Melaka - Workation Trip

My wife had to go to Melaka as an invited guest by a well known university in that town. So I just followed her again for this "Workation trip" where - Wife at Work, Hubby at Play. At least I could offer to drive her all the way so that she would not be so exhausted and sleepy on the wheels alone. I had lots of annual leave to clear anyway.

We stayed a night at this hotel which is quite new with weird layout. They have different elevators for you to connect from the ground level, car park or to the rooms! It was a bit confusing.

My wife went to work early the next morning while I went ronda-ronda alone along Jonker Street. I am familiar with the antique shops there since 1980s. This time I found this very unique dining set that comes with 8 chairs, all fully studded with Mother of Pearls. It was custom made for a very wealthy Baba Nyonya family around 100 years ago. I looked at my watch and decided to video-call my childhood friend who was sleeping at home in Cayman Islands. He was rudely jolted from his sleep to see my "handsome" face on his phone while I panned my phone towards the antique dining table! Wow!!! Suddenly his eyes lighted up very brightly and he was fully awakened with happy smiles. He asked me to climb under the table to allow him to view the legs of the table and all the carvings from my phone's live-video!! 

That evening I had returned back home to Kuala Lumpur after my wife had finished her event at the university. My friend could not sleep and kept looking at the photos of the table and chairs which i sent him. He texted me that he confirmed buying that table and he immediately wired the money to me on 22nd December! He agreed to buy the antique dining set at the cost of RM45,000.00!

I was very stunned not because my friend had bought that dining set at such expensive price but the comment left by the most famous Feng Shui Master in Singapore on my blog post HERE. If you readers could recall that Master Lynn Yap had left this message for me on the 3rd December! So my friend did wire me almost RM50K on 22nd December, so precisely! You can visit Master Lynn Yap's popular blog HERE. I have been following her post for many years and always trusted her words & predictions. She is always busy with loyal customers around Singapore and overseas especially China. 

The hotel we stayed is connected to the Double Tree Hilton Hotel where they have a Sky Deck in between. It was free for the guests otherwise public would have to pay RM30 per person to enjoy the spectacular view of whole Melaka city. Now there is a promo and the public gets 50% Off!

This is Melaka City with the view of the reclaimed land along the coastal areas. This hotel actually sits on the reclaimed land too! This city will get bigger and bigger over the years to welcome the many thousands of tourists every week.

The whole Jonker Street was full of tourists from China, Singapore and Malaysians like me. They would close the street and convert it to Jonker Walk every Friday, Saturday and Sundays to allow the night market to do roaring business! The sweet candy floss was so huge like a flower and comes with some street dusts too. Muahahahaha

I ate Durian Chendol and bought some durian puffs and pineapple tarts to eat. Burp!

***

Kashmir - Where Pretty Ladies On Holiday (Part 2)

This is my second part of my wife's recent trip to Kashmir for a truly relaxing vacation. If you have missed the first part, you may click "Here". This post will be different as I have sought the permission from the beautiful ladies from the "Maharajah of Kashmir's Harem" to share with the world how they went all out to enjoy a real holiday! A real holiday retreat means a place with no shopping malls and crowded touristy places like Tokyo's Uniqlo or HKG Nathan Road's night markets but enjoy the freshest mountain air, tranquil lakes and nature's beauty. I always believe that the higher the place, one gets closer to the heavens!

 1. Kashmir is well known for being the most beautiful place in India for its spectacular view and scenic beauty of nature's paradise!

2. This will be a heavenly place when one wakes up from sleep to be greeted by snow capped mountains and golden autumn's foliage.

3. Their big tranquil lakes certainly added more charm to Kashmir for being a place to rejuvenate our mind, body and souls. A good place to do self reflections too.

4. The above collage of photos will show the interior of the famous Boat Houses. They are luxuriously furnished with portable heaters, bathrooms and a butler in attendance to serve the guests. You will easily be lulled to sleep peacefully like a baby at night as the boat does not rock like a cradle.  The ladies had so much fun inside! Do as the Indians do and the ladies started to do their Indian Belly Dance to prepare for the Maharajah's visit. They happily danced, shook and jumped until the boat started rocking to make waves on the lake. Luckily no tsunami happened. Kekekeke...

 5. It was supposed to be their maiden trip to see the world's best autumn foliage in Kashmir, but the heavens decided something else for them. The weather got colder and colder as my wife texted me. I had warned her earlier that the global temperature has gone cuckoo and their temperature has hinted that it would snow as it gets below 5 degrees Celsius!

 6. Wow! It really rained snow! It was plenty of big drops of snow falling from the skies! Never mind the autumn leaves, the happy ladies went out to celebrate and kissed the snow. It was the most memorable moment for those who had seen actual snow falling from the skies. Everyone loves snow!

 7. The snow is always a happy and pretty sight when they fall and cover all the streets. I have survived in the brutal winters of Pennsylvania and had seen the heaviest and thickest snow piling up to over 8 feet high. I could not open my apartment's iced frozen door and had to climb down from the first floor window to get to college. It was no fun! I wished we could sleep and wait for TV announcement which often reported that snow storms had again closed all schools in the North American states. Those were sweetest memories!

8. When the weather is freezing cold, all the ladies would be too happy and shivering! Nobody wants to fight but to stay close and hug each other! Look at them in the photo!

 9. When we are shivering we need warm gloves of the best quality. Otherwise you can drink hot coffee and warm your hands at any available heaters on the street, Here in Kashmir, this gentle man used the traditional burning flames from his pot.

10. Monkey See, Monkey Do!.... The pretty ladies just followed and warmed their hands. It was good experience to see the local folks lived in the cold climate. Thanks to our sunny Malaysia. 

 

 11. My darling with her friend.

12. On the boat scene.

 13. The random street photos of the shops..

14. More shops available but no shopping malls in Kashmir.

 

15. Stalls selling vegetable supplies. I believe they are imported from all over India.

16. A fruit juice stall. I see so many crates of yellow lemons! I never drank lemon juice in Winter so I should try soon.

17. My honey with another friend.

18. They serve and sell dried fruits and nuts everywhere. They are my favourite snacks while I am updating my blog. So mahal!

19. A frozen fountain place.

20. The pretty ladies visited the Kashmir University's small campus and happily posed so many photos!

21. The whole gang of beautiful ladies truly enjoyed their trip. See how happy they were and could still jump 100 times! Don't play-play as they are all the Queens of Belly Dance with the strongest hips and legs like a mountain Ox!

A Big Thank You for their permission to share their photos and hopefully the Part 3 of Taj Mahal photos will be posted soon. Stay tuned!

***

Good Greetings From Jakarta

I arrived Jakarta yesterday afternoon together with my wife and 2 close friends. 

While I was waiting to board my plane from KLIA2, I received a surprise email from a silent blogger. I managed to reply to show my appreciation and hope my readers will continue to visit my humble blog.

This is my 6th trip to visit Indonesia and my 3rd to Jakarta. The purpose of my trip is to attend a huge Tibetan Buddhism Praying Session. I look forward to good blessings for a better year 2019.

May the world be a happy & peaceful place for all the people!

Kashmir - A Beautiful Paradise (Part 1)

My wife went for a 10-day vacation recently with a private tour. It was a special custom made trip for just 10 ladies who consisted of many happy Tai-Tais who are always socializing together. My wife is a new recruit in their gang and probably the youngest too. 

The trip was organized for them to see the best autumn foliage on the hilly slopes of the Kashmir mountains. This year, the winter came too early and snowed heavily instead when they arrived! All the pretty flowers and coloured trees with fallen leaves were blanketed by thick white snow instead! It was an unexpected change of weather that kept them all freezing indoors instead as many mountain roads were closed. I think the gang of crazy aunties still enjoyed as many had never seen real snow falling heavily from the skies!

My wife sent me many photos everyday and I was blown away by her photography skills as some looked like National Geographic's quality. So I must share just some 36 photos for you to enjoy.

My smart wife was the only one who brought her face mask along. She is already a seasoned traveler for Winter trips and cannot go outdoors without a mask as she has chronic sinus and asthmatic issues that could be easily triggered by cold fog and dusts. Their plane landed in New Delhi and the whole city was covered by very thick polluted air! She sent me a misty photo without any buildings or people but that was New Delhi!!

The next day, they flew from New Delhi to Kashmir after some quick local sight seeing around the capital. The view of Himalayan Mountains were breathtaking and heavenly from the aeroplane.

The wintry snow just started falling around Kashmir's forests. 

This lovely photo of the Kashmir University reminds me of the location shoot for "Winter Sonata" at South Korea's Nami Island.

They stayed at the Boat House on the lake in Kashmir besides other 5 star hotels around New Delhi and Agra. These unique Boat Houses are common in India's Kerala, Srinagar and Kashmir regions.

Their boat houses looked so luxurious inside complete with hanging crystal chandeliers, Kashmir carpets and well equipped bedrooms with a Butler in attendance to service them round the clock! The butler service really raised my eyebrows. It sounds like a Maharajah's Harem with many beautiful wives from Malaysia on holiday! Too bad, I cannot share their photos for privacy.

Life is very peaceful and slow moving in Kashmir. Even the boats glide so slowly that you don't see waves! 

Many colourful boats are docked together like a close family. 

Most ladies do not need to work at all in Kashmir, so this was a rare sight. She was selling some fresh fishes in the cold winter temperature.

My honey went to stroll along the village roads with the Tai-Tais.

Guess what is this place??

This place is a bakery!!! The customer stood there without a smile. 

Life must be hard.

The ladies stormed inside the bakery to see a young man sitting on the earthen kiln that baked the Naan-styled breads. He was so stunned to see so many sharp eyed Chinese aunties looking at him. Luckily he didn't fall inside the oven and get roasted! Muahahaha

The tranquil and quiet roads in the village.

Suddenly, the owner returned and pushed her pony inside the room. Just like she "parked her car" in the porch beneath her house.

A random shot of the beautiful faces of the Kashmir folks. Most of them have the nicest facial features with beautiful eyes in the Northern India's Himalayan regions.

Random shots of the snowy slopes and river on the Western Mountains of Himalaya.

 

Enjoying a hot drink while watching at the flock of sheep passing by.

The shepherd taking all his sheep out for a walk, most probably for a wool trim!

The lake beside the mountain. 

This was not planned in their itinerary, so they took the rides since it had snowed. The rental fees were very expensive.

 An old man selling his wares.

Street peddlers selling their kebabs.

They had no end of peddlers visiting their Boat Houses to sell their souvenirs. Everything was too expensive yet my wife bought them to support their income. 

Most of the time they took cozy naps inside the Boat House's Harem since the thick snow had closed many roads leading to the tourist spots. A lesson learnt, never visit Kashmir in late Autumn as the risks of snow falling is greater.

The apple trees got all the aunties crazy and excited! The apples were so tiny like duku langsat yet they took over 1000 selfie photos! Muahahahaha

 The tour guide would not hesitate to keep showing them souvenir shops and local products.

They were shown many famous and finest Kashmir Carpets that were hand woven using ancient weaving machines. The prices are higher than the Himalayan Mountains!!

 The jewelry and trinket boxes made from colourful laquered paper mache.

The jewelry boxes for cat lovers.

 The morning's floating market on the boats.

 A family man on his way home after doing his marketing.

 My wife enjoyed this slow vacation which gave her ample time for self reflection.

From Kashmir, they flew back to Delhi and proceeded to see the famous Taj Mahal in Agra.

 

Where is the Taj Mahal? 

It has sadly turned yellowish in the thick polluted air.

***