The Urbanscapes House

It was finally back. And the new format had been a reassuring departure. Urbanscapes was coming back into town. And this time around it was snack into the heart of KL.

Rather than making it exclusive - and damn expensive - the organiser got the clue that the festival should be about the urbanites. By having a core in the middle of town - a converted old office building in Jalan Kasturi - as the heart of the festival, the party would be accessible to everybody. And you can get a sample of the festivities for free. If you wanted more, you can always pay for the gigs going on around town.

Want to try your luck?The main lobby with the stage on the backgroundLet's check the other floorsAt the Urbanscapes House when I visited yesterday, there were an art exhibit - at the basement and the first floor - cafés and shops on the other floor. There was a stage on the ground floor which I understood would be hosting some short film screening as well.

It was lively and happening on the ground floor while at the same time quiet and reflective at the art rooms. The layout of the house was just perfect for this kind of event personally and I find the whole set up refreshing. Like an oasis in the middle of the city - ironic that it was raining when I arrived.

Those were the themes I supposed ...The skateboard exhibition .... more on that laterYou can also choose to chill ....The location was ideal of you were taking the LRT - either you stop at Pasar Budaya or Masjid Jamek. For outdoor event, Medan Pasar was just right across the street from the House.

I was impressed with the skateboard exhibition on the first floor. I was surprised that some of the local exhibitor had been showcasing their work abroad all this while. The curating was also quite neat.

Some word game ....A peek outside from the verandah on the top floorTime to head back ....The final thing to mention was the verandah on the top floor. It would take you out to the open with a view of both the flag at Dataran Merdeka on one side and Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower on the other. A nice touch.

The House would be opened until the 7th of May.

Pulau Dangli

After much convincing, the boys agreed to join us for a boat tour. The original plan was for 3 and a half hours. But the combination of the hot weather and Irfan entering diva node, we cut that short to a couple and a bit.

It was a compressed journey in 3 parts.

Waiting for our ride ....Making sure we got one of those For good luckWe actually got the hotel to organise the ride for us. In a boat with just the four setting off at around 3 pm. It was hot but while speeding in the boat, the wind was breathtaking and one did not feel the heat at all.

The first part was feeding fish off Pulau Dangli, about 20 minutes away from the hotel on the boat. Irfan was still warming to the idea then but as soon as he started feeding the fish, he was super excited. We had to make sure that he didn't fell off the boat when feeding the fishes.

Speeding thereAn earlier group was already thereTesting the waterGetting the hang of it ....We were armed with some bread provided by the guide. The water was still and as soon as we arrived, there were plenty of fish around our boat. They were going all out for our bread and the school we saw easily contained around 200-300 fishes.

Time to goSuch serene sight ....We could wait for too long as there were more boats coming - plus we ran out of bread. I thought Irfan especially used too much bread trying to entice the fishes. Idlan was more sensible, but ending up using less quota!

Off to the second part, the fish farm!

Back to School

After almost 3 weeks of Easter Break, the boys were back to school this morning. They were still tired from yesterday's travel - plus some last minute rush to finish their homework. Idlan especially was still groggy this morning.

It would be all action for him today as he has his tuition until 10 tonight. Expect him to be grumpy later ...

The Ferry Home

There were plenty to reflect. And one of them was how fast my children has grown. They are their own men now. And I must make it a point to spend some time on holidays twice a year.

I had a good time with them although they had their diva moments of course. Just the four of us out in the sea was great fun.

The front compartment was quite fullBest not to leave the camera bag unattended!It was tiring though especially when I was still carrying my rhomboid spasm. The ultrasound session at the physio certainly had helped tremendously but it was something I could do without. I had to take the Arcoxia this morning to make sure that I can drive later.

They would be back to school tomorrow while I had to do my taxes for last year's submission. It would be a long night... But it was worth it!

Leaving Tanjung Rhu

I must say that I was pretty impressed. And it was not just because we were the only Malaysian there.

The hotel had been under renovation for the last four years and for the last couple there were hardly any work going on. According to the staffs, since the hotel was doing OK despite the reduced number of beds, it didn't make much sense to disrupt business and cause problem with the guests of the renovation was going on.

So, a substantial portion of the hotel remained closed but the essentials were running well. And the number of staffs were more than I thought and they seemed to have time for us whenever we went for drinks, swim or dinner.

Our suite was definitely a delight. We felt like just sitting in the room enjoying the stay - in fact we decided to have dinner in the room last night and the staff actually came to ready the table, and served us.

The boys also had their breakfast in the room yesterday. The staff came complete with a toaster! We also enjoyed a boat ride, feeding fish, looking at eagles and mangroves. All organised by the able staff members.

And did I mention the food? More than adequate and the sight and ambiance was really great. Even our boys were impressed - those little divas!

It was kind of sad to leave today but unfortunately the school will be opened tomorrow and I have a six hour drive ahead of me. We shall be doing a bit of shopping at Pekan Kuah later as the last couple of days we had just been sitting around the resort. Time to return to reality I supposed.

Checking out soon...