Kuak Hill Resort | A Place You’ll Never Regret Visiting

I have mix feeling when I heard about this place, namely because it’s on a hill. Well, that’s about it. Hahhahah…. Lame excuse, yah yah… I know. Me being me, am worried nonetheless, for everything under the sun. Thou shall not worry fellow friends (gitew, cam medieval period pulak rasanya), all is well, all is safe. I am being overly concern (as usual). Ahaks.
 
I must say, riding the ATV downhill and uphill at that height was exhilarating! But oh boy! It was the best experience of this place, aside from having the bragging rights lah (our chalet was the biggest and bestest of all). Let me do this. I’ll share on things to do here, the chalets and some #traveltips, howabout that!

Things To Do In Kuak Hill Resort
3D2N trip here sounds about okay cos 2D1N will be way to short. And mind you, once you are here, to venture out is abit of a hassle so they make sure you are pretty much occupied here. And oh yah… Internet is not at its best, maka paham-pahamlah yea.

• ATV – A must must must. I have to admit that the slope was scary for me to ride downhill (get someone to do it if you are penakut, having said that I managed to ride down on my own at a slow speed). As for uphill, I ramp up selaju-lajunya ler. Hahhahaha….
• Swimming – They have a swimming pool (natural water source/air gunung) overlooking Tasik Raban, the view is simply majestic
• Trampoline – I saw but did not manage to try, with my current weight nanti orang ingat gempak bumi pulak.
• Trekking – Yes, they have this but you will need to inform them upfront as permit need to be obtained.
• Karaoke – Night activity… It’s public area by the way, I habaq awai-awai na…
• Petting zoo – Peacock, cats

And here are my #TraveTips!

• Make sure your stay is a 3D2N for you to fully embrace the smell of the nature
• Unless you plan to go here and write a book, make sure you come with friends/family (takut mati kutu pulak nanti)
• Shops/resto are miles away, bring snacks/Maggie and all
• Bring your own food for BBQ (for glampers) and rent the pit, or alternatively take their BBQ package
• Ask for their full board cost (ie. all meal included, no shop nearby remember)
• Bring sunblock
• Bring swimsuit
• Bring own toiletries
• Slippers/flip-flop jangan pulak lupa
• It gets pretty cold night, bring proper pyjamas (Long John tuh takyah ler)
• Sneakers of you plan to trek/ride the ATV (additional charges for ATV)
• You can do morning yoga… nice view and air

 
Accommodation at Kuak Hill Resort
(do take note that despite that some of the units are of pax capacity, the price is due to the location/view)

Villa 1
- RM549 per room/night (including breakfast)
- 1x Queen bed + 2x sofa bed (4pax)
- 1x bathroom
- Fan + Air-con
(Room photo credit : Shahevanddy)

Villa 2, 3, 5 
- RM249 per room/night (including breakfast)
- 1x Queen bed + 1x sofa bed (3pax)
- 1x bathroom
- Fan + Air-ncon

(Room photo credit : Mek Onnie)

Villa 4 (duplex)
- RM699 per room/night (including breakfast)
- 2x Queen bed (4pax)
- 1x bathroom
- Fan + Air-con

 
Villa 6, 7, 8
- RM299 per room/night (including breakfast)
- 1x Queen bed + 1x sofa bed (3pax)
- 1x bathroom
- Fan + Air-con

Glamping
- RM199 per room/night (including breakfast)
- 4x Sleeping Bags (2x Sleeping Bags for each tent)
- 2x Tent
- Dining table/chair (for 4pax), Sink, Light (each tent), Fan (each tent), 3-way extension cord, Dustbin
- Hammock
- Common toilet/shower
- Common surau

Kuak Hill Resort
Kg Lata Papan, Kuak
Lenggong
Perak

#TravelPerakLah Lenggong & Royal Belum Media Fam Trip 2020 is in collaboration with Tourism Perak and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.

Inspiring Myanmar – A Little Eco Lodge

A Little Eco Lodge (Tree House)

The Heritage

This 2 are places that are often overlooked by travelers, perhaps due to lack of promotion or just minimal awareness, often travelers traveling to Myanmar seek for a more mainstream, adventurous or fun activities. Knowing how important educating travelers are, I decided to share about these 2 places that has inspired, excites and humbled me during this trip.

‘Responsible business’ is what set A Little Eco Lodge apart from the rest. Caring for the community, the environment as well as Myanmar culture and heritage has drove Kyaw Swar and his wife Mee Mee to recruit their staff from the Inle Lake communities’. And the best part is that a portion of their profits go to community development including health care and education, their way of giving back to community.

Mr. Kyaw Swar sharing his vision and mission.

This traditional style accommodation offers affordable stay in their "eco-style" lodge built from natural sustainably managed materials. Don’t be surprise to find out this eco lodge comes with well equipped spa, traditional or Swedish massage, steam bath or sauna, body scrub and manicure & pedicure. Not only that, guest will be serve local delicacies prepared fresh from their own garden, not only that, they also encourage guest to try their hand in gardening. Outdoor activity such as trekking at the beautiful hill of Loi-Khaw is also available, they can also provide guest with an expert guide to take guest to trek the Pa-O ethnic villages and mountains

The other section that awed me is the beautiful tree house that serves as a café for guest to enjoy the sunset or just chillaxing. The whole structure is made of bamboo and  we were served with home grown strawberry juice (absolutely delicious) aside from the Innthar food, their family recipes. Cozy and homely is the best way to describe this charming tree house café.

For those who loves nature and local surrounding, A Little Eco Lodge is the perfect place for you. The rooms are air conditioned, wifi is available, car park is at abundance and it is located a mere 1.7km away from the scenic Red Mountain Estate Vineyards. Oh yah! It also comes with private bathroom and towels are provided. They even have spa centre and sauna.

3 ways to get to Inle Lake, one is via bus, train and flight. The train stops in Shwe Nyaung, a town is 13 km away from Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake), as for flight, Heho Airport is 20 km away from the lodge, an hour taxi ride from town.

A Little Eco Lodge

Nyaungshwe MMR014002701

Myanmar (Burma)

Contact

Tell : +95 (0) 92003993

Email at alittle.ecolodge@gmail.com

1st ASEAN Media & Bloggers Fam Trip in collaboration with Myanmar Travel Bloggers Club and Tourism Myanmar

Haus Am Moos Guesthouse in Salzburg

I want to stay in a guesthouse.
I am particular liddat.

Out of the 4 countries we visited, I was adamant to stay in a guesthouse and particularly the one in Austria; Salzburg. Not only must it be in Salzburg, but it must be an Austrian traditional home, outskirt, farm if possible, with its scenic snow cap mountains as the background; nothing lesser. Kid you not, am particular liddat. Ahaks…. 

And we stayed in one. The best one I must say *smile*.

After hours and days of searching, reviewing, running through Salzburg map, comparing cost, we finally narrowed down THE guesthouse; Am Moos, located at Fam. Strasser, Moosstraße 186a, A-5020 Salzburg.

Day in, day out I stared at the website, googling reviews and images to make sure the decision we made was the best choice possible. Being slightly far from town, we were a bit worried, hence we figure getting there for first timer like us would be easier via cab (well, taking a bus is easy too after asking the owner, nampak tak kemalasan menebal masa tuh?! Hehhehheee….). Truthfully, the journey was around 10 mins or so to the town… no worries.

During spring and summer, you can lounge by the pool or take a dip, definitely makes me wanna experience it all over again. Keh keh keh…

Oh yah! They have a friendly dog.

Haus Am Moos serves breakfast as well with a nominal fee of course and the spread is quite good delicious, we had bread, egg, cereal and cheese… sodap! And you can use their kitchen in the morning but at night you'll get an electric kettle at your disposal, so pandai-pandai lah yea. Other than that, the owner is superbly friendly, you can purchase Salzburg card from him, get the free map or ask him for tips and directions around the city, he will be able to help you.

I will share the details of the house at the end of this blog entry *wink*.

This is one of the reason why I choose this place, having the spectacular Mt. Untersberg behind your home is simple a gawking moment every morning. I mean, wouldn’t you?

I have blog about Mt. Untersberg earlier (click HERE for more story). 

As promised, below is Haus Am Moos detail.

Haus Am Moos

Fam. Strasser

Moosstraße 186a

A-5020 Salzburg

Austria

URL : http://www.ammoos.at/en-home.htm

Have a pleasant stay!

#TravelTips | Markale Guesthouse - Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) - Big Heart and Best Hospitality. Enough said.

Earlier post
Bosnia and Herzegovina for me...

View across the street.

Worried as our flight arrives close to midnight from Croatia, I called Markale Guesthouse and to my surprise my call was answered by the owner himself and he was able to take my last minute request and arrange an airport pick-up (which is of course chargeable as well as trustworthy). A plus point in my book *smile*.

Strategically located with a fruit/ vegetable market on its left, a supermarket on its right, a meat market diagonally across the street, and to complete this, Pekara Markale; a 24 hours bakery directly across the street fits every travelers' bill. Just then my heart skipped a beat for I know that I will like this place and upon seeing my room, Markale Guesthouse certainly nailed it.

Kitchen and common area.

Facilities available and the cleanliness level was exactly like all the reviews I read - positive.

• English speaking staff
• Free Wi-Fi Internet
• Free wardrobe cabinets
• Free linen and towels
• Free use of kitchen and bathroom (3 private, 2 shared)
• Free hairdryer
• Free iron and ironing board
• Washing machine (require additional payment  - 2,50 EUR per washing)
• Parking is available upon request (6 EUR per day)

Do take note that it is cash payment upon arrival for all 3 booking websites - Agoda, Booking.com and HostelWorld.com.

Breakfast.

Breakfast is included for any booking under Agoda and Booking.com and excluded for those that book under HostelWorld.com (correct at the time of posting).

As we booked ours under Agoda, our room comes with a sumptuous breakfast and they serve it at your requested time, plus the menu changes daily. On our first day we were served with cereal, bread (with jam/butter/nutella), croissant, egg (of any style), beef pâté, juice, milk and coffee/tea. For our second day, we were served with delicious local sausages (yummeh), bread (with jam/butter/nutella), fruits, juice, milk and coffee/tea. Note the key words - sumptuous, delicious, requested time, any style. We were more than happy and full, oh! it's HALAL *smile*.

Below are the price comparison.

Via Agoda. 

Via HostelWorld.com.

All rooms look similar, white and clean with sufficient power points for camera/ smartphones/ laptop/ iPad/ powerbank etc, so worry not flashpacker friends!

Quad sharing.

The front room is facing the main road, if you are a light sleeper, my advice is to ask for the room at the back.

Very clean toilet, it comes with hot water/ hairdryer/ soap/ toiletpaper/ towel and floor mat. 

Hose Supermarket.

Fruit and vegetable market.

The fruits here are fresh and juicy, we bought all sort of berries to eat during out walks and at night. And yah, the berries here are cheap (its expensive back home)!

As you can see, the market is very clean. Very.

Bazaar at the Old Square.

Some of the historical places are within walking distance from the guesthouse, everything can be covered on foot. You can also get them to assist you if you wish to visit Mostar on a day trip.

Hope this info is helpful to those planning their trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina



Directional tips from Markale Guesthouse

If you are coming by car or taxi, just keep going to the centre and ask for the market hall "Markale", we are just opposite to it. If you are coming by tramway from the bus station or railway station, take tram no. 1, and exit at "Katedrala" (the Cathedral) stop. From any other part of the city, take tram no. 3. Once you exit at this stop, just keep walking another 50 meters down the same street, towards the market hall. If you are still not sure how to reach us, give us a ring, we will pick you up for free, if you are not too far away.

Markale Guesthouse - Sarajevo
Mula Mustafe Baseskije 9
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tel : +387 61 737 704 / +387 61 212 510
E-mail: guesthouse.markale@gmail.com
Website : http://www.sarajevo-hostel.com/

Latitude 43°51'34.00"N

Longitude 18°25'25.63"E

#TravelTips | Hostels in Jiufen and Taipei, #Taiwan

Hey you!
Curious on Taiwan?
*Wink*

I thought I should start with #traveltips entry of hostel in Jiufen and Taipei, catering for those traveling to Taiwan in near future. While searching for hostels or guesthouses in Taipei and Jiufen, I soon realise :

• The hostels and guesthouses in popular locations are expensive (Expensive > RM100 > Average > RM50 > Cheap)
• There are not many hostels and guesthouses in popular locations
• There's only one cheap hostel in Jiufen (and it is always full during peak season)

For this reasons, I thought I should share where I stayed as I personally feel that the 'price vs. location vs. facilities vs. convenient' is just perfect. Well, for me at least. Taking into consideration that I booked these places less than a week before my travel date, I am one hell of a lucky girl!

So, let's start with Jiu Fen!

1. Jiufen

On My Way Jiufen Youth Hostel

I have researched places to visit in Taipei for the past 2 years and there are 2 mountains in my wish list since forever, one being Yangmingshan and the other, Jiufen. As you can see from above picture, Jiufen view is simply breathtaking with few nature trails for you to venture, beautiful waterfall sites and quaint villages, aside from its famous old street.

Despite all this great offerings, it is short of cheap hostels or guesthouses for budget travelers. I found one with fantastic combination of price/location/facilities/convenient - On My Way Jiufen Youth Hostel.

Look can be very deceiving; the inside is very decent and clean. No worries *smile*.

Common room or TV room.

Common kitchen with fridge, microwave, oven, water dispenser and kitchen utensils. No cooking stove though.

Girls only dorm, they have aircon and fan. I switched on both upon arrival (panassss).

10 mins walking distance to this pavilion.

Beautiful Jiufen night scene.

On My Way Jiufen Youth Hostel
No.23, Wushi Ln., Ruifang Dist., 224 Chiufen (Jiufen)

Facilities
WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge. 
Public PC
Tour Desk, Baggage Storage, Lockers, Shared Lounge/TV Area
Non-smoking Rooms, All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private), Air Conditioning 

Others
Check-in : 16:00
Check-out : 11:00

2.Taipei

Taipei Walker Hostel (2 stations away from Shilin Night Market) 

I was torn between staying near Ximending and Taipei 101, after loadsa googling and researching I then decide to stay near Shilin Night Market, and it's cheaper too! This is the place where shopping and street food are the best combo for travelers (a bit tough for Muslim though, the food part).

Living room cum game room.

Common area and entrance.

Washing machine and dryer.

They have 2 kitchen, both provide microwave, fridge, water dispenser and kitchen utensils.

Public PC.

Mix dorm with both aircon and fan.

Wall for doodling.

Shopping goods!

Taipei Walker Hostel
Ln. 661, Wenlin Rd, Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan

Facilities
Free WiFi 
Breakfast Included
Tour Desk, Baggage Storage, Lockers
Air Conditioning, Washing machine and dryer

Others
Check-in : 15:00
Check-out : 11:00
Reception : 9:00am - 11:00pm

3.Taipei

Green World Hostel - formerly The Loft Hostel (1 stations away from  Zhongxiao Fuxing Station)

This hostels is near Sogo, TGIF, a huge MRT interchange station and Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining!!! Ok, I am overly excited. Hahhahhaha... Oh, near Barbie Cafe too. This establishment is abit professional as you can see for yourself (below pictures), for those who wants to stay in the city centre, this will be an ideal place.

If you take the Citibus from Taoyuan Airport, it'll stop you at Sogo (Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station); which takes you approximately 10mins walking distance to the hostel, kinda convenient.

Front desk/reception.

Public PC and lepak area.

Common and dining area.

Washing machine and dryer.

Kitchen - stove, microwave, oven and fridge.

Green World Hostel (Formerly The Loft Hostel)
7F., No.107, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd, Da-an District, Taipei, Taiwan

Facilities
WiFi is available in all areas and is free of charge.
Vending machine (drinks), 24-hour front desk, Tour desk, Luggage storage, Lockers, Shared lounge/TV area, Laundry, Meeting/banquet facilities, Business centre, Fax/photocopying Air Conditioning, Washing machine and dryer

Others
Check-in : 15:00
Check-out : 11:00


Hope this helps your planning.