Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Cliff Ao Nang, Krabi -Day 1

Krabi..yeah short and precise. That was the name of the place that I managed to venture few months back. The memories was still fresh like the salty sea water that I accidentally tasted it while i was floating face up in this beautiful island. Many have mentioned about this beautiful paradise but I've never had a chance to go, so last year while browsing the internet, i came across of the BIG CARD 0 point promotion, so i clicked and found the available date  and voila..it was booked at RM131 return. Good deal eh? you bet.  
The window of the world
I missed cotton candy clouds
It wasnt a full flight..so yeah less 'annoying' ppl in the flight
It was only 45 minutes flight, before i could finish reading the Travel3Sixty and warmed up the cushion seats, before i knew it, there were announcement made that we are landing. But at least I managed to finish the scrumptious nasi lemak (fat rice). This was pre-booked earlier, and because of this nasi lemak I managed to score pretty decent price for 2 nights stay at Krabi..I'll tell that in a bit. Meanwhile..here the complete set of nasi lemak (RM10) that save me on my accommodations..hehee
nasi lemak hot and deliciously yummy!
Aaahhh cool..i love short haul flight..no fuss, dont have the feeling of being cramped. Touched down and the immigration was pretty smooth. Upon arrival, there are plenty of choices for you to choose on the airport transfer to your hotel. Shuttle bus only cost 150baht (~RM15.30--my currency rate was 100baht=RM10.20) to Ao Nang beach while taxi might cost you 600baht (~RM61.20 by car) or 1050baht (~RM107.10 by van) . so you do the math and choose your best mode of transportation. 
sawadeekaaa.. 
It was still very early in the morning as we took the first flight. so we are a little hungry and anxious to know how does the resort will look like. Well you know sometime these agoda / Expedia website can be quite contradicting. 
This is our bus..
bus ticket. just inform the bus driver the name of your hotel, he will stop for you at the hotel entrance.
So after few rounds of passing by the unfamiliar roads, finally the bus driver stop and raise his voice " The Cliff" ..just to double confirm i asked again "The Cliff Ao Nang?" yes yes he answered. ok so we went down with our backpacks and look around.. OKAY....signboard written as The Cliff..We were like uh? by the road side? I really thought it was near to the beach. Anyway..we went to the reception area to demand an explanation.. (neah just kidding).
night view coz was too shock to arrive in the morning earlier forgot to snap the entrance photo
Receptionist was a friendly guy, greet us with the signature 'sawadeeka' and placing both his palms together while bow his head. Room are not ready obviously coz it was only 830am..hahaha so my friend, Plamy (half thai half chinese) spoke in Thailand to him and requested for the final day breakfast to be exchanged with today since we need check out early in the morning (7am) on our last day. He checked with the management and after few minutes he came and said yes we may order our breakfast.. Yipeeeee. hehe.. So we placed our backpacks at the counter and head to kitchen. Meals are pre-ordered which will be prepared there and there. Nice! So after ordered our food, we just chill by the poolside first. Love the backdrop- the gigantic cave which is abundance in Krabi. I'm such a mountain lover compare to beach. muahaha 
Poolside

Eh makan lagi? hehee...i know the nasi lemak portion was quite filling but mulut gatal feel like wanna makan again. Well..i noticed i've gained 2 kg after this trip but its okay I've done my part exercising and wash away all those unwanted kilos thereafter. I normally the person that enjoy my food and at the same time watch my waistline. Life must have balance like YIN and YANG. I don't overeat or practise crash diet and at the same time I exercise lightly so no, not till I feel like muscle going to crack. 
Okay after that breakfast was served. so indulgence! the pancake was hard as stone. I just left where it was placed. Since I dont take beef and pork, I settled with cereal and breads. the jams are nice! milk a little not my liking. 
breakfast ready

After breakfast, we just hang around the pool area with wifi connectivity, it was like a feast for both of us browsing the internet and updating my instagram :P yeah i love WIFI. judge me away. Then, suddenly the reception came to us and said the room are ready. So he helped to carry our load and guide us to our room..Very balinese style, with wooden detailing, outdoor toilet and quiet.. I love this place! As our main reason for this trip is to eat, sleep, relax and eat and eat again..oh my..glutton punishment. 
Nice! my kinda place. outdoor toilet..hehehe
such a paradise.
each 'bungalow' are separated with wooden doors and bamboo pillars.
Guess how much is the resort per night? only RM161.58 which is equivalent to RM80.79 per person per night including breakfast.we were there for 4D3N.So i promised to spill the beans earlier right? well thanks to the nasi lemak that I've pre-booked earlier. This was after I've booked my flight and before I want to proceed with the web-check in if you noticed, there will be small window prompt after payment or your top up eg meal/insurance/skybus/seats. Normally it is from Expedia/AirAsiaGo - asking - Have you book your hotel? Aahhh well my curious mind lead me to click on it and voila - another screen pop out where I have 59 minutes and 59 seconds to choose from any of the discounted hotels via Expedia website. WOW..some even up to 60% discount out of the extra 20% discount on other search engines. While the clock ticking fast on my upper left is not helping on my decision making, I was quick to sort it out on the price and review. And at the same time, I Google the same hotel name at different tab of my chrome. my oh my, so it was genuine. The discount/ flash sale only applicable for less than 1 hour after I purchased the nasi lemak.  From RM380 per night I've managed to grab it at RM161.58 per night. such a steal deal! 

After check-in, felt so sleepy. After good rest, refresh then out to jalan jalan. We started walking at the street and check out any interesting place to visit for the next 3 days while we are here. 
The gigantic cave..
I wonder what will happened if they have this mobile currency exchange in Malaysia? hrmmm
Krabi coastline is smaller compare to Phuket but there are plenty things to do here. Infact i prefer the laid back ambiance here compare to the much anticipated wild Phuket. There are few street vendors including for tour packages, food, clothes/ handicraft etc. Price are not that cheap and since Im not here for the shopping so I just window shopping. 
HI Ronald, we meet again!. The only place you can find this kinda Ronald McDonald's pose would be here in Thailand!
 Stopped by a grocery shop where they sold some postcards. So i picked few to send back home for my parents. It has been a tradition for me to do so everytime  I travel overseas. Called me old school, but how often do we received postcard or birthday cards lately? I missed all that you know. 


We did stopped by at one of the kiosk to purchase a day tour for tomorrow. It was about < RM100 per person where there would be 4 main activities, which I would explain in my next post. 

Finally after all that walking, it was almost 330pm already, we decided to have PAD THAI as our late lunch..hehe..Found this local stalls and we just went in. About 100baht per meal, we had 2 types of pad thai. Added with squeeze of lime, is it fresh as it goes into your mouth.packed with seafood and chicken, the portion and quite big for me so best is to share!
Then we continue our walk on the scorching sun, came across this bar with a brilliant sign.
i still do talk even with wifi..it called multi tasking haha
I bet this place will be nice during the night.

beach , cave and love
found my spot to chill and writing some sentiment home
such a luxury resort. whopping RM1000 per night for certain chalet. mostly are whites staying here
yeah yeah u probably seen this a lot in murad osman's instagram.
all walks of life
the quiet street
swimming? no thanks
my happy feet
sunset are burning with beautiful skies
After watching the beautiful sunset, we decided to go back to our hotel and freshen up before checking out place to eat for dinner. 

a lot of their mart are designed nicely with hanging cables everywhere.
i remembered eating this at phuket before, but not as appetizing as this cart. So i couldnt resist to order 
this is absurd! what a great combo..dang..im craving for this now!
hipster joint
So we went back to our hotel, refresh and went out to search for some food. I really wanted to try their tom yum kung.been craving for some really tasty tom yum since I last went to bangkok and Phuket few years ago. Even my mum was praising the best tom yum kung she had was in Bangkok. Asked the receptionist of the hotel, one of the ladies recommended Tanta Thai Restaurant. We arrived the place and was wondering if it would be nice as recommended since most of the patrons here are westerners. 
Tanta Thai Food Restaurant
first it was empty, within minutes, this place was packed.
Boy we were right.. this was not the best tom yum kung but still it was decent price. These simple meals cost us 680baht. (RM69.30) not a recommend place but if you still want to try their western food then be my guest. 
tom yum kong, mixed vegetable, fish cake and omelette 
ms plamy !
ok will continue the day 2 activities on my next post. Till then, KOP KHUN KA!

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

TSDAYOUT Paradise Valley @Broga Semenyih

It has been quite a while since my last adventure with Tourism Selangor Day Out also affectionately known as TSDAYOUT. Check out my other TSDAYOUT moments and memories HERE  . The beauty about joining TSDAYOUT is not only you get to try and see new things or even meeting new friends but also be amazed with what our beautiful Selangor got to offer. Yeah since my day 1 of joining TSDAYOUT, I've been blessed to be exposed into a new world of adventurous journey and all this can be found around Selangor..lucky Malaysians we are! 

Recently, I was lucky to be able to join their first 2014 TSDAYOUT Paradise Valley @ Broga Semenyih. I was under replacement for Kanmani. Thanks babe!.  Woots I was so excited because i've been longing to ignite some adrenaline sparks inside my soul that has been lacking lately. I believe in making my life as interesting as possible because you are not alive till you feel revive! hahaaa..

Alright so that Saturday morning (25 April 2014), I've decided to drive there personally which took me about 1 hour from KL to Broga. It was a bright beautiful morning and the fact that the sun is shinning brightly, the drive was certainly at ease. But not to worry for those who are not so keen to drive/need a lift because Tourism Selangor has also prepared a bus to commute the other participants from their Head Quarter office in Shah Alam. And oh ya, all the participants are also covered with insurance as usual. How thoughtful..

I was a little skeptical using the small kampung road initially, i thought my sense of direction might lead me to someone else home..haha but boy i was wrong, because from there, it lead to a great discovery after passing by few oil palm trees plantation with great view like the HUNGER GAMES movie. (not that I have watch the movie but looking from the preview, this must be it).
After passing by the small village houses, I came across at this juncture..which was filled with oil palm tree..jeng jeng jeng.

So where is Paradise Valley situated? Well this enchanting eco farm resort is located in the valley of Broga HIlls, Semenyih. Surrounded by cool tranquility and lush greenery, Tourism Selangor did it again by choosing and let us explore this perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. Born in kampung, my veins are hyped with spirit of mother nature distinctively. 

After few hundreds metre, tadaaa...the entrance of Paradise Valley.

Finally I arrived the destination safe and sound, most of the participants had also arrived and enjoying their hefty breakfast. Yeah we'll be needing all the energy later. First all foremost we were greeted by a welcome speech from Tourism Selangor PR & marketing Exe, Renuga. Followed by one of the instructor from Paradise Valley before signing the Letter of Indemnity. 

An instructor from Paradise Valley was giving a short brief to all participants
Letter of Indemnity
kayaking anyone? 

After the short briefing we were lead by the marshall/ instructer En Am. Judging from his disciplinary act on safety style, I actually asked if he was in the military before which he humbly nodded. However he was quite lenient on us, the beginners, so fret not if you do not have any good stamina. We all came here to enjoy the facilities of the resort, participate and most importantly obey to its safety rules. No one like to get hurt be it by accident or purpose. So if you plan to have a visit here, kindly listen to the instruction for safety precautions. 

okay everyone listen carefully, because later on you need to be independent on putting on those gears.  
First and foremost, we were asked to form a group by random numbers. Next, was to release all the tense in our body with some warming up. It was good work out except for the hot scorching sun burning our skin..hahaha.. After warmed up session, we were brief on rules and safety precautions before we engage with the outdoor activities. All safety gears come in sizes so pick the one accordingly and ensure that all harness are fixed to its ledge properly. Not too tight and not too loose either as to avoid any unfortunate incident during the ride. 
First demonstration on safety and equipment where the instructor , En Am was explaining on Irhan for wall climbing
Mei Ping is the next participants that was taught on safety for flying fox

okay time to practice what we have learned earlier

4 groups were split into 2 where 1st and 2nd group will be trying the wall climbing first, while 3rd and 4th group will be doing the flying fox. It's actually an opportunity for all to unleash your fears of height and built up your confident during this tryout especially for 1st timer. I've tried both wall climbing and flying fox so it was quite easy for me, but trust me once you have tried it, you feel like taking the 2nd leap again..it is so much fun! So when the instructor asked who want to go first, I just raised my hand and came forward..haha macam budak sekolah..After few steps of gripping hard on the pieces of protruding rocks, I've finally made it to the top and pressed the bell (kononnyer dah berjaya lah). Some of the photos are credit to Nigel Low
orait..safety gears first





The youngest participants was brave enough to try it out too
After testing out my capability on wall climbing, I then head down and took some shots for their Instagram contest with the theme of Scenery and Extreme. So i just took a few shots and uploaded it as the most creative instapic will be announced at the end of that day itself. 
This was taken from the ground of the flying fox house. Legs hanging up on the air before the leap of faith..hehee
All the instructors at Paradise Valley are friendly and always there to help. 
Belay on!
green green everywhere..I like
Abdul Mueiz and Cindy Tong busy updating their insta picture


round check..yup and its good to go
while waiting for our next activity..everyone is busy snapping photos
orait let's try the next activity- FLYING FOX
The flying fox 'house'
While getting ready..some of the participants screamed their lungs out while gliding down during the flying fox
Just a bit of advise, remember to wear sunblock and drink a lot of water to keep you hydrate.  

Ready, get set go!
Smile before you scream! hehe
the best way to enjoy is the relax yourself! :) 
within seconds you are already at the end of the ride.

Yeah it was fun!


After all the participants finished trying both flying fox and wall climbing, we head down to the reception area for a delicious buffet lunch! yummy. I was so hungry after burning those energy earlier, so the meal was simply slurpppyyyy! You see that is why i love joining #TSDAYOUT, they don't only let you be amazed with the charm of Selangor but they also feed you with delicious food! haha So if you are able to read till this line and still have not join any of their TSDAYOUT, oh man..you are missing huge opportunity dude. So how to join you may ask? wait..let me finish with the after lunch activities first, then I spill the beans ok?

Right after lunch, we were asked to head uphill again for our next activities which was abseiling! It will be more challenging if there were downpour but this is good as well. I've never tried abseiling but thanks to TSDAYOUT I have another bucket list to be checked. Thanks Tourism Selangor and Paradise Valley ! hehee
Lining up for our next activities
Just as we were reaching the main area, the sky are getting a little darker. Expect to rain later.
the sky is getting darker..seems like going to rain..

After few rounds of checking by the instructors, we finally were given the cue to try it. Since I am a lefty, I decided to release the rope slowly using my left hand and my right hand gripping the harness while descending. Lean back a little to get your balance right because if you lean forward, the next thing you know is your pretty face might just 'land' on the sliding wall. 

okay descending time! slow and steady
okay steady steady..
imagine if water are gushing down ..pergh..it will definitely be exhilaring.
It was so cool! you guyz got to try this!! Then, we were asked to head to the flying fox 'house' again for our next try out. The X rope. aaahhhh...this is kinda challenging because we need to balance ourself from one corner to another by sliding on a thin rope..so shaky and wobbly feel like falling each time i tried. But finally i managed to complete the task ..yeah!
oh my...what a balancing act hehee feel like falling 
Finally we head downhill to try out the last task. While walking down, i notice this signboard and En Am was quick to inform that this is a special route hike cater only for Paradise Valley patrons. And normally they will arrange for at wee hours in the morning for a beautiful sun rising moment at the top. Cool eh?
secret entrance?

Our final task was the post rope which was also equally challenging. I did tried few attempts but i failed miserably. haha..then it started to rain heavily!!! We were drenched wet. Well once in a while its kinda exciting to be playing under the rain..hahaha..but after a while we were advise to head down to reception area as it will be quite dangerous since there were thunderstorm. 



So we head down and some light refreshment were served. And while waiting for the rain to subside, we started to search for 5 best photos to be submitted for their ongoing contest during TSDAYOUT. And there also offering other great prizes for the rest of the following categories. So don't come telling me I didn't notify you! Rugi oh tak join TSDAYOUT! Not only you get the chance to explore Selangor in a unique way but also to win some cash prizes yo!


The downpour was so heavy and massive that almost everyone was drenched wet. Baru rock, kan? Then after deliberation, Ms Shoba announced the winners for instagram contest..and yeah i was the last to be called..so happy! :) :) There were also lucky draw prize and awesome goodie bag from both Paradise valley and Tourism Selangor that was given away to all. 
hehee basah kuyup tapi happy! :) with PJ LAm (Resort manager of Paradise Valley in red tshirt) and Suhaila Zainuddin of Tourism Selangor.
peace out.

Well, Paradise Valley also offers a wide range of facilities to cater your recreational activities be it for family, corporate team building, birthdays, wedding, meetings or even among friends get together. They have been catering thrilling activities like the one we did today - wall climbing, flying fox, abseiling. On top of that kayaking, cycling, jungle trekking, camp fire, camping or even a customized Broga hills hike as well. If you are not a camper, then you may also opt for Luxury Room packages where 2D1N will only cost you RM150 or Dormitory Room at RM118 with meals for dinner and breakfast plus activities. Price may vary during peak seasons so please call to ask before making reservations.  Orait enuff said, head on to their Website and like their FACEBOOK to try out these activities yourself. 

Contact :
Paradise Valley
PJ Lam (Resort Manager)
Tel :011-1668 6188/016-337 7333
Broga Hill Eco Farm Resorts Sdn bhd
Lot 1742 & 1369, Jalan Tarun Broga,
43500 Semenyih
Email : paradisevalleybroga@gmail.com
GPS Coordinates : N 2.941' E101.91'

and oh ya. last but not least, Thank you to Tourism Selangor for yet another fun activities I had in Paradise Valley. Indeed I found my new paradise valley here in Broga! Met new and old friends, learn some skills, break those fears and redefining adventure has always been the key of TSDAYOUT. So those of you who are keen to participate their next day out, ensure to check out the following link;

Travel to Selangor and get yourself inspired! You never know, you might just find your new passion here. Let the journey begins!
thanks Abdul Mueiz for the photo




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