My cousin’s wedding reception was held at The Meritz Hotel. Do not be fooled by its somewhat biashe biashe exterior appearance because this 4-star business hotel is so worth the money. I was lucky this accommodation was part of Air Asia’s Flight+Hotel promo. Hence, I paid only RM578.49 for a 2D1N stay at the hotel plus return flight tickets from KLIA2 to MIRI.

The hotel is in Miri’s city centre and is attached to a shopping mall. So, although the hotel has 3 on-site restaurants, you could have other meal options at Bintang Megamall. We had bbq.chicken there. I am sure they have similar branches in semenanjung but it was something that we’ve never had before. Father ordered the Jamaican chicken with rice and we sisters had the burger. After lunch, we stayed in our rooms to rest until it was time for dinner.

Bintang Megamall has considerable options of stores to shop in. Initially, I wanted to get my hair done at a salon that said it was Muslim-friendly (on the internet) but when I arrived there, I saw that it was no longer offering said services. This is not the first salon in a shopping mall that does so – in fact, it was something that I observed has been going on in Kuching as well. Although it is the owner’s personal choice to run their business how they wish with a target market in mind – I believe it is also a subtle way for certain businesses to say that they do not intend to serve certain members of the population. Hopefully out of cost-effective issues and not out of prejudice. On second thought, I think the salon at my place in semenanjung is also doing the same. Ha ha ha. Hence, if I want to cut my hair, I could like, these owners would say, find an establishment that could entertain such requests ( yup, I totally understand) or give up my values to receive the services. I thought the haircut could wait.

The room was spacious and it had a bathtub in it. I believe mine was a superior room and I booked one with two single beds inside because my sister and my niece are also staying with me. There was a mini fridge and access to free WIFI. I bought additional bottled water, bread and some cup noodles for breakfast in our room the next day. It took a while to figure out how to switch on the TV as the remote was not functioning. I saw that they have a room service menu which was cool but we did not order any. We also have an iron inside the room which is so convenient.

There was an outdoor swimming pool just a few floors down and I saw that the visitors did not have to adhere to strict swimwear in the pool. I believe that is a plus point for families who come to the hotel. For some women, for example, mothers with a postpartum body, wearing a normal T-shirt with leggings is definitely more comfortable than putting on a swimming suit or a burkini.

The wedding reception was held at a ballroom on Level 7. Nuh Salleh from the indie band, Hujan performed a short song during the event. Singing LIVE is definitely his forte because it just sounded really nice even though it was just him and a guitar. The couple’s dais was very pastel and flowery – I loved it a lot. It was a seated and served wedding – a very Sarawakian way of doing a wedding reception and so you see guests arriving and leaving promptly. The event was done in less than 3 hours. If my other brother, Danial is getting married, we’d do this for him instead of the usual majlis where people come and go as they please within a certain time frame. It’s just tiring to see who is coming and leaving amidst the crowd.

We checked out of the hotel just after 12pm. Then I ordered a MaximCar for our ride to the airport which was roughly 15 to 20 mins away. It cost us RM10. My flight was slightly delayed in leaving to KLIA2 and once I landed, the walk from the god knows which K terminal took ages to arrive to the main arrival hall. I then took the FREE SHUTTLE at the transportation hub of KLIA2 to get to LTCP.

I managed to get a BOOST drink and some onigiri for my refreshments in the car for my drive back home to Melaka. The highway was exceptionally dark probably due to the rain and I think I reached my house just after 2030H that day. Had a quick hot shower and went to bed since I had work the next day.