Monday 2 March 2020

Sasaran Beach, Sky Mirror 天空之境 (之美)

Well, finally we had our very first short getaway with my "Banana gang" & we had choose to go for local trip, The Sasaran Beach which they also named it as the "Sky Mirror". I have heard this place since years ago but always do not have a chance to plan on a visit to this place.  

It's really a hidden gem in Malaysia. Why do I say so? It's because this place can only be discovered when it comes to the low tide. So now you might ask, when is the suitable timing to visit? How to book my ticket? What should I wear in order to have an awesome photos? Now sit back & keep reading...

How to Book My Ticket?
You able to search online for the ticket source where my friend get some recommendation by going through other ppl blog & comment. After certain comparison, finally we get what we think is a reliable source & made our reservation via WhatsApp. Payment was made online where it costs RM75 each person. And yes, RM75 is the only payment that we have to made for once & there is no other hidden cost. This cost had included breakfast, boat riding & photo taking as well. Kind reminder, NEVER expect on the walk in booking, highly recommend to make your booking at least 5 days in advance upon your visit date. By the way, we booked our ticket 2 weeks in advance. 

When is The Suitable Timing to Visit?
It's so called one of the hidden gems in Malaysia. This is due to you are not able to visit this place 365 days per year when you feel like want to. Below is some tips for you to follow:

i) When? The "Sky Mirror" appears to be like a shy lady where it only shows itself on the 1st & 15th days of the month (based on the Chinese Calendar 阳历). These 2 days of the month is where the tides are low & it allows people to step on it. 
ii) Weather is also one of the important criteria that you have to look into it. 
- Sunny day (estimate starting from 10am onward) makes your photo outcome looks more colourful & attractive. 
- If you don't really care on how the weather looks like, cloudy day (which starts in the early morning around 7am) will bring your photo to another mysterious level. If you are not  a"sun person", then morning session is highly recommended for you. 


Friday, 27th Dec 2019
We drove from Klang to Kuala Selangor & it's around 40km distance. 
Upon arrival, you will find free parking in front of the jetty. Also there's a small hut with receptionist in there to help you on the registration & you may collect your wrist band right there. 

This is our breakfast, the local nasi lemak. It looks simple but the sambal really "jeng" & so spicy! 😂


Oh yea, off we go & mind your steps...

Feel the breeze with my Banana buddies.

Ok, messy hair don't care...

The journey from jetty to sky mirror beach is around 30mins. When we arrived, all we can see is just the sea & we were wondering where is the photo shooting should be taken as the tide still there & there are lots of boats around. And we were informed that the sea level is just until our ankle & we are safe to off from the boat. 

But here's some friendly reminder, don't get too excited & jump off from the boat. You might get yourself hurt by all those little creatures as you're walking with your bare foot. Be careful & walk slowly as these creatures are not able to be seen until the tide began to ebb.  
Hello, little creatures! They are cute but may make you burst into tears when you step on them. 

And now, get ready from some beautiful photos sharing which taken by our photographer. Seriously saying, I didn't put any high expectation on the photos output as I had checked into some of the blog & post, not to say that the photos are not beautiful but they are not under high resolution. 

All I can say that we are lucky to get this "abang" as our photographer & too bad I did not manage to ask for his name, but I definitely able to recognise him if I still get a chance to visit this place. (I'm not sure whether you able to choose on which photographer you would like to go for, but still you can try to ask when you do your booking.)

These are the series of photos where he brought his own tools & guide us on the right position to stand. Here are some funny photos, hope you will enjoy'em. 😀

Run, run, run for your life!


The falling down Eiffel Tower.

 The semi-wheel.

At first, when he showed us the photos, I straight away throws my words, "Are you using a mirror beneath your camera so that it able to show the effect of reflection which is like being reflected by a mirror? He replied "no" but still I'm in doubt until I personally watch how he helps other group to take photos. Indeed, no cheat way / other tricks for him to take those photos. All he used is just his iPhone camera & how he used the trowel to ensure that the sand remains flat so that the reflection can look just so "PERFECTLY AWESOME"!  I was stunned as the output really blow my mind. OMG!😅

Now here it goes on the free style from us. And the photographers said it will definitely be a new inspiration for him where he able to advise other tourist on those posing next time. 
You can stand under my umbrella. Remember my name, I'm not Cinderella with an umbrella. I'm Alvira with an umbrella. 

 Since I brought my grass hat, definitely gonna make some posing with it. 😈

 Obviously, the "Michael Jackson" pose failed.

The jumping shot.


 Hair flipping with ma buddy. Haha, we wanna try out something new & see how's the effect looks like. Ain't too bad, right? *Confidence level boosting* 😝

I love all the "Banana group" photos here. Thousands of thanks to the one behind this camera. From the bottom of our heart, we really so satisfied & excited when we received all the photos. Non-stop praising seriously!!!
The group jumping shot, we finally made it after few times trying. 👀

 Embrace the sun.


Just another free style pose from us.


Here goes our "sehssyyy" back pose. 

How & What Should I Dress?
Some recommendation on what you should where. Seriously you don't need to dress too fancy, just some bright colour top will do.

i) "Good to go" top colour: Yellow, Orange, Bright red, Light green, Sky Blue, White & also any highlighted colour will do.
*If you have bright base floral dress, it's also one of the good option as well.
ii) Big "No No": Black (of course not), Grey, Dark Blue & Denim wear

From the time we arrived the beach until the end of the whole photo shooting session, it took around 45mins & seriously no time being wasted as we need to rush for this before the tides come back. We were then being sent back to the jetty together with other group of tourist & upon arriving the jetty, the photographer will then send us the photos on the spot.


Happy reading, pepo!


Love,
Alvira


Friday 13 October 2017

Terengganu & Kelantan, Malaysia - Let's Go Local

Here's my first blog about local tourism. In my memory, I really couldn't recall whether did I travel to Terengganu before. No matter what, let's make this as the first time visit to Terengganu. We departed during night hour on the 28th & arrived in the midnight. Almost 5 hours of driving journey from Penang to Terengganu made us so exhausted!!! 

Short Getaway to Terengganu & Kelantan


Saturday, 29th April 2017
Day 1:
It's morning hour, I was wondering are the Malays in Terenagganu have the same breakfast with those in Penang? Nasi lemak? Nasi kandar or even some rendang chicken? 
We off to one of the local Malay stall to have our breakfast. Seriously I dislike to have heavy breakfast which means I don't really take rice as my breakfast. A cup of hot drinks with some biscuits / bread will do.
Since I was there, definitely I gonna "do as what the Romans do when in Rome". Just follow the culture & eat like a local. 


 Look at these meal & portion. To me, this was kinda heavy!!! What do you think then?
(P.S: They serve various flavour chicken, including the sweet & spicy one. Trust me, this really worth a try if you love heavy breakfast like this!!!) 

Food Stall Name: Warung Mek Aji Itik Serati
Located In: Kampung Padang Luas, Jerteh Terengganu
Contact No.: +6014-544 5376

Off we go, Marine Parks of Malaysia. End of April is the suitable season to visit this place! It's also the peak season where you'll find lots of visitors here.

What an awesome weather with beautiful sky!!!



Finally we arrived Perhentian Island. Here's the walkway to our chalet.

Oh yea, we gonna spend one night here!

Chalet Name: New Cocohut & Cozy Chalet
Address: No. 102-103, Jalan Besar, Pulau Perhentian Besar, 22300 Terengganu.
Contact No.: +609-607 4982

Look at the sea, it's so crystal clear! 


Just look at this view, you will find peace & serenity in you!

Ready to go!


How I wish I have a GoPro with me now as we only able to dive but not for photo taking under the sea!!! Arghhhh... 😭😭😭


One of the reason why we love about this island is because most of the chalets are built by the sea. Kids love to play with sand & it's definitely a great place to visit with family.


The sunset! Dinner view by the bays is the best. 💘

  Ah, of course this ain't our dinner. How can we miss out the seafood over here? Since the waiter told us it's still early for dinner, so we just ordered this as our snacks before our proper meal. 😂

 Finally, here's our main course, the grilled fish & squid! It looks not that attractive but for those who know, the simplest way to deal with fresh seafood is by grilling'em. Together with the smell of charcoal & by squeezing some of the lime juice over it, this becomes the best combination after all.

Good night, beautiful!

Sunday, 30th April 2017
Day 2:
It's time for us to leave Perhentian Island & we took the earliest boat to depart. Gonna say goodbye to this place.
A new day where the sky is so dim as it's still early in the morning.

Always love to feel the water splashing when having boat riding.

Ready to off to Kelantan for lunch? See my recommendation below:
What to have for lunch? Definitely gonna listen to what the local recommends. Here's the famous local restaurant that you should try in Kelantan. 

 Here're the "MUST ORDER LIST!". Seriously I never taste this when I'm in Penang.

I noticed that almost every table ordered this, so I classified this meal as a MUST TO EAT as well. The "Ikan Keli". It's so crispy on the outside & this is their best seller. One is totally not enough for me! Thumbs up for this!!!

Food Stall Name: Kak Mah Kedai Makan (Masakan Selera Kampung)
Address: Kampung Bukit Yong, 16800 Pasir Puteh, Kelatan.
Contact No.: +6012-901 2182


Monday, 01st May 2017
Day 3:
Last day spent in Terengganu. Just another local breakfast before we started our journey home.


 Terengganu laksa is totally different with what we have in Penang. The laksa over here is not spicy at all & it comes together with a very rich smell of fish. It looks "so so" but people here love it.


Owhhh.... And I'm going to miss this cutie pie so muchhh... 💙💚💛💜


Love, 
Alvira