Kellie's Castle, Malaysia

Kellie's Castle

One of our stops in Malaysia was Kellie's Castle.  It is an unfinished mansion built by a Scottish planter William Kellie Smith who died before finishing the castle meant for his family. His wife was too upset and decided to move back to Scotland.

Entrance fee is RM5 for Malaysians, and RM10 for foreigners and we stayed at the castle for about 1 - 1.5 hours. Here are some photos that we have taken. And, I think this is actually a good setting for wedding photos.

A secret passage way

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Malásia

This summer, He visited me at my hometown :)

Chilled for a few days around Kuala Lumpur, and our FOOD trip begins.

Places visited:

Puchong (My home)

Kuala Lumpur

Melaka

Sekinchan

Batu Caves

Bukit Tinggi
Ipoh

Taiping

Sepetang

Pulau Pinang

Malaysia is famous for its multiculturalism. And, food is of course one of the way to express this, thus our FOOD trip. I can guarantee you that we do not eat the same food every meal for 2 weeks (except once or twice) but that's it. And that does not mean that we have covered all the food. Sadly, there're a lot moreeee that we did not try. Also, he was shocked by some restaurants' hygiene level (can't complain).

Being a tourist in your own country, you explore more things that you don't usually do. You realized how convenient it is for you to own a vehicle to travel around some places or NOT. For example, I would never have taken the free KL bus if I drove downtown KL which I would say it is a great initiative by the government and very convenient to get around (but you want to avoid driving to KL cause it is always congested).

Photos are on my Facebook. Am too lazy to upload it twice. >< but here's a photo of the famous Twin Towers at night.

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Western Caribbean

Carnival Conquest was amazing! They had a good variety of entertainments on board and the Cruise Director, Mike was entertaining. The fine dining restaurants were amazing, food was up to standard.

We stopped by Falmouth Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Cozumel Mexico. The water color range from aqua to turquoise blue, it is amazing! I have never seen ocean water that blue before! 

We paid around USD500 incl. taxes each for the 6nights Western Caribbean cruise trip and extra charges of USD12 per night of gratuity. Apart from that we did an offshore excursion - scuba diving at Cozumel, Mexico at USD90. It was a pretty good deal with all inclusive meals and board.

On board Carnival Conquest

Montego Bay, Jamaica

7 mile beach, Cayman Islands

Clear waters, Cayman

Cozumel Island, Mexico

And so, checked: 

✔ Caribbean

✔ Scuba Diving

Next on my bucket list - Europe

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Goat Lake-Avion Ridge-Newman Peak

This hike is thus far one of the longest I have ever did. We took about 9 hours roundtrip. Also, one of the moderate-tough trail in the area. I think it is totally worth it.

Going up to Newman Peak

The first part of the trail was kinda flat and then slowly it gets steeper and rockier. You need to be prepared to climb rocks, and walk on rocky hill slopes like the one below.

Avion Ridge

From the top

My first PEAK - Newman Peak

 Going down is easier but at times dangerous due to the strong winds and steep slopes. Some part of the trail looks like a dead end or you might think you are "off trail", but keep an eye for the Inukshuk stone sculpture as a guide. 

Back down to Avion Ridge

You will have to take loop back instead of taking the same trail.

Prepare enough food and water for the trip. There are also campsites in the area if you prefer making it a 2 day trip. :) 

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Bertha Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park

Bertha falls is just like any other falls, I would say. The trail to Bertha Falls is easy, minimal effort is needed, it takes about 45minutes one way.

However, Bertha Lake is stunning! Continue with the trail after Bertha Falls, It might be harder, with steeper trails and a lot of switchbacks, but it is definitely worth while. It takes about 4-5hours roundtrip. Going up is the toughest part, but coming down is of course a lot faster.

Always be aware of bears while hiking in Waterton, they are not harmful as long as you do not threaten them, and I have never used a bear spray, just back your way up a few steps when u see one till they leave the vicinity.

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Some updates

I am going to Miami right after exams, with no other than my dearest, Adylio. :) 

We will be going on a Western Caribbean cruise trip while we are there.

And, I booked my ticket back to Malaysia! Will be back home over the summer, found an internship with Tonah's help, at the Petrosains. :D and, if everything goes well, Adylio will be visiting me in Malaysia too! Hope all goes as planned :)

For now: exams, assignments, and finals.

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Blue Mountain

So, we decided upon going for the Ski Trip hosted by one of the school clubs on the first day on Chinese New Year. 

Destination: Blue Mountain

The cost of the day trip with school group is CAD70 which includes equipment rentals and group lessons, which I think it was a good deal. It was a chilly day with wind chill at -40 Celsius. I am glad that I dressed warmly with ski pants from the kids department (its cheaper). This being my first time skiing, I think I sort of got the hang of it. And, it is important that you shall not be afraid of falling, which I did fell a couple of times, hit my head, and had a little concussion (I am okay now).

Beginner Ski Hill (proudly, I went up this 4 times)

the baby hill where we get group lessons

Blue Mountain Village

This place is a beaut! I would love to visit again, this time spending a few nights there, relaxing and doing nothing (maybe some skiing/snowboarding and enjoy the outdoor hot tubs). I think it is a great place for a short getaway.

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Ouro Preto with Watsonites!

Praça Tiradentes e Museu da Inconfidència

Ouro Preto (Black Gold) used to be a centre of rich gold mining area, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This place is famous for its churches, and European influenced architectures. 

A group of my first year residence-mates, met up after years and decided upon travelling to Ouro Preto. The scenery en-route was incredible!

Igreja São Francisco de Assis

Igreja São Francisco de Assis is a renowned church in Ouro Preto where the interior is covered by gold. It was worth visiting, but sadly, no pictures were allowed in the church. An interesting fact is that some statues in the church contain real human hairs. 

p/s: There's a minimal entrance fee if you have a student card with you.

More churches:

If you are planning to drive to Ouro Preto, you need to be ready for all the steep streets. The state of Minas Gerais has one of the most steepest streets ever (in my opinion)! I will never dare to drive in these regions.

and of course, not forgetting a group picture of us! :D

---Time for bed now, lights off.

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Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

'Bald' dune at the background.

Natal is located at a North Eastern state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Norte (the large river of north). It is less crowded as compared to Rio de Janeiro (River of January) and Natal is famous for its dunes. There are a lot of hotels located by the shoreline, we stayed at Pousada Manga Rosa at Ponta Negra, Natal (which is a few steps away from the picture above). The inn is reasonably priced due to its great location (steps away from the beach) and good service. Bring more cash than you usually do because a lot of stores/restaurants at Natal do not accept cards.

We spent a total of 5 nights at Natal, 28th Dec - 2nd Jan 2015. The New Years' fireworks were like the usual I would say. The beach was packed but not as pack as Rio de Janeiro. If you are spending the new years in Brazil, popular colours to wear are yellow (prosperity) , white (peace), red (love) and more.

And as said, Natal are famous for its dunes, of course we did not miss that out! We did a buggy trip on dunes and that was one of the best decision made! It cost about R$120 (CAD60) per person for the buggy trip taking you south of Natal for about 6 hours, which I think is pretty neat. But they will end up bringing you to a really expensive all you can eat buffet place which I don't think it is worth the price. So, bring your own food or have a late lunch as they bring you home after lunch. Also, bring extra cash for some side activities at the dunes.

There were a lot of seaweeds and corals being washed by the beach and we both got bitten by some mysterious sea creatures while in the sea, it hurts pretty bad, but its not poisonous. The waves are smaller than those at Rio, but it is still fun regardless. There are some water activities that can be done such as surfing, stand-up paddle, banana boat/disco boat etc. 

Food in Natal were cheaper than Rio de Janeiro. One of the local food in Natal is the tapioca crepes, served in sweet or salty options. The ones that they served at the Pousada Manga Rosa were one of the best. There were also a lot of the street vendors that goes around with their carts selling regular crepes. Natal have more variety of fruits, a few that I have never seen, such as caju (cashew fruit) and cajá. I love their fruit juices, they are freshly made from real fruits. 

A new word that we both learned, a word local to the north states is:

Dindin = Popsicle

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Back from Brazil, safe and TANNED

Tanned and swallowed a great deal of sea water at both Rio de Janeiro and Natal, Rio Grande do Norte (North East Brazil). First stop of our 'honeymoon' trip, Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro - Christ Redeemer

Stayed at Windsor Copa for 3 nights. A great hotel, although it does not face the ocean, it is one street away from the ocean. Great place for couples, kinda pricey but provides great service and a decent complimentary breakfast. If you do not speak Portuguese, it is okay to travel to this place. They speak English or provide details in English at most tourist attractions (at the Hotels at least).

We were there during a holiday season, from 25th-28th Dec so it was really busy. The beach was pack with people, tourists and local vendors. There was a wide selection for food, but it was kinda pricey if you want good food. For a good meal, it can range between R$40 - R$80. So what we did was we share a meal at times, the size for one meal was pretty decent for 2 person depending on how much you can eat.

Again, Rio was packed with tourists. We visited the Christ Redeemer on our second day and we took almost 3hours in lines just to get up there. There were lines to purchase tickets, another line to get into the park. It was costly, instead of taking the train up, we took the private vans which cost R$25 each and they only bring you up to the entrance where you will have to take another line to purchase the park ticket costing R$34 and you will have to wait in another line to get the park vans going to the statue. Instead of waiting in lines, we took the option to walk about 2.5km uphill.  (Consider buying online ticket to the park and getting a van directly from Copacabana)

The view is spectacular, and the statue was just another fine statue (in my opinion). There are some souvenirs stores and a restaurant near the statue. We spent about 30-45mins up there for some photos and decided to return as there were too many people. You cant really get a good photo of just yourself and the statues in it. The following is a good example of being photobom-ed, he was getting through I guess.

People at the deck. We didnt get our chance to go out there.

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