A drive up to Kuala Lumpur for a 2D1N trip organised by a group of MINI enthusiasts. I tagged along with Dearie and met my good friends at KL! Here is a photo journal of our short trip up and description of things we have done along the way.
Day 1 (26 June 2010):
The group driving up gathered at West Coast Macdonald for a short briefing and we set off at about 0715hrs from Singapore.
On our way...
The 1st stop was at a Petonas Petrol Kiosk right after the Tuas Checkpoint. The 2nd stop, we stopped for a toilet break after a toll station. Our 3rd and actual rest stop was at the Tongkak beef noodles stall (You can actually find this place using a GPS system, search under "Tongkak Beef Noodles" as a point of interest).
At about 6RM per person for a bowl of beef kway teow and barley. I had
beef bee hoon. Thought it was a little too salty for me. Serving was
just nice, not too much. Overall I give the stopover 3.5 out of 5!
4th stop - Durian Distibutor near the Beef noodle stall. We paid about 20RM per person and had a lot of durians (and I mean ALOT). Great tasting durians, both sweet and bitter are available. I'll rate the place 4 out of 5! (Nom... Nom... Nom....)
5th stop - City Karting at Alam Shah stadium near KL City.
Like a real race, the group was divided into two for the qualifying rounds. The first round lasted for 12 minutes, so did the qualifying round. Each group took turn to do their practice and qualifying round respectively. Thereafter, 14 finalists with the best timing from the qualifying round got to race in the finals! In the last round, the finalists was issued a kart and no one was allowed to choose his/her kart. The whole event ended with the top three racers on the mini podium ;) the cost for this is 114RM per person. I'd say this experience was pretty value for money and will rate the overall experience 5 out of 5!
The group went on a detour from Alam Shah Stadium to Traders Hotel, Kuala Lumpur as the GPS could not find "Traders Hotel" (or Kuala Lumpur City Center. I found out later that the GPS we were using actually recognise the search term "KLCC" instead). The traffic near the City Center was no joke. At 3 plus in the afternoon, we had to inch bumper to bumper for about 30 mins for a journey which could have only taken a little more than 10 mins. By the time we reach the hotel, it was already 4 plus, almost 5. Service of the check in was quite fast, although it could have been faster considering how worn out we were from the day's activities.
We reserved a deluxe room, non-smoking. Room was very spacious and well maintained. Bed is comfortable and the place looks clean. Well worth the 4-star rating in the Internet. Interestingly, the television actually automatically mutes if you receive a call or if you are calling from the phone in the room. (or maybe I'm just being a mountain turtle...)
This hotel also has a buggy shuttle service to-and-from KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre). The service ends at 1030 every night and the KLCC closes at 10 pm. The frequency is unknown, I only remember the hotel staff telling me "the buggy is coming" every time I looked over. KLCC is like any big shopping malls with big names in Singapore. Nothing very fascinating. Had my dinner at Nippon Tei- kimchi soup with ramen and a seaweed salad. Quite average for the amount we had to pay for it.
Great time spent with my mates though! More than enough to make up for it.
For the night, we decided to head back to the SkyBar in our hotel to watch the elimination match between South Korea and Uraguay. We took a slow walk back from KLCC to Traders Hotel. it took about 10-15 minutes
to reach our hotel.
We proceeded directly to the famous SkyBar only to be told that there was only standing "seats" at the bar counter. So we ended up at Angela/Biyuan/Desmond's room with beer and chips that we bought from a not so nearby 7-11. Our little detour to the convenient shop involves a 15RM taxi ride there and back (all inclusive). It seems that the taxi meter does not operate at night and all fares are arrive at through negotiation with the taxi driver. But this may be a more ideal arrangement as the traffic does not ease up as the night wears on. Hence, having agreed to a lump sum fare might be better. This being said, Desmond thinks that we're just trying to justify being "chop" by the taxi driver.
The soccer match was a blur to me as I only managed to catch the goal or potential goal scenes as I fell asleep after first half. I only remembered Angela being sorely disappointed when the final whistle sounded and saying "the better team lost" like all good English coaches do when their team lost in an EPL match.
This is the view from their room :)
(went back to sleep after that while the gang went to SkyBar for a
drink. perhaps they can share their exp here.)
Day 2:
Breakfast at Traders Hotel ends at 1030hrs.
Rather humane hours for me. The spread was great- international cruisine with congee, omelette, roasted eggplant, cheese, smoked salmon, sushi, Nazi lemak, yogurt, etc.
Chatting after a satisfying meal :)
And I had the chance to take some pictures with a Lotus!
Plenty more of pictures shall be uploaded once I download them from the camera :) Meanwhile, take care!
Like a real race, the group was divided into two for the qualifying rounds. The first round lasted for 12 minutes, so did the qualifying round. Each group took turn to do their practice and qualifying round respectively. Thereafter, 14 finalists with the best timing from the qualifying round got to race in the finals! In the last round, the finalists was issued a kart and no one was allowed to choose his/her kart. The whole event ended with the top three racers on the mini podium ;) the cost for this is 114RM per person. I'd say this experience was pretty value for money and will rate the overall experience 5 out of 5!
Plenty more of pictures shall be uploaded once I download them from the camera :) Meanwhile, take care!
