Christmas in KL

25^th Dec 2015 Fri

We woke up, too late for any Christmas service. Regretfully, we had to give the 9 am service at Methodist Church a miss.

Breakfast at Hotel Transit was especially unremarkable. Is it always like this just because the hotel stay is cheap ? I have no idea!

We headed to Bkt Bintang, shopping district just less than 2 km off our hotel. I have decided to make a killing at the mall! But it was slow mo for both of us – the heat was starting to build up and so was the rain clouds. We darted in and out of sheltered walkways when the sun eluded us.

All of KL descended upon Pavilion mall, it seems. The Malaysians are really early risers! After many leisurely rounds, I got an Esprit handbag for RM 500, with tourist discount. It was lovely and I am happy with the buy.

Lunch was at TWD, simply because it was dollar to dollar compared to SG. Located at the most posh sector of the mall with an excluded premises, it serves very nice food too. We supped from noon to 2 pm , aided by the leisurely pace at which our food were served. I loved every morsel except the cakes. By that time, we were so stuffed our taste buds could not feel a single thing! For RM 99 per person for a 3 course meal, I am sure this cannot be repeated in SG. Food, service, experience – they were impeccable.

We dithered whether to watch Ip Man at the cinemas but it was sold out by the time we made a decision. I am not for fighting shows, but the immense crowd in Pavilion made the cinema a nice retreat. Which was not to be.

Pavilion did not yield any buys, and neither did our snooping at Farenheit and Berjaya Times. The malls looked puny in KL and I believe we missed the best because we were reluctant to venture out of KL.

Time crawled and even our slow steps couldn’t make the clock tick faster. We went back to Hotel Transit for a siesta and rest our poor legs.

Evening time, it was back to Jln Alor, this time for Chinese Zi Char. The skies opened and in our haste to get out of the rain, went into the imitation Dragon View Restaurant. It was déjà vu, like in Hanoi with the fake Cha Ca La Vong.

Dinner was anticlimax, because I have been expecting a gastronomic experience. Bakuteh, rice, clams, veg and satay were the most unremarkable and puts shame to chinese cooking in a non halal place. I have tasted better in SG where half baked chefs make their killing. It was not the money wasted that was lamented but the waste of stomach space on our last day  in KL.

So far, of the many meals, 2 were memorable and those in western resstaurants. Malaysian food has lost its shine!

Then it is back to the hotel for a final packing. Tomorrow we head back to SG, back to home where food is predictably nice/yucks and things are within expectations.

SG, here I come!

Christmas Eve in KL

24 Dec 2015 Thursday

11am was the time of departure from Cameron Highlands to KL. We took the bus from CS Travel from Tanah Rata which cost RM40, a tad more expensive than the rest but it promises to drop us off at Puduraya, where our next hotel is.

Imagine to our surprise when the driver announced that with no negotiations, it will be KL Sentral for all of us. What! It is almost a scam. Most of us were at a loss and 2 foreign workers were talked down by the driver. Seems like he is asking them to catch a taxi to Puduraya etc. What a scam!

We were on the road for 5 hours , with a 20 minutes break just before we got onto the highway. Traffic was terrible. The holiday crush has begun; Christmas being a public holiday.

The driver deposited everyone at KL Sentral, bypassing TBS which we requested. By now, CS travels is condemned. We had no manifest, no seat numbers, our online agreed destination and the final one doesn’t match despite me confirming twice with the staff at TR with my online booking forms, there was no place to put our bags overhead and the bus driver drove like he had a death wish.

From KL Sentral, we took the LRT to the now familiar Plaza  Rakyat, where Hotel Transit is a stone’s throw away.

What can I say about this hotel that most TA reviewers are praising ? Absolutely nice place to sleep. Room 812 looks into an empty land and the telcom tower, was clean, modern, comes with wifi and spacious toilet cum shower ( with doors ) , was bright and every works. I even love the many TV Channels. My only grouse ? Remnant cigarette smoke that irritated me. Slightly more expensive than Ancasa, I can come here again anytime!

Cafe Transit

We had a cuppa at Transit café to make up for the lack of proper lunch. The coffee was fantastic and even more so , the croissant. Things are looking up!

We walked over to Changkat Bkt Bintang where I earlier made a booking with Drift dining and pub. It was at the fringe of Bkt Bintang. We did a little window shopping at Pavilion before hurrying to Drift because the sky wasn’t holding up and neither were our stomachs.

Drift is nice as reviewed. 2 wines, 2 starts ( school prawns, ravioli ), pork ribs and lamb went for RM 290 – a decent price where it is impossible in Singapore. Plus, the food was great and service cheerful. Almost half who occupied the packed restaurant were foreigners. Discerning taste, I must say.

On the way back, we passed by Jln Alor and sniffed out the Chinese Zi Char stores. It was like Chinatown on steroids! That will be our next dinner option, I promised Pat.

We had a very long skype with Hopey and the Kingstons ( LL mainly ) on the wonderful broadband before ushering in the new year KL time.