Category Archives: Everyday Life

Kuching trip with my daughter – Abell Hotel and Jawhara Palace

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel by

My daughter and I went for a 3D2N weekend trip to Kuching to attend my cousin’s wedding at Jawhara Palace. For this particular stay, we booked a 3-star hotel called Abell Hotel. As usual, I did my hotel booking through Agoda.com. I picked the Superior Queen Room with a city view. Total payment was RM 429.53. Breakfast was included for 2 people.

The room has the usual amenities. FREE wifi, hot shower, a mini fridge and complimentary bottled water + beverages. I am most pleased with the Sarawak Hospitality. Everyone is so soft spoken and polite, from the reception to the housekeepers and kitchen staff. Check-in was a breeze as I had paid in full online. NO deposits were collected. I like that we don’t have to tap our cards to use the elevator. That is very convenient. I really love the room. It was so comfortable and cosy. The air-conditioning was really cold, but since I am Elsa, I don’t mind.

The location is superb as well. If you choose not to have breakfast at the hotel, there is the 24-hour Atmosferah Restaurant (mamak) located just in front of the hotel. Whereas to the hotel’s right is the RJ CAFE, which becomes so lively at night. Of course, this hotel is within walking distance to Topspot, The Reef and the many eateries at Padungan. If we had stayed longer, I would have been able to get my chicken panini from Bing and enjoy mi belacan from IG Ais Kacang, manok pansuh from Lepau, cheese naan from that famous place that I haven’t been to!! The landmark Waterfront, Cat Statues, and Darul Hana Bridge are all easily accessible. We were thrilled that the Borneo Cultural Fest was ongoing during our visit. Oh my, so little time with so many things to do!

The breakfast selection at Abell Hotel was adequate. I am delighted that they serve Sarawak Laksa too. That is a must. On the first day, we went to the restaurant at 0630H. We were early because the akad nikah at Jawhara Palace is at 0830H.

The Wedding at Jawhara Palace

Jawhara Palace is a house that people can rent for weddings or events. After breakfast, I ordered GRAB and arrived there within 15 minutes. The groom’s side of the family is in pink, whereas the bride in green. Haneem and I have shopped for our attire a month in advance. My daughter was really excited. The akad nikah ceremony was simple. Lunch was served by 1030am and the wedding ended by noon.

The next exciting part of my trip was getting some souvenirs, visiting the Borneo Festival and enjoying the Regatta at The Waterfront. This will be in my next entry.

Kuching trip with my daughter – getting there with Malaysia Airlines

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Parenting, Family and Relationships by

I had a wedding to attend. My cousin, the only son of my uncle, who has lots of girls, was getting married. Hence, I feel it is a must to attend. I asked my husband if he wanted to tag along for the short weekend trip. He was not keen. Thus, it was just me and my daughter.

I booked Malaysia Airlines (MAS) because Air Asia has a reputation for flight delays. I couldn’t afford to waste my time on that, especially when travelling with a kid on my own. The return tickets were booked 2 months in advance, for which I paid a total of RM 904.40. We checked in online 24 hours before the flight. I also made a call to customer service to request a Child’s Meal for my girl.

Travelling from Melaka to KLIA

I used my remaining hours to claim the evening off from work. The hours were from my weekend task for the NHSI programme. Once I clocked out from work, together with the luggage in my car boot, I picked up my daughter from my MIL’s house. I have asked her to have her lunch once she gets back from school, before we drive off to KLIA.

I made sure that my daughter was comfortable in the car because it was going to be a 90-minute drive to the Long Term Car Park (LTCP). It’s been a while since I went there, and I was pleased that now we could pay with either TouchNGo or a debit/credit card. The ladies’ parking area was full. This goes to show that a lot of ladies are driving themselves to their destinations. So I parked just a bit further. Then, my daughter and I took the free shuttle to KLIA1.

Boarding at KLIA1

We arrived at KLIA1 ahead of schedule, so we had a light meal at Taco Bell. Once we were done, we went to the ticket kiosk to print our boarding passes and luggage tags. Our luggage was dropped off at the counter with ease.

Although our boarding gates changed, boarding time was not delayed. We had a good window and middle seat on the plane. I have forgotten that now, on MAS, we can watch in-flight entertainment on our own devices. I did not bring any headphones with me. Haneem had to watch her Mechamato movie using subtitles. On second thought, it’s better that way cause then she could read faster in English. I am making a mental note to bring my earphones everywhere next time.

Haneem was served Mac and Cheese. I chose a chicken varuval dish with rice. It was delicious. Then we had extra drinks. We had Sprite and Orange Juice. Haneem also received a kids’ pack with a small notebook, stickers, and stationery to keep her occupied. Well, she was more occupied with her Mechamato movie. The plane departed at 19:30, and we arrived 1 hour and 15 minutes later.

Kuching International Airport (KIA)

I wanted to use MAXIM, but the app was taking forever to find my driver. I used GRAB instead. The fare from KIA to the Abell Hotel was RM 11, and it took less than 20 minutes to get there. The driver was very kind to help me with the bags.

My next post will be about the hotel and the wedding.

MOXY Putrajaya Hotel – our Deepavali staycation

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

My sister was hosting a BBQ at her place after Maghrib. This means we need a place to stay afterwards. So I searched for a nearby hotel that could double up as a great place to stay over the Deepavali long weekend.

MOXY Putrajaya Hotel was recommended by my dad. There were also raving reviews considering it is a newly built hotel situated adjacent to the lively IOI City Mall. I was torn between booking the room through Agoda or as a Marriott member via their website. I finally did the earlier one because the price was RM200 cheaper. You could get a lot with RM200.

3D2N – RM 1025.30 including taxes and fees

Since most reviews said that the rooms are small, I opted for a Booster, Deluxe Twin Room. Simply because apart from the twin bed, it also has a sofa. I was surprised that when we reached the room, they had an additional smaller bed near the sofa. Which is a good thing because my son could sleep on it instead. Although there was only one access card, you did not need it as a power card because the air-conditioning and lights were already switched on. Parking was free at their designated space in the shared basement area with the mall.

There is a swimming pool and gym on site. I believe there is also a skybar somewhere. The lobby is very lively as they have a lot of games and activities there.

The beds had motion sensor lights attached at the bottom. So does the lights underneath the sink in the bathroom. The hotel has nice-smelling shower gels, shampoo, conditioner and hand wash. The hairdryer is a good touch. There were comments about the lack of an iron and wardrobe in the room. That was not a problem for me as they have their own ironing room and there are knobs on the wall to hang our clothes.

Free beverages were provided on top of bottled mineral water. I love that they have a mini fridge too.

IOI City Mall is easily accessible on foot. We had our lunch, dinner and 10K steps exercise at the mall all the time. Since I only get to go to IOI City Mall on special weekends (since it is not in Melaka), I really had a good time window shopping there over the weekend. My husband and kids prefer to watch their movies in the room. I had my 10K walk at the mall instead.

We only had breakfast at the hotel, and it was delicious. Our room rate included breakfast for 2 adults. I paid another RM63 for an adult and a child. I honestly loved the vegetable curry at the vegetarian corner, the beef side dish for the nasi lemak, the teh tarik and the assortment of pastries. The croissant was buttery and exquisite. Even the roti bakar and half-boiled eggs were nice. My kids enjoyed the yoghurt and mee goreng.

Overall, the stay was worth the money. I would definitely recommend it to families with little kids or the elderly. Also, to ladies who want to spend Me Time there for a few days.

Doctor’s Day celebration in 2025

Posted in All in a days work, Good Things by

In Malaysia, it is celebrated on the 10th of October. This year, the medical officers received a salad spinner each from our boss. It was one of those things that we all wanted. Like seriously, no sarcasm here.

We conducted a simple cake-cutting ceremony during the monthly morning assembly. The cake had one half made of chocolate, and the other half was vanilla with strawberry filling. It was delicious.

the back benchers

Getting groceries on my day off

Posted in Everyday Life, Home Management by

I like getting groceries on weekdays. That is when there is a less crowded area, and I get to walk down the aisle calmly. Most of the time, I would have blueberries and honeydew since my daughter and husband like them. I would alternate between getting apples and oranges. Guava, if I feel like it. Then there is the occasional dragon fruit. I used to love buying kiwis, but I find that they are a bit expensive nowadays. Strangely enough, Shining Muscats are cheaper. I would splurge on strawberries once in a blue moon.

A new bread brand has become famous lately. So I got that Sunshine bread as well. It tasted like any Gardenia bread. I don’t get the hype. But the packaging is pretty. Maybe that’s why people, including myself, have FOMO. Ha ha.

Farm Fresh milk carton was on sale. Of course, I had to buy it. Eggs are still expensive. Only this time I got the Gred C ones cause the D’s I bought before felt less satisfactory in my meals. The small portion size was palpable.

I did not buy any poultry or seafood. That would be for another day.