Mystifying Valley

Having some really good time with the family in Shanghai now. And the greatest gift of all is to have met my baby nephew of 6 months old, Nathan for the very first time. He’s such a god sent angel… simply adorable beyond words. He chuckles when having his shower and he doesn’t disturb the adults during dinner time. How I wish I can bring him back to KL!

I’m not really in the mood to blog. And I love shanghai. Laterz.

So this is the warm little cottage I stayed in during my recent Bali trip, situated in the quieter area of Sanur. It’s a boutique concept which they somehow name it "cottage", consists of only 22 units of cottage huts enriched with beautiful traditional Balinese decor and housed by friendly and attentive staff. 

Read on.

It’s about 5 to 10 minutes walking distance from Sanur Beach Resort ( photos in later posts) where some of my other friends stayed.  

Each unit is surrounded by tropical plants and has its own patio.

Swimming pool is small but inviting.

The room comes with basic amenities. But my complaints were the notorious mossies. Mosquito repellant is a must!

And oh… their Balinese massage is superb too. USD16 for a hour and it was so soothing good that I fell asleep.

Most importantly, the rate is very reasonable. With USD35 per night, I think I got more than what I’ve bargained for.

This place is recommended for budget travelers who are looking for comfortable lodging minus the 5 star luxury.  

Related Posts:

http://www.jashomi.com/travel/back-from-bali.php

http://www.jashomi.com/vacation/im-going-on-a-vacation.php

Hellooo peeps… I’m reluctantly but inevitably back in KL!
    
The 5 days 4 nights vacation was absolutely awesome with sheer indulgence! The sea, the sun, the people and the best of all, I was totally shun away from the rest of the world!
    
Day3, received a concerned sms from a colleague while sunbathing by the beach.
    
“ Howz Bali? Any email withdrawal yet? ;-)”
    
ermm…  hell no!   :D 
 
  

I’m dreading to go back to work tomorrow morning as I can still smell the Balinese breeze and soothing sound of sea waves…

 
  
I’m glad I didn’t chicken out from the trip as I almost, very close to doing so. Met and mingled with some very cool & crazy people and to certain extent, famous too. Everyday was about eating, boozing & dining out and albeit returning home 3 kilos heavier, I came back refreshed, relaxed, destressed and happy.
 
 

This place is definitely more than just an Island of God, it’s a perfect destination to revive jaded souls.
 
Time to catch some sleep now before going back to reality of where I belong.
 Â Â Â 
Laterz!
   

 
 
Nevermind fuel price has jacked up a whopping 40%
 Â 
Nevermind the rude motorcyclist almost wrecked my nerves this morning
 Â 
Never mind my lousy stomach which still hasn’t cease to cramp

Life is short.
I’m going Bali in a few hours time!  :mrgreen:
 

 
 

After TechNET MSDN roadshow ended in Kota Kinabalu last month, we extended our stay in KK for another night at the Sutera Harbour so that we could go snorkeling the next day.  

Here’s the spiller as I’m animal phobic. I’ve never snorkeled before and I am by nature scared of live fishes or any cold blooded creatures for that matter. But I was determined to conquer this fear and decided to challenge myself and went ahead with this impromptu plan. Yutz and Poh Sze are already advanced divers, let’s just say I couldn’t be more glad to have them there to calm my nerves and “baby talk” me until I was more comfortable. Before I knew I was already swimming on my own and having fun watching live corals & colorful fishes in their marine habitat. The experience was awesome!

Sutera Harbour view in the evening 

Sunset view by the pool 

 

Before jumping into the pool  

Snorkeling package at the dock

There are three hot spots to choose from. We chose Mamutik Island as the guide told us it has more live corals than the other two. 

Getting all ready 

Beautiful yatchts. Reminds me very much of St. Katherine Dock

Jetting off! 

Seriously clear blue sea 

Ready to start snorkeling 

The trip was awesome. Brings back so much memories of yesteryears. Only wished it was longer. Only wished I didn’t have to come back.

Almost managed to put a check on every items in our to-do and to-go list, well not all but managed to go back to most of the important places to find back those footprints which I’ve left behind 2 years ago.  Places are still the same. People have changed. I have.
 
And with all those endless walking, I could barely feel my limbs now.
Back to office today and work is crazy!
  
p/s: will talk more about the trip later
  

  
After 8 freaking years, this was my first time standing at this signature location at Tower Bridge to take a touristic picture.
  

  
Strolling along St. James Street. Feeling of being a tourist is so different.
  

  
Took this picture while waiting for the changing of guard at the Buckingham Palace. Almost my first time!
  

  

Stephannie the tourist. Teehee =) 
 

  

   

St. Katherine Dock

  

  
St. katherine dock - the sentimental place that holds so much memories… this dock is located in a more hidden area which normal tourists would normally skip. 
   

Prince Charles Theatre

  
My looooong awaited agenda…. finally watched the famous musical play “Ma Ma Mia”.
 
 

  
Shopping at Harrods… ermm more like window shopping
  

  

  
Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London
 
 

 

 
Doesn’t this place look familiar? It’s The Ritz where the late Princess Diana used to go for high tea. This place was featured in the movie Notting Hill as well.
  

  

  
Regent Park
  

I’m absolutely thrilled! Yesssss… I’m blogging from London again!

Plane was delayed for a good few hours due to some technical problems which they’ve attempted twice to take off but failed miserably; but they changed the aircraft and the 13 hours flight went by very smoothly albeit the toddler in front of us wasn’t tired of crying throughout the journey.
 
Barely rested. We touched down in Heathrow only around 10pm and by the time we reached Euston, it was already 11pm. Dinner with Claire and Justin had to cancel - there goes my Belgo’s mussel! *but it still didn’t deter my excitement level*
 
Had breakfast with Bryan and his wife. Going to bring them to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of guards and after that, it’s shopping time for me! *wink wink*
 
Calling Oxford Street, Regent Street, Bond Street to attention!
 
Here I come!
 

 
Finally at Heathrow!!!
 

 
Alright guys, more updates later!
 

 

During the holiday break, I went for a day trip with my company’s team to Melaka just shortly after Christmas. It’s been more than at least a decade last since I have visited this city, and even though I could vaguely recall my childhood memories during one of those school trips i don’t think this place has changed much. It’s the heritage of Malaysia’s history afterall.

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The trip was purely an “eating spree” where� the agenda for the day� was all about food; we� ate and� ate and� ate and the moment we finished� eating at one place we’d go to another place to eat again. Goodness me… � despite us stuffed up to our neck,� i think we have visited more than 5 local eateries just for their � authentic Melaka delicacies. I gotta say downsouth’s taste is more inclined towards sourish� as� most food� contains pineapple� or at least a few squeeze of pineapple juice. For a moment there I thought the food has gone bad or something. hehehe… Imagine tasting sourish satay sauce!

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I hate to say this but I don’t think this place has left me with any good impression� after an absolutely� horrifying experience which has killed it all! You will know what I mean when you scroll down the pics….

� And mind you it’s not for the faint hearted!

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Melaka One Day Trip:� Walking down the� Jonker Street

Melaka One Day Trip: These clogs are famous in Melaka which reminds me of Amsterdam.

Melaka One Day Trip: Alright. That’s it. The highlight of the day. You wouldn’t believe this actually happened in an international 5-star HOTEL!!!� I was� very conscious about the food hygiene in all the dirty looking local hawker stalls that we’ve visited throughout the day and it was all fine until we decided to go to the only biggest hotel in Melaka for high tea to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. Intuitively I’ve let my guard down due to the comfort of the seat and ambience there; and� my tiring foot along with a strong urge to quench� thirst after walking all day long under the basking hot sun, when my fresh starfruit juice arrived at� the table� I was� so delighted and couldn’t wait to take the first sip.

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I kinda noticed a huge seed from top view of my drink but due to the subconscious trust I had for the place and also my exhaustion I thought starfruit� seed has always been quite some size anway.� So I kept on sipping and sipping away.

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Suddenly Jordie screamed at me, “OH MY GOD! THERE’S A COCKCROACH IN YOUR DRINK!” I was in utter dismay to really� believe what I saw in my drink.

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In case� you can’t see the deadly creature, I’ve magnified the image.

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I went to the toilet to puke and my boss helped� to make� a complain to the management and all that, I still thought this is UNBELIEVABLE to happen in such a prestige hotel restaurant!

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I didn’t mean to be a drama queen but seriously this is something not funny at all. One of my colleagues were considerate enough to ask me if� the drink� tasted better when I was trying to puke my gut out.�

I was at Langkawi about a week ago for a company trip. It was a pretty good break albeit very short. All of us were luxuriously pampered with lots of breathtaking sceneries, tranquil beaches, superbly relaxing and exclusive accommodation, unlimited amount of food & drinks and on top of that we were even given shopping vouchers to spend on the island upon arrival! *blessed* Honestly, this company retreat has hence made up many of my missing holidays ever since I returned home because I really couldn’t remember when was the last time I went on a proper holiday. :S We traveled by Air Asia which I must say, its standard is way below par as compared to EasyJet for a budgeted airline. But I ain’t gonna complain much here coz I’m somewhat gratified that we didn’t have to take a coach instead. The company has opted for Tanjung Rhu Resort as this year’s offsite venue, an exclusive deluxe resort located in the northernmost tip of the island, where it fringes along the powdery shoreline that leads to the cool water of The Andaman Sea.

Let’s these pictures speak for itself:

Excitedly waiting for the executive bus to send us to the LCCT Airport.

The room from inside out.

The beach.

Sneaked out to the beach to feel the sea breeze. Exterior pond at the entrance.Upon arrival. We adjourned to The Sand Restaurant for buffet lunch.
More pictures coming up soon.

I’m currently blogging from London at sis’s place, which is our last destination before heading home in another 10 more days. There are 3 more relatives from Ray’s side to visit and then we’ll be done and home we come.

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Seriously, we haven’t stopped running since we quitted our job almost a month ago. First there were several leaving dos with colleagues and friends and lots of drinking. Before I know it we were already on the plane heading for our Europe trip.

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It was a fabulous trip, first time being a backpacker wasn’t easy at all but it was a hell of an experience. My rugsack weighed about 25kgs and I’m still recuperating from sore shoulders, Ray was laughing at me throughout the trip whenever I was carrying the rugsack cos he said he was struggling to see my head from the back and it looked as if a spooky bag was walking on its own. haha. but not so funny.

Anyway. My favourite place? It has to be Chamonix of France, nothing beats the feeling of being on top of the world at the summit nearest to Mont Blanc.

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Worst place? You’ll be surprised.

Rome was supposedly a really nice historical city and we’ve been longing to visit Rome for a very long time and therefore, we’ve stayed there for 4 nights hoping to see the city more thoroughly. But sadly, it was a big disappointment as it turned out. The place was notoriously overcrowded, it didn’t help even we tried to go back to those famous spots in the night to avoid the crowd.

Trevi fountain was magnificient but it wasn’t as romantic as it claimed in many movies. We struggled hard to find a seat to sit down and to enjoy the view and when we finally managed to squeeze into a small corner, then there was a crowd of Indian sellers trying their best to block our views by standing in front of us unless if we buy an item from them. It was really intimidating. Some of the locals there were really rude and the worst was how we almost got mugged on a busy street and only managed to escape the ordeal by me hitting the bitch’s hand who tried to steal the wallet out of Ray’s pocket. And I was yelling like a mad woman on a busy street.

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Besides that, we visited the Vatican City the day before the Pope passed away. The Sistine Chapel? Absolutely splendid.

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Will try to write more about the trip later. By the way, thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a very normal day, just the way I liked it.