Rainbow Waterfalls & Time Capsule Retreat, Sungai Lembing

27 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by harminiasokumar in Indian Mermaid Adventures, Review, Travel

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rainbow waterfalls sungai lembing review, sungai lembing, sungai lembing hike, time capsule retreat, time capsule retreat review

With so much going on and an endless hustle, I decided to take a trip down to Sungai Lembing, Pahang for a little rejuvenation and relaxation whilst enjoying nature. Since the Time Capsule retreat was much raved about online, that was the pick for accommodation. It’s a 3 hour drive from Petaling Jaya.

Time Capsule Retreat: Booking the place was fairly easy as the whole process was done via Whatsapp. Thanks to Waze, the place was easy to find as well. Opted for the most expensive room; Parallel Discovery as it was the only one that didn’t have a shared bathroom, and was equipped with a queen sized bed, a sofa bed, fridge, TV, wifi (because I still had to work), a deck and a jacuzzi. Visually, especially in pictures, it looked really cool; To be honest, it was disappointing. Yes, I was aware that it was glamping and wouldn’t be some 5 star hotel, but it wasn’t worth the price I paid. The room is fairly tiny with an even smaller bathroom. The downer was definitely the toilet itself not having enough leg room, so if you happen to be tall, good luck figuring out how you’ll sit. The things that were not seen photographed was how small the room actually was, the stained curtains that cover the glass windows & how gross the jacuzzi looked when we first saw it or how insects (including worms) fell in mid jacuzzi session as it was located directly under a tree.

To top it off, there’s no signage saying that there are guests staying or its a restricted area, I actually had a group of girls come peep into the glass (yes, into the room) as I was napping. My expectations were high due to all the websites stating its a must stay at place but I guess the hype is purely for picture purposes. If you don’t mind paying for the experience, go for it!

Sungai Lembing town: Small town with majority Chinese population. I loved how nice people were and how peaceful and safe it felt too. Food places are fairly limited (probably because it was a weekday) but I had the best bak kut teh at Sg Lembing Mining restaurant. Totally recommend it for non halal food. The meat was soft and tender, the oil rice was fragrant and tasty. So much yum!Rainbow Waterfalls: The highlight of my entire trip and definitely something I highly recommend. The day started early, as we were told to gather at the front area of where we stayed at 5.30am. The pick up was only at around 6am so we wasted what could have been an extra half hour of sleep (& I really like my sleep!). This tour costs Rm50 per head, and we were picked up in a four wheel drive; It fits about 14 people, so lucky for me, I was asked to follow another tour group that only had 6 people (more space to sit and actually be comfortable). First off, a pit stop for breakfast at a food court area to get energised for the hike ahead. Once breakfast was done, it was about an hour drive to the waterfall itself. The road was a bumpy one so I had to hold on tight; Once you reach the place, you’ll be asked to change into the extra rubber Crocs like slippers the guides have or alternatively wear your own slippers. Sport shoes are not advised as you’ll need to walk across in a river. There’ll also be a rope you can hold onto as you cross. Take tiny steps as the rocks in the water can be really slippery.

Don’t believe the guide when he says your Havaiiana flip flops are good to go. They’re so used to it they can practically run up with those old school Bata slippers. Be prepared with actual good sturdy slippers that have good grip.

It’s an easy hike and coming from me, you should believe it since I hardly do any sort of exercise to begin with. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to hike to the top, it’s partly jungle and later on rocks as you hike up towards the waterfall itself. The view even halfway through as you reach the rocky area, is so pretty;
Start praying the the weather gods are in your favour as you hike up as some people have actually made it to the top without being lucky enough to see the rainbow. I was one of those lucky people who actually got to see it; Its based on how the water flows down from the top and how the light hits, so from time to time the rainbow changes its spot. Sometimes you get half a rainbow, a faded one, double rainbow, a full one. I managed to experience quite a few types.

The water was really clean, super cold (which you get used to after prancing around in it) and shallow enough for you to stand and walk around. There are also huge slabs of rocks which work great as a place to sit back, relax and enjoy the magical view. Or in my case, get my mermaid game on; The view from the rocks to the top, is equally magical; At this area we were all served maggie in a cup & hot milo to help us get warm again. As everyone helped themselves, I spent most of the time soaking in all the beauty and taking the opportunity for some major photo ops;
All in all, the hike to Rainbow Waterfall was definitely an experience and something I’d do all over again in a heartbeat.
Seriously though, words will never do this place justice;

Chasing waterfalls,
Harmini Asokumar

Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary Trip

15 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by harminiasokumar in Indian Mermaid Adventures, Review, Travel

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elephant sanctuary malaysia, elephants malaysia, kuala gandah elephant sanctuary, kuala gandah elephant sanctuary trip, kuala gandah review

Being a huge ele-fan, I’ve always wanted to be up and close to a real life elephant but my conscience wouldn’t allow me to see those captured and mistreated. So when I stumbled across Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary (thanks to my friends!), I was thrilled to bits!

Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary is an elephant conservation centre that helps rescue, raise and give shelter to orphaned elephants or the ones that need to be re-homed. Located in Pahang, its a 2 hour journey from Kuala Lumpur.

Things you’ll need to prepare for this trip:
– Wear shorts, casual top and flip-flops (avoid white)
– Bring an extra set of change
– Towel
– Plastic bag for the wet clothes
– Soap & shampoo for a quick shower
– Cash for the activities and food for the elephants (and you!)
– Snacks and music for the long drive

The place is secluded and deep in, so Waze proved itself to be incredibly helpful! There’s handful of activities (click on the picture below to enlarge and read!) starting from 7.45am onwards. To go visit there aren’t any charges, but you’ll need to pay for the activities which I feel is very reasonable. Besides, how else can you get up close and personal with elephants without causing them any harm? We opted for the elephant shower package – where you get to bath a baby elephant and have a guide take you on a tour! RM75 for two people.

We got there around 12.30pm and had lunch at the place itself. The food was decent (which I was pleasantly surprised about!). At around 1pm there was a video presentation on how the rescue and relocate the elephants, which was a real eye opener and definitely worth watching.

Once done, I was assigned to my guide. There’s four to a group (depending on the crowd), so we were lucky that it was a slow day at the sanctuary which means more one on one time with the elephants.

We were given a brief introduction of the place, what they do and then introduced to the elephants. There was a small stall set up to purchase food to feed them with an option of sugarcane or bananas; There were many elephants from different age groups. It was really fascinating to see how they play and react to people, how they reach out and take the food.

I was most fascinated by the oldest one there, Raja;

He was probably the least paid attention to, but my favourite with his gentle demeanour. Grabbing everything fed to him without skipping a beat and shoving it in his mouth, and also being cheeky with the guides.

The other two were the youngest there. As I attempted to selfie with them, the guide warned me against it as these little fellas have a tendency to be playful and pull at everything within their reach. Since I love my hair, I decided against it.
Moving along we were escorted to where the elephant show are. I was pretty put off by the idea but was comforted as soon as the guide explained that these elephants don’t do shows like play tricks, kick balls and stuff but have been trained to assist with rescues of other elephants. You could see the mutual respect that the mahout (the person who trains and works with the elephants) share with the gentle giant. These few were a different batch of elephants from the ones we fed, so there was a feeding session for them too; Then it was time to prepare to watch them shower! We took a short walk to the area, while walking through the elephant play area ;
It’s a wide green area filled with fruit trees. Apparently the elephants roam free for to enjoy this area when there aren’t any guests. Besides this area, was the river the elephants bath in ;
The river was clean! I was so relieved that the water was clear and you could actually see through. It was fairly clean and I say fairly because the elephants tend to poop in it. However because its flowing water, it wasn’t something we needed to worry about.

Once the guides showered that batch of elephants, they brought in baby elephants to shower. In groups of four, we all took turns to go in and bath them.

The guides splashed us with water (the cold, cold water!) to get us used to it (or probably for their own personal amusement of watching us squeal!). We were instructed to grab the sand from the bottom and give the elephant a scrub ; Once done we splashed some more and took some pictures before the next group took over. All in all we were in the river for about 10 minutes or so. The picture taking session had the guides in it to, so it took some major cropping skills to get an image like the one below; That was it – we got out and went to shower before heading back home. There’s a deer park nearby that we didn’t get a chance to visit, but heard such great things about. Until my next time then!

Overall, it was a fantastic experience and I’d definitely do it again. The elephants are gorgeous and healthy, the place is clean and well kept, the guides were friendly and helpful – perfect for every elephant lover!

Fallen in ele-love,
Harmini Asokumar

Avillion, Port Dickson

09 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by harminiasokumar in Indian Mermaid Adventures, Review, Travel

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I’m all about short getaways to recharge from the hustle and bustle of KL city life. This round, it was Avillion, Port Dickson that I decided on. To be completely honest, Port Dickson was definitely not my first choice of a holiday destination due to its dirty sea water. However having stayed at Avillion before (ages ago with my family!) & asking around (or asking people on Facebook, to be more accurate) the feedback for this place was fairly good.

I picked the water chalet (obviously!) & no regrets on my end. I absolutely loved it! Here are a few reasons why;

1. The view from the room. The chalets are designed based on the concept of a traditional Malay fishing village. With that being said, you can open the doors to your balcony to enjoy the sea beneath and the blue skies above. The sea water at Port Dickson, however is questionable, depending on weather. Lucky for me, the water didn’t stink.

2. The cozy, gorgeous room.Say hello to waking up to the sounds of the sea (& sometimes smell) in a room decked out with wooden furniture and fixtures, as well as stained glass windows that light up the room with a soothing vibe.

Also, it has an open bathroom concept while enables you to enjoy the view of the skies as you shower and also take a peak into the ocean.

3. More nature & pools of water.

The swimming pools are divine. There’s a really pretty one for families & a private adult pool that has a strict no kid policy. Also the decks are decked (see what I did there? :D) with frangipani flowers. Enjoy an evening stroll before going for a dip in the pool!

4. Animals up close!

There’s a petting area where you can feed, help shower and pet the animals. From little fuzzy bunny rabbits, to ducks and chickens running around, and beautiful peacocks showing off, you’re bound to be mesmerized and entertained!

5. Take a walk on the beach!

This part is a little tricky & I’m not talking about the driving out of Avillion bit. The tough part is to scout for a fairly clean beach area. I went to the one near Bayu. The water was clear at the shore, there were shells, and the sand was soft. Definitely worthy for a short stroll and watch the sunset.

The following day, I headed in the opposite direction only to be completely put off after seeing noodles floating in the water and on the shore as well. *shudders.

There are night markets nearby on Saturday’s. It’s mostly Malay food and it’s pretty good!

6. The balcony view from the room at night.

Spending quality time while listening to the waves crash, enjoying the cold breeze. Perfection!

This picture was a necessity because “vacay-flower in hair” is a tradition I must uphold 🙂

There’s a good spa there as well, but I didn’t manage to accommodate to their timing so I gave it a skip.

Overall, definitely a good getaway. A great place if you just want to be around the good company of for friends, couples or even families since there’s tons of facilities to use for both kids and adults.

Mermaid on land,
Harmini Asokumar

Seashells with Holes.

19 Saturday Jul 2014

Posted by harminiasokumar in Accessories, DIY & Tutorials, Indian Mermaid Adventures

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accessories with seashells, seacreatures drilling holes in shells, seashell with holes, seashells with holes, why are there holes in shells

As a birthday gift, I went on a beach vacation to Cherating, Kuantan (a detailed post on that soon! Promise!). One of my favourite activities to do as I stroll along the beach and enjoy the sea breeze is to collect seashells. Something I’ve been doing since I was a child, but this time around with a different purpose, to infuse into my designs.

Previously in attempts to create holes in my seashells, I have managed to break and destroy quite a number of beautiful ones. This time around, I actually went looking for shells with holes in them;

Certain species of sea creatures feed on these oysters and clams. Using their sharp, drill-like tongue enables them to create a perfect hole in the shell and suck out their meal inside. Ta-daa! Perfectly drilled holes in your seashells. I’ve come across these shells ample of times, only to dismiss them as imperfect and proceed to pick up another one. How wrong I was. These seashells with holes not only saves me the trouble of drilling holes (& possibly breaking the shells as they are so delicate) but also, saves up so much time! The day right after I got back from my trip, I was immediately inspired to make a necklace for myself and all in a matter of minutes!
The perfect mermaid jewelry, minus all the fuss. Next time I’m at the beach, I know exactly what seashells I want to look for. The imperfect ones 🙂

6th International Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2014

30 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by harminiasokumar in Indian Mermaid Adventures, Travel

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I had the opportunity to attend the 6th International Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. The fiesta is the sixth installment of the internationally recognized hot air balloon fiesta. After missing the first few years and all the rave reviews, 2014 was the year I told myself I absolutely needed to check it out & I did!

My favourite part of the entire fest were the bubbles! Yes. at the hot air balloon fiesta, my favourite part was the giant bubbles ;
There was an allocated area where you can rent bubble blowing equipment, or even buy a set to take him. I bought a set that was inclusive of a wand (for big bubbles), two types of bubble solution and a bowl for RM25.

& spent the rest of the day playing with bubbles. There’s something incredibly relaxing about it, watching the rainbow swirls in the bubbles as it floats. A little bit of magic 🙂

To further make me happy, there were these huge rainbow flower windmills almost as big as I am! It was such a cute addition to the bubble area.

After finishing up my bubble-blowing session, we did a stroll around the Putrajaya park as the sun was setting. There were tons of people since the event was open to public and was free admission. Also, the place was crawling with activities, food stalls and families enjoying their weekend out.

I opted to enjoy the company I was with & nature instead;

I loved the whole concept of the picnic area. Doof beanbags, picnic mats and a 3 piece band to entertain the crowd.

Ended up watching the hot air balloons from a deck-like building by the lake. Probably one of the best views to see the balloons up in the air;
I was pretty disappointed with the lack of hot air balloons in the air due to the weather, but the overall experience was a good one.

I’d probably go again next year, maybe I’ll get a chance to actually go in a hot air balloon then.

Travel; Perhentian Island.

03 Tuesday Sep 2013

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I was in dire need to run away, escape from reality for a bit, and nothing feeds my soul and helps me get my creative juices flowing like the beach does. When my bestfriend said she wanted to head to Perhentian for a beach getaway, I immediately said I’d go with her. No questions asked.

Every single day I am thankful I didn’t think twice about it. I went to paradise, and I never wanted to leave.

As I stepped off the boat, this was the first thing I saw. The view on it’s own, made every tense muscle in my body turn to jell-o. I was calm, relaxed and at peace. It’s like my body automatically knew, I was home and I had nothing to worry about.

And that was the beginning of my Indian Mermaid adventures;

We stayed at Ombak on Perhentian Kecil. It was a small room, cozy and honestly, we didn’t care that the water heater wasn’t working. We were in paradise and nothing was going to kill our happy.

we spent the whole day lazing on the beach. The weather was sunny and perfect for tanning. Yes, Dark skinned people can tan too. That’s exactly what I did. I lay in the sun, letting the warm sunshine work it’s magic on me. I was 5 shades darker, and 10 times happier just basking in all the rays, sipping on my fresh orange smoothie and listening to the waves crash on the shore.

When it got too hot, we just went into the beautiful crystal clear water. Oh, the water. I have never in my life seen water so clear. The salt water touched my lips and I just starred in awe, at how the water looked exactly like mineral water but tasted of the sea. I spent most of my time just starring at it, wondering how it could make me feel so small, grounded and at peace.

I believe I’m a mermaid, or at least some form of a mermaid. I get an incredible feeling of bliss when I’m in water, completely weightless, and lost in the colours of my thoughts.

It gave me a sense of perspective. I’m trying to find ways to explain it, but the only word that comes to mind is; bliss.

I could go on about how inspired and in awe I was throughout my trip but the highlights of my trip were; snorkeling and completely having a newfound love and respect for the beauty Mother Nature has created, watching a turtle and rainbow fishes swim past me, holding a tan coloured stingray with aqua blue spots in my hands and feeling it tickle my palms, drinks and dancing on the beach at night, making friends with everyone and finding a mermaid drawn on the walls of the bar (a sign!), laying down on the mat with the bestfriend watching the stars, going for a walk on the beach at night and stumbling upon a turtle nesting (this was beyond words), staying up all night talking and watching the sunrise with amazing people, and just being free.