Sibu Airport is Now Upgraded

We were proud of Sibu airport the moment we walked through the pier. We has been using the airport for many years.  The new facelift- futuristic design and fully air conditioned building is undoubtedly giving warm welcome message to all the visitors. To be frank, it is far better than many major airports in South East Asia region. I is a luxury for a town of 200k population.  The new upgraded airport building was officially operational in 2012. From the tourists' point of view- we like it very very much!

 Spacious check-in area.

Ample seat for visitors, with a few shops available for last minute shopping. Sugar Bun was available to provide meals and snacks.

 Fully air conditioned shopping and waiting area for visitors.

 Departure hall with sufficient seat for everyone.

 Cafe in the departure hall.

 Pick up and drop off area with a few transparent cover to save the lighting cost.

Taxi stand was just outside of the airport gates, with taxis lined up and ready to serve. The fare, RM 35 to Sibu town area. We didn't take bus in Sibu for more than 20 years. However, according to Lonely Planet, bus from Sibu Airport to town was available every 30 minutes, from 6 am to 6 pm. Beside taxi service, car rental service and tour service were available as well.

Sibu Airport is no more a nightmare for air traveller (believe us, it was really a terrible place). Cozy full air conditioned environment, ample of seat, systematic and easy to read signage, eateries and a few shops altogether make Sibu Airport now a comfortable place for a few hours stay. Free public Wifi? Not available yet. (Free Wifi is available in 2018, tested and confirmed by both of us)

Want to read more about our experience in Sibu? Please visit the links below.

[Attractions in Sibu] [A Day Trip in Sibu] 

[Food and Accommodation in Sibu]

[All Our Destinations]

Farm in the City- a Great Place with Cute and Tame Animals

At first, we couldn't believe where the farm is- Equine Park, Seri Kembangan, behind Giant Hypermarket... if it is true, then the farm should be surrounded by well developed residential and commercial areas. Well, as the name portrayed- Farm in the City, it is really a farm right in the middle of modern concrete buildings and highways. 

The entrance fees for MyKad holders were RM 30 for adult and RM 25 for child and senior citizen. Without MyKad, the entrance fees were RM 48 for adult and RM 38 for child and senior citizen. The complete address of the farm: Jalan Prima Tropika Barat, Bandar Putra Permai, Seri Kembangan. The operation hours for the farm were 10 am - 6 pm on weekdays, and 9:30 am - 6 pm on weekends and public holidays. The farm was closed on Tuesday except on public holiday.

We reached there at around 12 noon and stayed in the farm for more than 3 hours. The experience was good- we could actually touch, pet, and took close photos with almost all the animals in the farm. We were prohibited to bring outside food into the farm for the animals. For feeding, the animal food was available free of charge. Feeding time for some carnivorous animals and the schedule for animal show were available in the farm. Well, time to show our photos.

The signage to the farm was clearly displayed (upper left), which led us to a open space with a large "Downtown" entrance (upper right). There was ample of parking space (lower left). After the entrance, we need to turn right to enter the farm.

Our photo at the entrance of the farm.

The farm was very well landscaped. Photos showed the stairs right after the entrance (upper left), the giant tortoise exhibit (upper right), the farmer's hut by the lake (lower left), and the family resting area.

We could see the rare and exotics- albino crow (upper left), naturally white macaw (upper right), albino python, and Indian star back tortoise.

The members of old MacDonald's farm- big fat hen (upper left), pigeon (upper right), geese (lower left), and goats.

Of course, the cute animals were always the stars. We have Prairie dogs (upper left), Fennec Fox (upper right), the Flemish giant rabbit (lower left), and the striped skunk.

And of course, this super cute Prairie dog was one of the most eyes catching superstar!

The best thing about the farm- we could pet and touch the cuteness-overloaded animals :)

Parrots were very active.

There were many things to do- feeding and petting rabbits, deers, and giant tortoises were just a few of them. We could experience the moment of catching fish in longkang (drain) as well. These activities were "all included" without extra changes.

It is a great place for family, especially with kids. Experiencing close contact with various animals is invaluable. Just a rough count on feeding grounds- Aldabra and Sulcata tortoises at the Turtle and Tortoise Farm, rabbits and guinea pigs at the Pet Village, deers and goats at the Savanna, a cow at the Vegetables and Fruit Farm, and the fish and ducks beside the pond. All the animal food were free of charge.

We really need to put a thumb up for all the helpful and friendly farm keepers. They provided not only the information about the animals, but helped in distributing animal food to the visitors. They were animal lovers. We could see that from how they treated the animals. The farm was clean, but of course, couldn't be 100 % free of the smell of the animals.

To have an enjoyable trip, sufficient drinking water and comfortable footwear are necessary. Do allocate at least 3 hours for a relaxing tour around the farm. During our visit, the drink was available only at the canteen. There were flowing streams to be crossed, but the stepping stones were just nice to keep our feet dry. Throughout the trip, three of us just recorded with only one mosquito's bite, so it might not necessary for us to apply any mosquito repellent.

The Pet Village with rabbits and guinea pigs (upper left), the Savanna with tame deers, two world second smallest kangaroos, and two very naughty goats (upper right), fish feeding site (lower left), and the counter of the canteen.

Ducks came to share the food with fish.

The food at the canteen was nice. We tried tom yam with noodle, kampung fried rice, and mixed rice with drinks. The price, around RM10 per person. The canteen had an air conditioned section, which was fully booked during our visit. The open air section was very simple, but there were enough ceiling fans to keep us away from afternoon heat. The whole farm was heavily shrubbed so umbrella was necessary in case of raining only.

It will be perfect if the entrance fees can be a bit cheaper, and the toilets, a bit cleaner (of course, we couldn't really complain much about farm's toilets). And, the Vegetable and Fruit Farm need a bit more improvement. Visit again? Definitely.

Our sharing on attractions in Selangor are available at:

[National Zoological Park] [All Our Destinations]

Kampung Morten, a Tranquil Island in the Ocean of Development

Kampung Morten, or Morten Village is a village in the middle of the city of Melaka. Named after the British Land Commissioner, F. J. Morten who had contributed to the opening of the village, the village was found around 1920 an by Othman Mohd. Noh. Surrounded by skyscrapers and highways, Melaka River is the only barrier that eludes the tranquil village from the bustle world on the opposite bank.

Retaining the traditional architecture, the peaceful village is claimed to be the living museum. Most of the residences there are fenceless, which means visitors can actually take a very close look and feel the daily living of the community. Of course, most of the families have cars and motorbikes park in their houses.

To reach the village, a walk along the walkway beside the Melaka River from Melaka Tourist Information Centre (near Stadthuys) will take around 20 - 30 minutes. If you stay in Ramada Hotel, Bayview Hotel, Orchid Hotel, and Hotel Central Melaka (formerly Continental Hotel), then the village is just one to two minutes away by foot, through a bridge beside Putra Specialist Hospital.

Kampung Morten consists of more than 50 traditional Malay residences. Beautified Melaka River draws border between the village and the city, dividing the modern and the traditional.

 Kampung Morten is surrounded by modern buildings.

The red traditional village rooftops can never be harmonized into the skyscrapers behind. The visitors on board of the cruising water taxi can feel it the best.

Nicely decorated walkway spanning from the tourist centre at the middle of the city to the village. One thing is lacking- the cover. So, umbrella is necessary for those who wish to take the journey in the middle of the day.

The bridge that connects the new and the old, the modern and the traditional, like a time machine.

A late afternoon walk in the village is definitely a leisure experience. Villagers are coming out for outdoor activities, drinking tea and coffee, chitchat with their neighbours while kids are playing around. 

"Apa khabar?" (How are you?) or simply "Hello" will yield fruitful conversation from the villagers. Even if we simply wave to the pakcik (uncle) sitting in front of the house, a replying wave and a big smile is surely followed.

Villa Sentosa is opened to public daily from 9 am - 5 pm, with one to two hours of lunch break from 1 - 3 pm. The address is 136, Kampung Morten, Malacca. Tel no.+606-2822988. Visitors can actually go into the house for a visit with resident tour guide.

Many traditional kampung houses adopt open community concept, which the fences are built for decoration, not to refrain anyone from moving freely within the compound.

 Very old-fashioned kampung house.

See, the door is open for better ventilation, with nobody at home... We can't really experience the lifestyle like this anymore nowadays in the city.

Drying clothes in an open space in the middle of the city will end up with something stolen, but not in Kampung Morten. Villagers trust the visitors, as much as they trust their own neighborhood.

5:30 pm, the sun goes down and children start coming out for their outdoor activities.

How close you can go to count how many fishes are there in the aquarium? Well, you can go as close as you wish to.

To be frank, Kampung Morten is too young to stand side by side with Stadthuys or A' Famosa. It is too quiet to be compared to Jonker Street. However, if you are in Malaysia, and have not visited any traditional Malay village yet, then Kampung Morten is definitely a worthy choice. Neither long journey nor overnight stay are required, as Kampung Morten is located right in the heart of Melaka city area. Plus, the entrance is free.

 Several homestays are available within the the village area.

 Modern and old- chairs in front of a house.

Very cute curtains.

In 1988, Melaka State Government gazetted the village as a heritage area. Well, tourists start to come, and of course, business opportunities emerge. Well, our personal opinion, grabbing the opportunity is good, but don't get it overdone.

The wooden booth built beside the road promote the souvenirs and tourism related business, while creating jobs for the villagers, but at the same time spoilt the peaceful village atmosphere.

We really appreciate nice looking village house, but this one is a bit... overdone. Well, originality is what the visitors treasure.

As the development of the surrounding area is intense, it is important for the village to be kept as close as it's original state.

If you ask, is this kampung a must visit site in Melaka? Well, it depends on your schedule. If you have a tight schedule, then save your time for the historical sites such as A' Famosa and Stadthuys, as well as the museums and Jonker Street. If you have some time to spare, then, visiting Kampung Morten will be a great option to fill your itinerary.
 

[Malacca Trip Day 1] [Malacca Trip Day 2] [Malacca Trip Day 3]
[All our Destinations]

Legoland Johor Bahru

No doubt, Legoland is a must visit place in Malaysia. Legoland has been a strong magnet that attracted us to visit Johor Bahru for the second time, even though we were not big fans of Lego toys. That is the first Legoland in Asia. The Miniland alone was built with more than 30 millions of Lego bricks. Seven fun packed themed area with more than 40 rides, attractions, and shows. All these magical statistics have lures massive crowd into the park.

The entrance fee for adult (12-60 year old) is RM 140 (USD 47), and RM 110 (USD 37) for child and senior citizen. Online ticket is available with 25% off but booking has to be done 7 days in advance. So, why not book the ticket online? Click here for more ticketing information. We stepped into the Legoland around 10:50 am and had stayed until 6 pm.

Hot and humid. That's the price to pay in order to get some fun, besides the entrance fee. Hat, umbrella, comfortable clothes and footwear, small towels, sunblock, extra clothes, enough drinking water (or enough money to buy drinks inside the theme park), we brought all of them. We advise that you bring at least a few of them, if not all. An umbrella, at least. The theme park just started its operation few months ago, the trees and the shrubs were not grown big enough to provide shades. There were limited shelters as well. So, an umbrella is necessary to protect ourselves from blasting UV or soaking rain.

Now, we would like to walk through the Legoland with our photos. In clockwise direction, the areas that we visited in were The Beginning, Lego Technics, Lego Kingdoms, Imagination, Land of Adventure, Lego City, and Miniland.

This is the main entrance of Legoland 10 a.m. in the morning. As you can see, massive crowd is fluxing into the park.

Long queue formed in front of ticketing counter (upper left), with many of them have to wait under the hot sun for their turn to buy the tickets.

The beginning in fact is a small square right after the entrance, with several shops selling food, souvenirs, and providing other services.

 We visited Lego Technics as our first station.  Mindstorms and Lego Academy are two attractions for the kids (not for us). Other than that, three rides and a cafe. There was a giant red octopus fighting with several Lego heros at the middle of area (upper left). The entrance of Mindstorms and Lego Academy is marked by a huge Einstein sculpture, made by Lego (lower left). Two robots were standing in front of the cafe (lower right).

The photos showed two of the rides that we took- Technic Twister (upper left) and Project X. Project X is the roller coaster with 4-passenger cars (lower left). We queued for almost one hour for just a ride- the longest waiting time in Legoland.

 

This signage on hill from Lego Technic area (this photo was edited with Photoshop).

Legoland Kingdoms is a medieval themed area.

Lego Kingdoms is well decorated with different Lego characters. The area housed two roller coasters- Dragon Apprentice and Dragon. We took a ride on Dragon Apprentice, which is a junior roller coaster (upper right). We left Dragon, which is more intense and thrill packed aside.

The royal castle at the deepest side of Kingdoms.

The Lego Castle doesn't host Sleeping Beauty, but serves as an entrance to Dragon roller coaster.

Lego Imagination was the third area that we visited, where we went for 4D movie (lower right). We missed the observation tower as the ride was closed due to the technical problem.

  Musical fountain at Lego Imagination area.

Next to Lego Imagination is Lego Adventure. The Lost Kingdom Adventure (inside the building with Pharaoh's sculpture, upper right) is the ride that we would recommend to all.

Lego characters on the Dino Island in Adventureland.

Dino Island ride is somewhere that you will get wet.

Lego City is designed for kids. This photo was taken from The Beginning, showing a scene of Boating School.

 Legoland Express offers a five minutes ride around Legoland. However, we couldn't really see much nice view along the ride.

The Market Restaurant is the most interesting eatery in the theme park. It was decorated by many cute Lego chefs, busy preparing food for the customers.

The last area in Legoland- Miniland was built with more than 200 millions Lego bricks. Can you imagine they actually built the mini Putrajaya with Lego bricks?

Mini Kuala Lumpur. The streets were decorated in details with little Legoland citizens and cars.

These are the models of the attractions in China (upper left), Cambodia (upper right), Indonesia (lower right), and Brunei (lower left).

Clarke Quay Singapore. Photo taken with miniature mode.

We stopped for a while at Castle Games booth, tried the shooting game, and smiled all the way out with this big cute sheep.

Legoland is definitely a must visit place in Johor Bahru. There is still room for improvement, and we really hope that the park will get better in future. For instance, starting from 10 am sharp, we joined about 60 others in the ticketing queue. We should give more chance for the newly established theme park to improve. However, we really felt that, as an international theme park, wasn't 45 minutes too long for them to serve a crowd of 60? The car park is very much exposed but we think, the condition will get better when the shrubs and trees grow bigger. Revisit? Yes, of course. But hopefully, with some of our family and friends. 

Map, detail about ticketing and entrance fees, operational days and hours, and other information about Legoland is available at Legoland official page. We will write more JB's food in our next post. Stay with us.

Our older post about Johor Bahru is available at Southern Tip of Peninsular- Johor Bahru. Or click here to go to all our destinations.

[Nice Food in Johor Bahru] [Southern Tip of Peninsular- Johor Bahru]
[All Our Destinations]