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Showing posts with label Jalan Alor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jalan Alor. Show all posts

Saturday, July 6, 2024

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - Hardly Rocking!

Singapore (Singapore) - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

03 July - 06 July 2024

It hasn’t been that long since our last overseas adventure—Vietnam, October '23 to be exact. But you know how it goes; the middle months of this year have somehow stretched out like a never-ending Netflix series. Weeks blending, with early mornings, late nights, juggling the usual parental duties, all while finishing my fourth degree. Yeah, it’s a bit much. It’s like life’s pressing the fast-forward button, but you’re stuck in slow motion. And let's be real, I’m not alone in this. There are probably millions of parents out there running on empty, fuelled by caffeine and sheer willpower, all while doing battle with sleep deprivation like it’s their side hustle.

Inga and I had cooked up the idea for a getaway at the start of the year. Honestly, this trip to Penang could’ve been anywhere in our tropical neighbourhood—Fiji, the Philippines, you name it. But in the end, the battle for our destination was won by the most economical flights that could whisk us away to sun, sand, and an endless supply of margaritas. So, a big shoutout to the Hard Rock Hotel Penang! Victory was yours from the start.

Now for the challenges.

It always seems like the weeks leading up to any holiday are just begging for chaos to strike. But for this trip, the universe really went all out. It felt like one thing after another, each crisis barely averted, and there were moments when I thought the only margaritas we’d be sipping would be from the North Melbourne Guzman y Gomez.

First, we had the inevitable bouts of illness—nothing too serious, but just enough to threaten our plans. Then, in a classic last-minute twist, we discovered Aiden’s passport was a month or two past its expiration date. And when did we find out? Five days before departure. Cue the express passport scramble, complete with a $450 price tag and a lot of nail-biting.

Just to keep things interesting, I somehow managed to throw out my back, which left me practically immobile for a few days. Picture me, laid up like an invalid, right before we were supposed to travel. And because that wasn’t enough, I had a showdown with the bank the night before we left, which locked me out of my account. This little saga ended with me rushing into the bank to prove my identity, a mere two hours before our Scoot flight to Singapore was scheduled to take off.

Scoot flight to Singapore

Scoot flight to Singapore

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport - Australia

Our little 'Rockstar' - Melbourne Tullamarine Airport - Australia

Thankfully, with our collective will and wily wits, we managed to get everything on the straight and narrow, all in time to make our flight which had is sailing sweetly into the sky just after noon on a Wednesday.

Budget Airlines

Budget airlines, they are what they are, and all things considered, they’re not a disaster. Of course you miss in-flight entertainment, some complimentary drinks and some other small things which aren’t so important for me to consider enough to make an issue of. The price differential across three passengers does enough to lower my care factor to something infinitesimally minimal.

Singapore

On this occasion Singapore was what ‘we in the game’ know as either an ‘extended transit’ or ‘long transit’, approximately a day in duration, enough to make use of a hotel room, get a decent night sleep and have a few drinks. For this stop we decided to bunk down at the D’Resort Hotel@ Downtown East - https://www.dresort.com.sg/ - and borrowing directly from their website, ‘it’s a resort experience where you can step into paradise, in one of Singapore’s finest nature inspired, all inclusive staycation resorts, featuring an integrated Water Park experience – located just 10 mins from Changi Airport’.   How can you go past being 10 mins from Changi, having a water park on your doorstep AND paying under $200SGD in Singapore? That made a whole lot of sense to me!

Singapore is a fantastic place and my prior experience here have always been pleasant but for this long transit I didn’t think we needed much more than a bed….and a Water Park! Lol

Wild Wet Water Park - Singapore

Throwing up the horns - Singapore Changi Airport - Singapore

Wild Wet Water Park - Singapore

https://www.wildwildwet.com/ - Wild Wild Wet water park was literally right outside our hotel, making it the perfect pre-flight adventure after breakfast. With a 5 PM flight out of Changi to KL and the park opening at 12 PM, we squeezed every drop of fun out of those 2.5 hours. Then it was a mad dash back to the hotel for a quick change before heading off to the airport, just in time for our flight. These days the ability for online check-in, ride-hailing apps, contactless check-outs, it all works in your favour to maximise your time and minimise unnecessary hassle. From memory we left D’Resort Hotel at about 3:25pm, and we were already cruising through duty free and being called to board at 4:15pm. Not bad.

Kuala Lumpur

KL remains a bit of a mystery to me, much like Buenos Aires was during my first visit. I can sense—both instinctively and intuitively—that there’s so much more to this city that I think I’d like or find intriguing but each time I’ve been there, I’ve only scratched the surface. There’s a depth to KL that I haven’t yet tapped into, and I have a feeling it’s one of those hidden gems of Asia that, once I manage to break through veneer, will draw me in completely, no questions asked.

Arriving in KL at night is a treat. The lights of the skyline draw you in like moths to a flame, punctuated by the almost mythical twin Petronas Towers. Standing brightly and boldly, head and shoulders above the accompanying monuments to all things capitalism, these gorgeous towers are something to behold. An iconic structure of not just KL but Malaysia, which at one time in the early 90’s were identified as the tallest structures on earth, are incredible structure of architecture & engineering.

Ascot Star - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Ascot Star - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

View of the Petronas Towers from our room - Ascot Star Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

For the next few nights, we made the Ascot Star KLCC our home. We stayed in a fantastic one-bedroom apartment on the 25th floor, complete with a direct line of sight to the Petronas Towers—a breath-taking view in a city full of towering skyscrapers. But the real highlight was the rooftop pool on their so-called ‘Level 99.’ It felt like a pool in the sky, an open invitation to take in the dramatic cityscape. We spent about a couple of hours there immediately after arrival, soaking up the view and the atmosphere, and somehow, the devilishly cold water that had me shivering, even though the evening temperature was hovering nearly at the 30 degree mark. Of course, when you have a 5-yr old that’s water addicted then there’s not much else you can do than ‘Do what he says’ and stay in the pool to save him from his own ‘dives and bombs’ and shiver yourself senseless into the evening.

KLCC - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia


Ascot Star Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Aiden - KLCC - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

The Elisher Team - KLCC - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

For the remaining part of that evening, which by now wasn’t very long at all, we made the pilgrimage down to the Hard Rock Café – Kuala Lumpur.

Why the Hard Rock?

I get asked the question a lot. What is it about the Hard Rock? Is it the food? Is the music? What’s the inevitable magnetic pull that you feel when you identify an HRC café in any city?

….this is not a difficult question for me to answer.

The HRC is a bit like a calling card, an easy sort of verification that you’ve been somewhere, and you can get the merchandise to prove it. What’s more, rock music is what I’ve grown up with and it makes up about 80% of my playlist and about 95% of my live music choices. So for me, and for us in fact, the music is on point, the memorabilia is kitsch but still interesting, the food options a good and the drinks are great. Couple with the fact that the service is usually very good and there are often live music options at the venues, it makes it all very much ‘right up our alley’.

Hard Rock Cafe - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Hard Rock Cafe - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia


Hard Rock Cafe - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Our next day was effectively the only full day we had in KL on this occasion.  We kicked off by taking a walk to the Petronas Towers and then through to KLCC Park & Garden, such a wonderful oasis in this city of giants. Travel these days for me is a little about reminiscing and a lot about trying enjoy the experience through Aidens’ eyes. I’m tacitly aware that all these new memories are going to shape, influence and be impactful, so I really want to make his travel experience as fun and as memorable as possible.

Now, from a purely nostalgia initiated perspective, I dragged Inga and Aiden to the Traders Hotel that front onto KLCC park and had them come up to the Skybar for an early afternoon drink. If you haven’t heard the story, then of course you can read about historic events via this blog right here, https://hdbc2.blogspot.com/2010/04/berserker-httpen.html. This place holds the ghost of 'Elisher past'—having rang in New Year’s Eve 2009-10 here with old  friend Jet Frichot, I had to some back to the ‘scene of the crime’. So whilst here I needed to show the both of them where I made that ‘infamous dive’ into the pool whilst in the earliest moments of 2010 and of course, retell the whole story regarding how daring it was. Although the reality of it all is very different, time always add the additional weight of the bold and outlandish within its own storytelling DNA. Good memories never the less.

Where I made that 'infamous jump' for NYE 2009-10 - Skybar - Traders Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Skybar - Traders Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

The stunning rooftop pool at the Ascot Star Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

The KL skyline from  Ascot Star Hotel - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

That evening we decided to head down to Jalon Alor https://www.wonderfulmalaysia.com/food/jalan-alor-food-street.htm, food street. As the website reference says, a ‘hustling, bustling, cacophony of sights, smells, colours and food’. There are rows upon rows of hawkers stalls serving up a myriad of delicacies, which makes it difficult not to get enticed by all of them.  Also, that dichotomy of the new, sleek, capitalistic, urban jungle is nicely offset in this space. There’s a street buzz of all things local which is as intoxicating as it is fascinating. We settled in for a wonderful meal of a variety of chosen dishes, all absolutely flavourful and relatively inexpensive.

Jalan Alor 'Food Street' - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Jalan Alor 'Food Street' - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Mederka 118 @ 678.9 mtrs, currently stands as the second tallest building on the planet, only behind the Burj Khalifa - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Jalan Alor 'Food Street' - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Aiden identifying his next plan purchase - Jalan Alor 'Food Street' - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Unfortunately this was all we really go to experience of KL. I know that there’s more in this city, I can feel it innately without pointing to anything specific that will confirm my suspicion. I know that we’ll come back and I know that I need much more time here to discover exactly what’s on offer.

The next day we bid farewell to the Ascot Star & KL, heading to the domestic airport in order to catch our flight to the island of Penang.

 Domestic terminal - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Domestic terminal - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

One of the friendliest drivers we've encountered - great experience - Domestic terminal - Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

Thank you for being a great such a great host.