All Day Gaming Session

The boys were really enjoying their time off. They were both happy to have their cousin brother around. They slept with him in Idlan's room, not waking up until almost the afternoon. Then, they started another game console session until Anita chased them into the bathroom.

Feeding them lunch was also a challenge! They had just finished tucking into their lunch when I arrived for lunch. By the time I left for the afternoon clinic, they were back at it!

I was sure it would continue until tomorrow .....

Games Night

So, Irfan wanted me to set up both the PS3 and 360 at his room at the apartment. He had been bugging me all morning. After the movie trip in the evening, I obliged. And for the past one and a half hour, both Irfan and Idlan had been camped in the room, playing with the Kinect unit. Both of them covered with sweat!

Since they had just finished their end-of-year exam, this would be a respite. They would skip Monday and only be back in school on Wednesday. We would be staying at the apartment until Tuesday, since I would be on call on Monday. Not far for me to travel.

As for me and Anita, it would be football night tonight. United would be away at Fulham! GGMU!

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.

Sunday Afternoon

It was a long day yesterday. My rounds ended very late with a couple of emergency. This was followed by the ritual of getting tandoori as Manchester Unites was playing last night.

I managed to sleep before the match started, ending up having my dinner during halftime. To make matters worse, Southampton managed a late equaliser at Old Traffic. A terrific game through and I must say that a draw was more than what United deserved. Soton really bossed the game for long periods although we had more clear cut chances. Shame that we kept hitting either the post or the keeper.

Early start this morning, with the round stretching to lunchtime, in time to attend a couple of weddings.

So, I decided to take it easy this afternoon. I went out with Anita for a nice meal, and a leisurely walk around KLCC.

Planning for an early night ....

In Kuala Lipis

Reached Kuala Lipis and the traffic was still relentless. Only myself and the driver was up. Everybody else were asleep. Irfan was the first to go to sleep. He had been eating all the way since we stopped for KFC.

Not sure what was the stop for this time. The queue had been a couple of kilometers long. Off to the next book.

More entries here.