Far Far Away

Finally we were there. Far Far Away. The mystical land where Shrek went to live and rule. It was fun. It was tacky. But that was it was supposed to be.

The first area we entered was supposed to be the Wicked Witches Hut. It turned out to be a gift shop. But you could get yourself exclusive stuffs here. And I spent more than SG 150 on gifts and toys. There was a small ferry's wheel which we queued up for. A small one. The kids seemed to enjoy it. You would be treated by the sight of Puss-in-Boots hanging right in the middle of the wheel. A nice touch.

The entrance was unmistakeableInside the Wicked Witch Hut, where the potions were made. A rather nice surprise in every cornerCome here pussy, pussy, pussy .....There was also one of the more popular ride here, The 4D. Unfortunately Puan Anita wasn't really keen on that. So we gave that one a miss. Next door was Shrek's house as well a few other restaurants and shops.

A popular ride this one. The queue was long ....Meanwhile, at the swamp ....I wished that Shrek and Fiona would make an appearance here. But obviously we were too early. Oh well! We could've stayed longer but the pull of Madagascar next door proved too much.

Egypt!

After the Scifi area, it was Egypt. A huge indoor complex, with an indoor roller coaster, reputed to be the scariest. I wouldn't know because we did not step in. Instead, we lingered at the entrance and took another ride. It was an outdoor one, akin to the journey of Indiana Jones. A journey in a car, into caves and tunnels, with creepy crawly aplenty.

Nothing to shout about really, except that the queue was long, and the ride was short. Luckily with our express passes, we did not have to queue. We were led straight onto the car at the front of the queue. Well worth it.

Women has this effect on Idlan .... Goof boy!He was kinda popular with the ladies .....Waiting to get into our vehicle .... Let's roll!Indiana Jones time ....While there, we came across the Queen of Sheeba and a Prince. Tough looking guy, and rather popular with the ladies. I didn't understand why ....

Because the day was hot and the walk was long, Anita decided to have a change of footwear, and we also got a fan for each of the boys. It was filled with ice cold water which they spray onto their face.

Authentic stuff ....The guards .....Definitely not my kinda ride ....After a quick drink, it was time to move on. The Lost World beckoned ......

Friday Night Outing

As usual, we would have an outing on Friday night. Even though I have to work tomorrow. But at least, I won't be on call.

We headed to The Curve, and the place was crowded despite there being a light drizzle outside. It ha been raining in the late afternoon, but that didn't deter people coming in.

A quick drive while they were thereWhere to have dinner? Irfan wanted Bubba Gump. Idlan wanted Marche. Mum and Dad wanted Apartments. Irfan won. And Bubba Gump was right crowded tonight with a couple of parties going on.

We shall have the customary stroll after dinner. Maybe a quick walk into IKEA perhaps. The boys wont be impressed. As for now, it was time to watch Forrest Gump on the television. That's all they showed in here.

The Pool is Cool

This place is a blast. In not talking about the food, nor the activities you can get your teeth into, but just the venue. A quick escape from KL by the highway - checked. Nice spacious room - checked. Nice pool with separate area for kids - checked. Kids play room - checked.

So, what more can you ask? More about that later. Let's now concentrate on the positives.

As you arrived at the main lobby, you leave your luggage and then drive your car to the carpark located round the corner - quite far from the main reception area unless you are a VIP. Like anything else in Melaka, VIP get separate treatment re Ali Rostam.

While you're checking in, you were given a fresh towel to clean up and a glass of nice drink to quench your thirst. Argh!

Checking in was straight forward as we had already paid online. The room we got was right on the opposite end of the resort. The honeymoon area I supposed. We should have gone for the villa rather than a standard room. For the price we already paid, the extra wound make much difference.

We were really impressed with the room. It was all timber, with a comfortable bed, a verandah with nice breeze. The tall ceiling with a fan made the room feel cool, and the lighting brought the ceiling window made for an airy feeling. You have a dressing area, a couple of sofa in the room and more seating at the verandah. Once you get into the room, you just wanted to stay indoors and forget about what's going on outside.

But we had to go out, and off the the pool we went. Was it worth the venture out? It was. The pool was real nice. Separate main and wading pool. Nice afternoon breeze on an overcast day. They have small pavilion for you to chill if you just wanted to sit down and nap. We had a whale of a time by the pool and only got out near Maghrib.

Walked back to our room, hit the shower, and then off for dinner.

More about the dinner as unfortunately that was a drag. Suffice to say, the room was excellent. Clearly a lot of effort was put into the built and ambiance. Unfortunately, it lacked a full package to be worth the excess of RM 600 we paid for the stay.

Tokyo Street

I had read the posters about Tokyo Street every time I went to Pavilion but was never really bothered to ask what that was about. Finally, on New Year's Eve, after visiting the Buddy Bears, we all went up to the 6th floor looking for food. Finally, I found out what Tokyo Street was all about.

It was rows of stalls, Japanese-theme right at a corner of Pavilion where an interior design shop used to be. The stalls were arranged in streets with an open lighting system coming from the top for the spaces between the stalls or "street" giving the feeling that you were outdoor. It worked.

The cafe that we had some drinks in. Hmm! Can't recall what it was called.This lychee soda was heavenly!Something you would expect here - a ramen house ....The white light coming from the ceiling gave the impression that you were outdoors, much like in an open street.I couldn't help but felt that I was actually out and about in a street, going into one shop to another. And all these stalls sold food and ornaments from Japan. They had sushi and snacks of course, ramen, toys, chocolates and of course desserts. The staffs all wore kimonos and Japanese-styled costume. Nope! There were no anime characters on display.

Anita was hounded by this cuddly mascotThis was chocolate heaven!We soon settled at a Japanese bread shop, and had tea and seaweed potato chips there. It was nice and relaxing. For drinks, I had lychee and soda. On a hot day like it was, it really hit the spot.

I would definitely be visiting the Street again.