CutiCuti: Bye Johor until next time!

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong.

It's been excessively hot these past few days. Since last week. I can't bear the heat sometimes I stayed in the office right after Zuhr' prayer. The fan at each gerai at the cafe didn't help much. Alhamdulillah, after days of whining about the sweltering weather Allah let the rain pour yesterday evening. Continued until late last night. 

Anyways, I've been meaning to update about my last day in Johor. My first getaway in 2013. Insha Allah, many to come later. But I was too exhausted after coming back from work. Poyo. This morning I managed to find my time to update; fortunately.

Ms. A left for Kolumpur by bus early in the morning. So there were only Bunda & I left in the room. We purposely woke up a bit late for I didn't plan any activity to do that day. I don't know but honestly, there's nothing in my itinerary related to exploring Johor except for JPO. 

Had lunch at the restaurant located on the first of floor of the hotel's building. I forgot the name but it has got something to do with Le Safron I think. Bunda spent her time at this restaurant the night before; watching the last episode of Janji Shirah. A TV3 drama she followed from the start. Never missed a single episode of it. And we were forced to accompany her!

Tersengguklah dua-tiga kali di sana. Ngantuk. To make us stay, Bunda let forced us to order drinks & snacks. For God sake, we were already full due to the heavy dinner hours before that. I even had to visit the loo right after we came back from Spice7. Overloaded!

Paid RM15 nett for the breakfast buffet. The menu: Nasi Lemak, Fried Mee/Mee Hoon, Chicken Curry *which I think was reheat from last night menu*, orange juice, guava juice & hot drinks (coffee, tea). Bunda said ignore the price immediately after I frowned upon seeing the menu served. 

"Last night, the waiter was so nice to me. He allowed me to watch the drama. So today we give back what we received. Breakfast on me". 

Fine. Captain voiced out her arahan, I don't think I was able to disobey. Furthermore, memang kau cari penyakitlah kalau mau menapak cari kedai makan lain dengan perut kosong nyanyi dangdut kan Bie. 

To justify the RM15...I decided to consume everything served. First, nasi lemak. Followed by the fried mee. And later the fried mee hoon. Perut tembolok gajah ntah mana aku simpan semua makanan tu. No wonder I gained few kilos after coming back from the holiday. Selalu berazam, makan berpada² time bercutian. But so far memang fail ke laut. Right to the drain the resolution went.

Because it's still early, I suggested that we should go for some sightseeing around the city. I took a brochure at the hotel's reception. Stating places of interest to visit in Johor Bahru. I opted for the mosque & palace before proceeding to City Square Mall. 

Took the taxi from the hotel to Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque.  The appearance took over the English Victorian architecture; with some minor Malay influence. The mosque situated on a hill overlooking the Straits of Johor. This mosque got its name after the Sultan Abu Bakar; who ordered the construction. Nothing much to see here. It's an old mosque currently undergoing some major reconstruction. 

Classic window. Very the feel dulu².

The ablution area located opposite the entrance.

Belakang masjid ada ciri moden di situ. Yang ni memang confirm baru jak recently built. Buat majlis resepi kahwin area macam ni pun best...luas & open. Hoi stop verangan please!

After the mosque, we walked to the palace. According to the taxi driver who drove us from the hotel, the palace is just a walking distance from the mosque. And since khidmat superwalkertapaki memang sudah biasa aku applied, jarak 1km tu macam petik jari. Riak? Bunda agreed to walk as well. Jalan punya jalan; dengan cuaca mendung angin nan ado bertiup...jalanraya bersebelah selat hence muka jadi cepat melekit...sekali sampai tepi palace; ada big signboard

"No Entry. Men at work". 

Memang paling hangat asrama Bunda punya jelingan. After walking for merely 2km! Nasiblah si bulky Blackie ndak ku hangkut sekali masa tu. Nico was in Bunda's bag jadi memang ndak da aktiviti snap sambil berwalkertapaki. Mau juga aku snap muka istana yang tutup due to construction work tu tapi peluh jantan telah mengalir aku serius penat gaban. Apalah pakcik teksi tu langsung ndak tau palace tu tutup!! Since Bunda started complaining about her sore foot, we decided to just take a taxi in front of Johor Bahru Post Office to City Square Mall. 

Right after we alighted from the taxi, perut terus berteriak mau makan di Ayam Penyet Ria. Ha ndak gila ayat orang tembolok. Habis sudah semua breakfast aku bertukar tenaga; guna masa walkertapaki tu. Jadi perlulah isi tenaga kembali. 

Favorita! Lele @ ikan keli Penyet!! It wasn't easy to find ikan keli in KK. Kalau ada pun, saiz cinonet. Besar lagi tapak tangan aku. Memang makan ndak da ampun ever since we arrived Johor Bahru. Tolak pasir batu jak aku ndak telan. Mulut munching non-stop. 

Tegar sungguh impian untuk pigi mall ni for the second time. Semua gara² these Korean shops lah! Bought few things at NR corner. The prices are slightly cheaper in the West compare to Sabah. 

After City Square, we went to the opposite building. The newly built Johor Bahru Sentral. It is link to the CIQ Immigration. Convenient enough for those staying in Johor Bahru & intended to visit Singapore at the same time. From CIQ boleh naik CW1 bus to Woodland. We didn't spend much time there, tengok kedai apa yang ada. Nama pun baru so ndak da sangat yang menarik jiwa. We then went back to Tune Hotel by taxi. Lepas solat & touch up bagai...off we departed for the airport.

Senai International Airport; the Air Asia drop luggage counter. As we arrived 2 hours early than the departure time, aktiviti isi perut bermula sekali lagi. Masa ni malas sudah mau bergambar bagai. I bought a slice of blueberry cheese cake from SR for tea. Tapi hangkut masuk food court sebab Bunda menjamu laksa di situ. Speaking of "eat like I care about the weight scale".

Masuk boarding area...sayup jauh di luar tingkap aku nampak awan hitam berkupal² datang. I told Bunda our flight definitely going to be delayed due to the weather. And not long after, announcement was made. Memang delay sebab kapal dari KK pun ndak dapat take off. Strong wind. 

After the incident flying with easyJet from Schipol to London, aku memang ndak ambil port part berkeluh kesah kalau flight delayed disebabkan cuaca. Biarlah sampai berjam lambat janji aku ndak naik roller coaster di atas sana. Ngeri ok! Daratan langsung ndak dinampak, tapi kapal naik turun. Most valuable experience ever! Three bored-hours waiting; we finally boarded the plane. Arrived KK town ten minutes past midnight. No turbulence whatsoever...landing sangat smooth. Alhamdulillah, aku tidur super lena during the two hours flight. 

Standing proudly before the handsome Bee! Kenangan terindah di USS. 

My trip to Johor Bahru & Singapore came to its end; finally. Too many sweet & bitter memories created during this getaway. Nonetheless, I cherished them to the utmost. Praying for more trip with Bunda. 

Ouh, the ticker indicates another three months to go! Ngeh. Sila stop segala aktiviti online shopping Bie...focus in saving. Two trips in three months time! Memang melampau. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: First Day in Johor

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong.

Kesinambungan from previous entry.

After checking in...we immediately went to the Odyssey office to exchange our voucher with the boarding pass & immigration card. Settled there, we went up to our room. Refreshed ourselves...performed our jama' & were ready to go out for lunch. It's already 3p, no wonder the tummy started singing off tune. Asked the receptionist to call the taxi for us. Few minutes of waiting, taxi arrived...and off we go to City Square. 

Initially we planned to have late lunch at Lat's Restaurant but since booking is needed prior going, we cancelled the plan & proceeded to the nearest mall from TH. 

View outside the hotel's lobby.

Since I booked only the basic room...we have to rent the towel. The rental comes in package with soap & shampoo. But knowing me, soap if forever a foe to my fussy skin. It will become dry & itchy. That's why I always bring my own shower cream when I travel. Anyway, for this towel+soap+shampoo package it costs us RM 6.00 each. That red sling pack is urs to take home. Jadi ulu macam kami, we hesitated at first whether can we take it or not. 

Perlu ok posing di situ...trip pelancong kan. After all, this is my second time to Johor Bahru after 15 years! The last time I went there, I didn't do any sightseeing. Nor did I stopped by to any shopping mall. City Square is just a 10 minutes drive from the hotel. It is situated in the heart of Johor Bahru. Connected with a bridge to the newly built Johor Sentral. Those who wish to go to Singapore can board the bus from the CIQ Immigration building opposite Johor Sentral. Before boarding the bus make sure sudah cop pasport ah. Insya Allah, next time I will try this method. 

We immediately entered the first restaurant we encountered. Obvious enough, huh. Lapar tahap gaban! 

Trio ladies trip it was. Enjoying our scrumptious meals at Season Cafe, City Square Mall. Their baked rice is worth trying! Penuh cheese!

After the late lunch...we wandered around the mall. The idea to visit Hello Kitty world popped out but Bunda straightaway rejected it. She suggested to just go back to our hotel & recharge for tomorrow's activity.

But I don't remember how the idea to go to the Johor Premium Outlet attracted her. We took taxi from the hotel to this place. Quite a distant I must say. JPO is surrounded by oil palm plantations & highways. Harus ada no. taxi because taxi don't just randomly roam around here. Unless kau bernasib baik, ada orang yang memang turun di JPO. Return taxi fare to & fro Tune Hotel - JPO cost about RM 60.00.

Fine, this I have to admit. I've successfully gained extra weight after coming back from this trip. Filling up the tummy was the main agenda. Sekian terima kasih. Pasal tu first place diterjah soon after we reached JPO was the food court. Kununlah minum petang...kununlah!

Cosy juga food court di JPO. Tempted to try the Korean dishes, Lele Penyet Jawa, Tom Yam Thai...subhanallah nafsu nafsu. Worry not, I managed to ignore that ridiculous appetite. Told myself, there will definitely be heavy dinner when we're back from JPO. Macam ndak makan setahun bah gaya. We settled for roti bakar & ice cham instead. Alhamdulillah gaya tembolok ndak berleluasa.

When I reached the hotel that afternoon, my eyes caught the signboard that I couldn't simply neglect. Tanam azam dalam hati akan dinner ikan bakar superb sedap that night. Harus dilaksana nanti kempunan ok. The next day akan cross over tambak Johor, bahaya kalau ndak terampit.

Brownie-us. Sudahlah dari KK matching PINK bersama. 

Superb dinner. Love the ulam²an...and the sambal belacan to the max! I went back to our room with happy tummy. And I hit the sack pretty early; excited kau mau jelajah negara si Merlion the next day!

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: From KK to JB

Assalamualaikum. Annyeong.

Alhamdulillah. My recent short getaway ended blissfully. Second out-of-town ladies trip for Yours Truly. Poyo!

I purchased the Air Asia ticket few months before the trip. It was indeed an impromptu decision. Was checking randomly on the promotion tickets offered when I accidentally stumbled upon the super triple cheap fare. I didn't think twice. Clicked clicked clicked, filled the form & made payment. Voila! Two return tickets to Johor Bahru with Bunda. And yeah, Singapore came in mind the moment I decided to purchase the tickets. Main destination is definitely the Universal Studio that I've been meaning to visit ever since it was opened few years back. 

After finalizing the itineraries; I proceeded with hotel bookings, coach & entrance tickets purchasing. Knowing me, Bunda wasn't surprise when I told her that I bought flight tickets to Johor for both of us. All she said was

"Remind me the date so I can arrange the pekerja earlier"

And so...after months of waiting & planning, the day eventually arrived. Syukran Allah for the opportunity. On the 22^nd Feb, we together with a friend of mine departed to Johor at 10a. Arrived Senai International Airport after two hours & a half on board. Out from the arrival hall, I bought the coupon for airport taxi at the counter near the main door. A 20 minutes journey to Tune Hotel, Danga Bay from  the airport cost RM 44.00.

As we arrived early from the 2p check-in time, we wandered around the lobby & outside the hotel killing time taking random pictures. Lucky I've made the payment via online booking; thus we were able to check-in thirty minutes earlier. 

Very helpful counter people they are; answering every ridiculous questions we threw. Not ridiculous as in nonsense lah but there were too many what-s, how-s & where-s questions. Not to forget we asked for maps as well. Talking about tripping tourist? Whatever! Cuba ndak dilayan, harus terus aku cop annoying counter people. 

I chose this hotel despite it's not so cheap price because we have to catch the coach to USS very early the next morning. Sekali harung beli when making booking for the hotel. Excuses! It's more likely that I was too lazy to search for any cheap hotels nearby...which I found out later; there are a few actually. Located only spit away from TH. Offering cheaper rate! Malu bertanya sesat jalan. I have few Johorien friends, also friends who've been to Johor many times before yet I was too snob to ask. Serve me right. 

View from outside of Tune Hotel. Tabah menawaf luar kawasan because girlfriends who will be going to USS via the same method as mine next month requested a brief explanation about how-to-exchange-the-voucher for Odyssey coach to Universal Studio Singapore works. Note the rectangle yellow line...that's where the Odyssey office is. In between the 7-Eleven store & Compass Coaches office.

Zoom in. It's selca session bersama si Err. Sekian. This is the place where u need to exchange ur voucher for the boarding pass to USS situated right next to the hotel's lobby. It's very impossible to miss it. But remember, u could only get ur pass after checking in at the hotel. U will be given a voucher in which u shall bring to the Odyssey's office. Exchange it with the boarding pass & jot down ur details on the form at the counter. Kunun tu untuk book slot time padahal the only available slot time is 730a for departure from Johor & 730p departure from USS. 

Immigration card is also given. Fill in the form the night before...to avoid any chaos early in the morning. Isi siap²lah supaya ndak sawan kena panic attack time orang lain sibuk mau board coach. Sana mau pinjam pen bagai, sesak nafas ok!

One boarding pass is for the members in ur group so please make sure the number of pax written on the pass is correct. Else, kau nangis darah the next morning bila kena deny from boarding the coach. Date tu pun penting. Please double check the boarding pass before leaving the office. As they will close at 5p, any amendment or inquiries shall be made before that. For those arriving Johor after 5p; sila email or call pihak Odyssey for further details. 

The bestie always wonder how the TH's room looks like. Here! Our room for one night; standard twins room. We didn't take the coach back to Johor as scheduled for we booked a hotel in Singapore. Bunda wanted to spend at least a night there. 

And I said...what's the point going there if I didn't take the chance to see the Garden by the Bays by myself?! Ndak kan malar layan syok sendiri through gambar orang lain, kan?

p/s If u plan on visiting Tanjung Puteri Harbour; where the Lat's Restaurant, Legoland & Hello Kitty World are; u can get the information from the Odyssey office as well. Or if u wish to explore the place by urself, u can ask further details at the Tune Hotel's reception counter. But if u're going with kids,I suggest u to take the coach. Less hassle. Less headache; definitely.

eryantierdabdulkarim