Working Holiday

As a Malaysian, i am eligible to apply for New Zealand Working Holiday Scheme.

To be eligible
You must:
1) have a Malaysian passport that‘s valid for at least three months after your planned departure from New Zealand
2) be at least 18 and not more than 30 years old
3) not bring children with you
4) hold a return ticket or sufficient funds to purchase such a ticket*
5) have a minimum of NZ$2,250 available funds to meet your living costs while you’re here
6) meet our health and character requirements
7) be coming to New Zealand to holiday, with work or study being secondary intentions for your visit
8) not have been approved a visa under a Working Holiday Scheme before.

This particular video makes me wanna pack my bags and leave! Year of the Kiwi: A New Zealand Working Holiday

Check out this link for more information.

GUANGZHOU - HONG KONG - MACAU

Air Asia had sale, again. i, as always, went koo-koo. Bought ticket to Guangzhou for MYR 149 and coming back from Macau for MYR 289. awesome!

so, the hunt for hotel, transportation, tourist attraction and halal restaurant is back. yay! my budget is MYR 500 for everything. let's see if i could achieve something less.

MELAKA!

after Bandung, the girls got excited about traveling. Asia Rooms, Wego and Agoda came in handy. 

i fell in love with Arenaa De Luxe Hotel.

the rooms are absolutely gorgeous. have to try it one day.

Room Type	Layout	Published Rates	Walkin Rates	Online Booking Rates
				(Apply to low season ONLY)
Deluxe Room	1 Queen Bed OR 2 Single Beds	RM 298.00++	RM 198.00++	RM 149.00++
Exclusive Room	1 Queen Bed & 1 Single Bed	RM 368.00++	RM 268.00++	RM 184.00++
Premier Room	2 Queen Beds	RM 398.00++	RM 298.00++	RM 199.00++
Family Suite	2 Queen Beds and Single Long Sofa	RM 428.00++	RM 328.00++	RM 328.00++
Presidential Suite	2 Bedrooms 1) 1 Master Room with King Bed 2) 1 Guest Room with Queen Bed 3) Living, Dining & Kitchen Facility	RM 1200.00++	RM 850.00++	RM 850.00++

then there was Hotel Puri

Room Type	Room Rate (RM)	Room Pictures
Standard	120.00 ++	View Room
Superior Twin / Double	160.00 ++	View Room
Superior Triple	230.00 ++	View Room
Superior Quad	280.00 ++	View Room
Deluxe Double	220.00 ++	View Room
Junior Suite	350.00 ++	View Room
Family Room	310.00 ++	View Room
Puri Suite	500.00 ++	View Room

we have yet to come to an agreement upon where to stay. however, i found this thru my sister. Hotel Johan

datin and i are absolutely in love with the room 307. it is so awesome to have 2 rooms in a room and it is located in different level!

501 Must Visit Cities

i got this book by accident. actually was looking for EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert but couldn't get a copy. as i was about to leave the shop, i saw this book on display. 501 Must Visit Cities. Flipped thru, it was RM 59.90 and as i was deciding, i saw there was a metal poll indicating that the books on that particular isle was on sale. so i put down the display book and picked up a new one with plastic rapping. while i was queuing to pay only i realised that the book was on yellow tag displaying the price of RM 39.90. The shop keeper told me then that all yellow tag are not on sale. haha... it was already cheaper than original price. paid for the book and came home HAPPY. i simply love it. although is it not as informative as Lonely Planet, it has the basic information i needed. the rest, that is what Google is for :)

this is what it looks like in the inside. with pictures and important information on the side.

cool eh?

CAMBODIA tickets

ok. yes last week was a disaster. i did regret for NOT getting the Bangkok tickets. however, the regret did not last long. Air Asia had a promo for Cambodia (yay!). while i was checking the website, grabbed my phone, called mum and asked

"could you take 2 days off in October?"
and she went "aaaa.... why?"
i said "i'm taking you to Cambodia. Can?"
and she said " yes, i can"

so what did i do? checked my bank account balance, do some maths and bought our tickets! wuhuuu!!!!

later on my siblings also decided to come with us. so, this will be our family trip! the last family trip abroad was to Birmingham. hrmm.... that was ages ago!

So here are the info:

Kuala Lumpur LCCT(KUL) to Siem Reap(REP)

Thu 07 Oct 2010

Depart 0700 Arrive 0800

Phnom Penh(PNH) to Kuala Lumpur LCCT(KUL)

Sun 10 Oct 2010

Depart 0835 Arrive 1125

guess the price?
RM 157 return (without luggage and insurance)

[remark : ok... for those who manage to get the free seats please do not spoil my excitement]

TARGET

Siem Reap - Angkor Wat and the other historical places

Phnom Penh - Russian Market

BANGKOK free seat promo

after Bandung, i got crazy about traveling across South East Asia. i check air asia website so frequent til at times i get frustrated especially when i am flat broke and return tickets to XXX cost like RM100-200 return.

last week i missed Bangkok promo tickets. why? i was waiting for a dear friend to decide whether he can fly out on that date and by the time he confirms, it was almost midnite (price dateline).

here is an example.

free seat to Bangkok, coming back was RM 104. Total after tax RM204.00

Depart
AK 742 Kuala Lumpur LCCT(KUL) to Bangkok(BKK)
Thu 05 Aug 2010
Depart 1340 Arrive 1445

Return
FD 3573 Bangkok(BKK) to Kuala Lumpur LCCT(KUL)
Sat 07 Aug 2010
Depart 1205 Arrive 1505

BANDUNG

the idea came while we were having breakfast at hoi yin last december. i had been jobless for the last 6 months. holidaying sounds good to me. so the process of organizing started as soon as i got home.

Flight ticket with Air Asia = RM305 return per person
Hotel & Transportation 4d3n = RM 217 per person (there were 10 of us)
Food +- = RM 50 per person
Entrance to Tangkuban + Hotspring = RM 15
TOTAL = RM 587 per person

8th May 2010

We gathered at KL Sentral at about 11am. Took the ERL to Salak Tinggi and boarded a coach to LCCT (airport for low cost airlines)

Everyone was anxious wondering if they could go abroad (study loan, etc). Crossing the custom was a challenge. Some prayers was chanted to make sure they could cross the personnel without any hassle. Alhamdulillah, all of us manage to cross over.

Next, we were informed that our flight was delayed. We went to the surau to pray and wait till we were called. Boarded the flight at 4.45pm. As we didn't book the tickets together, we didn't get to seat together.

The last time i traveled on a plane was when i was coming back to Malaysia from UK. so i was pretty emotional as the plane about to take off from Kuala Lumpur. Luckily i was seating alone :)

The flight took 2 hours. Bandung from the sky looks like sea full of stars. so bright, so tempting. i have never seen any city like this before. very enchanting. unfortunately my camera was unable to capture it.

I booked hotel and transportation from Orange Home's. They provided us with 2 drivers and itinerary. Recommended!

We arrived at Bandung at about 6pm (local time). It was already dark. We were greeted by Pak Rama (one of our driver). Everyone by now was feeling depressed. Flight delayed, it was dark, and no... no shopping could be done today (the main purpose of the trip was to shop til we drop)

As we reach the hotel, Pak Rama asked what time shall we go out? Everyone jumped with excitement. We checked in, within 10 minutes everyone was at the lobby. We headed to Rumah Mode to shop. It is the best quality factory outlet in Bandung. After that we had dinner at d' cost seafood.

9th May 2010

Due to the time difference, i was pretty much up by 5am (local time). Spent some time at the huge balcony attached to our room. the sun was already rising, i loved the cool weather. very refreshing!

Had breakfast at the hotel and left by 8am. We went to Tangkuban Parahu, an active volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung. On the way up, we saw a lot of local people cycling up the hill. They didn't look tired at all. Apparently, cycling and motocross are some of local favourite pass time activities. There were also stalls selling rabbits. Curious why? It is for satay. They get it 'done' for you as and when you want it. Fresh from the cage.

At Tangkuban Parahu the weather was chilly with strong smell of sulfur. Entrance fee was Rp35k + car entrance fee Rp5k.

Next, we went to Sari Ater to dip our feet in the hot spring. Walked around while people watching. The crowd was awesome. When we were about to leave, almost 20 packed buses just arrived. Entrance fee Rp16k.

We head to the Rumah Stoberi (strawberry house). Unfortunately tickets to visit the farm was sold out. We went around the compound and took some pictures.

Had lunch at Kampung Daun. A superb place. Would have been nicer if we were to go at night.

After lunch, we head back to town to spend some good earned money at the factory outlets along Jalan Dago.

10th May 2010

When i first came out with the itinerary, a friend of mine said she needs more time at the Pasar Baru. I didn't trust her. After experiencing first hand, i gotta agree. We need more than 2 days to cover this place.

We arrived at about 8.30am. Shops were about to open. It is a huge mall with loads of small shops filled with interesting and cheap stuff. I was flat broke after 2 hours! We hardly had enough time to take pictures as all of our attention was taken by the place.

We had a short break for nasi padang lunch and prayers, before continuing at Pasar Baru. Left only when it was closing time. Cool eh?

Next, not fully satisfied with Pasar Baru, we went to Jalan Riau to shop at the Factory Outlets. This is the last stop before heading back home. We went crazy looking for souvenirs. Some locals took advantage by marking up their prices.

After a long day, we had dinner at Karamba Sudanese Food. It was almost closing time. However, in Bandung, as long as there is customer, they have to remain open. Love that idea!

Our car was in a total mess. Plastic carrier was everywhere. The worst part was carrying it to our rooms and packing.

11th May 2010

 

Last day in Bandung. Our flight was at 12 noon. Lots of time to waste. Everyone was ready pretty early. We had breakfast and went around the hotel to explore. Funny eh, after 3 nights only we find the time to explore. Anyway, there was a futsal court and fish pond. Take more pictures, bought more stuff from the locals and we were off to the airport.

What i like about Bandung
1. It is so much cooler than Malaysia, and fresher
2. The people are so friendly
3. They are very creative. As the city is crowded with people, job is in high demand.
a) there's always someone at any parking lot to help you park
b) when you stop at traffic lights, there will be someone with a guitar singing by your car and surprisingly people do give them money
c) there is people selling stuff almost everywhere.
d) despite all that, it is so safe that i could leave my stuff on the table, walk away and come back - it is still there.
4. everything is cheap

Air Asia www.airasia.com/my/en/home.html
Orange Home's Bandung www.orangehomesbandung.com