Perth Day 2: Margaret River

It was the day for traveling up (north?) to Margaret River (MR) for our farm stay. The trip was mostly for N as we centered activities which would interest her. 

The travel down was suppose to include a short stop over at Busselton Jetty... but with kids, time gets a bit rubbery. We didn't go in the end and still missed the tractor ride! *shucks!* 

Being typical city dwellers, we could not resist getting a prepaid broadband sim card. Manage to get it from Optus at AUD29.90 for 1GB. Top up starts as low as AUD 10 for 300mb. If you don't download videos... 1GB is good enough for a week. In fact, I am barely half way through at Day 4. (Partly cos reception here at the farm is on and off)

After buying the prepaid card, I happen to see this shop called Pie Face. The pies were cute with smiley faces (can see how excited N is?). Well the pie was pretty horrid as the stuffings was soooooo salty! 

We did a short stop over at Bunsberry Hb had KFC. Mine came in a packaging which not only looks cute and small but packed to the brim with my tasty 炒面- Pad Thai to be exact. I could not help giggling at the sight of a macho guy swinging the take away between his fingers as he walked out of the shop. 

N had the best of both worlds - taxing my noodles and hb's fried chicken. There was Coles nearby so we bought mineral water to last us to MR. 

Finally reached MR at 4.20pm and missed the tractor ride at the farm. :'( 

Out first night stay was at the West unit. There was a room with a queen bed and a bunk (w 2 singles)- toilet connected to room. There was another bunk in the kitchen area (w one single and queen below). 

Since we missed the tractor ride and it was getting late, we decided to drive out for grocery (at Coles) and randomly picked dinner (at Settler's Tavern). 

Turns out that Hb's "random pick" was a great choice - the restaurant was rated 4 stars in trip advisor. Service was really great - server allowed us to pick our seats, we got our round of water and N was given coloring paper & crayons to keep her occupied while waiting for food. Hb had his Waygu (early bday treat from me) while i had my lamb "pops" with toasted cheese. Food was really good and there was some stage performance that night. 

It got really loud and M was all ready for bed, so we headed back to the farm. And it struck me we should have gotten the furnace going before we left as it took really long to heat up the whole unit. Luckily we had a portable electric heater which my friend loaned us.  *heng uh* 

Perth Day 1: Perth City

The trip was planned last minute and we made it simple. It was going to be Perth city and Margaret River. A colleague told me I should have planned a "triangle" which includes Albany.

Perth in June or Australia for that matter is actually winter. Perfect I guess versus hot sticky Singapore. Not to mention the all-time-high PSI readings since 19 June. 

Lucky for us, my v good friends actually loan us winter wear and heater for in preparation for the chilly weather. My mother in law bought winter apparel for the kids too! ;) 

The flight was bright and early at 7.50am. So we got to reach the airport at 5.50am. N was most excited at the prospect of taking her first plane ride. Either I managed my own expectations pretty well, I thought the plane ride went really smoothly. N slept in the plane...

M also slept in the bassinet at the last leg of the plane ride. Both did not bawl in the plane. 

We collected our rental car which I got a deal using the Maybank Credit Card promo code. 

Our first night stay was at Sullivan Hotel Family room (which has a queen & single bed) - AUD165per night. Hotel is small snd cozy with complimentary wifi, free parking and free bicycles! Room was spacious even with a cot. N loved the complimentary mint chocolates. 

The hotel is very near King's park and there was Blue cat service (free Perth shuttle bus) right outside the hotel! There was Hudsons Cafe (at the hospital) - we had hot chocolate, latte and sandwiches. 

As we were still hungry, we took the Blue cat bus out to the Murray street area where we settled dinner and bought mineral water from Coles. ;) N fell asleep on our way back to the hotel and we had to abadon our plans for "night in King's park"... :/

Malaysia Road Trip 2: Day 3- Sunway Lagoon - Desaru

Morning of check out at Sunway Lagoon, we were in search of breakfast at Pyramid Shopping Centre. We found that the ice skating ring was open and there were several skaters having early lessons. At 9.30am, most of the shops were closed, except fast food joints like Mac'Donalds & KFC. We were loitering around and saw that Dunkin' Donuts was opening. So we had donuts with hot coffee/tea. The little gal was gleeful as she got her choice donut (yeah the one w five jelly sugared sweets on it). I prefer good old donuts with sugar. ;)



After breakfast, hubby wanted to get some medication for his sore throat and sunburn... That was when the little gal made another request for the rides in the shopping centre. At level LG2, the mall has a small amusement park- where rides go at $5 per ride/pax (Mon-Fri) and $6 per ride/pax (weekends/sch holidays). Mummy caved in and she got to take the ferris wheel.

After the ride, it was a rush to pack & check out. Checking out at 11.30am, we hit the roads towards Desaru! After one stop for petrol and one for food at Ayer Keroh R&R), we reached Lotus Desaru at 530pm.

We had booked two 2-bedroom suites for 2 nights totaling RM2088. The price includes 4 pax breakfast, theme park entry passes, towel pass (theme park use). We were assigned Blk A306 & 308 with theme park facing. The master room has one King-sized bed and the second room had two super-single beds. The "master room" & attached bath were really spacious (with balcony). But the second room & connecting bathroom were v much smaller. Each toilet provided a small tube of bath gel & shampoo, 2 towels (nb: additional towels cost RM8 each). The "mini kitchen" came with coffee/tea making facilities, four bottles of mineral water, a microwave, some plates, spoon & fork.

We had a little delay as one of my trip mate's car powered window refuse to wind back! After the men of the 3 families battled it out w the power windows, they got blue plastic bags from the reception to tape up the open window. And one car was parked close by to ensure that no one could drive away that car in the night.

For dinner, we ate at Rhu Bar as it was already quite late... They served alcohol (cocktails & beer) and western food (spaghetti, pizza, burger, fish & chips, etc). We ordered Hawaiian Pizza and spaghetti bolognese. Food was ok but on the pricey end. My trip mate's fish & chips came with potato chips! (quite shocking) As we were too tired, no photos of the food were taken.

Malaysia road trip 2: Day 2 - Sunway Lagoon Theme Park

My trip mate's Malaysia friend brought us out for breakfast again! It was a very local place with lots of stalls selling a variety of food - like wan tan mee, prawn mee, char kway teow, fried fritters, fried Yong Tau Foo, etc.

After a long day yesterday, we were fairly tired this morning. While munching away, we totally forgot photos! *opps!* But I did save the location on my GPS. :p

Returning to the hotel, we headed for a spot of shopping at Jusco while fellow trip mate's daughter had a go at the ice skating ring! While at Jusco, we grabbed a fair bit of tidbits in anticipation of lesser facilities at Lotus Desaru.

SUNWAY LAGOON!
Shortly after noon, we purchased the tickets into the theme park. The theme park consist of 5 areas: water park, amusement park, wildlife park, extreme park & scream park. The tickets sold were per-day with no re-entry and you have to choose 3parks (water, amusement & wildlife - more for family w young kiddos) or 5parks (good for teenages or grown ups who want some trill!).

The 3 park tickets were RM80 & RM64 for adults and kids respectively. The tickets were given out in a form of a wrist band which will add a $10 refundable deposit to the ticket cost.

Later, hubby realized we had used the "side entrance" to enter which is directly to the water area. The water amusement is split into two. One side with sand (less crowded) and the other side with loud music (lots of teenages). The crowded side features a long water slide where u need to sit on those float to come down (imagine Big Splash?).

Anyway little gal prefers the less crowded side and she had a go on the blue slide (taking in lots of water *opps!)

After some 2 hrs of water play, we decided it was time to head out to the "wildlife park". Whilst small, it features quite some unique animals like the black panther, squirrels and a REALLY HUGE SNAKE. The close interaction with some feather friends like ducks and an entire peacock family was facinating (was told ita peacock, peahen & peachicks. REALLY?). Most of their exhibits could be found in the Singapore zoo. Terrain wise,there were lots of staircases and steep slopes which I found quite hard to manouver with a pram.

At about 430pm, we decided to get out quickly so the little gal could catch some nap. While on the way out, I spotted the amusement area! Already paid for the rides, so asked if the little gal was game to take a few simple rides. She said yes and off daddy went with her. See how bright her smiles were despite the "tiredness". :p

Review: Generally, one full day is ok. But no re-entry is really stretching it if your tod needs a nap. Due to the strict "no outside food & drinks" policy, you can't even bring in a mineral water bottle/hotel complimentary drinks/soft drinks & all food and snacks. Essentially forcing you to buy stuff when inside. *roll eyes*

Dinner @ Pyramid shopping centre - Dragon-i (龙的传人)

Decided to settle dinner at this restaurant that my trip mate said they tried before previously. The menu was the likes of Din-Tai-Feng & Crystal Jade Xiao Long Bao La Mian Restaurant.

We ordered their speciality -上海小笼包. The other items we ordered were seafood fried rice, fried pork rib la mian, beef brisket la mian, stir fried four seasons bean, sze chuan hot & sour soup. Food generally was good, and we especially love the 上海小笼包 (little gal loved the soup in the dumpling).

We also ordered cold desserts - mango sago , 龟苓膏 and aloe vera osmatus. Desserts were not only served 30 mins late, it was totally forgettable!!! Service was quite terrible- missing our order, serving staff who could not understand English/Chinese, dirty empty plates cluttered the entire table during the meal! *tsk tsk!* luckily food was still ok.

After dinner activity: Shopping!!!
A spot of retail never disappoints. I got a pair of shorts and little gal has new hairclips from FOS!!! Pyramid Shopping Centre offers a large variety with anchor tenants like Jusco and Parkson. On the lowest floor, there is also a mini amusement park which offers ferris wheel rides, 碰碰车 & others. It's really nice to hang out there ( v comfy for SIngaporeans to c familiar brands like Cold Storage, Pet Lovers centre, Optical 88, etc!

Malaysia road trip : Day 1: Sunway Lagoon

This was a trip we planned earlier this year. It was decided that the families will drive up. 3 families, 3 cars and 3 walkie talkies.

This time we were late! *oops because I was feeling sick the night before. Luckily, 2 panadols solved the problem!*

First stop: Ba Kut Teh/Claypot Chicken @ JB

Pretty heavy breakfast isn't it. This was raved by my trip mates since 2 years ago... Food came piping hot in really BIG claypots! Soup was especially flavourful and chicken was soft. The side dishes (cai-buey & braised tau pok) were also good! We paired with Chinese Tea! *yumz*

Hotel of choice: Hotel Pyramid

We booked the room only (no theme park view) at RM380++ per night. The carpark has a total of six basements and if you intend to get free parking, do not use the Touch & Go, opt for the ticket instead.

Hotel room is really clean, big & spacious. The room we chose is a King sized bed. The little gal will sleep in her baby cot which was finally delivered just before her sleep time. :p

Tea break: Georgetown Coffee

We didn't have proper lunch so some of us were famished by 4pm. Walked by and saw a sign that says "Heritage Specials"... And Friday's special was "Asam Laksa". It was pretty good (hot & spicy). The bee hoon was thick but sadly it was not served piping hot ...

Fringe Activity- Pool Fun:
We've decided to break up and do our own thing after tea break. Little gal's choice was none other than WATER! Although there's a theme park, the Pyramid Resorts & Spa (which is a distance walk from our hotel, Sunway Pyramid Hotel) has a very pretty "waterfall" pool of their own. The poolside also has a active "pub" which serves drinks/ice cream to guests while their kids waddle & splash around nearby...

Dinner - steamboat
A Malaysian friend bought us for steamboat dinner. That area has loads of steamboat/BBQ eateries which reminds me of old time Marina area. The eateries will also "chop" carpark lots for their customers. Sadly, this steamboat place we visited has mostly seafood (lala, cockles, mussels, bamboo clam, etc). Not really a fan since I prefer meat... :p spread wise was still ok.

Supper? - Lok Lok & Chips

As the steamboat was not really "meaty" enough, we were still quite hungry. The Pyramid shopping centre (connected to our hotel) was already closed so we headed to 7-eleven across the hotel to grab some snacks!

The Lok-Lok stall was just outside 7-eleven and it caught my attention! Been to malaysia so often, I've seen many such stalls. This one is exceptionally busy and the food were resting on solid ice for freshness. Decided to give it a shot. Total, I had 5 sticks (quail eggs, fishball, cheese sausage, deep fried charsiew bacon & pig blood). Total damage was RM11.40.

I was pretty sua-ku because the regulars were cooking & eating away while i was figuring how the system works. For fried stuff, u tell uncle. For soup cooked items, u do it yourself. Grab a styrofoam as plate if u eating there. Generally I don't think it's cheap? But it was really an experience and it was definitely fun to be cooking the sticks of food on your own... And of course, PIG BLOOD (my favorite la which is extinct in Singapore...).

Sadly, no photos because our phones and camera were in the hotel... :p

Work trip to KL

It's one of those trips where I stayed in a hotel without a room mate. Times like these calls for wild imagination where ghost or supernatural stuff occurring before yr eyes ranks number one!

Anyway it's my 3rd work trip. This time with my direct supervisor. Our room doors were adjacent to each other so I had better sense of security. ;)

We booked a "budget hotel" where the standard room without breakfast cost us about RM 60 per night. The Ancasa Hotel is a stone throw away from Petaling Jaya (KL's Chinatown), less than 5 mins away. Nearby are Guardian pharmacy, 7-eleven, Populars, Starbucks, KFC and Macdonalds... ;)

Exit the right of the hotel is a train station which is linked to the metro line (ie can take metro to Bukit bintang). Other than train, can also exit right and walk along the road. About 15 mins slow walk to Bukit Bintang (KL's shopping belt) and Jalan Alor (a eating place popular among tourist - stir fry, BBQ, etc).

Being the 4th visit to KL and the 2nd time to stay outside of Bukit Bintang, I must say this hotel is quite value for money (compared to Equitorial). The room was freshly refurbished. The only thing is the toilet was quite small (quite alright if u don't need to shower the kids cos only got the rain bath shower head!). The hotel has 14 stories and we stayed on the 7th floor.

My boss had problems unique to his room (bath drainage was slow and one of the room windows cannot close fully - so he could hear the traffic downstairs).

My perception of the hotel was generally good but i can list a few things for you to note:
-they are not very good in giving directions for tourist. Forgiven since most of their guest are locals.
- car park is cramp and small. Some cars would park illegally and that makes manuvoring a bigger car challenging. Car park lots are limited.
- no free WIFI/newspaper in standard rooms
- basic toiletries ( towels, soap, shower gel, hair wash, cotton buds and seeing kit avail) but no toothbrush and tooth paste and comb.
- room service is MAD expensive!

Here are the photos I took of the hotel standard room:

Road trip Day 3: Cameron Highlands

This is the view from our room at Cluny Lodge (Room 3). The resort is situated quite high (i.e. secluded so its better to drive) so we could get a "bird's eye view".  It was relaxing to be surrounded by greenery with birds chirping happily among the trees and fresh crisp morning air. :)

View from our room...

A common sighting in Cameron Highlands...

We headed off for breakfast on board the resort at a cost of RM6 per adult. It's a sumptuous breakfast loaded with a bowl of cereal, two pieces of bread with butter and strawberry jam, 2 sunny side ups with ham/sausages and a choice of tea/coffee/milo. (Tip: Choose Milo at your own risk).

@ breakfast table. Loved the very English and retro cutlery used...

We headed off for a strawberry plantation. There are many peppered along the roads in Cameron Highlands so finding one is not difficult. Among those listed on the map that seem to have more visitors is one called Raju Hill Strawberry Farm. We chose EQ Starwberry Farm (Address: 78, Jalan Kuari, Brinchang) after reading it from someone else's blog.

Open daily from 8am to 6pm! Free Entry...

And this had to happen... No chance to pluck the strawberries! *sobs*

(TIP: Need to pay to pick strawberries. If not wrong, they will charge an entrance fee and you can pick as much as the basket (they provide) can hold. Psst... no eating while plucking. The uncle there told us they will try to space the harvest to coincide with weekends. So if you intend to pick strawberries, go when strawberries are in season (Dec to Feb) and during the weekends)

View of the farm from the "toilet" area. Can see those strawberries (should be ripe for picking by Friday I guess).

  Nevertheless, we got to see the "stages" of a growing strawberry through the fence. :)

If you think these look sour, you are wrong! These are the ALL SWEET organic strawberries @ RM20 per punnet

(TIP: Uncle says there are 2 species - the "All Sweet" and the "Sweet & Sour". He lied that "All Sweet" were not for sale but when a big group of tourist came, he whipped out the stocks! -___- So do not trust what he says... *tsk tsk!*)

You know what is good when someone cleans up 2 quickly and says "我还要!".

Prior to lunch, we walked down to Kea Farm market. As the name suggest, the place sells mostly vegetables and flowers. There is a small sprinkle of shops selling souvenirs (strawberry themed plush) and food (tempura looking food and steamed/bbq corn on cob). We did buy some pearl corns but due to the number of days we spent in Malaysia, they were all "spoilt" by the time we came back to Singapore.

We spotted an interesting stall selling freshly cut honey comb. At RM 1 per piece, you can drain the honey directly from the comb (PS: Do spit out the comb since it's made of wax and not exactly digestible...).

We then headed for lunch at a Chinese chi-char eatery. It's a walk into the road just right next to EQ strawberry farm. You will notice these strawberry chairs along the shops there...

Little gal's failed attempt to get up the chair... :p

The food there was actually quite good. Hubby loved the Ba-Kut Teh, I liked my fried noodles and the little gal had her chicken rice with little fuss (chicken was really soft).

The next most popular must go in Cameron is of course the tea plantation. The biggest and most renowned tea plantation- BOH Tea. I read that there are 2 BOH tea estates there and the older one at Sungai Pallas (Opening Hours: 9am to 4.30pm, closed on Monday. No entrance fee.) is strongly recommended. The road that leads to this tea plantation is a single lane, so you'll have to be a daring and pretty good driver!

Entrance to the Sungai Pallas BOH Tea Plantation

We were "misled" by the GPS and missed this entrance 3 times! Yup, we went up and down the adjacent road 3 times spending close to 2 hours, missing those info boards due to the rain. :(

 We were lucky to find the following map which led us to the entrance... 

(Directions: Head North i.e. towards Simpang Pullai. You should see Kea Farm/EQ Strawberry Farm on the right. Drive onwards, the entrance is actually diagonal to the "Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm". (Map taken from http://www.cameronhighlandsinfo.com/attraction/BOH_Tea_Plantations/) 

We parked at the visitor's carpark which is at the "foot" of the plantation. Thereafter, you can experience walking through the tea shrubs, towards the terrace (where they serve tea and snacks), souvenir shop, factory and exhibition hall.

We took the tarmac path up which is less of a slope... Almost near the terrace! :)

R&R at the tea terrace while the little gal drinks her afternoon milk...

Lovely scones with cream & jam + Firecracker (the spicy sausage) + tea

Buying Palas Supreme (tea leaves for the connoisseur...)

Foggy weather... The scenic view from the terrace...

Terrace where you can have tea and look out into the beautiful plantation...

View from the "highest point" in the tea plantation...

We found that it was actually much easier walking back down to the visitor's carpark at the foot of the hill. However, due to the rainy season, the road down got slippery. So if weather is all dry and nice, take the tarmac road up and the experience through the bush when going back. :)

 The experiential walk among the tea-bushes

Back to the "foot" of the plantation where I took a picture with the little gal at the visitor's carpark. (PS: We actually found some cars driving all the way up to the terrace area and park behind limited space behind the terrace area. If you intend to skip the walk among the tea bushes, can just drive up there I guess...)

The end of our journey at BOH tea plantation...



It was our last night at Cameron Highlands... Hubby was only dreaming of one thing for dinner...

 *Drum rolls* TADAH - KFC lor...

(Tip: There is a Binchang Central Market opposite this KFC that sells cheap souvenir t-shirts. No harm going there to buy!)