Pusat Sains Negara, located in Malaysia, is a prominent national science centre that is a hub for scientific exploration and education. Spanning across a vast area, it offers visitors a range of interactive exhibits, engaging activities, and immersive displays that showcase various fields of science and technology. Pusat Sains Negara is designed to foster curiosity and promote scientific literacy among people of all ages. With its state-of-the-art facilities, it plays a crucial role in inspiring future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), contributing to Malaysia’s scientific advancement and development.
My early bird.
We went there on Christmas Day as early as 0830am because when we went there the day before – the parking space was already full at 12 noon. The entrance fee is cheap which explains why it is a great place for a family day out. Adult ticket is RM6 whereas children and senior citizen (>55 years old) tickets are RM3.
It is a very interactive place. Hence, I would advise visitors to bring their own hand wipes and sanitisers. Simply because kids touch everything. I tried using one of those step-on sanitisers but they don’t work. The exhibits are cool to look out and there are various games that even adults could try. It is a huge place with plenty of potential.
This is me trying to solve the quiz
As an adult geek, I really loved the exhibits. I wished I could sit and just read it the whole day. We were pressed for time.
There were colouring activities, indoor playgrounds, an Xray demo station and plenty more
We spent at least 2 hours there. We would have spent the time longer if we paused at all the exhibits and absorbed every single piece of information into our minds. Kids got hungry after much activity. Ha ha.
Mini wall for climbing – just the right height for kids.
As parents, we were very grateful for this long weekend. It’s a little breakaway in the two-week school holiday break. I consider this an opportunity to scoop the kids somewhere since we couldn’t really apply for leave during this time. Mr Husband initially wanted to go to Kuantan but with the rainy season – it can be quite a risk to go there as the place could be flooded. Cheras is only 2 hours away and we managed to squeeze in a quick visit to my father’s house at BSP.
PRESCOTT-ACE HOTEL
Mr Husband booked two Standard Twin rooms. So, there’s one for us girls and another one for the boys. This is a 3-star hotel with amenities like FREE WIFI, a mini fridge and a water dispenser in the hallway. Breakfast was included in our room rates and I think my husband paid for less than RM100/night. Of course, The Suite would cost more but even the standard room was comfortable enough.
The hotel is nestled within a very vibrant community with Aeon Mall just 11 minutes walk away. Better still, there is a metro station 2Km away. This makes travelling around KL better.
Check in is at 2pm. So, we had lunch at IOI City Mall first before going there. Parking is easy and there’s just plenty of place to eat around there. One of those places is Soru Station. We also went to Ikea Cheras for our meatballs and photo-taking in the mock rooms. On our final day of checking out, we visited Pusat Sains Negara.
SORU STATION
This is where we had our dinner the same day we checked in. They serve a mix of Malaysian and Western dishes. The meals are decent with appropriate portions and reasonable prices.
IKEA CHERAS
The layout has changed. There used to be long, communal tables lined up next to each other. Perhaps the management team has come to realize that Malaysians don’t share and prefer to hoard the whole table even if it’s just 4 people because the bags need a seat. So there are more 4 seated tables in sight with a few bigger ones for the larger party. We had the usual meatballs and mash. Mr Husband had the nasi lemak. Our drinks were refillable. It’s one of those RM2.50 per glass drink.
After our meal, we walked around Ikea enjoying the aesthetic looks of its showroom. Then, we were done for the day as our daughter needed her nap.
We went to Pusat Sains Negara the next day and that will be in another post.
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.
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.
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.
Minci Moss 