2 days 2 place: Exploring KL and Melaca over the weekend

Backpacking, I used to do it when I was still working in the Philippines. Its my reset button, to loosen up a bit after a hard days work. I just grab my backpack on a weekend and go somewhere out of town with friends, either go to the mountain or beach bumming somewhere in Batangas or Zambales. I do not have a car, in fact I don't need one to do all this. I just need my backpack, some cash and a fully charge phone and that's it. There's a sense of adventure going to places using public transport. Its also an avenue to meet great people along the way. Everybody is doing it.

I was excited when me and my wife decided to do a backpacking trip over the weekend. Our objective is simple, more fun and spend less.

It was a Friday, while still at work, my wife already pre-book everything; bus ticket and hotel accommodation. That's what I like about her, she's so organized, she don't want to get stress in the middle of the fun. Anyways, it was almost 11:15pm when we exited Malaysia immigration and proceed to Larkin terminal as we need to catch our 11:50pm bus schedule. By the way, its much cheaper to book a bus in Johor Bahru going to any destination in Malaysia compare to booking a bus ticket in Singapore.

We boarded the the bus around 2am. Yeah, I know, the bus is late! 2 hours late! My wife started to snore in one of the bench in Larkin bus terminal. But thought they were late, they make up for the lost time. We still manage to arrive at 5am in Kuala Lumpur, I didn't even noticed it, if the bus fly all the way to KL.

Upon reaching Kuala Lumpur TBS Terminal, we have our breakfast in one of the cafeteria at the terminal, while waiting for the KL transit to open at 6am going to our first destination in Batu caves.
 

Batu cave is one of the tourist landmark in KL. Its a place of worship to our Indian and Hindu brothers, located in Gombak, Selangor Malaysia. It is accessible thru KTM Sentul-Klang Line and the name of the nearest station is "Batu Caves". A limestone hill with a series of caves, and the cave entrance is guarded by a giant statue of Lord Murugan, one of the most celebrated Gods of Hinduism. It is also the tallest Murugan statue in the world which stands 140 ft high. You must prepare your self to face an almost 300 steps going up to the cave entrance, and its a bit steep. There were monkeys all around, so make sure that there's no food dangling anywhere within you, otherwise, they will gang up to get it.

There were two temple inside the cave and you'll see a lot of Hindu religious statue inside. A lot of pilgrims, worshipers and tourist alike visit this place. And 3 more temple outside the cave, where you can also see the giant statue of Hanuman, another Hindu God.

 

After Batu cave, we hid back to KL sentral and proceed to our Hotel for check-in, it was already 11am in the morning. We book at Royale Bintang Hotel, 4 star but nice and clean, the carpet is smelly though. It is located at Bukit Bintang, one of the famous night spot in KL. And can be easily accessible via KL monorail system. 

 

A KL tour will not be completed without visiting it famous landmark, the Petronas Tower. Located in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, it stand at 1,483 ft and considered to be the tallest building in the world from 1998 - 2004. Its a twin tower where Hollywood actor Tom Cruise actually climb this during the shoot of Mission Impossible 3. Trivia!

We go to Bukit Bintang during the night, its the next street from where we stay. Its also a famous hang out spot in KL, the whole street comes alive at night. If your craving for street foods, this is a place you need to be. Be it seafood, sugarcane juice, coconut juice, coconut ice cream etc. you will find it in Bukit Bintang. Must try: Fried Ice cream, very nice!!!

 

 There were also bands playing and they're mobile, they move from food stall to another food stall Cool right, and they're good! they play chill and reggae music. What a nice gig to end the day

The next morning we had a buffet breakfast at the hotel and then we pack our things for our next destination, Melaka! 

Melaka is another tourist destination in Malaysia, with both historical and cultural significance. There is a heritage site in Melaka which boost the tourist in Johor Bahru. It comprises of ruins, fort, old church and Chinese-Malay village. 

 

After our short but memorable Melaka trip, we rode a bus back to Melaka central, and from there we took another bus bask to Larkin. And from Larkin we go back to Singapore. That concludes our weekend backpacking adventure. 

Tip: When you're in Melaka never missed Famosa Chicken rice. 

 

My summer trip to Redang Island (Malaysia)

Yes its summer time! You can already feel the heat and the temperature is rising. And its the best time to go to the beach, take the plunge, swimming, snorkeling, diving, island hoping, tanning, beach bumming and many more activities you can think off. The question is where? Of course there are many beaches out there but choosing the best location is as crucial as planning your itinerary specially in my case. Working in a foreign land, and going back to the Philippines just to go to the beach over the long weekend is not a practical idea. So me and my wife start searching a beach destination in Malaysia until another blogger mentioned Redang Island in Kuala Terangganu and then puff! we have a perfect destination for our long weekend getaway.

Redang Island is located in Kuala Terangganu. It's a 9-10 hour drive from Singapore excluding the the queuing part at the Singapore-Malaysia Immigration. After the long hours on the road, you will reach Shabandar public jetty and from there, another 1hour and 45 minutes ferry ride depending on the calmness of the sea.

April 24, 2016 around 9PM in the evening we boarded a chartered van at Marsiling MRT station Singapore. Me, my wife and together with 5 other friends. It was the eve of a long weekend, and the traffic was very heavy, that it took a while for us to reach Singapore immigration. There's a very long queue of vehicle going to Malaysia and it was almost 12am when we pass thru Singapore-Malaysia checkpoint. After that, it was a smooth continues drive to Kuala Terangganu. 

It was 7am when we arrive at Kuala Terengganu Shabandar public jetty. The ticketing office was still close but there were already passengers and tourist alike starting to file up on this small jetty. While waiting, we decided to stroll around, we go to china town and eat breakfast. It was just 5 minutes walk, away from the jetty. Every street along china town is uniquely decorated. They also have there own version of Paris love locked and we never miss this chance to put our love locks and this time we bring our own padlock. We learn our lesson in Penang hill where the padlock is sold at triple the price.

 

Upon returning to the jetty, we found out that our hotel already made the jetty ticket reservation. Its already hassle free. All we need to do is show our hotel reservation and the guy will be the one get the ticket for us. The payment for ferry ticket will be at the hotel upon arrival. It was 10:30am when we boarded our ferry, we manage to get a seat at the second floor with a very nice view of the seascape. The travel was smooth and there's a flat screen tv and they're showing the movie San Andreas, good choice, right?!

We arrive at Redang Island Resort around 12noon. Its a 4 star hotel located on top of the hill overlooking the village jetty and facing the marine park with a very beautiful seascape. Upon check-in, we quickly go to the room, unload our things and change costume. Beach mode time!

First activity is snorkeling at marine park. Its a small island part of Redang and it is under Malaysian marine development program and it serves as a research center as well. 10 meter from its shore, is a sanctuary for different species of colorful fishes. It's like a plantation of corals when you go under.

We head back to the resort after snorkeling, while the rest of our friends decided to take a nap. Me and my wife decided to explore the far side of the island. We rented a motorbike at the hotel lobby and we drove it to the village, up to the far side of the island. You will never get lost in the island, there is only one main road leading to the village and at the end of it is the Taaras Beach Resort. Its a luxury resort facing the setting sun. On the right side of the main gate, there is an unpaved road leading to the secret spot, they call it public beach but to us, its a secret spot because it looks like the road is leading to no where. Its like in those horror movies where in the character made wrong turn and never make it out alive. But the difference with this one is that, after 5 minutes of bumpy ride, viola there's the beach. A long stretch of white beach with a fine and powdery white sand like Boracay. There is no store nearby or stalls selling souvenirs, no houses either. Its completely secluded, only locals know about it and a few tourist like us, which is why we call it "the secret spot". 

The following day we snorkel, this time we visited four different site. 2 sites in the morning and another 2 in the afternoon. Upon reaching each destination, no time to waste, we immediately jump in, attack!!! Its amazing, a different world under, full of colors, full of life. We even saw sea anemone, and when there's anemone, there is nemo, I mean clown fish. Not only one but a lot, and its just about 10 meters from the shore. cool right!

 
After a day of snorkeling, we decided to go to the long beach. Its were the night life happens. To get there, we need to take an hour of bumpy boat ride. It's like a ride of anchors away at Enchanted Kingdom.

The long beach is very long stretch of fine and powdery white sand. Its where the tourist normally book their accommodation. And its isolated away from the village, you will need to trek the jungle or a boat ride to the village jetty if you wish to explore the village and the rest of the island. But if you're at long beach, everything is there, no need to go some where. All the party and all the fun happens at long beach. But if you want a peaceful and relaxing place, away from the noise, loud music and all. The Redang Island resort is just for you. A place of solitude.

The following day we explore the resort where we stay and we found out that there is also a secret spot. Their is a path way going down the shore, its isolated facing the marine park. I think nobody wander over there, because the place is so empty and there were garbage along the shore which probably came from the jetty, wash away from the shore during high tide. There was also another spot where you can find small cave carve by the tides, its truly awesome!

We hid back to our room and pack our things, its time to end our trip. It was fun and truly amazing experience with wonderful friends and amazing people. The next time you want to explore Malaysia, you may consider going to Redang Island. But prepare yourself for a very long butt aching ride and if your up for the challenge, the reward is greater than you expected.