KL View from Petronas Twin Towers

Let’s bounce to another city skyline.

This was taken a few years ago while we were in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city. We went up to the Petronas Twin Towers and had a great time. The view was simply spectacular!

Petronas Twin Towers stands at 88-storey and quite an architectural marvel. The lifts stop at various viewing galleries. Looking down, things look so small and it was quite windy there.

These aren’t the best qualities I know, just did the best I can in cleaning them up. Strange how they end up with a bit of HDR look. Yes, it is a bit tilted. I don’t like following rules all the time

Tropical Island

I was playing around with the art filter the other day. This is one of the result.

I like it. It reminds me a bit of the opening scene in the Star Wars movies. Text are slanted and gets smaller and smaller as they moved further away to the horizon. Very similar to this “perspective” art filter.

This view was on the right side of the jetty of Tioman Island. That is, if you are facing the island and your back is to the sea. Really breathtaking view. We took the same type of boats when we went for the island hopping trip. Do you wonder how the boatmen get into the boats when they are out at sea? By kayaks, sampans and even a wooden raft.

It was really rustic and fitted an idyllic landscape.

Blue-Green Sea, Green Mountain – Tioman Island

Tioman Island - view from the jetty

I was just there last month. The beach and mountain scenery is beautiful!

This is the view as seen from the jetty. The bright yellow hut really stands out. The place belongs to a retail shop opposite selling tropical island clothes. There is a store room there and next to it, there are plenty of seats – idyll for watching the scenery goes by and waiting for the ferry. Walk further to the left side, that is where Paya Beach Resort is located.

The sand here is rather course and there are lots of big rocks at the beach. The tides, waves and currents here are very strong. So be careful when swimming. For safety concern, it may be a good idea to wear the floating devices.

You can even see the sea corals from the jetty. Several years ago the sea corals were dying due to overfishing. Today the corals are very much protected. The green mountains are left unspoilt as they should be. There are mountain trekking tours here if anyone is interested. We did not try that as our parents are old and have walking difficulties.

It is really quiet and peaceful here. Bring back memories of living in a kampong.

Related Post
Tioman Island Holiday Getaway
Island Hopping Trip around Tioman Island

Red Bridge

Red Bridge at Geo Park, Langkawi

The super bright bridge painted red at the Geo Park, Langkawi Island, Malaysia.

I have always liken these types of bridges as those found in a Japanese garden. Love the reflection. The green mountain range on the horizon is called Mt Mat Cincang or Mat Cincang Mountain. It has been left pretty much intact except for the cable car development and some of the resort huts built high in the mountains.

The colour red. What does it imply? To me, many things. Bold, vibrant, seize the moment, beautiful, courage, danger, attention seeker, culture, brilliance, risk taker. What does red means to you?

Well, if you need a bit of armour or something to brighten up a dull outfit, wear something red. Red shoes, red bag, belt, boots, etc. Feel the difference.

Water Lily – Moment of Serenity

Water Lily - Langkawi

This is a close-up of the water lilies in the Geo Park at Langkawi Island, Malaysia.

The bigger and darker ones are the older leaves whereas the bright green ones are the younger generations. The patches of yellow on top are the reflections of the retail shops banners. Pretty pinkish-red flowers. There are two curve bridges across the pond. Tomorrow I will upload the red bridge.

How do you define serenity? Looking at a surreal landscape, by being alone in the wilderness, religion? Whatever that be, I hope you find yours.

Whatever the surroundings, when life gets too tough, just do this simple exercise. It just take less than 5 minutes. Rub your hands briskly. Close your eyes and place the finger tips or the palm there. Feel the heat and think of one moment in time or place that make you happy and give you peace. Visualize it and imagine you are right there.

Seize that moment of serenity.

Tranquil Garden

Peaceful Garden at Langkawi Geo-Park

Going by a “Green” theme this week.

This is somewhere much nearer to home. This was taken at Langkawi, one of Malaysia’s beautiful island. Duty free – so plenty of shopping to go around.

I like this place. It is very tranquil. In the middle of the place, among the retail shops lie a Japanese garden. Lots of fish in the water. The cable car station is located in this area. The view at the platform on top is terrific! It is also quite shaky and windy.

Langkawi has many beautiful beaches and a respite from a lifestyle of stress.

Night Time at the Jetty

At night, there is no ferry coming in to Tioman Island. It is really dark at sea, as seen in this picture, and not always a safe journey at night.

But it is nice to sit at the chalet verandas and soak in the night landscape. So tranquil and peaceful.

Hope you get to see this place some day!

Island Hopping Trip around Tioman Island

Tioman Island – Tropical Beach Paradise

Part 2

At the resort, an island hopping trip cost RM$90 per person with a minimum group of 6 person. Another alternative is to hire a boat for your own group. That cost RM $200/- per boat, more economical. Just ask one of the staff at the dive shop near the jetty and restaurant.

The trip starts at 9am. Hire of life jackets and snorkelling gear are charged separately. So after breakfast, we were off on our island hopping trip.

The first stop was Tekek for a bit of shopping. Next, we headed to the Marina Park for snorkelling with the fishes. Wear the life jackets. The beach sand here was very fine and gentle slopes made for safe swimming. Bring along some bread to feed the fishes and they will come.

Once we were done, the boat headed to an island. There was no landing here. The boat stopped nearby, wear the life jacket and snorkelling gear and hopped out to the sea. We could see the corals below and fishes came by when we offered them bread.

All in all, it was a half day excursion. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing away, swimming in the sea in front of our chalets and yes, sleeping. Get rid of all that stress and relax.

Evening time, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant in the resort and ordered seafood. Before our first dish arrived, lights out! There was a black out! We ate our dinner side dish – calamari – in candle light. So romantic! But alas, the lights were restored all too soon.

The ferry for our return trip to Tj Gemok arrived at 1pm the next day. Nobody expected a storm that day. I was actually asleep when the ferry slowed and stopped. I figured we were close to Tj Gemok but no, we were still in the wide South China Sea with no jetty in sight.

What stopped the boat? My brother pointed out the big waves on the horizon. Our family were seated in the front rows and get to see the view front and centre. All right, no alarm bells as yet.

Suddenly the ferry shifted to the right. Whoa! A big wave slammed on the ferry. Another shift and we were aligned in a different direction. At times, the captain forged on ahead, other times the ferry shifted in many directions to avoid the big waves. By then, the sky was in darkness and heavy raindrops plastered the glass screen. The onslaught of heavy waves continued. We must had been in the eye of the storm for nearly one hour. Around us were fishing boats and every boat seemed to be racing to reach the jetty.

After a brief respite, all the boats headed to the jetty but the heavy waves followed us there. The big ones were easily over two meters, no exaggeration. At two stages, the ferry were diagonal to the wave length and we nearly capsized then. Thanks to the skills of the captain we made it to shore.

What an adventure!

Tioman Island Holiday Getaway

Tioman Island – Tropical Beach Paradise

Part 1

From Singapore we took the bus from DFS Galleria at Scotts Road at 6.40am. A brief stop at Mersing for our ferry tickets collection and we were off to Tj Gemok. Before crossing the bridge over the river, the land belonged to the Johor state. But after the bridge, we were on the Pahang state. We arrived at Tj Gemok around 11am. The ferry journey from here to Tioman Island took about 1 and half hours to 2 hours depending on weather and tide conditions.

So we arrived in Tioman Island about 12.30pm. The sea water was so beautiful – wonderful shades of blue and green. The first half hour of the ferry journey was rather choppy as the currents were rather strong. It smoothed out after a while once we were out in the wide South China Sea. Make sure to tell the captain and staff where you would be alighting – depending on the accommodation.

From the jetty, we saw the chalets and the green mountain backdrop. Very nice and scenic.

We stayed at Paya Beach Resort, which was on the left turn from the jetty. Golf-like carts, running on electricity, were waiting at the jetty to take the luggage to the resort.

Upon check-in, we found out that we got the beach front chalets right next to the buffet area. There were 5 of us so basically the two chalets were next to one another. In each chalet, there was a queen bed and a single bed. The bathroom came with two containers filled with liquid soap and shampoo. A bit of warning – the water came out piping hot. So turn the shower head aside, test the water and adjust accordingly.

At night we ate dinner at the restaurant next to the jetty. Malay dishes and burgers for order. The other restaurant selling seafood wasn’t opened. Another option was to have dinner at the resort which cost a bit more. We did that on the next night and the power went out. So a candle light dinner. Nice.

Tomorrow, fun time on the island hopping trip.

Have a great weekend!

Weblinks

http://www.tioman.com.my/

http://www.payabeach.com/maingallery.html

http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MI_tiomanget.htm

Jetty in Tioman Island

Jetty in Tioman Island, Malaysia

The ferry ride to Tioman Island – the first and last part of the journey – were rather choppy. Take the ferry either from Tanjong Gemok or Mersing. We took the one from Tanjong Gemok.

The currents were rather strong and the ferry rocked quite a bit. For those feeling seasick, plastic bags were there to the rescue. May be good for those incline to seasickness to take the anti-nausea pill before heading out. Once we were out of the straits and into the wide South China Sea, the lulling action induced sleepiness. Yawn.

There were several jetty stops, depending on the accommodation. We stayed at Paya Beach Resort and arrived at the jetty around 12.30pm.

Time for relaxation : sun, sand and sea vacation.