Our little family arrived at the hotel near 9pm and the first thing that surprised me was the tribal pattern on the wall near the reception. Another family came through the door, speaking in the Sarawakian language headed to the lift. I was like, “OK… this is an interesting boutique hotel”. Soon after, I caught sight of some keklapis inside the display fridge near the entrance and that kind of triggered me to have a quick swipe on Instagram and find out more about this hotel.
Apart from its very strategic location, it offers various types of rooms suitable for a family staycation and is priced from as low as RM 100/night. Ours is a Family Room with 2 double beds, and a cute living area with a mini fridge and an ironing board. They provide a safe, body soap and shampoo, a hair dryer and complimentary beverages. The hotel also has FREE WIFI but is only accessible via coupons. We received two coupons for our room. I guess it means that only 2 devices can use the WIFI at one time. It has a lounge area too but we didn’t have time to explore much of it as we were chasing time to go Genting.
Breakfast is provided at the Sugar Bun restaurant next door. It is served as an ala carte meal. You have to make your choices the night before and let the receptionist know. It has a very ‘mak-mak’ vibe to it cause it’s like those breakfasts you have at home where you just eat what your mom cooks for you. The coffee and tea are very basic with only sugar to taste. The cakes are nicely lined up on the plate – the usual bahulu and banana cakes that any Malaysian family would eat in the morning. Even the ‘American breakfast’ meal wasn’t American enough. Haha. The breakfast is fulfilling and decent considering the price you pay for your room. So yeah, not too bad. If you want a fancier breakfast – there are always other options available elsewhere. In fact, at night, this area is lit! There are so many things to see and eat.
We parked at a common parking area nearby the hotel as they don’t have this facility. However, you don’t really need a car to enjoy Chow Kit because the LRT is just around the corner and even on foot, there are so many things you could explore. Overall, the stay was pleasant. Would definitely recommend this place to those who are on a budget but still wants to make the best of their stay in Kuala Lumpur.
This place reminds me of Universal Studios Singapore. The layout is elaborate and very magical.
We drove to Genting Highland from our hotel in chow kit, East Riverine Boutique Hotel and parked at the space at Genting Premium Outlet. Bought tickets for the Awana SkyWay at the booth and enjoyed the view from the cable car. The ‘air gondola’ operates from 7am-11pm daily. Oh, please remember to wear a face mask in the cable car – it is compulsory since you are in a closed area with other people. It is still the rainy season at this time of the year and the fog was really thick in the morning even though it was already 10am ish. Our family was a bit underdressed and not prepared for the cold and rain.
Mr Husband bought the tickets from one of the self-service machines. I downloaded the Genting Skyworld App because it is said that you could cut down your waiting times at the rides by making a booking there. You could set it up as a group booking and such. However, since there was not much of a crowd that day I did not use the app. We went there on the Thaipusam long weekend.
Ticket price:
Awana SkyWay – Standard return ticket RM18 x 4 = RMRM72. Only kids less than 90cm get to travel for free.
Genting Skyworld – I supposed it will be cheaper to get the tickets online plus there are various packages for the trip there. Our total was roughly RM620 ish for 4 pax (2 adult + 2 kids).
Genting Skyworld has 9 exciting themed worlds. Each world has its own attractions, entertainment shows, merchandise stores and F&B to enjoy. There are height restrictions for some attractions but my girl who is just above 110cm could get on most rides. It is a very ‘family-gastro and bladder-friendly’ place. Bring a water bottle to fill up at the water stations. We went our way through the theme park using the map provided so we wouldn’t miss anything.
STUDIO PLAZA
This is the main entrance which has a very golden and lavish setup. Since we were there at the opening times, we get to enjoy a mini Las Vegas-ish show for a few minutes before everyone entered the park. They had the best-smelling popcorn.
EPIC
This place is based on the animated movie of Epic.
The one where the girl shrunk and become friends with woodland creatures and then began fighting with evil forces. There are two rides here – Epic voyage to Moonhaven and Epic Hummingbird Flyers. The earlier ride is like those lazy river rides BUT you will get wet as your boat passes through a particular splash. So your options are to go on this last or go ahead with a raincoat/ extra pair of clothing. We barged ahead and got wet.
RIO
Adapted from the Rio animations – this place is super colourful with tropical colours. My brave girl went up the Samba Gliders! They had to take off their slippers cause they were hanging on the gliders but she said she was not scared at all. My son went afterwards, with the dad of course. I was not that keen to go because of the height and because I had to keep my bag in the lockers. It was too much trouble for me.
There was also their version of the teacup – Rio Carnival of Chaos and the very short ride on the merry-go-round. The Blue Sky Carousel was a double-decker, super pretty but only went around about three times! It was that quick.
ICE AGE
We watched an interactive entertainment show here. Kids love it. As an adult, I was like,“cepatlah habis.. tak habis2 nyanyi.. ha ha ha”. My girl was thrilled to know there was (fake) snow there. There were four attractions here but we only went to 2 which are the vertigo-inducing Sid’s Rock ‘N’ Slide and the Mammoth Fun Zone. The Mammoth place is like a playground. We had our lunch here at Buck’s Cafe. It was of course theme park price but thankfully delicious. We ordered two sets of rice meals, an onigiri, a strawberry sando and a few drinks. I just realized that I didn’t take any photos of the food. Probably because we were cold and hungry.
ANDROMEDA BASE
This is where the most adventurous people would enjoy rides that have thrill scores of 1.
We did not go on any rides. I did encourage Mr Husband to go but since we’ve just had lunch, being turned upside down and twirled around vigorously doesn’t sound that good. I personally am not a fan of crazy roller coasters either. We are somewhat of a very introvert couple. LOL. We did get to see the performance by Caucasian space men which was sturdy and acrobatic in nature.
ROBOTS RIVET TOWN
This town is made for little kids. Slow, comfortable, colourful rides – love it. We get to squeeze into one car at the Bigweld’s Zeppelin. The description of the ride in the pamphlet made it sound like we would fly very high. Kids would though!
LIBERTY LANE
The highlight of this place was the 3D hovercraft ride with characters from Planet of the Apes. The entranceway setup reminded me of The Mummy place at USS. It was convincing and in a way as visitors, we were immersed in our character to save the ape leader. Gosh, what was it’s name again?
At first, we thought it would be a mundane visual thing with the 3D glasses but as we got on the hovercraft, it was so real and thrilling. We wanted to get on it the second time after we’ve finished the 1st round of everything but it was temporarily closed – maybe for rest or sanitation.
CENTRAL PARK
‘Night at the Museum’ was also closed when we got there. But we did get on the Independence Day: Defiance spaceship. Our legs were hanging off the spacecraft and we were swooshing in space fighting off imaginary aliens. I would caution those who have epilepsy or vertigo to be careful on this ride because of the flashing lights and fast-motion swings. I was nauseous but I survived the ride uneventfully. Obviously, the seats were manipulated to make us feel that we are in mid-air but it was believable and exciting.
I imagined the place would be very pretty at night with the lights from the fountains. It also has a very spacious, beautifully decorated park.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN
The attraction is not open yet but they have a pretty burger eatery there to try. This place marks the end of the 9 themes and is near the entry/exit door.
Overall, it was a fun experience for me as an adult and of course even more for the kids. I am glad the fog cleared up afterwards so we could take better pictures. That is one thing off my bucket list for places to go in Malaysia. Until next time… taraaa
We had a list of places we’d like to go : Lavendar farm, Flora Park, Butterfly Park and the market. The market is a good place to buy sweet potatoes, jagung susu or jagung mutiara, strawberries, hybrid guava/apple fruit and boxes of local tea and chocolate. However, the rain kind of inhibited some of the mood, dampens the energy, plus the kids prefer food over anything else. Maybe we will go next time when we are on leave during a warmer season. Still, the visit was worthwhile and we did our best in the soaking weather.
KHM STRAWBERRY & JAM
This was an accidental place of interest. We used to enjoy going to AGRO Farm before but somehow we stumbled upon this place. So, we parked by the side of the road not knowing what to expect. It was a fruitful visit. Turns out people flock here for it’s scones and jam. I loved the citrus tea a lot. The kids enjoyed the strawberries dipped in chocolate sauce.
BOH SUNGAI PALAS
Despite opening a new cafe on the lower ground, there still isn’t enough place for everybody. We kind of missed out on having its selection of cakes with tea.
Perhaps I should try going to the other tea brand place, Cameron Valley. It also has a platform to take pictures of the tea plantation just like Sg Palas. Cameron Valley’s tea has flavours of which strawberry taste best.
Anyway, when we arrived at BOH Tea Centre, we endured the climb up to the place and I bought some specialized tea as a momento. I chose the hibiscus tea (spa-infusions) and two other flavours from the Seri Songket series: Green tea & Earl Grey + Tangerine tea.
CAMERON CENTRUM MALL
This was an impromptu destination. I mean, who would want to go to the mall when you have Cameron Highland tourist spots everywhere? But we did just that. We wanted to find lunch and hey hey hey.. the concourse was so lively with so many people and activities. My husband and I tried pani puri for the first time there. We tasted this bread thing from Rollney’s cause it is too much effort to go to Mahkota Parade for that in Melaka. Hahaha.. mengada.
Lunch was nasi campur and gosh it was amusing to see my daughter sitting beside her father, having the same gestures and such. My daughter merajuk for a while when we were there because she wanted those colourful hats that you could squeeze the ears – so Mr Husband bought it for her.
For dinner, we went to this area where there’s a lot of steamboat, shell outs and grills. Google for ‘adik Aisyah steamboat’ for the prime location. We had our steamboat at a different place than Adik Aisyah cause this AA place is so popular and the queue is so long.
Looking forward to more staycations in 2023. Tq Cameron Highlands 🤗
I hate surprises so I made sure to know where our holiday destination is. Mr Husband said we would go to Cameron Highlands during the long Lunar New Year break. The land of tea plantations and strawberries. We were expecting the crowd because CH is always full of tourists but we overlooked the fact that it will be raining a lot there, this time of the year. January, 2023 – raining season.
Hence, it was not only cold but very wet. The high humidity is felt in our rooms and to an extent quite uncomfortable. I under-packed. I should have bought a few more jackets or long sleeves, throws/blankets and a portable dehumidifier.
Mr Husband booked a room at the Heritage Hotel although it went viral in Malaysia some time ago for its supernatural sightings specifically LEVEL 4. It is a 3-star hotel with a nice view, and a strategic location to the nearest bustling, lively area. We were in Room 438. meh. Ours was a Superior Triple Room with 1 Queen Bed + 1 Single Bed & Breakfast/ Free WIFI. Mr Husband said he paid over RM300 for the room. We booked it for 3D2N. It has a shower and bathtub which delighted our daughter very much. The hotel has a very English Tudor design and is situated at Tanah Rata – a place where all the good food is.
We checked in at 3PM at the very red, prosperous lobby. I really love this mini snowing decor. I found it on Shopee. Search for ‘Spot New year’s lights’ – shipped from China. Seller is jkczyy521.my.
The breakfast spread was simple yet fulfilling. I was careful to try and follow my DSSS regime. I do not want to pile on too many kilograms during this trip. The decor at the restaurant was very festive. Then, we had a walk around the hotel and checked out its facilities.
There was a mini library that has lots of Chinese books that I do not know how to read yet, a play area for children and a gymnasium.
At the lower ground, there was a fish pond with a goth-like garden that needs more maintenance to it. There were a few massage chairs available too, a laundry area and basically a lounging space with a fake chimney to just relax. We had a chilling stay but still fun nonetheless. We did not do much in Cameron Highlands due to the heavy rain and I will share it with you in the next post.
The last time we returned to Kuching, Sarawak was before the covid19 pandemic. It used to be an annual trip. I have recorded my anecdotes on those old trips in the travelogue tab.
I submitted my WPUA application for the trip two months in advance as it has to go through the main office. I also booked in the group’s ‘leave diary’ as a heads-up to my colleagues. Once the application had gone through, I submitted my leave to my boss for approval.
It’s been a while using Malaysia Airlines but I am very delighted that all members of my family get a 40kg baggage allowance to and fro. We left Melaka as early as 730am and drove to Salak Tinggi. Again, for the Park and Ride services. The overnight parking rate is RM5. The daytime-only parking rate is RM3 (certain hours apply). There, we took the KLIA transit train to KLIA. I checked in online the night before. Therefore, I only had to print out our baggage tags at the airport and drop them off. Even then, there was still a queue we had to follow.
My plane was the one with inflight entertainment on board. The kids really loved their headsets and they were excited to choose their own movie. The meal was weird though. It was a choice between chicken gochujang and fish sweet sour. I chose the fish because I was not familiar with the gochujang dish. I did not want to end up finishing my kids’ meals if they do not like them. The options were better on our way back as they had garlic fish and chicken rendang. The flight was about 1h 40 mins from KLIA to Kuching.
We rented a Bezza upon arrival at the airport. It was a pre-arranged thing and the car was new. Husband knew the way around Kuching because well… he used to work here. So, driving around isn’t really a problem for us.
As for accommodation, this year we stayed at Lime Tree Hotel (again) and that is another entry.
Minci Moss 