STARTING OFF THE SCHOOL HOLIDAY BY GOING KOREAN

Today was the first day of the 4-week school holiday and we celebrated the long break by going Korean for late lunch at KFry, Holiday Villa.

Lunch was better with company of friends. Hopefully we could do this more often this year despite the hectic and busy schedule.

THE LAST MEETINGS FOR THE FORM 3 CLASSES TAUGHT FOR 2022/23

Today should be the last day for the form 3 students attending school session for the year 2022/23. When the school reopens in March, they will be all move to form four.

Prizes were given away to the students who had scored A for their English Language end of year assessment and those who had successfully completed their tasks on Google Classroom.

Wishing everyone happy holidays and we will see each other again in four weeks.

WHEN KUCHING WAS THE PLACE WHERE I WANTED TO BE

Kuching, Sarawak, was chosen as my holiday destination for the school holiday this time round. This was my third time in the city but I really wanted to revisit this place as my first time there, it was of a school trip [most probably in 2001] and I did not even remember what actually happened during the trip and the second time was because of a conference I had to attend. I was a real tourist in Kuching finally.

WHY KUCHING?

FIRST: I managed to get cheap return tickets JHB-KCH-JHB for RM230++. And that was like 2 months before the date of excursion. SECOND: I managed to get a partner in crime for the adventure. Mr. Solihin Ramli, an ex-student of Asrama Semai Bakti Felda, instantaneously agreed when I proposed to him. Having a young person as a companion helped a lot as he was the one who planned the itinerary, booked the car for  us to rent and was the driver of the whole trip. I, on the other hand, bought the flight tickets, booked the hotel and listed down the local food and the eating places. THIRD: I know Kuching had a lot to offer and the trip this time would be an extensive tour of the city.

We were lucky as we were on board on the earliest plane at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, 5th September 2022, and the last flight at 9:50 p.m. on Thursday, 8th September. In other words, we had 4 full days to roam around and get to know the city. And it is my pleasure to share with you the experiences and adventure throughout our stay there. And this will be one very long and continuous posts, just like the endless telenovelas you watch on television or Netflix. You have been warned!

warm and friendly locals

unique and diverse culture of different ethnics

picturesque nature, untouched

glorious, glorious food

buildings of traditional and modern architecture

LINKS TO MY OTHER POSTS

KUCHING DAY ONE

Visiting Orangutan at Semenggoh Wildlife Centre [Part 1] [Part 2]

Mom's Laksa for Laksa Sarawak and Mee Kolok
The Borneo House

La Promenade Mall - the first mall visited in Kuching

Hoan Gallery [Part 1] [Part 2]

Black Bean Coffee Cafe

Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Utara

Cat Museum

North Kuching Gallery

Sarawak State Library
Sarawak State Mosque

Exploring the Touristy Kuching on Foot

Dinner at Plaza Merdeka

Kuching Waterfront

Indian Mosque

KUCHING DAY TWO

Mee Kampua for Breakfast

Damai Central and Damai Beach

Sarawak Cultural Village [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]

Cultural Show at Sarawak Cultural Village

Lunch at Sarawak Cultural Village

Kampung Buntal: Fishermen's Village

Pasir Pandak Beach

Sarawak Sports Complex

Two Government Buildings in Petrajaya

Margherita Fort

Hertz Chicken Buffet at Sarawak Plaza

Kuching after 9:00 p.m.

KUCHING DAY THREE

Breakfast at Kopi-O Corner

Bako Terminal to the National Park and Arriving

Trekking into Bako National Park [PART 1][PART 2][PART 3]
The Sea Stack at Bako National Park
Walking Around in Bako Village
Lunch at Bako Village
Dessert at Cendol Mami
Kuching Town Mosque
India Street and China Town

KUCHING DAY FOUR

The Morning Walk in the City
Mee Jawa Pak Awang for Breakfast
The Old Courthouse
Cruising on Sarawak River

Ranee Museum
Songket and Keringkam Gallery

LABUAN 101 - AND THE JOURNEY STARTED

Labuan is a small island located on the west coast of Sabah. Originally Labuan belonged to Brunei, then it was handed over to Sabah and eventually, Labuan is now recognized as Federal Territory. You need to do your own research to know more about this place.

The island is accessible by air, either from Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu. Another option is to take the ferry from Borneo Island which would be something I would love to try one day.

WHY LABUAN? [1] I had never been to Sabah before, believe it or not. So this should complete my visit to the 14th state of Malaysia - finally.

[2] I needed to be away to a place which is not mainstream for this one week school holiday - definitely not KK, Penang or Melaka. And I made the right choice. There place was not crowded at all. I could cross the roads easily and there was no worry to be run over by any vehicles. There were many beaches but there were no people. HEAVEN!

[3] It was a free and easy kind of holiday. With no specific itinerary, I still managed to visit many places on the island. Public transport could be an issue here but I was lucky to get someone to drive me around in his car for three days. This friendly guy would appear in many of my blog posts and hope we could be good friends for many more years to come.

[4] I went there just to unwind and enjoy life as it was. After not traveling for more than 2 years, I did not set any great expectation. But that was the real me. As long as I could see new places and new people, I am already a happy man.

I must say I am glad I had made it to Labuan this time, and I don't mind coming back to the island in the future.

Get ready for my upcoming posts of my 4D3N trip to Labuan ISland, Federal Territory/Sabah.

LINKS TO MY LABUAN TRIP POSTS

PROLOGUE 1    PROLOGUE 2

VISITING LABUAN MUSEUM

THE FARMER'S MARKET

TANJUNG PURUN BEACH

LABUAN MARINE MUSEUM [PART 1] [PART 2]

THE HISTORICAL LABUAN CLOCK TOWER

AYAM PENYET RIA RESTAURANT

AN-NUR MOSQUE - THE STATE MOSQUE

UJANA KEWANGAN - THE FINANCIAL PARK

TANJUNG BATU BEACH

LABUAN WAR CEMETERY

THE CHIMNEY MUSEUM [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3]

LABUAN BIRD PARK [PART 1] [PART 2]

LAYANG-LAYANGAN BEACH

PEACE PARK

SURRENDER POINT MEMORIAL

THE BARBECUE SESSION DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAY

There were no teachers and students in school during the one week school break. The school [non-academic] staff [of SMK Dato' Jaafar] held a short barbecue session and I was there to join the fun.

There were all sorts of food items barbecued: mutton, chicken, fish, prawn, sausages - just to name a few.

My plan to go on a diet would have to be postponed to next week, or the following week, or next month. *sigh*

PROLOGUE 2: BIDDING FAREWELL TO LABUAN

 

How I wish the holiday could last forever but like it or not, that is how things work. As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end so it was time to bid Farewell to Labuan.

After not having a [real] holiday for a long time, I know I must be having a hard time to move on. Perhaps the best way is to start checking the calendar when the next school holiday is going to be and trying to research any possible holiday spot in the near future.

Good bye, Labuan. Thanks for the good time and the fondest memories.

MY LABUAN TRIP MAIN PAGE

PROLOGUE 1: BLOGGING FROM LABUAN FEDERAL TERRITORY - SABAH

After more than 2 years of not flying out to other place, today I safely arrived in Labuan Island, Federal Territory/Sabah.

This is going to be a kind of free and easy school holidsy solo trip (assisted by a guide) and I just want to let my hair down and forget all the worries in the world for now.

One thing for sure, do expect a lot of posts of my first trip ever to Sabah, Labuan in particular.

HAPPY HOLIDAY, EVERYBODY!

MY LABUAN TRIP MAIN PAGE

PULAU PANGKOR VISITED - 15 YEARS AGO

arriving in Lumut at dawn and stopped by at the mosque

This is just to reminisce the good old time when people were free to go explore the islands during school holidays and enjoy life. The photos were burned on a CD by my travel companion, Mr. Mohd. Syahril Shariff and would be best saved here before the disc would be damaged over time.

Surprisingly, even though the photos were taken by a digital camera 15 years ago, they were still blurry and not that sharp. I had those taken with the conventional one but I was too lazy to search for the album and scan the pics.

Pangkor Island was one island I had been to a few times for a few reasons: one, things  were cheaper as the island was not commercialized yet at that time; two, there were not many people there; and three, public transport was easy - I could travel from Johor Bahru straight to Lumut by bus, and hop on a ferry to the island.

I wonder when will it be the time we could travel again without worry.