5th Anniversary : Berwisata ke Bandung (Visit to Bandung)

We chose to celebrate our 5th Anniversary and Aarsyan's 4th Birthday in Bandung. We stayed at Grand Royal Panghegar at Jalan Merdeka, which is in the city itself. The hotel has been there since 1960's but recently renovated with additional brand new condotel. All condotels come with bathtub and kitchenette. Even numbered rooms has pool view while the odd ones face the city. Service was good and the breakfast spread had combination of western and Asian. There are ATMs, 24 hours convenience store and boutiques inside the hotel itself. They provide airport transfer too. The advantage of this hotel compared to Hilton is the heated pool. Bandung is cooling, and a heated pool would be a better choice. Other 3 hotels that offer heated pool are out of city. It is a nice hotel to spend time with kids.

Mini playground next to swimming pool

Bandung is a cool mountainous city in West Jawa, Indonesia. It is well known for shopping because loads of Jakartians and Malaysians go there just for shopping. Now, lets look at what else Bandung has to offer and some places where your kids can have fun too.

Ciwidey

Paddy fields all the way up Ciwidey

Ciwidey is in the South of Bandung. You can spend half a day in Ciwidey itself. There are few places that you can visit here other than the crater. There is Lake Patengan, Ranca Upas Camping Site, Hot Springs, Deer Farm, Tea Estates, Strawberry Farms and many more.

Kawah Putih (White Crater)

I simply have no words to describe the beauty of Kawah Putih. The blue colour of the water is not at all like the sea or ocean or any untouched island. The turquoise water with green mountains as background, white clouds in confined misty area was just like heaven on earth. (Okay, maybe it felt that way due to the mist, but I am not exaggerating.) It has a mysterious feeling to it.

You can only be there for about 15 mins. After that you might start to feel the effect of the sulphur in the air. Anyway, we were not affected by the sulphuric acid in the air.

Ranca Upas

After that, we went to Penangkaran Rusa , a deer farm. We can actually go down and feed the deer.

There are other activities offered at this site like camping facilities (area was packed with camping sites), Flying Fox, ATV, Hot Spring and many more. A Nice place for family to camp.

Ranca Upas - Camping Site, Deer Farm, Hot Spring, ATV, FireFox etc. Its about 10 mins from Kawah Putih.

Then, we took a drive around the tea estates around Ciwidey.

Situ Patengan

Dropped by at Situ (Lake) Patengan which is not far from Ranca Upas. It's just like any other lake. Nothing special here.

Then, we proceeded to have lunch @ Saung Gawir, which was on the way down, about 20 mins from the lake. We got to eat in our own Saung (Gazebo) overlooking lush greenery and strawberry farms.

View from our Saung while having lunch

The Ikan Gurame Bakar was really tasty and Avocado Juice was yummy.

On the way down, we stopped at Cibaduyut where there are locally made leather goods. Nothing interesting here; we didnt buy anything.


At night, we celebrated Aarsyan's birthday at Stone Cafe, which is at Dago Atas.

Dago Atas has few restaurants and cafes overlooking Bandung. You get beautiful views of Bandung while you enjoy your food here.

This pic does not really show how beautiful the view was from The Stone Cafe.

Lembang Floating Market

This place is located in Lembang another highland in North Bandung. There is an entrance fee and you need to buy tokens. You use the tokens to purchase your food.

Floating stalls and the crowd on Sunday

Restaurants and gazebos. Variety of options for food and place to eat

Rabbit Farm

Car Ride

Train Ride

Ducks

Goose

The area is big and there are many activities for kids here. Car rides, train rides, flying fox, ATV rides, face painting, vase painting, rabbit farm, fish pond, goose, duck, birds and so many more. After lunch, we had an enjoyable time with kids here.

A very large area, cannot capture all in one pic.

Geology Museum

If you are interested in artifacts, dinosaurs, gem stones, oil rigs and lots of other fossil items, you would like to visit this place.

Other places for kids which we didn't get to visit (6 days was just not enough for us) :

Taman Safari Bogor - we didn't go as you will need a whole day for travelling and visiting the zoo. You get to go in with your vehicle and see the animals at a close distance. They will roam freely and some will come up to the vehicles.

Trans Studio Bandung - It is something like Universal Studios Singapore, but no point to go in with child below 5. You pay full price for kids but they can't play MOST of the games. Better to go with bigger kids.

 The Ranch - This is a nice place to bring kids. The set up is of a ranch with horses and dens. They also have Gold Mine, where the kids get to go in shallow stream and look for gold coins. Later they can exchange the gold coins with some prizes. They also have rock climbing, ATV ride, flying fox (these activities seem common all around Bandung). This place is also in Lembang and we chose the Floating Market instead of this. Maybe next time.

Bosscha Obsevatory - It's an R&D center which offers a place for children to view solar images via Zeiss Telescope.

Kampung Gajah - This is just a theme park where they have dry and wet park.

After visiting all these places, you can drop everything and go shopping. Well, things are cheap in the Factory Outlets (just like FOS in Malaysia) but you have to know where to shop. 

There is only 1 FO worth shopping in: Rumah Mode@ Jalan Setiabudhi. It's a one stop center for men's clothes, ladies clothes and children's clothes. You can catch original export quality branded items here. They call it 'sisa ekspot'. But just be aware, there are OEM stuff here too. 

Dont bother going to other FO's, but If you still have time and really must shop some more then you can visit these shops in Dago:

Blossom

Grande

Shops in Riau:

Heritage

Secret

Other than few nice ones, no point visiting all FO's. Cheap quality clothes and fake branded items.

Jalan Cihampelas

 Nothing to shop here, but can stop to take pics of superheroes with the kids.

Some pics taken @ Rumah Mode

Tips to note: Sun rises very early here, its already very bright at 6am. So its best to use the gym or pool in the mornings, have early breakfast and leave hotel at about 10 or 11am. Use the whole day to move around sightseeing or shopping and back after all shops close at 10pm. You have no place to go after 10. There is night life in Jalan Braga, but nothing interesting. People who love to sleep in during vacation wont get to visit much places in Bandung. 

5 mins Choc Mug Cake with Microwave

It's been raining and pouring and boring. You want to have a dessert in ... like the next 5 minutes?

 Here is a simple recipe to make chocolate mug cake in less than 5 minutes using Microwave.

Ingredients:

4 teaspoon flour

4 teaspoon sugar

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp oil

6 tsp water

Dash of baking powder

Dash of salt

In a microwaveable mug, mix all the ingredients above. It is better if watery consistency. 

All microwaves vary.  Try setting it at medium and bake for 1.5 mins. Let it cool.

Remember, cooking is still in process while its cooling down.

If it becomes hard, next time lessen baking time. If not cooked, next time increase baking time. 

Happy Trying :)

Alcoholic's Alphabets

Since its been a hectic September for me, I thought of a lazy blogpost; that is the Alphabets of an Alcoholic. Hey, isn't it OctoberFest already?

A - Absinthe

B - Bacardi

C - Chivas

D - Dubbel

E - Edelweiss 

F - Flaming Lamborghini 

G - Glenfiddich

H - Hennessy

I - Irish Mist

J - Jack Daniels

K - Kilkenny

L -  Long Island

M - Mojito

N - Neat

O - On the Rocks

P - Piña Colada 

Q - Quads

R - Rum

S - Smirnoff

T - Tequila

U - Up

V - Vodka

W- Whiskey

X - Xtra

Y - Yeast

Z - Zonked Out & Zzzzz

Hope this post doesn't offend anyone. Oh wait, it's MY blog!!!

ATV Track @ Giant Banting

I thought I won't have time to blog this month, but luckily I got some breather at the last weeks of the month. 

Anyway, nothing much to write about, just a small attraction for Banting kids. Since we do not have GoKart track or any similar rides in town, this can be interesting. 

So, we have a new Giant in town and it has a race track at the car park. It's not a grand race track, just enough for kids to learn road rules and it has a cute roundabout.

It has kiddie ATVs that has several speeds that can be increased as they gain control of their vehicles. These vehicles are not the same ones you see in the mall. These are quite FAST. 

It is open 10am to 10pm everyday. Any ride is RM 10 for 15 mins. They provide shoes for safety.

For adults who are bored of waiting for 15 minutes can hop on a mini ATV. Adults upto 60kgs can ride these and they are much faster than the kiddie ones.

Things to improve:

- some rules for kids to follow. E.g ride on the correct side of the road, wear safety helmet, etc

- those finish their rides should ONLY exit at entrance. Some walk back through the track and risk being hit by a speeding vehicle.

Now, lets lurk inside Giant Banting:

Of all the tenants, the last one will be favoured by kids, again:

More about Kids Playland:

It's a cute, clean indoor playground with FOC ride machines. You know those machines that moves / sways when you insert a coin? Well, here you just press a button and kids can sit as many times as they like. 

That's all folks. 

Yang dok kat kota, tak perlu la menyindir, memang tak gempaq mana pun, tapi cukup syarat utk orang Banting. :p

Happy Parenting... Just a thought

Many have asked if I have ever experienced stress in my life. Especially after I left my job to be at home with my babies. Actually many relatives pose this questions and not my friends as most of my close friends are SAHM and the ones that are not are willing to give up their seat at work to be at home. Those who ask are usually the ones who think its stressful to be around kids. I think it's natural for some to feel that way. Not everyone enjoys a daily routine of dirty dishes, loads of laundry, krazy kids, haywire house, not forgetting cleaning and cooking and by the time hubby gets back, you have to magically transform it to a happy home. 

On a side note, I NEVER liked kids, but I fell in love with both my kids the day they were born.

I did not think twice to be SAHM. I enjoy the chaos everyday. I enjoy the time I get to spend alone with my kids. I can't find a single reason to be stressed. If they spill a drink, they learn to clean up. If they wanna play in the sand at the beach, I join and throw sand on them. If they paint their fingers, i join them and paint their faces. 

If they break something, I take my time to explain to them why they should not do such things. Of course, it takes a lot of time and patience and they dont learn it straight away. But what do I have to lose by doing that? My time? I have loads of time for my kids. 

I want happy kids, not kids who learn that hitting is the best way to be understood. Do we hit an adult when they accidentally break something of ours? No, we don't. Then why do we hit someone smaller than us who cannot defend themselves? Are we becoming bullies? 

I am no guru in Happy Parenting. I am most definitely not trying to teach anyone anything but I just thought of starting a page about this....maybe in not-so-near future.

 I am a very calm, patient, super positive person who has a very strong mind (I believe I can achieve anything with my mind). I don't know how to get angry or scold people and people who know me will definitely agree. Oh yes my hubby will agree too, he has never seen me angry and he has never heard me nag.( Or maybe I never had to nag him because he is such a darling who always lets me have my way.) I think I am like this because my parents brought us( me and bro) the happy parenting way. Not like there was a way to follow, but looking back, I realised I had a happy childhood , I enjoyed it, we got things our way and learned only when things go wrong.

Is that Happy Parenting? I don't know, but I most definitely enjoyed every single bit of my growing up years. It is not like I never fell down, but whichever path I took was my decision and my parents always supported me. If it was a wrong path, I was lead to learn to overcome the problem and was never made to feel that I made a wrong decision. 

I turned out to be a very happy child and a happy being. So if this is Happy Parenting, then I would want to do the same.

Ok then, time to sign off...Till I get the time to start a page on Happy Parenting... If ever such a time comes.

 

 

 

Hat Yai Holiday

We all know Hat Yai is Shopping heaven & the nightlife is more happening than Malaysia. Let's see what ELSE is there in Hatyai...

Transport

Firstly, u can travel to Hatyai via flight, drive in, bus, train, hired vehicles. To travel around Hatyai you can use the Tuk tuk service or hire a car. 

You can try hiring from Sixt at http://www.sixt.com/car-rental/thailand/hat-yai

Rental companies @ Hatyai Airport : Sixt, Budget & Avis

With Sixt, you can book first, no need to give cc details. Upon arrival at Hatyai, just go to their counter and they will be ready with your details Just make payments and collect your car. You can get a Honda (Brio/City) for MYR 100/ day. GPS is about MYR 30/day. They also have luxury cars BMW 3Series BMW 5Series, BMW X1, Benz and Alphard but only in Bangkok :p

Accomodation

There are many hotels at the city center. Malaysians favorite is Lee Gardens Plaza. Since we had a car, we booked Buri Sriphu, a boutique hotel, ranked No 1 at Tripadvisor during our visit.

Buri Sriphu Boutique Hotel

  I only write reviews for hotels that don't make it into the top ten list but are worthy of review. So since Buri Sriphu is the best in HatYai, a brief summary will do. This hotel is new, has all the frills where staff pick you from the car with an umbrella (if raining), luggage's sent to room, welcome drinks given, speedy check in, rooms well equipped, free WiFi, bath with tub n separate shower, swimming pool, kids pool, good breakfast spread. In a nutshell, NOTHING to complain about. Its about 10 mins from city center by car. You can always get a tuk-tuk from the hotel.

Activities

This are the places we went to:

1) Banthathon Temple, Songkhla GPS coordinate : N 07° 00.534', E 100° 25.855'.

Since it was Deleeina's birthday, we went straight to the temple. It is very close to the airport, about 20 mins.

There are many temple's in HatYai, but we chose this one because it has Ganesha and its on the way to City Center from the Airport.  There are no websites that mentions about the hindu deity in this temple. I got this info from a Hat Yai blogger. 

2) Hat Yai Municipal Park GPS Coordinates : N 07° 02.597' E 100° 30.233'

Pic - Google Images

There are so many things in the park, I dont know where to start. There is a lake at the bottom of the hill. They also have an IceDome, which is similar to our Snow House at I-City,Shah Alam.

 You can go up the hill by taking a tuk-tuk from the bottom of hill. We drove the rented car up till the top. There are 3 stations at this hill.

1st Station - Goddess Kuan Yin

2nd Station - standing Buddha with magnificient view of HatYai.
There is a cable car here that connects to 3rd Station. Its 300 Bhat per person.

Can you spot Goddess Kuan Yin below?

Bon Khao Restaurant before 3rd station
We stopped by here to have lunch. Food was good. Price was normal Malaysian price. They have a good view here too.

3rd Station - Erawan(Thai Elephant God),Brahman, Sivan n Ganesha

Erawan

Hindu deities: Shiva, Laxmi n Ganesh

Standing Buddha and connecting Cable Car

3) Tang Kuan Hill, Songkhla

At bottom of this hill there is a Lift Station.

The lift ride is about 30 Bhat for adults. 15 Bhat for kids and babies travel for free. At the hill, you get to see the whole of Songkhla. The view here was Fantastic.

However, if you are going during school holidays, I think it can get congested as there is only 1 lift which takes 3 mins to go up and 3 mins to come down. It can only fit about 15 people each ride. You do the math. I guess you can get beautiful pics if you go up during sunset.

That was all for sight-seeing. Now, for the main highlight of the trip: shopping. :)

Some places to shop:

Central Mall - The best place to shop for quality goods.

Other malls - Lee Garden Plaza, Odeon, Diana Complex (There's 4D Theater here)

Some of the vendors @ Diana Complex

4D Teather at 5th floor/ Skippy Wonderland @ Diana

After the 4D movie :)

Plaza's - HatYai Plaza (similar to Pasar Borong in Malaysia), Siam Nakarin n Nora Plaza. All NOT WORTH

Markets - Floating Market- (Thalat Naam) GPS - 7.04508,100.474906(Best place to enjoy Thai food, all at 20-30Bhat only.) Clothes also can go for as low as 80-150 Bhat. I managed to get more discounts with my broken Thai. So, better to try to speak their language to get better rates. Stuff here are all wear n tear types but at that price, how to stop yourself from buying.

Asean Trade Market (similar to our Uptown in Malaysia)-The biggest market in HatYai, very close to Buri sriphu hotel.Clothes here can go as low as 100-200Bhat. But there are bundle stores here too, so watch where you are buying. 

Hypermarts - Big C, Carrefour, Tesco Lotus ( I enjoyed shopping at Tesco Lotus)

Fantastic Food:

Tom Yam everywhere is HEBAT. Must try the Coconut IceCream - fantastic.

Mango Sticky Rice - Marvelous, Miaang Kam - Infused with all flavors. Pulut ayam, Len Chi Kang - Just too many nice sweet stuff inside... yumm yumm. Flavored, twisted potato. 

Food that I wanted to try but didnt manage : their Gelato, their Swensens icecream, SomTam, 

Oh well there's always next time, HatYai is just a stones throw away.