We went on a 3N Cruise, the second time. The first was on a Virgo Cruise. However this time on a smaller ship, much smaller. How was the experience? Seriously I need more time onboard. Definitely too many activities and spend too little time on the ship.

There are plenty of food and 4 meals a day! You cannot go hungry! There are 3 restaurants with free food, Four Seasons, Ocean Palace and Mariners International Buffet Restaurant on Deck 9. I felt Mariners and Four Seasons are the best 2. Mariners offer the best selection of food choices. Four Seasons served Western meals and Ocean Place served Chinese meals. 4 meals a day, breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. You can pick only 1 restaurant per meal.

We boarded the ship early at 1 pm and went for lunch. Lunch was nothing to shout about but the BBQ sail away party had plenty to eat! One thing I didn’t like was, you need to pay for drinks except water. You will see many staff selling juices, beer or wine. They don’t just approach you once but many times and every day.

We went for a tour around the ship. I thought they will show us the different types of rooms but didn’t. The ship has a free gym but you need to wear gym clothes and shoe before you can use it. There are 2 swimming pools, one for children and the other for adult which is 7 feet deep. My kids love the Jacuzzi which is heated, you can even enjoy a night deep.

We were given a schedule of all the shows, activities and events. You can pick and choose what you want to do. We chose to just relax and enjoy the sail.

The pool party was filled with entertainment like singing, dancing and fun! I found the speaker was too loud and really hate it when the singer scream as she sings. Almost burst my ear drum. I was glad that it was over and I can have a peaceful dinner with a great view of the sea.

Onboard Time: 1-3pm
Phuket: 12pm – 12 am Day 2
Krabi : 11am – 5pm Day 3
Penang: 12am Day 4

Our cabin with window view:

The Pool Deck

Kids Enjoying The Breeze

The Sunset

The Two Kiddos OnBoard

Isn’t this lovely? You can drink tea and admire the view in Cameron Highlands and also enjoy scones.

After hearing so many tips from friends who has or hasn’t been to India, I got worried. First they tell me to avoid drinking any water except bottle water. Next they told me not to take food that is not from reputable restaurant. Next my mom called and asked me to pack some diarrhea medicine. Even my travel agent asked me to pack a few litters of water in my check-in baggage.

I am glad now that I am back. God really protected me from any mishap. Yeap, my God is still in control and he gave me a pleasant trip there.

The water in the hotel was pretty clean, meaning not brownish looking. Yes, there was some funny taste to the tap water. The hotel did provide 2 liters of bottled water every day. On top of that, at my office, they provide ample supply of bottled water for me. I must say, I was oversupplied with treated or mineral water.
Usually at many eatery places, bottled water is served. They are most popular brand is Kinsley from Coca-cola company and Aquafina from Pepsi which we seldom get here. It is pretty decent in Hyderabad. I had no bad experience and I am back without any problem.

I will tell you more once I get my pictures sorted out. For now I need some sleep. Last day of India was pretty tiring for me and I tell you why in the next post.

I had made a booking very early in the year for a Hong Kong vacation for my family. Well my frequent flyer miles were expiring and I need to use them before it is gone. I thought about going Korea for a ski trip but I was afraid of language problem. In the end, I picked Hong Kong, more suited for the kids.
Anyway, I only have to pay tax for the air tickets to Hong Kong for my family. However HK hotels are very expensive. I am glad I got cooperate rates for the hotels too. Everything else is expensive in HK because of their standard of living.

It is the second time for my family to go to Hong Kong. We did the same trip 2 or 3 years ago but somehow I felt it was too short. This time, I planned a little longer because I anticipated a lot of walking and kids get tired.

I planned 2 days in Disneyland, 1 day Noah’s Ark, 2 days shopping and 1 day Ocean Park. I also wanted to go Sai Kung for seafood but failed to do so. It was really a bummer because I was short of cash, I didn’t change much cash there. Everything there uses cash instead of credit card. Ended up I didn’t buy much stuff except at stores which use credit card.

The hotel arrangements were to spend 2N in Disneyland, 2N is Kowloon and the rest in Hong Kong island. The Kowloon Hotel was very convenient to eatery places, shops, MTR and of coz near Victoria Harbor. It is also a short MTR station to Mongkok and Yau Ma Tei, where lot of shopping can be done. However the rooms were a little small. I like the Grand Harbor Hotel with was a little bigger but it has a very beautiful harbor view, also near the MTR station. Of coz, the usual Disneyland Hollywood hotel is also spacious. All three hotels have a bathtub which my children love. They never get tired of playing water even on a cold day.

The Kowloon Hotel:

The Disneyland Hollywood Hotel, more spacious with 2 twin bed and seaview. The seaview is a little far for me:

Harbor Grand HK Hotel:

A Beautiful Harbor View:

This is a delayed post which I almost forgot about it. Anyhow, I saw it being queue up for me to write about. Here goes…

My hubby found the most delicious Lemang during the Puasa month aka Muslim fasting month. Lemang is actually sticky glutinous rice cooked in bamboo shoot. It is done under a fire which brings out the fragrant of the rice. It can be eaten together with meat floss or rendang (dry meat curry).

The delicious lemang is very soft and it goes well with the spicy meat floss. Both my kids love it!! The place where we got this is near the Taman Bukit Jambul flat but I believed it, you can find it only during Puasa month. If you come to Penang during that month, go try it! Super yummy…..

Here are some pictures of my travel to Colorado Springs. Enjoy!

We went up to one of Langkawi Sky Bridge using cable cars, located in Oriental Village.

It is a breathtaking view up there. However because I am a little height phobia, walking on it gave me goose bumps. Fortunately I didn’t faint. My children felt nothing and kept walking without any problem. I am glad that their hiking experience paid off as I can see some guys stopping to take rest climbing up the stairs.

The weather was nice, not too hot. You must go there if you are in Langkawi. Here is some pictures to show you the great view.

Oriental Village, looks the same after all these years.

The Q to the cable car.

The Breathtaking View
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The last time I set foot here was back in 2005. I was a little disappointed then because the Penguin section was under renovation.

Today, the place didn’t change much but I was impressed that the Penguin section is fairly big, 2 big sections for 2 types of Penguin. However when I looked at the Penguin, I feel sad for them because they are caged. They looked bored. Anyway that’s was the major part of the attraction in Langkawi Underwater World.

The rest were the usual sea creatures like coral fish, stingray, sharks, jelly fish and all types of fishes.
My children like to see the Penguin but only for a short while as they were distracted by a digital light game that shines on the ground. That was the most fun they have in there.

By the way, if you bring your myKad, you get a discount on the entrance fee. Enjoy the pictures.

Meet The Penguins…poor thing…

Got distracted with the game…

Must take a shot with the penguin…

My favorite shot

A choc chip cookie…opps no, a star fish

Penguin In Action:

Stingray In Action:

I was able to get free AA tickets a year ago for this Langkawi trip. I took my family for a fun vacation. Thanks to a friend who helped me to make booking with Berjaya Spa & Resort Hotel. It was a great stay at kampong chalet. However the hotel rooms are not up to a 5 start standard but the resort was great. They should do something about their rooms.

I got lots of good stuff from Langkawi except a bottle of wine. I wanted to get a nice bottle of red wine but I just could not find the brand I wanted.

I got Corningware, 1 5L, 1 3L and 1 1.5L cooking set. It was only RM350.00, retail is RM589.00 What a good bargain!! Thanks to my hubby who helped me to carry it back. The shop that I went to is called Idaman Suri, it has lots of selection on Corningware, Vision, Corelle and others.

Next I got chocolates, those yummy chocolates. I got lots of Ritter Sport, one of my favorite chocolates. I got some liquor chocolates too. I tell you they have so many varieties and I don’t really know what to choose. Look for yourself!

I didn’t get much dry seafood or cuttlefish, although it is cheap. I guess Penang has it so it was not worth carrying back here.

More about the trip later when I have time to sort the pictures….

We drove 2 hours to Melaka visiting Michelle Soo and her family. It was great to meet all her lovely kids. We went fishing and rambutan plucking at her place. They caught 5 fish, one kept and the rest returned back to the pond, too small to be cooked. Too bad no durians fall on the ground for us to feast. We also tasted all the delicious nyonya food cooked by her MIL. Her MIL is just a good cook.

When Emily & Clarissa meet, here is what they said in one of the conversations. It was after Emily came out from her shower.

Clarissa: You look pretty without your glasses.

Emily: You look adorable (chubby) without yours.

Aren’t they cute?

Enjoy the pictures! Next stop KL…