The beautiful Kem Lambaian Danau

This camp belongs to my wife's uncle. It's located in Kg. Chinchin, Melaka, approximately 2.5 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. This place is secluded within a beautiful forest, natural lake and the Ledang mountain as the backdrop. We came here to fullfill Adam's dream to go for a camping. He wants to go fishing, erect his own tent and setting up a camp fire is the highlight of the whole trip because he has been asking us to set a camp fire for so long. We were so glad to see him so happy and had a wonderful time there. We were very lucky because we came during off-peak time, so we could have the whole camp site our own and of course the kids got a very special hospitality from their Atuks.

A picture that is worth......

I have a great story to tell about this photo which has a significant memory that me and my wife will remember it, maybe for the rest of our life...heheh...

We always hear that people say a picture is worth a thousand words but this one, it's quite memorable because it's not just worth a thousand words but it also worth Euro 40...hehe..It's not that I won it in any photography competition, believe it or not I had to pay that amount of money in order to capture this photo.

This photo is a scenery that I photographed during sunset on our way back from the magnificent Alhambra in Granada to our hotel in Torrox Costa, Malaga. I was driving on a long and quite highway at that time and saw this beautiful mountain lighted beautifully by the sunset that gives such a warm tone to the surrounding area. I was attracted to it and pulled over to photograph the scenery. I managed to get 3-4 shots and suddenly I was alerted by a loud honk from across the road and it was 3 policemen riding on their bike asking me to stop taking pictures and continue our journey back.

So I thought that was it. But no, no, no..a few minutes later suddenly I saw the same police riders from the rear view mirror riding so fast and flashing their lights. In a blink of an eye they already overtook us and waved me to stop. I was quite surprised really, firstly I thought when they first honked me from the other side of the highway, it was just a warning with no further consequences. Secondly, man! they were really fast to make a u-turn from the opposite side of the highway in order to "chase" us. If I'm not mistaken the nearest round about was quite a few miles back. I guess they were really, really wanted to catch me then...heheh...

After that, they came over to tell me that it was an offense to stop at the road side to take pictures. So as usual, I just said sorry and admitted my mistake...hehe...Then they issued me a summon that worth Euro 40! So that's the story why this picture is worth that much. Even though I was quite a bit upset that time to lose such amount of money but I think it's a great experience and moment that we will always remember by whenever we see this picture again..hehe..

P/s: Anyone wants to buy this picture? Say, Euro 40? =D

Posted from AidaFiqs iPad

The Special Birthday Celebration in Alhambra, Granada, SPAIN

It has been quite sometimes since I last updated this blog of mine. I've actually got quite a few long overdue posts in my list, just don't know when can I find the time to do them. Anyway, let me start with this very special entry first. I think this entry is gonna be quite long and probably a lot of pictures, so please bear with me.

January is always a special month for me because it's the birthday month of my lovely girls, my wife and my princess Mia. So, I planned a surprise birthday vacation for my wife. I think I started the plan about a month or two before her birthday, scouting some perfect locations to celebrate her birthday, searching the best packages and make bookings. Finally I decided to go to Andalusia, a perfect place to go during winter time.

Andalusia is a region in Southern of Spain which consists of a few cities/towns like Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Granada, Almeria and maybe a few more that I've forgotten. I think it's location is at the bottom tip of Europe before reaching to Africa. Therefore the weather is just perfect, sunny most of the time and moderate temperature, not too cold and not too hot especially during winter. We departed from London to Malaga and the flight took about 2.5 hours. Prior arriving to Malaga, I made an arrangement to book a car which was very convenient for us with 2 kids to move around while we were there. I think it is the best option if you go there with family, less hassle and you have the total freedom to manage your own time. I figured it would be difficult if we joined a tour because the kids won't be able to enjoy themselves due to the fact that normally tours are all prearranged and have schedule to follow. I just don't want us to disturb other people's plan and most importantly I want us especially the kids to have a great and memorable time that we spent together there.

Our hotel is Riu Ferrara Hotel and it's located in Torrox Costa, a seaside. It's about 45 minutes drive from the Malaga Airport. Since we went there right after the long Christmas and New Year holiday, so the place wasn't that busy, not so many tourists, which is great because we can have quite time to enjoy ourselves. We stayed in a 2 bedrooms self-catering apartment which I think is perfect for our family. We love the hotel, everything is just lovely, the facilities, the hospitality, the environment, the location that close to the beach and the quite and beautiful surrounding area. Oh, there are also lots of eating places, souvenir shops and other facilities like supermarkets, banks and petrol stations in that area. I think they are all walking distance. So on first day, we just spent our time in the hotel, the beach and the nearby area. So happy to see the kids having a great time at the beach.

Me and my kids having a wonderful time together at the beach. Yup, I made that sand castle for Adam. It took me ages to do it because because Adam kept crushing it down. My wife had to distract him playing with the water so that I could complete the sand castle. It was totally worth it because Adam loved it!

The second day was the highlight of the trip because it was my wife birthday and it was the day we went to one of our dream places, Alhambra. It's located in Granada and about 1.5 hours drive from our hotel. Alhambra literally means "the red one" if I'm not mistaken. This is because the material that was used to built the palace and the fortress is red. It's one of the major attractions in Spain and famous with its Islamic Architecture that was embedded in the design and decoration of most of the buildings in Alhambra especially the Palace of Nasrids.

This picture was taken inside The Palace of Charles V, The Roman Emperor. It was built and integrated in Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications after the Christians conquered the Andalusia region.

After that, we went to The Palace of Nasrids which is one of the main attractions in Alhambra. When we bought the entry tickets, we were given the time to enter this palace. This is because only a certain number of visitors can go inside the palace at a time. So you have to come at your given time and if you missed it, you might not be able to go inside which is a really, really big waste because you're gonna regret to miss something historical and so beautiful.

The picture on the left I think is a typical picture that people will take when they come here or search about Alhambra from the internet.

It looks majestic...

Islamic art is beautifully integrated in every design of the building in Alhambra.

The pool in Alhambra complex

The view of Albaycin of Granada from Alhambra.

Visiting Alhambra was a wonderful experience for all of us. Like my wife said, it is a place unlike any others that we have been before, it's unique and truly magnificent. An experience that we never forget. So we went back to hotel with a very satisfied heart and I was glad to see my wife enjoying her time there on her birthday.

Originally the plan was on the next day I wanted to bring my wife to Cordoba, another historical place which famous with its Islamic influence architecture. If I'm not mistaken it has a Cathedral-Mosque which is known as Mezquita. Initially, it was a church, then it became the Great Mosque of Cordoba during Muslim era in Andalusia before it was converted back to a church until now. However, Cordoba is quite far away from our hotel and takes more than 2 hours to drive. The kids were already tired and we thought the long drive to and back is just too much for the kids especially like Adam and Mia who hardly stay still..hehe.. so we decided to just stay and spend our time to relax and rest in the hotel and the beach. After that, we took the opportunity to go to the city centre of Malaga and of course I also brought them to La Rosaleda, the home ground of Malaga Football Club..hehe..

Whenever we have the opportunity to go to a place where we have never been before, we always love to try the local food, just to experience something different and new. We were lucky because there are loads of restaurants near our hotel. I think seafood is quite famous in Spain and they are relatively cheap. Our favourite is the bottom right dish called seafood "paella" and it's Spain's national dish. It's delicious and Mia loved it very much!

So I guess, that's it our memorable family vacation to the world of Andalusia, particularly Alhambra to celebrate my lovely wife's birthday. Hope she had a great time there, I certainly had and hopefully one day we can come back here again.

Finally, the picture of the gorgeous sunset near our hotel.

Day Trip to Cambridge, UK

This is actually a long overdue entry. I have been quite busy lately, yeah who's not right? Hehe.

We went to Cambridge about 2-3 weeks ago to bring my sister in law Aishah for a day trip. It's not that far from London, approximately 1 hour journey by train from King Cross train station. For a day return ticket, it costs GBP 20 which is quite reasonable I guess.

The city centre of Cambridge.

The market right in the city centre.

A lot of handmade stuffs in this market.

A memorable family portrait in front King's College.

Someone was sulking because he didn't get something that he wanted..hehe..

Whenever people hear Cambridge, UK, they will associate it with a highly prestigious academic institution, which is the common perception. Same goes whenever you meet someone and he or she tells you that he/she is a Cambridge University graduate, your first expression is always, "wow!", this person must be really, really smart. Cambridge is actually a university town, which consists of quite a number of colleges, if I'm not mistaken about 33 colleges and the famous and top ranked ones are Trinity College, King's College and St. John College. These colleges are actually self-governing and independent. This means that if you were trying to apply to Cambridge University, you have to decide which college that you are actually interested in and your application will be handled by that particular college including all the entry interviews and examinations. They have quite stringent entry requirements especially for those 3 top colleges like Trinity, King's and St. John. Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin were among the famous students of Cambridge University.

The grand entrance of King's College, University of Cambridge.

This is the inside view of King's College.

A chapel inside King's College.

OK, enough with the history, Cambridge for me is a beautiful place to visit. It also famous with punting. Punt is actually a flat-bottomed wooden boat and designed for use in small and shallow river. Besides Cambridge, punting is also famous in Oxford. I have been to Cambridge 3 times and tried punting once. If I'm not mistaken, for a guided punting tour it costs less than GBP 15 for about 1 hour ride and there's also a student discount. There are quite a number of companies which offer punting service and the price are almost the same. Most of these guys are local people and some of them are the students of Cambridge and they know the local history very well. The whole punting journey is a great experience and very interesting one. The scenery along the river is just gorgeous.

The famous river punting in Cambridge.

On a bridge across the river where a lot of people do punting.

You can also visit the colleges especially King's, Trinity and St. John college with a small amount of fees which vary for each college. I think the experience to visit these famous colleges is totally worth with what you pay especially for those who love architecture and history.

A walk to remember...

Adam's excitement..

I think spring and summer (between April-August) are the best time to come to Cambridge because the flowers, the clear blue sky and the sunshine make it even more beautiful. Plus, day time is longer during this period of time so you will have plenty of time to spend to enjoy the beauty and history of Cambridge.

Hope you enjoy these pictures that I took during my recent visit to Cambridge. I'm afraid that these pictures do not do justice because Cambridge is actually a lot more beautiful than those pictures, you have to go there and experience it yourself =). Now I sound like someone who lives in Cambridge or maybe work for Cambridge tourism agency..hahaha..

Day Trip to Greenwich

I'm sure most people would know that Greenwich is best known for its maritime history because of its location near the Thames River and also the Greenwich Prime Meridian where the zero longitude line is and Greenwich Mean Time (zero time zone). So that's pretty much it that I know of and last weekend we went there for the very first time. We went out quite early in the morning to avoid large crowd and we decided to take river cruise from Westminster to Greenwich instead of tube underground and train. Even though it takes slightly longer travelling time but we really enjoyed the view along the way accompanied by an interesting live commentary by the boat crew.

The return boat ticket is not that expensive, it was about GBP12.5 if I'm not mistaken. There's also a hop on hop off type of ticket where you can actually get down at any stations along the way like at Tower Bridge and then take the next boat to the next destination. Generally, the boat ride was smooth and comfortable, not too fast not too slow. Just nice for you to enjoy the riverside view and to take pictures of the London main attractions that the boat passed by like London Eye, London Bridge, Millenium Bridge, Tower Bridge, Big Ben etc.

When we boarded the boat the weather was quite cloudy and gloomy, a typical English weather. But then when we arrived at Greenwich we were lucky because suddenly the sun came out shinning.

We first visited the Old Royal Naval College. There's a big park right in front of this Naval College and it look so beautiful in Autumn. We spent sometimes there where Adam was busy chasing birds and squirrel.

Then we wanted to go straight to the Royal Observatory Greenwich which located on a hill right in the Greenwich Park. Along the way, we walked pass through quite a lovely scenery, aesthetic building, beautiful park and the Maritime Museum.

Went up the hill was quite a challenge for us because we were carrying 2 kids..hehe..When we were there the view was just absolutely breathtaking! Visitors actually don't have to pay anything to go inside the Royal Observatory Centre. This is where you will find the zero longitude line and there's also a small astronomy museum where you could see various telescope collections.

After spending some times there, we went down to a park at the foot hill before heading to the nearby town to have our late lunch. We went back around 4-ish pm because it's getting dark. Yup, it's dark pretty quick during winter time. The last boat leaves at 5.25 pm and we managed to catch the one before and the night view along the Thames River was just gorgeous.