Holidays: Margaret River, Australia (Part 2)

continued from Part 1 ...

Yallingup Maze

This was one attraction that we almost didn't go to, but am so glad we did!

It was lots of fun for the whole family. There are four towers at each corner of the maze, and part of the fun was trying to find your way to each of the four towers through the maze. There are secret doors and water guns for some extra squirting fun.

We divided our troop into three teams to compete against each other, and we had to take group selfies at each of the towers.

The free outdoor area is just as fun, with smaller puzzles to solve and logs to climb.

Cafe and store area, where you get your tickets

Off we go with our water guns

Holidays: Margaret River, Australia

During the March holidays, we decided to venture out of Malaysian borders to go Down Under, spending about a week at Perth and Margaret River with our extended family — all 18 of us!!

We had oodles of fun exploring part of Western Australia. If you are planning a trip there with kids, hopefully our experience may give you some helpful ideas. :-)

We did so much and took so many photos ... so we will be updating this blog as Mummy gets down to editing the photos etc. Do check back again soon for latest updates.

Pit Stop: Busselton

We took a 3-hour drive down from Perth, stopping at Busselton for a lovely picnic lunch under a shady tree by the coast. There were some cafes by the beach, and we ordered take-out from them.

Mummy had ordered a gigantic picnic mat from an Australian online store earlier, so we could fit the entire clan on it. The sun was hot, and there were lots of seagulls trying to get to our food. But the kiddos enjoyed chasing them in the heat.

Run, Baby, Run

Holidays: Cuti-cuti Ipoh

Even mummies and daddies need a break from the kiddos. So off we went to the lovely town of Ipoh for a short getaway.

Why I loved this little holiday ... besides the fact that it was with my BFF ...

• It's so near (just an hour's drive away) — no need to hop on to the plane
• It has lovely natural caves and hot springs
• It has a mixture of old and new buildings
• Good food and everything conveniently nearby

We booked our stay at the relaxing and exclusive Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat by the Sunway Group. And it was everything we had hoped for ... and more. It was relatively pricey, by Ipoh standards, but sure beats going all the way to Bali for some villa luxury.

Courtyard

Picturesque pool that we didn't get to use

Buggy to bring us around

Holidays: Adventure in Surabaya

Baby Boy had a treat by his grandparents, who brought him for a short holiday to Surabaya, Indonesia.

Interestingly, the name Surabaya came from "suro" (shark) and "boyo" (crocodile), two creatures that fought each other in local legend.

One of the highlights was to visit a factory, which is like Disneyland for Baby Boy. There were tractors and forklifts and cranes.

Watching the tractors at work

Getting a personal tour of the plant

And a special ride

Comparing his miniature crane with the real thing

Another highlight was a visit to Sidoarjo, where a "mud volcano" erupted in 2006 (and is still erupting, albeit at a much slower pace). It's also known as "Lapindo", named after the oil and gas exploration company that was deemed responsible for triggering the mud eruption.

Nature: Glamping it up at Janda Baik

It was the year-end holidays, and in line with cuti-cuti Malaysia, we decided to return to Janda Baik in Pahang.

It's just an hour's drive from KL, on not too windy roads, to cool fresh air and natural jungle beauty. We fell in love with it during our last camping trip in 2014.

(Read about our previous rough-it-out fun adventure here.)

5-Star Camping

This time, we decided to level-up and stay at Sailor's Rest, a homestay turned glamping campsite —one of the first, if not the only, in Malaysia.

The campsite layout

Glamping, or "Glamorous Camping", is ideal for those who want to get back-to-nature with all the creature comforts. We took two glamping tents — a 2-bedder and a 4-bedder — which came with beds, plush pillows and quilts, a stand fan, light and power points! It was really five stars by camping standards.

Set against a misty highland backdrop

Spacious and comfy ... definitely how camping was meant to be

But in case you forget you're actually there for camping, there are still insects and bugs and a night-time chorus of frogs to remind you. And being right next to river (the main attraction for us), the sound of running water is a soothing lullaby.

The river at our doorstep

Holidays: Mad for Club Med!

Malaysia is blessed with so much natural beauty and attractions. So this year, we wanted to do more Cuti-cuti Malaysia holidays instead of going for overseas family vacation — with four kiddos and the weak ringgit, the exchange rates and airfares wouldn't make travelling very fun.

The East Coast has always been a favourite, and I really wanted the kids to see turtles nesting (more about this in another post). One day, hubby saw an ad for Club Med Cherating, and it seemed perfect for us. So we booked online and went for a 5-day get-away in mid-July.

We did a 3-hour road trip from Kuala Lumpur to Cherating, Pahang. Smooth highway drive for most parts, and the kids slept through a good portion of it. We started at 11am and reached at 2pm. Check-in time was 3pm, and we weren't sure if they would let us in early.

But after the guard at the guard house verified our reservation and asked us to wait for a while, we were allowed to enter and were greeted enthusiastically at the lobby by the waiting GOs (or Guest Officers).

The guardhouse: Entry is only for guests with bookings

After a briefing, the GOs led us to our rooms while giving us a tour of the resort and its facilities. The resort is a little old and rustic, not too luxurious, but perfect for a back-to-nature retreat. We had read reviews that the rooms were quite basic, so our expectations were quite low, but it wasn't too bad — clean and practical. It helped that we had connecting rooms, so it gave us a bit more space. Perhaps the air-conditioning could have been colder.

The pathways to the rooms

Basic but clean and functional rooms

After a very tiring past few months with work and school, we really thank God for a fun yet restful time away with the family. I felt absolutely unproductive (didn't even touch the 3 books I brought), and what a heavenly feeling that was! Some of the main draws or highlights of the trip for me are:

A "Bao Kar Liao" stay
This trip cost about RM1.8k per adult (including the RM100 Club Med membership fee and RM100 extra for connecting rooms) and RM1k per kid (excluding Baby Girl) for a 4-night stay. It seems high, but compared with what we would have spent abroad, it was relatively cheap.

Besides, all the food and drinks and activities were included in it, so it was stress free because you didn't have to worry about meal times or carrying your wallet around to pay for stuff. The flip side is that you get lots of snacks and drinks available round-the-clock, and we had to limit the kids to 2 sweet drinks a day.

That includes you, young lady!

The noodle house is good for a mid-afternoon meal, but I personally found it a bit bland. The finger food and afternoon crepe party at the bar area is pretty good! The international buffet spread is wide but after a while, it may get a bit repetitive. That's when you would want to head over to Rembulan restaurant by the beach for a change of scenery (and it's quite a scenery!). We didn't manage to get dinner bookings (they get booked out by 8.30am every morning), but we had lunch there twice.

Smaller buffet at the Rembulan

But the ambience is worth it

Baby food. There are facilities to do your blending and stuff in the baby room. But you can also place orders with GOs for specially prepared porridge during meal times. Baby Girl also enjoyed the blended vegetables and chicken nuggets from the buffet line.

There are ample activities for everyone to choose from.

A typical day's events

Hubby took part in the ping-pong competition. Got medal some more!

Upping the challenge: Mini tables ftw!

You do have to pay extra for the spa, photographs (from RM30 to RM80 per pix!), boutique purchases and excursions (read my next post to find out how to do it cheaper). But otherwise, you can still enjoy a full holiday without forking out extra.

Visit: Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm

We made a trip down south to the little town of Kluang, Johor, with the extended family. Hubby spent many of his growing up years there, so there were plenty of family and friends to catch up with.

We stayed a new hotel, GL Hotel, which is pretty decent. The rooms are quite small, but the family suite was perfect for the kids.

We made the mandatory stop at Barney's for a scrumptious Western dinner. Definitely a must-try when you are in Kluang.
Open daily from 11.30am to 10pm
Address: 5 & 6, Jalan Yayasan, Kluang
Contact: 07-774 4992

The chef showing his chops

We also had another mandatory stop at the original Kluang Station Rail Coffee, located at the railroad station. for its trademarked kaya buns and nasi lemak.

The Kluang-ites in our group also got a chance to experience something new at the Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm (KOREF), which is about a 40-minute drive from our hotel. The sun was hot, but the breeze was so cooling that it was an enjoyable day out.

There were many activities you could try out, such as rafting, water obstacle course, farm tour,  fish feeding, flying fox and water walking ball. There are several packages you can choose from. We paid RM35 per adult and RM25 per kid for 2 water-based activities and lunch.

We spent a lot of time on the rafts!

Floating in the middle of nowhere

Obstacle course fun

Holidays: Fun time at Fraser's

After our last trip up Fraser's Hill, we started planning for a return visit, this time staying in one of my favourite colonial-styled bungalows. The last time we stayed here, Girl #1 was only 6 months old! So this trip is definitely way overdue.

Perched at the highest point of the hill, the bungalow is guarded by tall pine trees and surrounded by beautiful blooms ...

like this ...

and this ...

and this!

(Am not putting the name of the bungalow here because it's really difficult to get a booking and I don't want competition!! Hehe.)

It was pretty much a free-and-easy kinda do-nothing holiday with family ... definitely my favourite kind of trip.

We took advantage of the outdoors as much as we could. The kiddos enjoyed exploring the large spacious grounds, looking for pine cones and having a game of rounders. We sat on a mat and sketched while keeping an eye out for creepy crawlies.

Now we are 6: One for each of us in the family

Run and skip and play

Fresh cool air

Boy #2 drawing what he saw

Boy #1's drawing was more from his imagination

Hi Creepy Crawly

The large window seats in the bungalow were a favourite spot for chilling, checking out the garden or hiding while reading a book.

The view's great from here

This view is pretty awesome too

Our evenings were spent around the Boggle set and the Pictionary board — games we played growing up. It was good family time together. Simple but meaningful. Would love to have more of these sort of times back home, but the busyness of daily life makes it very challenging.

The nights were very cold, though, and Baby had a stuffy nose that kept us up. Definitely need to put on more layers next time.

Our caretaker and cook provided us with daily western meals, from chicken and pork to beef — very fresh and hearty meals.

Despite being in his 70s, Mr Tan and his wife run the place mostly by themselves, from the housekeeping and cleaning to the cooking and washing up. He's been working there since I was a young girl, and I hope he'd stay healthy and strong for many more years to come.

Kiddos drew a TQ note for our caretakers

We had a lovely time and would definitely be back. Until we meet again!
Now if only we could find a way to bypass that winding road up Fraser's Hill ...

Holidays: Fun in the USA!

We had an awesome vacation time with the extended family at the US of A — 2 weeks in the West Coast.

The kids had a great time, and the kiasu mummy decided to squeeze in as many learning opportunities as possible. After all, with all the money spent, it better be educational!

One of the main things was a travel journal — I scoured the Internet for various activity worksheets, maps and trivia on the places we were visiting and compiled them into a folder. The kids would work on each worksheet daily, sometimes not without complaint. But my hope and prayer is that it'd help them better understand and appreciate their holiday experience and have a momento they can look back on in years to come.

My USA Journal: Write-up about the Golden Gate Bridge

Writing assignments included a letter to their Grandparents

 

Brochures, ticket stubs and other knick-knacks are included

Holidays: Penang Island

During the December holidays, we decided to visit the beautiful island of Penang to enjoy the yummy local food and the sandy beaches.

Hello Penang!