Trip to Malaysia

Uncle Francis gave us a lift to Golden Mile Tower, the tower that houses almost every travel agencies that you can find in Singapore. We reached early but soon we had companions. I met a new friend. Her name is Su Ting. She's the daughter of my Mother's friend. Chat with her for a while, even though I am still half asleep. Found her interesting through the conversation.

Everybody else came earlier than the stipulated timing. So, once the driver was ready, we got on board the bus. The bus was a double-decker. Each seat has a monitor screen in front, with a gamepad and a set of earphone. The inclining controls also enable one to fully lie flat parallel to the ground. Cool.

My book "Singapore Burning" kept me company for the most part of the journey when I was awake. I am entering Malaysia while reading about the part where Malaya fell to the hands of the Japanese. The TV couldn't be turned on, probably due to copyright laws in Singapore. As the school holiday period has yet to start, the queues were not visible in any area. We cleared our customs and the Malaysian one rapidly. No luggages were checked.

We rested at a canteen in Yong Peng. In the book, Yong Peng's nasty experience was brought to light. Here, I met a Mr Su, a fellow Singaporean heading to Genting. After a brief chat, he passed me his namecard as he thought it was fate that we met. After a short brunch, we continued the monotonous movement towards the North. Along the way, I played some tv games like Batman, Demolition man, and got bored. Then I watched Tian Di Ying Xiong. And then zzZZZ....

We checked into Berjaya Times Square Hotel. The room arrangement and design was interesting. From the room, we can see the Twin Tower and some distant mountains. The haze obscured the nice scenery of buildings and mountains, and it fused with the faraway clouds.

Soon, we started our first activity in Malaysia. Beside the Hotel was a shopping mall. The shopping mall housed the world's largest Borders bookstore as well as the world's largest food mall (it occupied the whole 10th floor). Our first stop is the Cosmos Indoors Amusement Park.

Imagine having roller coasters spanning from the fifth floor to the tenth, merry-go-round, bumper cars, and other machines littering around part of the shopping mall. It is a creative concept and is something Singapore couldn't afford to do due to space constraint. I tried the roller coaster which had two 360 degrees vertical turns. The others were just usual games you can find elsewhere.

Next stop: Chinatown - Chi Jeong Gai.

We took a limousine cab (packed with 13 people) to Chinatown was packed with stalls selling counterfeits products as well as pirated discs on the road. There were plenty of stalls but most sell the same things as the rest. Soon it reached dinner time and our group dined in at a Chinese restaurant. Visited a shopping mall, bought confectionary products from Feng Huang shop (well-known shop), ate Herbal Jelly, waited for limousine cab...

Day 2:

Breakfast at Berjaya Times Square Hotel was satisfactory. Didn't eat too much, not much variety.

Toilet was cool. The last time I saw the thing beside the toilet bowl was in Shangri-la hotel Singapore. Luxury.

Next trip: 1Utama Shopping Mall.

Most Singaporeans always get a pleasant surprise when they first visit a Malaysian Shopping Mall. It is the equivalent of four or five local equivalent. Spent 3 hours browsing through the mall and getting what we wanted. Then we went for an amazing race.

Amazing Race: Steam Fish Head @ Chan Sau Lin

Shu Ting suggested a well-known steam fish head restaurant for lunch. Our group of 5 began our exploration. First, we took a cab to the nearest LRT terminal. We took the train to an interchange at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, transferred to the KTM Komuter train, and then transferred to another one to reach Sungei Besi. According to a brochure, the steam fish head restaurant was situated in Sungei Besi. Along the way, we met a Malaysian Indian, Balli, who was helpful and guided us to the destination. Balli worked in Zouk Singapore as a DJ before and I was heartened to hear that he would want to return to Singapore to advance his music career.

We walked around and saw a police station. Shu Ting and I asked the sentry officer and he gave a doubtful look. This was a Malay ground and any Chinese restaurant is not heard of. We are in the wrong place. Near the train station, when we were just about to give up the search and head back to the hotel, Mum suggested to ask a cab driver. We did so, and were rewarded with useful information. The restaurant was at Chan Sau Lin instead of Sungei Besi.

Reached Chan Sau Lin via train. Chan Sau Lin was 2 stops away from the station near our hotel. Time was around 1700hours. At Chan Sau Lin, we tried to get a cab but 2 Chinese cab drivers declined because it is illegal to carry 5 passengers. Then a Malay one came. He was glad to take us along. He drove to a petrol station and asked for the exact location and then drove us there. He quoted a price 150% more than what should have been the cost. We relented since it was just a few dollars more, and he got us to the place.

The Steam fish head restaurant was a run down place, a place I feel will serve good food. From past experiences in Malaysia, I had good food always from run down places. Our lunch and dinner cost us roughly RM50, cheap and good. We will not forget the location... Jalan Tiga, Chan Sau Lin.

After a brief rest at the hotel, Mum and I went to Sungei Wang, a shopping mall 15min walking distance away from Berjaya Times Square Hotel. With the lethargy accumulated throughout the day, we bought a few items and left the mall. Ate some desserts at Secret Recipe. Mum wanted to go try the KL monorail and so we went.

At Bukit Nanas station, we alighted and found a spot for us to photograph with the Twin towers. I wonder why the twin towers is called as such, because both towers actually differ in height. After a photoshoot, we headed back to the hotel... zzzZZZ...

Last Day: Going back to Singapore

Early in the morning, we had breakfast in the hotel again. This time, I felt bored with the food variety and only ate not much.

Went with the rest to search for some shopping place. Gave up and then went to Sungei Wan. Went back to hotel shopping mall to buy some items. Ate lunch in the world's largest food mall. The food mall spanned nearly the entire level. However, there are still many vacancies left. Each shop had a wide area to occupy.

Took some photos at the swimming pool area. Here, I met a new friend. He is Kamal, a Gurkha Security Guard on contract to the hotel for 3 years. He wanted to work in Singapore but could not secure a job there. But he will be visiting Singapore soon.

Journey ended at around 1900hours.