Travelblog

Day Trip in Malacca

Posted on by travelbosing

Hello there!

I hope all of you are doing fine. I want to write a little bit about my upcoming trip which is on 23rd-27th June 2107 to Kuala Lumpur. It is during Hari Raya, time to escape for a while from my home town! Yes!

This is not a real holiday as i need to attend my brother’s wedding on 25th June 2017 at Seri Kembangan, Selangor. I purposely booked the flight on 23rd June, the last flight so i can save my budget. Travelling with family is sometimes can break your bank. I am the older brother in the family so i need to pay their return tickets from KK to KL and KL to KK. It is a festive season so the tickets is quite expensive, hmmm can u imagine 6 of us travelling?

I will arrive at KLIA 2 around 2 in the morning on 24th June so i decided to just stay in the airport until morning. Yes, i will SLEEP in the airport until morning. My 2nd time actually. Last time , 2 year ago? My connecting flight from KL to Melbourne was delayed by Air Asia for 12 hours? I was not informed by them. Sad!

This is my plan, I will go to Malacca early morning on 24th June 2017 by bus and will go back to Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon around 4pm. I booked my tickets via Easybook.com website. Very convenience actually, all transactions can be done via online. Please visit their website at http://www.easybook.com/en-my . Owned by Singaporean company i guess? and they will charge minimum administration fee. They provide travel insurance too.

So, what i can do there for just around 8 hours? For sure, I cant cover everything but will try to cover the most iconic places in Malacca. Below are my plans:

* I’m travelling alone so please expect selfies photo okay hahaha.

  1. Cheng Ho Cultural Museum. – Never been here before but i will try to go there. Depends on my budget, they will charge entrance fee.
  2. St. Paul’s Church – A must to go in Malacca. All these attractions are located next to each other and are free of charge. FREE OF CHARGE i cannot ressist LOL.
  3. Stadthuys- Huh? never heard of this. Completed in 1753. The bricks used to build the church were specially shipped in from Holland. Interesting!
  4. Christ Church – also known as Dutch Square. It dated from the 17th century and reflects the history of Melaka from Dutch colonization till today. Christ Church must be the most photographed item in Melaka.
  5. Red Square (Dutch Square) – Located next to Christ Church. So glad, most of the iconic attraction in Melaka located in a city centre.
  6. Queen Victoria’s Fountain – Yes!
  7. Chung Wah Chicken Rice Ball- What is so good about this. A must try for lunch 🙂
  8. No 8 Heeren Street Heritage Centre & Jonker Street- Sadly it will be a day trip so unable to go to the night market at Jonker Street.

I will update some photo when i got back. See ya!

Sarawak withdraws from Tourism Malaysia after tax spat

Posted on by travelbosing

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KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — Sarawak is withdrawing its representative from the Malaysian Tourism Board with immediate effect, following the state’s disagreement with the federal government over the introduction of a new tourism tax.

The decision was announced today by the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Office.

“The Sarawak state government has decided to withdraw the participation of its representative in Malaysia Tourism Board with immediate effect,” it said in a statement.

“The state government deems that the participation of its representatives in Tourism Malaysia is not necessary as this is duplicating the role and functions of the Sarawak Tourism Promotion Board.”

Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah previously urged Putrajaya to defer the July 1 implementation of the new tax for Sabah and Sarawak, saying the federal government should respect the Malaysia Agreement 1963 when deciding such matters.

This led to a rebuke from Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who yesterday told his Sarawak counterpart not to be confrontational over the matter.

Nazri also said the tax would benefit Sarawak more than it would affect tourism in the state, noting that luxury hotels that would attract the highest tax rate were a rarity in the state.

The new tax will be levied starting July 1 on all patrons at a rate of RM20 per room night in five-star hotels, RM10 at four-star outlets, RM5 for three- and two-star hotels and RM2.50 for orchid and other non-rated accommodation premises (RM2.50).

Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board chairman Datuk Siew Ka Wei previously said the tax would ensure the industry’s sustainable growth and provide financial support for aggressive marketing campaigns.

Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/after-tax-row-sarawak-yanks-rep-from-malaysia-tourism-board

My comment: The tourism tax will be implemented on 1st July 2017 instead of 1st August 2017. What is a tourism tax? Basically tourism tax is a tax that collected from any tourist who will stay in hotels in Malaysia. The purpose of this tax is to contribute to the development and promotion of tourism in Malaysia, so in easiest way to understand is, people come to Malaysia, they will pay for the development of tourism in this country.

Is it logic or illogical? Yet to read bout this matter but personally, this is ridiculous! The government should invest more money to attract more tourist to fill in the hotels.  To collect Tourism Tax from them will kill the industry slowly!

Why we need to live with so many tax in this country? We have GST and i heard that the government collected so many under GST. Take small portion from GST for Tourism Development?

For the 1st 9 months, the GST in Malaysia collected almost RM55 Billion revenue. Just assume that the Malaysia Government have collected RM65Bil from GST last year , 5% for the tourism development is more than enough.

I would like to 100% support the move that Sarawak Government has made. That is a very good move! Dont easily get bullied by the federal law makers! Next is Sabah. Just wait and see what Sabah will say?

🙂

 

Hiking or Jungle Trekking Shoes in Borneo ‘Adidas Kampung’

Posted on by travelbosing

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Adidas Kampung which is available in local outlets in Sabah

Adidas Kampung is a generic name for cheap black rubber shoes that can be found in local outlets in Sabah. Being made 100% out of rubber, they are waterproof, easy to dry, and thus ideal for trekking in tropical weather. They gained attention when they were featured as having been used by local climbers to win  Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon held in Sabah.

Adidas Kampung is up for anything. They are shoes for jungle hiking. Great footwear for tropical water paddling and they make excellent tropical shoes for river crossing and general camp wear.

Why is shoe called Adidas Kampung? Its similarities to the famed stripes on Adidas shoes earned it the moniker Adidas Kampung, or the Village Adidas.

In the Borneo Jungle especially in Sabah, crossing rivers and being drenched by constant rain makes any pair of our normal shoes a nightmare to walk in. This shoes is a very basic footwear but very comfortable. Most of the local communities in the rural areas use this shoes as daily foot wear in their plantation (of playing football in kampung).

Adidas Kampungs are easily found in sundry shops in the villages of Sabah  for under RM10.00. I would say 30 times cheaper compared to the hiking shoes in shopping mall LOL.