RAWA ISLAND-- NEW GEM OF JOHORE (SOUTH MALAYSIA)

Rawa Island despite being less well-known than the neighboring Tioman Island, is breathtaking with its untouched nature and crystal-clear coral-adorning turquoise sea.

We went there in the mid of March, sea is calm and therefore perfect for snorkeling and other water sports. And not to mention perfect glorious sun for basking.

The pick-up boat waited us at Mersing jetty. Took a 20-minute boat ride and the picturesque scene unfolded.

  

Rawa Island greeted us in such breathtaking way. No matter how bad your mood was with the rough boat ride or long wait at the jetty, would get instantly lightened up.  

There were only 2 resorts available at Rawa Island. We stayed at Alng Rawa (I guess the color theme is Santorini BluexWhite) attap house.

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But if you can afford (something like RM1000/ night) you can stay at Rawa Resorts Seaview Bungalows in which you can enjoy the beautiful sunset at your own private balcony

We strolled along the beach, over the plank, we could see fish swimming in the crystal clear water.

Sunset was amazing as well. 

And there was the iconic Sea Slides which you would slide down, go through a few sharp turn and twist and ended being hurled into the sea with a big SPLASH! Kinda exciting actually.

What else to do on the island? 

Exploring the private beach

Canoeing

 

Read a book while basking in the sun

Enjoying the breeze with your love one

Make friend with the only dog on the island.

And of course go hiking. And enjoy the spectacular sea view atop.

Important tips before you hop onto the island:

1. You are not allowed to bring in liquors. But you can buy liquors from the bars.

2. The non-air-conditioned room can be very stuffy. You can book those with air-con

3. No free flow drinks provided. You need to buy your drink there.

4. Snorkeling gears, canoe, lifejacket are provided for free but you need to deposit RM50 for it.

5. Water pressure is quite low, and the water from the shower and tap are sea water. Still feel the stickiness on the skin after a thorough shower.

6. The sea slide are only for Rawa Resort guests but sometimes they might not stop next door guests using it.

Port Dickson -- a short escape from the bustling city

I'm sure most of the city dweller especially KLites feel tired with the bustling city. It comes to a point that you just need a break and get away from the hectic concrete city to a peaceful, slow-paced towns.

Fortunate enough, there are many choices on the escape list. Popular few includes Malacca city, Cameron Highland and Port Dickson as well.

This time I decided to go to Port Dickson after my first visit 5 years ago.

Indeed Port Dickson is a good choice in term of distance, convenience and money. Instead of taking the PLUS highway, it is much faster to get to Port Dickson by taking the road from Sepang passing by Lukut town . It only took me about 45 minutes  to get there and the best part is to save on your toll fees.

Port Dickson is never famous for the beautiful seas, I'm pretty sure many out there would agree. That's the reason no one ever snorkel there as well,
But if you are looking for a place just to swim or sunbathe, the beaches in Port Dickson can fulfill that aptly.

I have to warn that during the peak season (school holiday), the beaches especially at Teluk Kemang can be very crowded and noisy.

Seaside with a small areas of Mangrove swamp. The sea appeared murky.

However, if you can afford, it's better to stay in resorts like Avillion or Thistle which catered private beach that keep outsiders at bay.

But for a budget traveler like me, I would rather choose an affordable accommodation which is clean and has a nice pool.

Thus, I have checked in Paradise Spa Hotel. Besides the online reviews of new and clean rooms and good service which turned out to be as true, I was attracted by the so called INFINITY POOL which looked amazing in the photos on the webpage.

Honestly, I'm quite happy with Paradise Spa Hotel. First, at affordable price of less than RM200 per night for a double deluxe room inclusive of breakfast for 2, it was quite a good deal. Second, there are a pool and a basic gym. Third, the room is new, frontdesk service is good and provided ample car park.

One drawback was it is not exactly by the sea, you still need to walk at least 10 mins to get to the sandy beach. But for me, that was not a problem, since I preferred to have a swim in the pool and hang around the poolside reading a book. And the seaview, especially during sunset,  from the infinity pool is great.

The infinity pool with seaview

The Starbuck at Waterfront

Besides hanging around at the pool and in the room, another thing i like to do is to drive to the waterfront, get to the second floor of Starbuck (open air) enjoying the sea breeze and my coffee at the same time. Salty tang of sea, the sound of waves breaking on the rock, cool sea breeze and the aroma of good coffee are the greatest combined pleasure for me.




I would say Port Dickson is a great choice to have a short vacation either with family or friend when you have enough of city life. But if you want to enjoy better island vacation, there are other places like Pulau Redang or Pulau Langkawi are better choices.

金边 Phnom Penh

金边。Tonle Sap 河岸。
在金碧辉煌的王宫四周，
不需很刻意去寻找
民生的实况一一浮现

金边是个漂亮的地方，但不知当地人是否有一样的想法？

是否这一群必须放弃求学机会到夜市集满街叫卖“1 dollar...1 dollar" 的小孩们也有同样的想法？

看着上一代大喊独立和自由的口号
在想起国民黑暗不堪的过去

他们不幸的遭遇
种种残忍和不公平的对待

捆绑着无助的未来


相信每一个到访的游客

都会静静的反思
自己拥有了多少？
自己对这世界有多少的贡献？

The Kingdom of Angkor 吴哥崛王朝的后代

昔日的辉煌与文明智慧

目睹文化和信仰的改朝

一个抵过多次战争的摧毁
依然骄傲的屹立着
犹如根深的巨树

而后又默默的隐世，悄悄的匿迹。

埋在深山的残骨待世人挖掘

跨别五年的玻璃市

重游玻璃市这个小地方--让我重新认识他。
这里的大自然之美，让我更懂得欣赏和珍惜。
人需要在其他地方或其他国家走了一趟后，
回到以前觉得不起眼的小地方，
才真正仔细的看他的美
和他平凡得超然和动人的一面。        

Tasoh水坝的观景台

 观景台的喵咪忙着寻找下一餐

洞外有天的暗窿 

暗窿的木板桥在山洞内穿梭 

甘蔗园一望无际的翠绿

特别希望玻璃市，这个小地方的纯朴而美丽，能够永远不变，永远不被时间和人类侵蚀。

诗巫--马来西亚的另一面

还记得五年前，在长途巴士上遇到一个沙捞越中年男子，坐在我旁边。他很爱聊。他说了一句话让我影响深刻。

“ 我来过西马几次了，想走完西马旅游胜地，毕竟身为马来西亚人，应该体验本地的好风光。”

坐在旁边的我，有些惭愧。那时20岁的我，去过新加坡，去过泰国，去过香港却从来都没有去过东马。更不了解东马那地方长什么样子？



今年毕业后，我们几个，专程飞到东马探望同学，也顺便玩一玩。
我那个同学就住在诗巫。

诗巫 （SIBU）是沙捞越第三大城市。原本是个Melanau土著居住的河岸边，但后来中国华人渡洋而来，现今诗巫镇华人居多，连路边的路牌都有华译。

 
蜕变的天鹅--诗巫从一个小小的乡村演变成今天的城市。资源丰富，人民丰衣足食。

马来西亚最大的菜市场之一。底楼买一些蔬果，肉类还有活生生的蠕动的树虫。听店员说那虫可以烤来吃。顶楼则是买吃的。当然道地的美食都可以在顶楼早到。

我们在诗巫逗留的那几天，天空非常的蓝。在槟城和吉隆坡，蓝天是罕见的。诗巫人真的好幸福。

我喜欢市中心的老店。也喜欢夹在两家店中间的小巷。陈旧的建筑物见证了历史的每一页。
这让一排排老店更有纪念价值。

在这里，我看到了马来西亚最多元而又和谐的一面。东马在“一个大马”口好热潮前，已经静静的展现这一份西马人渴望的包容。包容宗教，文化，习俗，背景不同之处。




相辅相成。一切在于和谐。

这里基督教徒占多数，教堂也处处可见，一个比一个大，一个比一个美丽。本人并不是基督教徒，但走进这么美丽祥和的教堂，也跟着教徒们静静的坐在长凳上，看他们做礼拜，用心感觉那一份祥和。

想象中的诗巫是被浓密的热带雨林重重包围的小市镇。到了这里才发现我想象的诗巫已在数年前消逝了。剩下的石山公园和森林公园。在石山公园，爬了一会儿的小山丘就可以在顶端眺望诗巫市镇和周围的田园绿地。可是，感觉整个公园只有我们，可能诗巫人忙于工作并没有到大自然充电的闲暇。

森林公园比较多人会去哪里跑步运动。一步步脚步跑在用木搭起的跑道，边跑边欣赏两侧青葱的树林还有听着隐约的鸟鸣。回归大自然的感觉真的很棒！

可惜，我们跑到半途，下起雨来，我们只好倒退回去。

吃是华人的文化。这里的华人食物拥有浓浓的福州文化。
红醩面线，福州鱼丸，光饼等等。。。还有非常有特色的干盘，炒粿干。非常道地。

干盘跟槟城的干捞面有点相似但面条较粗，吃起来有点糊糊的。没有云吞只有叉烧。咸咸甜甜的黑酱油配搭面条的Q，味道不错。

炒粿干味道像西马可吃到的炒萝卜糕，不同的是粿干比较大块，比较硬。

鼎边糊的特色是在于它的煮法。用石磨磨出新鲜的米浆，倒入热锅，米浆很快的遇热而成片状。再配上清汤和其他配料包括黑木耳，手打鱼丸和猪肉片，口感清爽。

福州人的光饼。热腾腾的光饼，一口咬下去，酥酥的，还有满嘴的芝麻香。有些店卖的光饼是会配搭卤汁和猪肉片。这使光饼更有层次感。

诗巫是个节奏较慢的小市镇。主打悠闲，热爱大自然，也向西马推广和谐。希望以后再回到这里是，他依然如此纯朴和美丽。谢谢诗巫，让本人看到马来西亚的另一面。