I used to be a daily blogger, little bits of things must blog, no matter big or small. I thought that was my responsibilities as a blogger to blog whatever I like. Well Said, but due to my long working hours, I do feel that blogging actually spends me quite a lot of time. I need to have “ideas”, I need to have “pictures” in order for me to blog. The most important thing is, Do you still read blog nowadays?

I gotta admit, I rarely read blog ever since I’ve addicted to Facebook. Anyway, FB is a very successful lifetime interacting tools, which is fun enough to update, or to “kaypoh”. But don’t ever take things too seriously over FB cos you’ll never know who is reading or stalking you behind the screen.

No, I don’t like Twitters. So not to have further comments on it.

Goolooloo.com was once a most popular blogs of Miri Community but not in Malaysia. Seeing the other bloggers being nominates, I could only say their hard works paid off. This could never happen on lazy bloggers like me. Anyhow, my blog will remain. I’ll still update on my travelogue as usual but have to cut down all my travel plans due to my tight budget plans.

My next travel destinations will be on Sandakan. =) Domestic travel would be fun cos you don’t have to worry about the currencies difference or the language problem. Let’s have some fun with the “Orang Utan”!

Image Source

I’ll be back!

Hari Raya might falls on the 21st Sept, but Bongkersz and I had an earlier Balik Kampung Trip today. It has been a month since I last met my dear, so Sibu here I come!

We start the journey at 6am, which was too early for me but still I made it. After an hour of journey we stopped by at Batu Niah to refuel the RON95 and release some fluid from our body.

And we made a conclusion, from Miri to Batu Niah need to spend RM15’s petrol.

The weather change dramatically all the way up to Sibu.

It is suddenly full of Fogs..

*Welcome to Cameron Highland*

Followed by the Big Rains that blurred all your vision..

But don’t worry, I have a steady driver.

Sambil Driving, Sambil Makan Lee Fah Mee!!!

The Journey took 5 hours, and we directly meet up Alex at Mitsu Tea House.

My dear dear waiting for our arrival

Bongkersz better get some recharge before he head back to Sarikei.

Let’s have some tea

And Some Dim Sum.

Eh, before I forget, Will Chua was there too! And he is going to celebrate Hari Raya at Kuching this year.

So how’s your Raya holiday? Have you plan anything yet? I’m planning to go Karaoke tomorrow! Yay!!!

Anyway, kepada semua muslimin dan musliman, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

Old Town White Coffee, I wish you are here.

I wish, I want and I wonder, when will OLD TOWN WHITE COFFEE enter Miri Market? Not to say Miri but Sarawak. Old town White Coffee established 121 outlets in Malaysia, except Sarawak. Rumors has been spreading that Old Town will be here shortly but is that real?

I like Old Town, maybe due to its popularity which is almost compatible with Starbucks. There has been several outlets copying the concept of Old Town. For instance the newly Open Uncle DOM in Sibu and we have Ipoh Town instead of Old Town in Miri and some other not-so-famous outlets.

Old Town White Coffee @ NewWorld, Jalan Burma

I heart Old Town mainly because of its menu and their comfy environment. During our last visit to Penang, Alex and I were craving for food after movie at Prangin Mall. Lucky enough, we have easy access toOld Town which is just located next to Tune hotel. It makes Jalan Burma livelier even at 12 midnight!

How can I missed such a good chance to eat the very delicious OldTown Ipoh Chicken Hor Fun?

Yeah, you know what I wanna eat today?

Their friendly staff would come and check my order in a short while.

My Favorite, Kaya & Butter Toast

Other than White Coffee, they serve other cold beverages too!

But now back to my concern, if really Old Town coming into Miri, how long could it survive? Looking at all the big franchises blooming in Miri market, I start to worry. I can’t see much people queuing at Big Apple nowadays compare to months ago. There has been 2 Secret Recipe now, where the occupancy not even up to half of it.

I’ve made a survey, owning the license its not an easy task, u need $. A lot of $.
Some more in Miri market, do you think they are willing to spend so much on toasted bread and cup of coffee which you can actually get it from normal coffee shop?

The basic requirement to own the license is you must at least have a net worth of RM500,000 and liquidity of RM600,000 and the license is RM60,000.

Empty chairs are wait to be seated..

Hoping that the rich tycoon in Miri would like to bring this business in, by then, the empty chairs will be seated by me!

I heart OldTown so much, do you?

I gotta slap myself, stop thinking of food! Stop it!

Food food food.
Penang is the Unesco World Heritage Site, but it should be classified as World’s food heaven.

Like I mentioned earlier, our mission is to EAT only. Thanks to Chanlilian, the famous Penang blogger, she introduced us to wander around our hotel, as there are lots of good foods somewhere around.

Noted.

After we check-in Tune Hotel, take a rest, and we are off to Jalan Selamat. Hmm, watch out for the tune hotel review.

At first we thought to have our lunch at Old Town Cafe, but it would be a waste if I did not try the local foods. From my research, I understand that Jalan Selamat is just somewhere nearby our hotel. I must get the famous CKT for my dear, he heart CKT so much.

Passing through Jalan Selamat, a row of old shops, mostly are not operating.

There’s also some other eatery shops and medical centre.

Kafe Heng Huat – The most famous Char Kuay Teow in Penang.

Our luck is pretty good. The good smell lead us to the roadside stall along Jalan Selamat. Although there was just about 10 stalls operating, but we found this!! The very famous Char Kuay Teow aunty, with her very stylish head and wearing a crocs sandals frying her very expensive Char Kuay Teow.

The stalls are just located by the road side.

This is the CKT aunty. The only conversation I heard is , Ai Heam or Mai Heam. Its pronounced to be spicy or not spicy.

The Char Koay Teow come in 3 sizes. Prices vary from the portions and numbers of prawns.

Kafe Heng Huat is actually just a normal coffee shop, but the main attraction mainly come from this CKT stall.

The aunty is assist with a girl for taking orders and a few aunty who will deliver the CKT to the customers.

Big Fire, Big Wok.

The truth that makes the CKT nice is due to the Charcoal Fire burning underneath.

The Charcoal was ignite by a fan.
Caution, Its HOT~!!!

Did you notice that her Crocs’s sandal was burnt by the Charcoal too?
Don’t play play, she’s wearing  a genuine Crocs la!

Ok, at the mean time lets take a look at the shop. See, it was Monday evening, but everyone seems so free, rushed here just to eat the CKT~!!!!

Regardless of Age, people are coming in and going out.

Its too delicious, and heartwarming, to see the mom is actually feeding her daughter a mouthful of CKT. Sweet.

30 minutes over.
I was so worry that the Aunty has forgotten our order. No… She’s not, she even remember that we ordered 2 BIG plates of CKT.

RM8.50 , spicy CKT with big PRAWNS.
It is really delicious…i was nicely fried, strong fire burnt smell~!

Anyway, this is a hot weather, do served with a glass of Fresh Ice Longan.

Other than the CKT, we can actually have the side orders from the road side. Hence I asked Alex to check out what else is edible. Ahem~

This is yet another PoPiah stall nearby.

My popiah in preparation progress.
RM 2.60 for 2 pieces. (min. order)

It’s actually a little but watery from the ingredient. Alex is not a fans for Popiah, he said Popiah is tasteless. But I’m the opposite, I love popiah so muchie!

Not to be missed, the Penang Asam Laksa.

Indulging?
I never know Sardin can be so tasty with Asam Laksa….

Yum yum, its spicy, its soury…

Although I hate the celery smell, but never mind, i can still ignore it and continue the yummilicious Asam Laksa.

Thumbs up for all the food from Jalan Selamat!

Another CKT stall, but not as popular as the Heng Huat.

Sorry boss, I’ll come back to you next time..

This complete the Jalan Selamat food hunt. Coming up next, New World Park , Penang.

Alex and I were away for a short vacation again last week. We only have 5days 4 night, hence we opt for a short trip to Penang.

I’ve been to Penang roughly about 5 years ago, that was when I had my graduation trip with a bunch of friend. So this is my second visit to Penang, definitely our mission is only aiming on FOOD.

Alex got the bus ticket earlier from LCCT. We took TRANSNASIONAL express bus from Pudu (KL) to Penang the next morning.

Bus fare: Rm35 – business coach, with 3 seats per row.

The 5 hours journey is not so long as compared to the journey from Miri to Sibu or Sibu to Kuching. This is much more comfortable, as we have so many gadget on the go. It so easy to kill the time.

We have internet 3g on the go, can update facebook. Ipod for music, and my spider web-Nokia 5800 fitted nicely on the seat, just for us to watch Fast and Furious 4.

YAY, this is the first time Alex cross the Penang bridge, must capture it down.

We reached Sg. Nibong bus terminal, Penang around 1.30pm. As a backpacker, we prefer to wait for a local bus that connect us to TUNE hotel downtown Penang. The truth is, we can save the taxi fares and allowed us to eat more local delicacies.

We went to ask one of a Rapid bus driver on where to get the T304 bus to our hotel. From his kind advice, we were asked to go to the opposite way, and the bus will pass by there.

After an hour of waiting for the Rapid bus T304, we start to frown!!

Why? Why? Why don’t we get a taxi and direct reach hotel? Why should we trust that driver??? Why don’t we just wait at the bus terminal?? Why do we want to wait by the roadside?

Thanks so much to the shed.

I don’t care, I trust with my research, its impossible that we will missed the bus.

Buses and buses pass by but there’s still no avail.

We almost gone crazy…and finally.. the bus is here.

Rapid bus:  T304
Destination: Jalan Burma (Tune Hotel)
Fare: RM1.50

To be honest, the bus driver are very helpful and friendly towards the tourist. We reached our hotel safely without any hassle. Tune Hotel Downtown penang has a great location that is easy to reach.

I heart tune hotel!!

Coming up next. Are you ready to join us for food hunt????

More info on Penang.

Warning: If you are on diet, don’t read this post. I myself also out of control, but to blog this out!

Kuching, people name it as Cat City, but I prefer to name it as Food Heaven. I spent my Gawai Holiday in Kuching and went for food hunt almost everyday. That is what we always say , “Jiak Bui Bui“.

My brother-in-law, who is born in Kuching, but live in Miri bring us around based on his 10 years ago memory. Although the city is growing up rapidly, but the good food in Kuching will never fade away.

There’s too much to eat, too many places to cover, so I’ll just summarize out what I’ve hunt over the days in Kuching.

1. Kuching SioBee

Location: Open Air

Location: Green Hill coffee shop

2. ABC

Location: Open Air

3. Beef Noodle

Location: Green Hill coffee shop

4. Kuching Laksa

Location: Green Hill coffee shop

Location: Golden Arch

5. Sambal Bihun

Location: Cemetery

6. Seafood

Prawn (3rasa)

Oyster Pancake

Location: Top Spot

7. Popiah

Location: Golden Arch

8. Kolok Mee

Location: Open Air

Wuwuwu, Food Hunt was over…
I want some more, Can I???
Ok I know the answer, I’m fat, gotta control the food intake.

Today I’ll be here featuring the 6 days home of us in Gold Coast.

It would be a wise choice if you choose to explore this little town by your own. Everything is convenient which is truly can be called as Free and Easy.

Our Hotel : Backpackers in Paradise
Yen had pre-booked the hotel thru their website, we go for the One Room Apartment, where its air-conditioned, complete with toilet and kitchen.

We arrived in Gold Coast around 8am Australia Time. The airport transfer dropped us right in front of our hotel and we’ve waited eagerly for the check-in. 3 of us feels collapsed but its not due to jet lag , its just that we could not get a good rest in the plane.

Blame AirAsiaX for giving us such a discomfort seat!
Sigh!What to do, you get what you pay!

This is the Apartment that we’ve booked earlier. We got one unit upstairs.  It looks more like my grandma’s kampung house. That’s my very first impression.

The check-in procedure makes me feel that Gold Coast does not welcome Asians. The receptionist are mostly young people. They don’t really entertain us, the Asians. From their service attitude, its proven, they are quite racist.The big boobies ladies only entertain those beach boys visitor, while looking at us the yellow-ish skin people, they don’t even give a glance!

The poor thing is we felt like cheated as they told us its now the Peak Season, okay, it’s Easter Holiday, so they have to increase the room rate. They have no right to call the rate without notifying the customers in advance. We have all our booking confirmation, but we are just tired of argument, so just don’t give her a damn! It will just spoil our holiday mood.

Before we could go out and explore this little town, its better for us to get some rest in this kampung house. See, this is the bedroom of Yen & I.Ooops sorry I forget to clean up the bed.

The toilet seems to be very simple, which at first I feel its a little bit unhygiene. Okok. Kampung House, cannot compare with 5 star hotel.

This is the living room, which the sofa was turned into a bed, which is for Eet. Poor boy… but its equipped with TV and Aircond. While we in the room don’t even have airconditioned.

From the other corner, there is the Kitchen equipped with all the kind of utensils. Even if you want to bake a cake also can! At least this makes me feel worth for paying so much.

This is the balcony view, hmm, just the other residential suite next door.

Life in Gold Coast is real bored. I feel myself like an old nanny here.  We don’t have internet access in our room, so we have to entertain ourselves everyday. Hmm…

Their TV programmes were mostly news during the day time, I could only catch up good movies at night.

What else, reading my readers digest to kill time, while Yen crazy about her Sudoku..

How about him? He is the TV operator all night long. Getting bored.. getting bored..

One good thing about renting this Apartment, at least we can cook at home. We do have home meal almost everyday!

Tada! This is the best meal , Eggs + Ham, Vege + Maggie Curry (Made in Malaysia). Hmm, don’t play play, at least it saves us a few bucks!
Hey, wait a minute, we do have visitors here in Gold Coast.

Hi, this is MeoW meoW! ~ haha, she didnt tell me her name la..

She is fury and fat! The cats are even friendlier than those receptionist downstair.

Meow Meow trying to peep us, seeing what’s cooking inside. Sorry la, no fish today! We only have Maggie Mee…

Although from the first impression, it was quite disappointing. But after the 6 days stay here, I feel that I’ve get used to it. Although the receptionist are not friendly, but why do I have to bother so much. Just take it easy..

Coming up, I’ll be cover up my visits to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and also the exciting Theme Parks!

This is where I wait for my pre-booked shuttle bus service everyday, but everyday we also miss the bus!

Look, the weather seems so good!

Bah! Catch me soon.. I’m going to catch my bus before it rains!

Budget list:
AUD $ 554 for 6 night accomodations.
AUD $ 185 per person.
Food: Got it from local Supermarkets. Prices are more or less the same in malaysia, just that they are in AUD $. :p

I’ve been idle for quite sometime, still the same old reason, I’m freaking busy. Perhaps, I have many things to say here, but just to make it short,  make it easier.. maybe  you should add me to your facebook?! –> marytingsc@gmail.com

It was again the last minute decision that I have to come back to Sibu for Qing Ming. Its the once a year thing, hence it is a must. So talk of this last minute decision making, I have crack my head to get myself a ticket to Sibu. Thanks to my customer Mazlim who work at MAS, he texted me at 6.15 am and tell me there’s one more seat available at 9.10am. RM216 spent, and here you go I’ve reached Sibu yesterday.

The flight was full, I got the very last seat, 14F. It’s never been an enjoyable ride whenever I’m flying in a Fokker50. But what to do, that’s the only most efficient way for me to reach Sibu by Friday.

It was quite a gloomy day, little bit of dark clouds, with little bits of rain, making me getting panic over the pressure. Luckily it was only a 55 miniutes flight, and yet I got to enjoy a glass of Apple juice instead of packet Milo.

Here and then, I’ve contacted my relatives and visited my grandparents graveyard this morning, as early as 6am.  Broom, brushes and pail are the essentials. 2 bouquet of flowers, one for grandpa and one for grandma. I can see many many families are crowding at the cemetery. Like I said, its a once a year thing.

Ah Gong and Ah Ma.. see you again next year.
I think I shall take a good rest, will update again soon