Rewind #1 of 2014 - Greece(I) - 27092014

Greece(I) - 27092014

In this post, I'm bringing everyone back to the year 2014! Reason? I have a few interesting articles to post! Teehee~ Anyway, I'm bringing all of you with me to an extremely awesome place called Halkidiki. In Greek, it's Χαλκιδική.

Take a look at the map and it is shaped like Poseidon's trident, sticking out into the Aegean Sea. Halkidiki is on the first of the three "legs". Fly in to Thessaloniki airport to get to this magnificent place! I do not include any links for the flights because I believe you probably prefer to do your own search. Nonetheless, drop me a message should you need me to help find a flight for you :)

Soon enough, YOU will be there :)

I travel to quite a few places and I do not prefer touristy and congested tourist spots. I get headache just by looking at the crowd. Thus, this place was perfect for my kinda vacation. For those of you who like to relax and chill while experiencing the local culture, this is purr-fect for you! All I did was eat, sleep, chill, repeat, eat, sleep, chill, repeat (in reference to this song).

We flew in to Thessaloniki from Malaysia and we took Turkish Airlines for only USD 2,770 for 2 adults. Of course, we had an overlay in Istanbul but hey, I'm not complaining because I got to see what Istanbul is like. At least the airport. Lol.. Flight to Istanbul took us 11 hours and 20 minutes but from Istanbul to Thessaloniki, it was only another 1 hour and 20 minutes. We reached at about 09:00 and our car rental gentleman was already waiting for us.

Malaysians vs Greek - car rental was about USD300 for 4 adults (not too bad)

Now, fast forward to our hotel! Yes, we couldn't wait to get to the hotel because we need to change and refresh. We got an 8D7N package at THE Aegean Melathron Thalasso Spa Hotel, a five-star hotel for only USD700 including daily breakfast and dinner. The selection of food was crazyyyyy I didn't know how to start; it's buffet style! Gotta love their food! From pretzels to desserts, they're all very very..... very scrumptious.

No, this is not Megatron from the movie Transformer. It's Aegean Melathron

We got a room with sea view, on the first floor and yes, we had a nice balcony overlooking the sunset in the evening. There were certain nights we slept in the room with the balcony doors open. Just for the heck of listening to the therapeutic sea waves.

View from our balcony

Sunset view from our balcony

Another pool in the hotel

Asians like to take pictures of their food before digging in. Yeah haaaa....I'm an Asian too, so here are my shots of the comida deliciosa (delicious food) after we've checked in. Here we go...

Not very Asian after all - one already ended up in my tummy before the shot was taken :-p

Penne carbonara - very very filling 

The ever-so-mouth-watering pizza 

Vino tinto

Big bowl of spaghetti 

Since we had the car, we decided to drive around. We drove to a small but beautiful town, Afytos. Honestly speaking, all of the scenery pictures that I've posted here do not do the justice. Nothing beats viewing the landscape with your own eyes! Not even the expensive good camera that you have, trust me! Anyhow, these are some shots of Afytos. 

Quint town

Walk and explore in Afytos

Food is relatively cheap in Halkidiki. As off today, 1€ is MYR4.06 and even after conversion (which we usually do consciously/subconsciously when we travel to another country), everything was still cheap! A pint of Mythos, a local beer cost only 1€! In Malaysia, you will never ever ever ever ever get a pint of beer with that price. Cheapest we can get in Malaysia is 2.5€ which converts to about MYR11. Not only the beer is cheap in Halkidiki, the food is pretty cheap too. A big plate of grilled meat platter comprising of 2 pieces of beef, 2 chicken skewers, 2 pieces of pork, 2 pieces of lamb meat and a generous amount of fries cost us only 4€! In Malaysia, the minimum price for that is RM60 and the pieces are pequeño (tiny)! At that point, noone bothered to whip out the camera nomore. We WALLOPED!

Food is always gooooooooooodddd.....

We met some really awesome people during our trip. So, we decided to have a drink or two in a nearby town called Kalithea; just 5 minutes drive from Aegean Melathron hotel. We were there from 20:00 till about 0300 the next morning. One thing we noticed about the businesses here in Halkidiki is that they will not close their business until the last customer leaves. In fact, we had a chat with the owner of a few restaurants and bars and they all said the same thing. Even if the customers stay until the next morning, they will remain open. Life is tough in Halkidiki - a working adult typically have a few jobs to make a living. So what did we do? We tipped them :) Not much but that's the least we could do to help them. P.E.A.C.E.

Great time with great people

The cheeky folks

It didn't just stop here... The experience in Greece was indeed the benchmark for the rest of my future trips. From my visits (after Halkidiki), nothing beats Halkidiki anymore. We were pampered with great food and great people, we did not want to leave the place. For now, I shall leave you with the panoramic view of Afytos till I meet you again in my next post - part two of Halkidiki.

A panoramic view of Afytos's blue and green

Halkidiki has set the benchmark for my trips.

What about you? Which place has set the benchmark for your trips? 

Reconnect @ Batu Ferringhi - 01042015

April Fool's the day! After a week from our DisconneXion, we decided to drive out again to take a breather. There is a waterfall near the place we stay and we thought "Hey, why not...". So, we had our breakfast at home, changed into appropriate attire and off we went. 

The drive took us 10 minutes and tadaa! We're at Air Terjun Junjung by 11:00 a.m.! It is technically in Kulim, Kedah and this shows you how close we are to Kulim. 

Signboard at the entrance

Upon arrival, we were a little disappointed because we were expecting to see more. Instead, the water was a little muddy and the place was not as extensive as we thought. Plus, when we got there, there was already a group of teenagers. We wanted a quiet place to reflect.

Photo source: http://www.simpangampat4u.com/

So, we changed our plan to head to Ferringhi beach instead. I will need to search for more recreational places around so that I could help recommend these places to you :)

And soon enough, from Simpang Ampat, we reached Batu Ferringhi around 12:00 p.m.

Entrada del hotel

We walked into the hotel passing by the lobby, waving and saying hello to the staff and proceeded to "trespass" the swimming pool to get to the beach! Walking along the beach, we found a spot under a big tree where it was quiet and peaceful. 

Blue (his) and pink (hers)

It was Wednesday or I'd like to call it hump day. Hump day because it is the middle of the work week and this means we made it over the hump heading towards the weekend. Woohoo! For me, it does not really matter because I "work" every single day, including Sunday. I define my own break. How cool is that!

I started reading business and management books about a year ago and current book(s) I'm reading include Ben Angel's Flee 9-5: Get 6 - 7 Figures and Do What You Love.

In the process of becoming "Agent of Influence"

After spending about 2.5 hours there, it is time to grab some lunch. We packed our things up and we continued driving along the winding road towards Balik Pulau. 

On our way to Balik Pulau, we went to Tropical Fruit Farm and had our "lunch", which was a plate of mixed fruits for RM25. I thought it was expensive when my boyfriend ordered it but it was worth it!

A visit and a guided tour to the farm costs RM42.40 per person including GST =.=

Too engorged - half of the plate was gone before taking a shot

So, after stuffing our face with fruits (at least it's healthy), the drive continued to another place called Pantai Acheh. We were misled by the name Pantai Acheh, thinking it was another beach. Pantai means beach in Bahasa Melayu (local language in Malaysia). Pantai Acheh is just a serene Chinese township. 

Houses in Pantai Acheh

Chin Hwa Chinese school

I've uploaded a video here on YouTube, but do notice that my channel is still under minor construction :)
#MichelleChew

DisconneXion to Pulau Aman - 25032015

Ever since I moved to Penang since Feb 2015, I have never gone to any islands nearby. I've only traveled back and forth Penang island and mainland a couple of times using the new Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge. The new bridge gets me from Bayan Baru to Simpang Ampat (where I live) with less traffic. Travelling up and down this route, I pass by the signboard that says 'Jeti Pulau Aman' and there will be a few Malay stalls selling fruits as well as some famous mee jawa (local specialty that has yellow noodles with beansprouts, served with fried soy bean and sometimes, deep fried prawns). 

One fine day, my boyfriend and I decided to take a break from work. We decided to pay a visit to Pulau Aman (Island of Peace)! Following the signboard that says 'Jeti Pulau Aman' from Simpang Ampat, we finally reached Batu Musang Jetty. The name of the jetty is called Batu Musang Jetty, where all boats depart to Pulau Aman. Now, if you drive, you can park your car here at the spacious parking lot and you pay RM 2.00 for the parking. The boat fare costs RM 6.00 (round trip) per person and the boat schedule to Pulau Aman is as follow: 

Boat schedule 

Keep your tickets with you

We were just in time for the 1.00 pm boat to Pulau Aman and the 2.5-nautical-mile ride took less than 10 minutes. 

Departing Batu Musang Jetty

Batu Musang Jetty

Some folks were fishing near the jetty

While waiting for the boat

While waiting for the boat (cont..)

Arriving at Pulau Aman Jetty, we took a picture of what we could do around the island.

Some activities include fishing, visiting ancient graveyards and jungle trekking.

Bienvenida :)

So, we started walking and looking at the village houses around here. Pulau Aman is a fishing village and they have a few home stays for tourists who intend to spend some time on the island. You may rent the place for RM80 per night, or maybe even more, depending on the condition of the place.

We took our first right turn :)

I used to chase chickens at my old house when I was a kid :-p

Simple houses with simple life

Power house for the island 

The view is extremely breath-taking and it was peaceful. Purrfect for our take-a-break!

Walking on the clam shells

Cats here are well-fed and fat :)

We also saw rams and monkeys on the way

Chalets to let 

Walking....and walking...and walking....

Now flex those biceps!

As we were walking back to the jetty, we passed by a well called "Telaga Mas" (The Golden Well).

HIstory of The Golden Well

Let me translate what's on the stone.
Around 1789, a villager found a water spring that flowed beside the beach. The villager decided to dig a hole so that it could become a well for the use of the other villagers.

While the villager was digging, the hoe suddenly hit a hard object and when the villager looked closer, it was a golden crock. The villager was surprised and afraid, so the villager told all the others about it. When the villagers arrived at the spot, the golden crock was not there anymore, instead there was just a golden rock.

The British who was ruling Penang at that time got to know about the incident. The British ruler requested the villagers to dig the hole even deeper to retrieve the so-called gold and the pieces were sent to Britain to be analysed. Nevertheless, the piece that was thought gold turned out to be just fools gold and the digging at the site was stopped at a depth of 2.5 meters.

The villagers then decided to make the hole a well which was called The Golden Well. The name remains till today. 

The Golden Well - not quite golden

We continued our walk back to the jetty so that we could explore the other side of the island. While walking, we saw more monkeys.

The monyet! (monkey)

Spot the mudskipper

My boyfriend and I concluded that this side of the island is not as pleasant feeling as the other side we went to a while ago. We found spooky corners like this and the feeling of walking down this route just didn't feel great. This side seemed "dirtier", if ya know what I mean.

Spooky corner

Not sure what plant this is

More mudskippers 

We also went to an ikan bakar (grilled fish) restaurant (you may find more info here) and had neslo ais (iced milo with a tinge of nescafe) and ice limau (lime juice with ice). I'm a vegetarian and my boyfriend is a vegan, so we did not order anything to eat. We were just chilling at the restaurant because the restaurant is out at the beach and it was really breezy.

We waited for our boat to depart at 6.00 pm and we were the last group of people getting out of Pulau Aman, along with 2 other visitors and 2 boatmen. In fact, when we asked the boatman, we found out that they do not follow the schedule! They have frequent boat trips back to Batu Musang Jetty ANYTIME they have a group of people waiting to leave Pulau Aman.

Moral of the story: Do not be too schema when following the timetable. Be kiasu or be left behind
#MichelleChew