Our rihla began at Breda Centraal. We took the train south through Antwerp and Mechelen to Brussels Airport in Zaventem, then boarded Qatar Airways flight QR194 to Doha. After Hamad International we flew on from Doha to Kuala Lumpur, landing at KLIA on the 11th. Route tracking in the app only started once we had settled in KL, so this first leg is added from memory.
We arrived yesterday after having both our flights delayed due to people not showing up on time to board! However, we made it, the kids did great and we managed to check-in to our Airbnb at around 7pm. We were awe struck by the view from the 53rd floor looking at KLCC. After sundown the view was even prettier as we could now enjoy the beautiful lighting of the buildings in the area. We went out to grab a quick meal and ended up at a Portuguese style restaurant. Not because we were craving Portuguese food but because this was the first sit-in restaurant we could find while we were walking about the mall. After that we went to bed for a well needed rest.
After sleeping in late we went to Suria Mall to get breakfast. We went to the 4th floor to search for a spot however the wife insisted on going to luxury coffee spot on the 3rd floor. We ended up paying over 250 Ringgit for 3 apple juice, 2 iced cappuccino's, pancakes and a waffle! Next time, we'll stay on the 4th... We then saw an expedition organized by Petronas which was a science-themed, kid-friendly 2 hr activity. It was well organized and I must say very informative as well. Plenty of opportunity for kids to learn about science, oil rigging, dinosaurs and even formula one, hands-on. We then got some ice-cream and headed out to sit at KLCC park which has a free pool in which kids can safely play. In the evening we had dinner at Dolly Dim which was delicious. Completely halal, a large variety of meals and very quick service. And most important, all is halal!
Today was a very special day as I visited the International Islamic University Malaysia, a world renowned institution of Islamic learning, civilization and thought. I've always dreamt of one day visiting there and to make it even better, my good friend Mikaïl even arranged a meeting with the Director of the faculty of History! It is a large compound and walking through it really gives off an Islamic vibe, wishing that when I was younger I would've taken the chance to go study there. It motivated me to pursue a PhD after I complete my masters as I dream of contributing to the world-wide ummah by researching and writing about the effects and influence of orientalism on Muslim policy writing. In the evening we met up with the family of Mikaïl and went to a theme park inside of the Berjaya Times Square Mall. I've been to places where there was a theme park inside a mall, however this theme park was massive. It is on the 5th floor of the mall but it, itself is 3 stories in and of itself which is amazing. Prices are very reasonable, there's a lot to do for all ages, however, you get the most of it when you go with kids that are at least aged 10 or older because they're tall enough to enjoy all rides. Of course the theme park is very convenient there's a surau with wudu area inside so you can go pray and go right back at it. When you're done for the day you can finish the day by having a nice dinner on the ground floor at the food court in which you can choose whatever meal you like for a very cheap price.
We were supposed to travel to Banda Aceh today but we had a minor setback. Mandy got sick overnight, was nauseous and was constantly throwing up. Till this day we don't know why as we basically ate the same. I decided to cancel everything and focus on getting her better. The Airbnb were very kind and extended our stay easily and even brought some fresh ginger so we could make some tea to help alleviate the symptoms. We didn't do anything special, I took the kids to the mall to have lunch and afterwards we bought some medicine and fruits and headed back to the Airbnb. Eventually Mandy got a lot better alhamdullilah so I decided to change our travel plans a bit, allocate more time towards our roadtrip and try to go to Banda Aceh right after visiting Java.
The day began very chaotic as we were supposed to catch the train to Ipoh. This train still had space, however we needed to make a quick stop at Decathlon first. After running our errands we made our way to KL Sentral only to discover that there were no trains, no buses and no taxis for the coming hours. Went to several car rental, but also no dice. I went for Grab not thinking it would help and within two minutes we could hop on. Travel time was like two and a half hours and cost us like €112 which isn't that bad. We arrive at 5pm, checked in and had a delicious dinner at Magic Bean. Ipoh is a lot more Islamic than I thought although the Chinese presence here is very clear. Lots of Muslims and enough halal options to pick from.
My brother arrived this morning and made his way from KL to Ipoh by bus. We went out in the morning to have breakfast and eventually found a place where we had the famous Kaya toast and Ipoh white coffee. Both were delicious! We were blessed enough to be able to stay in the same building for another day, in an even bigger apartment. We spent the afternoon there as unfortunately we were hit by a huge storm preventing us from visiting mirror lake. We decided to grab a coffee at magical beans instead and afterwards we took the rental car which arrived this morning and made our way to the Ipoh Parade mall to get swimming gear.
We left a little late when we made the trip to escape penang and as it turned out it would take us around 3 hours to get there! The first leg from Ipoh to Penang was fine, once we arrived in Georgetown after crossing the bridge, it was clear this was going to be a tough drive. Driving in Georgetown is absolutely insane and dangerous, IT IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! At least 1hr and 15 minutes of our trip was due to the insane traffic jams in Georgetown, 1hr and 15 minutes to drive 20kms says a lot about bad urban planning. Georgetown is very crowded and it is as if there are barely any main roads to relieve the inner roads. We arrived at around 3:30 pm leaving us around 2 and a half hrs to enjoy the park so we tried to make the most out of it. The park is quite huge and is well kept. It also holds numerous record breaking rides like the longest water slide in the world or the largest water tipping cup in the world. So the kids tried all of them. It is extremely kid- and family friendly, however be aware that if your kids want to make the most out of it, they should be at least around 10 years old so they can go on all the rides/slides. Everything the Muslim family needs is there from your prayer rooms to restaurants where you can sit. I would say 95% of people are dressed decently, even the non-Muslims comply to the modest dress code which really makes it a welcoming place for all people. We paid around 155 euros for all of us which is quite expensive for Malaysian standards, maybe even for Western standards, but that's why you have to be there on time, preferably as soon as the gates open at 10 a.m. to really get the most out of it. If you can spend the entire day there, then I would say it is absolutely worth it.
We finally got to escape the chaos of Georgetown, we had to catch our flight at around 7:30pm which means check-in at 14:30pm. We decided to head down south to have breakfast at Queensbay mall which was between our Airbnb and the airport. The plan was to have breakfast at mall, kill some time, then head to the airport to hand-in our rental car. Since I was used to driving in Georgetown the drive went smooth for Georgetownian standards and we parked the car smack across the mall for a very cheap price. We had breakfast at a place called 65c Ondo which wasn't halal but was Muslim friendly, meaning that the meat/animal ingredients are not halal verified which leaves room to get some other options. 65c Ondo is a bakery which offers a plethora of pastries and coffee which was ideal for a western-style breakfast at a reasonable price I might say. We had breakfast for 5 for around 25 euros and we couldn't finish everything we ordered. After breakfast we browsed around in the mall for a bit before making our way to the airport. First I had to fill up the gas which was quite confusing at first because you should be aware that there is subsidized petrol and non-subsidized petrol. It is ILLEGAL for foreigners to buy the subsidized petrol, so keep note of that. I went inside to pump gas but the tenant insisted I should just buy the subsidized petrol as there weren't any police here anyway. It didn't make me feel comfortable but he was already pumping the gas so I just accepted it. The day before I contacted the car rental service to meet them at Departure Hall 5 which was very convenient, I didn't however expect there to be no parking. Parking meant switching on the dangerous signal and pulling over towards the left, convenient yet a little dangerous. They checked the car and complained about some scratches on the bumper, I didn't recall hitting anyone or anything, except for this one time that we encountered a pothole in the road. Be that as it may, I took the full insurance option anticipating the chaos of Malaysian driving and roads so I was completely covered. We then checked-in, boarded the plane and arrived in beautiful Langkawi for our 6-day stay. From the get-go we noticed the calmness and peacefulness of Langkawi, the roads are less busy, life seems calm and it's nice and quiet.
Today was a slow day, we woke up and decided to go to a nearby café to have overpriced pancakes and coffee again. We then walked a bit and decided to go over to the Maha Tower to check out the view from above. However when we arrived we came to know that it was closed on Mondays unfortunately so we will have to go back another day and try again. Instead, we grabbed coffee and a snack at Zus coffee and hung out a bit before walking to check out a local mall; the Langkawi Parade Mall. The malls in Langkawi are not your typical, modern malls with your typical brands and restaurants and the like. The malls in Langkawi are centered around duty-free shopping. The most useful for us is that there are cheap restaurants and a supermarket inside. They don't look very attractive to visit either. After resting a bit at our Airbnb we headed out to Eagle Square to check out the Eagle Statue which came with a nice view of the Kuah Bay. There are some fun souvenir shops to visit as well as some small rides you can go on like these boats you can drive, which come equipped with a water gun so you can "attack" other ships. We then headed out to check out the small shopping area with restaurants, however, everything started to close around 18pm so we headed back to the area of our airbnb and grabbed dinner at a place called Namgrill which was delicious.
Today we finally tried the restaurant opposite to our Airbnb and tried the Roti Cennai which was delicious! Even the kids loved it despite the "spicy" sauce. We explored the neighborhood for a while trying to find a laundromat and found one to go back to later that day as our laundry was started to pile up. Since we wanted to do something fun today we looked online for a mangrove tour which is highly recommended by literally everyone that visits Langkawi. We managed to book a tour at 3pm at the Jetty at Kilim Geoforest for a 2hr tour which would take us to a couple of the highlights. It was 330 RM for a private boat and I have to say it was definitely worth it. First stop was the Bat Cave which you had 20 minutes to explore which seems like a very short time but is quite enough to be able to take pictures and take in the environment. After the cave, our guide took as to the place where the eagles nests. We hardly saw any eagles due to the rain and the eagles taking shelter however our guide revved the boat engine to 'startle' the eagles to which they came out and we could see the different eagles fly over and some even hunt for fish in the water! Next up, we actually left the bay and drove towards the Adaman sea to have a nice view of the Kilim Geoforest sign, from this position we could even see Thailand in the distance and also very recognizable shapes and islands like the famous laying down island and the turtle shape above the sign. We then made our way to the crocodile cave which made Aisha very nervous, but as it turned out the cave got its name due to the shape of the rocks above the entrance of the cave in the form of a crocodile's head. Also, because of the high tide we couldn't really go in the cave at this point so we turned back and headed to the final stop which was the fish farm and fish restaurant. Hudayfah loved this section as we were able to feed the fish and even pet and hold some of them. We stayed there to eat and had very nice meal, including lobster! We then returned back to shore headed back home having a fulfilling day in the outdoors, after doing our laundry we called it a day and looked forward to tomorrow when we plan to go to the beach.
We woke up today expecting to eat Roti Canai at our new favorite mamak stall just across the street, unfortunately they were closed! So we went further down in the neighborhood and had breakfast at a local restaurant. Some coconut rice with ayam for the men and coconut rice with prawns for the women. Everyone at surprisingly well so we headed back to just chill at the airbnb. The plan for today was to go to Tanjung Rhu beach, a popular beach which is said to be quite Muslim friendly. Before we left at around 3pm we had coffee and ice-cream at Ai-Cha and then headed out for a 30-minute trip by Grab to the beach. The way up there was beautiful as always and really reminds me of Far Cry 3, a game I often used to play. It seems so calm, peaceful and green. People are laid back and seem to enjoy the simple things in life. Before reaching the actual beach we drove past multiple resorts which I thought would be a problem for our destination since these resorts have their own private beaches. However, when we got to the beach the first thing that struck me was the nudity, a lot of Non-Muslims, unfortunately but to a lesser degree Muslims as well. I really disliked this aspect of such a beautiful beach with an incredible view of the nearby mountainous islands. We did eventually found a spot that had a little incline between us and the nudity, such that we couldn't see them but we could still enjoy the view of the ocean and the islands in the backdrop. Eventually we did spent some time there until dinner time to which we went to a local mamak stall that served all types of foods. The men each had a double cheese burger and the women went for satay ayam. The kids had a fresh coconut and I had a coconut shake which is one of the best shakes I've ever had in my life. The beach was beautiful, although I was disappointed that they didn't enforce modest dress codes like they tend to do at other places in Malaysia. I wish they would at least designate certain Muslim/family friendly beached where modest dress codes are enforced so that everyone can safely enjoy the beach and its incredible view.
Vandaag waren we naar het waterpark op Langkawi gegaan. Het was heerlijk rustig en de kinderen hebben genoten van alle glijbaan.
Today was a slow day, it rained a lot so it was difficult to go out and do something so we decided to stay at the house and rest which was also fine. We had breakfast at an Oldtown White Coffee place near the Maha tower and took a grab to get there due to the weather. After finishing we took a grab back and stayed at the house until dinner time. We went back to Nam Grill and had amazing nasi. My brother visited us in the evening for a short while and headed back around 11pm.
We went to the Langkawi Skybridge after it finally being open due to maintenance
We had a fun last day in Langkawi visiting the skybridge but it was time to leave and catch a flight to Penang to get our rental car and make the long drive back to KL, Putrajaya specifically. I rented through Penang Booking which went smooth and this time we drove a Proton car which is far superior than the car we rented before. It was a long drive and we made it to Putrajaya IOI Mall near to our Airbnb, we took it because it is relatively close to the airport but the mall also had a repair store that was able to fix my screen. We arrived quite late because I missed a few turns on the way to the mall, Mandy and the kids then grabbed dinner and I went to go and find the repair store in the huge mall which was quite challenging. I handed in my phone and went back, by that time everyone was done eating but Aisha was feeling sick. On our way to the parking lot she complained of her stomach aching which prompted us to go to the toilet and on the way there she threw up. We cleaned her up, headed back and she threw up again. After a while she was feeling better and after finally finding the car in the huge parking lot we made it back to the Airbnb to go and sleep.
The day has come and today was the day we finally got to go to Indonesia. A dream come true from my perspective being interested in Indonesian culture and history since I was young. After waking up we went to the mall to have breakfast, collect my phone and kill the time until we had to head to KLIA to hand-in the car. The girls took there time at the mall so we were already quite short in time and to make matters worse, we weren't able to find the car, again. After walking through the car park for at least 20-25 minutes we found the car and made our way to the departure hall as instructed through Whatsapp by the rental company only to find out that the made a typo and we were supposed to meet at another section of the airport which took 20 minutes to get there. We managed to get there, hand over the car, apologize and went straight to check-in. In the evening we boarded the plane to Jakarta with KLM which was of course full of Dutchies but a comfortable flight nontheless. We arrived at Jakarta airport which went smooth except that I made a typo in Maymunah's visa application so we had to get that fixed.. We got our luggage took a cab and took around an hour long taxi drive to our accommodation driving towards the heart of Jakarta. The drive there really impressed me as Jakarta is a huge city, its population is young and lively it is busy but I wouldn't say that it is anything different than any other metropolis. I secretly wondered what it would be like to live there. We made it to our accomodation La Maison Barito which was as fancy as it sounds. Private elevator, huge apartment 3 bedrooms very large living room and kitchen area divided between a dry and wet kitchen with a nice view of South Jakarta skyline. We dropped our things and went to find some food at the nearby Blok-M which unfortunately was closing up so we went with A&W, a fastfood chain which wasn't horrible per se except for the root beer they give you in beer mugs.. We did get a little taste of Jakarta during evening time which is noisy, busy and lively!
Today we planned to visit the Old city center because I really wanted to teach the kids on colonialism. A Grab took us from South Jakarta to the Old City Center which took an hour to get there as traffic was crazy. We went to the Gouverneurskantoor which was the residency of the governor of "Batavia" which now serves as a museum displaying and explaining the history of Java from the prehistoric times to the contemporary era. I would highly recommend going there, admission is a few euros but I would advise to book a tour to keep the right pacing. I tend to linger a lot longer at each item than the rest making it a bit cumbersome for them at times. I do feel that I was able to explain colonialism and its effects quite effectively to Maymunah through the museum. The square at which the museum is located has several cafes and restaurants you can visit, including the famous, café Batavia but unfortunately they were fully booked when we went there so we couldn't go. After that we found a taxi driver to take us to Masjid Istiqlal, he also new a barber shop which would be able to cut our hair and afterwards he would take us to a mall to eat and he would take us back to the hotel afterwards. More on the taxi driver later.. Masjid Istiqlal was truyl a sight to behold as the largest mosque in southeast asia, the 9th mosque in the world it is truly awe-inspiring. We only spent around 25 minutes there but I wish we allocated longer. The courtyard of the masjid is a place were people, including families to go to to just sit down and listen to the lectures. It is an ideal place to instill love for the masjid into the hearts of your kids. Back home the masjid only serves as the place you go to for jumu'ah, not even to go there to pray the regular salawaat because they make you feel unwelcome. This masjid and other masaajid throughout Indonesia are completely different. Next up was our haircut, Hudayfah and I really needed a haircut and finding a black barber, even in a metropolis like Jakarta is a challenge. The taxi driver new just the right place, a fancy barbershop called: Premiere Captain Barbershop. I was nervous but I really, really needed a haircut so I just went. I was obvious that the young man who cut my hair never cut black hair before but he had a plan,stuck to it and I have to say he did a very good job! Same goes for Hudayfah, of course it was not perfect but if you ever find yourself in Jakarta and are in need of a haircut and good beard trim, Premiere Captain Barbershop will sort you out. We then went to a mall and had some tasty nasi and sate which was very cheap, it was getting late so it was time to head back. After dropping us off, the taxi driver asked what I was willing to pay. We already agreed on 200k, but it was clear he wanted to change the price, which we can do but there are (islamic) rules to do so. Before we engage in a new agreement we discuss the new price first to prevent embarrassment and confusion. He want around 1.2 million which is around 60 euro's which is a big deal. Of course he spent the late afternoon through the evening with us so it's okay to pay a more than usual but he was really trying to get the jackpot. I just paid him what he asked and left it at that. 60 euros for his service is not a big deal when you come from the west, it's still cheap, but the moral of the story: "just get a grab to avoid these situations!"
Our time in Jakarta was coming to and end and it was time to pack our things and go to Bogor. I thought about taking the train from Jakarta to Bogor but decided to take a Grab instead. It took us to Bogor in an hour and a half approximately, but the drive was horrible. The driver kept "gliding" which means pumping the gas pedal because it is believed to safe gas and preserve the car better, however this means you get rocked front and back continuously which is quite unpleasant. Anyway, we arrived in Bogor and managed to reach our villa which sat in a very local neighborhood which I truly loved. We arrived a bit early so we dropped of our bags first and then went to have a look around. We found a very "hip" coffee place near a university and we enjoyed our coffee and pastries amidst the staring students who were really interested in our family. We headed back to check-in and were shown around the amazing villa which was obviously Muslim owned. It has an amazing private pool, 3 bedrooms, multiple sitting areas, multiple bathrooms, it was absolutely amazing. Today was centered in and around the pool and since it started to rain in the afternoon, quite heavily I must say we decided to order food and groceries through Grab which worked quite well!
Today we went to Bogor Botanical Garden which is a huge Park showcasing all kinds of plans and trees but also some aspects of traditional Sundanese cultural. We spent around 45 minutes to an hour there until the heat made Mandy and Aisha feel uncomfortable. Before heading back we spent time at a restaurant inside of the park overlooking the fountain. Although we spent nearly an hour there we didn't even scratch the surface of what Bogor Botanical Garden holds. Should we ever get the chance to go there again I would recommend renting out a golf cart or getting a tour. After spending the afternoon at the villa and in the pool we went to Restaurant Gurih which is easily "the" most beautiful restaurant I have ever been to in my life. Mandy found it online, it is decked out in traditional Sundanese style equipped with family seating areas which are basically small Sundanese tables. The food was delicious, they have a wide variety of traditional dishes, I hope we get the chance to go and eat there again, this is a scenery I will never forget.
Sadly we had to leave Bogor, feeling like we didn't have time to explore it well enough. insha Allah we will be able to go there and spend at least a week there to really explore it properly. There are several options to travel from Bogor to Bandung but we opted to go with Whoosh which is the high speed train. However, to do that we needed to head back to Jakarta. So we took the commuter train from Bogor to Jakarta (Halim station) and from there we went on the Whoosh, for which you need make a reservation beforehand. We paid around 55 euros for all of us which is quite cheap when you consider that Whoosh cuts your travel time from 4 hours to 45 minutes! It is a high quality train, clean and you can even get food onboard. We arrived in Bandung but I realized I made a mistake, we got of at Tegalluar Summarecon. Don't do that get of from Padalarang which has a free feeder train to bring you closer to Bandung City Center. Tegalluar Summarecon is all the way to the east which will take at least and hour to get to the City Center. After taking a Grab and finding our accommodation at Jalan Braga we were disappointed by the lack of hygiene and quality. It really needs a renovation, it is broken and dirty, not suitable for a family of 5 with small kids. Mandy kept quite but I felt she was sad so I booked another accommodation for the next day, which had everything we could wish for. Jalan Braga is the heart of Bandung City Center there's a lot to do but I find the area to less Islamic, there's loud music at night which reminds me of bars and nightclubs. It is very touristy but not really ideal for kids if you ask me. Bandung has a lot of activities a lot which is tailored to kids, but Jalan Braga is not one of them. After dropping of our things we went to a friend of ours who was staying in Bandung as well and we went to meetup with another friend so we could go to a jelsa in a mosque to the south of Bandung which was a very nice experience which made up for the mess of a Airbnb we were staying in.
We had some breakfast, and visited a local store to get some hijabs for Maymunah. We never pushed her to wear the hijab put she herself seemed very eager to wear one so the obvious thing to do was to get her whatever hijab she wanted. I myself am not an emotional person, I don't always physically or verbally express my emotions, it is easier for me to write them down as I'm doing now but I would want to say that I am so proud of my daughter seeing her grow up and slowly transition from a little girl into a young woman. She is very tender, but strong in that she keeps on fighting and struggling to reach her goals. I can tell that she loves Islam and she tries to do her best to adhere to Islam. Seeing that as a father really touches my heart and I will continue making dua so that Allah keeps guiding her so that that Allah (swt) is pleased with her and that she may be an example for her little brother and sister and perhaps even for her parents! Allahumma Amien! After buying some beautiful hijabs for Maymunah we found a Grab which took us to our accommodation to the north all the way up in the mountains! I noticed Mandy being her joyful self again, she loved the apartment which is enough for me. This was a reminder for me to make sure my family is comfortable so that they look back positively to our journey. I will make sure the rest of our stay in Indonesia and Malaysia is as comfortable as I can possible make it. We stayed at Tabgha villa by Kozystay and their service was wonderful. The villa was clean, they got us a laundry service that took care of our laundry allowing us to relax and enjoy our stay even more. For diner and groceries we used Grab which worked ideal especially given that we are in a remote area in the northern mountains of Bandung.