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Motormouth From Ipoh

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Southern Escapade (Johor Bahru) - Part 1

A cool, breezy morning on the highway ...
We thought June was a hectic month. And July had the potential to be stress-free, with lighter schedule, and fewer outstation trips. But as usual, we were wrong.
(P/S : This job is unpredictable. Imagine packing and unpacking, and then packing again in a matter of days. All within short notice.)

No need to strain your necks/eyes for the movies, secondary screens available!
However, compared to the previous trip in April this year, we could not book flight tickets in a rush, therefore the 6 of us had to travel by bus. Yeah, not unlike school children, going on a field trip. 7+ hours on a bus (RM56 on Nice Express @ Jln Bendahara, Ipoh) was taxing, but at least we were entertained by TWO "blockbusters", ie : War of the Dragons (still on show in theatres, hmm ... ) and 10,000 BC. Kinda made the trip slightly more bearable ....

Plain old nasi lemak (RM3.50)

Those familiar to travelling down south to Singapore/Johor by bus would've recognized a place called Yong Peng in Johor, the assigned rest stop for express buses. With so many unsuspecting tourists forcibly alighting for a quick fix, we felt like slabs of meat on chopper boards, waiting to be chopped ....

All the food served is HALAL (supposedly) or rather pork-free, but the prices are inflated. Paying RM6 per plate of chicken rice, sizzling noodles, or fried rice may sound absurd, for these are NOT restaurant-quality servings. But who's to complain? Our Singapore counterparts may find them reasonable, and they made up quite a number of the passengers.

Anyhow, the nasi lemak with sambal, anchovies and peanuts, and a fried egg was pretty good (or I could be really hungry), at RM3.50 per plate, at least did not dent my wallet so severely.

Sensing familiarity here?

Arriving in JB in the evening, we were glad to be transported from to the hotel instantly by taxi (RM8 from town to our hotel at Stulang Laut). Checking in was a breeze (albeit some teething problems) as our Johor counterparts booked the rooms for us in advance. Wanna know where we stayed? Let's see some hints ;

All 16 floors of the hotel, overlooking the middle lounge on 5th floor

A handy gadget, controlling practically all the switches and electronic gadgets in the room

Plush, comfy beds - ensuring a good slumber ...

Yup, the SAME hotel I stayed in April. Not to condemn though, far from it. Situated at Stulang Laut, overlooking the Tebrau straits, Singapore's basically a "swim" away. But of course, none of us pushed our luck ... =)

One noteworthy gadget in the room is the almighty remote controller by our bedside, whereby everything's a click away, from the TV channels to the lights in the room, and setting alarm as well as requesting for a room makeover, or a 'privacy please' note. Talk about inventions.

Nasi Lemak with condiments and Rendang Chicken


Cured beef slices, like an old friend now


Golden balls of indulgence

Yummy, unlimited pancakes

Unlike previous experience, this time around, only breakfasts are complimentary to our rooms. Shucks ... and we thought all meals are provided. Salt & Pepper Cafe on Level 5 is a trusted name, reassuring of a hearty breakfast, although the variety may get slightly repetitive. But, who's complaining? (certainly not the gluttons in us!)


The fun ZON - Coming alive at night ...

Singapore's on the other end ...

More delicious posts in subsequent episodes. Gee, my posts lately are continuous, huh? Sorry, but quite hard to squeeze everything in one single post.

P/S : Will be down to KL for the weekend, therefore blogging would take a back seat. Care to bump into the Motormouth in KL? =P

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whew takes 2-3hrs to be alerted of new posts. Party of 6? looks like you are on hol more than work, friend. Former name of this hotel is Eden Hotel; nice place and I enjoyed the nite live band at the lobby. Your pics of the lobby is really nice...still cannot accept the good resol with just Nokia 5610.

wmw said...

Heheh...it's okay! My travel posts run over months! Hahaha...Yeah, great quality pics from handphone cam!

backStreetGluttons said...

just in case, look for the Pasir Gudang fried fish with scales by the seaside, orang asli seafood by da sea after Tanjung Puteri Golf Course and of course the world famous Taman Perling's best Malaysian Nasi Lemak, if you have the time, other than the kambing noodle and the fish soups in town.

Anonymous said...

Muahahaha. Hey that place looks AWFully familiar. =P Ahhh ... reminds me of the times we were hanging out there playing cards and listening to kanasai pemeriksaan talks.....

Ciki said...

wa.. north to south eating kah.. i like the sounds of UNLIMITED pancakes!.. eat till u drop eh? btw, do u ever get tired of traveling..

Anonymous said...

i seriously think we should have stayed longer..im missing the bed!hehhe..ya talking abt yong peng...hmm i can't understand why they have to stop there for lunch???limited choice of food and they are so pricey...not worth it!.
enjoy your kl trip...

Anonymous said...

You stopped at Yong Peng and did not try their famous pau....

Kent Fo said...

the last picture looks so comfortable!!!

i really miss the time when i was sit near by the beach and enjoy there!!!

ck

Little Inbox said...

Wah, the RM3.50's nasi lemak with so little ingredients nia? I can see peanuts only, where's ikan bilis? Over charge lo...

JeromeFo 令狐冲 said...

Lol! I juz went to this hotel
last year! Got alot great foods arounds there...

Tummythoz said...

Many years ago when I was this height the Yong Peng Foodcourt was already into bigtime slaughtering. Recall yucky toilets too.

Precious Pea said...

Wow. you have been traveling a lot huh?

Anonymous said...

gosh..on road trip again?

J2Kfm said...

jencooks : yeah, in bright condition, the pictures come out quite clear. didnt know Yong Peng's famous for pau lah! should've done a wee bit of research!

wmw : haha, your Egypt is different, worth waiting for the posts.

bsg : wow thanks. that's a WHOLE lot of potential for further food-crawling!

jay : haha, at least the talks are intermittently peppered with meals after meals!

cumi & ciki : sometimes feel tired. but kinda used to it.

FCOE : the BEDS! so plush, so comfy! Yong Peng's Ming Ang Food Court was a disappointment. should've packed some bread like you. hehe

kent fo : you went with your bro? :) we did sit by the shore at night, thought given Johor's (lack of) security level, we hurriedly hibernate in our rooms come late night!

little inbox : ikan bilis a bit loh ... but disappeared in an instant

jerome fo : yeah, seconded that!

tummythoz : haha, you and your toilet posts! :) but the toilets were OK, just that the food are exorbitantly charged.

precious pea & citygal : yeah, the same old. ;)