Langkawi Weekend in Paradise

Langkawi Weekend

The Symbol of Langkawi. Amazing birds, if you want to witness an interesting
Animal event  a tour out to see the sea eagles is always interesting.

When Ruth ended up flying back to NZ in January we had a weekend on Langkawi planned, we were going to fly over and chill out for Chinese New Year. With the change of plans we were able to change our plans for Langkawi and fly on another date.

So early February We flew over for a relaxing few days on Langkawi. We had booked a room at a new hotel , The Sheraton Four Corners, this is very close to the airport, but a little distance from Kuah and also a short drive to Cenang Beach. We had decided that we would hire a car for the 3 days we were on the Island. SO for us this was not an issue. We arrived at the airport and hired our car from there. There are loads of options all have similar deals and we did manage to get a reasonable price for a late model Nissan hatchback which was more than adequate. It also gave us freedom to explore some new parts of the island.   We were early in the day so we drove into Kuah and found a place for breakfast and a good coffee. We managed both after a bit of a drive around. We would havbe been better to drive to Cenang  Beach, because there were more options there.

A local fishing boat at Pantai Kok.

The hotel was superb. A spacious room with sea views, breakfast included. A superb infinity pool, looking out over a nice little manmade beach.  The staff were very helpful most of the time. Except for on our first night when we had a rather strange phone call from someone saying they were reception. We were sound asleep at 1:00 am when our phone in the room woke us.  The woman’s voice at the other end wanted to know if we were in our room as she said there was a woman saying that she was from our room and had locked her key in the room. I was not really all that happy to woken up for that reason. In the morning we checked it out with reception and there was nothing logged about this. I was left wondering what might have happened if I had not answered the phone...would we have had an unwelcome visitor?  Strange and a little concerning for us.

We drove up an interesting road that just kept going up and up through rain forest.
On the way we stopped to watch a troup of the Spider Monkeys. 

THis little hut beside the beach could make a great place to stay.

Having a car meant we had a lot of freedom to explore. We chilled out for the mornings breakfast and a dip in the pool. The afternoons and evenings we spent driving and exploring Langkawi Island.

We found a great place to have fish and chips, Scarborough. This was on the side of the road out towards Tanjung Rhu. It is right on the beach. The evening we were there the beach had loads of locals who were enjoying flying their kites.  The Fish and chips were superb with a great salad as a side.  RM 15.00, with a couple of very inviting cool beers to wash them down with.  After dinner we enjoyed a walk along the beach as the sun set. There were lots of opportunities for photos of kites and beach scenery. This beach is a little out of the way but well worth the effort. It was a place where you could relax without noisy boats and jetskis racing up and down.  There were people swimming.

Our favourite beach of the weekend.

A boat returning to shore as the sunsets.

Families flying kites in the evening breeze.

As the sunset the kites continued to sail in the breeze.

We also took a drive to Pantai Kok which is another area that was very popular amongst the locals. The beach is not really that flash but there were some nice areas to laze around beside the water. There are couple of resorts here with an interesting mariner development, complete with a replica lighthouse. Once again this provided some great photos opportunities. This is on the way to the Sky way cable car. We have been on this previously and although the weather was good we noticed it was very busy in this area so we did not bother about going up this time. I would recommend this experience to anyone going to Langkawi for their first time.

THis very photogenic lighthouse caught our eye near Pantai Kok

Cenang Beach has really developed since we first visited Langkawi 6 years ago. It is very popular amongst tourists and there are plenty of tourist things to do. It is a little like a Malaysian Phuket in the making.  There are numerous bars and restaurants in the area and as the evenings turn into night this area does get busy.  We had a delightful meal in the Thai Padi restaurant. This is set off the road and in amongst rice Padi. With bird , monitor lizards and water buffalo providing some interesting entertainment.

We flew back on Tuesday evening around 8:00 pm so having the car meant that we had a moving base for Tuesday. 

We had some time to kill on the Tuesday so we made our way to an animal wildlife centre on the island. You buy food as you go into the centre and you are able to feed most of the animals and birds. 

This guy makes great coffee. First he eats the best coffee beans.....
Weasel coffee comes out of these civets.

An Egret quietly enjoys his very own Padi.

The Hornbilll. I still find it difficult to understand how they can fly with such a heavy looking head.

These kites were keeping so many people entertained.

Amazing hands on this very gentle monkey.

Do you notice the budgie that wants more than bird seed?

This is the bird that glides majestically through the skies of Langkawi

Water Buffalo are such amazing gentle beasts. These two were having a fun tussle.

All in all Langkawi offers a pretty good place to relax with just the right mix of action and relaxation for us. We will return.

A Walk in The Park

Lembah Kiara Recreation Park

Ruth loves the swing bridge in this park.

Just down the road from our place in Taman Tun Dr Ismail we have discovered a very special nature park. It is actually a recreation area with a number of walkways that meander through jungle and around a manmade lake.

We recently took our cameras for a walk in the park. We were not disappointed because this day we were treated to some very interesting local wildlife.

Dragonflies are always a good photo challenge

This one was bright blue.

We had a couple of encounters with Monitor lizards

 It is on the side of Bukit Kiara. There is also some wicked mountain bike tracks in the Bukit Kiara area. I recently tried a stretch of the down hill and felt they were quite a challenge for me at the moment. But I will keep working on getting to know this whole park a bit better.

There was a big troupe of monkeys on the move and this guy was waiting for his turn to cross the road.

Off they go, I think they were on raid to nearby houses.

On part of the track we came across a number of snakes enjoying the sun. 

CNY 2012 in Malaysia

CNY 2012

One of the great things about living and working in Asia is the number of times you can get to celebrate a new year during one year.  Always a highlight for the cultural programme is the Chinese Lunar New Year. This year we celebrated CNY in January and it involved a half day holiday on the Sunday, New Year holiday on Monday and Tuesday. Actually this was on our off days so we only had a half day extra off. Ruth had left the week before to fly back to Neww Zealand to celebrate Bradley and Jing Jing getting married. It was fitting for them to do this during CNY. Sadly we found out their intentions too late for us both to be able to join them. However I will be lucky enough to join them when they complete their traditional marriage in China.

Lanterns lighting up KLCC

These lanterns in Centrepoint were as good as any in the bigger malls.

I enjoy the way the shopping centres dress up for this occasion. Loads of reds and golds. This year is the year of the dragon so there were various themes relating to dragons. Of course there were numerous dragon dances taking place. These are noisy occasions with lots of drums and brightly coloured dragons leaping around. We had a team of Dragon dancers come into Centrepoint to perform the dance of the nine dragons. We waited around to see them. Actually we stopped off in Champs and we were a few minutes late so when we got down to where they were to perform it was over.  The dragons were still on display but the dancers were resting.

The Water Dragon in 1 Utama

Complete with pearls and pretty coloured fish

1 Utama had a water dragon theme with its decorations this year. It was spectacular. We enjoyed wandering and enjoying the displays. We did journey in to KL to see the dragon at the Pavillion. It was amazing. An enormous beast that curved through the centre court area.

Dragons crawling along the walls of the Pavilion

Fireworks keeping me entertained at night.

The enormous dragon in the Pavilion

Outside the Pavilion was a display of friendship bears. Apparently these have been travelling around the world and they represent each of the countries involved in the United Nations. They are meant to be promoting world peace. Each has been painted up by an artist to represent their country.  We found New Zealand and Malaysia in amongst them .

The team at Centrepoint

Along with the dragons are spectacular lion dances. These are also accompanied with loads of noise. But what really gets me excited are the fireworks that go off most nights for the best part of a month. These appear to be spontaneous and often it was more entertaining to sit on our balcony and watch the fireworks as they lit up the sky in various different places nearby. Always they are accompanied with loud bangs, nobody seems too concerned about the noise as it warns off evil spirits.  

Here always seems to be something to celebrate in Malaysia and it is worth being here when Chinese New Year is being celebrated.

THe bears on display outside the Pavilion

The Malaysia Bear

Ruth getting a taste of home.

December 2011 In New Zealand

December Trip to New Zealand

I just realised it is February and the last time I updated my Blog was November. Maybe that is a sign of just how busy life seems to have got lately.  December was a very interesting Month, we completed our year in Malaysia and on December 9 we flew out to Christchurch.  We spent  4 extra days tidying up work related issues and ensuring the December Holiday Programme at MAE got off to a good start. Our original plan had been to spend December trekking in Nepal however it didn’t happen, late in the year we made the decision to return home and spend time with family.

We arrived in Christchurch around midnight we had a motel booked in town where the lovely people made sure that we could slip into our room without disturbing anyone. The first thing we noticed about Christchurch was it seemed deserted, where were all of the people at 1:00 am on a Saturday morning. The second thing we noticed  was there were many streets still blocked off, making it very different to navigate around. We were still feeling like it was 8:00 pm and we were hungry. We couldn’t find anything nearby not even a service station that was open.

Saturday Morning arrived and we got ourselves down to Escape Rentals which was just around the corner but we had to take the long way. During this taxi ride we had our eyes opened to just how bad the damage was from the earthquakes. The taxi driver was full of interesting stories and up to date information.

 

A few words about Escape Rentals..... Awesome Concept! We knew we wanted to visit Lloyd in Blenheim, Brad in Wellington.... My Bros in Rotorua... and Paeroa, Thames, Tepuke and Katikati.  Of course we couldn’t do all of this in 1 day. Escape rentals gave us the option of driving and not having to worry about a bed because their rental van is self contained. It has a bed and a basic kitchen unit of sink, stove and chilly bin. All for not much more than a small car rental, but a much cheaper option than staying in hotels and motels. There are loads of options for staying , DOC camping grounds, private camping grounds and campavan parking spots.  The team at Escape rentals are so easy to deal with. The highlight of their product is the individual paint job for each van. We chose the Bat Mobile. It was loads of fun driving around in this brightly painted van and watching the reaction of the locals. Even more fun was the reaction when they discovered we were Kiwis.

We drove up to Blenheim on Saturday and spent a few days catching up with Lloyd and Anna. It was really good to spend the time with them. We managed a site inspection of their new house, which was great and passed inspection. We also managed to get out and do a couple of walks with Lloyd and Anna as our guides. We also enjoyed seeing Lloyd and Anna so happy in their life, loving where they are at the moment. While in the area we had a great walk on Wither hills, a stroll around the North Banks and a morning out at Rarangi beach.  One of the highlights for us was a drive around a few of the wineries with Lloyd and tasting a few good wines. Ending up at Cloudy Bay and getting to taste some of the wine he is involved with making was really a big high for us. His passion for what he is doing is refreshing. Also getting to try some wines that we never get to enjoy in Malaysia was a great experience. Our few days in Lloyd’s corner was rather short and all too soon we were on our way to Wellington.

We drove this part of the journey around past Rarangi and along that bit of coast to Picton. This winding coastal road has a number of scenic views. As we drove the rain rolled in and the weather made a change for the worse.  We had lunch and spent a few hours in PIcton before we caught the Bluebridge ferry to Wellington. This service was very good and I would definitely use them again.

Wellington is our capital city. However like most towns and cities in NZ when you arrive at 11:00pm nothing is open. We had booked into the Campervan Park down on the waterfront. This just happened to be in the corner of a carpark next to a busy street. Our site was reserved and due to being tired we managed to park right next to the one saved with a road marker cone. We spent 3 nights in this location. It was right in the heart of the city and a good place for spending some time with Bradley. He and Jing Jing have settled in to their life back in NZ. The first day they made their way down to meet us and promptly informed us that they were engaged. All very exciting and somewhat unexpected, however a good reason to celebrate a little. We had arranged to be in Wellington over a weekend thinking it might be a good time to catch up with them both. Jing Jing had work and her weekend didn’t begin until Sunday Night. So we arranged to go on out to Paekakariki and meet up with them out there. They were able to come out on the train. It was great to catch up and spend a couple more days with them.  Having the campervan was really paying off.  By the way if you happen to be catching a ferry in Wellington and you are looking for a base nearby. Paekakariki Camping ground is a good bet. It is clean, quiet and not too far for an early morning dash to the ferry. The hosts there are pretty good as well.

Once we saw Bradley and Jing off on their way back to Wellington we packed up and started our drive north. The weather was more like winter and so driving in the van was a little better than getting out and playing tourists. We did drive the long way,  through National Park. We also made a detour up Ruapehu to, the Top of the Bruce. It looks so different in summer. No snow around and we ended up with quite a clear view of the Volcanic Plateau. We stopped overnight in Taupowhere we stayed  at De Bretts Motor camp. This was a great choice due to the hot pools there and the ability to swim in  very warm pools as much as we wanted. So it was an afternoon swim followed by dinner cooked in the camp cookhouse and another swim. We slept well that night.

The following day we drove up to Thames via the Putaururu. We decided to take the wrong side of the Waikato river, just because we could. This is an interesting drive that took us past Mangakino and eventually across the Arohena dam. It is a road that neither of us had ever really been along. We stopped for lunch in Tirau. We had just ordered our lunch and were stepping outside to sit at a table when we bumped into two old friends, Leister and Karen. We last met up with them in Hong Kong. We ended up having a great lunch and a good old korero. It was quite funny we had been following each other most of the way up from Christchurch.  You know it doesn’t matter where you are in the world you just don’t know who you are likely to meet up with next.

Our next few days went very quickly. Staying in Thames. Visiting Ruth’s parents. Enjoying some quality time with Beth and her family. Catching up briefly with the keep fit guys. Enjoying Thames but not really having enough time to catch up with everyone. A couple of enjoyable evening bar-b-queues with friends and family. We dropped the Escape Camper back in Auckland on the 23 December.

We had planned to have Christmas in Rotorua with my two Brothers. We made our way over to David’s on the 24 and enjoyed his hospitality for the next few days. Christmas at his place was great with an opportunity to catch up with Jason and Craig. We also caught up with Ian and Brigid, and Geoff and Katie. They are in a new house at Holden’s Bay right on the edge of the lake. We spent a lovely couple of hours there on Christmas day. On Boxing Day we went out and visited Mum and Dad at their tree.  It is always calming to go out and spend a little time up at the tree.

Before we knew it we were back in Thames with a couple of days until we were to fly back to Malaysia. It was after Christmas so most of the locals had gone off on their summer break. Beth was up at the caravan. We did take a drive up to visit her for a day. The weather was not good for fishing so we spent the day chilling out and enjoying their company.  We realised that we have miss this part of paradise, but one day we will return and get the most out of it all. Most important to us this year was that we caught up with family and friends. We noticed how so many of them have made important decisions during 2011 some had begun their journey along  new pathways in life.  We feel that we were very lucky to have had the opportunity to share in a little of this over the very short time we were back in NZ.  Before we knew it we caught a shuttle to Auckland airport and were on our way home having had a very good trip home for Christmas.  It was great to catch up with everyone. 

Happy New Year!!

May 2012 bring another great year to you all.