Tag Archives: cuti Malaysia

Mudzaffar Hotel, Melaka – now a 3-star hotel?

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I was really looking forward to a posh stay at Mudzaffar Hotel, Ayer Keroh Melaka. The type of stay where I can cuddle in with room service food.

I booked a Deluxe King room for 2 with my daughter including breakfast. I was on leave because I needed to complete my assignments. My daughter has conveniently finished her academic year at kindergarten which means that she is ‘available’ on Friday. We checked in immediately after I fetched her from school on Thursday.

Check-in was a breeze as I had already paid online. I just needed to pay an extra RM2 for tourism tax. Parking was easy and the hotel was within walking distance to various places to eat. There is also a swimming pool at the hotel but we didn’t bring any bathing suits. Simply because our room already has a bathtub. So, my daughter could easily dip in the tub no matter how many times in a day. She brought her toys to play with and she had a great time soaking in it. The interior decor of this hotel is dark. It would probably look majestic at night but we didn’t step out of our room to actually see what the lobby looks like at night.

I wished they had a mini fridge in my room. I missed having my iced beverages. There were small hiccoughs in the room – the lingering pandan scent (reminds me of a ghost), the non-existent feet wiping the bathroom mat, and the blinking aircon panels. Otherwise, most of the services provided are okay. The staff were exceptionally gracious and polite. They do not come across as pompous at all.

For dinner that night, we walked to a place called Ceqlapaq Restaurant and ordered Laksa Sarang. It was delicious and the broth was rich in fish bits. Another plus point is that it is not spicy making it children-friendly. The portion was too huge though, so my daughter couldn’t finish it.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel. Because my daughter wants to do her Number 2, we have to eat very fast. So mengada this daughter. Thankfully, the spread was delicious although most of its options are Malay delicacies. I loved the coffee and the nasi lemak sambal was not spicy.

Overall, the stay wasn’t that bad although I did feel ‘cheated’ that there was no mini fridge in the room. I took it for granted that a hotel of such prestige (I thought this is a 5 star hotel) would not have a problem in providing a little fridge for their guests especially when I had paid RM 247.77/night including taxes, fees and breakfast for two. Turns out other 3-star hotels could do better.

The wedding stay at Meritz Hotel

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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.

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.

Kuching trip in videos.

Posted in Everyday Life by

I love Sarawakian hospitality. They are soft-spoken and there is that tone that I love during their interactions (gosh, it sounds like me.. ha ha). I feel so at home because the sight of short-statured women is so common. I am one of them who stands at less than 150cm.

These are snippets of the mini trip to Kuching. I have blogged about most events in my previous posts.

The Meritin Hotel, Kuching

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

I caught a glimpse of this hotel when I stayed at Lime Tree Hotel last year. I was surprised to see another quaint yet modern-looking hotel in the same area and thought of giving it a go for my current wedding staycation.

I booked the hotel through Agoda.com and chose a Studio room. I wasn’t paying attention to the size of the room, only to find that the size was quite small ( 15m2) even though it was just me occupying the room. It was a 3D2N stay at the hotel and I paid RM348.40 for it including tax. This time, I did not include breakfast in the room because I initially thought I would have time to find breakfast outside. Turns out, I was pressed for time. Anyway, there’s free bottled water, beverages and WIFI in the room. There is also a mini fridge and an iron – only the plug is weird.

I liked that it is near to at least a great coffee shop and I suppose the nightlife is also colourful and awesome as it is walking distance to lots of nice places to eat and The Waterfront. Since I had assignments to complete, I decided to stay cooped up in my room instead of enjoying the lights and pretty views. Plus, I was too full after my dinner at The Reef.

Parking is limited but I didn’t rent a car, so it’s fine. Plus, MAXIM cars are so easily booked here in Kuching. Overall, it was a great and cosy stay. I felt safe amidst the bustling mini Chinatown. Definitely a place I would come back to in the future.