Legend International Water Homes, PD

When I say Legend, I mean The Legend International Water Homes, a new hotel right next to Legend Water Chalet which I was sure was under the same management. I was invited to attend a weekend talk there a couple of weekends back and brought the boys around on tow. We were put up at the Water Homes, on the 7^th floor. Puan Anita was initially disappointed as she was hoping to get a chalet rather than an apartment, but her disappointment soon evaporated when she saw the room interior.

The room was huge, the size of probably a flat in KL. We had the main bedroom, which had 2 queens bed, with ample space to walk around. You walk in, through a small kitchenette and then a dressing area and the bathroom. The width of the room alone was around 20 yards. You then exit through a door by the bedroom, into a swimming pool. Yes, an indoor swimming pool - not just an oversized bath - but a proper one, and it was for our unit alone. Amazing!

Behind the pool, there was an outdoor shower in the private courtyard, with plants and a great view of sunset in late evening. What more can you ask? Well a good in-room dining for a start, but more about that. First order of business as soon as we checked-in was to jump into the pool. Wohoo! The boys were super excited. Unfortunately, I can only join them for half an hour as my talk was about to start. They stayed on a bit longer.

We returned to the pool later that afternoon after my talk. All in, goggles on, life buoy on tow, everybody in! The depth was only 4 feet, but it was still too deep for the two of them. I managed to teach them how to peddle with the buoy, making my job babysitting them that much easier. While we were having a dip, Anita ordered room service. The service was prompt, but unfortunately the food was not that good.

Didn't take much to mess the room upI then enjoyed an outdoor shower in the sunset, but while turning the water off, I damaged the tap. Oh dear! A quick phonecall to reception and the plumber was in within 10 minutes and the thing got fixed straight away. That was excellent! I had to go out for dinner that evening, leaving the boys and Puan Anita to again order in. This time, they decided to order Western - the boys had some tomato mozzarella pizza. It turned out that the chef there was more inept at preparing Western food rather than local, so bear that in mind the next time anyone visits the place. I had a barbecue dinner on the 9^th floor - which was the rooftop. It was OK, great company, but as the company which invited us started with a show - asking for audience participation, the hall quickly emptied!

Armed and dangerous

Another plus point for the place was free internet. And it was proper internet, not just snail-paced connection. I was downloading at speeds exceeding 100kb/s. Very decent! The TV channels were also very good. They had all the major sports channels as well as movies and Disney’s - I can watch United that evening, but alas I was too tired and fallen asleep. The beds were very comfortable and the lighting in the pool was very soothing at night. We slept well, and woke up late for breakfast.

Breakfast was another surprise. It was very good. They had a decent buffet selection, and the omelet was very well made. They had children in mind with the selection of cereals and tit bits. We spend nearly an hour down there.

All in all, it was a decent resort and we enjoyed the stay. I made a few inquiry and apparently the cost for the room we had was around RM500 which I thought was very reasonable, considering you would have to pay more than that for a smaller room at Avilion, close by. And that room does not have an in-room swimming pool. There were many pluses - free Internet, decent breakfast spread, friendly staff - they actually referred me as Dr Haris after finding out my room number, great maintenance when we called for the plumber, and decent selection of TV channels. It was not often that I get to watch my beloved United playing in the room when I room in a hotel.

As far as the minus goes, they could do with a few extra lifts. The couple of guest lifts doubled as porter lifts as well. I decided on a few occasion to take the stairs rather than using the lifts. The in-door dining could have been better and if you must order, make sure that you order Western.

Would I recommend the hotel to anybody - yes, definitely. In fact we were actually planning to return there at some point and we would not mind paying for the room. It appeals to small family and to be honest, I could have shared the room with my sister and her family if we wanted to as the room were big enough. Carry yourself a couple of sleeping bags and you are done! The hotel is situated to the north of the town centre and was very well sign-posted. You can’t miss it!

Bukit Tinggi Rabbit Park

The rabbit farm is not included in the entrance fee to Colmar. However it only set us back RM3 per person to get in, which to be honest was great value for money. Again with the food provided the boys really had fun feeding the already well-fed rabbits. They were pretty tame, which made the boys even more curious. They can’t stop petting their backs while I was holding my breath worrying about an impending asthma attack. 

The area where children can interact with the rabbits was actually pretty small, and they had to climb up a small fence to get in. The fence was to avoid the rabbit from jumping out of the compound. I counted easily 40 rabbits in the compound for children to play with. They were pretty strict though on the matter of handling.We were not allowed to lift the whole rabbit up. Patting was OK.

We spent a good hour here taking pictures and after that having snacks. There was also a small playground next to it, as well as a small petting zoo. If you were in the mood you can also take up a ride on a pony. It will cost you RM6, but we decided against it. Our boys were more fascinated with feeding the rabbit. There was also a small deer cage, and breeding area for the rabbit that if you can go an have a look. The playground was also well maintained and clean with nice grassy area. You can even bring a small mat and have a picnic there as the weather was gorgeous and it was very cool in the breeze.

Nice houses by the hillApart from the outdoor playground, there were also an indoor play area for toddlers. Parking was an issue however as they were pretty limited in number. The place was packed when we arrived and being only a 30 minutes drive from where we lived, we should go there more often. Irfan swore that one of the rabbit should be his pet, but I don’t think we were able to cope with a rabbit judging from past experience.The rabbit park is only 5 minutes downhill from Colmar. Clicking to the photo above will take you to my flickr site, where it was GPS-tagged. Finding the place should be straight-forward, and if you were staying at Colmar, there were also shuttles available to take you back and forth.

Return to Colmar

The original plan last night was to go to Gohtong Jaya for a spot of strawberry picking, but the boys only woken up after 10 am this morning. I called my Mum to see if she would like to join us, but she already had some visitors at home. We had to go out just by the four of us and at the last minute we changed plan and went up Bukit Tinggi instead. We got there just in time for lunch and after a quick stroll and a trip to the toy shop, we had some pizza at the same place we went to on our last visit. The crowd was surprisingly thin for a Sunday and school holidays. There were hardly any queue and finding parking was easy. Idlan and Anita tried their luck again at the game stall to get some sift toys but clearly they lack skill … LOL! Empty-handed, we were then treated with a power cut at the whole resort. We were lucky that we had some cash on us as we were not able to use the credit card or the ATM machine.

Since we were in Colmar only last month, we felt that we should explore further. Further up the hill from Colmar, lies a few more attractions. You get to go there for free as part of the ticket you pay to get into the main ticket. From the car park at the hotel, you will be provided with transport to take you right up.

Trying her luck. Alas, no talent ... LOL!A couple of explorersRound the blockNow it was Idlan's turnThe main attraction uphill was the Japanese garden. Apart from that, there was also the Japanese restaurant, a botanical garden and a spa. Since the crowd was small, queuing up to get into the transport up the hill was quite straightforward, although the journey was quite treacherous. The drivers were driving at F1 pace, and we were squashed from side to side. Not recommended if you have a touch of the motion sickness! I don’t know how the engine could cope with the amount of rev that they did put on. The eventful journey took a good 10 min and we alighted right in front of a small cafe.

A short climb up the hill took us to the Japanese tea garden. There was a small pond, where plenty of koi strove on the food that the visitors throw to them. To main garden teahouse offer authentic Japanese tea as well as opportunity to sample Japanese outfit to pose for pictures. There was also small hut right next to the koi pond which was very relaxing in the breeze. Further down was a small spa. We did not venture much to there. The boys had a blast feeding the koi with some food we bought at the tea house. This was actually the second time that we’ve been to the garden. I still have a picture of Idlan back in 2005 when he was only 8 month old standing on one of the bench. 

After some photographs we descended down to the meeting point and took the transport back to the hotel. We decided against venturing to the botanical garden as we did not want the boys to be too tired. The quick stop for the restroom and we took our minivan down the hill towards the rabbit farm, which I will blog more on the next entry.

Kenduri at Flamingo

CongratulationsDecember has always been busy for me. Not because of work, but due to the number of weddings I had to attend. It seems that I had invitations every weekend. Even though I was keen to attend, they can be a bit of an issue you if it were to happen every Saturdays and Sundays. I don’t usually talk about them, but I will have to give an exception this evening for a couple of reasons. It was the first time that I attended a wedding at Flamingo Hotel in Ampang. Secondly, it was one of the better organise one that I been invited to.

The gorgeous pelaminThe wedding was of the daughter of a very close family friend. I practically knew the bride since she was a young girl. A couple of months back, she, her mother and my Mum went to Indonesia to shop for the preparations. The akad nikah was held yesterday at the bride’s house, but was I was not able to attend. My mum did so on our behalf. Suffice to say that they make the plan well in advance for the ceremony and I was glad to see that everything turned out very well indeed.

My sister and her good friend texting while the proceeding was going on .... Oi! You should be concentrating!Flamingo Hotel was only about 10 min out from where my mum lives. Traffic getting in there can be tricky but it was rather light last night. After finding a parking spot, we went straight into the hall. We were given a number on to which table we were allotted to. We sat right in the end of the hall, maybe not to cause to much of a stir. We were well away from the pelamin, and since it was my sister, parents and another family friend, we spent the evening chatting away and laughing out loud. Walking in we were really surprised at how nice the hall was. It was a square, with the plumbing at one and and the high table on the side. 

 The pelamin was exquisitely prepared. There were adorned with clear crystal chandeliers with lightings and crystals, creating a shimmering reflection. The couple entered in a light gold traditional costumes, followed the obligatory doa and tepung tawar ceremonies. Very classy, and after the main meal, the they made a quick escape to change into a dark brown evening attire. The meal itself was very nice. I have been to a few other venues before and after being there for a few times, you can sort of guess what the menu would be. The change certainly made the difference, and we were served with tasty soto as starters before starting the nasi minyak meal. I must say that the meal was well above average to what was normally served. The rest of the ceremonies also went through without a hitch, and we left at about 10.30 before the crowd built at the exit.

I wish the happy couple the best for the future in starting their new journey together. And should I get another invitation to attend a wedding at Flamingo, I will definitely attend without hesitation. And for those planning a wedding, this place deserves serious consideration.

Xmas at 1Utama

The last time I went to 1Utama must have been during the Merdeka Day when they had some decor up for the Hari Raya celebration. Fast forward four months, and we were nearing Christmas. Puan Anita wanted to buy some car accessory for our minivan, planning for the weekend trip to Kuala Kangsar - she wanted to buy a bin I think - so we went to Jusco there for a quick look. There was not much in the once-fully stocked home furnishing center at the old wing there. Rather disappointing, but Anita got her bin as she wanted it. However, the Xmas decor was already up, and oh boy, weren’t they amazing.

The main foyer at the New Wing was transform into what appeared to be a skating rink. Not sure if there will be show there though.The Xmas trees here came in all shapes and sizesChocolates ........The main courtyard was transformed into what looks like a winter wonderland, complete with pebbles on the walkway. The central area was empty at the moment, but I think, they were planning to put up a skating rink judging from the flooring. The shops were up and fully made up as you can see from the pics, complete with fake snow. What interesting was the candies on offer were all imported, reminding us of Xmas in the UK. Marks & Spencer booth on the old wing also offered some authentic English condiments, such as Christmas pudding - non-halal of course, topped up with brandy sauce. The boys got some Twix bars and other chocolate.

More shops at the Old WingOrnaments ....They deserved a breather ..... There were shops selling Christmas decorations to those who will be celebrating. The ornaments looked authentic, especially the small Santa snow grottos they have with tiny little shepherd dolls and sheep. I think I will give the place another visit in a couple of weeks when the full decor would be up. Parking has always been a bane for visitors at 1Utama, and we spent a good 20 minutes trying to find a bay yesterday. The fact that we were driving a minivan did not help. We used to park at the OneWorld hotel, a building right next to the old wing, but it was also full yesterday. So, if you are visiting, be prepared to come extra early, or else you will probably be parking outside. Public transport was not an option for us unfortunately as the shopping mall was well out of any of our usual routes.