Rawa Isand, Malaysia Trip (Day 3)

28th August 2016, Sunday

Today was the last day on the beach, we got up and went outside. We saw 3 baby sharks swimming in the sea from a distance (was able to see the shadows). As we got up quite early, the staffs were still preparing the breakfast. While waiting, we saw a black cat around the benches, so i played with it. Funny thing was the beach dog, Daisy also came to our side. And when the cat saw the dog, it got naughty and 'slapped' the dog on its face. It made Daisy jumped and wanted to get back at the cat. Even the cat was ready to fight too. But in the end, Daisy just walked away. After that, the kitten started to annoy my friend's hubby by trying to grab his toes on the bench...hohoho...

Daisy

After that, breakfast was ready and the staff told us to check out at 12 pm and we can leave our bags outside the restaurant hut while waiting for the boat to pick us up. After breakfast, they went for their last swim in the sea, Me and my friend just walked near the shore to pass time. They still went for snorkelling for the last time. After that, they all went for shower to get ready for lunch. As the time was still early, we just sat around at the restaurant hut and waited. We had some drinks and snacks before lunch. By 12 pm, lunch was ready and we all ate our last meal on the beach.

Dark clouds coming

While waiting for the boat, the weather suddenly turned to strong winds and dark clouds. We can see that a storm was coming. By 2 plus, there were 3 boats coming towards to the shore and there were new guests coming to the beach. Most of the people who stayed on the same period us took the same timing boats as us. The staff told us to board the second boat, however, she told us we had boarded the wrong boat. So we had to shift to the boat next to it. As there were people on the boat, and the boatman was getting prepared to leave, he didn't bother to help us to pack our bags inside their plastic bags to protect from the water. Raindrops started to fall from the sky and it was super super heavy. Then we were off....back to mainland.....

The boat ride was like roller coaster, on the sea. Because of the rain and strong waves, the boat was bumping all the way. It went up and then bumped back down to the water....we were all drenched, it was like having shower with our clothes on and the water was kept pouring inside the boat. The rain was also hitting on our faces. After the long ride, we finally reached the jetty. Everyone was soooo drenched (can squeeze water out from our clothes) and my butt hurts from all the bumping after the ride. All the bags were wet too, even those kept inside the trash bags. When we saw the people from the other boats, they were not as wet as us. We had to go to the nearby hawker centre to find toilets so that we can change to some dry clothes.

When we got the toilet at the hawker centre, the toilet lady was telling everyone that there was a  water going on and the water had not arrived, therefore there was no water. Had to go the min shop outside to buy water to use. We went to buy a bottle and went to change our clothes. Oh man, my whole bag was wet. My dry clothes become wet clothes and i was only able to change my bottom as i had put some inside a plastic bag. After we all got changed, we wanted to have some drinks before our car driver picks us up. However, he arrived early at the jetty so we all left on a long ride back to Singapore. Think all of us were tired, the ride back was quite quiet...hahahaa...We reached the customs at around 6.20 pm. There was a jam around city square area, we managed to reach back in Singapore at 7 pm plus. Then the driver dropped us off one by one.

And this ends my Rawa Island adventure.

Resort Stayed: Alang's Rawa Resort

Rawa Isand, Malaysia Trip (Day 2)

27th August 2016, Saturday

First Staircase to climb

Sun covered by Haze

Today, we woke up and sad to see the island was surrounded with haze...deadly and hateful haze. We can't even see the surrounding islands. It was sooo weird to wash our teeth with the salty water as the water was too salty. So we just took our mineral water to brush our teeth. After that, we walked out to the beach. As breakfast was not ready yet, we went for a short hiking up the part of the mountains behind the resort. There was a long staircase to climb up and after that, it was just rocks path to climb to the top. However, the haze had covered the sun and it was just red in colour. Got tired of the hiking, legs got too wobby when going down the stairs. My activity for the day had been completed...hahahaa...

School of Fishes

Corals in the sea

Unfriendly Sun

After that, we went back down to have our breakfast. It was also a buffet-styled, having nasi lemark, cereals, coffee and tea. We also ordered eggs which we can choose the cooking style (sunny side up or scrambled). After breakfast, two of my friends went to play their game. Then they went to change to their swimming attires and prepare for their swim. As for me, i went to the jetty and see the school of fishes swimming near the water slides and the jetty. I walked along the shore to pass my time while i watched my friends swimming out in the sea...However, there was not much wind today due to the heavy haze. So i went back to lie in the hammock to just relax there. There were also big bats hanging on the trees up on the trees in the mountains. I can even hear them screeching sound too.

Billiard Tables

Lunch

I walked to the other side to explore on the other chalet. There was free wifi at their lobby and there was a small shop with aircon. On the 2nd floor, there were pool and billiard tables (which were very dirty). After that, i walked back to our resort house and saw two of my friends came back from their swim. So i sat with them outside the house. My friend lent me her ipad to watch video as to pass time while they went back to swim again. We saw the speedboats bringing more people onto the island. Finally came lunch time, the resort manager will call out to everyone and announced that lunch is ready. Then everyone will just make their way to have lunch. We just ate at our own free time and after that, 2 of my friends hit the water again and went kayaking. My friend took some slices of breads, saying going to feed the fishes. However, i ate one while passing the time...hahhaa...

TV area

Another friend of mine and I then walked to the jetty and fed the fishes. It was fun to see the school of fishes dashed to the bread pieces we threw. The bread pieces were all gone very quickly too. After that, my friend went down to try kayaking. So i walked and stayed in the other resort (at least got ceiling fan to blow).  When i walked back to our resort, my friends were back from their swim. I then brought them to the new resort after they asked me where i went. There was a TV area where the TV was turned on with one person watching. So i told my friends i will just stay there to watch TV while they went back for their water activities.

BBQ Seafood (with my friend's iPhone)

Buffet Dinner

Eventually i watched TV until 7 plus, when my friend called me to go back for shower and get ready for dinner.....hehehee....Then i went back to the resort, where i saw my friends sitting on the beach waiting for dinner. All of them had finished their shower, the resort staffs were doing bbq for our dinner tonight. It was a feast..we had some buffet dishes, fish, bbq chicken, prawns and sotongs. Tables were also placed outside too with a candle as light source. Basically, we had our dinner under the dark sky. Pity, there were no stars tonight. The staff informed that there will be a party till 3 am after dinner too. Some people went for a dance after dinner when the music started. We went off and played fire sprinkles. But we did have problems lighting the matchstick as the wind keeps blowing off the fire. A couple of my friends went to buy drinks and party while the rest of us just lazed on the bench. After some time, my friends and me went back to the room to rest for the day.

Resort Stayed: Alang's Rawa Resort

Rawa Isand, Malaysia Trip (Day 1)

26th August 2016, Friday

Today we were going to an island named Rawa, which is located in Mersing Distinct, Johor. My friend had came across this island when browsing the net for our group trip. After reading from a few blogs, we decided to go to the island for a short getaway. We bought a package from one of the resorts (There are only two resorts on the island), which costs SGD$275.55 for each person. The package includes the fetty transport, lodging and meals for our 3 days 2 nights stay. However, all drinks are not included. We also booked a private car to pick us up from Singapore and will bring us to Mersing jetty (both ways) for $88 per person. From other blogs, we also came to know that there will not be fresh water for showers and no aircon. Instead, alkaline water is used (This is not really nice to know....lol).

We all got up and prepared for our trip. Our transport went to pick up a couple of my friends first, followed by me and lastly another couple of friends. After that, it is a long way to the Customs. After we crossed the Customs, it was a 1 hour drive to Mersing. It was quite a bumpy drive, the road wasn't smooth too. We reached at around noon time, we all alighted and went to buy data card and have our lunch....at KFC...kekeke....There was even a notice pasting on the KFC's door, saying that there was a water ration going on... -_-"...After we had our lunch, we went to a RM2 shop to buy mineral water (which is a must to do if you are going there...1 bottle of 1.5 litre mineral water costs RM$8 on the island). The resort guy somehow keeps calling us to ask us whether we are near the jetty. After which, we walked to the resort office but there was no one around. We gave the guy a call again and he said he will come pick us up. We went to a cafe, planning to take a rest but the guy came over and called us to leave.

Resort Transport

Say 'Hi' to Daisy

We followed him to get on the boat, oh my, it was a speedboat...hahaha....and everyone boarded the boat. We were given life jackets each and told to wear it. And we are off to the island. The ride was quite okay overall but still bumpy. It took us 20 mins to reach the island and when we reached the island, there was no jetty for us to get down. The speedboats are just parked at the coast and everyone had to jump off the boat to get to shore. The resort manager greeted us and guided us to their small little hut, where she told us that this will be our eating place during our stay. Every group was assigned to a table. She briefed us on our room and told us that our room will be ready by 2pm. So we were just stuck on the beach.

Rawa Island

Water Slides

Our Room

Hanging Swing

The island was very beautiful and quiet, with only small numbers of people around. There was a big group of teenagers playing volleyball. Everyone was just barefooted on the bench and the sand was super fine. The seawater was also super clear and you can see the tiny fishes swimming near the shore. There were also a lot of dead corals on the shore. There was also a fat dog walking around, which they named it Daisy. It is a resident there on the island and it will make itself comfortable around tourists. There is another resort on the other side of the island. It does have a jetty, where tourists checking in their resort are allowed to alight and board the boats. They also have two slides, where it is only allowed for the resort's customers. The resort is also looked like a hotel stay there. When our room is ready, we went in to take a peek and put our bags. It was a just a room with five beds and one common toilet. The beds were also like just bunk beds and there was ceiling fans in the room. There was a swing hanging just outside our room too.

Clear Seawater

Our Resort Houses

Board game to pass time

After putting our bags, we all got changed to our swimming attires and get prepared to get into the water. Unfortunately, i am not able to get into the water for the weekend. There was a hut where you can deposit a RM$50 to rent beach equipment during your stay. So we rented a volleyball to play together. After that, my friends went to walk and swim in the beach whereas i just lie in one of the hammock tied under the coconut trees. After that, my friends went and rent snorkelling googles and went for a swim again. My friends came back, saying that they saw many fishes under the sea.
Then after that, we went to the eating hut and ordered some snacks to pass time. After that, we played volleyball again (Really....lazing around the whole day). Then we had to wait until 8pm for dinner.  My friend even buried the friendly dog in the sand. The dog just stayed still and let my friend push all the sand on it...hahhaa...

Fruits

We all took turns to take shower and the shower water is really salt water. Finally, dinner time came. It was a buffet style with some simple dishes. The food was quite okay and drinks were not included. After the dinner, we sat on the beach looking up in the sky and there were a lot of stars. We were just relaxing and the group of teenagers came by and also sat around us. They had their own chat and was playing some music. After which, we went in our room and went to bed. Throughout the night, i can hear that the electricity got cut off and then on back again. We can also hear people walking on the top room.

Resort Stayed: Alang's Rawa Resort

Kenting 墾丁, Taiwan Trip (Day 3)

19th November 2014, Wednesday

Breakfast Place

Today, we woke up super late..more later than yesterday..hehehe...We left the hotel at around 11 am plus but we managed to take our breakfast at the rice shop outside the metro station. The shop was busy as there were a lot of people queuing and luckily we managed to find a table to sit. The food was nice and yummy, and cheap too. We had a pork ribs with bitter gourd soup, braised pork rice and a braised egg. After eating we bought a red tea with milk next door, but it wasn't as nice as the one we bought on the 1st day. Then we made our way to Kaohsiung HSR station, to catch a cab to Kenting. We had decided to go Kenting instead of Fu Guang Shan, as Kenting seems like a better place to go as many people had recommended it (even my dad was telling me to go Kenting and had said their aquarium is under the sea, not like ours).

Once we came out from the metro station at Kaohsiung main train station, there was a cab uncle approached us asking whether we are going to Kenting. He quoted me $350 per pax single way, then return trip was another $350 per pax. Return time just have to tell him first or call him, he will come pick up. So i agreed with the price, as previously i was quoted $400 per pax on the first day. But....the cab uncle wanted to get 2 more customers to come with us before we can leave. Alas, we waited for almost an hour before we can set out. The cab uncle initially told us to wait for 15 mins, then it was another 15 mins then another (i had to keep asking the uncle when we can leave). We even went to the shopping mall nearby and walked around, and even heard 1 lady telling her friend that don't know where the cab uncle will bring them go if they were to board the cab when they were being approached. My friend said must be Singaporeans, always kiasi of this and that...hahaha... We actually had decided to wait until 1.30 pm, if the cab uncle still don't want to leave, we will head out to Fu Guang Shan instead (there was buses to Fu Guang Shan there too). But by 1.15 pm, the cab uncle came back with a Hong Kong couple and he told us to wait there while he picked up his cab. While waiting, we just chatted with the couple by telling them how happy we were..finally can leave already..and we even got to know that the cab uncle had actually charged them $400 per pax. So we just keep quiet on our charges.

Street of Kaohsiung

And we were off to Kenting, but a little further away from the train station, the cab uncle stopped to pick up another family of 3 to go there too. So it was totally of 6 and half people on the cab, the little girl kept on singing and talking on the whole journey (don't even remember did she stop talking or singing for a while). And then it was a super long way to Kenting and going by the freeway...almost to 2 hours. And the cab uncle had to drop the family and the couple off their hotel first, so we were the last to alight. After dropping them off, the cab uncle asked me where we want to go..at first i asked him on the aquarium...he told me that the admission fee was expensive (forget how much already)...and he said don't want go there lah..Then he brought us up to the resting point for cabs and coaches, where we alighted and had agreed to go back to the same place at 6.30 pm. So we went ahead to walk around the place.

Kenting Beach

By the time we started exploring the area was already 3 plus. So we just went to Kenting beach first and went and see the big waves. The waves were really big here and it was really sunny too. We saw 3 kids trying to do surfing too but they weren't successful on their tries. After relaxing on the beach, we went walking along the shops. Went to a souvenirs shop and bought some gifts back. Then we continued to walk down the road, but all the food shops were not opened yet. So it was kind of dead street....Then we just continued walking until we reached another beach, where we went down to take a look. Wanted to have some finger food at the cafe but the food needed 30 mins to prepare, which we didn't have much time to wait. So we just walked down to the beach, just nice to catch the sunset there. After that, we started to walk back to the resting place. By then, we can see all the food stalls and shops starting to get ready for business. We saw pizza vans, which were using real stove made of bricks to bake their pizzas.  Went in to a Mexican restaurant to get some snack, had boxing chicken. It was very nice and crispy. But we were also greeted with mosquito there, even the beach had mosquito.

Wedding Couple

There was a wedding couple standing in the middle of the road, waiting to have their photos taken but their photographer was doing something else. So they were like left standing there with all the cars trying to avoid them. It was quite dark too, although it was only before 6 pm. Everyone else was also trying to take a good photo of them. By the time we reached the pickup place, it was only 6pm and we were not able to find the cab uncle around. Then we were approached by another cab uncle who quoted us NT$400 per pax back to Kaohsiung. So we went aside and discussed on it, whether to wait for the morning cab uncle to come back to pick up or just go with this 1. But it was getting very cold outside and my friend doesn't want to just stay outside to wait, so we went ahead with this cab uncle. The cab uncle said he could bring us to Lu He night market and not other night markets, which was better for us. So i told the cab uncle to bring us to Lu He night market instead of the train station.

Crabs!!

When we reached the night market, there was firework display, but didn't managed to see it. So we just had all our favorite snacks as our dinner here, crabs, papaya milk and corn....happy food... :)
After eating, we went back to the pet shop to look at the puppies again. This time we stayed a bit longer cos 2 puppies were actually fighting with each other. 1 of the puppies kept on biting on the other 1 until it snapped and fought back. But they looked so cute...hope they can find an owner soon, who can take care of the 2 of them together. After that, we walked slowly back to our hotel to rest..


Hotel Stayed: Holiday Hotel

Places Visited: Kenting