Taman Merdeka

On the way to Legoland from Thistle, we passed by a public park right next to the Royal Palace. It was called Taman Merdeka. And with the ample green, we explored it after lunch earlier. It was actually quite nice but could do with better maintenance since the location was superb, and I was sure with a bit of effort, the place could go far.

The lake was filled up with red sands which I was sure was from the surrounding development. There was also an amphitheatre which appeared underutilised. Some of the route had fallen into disrepair, which was a great shame.

At least the children's pool - which appeared recently opened - looked to be frequented and was in good shape. There was quite a crowd there when we arrived, and the families there seemed to be enjoying themselves.

There was also a nice restaurant by the main carpark to the park. We thought about going in, but the boys were already excited about going to Puteri Harbour. There was no stalls by the pool though. The park also seemed like a popular place for the newlyweds having their wedding photos taken. We saw at least three couples there during our stop.

The theme for the park was obviously the Independence but mostly from the Japanese Occupation during the Second World War. There were murals around there, but not much information apart from the token billboard. I wished that the place was given some monetary input to be reinvigorated. A 1% slice from Iskandar's advertising budget would do wonders to the place ....... and possibly would go a long way for the common Rakyat.

Full Day

An exhaustive afternoon actually. The initial plan was to head to Puteri Harbour to see what the indoor theme park had to offer. But we had a stop on the way. We were just curious about a public park we saw on the way to Legoland yesterday, called Taman Merdeka. More about that later.

We ended up arriving at Puteri Harbour by 3, and after fretting about where to park - the parking area was quite well away from the theme park. Puteri Harbour was still in development and not all the attractions were opened yet. In fact, only the theme park was really operational. Even Lat's Place, another attraction was still closed.

Actually, we enjoyed Puteri Harbour more than Legoland to be quite honest. And I would blog about that in length a bit later on. We finally reached the hotel after six, and starving. A quick trip to the lounge and the boys were happy. What's next? Swimming. At 7 pm? Gosh!

My Back!

What did the trip to Legoland left me with? A sore back. When I went for a swim later in the afternoon after returning the park, I felt my upper back and shoulders really sore. And when I asked Anita if there was anything on my back she snapped this picture. And it was painful!

It got worse when I woke up this morning. I better get some sort of cream to apply to my back before it gets note painful. The boys were OK since they got their sunscreen on. I should've listened to Anita and applied some as well. And I was only in the sun for about half an hour ......

Legoland First Impression

Let's get the bullet points out of the way first;
Legoland was expensive
Legoland was hot
Legoland was not as big as I initially thought
Away from school holiday, it was easy to get around
Legoland would be bigger in the next few years with the adjoining development
Did I mention that Legoland was hot?

How expensive? Without the discount - child enter free with a full-price paying adult - it could easily cost us around RM120 per head. We got further discount with MyKad, and still I paid more than I thought I should. Or at least what I thought as return.

The park was divided into 7 smaller areas, themed around some popular Lego games. There were a mediaeval area, the Lego City area - these two areas looked the most developed. Others were pretty basic - the Technic are only got a single attraction thus far.

Right in the middle of the park was the Miniland, where replicas of world's famous landmarks were built from Lego bricks. Very interesting. Some of them had moving parts which by the press of a button, visitors could interact with them.

There were roller-coasters of course, but with the kids on tow, we only took the basic rides. Idlan tried the usual boat ride and the famous City Car Driving School to ear his driving licence. As the place was quiet on the day - as school had just opened - getting everywhere was easy. The only enemy was the searing heat.

There were plenty of stalls and restaurant to stop for food and drinks. The problem was, some of the items were ridiculously expensive. We had a RM10 food discount voucher when we bought the ticket, but that could hardly cover the dessert. The service at the restaurant was quick as most of the food were pre-prepared and bought as a complete meal. Seating area was unfortunately limited. I could see this as being a big issue on busy days.

The layout of the park was pretty easy to understand and the park map supplied at the entrance was helpful. The park could do with more shaded rest area and some misted fans. The heat was was intense and my back was sunburnt within half an hour.

Outside the park, there was a hotel and a water park being built. Those as well as a new shopping mall which was only half opened when as of yesterday. Parking was outside this mall, and to get to the entrance - only a single entrance opened - you had to walk about half a km from your parked car. There was no rail or regular bus service from JB City from what I've read. However, there were taxis seen at the mall, charging passengers through their nose for the services.

When the park opened, I was hoping to see some Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbeans feature as Lego had toys made for the franchise. But there were not much here. Maybe in future iterations. The other disappointment was the lack of exclusive Lego items on sale. Most of the toys sold here could be bought in KL. As for the T-shirts and other memorabilia, again nothing fought my eyes. The boys bought some toys for their cousins and for themselves at the exit, but again, nothing special here.

Would we come again? Maybe I would in a group. It seemed that the rides were not very interesting form my children, but that might change if they were there with their friends and cousins. The main put off would be the entrance fee, the hot sun and the crowd if they were to come during school holidays. Personally, in would like to find out a bit more about the coming attractions. As it was, it would take me a lot of persuasion before returning.

Exploring Thistle

As usual, I woke up the earliest being the first to go to bed. So, I set off to have breakfast and explore the hotel. It was still quite that early bin the morning, and I get to see the whole place as the rest were rushing for breakfast.

There were three venues for breakfast, the main cafe called Glass, a cafe by the main reception called Steps and at the Executive Lounge on Level 15. I decided to have it at Glass since it had the widest selection. But in the end, it was just a typical hotel breakfast. Nothing to shout about. As the place was relatively quite - being a Friday - service was prompt. Hopefully I could say the same for Saturday and Sunday.

I spent a good 30 minutes exploring the swimming pool area and reading about the facilities on offer. I also went into the gym, but didn't try anything as I didn't bring my trainers along. The pool looked great and I couldn't wait to try it later. It had a separate children area and ample deck.

Next it was time to get the boys ready. We planned an early start as we were Legoland-bound. It looked like it was going to be a sunny day ......