Japamala - love at first sight

2011 already almost a week, and in couple of days I’ll be another year older. A year that passed was a fulfilling one, sometimes I couldn’t believe myself I’m (already) approaching late 20s league :) well, forget the ageing thingy and let's start off 2011 entry with our wonderful experience in Tioman Island last month..hehe..

The trip actually a wedding gift from husband’s friend, which his syarat the place must be LOCAL. Among first being shortlisted was Rawa Island; unfortunately clashes with office deadlines & wedding jobs had postponed the trip earliest by December where boat operation being risky to rely to since most local islands will be on monsoon. Our search continued with Tioman which accessible by flight and found this beautiful site of Japamala, a boutique resort housing 12 villas (they called it Sarang) altogether with own private beach. Pictures in TripAdvisor not that interesting and far from any YTL’s luxurious resorts to be compared to, but reviews were telling otherwise made us evenmore tempted to check out the place. And true, we never regret since.

The good about traveling during monsoon, most will offer you huge discount for room. Japamala had this Low Season Package (available in their website) starting RM1.2k+ for couple, including 2N accommodation, airport (boat) transfer, massage etc. For short 3D2N escape, we rather ticked off all outdoors & spend more intimate time for each other...so all we need was nice room! ;) We booked the Seaview Sarang, apparently the one and only there and the most lavish villa they have for couple..kata sponsor kan...

Took Berjaya’s morning flight from Subang Airport. Upon arrival, paid RM5 marine conservation fees and two hotel staffs already standby for our next boat transfer to Japamala. Jay the staff handed us cool towels and lemongrass welcome drink (one of Japamala’s signature) during trip – very refreshing, especially after 55 mins (unpleasant) flight experience. By the way, the speedboat not a tiny we used to imagine, it’s cabined type with twin motors which pretty luxurious by our standard. Mind you, return boat trip will cost RM300+ per couple if you not taking the package.

Finally reached Japamala’s very own jetty, the water beneath so clear that we could see colorful fishes swimming in it. The jetty also serves as one of their dining place, Mandi Mandi Restaurant where you can dine under the sky, or better, stars if you’re lucky! we then brought to reception area; no counter or whatsoever frills found in usual grandeur hotel lobbies…only one low table with laptop and two round-wooden seats for us. Loved the effort-less designs they have here, it brings more rustic feeling to the resort.

Belle the staff walked us to our Sarang. Not that we know we had to climb (long) wooden staircase all the way to our room; thought the room was Seaview..shouldn’t it be closest to ground or pantai as possible? Hehe. Along the way, we were greeted with ‘Good Afternoon’ and warm smiles from each Japalama staff, made us felt so welcomed. The moment Belle opened the door we had to agree the Sarang worth all the climb & wait! It was uber hugeee, about triple size of their smallest villa and very secluded to offer us utmost privacy.

From info we read, very minimal trees being chopped during construction of this resort and to not disturb the natural landscape, you’ll find each and every villa is rather designed to fit their original location. One obvious example seen in our Sarang, the big rock was not moved but instead made a nice, natural hide for our small plunge pool :) Guess the pictures do better talking..

tengok pun dah berpeluh!


our huge nest ;)


same seat found at lobby *wink

with sky & jungle view..check out the showerhead!

(very) small hot tub..

from homegrown Samadhi Spa

walkway to our pool, where MONKEYS usually found in the morning..no joking! :)

the 'rock' pool ;)

First thing we did was changed & spent hours in our private pool until we turned blue! We later learnt the water was from nearby bukit, no wonder the ‘sejuk’ was different so a sip of hot chocs was nice to warm us out after a long soak. Hubby then went back to reception (since no phone or even mobile coverage in room) to get some DVDs. I was already dozed off by then, and it was almost 7pm when we woke up and me being cliché, rushed to balcony konon to check out the sunset. Haha. It was a little cloudy, so sadly no sunset for us! Regardless, the view still...a breathtaking.. *smile*

candid him

Took quick shower, then head to Mandi Mandi Restaurant for our first dinner. Setting of jetty restaurant itself is unbeatable; it was built up on stilts above the sea with meters away from beachfront. For the first time, actual looked a lot better than pictures especially after the places all been lit up...now I know the TA reviewers were speaking truth hehe. BBQ was cancelled unfortunately, so we had everything ordered. They served Italian/ western cuisine and we’ve been told to fork out at least rm100/couple per meal. Not that friendly to pocket, but I guess fair considering its remote location.

chef at work!

waiting for our table

The bed already made up when we got back. Iced waters replenished, cleaned the used glasses, room was lit up our room scented candles and not to forget, little surprise left on our bed every night – chocolates! :) This is routine & among special touches you'll find in Japamala. The advantage of handling smaller guests at one time made them aware each and every guest whereabouts so they'll come to tidy up each time we left the room. Clearly, “Please Make Up Room” sign is not needed here.

yums!

Had our breakfast the next day at Tamarind Terrace (serving Indo-Chinese & a sister restaurant to Tamarind Spring, so you can expect the taste). With small occupants, they only prepared small buffet with basics like bread, fruits, cereals etc and we’re allowed to order (as many we want) from their menu – another personal touch :) Be it everywhere, Mango Lassi (or any yogurt drink I guess!) is something you shouldn’t miss including here in Japamala. Their homemade chicken porridge was fabulous, had to tapau some food cos hubby overly ordered – good thing, jimat our lunch! Hehe.

check out the bowl. old and rustic! ;)

Belle came to remind our complimentary Thai massage appoinment. Unfortunately one of their therapist was on leave so we had to forego any couple treatment offered. Massage took at one of the hut upside overlooking the sea, with breezy waves as background. Done by a skillful lady from Bali…the pressure was damn good, unbeliavably backpain I’ve been suffering has now gone!

one of massage hut (another climbing!)

I went to checkout the resort while hubby doing his massage and took as much pictures of Japamala. Rooms were all nested within the jungle and only accessible through their wooden walkways. Not that friendly to physically unfit or even kids, as some not even with hand railings. The resort constantly fully booked, mainly with honeymooners seeking for total privacy but locals rarely seen here according to Aruni the resident manager. Visited other villas, their next best with budget friendly option is Seacliff rooms, 3 units altogether – request for room 16, it offers best seaview & privacy! :) Met Mike, one of the staff on the way back (with warm smile of course) and interestingly, he asked how was my massage going. Goodness, we just met? The fact I still remember their names tells a lot about the staff (and Japamala itself) i guess..The warmth & bonding very unlikely to be found in other places :)

the seacliff rooms

We didn’t get to celebrate husband’s birthday earlier due to my brother’s wedding held on same date, so our final night at Japamala would be perfect time to make up with just the two of us :) Mike setup simple private dinner for us by the beach, at one of their beach hut. Funny that we start off having nasi and all sort for a supposed-romantic dinner hehehe..what to do their western jetty restaurant was closed due to heavy wind :p

I only arranged them that 3pm and left all the creativity to Mike and amazingly, they manage to pull out a cake for husband’s belated birthday! The taste? Think Haagen Daaz Belgian Choc, better version! And the best of all – it’s FREE. Husband was completely touched (Who doesnt? You got surprise cake on remote island okay) and never expect it as I was busy with weddings of lates. No nice card, only simple birthday note written on Japamala letterhead..lousy, i know!! :p

26th ;)

The final morning, we requested for in-room breakfast with everything ordered prior night. Nothing spectacular, except you dont have to rush & can dine with only bathrobe on hehehe. We then packed our thing with our most heavy heart knowing we’ll leave this paradise soon. We left some note in their guestbook before we checked out, and planning for similar fair review for Tripadvisor soon.

Overall, Japamala was our best stay so far and thank you again to husband’s friend for this wonderful trip. Time never a rush here, fully recommended especially for couples who wants to absolutely do nothing, like Japamala’s selling line DO NOTHING AT ALL, LET THE SURROUNDING DO IT FOR YOU.. All in all, being local, I have to agree with one note written by previous guest staying in similar room – never knew Malaysia had this..... :) :)

MATTA FAIR is back!

dining place in the middle ;)

we're planning for short trip to this local island coming November. all we need is total relaxation after year round of hardwork...since we have no snorkeling or any beach activity in mind, we better travel during monsoon & enjoy the low season bargain :) my kaki-travel-pantang-AA-ade-promotion cousin had bad experience with their boat service (3 jam muntah hijau) so she advised to opt for flight which i agreed since sea transfer not that reliable during monsoon..

last MATTA fair, the return air package + hotel was tempting..only RM5++ for 3D2N including snorkeling trip, unfortunately they dont offer hotel we wanted & they have confirmed they'll still not offering this particular boutique resort for today's MATTA fair. i think very rugi to go with their associate hotel, cos there's surcharge for school holiday but not for our boutique resort :p we're willing to pay similar amount for nice room rather than that extra surcharge..apart from great review by TA honeymooners, this boutique resort has no mobile network coverage...so no office distraction yahoooooo!! :D

and i hope to check out Bali ground package too, we've booked our tix for nx yr :) my friend recommend lembongan island, sempat ke pegi 4D3N je kot??

krabi honeymoon

Since post mortem of weddings may take ages to write, let’s give way to our honeymoon entry dulu ;) Among the shortlisted were Boracay Island & Koh Samui, but connecting flights was my biggest turn off for Boracay while Koh Samui...tiket firefly like mahal gile :( so off we to Krabi!

We managed to catch AA promo return tix for rm116 & booked ground package during last MATTA fair. Since we went during high season the price quoted for us was RM1350 nett, including :

-4N accom with breakfast
-Return airport transfer
-Thai massage
-Phi Phi Island @ 4 Islands trip

If you’re travelling during low season, you can get all above just rm700++ for 2...cheap kan? We only pay rm50 as deposit at MATTA fair, the rest was upon checkout...so if u cancel the trip, u only loose small amount of money...but the bad is, u have to pay in baht later..def u'll lose some for exchange rate!

the place was Pavilion Queensbay...TA review was helpful, at least we knew things we could compromise with the budget we had :) knowing we're coming for honeymoon, Rabeeya the sales manager had earlier upgraded our room to Suite...and with seaview :)

some overview

the bed.
hubby kutip the petals and made nice walkway from the shower that night *winks*

with 2 separate living halls...
more space to "explorerace" at night ooops :P

with seaview too..we had our bath by sunset on the very first day :)
privacy is assured!
spacious...shower on left, toilet on your right

big buaian at balcony.
nice spot to laze with your hubby sambil melihat bintang2 di langit huhu..

3-tiers pool

meja we usually had our breakfast

hotel was abit secluded, but no worry as they have free shuttle to Ao Nang. except, coming from Ao Nang is sendirian berhad hehe..u can still walk, but berpeluh jugakla..better naik tuktuk, they're almost everywhere for only rm2/pax per ride. but we prefer amik scoot je, rental only rm18/day & we can merempit whenever we want heheh :P all they need is driving license & passport je! and fuel u have to isi balik...

our tiffany scoot :P satu lagi taktau sape punya.

our daily activity during honeymoon was massage, sebab they so cheapppp in thailand :) oil massage around rm30/hr and they were like everywhere in krabi...but mostly those in busy Ao Nang are less privacy cos u have to share the room with other tourists & some not that "clean".

the first day we had our free Thai massage in our hotel, Montra Spa. nice one…but personally I don’t fancy any Thai massage sebab tak guna any oil, kesat when rubbing =(

The 2nd day, we were recommended by locals for Boosabakorn Spa..famous spa among tourists. my goodness...i almost keluar balik from spa sbb terkejut seeing the price, mengalahkan KL :( but hubby pujuk bila lagi to try...so we took their honeymoon spa package with jacuzzi. yeap the ambience & service was super nice...but the massage dekat bahu sakit sikit.

ginger tea = we're done!

the 3rd night we had oil massage at Feel Good Massage nearby our hotel...the best i had in krabi, sampai tertido... price pun cheap & most importantly, we had room. sorry no pics taken but recommended for those seeking for privacy :)

the 4th night, we booked for Aloe Vera treatment & massage (rm40/hr) at Ao Nang Princeville, recommended by masseuse for after sunburn. very cooling....we liked it, esp after 2 days berjemuran di pantai..but i was dissapointed with the room, too "ordinary" for a spa in exclusive boutique resort & i think ppl outside can see us changing baju sbb their transparent tingkap :(

FOOD

I know this every Muslim’s most worried kan. myself too didnt manage getting a “confirmed” HALAL restaurant…but at least we found few restaurants that didnt serve pork at all (but ada beer etc)..to be safe, we just stick to seafood based.

For breakfast, we had our daily in hotel. Choice quite good for us the muslim who cant enjoy their meaty-dishes..at least they have range of waffles, pancakes, shrimp dimsum, sushi, cereals, bread & salads to choose from...siap their thousand island tu campur cili...very the Thai!! hehe

but our fave is their porridge, harus dimakan bersama chilli flakes ya

LaCasa was one of muslim-owned restaurant & they didnt serve pork at all. according to their malay-speaking staff, they can jamin ayam & daging are all sembelih...except the processed food like burger, nugget etc...they dont advise us to order cos they not sure the source. we tried their seafood paadthai...so-so but their 2 specialty pizza mmg sedap! but the food alot pricey here.






the next day we tried Wang Sai Seafood, recommended by Rabeeya and again no pork served. u can pick your fish, lobster etc & get them freshly cook for u...and the service pun sangat cepat :) i'll list u the dishes we ordered & the price....

- BBQ lobster in garlic & butter (rm26/100gm)
- Fried soft crab in curry powder rm15…serving size for 3 pax..
- Tomyam seafood rm18..serving size 3 pax
- Steam fish in lemon sauce…rm24..seriously terbaikkkk!
- 4 Oysters with vege..rm12
- Plain rice rm2/plate

we didnt get the chance to try Ao Nang Seafood...we reached 10pm & they already packing up to close :( sedih sikit sbb it was one of recommended try-outs by seaside & i saw most shops there not serving any pork in their menu book too..

next to Ao Nang Seafood was Ban Lay Aeshah Halal Restaurant-the only halal place we found and at the very last day...tak sempat singgah pun

Thai pancake…nice one..we tried aurinh’s recommendation for banana & choc…sedappp!

Rugi pulak beli satu je hehe..

ISLAND TRIP

We didn’t go to Phi Phi, since we’ve been there in 2008. The locals recommend us Similan Island..from the brochure, looks perfect for divers…not yet for us kot =)

we picked James Bond Island trip...the name tells it all, one of JB film had their shooting here. 1.5hr van ride from krabi to boat pier in Phang Nga.

the first stop was Panyee Village for lunch..rugi we order for vegetarian meal cos we baru tahu that's muslim village so the food served all halal =(


main reason i picked this trip is KAYAK cos i nak paddling through their nice caves..sekali je the staffs yg do the paddling tsk tsk...but the view was nice :) siap ada org jual air kelapa mcm floating market tu hehe!

james bond island

after the island trip, they brought us to Island Safari in Phang Nga...elephant trekking was one of activity. no camera allowed, they'll snap for us & to buy is optional..we paid rm30 for 4pix & below is one of them...

our gajah..if u said "TU!!" then cepat je the belalai naik to your tangan requesting for banana hehe..the problem is, all gajahs there understand "TU" for food..so bile u sebut...the nearby gajahs pun angkat their belalai to u....scary pulak :P

the next day we pick 4 Islands trip included in our hotel package... the trip with speedboat going to 4 places :


- Phra Nang Bay...nice cave view, i just knew the place was the other side of Railay Beach…so we cancelled our trip to Railay that evening..hubby accidentally dropped our hps here..so gone all numbers!
- Chicken island...hubby accidentally stepped on sea urchins. the locals cakap let the duri reput sendiri cos tak beracun pun.
- Tup Island...we did the snorkelling here but it was jellyfish season so the view not so great...small jellyfish bersepah2 but they not harm
- Poda Island..place u can see matsaleh granny topless...


personally, i think krabi would have been better if the staffs esp those working at tourist spots can understand & speak English...but overall, we loved the trip & Thai hospitality..we surely comeback if there's any rezeki :)