Ironwulf En Route
And I thought it could only happen in fairy tales. A structure made entirely of crystal. Well for this, the Crystal Mosque (or Masjid Kristal), it’s mostly made of crystal with some metal and glass. Nonetheless it’s a beautiful, one of a kind structure found in Kuala Terengganu. We were supposed to visit a floating mosque but got lost here on an island within a city to find the golden ochre walls of this mosque reflecting the warm light of the afternoon sun.
It was the onset of summer in the Philippines and I was yearning for the beach! “But why go Malaysia? You have plenty of great beaches there in the Philippines!” an American backpacker asked me. That’s true but somehow this was different and unexpected. It felt like cheating, I know I love the Philippines and its beaches but somehow, Perhentian Islands in Malaysia is so homey and relaxing I quickly fell in love with it and yes even if some Travel Magazine dubbed our very own Boracay Island as the best in the world, this one is a lot closer to me as a perfect beach island getaway. And it all started when I was looking for an offbeat place to visit in Malaysia and this picture of a beautiful island with torquiest water and a promise of unspoiled underwater haven sold me to fly to Kuala Lumpur.
The Sepang International Circuit gave the much needed adrenaline rush but we had some down time by the sea when we had our lunch at the Golden Palm Tree Resort at the Sepang Goldcoast. It’s a beautiful 5-star resort ran by the Swiss-Belhotel group. Its stilt-house like accommodations is eye-catching but what caught my attention was the tasteful lunch buffet they had from the Indian Tandoori to the delectable desserts. It gave enough fuel for our Go Kart Race before heading back to Kuala Lumpur.
“We Plan to have AirAsia in every ASEAN country” says Zaman Ahmad,the Regional Head of Customer Experience of AirAsia in Malaysia during a short talk in their office. I was sitting on a bean bag surrounded by a few stuffed angry bird dolls and some tall stools for sitting. The meeting room was definitely a ground where playful imagination and ideas can run around. Must be why AirAsia had been successful as a low-cost carrier when it started – they were having fun doing it.
I woke up from the faint light emanating from the window. It was already past 5am. I looked out beyond the frosted glass and it was completely blue. The ship seems to be approaching Port Klang, Malaysia slowly through an overnight cruise. Aside from the disjointed snores inside the room, I barely noticed the movement while I was sleeping. We got ready for breakfast as we’ll soon disembark for a short tour around Kuala Lumpur.
The BOH Tea Plantaion at Cameron Highlands
It’s only fitting we visit one of the biggest tea producing companies when we were in Cameron Highlands. After our visit to the Rose Center, we headed to one of the large tea gardens from BOH Tea Company, the first tea company that set up a highland tea garden in Malaysia in 1929. We were supposed to visit this garden near Rose Center but it was closed so we had to drive a little longer south to where their BOH Tea Factory is located.
The slide house at Snow World Genting Highlands
I was measuring the altitude of the mountain from my phone’s GPS while Marie was securing our park ride passes after arriving here in Genting Highlands. I was on a level where I was looking up at the First World Hotel and is nearby one of the signature rides in Genting Highlands, the Flying Coaster. My GPS reads 1720m on that level. I’m sure on higher ground it would be around 1800m+. Marie soon handed over our tickets and it’s the start of the fun.
