Short KL Trip: Day 1 - Berjaya Time Square, Museum of Illusion and Hauntu Immersive Experience

It wasn’t even 4am when I checked my watch; the clock in the bus was fast. This made me even gladder that I had paid for an extra night. There were plenty of taxis waiting to pick up passengers; our hotel - Berjaya Time Square hotel, was a stone throw from the alighting point. 

There was no other guests checking in. Only 1 counter was opened and the security was openly sleeping on his job. Lol. I have booked the family room. On the hotel website, the room looked nice but it is actually a very old hotel. 

The family room looked improvised, like they decided to throw in a bunk bed and called it the family room. 

Daddy Lim was already hungry before we left Singapore and insisted to find supper at the 7-11. The kids asked us to tabao too but when we were back, Nana was already in lala land. Daddy Lim and Zaky happily finished all the convenient food that we bought.

It was 4ish when we went to bed. I contemplated waking up for the gym. It was obviously wishful thinking on my part. The redeye flight and the bad sleeping on the bus killed me. I asked Daddy Lim to set the alarm for 7am but I kept snoozing the alarm. We only woke up at 8am. 

Finally making out of the room for bfast. 

When we were checking in, we were told that it would be vegetarian buffet bfast. Huh? Why? There was some special event on vegetarian Melaka food. Anyhow, the buffet spread was decent, just vegetarian. It tasted quite ok too.

We totally forgot about D, who went to our house to feed Mochi at 8.30am. It was only 9.30am that we realised. Fortunately, some kind neighbours helped him to open the gate and he made it to our house to feed Mochi. D was very nice to take video of Mochi, who kept meowing in the video. 

After bfast, we went mall crawling. The Berjaya Time Square Mall was connected to our hotel by a side door. The Mall is huge, but the clothing style weird. Thus we went off empty handed. We did a game of Escape Room and then went for massage.

Then, a late lunch. 

We decided to head back to the room; the kids caught up on some homework while I chased my email. I even dozed off for 15 mins. 

The plan was to go for the Museum of Illusion, which I had booked via Klook. The museum was 10 mins car ride away and we took a Grab. I realised that it was in Bukit Bintang and I think that is where all the happening shopping are.

The museum is a small place but we had fun.

I like how these pictures made me look so skinny. Lol.

Only I have the magical slimming effect. Haha. 

There were quite some puzzles to solve. I gladly left those heavy lifting to Daddy Lim and the kids. I don’t have that many brain cells left to kill. 

The museum is quite small but we were entertained for a good hour. The funniest is this spinning tunnel. The vision effect makes one feel like he/ she is falling. I get so affected by these and was barely able to complete the short tunnel without help. 

Our last event of the day was the Hauntu Immersive Experience. We took another grab to the KL LINC and had a simple dinner. I read on the website that this Hauntu experience is supposed to be some role playing activity in some horror movie setting. I am a scardy cat and so are my kids. They were whining so much before the activity. Lol. We even formulise strategies, including not eating too much for dinner, so that we can run when needed. Hahahahaha.

Our activity was booked for 8.30pm and we were told that there would be another group of 6 joining us. The kids were very glad for more people but the group never came. I think the hantu got them. Hoho. 

The activity started with safety briefing - don’t touch the scare actor; they wouldn’t touch us too. Don’t do stupid things, if it gets too much, there is always the chicken exit. Then, we were told the storyline - it was the last day of operation for the haunted Colle Eastern Hotel and we are the spooksters, hired by Rizal and his team of 2 to help investigate the ghostly events. 

In the beginning, our nerves were raw and whatever little noises scare the hell out of us. Almost throughout the activity, we were led by one of the actors (Rizal and/ or team) and had to make decisions, which would affect how the storyline would develop. The activity was held in this cleverly created and decorated little space with many turns and corridors. At some point, it felt like one of the theme park rides, bcos we could hear another group in another part of the ride. Lol. 

At the very end, we were told that we were all dead on the way to the hotel, plotted and killed by one of Rizal’s team member. Hohoho. We would all be spirits trapped inside the hotel forever. 

Overall, the event wasn’t as scary as we thought it would be. There weren’t as many jump scares. The activity intention wasn’t to simply scare us silly but to be involved in the role playing, which Daddy Lim and the kids did very well. I was simply very scare throughout and was hanging on to one of them most of the time. Lol. 

They all agreed that it was a very enjoyable activity. I was just so physically tired from all the stress. I finally redeemed myself, no more reprimand from Zaky in particular, for booking a horror activity. Hoho. 

We took a grab back to the hotel. I told you that being scared is very tiring. 

It was already 10ish when we arrived back at the hotel. Sleep was so easy and nobody had nightmares. Lol. 

Mummy Lim

Short KL Trip: Day 0

I have booked in July the September holiday trip to KL. It had been a long time since we last visited KL. After much consideration, I thought it would be nice to take a night bus to KL. I imagine us sleeping nicely and waking up in KL. Let’s hope it will be that way. 

It isn’t intentional. I blamed it on miscounting the days and I thus arrived in Singapore from Tokyo on Friday  morning and then taking a bus out of KL on the same night. My brain is quite fried. 

On Friday morning, I simply moved all the toiletries and common travel stuff from 1 luggage to another. Quite convenient. I am also proud to say that I not only managed to do the laundry, vacuumed the floor, but also survived an entire busy work day. Though a headache developed by late morning, and I am not sure if that was from the lack of sleep or dehydration, panadol came to the rescue. 

The bus pick up was at the Grantal Mall @ MacPherson, at 10.30pm. MacPherson is like foreign land when we were Westerners. Hoho. After settling Mochi, we set off. We have engaged Zaky’s classmate, D, to go to our house daily to feed Mochi. D will come once a day and we will rely on the auto feeder for the other meal. I hope this arrangement will be less stressful for Mochi than sending him to a sitter. He is overgrooming again and bald spots are appearing. 

Unfortunately, ants have starting appearing in our house and the ants love Mochi’s food. Mochi always meow pitifully when the ants invade his food. We have set up the traditional ants prevention method. 

We tried and he is willing to eat even with the complicated setup. 

We took a Tada to the Mall and were so lost at the Mall. We had to ask an unfriendly lady with a luggage, who pointed us to the Transtar shop in the mall. We were told that we have to 1st take this bus to the Malaysia immigration, clear immigration, then change to another bus. I was worried - how to find this other bus at the immigration? The staff impatiently replied to “just find”. Ok lor. 

At 10.25pm, there was no sign of the bus. There were other people waiting and I guessed that means we were at the right place, doing the right thing? 

The bus arrived at about 10.35pm. The seats were alright but not those that you would want to spend the night on. I thought I didn’t fall asleep but I probably did bcos everytime I opened my eyes to check where we were, we had made significant progress. 

We alighted at the Singapore immigration, cleared immigration and crossed the 2nd link in the same bus. Both customs were quiet and we cleared immigration easily. 

At the Malaysia side, I guarded the kids while Daddy Lim hunted for the bus. Luckily, he found it easily. No sweat, no panic. 

This time, the seats were much spacious and comfortable. I fell asleep quickly. Daddy Lim was hoping for a supper break but there was none. I woke up several times in the night and checked Google map each time. Based on Google map, I thought we would arrive at about 5am and was pleasantly surprised when the lights in the bus were turned on when the clock on the bus showed 4am. I made a right choice to book a hotel room for the night. In her half asleep state, she asked what was happening. 到了!

Mummy Lim

Another Tokyo Business Trip Part 2

Part 2 of the post consists mainly of food and more food photos. Lol. 

I woke up early on Tuesday morning for the gym. The hotel has a tiny little gym. I was the only one. 

I went on the treadmill, and was distracted by the mountain view video played on the treadmill. The distraction was so good, such that I could easily do a 5km jog. 

Mental note that the hotel has a laundry room and microwave. 

I refreshed up and headed for bfast. Like the last round, guests ordered from the menu. The sides can be ordered on unlimited basis. 

This was the only bfast I had this trip bcos I was constantly eating and I seriously don’t need so much food. 

OOTD and the mooncakes.

The sun was up at 6am and it was already scorching hot. I was tempting to buy an umbrella. It was definitely hotter than Singapore at 8ish in the morning.

Lunch! I was happy to go to the supermarket opposite the office to pick and choose what I wanted for lunch. 

So many choices and so delicious. Hoho. My dinner wasn’t any healthier but I was very happy. The black cod was so nice and cheap. 

On Wednesday, I went to the gym again and I had the other hotel guests for companion. I did my HiiT with weights, skipped bfast and was very much looking forward to lunch. It was another trip to the supermarket. I love how I can buy a few small things and have different items for lunch. Hoho.

There is a Hardrock near to my hotel. I am very nice and bought a T-shirt for Daddy Lim.

It was my last night in Tokyo and I went for a final trip to Donki but left empty handed. Convenient store dinner. 

On the way back, I saw the Mario gokart and had wanted to try that the last visit to Tokyo. Unfortunately, a driving licence is required and the kids can’t do that. 

The cycle repeats itself for Thursday. I lugged my luggage to the office and was very pleasantly surprised to find a cloudy morning. The walk to the office was so comfortable and it even drizzled during the day. 

I was very excited to go home and left the office at 7.30pm. The airport was about 30 mins by car. The taxi driver was a young lady with nicely done nails. 

I was very happy to arrive at the airport bcos I was very hungry and looking forward to dinner at the business lounge. 

This was one of the many rounds. Business trip to Tokyo is that only business trip that my luggage and I both put on weight. I have zero will power against the wonderful Japanese food and Donki shopping. 

My flight was at 12.40am and I was very tired and very happy to board. 

I fell asleep within mins of lowering the seat and again skipped bfast. I woke up a few times in the night but otherwise slept very well. This time, I have no coffee. 

Home sweet home and I am very glad to come home! 

Mummy Lim

Another Tokyo Business Trip Part 1

Yes, I am back in Tokyo. While I do not look forward to any business trips, the last 2 business trips to Tokyo were done when the weather was cool and fantastic and they felt really good. This one is different; my Japan colleagues were telling me that it is the right smack of summer and it is crazily hot, humid and uncomfortable. They said that it is worse than Singapore. Sob, I don’t want to go Japan when it is hot, it will destroy my nice image of Japan, but unfortunately…

I had intended to travel for 3 days but accidentally booked a 4-day flight. Ok lor. I had to email the hotel to extend the reservations and hoped that it is really amended. Otherwise, I will have to sleep under the bridge for a night. Lol. 

My flight was on Sunday night. I was still happily cycling on the foldie with Daddy Lim on Sunday late afternoon. I knew I was flying but forgotten to check the exact flight time. I didn’t miss my flight but it was a rush. Silly me. 

I am a PCN rider.

We did ride on the road a little, but I think Daddy Lim had wanted a chill PNC ride. I cannot, I was rushing to go home and slow ride is not very much in my blood. Hohoho. I miss road riding and hasn’t found a group to ride with. 

Anyhow, the plan was to pick the kids from tuition and have dinner together before I head to the airport. Then, I realised that there wasn’t enough time. I hadn’t finished packing my bag, the uniforms were not ironed, the laundry was still in the dryer and I think I better vacuum the floor before I leave for the next 4 days. Daddy Lim got the kids and I stayed home to do the needful. At least they got home before I left and Daddy Lim sent me to the Tada. It is the 1st time to the airport from Rio and traveling time is shaved by more than half. 

I didn’t linger at the DFS shop like I usually would for all my business trips. All I did was to find Bengawang so that I could buy mooncakes for my colleagues. 

I was rushing bcos I got to fly business class and could visit the business lounge. Bcos of the rush, I didn’t have my dinner and was looking forward to dinner at the lounge. Hoho. I am going to Tokyo anyway and I bet there are things to buy from Tokyo.

My dinner. 

I happily took my time. When I was at the gate, it was already boarding. So much leg space. I flew ANA the last trip too. 

The plan was simple - lower the seat and sleep once the seatbelt sign goes off. That was exactly what I did. I tried to watch a little movie but knew that I have to sleep for the work day ahead. 

I skipped bfast again even when the menu looked interesting. I needed to sleep. I woke up several times and thought there were turbulences at time. Thankfully, my ability to sleep in most places and quickly saved me, plus I am lying down. This time, I think I knew when bfast was served, I stirred, remembered that the lights were on and heard somebody’s cutlery clinking away. I chose lala land. At least the air stewardess offered me a cup of coffee before landing. Hoho. 

The flight touched down at 5ish Japan time, which is 1 hr ahead of Sgp. Hello Tokyo! I can feel the heat the moment I disembarked. 

I am blogging to remind myself about the online arrival card. I went to the Visit Japan website and thought that I had done the necessary bcos the English translation was so bad. There is actually a QR code to retrieve after the custom declaration. I ended up in the longer immigration Q bcos I didn’t complete the online process and had to use the hard copy arrival form. 

As it was really early, I thought I would take the train instead. My colleague said that I should take the Tokyo monorail from the Haneda airport to Hamamatsucho, then change to the Ooedo subway to Roponggi station. Taking the train made the trip felt more like a holiday. Haha. 

Gachapon! The kids would have loved these.

Google map works well in Tokyo. The express monorail was empty at 6am. 

I had to exit at the Hamamatsucho station and then a walk to the Ooedo station. It took me a while to figure out my direction but I didn’t get lost. Again, the subway was fairly empty. 

The hotel is about 8 mins walk from the subway station. When I saw the stairs, I start missing Daddy Lim and Zaky bcos my luggage is heavy. 

Tokyo was indeed hot and humid. I am not sure if it is worse than Singapore but I was already perspiring when I got to the hotel, which is about 7 mins walk away. The room was unfortunately not ready, until about 12pm. 

What did I do? I left the luggage and went to Donki. Hoho. I got a couple of cosmetic stuff. I know right, fast hand, fast leg. 

I had wanted to work at the cafe opposite the hotel but needed power port and couldn’t find one at the cafe. I ended up back in a cosy corner in the hotel lobby.

My bfast! Yummy!

The room was supposed to be ready at about 12pm. I got it slightly earlier and was glad for a place to put my bag and sit more comfortably. I got these from the hotel lobby, then realised that amenities were provided in the room. Not sure why there are extras. Anyhow, I am happy with the free loot. 

Ya, Sekkisei products. Yes, this one atas hotel, in Roponggi and with very decent sized room. 

I wasn’t due to appear in the office until 4.30pm and worked the rest of the day in the hotel. I had contemplated skipping lunch but I am in Tokyo! This was happy lunch. 

Supplemented with chicken toriyaki, completed with cake dessert. Hoho.

I got to the office on time. While there was shade most way, the heat was obvious. I also realised that I had only visited Japan in the cold months and the 1st time seeing Japaneses dressed for summer. There were so many skinny ladies in tight and summery outfits. 

Work was alright. I was only in the office for a few hours anyway. I left at about 7.30pm and on the way, visited the mall opposite. There is Uniqlo but I didn’t buy. Usually when I travel for business, if I am alone, I would either tabao to eat in the room, or ordered room service. But I walked past this curry place earlier in the day. 

It wasn’t so bad eating alone bcos this is one of the many Japanese joints where people eat alone and eat and go kind. 

I visited Donki one more time. Nana said to buy snacks. I think enough le.  

I had thought that I should venture out this trip. It is Tokyo afterall. I saw the Tokyo Tower right in front of the hotel but was too lazy to walk over and observatory tower is not my thing. Well, I shall admire it from afar. 

Bcos of the tiring night on the flight, I know sleep will be easy. Hoho. Good night. 

Mummy Lim