Sungai Lembing for The Sunrise!

Sungai Lembing in Pahang state had becoming more and more popular over the years. To the extent, we had a real shock when we finally reached there.

Sungai Lembing town is really just a small town. So small that it couldn't contain the thousands of visitors that rushed to its town over the long weekend during Malaysia holiday. At night, there were only two restaurants that were opened to serve dinner. And one small little Malay food stall, and another smaller noodle stall. That's about it! And that particular weekend, there are more than 5000 tourists!

Sungai Lembing is popular for 3 things, sunrise at the cloud forest, rainbow waterfall, and the noodles. We only spent 2D1N there. Both sunrise and rainbow waterfall are morning activities, you can't achieve two things in a day, so we only saw the sunrise.

We have to wake up at 4.45am, and depart from our room at 5.15am. It's really a mistake that we forgot to bring torch lights. Lucky enough we were holding iPhone, so we use the flashlights. At the same time, thanks to so many other tourists, we "tumpang" the lights.

The staircase to the top was really tiring. Especially to the senior citizens. So if you're bringing any, please take good care of them.

Below are all the pictures, from before to after the sunrise. The luck was not on us that day, there were thick clouds over the sun, it's definitely not the perfect sunrise you saw on Sungai Lembing posters.

With the rush of tourists to this place, if you're planning to go, do plan off the peak season.

Racial Harmony

True racial harmony 

On our second day in Kelantan, we set off to visit a lot of Thai influence Buddhist temples. In particularly one, which I forgot completely what's the name of the temple, I saw something truly remarkable for Malaysia standard. And a scene that I've never seen before in any other states.

=)

Pasir Belanda in Kota Bahru

During our Cuti-Cuti Malaysia at East Coast, in our first stop in Kelantan, we stayed in a kampung stay called Pasir Belanda. It was such a nice experience!

Entrance of Pasir Belanda

Pasir Belanda owner is actually from Holland. He came to Malaysia few years ago for training in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bahru. And fell in love with Kota Bahru immediately! (I wonder why not Penang...) Then, he bought this land in the kampung in Kota Bahru, and ran a kampung stay of his own. And staying here for good.

To my surprise, the place is fully booked for the 3D2N when we were there! I never expected Kota Bahru to be so popular!

The rooms are individual kampung huts

My parents and my aunts stayed in this hut which consists of two separate double room

My sister, my cousin and I shared a triple room

Our clean triple room

The only problem you may face when you book this place for a stay is to locate it. When we were searching for this place using Waze, we got into a point where there's no road shown on the map. Just a whole screen with grey and a blue dot showing our destination. We were stressed! And my Google map pointed me back to the town centre! But lucky enough, my sister took faith in her Waze and found it! It's such a relief when we saw the sign! :)

It's a wonderful place for relaxation. There's a small hut where my sister and I enjoyed sitting there with her yoga mat, using the Wifi (that couldn't be accessible to our room), reading, drinking coffee and chit chatting.  There's also a small swimming pool too.

The staffs are friendly and helpful. The owner is friendly too.

If you were to visit Kota Bahru, this is a place you want to stay! :)

For us who have been staying in the city for so many years, it's simply divine to wake up with birds chirping in the morning. And also the jet lag cocks... that never stops.

The Legendary Kedai Kopi White House

Long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, my dad used to work in Kelantan. And during our recent Cuti-Cuti Malaysia trip to East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, my sister made sure we went to this "legen-wait for it-dary!" White House in Kota Bahru.

My dad kept telling us how much he missed the Nasi Dagang and the very nice kopi! We can't wait to have breakfast there on our second day in Kota Bahru.

Kedai Kopi White House

Mark the address please

There were 7 of us in the entourage. And here is the list of what we had:
1. 7 sets of toast with half boiled eggs
2. 1x Nasi Dagang
3. 1x Nasi Lemak
4. 2x unknown nasi (forgotten the name, but it's a big pointy banana leaf packed rice)
5. 1x kopi for each of us, that made 7x

They were all nice! The most unforgettable items will be kopi and the home made kaya that came with the toasts. My mom and aunts were so tempted to buy the kaya, but we still have a few days to go on the road before going back to Penang. So, we ended up empty handed. And missing all the delicious food.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Dagang

To my dad's disappointment, the Nasi Dagang is no longer the Nasi Dagang he remembered. According to him, it's supposed to use different type of rice, a red one. We all liked it, but my dad didn't fancy this at all.

Delicious half boiled eggs

I know it sounds crazy to say this half boiled eggs are really nice. But it IS! And what's amazing was they didn't use any timer or kitchen tool, simply hot water and their skills. Every half boiled eggs came out perfectly cooked! Wonderful!

My fave!

I can really eat this everyday for breakfast!

I really wish I can have this. The roti is toasted the traditional way, charcoal. I love it but it's not going to happen in the Lion City where everything needs to be fast.

The "war" we've all created

Look at the "war" we've created on our table! It's a mess!

We've missed the kopi so much we actually went back to "da bao" the coffee after dinner on the same day. White House is opened morning (I forgot what time) and 9pm-1am daily. And full house all the time!

When I was waiting for our packed kopi, I was told to wait for at least 15minutes. Yes, that's how busy they are. I sat there observing the business. It's amazing how things worked out so well in the shop. There's no paper, no computer, nothing to jot down the order! Orders were shouted one to another in and out the kitchen. But food delivered perfectly onto the tables. How did they do it? I am simply clueless and amazed at the same time!

However, one point to be minus off will be the price. The breakfast didn't come cheap at all. But according to my dad, it has been one of the expensive place for breakfast even back then. But it's still "people mountain people sea" everyday.

If you're a coffee lover, I would tell you this is a MUST to pay a visit :)

Ben's in Suria KLCC

到吉隆坡之前，朋友给我介绍在Suria KLCC里的Ben's。其实这才发现，去年八月我们路过这家餐厅，说要是没有地方去就来试一试这家。结果那时的我们错过了。

在外头看，怎么样都没有想像到这家餐厅这么大间。尤其喜欢餐厅里的灯光，窗边的光线刚刚好，台灯的亮度照相更是不错。再看看点单，更喜欢。


Ben's Menu



桌上的摆设，有菜谱、有table topic、有意见箱






对他家的table topic爱不释手



男人的午餐，Portobello Mushroom Burger



我的午餐，Crab Meat Linguine Puttanesca。一点都没有骗人，盘里的蟹肉多得我吃不完。



窗边的位子光线真的很好。



我的Flat White，还有同男人分享的Chocolate Truffles Forte。


这样一餐其实不便宜，两人总共花费RM75。但是吉隆坡人很有钱，这家餐厅还是门庭若市。以一家非fine dining的西餐厅水准来说，Ben's确实很不错。咖啡很好喝，甜点也恰到好处。

到访吉隆坡的朋友不妨试一试。

Many Faces of Twin Towers

I feel ashamed that I have never been up to Twin Towers to enjoy the night scene of Kuala Lumpur, even though over the years I've been to KL for several times.

Last weekend, we visited KL again, for a weekend getaway. And Twin Towers never failed to make me feel proud. Among the world tallest buildings in the world, I love Twin Towers the most. Not just because I am a Malaysian, Twin Towers really are the most beautiful among them. (Look at Taipei 101 and Shanghai Pearl Tower, you'll understand)

:)

Still, I only looked at them from far.

做男人？还是女人？

小时候的我，曾经一度想要当男生。不是要变性的那种想，而是觉得当男生好像比较方便。

比如：男生上洗手间快，站着就可以解决、男生有力气好办事、男生不用担心走光、男生不会怀孕、男生不用生孩子、男生不会来月经⋯⋯

后来，我发现女生也有好处。比方说：女生流泪，旁人不会觉得你懦弱、女生爱美不是罪、女生可以示弱求助。甚至，女生长得可爱一点，做错事情都有人原谅。（本小姐却没享受过这种权利，想也知道为什么）

当男生的好处，都是比较具体的，都是比较physical的；而当女生的好处，都比较抽象。

如果我只有24小时的时间当男生，我要⋯⋯
1. 尝试站着小解的滋味
2. 穿三角泳裤日光浴（24小时而已，让我当个好身材的男人）
3. 向我讨厌的男生搭讪，吓唬他（他必须是straight的前提下）
4. 是否可以找个女人接吻？
5. 到Khoo Kongsi申请当委员会，把我的名字放上榜（宗祠都是重男轻女的，当然要趁机玩一下）

你呢？你想做什么？

亲密日记（三）

一起旅行的日子并不多


摄于Sipadan Island

天堂般的地方

刚刚从天堂回来一周，至今看看照片，还是很回味那清澈见底的海洋，那天然的游泳池，那悠闲的下午，凉凉的海风，到处可见的海洋生物。还有，那悠然的海龟。



从Semporna乘船到Mabul途中。被海风猛打在脸上的感觉真好。



我们五天四夜住的Sipadan Water Village的后面，就是refugee camp。这些小孩，大概就是那里的居民。抵达SWV的第一天，有个小孩向我们展示他的战利品。



他们每天中午都出现，向新来的游客要钱。



右边那位，还是全裸的。



汪洋中的一条船



在jetty玩跳海。后来，我们一群十人也是跳得不亦乐乎！



日出









炎热的中午









日落









在那里的生活很健康。我们每天早睡早起，每天运动量都特高（游泳，潜水，浮潜）。还每天晒太阳摄取维他命D，健康的要命。一个假期回来，觉得特别refreshing。

很多人问我，Sipadan和热浪哪个好玩。如果从海底生物的角度来看，当然是前者。这里的生物非常的rich，跳下水身边都是一群一群的大鱼小鱼。有时候，真觉得不小心跳入它们世界的堵车。哈哈哈！

在这里，也是我生平第一次，和海龟一起游泳。而且，是每天都和海龟一起游泳！以前在热浪，听说别人看见海龟，自己却没看见，羡慕得半死。在Sipadan，追随海龟变成我们每天必做的事。

可是，在Sipadan就没有长长的海滩让你散步晒太阳的。就是海滩输了一点点。不过，总的来说，这里，还是天堂！