Category: Travels

Oasis Lagoon Sanur – our 2014 Bali babymoon hotel

Just got back from Bali!

After our not so great Bali trip last year, the hubs decided to give Bali another go and boy, were we surprised. It’s clearer than ever that the reasons why we didn’t enjoy our previous trip so much were due to poor planning, bad traffic, unusually hot weather and trying to cram too much in too few days.

This time, we took our time. The weather was just wonderfully mild, we skipped all the driving, sight-seeing and concentrated on relaxation and eating nice food – the best way to spend a babymoon :)

Before I talk more about the places we ate at (which were sooo good), let me just blog about the hotel – Oasis Lagoon in Sanur. Sanur is quieter and less chaotic compared to Kuta.

# – The lobby.

The hotel is beautiful, a wonderful juxtaposition of modern and traditional. Kudos to hubs for picking a good accomodation.

# – View of pool from lobby.

He treated me to a lagoon access room, meaning our room opens out to the swimming pool. It was fabulous!

# – Lagoon access.

We were pretty much living at the pool. This was our routine: wake up > tea/coffee by the pool > dip in the pool > lunch > back in the pool > dinner > sleep. Repeat.

And because the hotel is not that large, there weren’t many people using the pool too, which was a huge plus.

# – Happy hubs.

# – The pool view from our room.

The room was very comfortable. Large bed, okay-sized tele, mini fridge, hair-dryer and a safe – as good as 4-star goes. I do wish there was a flexible shower arm and also a flexible bidet by the toilet.

# – Shower area, which only has a rain shower.

Rain shower is a nice concept but it’s just so hard to get to the important bits, you know what I mean? LOL

# – Obligatory bathroom selfie.

Our room was always tidied up as soon as we’re back from an excursion. Of course we did hang “Please Make Up Room” on our door knob when we went out.

Complimentary breakfast at the hotel was nothing to shout about. Basics like toasts, cereals, pancakes and some greasy local dishes were offered. I tried it out for one day and decided to skip the rest of the mornings.

Service was prompt and polite – a great thing. When we were checking out, the concierge took care to ask if we needed airport transfer and got us a legit taxi…no hanky panky.

We really enjoyed our stay there. The truth is, I think having direct access to the pool made all the difference. If you’re not taking the pool access room though, it’s still a very enjoyable hotel to stay in as it’s in a good location within walking distance to a few good restaurants (which I will be blogging soon).

# – With hubs :)

Thanks hubs for arranging such a nice holiday for us before our impending journey into parenthood!

The Oasis Lagoon
Jl. Danau Tamblingan No. 136 A
Sanur 80228
Bali – Indonesia
T. +62 361 282264
F. +62 361 282214

Sisters before Misters getaway to Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat in Hulu Langat

I struggled with blogging about this place at first because I just love it so much and I wanted to keep it to myself and friends.

It would pain me if this place became too difficult to book (like the other more well-known retreats) and worse, if the price went up too much (like the other more well-known retreats).

But as my hubs put it, I should never hoard and should always share the love.

And so, here it is…my review of Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat in Hulu Langat.

# – The Aman Dusun’s Riverview House.

For a first-timer, it might be slightly difficult to locate Aman Dusun as it’s neither on Waze nor Garmin. What I did was search for “IKBN Dusun Tua” on Waze and it took us to this yellow metal bridge on Batu 16 road, where an Aman Dusun staff subsequently met with us and directed us to the retreat.

If you haven’t asked for someone to meet up with you, please turn immediately left after crossing the bridge onto a smaller kampung road and just keep going straight till you reach the Aman Dusun goat’s farm.

Sin Loo who only joined us a bit later asked me while I was giving her directions, “Go straight? How to go straight? It’s a winding road with many left and right turns???”. I told her to just follow her instinct and she made it so I figure you will too hahaha.

# – The yellow metal bridge on Batu 16.

Hardly an hour drive from Petaling Jaya, Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat is a true hidden gem.

While the main business of Aman Dusun is a privately funded goat’s farm producing the most delicious goat’s milk I have ever tasted, the owners have also built two beautiful houses right by the river that runs through their 4 acres land.

They are the Riverview House and the Blue House, we picked the former as it has a private pool and accommodates a smaller group.

# – The goat’s farm. By the way, we bought like a dozen bottles of goat’s milk when we left cause they were so tasty! Surprisingly light and odourless. Owner said this is due to the special breed of goats they have.

The Riverview House sleeps 7 comfortably, with 3 bathrooms and has a fully functional kitchen. All the bedrooms come equipped with air-conditioners. Oh yeah, did I mention the pool?

# – The living room.

# – The kitchen.

# – One of the bedrooms.

We wasted no time in kicking off our slippers and began our holiday!

# – Photo nicked from Celine.

# – Hot Celine.

# – Yummy noodles with scallops and sausages cooked by Jayna.

# – Me!

# – Holiday!

# – A hammock was already provided but Sin Loo brought out another one cause she’s well prepared like that :)

# – Sin Loo.

# – I can do this everyday.

# – Everydayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

# – Baby durian.

# – Swing on the property.

# – River.

# – Posers.

# – Serious discussion….not!

# – Midnight cheese platter time!

# – Breakfast was provided by Aman Dusun, a sumptuous spread of curries, roti canai, deep fried bananas and we added some of the fruits we brought from home.

This place is perfect for some quiet bonding with friends and family. The surrounding is peaceful and quiet with only the sounds of the pool’s water fountain and insects to accompany us.

Needless to say, Aman Dusun has completely shot up to the top of my staycation spot list due to its location, facilities and sheer gorgeousness.

Aman Dusun Orchard & Farm Retreat
Lot 1173, Batu 16
Dusun Tua
43100, Hulu Langat
Selangor
Tel: 012-3950503 (Ris)
Fax: 03-42513545
Website: https://glamgoat.com/

1st Wedding Anniversary trip to Malihom, Penang.

Our first wedding anniversary fell on 27 October 2013. We decided to go on a quick getaway to celebrate a week later.

I had looked around for a couple of weeks for the perfect place to go – we wanted somewhere not too far, secluded, comfortable and peaceful. We wanted to do absolutely nothing.

A few places appeared on our list and after more research, we decided to go with Malihom in Balik Pulau, Penang.

We left KL around 3pm and reached the foothill of Malihom at about 7.30pm. We forgot about the Deepavalli and Awal Muharram long weekend when we booked the place, so traffic into Penang Island was pretty heavy.

Malihom is truly a secluded place, if you don’t have GPS or Waze you might have trouble finding it, especially at night. The drive up the hill might also be quite challenging for some as the private road was only wide enough for one car. Malihom does have a proprietary traffic control system though, where you press a button at the top or the bottom of the hill which would turn on a light to warn oncoming cars. And I believe they provide transportation service for a nominal price.

We arrived at Malihom about 8pm and greeted by a few smiling staff. We were immediately served fruit juices and then whisked off to dinner. They had already set up a table on a top deck, our view was the faraway cityline and the Penang bridge.

I was really expecting food to be mediocre at Malihom as meals were included in the rates. How wrong was I! We looked forward to every meal!

# – Prawn salad, pumpkin soup and salmon with tomatoes. Dessert was lime cake, made daily by Malihom’s owner.

Soon enough, we noticed we’re the only guests at Malihom.

We retreated to our room, which was really a re-purposed traditional Thai rice barn. Our barn’s name was Sripartum or Source of Knowledge in english. We went to the library and picked up a few DVDs. There were plenty of books too but we had our Nooks with us.

Then we got serious….we switched our phones to airplane mode!!!!

# – Our bed. The balcony opens up to an unobstructed view of the sea.

Woke up early the next day. We were excited to check out the rest of Malihom as it was too dark to see anything the night before.

# – The view that greeted us in the morning. Missing it already!

# – The view to the right from our balcony.

# – Our barn…the Sripartum. It’s a split level villa with a bathroom below and the bed upstairs.

# – Breakfast was fresh fruits and egg in the hole for me.

After breakfast, we basically relaxed around Malihom.

# – Hubs enjoying the fish pond.

# – On one of the cool viewing platforms.

# – A beautiful path.

# – The viewing deck.

# – Chilling with my legs.

# – The resident sleepy cats.

# – The infinity pool.

We went swimming of course. We had the pool all to ourselves as the other guests wouldn’t check in until late afternoon.

# – My sweet husband helping me fix my bikini. The string had slid out.

# – My hilariously unappetising swimming face.

# – Hubs’ swimming face.

# – Have made this my Facebook cover photo.

After the swim, we went for lunch.

# – Fresh fruits, fried mushrooms and smoked duck.

After lunch, I drew a bath and had a long relaxing soak :)

# – Our tub with a view.

# – After a bath, I relaxed on our balcony.

We had the balcony doors and main door opened, creating a nice draft in the room. There was no need for aircon or fan. Hubs drifted into a nice nap while I read my book – OJ Simpson’s If I Did It, hehehehhehe.

# – My husband sleeps.

# – Woke him up in time for sunset.

And then it was dinner time. We were served amazing Burmese food! Most of the staff at Malihom are Burmese and after chatting with them, I found out that while they have a dedicated chef for other cuisines, for Burmese cuisines, they all contribute to the dishes.

# – Started with nutmeg soup (my first time – very nice) and an array of chicken and fish curries, salads and vegetables. Dessert was sweet sago.

And then it was time to sleep. We snuck in a few episodes of CSI (our choice of tv and books were unintentionally grim considering the context of the holiday :P) and dozed off to dreamland.

We woke up to Burmese breakfast called Mohinga – a traditional Burmese dish of noodles in fish broth. So, so, so delicious!

# – Mohinga with a fresh passionfruit and passionfruit juice. Passionfruits were available throughout the resort, the plants grow amazingly well at Malihom.

After breakie, we went for a swim again.

# – We made it 1 year! Decades more to come :)
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We had lunch after the swim, our final meal at Malihom.

# – Deep-fried okra, cracked black pepper salmon, chicken schnitzel and homemade lime cake.

While having lunch, it rained really heavily. So we sat at the deck for a couple of hours sipping tea and coffee waiting it out.

And then it was time to leave. Our initial plan was to have a food jaunt around Georgetown after we’ve checked out but because we were so relaxed, we decided to head home straight, avoiding the hustle & bustle. It was a good decision. We were in Penang but it didn’t feel like it. We felt like we were in a different country entirely – that’s how wonderful being at Malihom was.

# – The only thing Penang about our whole trip.

We’re definitely going back.