Sungai Petani: D'Vista Hotel

I stayed at this hotel as it offered discounted rates for a running event held in September 2012. It does not have an official website but the organisers provided the telephone number listed below for reservations. 

I stayed at the Standard Room, for the promotion price of RM 70 without breakfast, although normal rates are RM 88, inclusive of breakfast. I checked in at 9am. Although I was allowed to check in earlier, I would have to RM 15 per hour for every hour I was early.

The standard rooms do not have windows. Which I suppose was fine, to give me an atmosphere of nighttime so I can catch up on sleep, after my running event. The toilet was compact, with the showers located almost directly above the toilet. It is about 20 minutes walking south from the Menara Jam, and is located a little further down Century Square mall.

 As you can see above, the room provided a TV, but v limited channels were provided, only the local channels. It wasn't the cleanest room in the world, but for RM 70, it was fine. I saw big stains on the carpet near the bed. Most importantly, they had free wifi available at the lobby and also sometimes, you are able to get a good signal at the rooms.

The lobby had a Malay restaurant that served lunch (nasi campur) and breakfast. The set lunches are about RM 5.50 and the breakfast, RM 10. They also sell water and ice cream in the lobby, which was helpful for a hot day. Location wise, there were a lot of food outlets outside as well as Century Square where the delicious Alama Thai Food Cafe is located. There is a McDonald's, Rotiboy, KFC and a supermarket located at Century Square.

D'Vista Hotel: 04-4251111

South Africa: Aero Guest Lodge Johannesburg

We chose to stay at Aero Guest Lodge as it was priced reasonably, located near to the airport and they provided pick up and drop-off at the JNB Airport free of charge for guests. 

I really enjoyed staying here as it was everything that was expected. The environment was warm and friendly, the rooms spacious, and had a bit of resort style feel, with a pool, pool table, 'lapa' and free internet. I liked the rooms as it was well decorated and had a homey feel. However, my shower was a bit unpredictable as it was sometimes too hot, and sometimes too cold to take a shower.

The staff was very nice and ensured that we were satisfied with the rooms and that my lunch was delivered on time. They do not prepare lunch but only cater for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, they have a delivery menu that can be ordered from around the neighbourhood.

The pick up and drop off was good, and did not take long. You will need to call to them from the airport before they pick you up,  it will take about 10-15 minutes for them to get you. 

Breakfast started early, around 6.30am or so, with coffee, tea, cereals, fruit, toast and something that's cooked. They also provide free wifi. 

All in all I will stay here again if I ever need to transit in JNB Airport again. It was good value for money for a nice environment.

Perak: Muzium Arkaelogi Lenggong

Sorry I have taken a break from blogging about my trips as I have been in Africa and training for my events. It has been on my mind to blog about a trip to took to Lenggong in July 2012, as Lenggong Valley was recently awarded UNESCO Heritage Site status as of 1st July 2012. 

Being an avid domestic traveler, I was curious to know about Lenggong as even though it was awarded UNESCO, I had absolutely no idea about it. According to online sources, the Lenggong Valley was actually where the earliest evidence of man in South East Asia was found, about 25 years ago. I will leave the history to the experts and I'll let you know instead how we found it.

Instead of going to the actual Archaeology site we decided to go to the Museum instead, where we'll be guaranteed admission. To get there, what you actually need to do is to take the PLUS Highway up north all the way to Kuala Kangsar, where you exit.

From there, follow the very visible sign going to "Grik" or "Gerik" until you reach the Museum. You will need to make a right turn somewhere but don't worry, you will see the Museum signage as above all the way through to the Museum itself. It will take about 45 minutes from Ipoh.

In the museum itself, there is a decent display about the findings of Lenggong and about Perak Man and his characteristics. Not sure if this is worth an entire trip from KL but its worth it if you are around the area and you wanted to see what the fuss was about.

Others: International Driving Permit Malaysia

This post is for Malaysians wanting to drive overseas, not foreigners wishing to drive in Malaysia.

I needed to get an International Driving Permit as I will be driving in South Africa in about 1 month's time. I wanted to detail out the application process I used as I found that there are limited resources on the web about getting this Driving Permit. It is applicable to all the major countries around the world, and all the not so major ones as well; US, UK, Australia, Bosnia, Macedonia, Namibia, Botswana....and South Africa.

So what you need to do is prepare 2 passport photographs, and photocopy your driver's license and your IC and go to the nearest AAM branch where you live. I prefer to go to AAM to avoid any bureaucratic issues that might arise if I go to JPJ. It even says that you need to leave your current driving license at JPJ and collect it back after you are done with the IDP because "you cant have 2 driving licenses". Well I refuse, and I prefer to go to AAM.

For a non-member, you need to pay RM 180 in total for a year as at 2012. The whole process only took about 10 minutes, and they will ask you to fill up their own special AAM form and not the JPJ LDL1 form or whatever. You can renew it after 1 year if you like.

Seremban: Royale Bintang Resort & Spa

 

I booked this hotel as I was scheduled to go to the Seremban Half Marathon 2012, and got the Half Marathon Rate. We made the reservation via phone, and was given a reservation number for each of the rooms we booked. We booked a Deluxe Room, but got upgraded to the Executive Room floor, Room 1037, as they did not have enough twin rooms.

The room was very spacious for three, and had enough space to accommodate one more extra bed at RM 80 with breakfast. We also loved the spacious bathroom that came with a seperate bath tub, and shower, along with Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries. Needless to say, we took all the toiletries home, including the 2 hand soaps. They even had a bathroom scale!

 

 

 In the room they provided coffee and tea making facilities, a flat screen TV with sufficient satelite TV channels including Discovery, International News and a movie channel, a large closet with ironing facilities and a bathrobe.

I have to say that we had a very bad experience with the service of the hotel. The check in took about 20 minutes which was actually ok with me in the beginning as we were upgraded. However, our extra bed took about 4.5 hours to arrive, after calling about 5 times to the Front Desk, Guest Services Manager and Housekeeping every hour or so since 8.30pm. We actually got the bed at 11.30pm, way past our bed time. There was a time we went down to see the Front Desk and told them we ordered an extra bed and he did not even ask for our room number and just say "ok our housekeeping is very busy". That's it. 

Breakfast was on the 10th floor in the Executive Lounge, but it was not that appetizing and very little in selection. We had cooked eggs (which was great, and made to order) but the buffet looked really unappetizing and ...limp (noodles, vege, salad, fruits and etc). 

The pool was OK, but it was kind of cold as there was not any sun that day. The gym is open from 7am -9.30pm and its quite basic but it has about 4 types of cardio machines, free weights and some other weight machines. Towels and water were provided in the gym.

All in all it was a good deal as we got upgraded, for 3 people. I suppose if were in Seremban again this would be our only option as a family, but the service and breakfast needs serious attention.

Penang: Georgetown

 

More lovely photos from Georgetown uploaded from my phone.

Beautiful Cheah Kongsi on Armenia St. with Cafe Amelie next to it. Loved the Longan and mint drink I had there. Costly but delicious. They also.serve pasta and lunch but only have about six tables.

A little further down the road and you will see a beautiful wall mural based on a famous photo. 

Love Georgetown and will be back.

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Penang: Old Penang Guesthouse

I went to Penang during the weekday on the last week of June, with the intention of visiting the Penang National Park and doing a hiking route up Penang Hill. However, I fell sick after a trip to Taman Negara but decided to push on to Penang anyway, as I had already purchased all the tickets and booked my hotel. However, my activity list had to change as I would not be doing any kind of trekking or climbing. :)

I chose Old Penang Guesthouse because I was on a budget and because of the good reviews it had received on Hostelworld. It was located on a quaintly-named Love Lane (apparently it is called Love Lane as it used to be a street where mistresses were kept and lovers had trysts). I took a cab from Queensbay Mall where I was dropped off from Aeroline Bus and it cost me RM 30 ( which I know was slightly overpriced as the return taxi ride was only RM 25).

I was given 2 different rooms on 2 different days as I made my reservations seperately. That was fine - I knew what I had booked. The first room (double room, shared bathroom) downstairs was just ok. It was kind of small and located at the back of the guesthouse. It had a towel hanger, air conditioning, a bed lamp, room lamp and a queen bed. I was provided with a towel and had to pay about RM 15 for the towel and the key, which was returned when I checked out.

 Upstairs alley:

On the second night, I was given an upstairs room and this room was much better. It had a single bed, but much more space and even a rug, together with a bedside table. It also felt much newer as well. The upstairs floors had also a bathrooms to be shared and the toilet was clean and it seemed like it was washed almost every hour I was there !!

Things to Do and Eat:

It had a nice relaxing ambience and after I did my sightseeing I would sit at the tables down stairs to use the internet. There's TV and a computer provided with internet for the guests. If you walk out to the mainroad you will most definitely find eateries to eat at night - from Cendol to Lok Lok, to Wan Tan Mee, to freshly cut fruits, so no worries on that front. I am sure you dont want to eat backpacker westernised crap!! There is also a backpacker's pub 2 doors away for those who favour a drink.

Staying in the UNESCO Core Heritage area means that most attractions are within walking distance of Love Lane. For example, Armenian Street, Muntri Street, Cheong Fatt Tze mansion, Chinatown, Penang Museum, Fort Cornwallis.

Beautiful restored buildings around Love Lane:

 

The area surrounding Love Lane is also quite interesting -  I found an interesting temple and building nearby below on Muntri Lane and Jimmy Choo's first apprenticeship!

All in all this is a good area to be in. I would stay in another location next time but only because I like some variety in where I stay. For additional pictures of Georgetown, click here.

Hotel Details: Old Penang Guesthouse

Hotel Website: oldpenang.com

Mersing: Mirage Island Resort Pulau Besar

I booked this as a short beach break for the family, and since I started learning swimming, I thought I'd book somewhere that we can snorkel on the beach (I was cautious of snorkeling as well before learning swimming). Originally my preferred choice was Pulau Sibu (Sibu Island Resort) for a family getaway but they were fully booked that weekend. In the end, we settled for Pulau Besar.

We took about 5 hours to drive from KL to Mersing Jetty. We went through the PLUS Highway heading south, turning out at Ayer Itam Exit, pass Kluang, Kahang, NITAR Oil Plantations and into Mersing. While the signage to Mersing was clear all the way from Ayer Itam, once you reach Mersing, the signs to the Jetty is unclear. Remember that its around the KFC area...don't go further than that.

The pic below shows the Mirage Office in the Mersing Jetty where you are to register before departing:

Upon arrival at the Jetty....

We arrived around 11am and registered ourselves at the Mirage Island office. Our boat was scheduled to depart at 12.30pm and the other group joined us right on time. It was a rocky ride to Pulau Besar, about 30 minutes. They carried our baggage all the way to the hotel rooms.

Shows the reception at Mirage Island Resort Pulau Besar

When we arrived, we were greeted with Welcome drinks and showed to our rooms. We booked the A-Frame Chalets for a 3D2N food-board package of RM 420 (inclusive of a weekend surcharge). The rooms were nothing to shout about, just enter the room and you will see 1 double bed and 1 single bed, and a toilet.

We had a walk along the beach and played in the water. There isnt really much fish swimming on the coast like in Marine parks in Langkawi or Redang. While the water was clean, there isnt any opportunity for snorkelling as the hotel didnt rent out lifejackets or snorkels either (or at least, I didnt ask and I didnt see any lying around the hotel). There really isnt anything much to do around the island but hanging out and playing in the water. There isnt any wifi either.

You can arrange for a snorkelling trip but they need a minimum number of 8 or you need to rent the whole boat at RM 400.

 

 

Apparently they were shooting European Survivor we were there and this place is quite popular with film crews. 

 

 The food was pretty good - we were served cashew chicken, mixed vegetables and sweet and sour fish the first night, followed by an all out bbq the second night. I really enjoyed the BBQ as it has been a while since I've tried one. They serve tea, coffee and water all day. However, the cocktails were really expensive at RM 30 each. However, you can get vodka orange at about RM 18. Coke was RM 5 + 10% tax. 

All in all it was an OK place I suppose. Only if you like lounging around the beach and doing nothing. I'm not into that so I probably wont come again but if you like lounging and you are on a budget, this is a reasonably good place. 

Hotel website: http://www.mirageislandresort.com/

Singapore: Universal Studios Singapore

In my recent trip to Singapore I included Universal Studios Singapore in my itinerary as I wanted to see what the fuss was about. A lot of people seemed to talk about the Transformers 3D ride, and I had never been to a theme park before, at least not outside Genting Highlands in Malaysia. So I planned to spend at least half a day in Universal Studios Singapore (USS) on the last day of my trip to Singapore.

Since the school holidays in Singapore was starting during the time of my trip, the price of my ticket was SGD 74. Usually during week day, it is SGD 68, but that was OK. There's nothing much I can do about it in this case, as the school holidays is not something I can control!

I made my way to USS via the MRT. I took the MRT from Novena (I was staying at Value Nice hotel in Balestier) and took it to Harbourfront MRT. There I followed the directions in the MRT station/Mall up to about the 3rd floor where I took the Sentosa Express for SGD 3 all the way to Beachfront stop where I got down. The SGD 3 price included the a return Sentosa Express ticket and the entrance fee to Sentosa Island.

It was easy to locate the spinning globe which was the logo of USS. I bought my ticket at the ticket booth and went inside. I targeted to do the Transformers ride, the Jurassic Park rapids water ride and the Shrek 4D show, walk around and have some tea time snacks.

Based on the reports of long queus, I quickly made a beeline towards the Sci-Fi city where Transformers 3D was at. Thankfully there was a Single Rider line, and I quickly went to it and managed to get on the 1st car available on the ride. If you were on the other lines, it will take at least 20 minutes. Of course, I was very greatful I was there on my own today as it made things very quick for me - I also managed to go on the ride a 2nd time. You will pick up your 3D glasses during the line.

After you get strapped on to the car on the Transformers Ride 3D, you are automatically transported into this virtual reality world where big Transformers fight it out. *Spoiler Alert* You will experience things being thrown at you, hurtling down tall buildings, and large robot creatures coming at you full force. The car seat you are in will rock to simulate the 3D experience. It is most definitely enjoyable and recommended and worth all the fuss.

After the Transformers ride, I went for the Jurassic Park Water Rapids ride thing which was just ok. You sit in a boat and experience a very minor rapids with dinosaurs from Jurassic Park around you. I didnt think this was for adults as it was mostly animatronic dinosaurs moving around and roaring. You WILL get wet so please bring a raincoat to USS or you will have to buy it for SGD 3. Lockers are available for rent to keep your things at a hideously expensive price - SGD 4 per hour.

The Shrek 4D Movie was a lot more fun - we sat in a chairs and they showed a nice 15 minute movie featuring Shrek, the Donkey, Fiona and the rest of the usual Shrek cast, only there are 4D effects! To explain what the 4D experience is, it means that you actually get to feel some of the scenes in the movie for e.g. wind blowing at you, water being sprinkled on you, the chairs rocking to simulate horse riding etc. It was certainly my first 4D experience and was very fun.

I went on the Madagascar Crate Barrel water adventure but it was kind of boring to me and it was just the same as the Jurassic Park Water ride. Super boring, and it was meant for kids below 12 I think. Animatronic statues of the characters just moving about. To kill time I also went for the Lights Camera Action by Steven Spielberg show that demonstrates how special effects are done in studios. That was quite interesting and I think I would recommend it if you have 15 minutes to kill.

Drinking fountains are available everywhere to refill your water bottles and you ARE allowed to go out of the park to eat decent food outside at Resorts World and come back. I guess comparatively speaking the food in the park is not that expensive - SGD 9 per sandwhich, SGD 6 a cappucinno as it is about the same price outside in a shopping mall, but I usually eat at hawkerstalls so it was a bit pricey for me. My usual meal will come up to about SGD 6 in total, so to spend SGD 9 on a sandwich without drinks is kind of pricey for me.

All in all it was an OK experience. I've never been to "branded' theme park before, and I wanted to check it out so it was fine for 1 time. I don't think I will be making another visit though. In total I only spent 2.5 hours there. I left and watched a hollywood movie at the cinema in Vivocity!

To read more about other attractions in Singapore, click here

Attraction Details: Universal Studios Singapore

Kuala Lumpur: ATV Adventure Park Kampung Kemensah Part 2

I first tried this ATV Adventure Park in February and made arrangement with my friends to come back to do a slightly harder route. After about 4 months, we finally made it back to Kampung Kemensah for Package C, up to "Sofea Jane Waterfall" (actual name is Kubang Gajah Waterfall, I think). The waterfall got its name "Sofea Jane" waterfall as Malaysian actress Sofea Jane shot a movie scene there in the 90s.The trail took about 1 hour to get in and another 1 hour to get out via ATV.

As per the previous trip, me and my friends met at the ATV Adventure Park at Kampung Kemensah, at about 8.30am. We signed an indemnity form each, to relieve the company of any responsibility should anything happen to us during the ride. Again, they arranged for us to crowd around a demo ATV, and they explained the controls on the ATV. This took about 15 minutes and was a good refresher.

Everyone then grabbed a helmet and headed towards the ATV for a test drive on their circular loop. The crowd that day was huge, there was even a group of 16 people going on the same route as us! Thankfully, our group of 3 pax was grouped with another family of 3, and it was a good comfortable number. 

They even had Owen Wilson as a celebrity guest on the Package E (hardest route) who came around March 2012. I remember seeing an article in the newspaper showing that he did the ATV but I didn't know that it was with this company. After our package C route, my friends and I thought we'd try the Package E, just cause Owen Wilson also experienced it.

Back to our Package C route. The ride started with an uphill climb before heading into the forest. The difference between Package B and Package C was the while both the routes were off road, Package C's routes were not even, not level and has lots of bumps, holes and rocks. My friend estimated that it was about 50% tougher to ride than the Package B route. There were times when the ATV tipped 45 degrees side ways and there a lot of rocky uphills and downhills on route. During the downhill section, you have to grip the brakes VERY tightly -in my experience even if you grip the brakes extremely tightly, the ATV keeps going and going!

However, after trying out the Package B, everyone was a lot more comfortable on the ATVs than their first times.

After about 1 hour we reached the waterfall, we parked our ATV vehicles and we took a 30 minute break to take a picture of the waterfall and relax our arms. They also provided a free mineral water bottle to us which was really great.

The ride back to the basecamp was a lot faster as the guides were more comfortable with our technical ability this time round. I returned to the basecamp satisfied but a little tired from gripping the brakes tightly. Bathrooms, a shallow dipping pool, and a washing pipe was available at the basecamp for public use. They also sold some soda drinks for all the participants.

All in all, I will probably return again with the same group of friends to do Package E, but will give a rest before trying it again. I think we have had enough of ATV for a while - we might be back but we'll give it a few months.

For instructions on how to get there please refer to this post.

Attraction Website:
http://www.atvadventurepark.com/

Singapore: Singapore Zoo

I have always wanted to visit the Singapore Zoo ever since I saw that series/show on Animal Planet showcasing the zoo. All other guidebooks I've read have raved about this "award winning" zoo and as a person who loves animals and being around animals, I knew I had to include this into my trip.

Of course, the highlight of this trip for me was to see the white tiger and the polar bear, but unfortunately the polar bear exhibit was closed when I visited at the tail end of May 2012. Nevertheless, it was still a good trip as I got to see free-ranging orangutans, Malayan sunbears, white tigers, meerkats (the type you see on Animal Planet), pygmy hippos, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, lions and other fun animals.

This was the white tiger exhibit. A clever river barrier has been formed between the tiger and the zoo visitors. I was fortunate enough to see the white tiger swim in the mock river. The fact that there are no enclosures here made it very fun for me. This white tiger paced back and forth before jumping and swimming in the mock river. This is definitely one of the more popular animals in the zoo.

Although I have seen many hippos in Kenya, I've never seen pygmy hippos and not through clear glass like this. Usually you only get to see the top of the heads, but with this glass enclosure you get to see what they do underneath the water. Which just bumping into each other mostly.

Love the meerkats on display at the Wild Africa section of the zoo. Again as you can see there are no enclosures and a clever barrier has been formed between the animals and the spectators.

Ok enough about the animals and more on the practical stuff. While I enjoyed the zoo very much as an animal lover, I realise that some of the most important things people look for in blogs and the internet are the practical stuff.

So here goes:

1. There are lockers available to keep small items near the entrance of the zoo.

2. They have the Ah Meng's restaurant inside the zoo but before you enter the zoo there are coffee houses, ice cream cafes and some snack shops as well.

3. A tram goes around the zoo at 4 points where you can hop and hop off as you like. It costs SGD 5 to ride the tram. Once you purchase the ticket, you can ride the tram as much as you like. You can also just walk the zoo, but I wouldnt advise it as it is a big zoo. I had the tram ticket and I still didn't get to see the Outback and Ethiopian exhibits as I was too tired.

4. I spent about 2.5 hours there - it was enough for me to see the animals I liked and get a feel for the place.

5. I bought outside food and just ate it at the bench parks around the zoo as I predicted the food in the zoo to be pretty unappetizing and expensive. I think I was right, judging by the looks of things. A meal could cost up to SGD 10 ++

6. An ice cool slushie is about SGD 5.90.

To get here:

Take the MRT  to Ang Mo Kio and take the 138 bus from the Ang Mo Kio bus interchange. It will take about 40 minutes to get here from the bus interchange.

Attraction Website: www.zoo.com.sg