Wordless Wednesday

My love, my heart, my soul, my dearest abah & mama

thanks for reading! :)

One Step Closer to Nature: A Great Start to a New Hectic Semester

As usual, this post has been kept as "pekasam" for more than 2 weeks now. hehe..

My First Hiking Experience - 

A Colourful Journey to Kerachut Beach with MBA Family, 17 Feb 2013

To be honest, maybe i'm a bit more excited about going for this trip instead of starting my 2nd sem when I was driving back to Parit Buntar.  haha.. I have been wondering for so long, how would it feel like to go for such adventure? ..  So, when the opportunity comes, I immediately grab it by saying yes, i'm in! :)  plus, i really like travelling. especially when it's cheap ;)

Don't get me wrong, I really love attending lectures too.  Seriously.  ehem..

So, at my home in Shah Alam, I started preparing.  By EATING a lot. LOL! I really did not do anything to increase my stamina besides eating.  and before departing, I've actually cooked lambchop for the whole family for Breakfast.  haha.. as nervous as I am for not having enough stamina, I'm more nervous at the thought of not able to find this kinda food easily at P. Buntar/Penang.  And opah's and tok timah's house definitely will not have enough ingredients nor enough people to finish it if I were to cook this myself later.  

haha.. (apekah alia? merapu pasal lambchop??)

 Breakfast- a day before hiking trip

OK, let's get back to the real story.  My first hiking experience.

We gathered at 6.45am in USM that day, and in the bus we were given 2 buns, soy drink, a banana (to avoid cramps) and kit kat :)

Breakfast - in bus

Upon arriving, we have an ice-breaking session which was quite funny and also did some exercise.  And of course, we also took lots of pictures. 

Located at the beach, the starting point itself is very nice with scenic views.  Kerachut Beach, the hills that we climbed to get there, and everything within that huge area are part of Penang National Park.  

Happy excited faces - before the hike

And the journey begins..

At first, we were walking on a walkway. and I said to myself, hahaha... I'm so silly to think that hiking is dangerous/challenging/tiring whatsoever.  This is easy man!  For 3km, we would definitely take less than 1 1/2 hour to reach the beach.

Well maintained happy walkway

Wooden bridge near the starting point

And as usual, I was soooo wrong! haha.. 

The hilly trail that we faced right after the happy walkway has many many staircases, or shall I call it rootcases? Cos, the trail was all covered with trees' roots.          

Roots and height and more roots and staircase

I told ya!

The hike seemed endless..especially for me. hahaha... Luckily, the strategy of eating a lot before hiking worked fine for me (kind of. lol).  I have lots of energy to climb but of course, not much stamina to climb the hill fast. So, I climbed the hill at my own pace and it was fun to enjoy the nature while continuously taking pictures.  

Also, the banana helps! I did not experience any cramps that day.. until I arrive home. (but that's a different story)  

It's very true that hiking with friends are so much fun!  Although the journey was very tiring, I could not stop giggling, smiling and laughing throughout the expedition.  

My friend, Guan (the boy holding plastic bag in d above pic) kept on encouraging us saying that we are almost there.. When actually we have not even passed a quarter of the trail yet. lol

Taking a break at one of the pit stops

I'm very happy to discover that the the trail after this pit stop was not as challenging as the earlier trail :D

Instead of going up up up up and upppp, we are now going down, flat surface, up, down, down, down, flat surface, up. (I hope you understand what I'm trying to explain..hehe)

Priya, Steven, Guan & Kak Jo (Kerachut Beach: 1.0 KM )

This trip was very meaningful, not just because I have had the chance to share exciting hiking experience together with my close friends.. kak fadz, anas, kak jo, ming fang, azura and everyone but it is special because this activity was also joined by the dean dr sofri, the deputy dean tn Hj and most importantly, dr yudi my research supervisor.  

The most interesting part was, we actually discussed about my research progress and plan while hiking.  Seriously, these people are very dedicated to their work and I'll definitely feel bad if I don't work as hard.  sayonara darling holiday ~~ till we meet again T_T

Oh, towards the end, the trail became quite dangerous, steep to be exact.  And I was one of the unfortunates who have sprained her poor knee when I jumped down and had the difficulty to walk properly for 2 weeks. huahua..

Enjoying scenic view with beautiful people

Yup, we are heading there!

Ming Fang, Anas, Dr Yudi

And finally!! this is the bridge that links the hilly trail with Kerachut Beach.  Hurrayyy! we are here :D

The Bridge

Celebrating our joyous moment :)

We did it, YeaY! ^_^

So pretty, EVERYTHING is worthwhile

the jetty

must take pic on the jetty :)

Kak fadz, always a darling to me :)

Play game till you drop together!

Secret spies protecting the island

Doing community service while we are there

Coolest organisers ever!

Watching baby turtles together at turtle conservation center, Pantai Kerachut

The turtles here are very special.  Instead of coming at specific months of the year, the turtles in Penang come to Kerachut Beach throughout the year to lay their eggs. 

It is quite risky to swim at the beach since there would be groups of jellyfish swimming together with you.  Jellyfish is the main source of food for these turtles, that's why turtles love it here :)

Happy lunch

Very thankful to the organisers, Steven & friends who carried the food for us throughout the journey

and its time to say goodbye

I felt so grateful that we have an option to go back to our starting point by boat :) I would have fainted if I were asked to hike back. hehe..

We only have to sit back, relax, and happily enjoy the nature :)

TATA FOR NOW

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein

P/s: Special thanks to the organisers, MBA GSB Club's Committee for making 17 Feb one of the happiest days of my life.  Also to the pretty photographer, Vivyan Teh, thank you for capturing these beautiful pictures. I love them all :)


thanks for reading! :)

Legoland Malaysia, My Story :)

Nawfal was the photographer & Atiya was replaced by Tok

Legoland Malaysia is the latest attraction in Johor, specifically Nusajaya.  It’s a very very fun theme park for school children; and to adults, you’ll surely have fun too but more than this, you’ll be amazed to see how every sculpture is made of Legos. 

One important tip from me, please wear lots of sunscreen and cap on your head.  Cos the weather is so hot and there'll be not much trees to protect you.

Unless u wanna be sunburn and messy like me..haha..

So, we had a chance to visit this new exciting place last weekend! :)

6 Adults and 1 Child + RM200 worth of meal coupons

Let's start!

Their attention to detail is basically beyond imagination.. at least beyond my imagination. Hehe.. 

Daddy, the uncle is taking away our toilet bowl!

See, extra detail! A tool inside the uncle's pocket

This colourful place opens at 10am.  And we went there on Sunday, so the crowd was craazeyh babeh! The visitors that day were mostly excited Johorians and us, the SD Industrial troop.  If you are planning to visit Legoland in near time, my advise is, take a day leave and go there on a weekday, unless you are willing to wait 2 hours for a ride, u’re most welcome. 

The lost kingdom-didn't manage to experience any rides here :(

Yup, we are lost!

Upon entering, you’ll be thrilled by seeing gift shops, sculptures of man, notable buildings, and animals beautifully made of lego blocks.  Yup, just behind this big signboard!     

Please run away from them and queue for rides first!  If you stop here and there to take pictures.. hrmm..

No,no,no, I'm just helping him with this. hihi..

The models and sculptures will always be there all day long but the exciting rides wouldn’t just be reserved for you!

One of the rides that we love :)

Upon entering, quickly grab the map and use it as your guide, you wouldn't want to miss any fun rides right? *every ringgit counts..haha*

If you really can’t avoid big crowd, go for rides that are exciting but not too scary first.  Like this 4D Show.  In legoland, it's a must to attend the show. Combining 3D picture with extra effects like air breeze, water and snow, you'll be thrilled :)  We watched 'Spellbreaker' by the way. 

Nawfal 

jom cekik dia! lol

At scary rides like Legotechnic, the crowd wouldn’t be as much as 4D Theater, and the waiting hour is very short.  The tiny roller coasters are many and they sure move very fast! 

Exciting ride in Legoland

What i like most in Legoland is, all rides are actually catered for the whole family.  So we don't have to take turn to look for 8 year old Ayman.  He is tall enough to join almost all rides, including all roller coaster! Hurray!! :D

Ayman's weird peace sign
oh, he has also succeeded to own a driving license in legoland-a credit card like license with his picture on it

The greystone castle

This castle houses 3 main rides. Two roller coasters and 1 horse riding ride.  There's also a beautiful playground here with an awesome slide.

the bridge at entrance

welcome to the dragon roller coaster!

cute lil monster

let's do it baybeh!

As mentioned earlier, my youngest brother was allowed to enjoy this as well.  So yes, all rides are not too dangerous.  I noticed that all thrill rides don't have the 'O' shaped track- where your body is turned upside down, but they only have 'V' shaped tracks- enough to make your adrenaline rushes.

We managed to convince Tok to ride this..hehe.. :)  Merlin's ride (just guessing the name) was very similar to times square's wavy ride, but with reduced speed. To me. 

ayman, nawfal, mama, ahyad, tok

Unless you want to exercise your muscle, please dont go near this. lol!

As the area of the legoland is quite big, you may want to ride in this train to explore the whole area :)

Travelling on the land by train

Food at Legoland

Unlike Singapore's Universal Studio, you will have no difficulties in getting halal food.  All food served is halal :) Because we were given lots of food voucher, we really had fun exploring various food and drinks offered in here.  Among the food that we had are from:

Grey castle & dragon coaster area

1. chicken leg with cajun sauce and fries + fizzy drinks: RM22+ 

quite nice but pricey 

2. satay 6 sticks + fizzy drinks: RM12+

OKla

3. ice-cream 2 scoops: RM10

Mahal! and very typical

Foodcourt-like eating place near driving school

1. fish and chips: RM 19

Delicious

2. meatball spaghetti: RM19

love the meatballs

3. Drinks: mahalla

Overall, this is the best place to eat in  Legoland.  The serving portion is big and some food like Chicken rice are reasonably priced.

Bakery like restaurant near entrance

we love the lasagna!! it comes with drinks, about RM20 kot

lasagna, the most yummiest food in here for us :)

With the denmark band


For muslims, there are two musolla/surau provided inside the theme park, one at the entrance and another one near to 4D Theatre.  However, the place can be quite stuffy during peak hour.  I hope that Legoland management can look into this and make the surau more comfortable :(

There are also strollers and other facilities to be rented at a reasonable price here.

this cute stroller can be rented here in legoland!
the twins are so adorable ;)

Tok kita pun comel juga

After we had enough fun trying all the rides *which has below 1 hour waiting time..huhuhu..*, it's time to enjoy the artistic lego creation and take lots of pictures!! :D

Just like giants

KLCC YO!

The buildings and the accessories arranged around it are actually interactive.  Some of the cars, planes, boats, ships, and trains were moving which made the model lively! Boleh gerak2 oh, even without drivers.

Putrajaya

KLIA Model :)

KLIA's planes are moving but not flying here. hehe..

Bali pon ade

harusla tangkap gambar kat Bali! :)

A model of Masjid Omar Ali, Brunei

The best part is, the masjid is also equipped al-quran recitation & azan all day long :)

Alhamdulillah, ramai lego ke masjid. eh?

the moving pirate ship

one happy boy

we want to be d first to take pic in front of legoland hotel! lol

the sun is setting down and it's time to back to normal land ':]

Goodbye legoland!

The happiest boy on that day was surely Ayman :)
Thanks Abah! 

OTHER PICTURES

THIS PICTURE IS SOO WRONG! hahaha..

it's our turn!

super nice

taj mahal

watership

small lego bees

ohhoi!

let your imagination run wild

our KSL hotel room

before we went out for a quick shopping at the  twinning mall

night before - had annual dinner with abah's colleagues

Dislike chinese food

the hotel guardian.. haha

thanks for reading! :)