Arfah's VirtualTourist Home Page

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During one of my visit to Bandung, Indonesia

Selamat Datang to all n Welcome

Hi there...GREETINGS FROM MALAYSIA!!!

Welcome to my page n thanks for dropping by.

I've travelled around my country...been to all the states we have here...Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan. Each of these states are unique in their own ways. It's a big lie if I say I've been to every single part of those states. However, one thing for sure I've been to those states must visit places and I'm always looking forward to explore every part of what the Malaysian states got to offer.

I wanted to build a page on my country Malaysia...but haven't got the opportunity yet. Till then, to all of you out there who wish to get information on my beautiful country feel free to check out www.tourism.gov.my (the official site for Malaysia Tourism Board) or www.virtualmalaysia.com.my (the official e-tourism portal for the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia).

I'm really looking forward to visit other countries as well...if I have the opportunity to do so. I've been to some of the neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Thailand. My next destination would be Australia...then perhaps New Zealand and later embark on a European trip. I really hope I'm always given good health n wealth...so I can travel more :)

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A water village in Pangkor Island

Some of the Malaysian islands

I love going to places especially where there are islands and beaches. I hope to to visit all cool Malaysian islands in the future and other great islands around the world.

In Malaysia, many of the amazing islands are located in the east coast...to be more exact in the state of Terengganu. In Terengganu itself you'll find 6 beautiful islands with crystal clear water and white sandy beaches. Amongst must visit are Perhentian Island, Perhential Kecil (the small Perhentian island where most foreign tourists are found due to its very laid back n close to nature style of living), Kapas Island, Redang Island, Lang Tengah Island, Gemia Island and Tenggol Island.

You'll also find beautiful islands in the state of Sabah...that's about 2 hours ++ by flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport. A few must visit islands are Sipadan (was nominated as one of the new 7 wonders of the nature, but didn't make it to the finalist), Mabul Island, Kapalai Island and Mataking Island. Islands in Sabah are famous for its amazing underwater species which attract many divers.

Another must visit is the Tioman Island, in the state of Pahang. This is another island mostly visited by many foreign tourists...due to its beautiful underwater species and also the crystal clear water. There're a few villages to choose from here such as Mukut Village, Nipah Village, Genting Village, Paya Village, Tekek Village, Air Batang Village, Salang Village and Juara Village. Check out my entry on Tioman Island for more information.

On the north of Malaysia, a few islands worth visited are the Pangkor Island in the state of Perak...where you'll found one of the country's high end vacation spot Pangkor Laut. Langkawi Island, located in the state of Kedah also on the north side of the country has it own charms...especially if you're planning to shop during your holiday. You can get dinnerware and table sets like Pyrex, Corning Ware, Corelle and Vision cookware here sold at half price of those in Kuala Lumpur. Once most of the shops compete with one another...now all of them sell more or less the same price...but still much cheaper. You'll find many locals here doing their dinnerware shopping.

Check out http://www.myoutdoor.com/ for more information on Malaysian islands and beaches.

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on our way to Phi Phi Island

A brief travel log

My interest in traveling began when my cousin Dar (also a VT member) took me to Perhentian Island (Perhentian Kecil, in Terengganu). I was so amazed with the crystal clear water, amazing underwater species and also the simple, no hassle and very laid back kinda living there. We went snorkeling, sunbathing, watched the sun set, lazily laid on the beach, swimming, enjoying the food there, meeting new friends from all over the world, exchanging stories with one another and other things. There's no need to worry about time...no need to wear shoes...no need to worry about traffic...we just walk or take the boats...no need to worry what to wear...a simple top with shorts or pareo and beach sandal was more than enough. All we did was to just enjoy ourselves exploring what the island has to offer.

Later, we went to Phuket. It was just a short trip...a week...was definitely not enough for everything. Whatever it is, it was a memorable trip after all. We managed to crammed many things to our itinerary...went to Patong Beach, Koh Phi Phi and Ao Nang in Krabi. Somewhere along the way we had a really good Thai body massage by the beach...the experience being massaged overlooking the beautiful Railey Beach...difficult to describe. All I can say...this is something I must do again in the future...maybe in a different beach.

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Sunset at Kuta Beach...

Ever since, I love traveling. Apart from traveling on my own/family/friends...I'm also blessed that my work took me to places. Mostly are domestic location but, I'm still lucky. My work has taken me to all the states in my country. It also took me to Brunei, one of our neighbour. I can't say much about Brunei, work trip tends to not really allow me to explore things. However, I had the chance to see the city of Brunei, its national park where we were taken on 'sampan' ride along this river with really crystal clear water that I could see all the stones and fishes in the water, stayed in the most expensive hotel there, met the friendly people of Brunei, saw the good looking Sultan's palace (up to the gate only...hahahaha), been to the country's majestic Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque (which has a gold dome on top of it), visited Brunei water village and saw their culture and ways of living and other things as well.

Indonesia is one of my favourite destination. Other than the currency exchange which is considered ok and affordable flights from Malaysia there are abundance of things to do here. The food is nice especially the Padang and Sundanese food. It's also a good place to shop or even just to wind up by relaxing at its vacation places. Been there a few times...and shall keep on going.

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At Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, Ubud

I'm lucky that hubby loves traveling too. Hearing so much about Bali, we chose the island as our honeymoon destination. We spent a few nights in Ubud and Kuta.

From Denpasar to Ubud it's only 35 km away...there's no highway and you'll noticed the road is quite busy...plus it's a two way street so the journey may take up to 1 hour. On the left and right side of the road there were plenty of
shops/galleries selling sculptures, fountain decor and also furniture. As we came closer to Ubud...there were many paintings galleries/shops along the road. It also felt as if we're going up a bit...Ubud is located slightly higher...about a few hundreds metres above sea level.

Before reaching Ubud town there were villages, temples and building along the way. All looked so unique. They were built with so much detail and remarkable architecture. We could see detailed carvings from the entrance to the roof and they like this quite tall entrance with really elaborated carvings on it...I think they call it Angkul-Angkul in Balinese.

Thanks to friends, family and VT for the travel guide we had a good trip to Bali. I'm also a big fan of the MATTA Fair (Malaysia Travel Fair). Quite a few times I got a good bargain here, but going to such fair we need to be extra careful...the terms and condition must be understood thoroughly and it's always best to go for a more establish travel agencies and most importantly those with licensed issued by the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia. A good friend suggested Ubud Village Resort and Spa...it's quite expensive...but with the help of our travel agent we got it for quite a reasonable price

I love Ubud Village Resort & Spa so much. The place look exactly like what I saw it on the website. The thing is pictures on the website most of the time tend to look very nice...but in reality they are not. Well, there're many other places far better than this resort in Ubud like Maya Ubud...but I supposed they're much expensive.

I love Ubud...it's a bit calm, green, look so ancient n mysterious. Due to limited time I only get to explore places near to Ubud town. Will definitely come back one day and the quite pricey villa...it's worth it (well I guess you don't really feel the 'itch' when you're not paying for it...hahahah).

Kuta on the other hand offered a totally different senario. There were more people in Kuta if compared to Ubud. Many more vehicles, more buildings and noisy too. There're a lot of restaurants here, clubs, cafes, shops selling surfing stuff, designer boutiques (which I'm not so sure whether they're original or not), street shopping places that sell almost the same things I found in Ubud and also tailors that claimed they can sew your clothes in a very short time. Walking in Kuta was fun as well, except alertness is much needed here since there were many people on the street...not to mention vehicles everywhere. The beach was ok...not so impressive though. I had a good time walking along the beach...looking out at the nice ocean view and watched sunset at Kuta beach.

The short visit to Bali was truly memorable...there are many more places there to be explored. Will probably do that next time.

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A date with the Merlion

Singapore, another of Malaysian neighbour laid to the south. A city centre really worth visiting. Filled with its own charms and won't fail to fascinate its visitors. I had a short trip to the Lion City...a very short one in fact, but as always...somehow I managed to crammed all the must do and must visit places of interest here. Traveling here is so easy...no hassle at all...I guess that's due to the fact that its not really big...but that's the beauty of it...in a short time I was able to see so many things in Singapore. Not to mention their public transportation system is really good...I travel to most places there via train...using the Singapore Travel Pass which I found very helpful. The people here is very fashionable too...I had fun seeing the Singaporeans, exploring their shopping heaven at Orchard Road, trying their food (though mostly are similar in my country - next trip will definitely try their famous chili crab), walking down streets of Singapore to check out The Esplanade, had a short date with the Merlion, meeting up with Sir Stamford Raffles statue by the river, seating lazily looking out at the beautiful view the Singapore river has to offer, checking out little India and others.

People say you'll become wiser when you travel more. I totally agree with that. The more we travel...the more we see...the more we experience...the more we encounter...some are predicted, some are not...some been planned while some may not...the more people we know along the way and other things as well that most of the time I found have brought a lot of joy to my life. In fact, just the thought of traveling never failed to make me smile.