18 May 2010

I am absolutely sorry for being away from this blog more than 2 months. Sometimes I would rather post pictures or frustration of words via Facebook than posting here. I hope I am back for real this time.

As the title mentioned, I spent my Labour Day weekend at Koh Lipe (Lipe Island) in Thailand. Never heard of it?

Koh Lipe is a small island in the Southern part of the Thai Andaman Sea and it is very near to our Langkawi island.

Koh Lipe is vastly known among the foreigners (read: Caucasians) and the locals. Malaysians hardly knew about this deserted island and I, for one, had to find out about Koh Lipe from a friend who googled about it.

I know many of you will ask ‘How do you get there?’ or ‘Is there a direct flight to Koh Lipe?’ and so on.

The quickest way from Malaysia is through Langkawi Island, the cheapest via Pak Barra. During the low season, Koh Lipe can only be reached from Pak Barra.

From November until May there are several ferries a day from Langkawi to Koh Lipe. Click here to find out for the ferries time table. However, most ferry companies use a different port on Langkawi Island. I took the boat from Telaga Harbour Park which is about 10-15 min drive from Langkawi International Airport.

The boat ride to Koh Lipe takes less than 1 hour. When you arrive on Koh Lipe you will have to go through the immigration first. The captain of the boat will give you the instructions of what to do and where to wait.

There is no pier on Koh Lipe. Local Chao Ley (Sea Gypsies) will come with their longtail boats to pick you up from the ferry.

They will take you to any beach on the island for 50 Baht (not included in your ferry ticket!). Please do not wear sneakers when you are at this point. You wouldn’t want your shoes to be drenched in salt water upon reaching the shores.

Once you reached the shore, do not stare at the beach first.  Remember to pick up your passports from the immigration counter.

Koh Lipe is known as “Maldives of Thailand” and I strongly recommend you to visit this island before it is flocked by overcrowding tourists like the ones in Phuket.

There are 3 main beaches on Koh Lipe: Pattaya Beach, Sunset Beach and Sunrise Beach.

The most popular one will be Pattaya Beach.

There are dozens of resorts and places to stay all over the island, and because of Koh Lipe’s small size, it’s easy to stay anywhere and go to any beach in less than 15 minutes.

Sita Beach Resort is one of the best resorts available in Koh Lipe, providing the best facilities like swimming pool, water heater showers, complimentary wireless Internet and many more.

With the stunning spectacular view of the open sea, I believe you will hardly spend time in the room.

Like me, most of the time you will be staring at the aquamarine waters and the white sandy beach. But be careful; do not overcook your skin under the sun. Be sure to apply sunblock before you get out of your room.

You may also hop onto the longtail boat and the local gypsy will take you to nearby islands for Snorkelling. If you go on a group, it cost about 550Baht per person. But during the low season (May – September), there will be no group outings. Hence, you need to rent a private longtail boat for 2000Baht and you will be the boss of the boat.

The local gypsy will take you to known spots for snorkeling and enjoy the colorful life in the sea.

Before you leave this island, take a stroll across the island to Sunset Beach and fall in love with the sunset here.

Koh Lipe is no doubt the perfect choice for a relaxing getaway. All you need to do is to save up about RM1,400 for the entire cost of the trip.

Guess what? Unlike Phuket or Krabi, Koh Lipe is NOT that commercialized and you can enjoy the every bit of the island in awe.

2 February 2010

When the long London nights start drawing in and the winter weather is pretty miserable, it’s just hard to seize the daylight moments to capture presentable shots. With the limited time frame due to the hectic schedule, I just have to grab every opportunity I have. It’s tempting to stay indoors and hibernate in the nippy winter months but I’ve traveled 10,000km to London, I refuse to keep warm in the hotel only.

Princes Square to Porchester Gardens, London

The wintry chill in London is completely different as compared to the winter I experienced in Amsterdam or Madrid. I could survive on a pair of jeans without thermal wear as long as I’m covered with 2 layers of jackets and I naively assumed it would be similar in London. I was totally wrong. It is even more miserably chilly when it rains. Not to even mention that temperate drops dramatically when the sun sets by 4:45pm during winter months.

Family outing at Queen’s Walk, along the Thames River

I’ve to wrap myself up like a dumpling, layers after layers, warm coats and woolly scarves, hats and gloves to ensure I won’t stay vulnerable to the icy winds. Oh, I definitely have to keep my hood up to prevent loss of heat from my head.

The black cab of London

I believe one of the best ways to beat the winter blues is to get outside and get the blood pumping. Londoners walk a lot and I mean, A LOT! I am serious, they walk more than anyone else in the country. With such efficient transport system of the tubes and buses in London, who needs the black cab? Unless you have 2 or more suitcases which could be quite tedious to carry them by yourself.

Queensway Road, heading towards Bayswater underground station

I actually have to be grateful for I did not have to come a week earlier. Most places in Britain were buried with inches of snow due to the cold snap of Arctic wind. In fact, my friend said I was fortunate enough to get a warmer week whereby the rain washed the snow away. If not, I will be definitely sticking my bottom lip out, trying to balance myself on the icy and slippery roads. Thank you, God!

Walking along the riverbank of Thames

Thank you God for the sunshine! For the very first time, I appreciate sunshine (as you know how hot and sunny Malaysia will be).

In front of Buckingham Palace

And darn, just as I thanked God for the beautiful weather, I had to run off after this shot due to drizzling. LOL!

So much for the wintry moments in London, stay tuned for more entries.

9 September 2009

Melbourne oh Melbourne.

I have heard of this city since I was in primary school. And here I am, placing my first ever footprints in Melbourne.

Friends are moving here one by one. The latest friend to join in the migration crowd is Kim.

It was more than a trip of work and play for me in Melbourne even though it lasted approximately 72 hours only. There’s so many eating outlets and I would love to try them all. No particular Aussie dish as the community is kinda dilluted. Not to mention the influx of Asian immigrants here. What I enjoy most would be the Italian cuisine.

It was just simply enticing and mouth-watering.

With such a short period, I definitely could not discover more. I will probably come back with my own savings. Save, save, save! I have yet to experience the Koalas and Kangaroos, Mt Bhuller, Great Ocean Road and et cetera.

Nevertheless, the added advantage of this trip was being able to catch up with friends I don’t see frequently.

This trip also allowed me to experience Planetshakers’ church which is located at Dallas Brooks Centre.

I grew up listening to both Hillsong and Planetshakers, and being able to experience how a usual Sunday service goes, was definitely enriching. Going to share a 1.5-minute video of the first song during the praise & worship with you through this youtube below:-

The last time I attended a PS Conference was back in Dec 2006 and the team did drop by at City Church KL for a visiting Sunday in April 2008. Gosh, that was so long ago. Most of all, I was more than glad to tag Kim along, and a liberating moment came when Kim re-dedicated her life to God.

Hmm, thanks to Sunny, he took me for a quick tour around La Trobe University.

Sounds familiar?

Well, that’s my university which I never had a chance to study here, but to complete the degree from this university at Nilai campus.

My heart sort of like melted when I saw the scenic landscape around the institution. The question kept popping in and out of my head “Why didn’t I have the chance to experience the education here?”. Oh, things do happen for a reason. Not by coincidence, not by human chance or luck. It’s already pre-destined by our heavenly Father. Well, maybe I will have a chance to further my studies in near future. I’ll never know what is in store for me.

Truth to be told, I just can’t get enough of the eclectic Melbourne.

How can 72 hours be enough for such a beautiful place? The chilly weather is simply revivifying for me. I have always been in awe of temperatures between 8 – 18 degrees Celcius. Oh well, the grass is always greener on the other side. Isn’t it?

As I mentioned, I have yet to touch and see real Koalas or Kangaroos.

Thus, I will be back, no doubt.

6 September 2009

It was a long day in Melbourne for me yesterday.

Convention + catching up with a childhood friend, Kim Ong, who is well-known among us in blogosphere and celebrity world.

Here we are at the South bank area, looking for a place to dine and catch up. The last time I met Kim was during her wedding in late June.

Decided to have an Italian moment with La Camera.

I ordered a Gnocchi Amatriciana, sprinkled with lots of parmesan cheese over it.

Kim settled with Antipasti Misto which serves for two. A big appetite allowed her to indulge all by herself. I salute her elastic tummy!

And wait, this is what I found before I went for my convention. I managed to capture this little shot on Flinders Street.

Yeah, it’s not about all play in this trip. Need to do some work too!!

I was giggling when I picked up this book in my hands. The book says “We Need to Talk About Kevin“.

Hmm, which Kevin? My Kevin?