Tag Archives: solo trip

D Gateway Perdana Hotel

Posted in Everyday Life, Reviews by

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.

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.

Reducing travel anxiety

Posted in Everyday Life, Good Things by

It used to be a time when if say, I had a weekend course in certain parts of the country, my family could follow suit and enjoy their leisure time in the hotel. However, things have changed. Ever since the kids have grown up and the husband has been a certified specialist in Public Health – they have other commitments that demand their time. Similarly, some matters beg my attention too. Therefore, I have to accustom myself to the idea that I would have to attend certain courses, or even family events on my side, alone.

Despite being a fearless person, there is still an ounce of anxiety whenever I have to go to new places alone. It is crucial to me that whatever I get myself into – I should return from it safe and sound. Hence, some form of planning is important to ensure that all contingency measures are in place to enhance that.

  • fill up the fuel tank to the maximum to avoid making stops at the petrol station unnecessarily. It is common to see how ladies are robbed during moments when they are focused into filling up the car fuel tank
  • top up my touch and Go. Not all highways accept debit cards for now. But most shopping malls use T&Go, so there is no harm in depositing some money in there
  • pump the tyres – I would be so panicked if something happened to me on the road
  • identify Safe Stops at the destination area and the roads that go towards it. On the highway, we know the PLUS Patrol is available but once you enter a new city, it is good to find out where are the nearest masjid, gated residence, shopping mall, any public building or better, police station is in case you need to make a run. Gated residence being my choice as well since they have security guards.
  • do not wear heels
  • wear pants
  • have a water bottle on standby
  • carry light and always the key in your hand – for faster access inside the hotel room or homestay
  • stay calm and collected – I had a spider in my car the other day, I was able to NOT SCREAM and be frantic. I did pray that it’ll go away quick.
  • inform a family member of your whereabouts and turn on ‘device location’ intermittently to allow tracking of some sort. announce it to only trusted people of course.
  • meaning do not share LIVE updates on social media. Which is why my activities are usually up the following week or once I have returned from a place a few hours later. Digital predators are everywhere and they come in all types and harmful intentions. They are either interested in your money, your body or your life in general. The scammers, the se-xers and the imposters.

I am sure there are various other measures one can look into.

Be independent, travel if you like.. but be safe at all times.

I GO Hotel

Posted in Leisure & Travel, Reviews by

I was on a weekend trip to see my dad. My ulterior motive was to declutter his house of my late mom’s belongings. Mother was a fashionista confined by her duties in the household. Despite not earning a fixed income, she has a beautiful collection of jubah, blouses and baju kurung. On second thought, she does have an income. A monthly ‘Kasih sayang income’ from her two daughters with varied amounts. It was pretty disheartening having to pack it up and give it away. However, considering that her fashion is very Hetty Koes Endang and Warga Emas, we should give it to those in the same age group.

My sister and I did pick and chose some clothes that we liked. I gave more to my sister because she would find them more useful since she has a job teaching. I am less fashionable and tend to stick with attire in my comfort zone.

I booked a hotel during my stay at Bandar Saujana Putra. There were a few budget hotels to choose from and I picked I Go Hotel. The location is very strategic at BSP 1 with loads of places to eat. This could be influenced by the fact that it is near MAHSA University which is where the students are.

I made my reservation through Agoda.Com, my trusted app to make any staycation possible.

My Double bedroom was priced at less than RM80/night. The room had a simple setup which was enough for a comfortable stay. The air conditioning was good. The toilet was super clean with its soap provided. There were simple beverages for free and a water dispenser at the lobby. To me, that is good enough for a budget hotel. They even provided guests with a mini flask in case we wanted hot water in our room at night. That was super thoughtful.

After a good night sleep, I woke up and showered. Did my checkout early and had breakfast at the mamak. Then, I surveyed the area for other hotel options for the Kuching delegates for my brother’s wedding in July. I completed my cleanup for the day till evening. I had to stop after I sneezed too much. The dust was getting to me, my eyes were teary and despite putting on a face mask, I just couldn’t go forth with it.

I will be coming back soon to BSP to continue the ‘death cleaning’ – perhaps in another 2 weeks or so.