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Snorkelling at Tenggol Island in Terengganu, Malaysia

One of the perks while working in Tanjong Jara Resort was that during my days off, I could experience the activities that the resort offered. I couldn’t wait to sign up for a snorkelling trip at Tenggol Island in Terengganu, Malaysia when I found out about the adventure. I wanted to spend a day in the water and this was a perfect opportunity to unwind.

Snorkelling at Tenggol Island by Tanjong Jara Resort
Dungun, Terengganu
Malaysia

swimming with fishes

clown fishes

I’ve been longing for a beach escape in my backpacking adventure and I was only able to do that during a trip to Bali, Indonesia. But even then, I didn’t get to swim as much as the water was much fit for surfing. That’s why I’m so glad to experience the snorkelling adventure at Tenggol Island twice. Yes, I went to this island twice!

the beach

During my 9-month Southeast Asia backpacking adventure, I was able to live in a five-star luxury resort in Terengganu, Malaysia. This was one of the best experiences I had because I lived very comfortably.

Tanjong Jara Resort: Unmistakably Malay
Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia

Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia

I was in the hotel resort to help out in the daily operations and when I arrived on my first day, I was escorted to one of the villas. I was to spend the next few nights in a huge room because they ran out of rooms in the staff quarters!

Entrance to Tanjong Jara Resort by YTL Hotel Group

I always enjoyed cycling to the town of Dungun when I stayed at Tanjong Jara Resort in Terengganu, Malaysia. How come? Aside from biking being already a great exercise, I also have a marvelous view of the eastern coast of Malaysia!

Tanjong Jara Resort: Cycling to the town of Dungun in Terengganu, Malaysia

Tanjong Jara Resort bike tour

I was living in the resort for two months and I always looked forward to this physical activity. A perfect time since it was also Malaysia’s summer season.

I would start by borrowing a bike (thanks Peter!) and head my way out. On the left side, they have a smaller road where you will be greeted by pine trees as you begin the journey.

heading to a small road safe for cyclists

bike road

I’m so glad to have finally participated in the jungle trek to the Chemerung Waterfalls in Terengganu, Malaysia. It was my last week at the Tanjong Jara Resort and this nature adventure was one of the activities I wanted to do right away. I stayed in a five-star resort for two months, but I was … Read more

Unexpected Opportunities while Backpacking

After my trip to Bali, Indonesia. I didn’t know where I was headed. I wanted to do something other than work on my laptop as I felt very unhealthy being stuck in front of a computer screen. I was still in Bangkok at the time and I was contemplating on a few things until unexpected opportunities knocked on this backpacker’s life.

Substitute Teacher

There was an opening for a temporary post as an elementary English teacher for a private school in Bangkok where my friend was working. It was a short-term gig which would’ve lasted three weeks. In my mind, I was to handle a class of grade six pupils, but the picture didn’t come out clear enough because I was hesitant.

back in the old office days

I’ve had some experience training adults and I’ve hosted calibration sessions with different clients in my previous job in a call center; but this was a little different since I’d be handling youngsters.

I haven’t blogged for quite some time. I became busy with other types of work that I failed to update this site, even just with short stories on what I’ve been to lately.

What’s up then? I’ve got one more week to stay in Dungun, Malaysia. I can’t believe I’ve been here for two months! I’ve become comfortable with the environment and with this welcome change.

Tanjong Jara Resort, Dungun
Terengganu, Malaysia

Tanjong Jara Resort, Malaysia

I joined a jungle trek to the Chemerung Waterfalls yesterday. Tomorrow, I’ll go on another snorkelling adventure at Tenggol island. The next days, I’ll be biking to town and I’ll also relax on the shores.

jungle trek to the waterfalls

I passed by Kuala Lumpur after about a month’s stay in Dungun, Terengganu. I was on my way to Singapore for personal reasons when I dropped by this capital city of Malaysia. I met with travel blogger couple Joey and Summer for a few hours and during the trip, I noticed a familiar advertisement shown on a large screen in one of the railway stations. These were those “More Fun in the Philippines” commercials played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

More Fun in the Philippines Ad in Masjid Jamek station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I remember that there’s a huge campaign back in the Philippines to hype up tourism in the country. The social media community was swamped with so many meme’s of people who support the campaign. I was amused because I didn’t imagine that they’d play it in this side of the world.

It’s more fun in the Philippines!

Passed by Kuala Lumpur only for a couple of days and had to transfer to another state in Malaysia. It was nice to see the Petronas Towers and see these skyscrapers again. They look better at night but time was not on our side as we were catching different trips bound for other destinations.

Petronas Towers again

…and still maintain your full-time job.

No, I didn’t take my job with me when traveling in those months but I filed for vacation leaves in between. From October of last year to January of this year, I visited four countries within four months; all of which happened in different times. It was no easy feat considering that I have a day job in a BPO industry. I was apprehensive too, if all my plans would push through considering the number of vacation leaves that I had.

Hong Kong, Macau (Ok, Macau is not a country but just a region of China along with HK, but my passport was still stamped), Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand. I visited these five places which makes me wonder if what I did was a rare opportunity to achieve or if everybody can do it as well.

Friends would ask me if I’m still working in my current company due to my constant travelling. I tell them I’m just lucky to also have a boss that understands my needs to get away from the office environment once in a while. Sure, you may not be able to choose your manager but there are other circumstances that you can control.

KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here are four basic tips that you can take note of so you can travel while keeping your job.

Book Ahead – Check out budget airline websites for dirt-cheap promotions which they hold regularly. You’ll be able to save a ton of money because of booking in advance at ridiculously low prices.

My trip to Hong Kong cost me 1200 Php and those are round trip tickets already. (Cebu to Hongkong)
My trip to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia cost me 850 Php; and that’s riding four planes! (Cebu to Clark to Kuala Lumpur and back)
My trip to Bangkok cost me 6000 Php; actually it’s 5200 bucks more because of a huge mistake of being late at the airport but you understand the point of booking during promo fares.

Suggested websites are CebuPacificAirlines.com and AirAsia.com once in a while to what they’re offering. Better yet, subscribe to their feeds to notify you on their next big airline ticket sales.

Venetian Hotel, Macau

You might’ve thought that after my bungy jumping experience in Macau, I wouldn’t dare do anything extreme for awhile. However, when I visited Kuala Lumpur a month after our Hong Kong trip, I was able to do another bungee jump at Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I don’t really have any wishes to die … Read more

Random Updates

I realized I’ve been wrapped up in writing articles about my recent trips that I haven’t been able to provide updates about my life and the things that have been going on so far. This is still a personal blog and before I get caught up with writing a bunch of entries about my travels again, let me post a few random nothings – travel and non-travel related.

Money Play

Been playing with money the past couple of months – NO, I haven’t been wasting it. I’ve been looking for ways to squeeze time in order to maximize the situation of funds and whatever’s left of it. This is not something I’d recommend to everyone because you’ll go crazy if you can’t keep up with your payables and receivables. Heck, I’m going nuts trying to figure out how I’m going to manage. But I still like to think I can.

Terra 60 Backpack

Photo courtesy of Doi

As you might have noticed in some of my previous posts, I have a new back pack for travelling. It cost me an arm to get this despite the discounted rate. There was a sale on outdoor items and because I was so curious about the items being displayed, I had to drop by the place. I wondered why the hell I did. Now I’ve conformed to The North Face backpack. But I’m not complaining as I know this proves to be useful in my trips. Besides, the Deuter bag that I have cannot accommodate the things I bring during my long journeys. I still need to work on my packing skills though.

On Travel – a free travel magazine in Malaysia.

We were headed back to Cebu from Malaysia. It was our last day and we were waiting for the Star Shuttle bus to take us to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Kuala Lumpur.

At the bus station, we grabbed some free magazines to keep ourselves busy and to kill time.

on the lower-left corner…

Just arrived in Cebu after a 6-day leave. Actually it’s just 4 days, the rest of the two were spent waiting for our flights in Clark, Pampanga from Cebu and Malaysia. It was a tiring vacation because of all the waiting and I’m happy that I brought my laptop with me to burn some time.

For now it’s back to the office work. I will be reporting again and it’s another normal daily grind. I don’t have any other travel commitments anytime soon except for Iloilo this November for the Blogging Summit. I’m just relieved so I can focus on other things such as going back to doing some freelance work.

at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark, Pampanga

Ahh, an update. Iâ€™m taking a break from blogging and from my office work. Pending posts are really piling up â€“ Iâ€™m not yet done with my posts for Hong Kong and here I am in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for another trip. Iâ€™m not even sure if I can still keep up but weâ€™ll see. … Read more

Snorkelling at Tenggol Island in Terengganu, Malaysia

Tanjong Jara Resort Review in Terengganu, Malaysia

Cycling to the Town of Dungun in Terengganu, Malaysia

Jungle Trek to Chemerung Waterfalls in Terengganu, Malaysia

Unexpected Opportunities while Backpacking

Substitute Teacher

One More Week in Dungun, Malaysia

More Fun in the Philippines in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur Transit

How to Travel to Four Countries Within Four Months

Bungy Jump at Sunway Lagoon in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Random Updates

Picture on a Travel Magazine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

from Cebu to Clark to Malaysia and back

Update from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia