Santinos Pizza, Miri

If you want a change from Pizza Hut, Santinos offers a different ambience. However, pizza-wise, it is not too different from Pizza Hut on a heftier price tag. They offers thin crust pizza though so it's something to have as a lighter meal option.

The settings in the restaurant was quite pleasant although the service was not stellar. Food was similar to Pizza Hut standard so I would actually recommend Fratini's for good pizza in Miri.

I felt that MamaMia used to be good but they shut down already so with the limited choices available, maybe Santinos could be worth a visit.

Santinos Pizza
Lot 2186 (Sublot 10),
Block 9, Jalan Sungai,
Miri Concession Land District,
98000 Miri.

Note: It is just behind Pullman Hotel Miri.

Grandpa Homemade Noodle, Miri

I'm back in Miri and my sister told me about this latest sensation in Miri. We were there early at about 8-ish and the place was packed! However about 9-ish the crowd seemed to be slowly dying down.

They only have a pretty limited menu different types of noodles: original, sesame, spicy and curry with either wantons or roasted pork as the toppings. They have toasts and curry rice/pork vinegar rice/assam curry rice too but their specialty lies in their noodles.

The slivers of roasted pork seemed a far difference from their photos but I guess that's why we shouldn't believe illustrations in menu. The noodles are alright but not especially mind-boggling. The spicy noodles reminded us of the Szechuan flavours: peppery and hot ; quite tongue-numbing.

Drinks however are quite disappointing.

Find them at:
Lot 1936
Marina Parkcity
Miri.

Timang Beach @ Pantai Timang, Jogjakarta

Timang Beach ranked quite high on Trip Advisor, and I actually decided on it based on that. The beach, if you can call it that, is located at Gunung Kidul where the caves attraction are, so it would be wise to squeeze all that in the same day if you are heading there.

It was mentioned in a few websites that it boasted of the only white sand beach in the whole of Jogjakarta, implying that this is a beach where one can dip in the sea. Sadly, this is not the case. I actually suggested this as my BIL actually wanted to visit a beach or two during our trip so imagine my horror when it was just a cliff overlooking the sea!

There is a "gondola" ride manned by two guys pulling on a rickety pulley transferring the "passengers" to the stone island a little further off and back. It looks quite dangerous to us so we decided not to attempt that. That aside, the view was magnificent and the rocks were uniquely beautiful from years of waves crashing on them.

However, our ride there stopped at the outskirts of a village where the locals offered to bring us to the "beach" on their bikes for a fee. I think it was IDR 50k per pax on an off-road trail. My husband and I quite enjoyed it but we can't say the same for the rest of the family. 😵

My future BIL actually got his leg burnt on the exhaust and we didn't even know until later. I guess it could be quite hazardous as not all the bikes seemed to be well-maintained.

If you are looking for a dip in the sea, I would suggest not coming here. For a adventurous ride on a bike off-road (albeit a little on the risky side), you can definitely make a trip here.

Summit Parkview, Yangon

I'm back in Yangon and this time, instead of Novotel Max, I was put up for a night at Summit Parkview. It was an okay hotel from the outside, slightly smaller and less impressive than Novotel but once inside, it looks great.

As it is a smaller hotel, it only has six floors. My room on the topmost floor has a view of the whimsical clock tower at Mahagandalo Street in the distance.

My room was quite pleasant with a good-sized sofa and plenty of pillows on the king bed. Mattress was a little lumpy but I was too tired to mind much. I would say it was a good place to stay as it's walking distance to Shwedagon Pagoda. They have free wifi and even a welcome drink!

I love their bottles of toiletries but looks aside, they are quite hard to flow out and the quantity was too little for more than two showers!

Only one restaurant in the hotel though. It's good enough if the price is right for visiting the city. There's a whole row of restaurants nearby down the road so I guess options for food are aplenty. However, during my stay the hot water in the shower was quite problematic. It was hot for a while but slowly became cold and no matter which way you turn the shower knob, it did not stay at the same temperature. I found this very annoying as I did not relish having cold showers early in the morning.

Prambanan Temple, Jogjakarta

If Borobudur is THE Buddhist temple to visit, Prambanan is THE Hindu temples to visit in Jogjakarta. It might not be the best thing to do both in the same day but we did that, resulting a rather long drive from one side of the city to the other. During our visit, there were still upgrading works in progress but the ruins of the temple was fascinating nonetheless.

According to legend, one of the statues is actually a cursed princess when her plans to thwart an unwanted marriage went awry. The crowd in this UNESCO Heritage Site was overwhelming and when it rained (yes, it just so happened to rain when we were in the ruins with no shelter), there was just no place to hide unless you count the trees scattered here and there within the compound.

It went from this...

To this within seconds!

Before we knew it, it's raining cats and dogs. We were all drenched throughout because I left my umbrella in the car. Yes, I know right? I was carrying it around for days up to Borobudur and just got fed up since it's just cramming up my bag and not used at all.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and among the largest in Asia. It might not look it but it's actually taller than Borobudur. Built in the 9th or 10th century, it is dedicated to the Trimurti, the three facets of the Creator in the Hindu belief.

It's a big compound to explore but worth it if you have the time and stamina. Great for a half day trip!

Jambuluwok Malioboro Hotel, Jogjakarta

It was not the most convenient hotel around despite its name, as the real Malioboro Street was quite a distance away. Radius-wise, it IS near but the walkable or usable roads to that infamous street will take you on quite a long walk especially in the sweltering heat of Indonesia.

The room we got was a twin bed so I guess there's plenty more space for us! LOL. The bed however was not the best and it was not as clean as I would like.

Granted, the amenities were there so I guess it's a so-so hotel if you asked me. The hotel rate wasn't that cheap either and ours did not even come with the complementary breakfast.
As a consolation, there's complimentary infused water at the lobby and you can watch some traditional instrument playing in the evening. However, my in laws had the misfortune of drinking the flavoured water when the fruits inside were already bad so it was quite a bad experience for them. LOL. Otherwise, the water is quite refreshing to have after walking around town under the sun!
There's an alright view from outside our room's corridor as well.

Punthuk Setumbu and Borobudur Sunrise, Jogjakarta

Would I recommend going to Punthuk Setumbu? Definitely not. Would I recommend Borobudur? Yes, definitely. The sunrise there? Not sure.

Okay, so recently my in-laws and I went to the Jogjakarta for a family trip. It was quite fun as it was the first time we all went on holidays together but the amount of time when we were disappointed there just put a damper on things. Borobudur and its infamous sunrise is one of them. This was the view on Punthuk Setumbu when I went. A little disappointing...

Before the trip we were all already planning to go and the idea of going for the sunrise at Borobudur was just exciting especially after the rave reviews it received from all the tourists. So upon purchasing our private tour from the airport (mistake 1) because we were busy and were expecting better from their airport tour agencies, we booked the sunrise tour at Borobudur. Upon picking us up at 4am (mistake 2), the driver told us that to view the sunrise we have to pay extra to go on the hill for the view i.e. Punthuk Setumbu as opposed to what was already written in our receipt (Borobudur Sunrise Entrance Fee) and view it from Borobudur itself. Being none the wiser (none of us have been here before), we agreed to pay extra to go on the hill (mistake 3).

Mistake 1: We would have gotten a better deal online with better arrangements.

Mistake 2: Sunrise was before 5.30am and the trip took longer so sunrise was over when we reached.

Mistake 3: Nope, there's no better view at Punthuk Setumbu. I wouldn't know about the sunrise at Borobudur itself but I suspect it will look better from photos.

Anyway, at Punthuk Setumbu it was crowded when we reached. Just in case you are not up for a hill climb early in the morning, don't bother going. It's a little tiring and there are plenty of stairs going uphill to the viewing point. Once there, the wooden stages for photos but it is easier to just snap a few shots at random spots if you are not too particular.

After a rather uneventful view of hills and trees (no sunrise), we trudged down disappointedly to find our car stuck in a parking area where other cars surrounded ours. After being subjected to about 30 minutes wait where our driver attempted to ask the parking attendants to locate the other cars' drivers, we went on to Borobudur.
The Borobudur was quite pleasant in comparison. We joined the crowd and started walking towards the temple. The compound was huge and it could be tiring for the elderly.

At the base of the temple, we then had to climb another series of steps before reaching the real attraction. This....

And then...

Only then...

I can see why this is listed in the UNESCO heritage. They carving on the stones were amazing and even the brick floors look pretty!

Borobudur is actually a Buddhist temple, the largest in the world~After roaming about the ruins, exploring all the corridors and stairways, we made our way back to the car. I find this very interesting as they have a lot of narrative reliefs along the walls. Fascinating!

The view from Borobudur itself is pretty amazing too! Why go to Punthuk Setumbu?

Along the way back to the car, we visited the museum in the compound, aptly named Borobudur Museum. It was quite small and probably serve as a time-filler for tourists.

I enjoyed my time here despite the rather gloomy beginning of the day.
The market or bazaar outside the area was more interesting for me. Haha! You can find replicas of the ruins and temples for sale aside from other knick knacks. Bargaining is crucial and walking away when the price is not right will probably end up with the sellers lowering their prices or selling at your price.

Patissez, Bangsar KL

Another Aussie-franchise, Patissez is a cafe slash bakery which is probably most famous for their gigantic and creative milkshakes. In fact, the term milkshake probably did not do them justice as it's more than that; showcasing delectable dessert in the shake itself. After a lot of pestering, hubby finally brought me there. LOL.

The desserts on display look scrumptious but I was hungry so I decided against them and ordered something savoury instead. I had the Shredded Slow Braised Beef Omelette while hubby ordered the Patissez Traditional Breakfast. I wanted a shake from the start so I ordered the Mint Condition and he contemplated a while before ordering a shake too since I was harping on and on about them. He had the Fruity Freak. LOL. All their drinks had a funky name to them so it's quite fun trying to figure out what they would look like.

The food itself was alright but a little small on the portions. The drinks were a different thing altogether. They were huge! I was regretting the decision to have one each as I could hardly finish mine. That is not to say I didn't (I did!) LOL but with some effort. 😆

I love the chocolate cookie hugging a huge slab of minty ice cream on my shake. It was very filling (and I wasn't full after my food) until I finished the big cookies! I understood the small portion of food then. His come with a strawberry sorbet I think and I wasn't a fan of his shake as it was more towards sour, but it was definitely more refreshing than mine after you've had half the glass.

I wouldn't say no to another trip and try out the rest of their shakes. I spied some very delicious-looking pavlova then too!

They are located at:
42, Jalan Telawi,
Bangsar Baru,
KL.