Thrilled by Yogyakarta

Personal Experience: 8/10 

Travel Period: 4D3N

Travel Mode, Time & Cost:r
Flight: Air Asia
Duration: 2 hr 45 mins
Return Cost: RM 426.50 / pax

Accommodation:

KJ Hotel - Family Suite (Fits 4)
Cost: RM 280/ night
Remarks: Spacious, clean and close to Parangtritis Street (Bars, cafes, night club etc) but from the room, I barely hear any noise.
Rating: 8/10

Visa:

Malaysians - Eligible to travel visa-free.
You can check your visa requirements here: https://airasia.traveldoc.aero/

General Remarks:

1) Food and activities are really worthy but you will need a good driver aka guide as attractions are mostly away from town.

2) GRAB to places close to town (i.e Malioboro St) - 10-15 mins drive for approximately 20k IDR.

3) Here's my highly recommended guide: Pak Koko [IG: cocorico1605, +62 877-3885-5929] is an attentive and professional guide. Would love to give him a shoutout for the awesome service.

4) Airport transfer is approximately 100k/way.

Exchange Rate as of September 2018: RM 2.80 ~ 10,000 IDR.

Activities (Recommended in Bold):

1) Sandboarding @ Gumuk Pasir Parangkusumo
Transport:  IDR 150k from hotel/car
Activity: IDR 100k/board (You are only required to pay rental for the board)

2-days transport with the following activities is IDR 1.36 mil per person:-

2) Goa Jomblang

3) Cave Tubing @ Goa Pindul - Not recommended (Perhaps you can opt for Kalisuci instead)

4) Hutan Pinus Pengger

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5) Mount Merapi - We got a great guide that brought us to many good spot for pictures!
Activity: Additional 400k for one jeep rental that fits 4.

6) Punthuk Setumbu

7) Chicken Church - Not recommended (Opt for other activities nearby instead)

8) Borobudur - Perfect for photos in the evening and with some help from the expert(friendly security guards) nearby!

List of local food worth trying (Recommended - Bold):

1) Nasi Gudeg Yu Djum - A bit on the sweet side which doesn't seem like a proper meal for my taste buds.

2) Sate - Loved the sate from Dapur El near my hotel.

3) Fried chicken in any other place- I believe this will be acceptable by everyone. Just ask them to keep the sambal/chillies aside.

4) Bakpia (Green bean paste/other flavours pastry) - This is like Malaysian version of biskut tambun. Worth trying! (A box of 20 - IDR 50K)

5) Kue Bandung - The amount of cheese, margarine and chocolate in this... I witnessed it with my own eyes. I was afraid that it will be awfully sweet but the taste was surprisingly sinful great. Our guide especially drove us here to grab this cause he said it is a very famous. (One pan with cheese, peanut and chocolate - IDR 70K)

6) Traditional delicacies @ Malioboro Street

In Malaysia, we call the green ones onde-onde but at Yogyakarta, it is known as Kelepon. Instead, the brown one is known as onde-onde.

I forgot what is this called but generally, if you see someone having a small pan over charcoal frying egg with meat floss and onion, it is most probably it.

7) J-Co Cafe - Feel free to order the doughnuts but NEVER EVER ORDER THE AVOCADO CAFFE. It's so damn sweet that 4 of us could not finish one cup of drink.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience in Yogyakarta. It was an exhausting trip given we had to wake up early as we were there for a short period of time but overall, the experience was overwhelming. 

If we were meant to stay in one place, we should have roots instead of feet.

Explore East Malaysia, City of Borneo - Kota Kinabalu

Personal Experience: 5/10 

Travel Period: 4D3N

Travel Mode, Time & Cost:r
Flight: Air Asia
Duration: 2 hr 40 mins
Return Cost: RM 426.50 / pax

Accommodation:

Hotel Sixty3 - Family Suite (Fits 4)
Cost: RM 382 / night
Remarks: Spacious, clean and close to Gaya St Weekend Market, Yee Fung Laksa and Jesselton Point.
Rating: 8/10

Visa:
Malaysians - Eligible to travel with I/C and will be granted 3-months stay with a white card. Retain the white card till you leave Sabah.

You can check your visa requirements here: https://airasia.traveldoc.aero/

General Remarks:

Ideal if you are looking for a short trip with a combination of island and city.

Recommended activities:

1) Sutera Harbour Sunset Cruise
Price: RM 230/pax including transportation to and fro from hotel, inclusive buffet dinner
Remarks: Recommended for those whom are willing to spend some dime to chill with the ocean. We even had a dance floor with the live band towards the end, initiated by my supercool mum!

2) Mantanani Island 
Remarks: Perfect for snrokelling. You don't need a guide, just swim all the way to the middle of the ocean and enjoy the underwater wonders. I spotted plenty of baby nemos in their nest!
Tips: Food is rather expensive on the island hence, do pack your food and water from the jetty!

NOT RECOMMENDED: Kinabalu Park and Poring Hot Springs.

Glamourous tour name with a hefty price tag (RM 165/pax) but overall, we weren't satisfied at all. Kinabalu Park is basically a tropical forest (which can easily be found everywhere for free) while Poring Hot Springs is a public hot spring which are fully occupied by locals, not well-maintained either and our lunch was at a warung opposite Poring Hot Springs whereby food provided wasn't suffice for my family of 4. Worst, we saw the signboard whereby the entrance fee is only RM 3-5/pax for Malaysians. For its price and travel time, I'll say you can skip this unless your are camping / hiking KK or visiting Kundasang for some chill time. Alternatively, book a Grab (which is cheap in KK) and do your own travelling instead of following a tour. I booked mine from Klook.

 Traditional Nebula Market - My only highlight for the entire tour.

You'll have to pay additional RM 30/pax to see this largest flower in the world.

List of local food that I had chance to explore:

 1) Yee Fung Laksa

2) Kedai Kopi Jia Siang - Pork Noodles (It's very famous but it's like RM 10 a bowl of that black sauce noodles which I will not recommend it if you are visiting KL cause we have better ones at cheaper price)

Photo Credit: Google Image

3) Seafood - You can try Welcome Seafood Restaurant (recommended by a local friend) or Seafood Place (opposite Jesselton Point). I like for a fact that in KK, they allow you to choose your live seafood. Seafood frenzy for a fan like me!

Photo Credit: Google Image

4) Tong Hing Supermarket & Bakery - Try their cream puffs!

Photo Credit: Google Image

5) Kopi Ping Cafe - Good local coffee/tea and food.

Overall, I had a great bonding sesh with my family but the state itself, was rather boring in my opinion. I would rather spend time in Penang or Ipoh if not for the Borneo experience.

Don't you rather have a life of oh wells than what ifs?