MALAYSIA DAY 3 (Penang/Kuala Lumpur)

Island Plaza (Luxfort 118) -> (Lorong Batu Bukit 2) Breakfast place -> Penang International Airport -> KL LCCT Airport -> Swiss Inn -> Petaling Jaya

We finally get a chance to visit the swimming pool/jacuzzi at Luxfort 118. We went there while on our way out for breakfast. It is at the 5th storey and in contrast to hotel pools where you will tend to see people swimming even in the morning, we didnt see anyone there. It was around 8.45am in the morning. 

Swimming pool overlooking other nearby condos

Jacuzzi in the background

And... We spotted Gurney Plaza!

Gurney plaza!!

The orange building is Gurney Plaza. We reckon its about 15 minutes straight walk from Gurney Plaza. Wasn't aware that it's so near!

We left Island plaza in search of breakfast, preferably local style of breakfast. Island plaza only offers Coffee Bean and its so highly priced! There's burger king nearby along the way to Tesco, however since we are in Penang, we thought we should try food that isn't easily obtainable in Singapore.

hawker area near our accomodation

It was bustling with people the previous night when we passed by in the cab. We thought we might be able to try it in the morning but looks like it wasn't open so early yet. There's a group of Caucasians inside but they were just drinking. 

We walked to another side where we saw many cars parking outside a row of shophouses when we look down from our room window. We reckon it could be locals stopping by for a meal - thus the place might serve breakfast!

And true enough there is a breakfast place ( hawker) there. It is just about 5 minutes walk from our accomodation. However you need to cross the traffic heavy road. There's traffic light however it doesnt seem to function in proper like in Singapore.

surrounding of the hawker

hawker!

Locals sitting in for a meal

There were many different stalls selling: Traditional kaya toast, koay teow mee, char kway teow, economical bee hoon, wanton mee... When we reached there at around 9am, there were a lot of people. We had trouble finding seats. However when we started eating at aroun 9.15pm, theres lesser people, since most have headed to work. We saw families having breakfast there - it is also Malaysia's school holiday.

Once again, we ordered a variety of dishes. We had to wait for awhile before our food is served to our table. But the wait was worthwhile, it is so much better than the food we had at Gurney Hawker yesterday!

Char Kway Teow

The Char Kway Teow is better than yesterday's however we feel that we can get better Char Kway Teow in Singapore. Of course, we are aware, we aren't able to get it in Singapore at a cheap price of RM4. 

Economical Bee Hoon

There's a long queue for the economical bee hoon store. The price is good, very affordable. Taste wise its the usual trusty economical bee hoon. We ordered sunny side up, 'lor bak' and the bee hoon comes with ikan billis+peanuts. once again, dont be fooled by 'lor bak' - it is ngoh hiang in penang. 

Nasi Lemak wrapped in pandan leaf RM 1.50

We saw a lot of people ordering this Nasi Lemak, as such we decided to order one packet. It was cold when served. Ingredients and portion is pathetic. But oh well, you get what you paid for. Wouldn't recommend this.

Fishball Kway Teow Soup

 We love this dish as it is rich in ingredients. The way the kuay teow is being cooked is just nice. We recommend trying their fishball kway teow Soup if you are there. Dont quite remember the price but it definitely does not cost more than RM5 (SGD $2)!

Kaya Toast and Half Boiled Egg

We have craving for half boiled egg and decided to order their breakfast set. It took some time for them to deliver to our table. Business has been very busy for them in the morning. The Kaya toast was below our expectation however other than that it is good! Havent had a traditional breakfast for quite some time!

Business for the wanton mee store has been very good but since we are all very full from the food we ordered, we decided to take away and have it as lunch at Luxfort 118. Since we have microwave in our accomodation, and check out is 12pm. We take away wanton mee and prawn mee. We wanted to take away dried prawn mee, but in the end the store holder put the prawn gravy in another plastic bag for us to try. How nice! 

Be sure to visit this eating place if you happen to be near there. 

Hawker located @ Lorong Batu Bukit 2

You can even spot Island plaza in the background of the image above, taken at the eating place!

We returned to Luxfort 118 at around 10.15am. We packed our luggage and have our take away lunch.

The wanton mee was not too bad. It is not costly too! Definitely cheaper than what you can get in Singapore.

prawn mee

Aww. Did we say we love this flavourful prawn mee the best. Must really thank the kind aunty for giving us the prawn gravy/soup too! It is very thick with prawn essence! Very authentic!! Must try! Thumbs up! 

Yup! Luxfort 118 provided us with plates, bowls, cups to use. We microwaved our food too! Really feel at home ~

Last few photo takings of our beautiful accomodation surroundings. What more can I ask, now that I get a perfect view of the clear blue sky, green pastures and the limitless blue ocean!

We checked out at 12pm. We were supposed to hand the key to Jason/Recep at the counter however there wasn't anyone in sight when we were there. The security guard was not aware of his whereabouts too. We waited for awhile before we saw Jason. The owner, Jason has been very friendly and hospitable. He showed us the way again to board the bus to the airport. We thank him and will definitely look forward to staying at Luxfort 118 again.

Next up, we will be taking Rapid penang Bus 102 to Penang Airport to catch our 2.55pm flight with Airasia. 

Fare tickeing price listed out at the bus stop

Do not worry about not sure what to pay, as long as your know which stop you are alighting you will be able to know how much fare to pay. Be sure to prepare exact as they do not give change. Alternatively, if you aren't sure which stop to alight, just tell the bus driver where you are headed to. For airport, board 102. It is a direct bus - just alight at the last stop. Thus you will pay the maximum fare of RM 3.40 (SGD$ 1.40)/pax.

We had to wait for awhile before the RP 102 come. In total we waited for around 10-15 minutes only, which we considered ourselves lucky. As the bus frequency for 102 is 60 mins.

interior of Rapid penang bus

It wasn't very crowded and thankfully we found ourselves seats and there's enough space to place your luggage. 

We thought that there will be wifi on board the bus as seen on some reviews, but no, we can't connect to any :( Overall, our experience with Rapid penang bus has been great. They are highly comparable to buses in Singapore operated by SMRT and SBS. Though their seats do not have cushion cover, but I thought cushion covers are harder to maintain. Moreover, though theirs are not cushion covered, but it is comfortable enough! They have foldable chairs at the front area too and yes, TV. Good initiative by the government to motivate its citizens to take the public transport to alleviate traffic congestion.

Our whole journey took around 1 hour, and we reach the airport at 1.20pm. Halfway through it will drive to an interchange in the heart of Penang town area where it will fetch even more people. It was at that stop where we saw more tourists boarding the bus. It is evident since they are carrying luggages with them, just like us. 

Luckily, we did not stop by Queensbay mall, one of Asia's largest retail outlet, for some shopping which we wanted to. Bus 102 do not stop in front of the mall. If we did insist on going to Queensbay Mall, we might have alighted at the wrong stop and would not have known how to head back to airport from there.

Clearer view of Rapid Penang Bus

airport passengers alighting area

Since we reached the airport early and we already did online check in(we have our boarding pass with us already), we went around the airport to shop for last minute souvenirs.

1455: AK 6115 bound for KL Gate:B7

We came across this local product store that sells Penang delights - coffee, tau sar pheah..

We bought a packet of Buah Pala ( some kind of preserved food that is very famous in Penang ) @ RM 3.20 (SGD$ 1.30).

Buah Pala

Opposite the store is KFC. We were so freezing cold in the airport and we stop by for a cup of Mashed potatoes. 

KFC

We ordered a large Mashed potatoes for around RM 5+ (SGD$2.50) only. Very cheap!

We entered the departure gate after that and waited for our flight. It was brimming with people waiting for the same KL bound flight.

The boarding gate opens at 2.30pm.

Sea of people!

We were surprised by how that 'airbus' functions. It is really literally airbus. We saw the airplane coming in and after it unload the passengers and luggages it was carrying, it open the boarding gate for us a new batch of passengers to board, while it is refueling at the same time. How efficient!! No wonder it is the world's best low cost airline. 

On board Air asia!

Interior of Air Asia Cabin

leg space adequate

The plane took off punctually at 2.55pm. Thumbs up for that despite their very packed schedule!

overlooking penang bridge from the aircraft

Penang bridge - not too sure if this is the second or first penang bridge though

We bought a packet of cookies from Airasia Cabin crew ( in flight F&B) and it cost RM 6 (SGD$ 2.40). 

There's only around 6 pieces of cookies inside. However it seems that the biscuits are made by unfortuanate under the community centres in KL. Thus proceeds from selling this pack of biscuits will go to them. In another word, buying this biscuit pack also gives them recognition for the effort they put in to bake cookies. 

There is no preservatives contained in the cookies thus explain the short validity.

Seeing KL!

The whole flight journey is about 50 mins. We touched down at 3.45pm. We had to walk a long walk around the plane landing area before we reach the arrival hall where we can collect our baggage (if any).

long walk

We were impressed by the quality customer service provided by the budget airline company, Air Asia cabin crew though. The air stewardess who were serving us on air earlier, were already on ground, ahead of us at the arrival hall pathway guiding us,and thanking us for choosing air asia, and also welcoming us to KL.

When we reached arrival hall, you will see a row of stores on your right side selling bus tickets to KL Sentral. KL sentral is also the town area of KL. We heard of the skybus by airasia and klia transit by KLIA ekspress. We saw people queuing at the klia transit counter to purchase the tickets and the price seems reasonable, we decided to go ahead too.

Image courtesy of 2013 Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd

KLIA transit provides transport service from LCCT ( KL budget terminal ) to KL Sentral. It is inclusive of a 20 minutes bus ride to Salak Tinggi Train station. And from there we will board the train to KL Sentral, along the way the train will stop for a short while to fetch other passengers at Putrajaya&cyberjaya and Bandar Tasih Station. The total cost for one way from LCCT to KL Sentral is RM 12.50 (SGD $ 5)

Receipt cum train / bus ticket

By the time we purchased the tickets, it was 4pm. The frequency of the bus is around every 15 minutes. The bus was already there when we went to the bus depot. It is just outside the arrival hall exit. The bus left at around 4.15pm.

The coach was quite comfortable :) There is luggage compartments to put your bulky bags/luggage. We reached Salak Tinggi Station at 4.35pm. Land traffic was smooth. Dont worry about not sure when to alight, because there's only one stop. If you aren't sure, just alight from the bus when others alight.

the KLIA Transit bus

Salak Tinggi Train Station

You will need to scan the QR code on your tickets to pass the gantry.

Gantry

The train timings are written on the electronic board hanging above.

After that, proceed to take the escalator up. There's lift too if you are carrying bulky items. The railway is not at the top. But by going up and later coming down, is just a means to cross to the other side - works like an 'overhead bridge'.

railway track view from 2nd floor

There are signs in English to guide you around. Just follow them :) 

KLIA is KL international airport. So if you are going KL Sentral, be sure to look out for " sentral Kuala Lumpur"!

waiting area

train is coming ~

We waited for around 5-10 minutes. The train came at around 4.40pm. It did not stop for long, at most 5mins.

KLIA transit train!

Let me warn you! It is very comfortable and extremely new! Definitely worth the RM 12.50 (SGD $ 5) !! We are very satisfied with it. 

interior cabin

Ample leg space, ample space for you to place your luggage too. There is overhead luggage compartment too. There's a tv screen for every 4-6 passengers however it mostly just broadcast advertisements. Oh and did I mention, there's free wifi on the train too. You just need to connect and select 'sign in'. Just create a basic account ( dont worry its fuss free), and there you get free wifi!

The whole train ride lasted around 28 mins. We reached KL Sentral at 5.20pm.

Ever crowded KL Sentral

An advice that we have learned from our trip is, if you are looking at travelling to various places in KL, be sure to stay at KL Sentral. There are plenty of hotels for you to choose from too in KL Sentral. 

KL sentral is basically the main transport interchange for all forms of transport. May it be going back to KLIA for your flight, you will have to come KL Sentral to take the train if you are taking KLIA Ekspress. KL Sentral also house 2 Rapid KL Lines - Kelana Jaya (LRT) and Monorail Line. We will be taking the Kelana Jaya Line (RED) today and Monorail (GREEN) line tomorrow when we go Bukit Bintang area.

Moreover, it also house the KTM Komuter train where you will have to take it if you are interested in going to Batu Caves which we did for our last day in Malaysia.

Thus in another words, every form of transport that you need to get you around KL (other than taxis) you will need to come KL sentral to change.

Our accomodation place at KL is Swiss inn KL which is located near Pasar Seni station. Pasar Seni Station is along the Kelana Jaya Line.

Kelana Jaya Line (LRT in KL)
Image courtesy of MYRapid 2013 KL

We got our train tokens from the ticket vending machine. Pasar Seni Station is just one stop away from KL Sentral and the fare price is RM 1 for one way.

accepted means of payment @ ticket vending machine

Note!! they only accept coins or small notes like RM 1/RM5 when buying the tickets. So dont expect change to be provided if you have only RM 10 and above

Note!! There's a lot of people queuing at the ticket vending machine @ KL Sentral at any time. So if you know you will need to get tokens again - departing from KL Sentral, get it all in one go. That will help save some queuing time.

Rapid KL Token

You just have to scan the token at the reader on the gantry to enter. And when you exit the gantry at your destination station, just drop it into the coin holder at the gantry. 

If you are travelling to pasar seni (Swiss Inn) be sure to take the train towards Gombak! The train frequency is okay but its quite packed! Almost comparable to Singapore's SMRT.

We couldn't really spot Swiss inn when we reach Pasar Seni Station. We had a very nice picture of Swiss inn painted in our minds, so we were actually a little disappointed by how it looks. But oh well, it did look as plain as whats shown on their website.

Image courtesy of Swiss Inn KL

We did not really know how to get to Swiss inn Hotel but we were glad we met a few kind souls on the road and they guide us to the right place.

For first timers like us, where its our first time going Swiss inn, you can alight at Pasar Seni Station then follow the straight road from the rundown orange building and turn left in at the start of the building before hotel mandarin pacific ( follow the arrow as shown in the image below). Swiss inn is the white building circled in red ( in the image below). The walk from LRT to Swiss inn is around 5mins but do be caution of the traffic there!

When we reached, we entered the back door of Swiss Inn Hotel ( which is the cafe ). 

Main Entrance of Swiss Inn Hotel

We have earlier reserved a room with them and we have notified them of our late check in. There are still many room guests that have yet to check in too. The receptionist is a chinese lady and she is very friendly and accommodating to our enquries. Do note that a deposit of RM 100 is necessary. 

We have earlier reserved through their official website instead of other hotel deal websites like Expedia and Agoda, as its cheaper to do so. We have compared the prices before coming to the decision to book through them directly. 

We reserved a family room ( Including breakfast ) + 1 extra bed (including breakfast) with them for RM 362.05 (SGD $ $142.54). Do note that most family room is for 3 occupancy, not 4. 

The extra bed + extra breakfast for 1 pax cost RM 43.11 (SGD$ 17). 

invoice form Swiss Inn

We passed them RM 500 in total for the room charge and deposit, remaining amount will be refunded back to us when we check out. 

Our room is at level 5, and coincidentally the lift was spoilt. There's only one lift at the main lobby. So that means if that's spoilt, I am afraid you have to take the stairs up, which we did. The receptionist called for maintenance and it was only repaired by the next morning. When we came back from dinner later it was still under maintenance.

Our room - 501 is just at the lift corner so any movement at the lift area is actually audible especially at night which can be a disturbance when they are still repairing the lift late into the night.

The family room is considered big - can fit an extra bed comfortably.

1 Queen 1 Single

From our window, we were able to view one of the streets at Petaling Jaya. Bee Cheng Hiang ( 美真香) - Singapore's popular bak kwa retail store, is just directly opposite us!

toilet

sofa/TV area

The empty spot in front of the sofa is where the extra bed is placed. There is a mini fridge, electric kettle and hairdryer (bathroom) provided. The hairdryer was spoilt and we requested for another. Their room service is prompt as they immediately delivered up to us within 5 minutes when we call room service.

Since family room is meant for 3 pax, they only provided 3 bottled water. 

luggage area

cabinet

Minimal hangars provided. Oh, there's an electronic safe provided too where you may keep your passport and valuable items in. Overall, KL isn't exactly a safe place - many pickpockets around, especially when you stay in Chinatown (Chee Cheong Kai) - where all kinds of people lurk around.

We left Swiss Inn at around 6.20pm, for our dinner at Chinatown KL. There's a tour/security counter at the hotel lobby and we asked him for directions before we leave the place. He is very helpful in providing directions and is capable of speaking English. He gave us a map of KL too. 

map of KL

There's a lot of streets that constitute the Chinatown of KL. We went to the food street first, which is our key agenda - since we are looking for dinner ~ We came across this store that sells Indian food, just beside it is a stall that sells satay. They were barbecuing the satays and it really looks gorgeous. The price is even ridiculously low. We hesitated no more and ordered 15 sticks of satays.

satays at below RM1 (SGD$ 0.40)/stick

We ordered Satay ayam (Chicken) and its really very good! I highly recommend everyone to try. Its beside this store called Johnny's store corner. We ordered roti canai from Johnny's store We ordered Roti Canai (egg) which is like roti prata, and it costs slightly above SGD $1 only. 

Roti Canai (Roti Prata) from Johnny Store @ KL Chinatown

We recommend this too. The flatbread is very fluffy and big in portion. Though the curry gravy can be alittle thicker. But oh well, The mother of the lady boss is very hospitable and keep us entertained throughout while we were eating. She is really friendly and be sure to catch her when you happen to pass by on wkends, as she is not always at the store. The store is mainly tend by her daughter while the mother is a part time tour guide that brings tour groups to Thailand. 

Vegetable gravy with prata

She gave us two types of gravy to try. One is the original fish curry gravy while the other is a vegetable gravy (vegetarian). Personally, we actually prefer the fish curry gravy since the other is really too bland to be eaten together with Roti Prata.

After a satisfied meal, we left at around 7.20pm. Petaling Jaya Street is filled with people as usual. Especially when its school holidays and we went on a Friday night.

Petaling Street Entrance

We went there a couple of years back, and despite now petaling jaya street is still filled with tourists, we realised the number has decreased. But ultimately, we still see many unidentified men lurking around possibly waiting for chance to strike at victims. We were warned by the lady boss mother (Johnny Store) earlier to take care of our belongings as pickpocket cases always happen.

Along the petaling jaya street

The goods sold are mostly the same - touristy shirts, fake bags and souvenirs. The prices seem quite pricey too. We did not wander long for the things does not interest me. It is practically not much difference from a normal touristy night market. If you are interested in fake goods from China, you may be interested then. Otherwise, it might bore you since the stores mostly sell the same stuff.

We head back to hotel (Swiss Inn) at around 8.30pm.

That night, KL rained heavily. The clouds have yet to clear even in the early morning next day....