Tag: travel

Memories Of Ipoh

Even residents in Ipoh used to say it was a “sunset” city with little growth and a good place to live in retirement. So much has changed in the last ten years, with the city leapfrogging over night.

I can still remember the lonely D.R. Seenivasagam Park and the Ipoh Stadium, which was a popular make out place. Popular hotels such as the Excelsior was with audible loud thumping disco music from downstairs, much like the Hotel Anika in Kluang.

I remember the laid back Casuarina Hotel. It is now gone and reborn as the Impiana. The most recent hotel I stayed in was perhaps Tune Hotel Ipoh. It is is now renamed as Pi Hotel. Good to also see old favorites like YMCA and Tambun Inn are still around. Sadly, the vintage Majestic Hotel at the beautiful colonial railway station is gone.

What were fallen, are now replaced by many new and fancy hotels. Many of the newer hotels are exciting and luxury additions such as The Haven, Banjaran Hot Springs, Lost World of Tambun Hotel and the M Boutique Hotel.

I am guessing Ipoh’s unanticipated revival could be because of social media. The classic food outlets, chicken rice and nasi ganja became fodder for social media content hungry day-trippers from KL. There is now also a wave of new hipster cafes in Ipoh.

I remember going with Patrick Teoh when he wanted to visit the other famous Ipohan, Lat. We ended up for a drink at Malaysia’s oldest pub or bar, from 1906. The F.M.S, is now closed without ceremony. Glad we did. Oh yes, we then went on to tackle the iconic pomelo girls, they were another famous Ipoh icon.

Also remembered a trip guided by another Ipohan Adriene Leong in which we visited the very beautiful Masjid Panglima Kinta and had a real old town coffee in Ipoh old town. Can’t find the old pics. Sigh.

On another trip, I visited the late filmmaker Yasmin Ahmad at her film set in her adopted hometown Ipoh. Also went to see the Majestic Station Hotel where the cast and crew stayed.

The one and only modern mall at one time in Ipoh, for a long time, was Ipoh Parade. It is now joined by many new AEON malls.

Who can forget old Super Kinta Mall and the market? Remember the reverse T shaped logo? I think the complex may have been modeled after the original People’s Park in Singapore. Now I think it resembled the disorderly Russian Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Who else here is “Ipoh Mali”?

Find an Ipoh hotel here. if you are visiting. Newer hotels included:

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

Info compiled with assistance of Ipohan Emily Lowe. Thank you.

London

London.

My long time friend Dato’ Sri Andrew Abishegam, who was in London recently, sent these pictures when I was chatting with him on WhatsApp the other day. I think the first is Harrod’s of London with multiple contrails in the sky. Lovely pics and the two pics are copyright DS Andrew Abishegam.

The second picture is the Queen’s Windsor Castle, I am guessing. I have not been to London for so long, l don’t know where all the Malaysians like to stay these days. I can’t even remember the names of some of the nice hotels I stayed. I will add direct links to some of some of the hotels popular with Malaysian visitors when I find out.

Third pic is of me as a pigeon whisperer in my younger days.

I have created a special page for hotels in London.
http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-london/ See updated page here: http://www.tvsmith.my/travel/london-malaysian-magnet

Meanwhile, use the dynamic London-centric scrolling banner there or go to http://www.mycen.my/agoda/ to search for another hotel anywhere in the world

Let’s Pop!

Let’s Pop! A stay at legendary Bali is now more affordable than many may think. Like to introduce you to an affordable and stylish place with colours that pop. Haha. I got to know ethnic Indonesian Hokkien Treshia Lim (Lim E Cha) when she was working at the Swiss-Belhotel International in Bali. She went back to her hometown in Medan to work for Radisson Medan. Before I can visit her at the Kota Kuliner (culinary capital) in which the North Sumatra city is known for, she is back in Bali. Such a nomadic life for a hotelier. She is also a Catholic and a foodie.

She is now with the corporate office of the chain that runs the Pop! Group of hotels and they have a nice and affordable hotel in Bali. With information from her, I created a custom page for Pop! Hotel Kuta Beach Bali. It is also the first time I am implementing Agoda’s dynamic banners in which other hotel options in the same destination are displayed with scrolling views. Seeing the Google map may be dizzying as there are over 3000 hotels listed by Agoda on the island! Pop! Hotel Kuta Beach seems a logical choice because the rates are truly affordable and it is very near the beach and popular eating places. The hotel has all the modern amenities such as free wi-fi and pool. It is also a fairly new hotel, being only 3 years old.

For more info or to book, go to: http://www.mycen.my/pop-hotel-kuta-beach-bali/

#bali #kuta #beachhotel #indonesia #pophotel #island #beach #hotel #denpasar

Yangon Was Rangoon

Another helping friend booked a Myanmar hotel through me. The friend is a fairly experienced traveler to Myanmar and he picked the The RGN City Lodge, Downtown Yangon this time.

The hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Yangon, close to a major thoroughfare but fronts a much quieter street in a commercial district. Although there is old school rattan furniture in the room, the bathrooms have modern rain showers! I like rain showers.

What do you think of the location Myanmar friend Hsu Wai Phyo and Malaysian expatriate living in Yangon, Joachim Rajaram?

Rooms in Myanmar have been getting relatively expensive because of shortages and a surge in business visitors after Myanmar opened up. I am surprised the room is sub RM 200, given its location. Maybe there was a flash sale or promotional price at the time of booking.

We forget a similar hotel in the heart of KL city could probably cost more.

To book this hotel or to check rates at any hotel in any part of the world, go to http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

With A Little Help From My Friends

With A Little Help From My Friends.

These are some of the hotels near and far booked by traveling friends. Not to brag but to remind other friends that the page can handle any hotel in any city. These are from of the people who voluntarily let me know that they supported me but I can’t name names to preserve their privacy. Some bookings were done anonymously and I can only thank those unknown, anonymous kind strangers in general. Appreciate it, all the same.

It is always heartbreaking when someone respond by saying they just booked rooms at so and so place moments earlier but will remember me the next time. Well this serves as a reminder for those who are planning to reserve rooms online. I need to reach the critical mass before it can help me pay bills. every little bit counts. Not there yet but with a little help from my friends, hopefully it can. Have a good trip ahead, all traveling friends.

In no particular sequence or order:

1. Best Western Chinatown Hotel, Yangon, Myanmar.
2. Holiday Inn Sukhumvit Bangkok, Thailand.
3. Imperial City of Hue, Vietnam.
4. Nhat Li Hotel, Da Nang, Vietnam.
5. Jinjiang Inn Shanghai, China.
6. 7 Days Premium Guangzhou, China.
7. V Garden Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
8. Palm Garden Hotel, IOI Resort, Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Pictures from Agoda.

Book or check rates from my page here:
http://www.mycen.my/agoda/