arinaahmad: March 2012

Have a getaway with my besties to Pangkor (again!) last week. Yes, I know it hasn’t been a year since I last went to Pangkor, but going with family and friends bring a different kind of fun! Plus, I need a break so badly~

The trip went well, despite just the three of us. It really was a santai one with no specific activities in plan because urm, this is really a last minute decision. But I think I’ve heard this somewhere, that the best plan is actually not having a plan at all! (okay, maybe I make that up :DD) So we went, gambling our way to Pangkor island in hoping to have the best getaway a girl like me could possibly have~

Riding the famous pink taxi-van!

We had lunch, play UNO on tablet, sightseeing, took pictures, watching the sunset, window shopping, had a perfect dinner, counting the stars, mandi at at our private beach in the morning, lunch, check out at noon and off to tanah besar (as what Jue-a likes to put it)~ And above all that, we practically having girl talk that I've been missing so much all the time~

A Hornbill! They were everywhere!

I always wonder how great it would be to have a private beach, so we ~~could shamelessly act like a retarded kid at this age~~ would feel comfortable to play in the water. Aaanddd, guess what? Wish granted! We took a boat ride to go sightseeing and feeding the fish at snorkeling area and then the beach boy leave us at the small island nearby and promised to comeback for us after 30 minutes. And we were the only people there and it does feel like we own the island for 30 minutes! And a private beach!

Playing with Mia's camera~ So cool! Can go inside water one!

We dropped by Kellie’s castle at Batu Gajah on the way back. It was an unfinished and ruined mansion built by William Kellie Smith, a Scottish planter in 1915. He was the owner of Kinta Kellas Estate and the Kinta Kellas Tin Dredging Company. He brought his wife, Agnes over to Malaysia in 1903. The couple was blessed with a daughter whom they named Helen but he wants a son to take over his empire. One of his workers from Madras told him that by praying to Amman (a Hindu Goddess), his wish will come true. So Smith prayed and after a few years, Agnes delivered a baby boy names Anthony. As a token of appreciation, Smith built a Hindu Temple for the Goddess. He went back to Britain for a short trip with his daughter to visit his wife and son, but unfortunately never made it back to Malaya. Smith was caught with pneumonia and passed away in Lisbon in December 1926. His wife then sold her interest in the Kellas Estate and Smith's distraught family never returned to Malaya.

Remind me so much of a Taj Mahal as this castle was built as a symbol of love. Saya sayu di situ. And we went to Helen’s room and it was written there that a couple of visitors saw Helen’s ghost walking along the corridor. Oh spooky! Do they really have to state it there like that? You could admire the building for RM4 per person. I just wished they would replaced the faded history-tale (which they placed on the first floor) with a bigger font because it was really hard to read off the wall.