Hmmm

A reader left this comment in my last post, Sun-kissed skin (click here to read post)

"If you love Tan so much,next life born in negroes or indian family,amen!"

It amused me knowing there are people who  make the most irrelevant statement(s)/ comment(s) at times.In fact it kinda reeks of racism to me. Like tan means you have to be Negroes or Indian? tsk tsk.

All i'm saying is right now, i think tan is the new sexy. Tan makes one look more athletic. But I did not say that fair people are not beautiful or gorgeous. And i'm not saying people should overexpose themselves to the sun, to purposely go around sun bathing just to achieve sun-kissed skin. If you are born with it, congratulations. If not, there are various sunless way to achieve that perfect bronze. Else if you are snow white evangelist, continue staying fair as you like. At the end of the day, health is the utmost important. Tan or fair, it's just an external thing. Beautiful anot still depends on a lot of other factors.

Why am i even bothered to justified anything. Maybe next time you guys should read and understand properly what i'm writing/saying before leaving comments. Or else, you are just gonna continue 'amusing' me this way. 

Thank you. :)

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Sun-kissed Skin

Ask me if i like to be snow fair or dazzling tan. Sometime ago, i might say snow fair just because i was never fair so perhaps being Snow White for once is a refreshing novelty. But not now. Right now, im loving my sun-kissed skin from paradise Perhentian. After all, dewy, radiant tan people are much more sexier, athletic and attractive. *ahem* Think Taylor Lautner, Megan Fox and Louis Koo. Who needs glowing pale white skin like Rob Pat and Snow White.

In fact, the trend now is tan over fair i think. That is why there are more and more tanning centres, no? I mean it's obvious from all the tanning centres and products that there are more people wanting to get the perfect bronze. As for me, I'm naturally blessed with abundant melanin since birth. Meaning i'm bronze, i' m tan and i'm sun-kissed since birth. And more melanin means more natural protection against skin cancer. hahaha. I dont have to painstakingly lie under the sun for hours (and getting risk of skin cancer), waste money for visits to tanning centres (my friends once ask me if i will accompany them for tanning at one the centres and i thought they were crazy) or buy tanning products (same here, a salesgirl once recommend me tanning lotions and i though she was crazy too).

So right, every time i visit islands or beaches, i do everything else except sun bathing. I personally prefer moon bathing and star gazing more. Like not only because it's not good, i don't fancy getting myself baked till i looked like a baked lobster. Yes, i'm tan and i'm satisfied enough with my healthy skin color. I don't need to look anymore tanner or risk getting burn. Like the angmohs will be enjoying the merciless sun topless or otherwise and i'll be lying under a shade watching them. haha.

However, i suspect the sun was even more generous than usual while i was at Perhentian because despite all the sun block i applied, i still got baked and burn. I remember the 1st day i got back and when i look at myself in the mirror, i was horrified because i saw an arang (charcoal) smiling back at me. And the funniest thing was, i got sun burn at the most uncommon and unexpected area. (go figure yourself, i wont tell. ha!). Tan is beautiful but overly tan and becoming like a charcoal is horrible. And having tan lines and double tone is equally unattractive. (now you know why angmohs rather go topless/nude or people rather put themselves in the tanning machine) Over the next few weeks, my skin sort of went through metamorphosis, only that no butterfly emerge at the end. They itch, peel, shed and regenerate. And finally now, i think they are returning to a more acceptable level. :)

Who has the most sun-kissed skin here? hehehe

So, how about you all? You all like to be Taylor Lautner or Rob Pat? Megan Fox or Nicole Kidman? Tan or fair? Faster tell me k. hehe. :)

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Perhentian Island for the Budget Travelers Guide

As we all know, Perhentian Island is divided into Perhentian Besar and Kecil. (Big and Small Perhentian). Perhentian Besar is cheaper to go but relatively less happening. Perhentian Kecil is more expensive but apparently more happening and beautiful. Hence usually, a 3 days 2 nights Perhentian Kecil island package will cost at least RM 300 per person. That too is subjected to factors like the number of individuals, season and holidays. Before going to Perhentian, i tried googling for accomodations on the island and while most accomodations alone are pretty affordable, they do not include meals and snorkeling trips. Any package that comes with accomodations, meals and snorkeling trips costs at least RM 350 ( for 2 person package and we went in August which is consider the peak season for island visiting). So, considering transportation charges etc, we need to spend at least RM 400 per person for a simple island getaway. That certainly was kinda out of our budget.

So, we decided to take the risk and not book any of the island package available online. And that was probably a wise decision we made cuz we managed to save so much more. And as i said in my previous post, Perhentian Kecil  is like a backpackers island. You can def spend less than RM 150 for 3 days 2 nights on this island. (revealed at the end of post. hehe). For the budget travelers, you can just hop onto the island, stay in any budget accomodation, budget food are readily available and book your snorkeling/diving trips from the many boatmen there. In fact, there are so many boatmen offering snorkeling and fun diving trips that the prices are all quite reasonable due to the competitiveness and you can take your time to choose the one that suits ur time and interest the most.

There are a few accomodations on the island that offer rooms for as low as RM 15 a night (walk in rate) for their dorms and RM 40 a night (walk in rate) for their rooms. Prior booking rate for the rooms are higher, RM 80++ per room.

The place we stay is call Tropicana Inn which is facing the Long Beach. Like everything budgeted, only the basics are provided. Of course as long as they are clean, i dont actually mind. For such low rates, the rooms are comfortable enough for 2 nights sleep; there's the bed, mosquito net, fan and shower. There's no water heater (but trust me the island sun is especially merciless and generous you wont need that), air con (might be a bigger problem for people who cant stand heat) and there's cut off time for electricities usage.

It is actually smacked right in the middle between the Long and 'short' beach. It is about 10-15 minutes walk to the Long Beach below. 

I bumped into a few monitor lizards around here and that stretch of jungle track was definitely not inviting at night cuz it's pitch dark. But the friendly staff, cheap rates and it's relatively short distance to the Long Beach are definitely attractive. 

Foodwise,  meals on islands are always more expensive. But at Perhentian Kecil, you can find a plate of fried rice for as low as RM 7 and buffet dinner for RM 15.

There's this cafe call Ewan Cafe that sells these affordable meals. A breakfast set like this consisting of poach and toast is RM 6-7 (cant remember exactly how much). And it tasted pretty good too.

Buffet dinner at Sharila for RM 15 per person. BBQ seafood and chicken are available for top up but it's RM 15 per item. The buffet selections are not extensive and it's more like a vegetarian buffet, but remember, this is for people on budget that still wants a piece of paradise. The mash potatoes are my fav here and they even have live music to entertain us.

We took our snorkeling package with Tropicana and our 9 spots package that include Rawa and Susu Dara island was RM 100 per pax. However, if you dont feel like swimming so much, you can always opt for boatmen and package that offers less spots for cheaper prices. 

Basically, if you go freelance like us, how much you spend depends totally on how much you eat and how much snorkeling/ diving you want to do. :)

Heck, you can even be the ultimate cheapo and bring your own food (but i reckon you still have to spend on mineral water at least) and skip all snorkeling or diving and there you have it. The Ultimate Cheapo/ Super Savvy budget for less than RM 150 for 3 days 2 nights Perhentian Kecil getaway. hehe.

I hope this helps anyone who do not want to burn a big hole in their pocket but yet still wanna enjoy the beautiful island.  :)

PS : Water taxi is a must to get to Perhentian Kecil cuz whatever boat u take will only take you until you are about 100 m from the shore. Then a water taxi will come to pick you up at a charge of RM 2 one way.

PSS : You can actually skip the water taxi if you dont have any luggage or have waterproof bag because 100 m from the shore is only at about your chest level. :)

PSSS : Dont forget insect repellants especially mosquito repellants and torchlight. Very handy.

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Zhong Qiu Jie

Means Mid Autumn Festival in Mandarin.

A quick post cuz i need to go on call tonite. Yea, i be admiring the moon from the wards in the hosp later. 

There's a very beautiful legend behind this celebration (read here) and typically people eat mooncake and pomelo, play lanterns and admire the full moon on this night. When i was younger, i will light candles and hang lanterns around my house with my siblings while enjoying pieces of traditional mooncakes, pomelos and chinese tea. My fav mooncakes are those traditional ones with lotus or red bean paste and has double yolk in them. But as years past, even mooncakes had revolutionized. Now aside from the traditional ones can find so many other versions, like cheese, chocolate, strawberry, black sesame, snow skin, ice cream, jelly etc etc etc. But due to the high cholesterol in those duck yolks and high sugar content in mooncakes, now we dont eat as much as we used to anymore. Even the lantern carrying has ceased relatively.

However, when i was back last holi, i saw that someone in my hse had bought those lanterns. So one night, me, my bro and my sis just light up those lanterns and walked around our house like how we used to do when we were younger and pinching off mooncakes in the kitchen. We looked quite silly doing all those, but it was really fun. :)

Snow skin mooncake. Zhong Qui Jie is never complete without these.

Even paper lanterns had revolutionized. Now got Mickey Mouse and team one.

And so coincidentally, it's Suze birthday today. Let's just say a very Happy Birthday to this blur, kind, nice and helpful darling of mine. I remember the first time i saw her i thought she's the quiet type but after 4 years noeing her, this girl can really really talk. We always had a good time traveling together, having our pillow talk and hanging out with her is always fun. We always had a lot of good laugh when she is around.

Happy Birthday darling. It is such a pleasure to have you as a friend. Muacks.

And to all my beloved readers and fellow bloggers, Happy Mid Autumn Festival. Zhong Qiu Jie kuai le. :)

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Paradise Perhentian

Done editing pics from the very beautiful Perhentian. Lots of pics of the gorgeous island, beach craps and underwater. :)

Perhentian Island is paradise. The best part of staying in Turtle land aka Kuala Terengganu is the fact that some of the world's most beautiful and famous islands are just stone's throw away. Well, literally. Just a few hours away and we can whisk ourselves into paradise; full of sunshine, sand, eye candies, fun and monitor lizards (ok ideally paradise and these huge lizards do not associate but i dno why Perhentian is full of them running about in the open terrorizing people like me).

Perhentian Island may not be as famous as his neighbouring Redang Island but it is definitely a paradise of it's own. It is relatively less polluted, the marine creatures are abundant, the sands are white and soft, the water crystal clear and definitely much more happening. We decided to drive ourselves there last month during DD's birthday. Located some 100 km away from Kuala Terengganu, it was about a 2 hours drive to Kuala Besut and another 20-30 minutes drive to the jetty. The islands never fail to appeal to me. They always vibrate a certain kind of aura that spells hype, interesting and tranquil and that vibe automatically kills any anxiety or stress monsters in me.

The best part is Perhentian is like a backpackers island. More specifically Perhentian Kecil. (Small Perhentian Island cuz that's where i went). There's luxury resorts no doubt but even on budget, we can enjoy this paradise all the same. Our 3 days 2 nites escapade there only costs us a little over RM 300 and although our accomodation was nothing luxurious, it is nothing short of providing us our basic needs. Besides, we got to swim with the fishes and baby sharks, chase the turtles, marvel the corals and hang out at more nearby beaches at our heart content because we went for a 9 snorkeling spots package. And we enjoyed our dinner each night hearing the waves crashing against the beach while stuffing ourselves silly with buffet and barbequed seafood that includes slipper lobster. All of these good times for a mere slightly over RM 300. Cheap can. But thats another story altogether on how to enjoy paradise even with only RM 150. Next post perhaps. So come back and read. hehe.

We arrived at the jetty at about 10.30 am and after parking the car (it's RM 20 for 3 days 2 nights btw), we were ready for our boat ride.

#1- Cant wait to set off. Wow, my hair looks so reddish-orangish here.

The boat ride was about 30 minutes and it had gotta be one of the bumpiest boat ride ever. It was like getting on a roller coaster at the sea for a good 30 minutes if that makes sense. Up and down, down and up we went but it was exciting as we saw our destination approaching closer.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at Perhentian swimming with the fishes and corals, jumping off lighthouse and immersed in romance at the Romantic beach (pun intended). By the time we were back at the beach, it was just in time for sunset.

#2- Sunset in Perhentian Kecil is best watch at the "short" beach side (the side opposite of the famous Long beach. I coined "short" beach so that easier to describe subsequently)

#3

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 #7

The next morning, we woke up with the glorious sun generously pouring it's merciless sun rays greeting us. It's more snorkeling, which means more swimming with fishes, corals and drinking salty water. Of course, after a long day of battling sea waves and chasing fishes, it felt good to be just lying on the soft, white sand hearing the boats coming in, smelling the salty air, read a good book or simply just people watching, feeding our eyes with occasional candies. Because it was August which means peak season which means more people hot babes visiting islands which means more bikini clad girls sun bathing, guys definitely had a better time feeding their eyes with candies. Not fair one. In what month will there be more hunks than babes? :p

#8- Long Beach Perhentian Kecil

#9- Bubu Long Beach. The most expensive resort on the island.

#10

#11- "Short" beach side.

#12- See what i mean? Babes sun bathing.

#13- Back at the Long beach. The Long and "short" beach are opposite each other and we have to walk through a 15 minutes kinda jungle track to get to one side and the another. There might be monitor lizards along the way tho.

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#18- Whoa, i like this shot a lot. :)

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#21- Just me and the sea.

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#30 - Nights in Perhentian Kecil is definitely very happening whether it's on the Long or "short" beach side. Many restaurants offer movie nights and chilling under the stars like this.

For the 2 nights i was there, the sky was gorgeously decorated by the gazillion stars clearly twinkling at their best. Star and moon bathing had never felt more romantic and beautiful with the sea breeze blanketing us.

Aside from all those snorkeling, diving and chilling Perhentian Kecil offer, this island also caters to those who loves jungle trekking. They have a jungle track that extends all the way up to the windmill where the solar power for the island is generated. It's not a particularly tough track, it's just filled with plenty and plenty of monitor lizards. So terrorizing can. Me no like. It's like every now and then, one of those giant lizards will be sun tanning along the way and my heart just frozen up each time. I cant remembered exactly how many but i knew there must be more than 10 lizards we bumped into that morning.

#31- The jungle track

#32- "Hi, my name is Terry. I'm the 'terrorist' of Perhentian. I come out to sun bathe just like those hot babes. So, please do not be afraid of me."

#33- After about 45 minutes, we finally reached the top. Yup, the windmill is located right at the peak of the island.

So was the 45 minutes of climbing, sweating and most importantly, terrorization worth it?

#34 - Well, i had to say it was worth it when there's view like this. So fantabulous. Such a gem.

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#39 - Water here is even more crystal clear. Very inviting and tempting.

#40- We made it to the bottom from the top and we crazily climb up that seemingly endless flight of stairs again.

#41 - I like to jump. I mean i like jumping shots.

#42 

Now for some underwater pictures. Sorry for the poor quality. It was really buoyant underwater and those fishes that was constantly swimming didn't help either. But doesnt matter. Cuz you have to go experience for yourself and swim with those cute fishes and get 'WOW-ed' by their beauty and amazingness. Altogether we went to like 9 snorkeling spots. Madness cuz usually we will only be brought to like 3 or 4 spots. The spots are the other small islands nearby and around Perhentian; Susu Dara and Rawa island, the lighthouse where we jumped off it, Turtle Point where i saw my first turtle ever since i came to Turtle land (it was a leatherback turtle and it was sooo huge and it swam so fast. I only managed to glimpsed it for a few secs and it probably got frighten by the enormous amount of people suddenly surrounding it so it swam like lighting fast away), Shark Point, Fish point, Coral point, Romantic beach and Fisherman village. 

I like Rawa island the most because the fishes there are really abundant and all so colorful and pretty. I even saw baby sharks and the Napolean fishes there. The Napolean fishes are like giant flower horns. They look so huge and scary but are actually quite harmless. Most of the fishes we swam with are similar to the ones i saw at Redang except here they have the Napolean and more of those colorful fishes and Nemos. So happy to be able to get close to the clownfishes.

It's simply fantastic battling those waves, swimming side by side with the fishes, being surrounded by them, gulping fair dose of salty water and having my muscles hypertrophied. We swam so much that even after emerging from the water, i still felt buoyant and light. But it was an awesome feeling. It was even better swimming without the life jacket and just with the fins. (but careful when swimming with fins, pls do not step on the corals)

#43 - The lighthouse

#44 - And jump! It actually hurts when we hit water. Kids, dont try this at home.

#45

#46- Look at all the fishes. Fishes of all type swimming side by side with us.

#47 - I'm so excited to see this particular type of coral. Saw some in Redang but even more here. They are known as the Christmas Tree coral because when you touch it, it will open up prettily like Christmas tree.

#48 - The Napolean fish

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#53 - A very blur colorful fish.

#54 - Spot Nemo!

#55 - Nemo playing peek-a-boo at it's natural habitat. So adorable.

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#57 - The most unshy fishes. They will come kissing you as long as you have food for them.

#58- Back from paradise with new sun-kissed skin. :)

The 3 days there was super awesome. It always felt good being whirled away into a world so beautiful and calm, away from the concrete jungle and it's ugly monsters. We totally fell in love with Perhentian. It's beautiful, it's unique, it's amazing and it's happening. I miss Perhentian already. Someone pls transport me back to paradise now.  :)

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