Dorinda Gym

Would like to try kayaking one day

Cotton-candy clouds

I'll be writing another post to talk about the scenery and stuff but this post is about
Why you should  MAKE FULL PREPARATION before going to Coney Island.

So to be exact, I went there on 6th December around 10am-2pm. I gotta admit I didn't put on any insect repellent (now while I'm writing and still itching, how I wish I could have read more about the place and sprayed myself with full coverage of insect repellent)

4th day- 9 Dec
On 9th Dec, I started to realize that I have red dots/marks on my legs. I thought it was mosquitoes bites so I told myself I must rmb to put on mosquito repellent the next day before I sleep. Few days passed and the bites didn't seem to go away. So I thought:

'Walao, these mosquitoes ah, why sooo poisonous wan? So many days d still cannot subside'

Still not suspecting any other things except for mosquitoes bites.

8th day- 13 Dec
Exactly one week after the Coney Island trip, the marks have gotten bigger and redder.


9th day- 14 Dec
This was when all the alarms rang, it has gotten so itchy that I woke up in the middle of the night to apply Tiger balm to ease the itch (didn't really help tho =/)

Red bumps with 'liquid' in it

All over both my legs

I actually counted and discovered that I have 26 of them all together

ewww, what is this....

I couldn't concentrate working while the bites itched like crazyyyy. Then I talked to my colleagues and showed them the marks. Different assumptions came up: Beg bugs, chicken pox, allergies... I didn't know what it was. So I went to see a doctor.

The moment he saw me he said 'sand flies' and asked if I've been to Coney Island lately. I was like:

'Wasei doctor! Why you so 'zhun' wan?'

Yeah so the culprit was the sand flies from Coney Island. Doc told me that recently he has gotten several similar cases, all suffering from the same thing after going to Coney Island. I was quite relieved that it wasn't beg bugs or chicken pox. He gave me a cream to apply and medicine for the itch.

Of course I asked how long does it take for it to recover, he assured me that few days later they'll be fine. But I didn't (forgotten to) ask him whether will there be any scars TT..... now everyday whenever I look at my legs, my face starts to frown.

'Please don't leave scars. Please don't leave scars.'

LOL I actually talked to my legs. So the moral of the story, don't underestimate the power of sand flies.

You don't really see them nor feel them, but they are out there.

Ready to pounce on each and every prey/victim that they come across. This is how my legs look like now, sad....


Please take note of the seriousness of sand flies. Not only when you go to Coney Island, but to anywhere where there may be bushes, forest or beach area. The sand flies usually fly low so put more attention on your legs. Wear long pants and put on the insect repellent.

Then, you can fully enjoy your trip. Play hard and be safe!

After filling up our stomach, it was time to really start the adventure. We were eager to visit the The Longest Free Span and Curved Bridge In The World. It's actually located at the Panorama Langkawi where there are many other attractions such as the Langkawi Cable Car, 6D Cinemotion, Lake Activity and many more. 

Check out their website for more information like on-going promotions and discount packages available. 

Panorama Langkawi 

1. 6D Cinemotion

The only photo I have taken in the 6D Cinemotion

2. SkyCab

Not sure whether it was hazy or foggy, but the wind was really cool and the breeze was fresh

With ma pretty classmate, Suang

I just don't get why 99% of the time I don't look at the camera. Arghh..

Next, we continue taking the SkyCab to the peak where you get access to the SkyBridge. The lighting in the cable car was really on point, check out the pictures taken.

So it's our final degree semester and we've been talking about what kinda of trip we wanna have. On and off we discussed but nothing serious or thorough. Finally one day we saw this booth at the college's foyer with packages and *boom* Langkawi here we come! :P

PS: We paid RM99 per person for this package and it included accommodation (very basic inn + car rental). There are quite a lot agencies providing this kinda travel package to Pulau Langkawi so please continue reading if you want to know how is it like if you go with a package.

I guess a lot of you are interested about whether the package is worth it or legitimate, so let me break it down to you first. If you are really interested, then you can continue to read. Or, maybe you are just curious about our class trip, you could continue reading too.

Question 1: Is it really RM99? What is included in the package? 
Yes, it is really RM99.

• The package included accommodation of 2 nights at Chomelle Hotel. I wouldn't consider it to be a real hotel, it's more like an Inn. But the name is like that so I'm just gonna write in this way. They don't have an official website but a Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/chomellehotel/. 
• The package also included car rental for a period of 3 days 2 nights but WITHOUT petrol. 
• There was also a half day island hopping trip included. We actually topped up RM30 for a snorkeling session. 

Question 2: Car rental? Is it useful? 
Well as you may have expected, you won't be getting cars that are less than 5 years old. We had a pax of 15, so 3 cars were provided. The car that we had was Wira and I'm pretty sure it is at least 10 years old. The sofa was already worn out and we actually found a lot of ants in the car. We later found out that it was because a used canned-drink under the driver's seat. Phew! Now to think of it, I should have taken pictures of the car to show you the exact condition. Nvm, you can see for yourself when you are there.

Next, don't expect to have any petrol fuel in the car when you get it. Chances are, the people who used it previously used up everything before returning the car. It wasn't exactly easy to find a petrol station at first since we were all not familiar with the road in the island. We had to rely strongly on Waze/Google Map for directions.

That leads to my third point, is it useful? The answer is yes! very very useful and necessary. There isn't exactly public transportation in Langkawi. All I saw was taxis, taxis everywhere. And I'm sure all these uncles are ready to suck your 'blood' the minute you step out of the ferry terminal. Having your car means you can travel at any time and pay according to usage.

Also, if you are wondering about car park problems. There are quite many parking lots in front of the hotel which is along the main road. We did not face any major problem in finding a parking space.

Question 3: Any problems with the hotel, agency or the package? 
To be honest, we did encounter some minor problems. Firstly, when we arrived at the ferry terminal we actually had to wait for quite a bit even though we have already informed they PIC of the arrival time. Well, it was just a small problem. We settled by sipping some coffee in Starbucks while enjoying the ac.

The bigger problem was when we reached the hotel. After counting how many of us, the receptionist actually wanted to 'eat' us and only give us 4 rooms (1 room lesser than what we agreed when we signed the package as seen in the picture above). Luckily Khai reasoned and argued with her only then we got the 5 rooms! 

Tip: Always insist for all things/services agreed in the receipt especially when you sign up for a package during a promotion as these sales persons at the booth are usually people who are trying to sell as much as they can. They might over-promise things just to make you sign. And the thing is, when you finally go to the hotel, these sales persons will not be there. Without showing the receptionist any evidence, chances are you will be at the losing end.

HOW WE GOT THERE
Since there was 14 of us living in different places, we went in different batches, some from Penang island and some from mainland or Kedah itself. Mun, Ainaa, Oscar, Bee Khee and I went in Mun's 大蓝 and of course not missing our selfie in the car:

Our short-and-not-very-nice breakfast at Kedah near Ah Yann's place in Kedah

The moment we were approaching the Kuala Kedah jetty, a swarm of Malay boys in motorbikes kept persuading us to park at some dodgy place and of course we ignored them. We managed to find a place to park that was somehow not on the main road and most importantly, FOC.

PS: We have already pre-booked our ferry tickets and it was RM46 for a return trip.

So we went in the place and I was pretty surprised that it was quite modern and well-kept (oh well maybe I already stereotyped and have a vision in my head that these places are usually very unkempt and dodgy). We were asked to write down our name, IC, gender, address (only wrote which state) as it was almost time to go in.

LOL they were actually playing The Grandmaster, not The Grandmas (who knows how hilarious the show would be if the title is really like that)

BFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Anddddd tadaaa after one hour plus we reached Langkawi :DDD lol just look at Ah Khai's eye, you can tell how bright the sun was shining at us :P

• there is only staircase (pack light because you will have to climb) 
• it's pretty old
• you can hear sound/people in the corridor/walkway when you are in the room
• expect the facilities to not be working fine (we had a spoiled shower head)
• overall it's quite okay to provide us a place to sleep (most of the time we are out of the hotel) 

Not sure whether was it because we were all too hungry, the food tasted so good! And it only cost us RM 201 for 10 dishes and 14 drinks!