We came across Tiara Beach Resort by chance, surfing the blog. It turned out to be one of the easiest choices made with just 3 weeks before the school holidays. We booked online 2 Family suites with breakfasts included, for 1 night stay. We were pretty excited about the resort, which claimed several awards like Best Family Destination Award, Best Corporate Family Day Destination Award, etc for several years.

Driving from KL is quite easy, exiting at the PD exit of North-South highway, although we detoured to Seremban downtown first, looking for lunch. 

Tiara Beach Resort is very cleverly designed with the Reception Lobby outside the compound proper to restrict its waterpark access to checked-in guests only. Once check-in procedures are done, you just drive through its entrance to your apartment block.  Take note that Check-In time is 3:00pm. Unlike the reviews I read about delayed check-in, we were done in just minutes. The necessary printouts were pre-printed in alphabetical order in anticipation of the arriving guests.  

We were assigned Block C, 5th Floor, water view. The lift could only fit in about 4 pax, the 5th would cause it to buzz ! The apartment was pretty basic with 2 rooms; the master bedroom had queen size bed and attached bathroom while the other had 2 super single beds. The biggest complaint about the apartment is that it did not have air-cond in the living area, just 1 fan. So we left the bedrooms’ airconds running with the doors opened hoping that some cool air could make its way to the living area.  Take note to check the resort layout and ask for an apartment that doesn’t get the evening sun, as what was directly opposite our apartment ! Must be steaming sauna hot in there!  There’s no ASTRO, just local TV channels. The fridge wasn’t cold at all. Nope, no facilities for cooking whatsoever, just an electric kettle and cups. Cocoa drink sachets were complimentary but no coffee/tea/sugar/creamer.

For what it lacks in the apartment, it makes up with the waterpark facilities conveniently located downstairs. This is one place you don’t have to go anywhere else for kids’ fun. I was pretty impressed with the management on safety precaution. Personnels were stationed at most slides to control the interval of the crowd, like in Sunway Lagoon. So eager kids can’t slide in right away or push their way in.

There was everything for everyone, from adventurous spiral slides to tunneled ones, and kiddies slides; even swings in the water and inflated hippo-slides. The kids love this place. Even dads and moms felt like kids again.

There was a very nice cafe setting by the “beach” selling burgers and drinks with chairs to laze around. The whole park was kept very clean despite having quite a crowd. Water is clean too.

We had buffet dinner (discounted coz booked as early birds as we checked in) at the resort to save the trouble of driving out. Not much to shout about: mostly spicy food but its assorted cakes were about 7-8 varieties. After a relaxed dinner, we enjoyed a nice stroll and was in time for some night entertainment.

Tiara Beach Resort is very well thought-out with ample open space for large crowd gatherings and a small stage called the Pavillion. At night, open-air movies are screened at the Pavillion with a projector and boasts of pretty good sound system. Plastic chairs were placed below the stage for viewers. Very relaxing with the evening cool breeze - better than staying indoors sweating in the apartment. In between movie shows, there was a Chinese acrobatic live performance by 5 young performers. I must applaud the management for these well-thought and refreshing night entertainment.

 Breakfast was better than dinner, money-value wise and taste-wise. Right after breakfast, back to the water again before checking out.

Overall, except for the hot apartment ( we innovated by opening the main door and windows widely at the living area to ventilate air ), this place definitely is a nice family holiday destination. The kids went up the slides for uncountable number of times. The best part about Tiara Beach is definitely its easy access to its wet wet waterpark !

A return to A ‘ Famosa Resort, after somewhat 7 years. But this time, we stayed a night at Villa D’Savoy, one of the condominiums in the resort.

From afar, the towers of the condominium looked more like flats, in need of a facelift. We stayed at the main tower where the reception was. Many guests somehow prefer parking their cars by the roadside even though there is a basement carpark provided.

Not so impressed by the external, our expectation of what’s inside was low. I must say we were very pleasantly surprised by the interior and layout of the Family Studio suite that came with a spacious bedroom of 2 Queen size beds, partitioned from the living/dining area. The walls seemed newly painted, floor tiles kept very clean, with LCD TV, granite table tops at the kitchen wet and dry areas. It was very comfortable living for a crowd of 4.

What I like most was the separation of a dry kitchen from the wet kitchen which was practically in open air at the balcony, with a sink and a counter top. This is perfect for those who plan to bring a portable stove, for some simple cooking like frying eggs/bacon/hotdog for breakfast. It also conveniently has a power plug for perhaps cooking rice with an electric rice cooker or even steamboat. Unprepared, we did not do any cooking at all. But for those who plan too, you would need to bring all your cutlery and plates.

One thing lacking in consideration is that it only provides most things for 2 guests even though it can house 4. For example, only 2 cups and 2 bath towels. If you ask for extras, there is a charge imposed. Luckily, there are 4 pillows for the 2 beds.

The bedroom has a good layout. A simple but practical dressing table, with a large mirror and complete with hairdryer makes dressing-up comfortable.

The attractions at the Animal World of A Famosa didn’t quite change since our first visit. Do be there by 9:30am to take the safari ride in a caged truck – kind of a bumpy ride to give you a feel of the “wilderness”. There were lots of tigers and lions but somewhat the living conditions were pretty deplorable. Tigers were pacing tirelessly along the fence perhaps desperate to find an escape route, so much so that a pathway became visible. Giraffes were rather stunted in their growth compared to their majestic cousins in Zoo Negara, or perhaps these are the smaller species. The driver of the truck was trying to explain and to sound English but the loudspeaker on the truck was already noisy by itself. Whatever explanations that came out might be better off without any. Can’t help comparing to the Singapore’s Night Safari just 300kms away – we are worlds apart.

Next, just in time for the Elephant show at 10:15am then a short walk through something like a petting zoo to the Multi-Animal Show at 11:00am and finally a wrap-up at the Bird Show at 12noon.

Since, this wasn’t our first trip and we kind of know what to expect in the shows, the Bird Show still topped it all. They were very successful in gathering “bird conservatory contributions” with birds flying to your hand holding a RM10 up high ! Indeed, they have to bring in 2 birds to meet the demand! Hope the money does go into the conservatorium as claimed. But, I think this is too much and the birds were exploited for commercial gains.

Overall, in comparison to 7 years ago, nothing much has improved, in fact the surroundings has gone downhill.

Won’t be surprised if the crowds are dwindling. With the convenient close location to KL, and the folks from the south, the management should capitalise on this to revamp and revive it with more programs. 

Oh yeah, good food is hard to come by in the Resort and outside the resort, especially if you are looking for chinese food. We were grateful to find a noodle stall in Alor Gajah town, by asking a local Chinese.

A Loh Hei we all would remember CNY2008

As a child I had been calling him Gu Chong (uncle in Hakka). I was born to the Choo family but my aunt who is married to Low Kuan, raised me as her very own daughter. From young, it was just Tai Gu ( Aunt ) and Gu Chong (Uncle) endearments. When I turned 12, the family decided to add on an alias into my identity card bearing the family name Low… it was an important symbolical attachment for me.

It was not until my wedding day when the newlyweds had to offer tea to the parents during the tea ceremony that I finally got to change into calling  Father and Mother.. at last. I was almost 30 then !

Father didn’t live with us. We are his other family. He would visit us almost every month and all of us would be happy coz usually it would be a dinner outing listening to his interesting stories and jokes laced with adult Hakka connotations. He was the first person who introduced beer to me, when I was barely 11. I guess, it was to join in the family merry-making. A businessman by nature, Father is a respected man in the family. His views are normally sought yet most of the time we are almost independent. 

Mother used to tell me that Father was a very helpful man. We all used to stay in a one-room flat with mattresses spreading the whole living room with other uncles, aunties and grandpa occupying the verandah and kitchen space. Gradually, he helped the family and relatives to obtain low-cost housing and decent living space. He never expected the return of his good deeds. He was well-known as an influential figure, the man everyone goes seeking when in need of help. He was a smart-looking man.

He was extremely proud of my scholastic achievements, more so when I won a fully-sponsored scholarship from the Japan Ministry of Education to study in Japan. I remembered the family’s advice to me, not to get a Japanese husband, famous for battering the wife. I was glad to bring home a Malaysian suitor, one who could speak Hokkien with him, a language alien to me.

Mother and Father (aged 73) at Tea Plantations ( Apr 1996 )

Although the moments we spent as a family with Father was not a lot, I was glad to have brought him and mother, with hubby and my then 1 year old son driving up to Cameron Highlands for a short holiday. We stayed at the Strawberry Park Resort, had steamboat for dinner and enjoyed calming scenery of rolling tea plantations in the cool weather.

Father’s visits became less frequent as he aged. And when he turned around 75 years old, he started falling sick, lost a lot of weight, losing his self-esteem in the process. He could no longer make visits to his shop nor wanted to socialize. That was when we started to visit his other family in order to see him. Surprisingly, all was harmonious. Probably unknowingly to me, both families were already aware of each other for a long time.

Every Chinese New Year, we would make a point to visit him and give him angpow. Over the years, he might have been weakening physically but his mental state was sharp as ever. He gradually turned into a frail figure, in denial I guess considering his once commanding position in the family. He was hit with depression and unwilling to step out of the house. 

So it was a wonderful surprise during Chinese New Year last year that my brothers and I succeeded in persuading him to join us for a casual celebration at my house.  That was the last smiles we saw on his face.

CNY 2008 with Father ( aged 85 )

On 9 April 2009, we received a phone call that Father was hospitalised. I rushed over with Mother to see him. He couldn’t talk with the oxygen mask on. He could hear us and and struggled to open his eyes for a peep. He made some sounds as acknowledgement. My last words to him was,” Father, rest well. I would have to go to pick up the boys.” He seemed stable then and I thought he could easily hang on for a few more days. Just as we left, we received news that he was fast weakening. He left us the next morning at 6:10am.

We were stunned upon receiving the news. Not quite understand how to proceed .. whether we would be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Things didn’t quite sink in, and yet tears flow at the memories of him and the thought that he had parted. As we arrived at the funeral parlour, we were asked to put on the mourning costumes. Father looked peaceful and even had a soft smile on his face. His skin was smooth and fair. Amidst tears, I thanked him quietly for the support he had given us as a Father within his capacity.

Father passed away on 10th Apr 2009 at the age of 86, ( 90 according to Chinese calendar ) leaving behind 4 generations from 3 wives :  9 sons, 3 daughters and 30 grandchildren, great-grandchildren. It was a grand farewell. Above all, his passing presented all the families a great opportunity to get to know each other, something we should have done when he was still alive.  

Father, we will always hold good memories of you in our hearts.

A Grand Farewell from the big family

More so for a parent who is bringing his/her family along to prepare well. Here’s a list of what is essential, gathered from my various experience snorkeling with my family.

1) Snorkeling Gear ( check if this is provided )

First, check that snorkeling gear is provided by the tour operator which includes the mask, tube and a life jacket, even fins. If you are bringing young children, check that they have the appropriate junior sizes. Usually, most places provide standard adult size only. If that is the case, you can just buy for your children available in most sports department stores. 

** Note: For the Shortsighted

Since snorkeling is about seeing the underwater world, it is important that you get clear vision with your masks. For those who have shortsightedness, most masks don’t come with power. Either wear contact lens before putting on the mask or wear goggles with power. You can attach the tube to the side of the goggles just like you would on the mask to aid your breathing while snorkeling.

2) Footwear 

The most important thing which we tend to overlook – a pair of good footwear to protect your feet as you land or step out from the water. Dead corals are often swept up to the shoreline, so your first step onto ground after emerging from the water can be quite painful if you are barefooted .  You would want to wear something that you can swim comfortably in and do not get swept off by the currents; and you would want to be able to stand and walk right after getting out of the water.

Slippers are not suitable. Flippers – no, you probably trip and fall if you walk in them. The professionals wear aquashoes which is ideal if you have the money.

For us budget holidaymakers, we found a cheaper option yet workable alternative – the Crocs clones. Light, comfortable with holes for water to escape and cheap enough so that you don’t get heartsick if you do lose these. It is the protection that it gives you that you’ll be thankful for.

3) Sun Protection Wear – a T-shirt !

I splash lots of sunblock with UVA UVB SP50 protection labeled on it but still could not avoid getting sunburned. The waters are so cool and inviting especially on a hot sunny day that you are deceived into thinking that your skin would not burn. With beautiful fishes taking all your attention away, 30 minutes soon become 45 minutes underwater ! So unless you are wearing those scuba diving wet suits while snorkeling, you can get burned. That was my mistake. So a better option is to put on a long T-shirt over your swimwear to protect the vulnerable areas like shoulders, bottoms, back of thighs .. . Also, check your sun exposure time.

4) Towel

Yes, do bring along a dry towel to be left on the boat while you jump into the water. After dipping for more than 30mins you may start to feel cold so a dry towel is essential to keep the body dry once you are back up. Moreover the wind can give a wet body chills as the boat speeds. The last thing you want is getting sick while others are having fun.

5)  Lip Balm

The seawater is salty and your lips can be dehydrated if you snorkel for too long. Before you know it, it can be a painful experience and imagine swimming in seawater with cracked lips.

6) First Aid Kit

Cuts and bruises are common when you venture on an outdoor trip. Pack along a First Aid Kit complete with iodine solution, brunol cream for cuts, plasters or whatever that works for you.

7) Underwater Camera

Only if you can afford this. We couldn’t ! So we just capture the shots in our memory and come back every other year for a live refresher. 

Have a memorable snorkeling trip !

“If the early week runs like a bad sitcom, try to laugh with every turn. Sometimes life just run amok, and whatever you’ve had planned doesn’t happened. See where you end up. The outcome needn’t be a disaster, even if it is unscheduled.” I read  my horoscope with alarm just a day before I departed with my family of 4 kids for a 3D2N stay at an expensive resort in Lang Tengah Island in Terengganu.

What could go wrong? I shuddered. 

Six hours before we were to make our way to the airport to catch our flight, to my horror, I found that for the return flight on the check-out day, I made an erroneous booking for 8am and not 8pm! The boat transfer from island to mainland only departs at 9am so no way we could meet this. Frantically, I called the resort hoping to be able to charter an early boat out but it wasn’t an option available. Then thought of booking the 8pm flights but that would cost us too much. Finally, last option, did an online booking for bus tickets to get us home from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lumpur. This trip hadn’t even started and I was already shaking.

Happily flew to KT Airport early morning and we were greeted by rain and heavy clouds that didn’t seem to clear.

As we were waiting at Marang Jetty for our boat, we could see sea waves hovering at 10ft high beating the shores. Nevertheless, our boat gallantly made its way out. My kid vomitted, I was barely in one piece. We emerged like ghostly figures after a 45min ride. The tummy was so bloated that lunch looked like the last thing I needed. But the warm vegetable soup saved my day.

It was gloomy skies and damp for the whole day, not quite the right season I suppose. But that night, stars sparkled brightly as we looked from our verandah. Thank goodness for the rest of the holiday, we were blessed with beautiful weather and sea.

 This resort is divided into East and West Wing facing different coves. It is an exclusive resort with just 45 rooms but 20 over staff maintaining it ! Both wings have their own swimming pool, kitchen and cafetaria. They are connected by a pathway surrounded in flora and fauna. The East Wing is the main wing with reception and diving centre. And a small jetty for receiving/sending off guests. I was told that the East Wing houses the more economical rooms whereas West Wing has the high-end rooms. There is also a Spa Centre in the West Wing for those needing a pampering.

Our room was one of the only 2 family rooms housed on the West Wing. It has a single bed, a queen size bed and a sofa bed; and a stairs leading up to a platform  with 2 single beds ! With air-cond units each on the lower and upper floor plus a ceiling fan, the room is cool enough. I would recommend the parents to take up the upper floor as the steps are quite steep and being near to the ceiling fan, definitely not the right spot to place kids who are up to mischief. Besides, you get some privacy !

The bathroom is pretty basic but spacious.  The verandah is a great place to laze on the low chairs enjoying the soothing sea breeze and beautiful view.

As in every resort in Lang Tengah Island, there are no TV in the rooms and don’t quite remember seeing a fridge. So practically you just need to be outdoors for recreation which includes snorkeling and jungle trekking.

The chefs and cuisine are different in both wings. West Wing guests (paid more mah !) are treated to more European style of cooking with assortment of pastas, grilled lamb and even the curry tastes unconventional yet yummy. One thing to note is that good food doesn’t come in “bulk” so be punctual for the mealtimes else the leftovers, if any would leave you disappointed. Here the  6 – 7 selections dished out are all of exquisite tastes with soup that warms your heart. Less is More ! Coffee and tea plus crackers or wafers are free-flow throughout the day at the cafetaria. Drinking water is also provided so you just need to refill your bottle to bring up to your room for boiling, etc.

If you swim out from the East (Main) Wing, after collecting your snorkeling gear.. head towards the right rock and somewhere in the middle between East and West, you can find many schools of clown fish (nemo) swimming hide-and-seek among the live green swaying corals. That was our main mission – finding NEMO and mission accomplished. There are also a variety of many colourful fishes but not as much as we experienced in Redang.

Then to the east side of the East Wing, which is another cove called Turtle Bay, I was told that one can sight baby sharks and turtles though we had no time to explore out. I was told that there were turtle tracks on the beach probably came up for nesting. If only we stayed one more day .. we already lost the first day to bad weather.

The hush green fauna surrounding the resort provides a very cool retreat and exotic wild habitat. It is no surprise seeing a monitor lizard crossing the pathway as we walked from one wing to the other. Wild flowers and butterflies fluttering, the music of nature .. birds or insects playing their orchestra. I spotted a red spider too. And I heard for the first time in my life, the nature’s alarm clock ! No, not the cockadoo cackle of cock but the insect making the exact sound of a triggered “RRRRUUUUUUUNNNNNNG” alarm clock badly needing a reset. Catch this at about 5-6pm and around 6am. It will stop eventually !

Thinking things turned out pretty well after all, my husband sustained a 4cm long cut in his thigh being hit by the waves while getting off a rock during snorkeling. It was bad enough to be in need of stitches. Still, he took it in great stride. Our last evening was spent quietly at the verandah, enjoying the soothing cool sea breeze, serene and rejuvenating. Our last adventure was to get my husband to a clinic once we were back on mainland and finally the bus ride home.

Where did we end up ? Exactly 10 hours ride before we were finally at our doorstep. Though exhausted, everyone was still in good spirit and agreed that it wasn’t that bad after all. 

In summary, the resort is exclusive; very well maintained, good for those looking for a quiet retreat as it is not crowded but you would have to plan your own activities. Our previous trip many years ago with a group to Redang Lang Tengah scores low on comfort but high on activities eg. jungle trekking, boat trip to Redang island. Another Lang Sari Resort nearby seemed to have a lot of kayaks for its guests. In our next trip to D’Coconut, we would want to choose the peak season - as the manager Colin told us the water was so calm that it was completely still. My next mission is to swim with the turtles !

Damai Laut Swiss Garden Golf Resort is a faraway well camouflaged golf resort by the beach in Lumut, Perak with a most unexpected road leading to it. Just by following the signboards would be easy enough to lead you there. There were oil palm tree plantations on both sides of a winding road, followed by a cactus-like tree orchard of which we learnt were actually dragon fruit trees.  

After what looked like a journey to no man’s land, suddenly a grand arch welcomed us and slopes and stretches of beautiful greens changed the landscape totally.

Our holiday was right after Christmas and before New Year so as to avoid the crowd. We booked 3 rooms for a 3D2N  at  just RM 200 nett per Garden View Room with 2 adults breakfast included.   We don’t golf and after a great experience at Pangkor, we dare not raise our expectations too high at this family-friendly resort. 

Hence, wonderfully surprised with our first activity at the resort. The Children’s Explorer’s Trail, organised by the resort charges a fee of RM 6 per child and 12 per adult. If you are bringing your children and wanted some activity apart from just lazing around the pool or beach, I would highly recommend this. The guide restricts the group size to about 10 pax, so do register early.

Our trail started at 4:00pm with an open-air tram car bringing all of us to the first stop – the starting point of a short jungle trek.  Make sure you wear sports shoes, long track bottoms to protect yourself from leeches and mosquitoes. Some guests were in slippers and shorts and spaghetti straps so in no time we heard lots of squealing and screaming of leeches invading them ! No, not like an army of leeches just some scrawny little strings of them. But you know, girls just scream at the tiniest things. The fun part was that this trek had some simple “obstacles” for those game for the challenge. 

First, there was a cargo net for one to cross, then a timber plank with wires coiled around for one to crawl through ( only kids below 12 would fit ). I like the Tarzan Swing .. yeah, be a kid again and swing and wail like Tarzan. 

At some parts of the trek, you really need to get onto all fours to avoid slipping especially after a rain. Everyone was stomping their feet marching like soldiers to shake off possible leeches clinging onto our shoes.  

Finally,  relieved to be back to tarred roads. Each one of us was offered a bottle of mineral water. Then a quick walkabout at the resort’s herbs garden and off to the next stop - feeding the fish. We were brought to a pond with a deck and each of us was given some stale bread to feed the fish. But somehow, these fish were either not hungry or simply had a distaste for bread. We ended up contaminating the waters with chunks of bread floating all over ! That was unsightly.

Next was to the putting green. Yes, most of us had never stepped onto the putting green before so we were extremely excited. Golf clubs were provided for us to just whack as we like for a good 30 mins. No hassle, no preparation, no beginner’s lesson either – imagine we are Tiger Woods.

The highlight of the trail was the fishing experience by the pond at the golf course ! We were provided an eco-friendly fishing rod. It was just an oil palm branch stripped off its leaves and with a nylon string + hook tied at the end. Very innovative and cool. So picking a nice lucky spot, we sat quietly and patiently waiting for the fish to bite our bait of stale bread. Fishing here was very calming with the picturesque rolling golf greens. Even my restless boys find these quiet moments enjoyable! My second kid could well become a fisherman with all his luck. In 10 minutes, he could harvest 5 catches ! The fish is about the size of a palm and of course we let them go back into the pond. Almost killed one as the hook was too deep and took too long to unhook, phew .. we were all so distressed to see it floating on one side after throwing it back into the water,  but cheered greatly as it survived the ordeal. Truly “nyawa-nyawa ikan” experience.

Reluctant to leave as many of us were unable to attract any fish, we vowed to come back again, on our own and fish for as long as we like the next day. By 7pm, we were back at the lobby and drove out to hunt for seafood dinner.

One setback is that a drive out to a reasonable seafood restaurant takes easily half an hour if you know exactly where you are going and an hour in our case coz we got lost. There are 2 options, either head towards Kampung Cina, that is towards Setiawan direction or north east to Pantai Remis. Earlier for lunch, we had already stopped by Kampung Cina. Good value for money. Oysters fried with eggs is a must try. Prawns fried in oats was very good. With 6 adults and 3 children, it costed us about RM 110, soup and 5 dishes.

So for dinner, we tried Pantai Remis. Just head towards Segari Turtle Sanctuary direction without making a turn-in, and continue on the main road. After a long stretch of almost no sign of commercial activity, just some factories, you’ll come to some shoplots eventually.  The restaurant we tried out was pretty good and popular among tourists. A little bit more pricier than Kampung Cina. One advice, do not order chicken – stick to seafood.

The next day, we drove out again to visit the Segari Turtle Sanctuary, again got lost !  The place is rather secluded, quite near to the beach. I was amazed to see some large adult sea turtles swimming in the ponds, that they can grow to this size in captivity. There were also lots of turtlings probably waiting to grow a little bigger before being released back to the sea. Admission is free.

We spent a great deal of time at the beach of the resort. Kayaking is a complimentary activity where solo kayaks or dual kayaks are provided. Life jackets are also available and it is almost like self-service, no time limit imposed. The boys enjoyed kayaking so much that they went again on the morning of our last day. After that a dip in the cool waters of the pool wrapped up our holiday.

On the way back, we decided to stop by Setiawan to buy their famous hard-baked cookies called Hong Piah; and we never fail to stop by Bidor to get the crunchy seedless guava fruits and petai.

Image from http://www.malaysiavacationguide.com/firefly.html

If you are in Selangor and want to give your foreign friends a spectacular experience to bring home, of our natural habitat, by all means bring them to the Kampung Kuantan Fireflies Park in Kuala Selangor.

The first time I visited this Kampung Kuantan Fireflies Park in Kuala Selangor was almost 10 years ago, and when friends from overseas wanted to experience the place, I was worried that all the fireflies would no longer be there. But fortunately this place is still as natural as it was before.

We normally would plan to have dinner at the restaurants nearby in a small fishing village called Pasir Penambang. The restaurant we often frequented is the Restoran Seafood New River View which seemed to be popular among tourists too. Try to go before sunset and you can snap a few good shots while waiting for your food.

The food is just OK, though not as good as the seafood restaurants in KL, so don’t have too high expectations.

From Pasir Penambang, the drive to Kampung Kuantan Fireflies park is just about 20 – 30 mins. Each person is charged an entrance fee of RM10 that includes a boat ride and a bottle of mineral water. What I like best about this park is it is totally natural – no motorised boat because the noise would drive the fireflies away. So quietly, 4 passengers in a sampan ( boat ) rowed by an experienced rower to bring you to the magical waters of the twinkling Christmas Trees. It is so amazing, seeing these blinking lights floating and moving here and there amidst the darkness. We were told that the leaves of the Berembang trees that thrive along the banks of this river were food to these fireflies, hence the population remains. And the blinking of the lights are its means to attract a mate.

Our rower was kind enough to bring us upclose to the trees and I even had a pair of fireflies landed on my finger, busy in their own world. ( Sorry fireflies for intruding ! ) The whole cruise was extremely quiet with just the sounds of ripples of water. 

Hmmm .. can also be a perfect romantic night with a loved one.

The signages to Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort never failed to tempt my curiosity that one day, we really made our way there to find out the mystery behind this sanctuary.

It was part of a family trip from KL to the north, with the destination to Sungai Kla Hot Springs as the main highlight that a night stay somewhere nearby became a necessity. There was hardly any “resort” in this part of Perak except for this quite remote resort.

This resort had only just a handful of cabins and I had to book 2 to fit my whole family. Checking out the internet for fellow travellers’ reviews did not result in encouraging expectations. One commented that it was far too quiet unless for golfers. Nevertheless, the resort website posted promising pictures of the cabins so I was hooked to find out for real.

It was a gloomy rainy day by the time we arrived at the resort’s grand main arch but the road leading to the cabins seemed to lead to a lost world. Being surrounded by a man-made lake hence the name clearwater, on a grey day, things looked far from cheerful. Damp and heavy air – hubby was not at all keen to put up a night here. Last minute frantic calls to some hotels in Ipoh yielded no rooms available for such a big family of 9 of us. I actually went to the lobby to cancel our intention to stay only to be vetoed over by the kids who were not willing to change plans. So, embarrassingly went back to the reception to get our keys.

We had 1 family cabin that was very spacious – 1 queen size bed, and can add on 3 – 4 more single mattresses all over the room. The washroom was quite impressive with jacuzzi and also an outdoor pond. The other twin-bed cabin was just a smaller version. All cabins had balconies overlooking the Clearwater pond – some lotuses blossoming making a pretty serene picture and quite a number of monitor lizards swimming around much to the boys’ excitement.

So, what’s next – we don’t golf. The next morning, after breakfast at its dining area, we went biking, compliment of the resort. There was a challenging biking area, with upslopes and downslope bends enough to thrill the kids and me. Then there was this kayaking area, where I took each kid out rowing trying to get as close as possible to the lotus flowers. There were some other sports facilities, but that was not the way we wanted to spend time at the resort.

And that was about all. Honestly, I would not recommend this place for families with kids bursting with energy. Nevertheless, curiosity satisfied and maybe golfers would appreciate this place better.

If you had not been to Sungai Kla Hot Springs, especially its Family Spa then this is the best kept secret to be revealed here !

The drive from KL to Sungai Kla was just about 2 hours plus and the biggest mistake we made – it was the weekend of the school holidays so the crowd was incredible. There was the cold pool area and hot pool area. We all headed quickly to the hot one. Most of the crowd were either in swimwear or just T-shirts and shorts ready to get wet.

I must say we were very impressed with the hot springs and its surrounding facilities. There were these pebbled paths where hot water runs so as you walk along, you get to enjoy a foot reflexology at the same time a feet sauna. There were also several hot water pools to dip your feet in, great for the elderly coming to get improved blood circulation and to rid of rheumatism.

I must say I was at first sceptical about Malaysian hot springs, you know we are not in the volcanic band per se, so I wonder how hot can this water be ?  Moreover, as someone who draws great  enjoyment  from   Japanese  hot springs, I was ready to be contented with Malaysian sub-standards.

Was I wrong ! The water was really really steaming hot, so hot that you can also cook the eggs. We brought some eggs too but there were too many people crowding and the small little place meant for boiling eggs was a tad too messy. I was not keen to put these eggs boiled here into my mouth.

But the best was yet to come - the Family Spa. Pictures above. Don’t miss it ! The first thing to do is to put down your name for an hour slot because this is highly popular..that you may end up in a waiting list or told to come back another day.

There are only a handful of Family Spas ( and a few Couple Spas ) each in its own fenced up hut setting. It is nicely landscaped with some jungle fauna surrounding an open air private hot spring pool in the middle. The nice part is its changing area with benches and wooden shelves to place your clothings. So it turned out to be a good lunch area for the family too. Of course it comes with its toilet and shower.

Sitting inside the pool, brings me back to the Japanese Onsen memories that I missed so much. If only it was cool like autumn … and the aroma of Japanese sake filling the air .. imagine a bit lah. 

Kudos to the resort management for such a splendid idea. The only question I forgot to ask .. whether they change the water in the pool of the Family Spa before the next group dips in.

A very early start at 5:30am where the tour agent sent a private car to pick us up from the hotel to the tour bus waiting spot.
Travelling for the first time among the local Chinese wasn’t bad. The tour guide, a gutsy young, slim and pretty girl with a sharp and witty tongue showed serious business with zero tolerance for non-compliant tourist wandering off without following the schedule. She stated as a matter-of-fact-ly that the bus would just go without them. China women are strong ! Being so early, all of us were “prevented” from sleeping in the bus by the loud non-stop DVD being played in the entire trip; and the guide’s “strong” encouragement to keep us awake so that the money paid for this trip was well-spent, not in a dreamland but in sightseeing.

It only took about an hour to arrive at the Badaling point of the Great Wall. From here to the Wall, we took the somewhat-like roller-coaster cars but just slower, and alighted at the Wall. Costed about RMB 80 for return trip. There were already lots of people crowding in at 8:30am. The view was breathtaking…hey the only man-made structure viewable from space, here I was standing on it ! At first I thought we could walk all through the Wall but actually only a section is open to public so walking from one end to the other and back could take an hour easily. Wished I could just stand there longer to enjoy the moment but due to the tour package we took, had to move on and back on that roller-coaster ride to the bottom.

We then moved on to have lunch as provided in the package. This was quite an experience. There was this big hall with many round tables and essentially, any table that has all seats occupied would see dishes being brought to the table. So you practically eat with strangers. The tour guide earlier warned us that this meal was to fill the tummy, not to satisfy your taste buds. We got the idea alright – 7 out of 8 dishes were either bland or salty vegetables and there was 1 fish that was real skinny. The dumplings looked yummy but just good to look at. Actually pretty tasteless and hard. Luckily we brought our own buns to supplement.

As in every tour package I guess ( that is why I hate to join packages ), there are definitely stopovers at shopping places – as in this case we were brought to a Jade centre, a Preserved Food centre and even a Chinese Medicine centre providing complimentary consultation. But the medicine was far too expensive .. definitely a rip-off, and I am surprised that the locals were willing to pay for them. Well, what more China does not have very good reputation at its quality assurance so we politely said no.

The last stop was to the Ming’s Tomb, a quiet and serene burial place where FengShui, positioning with relation to the mountains, valleys, rivers was emphasised to ensure prosperity for the future generation.

In these 2 days, we practically visited the place where the kings lived and worked ( Forbidden City), the place where the queens/kings retreat to ( Summer Palace), and where they were buried (Ming’s Tomb). And of course where the soldiers defended the city ( Great Wall ).

Not bad for a short trip, done hastily.