Port Dickson Trip

I told my sister at the beginning of the year that we should go on a trip in July, our birthday month, just the two of us. What with COVID-19 and her family, it ended up being a family trip. We were dithering between Janda Baik, Pengkalan Balak and Port Dickson, and the first option was struck off pretty quickly. And while there are plenty of affordable chalets around Pengkalan Balak, it proved hard to find one that suited our needs in terms of location, comfort and appeal (we were put off by those nightmarish cheap-looking bedlinen and curtains which seem to be the preferred choice of many chalet/homestay operators). Finally, we settled on Port Dickson. I quickly found four Airbnb with superhost ratings and presented them to my sister and finally we agreed on one of them.

We set off on Friday afternoon, 24 July 2020. My nieces came to fetch dad and myself and we left at 14:45. The drive was supposed to take 90 minutes but there was a bad crawl just before exiting the toll plaza so in the end, we arrived at our Airbnb apartment at Laguna Condo Resort. After settling in, we rested. Later in the afternoon, my nieces and I decided to take a walk by the beach. We could see the sea from our apartment but because of the SOP, we couldn’t use the gate near to our block and had to walk out to the main road before turning left into a road that led to Pantai Purnama. The girls waded into the sea while I walked along the beach. There’s a lovely elevated path along the beach and I walked along it before turning back. The beach was fairly deserted then. We then walked back to the apartment but I told the girls to go ahead while I walked on. I was making my way back when my nephew drove by and I got into their car.

We stayed in that evening. My brother-in-law ordered some food delivered by Grab and my sister cooked rice and fried an omelette. Then we watched some horror movies chosen by my nieces.

On Saturday morning, we drove to the beach. My sister and I then went on a walk up to Thistle Port Dickson before turning back (the elevated paved path stretched only a few hundred metres). My brother-in-law then picked us up and we went back to the apartment for breakfast.

We left before 11:00 and drove to Pengkalan Balak. We had early lunch at AsamPedas Zink and my sister also bought some food to go that we could have for dinner. After that, we drove to the beach. Funny that I never really associated Melaka with beaches even though I know it has a coastline (and the Straits of Malacca was named after the state after all!). We sat for about 40 minutes before driving back.

My sister and I went to the beach again that evening and there were a lot of people at the beach, some just about to leave, some setting up barbecues, a few in the sea, and others sitting on the beach. We stayed until sunset (there was even a full rainbow which disappeared shortly after I sighted it) before returning to the apartment. We stayed in again and this time, we had fresh crabs as one of the dishes. Yummy!!! Even dad forgot he was supposed to be watching his diet (what else is new!). Our evening was marred by the racket from the unit above us which started from 15:00 (and lasted until well past 03:00 early the next morning). I even informed the guard at the gate but he said he could not do anything as they were, in his words, ‘homestay guests’. I even informed our Airbnb host who had her brother drive down to check up and request the noisy party to turn down their volume – all to no avail. They kept on dragging the furniture around, laughing, talking ever so loudly, listening to the music, repeat. This is one of the things I hate about my fellow Malaysians: they can be so bloody thoughtless and inconsiderate of others. They want to enjoy nature as much as everyone else but think nothing of littering and causing inconvenience to others. They want to have a good time and think nothing about disturbing others. Seriously, how hard is it for us to learn from our travels, from observing how others live and taking the good lessons, learning from and not repeating the bad lessons, and generally being considerate thoughtful citizens?

 

On Sunday morning, we went to the beach again as my niece wanted to bathe in the sea. Sister and I went for a walk up to Thistle Port Dickson again. We got back, bathed, had breakfast and finished packing. There was some problem with the lift in that you need to call for it from the ground floor so someone had to go down, call for the lift and go up to your respective floor before the others could get down in the same lift. Before leaving, as usual, we cleared up and cleaned up the apartment and left it as we found it. It didn’t take much effort and a small gesture of appreciation to the host for allowing us to stay there. Sure we didn’t stay for free but it doesn’t cost to be civilised guests either. I guess it’s just drummed into us by our parents. We’re never going to be those who trash their hotel rooms, vandalise public or private property, make off with things that don’t belong to us. And I’m sure most of us were not raised to cause public disturbance, create havoc, destroy and vandalise properties. Just because we pay to stay somewhere doesn’t mean we have to leave our hotel/homestay units like a car crash.

My nephew drove us back this time. There was a crawl one km before we entered the highway. It turned out there were two young cows on the road running between the lanes. After a while, some motorcyclists drove slowly by them as if guiding them to stay in the emergency lane in the left. The young cows had somehow escaped from somewhere. The poor beasts must be bewildered and at a loss as to what to do. It was good that this time, the motorists were civilised enough to respect them and not mow them down. But it was also somewhat funny and so unlikely that you couldn’t make it up. What? Two cows on a highway? Heh. It did cross my mind if they were escapees from the qurban ritual due to take place a few days later but they looked young enough to me to be identified as qurban candidates.

We reached Ampang before 13:00 and stopped to have lunch before going back. Alhamdulillah, for the rezeki and time that Allah granted us to enable us to have this little getaway and here’s hoping there’ll be many more to come, insyaAllah. Three trips in July alone for me, Alhamdulilah.

Trip To Royal Town

My recently retired senior friend, ZK, is now back in his hometown. He repeatedly invited me to come over for durians and when he asked in early July when I would be coming over, I finally decided I would take up on his offer. I even went to Hentian Duta to enquire the bus schedules (only a couple of operators and the service is not frequent) and also tried buying the ETS ticket online before finally going to KL Sentral to buy the tickets in person.

So in early morning of Saturday, 18 July 2020, I made my way to KL Sentral. The train left at 07:05 and of course all passengers had to scan the QR code and undergo temperature check before boarding the train. The journey was smooth and I passed the time by reading my thick novel.

We arrived at Kuala Kangsar train station at 11:15, about 10 minutes later than scheduled. ZK was already waiting and before long, we were passing the Malay College. ZK brought me to the Laksa and Cendol Foodcourt by the Perak River and I had some prawn noodles. We then browsed the nearby shops selling handicrafts before we left. We drove past the Ubudiah Royal Mosque (we thought of stopping but there were police at the mosque entrance) and the sprawling grounds of Iskandariah Palace. We then stopped at Perak Royal Museum (Istana Kenangan). This was my third visit to Kuala Kangsar (the first when I was small, the second time was during a Treasure Hunt where we were made to drive around the town with no puzzle to solve) so you could say I really played at being a tourist.

Perak River

Royal Museum

Fried laksa and Milo kepal

We spent about half an hour at the Royal Museum. ZK then drove to Laksa Pak Ngah where we had early lunch. I had fried laksa (love it! If only it was less hot) and Milo kepal. I enjoyed my lunch very much. It was threatening to rain so after our lunch lunch, we drove to Lenggong. ZK had booked accommodation for me at Suka Suka Lake Retreat so after driving around the lake, headed for Kampung Kelantan where the retreat is.

You have to cross a rickety bridge (sturdy enough to withstand vehicles so don’t fret!) to enter Suka Suka Lake Retreat

The friendly hosts welcomed us and explained that the resort was built with Malay concept in mind. Over some tea made from Garcinia atroviridis (your humble ‘asam gelugur’ or ‘asam keping’), Pak Aziz, the host, explained that he bought Malay houses from all over and had them transported to their resort and reconstructed. There are a lot of local handicrafts serving as decorations in the main house. To give the Malay Cultural Heritage experience, guests can join in cooking classes and local games. The hosts would also bring their foreign guests around the village with the guests wearing batik and pelikat sarongs (they get a lot of foreign visitors but this being in the time of COVID-19, their guests are now mainly local). They had just reopened on 1 July 2020.

Just before I was then shown to my two-bedroom chalet, Pak Aziz requested me to wear batik sarong to dinner. Fret not if you didn’t bring any, they have batik and pelikat sarongs for you to borrow. Back to my chalet, one room had twin beds while the other had a queen bed and a single bed so of course I chose the room with the queen bed. Both rooms were en-suite and there were mosquito nets over the beds. There was no AC but there are fans and it wasn’t that hot with all the trees and cool lake breeze to warrant an AC anyway. I rested and even had a kip. Oh by the way, phone network coverage was bad over there. Celcom and Unifi work best. I didn’t have coverage for my DiGi and was told there was no coverage for Maxis either. The price I paid for my room included Malay dinner and breakfast. I was told during dinner that if you stay for two nights, you get lunch too.

 Room which I chose with its queen and single beds

I ventured out for an evening walk around the resort. I didn’t stay out too long as the mosquitoes were out and about.

Shame that it was an overcast evening and we couldn’t sight the sunset

I went for dinner at a quarter to 8 p.m. wearing a batik sarong which I borrowed from the hosts. There was a family of five from Lumut and they sat with Pak Aziz while I sat with Kak Asiah (Pak Aziz’s wife) and Azam (their son). Pak Aziz and Azam wore baju Melayu with tengkolok. Dinner was excellent and I had never eaten so much Malay dishes in one go before! There were two fish dishes (we were told that they usually serve one fish dish so we were really lucky), one prawn dish, one vegetable dish, chicken, sambal... the husband of the family of wife even took some dishes from our side as the three adults shared dinner with three small children (not that the small children ate a lot anyway). After a very satisfying dinner, we excused ourselves and I went back to my room to read and rest.

I woke up early on Sunday and packed up. I went over to the living area at almost 08:00 but was told that breakfast wasn’t ready yet. I wandered around and returned again almost an hour later. ZK arrived at almost 10:00 and after thanking and bidding farewell to the hosts, we left for Rumah Sungai, which is owned by a friend of ZK. Listed at no. 51 here, it had reopened from 18 June 2020 and is fully booked on weekends until end-2020. I had told ZK that I didn’t want to walk in any orchard or forest for fear of creepy crawling leeches, darn mites and blasted mosquitoes (I had a very bad episode when I visited my niece and we went to a waterfall where I had mites entering my body and suffered severe pain two days later when I was back in KL. Needless to say, I had to visit Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital a few times because of the dang mites. It put a stop to my jungle treks and visits to my nieces when they were at the boarding school). Nature is fine and all but I would prefer the creatures in it to stay in it (and I’m sure the creatures in it also prefer for humans to be out of it too!) so ZK had his friend bring some durians and mangosteens for me. Oh, the spoilt pampered city girl that I am!

 The living area bathed in sunlight

 The living area at Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 Living area from outside

 Chenderoh Lake

Bidding goodbye to the hosts and Suka Suka Lake Retreat

 The river that runs by Rumah Sungai 

The room rate at Rumah Sungai includes lunch for four. You can choose from three different sets. Each set consists of local salad, grilled fish with sambal and a vegetable dish

I wasted no time and after washing my hands (yes, important!), I dug in happily. I think the two men must be amused and amazed that little me was able to eat durian non-stop, one after another. Continuously. I was popping them like happy pills. After a while, I did stop, went to wash my hands and sat down again to attack the mangosteen. I polished them effortlessly. Me, the champ! There were some leftovers and we packed them up and being the city girl that I am, I brought a canvas bag which fit the fruits just nice. I wanted to pay for the fruits but ZK’s friend refused to accept any payment. He was bringing out lunch sets and explained to me the three different lunch sets offered to their guests. Simple but seriously appetising.

We left and after a brief stop at ZK’s house to drop off the fruits, I persuaded him to drive me to Lenggong Archaeological Museum (we passed my nieces’ boarding school along the way). We spent about 40 minutes at the museum before returning to ZK’s house to get the fruits. We packed the durian in a container and cleaned up before leaving for Kuala Kangsar.

Lunch was had at a restaurant near the station and ZK dropped me off at the station after we finished lunch. I had about 30 minutes to kill at the station before the train arrived. The train arrived on time and we arrived at KL Sentral around 17:10. This trip took place exactly 52 weeks after my train trip to Taiping so perhaps my next visit to this region of Perak will take place during the third weekend of July 2021 (or earlier if the durian season starts early!).

Fourth of July 2020 Weekend

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner into our lives including travel plans. I had plans to travel within the region and also to Central Asia but my plans have become casualties of COVID-19. I was pondering where to go after the relaxation of the Restriction of Movement Order and finally decided on a very short trip to Georgetown. This time though, I decided to take a bus to Butterworth (or Penang Sentral as it’s now known) instead of flying or taking the bus into the island itself. I’ve tried those means of transportation and both would necessitate me taking another bus to the city centre. I also checked on the ETS schedule but decided a bus would do the job equally well and besides I could only leave in the evening as I didn’t want to take leave. I then browsed my options and decided to take the bus from Hentian Duta and bought a ticket for a Maraliner bus leaving at 23:59 on 3 July 2020.

I arrived at Hentian Duta at a quarter to 11 p.m. and sat down to wait. I then went to the platform and asked which bus to board as there were two Maraliner buses passing Butterworth and departing at the same time and both were double decker. I then boarded and found my seat quickly - I had chosen the single seat in the front tow at the lower deck when I purchased the ticket.

To my pleasant surprise, the bus left at midnight sharp. As usual I had problems sleeping on the bus. I took off my face mask and covered my face with a shawl instead.

We stopped at Taiping rest area for twenty minutes to use the facilities before we continued on our journey. It turned out there was a group of young Arab men at the upper deck and they were heading for Langkawi (I overheard one of them telling so to the driver and asking if he could lower the AC).

We arrived at Penang Sentral before 04:15 and I sat down to wait for Subuh prayers. After prayers, I headed for the ferry but I missed the 06:30 one and so had to wait about 30 minutes for the next one. A ferry would bring me to the jetty in Georgetown thus saving me time and the ticket cost less too at RM1.20 for a return trip.

The ferry crossing took about 15 minutes. I walked into Georgetown from the jetty. It was a pleasant early morning walk as there was hardly any traffic or people about and it wasn’t yet too hot for a walk.

I decided to have breakfast at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant and it was a good thing I did because the vegetarian wantan noodle stall at the market was nowhere to be seen when I got to the market. I browsed the market before heading for chee chong fun but it was sold as takeaway so I decided not to have it after all.

I walked on to KOMTAR and found a seat to rest before heading to 1st Avenue where I freshened myself up first in the bathroom. I had not seen any CAT buses up to then and after waiting for one for 40 minutes (I had a thick novel with me to occupy me while waiting), I got up and walked. It was time for a mid morning meal so I went to have a small bowl of Penang laksa and ABC.

I decided to check if I could check in at the budget hotel I’d booked at and headed there after buying a couple of non-disposable face masks. The owner let me in and I was soon resting from the sun in my room. I had a brief kip to make up for the sleepless night.

I headed out just before 18:00 and walked to the Esplanade but turned away when I saw the super long queue for Hameed Pata fried noodles. I decided I would skip dinner and have dessert instead so I walked to Urban Artisan Cafe at Jalan Burma. I had to wait a while before I could get seated as the cafe allowed a maximum of ten customers inside at any one time and I didn’t feel like buying my ice cream as take away.

I returned to my room and rested.

I woke up early on Sunday and had a quick shower. I left after morning prayers and walked to the jetty. It took about twenty minutes to get there on foot and I made my way to the ferry platform. We were boarding within 5 minutes after I got there.

I walked out of the terminal to find breakfast and had nasi lemak at a small restaurant nearby. It was adequate. Then I returned to the terminal to wait for my 09:00 bus (different operator).

The bus left at 09:15 and promptly stopped outside the terminal before continuing on. I chose this bus operator because I could get down at KL Sentral. I then took the MRT and walked back to micasa.

So that was my short trip to Georgetown. I would take the midnight bus again from Hentian Duta to Butterworth and then the ferry across next time, InsyaAllah.