Bhuping Palace, Suthep

Bhuping Palace

Suthep, Muang

Chiang Mai

Hours

0830 - 1530 daily

Entrance Fee

Foreigner: 50B

Adult: 20B

Also spelled as Bhubing or Phu Ping Royal Palace locally, this winter palace is located on Doi Suthep. It also double as royal guesthouse for prominent visitors. One can't miss the palace on the way up towards Hmong Village or Khun Chang Kian. You can take songthaew or hire private car or scooter to get here.

  Kalau nak bandingkan dengan Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, Istana Bhuping atau lebih tepat lagi taman ni kurang popular. Banyak pakej yang bawa ke Wat Phra That Doi Suthep sahaja. Mungkin sebab bunga mekar cantik ikut musim. Jadi ada masa yang agak sendu dan kurang menarik untuk dikunjungi.

Note: Please dress conservatively. You're visiting a palace.

Ticket booth is near the parking area. After purchasing your ticket, cross the road and present your ticket to the staff. 

  Staff kat sini nampak macam pegawai tentera. Mungkin memang tentera agaknya. Kata istana kan? Lepas dah tunjuk tiket, jemput jalan kaki. Tak ada trem atau basikal atau apa. Jalan nak masuk tu macam jauh tapi tak terasa pun sebab ralit tengok bunga. 

My favourite area gotta be the rose garden. Colourful roses were blooming and gave off sweet scent. Some of them didn't have any scent but most were very fragrant! They even have different smell.

Rose Garden

Green House

Visitors will get to see the gorgeous royal garden filled with beautiful and colourful flowers and my favourite sweet-smelling roses. You can also take photos of the palace but won't be allowed to go near.

  The green house is near the rose garden and there are many interesting spots that will make gorgeous backgrounds for your photos. There is no specific route to follow. Just wander as you wish.

Notice the huge tree behind the signage?

Path across the palace area

At the end of the climb

A bridge

There is also a water reservoir you can check out. I didn't because... look at those stairs! But pics from Google looked pretty nice.

  Katanya ada fountain show juga tapi tak tahu la masih wujud ke tak.

Visit if:

• You have the time
• You enjoy gardens and parks
• You're dressed appropriately (no shorts, no sleeveless)
• You're willing to walk. A lot
• It's the "right" time of the year. I visited in late Jan and the flowers were blooming

Some people found the royal garden magical while others thought it was a waste of their time.

I don't mind. It's not expensive and the weather was nice

If you go, expect to spend about a couple of hours to explore the place properly.

Coral Redang Island Resort, Pulau Redang

Coral Redang Island Resort

Pasir Panjang Beach,

Pulau Redang,

Terengganu Darul Iman

reservation@coralredang.com.my

(+60)17 981 6200

(+60)9 630 7110

Sometimes, the best trips are the ones you don't really plan for. Our trip to Redang Island in Terengganu was a result of a moreh session one Ramadhan. Birthdays were coming up and we decided that the least we should do is a fun trip. Two weeks after raya, 8 adults and 2 kids headed to the East Coast and hopped on boats to meet on Redang Island.

  Once you're in Terengganu, you should head to either the Merang Jetty or the Shahbandar Jetty. The speedboat trip from Merang Jetty takes about an hour while the ferry from Shahbandar Jetty may take about an hour and a half to two hours to reach the island. The return boat transfer is included in the full board package offered by the resort so they will ask your preferences; preferred arrival and departure time and jetty. You will only have to pay the Marine Park Conservation Fee and in my case, the Setiu Jetty Access Charge because I took a speedboat from Merang Jetty.

  Also included in the full board package by Coral Redang Island Resort: 

• 2 nights accommodation
• 2 buffet breakfast+lunch+dinner
• 2 boat trips/day for snorkelling (equipments can be rented from the dive shop, less than RM30/day)

Booking

I sent an enquiry via their website www.coralredang.com.my and after they replied, I submitted my bookings. Did two separate bookings because one family has a toddler and they chose the ferry while the rest of us took speedboat. Paid 50% deposit instead of giving my credit card details via email. 

  So, yeah. Booking for full board package could have been made easier.

Location

Pasir Panjang Beach or the Long Beach is the popular stretch of beach with many resorts. If you want somewhat private beach, consider The Taaras or Wisana Village. Personally, I like this location because there are other souvenir shops and restaurants and warung to hang out at.

Rate

Value for money. We stayed in Standard Room and paid RM1160/room for 3D2N. That's like RM290/night per adult including meals and snorkelling. And boat trips from and back to mainland.

Dining

Love the buffet. Different menu every day. We had nasi lemak, pancakes, omelette, sausages and cereal and toast and yoghurt for breakfast. Lunch and dinner were rice with selections of chicken, beef, fish and other seafood. We even had lamb. Then there were fresh fruits all the time. Omg we gained more weight than we did for raya.

Service

The reception team weren't the friendliest but they were helpful (even when it's not their duty like taking photos) and professional. Love the F&B team, they went out of their ways to help us prepare for the triple birthday celebration. They let us borrow their kitchen so my friend could carve a watermelon cake. Yay! The F&B staff were also the ones who suggested places to visit and offered to show us around.

  I must also mention the dive centre staff. The team really took care of us and were knowledgable. The morning session went a little scary after the sea turned rough so suddenly but the staff kept their cool and got everybody back safely.

  The evening session was thankfully sunny and the guide told us spots to go to at the Marine Park. I only wish that we get longer than an hour per session to snorkel.

Overall 4.5 <3<3<3<3< of 5

   Oh, try the massage centre near the lobby. D'Manja has proper outlets in Redang Bay and Laguna Redang but I recommend the open platform right in front of Coral Redang. Love the massage with beach view. The masseurs were good too.

 Our party was awesome! And the resort was the perfect background. We love our rooms even though they are basic. The meals were local dishes and delicious. Pool wasn't huge but still, we love it. The view right in front of the resort, LOVE. 

  Omg, just go already. I wish I am back there.

Khun Chang Kian, Chiang Mai

Khun Chang Kian

When I first heard about Thailand sakura, I was excited and a bit skeptical. They looked SO pretty but are the pictures for real?

  Bukan kita tak tahu ada sites yang pakai gambar tempat lain untuk promote destinasi berbeza. Betul ke sakura Thailand cantik macam dalam gambar yang ditunjukkan?

  Kebetulan, I dah nekad nak pergi berjalan in January. I pun buat research tempat yang best untuk dikunjungi bulan January dan Chiang Mai adalah antara destinasi yang tersenarai.

  It is recommended to visit Chiang Mai in December or January for it is "winter" season. Of course there is no snow but the temperature is colder even though the sky is sunny.

  Orang Malaysia boleh bayangkan suhu di Cameron Highland. Matahari terik tapi sejuk berangin. Yang bestnya bukan setakat di kawasan tinggi, tapi di dalam bandar juga. Kalau pagi-pagi tu, suhu mencecah 16º - 18ºC. Cuma bila keluar berjalan-jalan, sila pakai sunblock sebab matahari tetap terik menjelang tengahari dan petang.

Getting to Khun Chang Kian 

It is up in Doi Suthep. Doi means mountain but some people actually meant a famous temple there when they talk about Doi Suthep. The temple is called Wat Phra That and tour packages will include this place because it has nice view of Chiang Mai town. It is also easy to get to Doi Suthep using Uber or public transport.

  If you are customising your tour and they don't drive to Khun Chang Kian, ask to be dropped at Bhuping Palace instead of the temple. The palace is further up the mountain past the temple and it is probably cheaper to get a songthaew from here.

  Dah sampai Doi Suthep, boleh berhenti dulu di Wat Phra That atau terus naik ke Bhuping Palace. I naik terus ke Bhuping Palace sebab lebih berminat dengan nature view berbanding view bandar. Depan Bhuping Palace ada songthaew yang akan bawa pengunjung ke Khun Chang Kian.

Is it necessary to hire a songthaew? 

  The road condition isn't the best. It is narrow, full of potholes, dusty and missing altogether at some area. Don't risk it. Hire an experienced private driver if you must. Some are willing to drive up to Khun Chang Kian.

  

The rate displayed was 150B one way per person. There's a camping ground there and some *might* choose to hike down so that's why they offered one way rate. Return trip is 300B per person and while it is not cheap, I thought it was fair considering the scary road and the distance. The bone-jarring ride took almost half an hour. 

   Mula-mula, I macam menyesal sikit sebab tak minta kurang. 300B seorang bukannya murah. Lagi pun, I pergi hujung bulan Januari dan drivers songthaew tu sendiri yang cakap yang bunga dah tak banyak. 

  They can't speak English well so one of the drivers pointed to Khun Chang Kian picture on their rates board and gestured that only 10% of flowers left. The rest had fallen. It was so cute!

  Bagus la kan dia jujur cakap bunga dah tak ada. Sebenarnya ada je lagi cuma tak banyak. Mungkin untuk elakkan kena marah dengan pelancong yang expect bunga pink merata-rata.

  Anyway once I realised how far Khun Chang Kian is and how skilful one need to be to negotiate the winding and bumpy road, I thought the price was worth it. Practically sabung nyawa kut nak drive ke atas tu. 

According to my private driver, Amie, the flowers started blooming in early January this year. The exact time varies each year so you might want to check with a local or time your visit in middle of the month maybe. Idk.

  Pada I cantik je walaupun bukan tengah-tengah musim semi. Macam awal musim gugur gitu. Lagipun, I datang sebab nak tengok Chiang Mai Flower Festival =D 

Our first stop was at a village. Only a couple of trees had flowers still blooming. There were some souvenirs and coffee shops in the area but they were mostly empty. One lady opened a simple stall selling strawberries in cup.

I didn't stay long in the village because I get uncomfortable visiting attractions which are actually people's homes. 

  Rasa macam ganggu privasi pun ada.

  The next stop was a park we had passed on our way to the village. I think it is the research institute.

  Kat taman ni masih ada banyak lagi bunga. Ada orang jual strawberries juga. Murah tapi macam banyak je untuk I makan sorang. So I tak jadi beli walaupun nampak menarik.

I told the songthaew driver that I want to stop at the view point. Not sure if it is one of the stops but it was our last stop. If you want to stop somewhere in particular, let's say the Hmong Village or the castle ruin, bring pictures to show them. 

  Kalau ada gambar kan senang sikit sebab mungkin kita tak tahu nama atau sebut pun salah. Yang penting, nego harga awal-awal supaya masing-masing puas hati. Macam Hmong Village tu, masuk simpang lain jadi mungkin harga pun berbeza.

Expect to spend at least a couple of hours here. If you plan to visit most of the attractions in Doi Suthep, you can easily make it a full day-trip. Take your time and enjoy the beauty of nature.

  Datang waktu pagi supaya ada cukup masa untuk jelajah tempat-tempat menarik di Doi Suthep. Sejam dua mungkin tak cukup kalau nak pergi semua tempat. 

  So, plan wisely and prioritise your interests!