I love Lipe

Afternoon walk

There are a lot of dive shop in Koh Lipe. I choose Adang Diver located in Sunset Beach because they are the only dive center that offered a speedboat. I need speedboat because of the short time I spent there. I dive on my departing day with 2 dives. Sound impossible but the dive team manage it well.

I met with 4 Malaysians (3 siblings) as my dive buddy. My dive instructor is a Thai named Max and a Briton named Amanda. We are lucky that the visibility is crystal clear. The first dive site look so calm - no waves, no current.

It was all blue sky and clear water

The diving was very pleasurable. We saw beautiful coral formations and fishes. On my second dive, we saw the famous yellow tail heard and the fan corals. It was magical. I saw 3 nudibranchs, moray eel and shrimp.

My dive instructor constantly picking up broken reefs and placed them together. While having snacks, he kept emphasizing on hoe important the coral are and how difficult it is to grow a coral.

Mantis shrimp in hiding

Fan Coral

Nudibranch

Yellowtail at Koh Lipe

Beautiful tropical reef at Koh Yang

After the dive, I changed and asked Claire to call a cab so that I can meet my family at the ferry station. We went for lunch one last time at Roti Mina and then board the ferry to Langkawi. This time, we sat at the top part, so there are no seasickness at all. All of us sleep the whole way until we reached Langkawi.

Langkawi is our favourite destination for vacation. We went there I think about 3-4 times a year. We managed to eat at a place we thought close down - Bamboo Beach Restaurant, Penarak. The dinner was so delicious and we almost cried seeing the bill. It was too expensive - more expensive than Wan Thai.

We do the usual things we do while in Langkawi - eat good food at Wan Thai and BBQ and I even managed to squeeze a spa session on our last day at Alun-Alun Spa - my favourite spa. Overall, Langkawi always offered a warm hospitality, fresh seafoods and cheap Corelle.

Date: November 2015
Type: Family vacation, luxury
Duration: 4D3N

Maldives of Thailand

Percutian ke Koh Lipe, Thailand.
I have always seen this place being featured in the social media and dubbed as The Maldives of Thailand. The location itself is very intriguing. Koh Lipe is situated off coast Thailand and very near to Langkawi.

There are 2 methods you can use to visit this island.
Method 1: Took a flight to Langkawi and board a fast ferry to Koh Lipe
Method 2: Took a flight to Hat Yai, travel by road to Pak Bara and board a speedboat to Koh Lipe

Since I am going with my family, we opt for Method 1. Personally, I think method 1 is the most reliable and safest. We took an Air Asia flight to Langkawi. We planned to stay 2 nights in Langkawi and 1 night in Koh Lipe.

For Langkawi, we stayed in the new Adya Hotel in Kuah and for Koh Lipe, we stayed at Bundhaya Resort located on Pattaya Beach. When we reached Langkawi, we checke in to the Hotel and went for dinner. We then went to the Cenang, so that I can buy a cotton beach pants to wear for Koh Lipe trip. We left our luggage at the hotel and only bring a small gym bag to Koh Lipe.

The ferry from Koh Lipe cost us RM 220 for return journey from Telaga terminal. The tickets can be bought online. The ferry depart at 8.30 am and we reached there by 8 am. First, we fill forms and then check in at the ferry operator counter where they collect your passport. We then walked to the Immigration office next door, wait for our names to be called and go though immigration processing.

We board the ferry and go for our destination which took 1 hours and 30 minutes. Since we picked the seats at the bottom, we get a bit seasick. Transfering from the boat via a small boat, we then play the waiting game at the Immigration office near the beach. Wait for our names to be called again to get our passport back. the total time spent at the immigration is 2 hours. We were transferred to our hotel by a truck.

The ferry to Koh Lipe

The most pristine water

jakun tak pernah naik belakang truck. jalan di Koh Lipe ni kecik belaka. So, memang thrill la masing2.

Nervous la tu.

Koh Lipe consist of several beaches. We choose to stay at Pattaya beach because they have proper resort, near to the ferry station and close to Walking Street which hosts the infinite restaurants and shops.

Sayangnya, terlalu banyak sangat anjing kat Koh Lipe ni. Masuk restoran, hotel lobby. Nak makan pun geli sebenarnya. Nak mandi pantai apatah lagi geli.

We had our lunch at Bung Roon Restaurant on Pattaya Beach which serves halal food. We ate seafood fried rice which is really good.We checked in, before heading to our snorkeling adventure. We paid around RM50 for a snorkeling trip using long tail. Our boat man does not speak Malay nor English which makes it even harder. We dropped to our 1st site where they were plenty of corals and fishes around. It was pretty.

Bung Roon Restaurant

We went to the second snorkeling site called Jabang. When I descend, I notice the current was very strong. My boat man did not tell us anything. I looked over that people use the mooring line to move themselves, so me and my cousin followed them. It was pitched black underwater, until we reached the end of the line.

Jabang Pinnacle

Then I saw this colourful reef pinnacle. So beautiful, rising from the sea bed. It was ashame that we were there on the evening and the current was strong. If we were there in the morning, the sunlight will bring out the beauty of this pinnacle. Me and my cousin had a hard time swimming back to the boat. The current was too strong that we don't even move an inch. Our parents were frantic because they felt that this is not a legitimate boat man and it started to rain. We decided to go back to Koh Lipe.

We decide to try Roti Mina restaurant - a halal place that offered delicious crepes! I ate the nutella crepe and mango sticky rice. One of the transportation available is a taxi - a three wheel motorbike. I took the motorbike to go to Adang Diver diveshop to sort out my diving arrangements. I was scared because the road at Koh Lipe is narrow and steep.

Nutella Banana Crepe

My favourite Mango Sticky rice

Our Deluxe Chalet at Bundhaya Resort

We then had a walk down the beach for sunset. they say if you want to see sunset, go to Sunset Beach but I can tell you the sunset at Pattaya Beach is heavenly as well. We even got to see some rainbow. The walking Street is full of restaurants and souvenir shop and even massage parlours. Just look out for the tuk-tuk or taxi trying to navigate through the street while you're walking.

Beautiful sunset in Koh Lipe

The trademark of Lipe

Our resort

Walking Street with a taxi stand

We had dinner at Bung Roon eating Thai food accompanied by an amazing live band. We then went to Roti Mina so we can have those delicious crepe again. And I even tapao a mango sticky rice. We spent the night in a drizzle. We bought some magnets and tshirts as souvenirs before heading back to the hotel.

After having Roti Canai, we went off to the jetty for our island adventure. We opt for the 2 islands tour. The fee was RM50 complete with equipment. We choose to go to Manukan and Sapi Island. The boat was small and fast. Zayyan was scared that he actually sleeps on the boat.

We reached Manukan and the were a lot of people. Kakak and I went snorkeling. We see dead corals everywhere. So little fish. We ended up taking Zayyan to the beach. Boy, he was terrified and cried. We spent a little bit of time then we get to the Sapi Island.

Sapi has lesser crowd than Manukan. Zayyan slept, so we leave him on the beach with his Dad. We went snorkeling. This time, there were some pretty hard corals, trigger fish, clown fish and LOTS OF SEA URCHIN. The heck?

Luckily we wore a life jacket so we did not accidentally step on them. It's not like 5 but hundreds of sea urchins. They're everywhere! The marine life here was better than Manukan, which I think has surpassed it glory years. it is just sad. We took Zayyan and coerce him to play the sand. Slowly, he began to be cool with the waves and the water. It took us a fort to get this boy to calm down - literally, we build a fort and sand castle.

Sapi Island

Weird looking fish

Clown fish in it's anemone

We then went back to the main island and meet our parents who did some seafood shopping. We had lunch at a Nasi Padang place at the jetty before meeting the parents. We slept a bit during noon and at the evening, we drove to have dinner.

We first stop at a stall by the side of the road to eat grill Lokam and Coconut pudding - so delicious. Then we straight went to Gayang Restaurant to have another seafood dinner. I think this place serves better cooking. It was chinese style cuisine and it was spectacular! Later that day, Kakak and I walked to the nearby Warisan Square and went to a reflexology place called Blue Lagoon. It offers a package of 1 hour body massage with 30 minutes reflexology for RM80. yes, only RM80. The massage? It was incredible!

The fresh Lokam

Coconut pudding

Gayang restaurant bukan goyang.

The next morning we slept in and  pack for our 3pm flight. We checked out and off we go back to the hazy Kuala Lumpur.

We did not managed to escape the haze. It turns out, the wind blew the haze directly to Kota Kinabalu. Our tour guide today was suggested by Kakak's friend. He is a local man named Danon. We met him at 8 a.m at our lobby.

There was a miscommunication early in the morning. We thought we're having breakfast first but Danon took us to the Rumah Terbalik or Upside Down House instead. Belasah jelah. We paid RM5 for entrance. The upside down house is build upside down. This house was an exact replica of a house of a family in Sabah. When I said exact, it matches everything up to every little detail.

We knocked the door and enter through the kitchen (as it was a backdoor). Every item is on the roof which is the floor. Imagine walking in the house and avoiding ceiling fan on your feet. We then went to the bedroom where they placed a mirror on the floor so we can see how the room looks like in normal conditions. Not only the house is upside down, the garage and yard is upside down as well - even the car was hang on the ceiling.

Rumah Terbalik

The upside down toilet

The upside down car

We then went to a small restaurant along the way for brunch. I had a Bihun sup which was really good. We then went to the winding road to get to Ranau. There is a view point but due to the haze and fog, we could not see the peak of Mount Kinabalu which usually shows up at this hour.

We reached the Kinabalu Park where we had a toilet break. We then went to Sungai Tagal or the local dubbed it as the natural fish spa. Why? The fishes lives in the river and once you put your feet in, the fish will bite off the dead skin. It is not aquarium bred like the one you see in malls.

I was scared. I just dip in 3 inches of water and the fish bit my toes. I couldnt handle it, I shrieked. I dont care who's watching. They even sell fish foods there. Owh and you only have 15 minutes per entry. It is different if you choose a ticket which allows you to bath in the river (not!).

We then had lunch at the Ranau KFC. The fog thickens, still no show of Kinabalu's peak. i was devastated. We then went to Desa Dairy Farm which host the habitat of black and white cows with grazing green field that looks like you're in New Zealand.

It was raining that evening and we managed to go to the petting area where you can pet a sheep and calf. I wanted to buy the milk but the long lines demotivates me. It was quite late so we headed off to the Kinabalu National Park.

Desa Cattle Farm

Petting area. Zayyan was scared

Tamparuli bridge

Danon decided to take us to the Timpohan Gate, which is the checkpoint for all climbers. On the way up, it was so scary because the fog is really thick with 0 visibility. The road is small so my heart was pumping because I am terrified. We can also see the road afftected by the 2015 Kinabalu Earthquake which claimed lives of climbers and guides.

Timpohan Gate

Finally we reached the Timpohan gate for photo opt. The temperature is very low up there, still no Kinabalu peak. We then decided to went straight to KK. On the way, Kinabalu only show its peak when we're on the way back. We can also see what's left of the Donkey Ear.

We had dinner at the same place as last night. The food was not good at all. Perhaps, the cook was different tonight. It was tasteless.

Duration: 4D 3N
Type: Family, Budget
Flight: MAS
Hotel: Marina Court KK
Pax: 6 Adult, 1 cute toddler


Percutian dan menyelam di Kota Kinabalu Sabah.

It was Hari Raya Haji and we decided to go for a long vacation to Kota Kinabalu Sabah. It has been 15 years since I set my foot here. This is another way for us to escape the haze situation in KL. We book the flight with MAS. Kakak, Abang Mirul and Zayyan went on an earlier flight and pick up the car. We rented from Hertz. The rest of us took a midnight flight to KK.

When we were there, we took the cab to the KK Marina Court - a vacation rental in heart of KK.  We took the 3B2B apartment.The surroundings of the apartment includes the big shopping mall with hard Rock Cafe and several shop lots that has restaurants, mart and such. We paid about RM1000+ for 3 nights. It was raya eve, so we brought along some rendang, nasi impit and lontong. 

My parents and I went out for drinks at 1 am at a mamak stall near by and I am back to sleep for my early morning diving - luckily they are open on Hari Raya itself. My dive operator for this time is Dive Down Below situated in Gaya Island. I choose the operator based on reviews and seeing that they set up a based in Gaya Island with good facilities.

I took a 1-day 3 dives for RM365 which includes lunch, snacks, equipments and other stuff. I even asked the owner about the lunch's halal status and it turns out, the chicken is from a halal source. They offered pick-up and drop-off service to your hotel.

I drink a milo and ate a bread before heading down to the gate and being picked up. The van then pick up the dive center staff who is in town. We were taken to the Marina Bay to depart on the nice big boat. Once at the resort, I registered and met my dive guide, Azhar who is very pleasant. We joked about how me did not celebrate Raya this year. I met a fellow diver from the UK who is diving alone.

The jetty at Dive Down Below

After equipment fitting, we met them at the boat and off we go to the 1st spot. On the boat i met 2 dive inters at the resort. The visibility was nice, better than I expected although it's a bit hazy up here. On my first dive, I saw 3 turtles! Yes, 3! The group saw 2 and when we split up, Azhar was actually going to show me a lobster but we were surprised to see a turtle resting under the rock. Seeing the turtle swimming up from close distance is just magical.

The biggest turtle that day.

We head to our second dive which is full of hard corals. Lunch time comes, we ate and later we were joined by a new dive guide. We went to see some scorpion fish, and the usual tropical fishes. The facility DDB provided was 5 stars! The boat is big and they help you with the equipment and stuff and the food was okay. I went back to the hotel at 5.30 pm.

The sambal was good.

Tough and bland lobster :(

Later that night, all of us walked together to the Phillipines Market for dinner. Here, the seafood is abundance. the price is really cheap. Since we don't know which store to go, we just gamble to go with the one with the crowd. The cooking was a hit or miss. The sambal udang was a killer while my lobster was bland and tough.

We head back to the hotel through the fish market and buy some fruits. Gotta sleep early for tomorrow's full tour!

Date: End July 2015
Type: Package tour
Duration: 3D2N
Price: RM550/pax fullboard

Beautiful scene

After Hari Raya, me and my Europe travel buddies decided to go for an island getaway. We choose Redang Island. We managed to get a flight ticket costing RM145 via Firefly. We took the RM550 package offered by Laguna Redang which includes accommodation, boat transfer, meals for 3 days and 2 snorkeling trips.

Taken to the lobby by a truck pulled wagon.

We land in Kuala Terengganu around 10 am and the Resort van took us to the Shahbandar Jetty. This jetty is located near the Pasar Payang. We boarded a huge ferry to Redang Island. Disembarking, we were picked up by a tractor to the lobby. We checked in and was given our meal coupons for 3 days. After having lunch, we pick up our snorkeling gear and went for the Open Sea snorkeling via fishing boats. There are around 200 people joining this activity. The tour guide inform us on the rules and the timing for activities.

We were dropped off in the middle of the sea where there's a coral platform not far away from the drop off. The water is a bit choppy and we manage to see plenty of marine life. The fact that the crowd is huge, was a downside. And, Dila got seasick so we cut short our snorkeling adventure for the day.

We had dinner at the restaurant and we managed to witness a full moon. We always bid for the outside table to get some fresh air. The food at Laguna has a huge variety and it taste good for a resort. I was contemplating on how many dives should I do - the dive price is pretty expensive.

I choose to take 1 dive at 2 pm since I want to join the snorkeling at the Marine Park. After breakfast, we went to the Marine Park about 10 minutes from the resort. The Marine Park offers plenty of beautiful corals and fishes. We bring ourselves some bread to feed the fish and obviously this was a better spot for snorkeling.

The crowd are much better at the Marine Park

After lunch, I straight away went to the dive shop. I fill some forms and pick my gear. I was nervous since this is the first dive since my ear injury. I was accompanied by 3 divers from Singapore and 1 from Switzerland (well, I told her a lot of times of how much I love Swiss).

Our dive site is called Pulau Paku Kecil, the visilibilty was not great but we do see some marine creatures. Suddenly, I saw a huge stingray - about 3 meteres wide. I did not manage to capture it though since I was saving on my camera battery. By the time I switch on my camera, the stingray went hiding under the rock.

Hard corals during Paku kecil dive

The current was so strong that day. As a new diver, I panicked a bit since the current drag me until I almost hit the coral reef. It was not a relaxing dive as I had hoped for. I hit the reef walls and scratch my foot while trying to reposition my body to streamline with the current.

For me, the best snorkeling spot in Perhentian is on the far left of the beach. I circle the spot as below. All of us went snorkeling after I had a less pleasurable diving day. The corals are beautiful and so lively. You can see plenty of clown fish and brace  yourself - plenty of reef sharks!

I took this while snorkeling off the beach.

We take pictures of the unique looking gift shop at the resort

The snorkel site provide a channel-like snorkeling where you can go between reef walls to experience an amazing snorkeling. The only downside is the current itself. Redang has a strong current so if the red flag is up, please do not snorkel or swim. I can say this site offers the most beautiful snorkeling experience I had ever had.