Journey To Pantai Kerachut

Last school holidays the boys had a trip to Pantai Kerachut with their taekwando team. At first it sounded all so fun with the sun and sand, only later we got to know that Pantai Kerachut is deep inside the National Park of Penang. It also turned out that Pantai Kerachut is actually a secluded beach with jungle terrain and is actually famous for wildlife viewing, including seasonal nesting turtles.

The boys followed their group that left earlier in the morning. It was a first experience for them travelling somewhere without us parents, just by themselves, and we were glad to let them have it, while we followed behind in our car, taking our time, grabbing some local delight on the way.

We had our speedy date, having breakfast 2 times, yes you read it right, acting all touristy in Georgetown. We first had some dimsum, and later we had some local toast at Lollipop Ropitiam. And yes we were free enough to take a few selfies, wefies, whatchacallit.

Soon after that we got to driving towards the National Park. It took a while, passing Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringi, practically everything, till we reached end of the world, really, it was End of The World Seafood that we saw, right before reaching the fishing village that later led to the National Park of Penang.

Just as we were registering at the office, we were warned that the path to Pantai Kerachut is not simple, and we ought to be properly dressed and equipped with water. and luckily we were so.

And off we went.

And went.

And went. Yes, the trekking path was like never ending, with challenging terrains and all kinds of scary jungle paths that I wouldn't know to name.

The first 15 minutes I almost lost my breath. What I initially thought was 40 minutes walk, turned out to be a very challenging 2 hour path!

We passed a dug out hill, some pit stops, sign boards with facts that made our pit stops informative,  a few clear water creeks, and somewhere before the beach there's a meromictic lake, which is pretty rare due to its two layers of salt and fresh water that do not mix. This is one of the useful information that you will find among the signages.

Really, we were not prepared to this, no we did not sign up for this either!

As we struggled, I kept thinking how did the kids make it through this path with their group. Then again, recalling back the amount of energy they usually have, this path seemed very fun for them. Also they were in a large group, so it won't feel as taxing as us two tired souls felt. And oh, it was a good thing we ate breakfast like there is no tomorrow, because, while the kids will have food provided by their group, we won't have any eating options at Pantai Kerachut.

Throughout the way, there were also distant markers, which were informative, but somehow the real time taken felt much longer than indicated there. Those were the longest 1 hour 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 5 minutes of my life. Oh wait, maybe that is not true, I might have had more agonizing times in my life, like going through 14 hours of labour.

After what felt like 10 hours of walking, 2 bottles of water, and being drenched with sweat, we reached our destination. Super yeay!

And yes, Pantai Kerachut is an amazing sight indeed. Clean beach, clear water, and to think we were at the other side of the island that we always view from our place, it was just fulfilling. I must mention that there is no phone signal through most of the jungle trekking, and zero at the beach!

Soon after we decided, we are not trekking back. No Sir, we are not. Luckily there were motorboat operators who hover that area for potential passengers, so we booked one motorboat ride back.

We left soon after the kids were done with the activities. As beautiful as it was there, we were totally dying to be back to land where there's convenience and 4G.

See the t-shirt wordings, 'Spirit to practice, more than just self-defense'. Indeed, so much of spirit to practice when going through the path to reach here. Taekwando is not just about self defense. This event proved it right!

As we were all ready to just end this trip and be back to the jetty and head to the car, the motorboat operator made it more memorable for us. He took several stops to show us some famous rocks by the shores. Here, you can see a rabbit resting, can you see the eyes and ears pulled back on the right side?

And then there's this flat rock that looks like a turtle, head on the right.

And the finale, crocodile rock, which looked more like a dinosaur head to me.

What an expectedly and amazingly fun trip it was. Sure it was tiring as hell, testing our physical and mental strength, and once over, we only felt grateful for having this wonderful experience.

On the way back we saw this other famous beach called Monkey Beach, it has some water sports, food and drinks all available. We will surely make a trip here next time, by motorboat that is! No more jungle trekking!

Taiping Zoo Trip For The Family

Every time we drove up and down between Butterworth and KL we would see the Taiping Zoo signboards. We would remind each other to make a trip there, especially for Jeev who is a total animal lover. He talks, draw, and plays everything animal, and the last zoo trip we had to the National Zoo in KL was a total hit!

A few months ago, when we were feeling the need for a quick break, it was Zoo Taiping we went after! For the first time ever, we planned a little picnic and prepared some nuggets and sandwiches from home. There was a creek by the carpark, so we decided to 'unfold' our picnic right there. Although a short one, it definitely was very memorable as it was a first.

The boys were happy to pose by the creek, under our supervision, because it was rather steep.

The moment we entered, we had a family photo taken, and not missing the memories, we had to make a print of it. Coincidentally, we all wore shades of blue.

I've got some odd shots of the boys and hubby, generally the zoo of boys in a real zoo. Jokes aside, it was a good time to visit as it was not any holiday season, so there was lesser crowd. The zoo is simple yet well managed and clean. The tram ride can take you around the zoo in less than 30 minutes, after which we decided to take a walk for the kids to take closer and better look.

Luckily we had prepared our picnic supplies because unlike the National Zoo, Taiping Zoo did not have much options of food at the stalls. We had ice cream instead, it was an off day for the kids after all, so everything is allowed.

And here's the boys (including biggest boy) with Alex the lion from Madagascar. Despite being a huge fan, Jeev is still afraid to go close to any kinds of large mascots.

Notice the GI Joe haircuts on the kids? Well it was a hairstylist debacle which happened one night before, well it is history now. They are back with their stylo mylo hairstyles.

We had enough time to drive around in Taiping town, it is remarkably well kept, well manicured landscaping, and not to mention the natural greens everywhere. Historical old buildings are well preserved while adequate development is concentrated in the newer areas.

At night we had plans of having the much celebrated seafood in Kuala Sepetang, and indeed we did! Kuala Sepetang is about 30 minutes drive from Taiping town. Thanks to blog reviews, we decided on Restoran Tepi Sungai. It is indeed 'tepi sungai', by the river, with the view of the fishing village.

While waiting for the food, we had the chance to catch a few eagles flying about, and this is without even the eagle watching. I reckon the eagle watching activity provided there must be really interesting to see them closer.

As usual, I am not quick enough to catch good photos of the food, but I must say, the food was so delicious, and very very reasonable. We had some fried prawns, baby crabs, sweet sour prawn, and steamed fish.

All in all, the next morning was another foodie journey. We went to a local food area near the King Edward VII school. It was another adventure trying the curry mee totally different from how we get at other places. We also tried the Bismillah Cendol, which was very disappointing, especially for us ex-Klangites living in Penang, it does not even make it to the list. Please avoid!

Since moving to Penang, our short trips to PD were something we missed, but hey, this trip to Taiping, totally nailed it!

Sitiawan Weekend Getaway

A few weekends ago we had an impromptu weekend getaway to Sitiawan, Perak, and it has got to be one of the very short and most fulfilling getaways we ever had.

One thing I researched most about Sitiawan, naturally, is the food. And thanks for the modern day technology, it is not rocket science to find great food online for every destination. And luckily for us Sitiawan is a relatively small town, so most of the hot spots are pretty close to each other.

The drive there took us 2.5 hours from Butterworth, and half the way we were driving through trunk road where you see nothing but jungle. Initially hubby thought I was bringing him through the wrong road, but eventually we realised it was what it was. 

First thing we did once reaching there was drive straight to the famous stall near Kampung Koh wet market that serves the kon lou mee. I read so much about it, and it felt so wrong to miss it for anything. Luckily we arrived there a little before their closing time at 1pm.

Jeev definitely enjoyed it as it was pretty similar to his favourite wantan noodles.

He has this special talent where he eats noodles strand by strand. True story.

And then we have the self-learner elder kid who picked up eating with chop sticks while I blinked. He is the food lover on par with hubby, and no one else comes close.

The kon lou mee was definitely worth the trip, perfect seasonings with slices of barbecued pork. We also tried the loh mee, but found it rather sour and strong for our liking. And the icing on the cake is that the pricing was very cheap compared to the city.

Later we took a drive around town to find a place to stay. After several checks online, we narrowed down to Mornington Hotel Sitiawan, and a quick check into the room confirmed our stay. The family deluxe was a tad bit pricey but spacious and perfect to stay with kids who like to run, roll, play and monkey around the room. And oh, it also had a nice bath tub, again, a plus point for the kids for little pool time.

By tea time, I was determined to get these Sitiawan famous biscuits at Cheong Cia Gong Pian. In the beginning it was a little tricky to find the shop, which later turned out to be just a small portion of a corner shop. Not only that, I turned out to be just a short walking distance from the hotel.

The very aroma of the biscuit is so familiar, till I got my hands on it. They are tandoor oven baked biscuits, that is the clay oven. It is crispy on the outside, with sweet and soft chopped onion on the inside, and a layer of what felt like pork fat. Then it hit me, it tasted just like the bacon and onion buns I used to make. The bacon and onion content gave it that aroma.

The biscuits are so famous that once the shop opens in the morning, the biscuits just get booked and disappear into hands of biscuit hungry people. In fact there is another shop that sells it, and it is no surprise people there never get enough of it.

In the evening we planned for some seafood, but before that we made a compulsory trip to the Teluk Batik beach. It is touted as one of the hidden treasures at Lumut, and since we did not go to the Pangkor Island, it was just perfect we get some dose of sand and sea in Lumut itself.

Apart from pleasure, we also completed some business, we managed to get the kids' passports done in less than an hour, with just a handful of people in the queue. It was record of sorts, and felt so relaxing getting pictures taken, papers done, without any rush or hassle. We went off for some breakfast and came back to passports ready to be picked up! How does it get any better than that!

Jeev And The Club 2016

Yes, both Sanju and Jeev love to go clubbing. They have loads of fun playing, eating, swimming, and more playing and lots of freeflow drinking at the club. It this the Club Med Cherating. Not just them, but us parents too, have loads of fun playing, eating, swimming and freeflow drinking. I think you get the gist by now.

Its two months now, we were at the Club Med Cherating (yet again!) celebrating this year's achievements, and Jeev's 5th birthday, in which, this time, he promised he will be join the Mini Club activities and come back with many many fun things done and learnt. Our last trip there was exactly a year ago.

Kids had tonnes of activities lined up at Mini Club, which also included a talent show, where they joined the other kids to perform for us parents. Other than that, it was lots of singing, dancing, playing in the sand and the pool. Complete memories and experience for them.

Someone made sand Ninja Turtle for the kids while we soaked in the beach water, jellyfish sighting, and staying far enough not to be stung.

While the kids were with friends at the Mini Club, we parents, just did absolutely nothing, soaking in the Zen infinity pool. Ah, bliss!

Also eating.

And drinking.

And Selfie-ing, which we do very very rarely.

The ultimate finale was surprising Jeev with his cake! But I think he kinda expected it after all the holiday hoo-haa. You know how it is.

The best part about Club Med is they have endless activities, or you just chill doing nothing, but eating and drinking. And at night, you dress up and join the night entertainment that keeps the whole family happy!

Needless to say, we all got back tanned from the holiday, rejuvenated, and already planning for the next Club Med getaway!

Club Med Cherating July 2015

Our most celebrated and awesome vacation ever. Club Med Cherating!

Upon our arrival, while waiting for our booking details, we saw this sign, how politely durians are not allowed, yet explained in detail on its nature & popularity.

Once settling our luggages in our room, we went for a quick meal at the noodle bar. My, oh my, to our surprise there was a tap (pardon my lack for better word) for draught beer, 'heavenly' as said by my significant half. And so it officially began.

We immediately got the kids changed and playing at the pool.

And got our respective drinks.

The practice of drinking cocktails continued for the next 4 days. Non stop. It was more worth drinking cocktails than water here. True Story.

Margaritas for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. And supper if you may. In fact you could request for any combination of drinks at the bar. Imagination is your limit.

Kids joined the mini club for 4-7 year olds. Sanju had his first ever adventure of  trapeze jump. And how!

While Jeev preferred to hang-out with the folks (yup, thats us) at the bar.

And hey before I forget, yes there is loads and loads of food that even foodies like us did not get to taste every bite of. By 3rd day we were so turned off buy the breads/desserts aroma.. it is that awesome!

And please do not take my pictures for it, they totally do not do justice cos I felt so weird taking pics of the restaurant.. there is so much more to see and eat!

Every night there was entertainment and performance. There would be music and dance till 12am, its just we with kids did not stay out so late because lets face it, the kids (and us parents too) get so darn tired by end of the day.

On our last night there, the Mini Club kids did a performance and Sanju participated in it.

See the boy with moustache? He enjoyed the club so much that every morning he would get up and nag me till I dropped him at the club house. It is definitely one of the highlights of Club Med as a family holiday destination.

That night, it rained heavily, right after the performance, it was some experience for us, as well as sentiment revoking. Yes, we are so Bollywood like that!

This is the theatre where the performance is every night.

The kids pool is so huge, kids have the most fun!

The village is built on stilts, and nature is preserved below it. As you walk to and fro your room everyday, it is not uncommon to see animals like lizards, squirrels, monkeys and lovely birds roaming about, totally oblivious to human activities. 

The beach is clean and lovely. You can also walk or take the tram to the other beach which is better for family to play and enjoy. So much to do, see and eat, it is a complete holiday for a family with kids especially. We are hoping that Jeev would enjoy the club the next time we go Club Med. Oh yes, there is definitely going to be a next time!!