Colmar Part II

The first stop when we arrived t Colmar was to have lunch. Pizza and pasta it was. The boys wanted to have a walk about, play with some sand art and play some of the games at the stalls. This game needed token and the token were rather expensive actually. It was especially expensive when we did not win anything in return.

Following the trip up and down the hill towards the Japanese Garden, we decided to get back into the car and headed for the Rabbit Park. The park was a five minutes drive away.

Welcome to the Rabbit ParkIdlan trying out a spot of old school games. Nah! Did not catch on ...I think Anita was rather wary of the rabbits. She was hiding away behind Idlan.Come on fluffy little thing ...Sharing is caringIt was great fun there with Irfan especially adventurous. The weather was also gorgeous, and we ended up spending close to an hour there. Next, trip back in time for dinner. We had some Chinese food at KLCC as Anita had to do some quick shopping.

Come on. Eat more fatso ...Irfan wondering if they eat carrotsIt was still sunny by the time we leftA quick trip, just 45 minutes away from my home was the tonic I needed. Great fun it was.

Return to Colmar

It is such a relief to know that a quick escape from my house in Gombak was only a half an hour drive. A quick drive up the Karak Highway, a left turn after Genting Sempah stop. The next thing you know, you were already halfway up the hill towards the destination.

And the destination was of course Colmar Tropicale. The last time we went up there was almost a year ago when we spent the night there. Apparently, the hotel had been refurbished and new attractions were opened.

Nice blue skyYoung couples mingling aboutA rather interesting looking statue. This was new as I couldn't recall it being there the last time we were here.Close-up revealed quite an inrticate workThe service to go up towards the Japanese Garden was also revamped. There was now a car park halfway up should you wanted to do your own driving and then do the short climb to the garden. The botanical garden had also been reopened. The buggy which took you up the hill from the hotel now only climbed to the new carpark. So, regardless of whether you drove yourself or took the buggy, the final climb was the same.

Colours everywhereAs well as street singersAs a result, we took the buggy up, and then straight down.

More in Part II

Colmar Weekend - The Bad

Unfortunately the place was not prefect and on the whole, there was more bad than the good. The main problem then was the fact that the Japanese and Tropical Garden complexes were both closed for renovation. During my conversation with the receptionist beforehand, that piece of crucial information was not mentioned. Because if so, we might have delayed our stay there. Apparently, to compensate, the entrance fees were halved, but that was hardly a consolation.

I brought my camera specifically for the gardens and as you can tell, I was left disappointed. It was a good thing that the weather was nice that we could spend the time in the pool instead.

The next issue I had was the rooms. They were in a desperate need for a renovation. The decorations were still unique as the furnitures still retained the European Alpine feel to the place. The room smelt moldy. The bathroom floor looked used and the drapes look destined for the bin. Rather than just closing the garden for a facelift, they could do with closing the whole resort for a while. The carpark and the lift needed a bit if work as well. Certainly the feel the feel of the whole place did not fit the 4 star status it carries. At least for the moment.

And now let's talk about the food, or the lack of it. The resort fees included breakfast for the family, and apart from the breakfast, we also had a buffet dinner at the main restaurant on the Saturday evening. We were amongst the earliest to arrive as to avoid the crowd, but we were made to wait even though we arrived 30 minutes after the advertised start of the buffet.

The excuse - the barbecue grill needed heating up. I left 45 minutes later, and the food were still scarce. Not only that the spread was very basic - for rice, the were only a couple of gravy - the buffet was slow to be replaced when it ran out. The restaurant were also not really designed for buffet as the seats we're rather too big, and it was not very easy to get in and out to the spread. It was more obvious during the breakfast the next morning, the crowd were much bigger.

During the buffet dinner, we were also surprised that there were not much choice for the kids. We asked for an ala cart menu, but there'd weren't any, despite room device orders going through the same restaurant. Hence, we ended up picking a few things up to fill the tummy before retiring to the room to order for room service. Room service also arrived late as they claimed that there were not enough staff. Frankly, that should not have been our problem. It was the resort's problem to sort out. They should be able to sort their staffing issue out as the place was established close to 10 years now.

To be honest, the place had so much potential if only the management were thinking it 'big'. Consistent with most Malaysian resorts, maintenance was an issue. There seemed to be lack of investment into infrastructures. It was all about making an easy buck, and lay low when the place starters to beak down. Looking around the place, they could have more activities for family and children. A proper bicycle track for a start, horse-riding maybe. But for God's sake, be honest about what you have to offer. If only I was told that the gardens were closed, we may have delayed our stay .....

Colmar Weekend - The Good

I had mentioned before about spending an evening at Colmar. We we're finally able to do it on the last weekend of February. Realizing that I would be away most of the weekends in March, we decided to spend a Saturday evening at the resort.

We arrived there late morning. One peculiar thing about the place was that even though you can book for a room ahead of time, they would not be able to quote you a price, as it would change on the daily basis depending on the demand. According to the receptionist when we called prior, there should be enough rooms available. So we settled for a suite one bedroom suite.

Checking in was straight forward, but the first room that we were offered was rather too big - it was basically one big empty room. Good if you have a family of six, but too big for us. They were kind enough to offer us another room which was better than the first.

Next stop, lunch. We went to our usual cafe - they served French and Italian food. After that, the swimming pool, which was great as it was early enough that there's were hardly any crowd. The pool there was nice and specious, with a separate wading pool.

By 5pm, we went down the hill to the rabbit farm. Spent an hour there before returning just in time for an early dinner. I will write about the dinner later on as I wanted to discuss the bad points on a separate entry. Suffice to say that dinner was bad.

We got to our room pretty early and as there were not much food for the kids during the buffet, we ordered some room service for them. After dinner, we went for a walk at the main promenade, enjoying the wonderful breeze and cool weather. There were a few attractions and shows going on. There was a fire breather and a Russian dance troupe putting on shows that evening. Great fun for the kids. There were also games rooms, and evening cafe if that as what you preferred. We went to bed rather late that evening as the boys were all excited - before Idlan ran a fever. The weather was on the cool side in the evening although it was not as cold as Fraser's Hill. 

We all had a pleasant night, though we had to get up to give Idlan some medicine. We headed home the next morning right after breakfast, with a nice slow drive back home to KL.

The Morning After

Idlan's fever settled by the morning and he was back to his usual self by the time we had breakfast. Suffice to say, it was chaotic at breakfast, mainly due to the venue being ill-prepared for the number of hotel visitors coming down for the buffet. We arrived at around 9.00 which was relatively early judging from the commotion happening right afterward especially from the Middle East visitors. I will leave the rest to your imaginations.

The weather was gorgeous in the morning. The boys got their bubble guns out and started to spray the place with bubbles. The morning walk was really nice. We quickly got back up to the rooms, got our stuffs into the van and back down to the main lobby to hang around for a few more minutes, absorbing the fresh air and calm ambiance. Colmar was certainly magically on a sunny Sunday morning like it was earlier today. We then took a pleasant drive back down to KL, stopping by to visit an ill relative on the way back home. Idlan started to develop temperature again, so back to the medicines.

The boys were more settled in the afternoon, so myself and Anita took time to do some shopping and went to the bank to settle my credit cards bill and the lot. I then went to Low Yat, and my God, the place was hectic. I stopped over at the Apple store to pick up a charger for my Mac Air, but apart from that, the whole afternoon was a blur. Unwanted to have a closer look at the Nexus S but most of the vendors kept confusing it with Galaxy S. I gave up after half an hour trying before joining Anita with her shopping.

The boys were now being put to sleep while I was preparing my slides for next weekend's talk in Yangon. Suffice to say, it would be struggle to complete then by the morning, but at least I have got the idea about what to talk about. The photos from Colmar would have to wait for the time being.