Club Med Kani Maldives - Paradise on Earth

A school of five silver color fish slowly makes their way to where I was sitting, a small little wooden platform at our lagoon suite villa, my legs dipped in the icy cold water, inches away from the green, oh so green seaweed on fine white sand, waving gently under the magical spell of the sea current.

Meters away, a lone black tip baby shark of a meter long, cruises by oblivious to my presence. A sudden disturbance in the seabed caught my attention. A grey mantra ray of almost three feet in diameter glides by.

The sound of waves beating against the concrete pillars of the villa coupled with the gentle sea breeze blowing onto my face and the dancing sunlight reflected on the clear blue seabed has almost an hypnotizing effect. For a moment, you are in complete total peace with yourself, with mother nature, with God. For that one moment, the world you know and left behind does not seemed to exist or matter.

There is only you, the sea, the blue skies with fluffy white clouds drifting by and the wind, blowing and singing her gentle soothing melody.

This is Maldives.

Read the full story and more pictures at Clud Med Kani Maldives - Paradise on Earth (myNikon&I)

Club Med Kani Maldives - Arrival

Mynikon & I : Club Med Kani Maldives - Arrival

We arrived at 9:45 p.m. local which was 12:45 a.m. Malaysian time. After a 4 hours flight, we were tired. Maldives international airport looks pretty much like the one we have at Pulau Langkawi. Small and rather unorganized. After clearing customs, we walked out of the arrival hall expecting greeting cards from Club Med with our name but there were none. Lost and unhappy, we asked around and were directed to a small Club Med counter. We were tagged with a green wrist band (something which  will bring us much more attention and privileges as we found out later) and  were asked to wait. And we waited and waited. We ended sitting by the roadside because we were supposed to wait for another flight from Singapore and since both flights are arriving apparently 5 minutes apart in the middle of the night, the management thinks that it is good logistic to group guests from this two flights together.

Read more about our experience about the Lagoon Suites at Club Med Kani Maldives and our experience upon our arrival ....(http://mynikonni.blogspot.com/2012/09/club-med-kani-maldives-arrival.html)

The Irony of Travelling as a Parent

The day before we travelled has always been stressful as far as I could remember. There are always so many last minute errands to run and things to settle. Packing has always been done hours before we are to leave for the airport. I must confess that most of the packing is done by my better half, who would meticulously write down a checklist to ensure that every necessity are packed and taken care of, down to the quantity of every shirt, every pants and underwear packed. I, for one, am the careless one. Packing to me would probably take a fraction of the time that she would need but then again, please do not ask me the exact number of collar t-shirts I have taken, round neck shirts I have tucked away nor the exact location of my toothpaste or my shaver.

Instead of careless, I would rather say that I am more carefree. I am happy just travelling with as little luggage as possible besides my camera and my lens. To me, travelling, especially if it is for leisure and not business, got to be more spontaneous and carefree. As long as my passport and all necessary documents are in place, who cares if I should run out of shirts while I am away? Who cares if I bring back exactly the five pieces of underwear that I brought along? But then again, that is me.

However, now that I am no longer unattached nor have the privilege to travel alone like I used to, going on a holiday, or I would rather said, preparation to go for a holiday has become a totally different story especially when my children are travelling with me. I would love to be carefree but I can no longer afford that luxury. Besides making sure that I have enough milk powder to last through the journey, number of pieces of diapers, I have to ensure that all the necessary medication for any possible emergency are taken along, nasal spray, nose drops, paracetamol and the list goes on. With Chenya travelling as well, I would have to make sure that baby bottle special washing liquid, brush and sterilizing steamer are packed as well.  I will make sure that if we ever have to bring Ryan (when he was below 3) or Chenya now, I would avoid flying or taking any type of transportation other than my MPV. If I can not park my MPV in front of the hotel to unload all the stuff that I have brought along, you would NOT see me there. If I can not unload all the luggage and bags that I have skilfully fit into the luggage compartment right in front of the hotel so that the bell boy can take over, I am not going.

I used to enjoy travelling and being away from home for weeks and if it is a dream holiday, for months or never coming back to the reality. But with Ryan getting older and more attached and with Chenya growing up so fast, surprising, we find ourselves missing home the moment we left home without them. That is a deep sense of relief, to our disbelief, on the day we checked out.

Relieved, knowing that soon we will see our two little precious one that we have left home, soon. Relieved, knowing that soon, we could have them in our arms, and we showering them with our kisses and hugs. Relieved, knowing soon that Ryan will be running into our arms, yelling at the top of his lungs, “Daddy! Mommy! I LOVE you!” and Chenya waving her arms frantically in the air shouting “Aaeyyyyyeeeee!” with her cheeky smile. Relieved that soon we will be seeing Ryan jumping off the sofa and we will be shouting at him at the top of our lungs, “Ryan! STOP! You will break your leg!”….

OK…I need another holiday soon……

US San Francisco : Pier 39 & Fisherman Wharf

"Make sure you get all the itineraries sorted out and all the places we want to go planned ya ..." my wife reminded me again and again like a spoilt CD repeating itself. Well, her concern is well justified as I am one who would like pro-castinate and pushes things till the very last minute before I actually act on them.

Forcing myself, I googled for the top places and must do activities for our up and coming visit to San Francisco and checked through the various reviews from the different sites. One such apparently `must do' place is Pier 39 and Fisherman Wharf of course. However, checking on the numerous reviews written on this site left me rather uncertain as to whether I really should waste time getting there. To be honest, while it does get some rather good reviews from visitors, there were also almost an equal amount of bad ones, ranging from over crowded, too commercialized, bad food and some puts it as outright `rip-off'. It seemed that the only repeating consolation to warrant a visit is to see the sea lions who have made Pier 39 their home. It seems that this place is a darling to visitors of San Francisco but locals seemed to avoid it like a plague.

Read the full story at my travelling and photography blog:-

http://mynikonni.blogspot.com/2012/09/us-san-francisco-pier-39-fisherman.html

Bali - Tanah Lot Temple and Mengwi Temple

September 2011 (Backdated post)

We were contemplating whether we would want to go out from Club Med since Club Med has so many activities to occupy us and Ryan really wanted to spend all his time in the pool. However, it would be quite a pity if we don't venture out at all and have a look at what Bali has to offer. Moreover, I was checking the web before leaving for Bali and there were some very nice places to take pictures.

So, we approached the activities center and got them to recommend us a half day tour to someplace nice. Since it was only for half a day, they recommended us to visit the Tanah Lot Temple and the Mengwi Temple. I have seen some very very nice pictures of the Tanah Lot Temple in the internet and I was pretty excited to see it for myself....

We left at 8:30a.m after a hearty breakfast. There were another 3 couples in the same coach so the tour was rather private, just like we prefer. We really dislike travelling with huge tour groups because there is very little attention and you always ended up having to wait for someone at every stop ....

Travelling from Club Med Bali to Tanah Lot Temple takes approximately 1.5 hours going through the morning hour rush. Traffic in Bali can be horrendous...and there seemed to be only one traffic rule there....which is ...THERE IS NO RULE!

Tanah Lot Temple (temple in the sea) is one of the place to take good evening sunset pictures. We were advised against it because there would be a larger crowd and there is also the likelihood of rain.

I must say that the place does not disappoint for good photography. I just wished I had more time and probably a chance to catch a really cool sunset ...maybe my next trip ....


Ryan showing off his kung fu within the temple grounds of Mengwi Temple.....

Club Med Bali - Daddy and Me!

September 2011 (Backdated post)

One of the most unforgettable experience in Club Med Bali is the things I got to do with Ryan for the very first time. It's that special bonding that I will cherish forever and I definitely want to put it on record here lest I forget or for Ryan to read when he grows up (in case I don't get to tell him).

I will let the pictures do the talking here.....

Here we were...father and son, catching crabs by the beach .....
The first sunrise that we watched together as a family ....awesome experience ...

Being a golfer, it has always been my dream that I would be able to have a round with Ryan and here we were in Bali, having two rounds of golf together and the memory ...priceless...!

Ryan wanted to be like Avatar ....

Having fun in the pool ....

The Kung Fu master and his young apprentice in front of the Mengwi Temple ...

A very exhausted daddy and his very happy son after a visit to the famous Tanah Lot Temple ...

Club Med Bali - A Cool Deal!

September 2011 (Backdated post) - Continuation

(Club Med Bali Poolside bar during sunset)

With the MATA fair promotion earlier this year, we managed to secure a pretty cool deal from Club Med. Buy One and FREE ONE! Pretty cool huh? And children got to stay, eat and play for free. Suits Ryan just fine.

I have never been to Bali before and the last trip my wife made to Bali was decades ago. This is also my first trip to a Club Med and I have heard raving reviews of how fun staying at Club Med can be.

I must said that I was not every impressed upon touching down at the airport and got a pretty nasty experience taking a taxi from the airport to Club Med. I made doubly sure that I purchased the taxi coupons from proper counters set up within the airport. Friends were telling us that it was pretty easy to get a taxi there and is much cheaper than ordering one from the hotel. (Honestly, I prefer to have one from the hotel waiting to pick me up when I arrived especially if I'm travelling to countries in Asia than trying to arrange one when I arrived). Anyway, after agreeing on the price and since currencies in Indonesia runs into hundreds of thousands and millions (which take some adjustment to..hey..I'm not used to be a millionaire ok), I paid him in big notes (mistake that I made when I change my Ringgit at KLIA for not asking for smaller notes). The taxi counter conveniently `forgot' to give me back my change. Although after conversion, it is still a relatively small amount , RM2 or thereabout, the impression is that the locals are out to swindle tourist like us in whichever way they can....

OK. I can live with Rm2 poorer. One guy from the taxi counter guided us to the taxi which was parked at the airport parking lot. Upon loading all the bags, he expressly now asked for a tip. My wife and I were like..."Huh? Tip again? for what?" Realizing that we were reluctant, his face somewhat changed from the `smiling..hello tourist' look to 'hei..I don't work for free' look....

We looked into our wallets and realised the smallest Indonesian currency we had were 100,000 rupiahs! I have a couple of USD in my wallet and ended up giving him USD5. Expensive tip!!!

Trip to the hotel was uneventful and honestly, I am still smarting from having to pay such an expensive tip.

Club Med is definitely a welcoming sight.

The rooms ....

The poolside and the poolside bar ....heavenly ...

View of the poolside bar from the beachfront ...
The mini golf course....6 par 3 holes ...

The beach ....


Sunrise at Club Med Bali beachfront

Did I like Club Med? Of course. I enjoyed the good selection for food available for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I enjoyed that I got to order any drinks that I want. I had countless glasses of Bali draught beer, wine both and red. I enjoyed the games, the activities and the nightly entertainment put up by the resort staff themselves. (They are indeed a talented lot). I enjoyed the sight of many beautiful bodies and pretty faces..ahem....

But above all, I enjoyed the company of my wife and Ryan as we got to do things that we have not done before...(more of that in my next post)..

The only sore point that I had with this resort is that the GO (Guest Officers) were paying too much attention to guests of their own countries. There were many Koreans, Chinese nationals from China, Japanese and Aussies...but unfortunately, throughout our entire stay, I guessed we were the only Malaysian and we have only met one Malaysian GO lady from Penang. So, we were kinda of left out and were pretty left unattended to ..though we managed to meet and got to know three rather cute and hot GOs from Korea, Japan and Bali herself...(all thanks to Ryan who has the tendency to attract pretty gals without much of a problem with his cheeky smile and bold moves in approaching them...I guess Daddy would have to learn a trick or two from him soon...)

Club Med Bali - Ryan's first oversea's holiday

September 2011 (Backdated post)

We have always wanted to bring Ryan to sit in an aeroplane. We have tried a shorter distance trip last year when we took Air Asia to Langkawi. This year, when Club Med came out with a promotion of `Buy One Free One' offer, we grabbed it. We were contemplating between Bali or Phuket. In the end, I opted for Bali since I have never been there myself.

The offer, I must say, is well worth the money, considering that it is an `all inclusive package' and we paid minimal for Ryan since he is still below 4. We also got our travel agency to get us some pretty good deals from MAS. No more Air Asia when we travel as a family. The last time, we took Air Asia, not only was the flight delayed but the plane was parked right at the end of the terminal and we had to walked 25 minutes between reaching the terminal...and it was raining at 11pm!!!

As usual he was all excited about the trip and honestly, so were we! Actually, to be honest, I must confess that we wanted the holiday more and Ryan was just an excuse for us to `dump' baby Chenya with my mother in-law in order for us to travel...hehehehe (cruel leh!)

We went to airport early and after checking in, proceeded to the Premium Lounge. It is supposed to be a lounge with premium service and exclusive (catering for those frequent flyers or platinum credit card holders of certain banks). This is our first time trying it out and our expectation were high .....which turned out to be rather disappointing to say the least.

If it is that exclusive, I would expect the front desk people to be friendly or at least smile and make the guests feel welcomed. Nope! The food was nothing really fantastic to shout about. One toilet was closed for maintenance while the remaining one was so wet and dirty, definitely not befitting to be called THE PREMIUM LOUNGE.


We grab a quick bite, relax a little before we board for our flight to Bali. Ryan was all excited to be on the plane again. He was even served his kiddie on board meal. All the excitement finally wore him down. He was sound asleep till we reached our destination.
Waiting for boarding....

Fooling around with mommy on the plane...
Having his in flight kiddie meal....

Totally exhausted after all the excitement ...sleeping soundly throughout ....

Cameron Highlands Strawberry Picking

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

And finally, no Cameron Highlands holiday is complete without picking fresh strawberries. So, on the last morning before we checked out, we promised Ryan that we will bring him to pick some strawberries ...and the nearest strawberry farm that we can find is just outside Equatorial Hotel.

We paid Rm20 to pick 0.5kg of strawberries and we would have to pay for the extras if we picked more.

It was rather ordinary for me but super exciting for Ryan and that is what the trip is all about. Would I pay another Rm20 again to pick strawberries? For me...NO but if Ryan wants, YES of course....I guess that is what every parent would do anyway ..right??

Teaching Ryan how to pick strawberries properly....
Ryan enjoying his ice cream with fresh strawberries

Next ....our trip to Bali Club Med....

Cameron Highlands Ye Old Smoke House (Hot nights in a cold place)

September 2011 (Continuation) - Backdated post

OK. Back to backdated post on our recent travels. Continuing on our short holiday to Cameron Highlands, the next venue to yak about would be Ye Old Smokehouse located just after Tanah Rata on the way to Brinchang.


This quaint little English cottage style boutique hotel was once listed as the place for the rich and famous. With limited rooms, our first stay there was something like 10 years ago. Over the last decade, we had stayed there three times and we enjoyed the atmosphere very much. The service was top notch back then and the staff literally know you by your name. (Have to right? Only less than 20 rooms in total)

I must say that this is the ideal place for young couples looking for a romantic getaway or honey mooning couples looking for a romantic nest for some `hot' nights in the cold cool weather of Cameron Highlands.....(try to imagine warm bodies under the blanket on huge brass bed in rooms decorated in the old English cottage settings...need I say more....hmmmm)

Come to think of it, it would also be a cool place for `old married couples' to `abandon' their children for a hot spicy weekend (read about rekindling our sex lives in one of the post by bro Eugene from Bold Talk).

Anyway, we found it rather expensive to bring so many to stay there this round and hence we opted for a more economical Equatorial. However, we still wanted to enjoy the atmosphere and hence we went there for a good old English breakfast ...Turned out to be the most expensive meal throughout our trip (but then I knew that it would not come cheap in the first place considering that the junior suite rack rate is already close to RM500 per night).

The garden terrace where breakfast and tea are served.
Ryan in his happy mode and fooling around
Having fun with mommy...

Pretending to be zombies like in the `Walking Dead' series...
`Hello? Hello?' errr....excuse me? Shouldn't you guys be in the phone booth?