Friday's Newsflash - Air Asia's 2,000,000 Free Seats Redemption

Here it comes again. Air Asia is having another round of free seats redemption, with a total of 2,000,000 seats up for grab from ZERO Big points onwards. Redemption starts midnight, 2 April 2013, with Big Shots being given priority redemption, starting on 1 April 2013. 

So far, there is little information being released. So, stay tune for updates.

Kuala Lumpur - Fish Farm Thai Restaurant

Imagine having dinner by the fish pond, surrounded by thick lushes of greenery, with soft live musical performances to accompany your meals. Away from the hustling of city life, you can enjoy your food with Mother Nature as your dining companion. Now, what if I tell you that this restaurant is not too far from the city centre of Kuala Lumpur?

The huge number of cars is always a good sign

Located some 30km away from city centre in Hulu Langat, the Fish Farm Thai Restaurant is a breath of fresh air and it’s not just an expression. Nestled within trees, the temperature was cooling and mist was visible during my first visit last night for dinner. It is like dining in the jungle.

So photographic...

Our entertainer, all by himself, in a secluded hut...

The dining area is divided into two sections, one with open air and another under thatched roofs. We were seated on the open air section close to the fish pond, a great spot for photo taking. Materials used for constructing this restaurant are in sync with nature, with woods and bamboos being the main ingredients.

Sa-wa-dee-ka!

My friends are endorsing the menu...

The service here is speedy. After giving our orders, I went to explore the around and by the time I came back, 3 of the 5 dishes we ordered already arrived. I was away for less than 10 minutes, 15 minutes top.

Grilled seafood seems to be a hit here...must try it someday...

As for the food, it is simply delicious. Thai foods are supposedly a perfect mix of sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter and what we ate are testament to it. If I had to say something less glowing, it has to be the white tom yam that we had. It is more like a plain soup, missing the fiery taste often associated to the classic tom yam. Maybe we should have order the normal one instead of this white tom yam.

Thai style steamed talapia with lime juice - RM 30.00

Kangkung belacan - RM 8.00

Mango salad - Rm 10.00

Squid fried with garlic - RM 12.00

White tom yam seafood - RM 18.00

I will definitely come back again to try its other dishes, especially the traditional tom yam. Thanks, Stefanie, for the recommendation.

Night time

Sharing is caring. A word of advice and a piece of information.

The Fish Farm Thai Restaurant is located along Jalan Ampang, Hulu Langat (GPS location: N03’07.783/E101’48.300) with big signboard indicating the exact location of the restaurant. Business hour is from 11.00 am to 11.30 pm, open daily and pork free. You can call Eugene, the owner, at this number, 019-2606493, for enquiry and booking purposes. For more information on their menu, visit their website http://www.fishfarmthai.com/index.htm.

Yangon - Bogyoke Aung San Museum

It was early in the morning when my flight landed Yangon International Airport. My plan to secure a night bus ride to Bagan has me taking a taxi to the main bus terminal, Aung Mingalar bus terminal, first before proceeding to downtown Yangon. Little did I know that I can actually purchase the same bus ticket within the city centre, thus, saving me an unnecessary trip. Well, not that big of a deal.

A neighbourhood in downtown Yangon

Once in the city centre, I began exploring the neighbourhood as well as scouting for potential hotel to call it my home for my last night in the country. I did not make any hotel reservations at all for this round as I want to survey around the city. Eventually, I made a reservation in Okinawa Hotel for a double room (they ran out of dormitory beds) for USD 28.00 per night. A waste of money, as it turned out, for my plan detoured. More on that soon.

The many colonial buildings in the city centre

While I did not spend much time in the city, I did however go to a few tourist spots and one of them is the Bogyoke Aung San Museum. This museum is dedicated to showcase the life of General Aung San, a revered revolutionary and nationalist as well as the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Bogyoke Aung San Museum

The building that houses this museum is actually the home that Aung San Suu Kyi grew up in. We are given a glimpse of the Bogyoke’s (that’s general in Burmese) life as most of the exhibitions in the museum are of his belongings such as family portraits, furniture, clothing, and so on. Besides that, memorable speeches and quotes delivered by the general are also on display, giving visitors a sense of how the man became the revered man he is today.

The family house of the General, now a museum

As I toured around the house, I can understand the strong love for her country in Aung San Suu Kyi’s heart. Growing up in such a strong patriotic household, how can you not be instilled with these characteristics?

If you have a few moments to spare, why not give this museum a visit when you are in Yangon?

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Sharing is caring. A word of advice and a piece of information.

The entrance fee to Bogyoke Aung San Museum is 300 kyats (the exchange rate for kyat is about USD 1.00 to 848 kyats) and it is advisable to take a taxi to go to the museum for it is not located along main road. Taxi fare should cost around 2,000 kyats. The museum opens from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm and closes on Mondays, Tuesdays and gazetted holidays. No photography is allowed in the museum.

Friday's Newsflash - MATTA Fair 2013

If you are looking for places to go for a holiday, you are in for a treat for MATTA Fair 2013 is back. Short for the Malaysian Association of Travel and Tour Agents (MATTA), this year’s first edition of the travel fair will be staged at its usual spot, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), starting for 15 to 17 March 2013.

What to expect from the fair? Besides the normal booths of travel agents with cheap packages, this year will be the first appearance of Malindo Air which will begin its inaugural flight comes this 22 March 2013. The airway has launched its ticket sales to its first two destinations, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, with all-in fares starting from RM 38 and RM 68 respectively.

I will definitely check out Malindo Air’s booths (1M55, 1M61 and 1M62) to find out more of its upcoming routes as well as other possible promotions from the airline. Can’t wait for it.  

Myanmar - Itinerary

As all my photos are now officially lost, my Brunei/ Labuan trip I made last year will not be heavily blogged on. Blog entries without pictures? I'm not that good with words to help you out with the imaginations. However, I will still briefly write about the trip since, I did go to that part of the world.

As of now, I will start with my last trip of 2012, my Myanmar adventure. Had you read the overview of the trip, you will know that I detoured from my initial itinerary. Instead of spending the last 2 days in Yangon, I ended up going to Inle Lake for nothing more than a half day adventure and then took night bus back to Yangon for my flight back Kuala Lumpur. While Yangon is nothing more than a mystery, I managed to get a sneak peak of the famous lake. Those praises are not to be taken lightly.

Before I dig deeper into the trip, let me share with you the schedule of my 5 days/4 nights trip to Myanmar that involved crossing over 3 cities.

Day 1 (14th Dec 2012)

0800 - Arrived Yangon International Airport
         - Went to Aung Mingalar bus terminal to buy bus ticket to Bagan
0930 - Reached downtown Yangon and walked around, looking for hotel room
1030 - Went to Bogyoke Aung San's House
1130 - Went to Scott Market
1300 - Explore the city centre while looking for hotel*
1500 - Took bus to the terminal for my night bus; detoured slightly to Inya Lake
1600 - Took bus to the terminal after Inya Lake
1730 - Reached Aung Mingalar bus terminal
1830 - Bus departed to Bagan

* One of my mistakes was to book the hotel for my stay on the 17th Dec 2012. Ended up wasting USD 28.

Day 2 (15th Dec 2012)

0300 - Reached Bagan and took horse cart to find a hotel
0900 - Explored Bagan by horse cart
1200 - Lunch
1300 - Continued with the horse cart tour
1930 - Dinner
2100 - Back to hotel

Day 3 (16th Dec 2012)

0430 - Woke up for sunrise
0800 - Breakfast
0900 - Cycled to the jetty to see Irrawaddy River
1000 - Went to the wet market
1200 - Lunch
1300 - Cycled around Bagan
1630 - Went back to clean ourselves
1800 - Night bus to Inle Lake

Day 4 (17th Dec 2012)

0300 - Reached Taunggyi and took taxi to Inle Lake
0400 - Found a hotel willing to let us refresh ourselves and crash for a while
0500 - Went out to explore the place
0600 - Breakfast
0730 - Took a boat out to Inle Lake
1230 - Back from the boat trip
1330 - Lunch
1600 - Bus back to Yangon

Day 5 (18th Dec 2012)

0500 - Reached Aung Mingalar bus terminal
0600 - Went to the hotel to refresh myself
0700 - Took taxi to Yangon International Airport
0830 - Flight back to Kuala Lumpur

As you can see, most of the nights I spent on the bus itself. Those night trips were very long, ranging 8 to 14 hours on the road. Luckily for me, I have always been a sound sleeper and can easily sleep anytime, anywhere. Sleeping in the bus is something that I'm accustomed to.

More on my Myanmar trip soon.

*TO BE CONTINUED*