Happy Deepavali

Wishing all my Hindu friends a very Happy Deepavali. I was still up at this hour with all the fireworks going off around my apartment area. They started just before midnight and it was still going strong now at two in the morning. With tomorrow being holidays and my boys already fast asleep, I didn’t really mind at all.

Actually an excuse for me to stay up this late …..

Could Be Faster

Finally the Telawi area was blessed with a strong LTE signal on Celcom. But still the speed there was only around 15MBit, lower than advertised. Possibly due to the sheer number of users there.

While waiting for Anita and the boys to join me at the apartment, I decided to find my own dinner. Chawan it was. An easy choice. And I was enjoying the freedom as well as I was there. Dinner and surfing the net, on an evening before a public holiday. Bliss …..

Thanks Heaven

It was threatening to rain when I ended my morning clinic but when reached the Doctor's Lounge after the Friday prayers, the heavens opened. And boy, did it rain?

Nice breeze instead of the hot sun while walking to and from the mosque, and I was lucky that it only started to rain when I got back to the hospital. It rained but wasn't as heavy as it was on Thursday. Thursday's storm was a major one!

Hotel Perdana

As I mentioned, the last time we stayed at Perdana Hotel in Kota Bharu was back in 2005. We had been back a few times, but the place was closed. We realised even during the last stay that the place was in a great news of a refurbishment. But being closed for at least 3 years was stretching it somewhat. And when it was finally reopened, I was expecting great things from it.

Let me give you the final line up front. "It was a decent hotel with potentials but being run by amateurs". That was that.

The main lobbyThe lobby from the first floor landingThe waiting area were segregated into alcovesThe good point was everything was new. The pool was new, the rooms still smelt freshly painted. Of was opened about a couple of months back. They built a new 11-story wing to compliment the old units. We stayed at this new building, dubbed the "Executive Wing". We spent the three nights at the Perdana Suite.

The room as very nice although it could do with more furniture. Internet was free and at good speed. They have a restaurant up the 11th floor which was yet to be opened. I reckoned that that would be the lounge.

I touched about the pool - which was nice - and the breakfast coffee house - which was a bit of a mixed bag. Food was a problem as the range on the room service was pretty limited and essentially a duplicate of the equally limited coffee house range.

Towards the roomClose-up of one of the alcovesThe main eateryAs an alternative you could have some drinks and snack by the main lounge. Or have some Chinese food as we did on the final night we were there at a restaurant called Jade. On all front, the menu lacked maturity, and judging from the fact that the hotel was closed for such a long time, they should've put more effort on their F&B side. Jade actually offered great food, but by Kelantan standard, they were both expensive and limited in term of range. And don't get me started with the inexperienced staffs .....

Once the place mature up, I could see great potential. They have to strengthen their bread and butter - F&B especially. It would be interesting to see how things develop in the coming years. I would definitely be returning there in the future just to see that.

More stories from the same trip here.

Long Drive

Wow! Almost one and a half hour to get to work this morning. Yes, it was drizzling a wee bit, but the jam was actually due to a small accident. The problem was it happened on a ramp, taking the traffic from Gombak across to the stretch of highway towards Jalan Duta. A really bad spot to have a breakdown.

Anyhow, the tow truck was struggling to clear the cars as well as they also had to wade across the traffic. One of the lane was still closed when I passed. I wonder how long I would be stuck I left a bit later.

So, just done my ward round and waiting for the clinic results to start trickling in. A quick sit down at the lounge with a cup of coffee.