The Pahang Trip

Day 1 - 11th October 2006

We left on the 8.00am Five Stars coach from Golden Mile Complex via the 2nd Link. By 9.00am, we had cleared immigration and we were on our way to Kuala Lumpur. Thank goodness for the reclinable seats, entertainment and stopover at Yong Peng, otherwise, it would been an unbearable 7-hour journey. This was no thanks to the 2 occasions of vehicular breakdown lasting approximately 1 hour.

By 3.00pm, we transferred to a 1-hour free shuttle service which took us up Bukit Tinggi to Colmar Tropicale resort for our 3-days and 2-nights stay. The resort is pretty small with buildings lined along a cobblestone street. The hotel lobby, shops and restuarants occupied the ground level while the hotel rooms occupied the upper levels.

This is our room and it comes with a golf course view...

Dinners at the La Biason Coffee House @ RM45.00 per pax. That made out to be about S$21.00 each. The food was nothing to shout about. But it did fill us up so much that we did not have to take lunches for the 2 days that we were there.

Day 2 - 12th October 2006

After the breakfast at 10.15am, we took the free shuttle service to visit the rabbit park which was 5 minutes away from the resort. The entrance fees came as part of our tour package. Of course, dearie had a great time... chasing after the little furries to stroke, feed and take photographs with them. Outside the park, there were also the deers and the donkeys to see.
By 12.40pm, we made our way back to the resort before hopping onto another free shuttle service to the Japanese Village and Botanical Garden. Now, this is a 10-minute ride with lots of upslope to reach the 3,500-metre place above the sea level.

Just as we stepped off the shuttle service, rain descended upon us. We took shelter at the souvenir shop, which led us to buy japanese doll handphone danglers for some of our closer friends. The rain stopped but picked up again 3 times. While being stuck there, we got to know 2 elderly couples of indian descent who were also taking shelter from the rain. We found out that they were related by marriage. One couple reigned from Penang while the other couple arrived from Melbourne, Australia to visit the former. As the rain did not stopped for the next hour, we decided to purchase an umbrella from the souvenir shop and made our way to the Japanese Village after bidding farewell to the 2 couples.

5 minutes into the village and rain died down to a drizzle. This was a good thing as we could take photographs even though it is a very small place with only 3 japanese houses from the bygone eras.

When we visited Botanical Garden 1/2 an hour later, the rain descent upon us again but at a greater downpour. The garden was an utter disappointment as there was little landscaping and lots of potted plants, which does not seem to make out to be the botanical garden it should have been.

It was about 4.30pm by the time we returned to our room for a short rest before we went for dinner.

Day 3 - 13th October 2006

After we finished our breakfast at 10.30pm, we proceeded to take a few more photographs for remembrance sake. Alas, the digital camera battery went flat. We went back to our room to get it re-charged while we packed our luggages to prepare for our trip down to Kuala Lumpur once again.

By the time we checked in at Kuala Lumpur's Berjaya Times Square Hotel, it was already 1.00pm. The hotel lobby is located on the 14th floor, which is above the biggest shopping mall in town. We were allocated a room on the 18th floor.

Never did we realise that the room was so big.... all 55 square metres of it. That was almost like 3/4 the size of a 3-room HDB flat!!! It was the most luxurious hotel room both of us had ever stayed. It came with a living room connected to the bedroom, television on a swivelable top to turn about between the 2 rooms. There was also the attached bathroom with both the shower area and the bathtub. Toilet was in another separate room which came complete with bidet. Of course, there was also the kitchenette.

Looking out from the open area of the hotel, this was how hazy Kuala Lumpur was.. of course, no thanks to the Indonesia situation.

We took a short walk within Berjaya Times Square. Dearie mentioned that her colleague told her that shopping in Petaling Street is relatively cheap. Thus, we made our way to the cab counter outside the hotel. The approximately 7-minute trip costed RM8.00. When we reached there, we realised Petaling Street is actually in Chinatown.

Well, the street is well-paved with shops lined on both sides. Touts were all over the place and badgering tourists to buy their goodies. Thank goodness we were not 'targetted' like the caucasians who look more tourist-like than us. I bought for myself a replacement handphone casing. We also shopped in a building across the street where dearie bought two accessories for herself and my sister.

At 4.30pm, we gradbbed a cab back to the hotel. Talk about the double-standards... the trip back costed RM15.00. Being an 'outsider' to the country, we did not want to bargain for it.

Back at the hotel, we took a short rest before we went for dinner. We decided to eat at Secret Recipes. The price was dirt cheap. We paid for the exact price as we should be in Singapore, except that it was in Ringgit.

Following dinner, we walked around The Times Square and dearie bought a pair of shoes. We hanged around until 9.45pm before we went back to the hotel room.

Day 4 - 14th October 2006

Breakfast at the hotel's Big Apple cafe was great. We decided that we have to shop for one last time before we packed up for homebound. I bought a pair of Unionbay bermuda while dearie bought a pair of jeans. We further bought 2 pairs of Teddy bears (1 pair for ourselves) and a small glass bowl as gifts for dearie's recently ROM-ed friend. We went back to the hotel room, packed up and checked out at 12.30pm.

Since we had a few hours to spare before our 3.00pm coach ride, we exchanged our voucher for entrance to the Comos' World Theme Park in The Berjaya Times Square. It is touted as the biggest indoor amusement park in town with roller coaster tracks stretching 5 stories high.

We took a few kiddy-rides (since all the them are generally meant for kids) before we made our way back to collect our luggages, which we left with the hotel frontdesk.

Soon, we were on board the coach making our way home with a stopover at Yong Peng at 6.00pm. By the time we reached Singapore and with the coach stopping at Boon Lay Shopping Centre, it was 8.55pm. We grabbed a cab back to my place where i collected my car key to send dearie home.

~ The End ~