Total duration 2D1N Nikoi Island is in the 1hr ahead of Singapore. Ferry time is 1hr on Bintan Resort Ferries from Singapore to Bintan, land transfer of 1hr drive followed by a speed boat transfer of 20mins. Return is the same in reverse.
Ferry from Singapore to Bintan at 1110am, arriving at 1110am in Bintan. Return ferry from Bintan to Singapore is at 335pm and arriving in Singapore at 535pm.
This trip was planned as a getaway birthday trip for me. It was initially intended to be a 3D2N private island resort experience but was cut short due to my kid getting a fever and we absentmindedly left the paracetamol at home.
Budget – Expensive, made worse by forgoing one night stay.
As this was a private island, what would you expect? Accommodations were comfy but modest but they are all villas and nothing less. There were just one restaurant serving fine dining cuisine that was delicious no doubt, but without choice, one had to full board SGD100-ish a day. Had to booked an urgent boat on Emerald class which increased the costs further and the private land transfer from jetty to jetty cost money too.
Complexity – Easy
Since it was all integrated, what came with the price was the convenience and the exclusivity of private travel (except for the boat transfer to the island). The short cut to the front of the queue at the immigrations was awesome!
It was a typical weekend but we decided on impulse to visit our neighbor Malaysia for some getaway fun for our boy, specifically Thomas Land. After spending some time online to compare the various deals (online promo was RM88 for Hello Kitty and Thomas town but earliest tix available was the next day, Klook was slightly cheaper than a day tix, Mileslife only had Hello kitty in return for giving more miles on top of card miles and finally Maybank had one promo till end of the year, 30% off 2 parks tickets), we were on our way. Went over to forex for some SGD$100 at 3.07 rate at the market, we drove to the 2nd link after topping up my petrol to 3/4 tank.
The Singapore checkpoint at the 2nd link was slightly busy but we managed to clear in about 15mins. It was about 1215pm then, when we met with a massive jam, apparently so many people were going to Malaysia at this time (and it wasn’t even the long weekend). We had stayed on the no mans land for some 2hrs, reaching the immigrations at past 2pm. While on the way struggling towards the checkpoint, to save us some time, K had his lunch in the car.
GPS indicated 29mins additional – understatement!
Traffic jam.
All the way till the Johor checkpoint.
Because I didn’t have the Touch N Go card with me, I had to purchase one as there was a VEP fee to pay using that card. The officer at the counter told me to get out of the car and walk to VEP counter to buy the card. Leaving the car (which felt a little awkward and a little sorry for the car behind me), I went to the VEP counter where there were a few people who was at the auto machine, either buying a card or topping up. I bought the card for RM10 and topped up another RM50 at the same machine that luckily had English and a staff there to help, I hurried back to the car where the officer was done with our passports, tapped for a RM20 VEP fee before driving on.
The drive was the same route to Legoland and it was a short 15mins to Puteri harbour, passing one toll gantry where we had to pay RM7.50 toll before exiting at 312. Further down the road past Legoland, we soon arrived at a building where hotel Jen and Thomas town was. Drove down two levels and parked there, apparently without a need for carpark tickets or fees (at our time of visit).
At Puteri Harbour
At the theme park entrance
While mommy visited the toilet after holding it in for the whole journey, I went to the ticketing to get the tickets, a Maybank promo of RM175 for 2 adults for 2 parks as K was under 3 and thus free. There was a Safra card promo too but since I didn’t have it with me and was there for the Maybank promo (which the staff didn’t know about and thankfully I screen shot it).
The ticketing counter inside the building
Two tickets for the adults
Giant Hello Kitty design
We were given the wrist band and after a bag check, we took the lift to the 3rd floor. Thomas Town occupied the entire 3rd floor with a cafe and the rests were rides and a huge indoor playground. K got on top of the Bertie the bus ride before taking a Thomas train then went round the small track 2 times before indulging in the huge indoor playground (it was meant for 4 and older but I followed closely) for a good half an hour of climbing and sliding while mommy went for lunch.
Bertie Bus ride that went round and round
Thomas Town Panorama
Knapford station, all aboard Thomas the train
Thomas the train ride
Parent’s lounge area, to take a break from all the fun
Thomas and the other trains within the indoor playground
Obstacles in the playground
And tight lanes that were sometimes difficult to squeeze pass, as an adult
Slides of course
Game coupons for Hello Kitty town
When mommy came and took K to rest at the parents lounge and have milk, I went to the cafe there for some Mee Goreng for RM17, and proceeded to 2nd floor to see what’s there. To my surprise, there were many other playground there meant for K’s age and even a small stage for shows. At that time, Bob the builder was also having a show where parents and kids all gathered in front of the stage to watch sitting on comfy bean bags. There was also an arcade area.
Mee Goreng plus egg lunch
Bob the builder show
At the 2nd level
Indoor playground meant for smaller kids
Pingu the penguin
Arcade inside
Mini maze at Barney’s
I proceeded to the first floor and walked around the Hello Kitty Town. By comparison, it was a lot quieter in the sense of the activities, where it was more suited for kids preferring less physical activities. There was a Hello Kitty photo session ongoing and a show about to start with a queue forming. There was a cafe there too. I didn’t spend a lot of time there before joining the sleeping duo at the third floor. I managed to get online for awhile with my phone catching a whiff on hotel Jen wifi signal (no free wifi in Thomas town) before ending up on the couch back at Thomas town, typing this note while waiting for K to finish napping.
Hello Kitty Town entrance
Hello Kitty Town engulfed in pink
Indoor playground in Hello Kitty Town
Cinnamon roll cafe in Hello Kitty Town
A quick 1.5 hrs nap and he woke up. A little dazed, his little engine kickstarted quickly when I mentioned that there is more to see one level below. After changing out his diapers in public, we went down one level where the assorted characters of Bob the builder, Barney and Pingu could be found. With only 45mins to closing, we went to the indoor playground of Bob the builder, a playground meant for 3 to 12, more suited to K’s age. He immediately went for the ball pool, moving half submerged through and climbed for the slides. A couple more times at the slides and he had enough. There were giant puzzles to play with but he wasn’t interested. Barney characters were out and about for photos and we took a family pic before having a go at Barneys maze. The last stop at this level was at Pingu arcade where the games were for free. K wasn’t interested in most, though the parents had a little fun with the basketball while he was trying to do the rolling bowling.
Barney the mascots
10mins left and we went to level 1 where Hello Kitty town was. Almost everything was close and K was disappointed not being able to go to the indoor playground there (again!). We lined up at the shooting game in the last bit to utilize the coupons (using a toy gun to shoot at targets and win some stuff) but was too late as they had to do a hard stop at 6pm. We pleaded for the staff to let K shoot one shot as he was looking forward to it and cried when we said the game stall had closed. He did shoot once but it wasn’t on target.
We got to the ground floor and walked through the souvenir store, again being rushed to leave the place. There was quite a big section of Hello Kitty merchandise and a small section of Thomas the Train but we didn’t had much time anyway to shop, not to mention buy.
Thomas the train section in the store
The much bigger Hello Kitty section
Outside, there seemed to be programs of some sort going on but we weren’t participating due to the Mid-Autumn festival. Walked to the waterfront where rows of stalls were put up for bazaar but really not much to see. The view was also a typical yacht harbour.
Puteri Harbour panorama
Right next to the harbour
Bazaar stalls with lanterns for the mid-Autumn festival
Before leaving, I took some photos, bought a white coffee from Old Town white coffee, used the hotel Jen free wifi to load the map before we headed for home. Going home was rather easy and quick, the only grouse (due to my stupidity) was I missed the petrol station to fill up, not realizing that the R&R sign was the point to turn in from the highway.
Clearing the immigrations was fast, compared to the jam in the morning, and while we were traveling through the no mans land, we saw the morning jam extended till now! What’s with the traffic I wondered. Clearance was fast at Tuas since there weren’t many cars returning.
It was a really long day trip even though the theme parks were only opened for a mere 8hrs (10am-6pm). The fatigue came from the long wait at the queue going into Johor coupled with lotsa climbing inside the indoor playground. Overall it would be worth it to just pay for a single park with the Safra discount as we didn’t have time for the Hello Kitty town. Anyhow, it wasn’t that expensive to begin with (compared to places like Pororo park) just that it would have been better if we had left early and took in the whole 8hrs. There were quite a bit of games and entertainment ongoing other than the rides on offer. Those who preferred creative activities would prefer the Hello Kitty town since there were crafts rooms and cookies baking rooms, all were missed due to lack of time. In consideration of the jammed up nonsense going in, maybe a staycation at hotel Jen might not be a bad idea.
This trip was planned as a weekend activity with our boy, an impulse to leave the country for a Saturday for some fun.
Budget – pretty affordable.
Since it was a really short day trip, we didn’t manage to spend the SGD $100 that we exchanged for the trip.
Complexity – Driving took only 15mins from Tuas Checkpoint
It was a pretty straightforward drive just like the one to Legoland. Even better with a preloaded Google map. The crappy experience was only the one where we got stuck for 2hrs on no-man’s land. The causeway one might be faster option.
The last day in KL started late at 930am, where everyone slept well into the morning. I must admit the huge comfortable bed was difficult to get out of.
K managed to squeeze 2 episodes of his favorite cartoon while his parents prepared for check out, having failed the attempt for a late check out. We left the room at 11 and checked out which was done quickly but had to wait for a while for the bellboy to take our luggage for storage. We went to visit the Westin Kids Club and K and I checked in the small area that had a mini playground, some toys and books, a PS3 and mega bloks, while mommy went on for her last minute shopping. It was a little expensive, costing RM30 for the first hour and subsequent ones at RM20 but it’s fine as K amused himself going around the play stuff in this room that was occupied by only us and another staff manning the place (another much older kid joined later as his mom left him there to play PS3). She made a balloon machine gun for K who coyly took it from her but didn’t play with it much afterwards.
Inside Westin Kids Club
Mommy came back at around 1225pm, some 5mins after I paid for the subsequent hours, having checked with the free public wifi that there weren’t any other playgrounds closed by and no other options if mommy hadn’t return. The staff was kind enough to return the RM20 and we were on our way to Pavilion for lunch.
We visited a Thai restaurant Celadon that was artistically designed place and served delicious pineapple rice and iced Thai green tea. Mommy wasn’t impressed with her Phad Thai and lemongrass but I thought it was alright and it came in a huge portion. K was moving about in the huge high back cushion seat having fun and being troublesome to manage while having his meals. The costs was around RM90+, expensive for meals in KL but expected for restaurants like this.
Inside Celadon restaurant
Lemongrass drink
Iced Thai green tea
Pineapple rice
Phad Thai
We dropped by the Padini concept store to buy some clothes for myself, having known that this local brand was really having low prices. Ended up spending RM120+ for 2 polo tees, one pair of berms and 5socks, a great deal. We returned to the hotel to pick up our luggage, changed K’s diapers and got a Grab, using the free public Wifi. It was a fixed rate of RM65 with RM5 off using promo code excluding tolls.
The silver vehicle that picked us up didn’t have enough boot space and the luggage had to go on the front seat which the driver complained about the wheels that were going to puncture his seat cushion. The rest of the journey was pretty much smooth with K falling asleep and myself dozing off. The driver also started chatting to avoid dozing off himself.
We arrived at 3ish and proceeded to check in at the SilkAir counter all the way at the end. It felt a little long for our counter as people were just moving on beside us. After luggage drop, we went through immigrations and took the train to the satellite gate, the train we were initially waiting had some technical fault and couldn’t alight the passengers and we had to take another one.
The last hour was spent buying goodies from the stores (local goodies were much more expensive) and having a cheese cake and some drinks at Old Malaya kopitiam before rushing to the gate for boarding.
Fountain within the airport satellite gate
At the satellite terminal
Goodies from the Kids club
Cheese cake and drinks
Old Malaya Kopitiam
At the gate for departure
The flight back was supposed to be a quick 45mins, with a rushed drinks service but because there was a backlog of planes trying to land, we hovered in the air for 15mins and queued on the ground for another 10mins before arriving at the gate 30mins late. Mommy then sent us to the wrong belt which we made us think that our luggage was lost and we didn’t buy insurance but thankfully we rechecked and it was found at another belt.
This trip was meant to celebrate mommy’s birthday and catered mostly for her shopping interest and therefore my babysitting K for most of the trip. The rooms that we stayed were mostly comfortable and other than dealing with K’s fussiness, the main objectives of keeping both of them happy were met.
After a nice nights rest on the super comfy bed, we woke up to Blaze on TV for K, had some bread that we bought from a bakery (no complimentary breakfast) and a pot of roast coffee that which wasn’t fantastic. After mommy was done with the lunch preparations, we left for the mall, first visiting the Sungei Wang mall and then Berjaya Times Square.
Westin separate entrance for executive apartments.
Sungei Wang mall was a mere 10mins walk away and by the time we arrived, not many shops were opened. Mommy did her shopping while I had the job of keeping K entertained with whatever I could think of, like stepping on certain colored tiles or playing with the interactive shop directory. Obviously, after a while, that didn’t cut it as entertaining and he asked to be brought to a playground.
Sungei Wang mall
One of the early bird stores that was opened
Berjaya Times Square
With that, I brought K to Berjaya Times Square first as there was a huge Indoor theme and park, and left mommy to her shopping. Walking out of Sungei Walk was difficult as there were many levels and I took a long time to find the route to the main entrance. Then it was a short walk but uncomfortable one in the hot and humid weather.
Once there, I tried to withdraw some money from the ATM as I was low on cash. But the machine was unable to dispense cash for my account when I choose both savings or Visa options (for the OCBC 365 account) and I gave up. Went to the 5th level and paid RM51 for the adult tickets using credit card whereas K entered for free, being under 3 years old. (was told re-entry was possible!). Then we proceeded to the 7th floor where the entire floor was catered for younger kids.
Sign showing the Berjaya Times Square indoor theme park
Entrance of the Berjaya Times Square Theme Park
Wristband of the theme park
The rides include a safari car and train that that goes around, a ferries wheel in the shape of a bus and a carousel that he wasn’t interested in. There was one mini pirate ship that he wanted to take but didn’t meet the height requirements and I couldn’t take it with him as it was purely for kids under the height of 140cm. After just a ride each, he asked to be brought to a playground. Thankfully, there was one there and he spent the big deal of time running around, with so many kids there. There was a kids theatre playing a cartoon show but empty and cold and K was too scared to go into. We were there till mommy called us to meet up for lunch.
At the 7th floor of the theme park
Bus ferris wheel
Playground inside the theme park
Playground huge enough for the kids to run around
Kids Theatre
K was getting fussy likely due to exhaustion as he insisted to press the lift buttons and making a big fuss. We met with mommy and went to the basement level and sat in a Nyonya color cafe to eat curry noodles and Assam laksa while K had his pasta. Then as we walked back to the hotel, K fell asleep.
Curry noodles
Penan assam laksa
Nyonya Colors Cafe
The rest of the afternoon was spent snoozing (not before fussing in bed for an hour because he woke up from his nap on my shoulder as I tried to lay him down) in bed for me and K while mommy prepared dinner before going to Pavilion mall for her shopping.
By the time K woke, it was almost 7pm and mommy also just returned. We left the room for dinner at a certain TG’s Nasi Kandar restaurant which was also high on TripAdvisor. It was quite a distance to walk and by the time we arrived at the crowded non-aircon eatery, we already broke into a sweat. The staff found us a table which was just outside a hostel entrance and we placed our orders of double Maggi goreng, mee goreng and one prata with egg and drinks of ice teh Tarik and carrot juice. The food was nice but not exceptional.
Double maggi goreng
Mee goreng
Prata with egg and mango lassi
TG’s Nasi Kandar eatery
We finished our meals at almost 930pm but the night was still young for Kuala Lumpur, obvious for the crowded street that we had to walked through, one that had massage parlours lining the street with their staff loitering on the pavement trying to get customers in for massage. With K seated on my shoulder (his main mode of transport for the trip), I was asked if I want a massage which I thought was a worthless attempt.
We got back to the hotel after the passing through the streets brightly lit with huge commercial screens and lights and a short visit to a shop store Shoopen selling shoes ( I was doubtful of shoes not known for their comfort and later causing pain) but didn’t get any. Then night routine of Blaze and clean up and sleep.
Last day at Sunway lagoon and with nothing planned for the day, we all woke up late but ended up at the buffet breakfast slightly earlier than it was yesterday, after we were done with the K’s lunch preparations. Similar to what we did the day before, we ate to our fills in a bid to save on lunch, at the same time trying out the other cuisines that we didn’t have morning before. Other than fruits that were slightly different, the rest was the same, even the same long queue for the omelette that I didn’t bother queuing for.
The rest of the morning was spent in front of the TV as K got familiar with the locally produced Boboiboy on Nickelodean channel while his parents packed the luggage for the move to KL in the afternoon. The check out time was 12 noon and we took to the last minutes to pack the lunch.
As we left, we were lucky to have the bellboy just at the corridor and he helped to bring the luggage to the left luggage while we went to the lobby. While at the left luggage, the staff handed over the luggage tag even before our luggage arrived, efficient!
Shopping at Sunway Pyramid mall was the activity till lunch time, at least for mommy while I brought K around to see the ice rink, the arcade where he took a kiddy ride and played a water game and then back to the T&T Kidz park the day earlier. After spending some time at the playground where K was found annoying an older girl and frustrating her, we went over to the T&T Kidz park and took the drift cars of lightning McQueen, which I initially thought was too fast for K but it was ok after a single round of drift and K was not afraid (we sat together). But it costed RM15 for both of us. Then we paid RM6.50 to catch a fish where we won a small hand fan and followed by a last ride of the buggy car.
Carnival game of catching a fish
Machine shows 30, which is a small prize
Mommy met us there and we went up to the top level where there was a Snowflake dessert store and we ate desserts while K had his lunch of porridge. After that, we returned to the hotel to pick up the luggage and call a Grabcar to Westin KL. It costed about RM23 plus about RM6.5 of toll and he made a detour to pump gas but it was alright as K fell asleep.
Delicious Snowflake dessert
We got ourselves a 1bedroom apartment in Westin and there was a separate lift for us to get the 12 floor. The nice thing about this was that the entire apartment had the feel of a hotel but came with a kitchenette. Another plus was that there many bottles of complimentary mineral water supplied for our stay (no complimentary minibar supply though). However, we had an issue with the stove not warming up and a lack of detergent which was fixed quickly with a call away. The view was not good though.
Open concept kitchen with living room
Study room for work
Balcony with a not so good view
Bedroom
Balcony of the bedroom
Bathroom with tub
View from the balcony
After lazing for a while, we got K to continue his afternoon nap and only woke up at 630pm. Took a bath in the tub and then we first left for PavilionMercato supermarket to get some sweet corn that mommy forgot to buy before walking to Jalan Perak BBQ nights for dinner, some 15mins walk away.
Brightly lighted facade of Pavilion Mall
Mercato supermarket
The restaurant was crowded and I didn’t knew what was the big deal about this well regarded TripAdvisor restaurant until I tried the softest and tastiest BBQ fish and chicken in my life! Even as I was feeling a little sore in my throat, the food there was the smoothest, even though they were BBQ! Thoroughly amazed by the quality. The waiting and the costs were expected, almost 20mins of waiting, and about RM95 for 2 juices and 2 BBQ meals but it was all worth it. Even K loved the naan which he chomped down.
BBQ nights
Ice Teh Tarik and carrot juice
Fish Tikka and chicken kebab
We walked the 15mins back to Pavilion and found the almost extinct DVD shop called Speedy Video at the basement. It was a huge store and there we found Blaze and the Monster Machines dvds for just RM19.9, the cheapest available in the market! There were a massive selection of kids cartoons including Dora and Paw patrol and even the Boboiboy which K said he wanted. The Blurays were expensive though. We only left as the store almost lowered the shutters.
Returning back to the room, K immediately watched 3 episodes of Blaze in the bedroom (DVD players available) while the parents washed up and prepared for bed.
The morning started late, and by the time we were ready to leave for the daily breakfast it was already 10am, 30 mins before buffet closing time.
The Resort Cafe was a huge area beautifully designed with quite a variety of food to choose from. Other than the usual western and local cuisines, there was also middle eastern choices, something I am unfamiliar with.
Inside The Resort Cafe
A variety to choose from
The Resort Cafe
After a huge brunch, we went back to the room to pick up K’s lunch that mommy cooked before we went for breakfast, and we were off to visit the Sunway lagoon theme park.
The tickets were prebooked back at home online at KKday, a webby that if booked through Krisflyerspree would earn additional Krisflyer miles and at the same time, it offered the cheapest tickets for the Sunway lagoon tickets that I could find. The bad thing was we had to wait some 10mins at the ticket counter as the staff had a hard time trying to find the booking as they claimed it was not in their system. I couldn’t get online to try and recover the “emergency contact” they emailed for us to call if we had issues but ultimately, after embarrassingly hogging the line for so long, they gave us out tags and we were on the way in.
Swimming pool of Sunway Resort
Directions to Sunway Lagoon Theme park
Wristband for entry into the park
Entrance of the park with multiple signs
We headed past the water park to go through the wildlife theme park where we saw displays of pythons, birds, white lion, black panther and white tiger. K wasn’t very fascinated and then we proceeded to the amusement park, where there was a playground, a carousel, a ferries wheel, some kiddy rides suitable for 1.2m and below and a fun fair where we spent 28RM playing darts, nerf gun and scoping ducks that won us a miserable small prize of a green pokeball that K had fun throwing around.
Entrance of Sunway Lagoon Wildlife park
Not sure what this is
Small monkeys
Free ranging peacocks
White Lion
Black panther strolling about
Small houses for birds
Sun bears
White tiger lazing in the distance
Ghostbusters theme scare park
Amusement park for small kids
Playground
View of the park from the ferris wheel
Voucher for the carnival games
Only one out of 5 ducks
After having lunch at the same location where it was so hot, we got ourselves some icecream and coke freeze before we headed back to the hotel, thinking that K was getting tired. We had to miss crossing a super long suspension bridge and the other 4parks that were dominated by water related activities including the Nickelodean theme park and an extreme park not suitable for K. Although we had prepared for water activities, K was looking tired and it was a little too sunny. Furthermore, re-entry was not allowed which sucked.
White eagle in enclosure
Sheltered area near a waterfall
One of the enclosures with a waterfall
Back at the room, K took some time to fall asleep and I took some time to explore the surroundings and the mall where mommy stayed in the room to catch up on her comics. There was a The Parenthood section that had a huge London theme indoor playground for under RM43 and a huge area that had stores selling kids stuff and preschools. I returned after a short walk through the mall which was really big, enough for a full day of shopping if you a shopaholic.
Hari Raya deco just outside the Resort entrance
Impressive entrance of the Sunway Pyramid mall
Toy section near within the Parenthood.
Store directory of the Parenthood
Multiple stores in a castle designed street.
The Parenthood entrance
K woke up at about 530pm and after we lazing around for a bit, we finally got out of the room to visit The Parenthood indoor playground while mommy stayed behind to cook. The same rules applied, the requirements of socks and so on. We spent a good amount of time there till mommy arrived at 830pm and I thought I broke a sweat too, following my little boy here and there.
Indoor playground of the Parenthood
We ended up at Papa Rich for dinner and spent about RM52.50 for noodles and chicken rice and 2 drinks. Walked the mall a bit before returning back to the room for bath and TV. Went to bed at 1130pm with some resistance from K who wanted a few “last” books before lights off.
The alarm clock sounded at the same time that I was used to for work and I got out of bed to do the final packing before our short getaway trip to KL begin.
K was sleeping until the final hours and I managed to get him in his clothes without him waking up. Only when I tried to carry him did he finally stretch and wake up. Luckily the interest in getting onto a plane kept him in a good mood.
After scanning the options of Grab, Uber and Comfort Delgro apps, I chose Comfort as it was at a fixed rate of $30 excluding ERP charges but came with $3 off from some webby promo codes and also a $3 off again as a new sign up for the app. The rest were a whopping $40 for peak hour call on this normal weekday Wednesday.
730am and the taxi came and picked this family of 3 before we hit the road. Met the expected morning hours traffic for half the journey on PIE before it was smooth till the airport. We were prepared for any road sickness with a plastic bag on hand but K was alright.
820am and check in counter was not even indicated on the board of flights yet, which was filled with earlier flights. We went to the self help to print the luggage tag anyway and dropped off the luggage at the not too long queue of SilkAir before heading to the departure. The T2 fish pond and playground was a natural magnet attracting K’s interest and he spent some time looking at the fish and a lot of time running at the playground. Meanwhile we managed to get some drinks and I went to print a KKday ticket which I had forgotten to do so at Ambassador Transit lounge for $1.2 per piece.
Indoor playground at T2 terminal
Mommy bought herself some Khiel products and registered her receipt at the kiosk for the Changi Millionaire draw before we walked briskly to far end of F59 for boarding, being the last to board the full flight.
The journey of 40mins were uneventful and was even too short to notice or drink a beverage. It wasn’t so for another family who’s child was screaming the entire journey and only managed to fall asleep once the plane landed. We were thankful for K’s beautiful behavior.
KLIA hadn’t change since we last visit and we had to take a train ride to the baggage reclaim but at that time, it was pretty crowded with only one train with limited doors functioning. Immigration took a while to clear with at least a row of people queuing in front of us before we got our luggage from the belt. K spent some time exploring the MnM store wanting to test all the battery operated items until the staff warned about the excessive battery drain and we exit to the arrival hall.
With the free airport wifi, I used Grab to get us a ride to Sunway Resort and Spa for fixed rate of RM65 excluding tolls. Grab promo was available to shave off RM5. The driver was pretty prompt in keeping in contact with us and we were soon in the private car to the resort, a 40 mins drive where both K and I had a quick snooze.
After a short stretch of traffic at Sunway, we entered the entrance of a rather grand looking design entrance of the resort. The porter immediately helped with the luggage and we tried checking in at 1pm and luckily, our room was ready. 17th floor with a view of the park, it was a comfortable one though a little old. The best part in my opinion was the complimentary mini bar that came with 5 non alcoholic drinks and was refillable, I thought this was the only hotel fulfilling the main purpose of the minibar! Our luggage arrived shortly after we were about to leave and we proceeded to the Sunway Pyramid mall walking through a short connection.
Grand looking reception
Hari Raya deco
High ceiling and huge wall design
Bedroom
Bathtub
Excellent minibar
View from the room
We looked for Old Town White Coffee in this huge mall and had our lunch of macaroni tomato soup, curry noodles and Ban Mian before we took some time to shop around. The mall short of remained me of Dubai Mall (in terms of space and variety and design) although it was not as huge as that one but big enough. There was ample walking space and stores of brands that we were both familiar and not. Spent some time at the T&T Kidz park where we took some rides ( car ride for RM5.5, whale RM 7.5 and a animal train ride for RM5.5, refundable top up card for RM3) and some time at the playground while mommy shopped in Parkson and got K some tees. She also did a money exchange at the money changer near the T&T Kidz park which offers very good rates of $1:RM3.1.
Different designs of the Sunway Pyramid Mall
Ice rink available
Another design, like a souk
Curry noodles
Tomato macoroni
T&T Kidz park top up
A few kiddy rides
Card for utilizing for the rides
Drift cars
Free playground
We shopped for ingredients at the large Aeon supermarket before heading back to the hotel for the afternoon nap where K knocked out for almost 2.5hrs. The staff delivered a birthday cake during that time but it was 1 day too early. Mommy made K dinner and after having some fun at the bathtub, we finally got out of the room at 830pm and while back at the same mall, we went to another familiar name Secret Recipe that had a promo going for Maybank, where we ordered a chicken chop, a satay fried rice and hazelnut latte and getting a slice of marble cheese cake and an iced lemon tea for free as we hit the RM45 requirement. Expectedly it was a very filling dinner ( Mommy even got herself Hokkaido baked cheese tart to try).
Aeon supermarket
Variety of fish
Sunset view
Complimentary birthday cake
Chicken chop with rice
Satay with fried rice
Marble cheese cake
Hazelnut latte
Ice lemon tea
Hokkaido baked cheese tart
3 levels of the mall, Egyptian design
Unfortunately for us, by the time we left, it was almost 10pm and everywhere was closing. We managed to catch a glimpse of the ice hockey game that was going on at the ice rink before we brought the disappointed K (because the rides were closed) back to the hotel.
It was some TV time while I washed the dishes before story time, milk and bed, ending the day at 1130pm.
Total duration 5D4N Kuala Lumpur is in the same timezone as Singapore. Flight time is 1hr on Silkair from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Return is 1hr on Silkair from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
Flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur at 1015am, arriving at 1115am in Kuala Lumpur. Return flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is at 510pm and touching down in Singapore at 610pm.
This trip was planned as a getaway birthday trip for mommy. We didn’t plan anything other than a visit to the Sunway Lagoon theme park. The rest of the trip was based on ad hoc shopping and just on impulse visits.
Budget – Quite affordable other than the accommodation.
Everything was quite affordable comparable to Singapore, especially with the currency of 1:3.1 now, effectively reducing the costs of living by a third. With free wifi at airports and hotels, Grab and its promos reduce the costs of transport as well. The accommodation was expensive but it was chosen for the purpose of comfort, and was worth it in my opinion.
Complexity – Easy with Grab
We didn’t go many places and for transfers, Grab was a good choice. For the visits around the area, walking was our choice and it was quite easy since everywhere was within 15mins walking distance.
Our last day in Dubai started at around 730am as K called for milk. Made him some and went back to bed. Some 1hr later, we were all awoke already. We were checking out from the Airbnb today and so had to get packing at the same time.
Mommy bought, the previous day, boxes of cereals for breakfast and we all had that including K. Mommy prepared lunch as well and I did the packing and getting K ready. I called the rep to find out if we could do a late check out but was informed by his sleepy voice that we couldn’t stay longer than 12 and that it was ok though to leave our luggage in the room as there weren’t any other place that could keep our luggage.
We were ready to leave by 9ish and started to walk towards Al Burj Khalifa. I assumed that I could get to observation deck by going directly to the Al Burj Khalifa but it was wrong as we found out from someone we met along the way. He advised us to go through the Dubai mall where we could get our tickets to the top. We walked back again and entered entrance 7, closest to the fountain and on the left we could already see the ticket counter (At the Top) and a queue.
Al Burj Khalifa, world’s tallest building
Downtown panorama
At the Top entrance
Aston Martin for 007 on display
Long queue for tickets
A model of Khalifa
There was a schedule board and it indicated that all time slots were fully booked except for the ones at 330pm, luckily. Mommy got in queue to line up for that slot while K busied himself with the coin press. When it was our turn at the front, we were told that we could go up immediately, which was contradicting to the sold out info. I asked for the price and was not surprised that she offered the premium priced level 148 observatory, for a whopping cost of 1k plus aed. We declined and asked for the 330pm ones instead, at 280aed per person. I am disappointed with the unethical methods by these people though.
With the spare time, we shopped in the souvernir shop for a bit to buy ourselves some tees, then we went to Waitrose supermarket to buy some dates back home as gifts and other essentials like packet milk. Then as it was nearing check out time, we first went to the food court at level 3 and started lunch for mommy and K while I returned to the apartment to get our luggage.
Inside Dubai Mall
Waitrose supermarket
Inside the supermarket
Dubai Mall design like a souk
Panda Chinese
Fried rice lunch
Back at the apartment, I did my final checks before lugging 2 luggage out and left the key behind the door as per check out instructions. Then it was a walk with the 2 luggage to Dubai mall. I realised that entrance 5 was the nearest entrance to our Airbnb and used that for the first time. Then checking out the map to the concierge service, I walked towards Galeries Lafayette and found the concierge near the Emirates simulator. Checked in luggage was 70aed per bag and we had to check it out by 11pm, which was already beyond what we required.
Large waterfall display
Concierge
I returned to mommy and K who had completed their meals. I ordered some Arabic fast food (Taza means fresh) and it was a Arabic burger which tasted really nice and was at a costs of 18aed per meal. Mommy and K proceeded to the Nickelodeon store while I chomped down my fast food.
Taza fast food
Arabic burger
Spent quite an amount of time at Nickelodeon as K was interested with the table there. After we couldn’t decide what to get and K didn’t seemed to want anything, we left. It wasn’t time yet for the observatory visit so we thought we should get K to nap, by sitting at the seats near the indoor waterfall. Mommy left us to do some shopping on her own and while I tried to get K to nap, he wouldn’t and worst of all, didn’t want to sit still. Carried him and he dropped his pacifier 3 floors down. Then he pooped and I had to temporarily cleaned it up since mommy had all the stuff with her and I was unable to reach her.
Diaper changing room
Mommy finally came back and we quickly changed the diapers in the baby changing room, one that had 2 changing stations. Then we walked over to the tickets counter for our visit to the top observatory.
There was already a queue and it was about a 30mins journey of queuing and walking and taking the lift. The lifts were pretty quick, about 1 min to get everyone up from 1 to 124 and slightly less going down but it was the numbers of people visiting that slowed down the whole process. K whom had fell asleep on my shoulders as we walked there had suddenly woke up crying at the observatory. It must have been the air pressure on the ears due to the speed at which the lift scaled the levels.
Another model while lining up
Tickets to the top
Long queue again
Walkway to the elevators
Elevators to the top
It took awhile for him to calm down and enjoyed the views outside and also watched the helicopter that was flying around. I took some photos myself but it was difficult to get a pano or a good scenary as there were quite a lot of sand out there.
View of the lake below
Panorama from the top
We went one round and with the sun in our direction and the less than clear weather, we couldn’t see the Burj Al Arab clearly. Lined up to go back to the ground floor, a 10mins wait.
Al Burj Arab can be seen
Indoor Observatory
Another view of Dubai
Elevation from ground
Guinness Book of records
Once back on ground, we walked past some of the exhibits on info and history of the building before we skipped the James Bond exhibit and got ourselves a seat at the food court close to the souvenir store. Bought a gelato for a crazy costs of 40aed for 2 scopes from Cafe Barbera and after a short break there, we walked to concierge to retrieve our luggage, walking past the corridor with an interesting design of many umbrellas hanging above. Went back to the taxi pick up area and we quickly got a taxi in the fast moving queue. Was initially contemplating about getting a Lexus taxi for 80-100aed but didn’t.
Expensive Gelato
Cafe Banbera
Street with umbrellas
The taxi brought us to Terminal 3 of Dubai international airport for 15mins journey of 37aed including toll. We went into to check in at about 545pm, more than 3 hrs before flight departure. We were directed to the family line which we thought should be faster but there were many families in the queue.
After that, we went through Immigrations and the checks and into departure hall. From there, we proceeded to the reception of Dubai International Airport hotel and for 1-3hrs block, the room rate was 446aed. We got ourselves a room and mommy quickly bathed before we went out for dinner.
Dubai airport
At the departures
Signage pointing to the hotel
Hotel room
Toilet
Shower and sink
View from the room
As we were looking for a place where we could get K a decent meal, there wasn’t much to begin with. We ended up in MacD and had ordered K a happy meal, his first. He didn’t have much of the cheese burger but it should be enough. After our fast food dinner, we went back to the hotel, giving K a shower and then, myself. Then a little rest before we checked out at 850pm before going to the gate, just a few steps downstairs.
We didn’t board immediately until final call and I saw an acquaintance of mine who was on a business trip. It was a small world indeed.
The journey on the plane was smooth with occasional turbulence. Similar to the ones we took here, it was the same setup and there were the same toys that were given to K. I had my dinner somewhat later than the rest because I had fallen asleep. The quality of food was good.
This trip was meant to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we had planned for an experience in the most luxurious hotel in the world. It was indeed an experience with such a big room. However, I didn’t think that the experience was really worth as much as it was priced, similar as the lot of other stuff in Dubai. I felt we were paying much more than the value of service that was delivered, in other words, overrated. Then again, this is just my own opinion. The itinerary was meant to be slow and easy. With a toddler it was just about the right pace because I ended up not having the energy to do more as it was spent on the boy.
