Fashionista's Escapades: Colmar Tropicale

A few days ago we decided to visit Colmar Tropicale, a tourist spot in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang which was built based on a village in France, called Colmar. Colmar Tropicale is about an hour's drive away from Kuala Lumpur (or about 53 km from where I stay) so we decided to just make it into a day trip instead of an overnight trip. 

And here's a photoblog of our trip:

About 10 km of windy road after you leave the Karak Highway.

We're almost there! We were charged RM13 per adult and RM8 per child for the entrance fee to the resort (although Alexa's fee was waived because I guess she's too small). However, parking is free.

I love the medieval feel that Colmar is projecting. Lucky for us, there weren't that many tourists when we arrived in the afternoon. 

The town square. In terms of temperature, as the resort lies on high ground, the weather is cool and breezy, definitely perfect weather for an afternoon stroll. The ground floors are filled with business establishments, mainly consisting of restaurants and a couple of souvenir shops while the upper floors are hotel rooms for guests.

The resort is definitely picturesque.

Christmas tree. 

Water fountain.

Beautiful blue sky. I kind of regretted not bringing some overnight clothes. It would have been nice to spend the night here. 

I don't have much knowledge on French architecture, but these look pretty French to me =). Anyways, this trip kinda inspired me to visit the actual village in France someday. 

Us. And Alexa, if you're reading this someday, this is one of the best poses of you that I had on camera. 

One of my highlights of the trip (and I hope Alexa's feeling the same way as I do) is that I get to introduce Alexa to swans. Colmar Tropicale have two pairs of swans, one white pair and another black pair. 

Alexa was like, "Hello swan."

There are several attractions nearby Colmar Tropicale. Other than the resort itself, there's an Adventure Park which offers wall climbing, hanging canopy bridge, and flying fox activities. Besides that, there's a Japanese Garden, a horse riding area, golf club and jungle trekking for the hotel guests. As it was quite late in the afternoon, we only had time for the Japanese Garden before leaving for Kuala Lumpur.

The Malaysia that I love. Green trees, blue sky, hills and mountains. 

Moss covered grounds at the Japanese Garden.

A small stream and some koi fishes.

Yes, the sun was shining, but it wasn't that hot. The air was cool and breezy. 

Tatami hut.

Zen.

The Tatami Hut up close.

Alexa even managed to see a monkey at the Japanese Garden (monkeys are her current favorite animal) which was pretty cool. 

There is an establishment at the Japanese Garden that offers kimono rental for RM20 per person for those who are interested. They have several staffs who'll help you put on the kimono and take photos around the garden. There are kimonos in all sizes, even for kids =). Don't worry, there are no entrance fees for the Japanese Garden. 

I must say that Colmar Tropicale is smaller than I expected. Food wise, I must say that the pizza that we had there was absolutely delicious and in terms of price, it was not too bad. I love the fact that there are a lot of attractions at the resort and we could have easily spent a whole day at the resort just to try out their activities. Inshaa Allah, maybe next time =).

If you're interested to visit the place, you may want to check out their website [here].


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Bukit Gasing

So two days ago we decided to take advantage of all the free time that we have now that the exams are over to roam about in the city and try to experience the different things that the city (Kuala Lumpur - Petaling Jaya area) has to offer. And we had so much fun climbing Broga the other day (you can read about Broga [here]) that we decided to try and climb another hill this time, one that is definitely closer to the university, Bukit Gasing. 

Bukit Gasing is located at Jalan Gasing, and I am not that well versed with the roads in Petaling Jaya to show you how to get there but here's a blog that has the directions on how to get there (click [here]).

Here's a photoblog of the trip:

Map of Bukit Gasing at the front of the entrance.

The hikers representing their various countries (in alphabetical order): Brunei, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Singapore. 

And the hike begins!

We walked on a paved road for about 50 meters.

Some obstacles along the way.

The hiking part (i.e. climbing up) was maybe about 200 - 300 meters.

The reason for the hike starting at 10 am is because unlike Broga, Bukit Gasing is very shady, thus the hot sun will not affect your hike as much.

After about 40 minutes, we reached the top =). There's several hiking paths that you can take at Bukit Gasing and one of them is to the telecommunications tower.

There's a wide clearing on top of Bukit Gasing, where the telecommunications tower is located.

The view from the top. As always, this is my favourite part of any hike =).

10 minutes later, we started to descend down the hill. 

At some point, we decided to try and reach the watchtower, which is at another part of the hill.

The path is slightly different from our first path to the telecommunications tower. This one had more steps (i.e. proper stairs).

The route to the watchtower is definitely shorter than the one leading to the telecommunications tower. I'd say that the hiking part for the watchtower is perhaps only about 150 meters. Although I must admit this climb is harder for me because I think my energy levels were low after the first climb to the telecommunications tower.

The view from the top =).

We were able to see the telecommunications tower clearly from here.

The watchtower is quite dilapidated so it's definitely not advisable to try going up the watchtower.

It's always feels good to reach the top.

Along the way, you might find some ferns.

And a small stream.

And some spiky palm trees.

Forest flower and insects.

So nope, we did not take the watchtower back with us =).

So we completed the hike to the two hill tops (i.e. the telecommunications tower and the watch tower) in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Alhamdulillah!

Now, the question is, should you try Bukit Gasing?

I'd definitely recommend Bukit Gasing to nature enthusiasts and hikers and even those who'd just like some quiet time outside the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur. The hike is pretty short (definitely shorter than Broga) and the trail is pretty okay (i.e. there's a clear pathway so you definitely know the direction to where you are heading to). And although there are some blogs which had reported on mosquitoes, we didn't find any during our hike, but we did lather some mosquito cream on ourselves before the hike.

Cheers!


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Travels: Perhentian Island

Last August, me and my friend Nihal went off to Perhentian Islands for a weekend getaway post our short-semester exams. I've heard so much about Perhentian Islands, my friend Imelda visits the island almost every year so I've always had a hankering to go and visit the islands myself. Perhentian Islands or Pulau Perhentian is made up of two islands, Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil, located off the coast from Terengganu.

Me and Nihal

Based on Imelda's recommendation, we booked our accommodations with Mrs Mazila of Anjung Holidays and selected to stay at Coral View Island Resort. As we wanted to make the most of the trip, we booked the first flight from KL to Kota Bahru, Kelantan (Kota Bahru airport is closer to Kuala Besut, where the jetty to Pulau Perhentian is located) and flew in from Subang Airport via Malindo Air and left on the last flight two days later.

Sunrise at 30,000 feet.

The flight took roughly about an hour and it was a smooth, pleasant flight. We had booked with the same travel agency for them to pick us up from the airport and true enough, as soon as we arrived, we were whisked by the driver to Kuala Besut Jetty.

An aerial view of Kota Bahru, Kelantan as the plane was preparing to landing at the airport.

The drive from the airport to the jetty took roughly about an hour and we dozed off almost all the way to the jetty.

Kuala Besut Jetty

We arrived at the jetty at about 9 am and was welcomed by Mrs Mazila herself. She was very efficient at checking us in and allowed us a few minutes of strolling around the jetty (for souvenirs or trinkets) before calling us to say that the boat is ready.

Passenger boats leaving for various islands off the coast of Terengganu. 

We shared the boat with a group of students (by looking at the size of the crowd, I assume they must be going on a field trip) and the boat ride was rather bumpy (the speedboat was fast and the seas were slightly rough). It took about an hour or so for us to reach Perhentian Besar.

Teluk Dalam

The driver made a short stop at Teluk Dalam to dispense off the students before carrying on to Tanjung Genting, to where we were staying. To tell you the truth, when arriving at Teluk Dalam, I was so excited to see the clear green vibrant hue of the water that I wanted to jump off the boat there and then. Anyhow, they say patience is a virtue so I stayed put in the boat.

Turtle alert!

And I am glad I stayed put. As soon as we left Teluk Dalam the driver alerted us on a turtle that was swimming right next to the boat. Truth be told, that was my first time seeing a turtle swim in its natural habitat and let me tell you something, turtles are very, very fast swimmers! We could only catch a glimpse of the turtle for a minute or two before it swam off into the deep sea.

The mosque at Perhentian Kecil

On our way to Tanjung Genting, I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful mosque at Perhentian Kecil. From what I've learnt, the majority of the locals (who are working as fishermen, boat drivers and at the various resorts around the islands) are staying at Perhentian Kecil and there's a primary school, mosque, police station and shops on the island, catering to the needs of the locals.

Tanjung Genting

There are various resorts around both Perhentian Besar and Perhentian Kecil, so basically it's a place that caters to everyone i.e. the ones with bigger budgets get to stay at better resorts and the ones with smaller budgets get to at BnBs (bed and breakfast motels). There are coconut trees everywhere and plenty of activities for everyone.

The view of the beach from Coral View Island Resort

Beautiful bright blue sky, pleasant breeze from the ocean and salty smell of the sea. What more can a girl want?

One of my favourite photos of the island

We took a stroll from Coral View Island Resort and after climbing a flight of stairs, we ended up at Perhentian Island Resort. It was almost sunset by then and we decided to enjoy the rest of the day watching the sun set into the horizon and enjoying the warm breeze of the ocean.

Jetty

This jetty is located right in front of Perhentian Island Resort and is mainly used to ferry passengers who are checking in to the resort or those who've checked out of the resort.

Going somewhere?

There's plenty of water taxi services available on the island so do feel free to roam around the island and visit the nearby islands as well. We went to Perhentian Kecil for only RM10 per person (return trip) and managed to explore the small village at the island. We also took an island hopping and snorkelling trip to Pulau Rawa the next day for RM60 per person. I'll put up another post on my snorkelling experience but before that, let me leave you with a teaser photo =).

Snorkelling

All in all we spent three days in Perhentian, the first day was our arrival where we arrived at the island at around noon. We spent the afternoon actually sleeping (because I had just finished submitting a major assignment the night before at midnight and then woke up at 4 am to catch our early morning flight (which was at 6 am from Subang airport). We woke up at around 5 pm and enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the beach and sunset. Unfortunately it rained on our first night in Perhentian so we weren't able to do much exploring. The second day we went snorkelling (left at around 8 am if I'm not mistaken) and enjoyed snorkelling at around 4 spots, Pulau Rawa, turtle cove, the lighthouse, and shark point and came back to the resort at around noon. It rained in the afternoon so we ended up enjoying some downtime in our chalet reading the books that we brought with us. On the third day we decided to go for a bit of a swim in the morning before packing up our bags and leaving the island.

Getting ready to head back home

So, the verdict? If given a chance, I would love to go back to Perhentian Islands and enjoy some quiet me-time. But there are plenty of other islands in Malaysia that I haven't been to as well =).

However, my word of advice, do check the weather forecast, rain could be a real downer on your vacation and you could end up cooped up in your chalet throughout the whole trip. In terms of cost, we paid RM265 per night for the chalet, RM30 per person for the shuttle from the airport and back, and RM60 per person for the snorkelling trip. Flight tickets, if I'm not mistaken, Subang - Kota Bahru was less than RM200 for a return trip with Malindo Air.

Not sure if you should bring your kids with you? Let me just say that there's loads of families with small children at Perhentian.

I'll share on our experience staying at Coral View Island Resort, the snorkelling trip and even of Perhentian Kecil in a separate post, inshaa Allah. For those who are interested in going to Pulau Perhentian, you may want to visit Anjung Holidays website [here]. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Review: Jumpstreet Asia

A few days ago me and my friend, Azima decided to try out the activities at Jumpstreet, Malaysia's first indoor trampoline park. It's basically a place with loads of trampolines where you can jump your worries away. I reckon since it's the exam week at Inceif (where I'm currently studying) might as well take advantage of burning the stress from studying all day by jumping at Jumpstreet. So anyways, we ended up going to Jumpstreet on Saturday night at 8 pm after spending the whole morning and afternoon studying at Inceif.

Wall art.

Jumpstreet is located in a factory building behind Bosch. If you are familiar with Jaya One at Jalan Universiti, Jumpstreet is located right behind Jaya One. However, it shares the same entrance as Bosch. Technically you can't see the building from the road but there'll be signage in front of Bosch indicating Jumpstreet is inside. 

The Main Court

The layout (for jumping activities) is divided into several sections/ areas: The Main Court, The Foam Pit, The Wall, Slam Dunk, Dodge Ball, Big Bag and The Cage. We got lucky on the night that we came; because there was an event happening at Jumpstreet from 7 pm until 10 pm, despite us booking for one hour (8 pm - 9 pm), we were allowed to use their facilities for until 10 pm. 

The Cage

The one thing that I liked about Jumpstreet is that it has a surau for prayers. That means that you can stop your activities at any time so that you can do your prayers. We arrived at 7.30 pm, settled our Maghrib prayers first before hopping off to the trampolines. Other than that, there's plenty of space for parents to hang around waiting for their kids to end their session. There's also a locker area for you to keep your valuables safe. 

Jumpstreet socks

We booked and paid online because it's cheaper. Online bookings are only charged at RM20 per session while walk-in customers have to pay RM22 (off-peak) or RM27 (peak hours). Besides the booking fee, we also need to get a set of socks that are specific for jumping on trampolines (they have rubber padding at the bottom). These socks are sold at RM5 each and you can reuse them everytime you come back for another visit. For locker rental, it's charged at RM4 for 2 hours. There's a longer rental period but I forgot how much it costs.

Jumping at the Main Court

This is kinda how the trampolines look like. There's various ways of jumping, either you can jump at the same spot, or jump from one spot to another or perform acrobatic tricks. What amazed me was that I started sweating profusely in less than 10 minutes of being there and it wasn't that difficult at all (the jumping I mean). However, there are several parts/ activities that I did not and could not partake in, simply because of my own inhibitions and insecurities (I was so afraid that I'd knock my head or something). 

Post jumping. I am amazed my head scarf stayed intact!

We stayed for about an hour or so before leaving at 9.15 pm. It was definitely an amazing experience. Even though I was scared doing some of the activities but I wouldn't rule out coming here again. I heard they have jump aerobics several times a week and I think I'll start with that inshaa Allah. 

If you're thinking about going to Jumpstreet, here's my advise: 

1. Wear the right kind of clothes (and no, my top is not the right kind of top), 

2. For those who are covering their head (like me) I suggest either you wear a scarf that is made of heavy material or tuck your scarf into the collar of your shirt or what I am going to do the next time is wear a turtleneck shirt, eliminating worry that I'd be showing my neck when I jump. 

3. Go to the toilet and empty your bladder (jumping with a full or semi-full bladder is a big no-no). 

4. Leave your inhibitions behind and have fun! If in doubt, ask one of their crew for advise on the jumping technique needed. 

Kids below 3 years old enter for free (if I am not mistaken). However, a parent has to pay for the entrance fee (for themselves). When we were there, there were plenty of kids running around and jumping, it was definitely a sight to behold. I wouldn't rule out bringing Alexa here someday.

I will definitely come again to Jumpstreet and try their aerobics session the next time =). For more information, feel free to visit their website [here].


xoxo Mrs Fashionista