Traveling: Hello again, KL!

Assalamu'alaikum blog :)

It's funny to realize that for the last 4 years, I had always gone to KL between March-April. The first time, April 2011 was Singapore-KL backpacking with my friends. Then March 2012 I joined a friend for Matrade convention. April 2013, again, holiday with friends. And March 2014, I joined my hubby who had a training in KL for a week.

My parents followed me to KL, they stayed for 3 days :D It was the first time for my mom being in KL, so I recommended them to go to Putrajaya. But as I didn't feel well, I just stayed at hotel >_<

Here are their photos of Putrajaya!

Mom :D

They rented a tourist taxi for 2 hours, spared the taxi with a nice Indian couple :) I'm so happy hearing mom & dad's stories that they were having fun & make new friends at Putrajaya. Oh I wish I could go with them! I haven't seen many places they took pictures of!

A day after my parents went back home to Indonesia, I had a city tour by myself. I took Kuala Lumpur Hop On Hop Off (KL HOHO) Bus Tour! This was my second experience riding KL HOHO, and I was really excited because the last time I went to KL I haven't finished my tour...

My highlight of the tour was Islamic Arts Museum, which is ranked #1 attraction of KL in Tripadvisor. It is located across the National Mosque, where my bus stopped.

Islamic Arts Museum, A Gallery of Islamic Design

The museum

Contemporary calligraphy exhibition

And these calligraphy are all hand-made! So neat!

Masjidil Haraam miniature. Alhamdulillah, been there and dreaming to come back :')

Masjid Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed! Alhamdulillah I've been there too :')

Old Al Qur'an, hand made, hand written, and hand painted.

Selfie by self timer! (Finally there's a picture of me -__-")

A cafe in the museum, looked luxurious (and expensive hahahaha)

Outside the museum, across the mosque, I could see this beautiful building

Ice cream for lunch! While I was waiting for Hop On Hop Off next bus (Aha just kidding, I also bought some fruits too for my lunch) 

Menara Malaysia

View from the top of the bus

Little India!

Tips on joining Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour:

1. Have a research of every tourism spot you will pass by (near the bus stop), so you know where to explore (or just sit in the bus until the next destination)
2. Bring your own packed meal & drink, as it is quite hard to find (affordable) food, unless if you're planning to visit malls at the right time (the time your tummy screams for food) - in my experience, I was starving by the time I finished seeing Islamic Arts Museum, and their restaurant is too expensive. So I bought Ice cream & watermelon fruit sold in front of the mosque =_=" *yang penting keganjel*
3. Sunblock! Oh yeah! Especially if you're planning to do sightseeing on the top of the bus. Nice view but... sunburned :p 

What I missed the most from KL:

1. Nando's chicken. Omygod their grilled chicken is legend...dary! I want moooreeee!! I regret why I didn't buy their sauce to make my own peri-peri grilled chicken at home T_T Should I come back to KL only to satisfy my cravings of Nando's chicken???
2. More flavors of Chatime!! And their shop is sooo fancy at Bukit Bintang :D
3. Breakfast with hubby at Tous Les Jours shop at Bukit Bintang. Superb pastry & comfortable place, too

Tous Les Jours shop

So, I guess... See you next time, KL?

Traveling: Express Singapore!

Assalamu'alaikum! This trip happens at February 2014. That time, hubby planned to watch Singapore Airshow. Then my bro in law joined him to Sing, also his wife and kid. Then I bought my ticket to Sing, too.

Well, this was not an ordinary touristy trip to Singapore, so we skipped seeing Merlion :p

Arrived at Terminal 2 Changi, we stopped by at the Orchid Garden. Beautiful, with koi fish pond!

That first night, at February 14, while my hubby hasn't arrived to Singapore yet, me and bro-sis in law visited the beautiful Henderson Waves bridge. Umm, to know it better, see the review at tripadvisor or at this blog.

View from the bridge

Oh yeah, I forgot that it's Valentine's day, many couple have a date at the romantic bridge =_=" While my hubby was away hahahaha

The next day, we visited the famous Garden by The Bay!

At afternoon, lights still off.

Lights on!

And before 8 pm we walked quickly to Marina Bay Sands to see Wonderful light & fountain show in front of the mall (at the bay).

At Sunday, while hubby & bro in law go to Airshow, me and sis in law (with my nephew) went to River Safari. It's located beside Singapore Zoo, but specifically has river animals... From Nile River to Amazon, all famous rivers around the world.

In front of manatee's tank. Manatee is a kind of dugong, but its tail is roundish. And it is bigger than humaaan...

Then the next day, before going back to Jakarta, we had a walk around Kampong Gelam. Tried delicious martabak at Arab street (sorry I forgot the restaurant's name!)... I always love the vibrant ambiance at Kampong Gelam!

Cute cafe at Haji Lane

Also at Haji Lane. Looks like in Universal Studio ya? Hahahhaa...

At Kampong Gelam, cute!

In front of Masjid Sultan (Kampong Gelam)

On the way going back to Bugis MRT station, nice buildings!

And finally, back at Changi Airport. We visited Sunflower Garden at Terminal 2. I always adore Changi for its beautiful gardens.. Waiting time is fun ;)

Bye Singapore! In total, I've been going to Singapore 3 times hehehehe...

The first time going to Singapore = first time backpacking with friends

Second time = going with my family, the last time playing before I got married

If you're interested, you can read the Singapore stories at these labeled post :)

Traveling: Beautiful Belitong!

Assalamu'alaikum blogggg...

I wanna tell a story about my last Belitong trip with other 11 friends (including my husband heheheh). At the end, all I can sum up is: for beach lovers, Belitong island is a must visit!!

We took a local tour agent there, because for 12 people it will be too hard to manage if we go on our own (renting cars, arguing where to go first, when to eat, etc etc). And it's a good decision as the tour agent served us well :D Good places & good food, yum yum!

Started at April 18, we arrived at Tanjung Pandan.

Travel car has waited for us outside the airport, and we go straight to Vihara Dewi Kwan Im... It's in the tour itinerary, but we weren't quite interested because we're still sleepy from the morning flight.

Then we went to Pantai Burung Mandi, near the vihara. Just a few minutes to take pictures.

Pantai Burung Mandi

Then they dropped us at Pantai Bukit Batu. Woohooo the excitement is going up! It's like a private beach... Nobody was there...

The fun part was, even though you play with sea water, you'll not feel sticky (you know, while playing at some beach, you'll feel uncomfortable when sea water dries at your skin).

Water is so clear you can see rocks in the sea.

Museum Kata by Andrea Hirata
Oh yeah, Andrea Hirata, the author of Laskar Pelangi book, has a museum. At first I wasn't quite interested, but when I got there, it's fun! You can drink traditional Belitong coffee too at the museum.

Many posters & achievements of Laskar Pelangi book & movie.

...and some good photo spots too!

Shooting site of Laskar Pelangi The Movie: SD Muhammadiyah Gantong

Well actually it's not the real school. This place was built for shooting property to resemble the real school decades ago.

Yayy we're the rainbow troops!!

Then we go to Tanjung Tinggi Beach, also used as shooting location of Laskar Pelangi. This beach were crowded due to its popularity, and the high rocks as seen on the movie were full of people. So sorry, no picture of them :D (I only took pictures where there were no people :)))

Watching sunset at Tanjung Tinggi...

Dinner at local restaurant at Tanjung Tinggi. OMG seafood was yummy!!!! (Now I'm drooling remembering fish curry with pineapple, fried crunchy calamari, ikan bakar... aaaarrgghhhh!! I miss them!)

Second day: Beach Hopping

Yayyy this day we took a boat, going around beautiful beaches at Belitong Island...

Lengkuas Island, with a lighthouse

In the lighthouse, get prepared to climb until 18th floor!

At the top of the lighthouse, view was magnificent! It's worth all the tiredness going up! Subhanallah...

Corals see through in the ocean

Snorkeling!! The boat dropped us a few kilometers near Lengkuas island to see fish & corals...

Jumping girls! It's in a small sand island, literally the island was just like 16 square meter...

Playing with starfish, spread around the sand island

Then the boat took us to Pulau Gede Kepayang, where there were turtle conservation... But we only went there to enjoy coconut drink & chatting & resting after swimming swimming :p

Day 3, before going back to the airport..
The car took us to the famous Mie Belitong (DELICIOUSSS!!!!), Belitong museum and then Rumah Adat (traditional house).

Inside Rumah Adat, playing with Indonesian music instrument :p

And closing Belitong trip by seeing a beautiful Kaolin Lake! Subhanallah, the lake has a very beautiful color!!

Byeeee Belitong!!! It's so nice to see you!

- Photos belongs to me, Yoyok, and Alen's camera (forgot which one) -