Kuala Lumpur Trip with my Mom (January 31 - February 3, 2013

My second time in Kuala Lumpur.  This time, with my Mom.  Our journey began in Singapore, after staying there for four days; we flew to Kuala Lumpur for another four days.  Flying time is less than an hour.   Our lunch was served upon gaining altitude and a few minutes after we were descending.  It was a short trip and we were in Kuala Lumpur just in time.   Immigration here is slower compared to Singapore, and because we are at the Low Cost Terminal, there are no train connections to the city.  This airport is actually located in Sepang, more than an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur.  There are many buses outside the airport which will take you to KL Sentral.  If you’re taking AirAsia, better buy skybus tickets online as it is cheaper, around RM 7 as compared to RM 9 when walk-in.  However there are other bus companies that offer RM 8 fares but I prefer the Skybus, Air Asia’s official bus service because it gets full easily so you’ll depart faster compared to other buses that will have longer waiting time.

Lunch on board Air Asia

For this trip, we stayed for 3 nights at D’ Oriental Inn Hotel located along the famous Petaling street in Chinatown.  The nearest LRT Station is Pasar Seni, from there, it’s just more or less than five minutes walk.  The hotel is quite old and a bit hard to find because when we arrived, the entire street was turned into a shopping haven.  Lots of people and we couldn’t seem to find a place to walk our luggage. We had a long walk because we alighted at Plaza Rakyat Station instead of Pasar Seni.   The hotel staffs were friendly and always smiling.  The buffet breakfast ensures a full tummy before leaving for a tour.

Hotel Facade

Buffet Breakfast

We thought that prices within Chinatown are cheaper like Chinatowns found elsewhere, however, in Kuala Lumpur, they tend to overprice the items, some wont give you discount even if you asked but will tend to lower it once you begin to leave the store.  During our entire stay, we were only able to buy one item in Chinatown, surprisingly; we bought cheaper and better items at the skyway terminal building going to Genting Highlands.

The Famous Petaling Street

For sightseeing, I brought my Mom to the usual places like Batu Caves, Genting Highlands, Petronas Towers, Bukit Bintang, and some other Places in Plaza Rakyat for great bargains.  

Batu Caves

My Mom wasn’t able to see what’s inside Batu Cave because she didn’t have the energy to climb its 272 steps.  Instead, we just took photos around and went straight to Genting Highlands.  We booked the 2 PM bus schedule so we can eat Lunch before getting there.  It was less than an hour ride to the Skyway station and another 15 minutes at the cable car.  My Mom thought it was just a short ride but was shocked as we get higher and higher.  It was not as cold when I first went there last October but it is still generally cool.  From Genting, we went to the Petronas Towers to take pictures and later on ate inside the Suria KLCC Mall between the twin towers.  After our sumptuous dinner, we went back to our hotel and rest.

Cable Car to Genting Highlands

The Petronas Towers

For a more serious shopping, we went to Bukit Bintang the next day.  I wasn’t able to visit this during my last trip due to limited time.  This place reminds me of Orchard Road,  lots of designer brand boutiques lined up the streets.  There are also several malls from which you can find better priced items.  For electronic gadgets, try visiting Low Yat Plaza, it is a huge mall dedicated for mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, etc.   For high-end shopping or simply just to stroll, try Pavillion Mall.  Here, you can find JCO Donuts.  It is my favorite donuts because of its flavor collections which are not too sweet.  

Along Bukit Bintang

For general shopping, try Mydin found in Plaza Rakyat.  This store is like Singapore’s Mustafa Centre, however this one is not open 24 hours.  From here you can buy Malaysia souvenir shirts for only RM 7 (Around 2 USD).  Local and international chocolates can also be bought here at the best price.  Breads and pastries are also available here, so for all your needs during your stay, you may visit this store and you can buy lots of stuff.

Inside Pavilion Mall

There are lots of places to eat in Kuala Lumpur; most of them are very affordable.  One thing I like in Kuala Lumpur are the prices, whether it may be food or transportation, it is always easy on the budget.  I really want to go back in Malaysia to visit other regions; however I’d like to give other countries in Southeast Asia a try first.

Singapore Trip with my Mom (January 28-31, 2013)

Yes, after just 3 months, I'm back to Singapore.  This time, the trip was unexpected.  I booked a promo flight to Macau when Air Asia Philippines (PQ) launched this newest destination.  However last October, when I just came from my Malaysia-Singapore Trip, I received a notice from Air Asia saying that my reservation to Macau was cancelled.  Since my Mom was expecting a trip for January, I decided to convert my payment to a credit shell and booked a one way flight to Singapore and another flight going to Kuala Lumpur.

Well of course my Mom was sad when she found out that we are no longer going to Macau because she personally chose that destination when I asked her.  But since I promised her that I would treat her abroad, I had to make a quick decision and booked this promo flight to Singapore while it is available.

Because our flight was scheduled to depart at 6:10 in the morning, I had to book at Tune Hotels near Clark International Airport.  We took the Victory Liner bus going to Dau Bus station for only 129 Pesos. From there, we hired a tricycle for only 100 Pesos going to Tune Hotels.  Upon check-in, we were given our key card, essential toiletries, and wifi password.  It is actually better to book for a Tune Hotel via agoda.com because all amenities are already included in the amount.  When booking straight to tune's website, all amenities including air-conditioning are charged on top of the room rates.

Inside Tune Hotels Angeles

We hired a taxi service to Clark International Airport  for only 350 Pesos.  We were picked up at 3:45 AM and we were just in time for check-in which opened at 4 o' clock in the morning.  Check-in procedure was easy because we already checked-in online and had our boarding pass printed.  Immigration counters were moved to a new location making space for increasing travelers using this airport which was evident with longer queues.

Boarding Time! My Mom's first International Flight.

Breakfast on board Air Asia.

Our flight departed on time reaching our destination a few minutes ahead of schedule.  Since Changi Airport has a rail link to the city, we were at our hotel in a few minutes.  We stayed at Fragrance Hotel Pearl in Geylang.  There are many Fragrance Hotel in Geylang and around Singapore, but we chose this one as it is closer to Aljunied MRT Station, although it is still very tiring to walk to and from the station.  There is a bus stop near Lorong 18 so instead of walking to the MRT station, we take the bus going to Bugis station bus stop and from there, we take the train to our destination.  To return to our hotel, we alight at Aljunied station and from there, we take a bus that stops near Lorong 18 and another stop in Lorong 10.  Good thing we bought EZ Link Tap card which can be used in buses and MRT.

Just Arrived Singapore!

There were still no vacant rooms when we arrived at the hotel so we left our luggage and I decided to go to the city center and let my Mom have a glimpse of Singapore.  We went to Raffles center, Marina Bay, and of course we took pictures with the world famous Merlion, Singapore’s National Symbol.  We ate lunch at Lau Pa Sat and we also bought  a Steamed Saba Fish for take-out.  After a very exciting tour of the city, we went back to our hotel to check-in.  After check-in, we fixed our belongings and prepare clithes that will be used for our Singapore tour.  We took some rest and decided to eat our take-out for dinner.  The fish was so deliciously cooked and my Mom loved it.  After dinner, we went out again to go to Bugis Street so my Mom would have a first taste of Singapore bargain Shopping.  It was already dark when we arrived Bugis,  my Mom never imagined that there are cheap bargains in Singapore so she bought souvenir shirts for her grandchildren.  She also bought some items for her friends, and of course she bought her self a nice leather bag.  After shopping, we went back to our hotel to rest and prepare for tomorrow’s trip.

Marina Bay Sands

My Mom having a little chat with the statues!

A friendly Filipino took this photo for us.

Day 2:  This time we are going to Sentosa to visit Resorts World.  We first ate early lunch at Vivo City Mall, this is where you can take trains going to Sentosa Island.  We ate at the Halal Section food court.  After that, we went straight to the Sentosa Express station located at Level L, 3^rd Floor of VivoCity.  We alighted at Waterfront station and took a walk around.  We took photos at the Universal Studios, but since my Mom won’t take any rides, we decided not to enter inside the park.  We walked our way around bought some souvenirs.  Upon walking our way near Imbiah Station, we again took the monorail to the Beach Station.  From here, we walked to Siloso Beach but we did not reached the center because it was too hot.  We took some rest before taking the monorail back to Vivo City.  

Lunch Time!

            Although tired, we still went to Chinatown before going back to our hotel.  We looked for some things to buy but unfortunately, we find Bugis a better option, so instead of shopping, we tried several foods from the kiosks.  The seaweed sandwich was good.  From Chinatown,   we went to Little India.  Our destination is Mustafa Centre, but it was a long walk because this place is near Farrer Park Station rather than Little India Station.  We bought Merlion Chocolates and other things to be brought home.  Prices here are cheaper compared to other malls.  After shopping, we went to City Square Mall near Farrer Park Station to rest for a while before boarding the train. My mom decided to call home to talk to her grandchildren whom she already misses.   When we got our energy back, we boarded the train back to Aljunied Station.  We ate dinner at an eatery outside the station before we took a bus back to our hotel.  It was a very tiring but exciting day for us.  After a soothing hot shower, we went to our bed and had a nice sleep.

Seaweed Bun

Mustafa Centre at Little India

On our third day, my Mom requested to go back to Bugis Street so she could buy more things.  Then after that, we proceeded to Suntec City to see the Fountain of Wealth, the world’s larget fountain.  Unfortunately, it was under renovation that time, so my Mom wasn’t able to see it.  So we went straight to Orchard road to have a walk around.  My Mom liked the ambiance of this place.  We went to Lucky Plaza to eat lunch.  She was already craving for Filipino Food so I brought her there.  We were given a free Ponkan upon ordering at a Filipino Food Stall inside the food court.  I thought my Mom’s shopping spree is done, until she saw another cheap bargains,  we actually exceeded our  budget in Singapore and had to exchange some extra Pesos so we wouldn’t use our budget for our next day’s destination which is Kuala Lumpur.  We also went to centerpoint mall to buy bottled water and other necessities.  On this day, we went back to our hotel early to pack our stuff because we are leaving for Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

A walk along Orchard Road

It was an exciting tour because I was with my Mom.  She enjoyed her first tour out of the country.   She said she would want to go back someday so I think I’ll have to start saving for it now!