So our Penang travel plans were scuppered. Thanks to KH's last-minute mega project, we could not go all the way to Penang (it would take too long). So we did the next best thing and headed for the familiar - Melaka.
This trip, we decided to pop in to the Melaka Zoo - something we said we would do for years, and we've been coming to Melaka for more than 10 years now, but just never got round to.
t was a humid and hot Sunday afternoon when we got there. The place was crowded with mostly Malay families.
Entry fee was RM7 for adults and I think half price for kids. Which delighted my stingy-poker of a husband no end since he kept gloating gleefully that this was less than half the price of entry to the Singapore Zoo.
It was hot, I was sleepy and lethargic after a big dim sum brunch and in no mood to tackle the Melaka Zoo. Plus I was wearing my battered look with the left side of my face puffy, red and full of pus.
So I was less than enthusiastic when KH - and the kids - pestered me to go to the Zoo. "After all," he reasoned "we are almost out of places to go in Melaka already!" That man even wanted to try the Ayer Keroh Recreational Park first but I put my foot down. The heat!
Let me say that the Melaka Zoo is sprawling. I did not know this. Had I known just how big the place is, I would have dug my heels in and said no.
We walked. And walked. And walked the whole loop, which I later discovered to be more than 5km in length! In the heat!
The zoo looked familiar - Singapore Zoo in the 70s and 80s! The enclosures were simple, no frills and there was none of the carefully cultivated landscapes you see in the Singapore Zoo but nonetheless, it was very green and leafy. And while I moaned about it initially, the walk was rather pleasant. The Zoo had an impressive range of animals - no lions but lots of tigers! Caught fresh from the neighbourhood maybe?
The highlight were the rides. In Singapore, we stay away from the rides - at a cut-throat price of $5 per head, this can easily add up. When you have five kids and all hankering for rides on an assortment of four-legged critters, the money easily adds up very quickly. This time though, with the elephant ride costing RM2 per head, the kids happily had a gala time.
Unlike the Singapore Zoo, wisely or unwisely depending on your perspective, the elephant ride trail was not bordered by fence or shrubbery so you could literally get really up close to the animal. So we had good shots - even a bonus National Geographic moment as the elephant stopped in mid-walk and emptied the contents of his cavernous bowel and bladder - AT THE SAME TIME. I used to think that only I could do that. With the path now nicely watered with gallons of elephant pee - and I kid you not, it's exactly like turning on a tap full blast, none of the polite tinkle-tinkle thank you! - the big guy hitched up and carried on with his saunter round the track.
Feeling generous with the RM2 per head elephant ride, we gallantly offered the kids what was previously forbidden fruit - the pony rides. But the heat and the suspicion that we had a long way more to walk drove even the kids to forgo the rides and to trudge on.
Passed the antelopes and 23 different types of deer, lazy buffalo, rhino (with a cat - yes, street cat - gingerly staking out a corner of the enclosure!) an assortment of primates, tiny furry mammals with big eyes that all look alike after a while, birds (yes, it was a 2 for 1 deal - bird park + zoo! Which drove stingy poker of a husband into greater ecstasies since he discovered what great value the Melaka zoo was proving to be) , flamingoes, tortoises, comatose crocs and big cats, we finally came to end. Phew! At which time I discovered the gradual burning heat I was experiencing was not because of sunstroke but because I was nursing a fever of 38.7deg!
So now you know. We went so you don't have to. But if you run out of places to go in Melaka, fancy a walk among beasts, don't mind the heat, and like any good kiamsiap Singaporean who loves a good bargain and want to fulfil your deepseated but thus far denied fantasies of multiple animal rides, the Melaka Zoo is really not a bad place to start.
Favourite Malacca food spots
I don't know if I have documented this, but here goes a list of our favourite places to eat in Malacca. Many do not have addresses, so I'll just give directions and landmarks.
Chicken rice balls at Chung Wah coffee shop, corner of Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Jalan Hang Jebat. This is the crowded, a bit grimy coffee shop just after the bridge. Parking lot next to it. Love the softness and flavourful rice balls - a bit on the mashy side but generous with the chicken stock flavour. Not expensive, but its been selling chicken rice balls for decades before the flashy imposters down the street came along. Go early by 11am or go on weekdays or risk standing in line outside under the hot sun. The queue moves pretty fast though but its still easily a half-hour wait for a table.
Our favourite wanton mee at the following:
Hawker centre at Jalan Tun Sri Lanang, less than 100m away from St Peter's Church. Springy noodles and hot chilli in a Cantonese-style light but tasty sauce. Generous helpings for only RM2.50. The hawker centre sells many other delicious food - see below for my favourite cze-cha stall.
Also on Jalan Tun Sri Lanang but slightly further down, before you get to this hawker centre, look for a row of shophouses. Sandwiched in between the shophouses is a hawker cart in front of a single story building that sells only wanton mee or fishball/yong tau foo noodles. The chef is a thin man with a chef hat who works frenetically amid a blur of arm action, stacked up bowls of noodles and steaming vats of soup. The wanton noodles here come in a slick black sauce base. The noodles are slippery and smooth and the chilli is relatively mild but contributes nicely to the overall punch of the whole dish. Accompany with a bowl of fishballs and yong tau foo. The stall only operates from 7.30pm till late. This is usually our first stop in Malacca after a long night drive and even at midnight, the place is buzzing with people patiently waiting for their wanton mee fix. My son thinks an altar should be built here to worship at the best wanton mee stall in Malaysia. (and trust me he's eaten his way through many a wanton mee staff all over the peninsula). Prices start at RM2.50 per plate.
Another great place for wanton mee is the corner coffeeshop at Lorong Bendahara and Jalan Bunga Raya, just next to Renaissance hotel. Open only in the mornings. This is not the usual black sauce Malaysia version, but the pale Cantonese version. They only give black sauce for the non-chilli plates. As with the usual Cantonese versions, the chilli is mild and this comes with shredded chicken. Starts at RM2.50 a plate.
Seafood is good at Restoran Lee (Jalan Bendahara across the road from St Peter's Church. But this place is a bit pricey and service can be slow and distracted if the place is packed. Good crabs though.
Also, I like the milk crabs at Madam Fatso. The milk crabs come in a sweet-savoury milky gravy that has green chilli padi in it for kick. A bit pricey, she used to have a stall at the gluttons corner in front of Mahkota Parade before they kicked all the stall holders out to build the spanking new and totally unnecessary Dataran Pahlawan shopping mall. Yes, just what all World Heritage Cities need - another mall! Madam Fatso was recently re-discovered to have moved to Jalan Melaka Raya 30, right next to a bank of mangroves and water so I suppose extra points given for 'atmosphere'. I don't know if their standards have declined since I last ate, so but they did used to be good, so buyer beware here.
For cze-cha fare (cook-fry outlets where various seafood and meat dishes are ordered with rice and noodles) we enjoy Ji Xiang at Jalan Portugis and Lorong Masjid. Its always packed with local families eating off metal tables and chairs under the night sky. Great frogs' legs, venison, beef cooked with ginger and spring onions. The horfun is smooth with good charred wok hei flavour. Prices are reasonable and we usually spend about RM70 for the whole family (and there are 7 of us).
My favourite cze-cha place though, is the humble tiny stall at the Jalan Tun Sri Lanang hawker centre which also features the good wanton mee stall. This cze-cha stall is run by an Eurasian woman of Indian-Portugeuse descent. She offers razor clams, bamboo clams, and other shellfish, squid and veggie cooked in any way you like. Her razor clams in a simple belachan-sambal sauce is to die for. Paired with a plate of steaming hot white rice, that is pure satisfaction. Simple home-cooked fare but absolutely mouth-wateringly good. A plate of clams with rice is about RM7 I think?
Next door to the cze-cha stall is the steamed soup stall which sells goodness in a porcelain bowl. Piping hot pork innards soup, pig brains soup, and any other piggy permutation you can think of. Further down the same row of stalls is the braised duck stall which also sells a whole ikan tenggiri crispily fried. Mix and match these stalls for a cheap but deliciously satisfying dinner in Malacca. The wanton mee stall I wrote about earlier is also in the same row. The hawker centre is a U-shaped building. These stalls are on the right side of the U, same side as the stall selling bootleg DVDs.
If you're into airconditioned pricey cze-cha, try Bei Zhan Restaurant which has moved to Jalan Syed Abdul Aziz, a new major coastal road. From Mahkota Parade, just take the road with the flyover. Bei Zhan is in a new building at the corner of the road turning off towards Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. A bit pricey and service rushed but food is pretty good.
For Nonya food - Ole Sayang is not bad. Not great and like all good Nonyas, I don't think the food is up to my mother's standards. Decent but a bit pricey. I would go only if I really, really badly wanted to try Nonya food, but otherwise, I think there are much better options around.
Some guidebooks and websites suggest the Portugeuse Settlement for dinner. I would say, treat it like an adventure which you'd do only once. As I did. The row of seafood 'restaurants' is on my hygiene suspect list and with touts pushing for their own restaurants, its really a hit or miss affair. Dining on wooden platforms jutting out to sea with twinkly lights overhead might sound romantic - except that you really have the stench of stale seawater beneath and lots of cans and other debris floating around. Also, I ended up with a very bad case of the runs after one meal there. I don't know if this is a one-off thing but if I do get the craving for clams and ikan bakar, I'd rather head to the Jalan Tun Sri Lanang hawker centre than risk another visit to the Portugeuse Settlement.
Having said that, a visit in the day is nice because I enjoyed walking around the houses in the settlement - like a tiny Catholic village. Another friend who went also enjoyed the visit in the day, when he met with friendly local ladies who kindly spent time chatting and telling him stories and the history of the place. So while I wouldn't eat there, but I wouldn't mind visiting for a different perspective.
Other places we like - prawn noodles done spicy penang style at Jalan Bunga Raya near the Hotel Majestic, dim sum breakfast at the forme Hotel Bentona at Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho, fishball noodles at Jalan Laksamana 5, in the residential area behind Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and mee siam, chendol, taukwa rojak and home-made chicken curry at Donald & Lily's, also behind Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
Finally, if you enjoy cooking mee swa at home, buy hand-made mee swa from Lorong Jambatan, on the fringes of the heritage area. The shop has been making hand-made mee swa for generations. Unlike the factory-made counterparts, the mee swa here is not floury and does not break easily when soft.
Chicken rice balls at Chung Wah coffee shop, corner of Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Jalan Hang Jebat. This is the crowded, a bit grimy coffee shop just after the bridge. Parking lot next to it. Love the softness and flavourful rice balls - a bit on the mashy side but generous with the chicken stock flavour. Not expensive, but its been selling chicken rice balls for decades before the flashy imposters down the street came along. Go early by 11am or go on weekdays or risk standing in line outside under the hot sun. The queue moves pretty fast though but its still easily a half-hour wait for a table.
Our favourite wanton mee at the following:
Hawker centre at Jalan Tun Sri Lanang, less than 100m away from St Peter's Church. Springy noodles and hot chilli in a Cantonese-style light but tasty sauce. Generous helpings for only RM2.50. The hawker centre sells many other delicious food - see below for my favourite cze-cha stall.
Also on Jalan Tun Sri Lanang but slightly further down, before you get to this hawker centre, look for a row of shophouses. Sandwiched in between the shophouses is a hawker cart in front of a single story building that sells only wanton mee or fishball/yong tau foo noodles. The chef is a thin man with a chef hat who works frenetically amid a blur of arm action, stacked up bowls of noodles and steaming vats of soup. The wanton noodles here come in a slick black sauce base. The noodles are slippery and smooth and the chilli is relatively mild but contributes nicely to the overall punch of the whole dish. Accompany with a bowl of fishballs and yong tau foo. The stall only operates from 7.30pm till late. This is usually our first stop in Malacca after a long night drive and even at midnight, the place is buzzing with people patiently waiting for their wanton mee fix. My son thinks an altar should be built here to worship at the best wanton mee stall in Malaysia. (and trust me he's eaten his way through many a wanton mee staff all over the peninsula). Prices start at RM2.50 per plate.
Another great place for wanton mee is the corner coffeeshop at Lorong Bendahara and Jalan Bunga Raya, just next to Renaissance hotel. Open only in the mornings. This is not the usual black sauce Malaysia version, but the pale Cantonese version. They only give black sauce for the non-chilli plates. As with the usual Cantonese versions, the chilli is mild and this comes with shredded chicken. Starts at RM2.50 a plate.
Seafood is good at Restoran Lee (Jalan Bendahara across the road from St Peter's Church. But this place is a bit pricey and service can be slow and distracted if the place is packed. Good crabs though.
Also, I like the milk crabs at Madam Fatso. The milk crabs come in a sweet-savoury milky gravy that has green chilli padi in it for kick. A bit pricey, she used to have a stall at the gluttons corner in front of Mahkota Parade before they kicked all the stall holders out to build the spanking new and totally unnecessary Dataran Pahlawan shopping mall. Yes, just what all World Heritage Cities need - another mall! Madam Fatso was recently re-discovered to have moved to Jalan Melaka Raya 30, right next to a bank of mangroves and water so I suppose extra points given for 'atmosphere'. I don't know if their standards have declined since I last ate, so but they did used to be good, so buyer beware here.
For cze-cha fare (cook-fry outlets where various seafood and meat dishes are ordered with rice and noodles) we enjoy Ji Xiang at Jalan Portugis and Lorong Masjid. Its always packed with local families eating off metal tables and chairs under the night sky. Great frogs' legs, venison, beef cooked with ginger and spring onions. The horfun is smooth with good charred wok hei flavour. Prices are reasonable and we usually spend about RM70 for the whole family (and there are 7 of us).
My favourite cze-cha place though, is the humble tiny stall at the Jalan Tun Sri Lanang hawker centre which also features the good wanton mee stall. This cze-cha stall is run by an Eurasian woman of Indian-Portugeuse descent. She offers razor clams, bamboo clams, and other shellfish, squid and veggie cooked in any way you like. Her razor clams in a simple belachan-sambal sauce is to die for. Paired with a plate of steaming hot white rice, that is pure satisfaction. Simple home-cooked fare but absolutely mouth-wateringly good. A plate of clams with rice is about RM7 I think?
Next door to the cze-cha stall is the steamed soup stall which sells goodness in a porcelain bowl. Piping hot pork innards soup, pig brains soup, and any other piggy permutation you can think of. Further down the same row of stalls is the braised duck stall which also sells a whole ikan tenggiri crispily fried. Mix and match these stalls for a cheap but deliciously satisfying dinner in Malacca. The wanton mee stall I wrote about earlier is also in the same row. The hawker centre is a U-shaped building. These stalls are on the right side of the U, same side as the stall selling bootleg DVDs.
If you're into airconditioned pricey cze-cha, try Bei Zhan Restaurant which has moved to Jalan Syed Abdul Aziz, a new major coastal road. From Mahkota Parade, just take the road with the flyover. Bei Zhan is in a new building at the corner of the road turning off towards Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. A bit pricey and service rushed but food is pretty good.
For Nonya food - Ole Sayang is not bad. Not great and like all good Nonyas, I don't think the food is up to my mother's standards. Decent but a bit pricey. I would go only if I really, really badly wanted to try Nonya food, but otherwise, I think there are much better options around.
Some guidebooks and websites suggest the Portugeuse Settlement for dinner. I would say, treat it like an adventure which you'd do only once. As I did. The row of seafood 'restaurants' is on my hygiene suspect list and with touts pushing for their own restaurants, its really a hit or miss affair. Dining on wooden platforms jutting out to sea with twinkly lights overhead might sound romantic - except that you really have the stench of stale seawater beneath and lots of cans and other debris floating around. Also, I ended up with a very bad case of the runs after one meal there. I don't know if this is a one-off thing but if I do get the craving for clams and ikan bakar, I'd rather head to the Jalan Tun Sri Lanang hawker centre than risk another visit to the Portugeuse Settlement.
Having said that, a visit in the day is nice because I enjoyed walking around the houses in the settlement - like a tiny Catholic village. Another friend who went also enjoyed the visit in the day, when he met with friendly local ladies who kindly spent time chatting and telling him stories and the history of the place. So while I wouldn't eat there, but I wouldn't mind visiting for a different perspective.
Other places we like - prawn noodles done spicy penang style at Jalan Bunga Raya near the Hotel Majestic, dim sum breakfast at the forme Hotel Bentona at Jalan Laksamana Cheng Ho, fishball noodles at Jalan Laksamana 5, in the residential area behind Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and mee siam, chendol, taukwa rojak and home-made chicken curry at Donald & Lily's, also behind Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
Finally, if you enjoy cooking mee swa at home, buy hand-made mee swa from Lorong Jambatan, on the fringes of the heritage area. The shop has been making hand-made mee swa for generations. Unlike the factory-made counterparts, the mee swa here is not floury and does not break easily when soft.
Malaysia - hotel reviews IV
Penang
The Gurney Hotel and Residences
We'd stayed at the Gurney before and liked it there. The two-bedroom suites are generously large in size and came with a jacuzzi tub with a view to die for. Generous windows open up to a view of the waterfront, the mainland in the distance, fishing boats out on the water and lots of blue sky.
This time however, we came without a prior reservation, and found all the two-bedroom suites had been booked out. We took two interconnecting Studio Suites instead. The walk-in rates for the Studio Suite are at RM265 per room per night. But because KH comes to Penang often on business, his company maintains a corporate account at The Gurney so we were able to get lower rates at RM190 per room per night for a Studio Suite.
We were given a high floor on the 18th floor with panoramic views of Penang Hill, a general city view, and of the Gurney stretch of hotels and condominiums, the harbour and a hazy mainland outline. At nights, when the city lights came on, the view looked like pretty twinkling Christmas lights. On our last morning, we even spotted a sea eagle soaring and dipping over the sea and perching on the fringes of the swaying casuarinas below the hotel.
With a King-sized bed in each suite, it was pretty comfortable for us - although a bit of a squeeze for the 4 kids in one bed. Lucky they are mostly small-sized kids!
But what thrilled the kids most was the large jacuzzi tub which had a 'window' into the bedroom. The highlight for them was tub time everynight!
The hotel also had two generous sized pools, one with a slide and the other, an infinity pool. But the drawback was, the water was so cold that the kids barely spent 10min in there before giving up, shivering away. The hotel also offered breakfast with a higher room rate. We chose not to have that - Penang has such a wealth of good food that it seemed a sin to have the standard hotel buffet brekkie.
The location of the hotel is excellent since it is not far from the Ferry Terminal, allowing us to take the coastal road, avoiding traffic congestion in and around Komtar and the centre of Georgetown. Being on Gurney Drive also means easy access to the good food. An excellent small hawker centre about 100m down is well-known for the char koey teow and the roasted chicken wings. Further down the road, within walking distance, is Gurney Plaza where we watch movies and do our shopping. The hotel is also very near the good food places - Pulau Tikus, Jalan Burmah, Lor Selamat, Jalan McAllister, and the Chinese Recreation Club. Also not too far away from Georgetown proper with the sights of the Esplanade, Chinatown, Love Lane etc barely a 10min drive away.
Overall rating: 8 out of 1o. I give it this rating because of the comfy bed, the great views and overall, it is good value for the price we paid! We spent 2 nights here and it seemed better value for money than the upper-crust Parkroyal. The Gurney's location is convenient and excellent. Amid the hustle and bustle of Penang, this allows you to take in the sights easily, look for good food right on the doorstep and still come back to a haven.
The Gurney Hotel and Residences
We'd stayed at the Gurney before and liked it there. The two-bedroom suites are generously large in size and came with a jacuzzi tub with a view to die for. Generous windows open up to a view of the waterfront, the mainland in the distance, fishing boats out on the water and lots of blue sky.
This time however, we came without a prior reservation, and found all the two-bedroom suites had been booked out. We took two interconnecting Studio Suites instead. The walk-in rates for the Studio Suite are at RM265 per room per night. But because KH comes to Penang often on business, his company maintains a corporate account at The Gurney so we were able to get lower rates at RM190 per room per night for a Studio Suite.
We were given a high floor on the 18th floor with panoramic views of Penang Hill, a general city view, and of the Gurney stretch of hotels and condominiums, the harbour and a hazy mainland outline. At nights, when the city lights came on, the view looked like pretty twinkling Christmas lights. On our last morning, we even spotted a sea eagle soaring and dipping over the sea and perching on the fringes of the swaying casuarinas below the hotel.
With a King-sized bed in each suite, it was pretty comfortable for us - although a bit of a squeeze for the 4 kids in one bed. Lucky they are mostly small-sized kids!
But what thrilled the kids most was the large jacuzzi tub which had a 'window' into the bedroom. The highlight for them was tub time everynight!
The hotel also had two generous sized pools, one with a slide and the other, an infinity pool. But the drawback was, the water was so cold that the kids barely spent 10min in there before giving up, shivering away. The hotel also offered breakfast with a higher room rate. We chose not to have that - Penang has such a wealth of good food that it seemed a sin to have the standard hotel buffet brekkie.
The location of the hotel is excellent since it is not far from the Ferry Terminal, allowing us to take the coastal road, avoiding traffic congestion in and around Komtar and the centre of Georgetown. Being on Gurney Drive also means easy access to the good food. An excellent small hawker centre about 100m down is well-known for the char koey teow and the roasted chicken wings. Further down the road, within walking distance, is Gurney Plaza where we watch movies and do our shopping. The hotel is also very near the good food places - Pulau Tikus, Jalan Burmah, Lor Selamat, Jalan McAllister, and the Chinese Recreation Club. Also not too far away from Georgetown proper with the sights of the Esplanade, Chinatown, Love Lane etc barely a 10min drive away.
Overall rating: 8 out of 1o. I give it this rating because of the comfy bed, the great views and overall, it is good value for the price we paid! We spent 2 nights here and it seemed better value for money than the upper-crust Parkroyal. The Gurney's location is convenient and excellent. Amid the hustle and bustle of Penang, this allows you to take in the sights easily, look for good food right on the doorstep and still come back to a haven.
Malaysia - hotel reviews III
Penang
Parkroyal Penang at Batu Ferringhi
We had stayed at the Parkroyal several years ago and had a good time. But because its rates kept going up, we could not stay there everytime we went. This vacation however, I wanted to give the kids a treat, so I booked 2 rooms for a one night stay at the Parkroyal. The hotel had a promotion at RM345nett per room per night which included a free upgrade.
The rooms we were given were on the first floor, facing a tennis court and carpark which made me doubt whether they had actually upgraded us or not, but we gave the hotel the benefit of the doubt. The rooms (we had interconnecting rooms) were generously sized. One room had a King-sized bed with a single bed. The other room had three singles. Despite the fact that we'd been there almost 4 years ago, the decor still remained fresh and up-to-date and the beds, as generous as we remembered.
We had a swim in the lovely pool, tried walking on the beach but were terrorised by the parasailers, jet skis and odd pony. The pool, however, was very nice - a freeform pool prettily landscaped with palm trees and 'islands'. The second pool had a well-utilised slide with a lifeguard watching over the users, and a netted area where ball games could be played. The hotel looked to be quite full and the pools were pretty crowded.
After the swim, we headed out for dinner, remembering that there was an open air food centre down the road. But here's where the comedy began. After walking for about 10, 15min and probably about 1km or so, we still had not come to the hawker centre. The narrow pavements were further occupied by the permanent pasar malam stalls and clogged with pedestrians and hawkers. Not easy walking through that with loud music blaring from speakers, heavy 3-year-old who refused to walk and wanted us to carry, antsy 13-year-old who got distracted at every bootleg dvd stand and straggling smaller kids like Cait and Owain to keep up. We began to wonder if we were mistaken, if the hawker centre had been pulled down etc. So KH decided to walk back to the hotel to get the car. We waited at the side for the next 15min. When he came, we hopped in and drove off, only to find the elusive hawker centre merely about 20m away from where we had waited! So the poor guy had to do a u-turn, drop us off, had a nasty face-off with an older caucasian man who still thought penang belonged to the colonial masters, and then drive back to the hotel and walk up to the hawker centre. I felt so bad that he had to walk that distance 3 times!
Thankfully we were lucky in getting a table, the food was pretty good (or maybe we were hungry!) and all hungry kids gobbled their food in record time!
We made our back to the hotel where another problem awaited. By about 10pm, we realised that the airconditioning in one of the rooms was not working. Called maintenance who came, tried to fix the problem with no success. The guy told us that it can't be fixed, that this was not the first time that room 158 had experienced this problem, that he had told the management this already but looks like nothing was done. So KH called the front desk. Front desk hemmed and hawed. There was no offer to change room. They insisted on sending a maintenance guy. The same guy came back and told us that front desk had told him off for being so honest with us about the inherent aircon flaw. We were pretty pissed to learn about that. Nevertheless, the aircon can't be fixed. So called the front desk again. Then came offer to change ONE room. We said no because we needed interconnecting rooms for the children. Front desk said they were full that night - hemmed and hawed again. After some to-ing and fro-ing, a bit of KH frothing at the mouth, they agreed to change our rooms and said it was an upgrade - magnanimous of them!
So around 10.30pm, all kids in their PJs, we hastily packed up and moved up to the third floor. The rooms were nicer - facing the sea, with a balcony, a bathtub instead of a shower stall, and with more beds. One came with a King and a Queen while the other had two King-sized beds. Plenty of room.
We turned on the aircon and found to our dismay that this was happening again - aircon faulty. KH frowned at the thought of calling the front desk again, so we called maintenance. The guy tried to fix it and this time, it worked. But once the right valves were opened, in wafted this damp, musty smell of long clogged pipes! It was so strong it lasted till morning! But by then, it was past 11pm and we were in no mood to tussle with the front desk or change rooms again, so we made do with the stench.
My woes are not done because at the bedhead of the Kingsized bed I was occupying with Trin, an irritating mozzie was buzzing about. Despite my best attempts, I could not swipe it. In the middle of the night, I could see Trin scratching and tossing restlessly. The next morning, the evidence was there - 8 bites on her face and 5 or 6 on her arms. And because our friend was eczemic, the bites quickly swelled up, turned red and inflammatory.
Breakfast was chaotic and the place was super-packed. Lots of middle-eastern, arab guests. Good spread though with a nice penang char kway teow section, comprehensive selection of freshly squeezed juices, the usual egg station and a good salad section with alfalfa sprouts (usually not included in many spreads). But because the place was so full and so crowded, the staff appeared distracted and were very busy zooming off here and there.
Kids made the most of the pool and went for a post-brekkie swim. When we checked out, I told the receptionist about the mozzies, the stench etc. I even plonked Trin on the counter to show her the bites. She made cooing noises of sympathy but did not apologise, or make any proactive offers.
Overall, I'd say the place is posh, luxely done up, generously sized rooms and the better rooms had nice touches like bathrobes, balconies etc. But they have to do something about the airconditioning and the mozzies. Its only a basic requirement of any hotel, let alone a five-star one like this, to have adequate airconditioning. Its all about maintenance. No point having a swish facade but crap internal systems that fail. The hotel also has to up its service quality. The service here, particularly at the front desk, seems to have overtones of efficient snootiness. Yes, they are polite, but the smiles are perfunctory, the lines are brisk and rehearsed. The service recovery is poor. There was no concern shown, no acknowledgement or apology that the hotel has lapsed in service. Pity, because these little things have a nasty habit of snowballing. In today's internet age, accounts of poor service can spread very quickly. Keep this up and the hotel's reputation will be subtly eroded over time.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 10
P/s: When I came home to Singapore, I wrote to the VP of the parent Parkroyal group, cc'ed to the larger UOL group. Within a day, I had a reply from the General Manager of the Penang Parkroyal. He apologised for the lapses, assured me that follow-up work will be done with the Chief Engineer and the Front Desk, and as a gesture of goodwill, offered me two nights' stay at the hotel. Which I promptly thanked him for, and accepted.
This speedy response gains the hotel brownie points and my overall rating for the hotel is cranked up to 6 out of 10. In my opinion, still not good enough for a 5-star hotel and the prices they command, but let's see how things go with my next stay there in June this year. I will post another review in June and hopefully, my overall rating will go up.
Parkroyal Penang at Batu Ferringhi
We had stayed at the Parkroyal several years ago and had a good time. But because its rates kept going up, we could not stay there everytime we went. This vacation however, I wanted to give the kids a treat, so I booked 2 rooms for a one night stay at the Parkroyal. The hotel had a promotion at RM345nett per room per night which included a free upgrade.
The rooms we were given were on the first floor, facing a tennis court and carpark which made me doubt whether they had actually upgraded us or not, but we gave the hotel the benefit of the doubt. The rooms (we had interconnecting rooms) were generously sized. One room had a King-sized bed with a single bed. The other room had three singles. Despite the fact that we'd been there almost 4 years ago, the decor still remained fresh and up-to-date and the beds, as generous as we remembered.
We had a swim in the lovely pool, tried walking on the beach but were terrorised by the parasailers, jet skis and odd pony. The pool, however, was very nice - a freeform pool prettily landscaped with palm trees and 'islands'. The second pool had a well-utilised slide with a lifeguard watching over the users, and a netted area where ball games could be played. The hotel looked to be quite full and the pools were pretty crowded.
After the swim, we headed out for dinner, remembering that there was an open air food centre down the road. But here's where the comedy began. After walking for about 10, 15min and probably about 1km or so, we still had not come to the hawker centre. The narrow pavements were further occupied by the permanent pasar malam stalls and clogged with pedestrians and hawkers. Not easy walking through that with loud music blaring from speakers, heavy 3-year-old who refused to walk and wanted us to carry, antsy 13-year-old who got distracted at every bootleg dvd stand and straggling smaller kids like Cait and Owain to keep up. We began to wonder if we were mistaken, if the hawker centre had been pulled down etc. So KH decided to walk back to the hotel to get the car. We waited at the side for the next 15min. When he came, we hopped in and drove off, only to find the elusive hawker centre merely about 20m away from where we had waited! So the poor guy had to do a u-turn, drop us off, had a nasty face-off with an older caucasian man who still thought penang belonged to the colonial masters, and then drive back to the hotel and walk up to the hawker centre. I felt so bad that he had to walk that distance 3 times!
Thankfully we were lucky in getting a table, the food was pretty good (or maybe we were hungry!) and all hungry kids gobbled their food in record time!
We made our back to the hotel where another problem awaited. By about 10pm, we realised that the airconditioning in one of the rooms was not working. Called maintenance who came, tried to fix the problem with no success. The guy told us that it can't be fixed, that this was not the first time that room 158 had experienced this problem, that he had told the management this already but looks like nothing was done. So KH called the front desk. Front desk hemmed and hawed. There was no offer to change room. They insisted on sending a maintenance guy. The same guy came back and told us that front desk had told him off for being so honest with us about the inherent aircon flaw. We were pretty pissed to learn about that. Nevertheless, the aircon can't be fixed. So called the front desk again. Then came offer to change ONE room. We said no because we needed interconnecting rooms for the children. Front desk said they were full that night - hemmed and hawed again. After some to-ing and fro-ing, a bit of KH frothing at the mouth, they agreed to change our rooms and said it was an upgrade - magnanimous of them!
So around 10.30pm, all kids in their PJs, we hastily packed up and moved up to the third floor. The rooms were nicer - facing the sea, with a balcony, a bathtub instead of a shower stall, and with more beds. One came with a King and a Queen while the other had two King-sized beds. Plenty of room.
We turned on the aircon and found to our dismay that this was happening again - aircon faulty. KH frowned at the thought of calling the front desk again, so we called maintenance. The guy tried to fix it and this time, it worked. But once the right valves were opened, in wafted this damp, musty smell of long clogged pipes! It was so strong it lasted till morning! But by then, it was past 11pm and we were in no mood to tussle with the front desk or change rooms again, so we made do with the stench.
My woes are not done because at the bedhead of the Kingsized bed I was occupying with Trin, an irritating mozzie was buzzing about. Despite my best attempts, I could not swipe it. In the middle of the night, I could see Trin scratching and tossing restlessly. The next morning, the evidence was there - 8 bites on her face and 5 or 6 on her arms. And because our friend was eczemic, the bites quickly swelled up, turned red and inflammatory.
Breakfast was chaotic and the place was super-packed. Lots of middle-eastern, arab guests. Good spread though with a nice penang char kway teow section, comprehensive selection of freshly squeezed juices, the usual egg station and a good salad section with alfalfa sprouts (usually not included in many spreads). But because the place was so full and so crowded, the staff appeared distracted and were very busy zooming off here and there.
Kids made the most of the pool and went for a post-brekkie swim. When we checked out, I told the receptionist about the mozzies, the stench etc. I even plonked Trin on the counter to show her the bites. She made cooing noises of sympathy but did not apologise, or make any proactive offers.
Overall, I'd say the place is posh, luxely done up, generously sized rooms and the better rooms had nice touches like bathrobes, balconies etc. But they have to do something about the airconditioning and the mozzies. Its only a basic requirement of any hotel, let alone a five-star one like this, to have adequate airconditioning. Its all about maintenance. No point having a swish facade but crap internal systems that fail. The hotel also has to up its service quality. The service here, particularly at the front desk, seems to have overtones of efficient snootiness. Yes, they are polite, but the smiles are perfunctory, the lines are brisk and rehearsed. The service recovery is poor. There was no concern shown, no acknowledgement or apology that the hotel has lapsed in service. Pity, because these little things have a nasty habit of snowballing. In today's internet age, accounts of poor service can spread very quickly. Keep this up and the hotel's reputation will be subtly eroded over time.
Overall rating: 4.5 out of 10
P/s: When I came home to Singapore, I wrote to the VP of the parent Parkroyal group, cc'ed to the larger UOL group. Within a day, I had a reply from the General Manager of the Penang Parkroyal. He apologised for the lapses, assured me that follow-up work will be done with the Chief Engineer and the Front Desk, and as a gesture of goodwill, offered me two nights' stay at the hotel. Which I promptly thanked him for, and accepted.
This speedy response gains the hotel brownie points and my overall rating for the hotel is cranked up to 6 out of 10. In my opinion, still not good enough for a 5-star hotel and the prices they command, but let's see how things go with my next stay there in June this year. I will post another review in June and hopefully, my overall rating will go up.
Malaysia - hotel reviews II
Ipoh and Pangkor
Ritz Garden Hotel
Can't afford the 'Carlton' in the Ritz so we settled for next best - the 'Garden'. Located in the heart of the newer section of Ipoh town at Jalan Yang Kalsom, the Ritz Garden has been our favourite base in Ipoh for some time.
Our first visit to Ipoh saw us staying at the Seri Malaysia chain's Ipoh branch. The condition of the hotel was really bad - damp carpets, bathroom doors suffering from rot, smell of stale durian in the fridge and it had a really spooky air about it. The other places in Ipoh either looked sleazy, were over-priced or inconveniently located. We thought we would actually skip Ipoh as a night-stop until we found the Ritz Garden. Since then, its been our preferred base in Ipoh.
This is a small 2-star hotel with smart and newly refurbished rooms that are clean and comfortable. At RM145 (low floors) or RM165 (higher floor - actually not much of a difference since the hotel only has about 7 floors with the 8th and 9th taken up by penthouse suites) for a Super Deluxe, this was really value for money.
The rooms are compact and come with either king or twin beds. We usually take inter-connecting rooms for our brood. Views from the upper floors show a scene of rooftops from old shophouses, school fields, schools, churches and in the distance, a bluish hazy outline of the limestone outcrops that surround Ipoh.
On our recent visit though, the room we had a pungent smell of hair oil. We asked if something could be done and the housekeeping section sent a guy with a deodoriser which he enthusiastically sprayed and it was only then that we realised that THAT was the smell - help! We had to air out both rooms in the end by opening up the windows. I would like to think this was isolated though, because we've never experienced that during our previous stays. Other than that, the rooms are sparkling clean.
Breakfast spread in the morning was modest and nothing fancy, usually nasi lemak and condiments as a main course, but the staff were helpful and did not bat an eyelid for our requests for 10 half boiled eggs, 7 empty bowls, soya sauce etc. It might not seem like much but we do get disbelieving looks at other places we've stayed at.
Because the hotel is located in the heart of the new town, it provides easy access to good food. Two traffic lights away north on Jalan Yang Kalsom, past the big central police station, turn left and you'll come to the intersection where three famous names for Ipoh hor fun vie for your attention.
Ipoh also has an interesting old town where many pre-war buildings are left pretty much intact, so much so that Lee Ang chose to film Lust Caution here in the old town as old Hong Kong. Here in the heart of the old town, there's an iconic coffee shop that sells slurpily yummy Ipoh hor fun in the day. Cross the Kinta river and you'll come to what I think is the grandest building in Ipoh, the lovely St Michael's Institution with its soaring gables, graceful verandas and large fields. How I wish we had schools like this in Singapore - so much character, history and charm. Across from that is the old padang and with it, the quintessential club that comes with every 'padang' from KL to Singapore. In Ipoh's case, it is the Royal Ipoh Club. Round the corner, the FMS bar still stands. In the old days, planters would congregate here for their stengahs and some camaraderie on weekends. Today, it still functions as a bar and restaurant, albeit a bit faded around the edges and it is believed to be Malaysia's oldest functioning bar!
We also visited the old railway station, now converted to a hotel. While the facade looked like it was recently whitewashed, the interior looks disappointing. The ground floor has been partitioned off into sleazy small 'massage parlours'. Upstairs, a generous veranda fronts the building. The flooring and fixtures still look original, but the rooms are a real gloomy letdown - low ceilings, musty, cramped, dark with only one tiny window opening up to a grim view of half-abandoned corridors in the other wing. The bathroom retains much of the original fixtures, from the porcelain tubs right down to the flooring. I think the place is actually quite charming and its just a real pity that it is not better restored and maintained. Given the history, the architecture and the location, this place could really work as a lovely boutique hotel.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10. Excellent value!
Swiss Garden Golf Resort and Spa, Damai Laut
The last time we went to Pangkor, we could not get any rooms on the island, so we settled for a rundown place in Lumut which gave me a spooky night experience. This time, we thought we'd be better prepared and book a stay at the Swiss Garden. Lumut accomodation, by the way, is generally limited to very run-down places that are not really worth the money or the time. So we thought we'd pay a bit more and stay at a better place.
From the map given by the resort, Lumut looked deceptively near, so we thought it would be no problem commuting to Lumut if we had to. We thought wrong of course. From the turn-off on Route 5, the main road from Ipoh to Lumut, we followed signs to the Swiss Garden. It took us well over half an hour from Route 5 to the resort. So much so that we wondered if we were actually lost, muttering to ourselves, that the resort can't be that far! It took us past industrial plants, river mouths spanned by three bridges, and seemingly, further and further away from Lumut. Finally we drove down a narrow plantation road, flanked by mangroves and a pineapple and dragon fruit plantation before finally seeing the resort gateway. From the gate, it was another five minutes drive to the resort proper - passing the condo, the golf course, assorted bungalows etc. Geez the place is really really remote!
Because its so remote, most guests are really held captive there because it takes too long to go anywhere else. Under these circumstances, it was no surprise that everything cost a bomb in the hotel. The ferry ride to Pangkor was a whopping RM35 per adult, RM23 per kid. In contrast, the ride from Lumut was just RM10 per adult! Initially, our plan was to arrive early, park the bags at the hotel and take the hotel ferry across. Instead, because it was just so exorbitant, we decided to shelve our Pangkor plan for the next day instead and just spend the day at the resort.
So what to do at a resort? The hotel had a 'recreation centre' which claimed to organise treks etc. But when we checked with them, they said "no treks today because this is rainy season and there are leeches" then in the same breath, they added, "but tomorrow morning you can check with us and see, we may still do a small trek if you really want!" Huh? Got leech or no leech? Er, you mean the leeches disappear overnight? Hmm...
The resort had a beach, but the 'sand' was really loads of coral skeletons. The coarse sand was 'white' but dig deeper and you reach darker soil which made me wonder if this was really a natural beach or an artificial one. The water was not family-friendly because about 5 to 10m out, there is a steep drop-off so you'd really have to watch the smaller kids if they get into the water.
What fascinated me was the ikan bilis! Loads of ikan bilis swimming by me (unnerving at first!), and then beaching and killing themselves. The kids had a good time picking up and counting the dead ikan bilis - there were thousands. There were also free kayaks so KH and the older kids went kayaking.
The pool was nice with an infinity element. We had a lovely moment as a family, all 7 of us, swimming to the infinity wall, perching there to admire the pretty sunset over Pangkor island which we could see over the bay.
The hotel seemed quite full. Because we were basically quite stuck there, we had little choice when it came to food. The kids were happy to have pizza and TV in the room. So KH and I went looking for food in the various restaurants. The Chinese steamboat/noodle place was packed to the gills, so we headed for the main coffeehouse. KH wanted just an ala carte dish but they were not serving ala carte. No choice but to take the buffet which was RM40 per person!! The main dishes on the buffet were all hot and chilli-spicy, which posed a problem for Trin.
The room itself was comfortable but worn about the edges but this is a bit more forgiveable than the Zon because this is a resort and there is a more laidback atmosphere. Note though, that it is not as slick as the website or brochures would have you believe. However, the ick factor for me was a pungent stench of urine in the bathroom. The kids denied having any accidents in the bathroom. When I looked closer at the toilet bowl, I realised that there was a layer of yellow pee on the floor behind the toilet bowl - yeech!! I tried hosing down the place with water but no use, the smell remained.
The next day at breakfast, we were given a table in a corner that was seemingly infested with flies. You couldn't eat without waving or flapping something at those annoying bugs. There was also that strong antiseptic smell of Dettol! What is it with me and with smells this trip?? I keep sniffing out these really strong, awful smells and it really bothers me. The 'Dettol' smell was there in the hotel's public loos, and we checked - we were not sitting near a toilet - but the smell was still there. So I don't know, little things like this matter to me. Just gives me the icky feeling and made me doubt that the hotel's cleanliness standards are up to par.
Again, its the little things that count - coffee and tea in the breakfast buffet is neither served by the wait-staff nor are they prepared in glass pots and left on the heater on the counter. Rather, they have a hot-water dispenser and sachets where you DIY. I guess I am being nit-picky about this, but its about presentation I suppose and as with the Zon hotel in KL, the little details that are lacking really show how much heart the management puts into running a resort/hotel - are they genuinely out to provide good service and a memorable stay or do they see it as just a job, out to make a fast buck and then run the place with boredom and indifference? With the Swiss Garden and with the Zon in KL, looks like its the latter.
Overall rating: 4 out of 10. We would not come here again, nor would we recommend our family and friends to this place either. It is too remote, and the remoteness means we are held hostage at the resort to ridiculous prices. The cleanliness is suspect and the food quite blah. At RM230++ per night per room, er, this is not money well spent. If we ever do go to Pangkor again, we will just make it a day trip from Ipoh itself. Our stay at the tiny 2-star Ritz Garden was a lot more comfortable than at this overpriced 5-star resort!
Ritz Garden Hotel
Can't afford the 'Carlton' in the Ritz so we settled for next best - the 'Garden'. Located in the heart of the newer section of Ipoh town at Jalan Yang Kalsom, the Ritz Garden has been our favourite base in Ipoh for some time.
Our first visit to Ipoh saw us staying at the Seri Malaysia chain's Ipoh branch. The condition of the hotel was really bad - damp carpets, bathroom doors suffering from rot, smell of stale durian in the fridge and it had a really spooky air about it. The other places in Ipoh either looked sleazy, were over-priced or inconveniently located. We thought we would actually skip Ipoh as a night-stop until we found the Ritz Garden. Since then, its been our preferred base in Ipoh.
This is a small 2-star hotel with smart and newly refurbished rooms that are clean and comfortable. At RM145 (low floors) or RM165 (higher floor - actually not much of a difference since the hotel only has about 7 floors with the 8th and 9th taken up by penthouse suites) for a Super Deluxe, this was really value for money.
The rooms are compact and come with either king or twin beds. We usually take inter-connecting rooms for our brood. Views from the upper floors show a scene of rooftops from old shophouses, school fields, schools, churches and in the distance, a bluish hazy outline of the limestone outcrops that surround Ipoh.
On our recent visit though, the room we had a pungent smell of hair oil. We asked if something could be done and the housekeeping section sent a guy with a deodoriser which he enthusiastically sprayed and it was only then that we realised that THAT was the smell - help! We had to air out both rooms in the end by opening up the windows. I would like to think this was isolated though, because we've never experienced that during our previous stays. Other than that, the rooms are sparkling clean.
Breakfast spread in the morning was modest and nothing fancy, usually nasi lemak and condiments as a main course, but the staff were helpful and did not bat an eyelid for our requests for 10 half boiled eggs, 7 empty bowls, soya sauce etc. It might not seem like much but we do get disbelieving looks at other places we've stayed at.
Because the hotel is located in the heart of the new town, it provides easy access to good food. Two traffic lights away north on Jalan Yang Kalsom, past the big central police station, turn left and you'll come to the intersection where three famous names for Ipoh hor fun vie for your attention.
Ipoh also has an interesting old town where many pre-war buildings are left pretty much intact, so much so that Lee Ang chose to film Lust Caution here in the old town as old Hong Kong. Here in the heart of the old town, there's an iconic coffee shop that sells slurpily yummy Ipoh hor fun in the day. Cross the Kinta river and you'll come to what I think is the grandest building in Ipoh, the lovely St Michael's Institution with its soaring gables, graceful verandas and large fields. How I wish we had schools like this in Singapore - so much character, history and charm. Across from that is the old padang and with it, the quintessential club that comes with every 'padang' from KL to Singapore. In Ipoh's case, it is the Royal Ipoh Club. Round the corner, the FMS bar still stands. In the old days, planters would congregate here for their stengahs and some camaraderie on weekends. Today, it still functions as a bar and restaurant, albeit a bit faded around the edges and it is believed to be Malaysia's oldest functioning bar!
We also visited the old railway station, now converted to a hotel. While the facade looked like it was recently whitewashed, the interior looks disappointing. The ground floor has been partitioned off into sleazy small 'massage parlours'. Upstairs, a generous veranda fronts the building. The flooring and fixtures still look original, but the rooms are a real gloomy letdown - low ceilings, musty, cramped, dark with only one tiny window opening up to a grim view of half-abandoned corridors in the other wing. The bathroom retains much of the original fixtures, from the porcelain tubs right down to the flooring. I think the place is actually quite charming and its just a real pity that it is not better restored and maintained. Given the history, the architecture and the location, this place could really work as a lovely boutique hotel.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10. Excellent value!
Swiss Garden Golf Resort and Spa, Damai Laut
The last time we went to Pangkor, we could not get any rooms on the island, so we settled for a rundown place in Lumut which gave me a spooky night experience. This time, we thought we'd be better prepared and book a stay at the Swiss Garden. Lumut accomodation, by the way, is generally limited to very run-down places that are not really worth the money or the time. So we thought we'd pay a bit more and stay at a better place.
From the map given by the resort, Lumut looked deceptively near, so we thought it would be no problem commuting to Lumut if we had to. We thought wrong of course. From the turn-off on Route 5, the main road from Ipoh to Lumut, we followed signs to the Swiss Garden. It took us well over half an hour from Route 5 to the resort. So much so that we wondered if we were actually lost, muttering to ourselves, that the resort can't be that far! It took us past industrial plants, river mouths spanned by three bridges, and seemingly, further and further away from Lumut. Finally we drove down a narrow plantation road, flanked by mangroves and a pineapple and dragon fruit plantation before finally seeing the resort gateway. From the gate, it was another five minutes drive to the resort proper - passing the condo, the golf course, assorted bungalows etc. Geez the place is really really remote!
Because its so remote, most guests are really held captive there because it takes too long to go anywhere else. Under these circumstances, it was no surprise that everything cost a bomb in the hotel. The ferry ride to Pangkor was a whopping RM35 per adult, RM23 per kid. In contrast, the ride from Lumut was just RM10 per adult! Initially, our plan was to arrive early, park the bags at the hotel and take the hotel ferry across. Instead, because it was just so exorbitant, we decided to shelve our Pangkor plan for the next day instead and just spend the day at the resort.
So what to do at a resort? The hotel had a 'recreation centre' which claimed to organise treks etc. But when we checked with them, they said "no treks today because this is rainy season and there are leeches" then in the same breath, they added, "but tomorrow morning you can check with us and see, we may still do a small trek if you really want!" Huh? Got leech or no leech? Er, you mean the leeches disappear overnight? Hmm...
The resort had a beach, but the 'sand' was really loads of coral skeletons. The coarse sand was 'white' but dig deeper and you reach darker soil which made me wonder if this was really a natural beach or an artificial one. The water was not family-friendly because about 5 to 10m out, there is a steep drop-off so you'd really have to watch the smaller kids if they get into the water.
What fascinated me was the ikan bilis! Loads of ikan bilis swimming by me (unnerving at first!), and then beaching and killing themselves. The kids had a good time picking up and counting the dead ikan bilis - there were thousands. There were also free kayaks so KH and the older kids went kayaking.
The pool was nice with an infinity element. We had a lovely moment as a family, all 7 of us, swimming to the infinity wall, perching there to admire the pretty sunset over Pangkor island which we could see over the bay.
The hotel seemed quite full. Because we were basically quite stuck there, we had little choice when it came to food. The kids were happy to have pizza and TV in the room. So KH and I went looking for food in the various restaurants. The Chinese steamboat/noodle place was packed to the gills, so we headed for the main coffeehouse. KH wanted just an ala carte dish but they were not serving ala carte. No choice but to take the buffet which was RM40 per person!! The main dishes on the buffet were all hot and chilli-spicy, which posed a problem for Trin.
The room itself was comfortable but worn about the edges but this is a bit more forgiveable than the Zon because this is a resort and there is a more laidback atmosphere. Note though, that it is not as slick as the website or brochures would have you believe. However, the ick factor for me was a pungent stench of urine in the bathroom. The kids denied having any accidents in the bathroom. When I looked closer at the toilet bowl, I realised that there was a layer of yellow pee on the floor behind the toilet bowl - yeech!! I tried hosing down the place with water but no use, the smell remained.
The next day at breakfast, we were given a table in a corner that was seemingly infested with flies. You couldn't eat without waving or flapping something at those annoying bugs. There was also that strong antiseptic smell of Dettol! What is it with me and with smells this trip?? I keep sniffing out these really strong, awful smells and it really bothers me. The 'Dettol' smell was there in the hotel's public loos, and we checked - we were not sitting near a toilet - but the smell was still there. So I don't know, little things like this matter to me. Just gives me the icky feeling and made me doubt that the hotel's cleanliness standards are up to par.
Again, its the little things that count - coffee and tea in the breakfast buffet is neither served by the wait-staff nor are they prepared in glass pots and left on the heater on the counter. Rather, they have a hot-water dispenser and sachets where you DIY. I guess I am being nit-picky about this, but its about presentation I suppose and as with the Zon hotel in KL, the little details that are lacking really show how much heart the management puts into running a resort/hotel - are they genuinely out to provide good service and a memorable stay or do they see it as just a job, out to make a fast buck and then run the place with boredom and indifference? With the Swiss Garden and with the Zon in KL, looks like its the latter.
Overall rating: 4 out of 10. We would not come here again, nor would we recommend our family and friends to this place either. It is too remote, and the remoteness means we are held hostage at the resort to ridiculous prices. The cleanliness is suspect and the food quite blah. At RM230++ per night per room, er, this is not money well spent. If we ever do go to Pangkor again, we will just make it a day trip from Ipoh itself. Our stay at the tiny 2-star Ritz Garden was a lot more comfortable than at this overpriced 5-star resort!
Malaysia - hotel reviews
This trip, we moved around quite a bit and stayed at various places. These are too long for one post, so I am splitting them up according to cities and destinations.
Kuala Lumpur
Royale Bintang at The Curve, Damansara
This is a smallish hotel that caters to people on business and to shoppers. We took a Family Suite at RM483 a night. Space-wise, its a little small for a suite and more like two connecting rooms that came with a seating area. Our balcony looked out onto Ikano Power-station which was right across the road. The Suite came with a King-sized bed and two twin beds, one bathroom which was connected to both rooms. Keeping the children happy was their own flat-screen in one room and another in the master bedroom. Astro had the works - Disney channel, Discovery, HBO, NHK etc. I liked the NHK channel since anything about Japan fascinates me at the moment. Bathroom was a good size with a bathtub and a separate shower stall.
Being a new hotel, it was quite luxe in its fittings, all dark wood and cream. We generally felt really comfortable there. Breakfast the next morning was also decent in terms of the spread.
The location, being right in the heart of shopping heaven in Damansara, was also a joy. We spent time in Ikano Power station (Ikea is ever the draw, even if you're not looking to buy furniture and even though everything pretty much looks the same as in Singapore) and in The Curve. Being just a stone's throw away from the hotel, we caught a movie at the new Cineleisure complex too. Basically if you're looking for nothing more than retail therapy, the Royale Bintang makes a good pit-stop.
Getting to the heart of KL City would be a problem if you did not have a car, or if you had a car but didn't know the confusing curves of the KL highway system. For us, this was not the case since we were happy to stay here just for retail therapy and didn't fancy moving to KL City. Getting in from the NS Highway was easy-peasy - just take the Federal Highway, look out for signs to Damansara and the new toll Sprint Highway. Follow signage to TTDI and you're set. Can be hair-raising if you're trying this for the first time since the turn-offs could be confusing, but with a good map (pick up from most NS Highway rest-stops), an open mind and a willingness or patience to do detours, u-turns and generally getting lost, you'll be fine.
While we had no problem getting there, getting out to get to Ipoh on the northern end of the NS Highway was difficult. Yes, even we, who have been to KL many, many times, still end up getting lost in traffic. We ended up driving for about an hour in the wrong direction, having taken the Damansara Puchong Highway - big mistake. Would be easier to take the Penchala Link to Mont Kiara and then off to Sungei Buloh which would have taken all of 15min tops. So near and yet so far. In the end, we got back on the Federal Highway, took the Sprint Highway and followed signs north to Ipoh.
Overall rating: I'd say 7.5 out of 10 points
The Zon Hotel
Okay, I've got lots to say about this place. And none of it good! We stayed here on the return leg of our trip, coming back from the northern end of Malaysia.
I'd bought a 3D2N package for a two-bedroom suite at a travel fair in Singapore at RM680. I guess warning bells should have rung loudly when a week after my purchase, no one from the hotel had contacted me to confirm my booking. This was in October. It was only in late November, near our departure that I thought I'd better confirm the booking. They promptly replied and confirmed that I had paid 50% and my booking was confirmed.
The night we arrived, we arrived a bit late - around 8pm. The hotel was located quite centrally, on Jalan Ampang, couple of blocks away from KLCC. We had no difficulty finding it, except we took the 'scenic' route in from Jalan Ipoh which left us wondering for a while if we were lost. Spotting the twin towers lighting like a beacon in the night told us we were not, just taking the long way in.
The hotel lobby looked small, but decent enough, chandeliers, marble everywhere etc. But warning bells started to tinkle when we walked towards our room. Wooden panelling looked worn and in the lift, which was small, the wooden panels were chipped, dented and scratched. The lift opened to a teeny lobby. The marble vanished and the ceramic floors began.
The minute we opened the door, the smell hit us. Musty like an old cupboard. My mood became more grim as I walked through the 'suite'. The place looked like it had not been upgraded in at least 15 years. Dated, tired furniture, wooden wardrobe fixtures with broken slats that looked like something from the 80s. Hey, I like retro, but this is not what I expected from a hotel like this in KL. KH, sitting on the tatty fabric armchair, developed a rash very quickly. The beds had no comforters, just thin sheets pulled over a blanket. The TV in the main sitting area had poor reception, fuzzy images, but the one in the bedroom was worse - it was a teensy 14-inch which had clearly seen better days. I don't know when was the last time I had seen one of these tiny TVs in a hotel room.
I was NOT a happy camper. Called the reception and the girl was all flustered, passing the phone to a Mr Shah. I told them what I thought of the room and that this was not value for money. Had I not paid a 50% deposit, we would have just walked out.
To his credit, Mr Shah seemed very helpful. He apologised and offered to show us a better room - a 'show room' as he put it. KH and I walked over to have a look. It was similar to the one we had - largely the same fixtures and furnishing, but it was a tad better. It was late, the kids were hungry and we'd paid the 50%, so we grudgingly took it. The hotel gave us an extra bed gratis. After we had dinner, settled in, I took a shower and before I had even lathered any soap on, the swirl of water at my feet already had soapy residue! Ugh, where did this come from? Had the tub not been washed since the last occupant? Or was the washing incompletely rinsed? Either way, I made short work of the shower and told everyone - showers only and no tub use please.
At breakfast, the spread was good. But the standards of cleanliness left a great deal to be desired. We took two tables which were previously occupied. The waiter proceeded to wipe down the placemats (which incidentally were made of PAPER and not plastic), wipe the table top and then wanted to reuse the paper placemats. Ugh! Even McDonalds' paper tray mats are discarded and here we're talking about a 4 star hotel! I stopped him and said no, thank you, we'd go without the placemats. He didn't look pleased. Then he proceeded to lay the table. One of the table had an unused setting. The waiter took away the unclean, used cutlery, but wanted to re-use the other unused table cutlery for us. Again, I said no, fresh cutlery please and the guy did not look happy. Breakfast the next morning (yes we stayed another night!) was not much better - they wanted to place us right at the back near the bar counter because it was the only large table left. But the area was so dark and dimly lit you could hardly see your food. I had to ask them to join two smaller tables near the front. They did not look pleased. But argh, good grief, where was the proactive service?! This is not rocket science after all.
Am I being very uber-critical? I think this experience has left me thinking hard about service standards. I believe its the little things that count. The maintenance that showed if your panels are well-maintained, not chipped, dented etc, the standards of cleanliness in how you maintain the rooms, right down to setting the tables for your customers, being helpful and proactive in giving your customers what is important to them, not what is easiest to you, the service provider. When the little things are lacking, the client or customer just perceives one thing - that they don't matter.
When it came to checking out, another glitch. This time, they wanted to charge us for the full amount despite us producing receipts and credit card transaction slips that say we paid half. The attitudes at reception were hostile, wary and not very friendly. They finally told us that when we paid half at the fair in Singapore, the card transaction was declined. We did not know it then because they had used the old-fashioned slide and swipe methods to get the card imprint. KH had to call his bank in Singapore to double-check if this was true etc and that no charges were claimed by the hotel earlier. It was inexplicable since the card we used had no other problems getting through at other hotels and other places.
The whole experience left me uneasy and uncomfortable. Why didn't they email us to let us know the card was declined and hence the 50% deposit was not paid? Why did the marketing people who transacted that sale not inform us when I emailed them to confirm my booking? And had we known of this, we would never have stayed even that first night.
What I took away from the Zon Hotel was that this was a fading hotel trying to make a fast buck. Their brochures showed bright, sparkling new rooms. The reality is a far cry. Its sheer misrepresentation. I felt deceived and I said so to Mr Shah the night before. This is a pity because this hotel has a great location. We just had to cross the road to access the KLCC park, Aquaria, and KLCC itself, which was about a 10min walk away. The KL subway was almost right at the doorstep too. So the location is fantastic. Pity the rooms look like a time warped, musty, faded 80s hotel room and the standards - in cleanliness, maintenance etc are really lacking. All they needed was a facelift, a re-training of their staff and they could do really well.
So overall rating for this hotel is: 3.5 out of 10. Any points given is really due more to location of the hotel and to service recovery on the first night when they offered the extra bed. Everything else really went to the dogs.
Kuala Lumpur
Royale Bintang at The Curve, Damansara
This is a smallish hotel that caters to people on business and to shoppers. We took a Family Suite at RM483 a night. Space-wise, its a little small for a suite and more like two connecting rooms that came with a seating area. Our balcony looked out onto Ikano Power-station which was right across the road. The Suite came with a King-sized bed and two twin beds, one bathroom which was connected to both rooms. Keeping the children happy was their own flat-screen in one room and another in the master bedroom. Astro had the works - Disney channel, Discovery, HBO, NHK etc. I liked the NHK channel since anything about Japan fascinates me at the moment. Bathroom was a good size with a bathtub and a separate shower stall.
Being a new hotel, it was quite luxe in its fittings, all dark wood and cream. We generally felt really comfortable there. Breakfast the next morning was also decent in terms of the spread.
The location, being right in the heart of shopping heaven in Damansara, was also a joy. We spent time in Ikano Power station (Ikea is ever the draw, even if you're not looking to buy furniture and even though everything pretty much looks the same as in Singapore) and in The Curve. Being just a stone's throw away from the hotel, we caught a movie at the new Cineleisure complex too. Basically if you're looking for nothing more than retail therapy, the Royale Bintang makes a good pit-stop.
Getting to the heart of KL City would be a problem if you did not have a car, or if you had a car but didn't know the confusing curves of the KL highway system. For us, this was not the case since we were happy to stay here just for retail therapy and didn't fancy moving to KL City. Getting in from the NS Highway was easy-peasy - just take the Federal Highway, look out for signs to Damansara and the new toll Sprint Highway. Follow signage to TTDI and you're set. Can be hair-raising if you're trying this for the first time since the turn-offs could be confusing, but with a good map (pick up from most NS Highway rest-stops), an open mind and a willingness or patience to do detours, u-turns and generally getting lost, you'll be fine.
While we had no problem getting there, getting out to get to Ipoh on the northern end of the NS Highway was difficult. Yes, even we, who have been to KL many, many times, still end up getting lost in traffic. We ended up driving for about an hour in the wrong direction, having taken the Damansara Puchong Highway - big mistake. Would be easier to take the Penchala Link to Mont Kiara and then off to Sungei Buloh which would have taken all of 15min tops. So near and yet so far. In the end, we got back on the Federal Highway, took the Sprint Highway and followed signs north to Ipoh.
Overall rating: I'd say 7.5 out of 10 points
The Zon Hotel
Okay, I've got lots to say about this place. And none of it good! We stayed here on the return leg of our trip, coming back from the northern end of Malaysia.
I'd bought a 3D2N package for a two-bedroom suite at a travel fair in Singapore at RM680. I guess warning bells should have rung loudly when a week after my purchase, no one from the hotel had contacted me to confirm my booking. This was in October. It was only in late November, near our departure that I thought I'd better confirm the booking. They promptly replied and confirmed that I had paid 50% and my booking was confirmed.
The night we arrived, we arrived a bit late - around 8pm. The hotel was located quite centrally, on Jalan Ampang, couple of blocks away from KLCC. We had no difficulty finding it, except we took the 'scenic' route in from Jalan Ipoh which left us wondering for a while if we were lost. Spotting the twin towers lighting like a beacon in the night told us we were not, just taking the long way in.
The hotel lobby looked small, but decent enough, chandeliers, marble everywhere etc. But warning bells started to tinkle when we walked towards our room. Wooden panelling looked worn and in the lift, which was small, the wooden panels were chipped, dented and scratched. The lift opened to a teeny lobby. The marble vanished and the ceramic floors began.
The minute we opened the door, the smell hit us. Musty like an old cupboard. My mood became more grim as I walked through the 'suite'. The place looked like it had not been upgraded in at least 15 years. Dated, tired furniture, wooden wardrobe fixtures with broken slats that looked like something from the 80s. Hey, I like retro, but this is not what I expected from a hotel like this in KL. KH, sitting on the tatty fabric armchair, developed a rash very quickly. The beds had no comforters, just thin sheets pulled over a blanket. The TV in the main sitting area had poor reception, fuzzy images, but the one in the bedroom was worse - it was a teensy 14-inch which had clearly seen better days. I don't know when was the last time I had seen one of these tiny TVs in a hotel room.
I was NOT a happy camper. Called the reception and the girl was all flustered, passing the phone to a Mr Shah. I told them what I thought of the room and that this was not value for money. Had I not paid a 50% deposit, we would have just walked out.
To his credit, Mr Shah seemed very helpful. He apologised and offered to show us a better room - a 'show room' as he put it. KH and I walked over to have a look. It was similar to the one we had - largely the same fixtures and furnishing, but it was a tad better. It was late, the kids were hungry and we'd paid the 50%, so we grudgingly took it. The hotel gave us an extra bed gratis. After we had dinner, settled in, I took a shower and before I had even lathered any soap on, the swirl of water at my feet already had soapy residue! Ugh, where did this come from? Had the tub not been washed since the last occupant? Or was the washing incompletely rinsed? Either way, I made short work of the shower and told everyone - showers only and no tub use please.
At breakfast, the spread was good. But the standards of cleanliness left a great deal to be desired. We took two tables which were previously occupied. The waiter proceeded to wipe down the placemats (which incidentally were made of PAPER and not plastic), wipe the table top and then wanted to reuse the paper placemats. Ugh! Even McDonalds' paper tray mats are discarded and here we're talking about a 4 star hotel! I stopped him and said no, thank you, we'd go without the placemats. He didn't look pleased. Then he proceeded to lay the table. One of the table had an unused setting. The waiter took away the unclean, used cutlery, but wanted to re-use the other unused table cutlery for us. Again, I said no, fresh cutlery please and the guy did not look happy. Breakfast the next morning (yes we stayed another night!) was not much better - they wanted to place us right at the back near the bar counter because it was the only large table left. But the area was so dark and dimly lit you could hardly see your food. I had to ask them to join two smaller tables near the front. They did not look pleased. But argh, good grief, where was the proactive service?! This is not rocket science after all.
Am I being very uber-critical? I think this experience has left me thinking hard about service standards. I believe its the little things that count. The maintenance that showed if your panels are well-maintained, not chipped, dented etc, the standards of cleanliness in how you maintain the rooms, right down to setting the tables for your customers, being helpful and proactive in giving your customers what is important to them, not what is easiest to you, the service provider. When the little things are lacking, the client or customer just perceives one thing - that they don't matter.
When it came to checking out, another glitch. This time, they wanted to charge us for the full amount despite us producing receipts and credit card transaction slips that say we paid half. The attitudes at reception were hostile, wary and not very friendly. They finally told us that when we paid half at the fair in Singapore, the card transaction was declined. We did not know it then because they had used the old-fashioned slide and swipe methods to get the card imprint. KH had to call his bank in Singapore to double-check if this was true etc and that no charges were claimed by the hotel earlier. It was inexplicable since the card we used had no other problems getting through at other hotels and other places.
The whole experience left me uneasy and uncomfortable. Why didn't they email us to let us know the card was declined and hence the 50% deposit was not paid? Why did the marketing people who transacted that sale not inform us when I emailed them to confirm my booking? And had we known of this, we would never have stayed even that first night.
What I took away from the Zon Hotel was that this was a fading hotel trying to make a fast buck. Their brochures showed bright, sparkling new rooms. The reality is a far cry. Its sheer misrepresentation. I felt deceived and I said so to Mr Shah the night before. This is a pity because this hotel has a great location. We just had to cross the road to access the KLCC park, Aquaria, and KLCC itself, which was about a 10min walk away. The KL subway was almost right at the doorstep too. So the location is fantastic. Pity the rooms look like a time warped, musty, faded 80s hotel room and the standards - in cleanliness, maintenance etc are really lacking. All they needed was a facelift, a re-training of their staff and they could do really well.
So overall rating for this hotel is: 3.5 out of 10. Any points given is really due more to location of the hotel and to service recovery on the first night when they offered the extra bed. Everything else really went to the dogs.
The road less travelled is more fun!
What do people get out of travelling?
See the world, meet people, make friends, have good sex, find love, learn something new, buy something you don't need, buy something you DO need. I guess for me, its all of the above. But more importantly its a chance to get out of my own skin, to be in a place which is different, to see, touch, do what I don't usually do or see.
And to do that, I do like either visiting a place that is very different (one day, I will visit Africa!) or peek into a culture that is unfathomable and intriguing (Japan), or travel in a different way (train as opposed to flight).
Fundamentally, it means I can never travel in a herd. I feel extremely chafed and constrained just thinking about it! When I see groups herded by disinterested tour guides, or hear stories about the kings' ransom in tips these tourists have to pay their guides, I shudder. And I wonder if these tourists really get to see the heart of the places they visit?
Case in point - Venice. By day, the place is packed to the gills with pigeons and assorted tour groups. Everyone congregates in St Marks Square. They see the Grand Canal, they see St Mark's Basilica, they see the Doges Palace and maybe they walk a bit and see the Rialto Bridge.
Then they all pile into their tour buses and go home. But what do they miss?
They miss the quiet snaking lanes that lie far from St Marks. They miss walking on the silent bridges that criss cross the city. They miss the stumbling upon an ancient stone church in a tiny piazza where boys play football while black-dressed mamas go and pray. They miss the transformation of St Marks Square into a huge ballroom by night as the orchestras of the famed cafes take turns to play, warm light streaming from the restaurants onto the great dance floor. They miss sitting down and watching the moors strike the clock while nursing a gelato. And gondolas swaying with the tide at night look very different. Venice by night is pure magic. Tourists miss all this. Travellers don't. Travellers who stay on the island, travel by train or car, are free to wander the narrow streets, saunter beneath lines of laundry in places where Venetians live and tourists do not venture.
I've always travelled alone, independently and each time, my experiences tell me this is the right way to travel. From the first time I took a plane on my own to visit my aunt in Melbourne, I was hooked. I was on my own and the exhilaration of being "on my own" was mind-blowing.
In contrast, my uncle once told me that he hates getting lost, hates the hassle of finding his way around, "negotiating with the locals" and grappling with the language, struggling with backpacks and luggage etc. Hence he would just prefer to take a tour or hire a guide, stay in a posh hotel, have his meals catered, travel in airconditioned limousine comfort. His guide brings him to point A and B and so on, and if he didn't like what he saw, he would just tell the guide to bring him somewhere else. No offence, but I think him would get more kicks out of a National Geographic documentary on TV and save his money that way.
This uncle was the same one who gave me a blank look when I enthused about the culture, the dichotomy of the Japanese personality etc as I tried to sell him on travelling in Japan. His eyes glazed over and when I finished, he asked: So, what is there to SEE?
Sigh.
But for me, and I hope, for my kids, I hope that they would love travelling. There are no extremes, but I think if you travel solo, without a group tour, you'd be able to experience so much more. Touring in a herd tends to insulate because one tends to seek comfort in the familiar, in the tried and true, and stick to the group. But travelling on your own brings up a whole lot of new opportunities and experiences.
Yeah its no fun getting lost when you're really lost and its getting dark and you're tired, hungry and cranky. But the experience will be worth it.
For instance, I will never forget travelling in Tasmania, arriving on a cold, rainy night in Hobart with no accomodation, a scenario worthy of great horror stories. KH and I ended up with a flat in the historic district of Battery Point just by knocking on doors. Little did we expect that flat to be seriously haunted! Our stay there was hair-raising but so memorable!
In a similar scenario on the Big Island of Hawaii - cold, wet, misty and drizzly, no prior accomodation bookings and we ended up following a fern-lined road in the mist to a wooden farmhouse which later turned out to be more than 100 years old. We stood at the door knocking, shivering and hoping for accomodation and who should open the door but Santa Claus himself! Or his twin brother! The man was white-bearded, glasses perched on his nose, twinkly blue eyes and he had an Akita dog the size of a small horse. They were such a welcome sight! We got a room in his attic, and the chance to bathe in the first cedarwood tub we ever saw. Again, memorable. But we'd never have known if we never tried, if we'd never travelled independently.
There will be adventures galore like this, and this is all part of the fun, the excitement of travelling. In my life, I hope I will never be a tourist, but always a traveller. I hope my children will be the same. Life can only be richer this way. The road less travelled may seem rougher, with few assurances and less of the creature comforts, but it will almost always be richer in the long run.
See the world, meet people, make friends, have good sex, find love, learn something new, buy something you don't need, buy something you DO need. I guess for me, its all of the above. But more importantly its a chance to get out of my own skin, to be in a place which is different, to see, touch, do what I don't usually do or see.
And to do that, I do like either visiting a place that is very different (one day, I will visit Africa!) or peek into a culture that is unfathomable and intriguing (Japan), or travel in a different way (train as opposed to flight).
Fundamentally, it means I can never travel in a herd. I feel extremely chafed and constrained just thinking about it! When I see groups herded by disinterested tour guides, or hear stories about the kings' ransom in tips these tourists have to pay their guides, I shudder. And I wonder if these tourists really get to see the heart of the places they visit?
Case in point - Venice. By day, the place is packed to the gills with pigeons and assorted tour groups. Everyone congregates in St Marks Square. They see the Grand Canal, they see St Mark's Basilica, they see the Doges Palace and maybe they walk a bit and see the Rialto Bridge.
Then they all pile into their tour buses and go home. But what do they miss?
They miss the quiet snaking lanes that lie far from St Marks. They miss walking on the silent bridges that criss cross the city. They miss the stumbling upon an ancient stone church in a tiny piazza where boys play football while black-dressed mamas go and pray. They miss the transformation of St Marks Square into a huge ballroom by night as the orchestras of the famed cafes take turns to play, warm light streaming from the restaurants onto the great dance floor. They miss sitting down and watching the moors strike the clock while nursing a gelato. And gondolas swaying with the tide at night look very different. Venice by night is pure magic. Tourists miss all this. Travellers don't. Travellers who stay on the island, travel by train or car, are free to wander the narrow streets, saunter beneath lines of laundry in places where Venetians live and tourists do not venture.
I've always travelled alone, independently and each time, my experiences tell me this is the right way to travel. From the first time I took a plane on my own to visit my aunt in Melbourne, I was hooked. I was on my own and the exhilaration of being "on my own" was mind-blowing.
In contrast, my uncle once told me that he hates getting lost, hates the hassle of finding his way around, "negotiating with the locals" and grappling with the language, struggling with backpacks and luggage etc. Hence he would just prefer to take a tour or hire a guide, stay in a posh hotel, have his meals catered, travel in airconditioned limousine comfort. His guide brings him to point A and B and so on, and if he didn't like what he saw, he would just tell the guide to bring him somewhere else. No offence, but I think him would get more kicks out of a National Geographic documentary on TV and save his money that way.
This uncle was the same one who gave me a blank look when I enthused about the culture, the dichotomy of the Japanese personality etc as I tried to sell him on travelling in Japan. His eyes glazed over and when I finished, he asked: So, what is there to SEE?
Sigh.
But for me, and I hope, for my kids, I hope that they would love travelling. There are no extremes, but I think if you travel solo, without a group tour, you'd be able to experience so much more. Touring in a herd tends to insulate because one tends to seek comfort in the familiar, in the tried and true, and stick to the group. But travelling on your own brings up a whole lot of new opportunities and experiences.
Yeah its no fun getting lost when you're really lost and its getting dark and you're tired, hungry and cranky. But the experience will be worth it.
For instance, I will never forget travelling in Tasmania, arriving on a cold, rainy night in Hobart with no accomodation, a scenario worthy of great horror stories. KH and I ended up with a flat in the historic district of Battery Point just by knocking on doors. Little did we expect that flat to be seriously haunted! Our stay there was hair-raising but so memorable!
In a similar scenario on the Big Island of Hawaii - cold, wet, misty and drizzly, no prior accomodation bookings and we ended up following a fern-lined road in the mist to a wooden farmhouse which later turned out to be more than 100 years old. We stood at the door knocking, shivering and hoping for accomodation and who should open the door but Santa Claus himself! Or his twin brother! The man was white-bearded, glasses perched on his nose, twinkly blue eyes and he had an Akita dog the size of a small horse. They were such a welcome sight! We got a room in his attic, and the chance to bathe in the first cedarwood tub we ever saw. Again, memorable. But we'd never have known if we never tried, if we'd never travelled independently.
There will be adventures galore like this, and this is all part of the fun, the excitement of travelling. In my life, I hope I will never be a tourist, but always a traveller. I hope my children will be the same. Life can only be richer this way. The road less travelled may seem rougher, with few assurances and less of the creature comforts, but it will almost always be richer in the long run.
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