A Trip to A Famosa Resort, Melaka (22Nov-23Nov 08)

Dad and sis came to KL for a short vacation, so I decided to bring them to A Famosa. We'd been to the Animal Safari before, but this time, we decided to stay a night just for the fun at the Carnival. My parents in law also came along, so we borrowed a 7-seater Volvo from tai-sou.
We waited for dear to finish work at 1pm, had lunch and then, headed to our destination. After about 1.5 hours ride, we finally reached!

We checked into our room, 1312. Parents in law's room is next to ours.

































The view from our balcony..















Ola, poor dear. He was very tired coz had to work in the morning, and drove all the way to A Famosa. Sayang, sayang.......














Dear studying the map of Cowboy Town; the place of the Carnival Show!

After rested for an hour, we were ready to go out.
Dad, fiona and me decided to walk to the Cowboy Town which is just around 10mins of walk from the Resort Hotel. Dear sent his parents by car.

From afar, we could already hear the loud music coming from the Cowboy Town..ooo...so excited!

OOO...a small group of people dancing and singing...really perked up the atmosphere. The weather was quite hot and humid.













I queued up to buy entrance tickets. We bought tickets for the 4D Theatre as well. Quite a long queue, but the staff was very friendly.

Fiona, what were u dreaming about?? Can't wait to go in?? :)










My parents in law waiting patiently to go in.
















The entrance. The usher led us in..I found it strange, becoz they led my parents in law thru another entrance, while the rest of us, thru another entrance.

Before i could question, a lady handed me a hat and gave a gun to dear. A guy put a parrot on dear's shoulder. And smile!!! They took our picture. Wah, such efficient way to earn $$...

And that's not all! We were led to a bench where an orang utan was sitting. The orang utan is soo obedient. As soon as I sat next to her, she put her arm around me, another arm on my lap..and the trainer squeezed her face, and she started smiling..so cute..but i find her pitiful. U can see the picture of me and orang utan at later part of this blog.
It was already 7pm, so the next stop would be naturally the restaurant! There were 2 restaurants; chinese and western. We decided on western food; The Ranch Steak House..

The food was so-so only, just to fill up tummiesss....

After dinner, we walked to the carnival area. The first show was some cowboy showing off their talents in swallowing fire......they also picked a few audience and teased them. Then, there was a short break, and the staffs started to sell things. I bought a fan with fun lights and music. There were also some staffs carrying a small lion cub and tempting us to hold it and snap a picture. My picture was blurry so i did not purchase............
And finally the parade!
The first animal to come in were the chickens! I could not take the pictures as the chickens were running so fast in a straight line! Hahaha...i was amused watching them......

The cowboy parade...this cowboy was shooting at the audience..
A beautifully decorated car
Some talented elephants!
Orang utan waving to the crowd
Even goats also paraded haha Black N White...

The colourful fans...... Nice right..

After the show, there were some fireworks display.


Finally, time for the 4D theatre. The show for the night was Haunted Office. I was sooo nervous, hopefully wouldnt be too scary..hehe

At 4D theatre waiting area. Well, the show was very disappointing. It was just an animation, to my relief, though...and the story was just too boring...anyway, what do you expect from a 15mins show..i could only feel the wind and some water blowing to my face..my conclusion is that i prefer the 3D show at Genting hahaha..After the theatre, we walked around. There were some funfair and games, but very expensive..There were also bowling alley and karaoke (i think it was closed) and massage centre. But we decided to head back to zzzzzz.........

The next day......
Went for breakfast in Cowboy Town at the Chinese restaurant. There were 3 sets to choose from, porridge set, nasi lemak set and American breakfast.
And free flow drinks..a plate of fruits.

The place was so crowded with people the night before. But look at it in the morning, so deserted!
Cowboy Town only operates at night times, starting from 6pm onwards.











The entrance to Cowboy Town. We took some pictures the night before, but not so nice..















After breakfast, we decided to leave the place and headed to Melaka town. Our mission was to taste the famous Chicken Rice Ball..but we were not sure of the place..hopefully can find.

After about more than half an hours' ride, we reached Melaka town...but where's the famous chicken rice ball shop?????

We saw a young man and we decided to ask him. He said he would lead us there...so nice of him!!! But half way, we lost him...haiz......but in the end we managed to find a restaurant...hopefully this is the famous one.........

Heng Hainanese Chicken Rice. Also packed with people..















Ohh, we saw some bulletins..this place must be famous, coz Alan Tam and Ah B also had been here before. hehe...














We ordered roasted and steamed chicken and vege..Free black bean soup, very nice soup.

The chicken meat is tender but not so tasty...to my disappointment.
The rice ball was abit too buttery for my liking..

Anyway, we were all satisfied that we had tasted Melaka's famous delicacies..maybe some of you out there could tell me exactly where is the nicest chicken rice shop in Melaka??

After lunch, we headed back to KL...we reached around 4pm and had a tea break in Old Town White Coffee Shop at PJ..........Was quite a nice & satisfying trip.......
Oh ya..the picture with orang utan that i promised to show u all........ haha..isnt the orang utan cute?? But too bad, she wasnt showing her teeth here.

Back To My Beautiful Hometown, Kuching - A trip to Serikin-Wind Cave-Palm Beach Resort, Sematan-Retreat, Lundu (25-26Nov 08)

Dear dear and I took a flight back to Kuching on 24/10/08 and we reached around 1230am. Very tired but excited thinking about our vacation tomorrow.

The next day, after breakfast (french toast and milo, prepared by dearest mommy), we were ready to take off at around 10am. My parents, fiona (sis), me & dear dear in 1 car, while Chris (bro) and Phooi Leng (sis in law) in another.


Our first stop was Serikin, a small town at the boundary between Sarawak & Kalimantan. We wanted to visit the market which is only open on Saturdays & Sundays. Since none of us except dad had been to this place, we decided to drop by to have a look. Furthermore our check-in time to the resort was at 2pm, so we had plenty of time. The journey took us about 1hr+..
On the way to the market, we saw a few stalls here, selling vege and fruits.


Surprisingly, we were caught in a jam while on our way to the market. Saw alot of tourist buses too. Maybe coz it was a public holiday in Sarawak that day, therefore alot of people came here to shop. After about half an hour, we found a spot to park, which was nearby a house and we walked in.

We walked for about an hour. There were alot of stalls selling handbags, sunglasses, rattan furnitures, malay costumes and mats. We only bought a pair of sunglasses for fiona. Since the day was hot and it was already 1pm, we decided to walk back to our car. All of us were already hungry.

Fiona took a picture with her new sunnies.
My parents brought some food in the car, so in the end we decided to stop at Wind Cave to have our lunch. A real picnic haha..........

When we reached Wind Cave, all the shelters were occupied. Therefore, we decided to just have our lunch in my dad's multi-purpose Matrix haha.......After a fulfilling lunch, it was already 2pm. Alright, we must make a move to the resort!

After about 1 hour, we finally reached our destination, PALM BEACH RESORT, SEMATAN. Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting to check in to our family terrace. After putting our things, we were ready to explore the beach yay!!!

The cafeteria
The resort lobby and a place for shower

The sea was quite calm. The weather was cloudy.

Mommy so happy sitting under the umbrella haha..Suddenly, Chris asked me to look behind me.............he said he saw someone familiar??!??!?!
EEEEE???? what a surprise! Saw my friend since primary school. She's already a mother with 2 kids and still maintaining her figure! Notice that her daughter was sulking because she could not wait to play the sand with her mommy.
Dear, you still look sleepy. Come let us take a picture, open your eyes!Yay, fiona, let's go to the beach! Woooo dad brought a beach ball hehe
Dear, pass the ball! (Beach volleyball style)
Chris: I can kick, beware! (Beach soccer style)
Chris: Heading with my iron head haha.
Dad: Is that all u can show me?? Watch me!


Daddy: Son, learn from me!
Haha, daddy thought he's still in his younger days. Anyway, I know daddy's philosophy is if you think young, you will stay young. Bravo!
I was enjoying the sea breeze. Beaches/islands are always my favourite getaway from the hectic city lifestyle.
Phooi Leng, 8months pregnant with my mommy.

Fiona enjoyed the warmth of the sea water.

Chris carrying fiona in the background.

Mommy screamed: Oooiiiiiiiiii, be careful, don't carry my Ah Yian (fiona) to the deep sea, very dangerous! Come back to the beach, quick!!!

Daddy, you are all wet haha..........He was enjoying every minute of it too..

Around 530pm we were exhausted and headed back to our family terrace for shower and rest.

Our terrace, F-4

Snapped a photo of our family terrace. 2 bedrooms, a small living room, toilet and bathroom.
And we were ready to go to the cafeteria. The room is inclusive of dinner and breakfast for 6pax.
This is the cafeteria. Buffet style dinner. They serve rice with ginger soya sauce chicken, mixed vege, curry beef, spaghetti, iced-kacang, salad & fruits.
Dear dear made this iced-kacang for us.

After dinner, we took a stroll along the chalets and saw some shelters. But I did not take any of the photos. We stopped and rested at one of the shelter which is very huge with a big table and long bench surrounding it. The beach was too dark so we decided to walk back to our terrace.
Too bad there weren't any night activities so we just laid on our beds and played card games and chatted and chatted till we zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.................


The next day....................

Woke up and ready for breakfast. Our living room was such a mess. All the titbits that we ate the night before hehe...............Can you see daddy in the background trying to deflat his bed? Dad brought a portable bed as the beds are actually meant for 6 persons.
This bright pink window is nice ya! This is the window of the smaller bedroom which was occupied by Chris and wife.
Fiona: I'm so hungry, wana have breakfast yay!!!
Chris: But im still sleepy zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Breakfast buffet. The fried noodles is tasty. There were also nasi lemak, bread, boiled eggs & cornflakes with milk.
And also baked beans and french toast.

After breakfast, dad suggested that we explored the Sematan town. When we reached lobby, we saw a bicycle for two. Dad offered to take fiona on the bicycle. Hmmmm Fiona looked scared haha coz daddy like lost control of the bike..
She seemed more confident in Chris. haha...
Ok let's go to the town!

When we reached the town, alot of shops were closed. Most of the shops close on Sundays.

Welcome to Sematan! Sematan is a small fishing village.
Oooooo, my teddy bear... :D

My smaller bear hehe...We are at the jetty. The sampans carry people & goods. Heard that the seafood were also transported to this town through the sampans.

Saw some people fishing here. Look, Fiona, got fish!
After that, we returned to the beach. Falling coconuts?? I should have worn my safety helmet instead of the cap.
The guys back in action haha...Daddy wanna score a goal! Catch the ball if you can, Chris!

Chris: I got it!! Yahahahhah!!
Daddy, pls don't bully me!
Fiona in action. Kick it!

My model of the day! She really has the potential hehe
It's the sister's turn to practise catwalk haha




I-MISS-U piece of art. Who did u miss, fiona?



Doing my morning exercise yeahooooo!!!!!

Enjoying the wind blowing on my face....


Sisters in action

Beautiful mom-to-be strolling the beach
Mom & phooi leng waiting for us at the shelter with the body guard in the background keke
And then it was time we headed back to pack our things, check out and fill our tummies.
We took some pictures before leaving the resort.

Superstar wannabe - Fiona

Superstar wannabe in action!

The guard took this family photo for us. :)

On our way out, we stopped and fiona snapped the picture of this piece of rock. Chris held on tightly to the rock cos he did not want to leave the place...quick quick drive your car, we are all hungry!

Since the trip back to Kuching will take 2 hours, we decided to have our lunch in Sematan town.We ordered kolo mee & wantan, and the food is surprisingly delicious! Dad enquired about her business there. The tawkey-nio said they close shop abt 3-4pm. At dinner time, the seafood restaurant will operate.
Then , back on the road again!
On the way back, mom suggested that we stopped by at Retreat, Lundu. Another popular resort here. This was an unusual request from mommy, because she normally just couldn't wait to go back.. haha......so dad agreed.....
Here we are.......hmmmmmmmm........the access road leading to this resort was so unpleasant (crusher run only) and furthermore, single lane only...but the swimming pool and lobby area is nice.

But we noticed that construction was on-going......oooooooo upgrading works! Hopefully they will turn this place into a paradise! Palm Beach has got nicer & longer beach but they do not have a swimming pool.
Look at the beach......they will extend the beach as part of the upgrading works. If it turns out nice, we will consider this as our next vacation spot!
Notice that the construction was on-going on the left side...The building is the existing hotel rooms.

After upgrading works

The weather was hot, so we bought ice creams and coconut :) After resting for a while, we were ready to head back home...............hmmmmmmmmmm exhausted but that was a great family vacation..............