Tanjung Rhu Resort : The All Inclusive Package!

If you are considering going to Tanjung Rhu Resort, Langkawi and wanted to be treated like a king and eat without having to worry about the price tag but yet wanted to savour everything that the resort has to offer, then I would definitely suggest that you take their `All Inclusive' package.

We took this package every time we were there for several reasons:-

• We really don't fancy having to drive out to look for food if we have paid so much for a nice resort and we really want to maximise our time there.
• We really don't want to blow a hole in our pocket when eating in.
• We really wanted to eat all the nice food that this resort has to offer without having to think about the price tag.

Just one of their many restaurants offering fantastic food ....

Tanjung Rhu Resort's `all inclusive' package offers all you can eat while you are staying in the resort and the beauty of this package is that all the food available on the menu can be ordered, including room service. The only one thing that they do not cover is alcoholic drinks, but then again, you can easily stock those up when you arrived, since they are so cheap on this duty free paradise.

If you do go, make sure that you make your reservation early if you want to dine at their Rhu Fine Dining Restaurant and I strongly recommend that you do. The service is excellent and the food succulent. However, there is a dress code. Just make sure that you do not walk in round collar T-shirt, short pants and slippers.

The Mediterranean theme restaurant, Safron also offers some fantastic Mediterranean cuisines that you must try.

The view from Safron, the Mediterranean Restaurant ...what a view ...

And now pictures of some, just some of the sumptuous food that we ordered and had. Just posting them here, makes me hungry .....

 

The first time when we were there, we had the opportunity to play a round of golf at the Datai Golf Club. We wanted to play another round this time but the green fees was simply exorbitant. Instead, we opted for a round at the Gunung Raya Golf club, an equally interesting golf course for beginners and low handicappers as well.

On the day before we had our golf, the restaurant manager got to know about our plans and he promised us that he will prepared us a special lobster dish for our lunch when we get back from our round....

They served us two different lobster dishes which is not in their menu. Now, that is what I call customer service and ensuring customer satisfaction. Needless to say, we are totally impressed and promising to go back for more....

Tanjung Rhu Resort's `All Inclusive' room rate starts from RM1,850 excluding taxes per room per night for their basic Damai rooms to the RM3,950 for their Anjung Sea facing rooms. I will post some pictures of the resort and the room we got when we last stayed there.

Tanjung Rhu Resort Langkawi : Our Langkawi Getaway

I am going to take a break from writing about Singapore though I still have yet to put up some pictures I had on the Universal Studio as well as my exploration of Sentosa Island.

A blogger friend of mine was holidaying in Langkawi over the last weekend and I thought that I pull out some pictures of this beautiful resort we went a couple of years back and yack about it before I forget....

We have been to Langkawi three times previously and the last being in October 2010. And there is this one resort that we will always go back to....The Tanjung Rhu Resort.

I was introduced to this resort by my wife who had their company's annul conference there years ago.  Subsequently, we made a trip there and from that first trip, we are hooked. The ambiance of the resort, the tranquility that we enjoyed once we stepped inside the resort grounds, leaving behind the hustle and bustle not to mention the worries of our work place is simply magical. The service level is unimaginable and impressive but what attracts us is definitely their `all inclusive package'....

Located at Tanjung Rhu, this resort has miles and miles of private and quiet white sandy beaches. You do not have the usual tourist crowd. Here, you can truly enjoy sitting by the beach, having a cocktail or a cold cold beer, read a book or simply watch the clouds go floating by. In another words, simply doing NOTHING! Now, how cool is that!

Another quiet section of the long white sandy beach and very very calm waters ...

I will share a bit more about their service level and the `All Inclusive' Package in my next post where I will post some pictures of the room we took during our last trip there. For this post, I will post some pictures of some beautiful sunset I managed to capture when I was there .....

 I almost forgot that I got this one. I particularly love the sun rays breaking through the dark clouds behind the range of hills. The good Lord is kind to show me a different sunset every evening we were there .....

Same location but a totally different spectacular sunset with different hues and colours ....

Took this shot while we were relaxing in front of their reading room, enjoying some snacks, coffee and beer of course ....

Now, that is what a holiday should be. Sitting with your loved ones by a quiet, almost deserted beach, watching the sun slowly setting away, giving way to the passion of a hot humid night ...ahem....

or...you might want to do this...take a quiet stroll across the sand bar and walk to these unique islands in the middle of the sea but be forewarned...make sure you get back to the main land before the tide comes in, else you would have to be rescued .....

This is definitely a resort you would have to visit if you are looking for a place where you can have some real peace and tranquility, to spent some quality (and romantic) time with your loved one and be treated like a king at the same time. How? Consider taking their `All Inclusive' Package which we did every time we were there.....More of that in my next post ....stay tuned ....:)

Singapore : Singapore River Cruise (Seeing Singapore from a different perspective)

I am uncertain how many visitors visiting Singapore would take the Singapore River Cruise. I am certain that not many Malaysians (living just across the causeway) would bother, thinking to themselves ..."What is there to see anyway?"

Probably even a smaller number of the republic's own citizens would have taken the cruise. But then again, that is nothing new, as most of us would rather visit another country, not knowing what our own country can offer. I am not speaking only of others. I am guilty of the same ....

I was contemplating whether should I take the river cruise when I was at Clarke Quay. With time to spare, I decided to go ahead and I took the 60 minutes cruise which I hope will take me to see everything that is to see...

Tourists such as myself, embarking on our cruise from Clarke Quay ......

Being a avid photographer, I was hoping that the river cruise will provide me a different angle to view the different sights and buildings....and I was not disappointed.....

A view of Boat Quay...a combination of the old and new, the old style colonial buildings, mostly converted to pubs, cafes and restaurants and the new sky scrappers ....

A view of the old warehouses along the riverside which have seen better days .....

A view of the Fullerton Hotel and the Merlion Hotel against the backdrop of Singapore sky scrappers and office buildings ....

Looking up towards the towering sky scrappers ....

View from under one of the few bridges you will encountered while taking the Singapore River Cruise ....

An excellent view of Marina Bay Sands, the Art Science Museum and the Eye of Singapore on the extreme left ....

Cruising pass Clarke Quay. Tourists busy snapping pictures. If you like to grab some cool pictures, sitting at the open deck at the back of the boat is a must ....

Getting a good vantage point to capture that `perfect' shot from that `perfect' angle ....

Well...there you have it. If you do visit Singapore again or if you are already staying in Singapore, grab a chance this weekend and take that 60 minutes cruise and enjoy the sights and sounds of Singapore from a different view and then disembark and enjoy a sumptuous dinner accompanied with a couple of glasses of cold beer or wine either at Clarke Quay, Robertson Quay or Boat Quay ....Now that I have my Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 wide angle lens and hopefully, the Samyong 8mm fisheye soon, I know I would take that cruise again and look at these sights again from another perspective .... 

Oh yes...I nearly forgot..from the last check, the boat ride for the 60 minutes cruise is SGD22 for adult and SGD12 for children...

Singapore : Clarke Quay (Happening Happening)

I was in Singapore for one reason and that was to take the opportunity while my wife was having her conference there, for me to take some pictures of Capital Land's properties for their 2011 Capital Land Photo Competition.

Clarke Quay is one such landmark and it is definitely a place to visit.

Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore. Long before she is what she is today, she used to be part of a busy busy river transportation system in Singapore where goods were transported from Boat Quay upstream to the many warehouses located at Clarke Quay. At the height of her golden era, one can only imagine the many bumboats (small boats used to ferry supplies from the jetty to ships moored away from the shore) jostling for space to moor at Clarke Quay.

Between 1977 to 1987, the Singapore government embarked on an exercise to clean up the Singapore River by which this time has been totally polluted. Plans were put in place to turn it into an entertainment hub. Opened in 1993, the property was later owned and managed by Capital Land.

10 years later, work commenced to revamp and upgrade this landmark further to get a better tenant mix. Today, old warehouses have been refurbished to house many top class restaurants, bars and cafes while old tongkangs (Chinese junks) moored by the jetty have also been converted into F&B outlets.

Notable restaurants and pubs here include Hooters and IndoChine. River cruises and river taxis are also easily available.

Well, enough said. If you visiting Singapore, make it a point to drop by and the best time of course would be at night (which I didn't have the opportunity to do which then gives me another reason to return for another visit soon).

Enjoying the tranquility by Clarke Quay during the day before this place burst into life once the sun sets and the lights come on .....

This worker's diligence and dedication to his work caught my eyes as he goes about, making sure that Clarke Quay is kept absolutely clean for the enjoyment of tourist such as myself ....

Singapore: Raffles Hotel (Glorious and Magnificent then and now)

I have never really fancied Singapore in my younger days. Maybe because I never really have a passion to occupy me nor to attract me to this concrete jungle back then.

Hence, although Singapore is probably the nearest oversea destination from where I live in KL, I have not make a trip there for over a decade.

Due to the nature of her work, my wife gets to travel to Singapore rather often but I have never really opted to follow. When I read about the Capital Land Photo contest last year and when I found out that most of Capital Land's landmark buildings are in Singapore, I decided to follow on one of her trips down south.

And I was pleasantly surprised on just how much I enjoyed staying in Singapore, walking the streets, watching the people, looking at her buildings, enjoying her food and having a drink (or two or probably more) at some of her current `happening' places and joints....

Although we were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sentosa Island, my wife was telling me just how grand and beautiful Raffles Hotel is. I had to see it. I had to experience it for myself.

With my faithful Nikon d90 on hand, I went to explore this probably the most famous hotel in Singapore ...

Raffles Hotel, built in 1887, is a colonial styled hotel and is also one of the most famous hotel not only in Singapore but also the world, judging from the movies and books that have been written about her or on her. She was named after Singapore's founder, Sir Stamford Raffles.

Since Singapore and Malaya back then was under the jurisdiction of the British Empire and where the whites were looked upon as the powers of the world and where locals and Asians are deemed as slaves and second class citizens, NO Asians were actually permitted as hotel guests until 1930s!

Raffles Hotel survived the hardships of WWII and was also used as the transit camp for prisoners of war by then. If you walked along the corridors, one must imagine what those walls have seen and witness over more than 125 years! This hotel was declared a National Monument in 1987.

By the way, if you have drank or heard of the Singapore Sling cocktail, this very drink was invented right here at their Long Bar by bartender Mr Ngiam Tong Boon between 1910 and 1915.

Cheers !

I have intentionally captured the shots of Raffles Hotel in black and white, trying to depict the age of this magnificent hotel and hopefully to bring back the nostalgia of the good old days that she has seen ....

The center courtyard seen through one of the many arches of the building ....

Shadows cast by the rows of colonial styled pillars ....

The sun was hot and shining through from the courtyard. The huge and sharp contrast between the harsh sunlight and the cool, dark shadows made the picture in B&W so much more captivating ....

A coffee shop along the corridors of the hotel. A good setup with the old round marble top coffee table  and chairs of which we have associated with the good old kopi tiams of the past ...

New York : Trump International Hotel and Tower

Now who would not have heard of Donald Trump these days? His clever marketing strategy in positioning himself as the BOSS in the reality corporate cut throat rat race THE APPRENTICE has definitely cemented his status as a huge corporate figure not only in US but worldwide.

His famous last say at the end of each episode "You are FIRED!" has been cemented to Donald Trump as much as the word Colgate to toothpaste and Pampers to diapers.

Personally, I have never much taken a liking to this over egoistic bragging real estate mogul but then again, that is who he is and who he wanted to world to perceive him. But the fact remains that he has created a hell of a empire for himself and that is impressive.

Being in New York, it becomes inevitable that I consciously look out for his iconic property. I find the Trump International Hotel and Tower impressive. Well, I do not have the luxury to stay in this 5 star luxury hotel nor dined in her famous 3-Michelin-starred Jean Georges restaurant.

Located just opposite the Central Park, at the junction of Central Park West and Broadway right in the heart of Manhattan, this would be a good place to stay and I am certain that the view of Central Park tucked neatly among the sky scrappers of New York would have been magnificent.

Who knows, maybe one of these days, I might just find myself staying in one of those suites and looking out from her 10 foot floor to ceiling glass windows at Central Park and New York ...yupe...just maybe .....

New York : Empire State Building (King Kong was here)

Now...what was my first memory of Empire State Building? I must said that it would be the building where King Kong made his last stand against the cruelty of humankind. Yes. Even when I don't know where New York was then, I always fondly remember this building where King Kong climbed effortlessly to the top and made his last stand, as helicopters and gunships flew frantically around him, trying to bring him down .....

So, when I was in New York, I wanted to be where King Kong was. I want to see for myself, the scene that King Kong would have seen from where he was ..right at the top of the world.

The Empire State Building - truly an icon of the USA

Construction of the Empire State Building commenced on March 17 1930 (exactly 33 years before I was born) and was completed in May 1931. With a total 102 story, standing over 1454 feet, it was the tallest building in the world between 1931 till 1972. At the height of her construction, 4.5 levels of framework were completed every week.

Since the building was completed during the Great Depression, much of the offices were left untenanted. The building only turned profitable in 1950.

The building has two observation deck. The open observation deck is located on the 86th floor while the upper closed observation deck is located on the 102th floor.

The price for tickets to the 86th floor observation deck is USD23 for adults and USD40 for the upper observation deck on the 102nd floor. Be prepared to queue for the lifts especially on weekends and public holidays. If you do not want to wait in line, you can always opt for the express line an be prepared to pay USD47.50 to the 86th main deck and USD64.50 to the main deck and top deck.

The view from the top is simply magnificent. You can experience a totally different view depending on the time of day of your visit. On a clear day, you get to see the entire Manhattan from above. You can also witness some spectacular sunset over Manhattan if your visit is during the evening. Or, you can witness a spectacular night scene of Manhattan if you choose to time your visit at night, just like we did.

A view of Chrysler Building, Manhattan, the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn beyond ..

A view of the streets below from the main deck on the 86th floor of The Empire State Building