Dearies' first trip outside Philippines

So we are all excited about this trip. One it's my first trip to Malaysia. Second, it's my dearie's first trip abroad. For this trip, I didn't make an organised itinerary. I just had a list of places to go. But one good thing is of course I booked all the accommodations in advance. One thing is sure that on the four days we are in Malaysia, we have to do Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.

In Kuala Lumpur we stayed at Myspace Inn. It's accessible via the monorail (get off at the Titiwangsa station).  Place is cheap and clean. Although the walk between the train station and the hostel is a bit creepy at night (and on weekends), it was a good find.  Just to be safe don't book the place if you're a woman travelling alone.  

In Melaka, we stayed at the Riverview Guesthouse. It's an old house turned hostel. I love the quaintness of the place. It's also situated beside the Melaka river. You can enjoy a good view of the river at night and have some beers. 

We arrived at KLIA2 via Air Asia on July 25 1030am. It was a long walk from the tarmac to the immigration counter, like it was 30 mins or more. 

KLIA2 has wifi and has a mall. So if you feel like going shopping, there are a wide range of shops to spend your money. If you're hungry, don't fret KLIA2 has lots of food choices.  We were both hungry and opted for a Malaysian meal so we ate at Kluang Station Heritage Shared. It was the first Malaysian resto that we saw. 

I had my Philippine monies changed to ringgits at the airport which was a bad idea. I know! Yet I still changed my monies there. Anyway, we had my dearie's monies changed at the city where the rates are better. 

According to the instructions of the hostel, we can either take the bus to KL Central or the KL Express train. Of course, the bus was the cheapest one. The KL express can take you 35 mins to KL Central. The bus will take more than an hour. The bus was only for 12RM per person while the KL Express would cost your 35RM per person. 

Once we got off at KL Central, we have to get on the monorail and head off to Titiwangsa Station and from there we have to walk some 3 minutes to the hostel. We just followed the directions provided by the hostel, and by asking around, we reached Myspace Inn with not much hassle. 

Tired and sleepy, and it was raining, so we didn't plan much touristy stuff.  We had dinner at Nando's, Festival City. It was one of the must do we listed. And did some shopping. :)

Next day was full packed as it was our last day in Kuala Lumpur.  It was also a Sunday, and as Catholics, we have to attend mass.

First stop was Batu Caves since it opens at 7am. We got there at 8am, climbed up the 270+ steps.

Next stop was St. John's Cathedral to attend the mass at 10ish. As expected, you'll find lots of Filipinos at the church. :)  Outside the church, you'll also see our kababayans selling stuffs. 

Now both hungry, we had lunch at this somewhat hawker center which served buffet meals. 

Another Malaysian treat. I've been eating a lot of rice on this trip. 

Right after lunch, we went around the area near Masjid Jamek: Merdeka Square, KL City Gallery (where you can find the I LOVE KL sign), Central Market, etc. 

After walking around these areas, it was time for my IKEA must do. There is no IKEA in the Philippines so I really wanted to go to one! 

IKEA in Malaysia is located in Damansara. It is not accessible via train. But there is a free shuttle bus from Petaling Jaya station. 

Well, when we got to Petaling Jaya, we couldn't find the shuttle bus. We ended up taking the cab for 25RM. No meter. :( 

Goodness, IKEA was teeming with people on a Sunday! And I was not prepared. I didn't know what to do inside an IKEA store. So we first went to the showroom. Then off to the warehouse. 

I bought the curtains I wanted to buy. We also bought an umbrella, hangers, scented candle, fridge locks. Okay, I was there for the IKEA experience. I wanted to buy other stuffs but didn't know how to find them. :( 

We took the free shuttle bus back to Petaling Jaya and headed off to KLCC for the Petronas twin towers. I love how the towers lit up at night! And of course we just had to take our pics with these grand towers. 

Now hungry, we went inside KLCC for our dinner. And again another Malaysian staple food of Nasi lemak. 

Tired and done for the day, we headed back to our hostel. 

Next day was bound for Melaka. 

It was a sunny Monday. We have to take a bus from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) to Melaka. There were a number of buses that serve Melaka from TBS. 

We didn't book our ticket beforehand. Besides it was a weekday so we didn't think it would be that difficult. 

The bus ride to Melaka Sentral takes about 2 to 3 hours.  No stopovers.  So you better have some food with you on this trip.  

We took the 1030am trip and we got to Melaka Sentral by noon, we were famished. 

We had lunch at a Thai carenderia.  We decided to purchase our bus tickets for the following day. We booked it for 245pm. Our flight back to Manila was at 950PM. 

The hostel's instructions were simple and clear. Take no. 17 bus, and get off at the Dutch (red) square. I can't remember how much the fare was (either 1 or 2RM).  So I told the driver we have to get off at the Dutch square.

From the Dutch square, we walked our way to our hostel. Instructions provided were easy. But it was a very hot day, so the walk from the Dutch square to the hostel was quite tiring. 

Once settled in at our hostel, we decided to take the colorful trishaw rides. It's a bit pricey. It costs us 50RM for both of us. It should only be 40RM if you are alone in the trishaw. 

The ride is only for 45 mins. Actually you can opt to walk around. The places we went to are just walking distance. But it was a very hot day, so doing the trishaw was not bad after all.

After our trishaw ride, we decided to explore the malls to buy souvenirs. 

We had an early dinner at an Old Town restaurant. I had my fave Kaya toast. And we again had a feast of Nasi lemak. :)

We went back to our hostel by foot, passed by Jonker Street. If we had been there on a weekend, we would have enjoyed the night market on Jonker Street. 

We capped the day with beers by the Melaka riverside at the Riverview Cafe (also owned by the same people as the Riverview Guesthouse).

The next day we decided to just go around the center, walk up the river, and visit a few museums. Well I think we ended up visiting only the Islamic Museum. 

Then we had lunch at the best Hainanese chicken rice ball in town!!! We saw this place on our first day and was wondering of the long line of people. So we decided to have lunch here. My dearie was not fascinated with the rice balls but I was! If I had a longer time in Melaka, I would go have another meal in this place. It was only after the trip that I learned of the resto's name Kedai Kopi Chung Wah. This is situated beside Hard Rock Cafe.

Check out time at the hostel was 12noon. We took the cab instead of the bus to Melaka Sentral bus station for 25RM which the hostel arranged for us.

Since we got early at the bus station, I requested to change our bus trip from 245PM to 145PM. 

From TBS, we took the bus to KLIA2 4pm trip. Arrived at KLIA2 past 5pm and learned that our flight back to Manila was moved to 1130PM! Sigh...We had a lot of free time so we googled for options, and decided on going to Mitsui Outlet which offered free shuttle buses to and from KLIA2. 

Mitsui Outlet just opened this year. We roamed around, tried to look for cheap stuffs, had dinner at the food court and went back to KLIA2 at around 8pm. 

Spent the loose ringgits on coffee and a few goodies. 

Vacay ends. Planning on for the next one. 

Oh by the way, Air Asia plane had electrical troubles by the time we landed in Manila Terminal 4. Hmmm. What if that had happened mid air??? I'm considering not taking Air Asia ever!!! But glad we got back home safe. 

Terima kasih, Malaysia!

Wonderful Indonesia

Back again in  Indonesia last July. Was in Bali again for 3 days and added one day in Yogyakarta!

This time I was with two new people.  My housemate's friends. Isn't it lovely to be travelling with new people?  It can be a hassle to some but to me who is very very flexible -  it is not! 

Our airtickets were care of Cebu Pacific's piso fare last year. Then we took budget airline Airasia to transport us between Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali.  Went into three different airports in Indonesia in 4 days! 

Our first flight was from Manila to Jakarta.  We arrived at Jakarta's airport at past 12 midnight. Our flight to Yogyakarta was still at 6am so we had some 4 or 5 hours to sleep. But we couldn't sleep well. =(  We landed at Terminal 1 and we had to transfer to Terminal 2 for our flight to Yogya (or Jogja as what others would say).  The last time we were here we took a taxi to Terminal 2 as at that time it was only too late when we realised that we were at the wrong terminal.  

When we got out of the doors of Terminal 1, a lot of people were approaching us to give us a ride to Terminal 2.  We denied a few and finally gave in to one guy who we thought was offering us a public taxi but had a private car. He offered 70k IDR which we negotiated to 60k IDR So we drove off to Terminal 2 which we adjudged as better looking and tidier than Terminal 1. When we got to Terminal 2 and alighted the car, I gave off my 100k IDR and this guy just handed me my change that when I examined it was less than 40k IDR. I told my companions that the guy had given me less and when we looked up the guy hurriedly got in to his car and tried to escape.  My friend was very brave and banged on the backside of the car enabling the driver to get out.  We demanded our exact change. He said sorry he gave us the wrong change but he only gave me in total 30k IDR which means that he charged us 70k and not 60k as agreed!  He explained he had to pay for the parking fee. My friend was really really angry but the guy will not give us the additional change and went back hurriedly to his car.  All we could do was swear and be thankful  at least we got 30k IDR back.  

Phewww! What an experience!  No different from the waiting taxi drivers in Manila's airports!!! 

The check in counters were still closed. Most shops were still closed except for a small restaurant and a convenience store.  We were hungry so we decided to eat. I had a chicken noodle soup while they had some nasi goreng. And, I saw a JCO store!!! My heart leaped! But it was still closed. Oh well at least I saw one maybe on our return I'll grab a donut.  But around 4 am, the JCO store opened.  I looked at the donuts in display and they were practically the same flavors of JCO donuts sold back in Manila.  I thought they had more flavors...I decided not to have a donut (and especially that I saw a fly! Ewwww).  I ordered a hot chocolate instead. 

 Then we were off to Yogyakarta which is an almost-2 hr flight.  Bali and Jakarta are in different time zones.  Bali has same time as Philippines but Jakarta is an hour behind.

We stayed at the Grand Quest Hotel in Yogya which I must say is the most sosyal accomodation we ever had in our travels.  We got a good discount from Agoda, you know. 

We only had 1 day and 1 night in Yogya so we had to make the most out of it.  We booked a day tour with a private van + buffet lunch + tour guides. These were the places / stops in our day tour:

Prambanan - is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer. 

Buffet Indonesian Lunch at a restaurant that I forgot the name

Sultan's Palace

Pawon and Mendut Temples

Borobudur - the main reason why we wanted to be here in Yogya, it is a 9th century Buddhist temple,  one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.   It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 m2. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s (according to the Unesco website).

Prambanan Ramayana Ballet at night - Based on an epic Hindu poem, the story of model king Rama was adapted to become an important local dance, encompassing the Javanese style, culture and music. Whilst the story originated in India, the Javanese version is truly representative of the local art and culture.  The ballet is enacted by over 200 professional  dancers and musicians on an open air stage that takes advantage of the Prambanan Temples as a backdrop.  The performance lasts for two hours. 

Prambanan Temples

the stupas of Borobudur

Ramayana Ballet

Our flight to Bali was at 6AM so we only had a few hours left to enjoy our comfy hotel room in Grand Quest. 

We had 3 days to spend in Bali. We stayed at the touristy Kuta at Ohana Hotel. It's a nice hotel with a cute pool.  

We didn't book tours for the first 2 days but booked a one day tour in Ubud for our last day. 

First day we checked out Kuta Beach and the area around it.  We had lunch at that place which I forgot again the name but it was similar to our Dampa in Manila. And I had my first bottle of Bintang beer. 

We already had planned to go to the famous Ayana Resort and Spa and spend a few hours in their famous Rock Bar. An employee from the hotel found us a transport.  Ayana is quiet far.  The trip I think took us an hour.  The driver suggested we have dinner in Jimbaran at the beach.  We took that and yes it was a lovely setting indeed for a dinner date for lovers! It had a similar set up to Boracay where restos set up tables and chairs at the beach. It was kinda epensive. We spent some 700PHP equivalent each for the meal. Seafood is expensive, anyway!



Then we were now off to Ayana!!! It's a very lovely resort, and expensive!!! It's a good place to spend your honeymoon! 

The Rock Bar was also amazing! It was set atop rocks literally and where waves would come splashing at them! You will access the rock bar via an inclinator.  It would have been good to witness the sunset there but we didn't get that as we arrived there around 8pm.  Still it was lovely. We ordered our very expensive drinks - around 600php equivalent each and yes their best-seller banana fritters with vanilla and coconut dips! Heavenly!!! 

Rock Bar at daytime

The second day in Bali was spent swimming in Kuta and maybe some surfing lessons. The waves were really strong and high that my companions didn't want to try the surfing lessons. I wanted to but didn't want to do this alone. So we just took a dip in the sea but only stayed nearshore as we didn't want to be taken by the waves. 

Kuta is so much like Boracay except the sands such that there are a lot of sellers offering you henna tattoos, hair braids, bracelets, sarongs, ice cream, etc. I was tempted only by a Magnum ice cream which I was craving for in a long time. Hehehe (as if there wasn't magnum in Manila!) 




After getting some sand and sun we decided to enjoy the hotel's pool which was tiny but also cute. Besides no one was swimming and we had it all to ourselves. 

Then later in the afternoon we went to the Bali Bomb Memorial a monument set up in memory of the bombing in 2002. 

This was in the Legian area which is popular for anyone who wanted to explore Bali's night life. In the Legian area, we had a dinner buffet on a rooftop and was teeming with foreigners. I didn't like the food but it was only for 200PHP equivalent. I binged on the fruits and desserts. hehehe. And after dinner, we walked back to our hotel, stopped by some shops but didn't buy much only a few souvenirs. 

Then we went into a local spa which was part of our plan.  I paid 500PHP for my stone massage - first time to ever try it! And first time that a guy did the massage. Oh gosh, his hands were strong! I had to occassionally tell him to soften it. I didn't get tingly that it was a guy who touched my body! hahaha Besides the guy was not hot like Channing Tatum anyway!  And oh I have to mention that their manicures and pedicures were expensive even if the salons were not nice. I could get it here for 70PHP while they charged more than a hundred pesos equivalent! And even more if you wanted colors on your nails! 

Last day was spent in Ubud. We hired a van for this trip. First stop was the Ubud Hanging Gardens - a very beautiful resort set in the mountains of Ubud. It was another resort good for honeymooners.  It was long trip! I think took us two hours from Kuta to the hanging gardens.  Their infinity pools are to die for! 



Then we went on to Mount Batur which reminded me of Tagaytay. 



It was cooler and you have a view of the Batur volcano and a lake around it. We had lunch here.  We didn't stay long as the travel to the airport was going to be around 2/3 hours. Next stop was the Pura Tirta Empul a Hindu temple famous for its holy water and where people go for purification.  Again, we only can't stay long so we stayed for some thirty minutes here. We just washed our face with the holy waters and took pictures of course. Oh I have to mention that when you enter Bali's temples you have to wear the sarongs.  Even if you are wearing a long dress you are still required to wear the sarong. 



Now off to the airport. It was a long ride and it was spent catching up on sleep. 

Bali's airport is still undergoing renovation.  Well they better expand it as there are a lot of tourists in Bali! 

Our flight back to Manila was still around midnight. We spent the hours before this to have some JCO Donuts and buy more pasalubongs. We spent the remaining IDRs we had. 

And we have come to the end of this wonderful trip! Back to realidad!