OK.. Bad news.. got an email today from Air Asia notifying the suspension of Air Asia X service Kuala Lumpur - Christchurch effective 1st June 2012.
I have a trip with AAX to Christchurch on 10th September 2012. Repeating my trip last year, this time I thought am going to bring my parents to visit solely South Island. I've already booked Kea Campervan and have partially paid for it. And am seriously numb now to think which flight I should book for that trip.
Options available :
- Get a refund from AAX
- Travel to / from Christchurch before the suspension date i.e before 1st June 2012
- Travel to any destination in Australia / any AAX destination
Now I am numb and do not know what to do!
I guess for some people, Langkawi is the right place to shop for certain items. I didn't have that intention during my recent trip, simply because both me and Mr D are lazy creatures.. we hate to carry things. When I booked the flight with Air Asia, I didn't even buy any checked baggage. We just rely on the 7kg hand luggage allocation. So, even when we stayed at Bayview Hotel which is very convenient for shopping given its location, we didn't do much shopping, except - chocolates!!!
Even then, we didn't buy many chocolates, except, our favorite Whittakers. Both of us are crazy about Whittakers. When we were in New Zealand, that's what we consumed day in and day out. Especially its dark chocolate. Whittakers is originated from New Zealand, but we can sometimes find it in KL, but it is damn expensive in KL. I remember buying the peanut slab (not the normal gold whittakers) which of course in small package, at the price of RM16 per pack of 3. In New Zealand it costs around NZD3. And guess what is the price in Langkawi? RM6.50!! I ended up buying 16packs altogether - in all variety : dark chocolate peanut slab, the normal chocolate peanut slab and peanut and raisins. The gold Whittakers bar is sold at about RM10 per bar. Isn't that cheap? It costs around NZD3.50 in some parts of New Zealand, and can be as high as NZD5 per bar.
I compared prices in a number of duty free shops around Kuah, and noted the price is not that different between one another. Mr D is of course happy with his Ghana Mint, also a variety of Whittakers, which I also like because the slight bitterness from the dark chocolate is combined with the refreshing minty taste.
I visited the duty free shops around Bayview Langkawi, which are within walking distance. Zeno and Haji Ismail Group are located opposite each other. There's not much difference when it come to prices.
I also visited Idaman Suri, which needs about 5 minutes drive from Bayview Hotel. In terms of arrangement, I think Idaman Suri probably is better. And for those who love Corelle and stuffs, they might like it. But price wise, Haji Ismail Group probably beats it.
*hampa nak beli pinggan mangkuk ka? Mai lahh Langkawi
On our final day in Langkawi, we just wanted to take a slow drive around the island, while waiting for our flight which was scheduled at 8:50pm that night. Langkawi is not big, so the attractions are located not too far from one another. Plus, it is so easy to get from one place to another, you don't even need a GPS.
We started our slow drive from Telaga Tujuh,
located at Gunung Mat Chincang near the cable car, which is actually a waterfall. One will need to do a little climbing about 10-15 minutes to reach the place from the base.
The next destination was Wildlife and Bird Park, where it houses a number of wild life and bird species like the Bird Park we have here in Kuala Lumpur. We can buy food at the entrance to feed the animals at the price of RM6 per set, which consists of food to be given to the parrots, various birds, fish and rabbit. The entrance fee is RM12 per pax for adult and RM8 per pax for children. I think children will enjoy this park very much.
I kind of like the information displayed at every cage in the park. I like the way the information is presented, it is kind of brief, and funny. That's the kind of thing I think will be glued in my head for long - short and funny information. Am sure kids will love the information too.
We then head to Durian Perangin, another waterfall in Langkawi located at Gunung Raya. There are 14 tiers of the waterfall, but I understand it is seasonal. During the rainy season, the water flow will be heavier. This waterfall is quite 'mini' in my opinion, maybe because we visited this place in February. The fact that we have to climb up quite far to the 'peak', it is not worth it.
And perhaps because it is so 'mini', it looks so run down. The bridges are old and looks like it can collapse any time. Perhaps something could be done to preserve the facilities. Notwithstanding the fact that it is so mini, it can be an attraction to the jungle trackers especially those who love the flora and fauna around the waterfall.
Mr D said he wanted to visit the glass blowing place, which is located within the compound of the Langkawi Craft Complex. The complex itself is full of craft items and exhibition like batik painting, mengkuang etc. But this place is kind of quiet, Malaysians probably do not find this interesting, but for tourists, this is something worth looking at.
The only problem with the exhibition is, there's no explanation given to the visitors. It is just showing how things done. Perhaps it is better to give visitors information of how things are done. Then it will be more interesting.
We then went to the back to where the glass blowing activity was done at Faizy Crystal Glass Blowing. This gallery cum workshop is opened for public daily except on Friday. Here we will be able to see how crystal items are done, in the workshop behind the gallery. They are working in a room full of heat, and looking at the way they blow the crystal, no wonder the price is so expensive. We can also buy crystal items at the gallery.
Done with our visit at the craft centre, we head down to the Telaga Ayer Hangat. It is now not only housing the hot spring, but also a spa. Nothing much to be done there, but if you want to soak your feet in the warm water, you can do so. Just that I found the place quite smelly from the mould and all, perhaps something need to be done?
