Tanjung Aru is only about 10mins away from Kota Kinabalu.. For a city girl like me.. who always grew up surrounded by concrete jungle.. it was amazing that the beach was so near to town.. i wish we had that here in KL.. The nearest for us is Port Dickson and i know its been so long since i was there.. but the sea was kinda dirty..

A lot of sabahans just take a drive to beach in the evenings and on the weekends just to hang out.. play football or volleyball and just enjoy some sea breeze accompanied by a beautiful sunset..


We played football.. Well, they played football.. I'm not so much into sports so i was walking around the beach just enjoying myself and being one with my thoughts.. i love beaches and this is one of the reasons why i want to settle down in Sabah when i can.. You just feel so relaxed..


My cousins and i had some fun time in the sea as well.. one most famous game was to run towards the waves and it was fun coz the waves were getting bigger and bigger as it became darker.. don't worry.. we were only at knee deep :)

After getting wet from the sea and sweat (for those who played ball), we headed to the public bathroom which was pleasantly clean to wash up and get dressed.. then we went to this huge food court just by the parking area.. they had anything you could name but i was more interested in the totally huge glasses and chicken wings!!


All in all.. my perfect day.. sun, beach, sand, watermelon drink and chicken wings.. how i wish everyday could be like this... :)

Since this was my second trip to Cameron Highlands, i went prepared.. With gloves and even a snow cap! If you cant stand the cold like me, you need these to keep you warm.. I especially needed it because i knew we were gonna be staying at the highest point in Cameron Highlands, EQ.


The journey was long and a little scary with the winding roads and rain but we made it safely.. obviously right? hehe.. EQ looked really nice.. the lobby had 2 pool tables!! I was so excited.. My uncle had gotten us an apartment instead of individual rooms.. It was comfy and nice.. 1 hall, balcony, 2 rooms, 1 bath. It felt like home away from home.


After checking in, we left immediately to explore the beautiful and totally cold Cameron Highlands. As you drive around, you will notice many Strawberry Farms, Botanical Gardens, Vegetable Farms and other interesting activities for you to take part in. Since i love strawberries, we headed to the strawberry farm first :)

It was interesting to learn on how strawberries grow. Did you know that at its baby stage, a strawberry looks exactly like a flower? Cool rite? Did you also know that Tomatoes grow high up there on branches? I didnt!!


And after all the walking + learning, its only fair i indulge in my favorite fruit right? :)



We then headed into one of the flower farms. You will be surprised with how big the roses grow there.. and also on how many different species of flowers they have growing.. some of which we've never seen before.. don't get me started on the different kinds of roses.. if you're a rose lover, you'd absolutely love Cameron! Besides the flowers, they had other decorative for people like me and my cousins who aren't really into flowers and planting.. :)



But of course, being someone who likes to photograph things, i wouldn't miss my chance capturing what flowers i found beautiful..

After walking the whole day, we decided to head back and call it a day as the "driver" was tired and so were we.. After 3 rounds of pool at the hotel lobby we took our long and hot baths, cuddled up in blankets and watched TV til we slowly headed to bead one by one..

With our trip to Cameron being just a weekend trip, we packed our stuff and headed to the balcony for some family pictures to commemorate our trip.. EQ had a beautiful garden and terrace too over looking the whole of Cameron.. You can easily see a few tea plantations, the view was just amazing.. it gives you a sense of tranquility.. A perfect place for couples to just curl up together.. the environment and weather gives you the very reason to do so.. not that you would need any reasons, of course :)


And no journey to Cameron is complete without visiting the tea plantations.. The one we went to was the Boh! plantation. There are other plantations which have jeep rides that take you to the middle of the plantation. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do that. It would have been fun.

Upon arrival, we were greeted and taken to the factory. The lady talked us through the whole process of making tea.. from the leaves picking right to the part where the tea is packed into its cute little tea bag. We were then directed to their specialty shop which seemed expensive at first. RM7 - RM9 per packet of flavored tea containing about 10 to 15 bags per packet. I the realised that its so much more cheaper than the ones you get in KL so i grabbed passion fruit and mango. Totally Delish!


It was a short trip but educational, eventful and worth it!

P/s: Visit the pasar malam at Tanah Rata town near the KFC. You will be able to buy strawberries, fruits, vege, honey and everything else that has made Cameron famous.. Can anyone get me the Tomato Jam? Pweese?

Coming Soon!

So a bunch of friends went crazy and wanted to go gambling.. we couldn't obviously to go Genting because it was like a 7 hour drive away.. best alternative? Cruise!!

We took a jetty from a station, which seemed like the other end of Singapore and bought our incredibly cheap tickets!

SGD 12 per person

SGD 40 per cabin - 2pax, 3pax or 4pax
All you can eat buffet - Super, Bfast & Lunch
Location: Off Shore of Nongsang, Indo

The plan was to board at 8.20pm aboard a smaller boat which will take us to the huge ship.. i would tell you the name of the boat, if i could read Chinese.. plus it was night time and i couldn't really see.. I was feeling seasick the whole time, i nearly through-up, i swear! Luckily my friend suggested we sit outside on the deck.. Now why didn't i think of that? hmpf!


That's me, with the round earring :D Enjoying the breeze of the night.. So then we finally reach the ship.. It was this huge, very elegantly decorated ship, very well organised too! We got our room cards and threw our stuff and ourselves on the bed!! Its so soft i tell you.. I came close to steeling the comforters and pillows.. hehe.. kidding.. but i did think about it.. :D




Seeing that there were many hungry people among us, we rushed off to the buffet.. And the amount of food.. my goodness.. i think i became fat by just 3 meals! They had all, ALL, the local cuisines and snacks, western delights, drinks, desserts.. soups.. what else? Our table, was smothering with food i tell you.. and with the price we paid? it was well worth it..



Ok, this was after the waiter cleared our main course.. hehe.. After the munching and the chewing, it would only be fair to our bodies and minds! to go for a walk.. Some headed to the casino, no cameras allowed there and the rest of us just went round exploring the ship.. We had some cocktails and sang a few numbers before heading to bed..


I lay my head down to sleep, secretly anxious to look around when morning comes.. We reached the ship quite late and couldn't really see anything, except for of course this huge black "something" surrounding us! Plus, i was excited to see what they had for us at the breakfast buffet!

So morning came and i rushed out on deck to find this huge, blue, kinda scary but totally beautiful view.. Bare in mind this was my first cruise so i was entitled to go a little nuts..


We had our breakfast and lunch, by which time i had put down my camera and just enjoyed the view and being with my friends.. We were given 2 options.. either to board the speed at 2pm or 4pm, of course we got on the 4pm ride out.. mind you me, i sat on the deck the whole time this time, even though it was really really hot!

Oh, and i almost forgot, for those of you who smoke? Dont forget to get your taste of Indonesian ciggies at duty free prices.. my friends became dragons on the ship! If i were a smoker, for SGD2, I'm sure i would have been the mother of dragons :D



Please do not try to even sneak-in any ciggies into Singapore coz you will be heavily fined! If you still wish to do so, walk-in the red line and declare them.. You will be taxed, of course :)

I had a great time and would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a romantic night out, just hanging out with your friends or even for first timer experience.. Money and time well spent, memories gained and totally worth it! :)

p/s: Dont forget your passports!