About Me

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I am married to my loving husband for more than 40 years now. I am a mother to 3 beautiful children, until years ago when I lost my youngest son. Since then my life is forever altered but yet unbroken....

My Travel Journal

"There isn't much I haven't shared with you along the road and through it all there'd always be tomorrow's episode" - Elton John

I started traveling around the world since early 80s when I had the opportunity to combine business trips with vacations. Then later when my rezeki is in abundance, there were numerous other trips along the way for vacations, most of the time with hubby and the kids when the timing is right. I have also started to compile the journal and photo-pages covering almost more than 45 years of world wide travel. Some destinations I visited just once, others many times. Many of those places are the obvious famous places people would like to visit but some, the casual traveler doesn't even think to try. I have placed links to my travel at the side bar of my personal page, My Life Reflections, and will be updating them from time to time.

My wish is to continue my travel and complete circumnavigate the globe, insyaAllah…

Friday 21 November 2014

2014 Betong to Hatyai Ride

 "Losers quit when they're tired. winners quit when they've won.."



Date: 21 - 23 November 2014
Route: KL - Betong - Yala - Pattani - Hatyai - KL
Total mileage: 1,300 km

(Malaysia/Thailand border at Betong)
(By the lake, Bang Lang National Park) 

👈👈 Q3 4-Nation Ride
2014: Christchurch, New Zealand ðŸ‘‰ðŸ‘‰

Saturday 15 November 2014

2014 New Zealand Caravan Trip: 09 Akaroa Bay - Christchurch

 "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not..." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

(A walk in Mona Vale Gardens)

Day 9: Saturday, 15 November 2014
Route: Akaroa Bay – Christchurch

We checked out of the Akaroa campsite at 10:00 and drove towards Christchurch Airport to Sudima Hotel and left our luggage there. As we had already booked a room, we will pick the key later after our city tour of Christchurch. We drove to Walrakei Road to Tui and Freedom Campers to return the campervan.

(Waiting for the metro bus)
(A city tour on an antique tourist tram)
(The National Museum of Canterbury)
(A leisurely walk in the park)
(Waiting for the red double decker bus)
(A poster of the city tour)

From Walrakei Road we took a bus to the National Museum where we bought tickets for Christchurch 3.5-hour city tour, the best way to experience Christchurch and it’s rebuilding after the devastating 2011 earthquake.

(A better view from the open top)
(Containers used as offices and shops)
(Buildings destroyed by the earthquake)
(Murals on the wall)
(Restaurants and bistros)
(A beautiful ballerina)
(A badly destroyed church under major restoration)
(A smaller iconic church)
(A work of arts, one of many in town)
(Entrance to Mona Vale Gardens)

Christchurch is the largest city in South Island of New Zealand, and the country’s third most populous urban area. Bordered by hills and the Pacific Ocean, it is situated on the edge of the Canterbury Plains that stretch to the Southern Alps.

 The tour includes the 1-hour Central City Tour on the open top double-decker bus. And after, on a coaster for a further 2.5 hour tour, stopping at Mona Vale Gardens, Sumner Seaside Village and Port Hills for a panoramic view of the Lyttelton Harbour, Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps.

(A lookout point on top of Port Hills)
(A panoramic view of Christchurch)
(Sumner seaside village, cosy and quiet)
(A natural rock cave by the beach)

After the tour, we walked a short distance to the Central Station to board a bus to Sudima Hotel. After collecting the room key and our luggage, we had an early dinner of fish and chips at the hotel restaurant.

(A relaxing stroll in the Botanical Gardens)
(Our lodging for the night)
(A hearty dinner before a good night's sleep)

Tonight we packed our bags and slept early. We will be taking the flight to Auckland very early tomorrow morning and then board the 14:30 flight on MAS to KL.
 
We had a wonderful time but sadly, our holiday is coming to an end.

Kia Ora…

👈👈 2014: Betong/Hatyai, Thailand
2014: Akaroa Bay, New Zealand ðŸ‘‰ðŸ‘‰ 

Friday 14 November 2014

2014 New Zealand Caravan Trip: 08 Motueka – piston – Blenheim – Christchurch – Akaroa Bay

"Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen..." - Benjamin Disraeli

(Windy day at one of the Marine Reserve beaches)

Day 8: Friday, 14 November 2014
Route: Motueka – piston – Blenheim – Christchurch – Akaroa Bay

Today we started our journey at 09:30 towards Christchurch. When we reached Richmond, we detoured to Piston to have a look at the ferry terminal to Wellington, North Island New Zealand. From Picton we drove to Blenheim and stopped for lunch. We had seafood sandwich from Subway and performed our prayers.

(Ready to continue the journey)
(South and east bound on the Motorway)
(Miles and miles of vineyard)
(Marinas, bays and lagoons)
(Marina by a timber mill)
(A lone Harley at the car park)
(A large convoy of Harleys on the Motorway)
(Train tracks parallel to the Motorway)

The journey from Blenheim passed through scenic towns and Marine Reserves along the beach and we stopped at a few lookout points to take pictures. When we stopped for a short coffee break at Amberley, we made a call to Akaroa Top 10 Campsite to book a powered site as we might be late to check-in for the night.

The road to Akaroa is winding and quite challenging with crosswinds blowing hard along the route. The last leg of the journey was made worst when we missed the junction to the campsite and was led by the GPS to use a steep unpaved road in the dark. We were lucky that the road finally led us to the campsite.

(Taking a break by the beach)
(Scenic view of the Southern Alps)
(Bales of fodder by the roadside)
(Flowering bushes decorating the mountains)
(100 km/hr is the maximum speed limit)
(Moody sky at the horizon)
(Looking for directions in Christchurch)
(Beware of crosswinds on the road to Akaroa)
(Driving off-roading off the beaten track)
(A view of Akaroa from the top)
(Safely arrived at the campsite)

The campsite was packed with visitors for the weekend but we managed to get a site as we had booked earlier. Tonight we had tomyam and omelette for dinner and retired to bed early.

2014: Motueka, New Zealand ðŸ‘‰ðŸ‘‰

Thursday 13 November 2014

2014 New Zealand Caravan Trip: 07 Westport – Pohara Beach – Farewell Spit - Motueka

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win..."

(The lighthouse at Cape Foulwind)

Day 7: Thursday, 13 November 2014
Route: Westport – Pohara Beach – Farewell Spit - Motueka

Today I am a year older. Alhamdulillah...

It's my 59th birthday and I am going to spend the day traveling to the northern most point of South Island New Zealand.

(Taking the shorter way to the Seal Colony)
(Still a long way to the destination)
(A nice view of the coastlines)
(A 15-minute leisurely walk)
(A seal in the water)
(Seal enthusiasts, taking pictures from afar)
(Rock formations along the track)
(Taking a rest, and a photo opportunity)

We left the campsite at 09:00 and drove towards Cape Foulwind to visit the Seal Colony and Cape Foulwind light house. After a few photo shots we drove on and stopped at Buller Gorge Swing Bridge, the longest suspended bridge in New Zealand.

(The lighthouse perched on top of the hill)
(Beautiful colours to brighten the landscape)
(Driving through Salem High Country)
(Slow moving rivers and ox-bow lakes)

In Motueka we had a late lunch at McD. We decided to drive further to Farewell Spit, the northern most point of mainland South Island. We drove carefully and slowly as the road is narrow, winding and steep made dangerous with strong crosswinds. We made a stop at Hawkes Lookout Track in Kahurangi National Park to have a good view of the valley from the top of the mountain. On the way we went to Pohara Beach to check out the campsite but decided to book a site by phone in Motueka instead.

(Another long walk in the wood)
(A Maori heritage site)
(A good view of the valley and fault)
(A photo with a panoramic view)

The road to Farewell Spit was winding and steep too. On the way we stopped at a few lookout points for the scenic view from Takaka Hill. We reached the Farewell Spit around 19:00 but it was still bright and spent a while for photo shoots. Farewell Spit is New Zealand’s longest sand spit and a nature reserve for bird sanctuary and wetland with diverse rare vegetation. We took the same route back to Motueka as it is the one and only access road to Takaka, Callingwood and the Spit.

(Off-roading for a distance)
(The Farewell Spit, end point)
(Spending my 59th birthday at the northernmost point)
(Leaving Farewell Spit)

We reached Motueka around 21:00 and stopped to buy bread and fruit juice. We had sambal sardine and rice for dinner.

👈👈 2014: Akaroa Bay, New Zealand
2014: Westport, New Zealand ðŸ‘‰ðŸ‘‰