Category: Travel

You’re A Big Big Girl In A Big Big World – Part 1

You’re A Big Big Girl In A Big Big World – Part 1

I am taking you around the world to see some of the quirky and unusual hotels. You may want to expand your bucket list after viewing them all. I will archive the list at my hotel booking site, as we go along. Unfortunately, not all hotels are connected to agoda or booking.com. Many are, though. I have included booking links or links to the hotel’s official website where available, so you can see pics.. Even if you don’t go, the destinations are nice to dream about or to widen your insights of the big, big world. The first hotel is the undersea marvel Jules’ Lodge where you must dive to check into your aquarium glass room. You can also order a pizza to your room, it seems. I will add more as I discover them. Find a hotel here, whenever or wherever you travel at:: http://www.mycen.my/ #mycenuniquehotel

Hotels In KL – A List For All Seasons

In anticipation of Air Asia’s inaugural flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, I am in the process of preparing the list of hotels in the various islands of Hawaii.

In doing so, I consulted a few Hawaiian friends. A couple off them asked me: “What about us?” They can now also come to Kuala Lumpur just as easily. Fair enough. I prepared a list of hotels for people planning to visit KL. Although, I grew up in Kuala Lumpur and have been to many of the hotels myself, it is turning out to be a challenging task. I have not even heard of many of the newer hotels. It was like 20 years ago when I asked Singaporean friends and relatives about a hotel. They will say “I don\t know lah. there is a new hotel popping up at every corner”

Kuala Lumpur city has progressed tremendously and expanded in that way too, if the many new hotels are an indication. For example, I didn’t even know there is a new Holiday Inn after the last one in Jalan Pinang. That became Impiana On The Park. To refresh my memory, I took a drive around. Old timers will be surprised to see the Equatorial flattened and demolished. Another supper favorite The Lodge is still there, albeit with a new name. The old KL Hilton is also gone. Some are nice surprises like seeing Majestic Cinema is now D Majestic by Swiss Garden.

Shabby Pudu Plaza behind is now Hotel Pudu Plaza. Hotels may remain but name changes. Pan Pacific is now Seri Pacific and classy Carcosa is no more. Sometimes a hotel is not gone but is using a new name. Nikko is now the Intercontinental. Silly that new owners or management try to shake off every connection to the old name, losing all the goodwill earned and making it difficult for satisfied customers fo find.

One thing I should point out is that the grander the name, the reality is likely to be opposite. Also the tagging of landmarks to the name or address may not necessarily mean proximity. Check maps yourself. For example, every hotel in Brickfields has KL Sentral in its address when they are xatually outside the transport hub.

Similarly, be aware that KLCC is also tagged to many hotels not even under the shadows of the twin towers. Keep this list when friends from abroad are planning to visit. I have zoned the hotels into 5 distinct areas. KLCC/Golden Triangle, Putrajaya, Brickfields, Chinatown/Pudu/Masjid India and others. The type of accommodation covered ranges from the RM 500 a night 5 star Shangri-la to a RM 14 a night dormitory in Chinatown.

Please share with a friends visiting Kuala Lumpur and peruade them to book a room through me. Thank you for your support:

http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-kuala-lumpur/

Hotels In Setapak

Hotels In Setapak.

Setapak in Kuala Lumpur city is turning out to be an area with a treasure trove of budget hotels.

Historically, many hospitals are located in the Jalan Pahang area following the footsteps of the KL General Hospital and the TB Hospital.

Private hospitals such as Tawakal and Sentosa are also in the area. There is also the Military Hospital – Hospital Angkatan Tentera Tuanku Mizan in Wangsa Maju and the newer Columbia Asia Hospital Setapak near Star Parc Point and Setapak Sentral of formerly Festival City Mall, opposte JPJ and Puspakom.

Hospitals attract the opening of hotels as families of patients need accommodation. The hotels in Setapak may also serve visiting parents of students at the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (previously TAR or TARC) campus or participants of sports events at Taman Tasik Titiwngsa park and stadium.

To stay near the LRT station, find a hotel in or near Wangsa Maju or Titiwangsa.

If you are a resident, you may have visiting relatives to put up. Keep this link handy:

http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-setapak/

Mauloa Nao At The Tottori Sand Dunes

Beautiful Naoko Shintani is from Kyoto, Japan. She is like a pen pal of mine from Instagram (@mauloa_nao) and Twitter. I am guessing no younger person will know what a “pen pal” is nowadays. We communicate in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia text.

She spent a big part of her childhood growing up in Bali where she learned the language on her own. We bond because of our mutual love for animals and nature. She is now back in Kyoto and Osaka – about 15 minutes apart by bullet train.

I wanted to use some of her pics to promote hotels in Kyoto but sadly she lost all the original or cannot remember where they were stored before cropping and resizing. Good thing she uploaded some to Instagram or they would have been permanently lost.

Update: See latest post on Kyoto hotels: http://www.tvsmith.my/travel/kyoto

This a picture of Nao at the Tottori Sand Dunes located near the city of Tottori in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. They are the only large dune system in Japan. I think because of her phone camera, the sand became white like snow. Picture is untouched except watermarking as resolution was too low.

Search Tottori and you will find 78 hotels in the area. A search of Kyoto harvested over 1869 hotels. Osaka listed over 3600 hotels when searched. Start your search here: http://www.mycen.my/hotel/

#tottori #sanddunes #kyoto #osaka #japan #tvsshare

Al Meroz- The Halal Certified Bangkok Hotel

There was a news article reporting how Thailand is now targeting Muslim visitors from Muslim countries to diversify its visitor profile. This include setting up so called halal hotels that do not serve alcohol and non-halal food. One of the hotels cited was the Al Meroz Hotel in Bangkok. It is touted as the leading halal hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. Not just Muslims. I think I’ll stay here too, if I want a peaceful, quiet night away from noisy and drunkard revelers. The hotel looks lovely inside and outside. Quoting from their website on the Islamic aspects: The leisure facilities at the Al Meroz Hotel include a large open air swimming pool and state-of-the-art gymnasium. Respecting our Muslim guests, the pool and gymnasium are available exclusively for our female guests during the morning hours, and for our male guests after midday. Our shopping arcade offers a wide range of goods, including alcohol-free toiletries and cosmetics. Barakat, our specialty Mediterranean Restaurant and Diwan our all-day family dining restaurant offer Halal-certified cuisine in a non-alcoholic environment. Our menus have been created with our Muslim guests in mind, but we also offer a range of Thai and regional delicacies. A comprehensive menu is offered for room service, available 24 hours a day. All kitchen and waiting staff at the Al Meroz Hotel are trained to observe the Halal traditional lifestyle….” Pictures from Al Meroz and Agoda.

More info here: http://www.mycen.my/al-meroz-the-halal-certified-bangkok-hotel/