Corus Paradise

Wow! Little that I realise, the claim by a fellow blogger was actually true. A quick search revealed that there has been numerous attack on swimmers in Port Dickson by crocodiles, and a recent one in January happened at Corus Paradise. So far, the spot I was at near our apartment has always been crowded, but on learning about these incidents, I should be extra careful. I guess it is best to pick a spot where there are a lot of watersport activities. Although it was a pain swimming at Bayu Beach because of its popularity with watersports vendors - banana boats and the like, better to be safe than sorry.

Reading through other blogs entries, there were concern that these incidence were never publicised. I supposed the numbers were still low, and therefore they risk creating panic among the public - who can understandably be hysterics when they hear things like crocodile maiming swimmers in PD, but the lack of public address leave an eery feeling if you ask me. As if there was some sort of cover-up. By informing the public, at least they will become more vigilant and would not venture into beach areas where there are many trees. It would be better to go into more public areas, although one risk their privacy. It will be a small price to pay if you think about it though.

And while I was on the subject, maybe I can share a few more pics of the hotel. As I mentioned, it could do with a renovation as the actually resort had so much potential. Looking around, it was sad to see how the building appear to be crumbling. The room we used for our meeting - called Tampin - was badly in need of renovation, with an up-to-date AV equipment at lease if they can’t afford a new roof tiles. Not to mention the lame food we were served …….. Basically, if I had to pay for my stay, I’d think twice, and apparently the charge the put on were still a premium.

Ramadhan is Back!

The fasting month is back. But from looking at what I ate, I probably took more food in total than usual. I basically just gobble them down as fast as I can come iftar. Yes! It was bad but hey, I was hungry. I just can’t help it.

With Ramadhan, came the bazaar where we head out to the stalls buying food for iftar. As usual, I went to Taman Melawati. The usual suspects were there, most of them recognised me by now. There was the middle age lady selling cucur udang - I went there without fail since 2003. There was also our favourite drink stall - the gentleman mix the meanest air asam boi in town, I kid you not. There was also the guy from Sarawak selling terubuk masin. The Kelantanese lady with Nasi Kerabu. The last but not least, the rocker from Sabah with the tasty chicken wing. Yup! I sampled them all. There are now on the table, and iftar is a good 90 minutes away.

For all my Moslem friends, Salam Ramadhan, Happy Fasting, and good luck with the food! You need luck because most of them looked really nice but one may need to use expletive to describe how they taste!

Banting

I went to Banting earlier to take a session with the Final Year Medical Students from UM stationed there for four weeks. It was not the first time. I remember coming here back in 2004 and I have been there once a year since, except for last year. Certainly the town has changed. There are more shops opened, typically of new budding township. Next to the hospital was a brand new District Police Headquarters. The hospital however remained the same, except for a rather confusing one way system. I had to drive round the hospital - not a very big one anyhow - before finding a space to park.

I left Gombak just after 7.20, but only arrived at the Hospital around 9.50. Traffic has been awful. I was stuck for a good 30 minutes along the highway near Subang Jaya. Not a good omen since I will be based in Kelang in December and will be taking the same route every morning. I didn’t see any accident. Maybe it was just sheer volume. I only managed to go pass the jam just before 9, and the rest of the journey was smooth sailing. On a good day, I can drive from Gombak to Banting in around 75 minutes.

The hospital as I mentioned remained the same. Nice little Emergency Unit and the Medical Wards were both simple and functional. From the students from previous years, they enjoyed the stay there at the hostels. There were a few spots to visit, the beaches and Bukit Jugra amongst others. They used to enjoy a nice internet connection at the hostel but sadly, I was told the connection has been stopped. A shame really, but I am sure they have mobile internet with them.

I had to rush back to UMMC however for a meeting in the afternoon. This time it was a more leisurely drive, stopping over in Kelang for a spot of lunch. 

Genting, here we come!

The Genting Highland Hotel - the first hotel there, before the now bigger First World was builtGohtong to Genting took us 20 minutes. I did not want to drive too fast for fear of the passengers throwing up. Even on a weekday - a Thursday with the public school open - the place was full of people. We parked at the First World Hotel - touted to be the biggest hotel in the world - we did not stay there, so I can’t comment. There was a multi-story shopping plaza there, complete with an indoor theme park, shows, casino and ‘Snow-world’ at the hotel. Hence the first order of business was lunch. They have them all - McD, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and if you feel like it, there were also mamak stalls, hotel buffet etc. There were plenty of choice when it come to food. But for Moslem, be careful and read the signs carefully. Some of the shops were non-halal.

There was also a multiplex cinema and bowling alley if you were into them. There were rows of gift shops, and this was only at one single hotel. I wonder what the other hotels were like. There was an auditorium at the plaza doing nightly shows, and sometimes concerts. There were certainly plenty of things to do there, even if you were not there for the gambling - Moslems were not allowed into the casinos. 

After lunch, I went around looking for informations about the rides. They do day passes there, but it was rather confusing since there were so many kinds of them - there were he ones for indoor rides, outdoors only and also the one that was good for the whole place. Since it was past 3 pm by the time we bought the tickets, we decided only to stay indoors. Since we did not plan the trip up properly, the boys were not really properly dressed. There were not even wearing shoes - hence Snow-World was out of the question.

We took the ferris wheel, gondolas, skytrains etc. Idlan went on the bumper cars. Unfortunately due to height restrictions, Irfan was not able to. There were also other family rides but the boys were too grumpy to go on them. It was almost 6pm by the time we left. The kids were exhausted. Puan Anita was exhausted. I was knackered. It was a grand day out however. We sure will pack up proper shoes and jackets the net time we go up there, because Idlan and Irfan wanted to have fun in the snow!

Strawberries at Gohtong

Idlan recovered sufficiently from a mini asthma attack he had the evening before. The weather was unfortunately rather gloomy, threatening to rain. There went our plan for Sunway Lagoon out of the window. Instead, why not take a drive up to Gohtong for a touch of strawberry picking. One of my friend Faz went there a couple of months back and had plenty to say about the place. I decided to gve it a go. Oh boy, was it not a hit with my boys especially Irfan?

The drive up was painless enough even though our new maid was prone to car sick. The boys could not stop chatting and they must be thinking I was kidding when I said they will be able to pick up the strawberries themselves. To reach there, I just took the Karak Highway, paid my RM5 toll and took the turn up towards Genting. A good 10 minutes climb and we reached Gohtong Jaya, a small township almost halfway up Genting. That was also the downhill terminal for the cable car ride up to Genting. They were closed for servicing for the month though, and will be opened again in time for Raya.

My parents-in-law used to drive up there once a month for a spot of fish head curry. Therefore it was not a town alien to us. However, the last time I was there was a good 2 years ago, well before the farm was opened. Right at the edge of the township, near the turn for the cable car station, you will see a sign for a left turn towards ‘Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm’. The farm was right in front of some apartment building and a sport complex. There were no designated parking however, so you can either park further down at the Gohtong shops or by the side of the road.

Strawberry picking - a rapidly acquired skill!Idlan happy with his lot - all 500g of them

Entrance was free, but you obviously had to pay for strawberries you picked. It wet us back RM8 per 100g, but the fruits were really fresh. The boys were given a pair of scissors and a rattan basket, and off they went. The strawberry were grown hydroponically, and arranged in neat rows with the fruits coming down waist high, just nice for children to scissor off the stalk and pick them up. After 15 minutes running around, the boys finally gave up and wanted to take the strawberry home. They took it to cashier and got them weigh. Before I knew it, RM100 was gone. They picked up more than 1 kg of strawberries in the end!

Entering the stalls and stands with our pickings.... orchids .......... cacti ........... and fresh green vegetables.Everything was clean and organised, and strawberry was not the only attractions at the farm. There were also cactus, orchids and fresh vegetables. Right at the very end were a warehouse full of mushrooms, grown in stacks of bottles - another attraction to the farm. There were also shops and stalls selling gifts, food and local produce. Since it was not a public holiday, we were free to mingle without a big crowd. After done with the shopping, we went to a chocolate factory right round the corner. It was hardly a factory - a converted shoplot which sells chocolates, complete with demonstration of how the chocolates was prepared. Another RM100 later and off we went.

Lastly the mushroom farm ........ with mushroom grown in bottles We then had a quick drive to the cable car station - that was when we found out that it was closed for maintenance. Puan Anita then had this crazy idea that we should drive up to Genting …. Which will be the subject of the next entry …….