2 days in Kuantan.

ANNYEONG!!!

It has been 1 year and 8 months since I last wrote in here…

Omo omo omo 😨

Not that I haven’t been travelling, but as usual I just got lazy 😅 Therefore, I thought since it is still the beginning of 2019, I shall give writing another try 🤓

Like most people, my 2019 started in February 🤪 January was just a transition trial mate! I did travel to a few places last year, I won’t make a promise to write about them, just in case I couldn’t recall it accurately. However, I’ll try 😉

Anywayzzzz, New Year, new place ay! I’m going to start off with my recent 2-nights trip to Kuantan, Pahang.

DAY 1 – 2nd February 2019

My sister, bother-in-law and I were invited to our beloved “Datin” Aisyah’s wedding in Dungun, Terengganu. We knew her ever since she was 12 when she came to visit her family in Perth. 15 years later, I can’t believe she’s all grown up and also a wife now. Alhamdullilah & Congratulations sweetheart!!

One with the bride & groom.

The wedding reception was held on the Saturday before Chinese New Year. We departed from Shah Alam at 5 in the morning and drove for almost 4 and the half hours to arrive to the wedding venue. I do prefer long journey drives before sunrise as it gets too sunny afters and also there are less traffic around that hour.

After the reception, we headed down to Kuantan, Pahang which took us approximately an hour and 45 minute drive. We headed straight to Loteng which is located at the end of Teluk Cempedak’s recreational area facing the beautiful beach. Initially we thought of just buying their Teh and Kopi Ais while enjoying the pretty view especially when it hasn’t been 3-4 hours since we left the wedding with our big happy bellies. However our lusts overpowered our thoughts..

@Loteng.

Later, in order to diminish our guilty conscience, we took a walk around the area which has plenty of souvenir shops, entertainment and also a platform/track along the beach.

On the platform.

However after a few minutes’ walk, we then realized how tired we were since we have been awake before dawn and were on the road most of the time. We then checked-in at Suraya Hotel located in the heart of Kuantan. We didn’t have any more energy to leave our room for dinner, hence we ended our day after a nice warm shower.

DAY 2 – 3rd February 2019

The next morning, well not really morning though… we checked out at almost 12 PM with the intention to visit Kuantan’s famous Kula Cakes. Dudeeeee the queue was soo soooo long and I was too hungry to even bother. Hence, we diverted to a restaurant called Sup Ayam Kampung for a nice hearty and decent meal. Interestingly next door, there was a really cool café called Kuantan Pickers & Kedai Kopi. Upon walking into that café, I saw 3 men fully dressed like those olden days Malay warriors with their tanjak and sampin. I swear for a second I thought I was seeing ghosts in the broad daylight or have stepped into the past. I had to whisper and ask my sister, “do you see what I see?” and thank goodness, she saw it too hehehehehehe they were actual humans who just came back from a performance nearby apparently.

I had a nice cold Vietnamese white coffee with some Bun Bakar while my sister had their Roti Goyang. Pickers has a really nice and nostalgic vibe to it. In addition, those men I saw, multiplied in numbers and they were sitting in the corner playing the guitar while singing random Malay songs.

@Pickers with the Hulubalangs.

Next up, we managed to get a parking right in front of Kula Cakes and that was when my one-hour lining up started. Was it worth it? Hell yeahhh!

Diabetic sesh @ Kula Cakes.

My sis persuaded me to extend our stay for one more night because apparently there were other gems that we haven’t explored. I managed to get my boss’s permission to “work-away-from-the-office”. Plus it was a day before CNY’s Eve, honestly it would be a waste not to stay isn’t it? 😬

We then checked in into our second hotel, Green Leaf Hotel located in central Kuantan and just a few kilometres away from the Berjaya Megamall. We rested for a bit and we started getting hungry again. Due to that, we made a reservations at Lila Wadi, another famous gem in Kuantan and mom really wanted us to try out this place. We were glad we made a reservation because they weren’t accepting walk-ins that night.

Impulsive dinner date @ Lila Wadi with this cute fam bam! My close friend / ex-workmate, Elfina who came all the way from Kelantan with her cute lil’ fam for a getaway in Kuantan before heading to Johor Bahru.

The famous Mango Cheesecake that I had earlier that day, yup I ordered another one for dinner just because I didn’t have to queue this time.

DAY 3 – 4th February 2019

After checking out from our hotel, we decided to stop by in Genting. I loveeeee that place. I guess it’s the closest I could get to winter in Perth. The nice cool weather up there seems to always take my stress away and reminds me of those younger days in Perth.

For the first time in our lives, we were determined to ride the cable car all the way up to the peak – SkyAvenue Station. We parked our car at Genting Premium Outlet (GPO) and got ourselves into the long winding queue for the cable car at Awana Skyway Station. I did say long winding didn’t I? But don’t worry, the queue doesn’t stop moving and since the weather was nice and cool, I didn’t feel agitated or annoyed while queuing.

The scary yet fun ride up.

Below was the main reason why we braced ourselves for that scary ride. It was worth it as well though I think I need to tighten up my meal budget after this..

@ Burger & Lobster with sis and bro-in-law.

After our expensive meal, we cut the queue by paying an extra RM5 per person for the cable car ride back to GPO. Mainly because we did not want to waste time and wanted to go “window shopping” in GPO.

Ouuhhh ya and this RM 25 yummylicious thingie mejigie from Godiva @ GPO.

Last but not least, we didn’t stay that long in GPO, as our exhaustion started to build up. In the end, I drove back down from Genting (my first time as well!) to Shah Alam and boyyyyy was I glad to be reunited with my beloved bed again.

Just a heads-up:

• For those who are interested, Kula Cakes is owned by Lila Wadi. Unlike Kula Cakes which only serves cakes and drinks, Lila Wadi also has steamboats, grills, local menus as well as pastas.

• The Sky Cable Car return tickets from Awana Skyway Station to Sky Avenue Station are RM 16 (RM 8 for one-way) and you could add RM 5 one way for the Express Lane.

 

Stay tuned as Doya explores many more hidden gems around Malaysia (and if I’m lucky, than outside of Malaysia!) but for now, Annyeonggg~