Thailand 2012 - Betong IV

“Travel and exploration ignites a unique life energy found deep within the realms of oneself…” -Skyler Smith

(Welly Ka-One Ride with 30 other bikers...)

(Betong clock tower in the centre of town...)

(The famous red post box in front of the Post Office...)

(View from the 11th floor of Grand Mandarin Hotel...)

(Beautiful night view of a temple on top of the hill...)

(Leisure ride around Betong...)

(Safe convoy with the easy riders gang...)

(Serene mountain view...)

(Assisting a biker in distress...)

(Steep and winding mountain road...)

(Riders hiking leisurely in the jungle...)

(Clean concrite path towards the Piyamit Tunnel...)

(Abundance of wild scented bunga kantan...)

(Taking a rest under a giant tree...)

(The light at the end of the tunnel exit...)

(Propaganda posters at the communist camp...)

Route taken: KL - Tapah - Grik - Nenering - Betong - Pengkalan Hulu - Tapah - KL
Total mileage: 900 km

👈👈 2013: Koh Phangan, Thailand

2012: Casablanca, Morocco 👉👉

Spain/Morocco 2012: Home Sweet Home...

"The greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one..."

(Spain - corrida de toros...)

Alhamdulillah…

We are back from a 2-week holiday in Spain and Morocco.

The magic of travelling is in the joy of exploring the world, the vibrant beautiful scenery brightening our lives, filling our hearts with love, perseverance and patience....

(Morocco - Tuareg by the blue door...)

I guess there're many broken hearts in Casablanca

I know you've never really been there. so, you don't know

I guess our love story will never be seen on the big wide silver screen

But it hurt just as bad when I had to watch you go...

Spain/Morocco 2012: 01 Madrid, Spain

"A thousand disappointments in the past cannot equal the power of one positive action right now..."

(Snacks on board of Qatar Airline)

There's always an excuse to visit Spain again...

I have visited Spain twice before. Both trips were in 2001. First trip was in January 2001 for a family holiday visiting major towns in Spain and Portugal. Second trip was in June 2001 when I joined my hubby on a business trip to Barcelona and Zurich. And this year, hubby and I are going for our third trip to Spain and later will cross by ferry to visit Morocco. 

Day 01: 12 Nov 2012

KL– DOHA – MADRID

Our group of 18 gathered in KLIA 3 hours before departure time. The Qatar Airline flight to Doha was at 0330. Once we arrived at Doha International Airport we were transported by bus to the short transit lounge for onward flight to Madrid.

At Madrid International Airport, we were met by our ground tour agent and immediately started our city tour of Madrid, which is claimed to be the highest town in Europe. Among places visited were the Plaza de Espana and the Royal Palace. Plaza de España is a large square, and a popular tourist destination, located in central Madrid, It features a monument to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and bronze sculptures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. It is bordered by two of Madrid's most prominent skyscrapers. The Palacio Real or the Royal Palace is a short walk south from the plaza.

(View from Plaza de Espana)

The Palacio Real de Madrid or the Royal Palace is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family and it is only used for state ceremonies. The palace is owned by the Spanish State and administered by the public agency of the Ministry of the Presidency. The palace is located in the Western part of downtown Madrid, east of the Manzanares River. The palace is partially open to public, except when it is being used for official business.

(The Palacio Real de Madrid)

Later, we had ample time to visit the famous Riel Madrid Stadium also known as the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and managed to have photo shots from the outside. The stadium is an all-seater football stadium and has a current capacity of 85,500 spectators.

(Real Madrid Stadium)

The bus drove us to the Grand Mosque of Madrid for solat Zohor and Asar. The Grand Mosque is the Centre of Cultural Islamico De Madrid popularly known as the Mezquita M.30 because it stands beside the motorway. It is also the largest mosque in Europe. The mosque complex was designed by three Polish architects and financed by Saudi Arabia. The mosque is mostly modern in design, but with traditional elements such as a minaret with balcony. Made of fine white marble, it includes a college, ritual bath house, gymnasium, and an Arabian restaurant called Zahara where we had a light dinner of Spanish version of ‘roti canai’.

(The Centre of Cultural Islamico)

The bus fetched us at 1830 and we checked in for the night at Praga Hotel Madrid.

👈👈 Spain/Morocco 2012: Home Sweet Home...

              2012: Toledo/Cordoba, Spain 👉👉

Spain/Morocco 2012: 02 Toledo/Cordoba

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures comes from people who have the habit of making excuses..." - George W Carve

(A painting of Toledo)

Day 02: 13 Nov 2012

MADRID – TOLEDO – CORDOBA

Today we were joined by a family of 8 for the rest of our tour until Fez where they will split to go on a different route. After a hearty breakfast, we checked out and headed towards Toledo, the capital of Castilla la Mancha.

(El Alcazar of Toledo)

Toledo was the capital of the Spanish Crown until 1563. The city is famous for its rich history and for the coexistence of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish cultures. In the Middle Ages, Toledo was the European capital for the study of languages and natural sciences. Today it is a major tourist attraction, especially famous for one of its constructions - 'El Alcazar'.

(A street in Toledo)

We were met by our local tour guide and we had a walking tour to Santo Tome Church. The church dates from the 12th century, although it was completely rebuilt in the early 14th century by the Count of Orgaz. The tower is one of the best examples of the Mudéjar art characteristic of Toledo. The two upper sections are made of brick, with two groups of two and three windows with pointed horseshoe arches scalloped with other lobed arches. The interior is home to one of El Greco’s most famous paintings, the Burial of the Count of Orgaz, which is on display in a special room.

(A group photo at Santo Tome Church)

We visited the Damascene Steel Workshop a typical metal gold art craft centre. Toledo steel was famed for its very high quality alloy, whereas Damascene steel, a competitor from the Middle Ages on, was famed for a specific metal-working technique. We bought some souvenirs of knives and mini swords made of the famous Toledo steel.

(The Damascene Steel Workshop)

As we have to move out of Toledo by 1230, we packed chicken sandwiches to be eaten on the bus. The bus stopped at one R&R along the way for toilet, coffee stop and prayers.

(Arriving in Cordoba in late afternoon)

We reached Cordoba around 1700 and it was already dark. As there will be a general strike nationwide tomorrow, the tour of Cordoba was cramped to today. We visited Santa Iglesia Cathedral Cordoba, situated in the old Medina. The Cathedral is a former Islamic mosque (mezquita) but since 1236 it was converted into a Catholic Christian cathedral.

(Santa Iglesia Cathedral)

The Mezquita is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Islamic architecture. Since the early '20s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral but the campaign has been rejected by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican.

(Formerly a mosque)

Nearby is the Medina Azahara, the ruins of a vast, fortified Arab Muslim medieval palace-city built by Abd-ar-Rahman III al-Nasir, Ummayad Caliph of Córdoba. It was an Arab Muslim medieval town and the de facto capital of al-Andalus, or Muslim Spain, as the heart of the administration and government was within its walls.

(Arab Muslim medieval palace)

We couldn't continue the walking tour of the old city as there were a few mishaps of missing persons, a daughter was left in the bus and a person loss his way when he broke off from the group to take pictures of the old medina.

(The bridge to the old Medina)

We had a Moroccan dinner while waiting for the team leader to sort things out and get the group together again. Later we checked in the Cordoba Ayre Hotel late night and had a good night rest.

(The tea maker)

👈👈 2012: Madrid, Spain

               2012: Cordoba/Granada, Spain 👉👉

Spain/Morocco 2012: 03 Cardoba/Granada

"If you do not enjoy what you are doing, you will never be good at it..." - Luke Parker

(Waiting for our transport)

Day 03: 14 Nov 2012

CORDOBA – GRANADA

After breakfast we started our journey at 0930 and skipped the tour of Cordoba town and headed direct to Granada and missed visiting the Cathedral and Giralda Tower in Seville.

On the way we stopped at an old train station converted into a cozy R&R for hot drinks and souvenirs. The weather was sunny and the scenery throughout the journey was beautiful and we could see clearly the Sierra Nevada range covered in snow in the background.

(The snow-capped mountains)

We reached Granada around noon but the bus was not allowed to enter the town centre as there was a general strike taking place at the main road. The strike was planned for today, Nov. 14, coinciding with similar work stoppages in Portugal and Greece, to protest government-imposed austerity measures and labor reforms. The general strike was the second in Spain this year. A partially successful stoppage was held on March 29.

(The strike on the main street)

Once the riot vacated the main road and moved to another location, the bus was then able to send us to Corona Granada Hotel. After we checked in, we had packed lunch in the hotel restaurant. The original plan was to have lunch at one Moroccan restaurant but because of the strike, our food was packed and brought to the hotel on foot.

(Dinner at an Indian Restaurant)

We rested well in the afternoon and later walked half a kilometer away for an Indian dinner at Mugha Indian Restaurant. After dinner a few of us took a leisure stroll around the corner and had a cup of Cappuccino on the way back to the hotel.

👈👈 2012: Toledo/Cordoba, Spain

                     2012: Granada, Spain 👉👉

Spain/Morocco 2012: 04 Granada

"To be successful, you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish, then resolve to pay the price to get it..."

(The Alhambra, a UNESCO site)

Day 04: 15 Nov 2012

GRANADA

Early morning, the bus took us to Alhambra where a local guide was already waiting for our group at the entrance. We took the 0930 entrance ticket and had a walking tour of Alhambra and Palacio de Generalife.

(Alhambra secret windows)

Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 10th century by the Berber ruler Badis ben Habus of the Kingdom of Granada in al-Andalus, occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada. The Alhambra's Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty.

(Quranic verses on the wall)

After the reconquest by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, some portions were used by the Christian rulers. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Berber Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the inspiration for many songs and stories.

(Reflections on the water)

After the walking tour, the bus dropped us at the city square and the group had to walk a distance to Arrayanes Restaurant for a very late lunch. The journey would have been made easier if the tour leader had a map or the address of the restaurant with him.

(A long uphill walk to the mosque)

After lunch, the group had to climb up the steep narrow gravel stone path in Granada Old Town, known as the Albaicin to the Mezquita Mayor de Granada or the Grand Mosque of Granada.

(The courtyard of the Mezquita Mayor)

The striking new mosque is a structure of subtle beauty, incorporating designs found in the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. A white brick building, built on 2,100 square meters of land, with a red tile roof and a thick, square minaret, is set in the middle of a public garden. The mosque’s prayer room is large enough to hold several hundred people. There is also a library and a study centre for scholars, located in separate outbuildings. Later we had our Zohor and Asar prayer in the mosque.

(A nice view of Granada town from the top)

Next to the mosque is El-Mirador de San Nicolas. We could have a panoramic view of the city of Granada and the Al-Hamra with the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background from the square in front of the cathedral. There are also a number of bars and restaurants in the vicinity if one feel in need of refreshment. When we were there, there were gypsies selling bracelets and costume jewelleries and musicians playing Spanish guitar which added joviality to the atmosphere.

(A group of young girls making small handicrafts)

From here the group split and some walked back towards the hotel while others meandered through the shopping alleys for more shopping activities.

(A brightly decorated souvenir shop)

We rested while waiting for our packed food to be delivered to the hotel room.

👈👈 2012: Cordoba/Granada, Spain

                  2012: Torremolinos/Algeciras, Spain 👉👉

Spain/Morocco 2012: 05 Torremolinos/Algeciras

"You can't make footprints on the sands of time by sitting on your butt..."

(A clear sight of Gibraltar)

Day 05: 16 Nov 2012

GRANADA – TORREMOLINOS – ALGECIRAS – TANGIERS

After breakfast the bus drove south towards Morocco via Torremolinos and Algeciras. We stopped for tea break at Los Abades and a last minute souvenirs shopping in Torremolinos.

(having fun at Torremolinos)

Torremolinos is an attractive and appealing resort noted for its clean sandy beaches, wide choice of hotels and restaurants flanked by exclusive boutiques and gift shops and variety of entertainment and nightlife activities.

(Souvenir shopping at the resort town)

We bought some souvenirs and had hot cappuccino and packed tuna sandwiches to be eaten on the bus. Our journey continued to Algeciras for border clearance. Algeciras is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar. The Port of Algeciras is one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three categories: container, cargo and transshipment.

(The Port of Algeciras)

From the Port of Algeciras, Tangiers is just a short ferry ride away and the gateway to the rest of Morocco. High speed ferries travel almost every hour, year round and take around 30 minutes to cross the Streets of Gibraltar. At 1600 we took one of the slower ferries that are a little cheaper. The ferry ride to Tangiers Med Port in Morocco was 1 1/2 hours and border clearance in Moroccan side was smooth, although a little unorganized.

(On a ferry to Morocco)

We were met by our Moroccan tour guide and the 40-seater bus took us for dinner at one hotel restaurant, quite a distance away from our hotel. Later, we checked in for the night in Ibis Hotel situated in the suburb of Tangiers.

👈👈 2012: Granada, Spain 

                  2012: Tangiers, Morocco👉👉