I relieved! The place seems nice.

Below are the REAL pictures of the place we crashed for 3 days and 2 nights (literally speaking).It was much better than we expected!
Entrance
See the massage chair?? :)


Room at Lower Level


Room upstairs




Master bed room


Balcony
YUNUS HOMESTAY (double story terrace)
Contact: Pn. Mariam ( 013-7782525)
Location: Taman Berinchang Utama
              (15-20min from Banda Hilir & Plaza Tol Ayer  Keroh)
Rate: RM300 (holiday season) RM260 (normal)
Facilities: 4 bedrooms (fully furnished)
               3 bathrooms
               Stove, fridge, kettle, complete cooking utensils.
               TV (but no Astro)

Plus points:
1. Walking distance (200m) from Giant Supermarket! Since we’ll be cooking our own meal, first thing I did after unloading our stuffs at the home stay was to shop for groceries. Easy as walking in the park!
2. Massage chair available at the house! This is our most loved item in the house! (Imagine all the tiresome walk around Melaka for 3 days..sob..sob)
3. Almost fully furnished! All we had to bring was just some extra 'toto' mattresses.
4. The owner, Pn. Mariam is a very helpful and considerate host. Just tell her your need and she’ll try her best to fulfill them. I lapp you la kak mariam! 
5. It's a bargain of course! For 2 nights, we only have to pay around RM33.33 per person. And we collect RM10 per person for the groceries. Am I a Budget Guru or what?! Clap! Clap! 

Muzium Kapal
Taman Buaya (didn't go inside)
Aerial View of Melaka from Menara Taming Sari

Menara Taming Sari
Fun Fare!










In front of Pn. Mariam's House, Kg. Morten
Muzium Kemerdekaan (very informative!)
The signboard speaks for itself..
(shorter line after 40 min queue)

Kota A Farmosa / Bukit St. Paul


Taman Larangan / Forbidden Garden



Muzium Kesultanan Melaka


Bukit St. Paul
Peak of Bukit St. Paul


Zoo Melaka


Zoo Melaka (Note: There's a lot of unique animals here, you just have to come and see for yourself)
Taking fresh air/sea breeze after a long day
Lunch picnic at Marina seaside (Our pre-cooked dish: saute mushroom with broccoli, chicken soup / soto ayam, and various side dish. YUMMY!)

Muzium Kapal (they blow the horn just before closing!)

Important notes:
Parking space would be the biggest turned down in Melaka. You may have to park your cars few kilometers away from your destination so make sure you travel light and wear comfortable shoes. Bring some water with you as it’s hard to find people selling food on the street. (No “penjaja” allowed policy). Be prepared to queue in long lines at most of the entrance place (Zoo Melaka, Menara Taming Sari, Melaka River Cruise, err, toilet also). It can be irritating and exhausting, but try to keep your cool okay. Don't rush, just enjoy the experience. But if you had to, think Amazing Race Asia! :)
Daisypath Graduation tickers