So Much Potential

As mentioned on my previous entry, we were mightily disappointed with the place we chose to stay during our Kuala Kangsar weekend. So, I did a bit of digging.

The resort was built by the City Council and was completed in 2000. It was fully run by the Council, which explained the quality of service. Clearly the management did not have much interest in running the place. I was sure they were either elected or tasked to run. And from the conversation I had with them, they clearly was not planning to give a great service.

The main reception, and the restaurant located by the entranceThos were the extra mattresses - which we were charged handsomely forThere was a separate partition to the main bedroom. Idlan and Irfan slept there.The cleaners were mainly "expatriates", by which we meant Bangladeshi or Indonesians to whom the phrase "customer service" never registered in their dictionary.

My feeling is that the place was set up to cater for the various government meetings and symposium at the area. The place was almost always full according to the manager, but it didn't look that much of the investment returned to maintaining the facility.

Table with a mirror in the main bedroom, looking into the loungeCouple of couches at the loungeA table of courseWe stayed in a suite, which set us back RM260 per night, not including breakfast. It may not be much as far as hotels went, but it was the top of the range room. And what did we get? Not even hot shower! And there were no room to complain. The manager just smiled and I clearly felt that she couldn't give a rat's ass in her mind!

At least the air conditioning was working and we had a few Astro channels to watch, but I wouldn't say that this was value for money. Having bad service was one thing, not giving a hoot about it was another ....

Back to the lobby area

The field right at the back of our room. We should've brought our ball with us.This was where our rooms were. It was a bungalow building with four suite unitNice field looking towards the other guestroomsAnd the Sayung bridge was right behind our roomsIn saying that, the place got so much potential. The location was spot on, with great vantage points and it being located right next to the river. There were plenty of space to expand, including space for barbecues, team building, and even water sport. Imagine what a private chain could do with the place with proper management. Alas!

What an opportunity missed!

Good Rest

I didn't catch the second half of the matches last night I was afraid. I was drifting away right after I blogged. Only managed to keep up with the results this morning.

Congrats to Citeh. We would be loaning the trophy across time for the season. Would be claiming it back this time next year. Or maybe a couple of months earlier.

As for the Liverpool supporters. Tough luck. Unfortunately you had the best chance this year. No guarantee that you could reach the same height next season.

Let's see what's my plan for today. First order of business .... breakfast!

Far From Perfect

No luck again as we arrived at Kuala Kangsar and checked into our room. We booked for a suite but Anita especially was mightily disappointed to find it at such a sorry state. She stayed here before and was happy with it.

Riverside Resort was now under a new management and the place appeared to have been transformed. There was even the obligatory name change to Safari Resort. Not an improvement I was afraid. But not to the level needing change of hotel - I didn't think we had an alternative here - like our Lumut trip. And there was no safari to boot.

So, no food at the hotel after lunch, the next plan of action would be to get some late lunch.

And not to mention the fact that we had to pay for the stay in advance, in cash with some key deposit on top of that. Put it diplomatically, we didn't come to Kuala Kangsar for the room ...

Our Little Home in Kuala Kangsar

The rear facade. The stairs lead to the kitchen.Kuala Kangsar holds an almost legendary status amongst those who were from the place. They swear that everybody from there were descendent of kings and queens. This once-proud town still hold the title of Royal City for the Kingdom of Perak. The Sultan still have his Istana there. All the royal ceremony were still hosted at the town. I passed through the town on many occasions, but never actually spent a night there, until last weekend.

Close-up of the staircaseThe heir is in the house - quite literallyPuan Anita's mother, my mother-in-law was from Kuala Kangsar. She was born and raised there before marrying my father-in-law, who is from Kelantan. She only returned there occasionally since. She now stays here in Kuala Lumpur. She is the last of her siblings, the last one passing away last year. But even then, most of her relatives have moved away from the town. There were still some of her nephews and nieces who were still there. Some of them lived in Kuala Kangsar all their lives. Some returning to their hometown upon retirement, to build their home at their inherited lands.

Puan Anita speaking to one of the buildersWhile Idlan and Irfan looked on.For the last ten years or so, the house where my mother-in-law was brought up in was left to rot. The last of her nephew moved away after one of my wife's aunt died. The area was left in a mess. A version of the haunted house I supposed. Five years back, the land was bough over by our family and now in Puan Anita's name. We were contemplating what to do with the piece of land, and the house. Then came the idea of actually clearing the place and turn it into a fruit orchard. But my mother-in-law was not very keen. It happened that one of our cousin actually managed to salvage some of the woodwork from the original building and gave it back to us. Why not we just rebuild the house according to the original plan, but with better material and with mod cons while we were at it. Six months and a few thousand ringgits later, that was where we were last weekend.

The house was almost ready. Since we only paid the local people to build the place, it took longer than what was originally planned. Some of the workmanship was rather shoddy, but we employed the local builders for a reason. Puan Anita went over last month to pay for the wiring and tiles with my mother-in-law whose was understandably proud of what was done. We also had the acid test last weekend, to see what my two boys felt of the place. They were ecstatic and wanted to spend the night there. Unfortunately, as the water and electricity was yet to be installed, we had to give it a miss. Oh boy! They were running along the wooden flooring like there was no tomorrow. As for where we stayed, it's a lodge called Resort Sungai Perak, and I will write about it in a different entry.

Clearly a work in progressMy mother-in-law inspecting the windowsills. This is the front end of the house where the lounge will be.Paneling preserved from the original house.We were planning to return there next weekend as we will be holding a 'doa selamat' ceremony as a way of introducing ourselves to the local kampung folks. We will also be inviting our cousins and relatives back to Kuala Kangsar, and should they want to return in the future, they will have a place for them to stay for a night or two. We were not planning to rent the place out, but rather to keep it as an escapade. The problem is, it takes around two-and-a-half hours to drive there, plus we also have an apartment in Port Dickson. I am sure we will think of something.