Tag Archives: AirAsia

Mini Miri getaway

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

I have never been to Miri. Therefore I was very excited to receive an invitation from a distant aunt to attend her daughter’s wedding. So much so I had surveyed the price of the tickets at least 2 months before the given date. My flight options were quickly narrowed down to Air Asia.

Thankfully they have a flight+hotel promo and coincidentally the hotel that I picked was also the reception venue for the wedding. Initially I did not purchase any pre-booked meals for my flight. However, when it got rescheduled, I decided to get Pak Nasser’s nasi lemak for my flight to Miri as my breakfast meal. I did not get any extra luggage because I aim to travel very light for this 2D1N trip.

The total cost for my trip with Air Asia was RM578.49 including tax.

The itinerary was a 0620H take off from KLIA2 on Saturday and arrive Miri by 0850H. Then the flight back is on Sunday at 1540H due to arrive by 1750H. Then comes the question, how early should I get to KLIA2 from Melaka which is a 1 hour 30 mins drive away on the highway. I decided to stay at the Capsule Transit Hotel in KLIA2 (landslide). I parked my car at the Long Term Car Park (LTCP) and took the FREE shuttle to KLIA2. When I came back from Miri, the total parking rate was RM52. You could check the daily and hourly rates at the website. Just remember to pay it with cash.

CAPSULE TRANSIT KLIA2 – LANDSLIDE

I could easily book the room at the airport but several reviews that I read said that it can be fully booked really fast. I did not want to risk sleeping at the airport in the open considering that I am a petite lady, an easy target to get mugged or harrassed. Even by another female. So I made my booking through Agoda which costs me an extra RM20 from it’s usual rate. Even then I was still excited to get the experience and so I just paid RM196 for it. I could stay there for 12 hours which gives me access to it’s services like a bed, hot shower, bathroom, a goodie bag etc. I was elated that they have towels and bathroom slippers. I was also counting on the toileteries in the welcome bag which also has a pair of ear plugs, a bottled water, toothbrush with paste and an eye mask to sleep.

I checked into the capsule hotel just after 9pm – I had dinner earlier at one of the restaurants at the airport. I also did my Jamak prayers at the musolla available near the arrival area before I go down to the Transportation Hub floor (where the hotel was) because I just want to shower and then rest once I get into my room.

The bathroom reminded me of my dorm in boarding school. You bath with a fairly confident looking latch on the cowboy-ish door and hang your towel on top of it. There was hot water, shower gel and shampoo in the bathroom. I chose to stay in an all-female area but I still have to get out of the area to go to the bathroom. I did not know that first time around, so I had taken off my hijab freely only to discover that I need to put the towel over my head because the men could still pass the female bathroom to go to the main door.

Since I am petite, I could actually stand in the capsule room. It has a comfortable mattress, a comforter with two pillows. The only privacy I had was a blind that I could roll down as my door. It can get quite chilly at night despite the closed ‘door’. The area is hauntingly quiet out of everyone there being respectful towards each other of wanting to rest and all. In fact, it was so quiet that I could hear the background buzzing noise of the airport. Hence, the ear plugs to help with our sleep. However, I still felt anxious because although I tried my best to not concentrate on the sound, it still gets to me. Plus, I was so worried that my alarm would disrupt other people from their sleep because we only have blinds as doors. Which leads to a cycle of thoughts where I’d questioned ‘what if I don’t hear my alarm if I put the volume down?”What if I miss my flight?’

In the end I had very little sleep due to my anxiety. I knew I slept because I dreamt there was a sink in the room – which they didn’t but it wasn’t a very sound sleep. It was fairly disrupted. I was up by 0430am. Went to the bathroom to relieve myself and took another quick shower before I checked out of the hotel. I don’t think I would stay here again if I had a very early flight like this one. I would stay if say my flight was at 8 or something because I know I will automatically be up by 6am. Even without the alarm. Giving me more time to prepare myself.

Anyway, since I’ve already checked in online, I just made my way straight to the departure lounge. I kept telling myself ‘no coffee, no coffee, or you’ll pee’ and had plain water instead. I performed my Subuh prayer in the plane just like everybody else. We took our wudhu earlier and just prayed when the time came in our seats. The flight to Miri was uneventful and we actually arrived 30 mins earlier than scheduled.

Later I will share about the wedding and my stay at Meritz Hotel.

Minci Travels Macao 2019. Spending the day in Cotai

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Cotai spells out Luxury, Prestigious, Posh etc. It is a center where the buildings are huge, expensive and casinos are just everywhere. We felt a bit under-dressed walking underneath the glittering chandelier the size of our sofa at its shopping area. Perhaps next time I’ll wear a nice dress with heels. And a fashionable shawl to match. With a pair of classy sneakers in my posh backpack, just in case.

We managed to visit 3 places there. The place is so huge that we managed to lose our sense of direction even though the map for the area is readily available. Perhaps we were hungry. Even then, we couldn’t find the Indian restaurant that we badly wanted to go and try. I think they have the Peacock Restaurant there at The Venetian.

The Venetian Macao

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In short, we wanted to see the much talked about San Luca Canal. Indeed, it was a beautiful place. We did not get into the gondola. We only took a picture.

The Parisian Macao

This is a separated building that houses also many shopping brands, hotel and casino. It is however connected with a bridge that you can walk through. The highlight of this particular hotel is the replica of the Eiffel Tower. You can enjoy the scenery at the observation deck if you stay at the hotel. But we weren’t guest. And we were also not members (of god knows what). So we paid for our tickets. The building was breathtaking with its tall, magnificent features but the view, was a tad disappointing.

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Tickets were

MOP $108.00 for adults, MOP $85.00 for children. 

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It is because constructions were still happening on the Cotai Strip. So, it is not that ready yet with all the cranes, lorries and sand.

Studio City

This has got to be my favourite place. This is also a hotel and casino resort but more cinematic in appearance. The design of the external building was very Gotham city with the statues on the roof. Their collaboration with Time Warner ( which means they are also friends with Warner Bros and DC Comics) enables visitors to enjoy DC character features such as the Batman Dark Flight. We could not enter because Ee had height restrictions.

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We did however enjoyed the Golden Reel, a figure 8 ferris wheel. Walking to the entrance of the elevator to the reel felt like walking to an Academy Award Show. They were playing the OST of Jurassic Park and gosh, it felt so majestic to walk through the glittering, sparkling hallway. Again, we felt under-dressed. Haha.

This is also the part where it got interesting. The guy at the counter asked if we brought our boarding passes to which my husband fortunately had. He said for any passengers boarding the Air Asia flight which flew directly to Macao can benefit from a discount to the entrance fee. So keep your boarding passes people! I am however not sure which other airline also has this perks.

By the time we finished our 15 min ride on the wheel, we were really really tired from all the walking. Yup, you can actually walk from one resort to another. It burns the calories but kills your feet. Especially with Mr Husband having to carry our 12kg Ninie.

it was only nearing 4 pm but totally exhausted. So we took the cab back home to Metropole Hotel and retired quite early to bed that day (lights out by 9pm) as we have another full day the next morning.

Take home messages :

Prepare snacks kids are familiar with. They might not want to try something new.

Wear, comfortable (fashionable, if you must) shoes

Bring a fold-able umbrella, just in case.

Minci travels Macao 2019. Tickets and the start.

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

This is Part 1.

I am a Malaysian. I am a Muslimah and is traveling with my two young children. Let’s face it Macao is expensive. So it is very hard to create a budget itinerary when you want to be comfortable. Or maybe there is a way but I have yet to find how. We shall learn from other bloggers. I am not going to lie. I felt a bit anxious wearing a hijab there but thankfully nothing bad happened.

Short clip Video

Edit by googlephotos

Here are our preparations for the trip. It is a 4D3N trip using Air Asia. Mr Husband was very generous as he ordered in flight meals for the  direct 3 hours 45 mins trip from KLIA to Macao. Perhaps he did not want Ninie to be irritable and hungry. Yes, young girls need to be fed before she starts rolling on the floor like a mop. The ticket was booked in less than a month prior to the trip. We went there on the 29th of March. The ticket was booked on the 13th of March. Very last minute. Geram pun ada. Tak sempat nak inform boss. 

Packing the suitcase

  1. Brahims instant meals. While Mr Husband and I are adventurous when it comes to trying new food – we were just worried that both Ninie and Ee being unaccustomed to new dishes may not be able to stomach their meal very well. So we brought something more familiar to their tongue from home. A few other instant meal options I discovered out there was the delicious Sharifah (Nasi Briyani GAm) which I ate before the trip and Kembara Meal that was a bit over my budget. The latter is sold at selected petrol stations. In Melaka, they have it at MITCs Petronas station.
  2. Medicine and ointments
  3. A simple notebook. For me to document anecdotes for my blog and hobominci
  4. Extra coffee and hot chocolate beverages with snacks
  5. Entertainment for the kids in the hotel. In our case, the ultramans and raksasa. 
  6. Socks and light jackets
  7. BABY WIPES!!! Very useful for easy, effective, quick sanitation. Basically to wipe everything from bums to food and stuff.
  8. My doTERRA oils – I handpicked Peppermint, Wild orange & Forgive Roller Blend to bring with me. And since we will be doing a lot of walking – the deep blue rub.

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Currency

I exchanged RM500 of spending money into HKD. In Macao, we can use HKD but the change will almost all the time be given back in their own currency, the Macanese Pataca (MOP). I made my husband keep my money and basically spent it on souvenirs like magnets, food and taxi fares.

Since coming back from the trip I have yet to receive any change, so I guess we have spent it all. Ha ha ha.

Starting the Journey

We left Melaka at 0530 in the morning by car and stopped at Seremban RnR for Subuh prayers. This time we parked at Salak Tinggi instead of the Long Term Car Park centre. From Salak Tinggi we took the KLIA Transit train and hopped off at KLIA2. Since we are traveling with an infant, we have to check in at the counter which was a breeze that morning. We bought a 25 kg baggage and ours was already a freaking 19Kg. macam heran ada jugak.. bawak apa lah.. LOL.

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We had a light breakfast and it did not take us long to board the plane. Our flight was at 1005AM and e.t.a was 1355PM. There is no time difference between Malaysia and Macao. Only the prayer times are slightly early. I did have a bit of difficulty to locate the baby changing room once we’re in the departure hall. I did find one at the L2 area. It had a water dispenser in the room hence easy to prep Ninies milk. It also had a small curtained area for privacy in case a mom needs to breastfeed or do some pumping.

Ninie amazingly behave throughout the flight. The in flight meals were delicious. The prebooked meals we had were Potato salad, choc banana muffin (highly recommended),  milk coffee, chicken teriyaki with rice, bukhara chicken briyani and uncle chins chicken rice. We had a similar menu on our flight back home.

2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant : Return tickets + in-flight meals + tax = RM 1595.00

With Air Asia, everybody can fly.

Our plane landed 15 minutes early. There is no prayer room at Macao airport but it is okay, we can perform our jamak prayers at the hotel.

Immigration was simple. Because we have no hidden agenda of course. No questions. They check your passport, look at your face and soon you are on the way. Not even a Hello was exchanged. We then took a cab to our hotel which was located in the city itself. The Metropole Hotel.

Krabi 2018 : The Rainy season. Phi phi Island and food.

Posted in Everyday Life, Leisure & Travel by

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Its Eidul Adha and we decided to spend it in Krabi – a one hour flight away from Kuala Lumpur. This will be my 3rd time to Krabi but a first to a few people in our entourage.

It is a 4D3N trip for 8 pax using Air Asia. Our group consists of 2 senior citizens (my parents in law), my sister in law with her 2 daughters, my husband, my 2 kids and myself. We booked the trip separately because we couldn’t come up with an ultimatum regarding who wants to come and stuff. Despite that, we managed to secure quite good deals for the trip.

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We used AirAsiaGo.Com which means we get to book a combo of flight tickets and hotel stay at the website. The hotel we chose, Timber House Ao Nang comes with Free Breakfast. These total rates thus include return flight tickets + hotel stay + tax & fee. 

My family : 2 adults, 1 child, 1 infant

RM 1094.38

My parents in law : 2 adults

RM 756.48

My sister in law and daughters : 1 adult, 2 child

RM 993.30

 

Our flight from Kuala Lumpur was on 22/08/2018 at 1615H whilst our return flight from Krabi was on 25/08/2018 at 0800H. I guess at this month of the year, it does rain more. Therefore, we had to reorganize our activities accordingly. Our trip this time, was more laid back considering the group profile and abilities. We were not that ambitious to visit Emerald Pool this time.

Briefly, we just took a boat ride to see Phi Phi Island and most of our time is just for sightseeing around Ao Nang, having a massage and eat lots and lots of Thai food.

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My father in law had bad knees and is also prone to motion sickness. He did not join us on our boat trip. Our tour guide was Rihanna Da. She comes across as someone with a very strong personality, warm and hyperactive. Ha ha.

Believe in me. Believe in my team, she says

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Baby Ninie was very adventurous. She was not afraid of the sand and crawled on it like she belonged to the sea. LOl. She was very tired and hot afterwards.

We also enjoyed loads of Thai food mainly the TomYum Goong, green curry and som tam. And of course the mandatory pancake every night for supper. We also discovered the Meiji banana milk at 7 eleven. It’s HALAL guys.

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It was a short yummy trip. My next blog post will be about the hotel we stayed in – Timber House Ao Nang. 

Fantastic Four in Langkawi

Posted in Leisure & Travel by

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Langkawi is slowly becoming our annual family getaway. Alongside Krabi of course. In Langkawi, apart from the usual binge on Laksa, a visit to the Underwater World, Cable Car and Kompleks HIG  – we tried something new this year. The Langkawi Wildlife Park. I thought it was a fun place to bring the kids. Will blog in another entry.

We also stayed at a new hotel this year. Grand Continental Langkawi. Interesting experience on that. This also deserves another entry on its own. Senang skit nak search balik kang. 

Since it’s Baby Ninie’s 1st trip on the plane – we were a bit anxious. There were a lot of What If She Cried Blood and screamed Murder on the plane? thoughts but she was fine. A bit fussy but under control. We changed her diapers just before she board and fed her just about when we were to land. She did not like the infant seatbelts but she’s too little to wiggle out – so padan muka. HA ha ha.

We drove from Melaka at 8AM. Stopped for breakfast at the RnR. Even had time to have a stroll at Mitsui Premium Outlet near KLIA. We left our car at the overnight parking area at Salak Tinggi and took the KL Transit Train from there to KLIA2 to board AirAsia flight to Langkawi by 3PM. The charge for the parking at Salak Tinggi was only RM5/night.

The journey from Salak Tinggi to KLIA2 itself took us less than 30 mins.

Overall, it was a very light and easy trip. Only one activity a day as we do not want to exert the baby. Not that she’s walking. LOL.

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