Tag Archives: cutilogue minci

HONG KONG 2025 – Disneyland

Posted in Good Things, Leisure & Travel, Places to Eat, Reviews by

This is my first time going to Disneyland, including my kids. However, this is the 4th time my husband has been to Disneyland. eyes uprolling in jealousy

After a heavy breakfast in our room, we made our way to the nearest station by 830am. This time we already have our Octopus card, which makes travelling on public transport so easy. Once we had made the necessary station changes, we finally boarded the special Disney train to Disneyland itself.

Mr Husband brought our tickets online. I do not know for sure if he bought it from Klook or something, cause well, I am not the one paying. Mr Husband said we couldn’t bring in any outside food, although I was pretty sure I’d read somewhere that packed snacks are ok. Even then, he and the kids really tried their best to finish our packed biscuits. However, I did keep a few of them and my mini Beryl’s chocolate in the front pocket, hoping that it would not be confiscated at the security. It didn’t, and I get to nibble on them whenever I feel nauseated from the rides.

Tips ;

  • Bring a water bottle, wipes, a hat or a fan – anything that could help protect you from the sun and cool off
  • Wear comfortable shoes and attire – while it may seem cute to put nice princess dresses on your kids, Hong Kong weather is hot! At least bring an extra T-shirt and pants.
  • If necessary, have your anti-nausea meds before you come. I had terrible vertigo on some of the rides. I really needed to close my eyes
  • Plan your rides and shows if you’re kiasu kaw2. We did not plan and missed out on photos with characters, some shows and attractions. Some of them we didn’t go on purpose because the rides seemed scary. Hence, we didn’t go to the Animation Academy, Art of Animation, Barrel of Fun, Fantasy Gardens, Garden of Wonders, HK Disneyland Railroad (closed), Mickey’s Philharmagic, RC Racer, Toy Soldier Parachute Drop, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleigh and maybe a few more.
  • There’s a Quiet Room that Muslims can use to perform solat. Even a wudhuk area is provided. But do bring your own praying attire if you need to use one.
  • Having said that, there is a HALAL restaurant in Disneyland. It is located at Adventureland. We had rice dishes and laksa.
  • Of all the shows, aim to at least watch The Lion King show. To me, that is a must!
The best minifan ever. The centre is so cold, like ice, you can place it on your face and neck for an extra cooling effect. The battery lasts for more than 3 hours with a full charge.
The Quiet Room
The Halal restaurant at Adventureland
The crowd waiting outside The Lion King show
The grand setup of The Lion King show

Here is my take on these attractions.

Ant-Man and The Wasp

Our task was to shoot the enemy using our laser guns and collect points. I sat with my son, and he was doing very well shooting down the wasps. I certainly could do better.

Big Grizzly Mountain

This is easily one of my favourite rollercoaster rides. It has enough thrills that excite you, but is not dangerous at the same time. It reminds me of The Mummy Ride at Universal Studios, Singapore.

Dumbo the Flying Elephant

A benign ride where even a toddler could operate the handles and make Dumbo fly. I think we had like 3 or 4 circles before it stopped.

Fairy Tale Forest

This was surprisingly fun due to its interactive features. It is a forest that tells the story of our favourite Disney princesses. Do take note that there is a wheel just underneath the book that you could turn and make the replicas in front of the book do something. I realised this quite late, and it was just too tiring to go back and turn it for other characters. For example, in the Beauty and the Beast section, you could see them dance once you turn the wheel. It was so magical.

There is also another box at the side that you could interact with.

Frozen Ever After

This is one of those rides where they bring you through the story. Minor fast-paced areas, but nothing too scary. Toddlers would love it.

Hyperspace Mountain

I had bad vertigo in this one. Thus, I am unable to describe how it was, but my daughter loved it. I just know there are lots of movements, and there’s a glow in the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Forgive me.

Iron Man Experience

This is where we assemble in a room, seated on the aircraft and are supposed to just tour Iron Man’s place comfortably. Of course, we were attacked and had to escape. So the ‘aircraft’ was hovering in all directions with our feet dangling from the floor. The visuals and sound effects were great. Not bad.

Iron Man Tech Showcase

We went in for the air conditioning. Basically, it’s like a display of Iron Man’s suits, fighting tech and buildings. Helps to cool off the body a bit after all the heat.

It’s a small world

You sit in a boat and just cruise the canal with the song ‘It’s a Small World’ on repeat until your ears bleed. To make it interesting, find your own country and see how it is depicted. If it is included. It is a good setup for a scary movie, though because there were lots of dolls.

Jungle River Cruise

You could choose to go on the English/non-English tour boat. We went on this twice. I thought that the script would be the same. Turns out our first lady guide, Yama, was much better and more entertaining. Although the animals during the cruise were knowingly fake, we enjoyed it just the same.

Mad Hatter Tea Cups

Another vertigo-inducing ride that kids seem to tolerate better than myself. It’s just a spinning teacup, but I was nauseated.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Similar to Frozen, this ride tells you a story about Winnie the Pooh. It’s just nice to be seated and see the colourful displays and special effects.

Mystic Manor

Honestly, I have no idea Mystic Manor exists in Disney. It was nice, though. During our first time, the ride malfunctioned and all of us were escorted out. However, we were given coupons so that we could bypass the queue later. To which we did when it was up and running again. The story was entertaining and so magical.

Slinky Dog Spin

Pretty much like Dumbo, only this time we are going around in circles on Slinky. I have to say the Toy Story area was really hot as they tried to emulate a Cowboy area in a deserted land. There were hardly any trees, and the area was just brown all over. The toilet was a great place to cool down and relieve ourselves. Some visitors were even sitting at the entrance of the toilet as they couldn’t cope with the heat.

Of course, Disneyland is a great place to go. Apart from the heat. I hope that my blog readers will be able to set foot in it someday. We said goodbye to Disneyland before the fireworks started, as we wanted to avoid the crowd. We had dinner at the hotel with food we tapau nearby.

Hotel Tamara, Melaka

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

As usual, I booked this room through AGODA. COM. The tax rates are palpable nowadays. On top of the room rate, there is an additional 5% service charge, 8% tax (no mention what) and 10% tax (also, no mention what). So my total was RM272.67 per night after a cashback reward of RM22.67. It is carrying itself as a 4-star hotel. We will see how it is for many years to come.

This stay was for our 14th wedding anniversary. Since I was not able to take leave on the 31st due to ‘quota cuti MO per day‘ issues, I thought we’d celebrate it a bit later during dinner. Nowadays, I have decided to take on the ‘NVM, What to do’ approach to all things that do not go my way. I cannot bend the rules, I can only control the way I react to it.

Hotel Tamara just started its services in September 2024. It is hidden in a residential area near Kampung Tujuh. It turns out that it shares the same compound with an apartment complex, Kenanga Residence. I had to go through security as it was a gated residence. Parking was plenty at the hotel grounds. Check-in was a breeze. I did have to pay a deposit of RM50 and a Melaka tourist fee of RM2. There is a FREE WIFI. There is also a mini fridge and a hairdryer in the room. I like that they provide soap too.

The air-conditioner took its time to cool the room. I tried my best to be calm and patient in waiting for the air-conditioner to take its effects. It finally did after an hour. Initially, I wanted to enjoy the Xmas buffet but perhaps due to a less enthusiastic response from the public, it has been suspended. So, I ordered our dinner from Zikgu Burger, had it delivered to our home first and then packed it to bring to the hotel.

I loved the breakfast buffet. Especially, the sambal ikan bilis for the nasi lemak. The selection of pastries and food on the menu is adequate for hotel standards and multicultural Malaysia. Insya-Allah there is something for everybody. The pool is open to the public. I had no idea they had one. I would have brought extra clothes for that. However, there is no staff or lifeguard on duty. Hence, parents with small children need to be careful.

Overall, I enjoyed our little staycation. My husband gifted me perfume and I bought him the Pua Kumbu tumbler from ZUS for our wedding anniversary presents. It has been a year full of kesabaran on my part. I pray that Allah will grant me more patience and resilience as I sail through this marriage.

Serapi Hotel

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

Serapi Hotel is the best choice of hotel (so far) if your travel plans involve a lot of visiting relatives who are staying around Matang or Petra Jaya. That was the uttermost decision-making point that made me choose this hotel as opposed to my usual selections around the Padungan area. This hotel should not be mistaken with another Serapi (Verdure) Hotel at Hospital Umum Sarawak. Our hotel is located near Satok.

Waiting for our rented car
The lobby

I booked 2 Twin Rooms at the hotel for a 5D4N stay. It costs me a total of RM 1526.40. There was free parking space for our rented car (limited), breakfast and WIFI (too slow, we used our own line). I had one room with my daughter and my husband shared another room with my son. I decided to book two separate rooms for comfort because the kids are growing and the bed is too small to fit all of us together.

Check-in was at 2PM. We had a few minor inconveniences upon checking in. My room couldn’t be opened because the battery for the door was out. So, the hotelier gave me another room on the same floor. My husband on the other hand had a non-functioning air conditioner in his room. They had a really warm night and were so hot that they had to open the windows. They were given a new room the next day.

At this hotel, housekeeping is not done daily. You need to put in a request before 4pm. I just wished they would clean the bathroom better. The walls need some scrubbing.

Breakfast was ok. We really loved the chicken and fried dumplings. The selection was acceptable. The coffee was ok. Of course, the coffee I make at home tastes better. The location was great considering the activities we planned. Serapi Hotel is a bit further than town but there are plenty of eateries to go to nearby. Understandably, these places are not open on Raya. So, we really missed out on delicious mi kolok and laksa Sarawak. But I look forward to my visit in September for my cousin’s wedding.

Another area of the lobby
Checking out

Wrapping up my Youtube channel early for 2023

Posted in Hobby/Interest, Leisure & Travel by

We are 2 weeks shy into 2024 but I have decided to upload my last Youtube video for the year. It is about my trip to MIRI for the wedding in early this month. I also added a snippet of my planning for 2024 in my MUJI PLANNER.

Now that my formal exams for psychology are done – I thought I should delve into ideas for my final year project. Once that is sorted, I could carry out the project and just like that, my degree is over. Then, if there is rezeki of time and money, I could apply for the Master’s programme at UKM as a part-time learner.

Here is my final video for 2023. I produced only 14 videos this year instead of over 20 in 2022. Still, I admire my persistence (lol) in keeping up with the video editing despite the time and commitment constraints I had this year. Good job Minci for the little battles you won.

Here it is guys, MIRI in video.

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.