Grand Riverview

In the numerous occasion we been to visit Kota Bharu, we stayed at Perdana and Renaissance. This was the second time we stayed at Grand Riverview. The reason? They do a nice suite with a connecting door to the maids’ room. Solved a lot of the hassle. In terms of service, Perdana won hands down. In terms of food, definitely Renaissance - the do a grand breakfast spread and the Chinese restaurant, Four Seasons was not half bad, albeit on the expensive side. Apparently Perdana has been under renovation for the best part of a couple of years now. The last time we stayed there was back in 2005. Therefore the decision on where to stay was pretty straight forward.

The front facadeThe main sitting areaUnfortunately, apart from the generous room, the amenities were pretty basic. Room service menu were spelt out on a single sheet of paper. They have three main food joints - a lounge, a buffet restaurant (where breakfast was served) and a Chinese restaurant, which was a far cry from Four Seasons - yes, we ate there the evening before we left. My Dad-in-law invited his family for a meal. Suffice to say we were a tad disappointed.

From the bedroom, looking into the living room, then straight on onto the maid's roomIrfan with his tea - biscuits and honey - posh boy!Idlan by the sink the spacious bathroomBreakfast and buffet spread was adequate - if you know what I mean. They have a swimming pool, with a separate wading pool for children. There was a also gym - don’t expect me to check them out. But enough of the negativity. The room was very comfortable. The suite we had has a small dining area, a sitting area, connected to the room next door, where our maids stayed. Then there was the bedroom and a comfortable bathroom. The bedroom only had a king’s bed, which mean I’ll be either sleeping on the floor or the sitting room. TV channels - the usual terrestrials, plus ESPN and movie channel. There were also a couple of vision4 channels. Broadband? Apparently there are wifi, but I can’t get them to work on my Mac. Therefore I use my E71 as a wifi base station instead.

TV timeOrdering in some sweets - sea coconut and loghan in syrupIrfan doing some art. I ended up completing it for him.Location? The hotel is actually within walking distance from Pasar Buluh Kubu - as I will mention later on my bit about the walk about town. It was located as the name suggests by the Kelantan River Bank. Unfortunately, the river was being dredged and therefore was orange and dirty. As the rooms were facing the river to the west, the sunset were quite brilliant. Apparently there are occasional barbecue by the pool with the patron enjoying the sunset. Unfortunately that did not happen during our stay. The room fees include breakfast for two. Will we come hear again? If the room were maintained to the current standard, most definitely. You can always enjoy the food outside. After all, this is Kelantan, where the food were gorgeous if you know where to look. 

The picture will not be complete without the two boys running around in the lobbyIrfan enjoying some down time by the poolThe hotel is located Jalan Post Office Lama,  Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Tel: 609-743 9988. Website: http://www.grh.com.my/

20 years ago

The two generations of Rahmans, Idlan and me17th August. A memorable date this for me. Exactly 20 years ago, in 1990. It must have been the proudest moment in my parents life. At least my Mum’s. Maybe topped up by the day I got married to Puan Anita and both Irfan and Idlan were born, the proudest day of my life as well. Exactly 20 years ago, just before midnight I jumped onto MH 002, heading for London Heathrow with another 70 or so colleague on our journey as part of the BTU 6 crew.

Most of us were good mates by then, spending 3 months at the SUNY (State University of New York) campus in Subang Jaya for our English Preparatory Course. We didn’t have to pass the course. We were just really having fun. I did not stay at the hostel, driving back home everyday. The course was also during Italia 90 then, so I was more occupied about football then listening through lectures.

That was followed by the obligatory Biro Tatanegara camp prior to leaving overseas. I had to sit through 2 of them prior to my flight abroad. The last one being in Kota Bharu exactly a week before. So all pumped up, decked in suits, we boarded the DC10 - I repeat, a DC10, with a stop over in Dubai I think it was.

Everyone came with parents and loved ones. A few were sad to leave family and of course their girl or boyfriends back home. I was not sure what to expect. What had to be said had been said on the previous few days. I remember my aunties and uncles coming along as well. It was a proud evening. 20 years down the road, I still remember that evening very well.

Most of my friends boarding the same flight have since returned. Some are still abroad. Most of the groups were doctors. Some lawyers and accountants. Unfortunately lost touch with many of them already. I am sure all of them remember the events that evening as well. Nuff said!

Under the weather

It all started on the first day of Ramadhan when Puan Anita was down with diarrhoea. She developed muscle ache and fever the next day. Myself and the boys were still fine. But during sahur on early hours of Saturday, Idlan started vomiting. He then developed fever and been unwell through out the day.

I thought I was OK. Had my sahur as usual, then went out to do my ward round in the morning. Halfway through, I started having muscle ache. Rushed through and managed to see all the patients. Felt really bad while driving and by the time I reached home, it was doubly bad. Muscle ache started setting in, Slept the rest of the day. Idlan did not get any better. He started having diarrhoea overnight. At least Puan Anita’s fever came down, even though the muscle aches were till there. We are bracing ourselves that It was not more than just a viral fever. I fear the dreaded mosquito-borne virus that is pandemic at the moment …….

Corus Paradise

Wow! Little that I realise, the claim by a fellow blogger was actually true. A quick search revealed that there has been numerous attack on swimmers in Port Dickson by crocodiles, and a recent one in January happened at Corus Paradise. So far, the spot I was at near our apartment has always been crowded, but on learning about these incidents, I should be extra careful. I guess it is best to pick a spot where there are a lot of watersport activities. Although it was a pain swimming at Bayu Beach because of its popularity with watersports vendors - banana boats and the like, better to be safe than sorry.

Reading through other blogs entries, there were concern that these incidence were never publicised. I supposed the numbers were still low, and therefore they risk creating panic among the public - who can understandably be hysterics when they hear things like crocodile maiming swimmers in PD, but the lack of public address leave an eery feeling if you ask me. As if there was some sort of cover-up. By informing the public, at least they will become more vigilant and would not venture into beach areas where there are many trees. It would be better to go into more public areas, although one risk their privacy. It will be a small price to pay if you think about it though.

And while I was on the subject, maybe I can share a few more pics of the hotel. As I mentioned, it could do with a renovation as the actually resort had so much potential. Looking around, it was sad to see how the building appear to be crumbling. The room we used for our meeting - called Tampin - was badly in need of renovation, with an up-to-date AV equipment at lease if they can’t afford a new roof tiles. Not to mention the lame food we were served …….. Basically, if I had to pay for my stay, I’d think twice, and apparently the charge the put on were still a premium.

Ramadhan is Back!

The fasting month is back. But from looking at what I ate, I probably took more food in total than usual. I basically just gobble them down as fast as I can come iftar. Yes! It was bad but hey, I was hungry. I just can’t help it.

With Ramadhan, came the bazaar where we head out to the stalls buying food for iftar. As usual, I went to Taman Melawati. The usual suspects were there, most of them recognised me by now. There was the middle age lady selling cucur udang - I went there without fail since 2003. There was also our favourite drink stall - the gentleman mix the meanest air asam boi in town, I kid you not. There was also the guy from Sarawak selling terubuk masin. The Kelantanese lady with Nasi Kerabu. The last but not least, the rocker from Sabah with the tasty chicken wing. Yup! I sampled them all. There are now on the table, and iftar is a good 90 minutes away.

For all my Moslem friends, Salam Ramadhan, Happy Fasting, and good luck with the food! You need luck because most of them looked really nice but one may need to use expletive to describe how they taste!