triple A

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

honeymoon getaway: episode 1 part 1 (Phuket Fantasea)

sawasdee kah....juz got back from phuket honeymoon yesterday....the whole trip was really marvelous...from day 1 till the last day....the flight, hotel, service, food, people, places, everything was superb....day 1 our flight AK 826 to phuket was 12:40 pm....we reached phuket at about 1 pm local time (2 pm malaysia time)....kind of easy to calculate what time they are as they're 1 hour late than us, GMT+7....phuket international airport was quite nice, not as high tech & fancy as klia but was just nice & perfect....there were free maps & brochures of phuket & even free sim card!....really cool...all i had to do was just top it up at any 7-E...and there are numerous 7-Es at

Phuket...we then exit the airport to the lobby to look for the representative who'll bring us to the hotel....and there we saw 1 guy holding a plycard "Burasari"....and off we went to Burasari at Patong on a toyota camry...the journey took about 30~40 minutes....the driver drove quite fast...nothing much of a scenery on the way though but 1 thing that caught my eye, a factory outlet of nike, adidas, rip curl and a few more others...and according to the driver, things are really cheap there....too bad we couldn't find the time to go there but our next trip to phuket,

we'll definitely be there....

upon entering patong things gets more happening...sceneries are more interesting...and in no time, we arrived at our hotel, Burasari Resort & Spa...the hotel was just perfect...the set up, the landscape, the scenery, the service, the people....u couldn't ask for more....we took the honeymoon package and it includes a welcome honeymoon cake & fruits, elite thai room honeymoon set up, a romantic candle light diner, spa for 2, return airport transport & cocktail drink for 2 (which we didn't have it)....we checked in to our hotel room and took some time to

relax....after that we then went down to the reception to get the username & password for wifi at the hotel and it's free!...and did i mention that the internet speed was superb unlike at any hotel at malaysia....their internet speed technology are better than malaysia....even their cyber cafes have 12 Mbps internet speed!!....

Our hotel, Burasari Resort & Spa

The hotel lobby

Our hotel room

Our honeymoon welcome cake

after getting the username & password for the wifi, we then head to the Patong town to jalan2 for a while and to get me a pair of slippers...the slippers cost me 200 baht which was approximately 20 ringgit...wow!...that was quite costly....due to exhaustion, we then head back to the hotel and get some relax and prepare for our romantic candle light diner...at about 8 pm, we then head to Floyd Brasserie for our romantic candle light diner....Floyd Brasserie is the one & only Keith Floyd's restaurant at Asia...FYI, Keith Floyd is a celebrity chef like chef Wan here at Malaysia...for starters, we had Floyd's Royal Fish Cake & Danny's Phuket Lobster and Fish Soup, the mains we had Sea bass Fillet & North Sea Salmon, and for desert we had Mango Sticky Rice & Deep fried Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream with Maple Syrup...the portion all looks little but i tell u it was really packed and we were really full....after that we went out for a little walk and head back to hotel to call it a day....

Candle light diner at Floyd Brasserie

Starters: Floyd's Royal Fish Cake

Starters: Danny's Phuket Lobster and Fish Soup

Main : Sea bass Fillet

Main : North Sea Salmon

Desert : Mango Sticky Rice

Desert : Deep fried Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream with Maple Syrup

day 2...after breakfast, we went out to have a walk at patong to look for some souvenirs....we walked thru the streets of patong under the average hot sun, went to the beach, and at first thought of going to the phuket zoo....but at 2nd thought, we decided to skip it due to we might not have enough time to get ready for the night's visit & tour to the Phuket Fantasea at Kamala Beach....that's our top priority....so then, we continued to explore patong and also went to one of the shopping complex there...bought a few t-shirts over there and had 3 scopes of ice cream at swensen's....and we then continued in search for phuket souvenirs....we then bumped into a shop selling souvenirs, bought several key chains (standard items as souvenirs), photo frame, a plaque and a few other things...before heading back to the hotel, we went over to hard rock cafe to buy a few t-shirts....another good thing about Burasari is that it's just a walking distance to almost everything, the beach, 7-E, hard rock cafe, halal food restaurant, and many more....mission accomplished for the day, we then head back to the hotel....my wife relaxed at the room while surfing the internet facebooking and i decided to take a dip at the swimming pool....

Patong Beach

Hard Rock Cafe Phuket

at 6 pm, we're at the lobby to head to Phuket Fantasea...the distance was 9 kilometres and in less than half an hour we're at Kamala Beach to go to the Fantasea...upon arriving, we were mesmerized by the beautiful & exotic scenery & landscape of the theme park....even the ticket counter was WOW!!!....even before entering the theme park the entrance was so beautiful that

it is a must to take a few snaps of pic before entering the theme park....and the place was like an ocean of people...we then went in & there was a security check....as soon as we stepped into the theme park, we were speechless by the sight that we saw....the whole place was really & extremely beautiful...i'm out of words, probably u guys can just browse thru the photos or even go there yourself...after enuff of sight seeing & picture taking, we then head to the restaurant to have our diner...it was buffet served and they even have a halal food section which i was really impressed....8.50 pm we then head to the Golden Elephant Palace where the theatre show is at....and the place, it was really stunning...before entering the theatre, we had to hand over our cameras & cell phones and the whole process was really smooth & systematic....the staffs were very helpful & friendly....2 thumbs up...we took the Golden seat due to all other seats were fulled....when we entered the theatre hall, it was like we were in a jungle....the whole set up was really marvelous....at about 9.10 pm, the show started with the marching of the cast to the theatre stage which were elephants!!!....and together with the actors....elephants were marching right behind us and up to the stage!!...i'm really out of words...the show was about the culture of Thailand & about Prince Kamala....how the life & culture of Thailand....the battle between Prince Kamala and the bad guys...the props were superb....the animals that was in the show wasn't only elephants but even chickens, pigeons, lambs & tiger...the show lasted about 1 hour 20 minutes and it was the best theatre show that i have ever watched....out 5 stars i'll give 10 stars...we then exit the theme park and at about 11.30 pm we reached our hotel room with an experience we will never forget...anyone heading to Phuket for vacation of holiday, Fantasea is a must to visit and trust me, the fee is worth the penny...we'll definitely go to Fantasea again if we go to Phuket again...

to be continued on part 2.....stay tuned...

The ticket counter

Outside the entrance

Entrance to the theme park

Inside the theme park

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

entering adulthood ep. 1 part 2

hola i'm back...apologize for the delay on posting the cameron trip post....was very exhausted on the day arrived back at kl.....so, we pushed of from our home on saturday morning at about 7 o'clock in the morning, fetched my mother in law from her house as she's also invited to the wedding reception by auntie angeline and after that went to fetch my lil sister and of continued our journey to cameron...we stopped at sg. buloh R&R to have breakfast and only to find that the R&R was packed & full with people as there was also a convoy of big bikes....it's too many people so we decided to have breakfast at tapah instead...and off we go...about 10 o'clock, we then reached tapah R&R and to our dismay, it was also packed with many people....probably everyone wants to go for holiday & jalan2 b4 the puasa month....too many people again, so we decided to had breakfast at simpang pulai at one of the gerai on the way heading up to cameron....that's what i wanted, i was craving for the nasi lemak and i tell u, it's the best nasi lemak that i've ever tasted so far....the rice & sambal was just perfect....for that, i had to had nasi tambah....

burrppp....had our brunch we then continued the journey...from Simpang Pulai to the Kampung Raja junction took us about an hour & 15 minutes....we had to stop by at a florist shop at kuala terla (after Kg Raja heading to Brinchang) to collect some decorative leaves for the pelamin (altar) decoration of the wedding reception....so next, we have to drop by at equatorial to send the leaves as the team over there lead by my aunt (my aunt was the mak andam for the wedding reception as she was asked by auntie angeline after seeing her work during my wedding reception) was decorating the pelamin... so, anyone out there planning to get married and need a wedding planner cum mak andam, u can see my aunt's work on the pics below and if interested, do let me know....and oh ya, there is also photograph pakckage if u need...hehehe :P ....

eventually arriving at eq (equatorial hotel), my mom was also over there with some of other people helping to decorate the pelamin and i myself end up decorating it too :P....and my artistic side isn't that bad too :P....after spending about one & half hour there, we then head home to relax ourselves for a while and to get ready for the wedding reception which was a chinese course diner....the menu selection was quite good and not bad at all.....the journey to eq earlier and going back to my home at tanah rata took quite a while due to the traffic jam....jeez, 5 years ago we did not have this kind of problem....the traffic jam was due to the stalls at kea farm & the pasar malam at brinchang....majlis daerah really needs to do something on this....

before heading to my parents home, we went to the tanah rata town to grab some food as we had our brunch at about 10.30 am so by 3 o'clock, our stomach already starts to sing....we went over to Nyonya Ferns and bought a pack of kuey teow & mee goreng and also a packet of bihun tom yam...after makan, we rested for a while and at 5 o'clock, we started to get ready to head to eq....5.40 pm, we're off to eq....and expected, there was a traffic jam at brinchang which slowed the journey due to the pasar malam & also the rain....my piece of advise, do not go to cameron during school holidays or during long weekend holidays, otherwise be prepared to get yourselves stuck at the road....

luckily the jam wasn't that bad and in no time we were already at eq....we were the first to arrive coz my mom had to help auntie angeline....upon arriving, me & my wife took a few shots of the reception hall and a few pose...hehe :P .... after that we went up to hotel room where eddie & his wife stayed up for the nite and where they prepared and got make up at....the room was very cozy...it's a one room apartment unit...but too bad the scenery wasn't as catchy as the room....my aunt & my cousin was already in there as my aunt was putting make up on the bride....at 7.30 pm, we head down to the reception hall and looked for our table, no 36....luckily the setup was to put individuals with those that we know, so there are no strangers at my table and eventually were my friends too....

at about 8 pm, the mc announced the arrival of the couple....tik tok tik tok, half a minute passed but no pengantin appeared....the mc announced for the 2nd time....tik tok tik tok, still no where to be seen....the mc then announced for the 3rd time....tik tok tik tok, hello....unfortunately the couple were trapped in the lift, hahahahaha~....poor eddie having to face this circumstance during his wedding reception day....nevertheless, after about 15 minutes, the couple then finally appeared and a big round of applause was given to them upon entering the hall....they walked up to the pelamin, took their seat and the reception has officially started....

the ceremony started with the upacara merenjis by family & relatives....once over, the couple went to their table indicating that it's makan time, finally....the menus were :

-five harmony combination
-shark's fin soup with crab meat
-roasted 'pi pa' chicken
-vegetables with mushroom & scallop
-fried tiger prawns with butter & oat
-steamed 'kwai far' fish with light soya sauce
-fried rice with ikan bilis
-hot leng chee kang
-chinese pancake (unfortunately was replaced with pau!!)

those are what u would normally be served for a Chinese Course Diner....the dishes were delicious & a good option of always the nasi minyak for malay kenduri....overall, the ceremony was a good one with the singing show performed by gary & the gang singing 'my girl' version of gary composed...didn't knew gary was quite a good singer....seriously not bad at all....btw gary's eddies classmate since kindergarten till secondary school...however, the mc wasn't that up to par....could have gotten a younger & more energetic mc...fyi, the mc was a Hajjah...so u could probably guess her range of age....not to condemn but just an honest opinion...sorry for my bad :P... the ceremony ended at about 11 pm!!...and after a few photo shoot sessions, we left the hotel at about 11.30 pm....eddie was all smiles during the whole nite.....congratz again eddie!...moga kekal ke akhir hayat....

reached home at almost 12 am...after washed & cleaned ourselves up and after prayers, off to slumber land...zZzZZzz...

the next day morning, we had breakfast of last nite's diner food...there were a lot of extras and the hotel catering guys gave some to my mum last nite....my mum has been at the hotel 3 days in a row helping auntie angeline out...so, more or less the hotel guys knows my mum ready...lucky us...we had last nite's fried rice & fried tiger prawns...yummy....after that we had durian also!....man, what a heavy breakfast it was....we left my parents house at about 10 o'clock, went to auntie angeline's house to pass eddie's wedding gift coz last nite i forgot to bring it, hehe....stopped at brinchang's pasar tani coz my wife & mother in law got some shopping to do....and off we head back to kl....arrival time at kl approximately 6 pm after a few pit stops....7 pm, home sweet home....