Places We Stayed in New Zealand

Just recently my friends and I went to New Zealand for 14 days. Yes it was the longest trip we have made so far, thus made it the most lodgings we rented throughout the journey. So this entry is served for overview of our lodgings, whihch is highly recommendable for budget backpacker, or luggage-er, for that matter.

Auckland, North Island

On the first day, we were greeted with Malaysian hospitality by Kak Anita who have been staying in Auckland for quite some time. The best part is that we were welcome with mee hailam in the midnight followed with nasik lemak for breakfast. That was the warmest hospitality received from a friend before we started our journey -all on expenses. Kui kui kui..

If you choose to stay at affordable guest house run by Malaysian, Mesra Guesthouse is the best option. We were greeted from doorstep, and they were even helping and guiding us to pick the 'must-go-places' in both North and South Island.

The guesthouse is on bed and breakfast concept. All you have to do in the morning is to get dressed and  while getting ready to launch the journey of the day, the breakfast is ready on the table.

And the location is perfectly situated at a scenery neighborhood, that surely we have to snap some pics before hop on the car.

Rotorua, North Island

From Auckland, we drove to Rotorua for its attractions such as Lake Taupo, which is well known for Bungy Jump activity and its vast scenery lake. And there is also Maori Cultural Heritage Center that is worth to watch when you are in New Zealand, apart from super gorgeous scenery  surrounding the village like hot spring, geyser and etc.

It took three hours driving from Auckland, thus we decided to stay overnight in Rotorua. We were lucky to learn that budget and yet comfortable hostel like YHA hostel is available in NZ land. They have a few common areas such as kitchen complete with cutlery and cooking utensils, rest area and etc. Most importantly the premise is clean! With the cost as cheap as 20 dollar per pax per night, the value we get is very worthy.

South Island

When we reached South Island, the trip was switched to a very independent mode. We rented a campervan! It was convenience in a sense that we didn't have to do repetitive packing and unpacking stuff, not to mention the idea of lugging our suitcase everytime we reached the accommodation. So we saved our energy from that hassle.

Unlike Northen part,South Island is campervan-friendly. All you have to be prepared is to reach the campsite before midnight for safety reason.

Every night the campervan need to  be charged, which its facilities only available at holiday park or camp site.  We have selected Top 10 holiday parks throughout this trip for its extensive facilities such as kitchen, laundry and washroom. Everything about the facilities is hygiene and well-maintained that made you forget the exhaustion of long drive instantly.

About the campervan, we hired this luxury vehicle from Kea.  The daily rate varies according to specific season, and we were lucky as we hired it during off-season. Yes, there is other budget campervan available on the intenet. But being the first timer behind its wheel, we didn't want to take the chance.

So we went to a few Top 10 Holiday Parks around South Island and one of  the best is in Christchurch.

We returned to Auckland from South Island to explore the northest part of New Zealand in Paihia. Staying one night in Paihia, we chose to stay again in YHA hostels as it is located very close to Paihia town. Just purfeccttt~

The Straight Path Convention

28-29th March 2015

So I heard about this seminar and again I was attracted to go all the way to Shah Alam to join the crowd. The Straight Path Convention is mainly focus on what good deeds that we should do in efforts to go to Jannah, the roadblocks from Jannah and many topics were discussed in related to Jannah. The interesting part of this convention is that one of the speakers is a prominent daie which is well known in FB, that is Mufti Ismail Menk. 

I was supposed to be in this seminar for two days, but things went wrong somewhere, I couldn’t make it to the second day. That was so sad. Huhuh..

Nevertheless, I managed to jot down a few key take away that I believe will be worthwhile for me to  share here. Please be with my writing this time around,  I didn’t do any photo taking at all during all day. Can you believe it! Must be so engrossed with the talks, and ehem-speaker perhaps. Duh~

Topic 1 :The Straight Path to Jannah  by Mufti Ismail Menk

1)The ultimate wish a slave should have is guide to the straight path; which is one of ayah in surah al Fatihah

2)With His permission, one will be guided on the straight path that is belonged to Him

3)Not the path for those who hold the anger, or those who lead astray.

4)They are people who doesn’t know, but embarrassed to admit will misguide any person who is asking him. Those people who earn the anger of Allah swt.

5)The straight path is the quickest path, that is belonged to Allah swt. with no jaggedness.

Topics 2 : Roadblocks to Jannah by Sheikh Saaed Rageah

Things that hinder you from Janaah are ;

1)      Companions: bad friends that bring us to sin, doing haram things

2)      Women: Allah swt is testing you  through world and women. Men are very weak in front of woman.

3)      Children : they are gift from Allah swt

4)      Parents : they can be roadblocks, but they also can be easy way to paradise.

Topic 3 : Building blocks to Jannah by  Mufti Ismail Menk

Ways to fast track to Jannah

1)      Conscious to Allah swt/ Taqwa

2)      Good attitude

3)      Seek knowledge. Allah swt is looking excused to give His workshippers to Jannah. i.e female with dog story

4)      You will be granted with Jannah if you serve your parents, provided the intention is pure. Because it requires great sacrifice and patience to do it.

5)      Whoever, for the sake of Allah swt, build a mosque, you will be granted a home in Jannah

6)      Whoever goes to mosque every morning and evening, you will have place in Jannah decorated for you.

7)      Greet each other with salam genuinely

8)      Maintain you family relationship

9)      Prostrate a lot. The closest slave with Creator is when in position of prostration.

Kiddos in Mini Zoo Kemaman

21st Feb 2015


It was long weekend so I decided to bring the kids of my family to visit Mini Zoo Kemaman.

The mini zoo has been established quite some time, but only now I felt called to bring them there. Bad sistah~

Of course all of them, my baby siblings including nephew Muiz were excited upon hearing the plan!The shuttle is available at the front gate to bring us further in the main zoo area.

 

The kids were excited watching the animals they normally saw in telly like elephants, tiger, crocodiles and etc. I was amused seeing their excitement, that I wished that I brought them here earlier.Hihi.

 

We explored over one hour to cover most of the zoo area, before leaving for lunch.

Some of them are a bit smelly, ah you know~. And it was funny that my Mak couldn't bring herself to have her lunch after seeing the animals there. Kui kui kui.

The excitement prolonged, that Muiz enthusiastically told his uncles and aunties on what he saw in the zoo as soon as we reached home.

Welcoming New Year 2015 in Nepal

31st Dec-3rd Jan 2015

The new year 2015 has long since passed, but only today that I managed to write something about our recent trip to Nepal. I blame it to my severe addiction to watching Running Man nowadays. Tee hee..

 

When we arrived at the international airport,  the surrounding was crowded with many Nepali men. It was quite hard to see female Nepali around, unlike other places we went before.And seeing them who mostly were wearing dark jackets made the sight was a bit gloomy in my eyes.  It was almost the same sight when we were waiting for boarding in departure hall back in KL.  The hall felt like a gloomy place with mostly Nepali men in it wearing dark outfit. Nevermind, we wasted no time and headed straight to our first lodging at Nagarkot.

If you are wondering which part of Nepal that a Must-go, Nagarkot is certainly one of them. Apart from its location that is quite close to Kathmandu, for a short trip, we still can enjoy the sunset and sunrise at the Himalaya Range.

Just perfect to suite the guest's expectation, most of the lodging in Nagarkot hillside has their own roof top overlooking the Himalaya range. So we went up there to get the best spot to capture the sunset moment. Seriously I never put my eyes on something as picturesque as the scenery  here.

In the morning, we woke up in the wee hour of the morning to ensure that all of us are ready to wait the sun rises at the roof top again. plus, we need to secure a good spot before other guests joined in. The wind was cold , that we waited in shiver to see the beautiful sunrise showed.

And certainly our patience were worthwhile. Ooohhhh...prettyyy..

On the way to Kathmandu from Nagarkot, we stopped by at another attraction, Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

There are a few durbar squares around Kathmandu city, and this is the one that must-visit when you are in Nepal. This is one of the UNESCO Heritage site where ancient palace is located.

We spent two good hours for a full course guided tour around the place, when our feets started to wobble as soon as we handed the tips to our guide at the end of the tour.

It was when we went to the remote part of the square, I was awed upon seeing very huge cow at one side of their worshiping area . And that's not it, when I turned to other side of their so-called sacred area, an old woman was seen spreading the cow discharge with her bare hand. oh man!! That was too much, I was thinking we were in a very ancient age. But it still exists now. Huhu.

 

Some experiences with nepali people,  we found that they can easily recognized us as not indon or philipino, but malaysian!Yes, I could feel the pride glow when our country received that kind of acknowledge here.

They like malaysian people, so we can easily get connected with them, consequently the bargaining process became easier. Some of nepali guys look like chinese, perhaps coming from tibetan origin , while some of them, we might mistaken as Tamil, or hindustani.

The weather in December is nice, cold but not snowy. I love  that part of the country. The road is badly paved here and there, thus made our journey a lot bumpier than ever. Nonetheless, having brought up in hardship, I found that they are skillful driver in the massive traffic jam, and close to scary to death ,sometimes. Huhuh

We arrived and checked ourselves into Hotel Nepalaya , get refreshed, and went for shopping afterwards. The market is just a few minutes away, in Thamel road.  Apart from it, we spent the remaining hours in daylight navigating the city area ,and found  another Durbar Square. But we have had enough with previous durbar square tour experience, snapped a few wefies, and we were off to the next attraction.

On the following day , the next attraction we went was Swayambunath stupa which is also known as monkey temple. And as its named after, the ancient temple which is situated on top of a hill was fulled with monkeys.

Apparently these monkeys also have some sort of "abang long kawasan" , whereby we grabbed the chance to watch them fighting and scratching each other till  bleeding to rebut kawasan and perhaps, to get the attention from female monkey. Scary..

We also went to Boudhanath stupa, but most of the time there,we enjoyed doing the shopping there. The selection is vast, and I loved it!

The local tibetan was seen moving the tin,  symbolizes Tibetan prayer everytime they passed this fence. And we run to the fence to pose, as always...

Shopping for souvenir and being the first customer of the day, we got a handsome bargain. Yippi~~

On the last night in Kathmandu, we were having our dinner at fine halal restaurant in Annapurna road, even though it took forever to wait for our meal to ready. Fuhh~

Capati was our main meal throughout the trip. Indeed, the authentic taste with dhal will never match the best capati in Malaysia that I ever had. But on the last meal before depart, we opted spicy yet fulfilling beriani for our brunch. Heaven.. Alhamdulillah..

Peaceful Cottage & Cafe Du Mont,Nagarkot & Hotel Nepalaya,Kathmandu , Nepal

If you plan to enjoy sunset and sunrise scenery at Nagarkot, Peaceful Cottage & Cafe Du Mont  is just almost perfect accommodation to go for. 

It is located at the hillside facing to the Himalayan range. Reaching to the top of the hill was another adventure ride, thank God we have an expert local driver to maneuver the hill side and bumpy route.

There is nothing extravagant reception that you can expect in this premise, but the warm smile and service received from the hotel staff were good enough for make ourselves comfortable.

We dumped our luggage in the room and took no time to rush to the roof top of the building. It was about time to see the sun set.  Did I tell you how awestruck we felt upon seeing the scenery? Wait till the next entry comes out. He he.

But one thing that was not  so pleasant to bear on the night time was the cooooold night like we were sleeping in a roofless house on the icy floor.  The heater was not provided,with only a hot pouch  to give our feet some warmth, with considerably thick but-still cold blanket, we went through the chilly night with sound sleep.

 

The room is clean, and so is the bathroom. All necessary amenities are provided, including towels. And the water heater is also provided, aaahhh,, heaven.

In Kathmandu, we chose to stay at Hotel Nepalaya. It is located very strategically at the center of Kathmandu city, Thamel road. Which means it is just a few walks away from their popular market. Yes, good bargain means good shopping. Wink!

The stay comes with breakfast, and I learnt a good  recipe to bring home, cornflower fried with egg. Yumm~Seriously, you might want to give it a try yourself.

The room is clean and its hygiene level is satisfactory.  The flip side of the stay in Nepal is that the intermittent electric supply which has caused us to sleep in cold for a few hours and got the heater on the next. Nothing much that they hotel can do to satisfy us, despite our complaint, as it is due to the government policy of on the electricity supply. Anyway, despite the minor hiccup, it is still a good place to stay.