Terrapuri : an exclusive retreat

Hello people~

I had the most amazingly wonderful opportunity to stay in what i could described as the most magical place i've ever been to : Terrapuri.

Terrapuri means The Land of Palaces and true to its name, the atmosphere exuded the warmth and elegance of traditional 17th century Terengganu architecture as it consisted of 29 antique houses aged between 100 to 250 years old exclusively used in a restoration process by the owner of the place, Mr Alex Lim. Situated in Pantai Penarek, Setiu, the Terrapuri Village Resort was actually a conservation project pioneered by Mr Alex who happened to loves the Malay traditional architecture and culture.

A wonderful discovery.

Walking through the resort, i couldn't help but felt myself walking in the traditional Malay village as everything in the resort from the enchanted villa right down to the batu giling adorning the area portrayed a true classic Malay ambience. i stayed in Rumah Nibong which was located near the Setiu River.

Despite the old facade of the villa (as all the houses were originally 100 - 250 years old in age), the interior facilities were nothing but the best that you could find in any modern 5 stars hotel. Complete with a Jacuzzi, ladies and gents individual bath mirror and hot shower with complete set of toiletries, i immediately felt as comfortable as staying in any modern hotel.

 

 

One of the magical attraction of Terrapuri was its essence of culture presence all over the place. There were kain batik, Al-Quran, batik prints and elements of traditional Malay culture in the villa. One can't help but felt fascinated with the aura of the villa itself as it gave out an overwhelmingly majestic feeling which lead to complete tranquility and graceful airs during the stay.

As the night slowly crept by, the gentle sound of nature and beautifully lighted sky were a feast to the eyes. There were real cows walking among the resort and at dusk just before i took my shower, i saw a hog walking past my Villa near the river. As a naturalist, all these sights made me as happy as can be! After a long journey on the road, nothing beats the silent of the night completely wrapped in nature's gentlest hug.

Chasing the sun, sea and sand. 

I woke up early the next day to chase the sunrise and i was not disappointed one bit. It was a glorious morning at the Penarek Beach with the sea breeze calling my heart home. I felt like i was in a different wold, far from the mundane life. Clearly Terrapuri never failed to deliver the fragrance of tranquility straight to our heart. It was also an enjoyable experience watching cows grazing nearby, making the feeling of kampung-ness strongly present.

After spending time leisurely watching the call of the morning, heading back for breakfast was another thing i look forward too. I had my anticipated breakfast at the Sesayap Courthouse, Terrapuri's cozy eating place with no less than a displayed of master craftsmanship shown. It was a soothing sight to enjoy my breakfast while watching the scene of the place. Breakfast was simple, yet delicious, as healthy and fulfilling as can be.

I took a stroll around the resort before checking out, just to gather all the beautiful views to bring home with. Undeniably. Terrapuri was magically enchanting  and nothing could describe the place other than exclusively divine retreat for the soul.

till the next adventure, people!

Food adventure, and a whole new enlightenment.

I just finished my paper and in search of some adventures, so off i went to Johore Bharu to meet my hiking friends! 

I stayed at Kinah's house and was totally treated like a princess i swear i felt awkward at how nice Kinah's family treated me! hey, i'm all jungle and river so princess-like life didn't really suit me well, okay. i met Mary, Pejan, Wee, and made some awesome new friends too like Adam and Syana. for almost a week, i was exposed to life in JB, or so it went according to Kinah, and i actually enjoyed myself pretty well despite getting confused now and then about the city life.

the main reason i went to JB was to join the charity run for National Stroke Association in conjunction with the National Stroke Awareness Month. me and Kinah did well enough, i guess, for the 6km run though i must say i was excited about the run since it was my first (to many more, i hope!) and i did not expect myself could done it well since i'm not really a long-distance runner but hey, i did proved something, didn't i? it was a great experience for me watching all kind of people running for charity. there was even a sweet grandma running! and when she reached the finishing line, everyone clapped for her in encouragement. really, this sorts of positivity should be encouraged more in our life.

my first! 

with Kinah love love love!

there were horses in UTM so i went jakun-like staring at the horses like a hyper five-years old fighting in my mind whether i should just look at the horses or chase after them and risk getting kick at ahahaha but the horses were so gorgeous i wish i can ride them! 

actually my brother, Firdaus, is studying in UTM but i don't know why it never crossed my mind to visit him or i might get the chance to play with the horses hahahaha no? Aus, please forgive kakak for being a bad sister and please cordially invite me to UTM so i can gape at the horses again ahahahaha *dies*

the next few days passed by with lots of activities and great #deep talks and sharing session with Kinah and Adam (not forgetting Syana, who was an avid fan of Harry Potter heyya accio girlfriend!) and i felt liberated by all the sharing and discussion that i had with them. although i did felt amused and kind of didn't know how to react when i first met Adam but luckily Kinah was always there to wipe the blurry moments out of my head.

but seriously,
Adam is the weirdest man i've ever met.

how Kinah, how?

 clean slate ahahahah

#members !

i met Mary despite her busy schedule because the PJ crews were busy preparing for their Mount Tahan expedition (that i couldn't joined sobs sobs i izz sedddd) and i met Tira and few more new friends too.

seriously, i love Ipti. how can you not?

i had the opportunity to try out so many food which ultimately became my favourite activity ehehehe but Kinah really put my tummy to work lah because she literally stuff all kinds of food into my mouth and being the big and happy eater i am, i eat like an elephant!

so i gained 2kg in six days.
2kg in six days.
it took me a year and a half to gain 1 kg but JB really did sprinkle some magical hunger game dust in me.

i ate and ate and ate.

but i'm as happy as a lark so i don't care ahahaha!

the trip went well and i returned to BP with good memories, good friends, good food, and a medal for my charity run.

what could go wrong when you be a positive person and be nice and kind to others, right?

toodles!

To adventure and beyond!

hi people! 

so i went on another adventure in Taman Negara Jerantut again! 

this time it was more like a leisure trip for me; enjoying the forest, rivers, and bonding with my friends in Kuala Tahan. 

i spend a week in Kuala Tahan where i joined my friends on their daily rounds in and out of the forest and rivers. i was so glad to smell the forest scent again because i've been missing it so muchhhh! so i met Grey, Carlito, Mr Dan, and meet more new friends like Encik Meor (who is a great person to talk to since i like to talk a lot and he talks a lot too and we never runs out of ideas to talk about so it was super smooth conversation until my guider friends leave us two alone to talk and they won't budge in because we talk so much as if we've been friends for twenty years or so! there, i said it all!). 

i've been learning more and more about the jungle and animals from this trip and i am very grateful for all the opportunities i received. Encik Meor is an expert in birding and he's been teaching me a little bit about birding too. its interesting to hear him talking about the birds and spell out all their scientific names like a smooth criminal! too smooth i can't even brain it! i can't remember half the terms he said but i just can't stop listening to him talking about the birds. so when the guides and him were talking about the birds, i was sitting among them like a school girl listening to the teachers. it was such an information-filled moment that i swear my brain might be overload with the names of the birds and their characteristics and habitats whatnots whatsoever. 

learning about snakes is easier than learning about birds. i need to learn more. 

it so happen that Encik Meor loves taking pictures and i became a somewhat Colgate model for him ahahaha. 

so i went tracking with Grey where i became the unofficial guide for his team. i became the sweeper and i actually did enjoy my part as the sweeper as i manage to make the tourist (from JPAM) look at me with awe as they listen to my explanation about the forest and animals. perhaps i can be a good guide one day? the JPAM members in our team were very friendly and they actually think that i am a guide ahahahaah yes yes yes! it must be due to the reason that i was wearing my hiking gear and i pretty much move at a better pace this time. this prove that my stamina is good and it motivates me to workout more to maintain my fitness level. 

i also joined Carlito, Grey, and Andin in my favourite activity : rapid shootingggg! we were bringing the tourist from Encik Meor's group and there he went clicking his camera for my Colgate moment heheheh. i really enjoy the trip! we went to the Bateq's village where i met an inspiring Bateq people's activist and talk to him about the problems and activist works that he's been doing for the Orang Asli settlers. it was so inspiring! i am interested to join him on his effort to improve the lives of the Orang Asli. a very funny thing happened during Grey's briefing about the Bateq's tradition and beliefs. i was sitting near a pole where the bamboo blowpipe was situated (leaning against the pole), when out of sudden it smack me right on the head and Encik Meor caught it on record! it was super funny because it was truly a comic moment and Grey was shocked, the tourist were shocked, and even i was shocked! 

i mean, it smacked right on top of my head yo! 

for the next few days, i went all out jumping into rivers and playing with the fish and the sand and was simply having a great time splashing in Tahan river, Tembeling river, and even gets to go netting with the men! i didn't spend much time in the forest this time, heck, i went for nightwalk once and that was it. but i did saw some slithery snake so all was well, the forest welcome me with warmth. 

then i got sick because my skin was reacting very badly with the hot weather and the rash came up and the injection proceed and i was restricted to home-compound only sobs sobs. the whole family was greatly concern about me it makes me feel touched! 

this time, it was more like a bonding trip than an adventurous one because i find myself immersing more into the culture and getting to know the locals on a different level. i even went to Kerek's solemnization like wow! it felt great to know that Kuala Tahan will always be in my heart even if i can't come back here again in the future. the kind of love and acceptance that i received here means so much to me. i never felt like a stranger or mere tourist here. 

Kuala Tahan felt like....home. 

the Colgate lady

psst, picture credits goes to Encik Meor! 

if you wish to explore Kuala Tahan, especially to learn more about the birds (like the magnificent Crested Fireback i saw on my previous trip), you can always reach out to Encik Meor for the premium package trip through his Facebook page Jenut Holidays and have fun exploring Taman Negara! 

toodles! 

To Mary and the mountain!

let's make the introduction short since this is an obviously a long postponed post.

so we had four days holiday and it's time for adventure yehaaa!

i went to JB to find Mary so that we can train together. it's a sad thing, actually, when your gym partner is far away from you, but in a way it is sweet enough because you get to have all the excited feels and wide smiles upon your face at the mere thoughts of meeting them!

so off i went to JB, to find Mary and IPTI's nice running track.

boarded the bus and arrived in IPTI just in time to join Mary at the gym where we worked out together while discussing gym tips and health tips. gosh, talk about buffing up real good, yeah? so i had an incredibly exciting time running 2.4km with Mary, followed by gym session. i was impressed by my own workout routine though, because i'm stronger now. well, it's always a mind over matter rule; if you don't mind, they don't matter. if you don't mind sweating it out to get fit, the sweats and pain won't matter. i can even lift up to 5kg now, as compared to the struggle i had to even lift a 2kg weight yahahahah!

good job, Oddblogger!

so that night we went out for dinner with Pejan and Akma and Ameera, where they took me around JB and i think JB was actually a nice place, despite all the confusing routes. well, i'm practically a confused sloth in a city so yeahhh let's ignore that. after dinner, we sent Pejan to the bus station because she had something urgent back home and we bid her goodbye. at least i get to hug her ahahaha.

so that night Mary and me were doing (more) workouts based on the videos from Youtube when suddenly the urge to hike came surging and swept our brains off our rational mind! so the next day, off we went to Kluang, to hike Gunung Lambak again! it was a swift process. swift idea coming into our brain, swift networking with Amira, swift gear up packing our bags, and swift process boarding the bus to Kluang first thing the next morning!

Mary, we should join The Amazing Race once in our life.

so we hike Gunung Lambak and our happiness level were divinely levitated to the max! this time we hike until the first peak only because hikers being hikers (and we were crazy enough to hike the same mountain twice!), the hike this time was merely for the purpose of feeling the adrenaline rush during the hike. truthfully, Gunung Lambak doesn't really offer much view because there were many trees and the main attraction was the water attraction but i can say it was a good place to practice hiking, especially if you want to hike uphill because the track goes all the way up, something that hikers usually say as 'pacak track'. your knees shall sway and your back shall hurt, but you ain't gonna give up, hikers! 

so we went up, meet the monkeys, smile and all, felt the serendipity, and we went down by noon , proceeding with a very relaxing, gossip-filled lepak session at Mira's house. in the evening, we boarded the bus and went back to IPTI, all happy and glad that we had our 'lepas gian' hike. 

basically, it was running, gym, eat, sleep, and chatting with Mary in IPTI. plus an awesome pizza dinner nyamnyamnyammmm!

and gosh, it felt sooooo goooood to meet Mary, Amira, Kinah, and Wee!  

(including the new PJ friends - hello peopleeee)

Into the woods....to fight with the monkeys!

hello people!

it has been a longggg time since my last adventure and i was all itchy and fidgety for a new adventure! so, begins my hiking trip to Gunung Lambak with my hiking people ~

called up my mountain people and Mary, Robo, Kinah and Mira answered the calls. i drag Abbas along too because he is the Bear Grylls for all i know hahahaha. so i set off from BP with Abbas and Robo and meet up with the girls at Mira's house. we went for breakfast with our hiking attire and bare face as if we're going to climb the Everest!

soon we arrived in Gunung Lambak and started our hiking adventure with thumping, excited hearts and happy faces. the hike proved to be quite challenging because the track was uphill all the way and it made our knees shook once in a while. but it was a seriously adventurous hike because the challenging track was good to prepare us for our big hiking trip this year. we went hiking up to both peak and play with monkeys and millipede along the way too. Robo was moving so fast, he slept like a log on top of the summit hahahah. Abbas was given the title of Sun Wukong because all the monkeys are afraid of him and he can control them very well! i took out some biscuits to give to a monkey but it came up to me so fast, luckily i did not kick him or he would be flying downhill. the monkeys were kind of gangster, i'd say.

 the monkey keeps eyeing my hydration bag when it saw the biscuits i gave it coming from my bag. sly!

i had a huge urge to bring this crawly home! 

the track to the second summit. 

 Kinah, Mary, Mira. 

 the track downhill from the second peak. seriously crazy!

 We miss Pejan! 

overall i love the track because it was challenging and full of roots and tree branches and soil and rocks, which are the essential must have for a great hike. it was extremely good to see Mary, Kinah and Mira again. too bad Pejan was not with us or it would have been another merry event for all five of us. it truly felt like something was missing without Pejan. the same goes for the rest of the team because Wee, Anwar, and Kubi did not join us this time. i hope we can have another trip together in the future! 

 view from the first peak.

 all of us merry hikers!

this one going uphill to the first peak. still, challenging!

Robo brought along his canvas and as soon as we reached the first peak, he lay out his canvas and slept like a log while us girls play with a millipede. after resting for awhile (while keeping an eye on the monkeys), we hit the track in search for the trail to the second summit. it was a flat track and all of us were practically running along the track like Teletubbies when suddenly we stop dead on our spot as soon as we saw the track to the second summit. it was a 90 degree uphill track with no ropes or stairs! so there we were, all five of us staring at the track with disbelief. it's like Gunung Ledang all over again except there's no stairs this time. even Mary went speechless for a minute ahahah what more me! but Abbas said, 'redah je' so all of us follow him and redah je climbing the track. practically climbing the track, okay! 

it was one remarkable, crazily amazing experience for us. 

reaching the peak, there were lots of trees so we can't really get a beautiful view but there were two chairs prepared at the peak! i think the second peak was not for viewing pleasure, but only served as a hiking pleasure. we hang out for a while, chatting and eating chocolates among us. i still can't believe that i actually hike up the route because it was so....crazy! betul-betul pacak, as the mountain people's saying goes. 

after reaching both peak (amounting to 1400 feet over), we made our way down and head back to Mira's house where all of us lepak like fat cats. it started to rain too so i can say it was all nice and cozy for a good rest. the boys practically sleep at the wakaf outside the house ahahahah! soon we head back to BP and JB respectively. it was a good hike and i think it can be a weekly program whenever we are free because i know Mary will surely rise up to the occasion for a hiking trip!

so, till the next hike, people!
ciao!