Finally for once, i splurged a little on a 5 stars hotel. i thot hey! what the heck.....AWS time. so booked the Westin in KL. It was only RM$350++ for weekend rate. thats pretty ok and plus breakfast!! Diana wanted to try that out too....so set.
Took a Transtar normal VIP coach........and reached newer PasarRayat bus terminal in about 5 hours (KL still jam so add 1/2 more)......thot it would be a bit of distance to hotel so got ripped off by their famous taxi drivers....he quote RM$15! i said how can that be when i can the hotel from where i am standing!!?? but he didnt really wanna lower....so sigh ok lah....tired and all ...settled for RM$13. Well, DONT ever take cab next time if stay at BT Bintang....later found out can easily walk if not too much luaggage.
The hotel service was really good and fast ....and as some ang moh tourist commented, the lift also as fast as the service. yup....it just zooms up pretty fast. I requested for a Twin Tower view....and lucky they gave it to me...so yes a pretty night view of one of the world's tallest buildings (now taken over by 101 in Taipei). Room was big and tried the trademark "Heavenly Bed".....its sure luxurious...10 layers of finest cotton, fluff...whatever....so once you plonk on the bed...your body virtually sink in nicely...soft lah.......the toilet also damm spacious.....got magnifying mirror for u to do your "own facial"
the lobby is not exactly very big but they serve drinks and snacks for all guest at nightfall. kinda cool. they also had a reebok gym and a pool but i think with that bed, you just wanna nuah around. also a shuttle bus to KLCC.
concierage told us a great place to eat at the back of the hotel. its called Imbi carpark......found a coffee shop there ....the yong tau hoo and char kway teow very good!!! the tauhoo and all very fresh and smooth...and heard the char kway teow is one of the best in KL! its about $4 rm though, more on the high side for msia....well thats what local said. but its almost perfect and not very oily.
also saw pple eating roast pork......looks very good too. and mind u there were like rich tai tai looking pple in that small dirty looking coffee shop.
at night, some makeshift stores will come in and there is a nice atmosphere. good for late suppers.
second day, tried the Westin breakfast at The Living Room.....wah ! not bad......they serve like all kinds of coffee to your liking....latte, cappucino ....and many varities of tea. also a smoothie bar.
first drink i took a bloody mary with pepper rimmed glass....good wake up call. there were local fare like nasi lemak, noodle soup.....laksa...and also the saguages eggs etc.......also an indian station and japanese style chok and pickles. what was most impressive was the bread and pastry section. One WHOLE room!! they had like a wide ..and i mean wide assortment of quiches, savory bread with toppings, muffins, cakes......handmade pancakes, waffles.....salad selections, fruits and over 5 types of yougurt. just take yr pick man.
bascially i whacked most of the stuff....haha...cuz the day before didnt eat a lot. hee hee.
standard of the food is sort of better than most hotels in Msia....while eating, think i saw Deanna Yusof ....look like her...well....
shopping in KL this time was more memorable than previous trips. maybe its the sales....and i think they getting a bit more updated. Isetan at KLCC had most of the brands found in spore and everything was on sale. service may be slower but they are more patient and polite. its really seldom very crowded in more ''high end'' dept stores in Msia so its a nicer environment to shop. lesportsac was like 20% off......not sure if this is norm in spore?? tempted to just get something but then realise i didnt need a lesportsac. haha. happy that they still have the Sun Molin Cafe there....so sad the one at isetan scotts taken over by TCC! simple setup but so cute la the cakes and teapot. nice for a tea break during shopping.
Sungei Wang Plaza as usual very crowded ..... but managed to get a Vinci bag.....lucky woman before me use hsbc and they gave her 10% off. the funny thing in msia was they dun have signs for credit card promo...so its like happen to use or if the sales staff kind enough to tell u. odd.
Mango was also 50% sale like spore but a lot of designs still available ......maybe its slower turn over there? anyway bought another bag...hehe.....all thanks to my colleague who commented "so long never see u change bag huh....?''...hmmph.....
also went to Sunway Pyramid...its another shopping mall.....taxi ripped us off again...RM40 for one way trip. but seems its the norm...well hotel also say shld be that price! back trip is only RM$20! cuz at Sunway go by some govt coupon system! aiyo.......dun understand the logic here.
sunway is something like genting.....only its not on the hills and no casino. haha.....big shopping mall there too.....but a little run down looking but filled with SO SO many families. met my FC friends there.,...so happy, the nice (unexpected) OB pple arranged for us at VIP seating at Halo Cafe! for the live showcase. felt kinda cool man....cuz we just said "we from spore!" and they usshered us in with a smile like they are so happy we came all the way... ....heheh...Chinese in Msia are definitely more warm than here.......dunno why more re qing. i was thinking if the other way round like Msian fans who came to spore......well....dun think it may be the same treatment? hmmmm.............
luckily managed to find manicure at sunway.....the manicurist was young and wore girlish boyish clothes ala HK style. quite pretty too. service also excellent. she was fast, did mani, pedi for 3 of us in 2 hrs. while i was waiting for 2 of them, she asked if i wanted a free foot soak since i look tired. now thats initiative man! she said eating at sunway is expensive for them....about at least RM$10 a day.....then i ask how she come to work.....quite far....she said drive lor! surprised......their quality of life is not bad. seems everyone drive there. spore quality of life may not be neceassay good cuz we are paying inflated property and car prices......
finally the trip ended with a suprise. actually from the back door of the hotel, we could walk to Pasar Rayat bus terminal.....the hotel staff show us the way. when crossing the small roads, cars actually stopped for us since we got small luggage! now this i have NEVER seen b4 in KL. drivers there so nice. and when we check in with Transtar, they said " we have changed the buses for 7pm ....instead of Executive, you will be upgraded to PREMIUM!"..wowwhee!!! hooray!! now thats a nice way to end the trip! Premium means individual screen and leather seats on double decker coach. i wanted to book this but its very popular so all sold out.
The ride back was very comfortable. besides the screen loaded with movies and variety shows, there was also massaging chair. and also a bus attendent on board to serve dinner, coffee and snacks! the made u feel like a true classy traveller. the bus stewardess announced " welcome to transtar, our journey from KL to Spore will take 5 hrs. ....." heheheh.
i took the first seat on the second deck....had a good view of the roads and highways ...with my MP3 and bus moving along smoothly......the feeling was great.
we reached spore in only 4hrs, as there was only one toilet stop. saved a lot of time . now i guess why pple are willing to pay for more comfort. it makes a big difference.
Over the trip, felt KL is definitely moving and improving in terms of affluence and modernisation. middle income is probably rising and big huge malls and shops are in construction. although they are still behind spore iin many areas but i dont think its difficult to catch up in terms of toursim and lifestyle. anyway they have the resources to catch up if they really put their mind to it.
will our IR work? will we really have a Universal Studio? will spore still be as competitive and virbrant in SEA? well, all to be seen in the next 15 years.
but one thing for sure, we better improve our nightlive!
Took a Transtar normal VIP coach........and reached newer PasarRayat bus terminal in about 5 hours (KL still jam so add 1/2 more)......thot it would be a bit of distance to hotel so got ripped off by their famous taxi drivers....he quote RM$15! i said how can that be when i can the hotel from where i am standing!!?? but he didnt really wanna lower....so sigh ok lah....tired and all ...settled for RM$13. Well, DONT ever take cab next time if stay at BT Bintang....later found out can easily walk if not too much luaggage.
The hotel service was really good and fast ....and as some ang moh tourist commented, the lift also as fast as the service. yup....it just zooms up pretty fast. I requested for a Twin Tower view....and lucky they gave it to me...so yes a pretty night view of one of the world's tallest buildings (now taken over by 101 in Taipei). Room was big and tried the trademark "Heavenly Bed".....its sure luxurious...10 layers of finest cotton, fluff...whatever....so once you plonk on the bed...your body virtually sink in nicely...soft lah.......the toilet also damm spacious.....got magnifying mirror for u to do your "own facial"
the lobby is not exactly very big but they serve drinks and snacks for all guest at nightfall. kinda cool. they also had a reebok gym and a pool but i think with that bed, you just wanna nuah around. also a shuttle bus to KLCC.
concierage told us a great place to eat at the back of the hotel. its called Imbi carpark......found a coffee shop there ....the yong tau hoo and char kway teow very good!!! the tauhoo and all very fresh and smooth...and heard the char kway teow is one of the best in KL! its about $4 rm though, more on the high side for msia....well thats what local said. but its almost perfect and not very oily.
also saw pple eating roast pork......looks very good too. and mind u there were like rich tai tai looking pple in that small dirty looking coffee shop.
at night, some makeshift stores will come in and there is a nice atmosphere. good for late suppers.
second day, tried the Westin breakfast at The Living Room.....wah ! not bad......they serve like all kinds of coffee to your liking....latte, cappucino ....and many varities of tea. also a smoothie bar.
first drink i took a bloody mary with pepper rimmed glass....good wake up call. there were local fare like nasi lemak, noodle soup.....laksa...and also the saguages eggs etc.......also an indian station and japanese style chok and pickles. what was most impressive was the bread and pastry section. One WHOLE room!! they had like a wide ..and i mean wide assortment of quiches, savory bread with toppings, muffins, cakes......handmade pancakes, waffles.....salad selections, fruits and over 5 types of yougurt. just take yr pick man.
bascially i whacked most of the stuff....haha...cuz the day before didnt eat a lot. hee hee.
standard of the food is sort of better than most hotels in Msia....while eating, think i saw Deanna Yusof ....look like her...well....
shopping in KL this time was more memorable than previous trips. maybe its the sales....and i think they getting a bit more updated. Isetan at KLCC had most of the brands found in spore and everything was on sale. service may be slower but they are more patient and polite. its really seldom very crowded in more ''high end'' dept stores in Msia so its a nicer environment to shop. lesportsac was like 20% off......not sure if this is norm in spore?? tempted to just get something but then realise i didnt need a lesportsac. haha. happy that they still have the Sun Molin Cafe there....so sad the one at isetan scotts taken over by TCC! simple setup but so cute la the cakes and teapot. nice for a tea break during shopping.
Sungei Wang Plaza as usual very crowded ..... but managed to get a Vinci bag.....lucky woman before me use hsbc and they gave her 10% off. the funny thing in msia was they dun have signs for credit card promo...so its like happen to use or if the sales staff kind enough to tell u. odd.
Mango was also 50% sale like spore but a lot of designs still available ......maybe its slower turn over there? anyway bought another bag...hehe.....all thanks to my colleague who commented "so long never see u change bag huh....?''...hmmph.....
also went to Sunway Pyramid...its another shopping mall.....taxi ripped us off again...RM40 for one way trip. but seems its the norm...well hotel also say shld be that price! back trip is only RM$20! cuz at Sunway go by some govt coupon system! aiyo.......dun understand the logic here.
sunway is something like genting.....only its not on the hills and no casino. haha.....big shopping mall there too.....but a little run down looking but filled with SO SO many families. met my FC friends there.,...so happy, the nice (unexpected) OB pple arranged for us at VIP seating at Halo Cafe! for the live showcase. felt kinda cool man....cuz we just said "we from spore!" and they usshered us in with a smile like they are so happy we came all the way... ....heheh...Chinese in Msia are definitely more warm than here.......dunno why more re qing. i was thinking if the other way round like Msian fans who came to spore......well....dun think it may be the same treatment? hmmmm.............
luckily managed to find manicure at sunway.....the manicurist was young and wore girlish boyish clothes ala HK style. quite pretty too. service also excellent. she was fast, did mani, pedi for 3 of us in 2 hrs. while i was waiting for 2 of them, she asked if i wanted a free foot soak since i look tired. now thats initiative man! she said eating at sunway is expensive for them....about at least RM$10 a day.....then i ask how she come to work.....quite far....she said drive lor! surprised......their quality of life is not bad. seems everyone drive there. spore quality of life may not be neceassay good cuz we are paying inflated property and car prices......
finally the trip ended with a suprise. actually from the back door of the hotel, we could walk to Pasar Rayat bus terminal.....the hotel staff show us the way. when crossing the small roads, cars actually stopped for us since we got small luggage! now this i have NEVER seen b4 in KL. drivers there so nice. and when we check in with Transtar, they said " we have changed the buses for 7pm ....instead of Executive, you will be upgraded to PREMIUM!"..wowwhee!!! hooray!! now thats a nice way to end the trip! Premium means individual screen and leather seats on double decker coach. i wanted to book this but its very popular so all sold out.
The ride back was very comfortable. besides the screen loaded with movies and variety shows, there was also massaging chair. and also a bus attendent on board to serve dinner, coffee and snacks! the made u feel like a true classy traveller. the bus stewardess announced " welcome to transtar, our journey from KL to Spore will take 5 hrs. ....." heheheh.
i took the first seat on the second deck....had a good view of the roads and highways ...with my MP3 and bus moving along smoothly......the feeling was great.
we reached spore in only 4hrs, as there was only one toilet stop. saved a lot of time . now i guess why pple are willing to pay for more comfort. it makes a big difference.
Over the trip, felt KL is definitely moving and improving in terms of affluence and modernisation. middle income is probably rising and big huge malls and shops are in construction. although they are still behind spore iin many areas but i dont think its difficult to catch up in terms of toursim and lifestyle. anyway they have the resources to catch up if they really put their mind to it.
will our IR work? will we really have a Universal Studio? will spore still be as competitive and virbrant in SEA? well, all to be seen in the next 15 years.
but one thing for sure, we better improve our nightlive!
