RPP PULAU PINANG

Hello All... This time around I want to tell u about RPP Penang.

RPP Penang was the 3rd RPP that I had stayed after 12 years of being a government servant. I believe this is the newest RPP in town. I'd been to the one in Langkawi (superbly nice!) and Kenyir (nice too!). Well, apa gunanya kemudahan, kalau x digunakan, ye tak...? There are plenty of RPPs all over Malaysia. For those who do not know, RPP stands for Rumah Peranginan Persekutuan which can only be rented by government servants throughout Malaysia. Some might say that government rest houses are old and not well taken care off...hello...we're living in the 21st century my friends...As far as I'm concerned, the houses are all very nice, well equipped, cheap and basically cater to all my humble expectations. Booking is easy too. just go to the website and book. Pay online within 2 weeks and u're set to go. However, of course there's a setback ...rumah ni memang like hot cakes...ada yg kena book nearly a year in advanced. Ala, AA boleh book a year in advance, takkan hotel x boleh kan...? Anyway, if u decide not to go in the end, your money will be refunded... Tp jngnla hari ni x nak pegi, hari ni baru nak cancel..memang takkan dapat duit semula...

Anyway, let's get back to the point. RPP Penang is situated at :

NO 9, JALAN D.S. RAMANATHAN (JLN SCOTT)
10350 PENANG.

GPS COORDINATE: 5.429752, 100.305514 (pls use the coordinate as u can't find the add in the GPS). 

Rumah ni actuallly near to Berjaya Georgetown. It's somewhere in the middle of the big bungalow housing area. We didn't have much difficulty finding it as Penang ni dah mcm 2nd kg to us (according to my hubby). I love Penang and always will...

There are 3 types of rooms available here:

1. VVIP Suite for Jusa A and above - RM150 per night (not so sure as we didn't go into the room)
2. Executive Suite for grade 54 to JUSA B - RM100 per night (1 double and 1 twin)
3. Deluxe Suite for grade 41 to 52 - RM70 (2 twin beds)

Unfortunately, this RPP does not cater to grade lower than 41 but there are other RPPs which can accommodate all grades (even retirees)  such as the one in Langkawi, PD and Kenyir.

The Front Entrance...Just ignore the bags

The Reception

Our Executive Suite came with 1 double bed & 1 single bed. A very spacious room with plenty of space
for Farah to whirl....

The bathroom. Shower was superb!

The rest of the room.

I found the executive suite to be  very spacious but the deluxe suite was a bit small. Tp okla if u're a couple. Like me, yg dah beranak pinak, exec suite would be just fine...

Price wise? I think this RPP is slightly more expensive than the rest of the other RPPs,  but apa2 pon, still cheap.  Perhaps because it's new and after all it's Penang...I can get rm55 for a room in Langkawi and a fully furnished 3 bedroom apartment for rm115 at PD.

Behind our room

Lobby

Rest Area

Ample parking space, guard pon ada...

Kat sini x ada swimming pool pon but we didn't mind...Kite p serang laut....!!!

Till then...

Manila (part 3)...Taal Volcano

Today was the highlight of our trip to Manila...Going to Taal Volcano, the smallest active volcano in the world. I think not many people know about this small volcanic island. I 1st heard about it when i was reading and googling leisurely one day... We started our journey at 5 am in the morning. Our driver, Jon Jon picked us up at the hotel. the journey was smooth as there were less cars on the road since it was a Sunday and we departed very early in the morning. Manila is just like our Sabah & Sarawak...early daylight and early twilight. Bofore I proceed any further, as always...a lil info about Taal volcano and its surrounding, taken from http://www.taalvolcano.net/.

Taal volcano is located in the southern part of Luzon in the Philippines. It is about 50km from the capital, Manila. Right in the center of the island is the main crater that holds a sulfuric lake. It is famous for having an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the Pacific Ocean.

The smoke from the mountain. Captured this when I was in the car heading to Tagatay.

6.30 am in the morning.This was the place where we were going to hop on our boat to Taal.

We paid 900 peso (rm68) for the whole trip from the mainland to Taal, that was inclusive of the ticket to the volcano and the horse ride. From my reading, it is safer to book your trip with Taal Yatch Club. The journey to the island is about 30 minutes boat ride. The wind was blowing gently and the area was so calm and peaceful...seronok sangat! U don't get that kind of atmosphere at Bukit Jalil eh....

We met Paul, the representative from Taal Yatch Club here.

The boat that took us to the other side

The journey to the island took about 30 minutes by boat.

Some of the sights captured from the boat. The island covers an area of 23 km2 with 47 different
overlapping cones and craters.

Sunshine rising @ Taal Volcano. This was 6.40 in the morning

We had arrived!

The local was bathing the horse at the lake

A large sign welcomed us to the place

The tourist information center. I didn't go in as it looked so deserted and unwelcoming... But, don't listen to me...
perhaps u might find something useful inside there...

This way to the mountain...

U can either opt to hike or hire a horse to get to the top. According to my guide,there are about 300 horses available for the tourists. We were assigned one guide for each horse.

U can feel the heat when u gallop with yr horse near the smoke...And, u can sense the smell
of sulfur too... 

MBR on his horse...:) 

At last, we reached the top of the mountain... No words could describe my happiness at the moment.. I had plenty of photos of me n my friends for our private collections... So, i just show u a few photos of the lake and the small volcanoes... cukup eh?

Breathtaking scenery at the diluted form of sulphuric acid lake... It reminded me of Tangkuban Perahu, only it had no sellers forcing u to buy their stuff...

Another angle 

Melayan perasaan...:)

According to the history, there was a huge eruption in the past where it sealed Taal Lake from the sea. As a result, the water in the lake has became non-saline.

Tee for Two, Anyone? 

The locals: Poor families have settled on the island earning their livings through tourism, fishing
and also farming. 

After an hour or so, we started galloping downhill... Stopped by at the stall for some drinks and also souvenir la...what else...?

Coconut juice...not so tasty, i presumed the coconut was already old...

Some of the t-shirts sold here...Very cheap..150  peso each (rm12). Kid ones are cheaper.
 The quality is good. X luntur pon when i washed it for the 1st time...

* U can also stay overnight at Tagatay, the nearest village. There are plenty of guesthouses and resorts for a decent stay.

Manila (Part 2)... Intramuros

While in Manila, we went to Intramuros. What is Intramuros? Ha... let's check the history... 

Intramuros (Latin: within the walls) is the historic centre and oldest district of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines.Also known as the Ciudad Murada (Walled City) because of its most famous feature: a nearly three-mile-long circuit of massive stone walls and fortifications that almost completely surrounds the entire district.    Taken from www.wikitravel.org

I think enough with the history.. Pada mulanya i thought Intramuros ni satu kawasan kecik aja, rupanya mak datuk, memang cukup besar..nasib baik naik kereta kuda...

Kereta kuda kami...

Getting into our carriage

We hired the calisa (the horse with the carriage) at the entrance of Fort Santiago. The calisa came with the driver and a guide. That was my 1st experience on a calisa, actually. Not so thrilling as my horse ride at Taal. Oh yes, the entrance fee to the Intramuros is 75 peso (rm5.70) and we paid 150 peso per pax for the calisa.  Our first stop was Fort Santiago, one of the oldest fortifications in Manila. The former stone fort was damaged during the earthquake but then it was repaired and strengthened. So, we captured some photos hore before we went in.

Fort Santiago

Inside the fort, our 1st stop was the Rizal Shrine.  It is a modern museum and houses the stuff and belongings of Jose Rizal.They even had the real cell of Jose Rizal inside the shrine. He was imprisoned for 59 days before he was shot to death.

On our way to the shrine

Tmn Peringatan kot...

The Rizal Shrine Fort Santiago @ Museum

Inside the shrine

These were the foot steps of Jose Rizal, from the shrine to Rizal Park (the place where he was shot).  Jaoh jugak
Rizal Park nak ke Shrine ni.. Kalau kita zaman skrg ni, kena naik kereta...pengsan kalau menapak...

After the shrine, was just walked at the park until we ended up the bank of Pasai River. Tangkap-tangkap gambar la kat tepi sungai tu overlooking the old Manila. Lepas penat2 ambik gambar, we hopped on the calisa and sightseeing around Intramuros, While sightseeing, pemandu pelancong tu dok citer2 la kisah bangunan-bangunan tu... I can recall part of what he said but most of it, it digested inside me...He..he... too much history made me dizzy...

I'm not so sure of what this is but it looks like some kind of  pre-war structures, like a tunnel or something..
Itula, masa guide tu cakap, x mau dngr...leka tangkap gambar

Pasig River reminds me of our very own Klang River...he..he... There used to be  a river cruise circulating
the river but it was discontinued. 

Dekat Manila pon ada Great Wall...

Anyway, let me just show u some of the buildings i managed to capture while we were inside the calisa.

The ever famous San Agustin Church and convent..Masa kami lalu pon ada ramai pasangan pengantin baru
sedang menlangsongkan perkahwinan... There are a lot of churches inside here but this one is the busiest one,
yg lain tu mcm lengang aja...

Top: Rumah tradisional melayu, bottom: copper tooling of the presidents of Phillipines 

The Bayleaf: The only hotel inside Intramuros

 As usual, towards the end of the journey, mestilah ada ....jeng...jeng...jeng... souvenir shop.... tp kami x beli as we already planned to shop at kultura tonight.

*There are many other places to visit inside Intramuros (museums, fort, churches, etc) but we didn't stop as we did not have enough time to stop at all the places.

To be cont...