Tioman 2012

Salam readers. errr readers? haha. Well, it's February already! I haven't been traveling much since Scotland last year, hoping to do so this year! But my friends and I managed to slot Tioman into our schedule last month!

there were six of us; Shazwan, myself, Ayin, Wanie, Yasmin and Acap. We drove an Estima to Jeti Penumpang in Mersing, Johor on the 24th of January. Earlier we already paid for the snorkeling package offered by Sun Beach Resort.

Since there were four girls, we took the budget quad room costing RM285 per person inclusive of ferry transfer (return), the room, 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner and 1 BBQ dinner! The price excludes snorkel gear rental RM15 and Marine Park fee RM5. Oh! they gave out free supper as well! =P

Since we were in Tioman just after the monsoon season, it was still suuuuuuper windy! It didn't rain though. Just pure wind. The best part is it makes you feel like you're somewhere overseas. haha.

Scotland 2011

 MasyaAllah! I totally abandoned this sad blog. LOL! Apparently I was writing a post on Scotland! Let's see.....

Assalamualaikum =) It's Ramadhan already! I'm so hyped! May you all have a blessed Ramadhan!

So this time around, I managed to persuade dad to send me to Edinburgh for 2 weeks! Rather than wasting time doing nothing, might as well I travel to undiscovered places, kan?

16/7/2011 (Saturday)

I traveled on Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam, that's for transit and took KLM from Amsterdam to Edinburgh! The flight to Amsterdam was a whopping 13 hours filled with movies. haha. Amsterdam's Schipol Airport is quite old fashioned but there's H&M! =D and bookstores all over. That was how I kill time before boarding.

17/7/2011 (Sunday)

I arrived at Edinburgh Airport at nearly 5 in the evening, shops were mostly closed and all I can do is go back to my aunt's place some 30 minutes away and rest. But it was okay I guess since I was pretty tired from the trip. Plus, I had to recharge if I intend to do some walking the days to come =p

18/7/2011 (Monday)

All I did was babysit my little cousin Muaz and help Chik (my auntie) in the kitchen. hihihi.

19/7/2011 (Tuesday)

Some UIA bigshots were in Edinburgh for a follow up with the postgraduates studying in the UK. My aunt and uncle played host again, babysitting was on me. hihi.

20/7/2011 (Wednesday)

Today I got to travel to Livingston with Cik Lan (my uncle), Muaz and 2 of the bigshots' children. Livingston is a factory outlet where you can find H&M, Topshop, Topman, Nike, Levi's, Debenhams, Peacock, Internacionale and many others. They're definitely cheaper than Malaysia but not necessarily dirt cheap.

21/7/2011 (Thursday)

Today is the day. We rented a car to travel to Southern England. Cik Lan and Chik had it all planned and I purposely changed my flight ticket to fit this trip! haha.

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so that is where the story ends! haha. i'll just post pictures and names of places. That'll be waaaaay more interesting than reading.

the architecture

Reason why I love Edinburgh is the buildings!

Best place to get Fish and Chips is in Ramsgate!

Writers Museum

SubhanAllah

Thistle - Edinburgh's national flower

one of the many churches in Edinburgh

This was phenomenal!

Lands End, the southern end of England, the other one is Dover

No English vacation is English until you've had scones!

Cornish icecream!

To end our England trip

Edinburgh, Scotland

No Cornwall trip is complete without Cornish Pastry!

Dover Port

I DO!!

Ramsgate, England

Redang Island

Was in Redang Island from the 16th-18th April 2011 =) The place was spectacular subhanAllah! Our journey started from Genting Sempah R&R at 1am, there were 11 of us in 3 cars!

DAY 1 - 16/4/2011
Arrived at Syahbandar's Jetty around 6am. Prayed Subuh at Kuala Terengganu's Grand Continental hotel and had breakfast at a stall nearby. We parked the cars at the jetty for RM10 per day per car. Our ferry was at 9am so we waited a bit. Before boarding, we had to pay RM5 each for the Marine Park Conservation fee. 

Our ferry departed at 9am towards Redang. The ride was comfortable all the way and it took us nearly an hour plus to reach the island specifically Pantai Pasir Panjang. We walked on the white, soft sandy beach towards Coral Redang Island Resort. Half the lodging area was under renovation but the other  half was beautiful including the bar/reception Chicak, their restaurant Matahari and the few semi chalets and standard rooms.

 

Kak Dayah got us an awesome package. We spent RM370 each for a 3 days 2 nights package inclusive of 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and 3 snorkeling trips! There was also an additional RM25 for the rental of snorkeling gears (mask and life jacket). 

Our first snorkeling session was on Day 1 itself! They gathered us at the dive shack and we headed out to I forgot where island. hehe. There was not as many fishes as I had hoped for so we just enjoyed the sea and sight =)

Our night time was filled with card games and romantic strolls on the beach. Coincidentally, the moon was full that night and she lighted the sea so beautifully! SubhanAllah! 

DAY 2 - 17/4/2011

It definitely made my day when I get to swim with so many colourful fishes and caught a glimpse of a turtle, a shark and several 'ikan todak'. hehehe. Day 2 had 2 snorkeling trips in store! The first trip at 10am was to the Marine Park! There I saw one of the most awesome view Allah SWT has ever let me see =) SubhanAllah! There was this purple fish who had lips blue and pink in colour! hehe. 


The second trip was to Pulau AKar, just a few minutes away from the Marine Park. Also beautiful with the many different corals! That was where I saw a 1m long shark!

Oh, don't worry about the food! It was GOOOOOOD! hehe. We had BBQ one night and spaghetti bolognese the other =D 

Try taking a long walk to the right side of the island and you'll get to walk on a bridge along the rocks. There are many different gifts shops you can do shopping at and the prices are very reasonable. If you forgot some stuffs like sunblock or pareo, tshirt or require any food/drinks, the prices are not at all marked up. 

Day 3 - 18/4/2011

We took the first ferry out of Redang on the 18th which was at 7am. Reached the jetty at 9am and headed straight back home =)

Redang at dawn

All in all, Redang Island has been enjoyable =) The comfortable lodging,  the delicious food, the softness of the white sand, the beautiful changing temperature of the sea, the friendliness of the fishes, the beauty that God has grant us =)  Alhamdulillah!