Staycation @ Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur (Sep 2014)

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Saturday, 20th September 2014

The great things that I discovered during my recent trip to Kuala Lumpur :-

1) It is very possible to walk the entire length from Bukit Bintang to KLCC via comfortable elevated & underground walkways.

2) Walking is also the best way from Puduraya Bus Station (aka Pudu Sentral) to Bukit Bintang where most of the hotels and shopping facilities in the city are found.

3) The Nu Sentral Shopping Mall is now opened for business – providing seamless connection for passengers transferring from the Monorail to KL Sentral Station.

4) The new KLIA Terminal 2 comes with a shopping precinct – providing a suburban (mid-range) shopping experience in an airport environment.

After breakfast this morning, I made my 4-hour descend via the North-South Highway towards the city of Kuala Lumpur. The main reason for stopping over at Kuala Lumpur was to make use of the complimentary hotel stay afforded by American Express.

My bus made a pit-stop at KL Sentral before terminating at the Puduraya Bus Station. From there, it was a comfortable 15 minutes walk to my hotel at Bukit Bintang. I stopped by Jalan Alor for a quick Wanton Noodles for lunch before proceeding to check into my deluxe double room.

Work continued on the KL Mass Rapid Transit System and parts of Bukit Bintang resembled that of a war zone with hoardings and road diversions. This added further strain to the already horrible traffic conditions.

However, it was a welcome relief when I finally arrived at the hotel lobby – an oasis within the urban jungle. Thanks to the Krisflyer Ascension Card, I redeemed a one night’s complimentary stay on my spacious room where it offered great views of the city.

My swimming pool plans was however put on hold given the less than favourable weather conditions. I did manage to take a walk to KLCC via the covered linkways from Pavillion Shopping Mall and was surprised that I made it dry despite the stormy conditions outside.

Dinner was a Japanese affair at Pavilion Shopping Mall consisting of Ramen and Sashimi Don. At SGD 20, this was not of particularly good value. But I liked that the food was really fresh and the place was not overwhelmed by the weekend crowds.

Generally, this was a really nice weekend staycation as I spent a considerable amount of time in my comfortable room at Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur.

The best things is life are sometimes free – and this is certainly not an over statement.

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