Archive for 09/12/2015

Dec

Malaysian Tourism Hunt 2015 Part I

Written by Rano Iskandar. Posted in News, RA News

Exploring Malaysia

Guess what? I won first place for the Best Photo for the ASEAN Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015 and my team mate Faiq Airudin came 2nd while Johor Kaki came third in the competition. I won myself a new Samsung S6 Edge and now it has become my camera phone 😀

RA’s travel log. The much awaited post of my travels during the ASEAN Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015 back in October. I’ve been wanting to post this but waiting for the right time. But for those who have been following me on my social media platforms (Instragram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat), it won’t be a spoiler for you on the course of our journey during the ASEAN Media Bloggers Tourism Hunt 2015.

I shall post on different sections of the journey during my trips on certain locations. The locations that I wanna highlight are Port Dickson and Malacca. I’ve not been to PD for a very, very long time. I was still a little kid then and I couldn’t recollect how it looked back then. One of the tasks that we had to do as part of the Tourism Hunt was at the PD Ostrich Farm. Oh, before I proceed, my double partner for the Tourism Hunt was Faiq Airudin of The Brunei Times while the other Bruneian team was Aziz Idris and Pg Fairol.

So at the PD Ostrich Farm, we were given three tasks 1) to feed the ostrich 2) to catch an ostrich egg in a compound full of ostriches 3) to catch a goose in a given specific time (5 minutes). I knew this was gonna slightly easy but I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of catching the geese as they could get feisty. If both of us managed to grab the geese in less than 2 minutes, full marks will be granted and we clocked it below one minute. The fastest group achieved it in 15 seconds. I couldn’t remember which team.

The tasks were achievable and I believed almost all the teams had full marks with the exception of those who had troubled containing the geese *lol* We were treated to an exquisite lunch meal at the PD Ostrich Farm and even tasted the ostrich omelette and satay. If you want to be adventurous, then go for the ostrich burger 😀

There are many things you can do at the PD Ostrich Farm such as riding the ostrich and even race against the ostrich which some of our friends did. So if you happen to be at Port Dickson, I highly recommend the PD Ostrich Farm and kids will definitely enjoy this.

This was my winning shot taken during the ostrich race at the PD Ostrich Farm

I was actually hoping this shot won the competition but the image above was selected

Team Sarah and Running Suplado in action to catch the geese. Were they successful? Yes, but they lost points due to exceeding the time limit

We did it in less than a minute. I fell down and had a small cut on my leg though 😀

Singapore columnist had the privilege to order an ostrich burger

Another place of interest is at the Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park Melaka. It’s an hour’s drive from Port Dickson and a few kilometres outside Melaka, near the town of Ayer Keroh. I kinda like this area because it’s educational and imagine it like a one-stop centre to learn the different cultures of Malaysia. They have some cultural performances and you will have to check on the timings and they will capped off the cultural show with the Tourism Malaysia music theme.

They have dozen of huts to represent the different states in Malaysia and each hut will have a specific cultural theme. We had the privilege to try out batik painting and even playing “Gasing”. To me, I have always wanted to play the real “gasing” and this takes a lot of practice and concentration. It may look easy but once you master the basics, it will be a breeze indeed. Faiq was the best among the group and he executed every attempt to perfection. Awesome!! Yes, my team had full marks for gassing but not so much on Batik Painting and Coconut crating *lol*

So do google on Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park Melaka. A place I would pay a visit next time since I didn’t have the chance to visit other huts. You can visit the website for more details or contact +606-234 9988/234 9989.

The cultural show at the Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park Melaka

Rochelle had good points on her Batik Painting

This was the effort of Faiq and I but we only had half marks

Aziz Idris blowing the top so it will spin more *lol*

Crating the whites of the coconut ain’t easy. We lost some points here.

I want to visit the different huts on my next visit

Next up was the tasks given at Jonker Street of Melaka and the Muzium Samudera. Honestly, I love to walk down Jonker Street and the little streets around the area. There are simply many interesting eateries out there and let alone they are super affordable when comparing with the Brunei currency. I’ve been to Melaka or Malacca a few times already in the past few years. It’s very lively in the evening by the Melaka River and you will easily spot neon-powered rickshaws with built-in sound system (don’t play-play oh).

It was the first time I stayed at Swiss-Garden Hotel & Residences in Malacca. This hotel is quite new and I quite enjoyed my two night stay at the hotel. It’s spacious and it has a great modern to feel it too. The good news is that I won myself a voucher for my future stay at the hotel. Woohoo!! Next to the hotel/apartment is the new shopping mall called The Shore Shopping Gallery. You will notice big names such as Nandos, Chatime, Sakae Sushi and Tangs to name a few. For families, you can bring your kids to bring them to Oceanarium.

One of the eateries that I would recommend is the Melaka Nyonya Village. They have awesome local food and even a cultural show to showcase the culture of the Baba Nyonya. Ah, I already miss Melaka and no denying that Meleka has one of the best eateries in Malaysia.