Showing posts with label 4-Star Attraction. Show all posts

[PLACE] 20130804 Pulau Dayang Bunting @ Langkawi


Pulau Dayang Bunting (translate: Pregnant Maiden Island) is the second largest island in Langkawi which is located at the south of Langkawi Island. It has a large fresh water lake known as the Lake of Pregnant Maiden. I was told by my parents long time ago during my first visit to Langkawi that the water of the lake possessed special powers according to the legend.

Legend says that any woman who take a dip in the water of the lake would become fertile, hence the name. Quoted from the source "a man named Mat Teja met and fell in love with the princess Mambang Sari at the lake. They eventually married and the princess gave birth to a son. However their son did not live long and soon died. Having reconciled with their misfortune, they decided to lay their son in the water of the lake and allow him to rest in peace. The gracious princess also blessed all women having difficulty in conceiving a child."

The beautiful limestone cliffs and the lake, coupled with the legend has made this island a popular spot to visit and is one of the island hopping stop. Visitors are required to climb about 15 minutes hike followed by a downhill track to the lake where there's a floating platform with a pontoon for visitors to go for a dip (please prepare your own swimsuit before hand). Solar powered or manual paddle boats are available for rent for those who fancy a paddle ride on the lake. Rental of the paddle boat costs RM20 (manual) and RM30 (solar) back then and I believe the price should have increased.

You can also discover and explore the natural tracks around the lake if you opt not to go for the paddle boat or swim. We are allowed to explore the island for one and a half hour before proceeding to the next destination.

The facilities on the island lacks maintenance during my visit and hopefully things have changed this year since they have started to implement entrance fee for visitors. Adult fee costs RM5 while children fee will cost RM3.

Pulau Dayang Bunting
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: Nil

TO GO


The island is remotely located at the southern side of the island and is usually part of the island hopping package which is available via many tour agents on the island. If you are visiting during peak season then my advice is for you to book in advance to avoid disappointment. However, if you are visiting during non-peak season, then you will have the luxury to bargain tour packages with the travel agents. Island hopping packages can be as long as RM20/pax up to RM150/pax, depending on number of islands and season.

Alternatively, you can arrange your own private tour or join the jet ski group island hopping. Do click on the street view to have a feel on the island hopping trail along Pulau Beras Basah, Eagle Cove and Pulau Dayang Bunting.


ATTRACTION



The island hopping tour brought us to the Pulau Dayang Bunting as the final stop after feeding the eagles at the Eagle Cove. The nice weather and calm sea was very welcoming.


Other tourist boats approaching the jetty one by one. 


The entrance signboard has shown that the island is lacking maintenance and something must be done to upkeep this popular tourist destination.


The pathway to the lake requires some climb uphill along the steps. Not recommended if you have difficulty in hiking.


The pathway is surrounded by undisturbed forest and trees.


... and also naughty "locals" who always keeping an eye on what you are carrying. They will not hesitate to grab your bag or food. Hence, it's advisable for you to keep food away from their sight and stay alert of these pesky snatchers.


Of course there will be some cute ones around as well..


After the 10 minutes "dreadful" climb, the pathway will then lead to a downhill slope towards the Lake of Pregnant Maiden.


Behold! The lake of the Pregnant Maiden! This picture is actually taken from the middle of the lake when I'm on the paddle boat. Take a look at the shape of the mountain range and apply some imagination. It's not surprising how the legend and blend in so well with the landscape.


Here, meet "Ducky", my cute (or rundown) paddle boat. It cost RM20 for a 30 minute (or more?) ride on the lake.


The lake was formed when the underground cave collapsed due to downward pressure applied by the accumulating waters. Hence, you may want to think twice before challenging the depth of the lake water. The natural limestone and marble cliff surrounding the lake with the deep green lake water. It gives me a chill when I try to look into the water, not knowing what weird creature might suddenly appear from the deep murky lake water. Too much movie, perhaps.


Despite being enclave by mountains, the lake was actually quite windy and my Ducky will turn into a surf boat when the wind is strong enough. Something is indeed magical with this island. 

Besides swimming and paddling, other activities include jungle trekking along the pathway around the lake which is also part of the geoforest. Pulau Dayang Bunting is the last stop of my island hopping tour which covers some interesting points although I was hoping for more stops. The journey back to Kuah jetty took us another 15 to 20 minutes before calling it a day.


SUMMARY


The legend of the Pregnant Maiden Island gives a very mystical feel about the island (placebo effect?) which makes you feel everything on the island is magical. The Lake of Pregnant Maiden is worth a visit, not really for the view, but more of for the legend. I will recommend visitors to Langkawi to at least visit the island once to experience the legend, as Langkawi is an island full of legends.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
for the experience
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆
low maintenance but clean
Entrance Fee
RM5 (Adults)
RM3 (Children)
Starting 1st Feb 2015.
Opening Hours
Always
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
Nil

GPS: 6.204696, 99.783706
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[PLACE] 20150114 Chinatown @ Yaowarat, Bangkok


The Chinese community long set foot in Bangkok during the mass migration to South East Asia back in the old days. The Chinese traders initially gathered at a site where the current Grand Palace is locate before being relocated further away to the East. The Chinese traders then settled down at Sampaeng Lane before a petition for a wider street, hence the relocation to Yaowarat Road, which evolves to be what it is today, i.e. Chinatown of Bangkok.

Unlike our own Chinatown in Malaysia, i.e. Petaling Street which has lost most of its authenticity, the Chinatown in Bangkok still preserves the originality with majority of the Chinese communities and traders still residing at Chinatown.

Besides that, there are also many Chinese temples around here along with some old traditional buildings that adds to the heritage value of Bangkok's Chinatown. Colourful neon signboards that reassembles those in Hong Kong, thou not as many, lights up the busy street of Yaowarat during the nights. Street vendors along with shops and restaurants offering both goods, and food.

You may find variety of things like traditional Chinese products and food along the 1km stretch including very oriental delicacies such as sharkfin's soup (Not promoting nor supporting on consumption of shark's fin), bird's nest soup, fish maw stew, roast duck etc etc.

The best time to visit Chinatown is during Chinese festive seasons such as the lunar new year.

Chinatown (Yaowarat)
Nearest MRT Stations: Hua Lampong Station
Telephone: Nil
Opening Hours: Nil

TO GO


You have a few options i.e. by water, road or rail to get to Chinatown. Taking a cab will bring you directly to Chinatown but be mindful of the nasty Bangkok jam and some cab drivers might not want go during rush hours.

If you are taking the waterways, alight at Pier 5 (Ratchawong Pier) and walk further up to Yaowarat Road.

Alternatively, the MRT Hua Lampong station would be the nearest rail station and requires another 10 minute walk to Yaowarat Road.



ATTRACTION



The busy street of Yaowarat Road with colourful and bright sign boards that reassembles Hong Kong.


Some local names like 林真香 operated by local Chinese that sells traditional local specialities food products such as dried pork skin, pork floss, dried mango, dried longan etc. These shops have some other outlets at other areas as well if you are not coming to Chinatown.


Dried or smoked duck meat sold in the shops that is traditional to the Chinese community.


But food is the main attraction of Chinatown with traditional Chinese cuisines such as roast duck, Peking style.


Or some local seafood stalls that serves fresh river produce or seafood, grilled right in front of you.


The famous T&K Seafood Restaurant is also located in Chinatown. Read more about T&K Seafood in my separate post.


There are also many street stalls or restaurants selling bird's nest soup, which is also a local product of Thailand along with other South East Asian countries. Street stalls selling at much cheaper price while restaurants charge a higher premium for their bird's nest soup. Read more about my experience with Nam Sing Bird's Nest in a separate post.


Some other street vendors like the juice vendor above that are commonly found around Bangkok's streets.



Some Chinese cuisines that are not found at other areas of Bangkok. There's so many to try but so little space in your tummy.


Fish maw stew sold by the street vendors are commonly found in Chinatown but not at other areas. The gluey thick texture reassembles shark fin soup but using fish maw instead of shark's fin.


There are many road side stir fry stalls as well along the main street that you can order Chinese-Thai fusion food.

SUMMARY


Overall, the Chinatown of Bangkok still have the presence of the Chinese community in contrast to our Malaysian Chinatown which is now invaded by many foreigners and lost it's authenticity of a Chinatown despite a few well known names are still around. The abundance of street food and local food will not give a chance for your tummy to rest. 

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
Presence of Chinese community still available with variety of merchandise and food
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆

Entrance Fee
Nil
Opening Hours
Daily
Wifi
N/A
Parking
Limited
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.741206, 100.508264
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[PLACE] 20150114 Wat Pho - Sleeping Buddha @ Pranakorn, Bangkok


Wat Pho ("Wat" means temple in Thai) is one of the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok and is well known for its largest Buddha statue, which is the Sleeping Buddha or also known as Reclining Buddha. The giant sleeping Buddha statue is 160 feet long and covered with gold leaves.

Wat Pho is just 10 minutes walk away from the Grand Palace and its often the next destination for tourists to drop by. An entrance fee of 100 Baht is chargeable on foreigners and entitled for a bottle of mineral water. Besides the reclining Buddha, Wat Pho has other halls within its compound with more than 1,000 Buddha statues, big and small.

Another highlight of Wat Pho will be the detailed architectural of its structures and building where very strong presence of Thai culture is observed in the design and carvings. Dress code applies for female tourist and sarongs or scarf are available for those who wears shorts or sleeveless clothes, especially when entering the prayer halls.

Guided tour is available with price ranging from 200 Baht to 400 Baht, depending on size of crowd and season, can be negotiated. The tour guide will be able to brief you on the history and details of the temple if you are interested to engage their service. Traditional Thai massage service is also available here and Wat Pho is the origin of Thai massage as there was a massage school established here in the older days.

Wat Pho, Pranakorn, Bangkok
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: 08:00am until 06:30pm

TO GO


There are a few methods to get to Wat Pho and unfortunately there's no direct assess by BTS nor MRT. While taking cab or tuk tuk is the most convenient way, you may still be able to reach Wat Pho if you have to take the BTS.

Take the Silom Line (Dark Green) and disembark at Saphan Taksin Station. Walk towards Exit 2 towards the Central Pier, you may then purchase the boat ticket from the ticket counter for 40 Baht per pax and then take the Chao Phraya tourist boat. Get off at Pier 8 - Tha Tian Pier. Wat Pho is located right at the exit of the pier, towards the right side.


ATTRACTION



The weather was just awesome for the day with clear blue sky, with the help of my CPL filter as well. The picture above is the rear of the hall where the reclining Buddha is located.


Visitors are required to wear proper attire (no shorts or sleeveless shirt) and to remove your footwear and carry along when you are entering the hall. The reclining Buddha statue is so huge and long that you will require a ultra wide angle lens to fit in everything within the narrow space.


The Buddha's feet with 108 auspicious symbols of Buddha. It seems like a normal picture, but you definitely unable to capture the same image with normal cameras as the picture above is taken with an angle as wide as 10mm (16mm equivalent for 35mm format).


Other highlight of Wat Pho will definitely be the amazing structures of the temple roofs.


Some parts of the temple consist of ancient schools for various disciplines including art, culture as well as Thai massage.


The vibrant colours and the unique texture of the roofs is infused deeply with the Thai culture.





There's a huge prayer hall located right at the centre of the temple which offers a place for visitors to either pray or just to sit down and feel the atmosphere and the serenity of the temple.

You can also consider to visit Wat Arun after Wat Pho as it is just at the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River.

SUMMARY


Overall, Wat Pho is worth a visit with the main attraction of the reclining Buddha, as well as other thousands of Buddha images, accompanied by fascinating Thai architecture of the structures and buildings. It is just a short walk away from the Grand Palace and can be an alternative destination if you are planning your itinerary.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
Main highlight will be the reclining Buddha but other attractions also worth a visit
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆☆

Entrance Fee
100 Baht for foreigner (inclusive of complementary bottle of mineral water)
Free for locals
Opening Hours
08:00am until 6:30pm (Daily)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.746374, 100.491235
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[PLACE] 20150114 ‎Damnoen Saduak Floating Market @ ‎Damnoen Saduak, Ratchaburi


Floating market is one of the unique tourist attraction for Thailand. Thailand is covered with wide network of rivers and canals where most of the populations resides. The river and canals are essential for the locals' daily commute as well as food and water source and the floating market has evolved from the vendors who carry goods and food to be sold directly from the boats.

The uniqueness of the floating market has attracted tourists to experience the daily lifestyle of the locals who lived by the canals and soon become a tourist hotspot, this is also where the popular local delicacy i.e. boat noodle is born. Nowadays, many have moved inland to the cities and the floating market has lost it's authenticity as a market to the locals and more to cater for tourism.

Among many floating markets around Thailand, the one in Damnoen Saduak is the most popular one which is opened daily with huge crowd of tourist. It is located about 100km away from Bangkok and is opened daily. However, do expect very touristy feel of this place but it is the most accessible and one of the better place to grasp what a floating market will feel like. If you are looking for a more local and authentic one, I'm afraid you might need to arrange for your own trip and also to be able to get around by yourself. Most of the floating markets are available in the weekend only. Other popular floating markets includes Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market (nearer to Bangkok - weekend) and Amphawa Floating Market (weekend).

Tourist scams:
One major precaution of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market or any other popular Thai tourist spot will be the number of tourist scams. Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is well known for taxi and boat scams where exorbitant fares will be charged on tourists. As most of the tours departs from Victory Monument terminal, even if you are able to negotiate for a fair price, the taxi or van will bring you to Damnoen Saduak but drop you at a village further away from the market, which you will then be given the choice to either take the very expensive longtail boat (feedback collected maybe up to 3000 Baht per person or per boat, depending on season) to the market or to go by foot (10 to 15 minutes walk). Many tourists will opt for the boat and try to negotiate the price since they don't have other options, it is much depending on the season whether it is a peak or non-peak season. So, beware of all the scams.

How to avoid being a victim? Pre-book your tour via reputable tour agency prior to your travel or ask your hotel reception to assist in booking. Usually reputable hotels will be able to secure a legit tour as they will not want to risk their hotel's reputation on dodgy ones, unless, you are staying in a dodgy hotel to begin with. Alternatively, if you have no choice but to book your tour at Victory Monument, try not to fall for cheap tour hagglers around. Be reminded, cheap tour is never cheap.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi, Thailand
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: 09:00am until noon

TO GO


Majority of the tour departs from Victory Monument terminal. If you decided to take the tour from Victory Monument, then you need to take a cab or BTS very early in the morning to Victory Monument and you will notice many tour agencies around. Most tours departs between 7am until 8am, so be sure you are there early to secure a seat during peak season or prebook your tour.

Alternatively, if you have prebook the tour or booked via your hotel, the tour van will usually pick you up directly from your hotel lobby (major hotels). This saves time, hassle and money.



ATTRACTION


I booked my tour via my hotel (thank God!) for 900 Baht per person the day before and the van came to pick me up from the hotel lobby. The driver took everyone to a meet up point at the tour agency's office at Kao Shan Road before everyone is separated into respective tours. 


The journey from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market took us about 1 hour and finally we arrived at the floating market directly, instead of stopping us at some unknown area to slaughter us for more money. There are just a few boats, passenger boats to be exact around during my arrival and the sun is high up.


The market is not crowded as I initially expected, probably due to weekdays, the water is murky green. From here, you can choose to talk along the river bank or hire a boat to bring you around. It cost 160 Baht per person for a normal passenger boat. Chartered boat is much more expensive.


Most of the boat vendors gather nearby the bridge. carrying goods like fruits and souvenirs. Passenger boats mooring in between the vendors by both sides of the river bank.


If you show interest to buy, they will approach you and hand you over the goods. If you are too far away, they even have special made baskets attached to a long stick to collect and to hand over the goods.


There are also vendor who sells dried stock like dried shrimps and seafood but I wonder who will be her target market since tourist don't usually buy these stuff.


Fruit vendor offering fresh mango to curious tourist on a passenger boat.


If you are hungry, just order from the boat noodle vendors and enjoy your meal by the river bank on colourful stools. Such a cute and warm scene to see everyone in the family sitting in a row, having their meal.


The bridge and the marketplace is where both onshore vendors and onboat vendors gather.


Fruits (and vegetables) from local farms are the major product at the floating market. Street food and other staple food are also available but mainly cater for tourists. 


The colourful fruits offers a very good photo spot for photography enthusiasts. One not only captures the colours, but also the life of a boat vendor, making a living on these narrow canals.  


Clothings are souvenirs are mostly available at onshore markets but be reminded the price is at a higher side as the market now mainly caters for tourists instead of locals. Generally the same item sold here is 30% to 50% higher.


I'm hungry and it's time to eat. The ‎Damnoen Saduak Floating Market has a few options for food where you can choose to eat at the stalls nearby the market place, or, to experience it like the locals, just order off from the boat vendors. I found this noodle stall at the side of the bridge where they are a few locals having their breakfast.


I ordered a pork noodle with rice vermicelli in red soup. I believed the red colour came from bean paste instead of chili paste because the soup has sweet hint instead of spicy. The clear broth makes the bowl of noodle very enjoyable and not as bad as I thought.


Another variant of the boat noodle with thicker broth and hint of herbs. Unable to ask for more information because the vendor can't communicate in English. 


Saw a grandma vendor passing by in front of me so I decided to get one of her mango for dessert. The mango costs me 60 Baht if not mistaken, quite pricey but expected. The mango looks very inviting from the vibrant colours but it is full of fiber although very sweet.


The people here live a simple and humble life, unlike city people like us who are busy everyday.


"Hey, don't forget to wefie!"


My tour actually includes a 30 minute boat ride around the village, which is a bonus. The boat ride brings us around the perimeter of the village, passing by houses and orchards of the locals.


People on land have garages for their cars while the villagers here have docks for their boats.


The villagers here are used to the presence of tourists and are generally quite friendly. An old man waves his hands to us when we said hello from afar. The 30 minute boat ride ends and we are disembark at the other side of the village instead of our departure point. Some tourists continue their second tour thereafter but that's the end for my tour. The journey back to Bangkok city took another hour.

SUMMARY


Visiting the floating market gives you an idea on the daily life of the locals. Notwithstanding that the market is now commercialized to cater for tourists, it still gives you an unique experience on how the people did it in the past. If you are looking for a more authentic experience, I would suggest you to visit some other lower profile floating market. Just beware of tourist scams around for a pleasant travel experience.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
depends on how you perceive the floating market, beware of scammers.
Cleanliness
☆☆☆
murky water, dirty environment
Entrance Fee
Free
Opening Hours
09:00am until 12:30pm (Daily)
Wifi
Nil
Parking
Nil
Website
Nil

GPS: 13.519981, 99.958773
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