Nepal Trip (Part III)

We continued the trip to Pokhara for some view on Annapurna....

The journey from Kathmandu Valley to Pokhara, by Malaysian highway standard may takes 3-4 hours but knowing we were in Nepal, the road condition can be compared to 10x worse than Gua Musang-Merapoh route, i hope u get it.

Nevertheless, the scenic breathtaking view captured our hearts with turquoise colour flowing rivers (great for whitewater rafting) and paddy terrace along the road makes it more dramatic. yeah, I never seen a traditional brick kiln but I tell you what, it was something I never see even in Nat Geo. cool!

We were going downhill, happens that Pokhara is in lower altitude from Kathmandu Valley and Trisuli River was next to the highway. We made some stop at several places,just to capture some photos and attending to our nature calls.

Trisuli, in the beginning of our journey...

Paddy farmer's house. The  hills behind are really high...

Friend and Driver's Wife, in a mustard field.

I was thinking, perhaps if we are more than 5 person, we would have fun doing whitewater rafting in that river. It was such a waste to come all the way but the three of us are not rafting expert, we never even whitewater before!  All of us were tempted but of course, I did not want to pose risks on my fellow travellers, so perhaps in the future, perhaps.....

More river rapids as we go downhill. Perfect for the water activities.. oh how I wish I was inside....

My heart grew excited to see people, treating this highway as a flow to their slow paced life. House are built just near the road, people stay outside to bask themselves in the morning sunlight while the weather was cool. We saw many women in their sari and shawl carrying water containers to the public water pump, kids playing with friends and men sitting under the tree playing cards. How I wish my life is that simple and free like that~! Nepalese people are so lucky to have this unspoiled nature for their surrounding, especially when they have a clean and beautiful river at the back of their houses. Yup, my friend who hails from Temerloh kept on commenting that Pahang River should be like Trisuli, not in that light teh tarik colour. Development versus Nature. This is life, isn't it?

Though we have no guts to do whitewater rafting, this cable car experience should not to be missed... skills?? strong arm muscles...

As we arrived and checked-in the hotel (luckily we have changed it before coming), it was already dark outside. The next morning definitely would be another exciting day, which was to see the sunrise from Sarangkot Hill.

waiting patiently for the sunrise....

We woke up very early at 4 a.m, as instructed by the driver, Raj and he took us to this place called Sarangkot. I contacted a friend who used to work in Nepal before, and he recommended us instead of Nagarkot, Sarangkot offers better sunrise view over Annapurna Range. Yes, he was right!

It happened that we are the earliest bunch of enthusiasts coming and booked our spot to the observation deck. I was not sure how much was being paid, but there are some free decks for other observers. Subhanallah, when I noticed how the stars from the sky looked bigger from this altitude point, it makes sense how NK kept on telling the stars look better from his Swat Valley in Pakistan. How I wish I was there with him to see this!

Ok back to the story. We almost gave up on the sunrise as we waited almost 2 hours, but when the sun cast the first light onto the mountains, it was a mouth gaping experience~! Time stood still and people were quiet...some of the travelers came a little bit late but they were already pretty excited clicking cameras for the shots.....

As the sun came out, some local visitors chanting in prayers......must be some special occasion or something......

Driver and wife took the opportunity for some photograph, in fact this trip was like the first honeymoon cum field trip.

Fish Tail Mountain... in close shot.....

We made our way back to hotel for breakfast and continued the day for some tour to local site.... 

to be continued...

Warm feelings to see  the national car in our hotel car park...

Tawau-Kunak-Semporna (Part II)

This is after the first post.

The second day in Tawau was far more interesting. We went to Semporna for some sightseeing, another 90 km drive from the hotel room, and surprisingly, I found Semporna is a charming place!

Pasar Tamu Semporna

I never been in Pasar Tamu before even in KK, so the chance to stop and look at what they sell in Semporna served my curiousity with a total satisfaction... Little did we know that this market was newly established in the business area. Wonder how it was before, but we understand why the market was in a such small scale in the first place… Rupanya Pasar Tamu ni macam pasar pagi kat rumah aku di Dengkil! ahahahhahaha.

Pasar Semporna

Nevertheless, we continue to venture to the market of Semporna for dried sea food.... What an adventure going through all the market section. From clothing, house items to wet market, it is like being in Marakesh, Asian version? I recommend you to come and venture. More to Rantau Panjang place but a little bit dust and litter….

Only when it comes to wet section, I feel like a million-worth tourist sesat, all the small children flocked us for some menial job on carrying our shopping bag! Heavenly! Some of the “potters” offered to carry them to our car…sedih juga, kerana buruh kanak-kanak ni gigih mencari uang di kala kanak-kanak lain masih di alam mereka…if I brought Dotter, dia mesti insaf punya!

Bukit Tengkorak
So after market, after the seafood lunch in one of the famous restaurant (a little bit pricier), we went sightseeing around the village and Taman Arkeologi Bukit Tengkorak. Drop Azah in the airport and went to the Hotel for some sleep. Drop the car to the owner for another takeoff…

My flight delayed again huhu!

So, what you are going to do in Tawau if island hopping is not your cup of tea?

Rent a car and start venturing out from Tawau town. I recommend you to visit the Ladang Koko and if you have ample time, please spend more time in Bukit Tengkorak and Kampung Air, just to get the sea people vibe! Superb!

Tawau-Kunak-Semporna (Part I)

My housemate decided to invite me to Sabah for some meeting on her work. Knowing i need to have some weekend getaway far from the peninsular Malaysia, why not?

Booked the cheapest return air ticket, not really, cost me almost like RM400++ on last minute basis, oh my, i had to splurge a bit for this one. Only regret it later cause I can skip this one and plan later.

Never mind, the cost over the unexpected returns and intangible pleasure would might do some justice. We gonna have a blast exploring the most outer town from KL City Centre, with the expectation of boring, no night life whatsoever, but surprising, it was another shocking discovery. Tawau is as vibrant as any town in Peninsular Malaysia, even more livelier to some of them.

Took a cab from the airport, since I had arrive earlier, 9.00 a.m. Checked into hotel, RM98 for a night, had a shower and unpacking, the usual stuff I did, and some nap. Driving all the way from Penang to LCCT the night before, oh my, it was a bliss finding myself in some secluded territory and the new journey would be another story.

The first meal when we had this chicken rice stuff for dinner. Surprisingly, the meal and the drinks were cheap, as what you can imagine available in other city. The time was a setback, all shop mostly close around 8.30 p.m, so better to venture out as early as 7.00 p.m, or else the fast food outlets might help a bit...

The first thing to do was to rent a car for sight seeing (a saga cost about RM100/day). After Azah finished her meeting, turned out that she and another colleague of mine was in the town. The first destination was Kunak, some 99 kilometres from Tawau. Since housemate needed to see what Kunak like after her sister left it for good, 10 years back, some pictures for her behalf might help to refresh some memories kan?

Along the road, the land mostly are filled with massive oil palm plantations, privately owned by the local and you can see the lorries transporting the harvest to the nearest factory. The road however does not really look in good condition, with pot holes and bump, which favourable to pick up trucks and 4wds. Of course, to make it interesting, some potong-memotong (we are so efficient!) would help us to reach Kunak just in time (approximately one hour).

Around 3 pm, the first stop was Kunak Fishing Jetty, situated just next to the town centre. Clear sea water down the jetty, school of fish swimming lazily and the sea smell is what you can expect from a typical small fishing village.

After some late lunch and sight seeing, we decided to leave the small town back to Tawau, another 99 kilometres of journey. Time to get some rest for tomorrow outing - Semporna.

(to be continued).