Langkasuka Hotel

We went to Langkawi again this year from the 1st of March till the 5th for the pre-Ramadan and school holiday trip. We departed from KLIA with the new low-budget airline MYairline Malaysia at noon. The queue was expectedly long because it’s ‘budget’ but the check-in process was I feel, messy. We had less than 90 minutes before the departure and we were still in the queue despite already checking in online when the lady at the counter screamed out to the crowd ‘last call Langkawi.. last call Langkawi!”. It was honestly annoying and probably lack of insight because everyone in the line IS BOUND FOR LANGKAWI!. Just speed up the process, my gawd.

Anyway, nothing eventful happened on the flight. It had the same vibes as Air Asia – the red and the black. In-flight purchases and meals, if you wish as well.

Upon arrival in Langkawi, we were a bit surprised to see the very quiet airport. It is the school holidays after all but where is the ‘holiday crowd’? Did everyone go to Hatyai? Mr Husband rented a Myvi and we headed to our hotel, Langkasuka.

Langkasuka Hotel

It is situated very near The Grand Continental Hotel in Kuah. Only, this hotel is connected to a mall. I liked it. It is a 3-star hotel but the service is impeccable. The room was spacious but the air conditioning was freezing. They have the usual amenities: a mini fridge, a kettle with complimentary beverages, a hot water heater, an ironing board with the iron, a prayer mat and FREE WIFI. Mr Husband also included breakfast during our stay. I super love the food we had for breakfast at their Lemongrass restaurant. They also serve in-room meals at a reasonable price.

The hotel may look ugly and suss from the outside. Especially with the construction going on outside but the place is fine. And safe.

Our room was a Superior Triple Room with 3 single beds. The price at the time was ranging between RM240 – RM280 per night. I’m not quite sure about the exact amount my husband paid for it. We parked our car at the parking space behind the hotel/mall. There is also a mini swimming pool and gym just outside the breakfast restaurant.

In the mall, they have the usual marhaen retail stores, a food court on the top floor and a fast food restaurant on the Ground Floor. In the evening it is quite lively because they are other eateries open nearby for your meals. I recommend this hotel to families with small children. It’s pretty cool. Even then I really hope we are not going to Langkawi again next year. The dear husband really loves the place too much.

East Riverine Boutique Hotel – bringing Sarawak into KL

So.. is Chow Kit like a mini New York? Macam tetiba ada hotel tema Sarawak?

Hello East Riverine Hotel

Our little family arrived at the hotel near 9pm and the first thing that surprised me was the tribal pattern on the wall near the reception. Another family came through the door, speaking in the Sarawakian language headed to the lift. I was like, “OK… this is an interesting boutique hotel”. Soon after, I caught sight of some kek lapis inside the display fridge near the entrance and that kind of triggered me to have a quick swipe on Instagram and find out more about this hotel.

Apart from its very strategic location, it offers various types of rooms suitable for a family staycation and is priced from as low as RM 100/night. Ours is a Family Room with 2 double beds, and a cute living area with a mini fridge and an ironing board. They provide a safe, body soap and shampoo, a hair dryer and complimentary beverages. The hotel also has FREE WIFI but is only accessible via coupons. We received two coupons for our room. I guess it means that only 2 devices can use the WIFI at one time. It has a lounge area too but we didn’t have time to explore much of it as we were chasing time to go Genting.

Breakfast is provided at the Sugar Bun restaurant next door. It is served as an ala carte meal. You have to make your choices the night before and let the receptionist know. It has a very ‘mak-mak’ vibe to it cause it’s like those breakfasts you have at home where you just eat what your mom cooks for you. The coffee and tea are very basic with only sugar to taste. The cakes are nicely lined up on the plate – the usual bahulu and banana cakes that any Malaysian family would eat in the morning. Even the ‘American breakfast’ meal wasn’t American enough. Haha. The breakfast is fulfilling and decent considering the price you pay for your room. So yeah, not too bad. If you want a fancier breakfast – there are always other options available elsewhere. In fact, at night, this area is lit! There are so many things to see and eat.

We parked at a common parking area nearby the hotel as they don’t have this facility. However, you don’t really need a car to enjoy Chow Kit because the LRT is just around the corner and even on foot, there are so many things you could explore. Overall, the stay was pleasant. Would definitely recommend this place to those who are on a budget but still wants to make the best of their stay in Kuala Lumpur.

Heritage Hotel, Cameron Highland

I hate surprises so I made sure to know where our holiday destination is. Mr Husband said we would go to Cameron Highlands during the long Lunar New Year break. The land of tea plantations and strawberries. We were expecting the crowd because CH is always full of tourists but we overlooked the fact that it will be raining a lot there, this time of the year. January, 2023 – raining season.

Hence, it was not only cold but very wet. The high humidity is felt in our rooms and to an extent quite uncomfortable. I under-packed. I should have bought a few more jackets or long sleeves, throws/blankets and a portable dehumidifier.

Mr Husband booked a room at the Heritage Hotel although it went viral in Malaysia some time ago for its supernatural sightings specifically LEVEL 4. It is a 3-star hotel with a nice view, and a strategic location to the nearest bustling, lively area. We were in Room 438. meh. Ours was a Superior Triple Room with 1 Queen Bed + 1 Single Bed & Breakfast/ Free WIFI. Mr Husband said he paid over RM300 for the room. We booked it for 3D2N. It has a shower and bathtub which delighted our daughter very much. The hotel has a very English Tudor design and is situated at Tanah Rata – a place where all the good food is.

We checked in at 3PM at the very red, prosperous lobby. I really love this mini snowing decor. I found it on Shopee. Search for ‘Spot New year’s lights’ – shipped from China. Seller is jkczyy521.my.

The breakfast spread was simple yet fulfilling. I was careful to try and follow my DSSS regime. I do not want to pile on too many kilograms during this trip. The decor at the restaurant was very festive. Then, we had a walk around the hotel and checked out its facilities.

There was a mini library that has lots of Chinese books that I do not know how to read yet, a play area for children and a gymnasium.

At the lower ground, there was a fish pond with a goth-like garden that needs more maintenance to it. There were a few massage chairs available too, a laundry area and basically a lounging space with a fake chimney to just relax. We had a chilling stay but still fun nonetheless. We did not do much in Cameron Highlands due to the heavy rain and I will share it with you in the next post.

Kuching 2022: The Lime Tree Hotel

I wrote about our stay here in 2016. I guess we came back hoping that the delicious Laksa Sarawak and Banana Fritters is still around at the breakfast buffet. Indeed, it is still there and boy, the place still looks brand new with added facilities. Having a water dispenser in the lobby was a good additional touch.

I made several bookings through Agoda and also through their own website. Upon checking in, there will be an RM50 deposit which will be returned upon checkout.

For myself, I chose the Family Room option from their own website. It can fit four adults so it was spacious for us. There was a King size bed and 2 single beds, a bathtub (my daughter loves it), a microwave and a mini fridge. My booking for this room was for 5D4N at RM 275.50/night. I got 5% off as I was staying for more than 3 nights.

I booked for my sister 1 Executive Suit King + 1 Standard room. This one was done through Agoda. To be honest, I should have just done the booking through the hotel’s website but I did my sister’s booking first. Hence, Agoda. The Executive Suite has 1 King size bed, a mini sofa and a mini fridge. That sets them apart from the standard room. The total for her for both rooms during the 5D4N stay amounted to RM 1080 (exec) + RM603.50 (std).

My dad had a longer stay in Kuching, about 7 days. Hence, his Standard Room total was RM 1106.

We had FREE WIFI, free breakfast, and the parking lot at the site (but very limited). They had this very aromatic in-house lime soap too. The air conditioning was very cool and the housekeeping was superb. This hotel is within walking distance of Padungan Chinatown, Main Bazaar, The Hills shopping complex, and the waterfront (to me, it is possible to walk there) with so many eatery outlets to choose from. Kuching has Grabfood and Food Panda too which is great.

the laksa station – they even have the ‘how to’ on the wall

The breakfast selection was adequate. The layout is such that we felt like we are going to someone’s house to eat. It was very homey. It is not disappointing and most importantly their kitchen is certified as HALAL. I noticed that most visitors to this hotel are overseas tourists from Europe of all ages. There seemed to be a tour package service there but I did not explore any further. I fully recommend staying at this hotel again and again for its wonderful hospitality.

10th Wedding Anniversary at Casa Bonita Hotel

Prior to the pandemic, I’ve already planned out my 10th wedding anniversary celebration . We were both going to lose weight, organize a kenduri at our house and wear matching batik outfits for our photos. However, things happened. COVID-19 rules our lives. Mr Husband was busy with his public health activities whilst I was busy on the clinical side of things. We managed to squeeze some family time interim but honestly, it could have been better.

10 years living with another human being is not a small feat. Have I ever thought of separation during this relationship? Of course. Especially on my period. But Patience and Sanity usually pulls me away from it. Covid-19 or not, a decade of love needs to be celebrated. If he is not going to be the first to utter those words , wishes or gestures, then I will be the one to do so and sprinkle some romance in the air. It’s tiring having to kick it off every time but someone’s gotta keep the wheel of marriage running.

I started with the watsapp wish in the morning. Sending him a snapshot of my wedding anniversary gift to him. This is to also hint him to get me a present if he hadn’t thought of doing so. (insert annoyed face here) If he is not getting me a flower bouquet, then he’d better get me a present for my 10th wedding anniversary. Then just like an excellent PA, I laid out the plans for the day.

Me working half day –> fetch kids from grandma –> check into hotel , also in Melaka –> husband will drive from JB and reach hotel with whatever transport he wants —> husband will arrange for dinner

I chose Casa Bonita Hotel for our staycation for new years weekend.

CASA BONITA HOTEL is located strategically at where all the viral eateries are. It is at Limbongan where the famous keria is. The keria man is also selling laksa at his shop. Other famous stuff nearby is the avocado drinks, soursop drink, the asam pedas lady, the mee bodo at tengkera. All this within walking distance to each other. We had wanted to do that but the exhaustion from work got the better of us that we practically just enjoyed the room and the food delivered to us.

Our room is the family suite. It has 2 double beds, a living room with a mini dining table, a fridge and a bath tub. At least my kids can enjoy that whilst being stuck in the room. I booked our stay via Agoda of course at RM225/night for 2 nights. The total came up to RM551.57 including tax and service fees.

I had wanted to book dinner at the in house restaurant but in view of us being health care workers, I thought we’d better stay in our rooms and reduce the risk of contracting the virus. This is because if a HCW gets ill, it may cause inconvenience to the work schedule if the HCW needs to get MC and such. Mr Husband instead arranged for dinner in our room by ordering this meal box from another hotel, Bayview hotel. At RM88, we get a selection of food that make up a meal for our little family.

This promotion is seasonal. I enjoyed the chicken the most followed by its Xmas crepe. The cornish pie was a bit bland but passable for a hungry tribe. It was a meal worth the money.

As for presents, I got my husband a portable massage machine for his back. He got me a Samsung Tablet A 8″ 2019. Lovely, I had always wanted one. I think it could be useful for my studies. I am still exploring its features and scrolling through apps that might be useful for my side responsibility as a student. Do recommend me good ones.

I have already made a staycation booking for the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration. I just hope nothing major will happen on that day.