Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai for New Year 2016

31st Dec- 4th Jan 2016


Yes, it has been ages since my trip to Chiang Mai, and only now I managed to find time to write about the trip. So many worldly commitments that I hv to oblige that writing this entry has become the least thing that I remember to finish. Walaweiii...

The first location we went was historical temple ,Wat Phra Keaw.

We have our tour around and inside out the temple, and had some shopping free, as the is also market nearby selling local handicrafts.

Then we went to next temple, Wat Chedi Luang. Info from our tour guide, it took three decades for this structure to be built.

The weather was sunny, but the wind was chilly. So we went to the inside of the temple, and the interior is indeed amusing.

We had our lunch in Chiang Mai before we proceed to go to long haul drive to Chiang Rai.

On the second day, we started our tour to Hill Tribe Village which resides Karen Long Neck tribe.

 

This village has been commercialize as tourist spot, where we can see the Myanmar refugees  who have migrated to Thailand. And they made money buy selling handicrafts to the incoming tourists.

This lady is said as the oldest one in this village, thus she has become one of tourist attraction to take picture with.

 

The next place was to visit Mae Fah Luang Garden. It is a huuuuuge flower garden. Situated at the peak of Doi Tung, the place is windy and chilly. And we certainly enjoyed it the most.

We have had our lunch at Mae Sai city, while waiting for our guides to perform Jumaat prayer. We crossed Mae Sai Thailand-Burma border to visit Myanmar land.

Oh yes, it was totally different experience and it felt as if we were thrown to the 20th century. The poor rate in the city is so obvious and even we can smell it literally. We have been in the city just a few hours but I was already itching to return to Thailand. huhu.

We were brought to temple and mosque and its flea market before we proceed to our next destination.

The next place we went was Laos. Yes, Laos country. The territory of Mae Sai, Burma and Laos as Golden Triangle. Again, we boarded speedboat to cross the Mekong River to reach Laos.

 

At night time, we have had our delicious dinner at Thai Muslim restaurant. The portion is big, and the price is surprisingly cheap!

We went to night market and did some shopping before we called it a day.

On the third day, we decided an impromptu plan to visit Black House.  The house is made of teak and it is all in black!

We returned to Chiang Mai on the same day and our next destination was The White Palace. There were loads of visitors to this palace. We were awed by the modern architecture of white palace. We went for a tour around the palace before proceed to lunch , and yes, to our hotel in Chiang Mai.

It was time to recharge!

On the following day, we have our tour at various handicraft center in  Chiang Mai, and one of the spots was Umbrella Making Center.

We were also brought to another temple at the hilltop using cable car, Doi Suthep.

This is the photo taken at city moat. This has not to be missed when you visit Chiang Mai, ok!

We have come to the last day of our trip, and the first thing to have for our final breakfast is Roti Canai Chiang Mai and Telur Kuali. It were super awesome delicacies to kick start our day. Weehu!

It is not perfect if the trip was not complimented with spa experience. Thus we decided to have it a go, and our tour guide brought us to this exclusive spa.

It was luxury experience and the smell of the spa is really refreshing. And we ready to return to Malaysia facing year 2016 with a great spirit!

Tadom Hill Resort,Banting

 25th December 2015.

I was happened to attend Twins Of Faith conference this weekend, so I stayed at Fiza's crib.

And it was her idea to hv a picnic at Tadom Hill on the day before the conference. 

We were guided merely by Waze to reach Banting.

The place is quite isolated and there is no proper signboard to the destination. Hence, it took series of u-turns and navigation on the same roads for a few rounds before we gave up and asked the locals.

There are groups of people already queuing to enter the picnic premise. Apparently the area was just opened for public weeks earlier, thus loads of rooms that highly need for improvement especially on the entry system.

All visitors are required to register with the entrance fee of RM 20 , if I'm not mistaken.

There are also picnic mat for rental, and if you plan for some privacy, there are also tents available for rent. 

The entrance fee includes water activities , and all of us were equipped with safety lifejacket. However, the life guard is also available to oversee our safety in the lake.

Most of   us enjoyed being in the green lake. The scenery is really beautiful and peaceful. The time to enjoy the lake at its bestis in the morning. In the midday it was so sunny that sunbathing felt rather painfully hot. Grrr..

It is a very pleasant sight to see group of families and friend were around us with their own picnic setting. It is just refreshing being at  the lush greenery place like this.

We hv our nice breakfast and lunch alternately with water activities. How relaxing.. Ahaaa:)

Krabi: Another Island Getaway

28th Oct- 1st Nov 2015

It's been ages since I went to any island, be it locally or otherwise. When I was prompted the idea of going to Krabi with Zera,Fiza , Ziela and her colleagues, I was like 'sure, y not?'.

Once in a while it was fun and better still,more relaxing for just being the 'passenger ' of this whole trip, after being in series of trips with me as the mastermind.

We reached the land of  Krabi in the dawn, and were brought to the hotel. The tours and activities for the whole trip was only confirmed when we we brought to the tourist agent on the way to the hotel in Ao Nang.

The first place we went on the first day was to the elephant santuary a few miles from Ao Nang. This is the second elephant santuary that I went apart from one in Kuala Gandah, Rompin. But I'm telling you the elephants here were really huuuuge. And we grabbed the opportunity to hop on the mammal for a peaceful ride around the greenery surrounding.

                                          

                                  

                                       

There was also performance show by baby elephant after the trekking, and it was fun to watch the witty baby elephant ,Didi obediently followed its master's instructions.

                               

          

The next place we went  was to the Emerald Pool.

                                            

We walked further into the bush to find the blue pool. And yes, the pool is very very blue I never set my eyes on this beautiful pool until we reached here! Stunning.

                                       

We have had our  buffet lunch before we set off to the next place, Tiger Cave Temple.

We did try to climb the steps to the top of temple, but we were even not reaching half before we surrendered.ahahh. Makcik pancits!

So, we went around the temple to snap photos while waiting some of us who were fit enough to reach the top of the hill.

 On the next day, the activities were more to island hopping. We were brought to a few island i.e bamboo island for sight seeing, as well as phi phi island. Apart from that, snorkling in open sea was also included in the itenerary, even though the under water view was quite dissapointing. No coral reef, and very little fish were seen. Perhaps acquiring diving license will be worthwhile for the purpose, yes.?

                           

Nightlife in Ao Nang was quite awesome. The girls and boys decided to hv night ride whereby the bike rentals were easy to get with attractive rental rate.

It was the final day, we decided to go for canoeing. The activity took over 2 hours for us exploring the sceneries and it was awesome experience indeed. 

On the final night in Krabi, we were brought to Krabi town night market. It is just a small night market, but it is highly suggested for souvenir shopping to be done here due to its cheaper price.

Speaking of food, It was very easy to locate halal food, not to mention its fresh seafood for all various selection of dishes.

Apart from heavy meal, one that shouldnt be missed is its pancake. It is very well known amongst tourists in Krabi, it's cheap snack but yummyy!

J. Hotel, Krabi, Thailand

If you are planning on having vacation in Krabi, and still looking for a  nice lodging to stay, my suggestion is J. Hotel, people!

My friends and I were have stayed in this hotel during our trip and it was worth it! The price per pax is affordable for economy traveller, and strategically located at the heart of Ao Nang.

If you want to see both sunset and sunrise, it is just a few walks away from the beach. And it is not soo hard to get Halal foods in this area.

There are also numerous spas with all kinds of self pampering treatments available around this area as well as souvenir shops. But you might want to skip  the shopping here, if the price concerns you =)..