My 65th Birthday Bash in Malaysia - July 2014

Saturday 19 July 2014

It was an early start with my alarm waking me at 3 am. After a quick shower and a cuppa of green tea it was time to get the taxi to the airport. The check-in  and security check went  very efficiently  and I only had a short time before boarding the 5.30 am flight to Brisbane.

It was a beaut flight as I had a spare seat beside me on what was otherwise a full flight. On arrival in Brissie it was just a matter of transferring to the International Terminal for the security and Immigration checks before the flight. There was a long queue as it was the end of the Kiwi school holidays and the place was filled with Kiwis returning home on the special extra flights .  I have never seen this Terminal so busy before.

After the official processes I caught up with my good friend Kurt and he suggested we have a beer to get ready for the flight. 

It was not a long wait to fill in and we were on the 747 for the 9 hour flight to Singapore. 

It was a good flight and by the time we had dinner and a few great reds, took in a movie and had many games of checkers which were mainly won by Kurt, we were getting ready to land in Singapore.

After the flight the official processes went very quickly and we were on the Shuttle to Johor Bahru. We has to get out of the buss at Woodlands with our luggage for Immigration and Customs check to enter Malaysia. We were dropped off at the coach and train terminal which in a very large shopping Mall.

This is where the frustrations begun as we had to get local money and try to find the exit we would need to take us to the street for the 10 minute walk to our hotel. This is where language difficulties caused concerns as we were given different answers by everyone we asked. We must have spent an hour rushing around that mall lugging our luggage before we finally found an exit with taxis. The taxi driver said it would be quicker for us to walk there than he drive us through the very heavy traffic.

We finally arrived at the hotel and as we were starving made it a priority to go and have some dinner. We went back to the mall and had a most welcome meal in a Chinese restaurant.

It was beaut to get back to the hotel have a shower and get some shut-eye.

Sunday 20 July 2014

After an enjoyable brekkie we packed up and got a cab to where we were to pick up the Hire car. The only problem was the driver dropped us off at the wrong place so we were walking around, and lugging luggage in 35 Degree heat up and down the streets and in the end we got another taxi to take us to the correct place.

Getting out of JB was not the problem we anticipated, well not for me anyway as Kurt was driving and before long we were on the highway on our way to Malacca. The road was excellent  and we had to go through about three or four toll gates on the trip. We stopped for lunch after 2 hours into the trip. The total travel time was just over 3 hours and we arrived in Malacca.

From the arrival on the outskirts of the city and the drive into the city where our Holiday Inn was we were getting great vibes from this attractive and beautiful city.

The Holiday Inn was perfect and we got royal treatment and we were upgraded and become members of the Executive Club, that meant we could avail ourselves of the Club Lounge and have free cocktails and snacks for 2 hours each arvo between 6 and 8 pm.

At 8 pm they arranged a shuttle bus for us to go to the Night Markets which were probably the best  I have been to in the world. I will let the photos tell the story. On the shuttle was a nice Dutch family and for some of you that know Christal from the ms Amsterdam, well the Dutch lady was the spitting image and had the same accent as Christal. We had a great Aussie / Dutch conversation on the trip.

After the Jonker Street night Markets we caught a cab back to the hotel  and had some night caps before bed.

Monday 21 July 2014

We had a late brekkie and a choice of Asian and western food which was very enjoyable. We decided to have our own walking tour of the nearby attractions. So much to see along the river with the old Fort, Dutch Square, The Malacca Tour were just a few.

 After a few hours of walking around  we hired a couple of Tutt Tutts and went on a sight seeing tour with peddle power.

It had been 43 years since I last visited Malacca so there was of new buildings and attractions, the only place that had not changed was St Francis Xavier Church.

We had a late lunch at the Hard Rock Café before setting off to the Malacca Tower to ride up to the top and take in the fantastic views.

The observation deck actually revolved as we ascended and descended so we just had to sit in our chair and the views came to us.

We went for a cool off swim in the pool before getting ready for the Cocktails and snacks. We then went over to the Jetty to try out The Straits Chinese Restaurant.

 It was so funny because as we sat down, a coach load of about 40 Chinese got up and left after their meal so we had this huge restaurant to our self. After a very enjoyable meal we retired to our room for a few night caps before bed.

Tuesday 22 July 2014

I was awoken by a tropical cyclonic type pre dawn storm with heaps of thunder and lighting however it didn't last long and by dawn the sky was starting to clear. After Brekkie we set off in our hire car to look around Malacca itself and drive along the coast to Port Dickson about 95 Km north of Malacca.

It was a pleasant drive through the various villages and beachside areas. The traffic was not too bad so we were quite relaxed driving along the coastal roads.

When we got up to Port Dickson we decided we would have a late lunch and for convenience called in at the local McDonald’s. We took some photos along the way so I will let the photographs do the talking.

We called in to look at the Blue Lagoon on the return trip back to our hotel in Malacca. We made it just in time for the cocktails. 

After cocktails we decided to eat in the hotel’s in Italian restaurant which is quite pleasant and the service was excellent.

Wednesday 23rd July 2014

We woke early in order to have breakfast and catch a cab at 8 o'clock to the Malacca central bus station. Then we boarded very comfortable coach for the two our drive to Kuala Lumpur. 


The highway traffic was not too bad and we were lucky the time to reach KL only talk 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Over the next few hours we became experts in using the railway system getting around Kuala Lumpur. We visited time square and Kurt took advantage of taking a ride on the large roller coaster in the large amusement area on the 7^th level. 

The Monorail ride out to Times Square was a great way of seeing parts of the city.

Then we were off to the Petronas Twin Towers which was fantastic to look at. Unfortunately to ride to the top you have to reserve the trip up to 48 hours in advance. 

We were not too disappointed by not being able to go to the top as visibility would have been very limited due to the smog and smoke that was blanketing the city.

After a good look around the markets we then decided to make our way to an outer suburban train station where there was  a very well-run interchange to meet up with the coaches. By taking this action we were able to save about 30 minutes on the return coach trip back to Malacca.

After a big day we arrived back at the hotel at 7 o'clock which of course was an hour late for our cocktails. We were still able to enjoy the cocktails for the last hour.   

After a shower,  we went down to the Italian restaurant again and had pizza for dinner. After dinner we had a nightcap in the foyer bar and listened two some live music.

It was about midnight by the time we called it a day.

Thursday 24 July 2014.

We set off after a late brekkie and visited a Mosque on the reclaimed island just off Malacca.

 

 Then we commenced the drive along the coast roads through the villages and farming lands back to Johor Bahru. This trip took a lot longer than we estimated as a result of the road conditions and the traffic. It was beaut to get back on the toll road for the last 50km.

OMG, peak hour driving in JB, what an experience and getting a bit lost didn’t help. Kurt needs a medal for his patience and calmness as we tried to find our way back to the hire car depot. The lack of signs added to stress. 

We finally made it just as dark was falling and it was a relief to leave the car and get a taxi back to the hotel.

We went to dinner in the Mall across the road after we had freshened up. The meals were very cheap compared to Aussie prices. Our 3 course meal with drinks for the two of us came to only about $34.

After a short look around and a visit to the special MH17 memorial we called it a night and went back to our hotel.

Friday 25 July 2014   (My Birthday)

After a late brekkie we did the walking tour of Johor Bahru and took in the sights of this city. JB is not a tourist city and is not really set up for tourists.

 

In the afternoon we set off by cab to visit the Danga Bay Country Garden development and had birthday drinks and lunch there.

What a fantastic resort and complex it will be when it is finished. An eager and overzealous young salesman wanted to sell us a studio apartment off the plan. It was well worth the visit and check out the facilities.

We celebrated my birthday dinner at the restaurant we went to last night.

 It was great value and the meal was excellent. After a walk around it was back to the Hotel. 


It all seemed strange to us as everyone goes out at night even young families and the time was nearly midnight.

Sat 26 July 2014

We had a late breakfast and finished the packing before checking out and go over to the Bus terminal for the transfer back to Changi Airport .

 We had to go through the Customs and Immigration procedures before we crossed the border. This meant having to take our luggage off the coach and lug it through the facilities and the inspection before taking getting back on the coach to continue our trip through Singapore to the Airport.

We took advantage of the early check in and went through the Customs and Immigration procedures before making our way up to the Qantas Club Lounge. It was beaut to have a shower to wash away the dust and sweat from rushing around Johor Bahru.

We settled down to have some drinks and snacks as we caught up on emails, Facebook etc as the Wifi was very good. Faith the Duty manager introduced herself and then took us under her wing and really looked after us. On finding out yesterday was my Birthday she had her staff do up a birthday cake complete with candle and surprised me.





 It was a fantastic way to finish off the birthday holiday trip before boarding the flight to Brisbane.

The flight back to Brissie was very disappointing and it is obvious many cost saving cuts have been introduced. 

The cabin crew acted as if they didn't want to be there and the service was slack. Mr Qantas you better pull up your socks and improve as many on that flight were not very happy, even though there were not enough meals and entertainment was not working properly these problems were exaggerated by the take it or leave attitude of the cabin crew.

We were pleased to get off in Brissie and stretch our legs, do some last minute duty free shopping and then go through the Customs and Immigration procedures. After I had rechecked my bag on to Cairns, Kurt and I had a coffee before he got a cab home and I got the shuttle over to the Domestic Terminal.

It is always sad saying goodbye to my good friend Kurt as he is a great travel companion and certainly looks after me in getting around.

I had a two hour wait for the flight up to Cairns and with only about an hours sleep on the previous flight it was a battle trying to keep awake.

The flight and service on the Qantas flight to Cairns was very good, it was a pity this cabin crew were not on the previous flight.

My friend Dan picked me up from the airport and drove me home.

I hope you enjoy my travel stories and photographs and get some entertainment from this another chapter of the Pat and Kurt travel show.