Bangkok, Ayutthaya & Chiang Mai [14 ~ 21 March 2004]

I came to Bangkok by rail in February 2002. Two years later, I returned by flight. I have no idea as why I visit Thailand again, and not some other places. As I just need a holiday right after my semester final examinations, and also suggested by my ex-colleague, I planned to visit Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai besides Bangkok for this trip.

I was almost sitting in front of my computer on-lined at least twice a day ever since Air Asia announced of their acquisition of landing permit in Thailand. I was really lucky after about a month of waiting and checking, Air Asia eventually opened their direct flight from KLIA to Bangkok. I swept the lowest fare of RM99.99 one-way to Bangkok and return on the first day morning of their promotion.

Friends and classmates of mine, seven persons in total, flying to Bangkok on 14 March for a journey of 8 days in Thailand. We were really lucky of getting the cheapest fare as our traveling period is coincidentally crushed with our national school holidays. The flight was really full.


DAY 1: 14 March 2004 BANGKOK

Ex-colleague and I bought the special promotion return ticket of KLIA Transit at the MATTA Fair and cost only half the price of a normal return ticket. I left home at about 10am in order to catch the train leaving at 10.33am from KL Sentral to KLIA.

We gathered at the Air Asia check-in counter, of course not forgetting to take the group photo before leaving KLIA. We had a very light lunch at the food court, expensive and tasteless; we were actually looking forwards for cheaper and better foods in Thailand.

Nothing special of flying with Air Asia besides their cheapest price compared to other airlines. However, due to free seating arrangement, people were rushing and queuing at the entrance in the boarding hall, afraid that no getting the best seats they ever aiming for, usually the front and window seats. Look like very Chinese! Amazingly the Whites follow the custom of "kiasuism" too!

The flight journey took about two hours. We landed at the Terminal 2 of Bangkok International Airport at about 2:45pm local time and we walked over to the Terminal 1, which was a very short distance. The railway station of Don Muang is exactly opposite the Terminal 1 connected with a pedestrian bridge crossed over the highway. We waited for about an hour for the train going to the main station in city center, Hualamphong Railway Station, which cost only 10B per person. While waiting for the train, I also purchased the train tickets going to Chiang Mai from Ayutthaya and the return journey of Chiang Mai to Bangkok from the information counter, as the ticket counter was closed. The advance booking can only be made for long journey as according to the staff, not for short distance like Bangkok to Ayutthaya.

The train came finally at about 4.30pm, crowded with locals. It was a non-aircond. and hard-seat 3rd class train. We were standing on the walkway inside the train with our bulky rucksacks; waiting for any empty seats available whenever reaching the next stops. The air flew into the train was hot and dry; our skin was really sticky. The locals were wearing simple and old fashion clothing looked like lowest class of the citizens. The atmosphere remained me of those days traveling in the train back in 50 years ago in China. I felt like I’m traveling in the past!

Bangkok, so called one of the international metropolitan city in the world, I could still able to see those homeless people staying in a simple tent alongside the highways or railways or even at the corner of streets where no one would even bother to help them, they lives peaceful (so called) without “disturbance” from the government. I wonder what is inside their mind; don’t them want to have a better living or just pretending of nonexistence in this city till the end of their life? Everyone has the right to live the way they wanted to, but why there are still people who give up their hope or not to struggle for a better future?

The train reached the huge main railway station of Hualamphong after about one hour trip. We had a very difficult time to explain to the taxi drivers of where we would like to go; we were stuck in getting a taxi, as the taxi drivers we approached can hardly understand us in English! Luckily, a very friendly and sweet Thai lady came to rescue us by showing us where and how to get the bus that is cheaper than taking the taxi. The bus stop is just located on the right hand side of the entrance of Hualamphong train station. Without any delay we boarded the bus leading us to Mahboonkrong Shopping Center (MBK) that cost only 5B (whereas the taxi minimum charge is 35B). We got down the bus where exactly the place I came first time two years ago. We walked to Soi Kasem San 1 to look for our accommodation for the night, from one guesthouse to another. Unfortunately, God knows why, all the guesthouses were fully occupied! Luckily, we managed to get the only three left rooms in Muangphol Mansion, a budget hotel next to the main rood and Skytrain station. This was the hotel that first strikes my sixth sense that we would eventually end up with, and it was true enough!

After we had taken our bath, we rushed to MBK, which is just opposite the road for our dinner. The food court I believe had done some renovation that looked better in feature but the quality of the foods was not up to our standard anymore! We had the lousiest Thai foods in Thailand!

Next, we took the Skytrain to Patpong, one of the well-known red light areas in Bangkok. Friends of mine were really excited with the pubs alongside the Patpong Night Market. There were many people offering adult shows outside the pubs, and some even can speak to us in Mandarin! The ladies wearing bikini dancing and twisting their sexy body on the tables inside the pubs, trying their best to attract the guys.

We had to go back to our hotel earlier as we need to rush for our early morning train to Ayutthaya next day. There were many food stalls right outside our hotel alongside the main road. Friends of mine were so excited with the cheap and tasty barbequed meats, and fresh and sweet fruits, which only cost 10B each (big serving)!


DAY 2: 15 March 2004 AYUTTHAYA

One of our group members decided to stay back in Bangkok and not following us for the onward journey. I was really sad on this, however I had to continue the journey with the rest. I was praying for him so that God will protect him while he is alone in Bangkok. I hoped to see him safe and sound when we back and meet again in Bangkok after our journey to Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai.

We rushed to Hualamphong Train Station by taxi to buy our tickets to Ayutthaya. At the same time, I asked for the refund of the tickets of my friend that not following us. Luckily, we were really blessed by the angels of the city, that we managed to receive quite a lot of money back from the cancelled tickets (50% on Ayutthaya-Chiang Mai and 80% on Chiang Mai-Bangkok).

We took the same type of train that we traveled to Bangkok from the airport on the first day we arrived. The journey to Ayutthaya about 1 hour 40 minutes that passing thru the paddy fields was really fascinating. The early morning breeze was not so hot and the golden ray of the sun was just nice for the journey. The train was quite empty with very few passengers. The food sellers that get in and down from the train started their daily business walking pass to sell their products, that remained me the first time I traveled by Thai rail. Their voice like a singing tone, flowing from one end of the train to the other end, so soft and sweet. I would say Thai is one of the most soft and beautiful languages in the world.

Without realizing, we reached Ayutthaya at about 8.40am; the helpful and good-looking train police officer came and remained us of our destination. I really felt warm-hearted. We left our luggage at the train station for 10B each bag. Then, we crossed the road and came to one of the restaurants nearby for our breakfast. It was really a peaceful, lazy and relaxing town, suitable for a break after a long hassled working life in big city. Next, we rented bicycles to tour around the town. The shop lady showed us where to locate those beautiful temples around on the only left map she had.

The first temple we visited was Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol, after cycling of about 4km from the train station. I was really tired, as I was not used to cycle for long and my skill was really lousy! The temple was really wonderful with beautiful landscape gardening. The next stop was Wat Phanan Cheong, which is located on the riverside. We didn’t visit this temple but entering the compound to reach the pier next to it for crossing the river. The sky was cloudy and didn’t look good. We paid 5B each to cross the river together with our bicycles via motorboat. We had to carry our own bicycles onto the boat. The other side of the river stands a pavilion where we decided to take a break as the sky was about to rain. The huge compound of Wat Phanan Cheong was really fascinating viewing from the pavilion cross the river.

We continued our journey to Phraram Park. We had to stop at one of the pavilions inside the park away from the main road as the rain poured heavily. The park was beautiful with the ruin temples as the background and rivers flew in between. The atmosphere was really peaceful and relaxing. We felt like being transformed to the past by time machine where the great royal city of Ayutthaya was found about 600 years ago.

After the rain stopped, we had a photo stop at the Wat Thammikarat and continued our journey to Wat Phra Si Sanphet. We didn’t enter Wat Phra Si Sanphet but just took a picture of it from outside. We saw the tourists riding the elephants and toured around the temples near Wat Phra Ram. Unfortunately, we had problem with the tyre of one of our bicycles. We searched around but unable to locate any bicycle shop to repair it. We had to send the bicycle for repair via tuk-tuk and the rest cycled and waited at Wat Ratchaburana. Luckily we had walkie-talkie for communication. We managed to gather the member who went to repair the bicycle with the rest. We parked our bicycles at the entrance of Wat Ratchaburana and walked across the road to get something for refreshment at one of the restaurants there.

The golden ray of sunset shined the ruin temples in Ayutthaya like covering them with a layer of golden silk. We continued our visit to Wat Mahathat, the well-known temple where a Buddha head around which tree roots have grown.

On the way back, we stopped at the town center and had our dinner at the Chao Phrom Market. The food there was really tasty and big serving, of course cheap! The locals were very friendly and nice. The sky was dark and we had to rush for the train. We took the shower at one of the guesthouses opposite the bicycle renting shop for 20B a person. We then waited for our train to Chiang Mai at the railway station, which operates 24 hours daily. The luggage room of the railway station was not really safe enough. We were inside the room and tidying up our staff, while there were many other bags and rucksacks around. I wondered as whether the railway station staff knows which bags belonged to us, what if we opened up other bags or took away other bags? Not one would know, I believed.

Our train was delay for about an hour due to some technical problems to the train. A nice, tall and good-looking railway police officer came to advise us on the problems and guided us on which train that we should take. The night train to Chiang Mai was really a long one with many cars that the platform of Ayutthaya Railway Station could not accommodate. Our car was number 14 that almost towards the end. We had to run down from the platform and waited at the side of the railway track. The train was passing by us before it stopped; it was really dangerous and exciting. The gap between the stairs of the train and the ground was about 3 feet height! We had no choice but tried our best to jump up to the train with our bulky rucksack on our back! Really amazing!

The night was a tiring and sweet one; all of us had a nice rest over the night in the train.

[View Ayutthaya Photos]


DAY 3: 16 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

Early morning after a simple wash up in the train, we walked from one end of the train to the other end to observe what other people doing and how they looked like. Friends of mine had card games while I enjoyed talking with another friend. The train passed by the dry forest. The air was rather dusty and hot.

Upon arrival at the Chiang Mai Railway Station, I approached the information counter. Apparently, the staffs at the counter were actually the staffs of the local travel agents. They were suggesting some hotels or guesthouses with reasonable pricing. They even sent us to the hotel for inspection free of charge. We then decided to stay in Winner Inn Hotel that they gave a promotional price of 400B a room a night. The rooms were really good with air-cond and attached bathroom with hot water shower. Friends of mine were really like the room that shown by the hotel staff. The lady who sold us the rooms, Nim, also persuaded us to take up a tour in Chiang Mai. After some discussions, we agreed to go for a day trip to Maetaman Rafting & Elephant Camp to see the elephant shows, ride the elephant and visit the Lisu hilltribe, go for a bamboo rafting, and also visit a elephant dung paper factory and orchid farm en-route. The tour cost us 800B a person. We were also given a free half-day tour to visit the cottage industries around Chiang Mai.

We quickly took a bath and had our lunch at the nearby food stall before the half-day tour in the afternoon starting at 1pm.

A local Chinese old lady who worked at the counter of the hotel, quietly offered us a dinner and night show at a cheapest price of 190B whereas the same offered by the travel agents cost about 400B. We were impressed of the help offered by the old lady and without any doubts we agreed to pay the price and there would be a van to pick us up for the dinner and show at 7pm. She even asked us not to disclose this to the travel agent staff.

The half-day tour was not really fascinating. The driver didn’t do any commentary on Chiang Mai and its cottage industries instead drove us to the various factories and showrooms, hoping to earn his commission at the end of the tour. The driver drove us to the lacquerware factory where the plates, containers, utensils and other items decorated with eggshell. Next, we visited the gems factory, silverware factory, umbrellas factory, woodcarving & furniture factory, and lastly the textiles factory before sending us back to hotel.

We were too tired and took a rest in our rooms after the tour. About 7pm, the reception called and told us that our van is waiting downstairs. There were two German ladies already in the van who were going for the dinner as well. The restaurant was a hug wooden traditional house decorated with local northern region architecture design. There were five long tables that can easily accommodate 20 persons on one side, arranged vertically with the stage in front. There were not many people that night. Foods served on the table with portions for four persons of each dishes. There were fish, chicken, pork and vegetables with rice. Foods can be replenished on request. The shows started while we were still having our dinner. There were fingers dance, drum, traditional music, and some other northern region traditional dances.

Some of us felt that we were cheated. They believed the dinner and show offered by the travel agents that cost much higher should be a grand and nicer place than what we had that night. However, based on the price we paid, I personally quite comfortable with the service and foods provided. I’m an easy-going person after all.

The van sent us to the Night Market after the dinner and show. We walked around and observed what was there in the night market and what are the things that we would like to buy. Some of us started their shopping without any delay, as they said it was irresistible. Most of the items sold here are handicrafts and clothes.

On our way back to hotel, we stopped at one of the Internet shop that offered the cheapest we could ever find in town, 15B per hour! Some of us sent back their messages to their family members.


DAY 4: 17 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

Early morning, we went to one of the restaurants on the main road near our hotel for breakfast: rice with 3 dishes cost only 20B, very cheap!

While waiting for our van to pick us up for the day trip, some of us sent our clothes for laundry. My long pants cost 25B for the service, rather too expensive!

The English speaking tour guide, Ning came to greet us at the hotel lobby. He led us to the elephant training camp north of Chiang Mai. He was friendly, nice and humor. Some of our members started asking him some questions on where to buy books, VCDs, DVDs and even the best massage center in town. I was fallen asleep during the journey to the elephant camp, as I was really tired. I lost my voice since I was in Ayutthaya due to the hot and dry weather in Thailand, and I kept on drinking water like nobody business. I spent quite a lot of money on buying the mineral water.

The Maetaman Rafting and Elephant Camp located in the middle of the jungle. Amazingly there were lots of Whites at the entrance area and having photograph section with the elephants. While waiting for the elephant bathing time, we went to the washrooms. I like their washrooms, which were surprisingly very spacious and clean.

According to our tour guide, an elephant can easily consume about 250kg of food and 18 gallon of water a day. For those who interested, an elephant can be sold at 400,000B. Next, we went to the riverside to see how elephants taking their bath. The elephants splashed water on the tourists while walking back from the river. It was really fun seeing people running away from the elephants. The elephant shows started right after the bathing time. Tourists were well seated under the shelters built by bamboos. We saw how elephant played harmonica, standing on two legs, played basket ball and even foot ball, massage, painting and so on. It was really amazing! But one thing really spoilt my mood was that the elephants were trained to collect tips from the tourists after the show!

Next, we proceeded to elephant riding. It was not really fascinating, as I had experienced it once in Nepal. The jungle was too dry, the trees didn't look greenish and the surrounding looked very dusty. Most of the teak trees were cut down for commercial purpose, therefore the jungle no longer as thick as it was.

We then stopped at the Lisu village. Again, it was another round of shopping of handicrafts. The hilltribe people were wearing their own customs and selling their handmade products. We spent quite a lot of time there bargaining the price.

On the way back to the camp, we rod the white-ox-carts and passing thru the local village. We had our buffet lunch upon arrival at the restaurant in the camp. After the lunch, we went for bamboo rafting. The river was flowing very slowly and the water was really cool. We dipped our legs into the water and felt the natural coolness flew into our body and revived our spirit. I like the environment, so peaceful and relaxing.

Next, we boarded our van and proceeded to Thaimitts Elephant Dung & Natural Fiber Paper factory and showroom. Here, we saw the whole process of how the elephant dung turned into pieces of papers; from cleaning, boiling, dyeing, to drying under the sun. We even saw the various end products from this recycling process of elephant dung at their showroom. This idea was really fantastic; it is really an environmental friendly process!

Before heading back to our hotel, we stopped at an orchid and butterfly farm. Our tour guide explained to us on how orchid grew from the seed in the sealed bottle before they were transferred to the pot. The compound was not really big but we saw variety of different kind of beautiful orchid flowers grew in the farm.

At night, we had our dinner at the food court in Night Market. The food was not really good as what we expected. After the dinner, some of us went to search for the best massage center recommended by the tour guide. A friend of mine and I went to the biggest bookstore in town: Suriwong Book Center, which is very near to the Night Market. Unfortunately, they already closed at 7.30pm. We then walked towards the old town to look for other bookstores and VCD or DVD stores along the way.


DAY 5: 18 March 2004 CHIANG MAI

We had our breakfast in one of the restaurants next to Night Market, which is very Chinese looked and situated at the corner of a junction. Friends of mine who eagerly looked for the best massage center in town were not able to locate it last night; therefore they planned to go there again in the morning. The one who recommended by our tour guide as well as some other people, the best massage center in town is Red Elephant. The friend of mine and I went to Suriwong Book Center again. It was a well-decorated modern bookstore. I managed to buy a book on Chiang Mai and the hilltribes. We then walked to the old town area and looked for other bookstores.

Before noon, as we had to cheak-out from the hotel at 11am, we left our luggage at the hotel and continued our exploration of the old town and visited the oldest temple in Chiang Mai: Wat Chiang Man. We had our late lunch at Aum Vegetarian Restaurant, it was a restaurant cum bookstore; ones could enjoy meals while reading/browsing the books of interest.

We walked back to the hotel to get our luggage and caught a sawngthaew to the railway station. The ride was extremely cheap, i.e. 10B per person as compared to the offered from the old lady at the hotel who charged us for 200B to get a van for us. Upon arrival at the train station, it was very close to the departure time. Some of us ran to the opposite 7-11 store across the road to buy some bread and snacks for our dinner on the train.

We met a local Chinese businessman and an undergraduate student of Chiang Mai University on the train.

[View Chiang Mai Photos]


DAY 6: 19 March 2004 BANGKOK

We had to wake up early in the morning, as the train will reach Bangkok at about 6.15am. We approached the information counter in Hualamphong Railway Station upon arrival; the lady over the counter showed us the direction of where to get the bus and the bus number to Khao San Road. We went to the left hand side of the train station but were unable to locate any bus stop along the road. Suddenly, we saw the bus came and stopped right after the corner near the entrance to the railway station and picked up few passengers. There was no bus stop sign available. We missed the bus, so what we do was to wait for the next bus at where the previous bus stopped and picked up the passengers. There were few Whites waiting for the bus too, so I guessed this must be the place and I assumed we were going to the same place too. Meanwhile there were many taxi drivers came to offering us their service, as the taxi stand was just opposite to where we were waiting.

The next bus came after few minutes and the ride was extremely cheap, only 4B per person! The bus passed by the Chinatown area and the places of interest such as Grand Palace and Sanam Luang. We went to look for our accommodation nearby Khao San Road in a quiet and peaceful lane where full of budget hotels and guesthouses. God knows why, most of the guesthouses were fully occupied and rooms were only available after 12pm checkout time. No advance booking available, we had to come back and check.

We had our breakfast at the roadside stall in a small lane where an old lady selling pork porridge. The porridge was really tasty, or maybe we were too hungry. We finally decided to stay in Sawasdee Krungthep Inn where at least they still have a quad share room available and would reserved a double room for us after the checkout time. We took turns for taking our bath in that room and at the same time the hotel staff gave us another vacant room but only for taking bath. I wondered why the hotel staff didn’t give us the room instead, maybe the room was mean for certain purpose or maybe that room had some kind of unexplainable objects inside. God knows!

We left our luggage inside the room and went to Grand Palace to meet the friend of mine who stayed back in Bangkok. I led them the way; stopped at the Bangkok Tourist Bureau to get some information and useful leaflets and maps, then passing thru the Thammasat University, Maharaj Market and Amulet Market before reaching the entrance to Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace. I saw my friend from far, who standing in front of the entrance; I felt released.

He was robbed the day before in the middle of the street, crowded with people on the road in Silom area. He had the unpleasant experiences where little helps available. However, he was lucky that someone give him some money to spend till he met us. I led him to our hotel via taxi while the rest went into the Wat Phra Kaew first; we then met again later.

The Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace would be closed at 3.30pm, we had little time to explore the fascinating and beautiful architectural of the buildings and the Buddha images. Next, we proceeded to Wat Pho. I really enjoyed listening to the metal sound made from the bowls when coins dropped into them. The environment was really peaceful and quiet. The huge declining Buddha layered with orange silk cloth looked very amazingly.

On our way back to our hotel, we walked all the way and came to Sanam Luang. There were people playing kites on this huge royal field, it was a windy season. There were lots of kites in the sky and lots of locals on the field. There were many food stalls everywhere on the field and friends of mine were really excited with the local foods, tasty and cheap!

We planned to view the sunset over the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River, however due to rain, we had to go back to our hotel. After taking our bath and rest, we went to Khao San Road area for our late dinner. We wandered around the area till midnight.


DAY 7: 20 March 2004 BANGKOK

We had our breakfast at the lane where we stayed. We really liked the particular noodle soup that cost 20B only. Then, we proceeded to the nearby tourist information booth to ask for the bus going to Chatuchak Weekend Market. The staff was very helpful and resourceful. No wonder why their tourism industry is much better than that of our country; not only the quality of the services, but also the positive attitude of the staff.

The weekend market was really huge and crowded with lots of people. Friends of mine were over excited with the cheap things sold in the market. We were walking and shopping till the market closed at about 7pm! Can you imagine, we spent the whole day in Chatuchak Weekend Market and yet, we didn’t cover the whole market; certain part of the market we didn’t have the enough time to explore!

I really admire the locals of their respectfulness attitude towards their country. At about 5pm, the national anthem played thru the speakers placed all over the market. Everyone in the market was immediately standing up straight and making no noise. We were shocked and had to follow the locals. No one dared to make a single move, seemed like the time was stopped and everybody was freeze. I really had a heavy heart after this incident; I was sad, as this seldom happen in my country, I really doubt the attitude of our people towards the country.

At night, we took the bus back and stopped at the Democracy Monument. We had group photo with the monument as the background, and it was really wonderful with the lights on. We walked all the way back to Khao San Road area and had our dinner before going back to our hotel. Later at night almost close to midnight, we went back to Khao San Road to taste the pork burger that will never be sold in Malaysia.

[View Bangkok Photos]


DAY 8: 21 March 2004 BANGKOK

After the long journey, most of my friends including me myself were terribly tired. We decided not going to Chinatown as what we initially planned. We rather waked up a bit late, and took a walk to the Santichaiprakan Park where the Phra Sumen Fort located and it was not far from where we stayed. It was a lazy Sunday morning, the Mae Nam Chao Phraya River was flowing peacefully and the water traffic was not really busy. There were very few people in the park. However, we saw a group of locals gather at one spot having some kind of local community event; we saw many people having a group hair cut together.

Before noon, we checked out from the hotel, and walked a distance with our bulky rucksacks on our back to the bus stand that to catch the bus going to airport. We all sweated like hell and had to run and jump into the bus. The bus stand was really busy with buses going for different destination; one might miss the bus if other buses block one’s sight, or the bus driver did not notice there is any passenger at the bus stand.

We stopped at the bus stand just beside the Don Muang Railway Station. We walked over the pedestrian bridge and checked in at the Air Asia counter located at Terminal 2. After paying the airport tax of 500B, we walked to the local food court. This would be our last chance of having the tasty local foods before boarding the plane.

The queue at the immigration and custom check was quite long. We really worried of getting late for our flight. Luckily, nobody was blaming and stopping us for jumping queue. I guessed Thai people are truly nice to tourist, or we were just too lucky. We were running inside the airport heading to our boarding gate. I heard the notice announced thru the speaker saying that Air Asia flight was delayed, while we were running. True enough, the arrival flight from Kuala Lumpur was delayed when we approached the counter at the entrance of the boarding gate, and our departure would have to postpone to another half an hour. Thank God, we did not miss the flight!

The time passed very fast, we safely touched down at KLIA. After the hassle of locating our luggage, there was no clear indication of which luggage belt assigned for Air Asia passengers, we had to ask and follow the instruction of the staff of where to get our luggage. It was really badly managed.

We took the KLIA Transit back to KL Sentral, and I went back home by taking the KL Monorail. About an hour after the flight touched down at KLIA, I was at home taking my bath and ready for my bedtime. I was really terribly tired both body and soul. My illness, since the second day of the trip, took about a month to recover.

Yoke Ming
22 April 2004

Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall [25 May 2003]

Where have I been recently? I went for 8 trips last year that almost everybody jealous about me. This time I don't think I can break the record, as I have just started my Master Degree (Applied Statistics) with University of Malaya since June this year. My life has changed from a irritating and hassling working life to a relaxing and enjoyable student life. The only headache I have is the challenging assignments and examinations, of course not to mention that suffer of no income as being for a full time student.

I went for a second trip to Perhentian Island in March and a return short trip to Genting Highlands in April this year (I have written the travel diary on both trips respectively). Then, in May, I joined the company's sports club who organized and subsidized day trip to Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall. In June, I took a break to Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. In August, I went to Redang Island again. The most recent trip was to Pulau Besar Johor last month.

As usual, I would like to share with you my travel experiences gained during the trips mentioned about. I hope you will enjoy reading them. As I have received some feedbacks saying that my travel diary was rather too lengthy, therefore I will try my best to cut it short and precise.

Gua Tempurong
Surprisingly I received an e-mail sent by the president of our company's sports club on organizing a day trip to Gua Tempurong and Lata Kinjang Waterfall. I did try to organize one by myself last time but due to poor response, I had to put the plan aside. The trip was really cheap as the sports club had subsidized part of the cost. Immediately I confirmed my participation of the trip.

On 25th May, I took a taxi back to office in Segambut our departure point at about 6 o'clock in the morning. I was the third person who reached before the departure time, however most of the participants, as usual being a common Malaysian, were late. The response of the trip from the staff was rather too disappointed, as most of the participants were friends of our staff; there were less than 10 staff that joined the trip whereas the rest are outsiders. The trip was initially organized for the benefits of the staff but as expected nowadays there were not many people like to go on such adventurous activities.

The journey to Gua Tempurong was quite comfortable as we were using our company's luxury coach and traveling on the North-South Highway known as one of the best in the world. I was falling asleep during the coach journey in order to retain my energy for the cave exploring activities, as I did not have a good sleep the night before.


It was used to be a very narrow and rocky path leading to Gua Tempurong from the main road last time, but just recently the State authority had opened up another entrance by building a tarred road and also a spacious car park area in order to promote this place. We equipped ourselves with the necessity for the cave exploring and waiting for our turn to go into the cave. It was quite many people visiting the place that day. A local guide for the cave exploring led us the way to climb all the 5 platforms and return by river; we took the Top of the World and Short River Adventure Tour which would take about 2 and a half hours journey. The formation of the rocks inside this limestone hill was fascinating. The journey climbing up hill was quite comfortable as there were walkways and platforms have been built up to the last platform so called Top of the World. There were some lights in the cave along the walkways but we still have to depend on our torchlights to have a better look on the rocks.

It was really amazing, the cave was huge and well preserved with lots of rocks formation and furthermore the cave was clean and not smelly! It was used to be a tin mining area long time ago and later on it became a hiding place for the communist last time, and now it becomes one of the famous places of interest. The authority used an Australian engineer to build the walkways and platforms inside the cave last time and the construction work cost billions of dollars and the State government is now still repaying the loan.

The local guide was humor and knowledgeable. We had a very pleasant trip inside the cave. He showed us a lot of the nature painting works and the amazing formation of rocks. There was one huge rock looked like a long hair pregnant woman but our guide said it looked more like a fat woman to him. He even showed us how a monkey driving a car, a dinosaur killed itself by hanging itself with a rope, human faces, and so on. At one time, he asked whether we were interested to see how a hairy leg looked like, when we were so excited to see more things, he pointed his torchlight to the guy who standing beside him and say: "this is how it looks like!"

While we were sweating during the climb, our guide told us that we would soon enjoying the cool natural air-cond when we reached somewhere. Amazingly when we went into a tunnel, a very strong cooling wind blew to us from one side of the tunnel to the other side. It was non-stop blowing and we were really enjoying the cool breeze. This phenomenon was due to the difference of the air pressures in the cave.

Our guide also showed us that there was holy water dropping from the limestone and people believed that whoever touched the water would gain good luck. There was also a living stone that is still growing and its substance is totally different from the rocks around it. We even saw the real crystal on a big rock standing in the middle of the cave, sparkling like a Christmas tree. There was also holy water raised from the ground and people believed that by applying the water on one's body, that person would be younger by 3 years, but the water shouldn't applied on one's face. I did follow the guide said to touch and apply these holy waters. True enough, I got good luck when we were at the Top of the World, i.e. platform no. 5. One of my colleagues picked up something paper liked from the ground and showed it to me, as I have the headlamp to see what actually she found. Guess what, RM 1.00 note! We shared the money that we both believed it was due to the good luck from holy water.

At the last platform, we could actually touch the ceiling of the cave; this is the highest point of the cave. Right after this, we had to go down hill and there would not be anymore well-built walkways or platforms. We had to move on in the dark with the little help of our torchlights. There was a slope of 50 meters height. Every one of us, no matter what, had to slide down the slope one-by-one. It took 3 steps before one could safely touch down, and each step we needed one person preferable a gentleman to be placed there to support the participants when sliding down the slope. It needs teamwork for accomplishing the task. Quite a number of ladies were so scared to slide down the slope. We had to use psychology tactics to pursue those who scared. The guys were looked okay but I knew they were pretending in front of the girls. In fact, the slope was dangerous. One crash would probably caused a serious injury and it would also difficult to carry the patient out of the cave.

The mission of sliding down the slope was rather time consuming especially for a big group like us. At the end of the mission, we had to get in a hole on the ground that only one normal adult width; it would be difficult for a fat guy passing thru it. Our guide was at the bottom of the hole to support us. Again, one-by-one we let the ladies passing thru first. After getting down into the hole, the river journey started.

At first, we were trying to avoid stepping on the water but later on every one of us had to dip our body into the water in order to pass thru some narrow tunnels. We had to be aware of passing thru the stalagmites and stalactites inside the tunnels. One could easily injure by those rocks if not careful. It would be difficult for passing thru certain tunnels if it were rainy season where the water level of the river would be very high. At the end of the journey, everybody was wet.

At one time when we rested at the riverbank in the tunnel, the guide asked us to switch off our torchlights and sit tight to feel the total darkness. We saw nothing; it was no difference of close or open our eyes. We could only listen to the sound, sound of water flowing and dripping. Nobody said anything; it was totally quiet and very peaceful, it seemed like you were the only person in the tunnel. When the next group approaching, we could only see the rays of lights searching everywhere and the noise passing thru the tunnel. We had to move on while the next group of people was catching up.

My shoes were filled with water and sands. Before leaving the cave, we washed off the sands from our shoes and took a rest on the surface of rocks at the riverbank. Our guide was busy counting the number of people in our group in order not to miss out anyone. According to him, it was not surprising that there would be additional persons in a group after the journey. I hoped he was just kidding then.

The changing and shower facilities were rather too rundown. The old half wooden and half concrete building with huge water container on top with not well-maintained sinks, wall and floor. The water taps were dripping and the shelves were either dirty or broken. Anyway, we just wanted a place to wash of the dirt from our body and change our clothes.

Next, we proceeded to a small town, Kampar for our late lunch. We had "bread chicken", curry and Chinese herbs flavours, the famous dishes in the town. The chicken was first cooked in either curry or Chinese herbs then wrapped with paper. It then baked inside the bread. The taste of curry chicken was quite nice but not the one with Chinese herbs, I guessed it was not cooked long enough for the fragrances of the Chinese herbs. The dishes had to be ordered before hand otherwise we had to wait for a very long time for the restaurant to prepare. The restaurant was then full of customers and luckily we had already reserved the tables.

We continued our journey to the next point: Lata Kinjang Waterfall.

Lata Kinjang Waterfall
The waterfall was very well known and had been seen by most of the people who used the North-South Highway traveling between Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh. It looked very beautiful far from the highway but the path going to the waterfall was not easy, it would be flooded during rainy season. There was no parking area and all the vehicles had to be parked on both side of the path. It was a crowded place during weekends and we had to park our coach far away from the entrance. No admission fee for the visitors but the villagers collected a token for looking after the vehicles that parked at the roadside. There were many little hawker stalls alongside the road selling snack foods, soft drinks, fruits and even swimming clothing.

The place was rather rundown and crowded with the local people. We walked further up hill to look for a place with lesser people. There was a hanging bridge that linked both sides of the river. The view of the waterfall was really fascinating and magnificent, the sound was very loud and I was attracted with the waterfall, it was very tall and huge!

Surprisingly there were people everywhere! Some of us dipped into the cooling water and the rest just hanging around at the riverside or at the side of the waterfall. I liked the moment when I sat on a surface of a huge rock in the middle of the river looking straight at the waterfall and listened to the sound of the water that surrounded me. I enjoyed the cool breeze that flew on me. It was a peaceful moment that I couldn't find it in a big city like Kuala Lumpur.

The toilet and bathroom facilities at that area were very unacceptable. One who used the facilities might get nightmare. I noticed that there were many people changed their clothes or pissed behind the bushes at the area beside the waterfall or riverside. Anyway, who would know if one decided to piss while dipping in the water? That was one of the reasons why I didn't get into the water.

Later we proceeded to another small town, Bidor for a comfort stop. The town was famous with local snack foods and fruits. I liked the noodle cooked with duck meat and herbal soup at one of the restaurant that well known with this dish. The restaurant was crowded with customers and we had to wait for a very long time for our orders. It was supposed to be a short stop but end up we wasted a lot of our time.

We reached Kuala Lumpur at night. I was really tired and sleepy taking the LRT back to my home. It was really a wonderful day trip.

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Gua Tempurong & Lata Kinjang Photos]

Sunway Lagoon Theme Park [1 June 2003]

The sales and marketing team of the properties had a very special promotion rates for the staff of travel agents in conjunction with their special promotion of their newly renovated water-park facilities. I was the first person who asking for the purchase form entitled for the special rates. However, the response was very poor and there was only one colleague that following me.

On 1st June morning, we took a public bus. There was a big crowd of people in front of the entrance and a very long queue of people waiting at the ticket counters. Luckily we were staff of travel agents with a special rates form and I dealt with the counter staff at the group ticket counter. It was a public holiday and I guessed there was lack of manpower I was waited for my all parks entrance tickets for quite a long time. However, as compared to those who lined up at the ordinary ticket counters, I was really lucky (working as a travel agent staff)!

The day was still early, not many people yet entering the theme park. We were among the first batch of people playing all the rides. We didn't waste so much time for lining up. There were still the same rides in dry-park and I didn't play all of them as I had already played them once last time. Nothing was new then.

About noon, we went down to the water-park. All the newly renovated water rides needed a tube that rented from the counter. We didn't play the rides, as there were crowded with people and long queue for the rides. We were only relaxing ourselves at the man-made surf wave pool known as the largest in the world. It was a hot and sunny day.

We did not spend the whole day at the theme park as the sky was very cloudy in the afternoon and looked like it would rain anytime. Furthermore, the theme park was crowded with people everywhere we went. We decided to leave the theme park earlier and hanging around at the annex shopping mall, the Sunway Pyramid. Again, people everywhere, almost all corners!

It was just a break from the routine irritating and hassling working life in the office. I just wanted to have a place to shout (release my tension) and relax. A day trip to such theme park would be just wonderful. However, this is not the right way of handling the long accumulated tension from our daily pressure of work. Something has to be done to avoid such tension otherwise it could be turned into a disaster later on. Therefore, I had made a change for myself; a better opportunity for my future instead of suffering of what I was doing then.

Yoke Ming

8 Nov 2003

Redang Island [15 ~ 18 August 2003]

This was the first trip since after I had resigned and being a full time student. A close friend of mine asked me to join their group going to Redang Island as his sister having free stay coupons at Berjaya Redang Beach Resort, the only 5-star resort on that island. We only had to pay the transportation and meals. I had heard a lot about the beauty of this resort especially its private beach. Without any further thought, I grabbed this golden opportunity that only come once.

Thirteen of us heading to Kuala Terengganu, the jump off point for the resort on Redang Island, on 15th August night by express bus. I finished my class at 9pm that night and rushed back for a light meal and a quick wash. Then, with my rucksack and a bottle of water I went to Puduraya Bus Station to meet my friend. It was a hot weather and I sweated like hell. The bus journey was quite comfortable as it was VIP seating however the air-cond was too cool that everyone had to wear layers of clothes or even cover themselves with towels. The hero, me, as usual put on nothing extra the whole journey. I felt quite okay almost the whole journey. In fact, I was rather too lazy to dig out my clothes from my rucksack underneath my legs in the dark. I was shivering when getting down the bus at the Tanjong Bus Station, Kuala Terengganu the next morning.

We had our breakfast at one of the stalls right behind the bus station. Once again, I had the famous local rice: "nasi dagang" with delicious fish paste mixed with chilies, which I really missed them. We then had a short walk to the nearby jetty where we going to board the speedboat to Redang Island. We registered at the Berjaya office located at the jetty and left our luggage at the office so that we could visit the morning market nearby. We bought some fresh fruits and mineral waters there. The market was very busy with people around, the sellers and buyers, and of course the visitors like us.

The boat departed punctually and the journey took about one hour. We were welcomed by the staff of Berjaya Redang Beach Resort and the goat shits at the end of the jetty upon arrival and before boarding the shuttle bus. The journey from the jetty to the resort was quite far, about 15 minutes driving on a countryside road passing thru some small settlements.

The rooms were nice but the facilities were not adequate for local tourists like us. It was a wonderful quite place for relaxing ones soul and body but unfortunately they were having a huge construction of new chalets on one side of the beach. The unwanted noise from the construction site was the only disturbance to our holiday there.

Without further delay, we went down to the beach and it was really attractive! Beautiful beach with crystal clear water and snow-white fine sands, I would regret if I ever miss out this place in my life of traveling. I snapped many pictures on the beach during my stay there. The pictures that I took turned out amazingly wonderful and lovely.

During our stay in Redang, it always rained heavily in the afternoon. For a period of 3 days / 2 nights stay was rather too short to enjoy the lovely sunshine and beautiful sea. The beach was too clean till I hardly could find one seashell. However, the feeling of stepping on those soft sands was fantastic and I really missed it. The sands were so fine and white that looked no different with pepper powder. One might misused it for cooking dishes.

The next day morning, my friends they went for a round island snorkeling trip, quite reasonably cheap. I didn't join them but I went for sunbathing on the beautiful beach. The resort had plenty sundecks and little shelters arranged in two rows alongside the beach and all facing the sea, one may not have problem looking for the idea one. The beach was really quite and peaceful, enjoying sunbathing under such environment would be lovely. However, the noise from the nearby construction site was really unacceptable.

At night, we just wandered around the beach or in the resort, listening to the live band, playing mahjong or board games, or just simply rest on the sundeck on the beach looking at the sky, searching for the biggest and the most shining stars and viewing the beautiful moon.

The last day morning, right after the breakfast we had to rush for the first speedboat to leave the island. We took the morning express bus back to Kuala Lumpur, the timing was just right. The return journey was long and tiring. I was really bored, as I couldn't do anything in the bus beside sleeping and sleeping. I really not used to sleep in the daytime directly under the sunlight. However, due to the unavoidable circumstances, I had to follow the group.

I really wish that I could visit the beach again in future. I want a clear sky with a hot shining sun for enjoying the sunbathing, and photograph as well!

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Redang Photos]

Pulau Besar Johor [23 ~ 26 October 2003]

I had heard about this island last year, I had even seen the pictures on the Internet. I did try to plan for a trip there, however due to poor response, I couldn't make it. Now, ex-colleague of mine asking me whether to join her group for a 3 days / 2 nights package with fullboard meals and return boat transfer, quite reasonably cheap. Without any further thought, I paid her the money.

We left Kuala Lumpur on 23rd October night by a private car. Her brother drove all the way to Batu Pahat (about 4 hours driving to the south), his wife's hometown for putting up a night there then continued the journey to Mersing Jetty (about 2 and a half hours driving to the east) the next day morning. He was afraid of missing the boat scheduled in the morning if we travel all the way from Kuala Lumpur to the jetty, which would take about 5 hours driving.

The road condition from Batu Pahat to Mersing Jetty was not really good, as the State government was carrying out a construction of highway linked between Batu Pahat and Kluang that would cut down the traveling time by half after completion next year. There was a stretch of about 2.6km journey in the middle of the jungle before reaching Mersing Town was heavily under construction. The road condition was extremely bad. Otherwise we would have reached the jetty much earlier.

Overall, the driving experience was not too bad as along the journey there were signboards showing the way clearly. One could see a lot of palm plantations in this area as compared to the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia more to rubber plantations. The weather was just nice for our journey and we didn't have much problem getting the way. Thanks to our wonderful driver.

The Mersing Town was crowded with heavy traffic and visitors. The car park area next to the jetty was totally full upon our arrival. We had to park our car at the nearby stadium field. We then checked in at the resort office, just opposite the jetty on the other side of the road. We left our luggage in the resort office and went to walk around the town, as we still had some time before boarding the boat. Surprisingly, the people in town were very friendly and helpful. We managed to locate a supermarket nearby after few turning points. It was really amazing, I couldn't find any mineral water available in the whole supermarket; the shelves labeled with drinking water and mineral water was totally empty!

It was due to a public holiday and a long weekend, the visitors were dramatically increased but I guessed most of them were going to Tioman Island, which was the most famous offshore island compared to the rest. We did check with the staff of the resort that they were still having quite a number of empty rooms. The speedboat journey took about 25 minutes; the island was the nearest to Mersing jetty compared to the rest.

 
It was a sunny day. The scenery was irresistible that I couldn't stop myself snapping the pictures! The beach was not as beautiful as compared to Redang Island but the lifestyle was very much different. We could feel that the island was more towards a small village kind of lifestyle than a resort type of living. There were not much entertainment to be found and the facilities of the resort were minimum. There were no water sports, due to the restriction of being part of a marine park. There was no nightlife on the island as well.

There were many hammocks and swings hanging from the roots of the trees at the beach. There were also some tree houses for the children but it seemed strong enough to support adults too. Sleeping on the hammock or playing with the swing or having a nap on the tree house was a wonderful idea for a sunny day near the beach while enjoying the breeze from the sea. It would also be a good idea for a family gathering or activities there. There were some sundecks for those who love sunbathing.

The sands were not that fine and white as compared to Redang Island but were good enough for my expectation. People that enjoy quiet and peaceful nature environment, do nothing but just relaxing their soul and body on the island, appreciate the lazy and slow pace of lifestyle would definitely love this place. The family who set up a small stall next to the jetty selling drinks and foods also had a shelter on the beach with hammocks and chairs with a small radio playing the soft music. One could enjoy chatting with the villagers or listening to the waves and the breeze from the sea while having a glass of iced lemon tea. No one would disturb your sweet and beautiful afternoon nap at the beach. Lovely, isn't it?

We had fresh coconut juice at the stall late afternoon before our dinner (at the resort). The fresh coconuts must be ordered in advance, in order for them to climb up the trees and pluck the amount of coconuts required. They usually don't store excess coconuts, as the coconuts would not be fresh anymore the next day.

There were currently only 3 resorts on the island and the one we were staying is a luxury one, Aseania Pulau Besar Resort. The resort was decorated with lights at night and it was really so attractive and impressive. After the dinner, visitors were usually remained sitting at the cafe enjoying the peaceful moment. Most of them were usually left for their rooms very early, as there were no nightlife activities around. Most of the time, we were playing cards, till I really get tired of seeing cards again. For those who love fishing, the island was a paradise for them. One could choose to fish at the jetty or rent a fishing boat out to the sea for fishing. Island hopping was another favour activities here. We did not join any snorkeling trip cause the weather was merely unpredictable and usually cloudy at this season. We rather spent our time at the beach.

The resort was fenced, in fact others as well, to avoid the cows going into the resort. There were many cows on the island and shitted everywhere. Therefore, one had to be extra careful when walking on the path or ground outside the resort. There was no motorbike on the island as to preserve the peaceful environment. People travel either on foot or using a bicycle.

The resort had the one and only open-air Jacuzzi and a very deep swimming pool that without any stairs. A baby pool for the children was also available. A common lounge was usually crowded with those watching the TV program on football games on air at night.

The island received many Singaporean for a short holiday, also the locals. We did experience a group of locals during the first two days of our stay there making abundance of noise, shouting at each other day and night fearing that no one could ever notice their existence. They finished all the foods on the buffet line whenever the waiter was just serving the dishes. We felt like a kind of release when they finally left the island. We met a group of Singaporean who were really friendly and even invited us to join them for beach volleyball and jungle trekking. We also met another group of Singaporean who were very selfish and unfriendly that not even a smile on their face. We observed all kinds of people who visited the island; guessed this was one of the entertainments that we could find.

Another highlight of this island was plenty of seashells and dead corals. I was really enjoying collecting those tiny and beautiful seashells on the beach the morning before we left the island. I saw people found a huge seashell larger than a basketball the day before. Beware of removing those seashells, dead corals or anything that belongs to the island are prohibited under the roles and regulations of the authority concerned. However, there were still people smuggling those items without being caught.

The wet weather had caused those vehicles that parked inside the stadium field dirtied with mud. We noticed that all those affected vehicles went to the nearby patrol station for washing their cars using the waters freely without paying any cents to the properties owner. At least we pumped and paid the patrol at that station.

On the journey back to Kuala Lumpur, we stopped by another small town, Ayer Hitam. The main road of the town was crowded with people and stalls that selling local snack foods, home decoration items, soft toys and other local products. These were the highlights of this town and usually people who travel between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore would make a comfort or shopping stop here.

Before we left for Kuala Lumpur, we went back to Batu Pahat again. We had the delicious local snack i.e. "otak-otak", the minced fish meat mixed with chilies and other ingredients then cooked and smoked by using charcoal. However, according to the locals, the best "otak-otak" could only be found in the neighbour town, Muar (about 1 hour driving to the north). Friends of mine having party enjoy eating the most famous fruits in Malaysia, so called the king of the fruits, durian. Unfortunately, I don't like it.

We reached Kuala Lumpur about 10pm. I was truly tired of traveling such long journey but I enjoyed the trip, at least self-driving is more flexible than taking the public transportation.

Yoke Ming
8 Nov 2003

[View Pulau Besar Photos]

Genting Highlands [23 November 2002 & 20 April 2003]

November 23, 2002 (Saturday)

I went on a trip to Genting Highlands; return after about 10 years of last visit.

It was my initial idea that to gather few colleagues for the show entitled "1001 Nights: Sinbad" at Genting Highlands. However, under the aggressive promotion and planning from two colleagues, we were able to travel in a big group by our company coach. Meanwhile, there were also other colleagues and their family members to meet us there on their own by self-drive. I have to say this is a really great experience! Although there were some arguments and complaints raised from the time we checking-in the hotel to participating all other activities till we checking-out, and we had wasted a lot of time on waiting for others. In fact, this is an unavoidable problem when dealing with a group. Overall, we were still very happy with this trip and we really felt that the time was not enough! We have not visited all the other places!

In my mind, over the previous years of changes, Genting Highlands is no longer the same like those days. Even though I was return for a visit but everything seems unusual to me, like the first time I'm here. Over development had caused the congested and massy situation, apart from the peaceful and natural environment had been replaced by the overflowed visitors during the holidays. For me, here is nothing much different from a stressful city rather than a relaxing place of interest. Those days' memories now can only be found in the dream, what a missed!

Our coach was having a problem while going up hill on the way to Genting Highlands; it was damn slow. Luckily we had the chance to take the high-speed cable car half way not to waste our time further. The cable car was sometime near to the ground and sometime far high away, quite fast that caused me felt uneasy riding it. That night, the dancing and magic show was nice, with the beautiful dancer; colourful customs and props; lighting and sound effects were amazing! However, not all my colleagues learned to appreciate the show. After the show, together with my colleagues, we had coffee and chatting at Coffee Bean till the cafe close at midnight. We then proceeded to Genting Casino for few games before returning to our rooms. The Casino was really huge and fascinating, out of my imagination; there were lots of people and smoke around. Everyone had a serious and unfriendly facial expression that made me feel very uncomfortable; I don't feel the true happiness and joy there, but full of greediness and stupidity.

The unpleasant incident happened at the entrance to the Outdoor Theme Park had caused us dislike the management of the properties. Anyway, our happy hours were not effected after that. Unfortunately, due to lack of time, we were not able to finish all the rides in the Theme Park. Before leaving, some of us went back to Casino for the final "battle", whereas I wandered around and took photos alone. Two days one night trip was rather too short, I had not even relaxed myself to enjoy it and now I had to leave, what a missed!

We took a group photo before leaving Genting Highlands.


April 20, 2003 (Sunday)

The group photo that I still keeping in my photo album, I noticed most of the colleagues in that photo had left the company. In five months time, things changed dramatically, unbelievably and remarkably. I returned with another 6 colleagues (all of them female). I had one room of my own at Resort Hotel. Last time I was staying at First World Hotel.

Due to the deadly disease (SARS), the situation at Genting Highlands was not really overclouded like it usually does. Still many visitors but surprisingly no one was wearing mask to protect themselves from SARS, neither the hotel staff nor us. The weather was not really cool and was only 25 degree Celsius.

The ladies were enjoying themselves the whole afternoon in the Outdoor Theme Park and later on in the Indoor Theme Park when it was rain. Whereas, I enjoy being alone relaxing myself by taking a hot shower and a lazy afternoon nap. Later on, I was writing my diary in the room sitting on a chair comfortably next to the window where I could see the rain and mist outside. The peaceful and relaxing moment was the one that I long desire for and I was enjoying them whole without any disturbance.

In the evening, I met them at the Theme Park at First World Plaza. Again, I was alone enjoying myself in the "Ripley's Believe It or Not", the ladies were tired and went back to their rooms. It was really amazing experience while touring inside to read, watch and find out the unbelievable incidents happened on this Earth and its people. I learn a lot for this, it was like an eye-opener to me. It was fun!

At night after the dinner with my colleagues, I went back to room to continue writing my diary and watching the TV programs till I fell asleep.

Next day morning, it was very misty and light rain; I hardly could see the other buildings outside the window. We had very simple breakfast in the room, i.e. self-made sandwiches and 3-in-1 hot drinks. We left the hotel about noon.

Well, Just a break! That's what I want.

Yoke Ming
5 May 2003

[View Genting Photos]

Perhentian Islands [8 ~ 12 March 2003]

After 5 months since the first visit to Perhentian Island, I returned with my colleagues (8 of us in total; 4 guys and 4 girls) on 8 March 2003, Saturday night. 2 guys traveled from Kuantan and the rest including me traveled from Kuala Lumpur. We all then met at Kuala Besut next day morning.

There was a slight delay due to one of our colleagues was late for the bus. We had tried very hard to persuade the driver in order to wait for her. Otherwise, the bus would leave without her and she had to find her own way to Perhentian Island.

The bus journey from Kuala Lumpur was quite comfortable as this time we were traveling by e.Budaya 1st Class, VIP seating, spacious and comfortable. The driver, as usual, drove very fast. We stopped once in the middle of nowhere for about one hour. Usually the comfort stop is only for half an hour, God knows what’d happened, this time the bus was delayed.

We reached Jerteh Bus Station at about 5:30am (usually is at about 4:30am). Everyone was looking for the washroom but unfortunately the toilet was not yet opened. There were few "kereta sapu" (non-commercial private car) were waiting at the station and the drivers were offering the ride for RM5.00 per person to Kuala Besut. We rather felt that the fee for a 15-minute drive journey is quite expensive and we preferred to wait for the public bus that costs only RM1.20 per person. Not long later, a van driver came to approach us and offered us a ride for a fee of RM3.00 per person. As we were quite tired waiting and the price was not so bad, we decided to take the offer and there go our journey. The driver was driving quite fast like he was in Formula One race. The cold morning breeze blew to our face, freezing cold. To me, it was like a relief and I could feel that we were closer to Perhentian Island – My dream island.

Bubu Inn was not yet opened when we reached Kuala Besut. We had to wait at the nearby a small Chinese restaurant for a cup of hot drink, the 2 guys were there already. At the meantime, we were also trying to contact the staff of Bubu Inn via mobile phone. At one time, I was in front of the door of Bubu Inn, almost to bang the door to awake whomever inside, but I didn't because I don't want people caught me and sent me to the nearby police station. After a while, we managed to get the staff to open the door for us. We were then given rooms for washing up and rest till the boat transfer at 9:30am.

The sky turned bright. I brought my colleagues to cross the Besut Bridge (a rather huge bridge as compared to the small and tiny fishing village of Kuala Besut) and had our breakfast at the Malay restaurant that I visited last time. This time we bought beers and mineral waters from one of our colleagues' family operated traditional small drugstore next to the bridge on our way back to Bubu Inn.

Together with a young couple, we walked on a short distance from Bubu Inn to the jetty to board our speedboat. The boat journey was rather bumpy but we were quite enjoyed it. Upon reaching the shore, the rain started. We were then transferred by two small motorboats so call water taxis to the beach.

I rather felt irritated checking-in under such condition; I felt my whole body was sticky with wet shirt and sands stuck on legs, water dripping from my hair and the air was hot and humid. Luckily, it was not peak season and the rooms were mostly empty. We got our rooms without any delay. The guys were given a room on the top floor (2nd floor) whereas the girls were given the one on 1st floor.

Right after we settled down and tried to take a rest in the room, the rain stopped. Like usual, I don't really want to waste my time sleeping on a comfortable bed in the room while I could have done so many things out there. I decided to walk alongside the beach, to take some beautiful pictures and to observe how people spent their time at the beach.

The wind was still strong and the waves were still very rough. I could see people doing bodysurfing and few having sunbathing. The sky was cloudy and it was really not interesting. The beach was laid with rubbish that brought by the monsoon. I rather felt a little disappointed. Anyway, since I was here, I should take my own sweet time to enjoy the peaceful and relaxing moment here and forgot about the irritating and hassling working life at the office.

Lunch at one of the beachfront local wooden restaurants was wonderful. Under the shade of a beach umbrella, having local food and drink while enjoying the view of the beach, indeed, a very good experience. We did not have to worry about the time passed and we did not have to rush for our lunch, everything was on slow pace, what we could do was sit back and enjoy the lazy afternoon.

After the lunch, rest for a while, the beautiful sea was irresistible and we then jumped into the water and played with the waves.

After the shower, one of my colleagues would like to go over the other beach of this island. I led the way passing thru the jungle, going uphill and downhill before reaching Coral Bay. Amazingly the sea was calm there as compared to the rough sea at Long Beach (where we were staying at Bubu Long Beach Resort). The life here was much simple and quite.

The weather was not so good for a beautiful sunset here. We did not spend so much time at Coral Bay. We went back to Long Beach and took a rest at the beachside before dinnertime.

Our dinner was at another wooden restaurant slightly away from the beach. I guessed the food was nice as the restaurant was almost full with customers and all of them were Caucasian. The menu was rather more choices on western food than the one we had for our lunch. The decoration of this restaurant was really attractive; fishing net hanging on the ceiling, leaves on the wall, each tables decorated with straw mat and a small vase with flowers. The smell from nearby barbecue was our appetizer. The food was served in a generous portion. The dinner was really good and my stomach was really full.

After the dinner, we had a walk alongside the beach in the dark. We were wondering as why there were not much of people on the beach during daytime but most of the restaurants here were full of people in the nighttime. We returned to Bubu Long Beach Resort and my colleagues had card games near the beach. I was rather too tired and went to bed.

Unfortunately, one of my colleagues was snoring all night long. I didn't have a good sleep then. The next day morning, on 10 March 2003, the sky was cloudy and it was raining outside.

Our breakfast at Bubu Long Beach Resort was rather simple; toasted breads with butter or jam, two sausages, two slides of pancake with honey, some baked beans with tomato paste, coffee and tea. We were sitting and chatting at the restaurant to enjoy a relaxing, peaceful and beautiful morning. Later in the morning, one colleague of mine and I had our sunbathing on the sundecks. The sky was still very cloudy, not much of sunlight. However, we still could feel the heat.


Time for lunch was a headache to choose which restaurants to dine. At another two storey wooden restaurant with wonderful decoration we had our simple lunch. The lampshade was like a bird net, the ceiling decorated with fishing nets and some beautiful plants in front of the restaurant. However, the food was rather too oily. I had a stomach upset after the meal.

In the late afternoon, after the shower, I brought a book and went down to the beach sitting on a chair beside the restaurant under the shade. I started my reading with the music from the sea and the fresh natural air condition from the sea breeze. Whenever I felt tired, I just put down my book and closed my eyes to enjoy the peaceful and relaxing moment there before I continued my reading. It was a wonderful late afternoon!

The beach volleyball match where the team members were the guests and staff was just started at the side of the resort. Interesting! Watch them playing while waiting for the sunset and dinnertime. At night, we had ghost stories while waiting for our dinner to be served. It was rather a long wait for our dinner, nobody knows what had happened but it took more than 45 minutes to prepare our dishes. We were almost starved to death when our dinner was served and the food was really tasty (maybe we were too hungry)!

We hung around the bar and restaurant area at Bubu Long Beach Resort that night, playing cards, chatting with the staff and listening to one of the staff playing guitar...

Another annoying night with snoring all night long, I had no other choice but to tolerate. Just to wish the time passed faster.

Early morning, on 11 March 2003, another cloudy sky, walking alongside the beach playing with the tiny small crabs running all over the beach, listening to the sound of waves and enjoying the cold sea breeze. What a quite and peaceful morning! Later, another simple breakfast we had. We were sitting at the restaurant till the checking-out time to catch the boat ride back to mainland at 12:00pm.

Due to the rough sea at Long Beach, we had to cross the jungle and walk over to Coral Bay to board our speedboat. There was light rain while we were crossing the jungle. With bags on our back, raindrops and sweat on our face, unwillingly we left Long Beach and walking thru the jungle. Rain stopped when we approaching Coral Bay. God knows what’d happened, our boat was not ready. About an hour later, we boarded the speedboat via water taxi that cost RM2.00 each passenger. However, due to incorrect number of passengers that the boatman supposed to pick up at Coral Bay, he had made several phone calls and waited at the Coral Bay for quite some time and later drove the boat to the Fishing Village tried to look for the two missing passengers. Finally, we had to go without further delay.

The sea was rather rough and it getting worst in the middle of the sea. The boatman was trying very hard to avoid the rough waves... The waves attacked from all directions... The sky was turning dark a heavy rain might come anytime... I was really worried and nervous as I could sense something unpleasant might happen, I started chanting (Buddhist practice) inside my heart so that nothing bad would happen to us... Sometimes the waves even higher than the boat and almost swallowed us... A wave attacked us suddenly and splashed us to wet before reaching the mainland... At last the boat escaped from the waves and sped into the river mouth where it was protected by groyne. It was really a relief... We were wet and cold...

You may imagine as how dangerous our situation was as I was told later that no fishermen were allowed to go to the sea for fishing that day, due to rough sea. We were just escaped from the hands of the devil of death.

After washing up at Bubu Inn, the Innkeeper showed us the nearest and nicest Chinese restaurant for our late lunch. Due to the rough sea, we were late for the onward itinerary, we were supposed to move on to Kota Bharu but then we decided to stay put at Kuala Besut and would take the express bus back to Kuala Lumpur from the nearby town, Jerteh. We were lucky as the bus tickets were almost sold out.

After the lunch, we walked around and to have a closer look at this fishing village. We then rested underneath a big tree near Bubu Inn till a sudden rain poured in the evening. We had no choice to leave Bubu Inn in the heavy rain in order to catch the local bus to Jerteh; there won’t be any local buses after 6:30pm. There was only one big umbrella available at Bubu Inn. We had to take turns to fetch our members one-by-one from the Inn to the bus stop opposite. However, buses that came were not going to Jerteh but Pasir Puteh. We then forced to take the taxis and move on.

While we were having our dinner at the open-air hawkers center opposite the main bus station of Jerteh town, the heavy rain poured again. The rain seemed like following us everywhere we go. Luckily, it was a short one. The bus turned up quite punctually at 9:00pm.

We had a cup of hot drink during the comfort stop in the middle of nowhere after 12:00 midnight. The cost of a cup of hot drink here was about 50% more than that of in Kuala Lumpur. Expensive! We had no choice cause the air condition in the bus was rather too cold. While we were in the sleep comfortably, God knows what’d happened the bus stopped at the roadside, and suddenly the bus driver asked us to move to the other buses. We were then divided into two different buses to fill up the empty seats whichever we could find. Nobody voiced out the dissatisfaction, as everybody was really tired of the bus journey and just followed what was instructed and wished that we could arrive our destination safely and timely.

Without knowing the bus was already entering Putra Bus Station Kuala Lumpur. Quickly we got down the bus and waited for the other bus to arrive. Later at about 6:00am, on 12 March 2003, few of us walked to the nearby LRT station to take the earliest LRT back home. I continued sleeping at home cause I was really exhausted.

Yoke Ming
6 Apr 2003

[View Perhentian Island Photos]

Perhentian Islands [5 ~ 10 October 2002]

Hello, there!

Even though I was back from my recent trip to Perhentian Islands, but I've not fully recovered from the lovesick with these islands. This is the first trip that I went alone. It was really another wonderful trip I ever had this year. As compared to Redang Island, where I went two months ago, Perhentian Islands have the most beautiful marine life with lots of fish and corals (more that those you can find in Redang Marine Park), crystal clear water and snow white fine sands, the hottest sun (for those who like sun bathing at the beach), and many lovely activities and nightlife (especially on Long Beach at Perhentian Kecil).

I was quite nervous initially as I had to travel alone; I was so afraid of any bad things happened to me along the journey. On 5 Oct.'s night, I was rushing for my bus and I had only RM60.00 in my pocket. I though I could withdraw some money along the way to Putra Bus Station. Unfortunately, it was on long queue and I could not wait for any longer. I had to catch my bus. The 9 o'clock bus was already waiting at the platform; it was a new bus and decorated with royal colour. I was so glad to have a seat in such a lovely bus but I regretted later on; the bus was speeding all the way to Jerteh and the annoying speed alarm was on for the whole night! The person who sat beside me had to be educated on how one should sleep properly on a chair. I did not have a good sleep on the bus journey that night.

After 7 1/2 hours later, I reached Jerteh Bus Station; there was only one comfort stop along the way. It was 4:30am, while I was waiting for the driver to pick me up, I saw quite a number of "kereta sapu" (non-commercial private car) waiting at the bus station and the drivers were asking around to offer a ride. Those cars were in terrible conditions, the driver charged RM10.00 per person for a transfer to Kuala Besut. But, this price will gradually decreased when the ordinary bus running to Kuala Besut started operating in the early morning. There were more and more express buses arriving as time passed, I was shocked seeing those "kereta sapu" chasing the buses from the back and stopped right beside / behind the buses; in order to get the customers fast, they drove like F1 drivers following one and others. Amazing!

I was waited for quite some times, then I made a phone call to check for my pick up. The driver was then showed up after a while; he had waited for me at the other express buses drop-off point nearby (usually is for Transnasional Express Buses). I was glad that I was given a van (bigger and newer vehicle that those of "kereta sapu") and I was the only passenger in the vehicle! The driver, Azmin was really friendly. The journey to Kuala Besut was about 20 minutes. According to Azmin, the roads to Kuala Besut usually will be flooded during Monsoon Seasons; transportation will be definitely heavily affected during the seasons.

At about 6:15am, I reached Bubu Inn at Kuala Besut. After washing up, while I was about going out for breakfast, there was raining outside. I had to wait for a while. Ten minutes before 7 o'clock, the rain stopped. I went over the Besut's bridge and looked for the restaurant (which is nearby my colleague's house) that she strongly recommended the best "nasi berlauk" in town. The food was really tasty and the fish was really fresh! However, I was overpriced, as I believed they knew I'm not the local.

The sunrise over the Besut Town was beautiful. The scenery of the Besut River and the surrounding was also very interesting. From the mainland, one could easily see the Perhentian Islands on the east. I even saw a fishing boat was stranded on the sandbank in the middle of the river; the locals were trying their level best to pull the boat back to the river.

Guess what, the town do not even has a bank! I have no way to withdraw even a single cent!

Bubu Inn has a total of 14 rooms, which consisted of 5 air-cond/seaview rooms and 9 fan/town view rooms, and a shared/common washroom each for male and female. I was sitting at the rest area till the time to catch my boat leaving at 9:00am. Together with a couple that drove all the way here, we were transferred to the new jetty for our boat journey to Perhentian Islands. The speedboat was comfortable and the journey was about half an hour.

En-route a passenger getting down at the Fisherman Village on Perhentian Kecil that gave me a closer look at this village. There was a concreted building of 3-storey school and many wooden houses. According to the boatman, they were building a road linked from this village to Long Beach. Therefore, in future, besides traveling by boat, the villagers could travel by land to Long Beach at a shorter way (currently they had to walk thru the jungle for 2 hours/way).

I was almost unable to control myself jumping into the water while our boat was approaching the Long Beach at Perhentian Kecil; oh, my God, I saw crystal clear water and the fish was swimming in it!

There was no jetty at Long Beach; therefore all passengers have to land on water before reaching the beach. I was so excited and rushed to the reception for check in. Unfortunately, they had a big group staying in-house last night; my room was not ready yet and had to wait. After about 15 minutes, I got my room. I was given the best seaview room located on the highest floor (3rd floor). My room number was 311. After taking the shower, without any waste of time, I took my camera and ran down to the beach and started to kill my films!

Bubu Long Beach Resort was situated at the northern end of Long Beach and it was the only deluxe resort on this island. There were several more budget chalets at the southern part of the beach, which were about 200m away. I had walked from one end to the other.

Guess what I saw? Topless lady laying on the beach for sun bathing! Not one, but few of them!

The buffet lunch was started from 12:30pm and the cooking was Chinese style. Be frank, the food was not really tasty. Right after the lunch I was too tired and took a nap. The first snorkeling trip was at 3:00pm. I had to pay the rental of snorkeling equipment of RM20.00 for 3D/2N package and RM30.00 deposit. They didn't have credit card facilities and therefore I had to pay cash. Guess how much money left in my pocket? RM10.00 only!

We had to swim to the nearby coral area that located about 200m away from the beachfront. Again, I had a big problem here: I don't know how to swim! Luckily, I had a very good guide who accompanying me the whole trip; he teach me how to float/stand on the water with the help of my life jacket, also on how to balance myself in the water and basic swimming skill. He even helped me to build my self-confidence in the water. I was really enjoying the trip. The guide even helped me snapping some photos on the fish and corals.

We went back to the resort at 4:30pm for tea break. I was sitting underneath a shelter enjoying the sea breeze and beautiful scenery till the time for dinner at 7:30pm. I heard there were many interesting pubs & restaurants down the beach near those budget chalets; one of them where guests had to be sit on the ground and you may dance with the disco music on. I wish I could have happy hours at those pubs but I only had RM10.00 in my pocket!

I went back to my room and read a book before falling asleep. Anyway, I still had to sleep earlier so that I could wake up earlier next morning to see the sunrise. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy. I went back to sleep till the breakfast time at 7:30am.

The second snorkeling trip was at 10:30am. This time we were going to shark point and then turtle point by speedboat. I did not see any shark as they said it depend on your luck. However, I saw big turtles at the turtle point (about 200m in front of Perhentian Island Resort, Perhentian Besar). Again, the guide helped me snapping close-up photos on those turtles.

At 12:30pm, we were back to resort for lunch. Due to low occupancy, they served set lunch. Since I was alone, I did not mind to join the staff for lunch; in fact I enjoyed having meals with them. I went to snap photos again after lunch till the next snorkeling trip at 2:30pm.

This time we went to another point to see baby shark (near to Coral View Island Resort, Perhentian Besar). There were a lot of rocks at that area, the boatman did advise us not to get close to the current. I did see many fish and corals there but not baby shark. I was following the guide and the group snorkeling around that area. Without knowing, I was pulling by the current towards the rocks and hard corals; I noticed that no matter how hard I tried to move forward but yet I felt I was pulling backwards. When I turned back and I saw I was getting closer and closer to the big rocks and hard corals. I was really afraid as I was alone and I knew I would be injured if I smashed into any of the rocks or hard corals. I tried my best to calm down and moved forward harder and harder; I could not shout for help, as the current was too strong for me to do anything but kept on moving forwards. At one time, while I was struggling, my left leg kicked into one of the hard corals; I was too close to the rocks and hard corals, I knew I was in danger then. Luckily, my hero, the guide came to rescue me. He was holding my hand and pulling me out of the current; we had moved very hard in order to get back to the boat. I was really exhausted and could only hanging at the side of the boat.

While resting at the side of the boat, I saw many fish swimming around me, various in colours, sizes and types; I was really enjoying myself then. Suddenly, I saw a jellyfish, white colour with a big blue dot in the middle, about 3m away from me. Oh, my God! I quickly climbed up the ladder and jumped into the boat. Wow, that was close!

Next, we went to another snorkeling point near D'Lagoon Chalets, Perhentian Kecil. I was too tired then and I decided not to go into the water, furthermore I had a cut in my left leg. I sat at the front portion of the boat where I could do sun bathing there. From there, I could easily see fish swimming in the water and people happily enjoying their snorkeling and playing with the water. I saw a group of divers doing their training course there too; I wish one day I could be one of them, but first I have to learn swimming!

At 4:40pm, we were on the way back to resort for tea break. I liked the way that sea breeze blowing to my face while I was sitting inside the speedboat moving on high speed. I could not explain how I felt that moment; I knew I was really happy and enjoyed it!

At 5:30pm, I decided to walk over the jungle to the other side of the island for sunset view. I had to put on my sport shoes as I had a cut in my leg. Together with a torchlight, camera and tripod inside my sling bag, I moved on alone. The entrance of the jungle walk was at the side of the entrance to Mohsin Chalets, it was a narrow path (width of one person could passing thru) into the thick jungle. At first I was afraid too, as I walked alone and there was uncertainty laid in front; I would not know I had chosen the right way. I was moving quite fast in the jungle and based on my intuition this jungle is safe. Usually the journey would take about 10 – 15 minutes, but it only took me (the first timer) 7 minutes to reach the other side; I prefer the jungle, hill & mountain than the sea.

It was totally a different beach as compared to Long Beach; According to the book, this beach, Coral Bay (or Aur Bay) has the most beautiful sunset view. The beach was short and narrow, laid with a layer of shells and dead corals. Rocky at the both end but beautiful for photo snapping. The water was not so clear as compared to Long Beach. Life here was much simple and would be very quiet at night.

While I was waiting for the sunset, I sat on a wooden bench in front a mini store and enjoying the sea breeze and the peaceful and lazy late afternoon there. Remember that I did not have enough money to buy myself a drink, otherwise I would have sitting inside one of the restaurant and/or chatting with the beautiful "Mat Salleh" ladies while waiting for the sunset. At 6:40pm, I had to leave the beach as a layer of cloud blocked the sun, there wouldn't be a nice sunset then. A little bit of disappointed, but yet I still enjoyed the waiting moment there.

I had BBQ dinner that night; I loved the seafood, as it was really fresh and big in size! I drunk a lot of water during meals time, the reason being was a bottle of mineral water (1.5 litre) cost about RM3.50 there and the restaurant would not allow guest to refill their bottle of mineral water free of charge. That was the way on how I saved my money.

I slept earlier that night, as I was tuckered out.

On 8 Oct.'s morning, I woke up at 6:00am. The sky was quite clear, I knew I could snap beautiful sunrise then. I set up my tripod and camera, sitting on a chair at the balcony waiting for the sky turning brighter. I saw the colour changed from time to time; I was attracted and amazed at the wonders of the nature.

I had decided to go for sun bathing for the whole day; I was under the sun for 4 hours (started from 8:40am) in the morning and 3 hours (started from 2:40pm) in the afternoon. I enjoyed more under the morning sun than the one in afternoon; I could take a nap / reading a book on the sundeck in the morning, but I had to go into the sea several times to cool my body down in the afternoon. I had to say the sun was the hottest that I ever had on the beach. It liked microwave to burn your skin; without knowing your skin turned into red / tan and hot! Anyway, I really enjoyed it!

As all of you knew, I don't know how to swim; I could only playing the water at the shallow water. The beauty of the beach was even you had walked about 100m away from the beach and yet the water level was still at your chest level. At this level, one could easily see a lot of fish swimming around you, they didn't afraid of human being! It was really fun! I even heard Mat Salleh ladies and children shouting and laughing while seeing the fish swimming around them.

At night, after dinner, I was sitting beside the staff and few guests at the bar watching the video show. After the show, few staff and I sitting and chatting underneath the shelter on the beach. It was really low seasons, that night they had only 6 rooms occupied (they had total of 39 rooms). The night was quiet, but I liked it; a little bit of sadness, because it would be my last night here.

On 9 Oct., the last day I stayed on the island. After breakfast, I followed two staff to go for mango plucking in the jungle. It was a cloudy morning with little rain. The waves were quite rough and the beach was very quiet. After packing my staff and walked down to the restaurant waiting for my boat back to Kuala Besut leaving at 12:00 noon, some of the staff who knew me well were wondering it was my last day here. They were suggesting me to stay on one more night but I couldn't even though I really loved to. One of the staff even bought me lunch at the nearby restaurant (Palm Tree Restaurant) right before I leaving. At last, I got to leave with a heavy heart. I was on the water taxi (motorboat) and kept on looking back; I really missed this place, very much.

For those need to onboard the slow boat (fisherman boat) or bigger speedboat has to take the water taxi from the beach (cost RM2.00 per person per way). The water traffic here was really fun! The speedboat that I took had to pick up passenger at the shore near Coral View Island Resort before going back to mainland. I was speechless all the way back and looking at the island I told myself, I shall return one day!

At about 1:00pm, I was back to Bubu Inn. The staff there gave me a room to rest. The fan/town view room has two double-deckers. I could only take a nap as the room was facing west where get the heat from the sun in the afternoon, and it was next to a bus/taxi station where on and off there were motor vehicles passing by caused the noise. I rather sat at the rest area down stair where I could get sea breeze. At 6:00pm, the driver sent me to the R&R Jerteh for my bus back to Kuala Lumpur leaving at 9:00pm. I was quite bored the whole afternoon waiting for the time passed; I had no mood to walk around the town or to the beach, cause I had the lovesick with the island!

The way back to Kuala Lumpur was a nightmare; it was an old bus and only carried 6 passengers and I was freezing cold cause I did not bring a jacket! As usual, the annoying speed alarm was on the whole night! I would strongly recommend not taking Transnasional as they have too many old buses, chances to get into one is very high. Try other buses like Mutiara or even better, e-Budaya 1st Class (where their buses are all VIP seating).

I reached Putra Bus Station Kuala Lumpur at 5:00am. I sat at the bus station till 6:00am to take the first LRT at PWTC Station back home. While waiting at the bus station, I enjoyed seeing people getting down from the buses and unloading their luggage from the compartment. I saw many bleary-eyed, washed-out faces passing by me and I also saw how people turned down the taxi driver who asking around to offer a ride.

At last I was back at home and continued sleeping on my own lovely bed. Guess what, I heard the sound of waves during my sleep!

Yoke Ming
13 Oct 2002

[View Perhentian Islands Photos]