After the stay at Kluang, we made our way to Kota Tinggi. On the way there, we stopped at this place for a quick lunch. The food pricing was cheap and most importantly, the dishes were prepared deliciously. It is like one of those everyday places people go to for lunch and have their nasi campur.
The Lakeview Terrace Resort
This resort is located at quite an isolated area. You will need to drive a bit to find a restaurant. I believe that this place was promising when it initially opened. A resort is supposed to have everything to accommodate your stay. Visitors rarely have to leave the place. I saw a reel on it, recorded a year ago. It surely gives off a different vibe as to how it is now. It did made me question what could possibly went wrong. Later, I found my probable answer.
Mr Husband booked two rooms. Each room has a double bed and a single bed. Our Family Room is roughly about RM 180/night before the tax and fees. Yup, the price has dropped tremendously due to it’s service falling short. The rooms were located in front of it’s main attraction, the swimming pool. My husband enjoyed the gym. He was on the treadmill for at least an hour in the evening while watching over the kids swimming in the pool. I was able to get my 10K steps in as well by walking around the area.
Most of the area has been shut off with tapes surrounding the units. The ones open were situated much closer to the pool and cafe. I thought it was a shame that such a beautiful place is quietly becoming out of business. Until I figured out why. I saw a tiger toy on one of the bins and in front of one of the units, that is probably rented out to long term tenants working at Pengerang. I knew that some people use these toys to deter monkeys. Indeed, I saw the monkeys. But they were further away from where the guest were staying.
I suppose before this, wildlife imposed a threat to visitors. By going into the rooms and going through the trash.
Find the monkey
Breakfast was included in the room rates for 3 pax/each. The options were very sad though. The basic cereal and milk for kids were not even there. Only sausages. I felt sorry for the staff though. It was only one lovely lady who had to manage the front desk and also setting up the breakfast buffet. I hope she is paid well and is allowed her time off if she asks for it.
We had lunch at Dee Pondok Desaru cause it looked pretty from the roadside. This place serves the usual lunch dishes. I ordered nasi penyet with ikan keli. I believe the rest ordered the chicken dishes. It was OK for a family lunch. Most of the time we just lounged around in the room and played in the pool. We checked out after a 2 night stay and went back home to Melaka. The road trip was what I needed after a few hectic weeks at the workplace. I ws ready to return to work after my leave. Looking forward to my next long break in December. Insya-Allah.
My husband brought the kids over to Acheh for the Raya Haji celebration with my dad and his new wife (and kids). Mi amore knew that I was NOT on leave in that particular week due to the usual ‘kuota cuti’. Although my response to his proposal to bring the kids to Acheh was a sing-song ‘you can do that, saya tak cuti‘, the most appropriate response is to CANCEL EVERYTHING. But no, he took it at face value and went ahead on the trip. After more than 10 years of marriage, masih lah tak faham faham. Ha ha.
So, I did the next best thing to console myself. *giving myself a butterfly hug here*. I booked a solo stay at one of the nearest hotels to my workplace. The MITC Hotel. It was only a 15-minute journey to work. I checked in on the evening of EID and just enjoyed the great hospitality. I booked a Superior Double room for a 4D3N stay through Agoda.com. My total was RM 492.94, including taxes and fees. I even have breakfast included. I did have to pay the Melaka Heritage Fee separately at RM3 per night. The fee may vary depending on the hotel’s star rating.
Parking was obviously easy. I can see why some comments on Google reviews mentioned that the room seemed small. It is because the bed is not big, risen and bulky. It looks like our ordinary double bed at home. It feels like a Hobbit home. The pillows were fluffy but a bit odd-sized. It felt like sleeping on the chest of a really muscular bodybuilder. The hotel was pretty generous with its beverages. They provided one cup of instant noodles on arrival. The coffee and tea sachets were replenished daily. The air conditioner was superbly cool. I loved that there was a hair dryer too. There is no fridge in the room, so I basically get my cold water from work and bring it with me to the hotel. I need my cold water.
Do bring your own toothbrush and paste
The location is great. There are plenty of restaurants near the hotel itself. If you are willing to walk a bit further like me, you can go towards the roundabout and find your way to Mydin Mall. Apart from what is in Mydin itself, there are also a few other nice places to eat at Kota Fesyen. I was able to get my steps in daily after work in the evening. Every day, I had dinner outside and would usually come back to the hotel just after Maghrib. I will write about my dinner adventures in a different post.
Breakfast at the hotel starts at 7 am. That means I get a quick 30 minutes at the restaurant before I drive off to work. I only managed to enjoy the buffet at a leisurely pace during my last day there, since it was a Saturday. I have to recommend their Nasi Lemak. The sambal was really good. I put it on top of everything I can, the roti canai, lontong, everything! If they are serving this particular Nasi Lemak as part of lunch, I would actually come here to have lunch. Coffee was OK. It did come from those automatic machines. I also enjoyed their noodles. It was nice. The roti canai and curry were delicious too. Thankfully, the school holiday crowd has yet to arrive during my stay there. Thus, my breakfast was quite peaceful and less hurried. Meaning, I don’t have people staring at my table, wanting to sit there once I get up.
The swimming pool was cute. I think my daughter would have loved it. There was a beautiful courtyard for private events just beside it, too. The overall service and hospitality were great. The staff were so polite. Always with a smile and a tiny nod. The manager even called me a few minutes after checking in, just to make sure that everything was up to my expectations, since I will be staying there for 4 days. No wonder it is a 4-star hotel.
part of the pool
the courtyard
There was no sight of a gym. Even then, as I said earlier, I managed to get my brisk walk in after work by strolling the area. There were so many things to see and try. You will never go hungry because there is a 24-hour McDonald’s restaurant right beside the hotel. I would definitely come here again if I ever need another solo moment because I really felt safe as a female guest.
I had a good year with my blog in 2024. It has yet to reach 1K views per month but I am pleased with the statistics. Of course, big-time bloggers or influencers have way more readers per month. They worked hard to get their numbers by crafting beautiful posts and jumping on trends with their unique online presence. It is something that I plan on learning for this coming year. Writing in better sentences and capturing beautiful photos.
We’ve always known Farm Fresh as a local company that produces milk products. Despite being local, the price tag is astonishingly more expensive than Dutch Lady, the leading brand in Malaysia. Even then, Farm Fresh has a distinctive taste which is delicious, light and seemingly fresh. It is a very nice milk product to add to my coffee and tea to give it a milky taste.
It was only recently that I found out about Bright Cow. I was doing a search on Shopee for ‘fresh milk’ when this brand emerged as one of the options. Based on the reviews I read, consumers seem to love it a lot and the price is a tad lower compared to other milk brands on the platform. Bright Cow has a dairy farm in Linggi, Negeri Sembilan and they have a range of products from milk to yoghurt and kefir.
I thought I’d give it a try and bought 2 sets of white and chocolate milk in a mini pack of 6 from Shopee. My children loved it. The chocolate drink was not excessively sweet and the ‘normal’ milk tasted nice. It is almost like Farm Fresh but at a lower price range. A set of 6 cartons (200ml) only costs RM10.80. That is less than RM2 per box. Turns out, they are also selling at certain retail stores. I am glad my local Family Store has them too. At least I can buy some for my son. He should have more milk than all those sweet boxed drinks the dad packed him earlier.
So a big thank you to Bright Cow for emerging as an option to moms like me. I wish that they would start selling their yoghurt at my usual aisle.
This year alone, I have had at least 2 or 3 significant episodes of horrible mask acne. I thought the problem is solved once I re-embraced my SKII essences. Turns out the acnes are not giving up. Furthermore, they are happily fueled by the fact that I was having stress on top of lacking the proper nutrition and sleep. I realized that the trend of acne eruptions tend to happen near my assignment deadlines.
Encroaching 2022, I feel that I need to elevate my skincare regime. I will after all be turning 40 in a few years time. As of now, I have two different regimes for AM and PM. Skincare goal? To look great like Shakira or Jennifer Lopez for their age. Ahahaha.
The AM Regime
Cleanser
I decided to stick with SKII facial cleanser. If I had to use an alternative, it’ll probably be Natural’s aloe vera cleanser. I don’t get frequent breakouts with these two. Bought this as a combo with the Pitera essence on Lazada at its official store.
Toner
Goodall Vit C toner. It is so refreshing to use this in the morning as I prepare to go to work because of its strong citrus scent. The toner comes in this plastic tub with cotton pads inside. Even the last one is adequately soaked with the ingredient. You can get this between RM50 – RM60 at Shopee mall. The full price is about RM70 for at least 70 pieces.
Essence
This is then followed by a gentle tap on the face with SKII Pitera Essence. It has a fermented smell as you first applied it to the face but it doesn’t linger. I don’t use cotton pads to apply the essence.
Moisturise
I super-love this new product I discovered on Shopee. I like the cooling gel-like texture of the formula. It is supposed to help calm down the active spots and blemishes on the face. Indeed, I feel that my skin’s temperature is a lot cooler after application. In fact, I love this so much that I began to moisturise more frequently than before. It has a cooling effect even though you don’t keep it in the fridge.
Sunscreen
Applying sunscreen is also a new habit I am taking with me to the year 2022. Although I have seen lots of Reels and Youtube videos emphasizing this part of skincare before, the action never sticks. Until I discover this Apieu product. I bought 2 types from this brand. Daily and Pink Tone. I like the daily formula better as it is not sticky. The pink one has a more matte finish to it. I thought I wouldn’t be bothered by that but since I don’t wear much makeup at work, the matte finish does make my face appear a bit white-casted after using it. Hence, I’d only use it when I intend to use makeup afterwards. Or on the weekend t home where it is ok to look weird. Otherwise, I prefer using the ‘daily variant’ sunscreen on my bare face. The scent is nice too – smells trusted but not medicated. Almost similar to Natural’s sunscreen product.
The PM Regime
I tweaked certain steps in the routine using a different product. In the evening/night, I still use the same cleanser and moisturiser.
Toner
I use Wardah Lightening Toner. Wardah is an Indonesian product with good reviews so far. I trust that his brand would know what will work best for South-East Asian skin. I chose this product because it has Niacinamide in it. Niacinamide works synergistically with other skincare ingredients that I incorporated into my routine. I apply the product with a cotton pad and gently wipe it on my face. It is so refreshing to do this PM. After that, I would apply the same moisturiser I use in the morning.
Retinol
This is another new routine to my skincare regime. I am using The Originals 0.5% Retinol in the squalane product. I keep the product in the fridge and the holy advice has always been to apply it at night as it is photosensitive. Retinol helps with skin turnover thus improving acne scarring and hyperpigmentation. When I first started, I only use it twice a week as I fear that my skin would peel terribly or experience purging. My skin responded well and I was able to use it every other day. I am happy to say that my skin texture improved after consistent application for 2 months.
Skin experts recommended that we start using retinol in the late 20s. Not to be mistaken with its stronger cousin, retinoid – retinol are easily available over the counter as any other skincare product. There are concerns about using retinol-based products in pregnancy. I feel this is something that one should discuss with their physician. Those with really sensitive skin are advised to a retinol sandwich where you apply moisturiser-retinol-moisturiser in that fashion.
Extra TLC
Eye mask
I decided to give the eye mask a try and bought this Gold Collagen Eye Patch online. When I first used it, I could feel my under-eyes burning. Weird though because it was cooling (even though I did not put it in the fridge) and yet it stings like hell. I use these masks rarely – once a week.
Eye heat patch
This is a wow product and very easy to use. They practically heat up once you remove them from their packages. You put it on the eyes like a pair of sleep goggles and soon you’d feel this warm, steamy sensation on your eyelids which is so relaxing especially after a tiring day using your electronics. If only they could consider making them recyclable items instead of disposables. I use this every Sunday night as I prepare for work in the new week.
Foot Mask
I saw a few adverts which show how the skin of the foot would peel off after a few days using the masks. Mine however does not have the same effect. But it does moisturise and brighten the foot instantly. My foot was a few shades lighter when I removed the mask – it’s like I am wearing socks!. Callus was easier to remove as I run my foot under the running water. I have yet to have smooth baby feet but with a few more weekly foot mask sessions, it would get better.
Face Sheet Mask
I am currently trying a few brands and there are at least 2 brands that I super-love at the moment. Will elaborate on that much later. Maybe next year? I am also taking a particular supplement to help with my skin. If it works, I will give my review in another blog post. That too will have to wait.
