Libra Star Cruise Adventure Part 1

Nope, this wasn't the Libra Star Cruise! It was the Logo Hope - Floating Book Fair/ Store that aims to educate people and to help needy people around the globe!

Anyway, the story in this post is solely about Libra Star Cruise. To cut the long story short, I won a pair of tickets, more precisely, a room! Therefore, I ajak my mom to join me on this cruise adventure for a night stay on the ship!!!!!

We drove to Penang to board the cruise which was located at the famous jetty - Swenttenham Pier. Yup, what a shallow me! I didn't even there was a pier named after Swenttenham - a very famous name appeared in Sejarah! Anyway, Penang was awesome (^^)

As you can see, the cruise ship was quite nice in  the exterior! Numerous entertainment facilities were available - swimming pool, CASINO, gym, restaurant, etc.... Of course, just to remind you all, despite the room was free, we still need to pay for the sea tax or something. It was not cheap though. 

After all the hustle and bustle checking in, we finally arrived our lovely room! It was kinda small though. But, it was comfy enough for both me and my mom! And, the shower was amazing (^^) To our surprise, most of the crews were from China !!!! 

There are several restaurants in the cruise ship! We tried the 4 Happiness restaurant 1st for our dinner. The food was quite okay (^^). Crazy variety of Chinese food, Malay food, Western....We were totally satisfied! After 1 hour + of dinner, my mom and I roamed freely checking different decks (^^)!!!!!

Then, we arrived at the pool outside. We just sat there and chilled while listening to the live band singing English oldies! Of course, occasionally we were "harassed" by the waiter to order drinks. But, it was still enjoyable!!!!!

The Story to be Continued.......

Lost World, Another Adventure!

 After the Kellie Castle trip, we headed straight to Lost World Tambun. As local Perakian, it was the first time for all of us to visit this hidden location. The entrance wasn't that cheap and you also require to prepare extra cash for the renting the "pelampung". We were so not prepared financially at all, have to "korek" from our pockets.

The interior was well-design despite it was still considered to be quite small compared to other theme parks. From street food to greenery mountain to mini-zoo, the concept was quite astonishing to fully utilise the nature in this area. Another interesting part of the theme park was hotspring integration. But, let me reassure that not every day is suitable for hot spring bath in Perak. The weather was blazing hot to an extend that we were boiled in the hotspring - double jeopardy@@ Recommendation: Check weather to ensure it is not too hot.

You can even spot some swans there ! Both black and white!!!!!!

How do you don't love the nature in Perak. However, recently on my way back to Ipoh, I can see a lot of hills being exploded and exploited for the granite/ lime stone. My guess was due to the virtual high demand of housing properties in Malaysia, more concrete materials are required.....Hopefully, government can properly control and ensure over-exploitation is preventable. 

Oh Kellie, A Castle For You

"The Key to finding a happy balance in modern lives is simplicity" by Sogyal Rinpoche.

This is definitely another overdue post. Kellie Castle, a magnificent heritage in Batu Gajah, long existed in 1915. However, the completion was hindered after the death of Kellie. Until today, it still stands on the ground of Perak.

From the architecture viewpoint, the design of the mansion/ castle is more to European/ Western style since Kellie was a Scottish. There are numerous of spacious rooms being constructed in the castle. The structure and arc built is definitely not an easy task, with cumbersome design and implementation.

  The yellow building is said to be the dinner/ feast hall if it was ever completed. The structure found in the Castle is often designed as round arc and onion-like shape; perhaps, an integration of local style into castle was applied.

Here are some of the little details in Kellie Castle. Door and Key. Entrance Arc. Square building. Onion-like windows. Clover-leaf-like air ways.....

The entrance fee was about RM4 per person. When my gang was there, the castle was undergoing some renovation. Still, it was worth our time! And, we spotted wedding photoshoot here too!!!! It is interesting to see and read some of the descriptions given in the mansion. It is assumed what was supposed to be though. Give yourself some imaginations when you are there (^^)