Tag Archives: halal travel

HONG KONG 2025 – The Hotels

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During our holiday, we stayed at two different hotels in two different areas, easily accessible by train. They are the COZi Resort Hotel at Tuen Mun and The Charterhouse, Causeway Bay.

The COZi Resort Hotel, Tuen Mun

This hotel is within walking distance of the train station. We should have taken the train from the airport, but the lady at the airport said that it is quicker to get there by bus. Since we did not have an Octopus card yet, my husband paid for the fare using his Visa card. I honestly love the systematic transportation system. The buses and trains arrive in short intervals, which is a blessing if you rely on public vehicles.

On the bus to Tuen Mun

I did not get to explore the hotel fully, especially its restaurant menu. We did not opt for any breakfast buffet anyway, out of halal concerns. I do know there is an outdoor swimming pool, a children’s playroom and a fitness centre. Mr Husband was able to use the treadmill during our stay there.

By the time we arrived at our room, it was already near 8pm. Our room was a Thailand-themed Family Room, and I think Mr Husband paid for less than RM 300 per night. We booked it for 3D2N. It has 2 comfortable Queen beds, WIFI access, a mini fridge, coffee, tea, towels and a hairdryer. I was a bit surprised to see that no bottled water was provided. There was also no water dispenser outside the room. Turns out the tap water is drinkable, although the quality may be influenced by the plumbing system of the building. I still prefer to boil my water. However, I do miss the readily available cold drinks we get at most hotels in Malaysia.

I began to prepare our dinner. I brought a few ready-made meals to HK. For example, Brahims, Sharifah, KA dendeng, PAMA bihun, Indomie, Prego’s mac and cheese, 3-in-1 instant drinks like Ovaltine and tea. I wish I had brought more instant coffee. We had PAMA glass noodles that night and turned in early. After our 2-night stay there, we moved into another hotel at Causeway Bay, The Charterhouse.

The Charterhouse, Causeway Bay

It took us a few hops to get from Tuen Mun to Causeway Bay. The new area is more lively and busy as compared to our previous location. There are plenty of eateries and shopping malls within walking distance. In fact, the mosque and Islamic centre are just behind our hotel. We tried the food at their canteen on level 5 and it was so delicious. Will elaborate more on the food in a different post.

The hotel reception is a small desk just beside the lift. The employees were standing all the time. Pity them. The Family Room is slightly smaller, and since this is a budget hotel, they do not provide mugs or beverages during our stay. Despite the word ‘budget’, I think the price was still just below RM200/night. My paper cups were put to good use. The pillow was not fluffy. I had to fold it in half. Not only that, I did feel some sort of creepy crawly on my mattress at night. Interestingly, my husband and kids did not feel anything. Anyway, I resorted to sleeping in my telekung to buffer that sensitive, touchy feeling. They did provide a mini fridge, but it was not working. I had to clean out the kettle a few times as I saw black mold sitting at the bottom.

Our sink had a leak. Thankfully, they fixed it quickly. Otherwise, the room is not too bad, as the air conditioning was satisfactorily cold to my liking. They provided basic toiletries like body soap and shampoo. Including a hair dryer, which was a blessing.

Mr Husband loved the gym. He goes there every morning for his walk on the treadmill. Overall, it was a comfortable stay for our 5D4N holiday in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG trip – Air Asia, overnight stay at YouniQ Hotel

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Since I am in government service, I need to submit my application for overseas holidays 1-2 months earlier, including proof of insurance. Initially, we wanted to fly with Cathay Pacific. However, we missed our flight at 8 a.m. I did have a bad feeling about this. After all, early morning flights are never a good idea if you are commuting from Melaka at 430 a.m.


We missed our flight for Cathay Pacific

I was fuming silently when Mr Husband decided to return to Melaka and forfeit the whole trip. I tried to get my leaves signed and the suitcases packed nicely. He cited reasons for wanting to spend the holidays with his mother instead, and that our daughter was just unlucky for not being able to go overseas. The universe must have heard my silent screams, as it turns out that my MIL already has a holiday planned with her eldest son.

Now, if it were me, I’d probably book another flight to at least Langkawi or Kuching the same day. Some sort of trip to soothe the heartache. It did not happen initially. But the final innocent laments of the daughter to say, “What a waste to get all dressed up and not go for a trip!” did the trick. And just like that, another flight was booked using Air Asia to HK the following day.

The blessing in disguise is that, instead of lugging 2 big suitcases in HK, we repacked our luggage and brought only one. We later learned that it was easier to travel in the city that way.

The YouniQ Hotel

We stayed overnight at YouniQ Hotel near KLIA. Pretty comfortable and sufficient for travellers. There is a mamak nearby and plenty of kedai runcit. I believe the room rate is an average of less than RM100 per night, depending on room size. There’s a water dispenser, an iron and a laundry area on every floor. I also saw other budget hotels nearby – Sky Star Hotel, Qlassic Hotel and Sri Langit Hotel.

After a mamak breakfast, we checked out at 8am so that we wouldn’t miss the 1pm flight to HK.

Air Asia Flight

It was a 4-hour flight. Mr Husband ordered in-flight meals that consisted of roasted chicken, biryani, nasi lemak and chicken rice. Unfortunately, the only beverage available is an Americano. Haneem slept throughout the flight.

This time we were early and ready

Hello Hong Kong

The weather in HK is like Malaysia. So is the GMT. Just that the prayer times are similar to Sarawak, an hour earlier compared to Semenanjung Malaysia. Below is our basic itinerary for the week-long trip. Some people love a packed one, but given our budget and family stamina, this is what we came up with.

I will be writing separately on the hotels we stayed at, the food, Disneyland, Ocean Park, Kowloon and Madame Tussauds. So, keep a lookout for the posts for the coming few days. Maybe weeks. I don’t think I could write about it fast enough, considering my work commitments. ha ha.

D Gateway Perdana Hotel

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The plan is to attend my son’s Majlis Anugerah Pelajar at UKM Bangi. Since his event coincides with the ASEAN meeting, I thought I should stay somewhere nearby in case there’s heavy traffic coming my way. After all, I am not familiar with the whereabouts of places in Selangor and W.P. Kuala Lumpur. My husband had an outstation duty, which is why he couldn’t attend the ceremony. My daughter, on the other hand, has school the next day. So I left her in Melaka for a sleepover with her cousin. Thankfully, they are enrolled in the same school.

I brought my mini suitcase with me to work so that I could head straight to the highway after office hours. I chose D Gateway Perdana Hotel because it seemed close to UKM Bangi on the map. It is easy to find once I am off the highway, too. True enough, it was, and the location was superb. Although the layout of the hotel seems odd, there were so many places to eat nearby!

The hotel provides FREE parking. The reception is situated right in the middle of the quiet mall. However, it is very lively outside the mall. It is also particularly close to a shopping area and a park. I was able to do some brisk walking around the area and also on my designated floor, as the rooms were arranged to be in a giant loop. The quiet surroundings can be a bit eerie as a solo female traveler.

My Superior Queen room had an interesting layout. Upon entering, I was faced with a staircase leading up to my bed and bathroom. It was a unique experience for that one-night stay. I paid RM 92.38 for it, including taxes and fees. For dinner, I bought mi kolok from one of the stalls at the market just below the hotel. Then, I bought some bread and additional water for my breakfast in the room. I did get some coffee from Richiamo Mart the next morning, just before I checked out.

Overall, as a budget hotel, it certainly exceeded my expectations. I would love to bring my family for a stay here again as I feel that there are lots of other interesting restaurants and stalls that I haven’t tried yet. It would be a culinary adventure.

I will tell you about the Majlis Anugerah Pelajar in a different post.

GBW Hotel, Johor Bahru

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This is what I said on Google Reviews. Mr Husband booked a room here during the Deepavali holidays. Coincidentally, school is also out so we get to go for a staycation at Johor Bahru.

My daughter was really looking forward to our stay here. She said it’s been a while since we went for a holiday. Although I believe we’ve just had a weekend stay at The Everly Putrajaya a few weeks ago.

Kids waiting at the lobby while Mr Husband checked us in.
Little fashionista going up the lift with her new hat and Anya

The moment I stepped into our Premier Suite, I immediately loved it. It was a lovely room that had a kitchenette equipped with a microwave, a fridge and a kettle, a dining space, a living area and a separate bedroom. There were two writing desks which is great. I could continue doing my assignments in the room and he could do his work in the living area. My daughter enjoyed the bath tub of course and the son just loved being in an air-conditioned room. Staying in a dorm means that he is deprived of life luxuries. This room probably cost us roughly between RM250 – RM270 per night through Agoda.

Free WIFI is available but only 4 gadgets are granted access. There’s an ironing board with iron as well. The pool is on the 7th floor. We wanted to have a look but then we got stuck in the lift. Hence, the mission was aborted.

Breakfast for 2 adults is included in our room rate. So we paid extra for the kids. The breakfast menu was top-notch for a 4-star hotel. As mentioned, I loved their nasi lemak paru. The restaurant is also not overly crowded making it a pleasant experience in the morning. If you prefer having breakfast outside, either order a GRAB and have it sent to the lobby or walk across to the R&F Mall.

During our stay there, we were out and about mostly until after lunch. We would just order our dinner through GRAB but that is when an unfortunate incident happened. Our Kacang Pool and rice meals were stolen by a fellow hotel visitor. The hotel cooperated by giving access to their CCTV. Mr Husband had a good look of the culprit’s face, requested a refund from GRAB and was hoping to confront this guy during breakfast time. We didn’t see him. Most likely he enjoyed our meal as breakfast. HA HA HA.

Since this hotel is near the main road, we could hear motorcars honking almost every 30 mins during rush hour. It’s almost normal to see some shameless car owners cutting the queue. I understand the frustration.

Overall, it was a very comfortable stay. I would definitely repeat a stay here although I’d be more likely be trying out other hotels if we are ever going to JB again. It would be nice though if the big windows were cleaned as the view seems amazing at night. Minus the smudge.

Zoo Johor

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Zoo Johor had a makeover. The first time I went there was when I was heavily pregnant with my daughter in 2017 and the second time around was when she turned 3 years old. Now, the zoo looks more modern although it is way smaller than Zoo Negara and Zoo Melaka. Of course, the fees have gone up but it was still a great place to spend the day out with the kids. Tickets can be bought online or at the premises using the kiosk. The zoo will be closed every Tuesday starting November 1st.

I liked the part where we hovered over the Gladiator-like rings to see the lions, tigers and bears.

Another great feature is that visitors get to snap photos with the birds and snakes (in a glass box) without concerns about paying extra or being in a queue. I would say it is a minimalistic zoo that is equally entertaining. As it doesn’t have the ritual photography sessions at the front gate or the ‘come here buy your fridge magnet‘ salesperson at the zoo exit. It’s just a place where the family could hang out and get excited over the animals at a small cost. I like that. Animals should be accessible to all classes of citizens. Rakyat Johor sangat bertuah.

We spent roughly an hour at the zoo and managed to put in about 5K steps into our daily walk routine. Afterwards, we made a quick stop at Mid Valley South Key Mall for lunch. We had Nandos and even ordered the bottomless drinks and yoghurts. The vanilla yoghurt had a smooth taste and not too sour. My husband loved it. He also shopped for new work bags and a luggage bag for his sister. I didn’t get anything. I am being very mindful of my spending lately because I have a bigger financial goal in a few months to come.

The beautiful posh mall
Thankfully with Deepavali decor instead of Halloween
Our bottomless yoghurt

During this staycation in Johor Bahru, we stayed at The GBW Hotel. I will blog about it in another post.