Wednesday, September 30, 2009

1st October, 2009

Today's weather;

Welcome to October and once more there's heavy overcast in the morning with a current temp of 25C. Today should be the last day of strong wind.

Yesterday saw overcast all day long and bits and pieces of rain during the night. Max temp reached 30C.

Camille

Goodbye to September 2009

Goodbye to September 2009

It's that time of the month again and time to wave goodbye to September.

It was a nice September, there was plenty of days with sunshine and there were also some days with rain and overcast, a mixed bag this year I would say. All in all a good month. The last couple of days saw some serious wind though, as part of the Ketsana typhoon.

Besides my daily weather updates, it was a quiet blogging month but I did add some interesting sites to my blog and if you're planning to book hotels on Samui, you might as well want to try the Hotels Combined for bookings in Thailand or specifically for Samui.

Let's cross our fingers for next month and hope it's going to be sunny and nice!

Looking forward seeing you here again next month.

Camille

Dinner at Rosa Passadena Hotel - Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

Our Day 1 dinner at Rosa Passadena Hotel - Brinchang.
The environment of the Restaurant was clean and the staffs were friendly.


This was our first complimentary dinner from the hotel. The menu had been fixed, and we just wait for the meals to serve...
Below are the photos of the meals.

Sweet sour Slice Fish

Kampung (Village) Chicken cooked with ginger - Non fat!

Vegetable with onion

Vegetable Soup

Honestly, all the foods were serve in quite big portion and it's delicious! Especially the chicken, we love it very much! We love to dining in the cool weather! We would like to say 'Thank You Very Much!' to Mr Bharath and his staffs! You guys made our wonderful evening!

Foods rated : 4.5/5

My Cameron Highlands Trip - September 2009
* Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D1)
* Tanah Rata Town of Cameron Highlands 2009 (D1)
* The Mossy Forest of Cameron Highlands (September 2009) , Pahang (D2)
* Mount (Gunung) Brinchang Lookout Tower, Cameron Highlands - Pahang (D2)
* The Sungai Palas BOH Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* The Time Tunnel Musuem of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Lunch at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Mr Nachimuthu's Strawberry Farm at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* Big Red Strawberry Farm of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Bala's Holiday Chalet at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2) - Bad impression
* Traveler Pub and Bistro at Tanah Rata of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)





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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

30th September, 2009

Today's weather;

Fairly cloudy with strong wind, that's how this month is going to end. It's currently 28C at 7 am.

Yesterday saw very strong wind all day long, in contrast to what I reported early in the morning for the previous day! It culminated last night in a seemingly constant storm after midnight. Tropical storm Ketsana is being felt in the Gulf of Thailand,
There were already massive flooding in the Philippines with almost 300 dead and Ketsana raged over Vietnam yesterday. On top of this, Samoa and American Samoa have endured a tsunami after an earthquake in the ocean nearby.

Max temp was around 31.8C.

Camille

Monday, September 28, 2009

Tanah Rata Town of Cameron Highlands 2009

Tanah Rata is the Major Town of Cameron Highland (N4°28.229' E101°22.640'), It's located about 4.8KM from Brinchang Town.

"The town of Tanah Rata is often regarded as the major town attraction in Cameron Highlands. In fact, the town is the administrative centre for Majlis Daerah Cameron Highlands (or the District Council). That means there are a number of local government offices, police station, general hospital and clinics as well as post office.

Tanah Rata also boats a fairly bustling bus station where local and express bus services begin and terminate here. The bus terminal has since been renovated into a pseudo English-inspired design with brick masonry and clock tower. The town is also a popular stop for tourists because there are various jungle tracks and waterfall trails begin here. The trail to the famous Robinson Waterfalls and the Jim Thompson jungle track start somewhere near to the town centre. Check out the local maps for more detailed information.

Apart from adequate tourist amenities such as transportation, restaurants, gas stations, shops, money exchangers and travel agency offices, Tanah Rata hosts quite a big number of hotels, motels, inns, bed-and-breakfast and backpacking hostels." Source from Malaysia Hotel Review.

Tanah Rata Town of Cameron Highlands

After we check-in to the hotel, he drove to this town to have a walk. I miss this town very much cos my last visit was about 1985...I didn't step on it during my 2003 trip to Cameron Highlands. That's why I will advise anyone to drive there if you travel with a car. You need to travel the both town for your holiday!
There are many foods, restaurant and shops around this town, you can have a easy walk from head to tail of the shops. Along, I noticed there were many tourists here! I believe the attractions are the cool mountain air & the History behind....

The shops and the tourists


One of the Souvenir shop

Unique cafe located in the middle along the row of shoplots...

Opposite of the shops, there was a Complex which occupied by food stalls selling Ramadan foods. When we walk almost the end of the shops we saw this antique design of The Old Roman Catholic Convent School on the top of the hill. I'm wondering the Tudor Styled Heritage Hotel which next to it still operating?


Old Roman Catholic Convent School of Tanah Rata - Cameron Highlands

At the end of the old shoplots, you will see 2 rows of new 4 storey shops, the mixture of the modern and the old building structure. We decide to explore it after dinner...

The row of new shops where Maybank Cameron Highlands located.

We went to the opposite while walk back to our car...we passed through the Ramadan foods stalls which are crowded...

The Muslim are prepare their foods and waiting for Buka Puasa...

Special kind of 'Kuih' which I never see before...

Once we walk passed the food stalls, there was a public parking lot and behind was the Cameron Highlands Bus Terminal which was under renovation. The Bus Terminal will be renovate into a pseudo English-inspired design with brick masonry and clock tower.

The Bus Terminal of Tanah Rata - Cameron Highlands


The price of the Souvenirs selling here are not Standardize! You aware of different prices in different shops. But most of them are not expensive, one bottle of mineral water cost as low as MYR1.90...maybe it's not a Holiday season...?!

We finished the walk in about 1.5 hours...then I decided to have a cup of Teh Tarik in one of the Indian Restaurant here...


Tourist are having their tea break & Roti Canai

The cup of tea cost MYR1.20.

Starbucks Coffee just next to it...

It's kind of enjoyment that having the tea beside the main road in the cool air! The tea getting cold in less than 10 minutes!

I saw this Cute Little bicycle (Foldable) while I'm having my tea break...

The restaurants over here are mostly Indian or Western food, if you are looking for Chinese Steamboat Restaurant...you gonna drive to Brinchang town. That's the reason we gotta travel the both town frequently...

The Warrior of Cameron Highlands, my favorite vehicle!

Tanah Rata - nice town for a stroll around...
We went back to the hotel around 6pm to have our first dinner at Cameron Highlands.

The busy main road of Tanah Rata.

* Apologies of the dark pictures, because the weather was cooling and no sunlight.



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My Cameron Highlands Trip - September 2009
* Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D1)
* Dinner at Rosa Passadena Hotel - Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D1)
* The Mossy Forest of Cameron Highlands (September 2009) , Pahang (D2)
* Mount (Gunung) Brinchang Lookout Tower, Cameron Highlands - Pahang (D2)
* The Sungai Palas BOH Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* The Time Tunnel Musuem of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Lunch at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Mr Nachimuthu's Strawberry Farm at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* Big Red Strawberry Farm of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Bala's Holiday Chalet at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2) - Bad impression
* Traveler Pub and Bistro at Tanah Rata of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)





MY TRIPS - Home

Restaurant Tip: Mom Tri's Kitchen

Earlier this month I decided to write about Mom Tri's Villa Royale, which is one of the top rated hotels in Phuket, a really nice place to stay. I tend to write hotel recommendations based on their reviews on TripAdvisor or based on talking to customers from our dive shop about their hotels. As a resident of course I don't stay in the hotels here and being that this is an honest blog, I don't take any payment or freebies for writing about hotels either.

But I am glad to know some people in the tourism industry here do read this blog! Sylvie, who is PR manager for Mom Tri's contacted me with a thanks from the management for the blog article.. and would I like to have lunch at Mom Tri's Kitchen one day? Well, sure! I hate to plead poverty, but a place like that is rather out of my normal budget. Lunch for me is normally going to cost about 60 Baht, I guessed the menu at the Kitchen would be rather pricier...

Mom Tris' Kitchen is part of the Villa Royale resort overlooking Kata Noi beach. I had a quick hotel tour before lunch. Rooms are "Olde Thai" style, there are several pools, a couple of seaview bars and then the restaurant. Tables are placed next to huge windows overlooking the ocean. It was a windy day on Sunday, the waves were roaring in to the beach, quite a spectacular lunchtime view...





Menu is extensive - you can browse it on their website. Actually that shows the dinner menu, not lunch, but you'll get the idea. All sounds rather good, doesn't it! The website also has all the prices. I decided not to be TOO greedy, did not order all the most expensive items. Started with a very good salad with Feta cheese and olives... There was also a bread plate with little dips made from olives and sun dried tomatoes...





Naturally there is a big drinks list too, but since this was a working lunch, I skipped on the wine and spirits. Also skipped on the Gazpacho :)

Main course for some reason I felt like a pizza rather than anything too fancy. The pizza with smoked salmon was very tasty, though I think if you want pizza you can find better in Phuket for sure. I maybe should have gone for one of the chef's recommendations but I do like a pizza.

Oh, and there was dessert too! Wasn't going to ask for it, but dessert menu was presented and the "Giant Profiterole" sounded like something suitable for a fat panda like me. Will need to diet for a few days to lose the 3,000 calories in the profiterole...



Many thanks to Mom Tri's for the lunch and even though nobody asked for a write up, I would say if you have some money to burn, Mom Tri's Kitchen is worth a splurge for the food and views. Or I guess for some people the menu seems quite cheap! Next restaurant on this blog will be a bit lower down the food chain :)

29th September, 2009

Today's weather;

Another cloud layer is watching over Samui this morning with a current temp at 7 am of 27C.

Yesterday saw some weak attempts of sunshine and a few raindrops but nothing serious. Max temp reached 29.5C. The strong wind has subsided, which is good news for the divers amongst us.

Camille

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. (N4°29.500' E101°23.280') It's located next to the main road of Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. You will easily spotted this hotel because it's just sit next to Public Bank of Cameron Highlands.

Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands

The hotel was recommended by one of my buddy. We took the standard room which come with one queen bed and one single bed (MYR168.00 per day) but the Friendly Manager (Mr Baharth) upgrade our package to Deluxe Room with complimentary of two dinner with the same rate! Wah! That's Great! Thanks and really appreciated from me and my family.

The Deluxe Room had one King Bed, one Single Bed and one extra bed. It's ok, cos only three of us...and it's equipped with Bathtub which my daughter Love it very much!

Spacious Deluxe Room from Rosa Passadena Hotel

The extra bed...

The washroom

The bathtub

The view outside the hotel window...

Golf Course on the left


Titiwangsa Hotel with the lights on

Looks like Cameron Highlands is under heavy constructions especially for New Hotel. My last visit was on year 2003 and it's peaceful...hardly see any construction going on like now! Hopefully they don't over do it and Kill the Green of this Only Beautiful Cameron Highlands we have at Peninsular Malaysia! (Genting is Too Commercial compare with Cameron Highlands)

We were Very satisfied with the Friendly Employee here (included Mr Bharath), and Love the way they Smile during dinner time!

The hotel is situated exactly in the middle of Brinchang Town, that means it's really convenience for you to walk to the restaurants, souvenir centres and shops for daily necessity. (Refer to Google map below)

Even it's not new and big, but it's Comfort to stay-in! I will definitely recommend to my friends to try it first before others Hotels at Cameron Highlands. (Offers a total of 120 rooms including 4 penthouse suites.)

According to Mr Bharath, the bosses of this hotel also own Casa Dela Rosa Hotel and Rainbow Hotel in Cameron Highlands.

ROSA PASSADENA HOTEL
No.1 Bandar Baru Brinchang
P O Box 8
39100 Brinchang,Cameron Highlands
Pahang Darul Makmur
Tel: +605-4912288
Fax: +605-4912688



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My Cameron Highlands Trip - September 2009
*
Tanah Rata Town of Cameron Highlands 2009 (D1)
* Dinner at Rosa Passadena Hotel - Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D1)
* The Mossy Forest of Cameron Highlands (September 2009) , Pahang (D2)
* The Sungai Palas BOH Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* The Time Tunnel Musuem of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Lunch at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Mr Nachimuthu's Strawberry Farm at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D2)
* Big Red Strawberry Farm of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)
* Bala's Holiday Chalet at Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2) - Bad impression
* Traveler Pub and Bistro at Tanah Rata of Cameron Highlands, Pahang (D2)





MY TRIPS - Home

28th September, 2009

Today's weather;

It's very cloudy this morning and no sign of the sun. The IDC started successfully at World Resort. Current temp at 7 am is 26.8C.

Yesterday didn't see a lot of sunshine but it stayed dry. Max temp reached 30C.
The weather forecast looks a lot brighter again as of Wednesday!

Camille

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Yong Tau Foo under 'The Tree' in Ipoh, Perak.

We accidently spotted this stall after we finish the Dry Curry Mee breakfast and just driving around the area.
The Famous 'Under The Tree' Yong Tau Foo (N4°34.942' E101°05.154') is located at Jalan King of Ipoh, Perak.
There are two stalls on the both side of the tree below.....

I think this is the 'Tree' they referring to....

Even we had our breakfast, but just not to miss the chance already came across here...we Eat again!
We were not sure which one to chose, but friends from Ipoh told me they are from the Same boss. So we just decide the stall on the left, because it looks more clean and spacious.

Before order, we were observing what are the popular items other customers picked. Then only we licked the same as others....haha! Our 'picks' as below....


That's what we had chose! (Above photo)

All of them were good! But I still gotta mention that the Ipoh 'Coffee' still perfect!! The walk-in customers were non-stop while we having the Yong Tau Foo! I'm impressed! Rated : 4.5/5

Beside that, I noticed there was a stall selling noodle on the side is from Geylang Singapore?! Wah! It's travel more than 600km to here, I wondering...

The stall selling Geylang Noodle in Ipoh

After finish the Yong Tau Foo, we said 'Bye-Bye' to Ipoh and continue our journey to Cameron Highlands...

Location Map of Yong Tau Foo Under The Tree at Ipoh :-


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Our Ipoh Trip (Aug 2009)
* New Caspian Budget Hotel at Ipoh, Perak (D1)
* Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken Rice at Ipoh, Perak. (D1)
* Ipoh Railway Station, Perak (D1)
* Tuck Kee Noodle Restuarant at Ipoh, Perak (D1)
* Chang Keong Dim Sum at Ipoh (D2)
* Perak Cave at Ipoh, Perak. (D2)
* The Lost World Of Tambun, Perak (D2)
* Tat Seng Salted Chicken at Ipoh, Perak (D2)
* Yee Fatt Dry Curry Noodle in Ipoh, Perak (D3)

Cameron Highlands Trip on Sep 2009
* Rosa Passadena Hotel at Brinchang, Cameron Highlands (D1)





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27th September, 2009

Today's weather;

It's cloudy this morning and we can only hope for sunshine today. Current temp at 7 am is 26.2C. Today I'm about to start another IDC again, after having started an IDCS course yesterday.

Yesterday saw merely overcast and a trace of rain at some stage. During the evening there were some hard storms with a bit more rain. Max temp reached 30.3C.

Camille

Friday, September 25, 2009

26th September, 2009

Today's weather;

It looks very cloudy out there with a current temp of 24.9C.

Today I'm about to start another IDC, but today's being kicked off by the IDCS course, a course that always precedes the IDC by a day. Keep an eye out for my dive blog to follow updates.

Yesterday saw mostly overcast and for the first time since a while the max temp dropped below 30 degrees Celsius, yesterday saw 'only' 29C. There were a few rain drops here and there as well but nothing too serious.

Camille

A new hotel booking site added

A new hotel booking site added

Last week I added a new link with a couple of buttons on the side bar for Hotels Combined, who support a very interesting and good hotel search and booking program for both Thailand and Koh Samui and of course the rest of the world. They show you the best deal available with just a few clicks which reduces a lot of searching and is very convenient. I hope that my regular readers will enjoy the service and use it frequently for their hotel bookings.

Another link that I added is for a UK based company that offers directline-holidays with a wide range of holidays including all inclusive holidays & cheap package holidays. I hope that you all enjoy this one as well.

Now go out and book your hotels and holidays with these two companies and I will benefit from it as well. Thanks!

Camille

Thursday, September 24, 2009

25th September, 2009

Todays' weather;

It's fairly cloudy this morning but it seems like nothing the sun can blow away once it's heating up. Current temp at 7 am is 25.8C.

Yesterday saw a lovely and very sunny morning, only to be replaced by rain around 4 pm when we were offering try dives at the Kandaburi hotel pool as part of the Samui Mala festival week with the Green island dive operators association or GIDOA. Max temp reached 32.5C.

Camille

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

24th September, 2009

Today's weather;

A nice blue sky is shaping up with clouds in the distance though. Current temp at 7 am is 26C.

Yesterday saw a nice morning but during the afternoon, around 3 pm there were some showers. Nothing too serious though. Max temp reached 33.6C.

Camille

Yee Fatt Dry Curry Noodle in Ipoh, Perak

Before we leave Ipoh to Cameron Highlands, we need to have a good breakfast! After check-put the hotel and packed everything to the car, we drove to Yee Fatt Kopitaim (N4°35.166' E101°05.081') which located at begining of Jalan C. M. Yusuff. This kopitiam (Chinese restaurant) serve one of the Best Dry Curry Noodle in Ipoh. (Recommended by MFM member)

While we walked in to the area, I saw most of the customers were having their Dry Curry Noodle! The situation told me that it's must be Good! So we just placed our order...

The traditional type of kopitiam

Dry Curry Mee (noodle)

I noticed they also serve this Special Egg called - Wu Yi Egg Tea. Without hesitation, we ordered it too! :)

Wu Yi Egg Tea

And...of course with a cup of Ipoh Coffee! I wonder why the coffee is so nice that I never taste it at Johor Bahru. Almost all the Simple coffee shop also serving this good aroma coffee.

The curry noodle was marvellous! The Egg had a strange taste but it's good. Overall, I rated : 4.5/5.
Try it if you happen to be this area...




View Larger Map

Our Ipoh Trip (Aug 2009)
* New Caspian Budget Hotel at Ipoh, Perak (D1)
* Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken Rice at Ipoh, Perak. (D1)
* Ipoh Railway Station, Perak (D1)
* Tuck Kee Noodle Restuarant at Ipoh, Perak (D1)
* Chang Keong Dim Sum at Ipoh (D2)
* Perak Cave at Ipoh, Perak. (D2)
* The Lost World Of Tambun, Perak (D2)
* Tat Seng Salted Chicken at Ipoh, Perak (D2)
* Yong Tau Foo under 'The Tree' in Ipoh, Perak. (D3)





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