Penang Map

Useful links - Penang Tourism

Map of Malaysia

Langkawi Map

Useful Links - Langkawi information and travel guide, ABC Langkawi, Meritus Pelangi

Malacca City Map

Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur Food Street

Kuala Lumpur (KL) is all about eating and the best place to try local food is along Jalan Alor. It is formerly the red light district of KL but the area has since undergone a number of facelifts and the hosts now cater more to delight the gastronomical passions of its patrons.

Just a short walk away from the shopper’s paradise of Bukit Bintang Walk, the road looks desolate during the day but when night falls, the place comes alive with many food stalls lining up along the street. Unlike Jonker Walk in Malacca where roads will be closed to traffic from 7pm, the road here remains open so you have to take extra care when navigating it.

I absolutely love the durians here as they are luscious and lip smackingly good! Just thinking about it makes me salivate!

Kuala Lumpur Metro Map

You can also download here and here.
Useful links - KL mass transit

Petronas Twin Towers

Located at Suria KLCC, the Petronas Twin Towers (Malay: Menara Berkembar Petronas) (also known as the Petronas Towers or just Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004, when their height was surpassed by Taipei 101. The towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world.

Type : Office
Location : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Owner : KLCC
Started : 1992
Completed : 1998
Height : 451.9 metres (1482.6 feet)
Floor count : 88
Cost : $ 1.6 billion
Architect : César Pelli
Structural engineer : Thornton Tomasetti

Suria KLCC is an upmarket retail podium measuring 1.5 million sq. feet located at the feet of the Petronas Twin Towers. It features mostly foreign luxury goods and high-street labels. Its attractions include an art gallery, a philharmonic theater, an underwater aquarium and also a Science centre.


Interesting to know - The Petronas Towers were a setting for some scenes in the 1999 film Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It ends in a dramatic pursuit of the two stars by the Pasukan Gerakan Khas, eventually leading to Connery's capture and Zeta-Jones's escape.


location map

See comparison with other skyscrapers

Useful links - Petronas official website

Park Royal Kuala Lumpur

This was our 2nd stay at the hotel within a span of 3 years. The first was in Year 2008 at the orchid executive club which even though the room was at a premium, was a pleasurable experience. This time, we decided to opt for a deluxe room instead due to a longer travel period.

Location
The location was main reason for choosing park royal. With close proximity to major shopping centres like lot 10, sungei wang and times square, you could spend days just shopping in this area alone.

Room
We loved the king size bed as it virtually can fit 3 normal sized adults no kidding!

I am also pleased with the full range of amenities provided and the spacious room. Our room rate also came with free internet service which was great and we encountered no problems with connection or speed. Generally, we had a comfortable stay but we do have a few complaints –
* the furnishings are outdated even though it’s a deluxe room. As commented by some reviewers, most hotels have upgraded to flat screen TVs but not this one and the channels are rather limited. I agree we are not here to watch tv but then we need some entertainment in the early morning and late evenings.
* There is some problem with the water heating system. On our first morning, the water took sometime to heat up. On our last morning, the water refused to heat up and worse, the water that came gushing was yellowish. We had to call housekeeping and problem was fixed after the technician looked into it. We don’t know what was done but imagine waiting around for almost half an hour just to fix this.

* I was spooked by the centralized room system one night. I remembered I tuned the air con to low but it turned full blast in the wee hours and the alarm also suddenly went off when I did not set it.

Facilities
The pool was not fantastic but it was good enough for us to lounge around and for a good swim. We did not try the gym though.

Food
We enjoyed the breakfasts as it has a good variety so we do recommend tagging this to your room. We did not try the other restaurants though.

Service
Most of the service staff are all smiles and polite. The concierge was useful for arranging day tours for us and there is a free shuttle to twin towers at about half hour intervals.

General Comments
There is some improvement in KL taxi system as some taxis are now willing to turn on the meter rather than haggling over a fixed price. In fact, most taxis now have a signage on their doors that spells “metered taxi”. Still, old habits die hard and there are still many who refused to abide.

We also do not recommend getting a taxi from the hotel driveway. We tried getting a taxi from there with our luggage in tow and the concierge was all too eager to persuade us to take the blue limo taxis, which I think charge a premium. When we asked for a normal taxi with meter, he looked unhappy. In the end, the taxi that came charged a fixed price and obviously, the concierge lent us no helping hand.

There are also some hits and misses in terms of food outside of the hotel. One thing we learnt is that while some are bang for buck, there are a few eateries that charge tourist prices and worse, the quality does not justify these prices. If you have recommendations for good eateries around the area, do share!

view from our room

bath room

working area

minibar area with outdated TV

lift lobby

location map


Useful links - Park Royal KL

Meritus Pelangi Langkawi

Spent two nights at Meritus Pelangi Langkawi and here's our experience.

Location
The great thing about the location is that it is very near to the airport and just a stroll away from the beach. It could be the scorching heat or I must have shorter limbs because as opposed to the many reviewers, I found the walk to the local shops and eateries quite a distance away. Also take caution that when night falls, the lighting along that stretch of road is not very good.

Facilities
The environs of the hotel charms with beautifully flowered trees and shrubs. The gardeners are a hard working lot, sweeping away the fallen leaves daily and yet will still greet you with smiles. The lobby is open air but the dark woods provide really good shade from the sun except for the little café right beside the lounge which was covered in glass and hence felt more like a green house to me. The only gripe was that you could tell most furnishing is rather aged and there are stains all around. And do check before you lean or put your hands around anywhere as insects and ants are aplenty. I was trying the hammock on the beach and was almost fell off when I found a HUGE red ant crawling on my arm. The pool was nice and huge with plenty of lounge chairs. Even though its considered peak season, you never really feel that the place is over crowded which is kind of amazing. As echoed by a few reviewers, there’s definitely no free wifi in this part of the world but you can use their internet service at a charge. Many complained about expensive charges but I think they are referring to hourly rate? They do charge a flat rate for 24 hours use (I think RM 50) which I think is very worth it. The only complaint was that the service was down from 11am to 7pm on the very day we subscribe but after giving our feedback, charges were waived immediately so cheers to that.

Room
We booked a double deluxe with pool facing view and was given a 2nd storey room. We liked that it was just a short walk from the lobby. I was put off by the musty smell when we were first entered the room but once the air was cooled, you kinda get used to it. Again, furniture and furnishings definitely needs some refurbishing though the old “malay kampong” feel certainly has its charms. The air con seems old as it failed to cool the temperature quickly especially during the day. I think the high ceiling is an attributing factor. We were also fascinated by the vat of water just outside each hut (apparently it is a malay custom to wash your feet before entering the house), which proved to be very useful after a day at the beach to wash off any remnants of sand.

Food
We tried almost all the restaurants in the hotel except the BBQ boat house. The food at the spice restaurant was horrid in our opinion - sandwich doesn’t taste fresh and my companion’s lasagne had an overdose of salt. The breakfast was served from the same restaurant so the quality failed to excite us as well. As there are cats in the compound, I also observed them jumping onto the tables with the table ware, so you pretty much can imagine what extra “ingredients” you had in your food. The thai restaurant is only opened in the evenings and though there was a smart casual dress code, I think they don’t really bother. The thai noodles had more veggies than noodles and the dessert was really too sweet. Even the ice cream I tried at Horizon bar at poolside was not too good. However, I must say I liked the ambience and deco of the restaurants but the quality of food failed to impress.

We did venture to the local shops but be prepared that 99% of them are not air conditioned and with the hot weather, your appetite really takes a nose dive.

Service
We had a rather smooth check in and most staff were cordial and ever ready to smile and greet you. We had one huge issue on the last day though. We booked for a day tour online from another agent in advance but to our dismay, the agent did not turn up! We went to the tour desk for assistance but as most tours are booked they could not offer any alternatives at all. We felt that they could offer some assistance as it was our last day and we do not wish to leave the island with regrets.

Verdict
The location wasn’t fantastic, food was horrible, service passable and if not for the beautiful landscape, our trip would have been terrible. Not to mention the rates are not cheap either. We would probably give this hotel a miss unless it offers very attractive discounts.

The lobby

Surroundings

malay kampong style room

double deluxe room

view from our balcony

bathroom

toilet

adjoining walk in wardrobe

minibar

This is the Spice Restaurant that serves buffet breakfast

One of the appetizers served with lunch at the Spice Restaurant

hotel pool and sea view at far end

massage hut on the beach

This is the vat that won my approval as it helped to clean your feet after a day at the beach.

pelangi beach resort on the map is the location of meritus pelangi

Malacca City

The only thing that puts me off visiting Malacca is that there is no direct air service and you can only travel by coach or taxi. It’s a four to five hour journey across the Malaysia Causeway mind you, and the thought of being stuck in a coach just does not resonate well with me. A check with the local coach companies and you’ll realize that the best deluxe coach available is the 26 seater, as most VIP coaches only ply longer routes such as Kuala Lumpur, Genting and Penang.

The schedule for each coach company differs so ensure you do your research before your make your payment. Also beware that some smaller coach companies might pack passengers going to different Malaysia destinations together first, and then transfer you to another coach when you reach the outskirts of your designated city. We had one such unpleasant experience and the connecting coach were dark, dingy and sleazy but fortunately, we only had to endure half an hour journey in it.

The best thing about Malacca is that most of the tourist sites and shopping area are nestled within walking distance of each other. And in any case, taxis are plentiful and they brazenly tout for business hence transport is definitely the least of your concerns. Just be firm in your negotiations and take care not to be fleeced!

Food
When you are in Malacca, you cant leave without trying these – cendol dessert, nyonya food and chicken rice balls. Our first stop was “Lao Qian Ice Café”, which is just beside the famous chicken rice ball shop "Hoe Kee".

As it was our first visit to Malacca, we had no clue which eatery serves good Nyonya cuisine. As such, we just walked into one of the resturants and tried some of the dishes. It was lousy though, and no wonder because we had the restaurant all to ourselves.
Rendang Chicken

Char Kway Teow

Prawns with pineapple in coconut sauce

I gathered that there are a number of chicken rice stalls but "Hoe Kee" was seemingly the best one around with reasonable pricing. It is located just at the entrance of Jonker Street. Address is 4,6,8 Jalan Hang Jebat. Take note that their opening hours are 8am to 5pm but they close earlier when food is sold out. Despite the rave reviews, we thought it was just normal and a bit too oily actually.

Courtyard inside Hoe Kee

What's your take on these chicken rice balls? My mum thought they were fish balls!


Tourist Sites
Famous Jonker Street (also known as Jalan Hang Jebat)

Entrance of Jonker Street

Arent these marigolds beautiful?

Windmill

The famous red building - the Christ Church

The beautifully decorated trishaws peddling for business along Christ Church.

The most beautiful trishaw award goes to... this! Hats off to the trishaw owner for his efforts and creativity.

I liked that there's lots of beautiful flower beds around the historical sites!

Stadthuys - Clock Tower

The fountain in front of Christ Church in operation.

Melaka River

The door leading up to St Paul's hill. We were too lazy to climb the stairs.

Some pictures of structures which I thought were quite enchanting.


Shopping
We only had time to visit these places for shopping. Mahkota Parade was undergoing renovation during the time of our visit hence we did not spend too much time there. The Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall has many small shops which reminded me of Bukit Bintang Plaza in Kulua Lumpur. Jonker Street has a night market which is a must visit. Do take note that the night market is only held every Fri to Sun, 1930 to 2330 hours and the roads will be closed for this purpose. You will certainly find some interesting souvenirs and lots of local food and products so dont miss it! Some local snacks are baked on the spot!

Mahkota Parade

Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall

Jonker Street Night Market

As it was just a short weekend getaway, there were still a whole list of food which we did not get to try, e.g. satay celup, portugese cuisine etc. Hence a return trip is needless to say :)

Useful links - Malacca info and travel guide