Trip to JB - Day 2

Morning

The whole night I find it hard to sleep; constantly checking my clothes to see if they have dried up. Only TV remains my best companion for the night. As it is approaching 6 a.m. I was starving, indeed starving, coz my last meal was at 10.30 p.m. the night before. Eight hours onwards I was hoping to get a decent breakfast meal downstairs in the hotel coffeehouse at 7 a.m. I was attracted to the news on ChannelNewsAsia program which was broadcasted live from Singapore.

What more can I say, their English is superb and just by watching the show how much I realised there is a big gap in terms of English communication among Singaporeans and Malaysians. In fact the JB citizens really benefited from their neighbour’s TV programs. In other parts of Johor like the northern part (Muar, Mersing, etc) I am not sure whether they can receive the Singapore TV channels for free. At 7 a.m. I hurried down to the lobby and asked the receptionist if they provide breakfast. She replied don’t have. The coffee house is just beside but they are closed. How shocking it is! What to do I walked outside to try my luck next door. Well, there’s a karaoke pub but closed and the restaurant also closed. I guessed they must have a busy night and just closed few hours back. So my decision is to check out as soon as possible to find a new hotel and at the same time get some breakfast soon before I fainted.

Check-Out (8.00 a.m.)

I went back to my room and packed my stuff and move the un-dried clothes in a plastic bag. The situation is unbearable. I don’t think I will be back to this hotel again, I thought...:( Before leaving the room I double checked to make sure I have taken everything and to make sure I haven’t taken the drinks inside the mini fridge by accident. By 8.00 a.m. I approached the receptionist and requested for check-out. She asked me if I have consumed any drinks on the fridge I said none. I remembered last night I have to consume the water from the tap in order to quench my thirst. Really a funny and weird thing to do in order to save extra $, I guess. She printed out the receipt and refunded RM42.50 for the unused deposits like making external calls and consuming drinks. Feeling relieved I requested her to call a taxi for me going to Rasa Sayang Hotel. Within 10 minutes the taxi arrived and I requested the driver to take me to the hotel. I asked how much he said RM6, well, that’s fine and off we go.

Rasa Sayang Hotel

It was quite early as I reached the hotel around 8.00 am +. The fee was supposed to be RM6, I gave the driver RM10 he gave me RM5 changes in RM1 notes in a rush. At first I thought I need to be honest about it then I kept quiet as I have profited RM1 from him. It wasn’t a big deal anyway as the distance from Lion Hotel to Rasa Sayang Hotel was rather near. So I kept quiet, said thank you and headed inside the lobby. I was greeted by a very slim, pretty, fair Malay receptionist and I requested for a standard room but she said was fully occupied. The single room was around RM75++ and the deluxe is around RM92. Then I thought nah….I try on other hotels instead…requesting her to call a cab to bring me to Merlin Inn.

Cosmo Inn (formerly known as Merlin Inn)

The taxi ride cost me RM7 and I thought I was almost lost coz the hotel I reached is Cosmo Inn. Then I went inside to ask a lady receptionist, actually it was used to be named Merlin Inn but changed name to Cosmo Inn. I asked for the rate it was RM88 for one night with breakfast, sounds too good to reject I guess, immediately I checked in and they requested RM100 as a deposit. It was still early around 8.30 am and I immediately went to my room number 315. Now something uncomfortable occurred. The room door was exposed to the sun light which was rather annoying for me. Then I opened the door and went inside. I saw a mineral water with multiple functions that can boil and you can drink cool water at the same time. I grab a cup and went for a drink. In took me some times to figure out on how to open the air-con. Finally it was on.

Feeling hot I decided to opt for shower. I opened the bathroom door. Then a black insect flew over my head; I try with all my might to catch the insect but suddenly it disappeared. Immediately I called down to the lobby requesting for a room change. A male receptionist answered. He refused to change the room for me as he said the room was full since many people not checked out yet and so he could not change the room for me. Then I insisted. He said he will call back. Within one minute the lady receptionist called back and I explained the problem of the black insect and my room door being exposed to the sun. She then asked me to go down. I bring my luggage down again and she changed my room to 303. She then said “Very sorry of what happened”.

This gives me a negative impression about the male receptionist in which he wasn’t helpful at all to solve my problems. I went up to the room 303 and everything was ok except one problem. I keep pressing the remote control up on the wall. But it couldn’t start. So again I need to go down again and ask for help. The male receptionist who rejected my request earlier went up to help me. He said, “Come…I show you”. Finally he was able to turn on the air condition and I said thank you.

After settling down I went down to request a taxi. This time to Jaya Jusco Tebrau and the booking is made by the male receptionist (same person). My first impression about him was he was a bit rude when he rejected me in the first place and luckily the lady intervened. If not I would have no idea what would have happened to me that morning. Perhaps some fight, some quarrel, etc. My morning mood was ruined by that guy (receptionist). Although he did help me to turn on the air-con in my room I still couldn’t forget the moment he rejected me. The worst part was he didn’t apologise and yet the lady receptionist intervened to apologise on behalf of him and the hotel. Sounds stupid really. Looking at his face he has that kind of fierce look that nobody would wants to befriend him with. But since I already paid for the room I knew I have to face for the worst during my stay at Cosmo Inn. Even regretting would have no use already. As I didn’t take a sleep for the last 20 hours I am determined to make my way to Jaya Jusco Tebrau alone regardless of the taxi cost. At that time I didn’t take any breakfast yet but I remained solid with the plain water that I have drank in the hotel room.

Taxi ride to Jaya Jusco Tebrau

A Chinese male driver arrived at the lobby of the hotel and at first when he saw me he thought he wanted to pick someone else. Then he double checked that I am the one who wanted to go to Jusco Tebrau City which cost me RM17 one way. Gladly I sat down and he drove me there. At that time it was 10.00 am. It took me a further 45 minutes to reach Jusco Tebrau City. What made me so determined to visit this shopping center is it is the largest shopping center in Johor and also one of the newest as it only opened on Jan 2006. Furthermore the shopping center is on the same par as the one in Singapore and KLCC. This is also one of the main reasons to visit JB.

During the journey we never talked except he constantly listens to the walkie-talkie. I looked through at his IC, he was 74 years old…I was surprised and shocked inside, his IC was something like this: 32XXXX-XX-XXXX which means that he is 74 years old. Really unbelievable!!, at 74 years one still drive a taxi and the IC also stated that he was an assistant driver so I thought he must be driving part-time. In my thoughts it will be unthinkable for someone who is 74 years driving taxi in Sibu. Perhaps his children do not look after him anymore so he needs to look after his own welfare? This personal question I didn’t ask and I realize he needs to concentrate on the traffic and the driving. After nearly 50 mins of driving I arrived and I paid RM17 to him and instead of driving inside I need to walk 100 meter again to reach inside.

Jusco Tebrau City

From afar the shopping center is about 700 meter to 1 km long. The shape is like a rectangular and is quite long. The shopping center only has 2 floors. Thanks to the website (http://www.jusco.com.my/JuscoHome/html/jusco/storeinfo/TC/tc_index.php) finally I made it here today. So as my planning goes I will dedicate my whole day here. I walked into the rear entrance of Jaya Jusco, it was damn so big like a godown. And the veggies consist of hundreds to choose from and I saw one cucumber for only RM0.22. Not only lots in quantity but also very fresh too!

I knew I wouldn’t have time to tour the whole hypermarket as I need to eat something before I proceed for my clothes shopping. So I thought the best thing to keep me awake is having a coffee or cappuccino. In my mind I thought of StarBuck’s Coffee. After a few minutes walk I reached StarBuck’s and ordered a large cappuccino which cost me RM10.50 per cup after tax. That time was around 11.00 am, still early. There weren’t many people in the store. After drinking I went to take a piss and I was amazed by the cleanliness and the modernity of the toilet. Really look like 5 star toilet, I guess!

Feeling refreshed I started my clothes hunting. The first store I went was Timberland. I bought a white shirt for RM89.00. Then off to many others; a long pants with Jeep Corporation costing RM59.90 which I guess was a pretty good price. Inside Jeans shop I bought one green shirt worth RM39 which sounds reasonable. Another good brand is Hush Puppies’s Stripe Tee worth RM49.90. And I also went inside Jusco Department Store and purchased 1 orange shirt and 2 pants worth RM86.70. The last buy for the day was a brown pants costing RM24.90. The whole total sums up to RM349.40 which was well below my initial budget of RM1,000. However, there are few things I didn’t buy; the Levi Jeans shop which I forgotten to visit and one pair of New Balance shoes of whom the shoes does not have UK size 7 which I liked very much. Sadly the department store only have UK size of 6.5 and 7.5 which is either too tight or too loose for my foot. A pair of Levi jeans would have cost me around RM200. So I guess my shopping isn’t complete yet and I got to try my luck on other store in the City area.

In that afternoon I took my lunch alone in one of the Chinese restaurants upstairs on the 2nd Floor. The name is Food & Tea HK and I ordered one honey spare ribs on rice accompanied with one Chinese tea. The total costs are RM10 after tax. As I knew the prices would be expensive I have no complaints and must be willing to pay the price to whichever shop I dine in. Feeling full and satisfied I decided to stroll all over before I leave. Times passed rather fast and I didn’t realize I been spending about 4 hours walking around the shopping center. I calculated what I have bought for the day, 4 shirts and 4 pants. Then I thought I may need to purchase 1 or 2 more shirts and pants not here but in other place (shopping center). I walked outside to catch a taxi back to City Square. The reason is I wanted to withdraw some money from Public Bank before I head back to my hotel. In making this decision I think I made a stupid move as I wanted to save RM1 withdrawal fee as they don’t have Public Bank ATM inside.

Taxi ride to Komtar

The cost for this time is RM20 per way. I am not sure whether the taxi driver had fooled me or not as my previous fare is only RM17 from Cosmo Inn but as he mentioned very few taxis would want to take a customer back to the JB as around 5 pm many vehicles from Singapore would be crossing in, in which the busiest period would be from 5 pm to 7 pm. Many drivers rejected because they hate the traffic and they would suffer for the day if they keep queued up in the traffic jam. A good and reasonable excuse, I guess. In 45 minutes I reached City Square, withdrawn some cash and catch a taxi back to Cosmo Inn for RM6.

I think I have made a stupid move previously just to save a RM1 withdrawal fee. I could have withdrawn the money while in Jusco Tebrau using other bank’s ATM machine and headed straight back to the hotel. This is the point I have noted and I will use them for my future trip. I arrived around 5.15pm and walked past the reception and the both the male and lady receptionist are staring at me. I turned my head straight and took a lift up before proceeding to my room.

Dinner

Feeling hot and sweaty I took off my clothes and soaked them inside one of the bin and the sink. Looking back the experience I had in the morning it was kind of one of the most enjoying moments for me as I didn’t sleep the night before and still I could managed to walk for the next 5 hours! Now another problem is the dinner. I need to find somewhere to eat nearby and then I also thought of moving to Naza Hotel behind the hotel the next day. So I thought of going have a check. I walked out to the lobby and just beside is the Grand Blue Wave hotel. Checked upon their rates are RM199.50 per night which are rather expensive, I thought. The more surprising is the hotel is rather empty in it’s own restaurant at 7.00 p.m..

Feeling weird here. Something must be wrong. I walked in front and passed about 10 row of old houses. Then something shocked me, I saw houses with the Chinese Gods and red altar covering the front interior of their front house. What I didn’t realize is the Hungry Ghost festival was still on at that time. I wasn’t used to this kind of stuff so I walked past hoping to find a food establishment to fill my hungry stomach. In my mind I guess the whole area is filled with those incense smell and the Chinese Gods. As a tourist I don’t feel comfortable with it. I then turned left and saw Hotel Grand Bluewave from behind. Yucks…this hotel sucks..the rear windows are filled with dust from the back entrance to the top. It’s so dirty. No wonder the hotel is so quiet and I hardly can see any guest staying.

Luckily I saw an Indian (mamak) food establishment and ordered mee goreng and air bandung. It was an open-air stall that can accommodate about 50 customers one time. That time there are about 5 customers including myself. The mee goreng tasted really special as it has got green chilli and cabbage inside. A new taste for me, I guess. The whole package cost me RM4.50 which I supposed RM3.00 for the noodles and RM1.50 for air bandung. I sat alone and ate slowly. Suddenly there are customer losing tempers on his hp behind. He was asking his friend to refund the money in a clear Mandarin and they were quarrelling about it. It really spoiled my mood again; finished feeling full I walked out quietly and I saw Naza Hotel. The hotel looks ordinary and rather peculiar too. One more things the road are quite dark at night and looked scary. While walking back to my hotel my fur really stood up as the whole places looked eerie. I was grateful that I got back to hotel safely without being robbed or harmed. So I said to myself I need to check out tomorrow. Not on Naza Hotel or Hotel Grand Blue Wave but others.

Second Night

I brushed on the morning clothes I have worn during my trip to Jusco Tebrau and clean them before dry them on the chair and table while the air-con on. I took a shower before I sleep. The shower doesn’t look so nice as they mixed the old sink with the new one. Since I understand that the hotel is not so modern too as most of their things are quite old-fashioned although the new management took over not so long ago. Complaining also no use, I just wait to check out tomorrow. Hopefully there won’t be much problem again tomorrow after checking out, I said to myself before dozing off at around 8.30 pm. To be honest to myself the hotels pillow is one of the best I have experienced in recent years. I didn’t request for wake up call and I guess I have slept for about 10 hours till I woke up at 6.00 a.m. It is no doubt that the first 2 days is one of the toughest in my whole trip.

Continued on Day 3...

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