Langkawi with MDV

Berjalan je!

We were in Langkawi the other day for MDV’s Company Trip. Despite the absence of a maid that we try not to think of, we made our way to join this preplanned trip and it was worth it (I guess).

Terlalu manja dengan cuaca sejuk bila bercuti (poyo belaka!), we literally struggled with the heat. We made our way on to start the trip on Friday 15 Nov at 0600hrs to KLIA! Kena berkumpul there at 0645hrs. Check in, breakfast and 2 hours later we’re on board MAS’ flight to Langkawi. As we arrived we were brought around the ‘town’ center before making a quick stop at Billion to window (yeah right) shop. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant before heading back to the hotel.

Checking in was a zippy! It was quick and easy just as we wanted. We were tired so were the kids. Yeahlah, have to become domestic helper without maid around, definitely tiring!

That night we were feast with a themed dinner, it was pirates night! Cool huh? But not everyone was dressed for the party, we weren’t but Faleeq was.. Unfortunate for everyone, it rained. So the dinner @ the poolside had to be moved to the coffee house.. It was a loss.. It would’ve been a wonderful dinner should it didn’t rain.. Faleeq got consolation prize for his costume.. yeyy!!

Our SECOND DAY was filled with snorkeling activity. We took a ferry chartered for the whole group to Papar Island which was totally natural all around. The coral was out of this world, waaaaaaay better than the ones in KK! The colorful fishes made me wanted to just float and watch them. Faleeq was reluctant to go down into the waters at first, it took him sometime but after few pushes, shouts and encouragements he was in.. We can literally feed the fishes out of our hands! By the end of the day, we made our way back to the hotel simple and plain tired.. A dinner at the coffee house closed the day before we turn in..

THIRD DAY was filled with shopping galore! The day started at noon where we went swimming at the pool after breakfast. Started the ‘tour’ to Haji Ismail Group (HIG) that now have their own shopping mall… Seriously! But personally I’d rather shop at Kuah for its choices. Here you have HIG grand outlet and nothing else except for some not-so-interesting outlets. Today we had lunch at this wonderful seafood restaurant by the beach which was really good.. I guess everyone was still tired from the snorkeling so most of us just stayed in the bus and slept (including me!).. Went in HIG Mall then out back to the bus for a shut eye.. We were sent back to the hotel at around 5pm where Faleeq went for a splash at the pool.. Mind you, the infinity pool is so huge and beautiful that I decided to go for a splash myself.. Dinner was at Chenang Beach where we strolled along the Chenang Beach drive that has lotsa outlets for you to shop.. They even have a Chenang Mall that didn’t really interest us..

We had to bid Langkawi farewell on Monday.. After breakfast we headed to the airport around 1000hrs for a 1225hrs flight to KLIA.. Tired but quite happy, we went home to where the heart is.. 

Aur Revoir Paris

Yes.. after a wonderful 5-day in Paris we had to bid her goodbye..

Our flight was at 1150hrs from CDG to KLIA. So we took off from the hotel via cab to CDG after breakfast. The cab journey cost us €50 which was quite reasonable.

As we arrived (NOTE THIS FOR FUTURE TRAVELLERS), we immediately went to make our tax clearance. VAT is refundable at their tax counter and we managed to get refund around €300 from all the shopping we did. NO its not a fixed amount of refund, the percentage would vary from one outlet to another.

VAT refund took us almost 1 hour to clear and the check-in took another hour. Then we had to rush (literally) for customs check and once we’re in the terminal it was a matter of time for us to board the plane. What we didn’t know is that the security clearance to board the flight took us so long! I had to take off my belt and shoes and had to take out everything from our hand luggage for them to allow us to board.

By the time we were cleared, it was a mere 20 minutes before take-off time. And that’s not early! That is considered late! So take note of the long security que and checks and be there very early so you don’t rush..

Throughout the journey on board, Fareez behaved himself. Alhamdulillah. He slept most of the time and Faleeq seems to be able to manage his tiredness well. DON’T ASK FOR KID’S MEAL coz its sucks! Get an adult meal for your kids if you’re flying MAS like we did. 

We arrived in KLIA around 0600hrs which was earlier than we thought. And Faleeq still have jetlag after a week arriving in KL. He still wakes up at 0400hrs wide awake for school while the parents just doze off securing precious sleep time. And yes, we went to work immediately the next day.

This is how the kids looked all dressed up in warm clothings - 

Paris – we will be back. You’ve always been wonderful and welcoming. 

Fifth Day of Paris

Our FIFTH day in Paris was filled with shopping galore!

We made our way to la Vallee Village via RER from Paris Central. The RER station to look out for is Val d’Europe from Charles de Gaulle Etoile. La Vallee Village actually has its own shopping complex however the known premium outlet is an outdoor stretch of various brands shops.

Some of the names that caught our time were Kickers, Ralph Lauren, Timberland, MK and Ferragamo. We didn’t buy much, only a couple pairs of tees for the kids and Coach sunglasses for Elliz. We also bought a few Longchamp handbags that were requested by friends..

From there on we made another shopping stop at Galleries la Fayette so that MIL would feel satisfied with her own shopping. Us? We just browsed and wait..

 

That’s all folks! Yes! Nothing much to say as I don’t feel shopping as a priority in our trip. We didn't even take much photos.   

Fourth Day @ Paris

FOURTH DAY – another day of HOHO. FYI we bought 2 days 2 nights worth of HOHO which includes a night water tour via the ever famous Seine River.

We took off from the hotel via Metro to Trocadero where the Palaise de Chaillot is located. From there the Eiffel Tower is almost a grasp away. It’s a straight flat view of Eiffel where I am thinking most movies are filmed. This is where you can pose yourself with the Eiffel as if it is standing right besides you. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to go!

We continued our second day of HOHO and this time without the rushing. And this time we stopped at the Musee de Louvre where the infamous Monalisa portrait is displayed. But NO we did not go in to view. As usual we enjoyed the view and snapped a few (dozens!) photos with the Louvre Pyramide. FYI this is where Apple’s first outlet was opened.. YES! It is here.. From there on its continuation of the HOHO route before we headed back to Eiffel Tower for our night Seine cruise.

Before heading off to Eiffel for our cruise, we managed to squeeze a stop @ Galleries la Fayette BUT UNFORTUNATELY EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays! Blurgh! Should have read about this when I browsed through the info of Paris.. So we went to HRC Paris instead to buy a few tees before making our move. It was raining and we had to run like hell to the nearest Metro station i.e. Saint Lazare.

  

Eiffel is just wonderful at night! They have lights display every few minutes where it is shun with colorful lights making it just breathless. Faleeq till now says that he misses the Eiffel and would like to go again. Even Elliz’s nephew said the same thing. I just don’t understand why people would prefer to shop rather than enjoy the view. I mean, that’s the purpose of being in Paris anyways.

Personally if you intend to take the night cruise, do if BEFORE you go on the HOHO. Or you will end up like me, bored to death. Its merely because you will see basically the same thing that you saw via HOHO only at a more limited angle. Via HOHO the view is more satisfactory and fulfilling. So TAKE THE CRUISE THEN HOHO.. take my advice..

As we walk from the RER station towards Eiffel, I saw the hotel that we stayed back in 1996. It was then Hotel Eiffel but not sure what its called now. Paris has always been wonderful to me.. 

Third Day of Paris

We climbed up the top deck of Eiffel Tower on our third day. That’s how we started our day. Breakfast at the hotel was convenient. All bakery items so it doesn’t raise any question. PLEASE BUY YOUR TICKET PRIOR TO YOUR TRIP! Cause that’s what we did. So didn’t have to que like the others and we didn’t have to wait. The que to buy the ticket is freaking long! I’m guessing you can easily waste few hours just to get a ticket. There’re lots of websites (official and unofficial) that sells tickets up to Eiffel Tower. From there we can see Grand Palais, Trocadero and even Notre Dame! The view is just breathtaking. Some think that its not worth the money but to me since you’re in Paris why not you climb the premier spot of all?

We took the Metro to Franklin D. Roosevelt station where Champ Ellysees is just a walking distance away. The exit adjacent to Avenue Montaigne Street where Elliz viewed LV handbags that is almost RM1K cheaper than KL price! We walked from there on to Tour (tower) Eiffel.

We then took the HOHO (Hop On Hop Off) around Paris. Started from Champ de Mars (where we had our picnic lunch) then we went to 5 attractions before we stopped at Notre Dame.

When we were @ Notre Dame, we had the chance view Lover’s Bridge that is adjacent to the Grand Chapel. All along the Seine River, people would mark and lock their secrets away by securing a lock (mangga) on the bridge’s (river) fencing. If you can see, it is full of locks! 

Grand Chapel Notre Dame is an art on its own. I didn’t have the chance to see this place when I came here in 1996 with my parents but having to view the chapel with my very own family is just satisfying. People flock the architecture wonder where you can feed pigeons out of your hands and please note that the souvenir shops along the streets here offers the best price compared to others THROUGHOUT PARIS! All you have to do is take time to browse and compare.

After a nice hot coffee at the roadside café we make our way back to the hotel via HOHO. 

Second Day in Paris

The second day is on Disneyland.. Too bad we woke up not too early that day. We entered Disneyland around 12noon, so we missed 2 hours of fun! Trip to Disneyland was via RER, we had to take the Metro to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile and from there its RER to Marne-le-Vallee Chessy.

Disney was havoc! Why? Because we wanted to try everything, wanted to ride everything! So most of the time we would just run about but with ref to the map I guess we covered everything (most of it). The entry to the park was really secured; they go through your bags in search of weapons. But my group was saying its food that their looking for, but I don’t agree with them. Although we entered the park only at noon, it was actually perfect timing. As we walked in, the street fest was about to start. Decorated cars and Disney characters walked the street dancing and singing. The kids were enthusiast seeing this! We were there the whole day! And only got back at the hotel around 10pm. We actually wanted to go around for more of Paris, but the kids were already tired.

Disney at night 

If you intend to go and worry about halal food then don’t, there is this one outlet that sells kebab and they have halal food there (so they claimed, jangan was-was!). So have a blast, Disneyland Paris brings out the child in you!