Desaru

Dear Nunu,

I didn't go somewhere very far away. Just across the causeway, the country where you live in! I liked Desaru but I hated the sea and the sand and the swimming pool! As usual, I was very well-behaved, like I have always been each time we're on a holiday. But I refused to comply when my parents wanted me to get into the swimming pool. I simply refused. Not only that, I didn't even allow Ayah to swim! Other than that, everything else was great.

We went to Desaru by ferry because my parents couldn't be bothered to drive and they thought it was good for me to try different modes of transportation.It's faster by ferry, anyway. You board the ferry at Changi Ferry Terminal and it takes only 25 mins to reach Tg Belungkor (SGD22 per adult, SGD17 per child). From Tg Belungkor, we travelled for 30 minutes to the hotel. My parents had to arrange for the hotel people to pick us up from the ferry terminal as believe it or not, Desaru has only two registered taxis and you have to book them in advance!


The smelly ferry terminal. Ayah said it was the smell of the sea but I really hated the smell.


Aiyoh! So hot!!!



It was not a very big ferry but I think it can accommodate about 100 people. The lower deck was air-conditioned and a lot more comfortable than the upper deck.

On the way to the hotel, we saw lots and lots of these plantations, something which I have never seen in Singapore.


We stayed at the Pulai Desaru Resort and the moment we reached the hotel, I ran to the Kids' Room to check it out.

The room was big and there were 2 beds, a king sized bed and a single bed. There was a balcony and ours faced the playground. For an extra RM44 a night, you may get a room with a sea view but none was available when we were there. Emak kept complaining about the dirty carpet and the musty smell which the room seemed to emanate.

We spent the second day going on excursions which were organised by the hotel. We actually signed up for the Kampong Eco-tour, Fruit Farm tour and Fireflies tour but Emak got Ayah to cancel the Fireflies tour because she said her maternal instincts prompted her to cancel it.HUH???

This was taken at a MaryBrown outlet in "town", where we were given 30 minutes to shop. There really was nothing to shop for and the weather was so hot we just had to seek refuge at an air-con place. "Buai laju laju.. aku nak kawin dengan anak raja..."
The fruit farm tour was really great. I got to try all sorts of fruits.
And I got to pluck leaves off trees!
Red banana. Have never tried one before.
We were told to pluck some of the leaves and smell them. The guide told us that some of these leaves have many kinds of benefit.

There were cute little goats there. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive to go near the goats but after a while, I gained courage and started chasing the goats around. Emak wanted to take a video of it but the battery of the camera went flat!



This pond had 1000 kois! Really hungry kois they were!

This box contained bees but most of them were in the box and only a few were flying outside of it.

We also visited a kampung and I got the chance to experience what kampung life is like.

They grow chilli in their backyard!

We had lunch there and...
I tried playing the kompang.

We spent the rest of the day and the whole morning of the next day lazing by the beach. I refused to step on the sand as I didn't like the feel of the sand so I contentedly sat on the deck chairs with my parents, just enjoying the breeze.




The following pictures are specially for Auntie Is.

It's going to be a long weekend and my Barbie luggage is out of the storeroom! My parents are taking me for a short getaway and we are going to relax and lepak by the sand, the sun and the South China Sea! Yay!

Day 0

The day we had been waiting for finally arrived. We left the house early as we had to meet the tour guide at 2:30pm although our flight was only at 4:55pm. My parents had booked a tour with Smailing Tours but for some reason, we were led by a Fahrur Razi representative. The reason why my parents decided to go with a tour group this time was because they didn't want to have to look around for halal food and language barrier was another reason. I was very excited about having my own luggage and refused to let anyone else touch it.

Click below to watch a short clip of me in action.



I was very well-behaved in the plane. I hardly cried and when I was bored, I either sucked my thumb or I just kept watching Hi-5! Although that was my 5th plane ride, it was a bit special as for the 1st time,I had my very own seat and didn't have to sit on Ayah's lap throughout the journey. One of the stewardesses gave me a pouch cum passport holder to play with but I didn't like it as I found it pretty ugly. Hehe. The next time I fly, I'm going to demand for a better looking toy. Haha! Hopefully Uncle Larry is the steward on duty the next time we fly then maybe I can get an extra portion of food too! Hehe!


We reached Beijing at about 10:30 pm and went straight to the hotel. By the time we reached the hotel, it was close to midnight. My parents thought I would fall asleep right away but they were wrong. I insisted on exploring the hotel room and had to be forced to sleep at about 1am. We stayed at the Rainbow Hotel and Ayah wasn't satisfied with the hotel. The hotel had an impressive lobby but everything else was just so-so. On the first night, we were given a room with two single beds and when we requested for one with a queen sized bed, we were told there was none available but we managed to get our tour agent to do the necessary the next morning.

Day 1 - Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

At about 6:30 am, I was forced to wake up, which meant that I only had about 5 hours of sleep that day. I struggled and retaliated but no one cared and I was dragged to the toilet. It was a cold morning so my parents made sure I was well-protected. I think the temperature for that day was about 0 degrees Celsius. That was the first time I had experienced cold weather but I liked it.

We set off at 8.00 am and what struck me was that all the tress in Beijing had no leaves! Ayah said that is what happens in winter. Also, all the rivers and lakes were frozen so when you look at a river, what you see is not water, but ice on what was once water surface!

We reached Tiananmen Square at about 8:30 am and the tour guide went on to explain to us the history behind Tiananmen Square. I am sure many people still remember the demonstrations held here in 1989 but I think I'm too young to understand it. I was happy just running around the place. It was really huge and cold! It was a very windy day and I felt like my face was going to freeze but I had great fun nonetheless.

Click below to catch me in action at Tiananmen Square.

From Tiananmen Square, we walked to the Forbidden City which was across the road. Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City are linked by an underpass. The other name for Forbidden City is Imperial Palace Museum and this palace served as the residence of several emperors for nearly 500 years. During the glory days of the Ming and Qing dynasties, only members of the imperial household roamed the palace. Commoners were not allowed in the palace at all (except for palace servants and workers) - hence the term Forbidden City! Today, it is one of the world's foremost museums of Chinese art. The Imperial Palace is one really HUGE place boasting 800 buildings with 8,886 rooms!
One of the gardens in the Forbidden City.


The frozen moat.