Gunung Ledang

The lure of the Puteri’s mountainBy Meera ViajayanSaturday August 12, 2006Mountain climbing may sound like a sport for extreme adventure enthusiasts, but 56-year-old Singaporean Hoong Ah Sin who has climbed up Gunung Ledang more than 100 times will tell you otherwise. “Anyone can climb a mountain. You just have to go up like an ant,” said the youthful looking Hoong who has climbed up Gunung Ledang 115 times and also conquered Gunung Tahan twice.One...

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Kampung Style Homestay Tourism Houses

130 kampung houses for touristsSunday November 19, 2006BALIK PULAU: A total of 130 houses in traditional villages in Penang will be made available for homestay programmes for Visit Malaysia Year 2007. Penang bumiputra tourism chairman Muhamad Farid Saad said the programme would start as soon as the Tourism Ministry gave out licences to homestay operators. “The demand from foreign tourists to stay in real kampung surroundings is encouraging,” he said...

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Monsoon Cup, Pulau Duyong, Terengganu

Monsoon cup is here again! And those crazy sailors will brave the monsoon just to win the coveted prize! Veteran sailors set for Monsoon Cup showdown 18 Nov 2006 Fay Angela D’Cruz and Zainuddin Muhammad KUALA LUMPUR: Visitors to the Monsoon Cup this year can expect experienced match racing sailors competing with young and energetic sailors, bringing about thrilling races. Reigning match racing world champion and Monsoon Cup race director Peter...

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Pahang aims for 7.8 million tourists

Pahang aims for 7.8 million touristsBy Roslina MohamadThursday November 16, 2006KUANTAN: Tourism Malaysia Pahang targets tourist arrival for next year to be around 7.8 million with an estimated spending of RM3.2bil while holidaying in the state. Its director Jefri Munir said the increase in visitors would be expected as the country would launch Visit Malaysia Year 2007. “There will be a lot of spectacular events and festivals at state level and we hope these colourful and interesting activities will be attractive enough to draw in more tourists. “Locals and foreigners will be able to experience what the state has to offer throughout the year,”...

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Tourism boom seen in 2007

Tourism boom seen in 2007Tuesday November 7, 2006By Goh Ee KoonPETALING JAYA: Millions of tourists are expected to visit Malaysia next year and tourism revenue, estimated to total RM35bil this year, is expected to increase at an even faster pace. There would be a “grand launch” of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) on Jan 1, which would be followed by a host of events in every month next year. Tourist arrivals had steadily risen from 3 million back in 1983...

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Friendly hosts welcome tourists

Friendly hosts welcome touristsThursday November 2, 2006SCENIC VIEW: Sungai Angkat near the village is a popular picnic spot.THE home stay experience at Kampung Keda Ulu Legong in Baling, Kedah, promises to be unforgettable for many visitors. The friendly kampung folk there are very accommodating and able to cater to the needs of their houseguests, including lining up fun-filled activities. One of the home stay operators, Mohd Akhir Ismail, 48,...

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Taste of island hospitality

Taste of island hospitalityThursday November 2, 2006Story and photo by Christina KohFOREIGN tourists coming to Pangkor Island will soon get a chance to visit the homes of certain residents there in a year-round open house programme. Tourism Malaysia officer Shahrim Tan said the programme, involved five homes each in Kampung Teluk Dalam and Kampung Teluk Gedung. The two locations promise to be interesting as Kampung Teluk Dalam is a Malay fishing...

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Tourist attractions in the Lumut area

Tourist attractions in the Lumut areaSaturday September 23, 2006THE areas surrounding Damai Laut are rare ecological and historical treasures. Less than an hour away from the resort, these places provide visitors with the opportunity to explore some of the country's most exotic natural wonders. Educational, enlightening and above all else, fun - these tourist attractions are among some of Perak's best-kept secrets. Sightseeing tours can be arranged by Damai Laut and after a day of adventure, there really is no better way to relax than at the resort's Samsara Spa. Bukit Larut Forest Reserve (Maxwell Hill) The forest reserve comprises some 6,880...

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Three-day Matta fair

Tuesday September 19, 2006THE Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) will be holding its third travel fair in Ipoh this weekend. The three-day fair, to be held at Stadium Indera Mulia from Friday to Sunday, is expected to attract at least 40,000 people, said organi-sing chairman Aminurrashid Abas. It will be open from 10am to 10pm daily. The fair is organised with the cooperation of the Perak Tourism Action Council and sponsored by the Ipoh City Council and Visa. Visitors can expect to find ex-clusive travel packages and cheap offers on vacation deals from more than 30 participating orga-nisations. There will be as many as 76...

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Pulau Perhentian - a resort island

Koh Samui’s lesser-known sisterThursday September 14, 2006By Kamaruzaman YaacobThe resort island of Pulau Perhentian off Tereng-ganu's coast shares geographical similarities with its Thai counterpart of Koh Samui, situated 600km to the north. But it still lags when it comes to drawing tourists. Tourism operators on the island are of the opinion that networking with their counterparts in Koh Samui can help bring the much needed tourists. A boatman...

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Langkawi Four Seasons Resort

Langkawi Four Seasons ResortBy Jan LeowThis is really a luxurious resort. Six-star class, with the lowest room rate at US$450 per night is very well out of range for most average income earners. On top of that, they just won the FIABCI-MALAYSIAN award 2006 in the resort development category.If the photos of the resort are anything to go by, it definitely left my mouth watering and longing to at least visit the place. But being a high class snob place, I bet they would not allow any outsiders to simply waltz right in to have a look at their premises unless you are a fare paying guest. Perhaps just dining in would be good enough to enable you to...

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Langkawi - Freshness Guaranteed

Freshness guaranteedSaturday September 2, 2006Food is a four-letter word that can be enjoyed in so many ways. BOEY PING PING goes from a business-class flight to first-class dining at the celebrated Four Seasons Resort Langkawi. FLYING into Langkawi, the plane passes low over waters so clear I can almost see my dinner jumping out at me. Fish, squid and prawns swim playfully in the turquoise sea, oblivious to their fate as my meal soon. It’s been...

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Orang asli villages pulling in the tourists

Orang asli villages pulling in the touristsBY Nik Naizi HusinFriday August 25, 2006MUADZAM SHAH: Visits to orang asli villages are so popular with foreign tourists they have been included in the itinerary for the homestay programmes here. State Arts, Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Women’s Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Maznah Mazlan said the orang asli in Kampong Kedaik, Kampong Tanam and a few other surrounding villages still carried out traditional...

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Going it alone - Travel Tales

Going it aloneTRAVELLER'S TALESAlexandra Wong tells us why she would never take a tour again, after surviving a self-planned trip to Australia and backpacking solo in Kuching. Mark warned me not to expect your typical tour itinerary in Melbourne. I suspected as much that we weren’t going to do the usual koala and wombat routine. ”I’m showing you the real Australian lifestyle!” he said. But, the Royal Botanical Gardens? He brushed off my misgivings...

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Homestay way to more rooms

Homestay way to more roomsBy Nik Naizi HusinMonday August 14, 2006ROMPIN: The homestay programme held actively in several states could be the “solution” to cater to the influx of foreign tourists in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2007. Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf said the present number of rooms in hotels, chalets and budget hotels would not be sufficient to accommodate the influx of foreign tourists expected next...

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An Annual Homage to St Anne

An annual homage to St AnneTuesday August 1, 2006By Ng Su Ann and M. Sivanantha Sharma FOR 10 days, all roads seemed to lead to Bukit Mertajam in Penang as more than 100,000 people flocked to the St Anne’s Church there for the St Anne’s Novena and Feast 2006. The annual celebration began on July 21 with the 188-year-old church holding Novenas followed by masses which were conducted in English, Tamil, Mandarin, Thai and Kadazan. The climax...

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Travel Safe Travel Tips

Sure it is fun to go for travels, I like travelling too. But it sure pays to have a few safeguards to avoid situations that will spoil your splendid vacation. I still recall an incident in Paris, France where my wife backpack was almost pick pocketed by a bunch of happy friendly kids in a deserted Metro underground. Fortunately, she felt the backpack straps were being unfasten and she quickly moved and turned around, foiling the would be thieves. I thank God that they didn't managed to get her purse buried deep in the backpack thus making it very difficult for them to reach in. Otherwise it would have really spoilt our trip. We could still laugh...

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White Water Rafting

Rafting For OneBy ANDREW SIA Fancy riding the river on your personal white water raft? StarWeekend gets on and becomes a wet human pinball. Sunbeams poke through the vault of leafy branches high above our rocky, frothy venue. We lower our posteriors into the cold, sparkling water completing our act of submission. Welcome to the sport of river tubing. Why would anyone drive to Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB), Selangor on a Sunday and pay RM80 to sit in...

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Plan Your Own Vacation

The self-planned holidayBy LEONG SIOK HUI i-July-2006 So you want to trek the Himalayas, pedal around Ireland and kayak Halong Bay in Vietnam, but can’t find a Malaysian operator to help you plan the trip? LEONG SIOK HUI suggests D.I.Y.After he reached the peak of Mt Kinabalu in 2002, Tan Ay Bing, 49, aspired to climb higher mountains. He read about Mt Kilimanjaro (5,895m) in Tanzania and bought Lonely Planet’s Trekking in East Africa guidebook. During a travel fair, he stumbled upon a Malaysian travel operator who could plan this climb for him. “My biggest constraint was time, and I thought it would be a hassle to plan the trip myself,”...

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When it rains, it really pours

For several days it was terribly hot and humid. Doing any activites just tires oneself out. Even my pet cat, Casper just sleeps most of the time. Could't do much with the hot and humid climate. It felt like walking in a thick gravy of sorts and breathing the heavier density air seems like drowning in it.Today, the dark clouds loom and before you know it. Kaboom comes the thunder and lightning, and the rain pours down like cats and dogs. Fortunately...

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Fuel prices up 30 sen (Not Again!)

Fuel prices up 30 sen27-Feb-2006The retail prices of petrol and diesel will be increased by 30 sen per litre while the retail price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 30 sen per kg effective Feb 28.Bernama quoted a statement from the Prime Minister's Department on Feb 27 as saying the move to increase the prices was to counter the effects of the rising price of crude oil in the world market and the rising cost of subsidising petrol.The government,...

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Flash Floods in February

The weather is getting crazier nowadays. Just recently the TTDI Shah Alam was hit with flash flood. February month should not be raining so much but somehow the weather pattern has changed. It looks like the signs of the times. Beginning with the Andaman Tsunami of Dec 2004, Hurricane Katrina of mid 2005, to the various typhoon around the Asian region. Could it be the signs of end times?Just looking at the photos taken from the news already gives...

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Rain Jam

Whenever rain falls the traffic condition in Petaling Jaya or Kuala Lumpur gets really bad. The worlds climate has gone crazy and it seems Malaysia is no different. February month should have been a pretty hot month and it is supposed to be without rain. Alas no, it is still hot but then it pours in the afternoon pretty much cats and dogs.And when it happens around rush hour, that's it. The traffic goes to the dogs. One of the poor road design is...

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CNY at Bukit Tinggi, Raub & Fraser's Hill

Happy Chinese New Year!Yes, it is the year of the dog. Hopefully, we don't have to work like a dog this year, but somehow I think not!Just backed from CNY holiday. What a blast! Reunion dinner and all. My aunty from Raub invited us over for overnight stay as my Uncle Aaron was giving treating us a CNY dinner. And my sis-in-law also managed to get free stay at Silverpark Apartments in Fraser's Hill. Well, to make full use of this trip, I decided to...

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