Family retreat at Pulai Desaru 18-19 June 2012

Desaru's first bird - a kingfisher

We have not joined the church's retreat for many years due to Pat's schedule and uncoordinated school holidays. But 3 weeks into the June holidays , I thought a family retreat was in order where  we can count our blessings and growing together in extended prayer times.

I had intended to travel to the western tip of Malaysia and experience Kukup, the sea hamlet. But when I realized that the 'hotels' were mom-n-pop kind of home-stays  with tour groups and 5 catered communal  meals, Kukup suddenly did not seem a conducive a place for prayer and bible study. 

Pulai Desaru Resort, our go-to place in Desaru

So it was back to Desaru, where we had many escapades in the past. Pat threw in a suggestion to visit Johor Premium Outlet in Kulaijaya that is en-route to Desaru and I was sold.  From blogs and goggle map, we were  made aware of a new expressway, E22, and a scenic bridge that connected E22 to Desaru without the need to route around Johor. Travel time would be cut by half, which we would use for shopping at JPO. 

I opted for Pulai Desaru Resort , and made booked a family room directly from www.pulaidesaru.com for a hefty RM510 ( all inclusive ), since all cheaper rooms were taken up.

Our theme was 'Renewal in Christ', with 'intensive' prayers of thanksgiving and praise. Like a real retreat, work was mapped out : Pat was in charge of the road trip and the various pit stops, Hopey prepared the songs and I did the prayer lists for Thanksgiving and Praise and Bible studies materials. It was not a usual sort of family preparation but we were quite professional about getting most things up and running.

It was a leisurely Monday on  18th June 2012 when we drove up, armed with computers, e-bibles, songs and DVD from church.  We set off at 9.30am and reached JPO by 10.30am. The driving was a cinch as the traffic from the start was light and navigation fuss-free, despite no GPS and armed only with google maps.

JPO, retail outlet in Johor, is a mere 45 minutes drive from Singapore

 We got off the highway at exit 304 and then  302A where we made our first pit stop, JPO.  JPO was overrated and puny as 'outlets' go but we still managed to haul 2 polos, 1 vest, 1 blouse from Padini for RM200. Tea at CBTL was overpriced and even the strawberry shortcake was a non event. At RM50 for a cake, chicken pie and 2 drinks, it was very expensive.

The new Desaru Bridge - an imposing structure connecting Johor to Desaru

From E22, we were eastbound for Desaru and the uneventful trip took an easy 50 minutes or so. After paying toll on both sides of SecondLink and then some more for the short north-south highway drive, our last toll point was immediately after the Desaru Bridge. The Johor River flowed below, framed by endless mangrove  swamp. It was a beautiful sight. The Desaru Bridge , though no Golden Gate, rose majestically above and  announced the end of our journey.

E22 now became E92 as we turned south to Sungai Renggit , the southern tip of the peninsula. E22 ended and from there, it was a short drive along J52 west to the Chinese town.

Sungai Renggit main thoroughfare

Our first port of call in Desaru is the best pit stop ever

Sungai Renggit is a sleepy town that Monday noon. We looked for Jade Garden Seafood restaurant and saw a couple of Singapore registered cars parked outside the open air restaurant. I was afraid Jade was overrated but luckily was proven wrong.

Jade Garden's crispy squid in pineapple

Jade Garden's venus clam in sambal

Forget about Singapore style Sri Lanka crab. Salted egg yolk crab is better !

The food was exceeding tasty without the salt and flavor was varied. For a crab with salted egg yolk, venus clams, kang kong, sweet sour baby squids and coconut drinks, it was a cool RM150, barely making a dent in our budget. For the equivalent of SGD60, we would not get anything near that in Singapore !  

How can something so simple be so good ? Ask for the low sugar version to get the fullest satisfaction

Down the road, we had chendol , for RM2.50  each, pricey by Sungai Renggit standards but superbly delicious. 

Sungai Renggit one and only confectionery shop. I would skip this the next time round.

Across the street, we stocked up lots of baked Chinese confectionery which cost us RM20. no meal goes without fruits and I even managed to pick out 1 kg of ruby jambu that was freshly harvested that day for RM10. 

Jambu just harvested from the tree

We turned back , now taking E90 north-bound to Desaru. I had thought it was a coastal road and Batu Layar could be seen from the road but we were to be  disappointed. E90 was a longer road with many bends and void of traffic and E90 was more inland than imagined. H reckoned that it would be the perfect road for highway robbery and we obeyed instincts not to redo the route the next day.

Pulai Desaru family room. Here's only half the floor space. Behind the camera is a huge wash area and pantry.

Mr G needs looking after and tags along on our trips. Here Mr G basks in the late afternoon 'sun'.

E90 ended at a roundabout ( ! ) and we followed a Pulai Desaru hotel van to the hotel. Our check-in ( 3.30pm)  was a breeze and  room 353 was met with collective approval : a huge sea-front room with balcony ,  a king and twin bed, a living area, a bath and shower area and all the creature comforts of a full fledged hotel. Internet was priced  at RM12 for an hour and since we had prepared to operate offline, we did not buy the service.

We had our first thanksgiving session at around 4.30pm , a 20 minute exercise which we tried our best to give thanks with help from the bible. Pat and H were not accustomed to this but I thought it was a nice beginning to something great for the family. For a moment, I felt like the group leader I was in youth fellowship 20 odd years ago and the leading came rather naturally.

Private beach facing the South China Sea, though no Mauritius,  was well maintained and clean

One of our shots during the beach walk. Steep slopes leading to the sea makes swimming difficult for newbies

We enjoyed the beach for an hour just before dinner at Palm Brasserie. The beach like any reclaimed beach, had not much of a beach but slopes steeply into the sea.  Gone was the mild flat beach 20 years ago when I went with ORPC's young adult fellowship. Ah well, the good old days again.

Pizza with satay at the restaurant. I rate it a 3.5/5

Pat had this monster of a steak and declared it Very Good!

The predictable banana split dessert

At Palm Brasserie, we sat far away from a huge  group from Zion Bible Presbyterian Bishan church. Pat had the biggest tenderloin steak in years while H and I shared a satay pizza for the sake of our waistlines. We forgot the waistlines shortly and each had mudpie ice cream and Pat had banana-split ( because there was no Coit Tower * what? * )

Dinner ended at 8.30pm and we resumed our second program ( 9.30 pm ) for the day. We took H's suggestion to study the topic of 'Renewal in Christ' for the retreat and did exceeding well in discussions way into midnight. The outline from executablesonline.com was well thought out and structured. We touched on the motivation and goal for the spiritual  renewal of the mind and the how to. In conclusion, we reflected on process of transformation to  renew ourselves and the hindrances to a 'proper diet' that is needed to feed our mind.  It was one of the best single study session for a long time.

By 1 am, all of us were bushed despite the lack of physical exercise. The journey and excitement were too much for us and we knocked off almost immediately.

19 June 2012

Morning has broken...

...like the first morning

6.30 am. Desaru would be the perfect place to see the sunrise, especially when our room was facing the eastern sea. Unfortunately, despite waiting for a long time, we did not catch a glimpse of the sun because the horizon was thick with clouds. 

Sand was rather coarse for a beach

Zion BP youths were playing games on the beach and the activity sort of hyped us up a little.

We had buffet breakfast at Palm Brassiere again, beating the church crowd to the food, who were doing morning devotion all over the hotel grounds. We ate little, still stuffed from the night's dinner. Just as the church group poured into the restaurant, we left for the quiet of our room.

8.45 am. It was worship time and H led us in songs from her computer. Different vocal ranges meant a difficult time singing but the selection of songs, from  hymns to modern praise stirred  our inspiration. Pat read and praised God mostly from Job. We got the hang of things and the prayer session went on a good 30 minutes, a great improvement from the previous night.  Then it was a little beach walk for us, some photo taking time for Pat and sketching for H until 11 am when we pack up to leave.

We checked out of Pulai Desaru Resort at 11.30 am. The total cost of the stay was SGD239, excluding the dinner bill ( SGD60 ). It was money and time well spent and hopefully we can have many more such times together. 

Good Luck's wild boar was boring !

Oyster omelet with no outstanding flavor drew tears from my eyes

I-can't-believe-it's-butter-fried-lobster lobster

This place needed more than good luck to carry on

We got on south to Sungai Renggit again, by E92 and decided to try out Good Luck seafood , for comparison sake. Not as well stocked , Good Luck's service was not on par especially with a forgetful  employee who kept mixing up orders. We had 2 medium butter lobsters, vegetables, oyster omelet and wild boar and coconuts. Flavors were unspectacular and Good Luck could not hold a candle to Jade in terms of taste and service. I was not very happy to part with RM191 for the mediocre meal. It would have to be Jade Garden the next time I come to Sungai Renggit !

My jambu fruit stall

We left Sungai Renggit at 1.30 pm, after carting off another kg of jambu from the same fruit stall and 2 giant peanut pancakes  for RM3 from a mobile stall. From E92, we joined E22 westbound to Tuas. 30 minutes into the drive, Desaru Bridge loomed majestically from a distance, now our favorite symbol of Desaru.

After a droning hour on the road, fed by 92.4 FM, Pat took a wrong turn from the north-south highway and we landed on the wrong side of E3 and missed Bukit Indah, our next pit stop. A couple of u-turns later , which got me totally confused, we managed to reach Bukit Indah, where Aeon mall loomed large. We parked among Singapore registered cars and raided the mall. Our haul - 2 FOS shirts, 3 Ts for slightly over RM100, was a great bargain. It was a rare moment to see H so eagerly digging into the goods for the cutest T shirt.

Green tea donut at Aeon Indah

Spiky durian donut at Aeon Indah - the best durian puff ever

We carted apple flower tea, a bag of buns from Lavender and a huge bag of grocery from Jusco. What we could not take away, we ate. It was happy hour at Big Apple where we chomped  donuts ( durian, cinnamon, green tea ) and downed juices. It provided much fuel for the last leg back home.

Just before we left Malaysia, we spent the remaining ringgit on petrol, RM86 for half a tank, at the last petrol kiosk before the immigration check point. Traffic was thankfully  light at both sides of the Tuas causeway. Then it was back to the clogged AYE, where  our little trip came to a close, now happy and recharged for another school semester.

Kuala Lumpur 20-23 June 2011

We had the rare opportunity to go for the first ever twosome holiday for the first time in 16 years , because our girl has gone over to Tioman with her school for a biodiversity trip for 5  days.

It was an impromptu decision, prompted by the cheap budget air tickets. Kuala Lumpur was our destination of choice because of its proximity to home. Should H has a change of plans , we can cheaply include her in our KL plans or ship ourselves back for her with the snap of the fingers.

As you can see, we are clearly prepared for the empty nest syndrome and yet, not quite.

Mon, 20 June 2011 :

We booked 2 tickets to KL with budget Tiger Airways. It was TR 2456, seats 11A/11B, departing Singapore's Changi Airport at 2:45 pm.

That was barely half a day before that we sent H off at school, to her own destination, with 20 odd girls from RGS and a good number of intrepid teachers. The choice of departure to KL on the same day as H was very much motivated by the very affordable passage, it being a Monday. Also we wanted to be there for the Malaysian Philharmonic concert on Tuesday evening. The flight cost Pat a grand total of SGD114 return fare , tax included, which was pretty decent. The disproportionate cost of taxi from home to Changi and back, however, would undo all possible savings we  made out of the trip.

Still, our first twosome holiday, is priceless.

It took us 1 hour to reach Malaysia. It may be a mid afternoon arrival, but the LCCT felt like a weekend, with passengers disgorged from Tiger Air and AirAsia, spilling all over the budget terminal to the point of bursting.

Contrary to the reports of slow immigration at the Johor causeway, our entry at KL was a breeze. Perhaps the finger printing exercise was abandoned to cope with the deluge of people.

We bought a taxi voucher, after customs, for a 'economy taxi' at RM 74.30 ride to MidValley. Our other options of traveling to KLIA by bus from LCCT  and then by train from LCCT to KL downtown. It  was not feasible since our  lodging was Cititel at MidValley, midway between KL and KLIA. To do so would mean going all the way north to KL and then southwards to MidValley .

Besides, LCCT is located an insane 20km from KLIA and a bus ride from LCCT to KLIA would have eaten into our dinner time. The prospect of a delayed dinner on the first day of our holiday was not agreeable to both of us at all.

One hour in the hot taxi with an uneventful ride  and I almost fell asleep in the drone of the taxi. We got off at Cititel, zone C of Midvalley Mall. My sister had touted the convenience of Cititel's location and price, though at RM200 per night for a smoking room ,with view of the highway, I was beginning to have my doubts. I would later learn that convenience is a relative term of speech.

Cititel hotel room

MidValley Mall was at our feet, self contained with many anchor stalls with an even more  posh Gardens shopping mall at the next wing. Now for dinner :  I did my homework well , with tips from tripadvisor.com, and zeroed in to Gardens Mall, via the basement to our first target restaurant, Purple Cane Tea Restaurant.

As mentioned by the many tripadvisor fellows, Purple Cane was overrated with tea themed dishes. But each dish was cheap, by Singapore standards. There was tea, tea flavored rice, mushrooms, assorted beans, eggplant, duck and goodness more ! For RM 60, I almost considered it obscene to be paying such prices. Without saying, we gloated at our good fortune.

Purple Cane in basement of Midvalley mall

With every good thing, we were bound to lose good reasoning and be foolish once a while. At the titbits stalls in the basement, we scooped up desserts and snacks , from one end of Gardens Mall to the other at MidValley to the tune of RM40. We literally wiped out all the savings we made from the sumptious dinner at Purple Cane.

Pat made his first shopping kill with a purchase of a pair of Crocs slippers, for RM 139. KL is not exactly a cheap place, but since we have made our way there, we might as well enjoy it ! I thought Pat looked strange without his usual leather shoes but the crocs did grow on him and soon, none of us noticed the bulbous anomaly on his feet.

Tue, 21 June 2011

I have quarrel with the cranky air conditioning at Cititel's hotel room, with it either being cold or not at all. The huge pillows gave us a neck ache and I might as well have slept sitting up.

Our room did not include breakfast, not an issue, because of our food stash made the previous night. We headed to KL Sentral, by KTM at Midvalley . The station was almost at our feet, steps from the hotel's lobby.

I must remember not to equate the nearness of the KTM with its punctuality of its train. In fact, we  instantly regretted staying at Midvalley, because of the train's poor schedule.

Chugging on the KTM, we got off at KL Sentral. As far as this learned critic here sees it, KL Sentral's KTM and Putra LRT is pretty much connected. Peak hour as it is, it offered a more decent ride compared to the ones in Singapore. The only grouse is that it was not a seamless transfer from KTM to the LRT, which involves the purchase of a separate fare to Pasar  Seni. Aiysh!

Pasar Seni LRT and its surrounding areas is , euphemistically, functional at best, with its bus services fanning out to all over Malaysia and Chinese businesses  spilling over from the nearby Petaling Street.

Pasir seni transit hub

We hiked in the oppressive heat to Central Market, a tourist oriented place for kitschy tourist paraphernalia . At the food court on the second level, we had 'mystery ice blended coffee' . At RM5, it was a joke and a drop dead tourist trap.

Central Market for tourist

After our leg rest, we tracked backwards to head towards Petaling Street. This was Chinatown, rousing from its sleep. Stalls were being set up and music were primed to blast through the day.

Our lunch target restaurant was this acclaimed chicken rice place at Jalan Sultan. Nam Heong chicken rice was on the road parallel to Petaling Street which our printed google map was not sufficient to locate. But everyone we approached knew where it was so we did not lose much time looking for it. An added bonus was picking up tea leaves at a specialty tea houses nearby : Dongdin oolong tea leaves for RM60 .

Nam Heong chicken rice

Nam Heong Chicken Rice was one of the best decisions of this trip : succulent kampong chicken, lean but soft charsiew , crunchy bean sprouts and very fragrant chicken rice,  all for a modest RM40. We smacked our lips and up to this day, still waxed lyrical about the char siew and tender chicken.

Can't wait to start eating

We worked out our heavy lunch with a little walk towards the train station. Barely 50m, we popped into another tea shop and was so pleased with the proprietor's service, we bought 50g of jasmine tea leaves. At Rm 13 with a discount of RM3, I thought KL is one of the best places in the world !

Trekking towards Masjid Jamek LRT station, past little  India, we spied the Moorish mosque. It was a handsomely built mosque but the blazing sun prevented us from enjoying the architecture.

Masjid Jamek

The ride from Masjid Jamek to KLCC cost us RM1.60 each, the most expensive ride so far. So far, all our rides has been RM1.00 , so  it a short trip at this price felt like a ripoff.

KLCC train station was located  at the basement of the KLCC. We exited from the wrong exit and at road level, oohed ad ahhed at the towering twin Petronas building that looms proud all over KL. It was very spectacular. For  someone who is indifferent to all shorts of architectural wonders, this amazement speaks volume about Petronas twin towers' charm.

We could not get a ticket to the top of the building, even if we were willing to pay for it. Tickets were sold out for the next 3 days, though I wonder how tourists can ever get to see KL in its full splendor if entry is so limited.

Petronas Tower

Resigned to our lack of luck, we vented on shopping . It was not entirely satisfying because almost everything costs as much as Singapore or even more!

From 2pm-4pm, we rested our feet by visiting the Petronas museum, RM12 each. It had a lovely ride in the dark, which took some tiredness from our feet.  We played with some interactive displays, rode a simulator chopper and  learned lots, even if geography wasn't my best subject.

We collected our Malaysian Philharmonic concert ticket at the ticketing office. There was only 2 persons ahead of us, but the intense deliberation of the customer service guy and patron over the seats took forever. I almost tore my hair out.

Outside MPO

MPH concert hall was nice, though we could have been better off taking a seat at the center instead of at the extreme right , near the front. It was a sort of ensemble. The first piece was from Schubert, a double bass and piano recital. My unprofessional critic : weak with a couple of mistakes.

2nd piece was a quartet : 2 violins, 1 bassists, 1 cello. No violist, though it was advertised as so. Rossini sounded  déjà vu, because part of it sounded like Schubert's 'Trout'. I  enjoyed all 3 movements as the collective sounds rose and fell, like waves.

3rd piece was played by oboe and piano. The collaboration between the 2 instrumentalists was much better than the bassist and pianist. The only part that disturbed me was the constant saliva that had to be 'poured' out from the oboe. Yucks.

Parting shot of Petronas Towers

60 minutes of music by members of the MPO and soon it was over. Pat took more stunning shorts of Petronas in its night  time glory. Then it was the LRT from  KLCC to KL Sentral and then a KTM train back to Midvalley. I hated the train ride, packed to the gills from start to stop. I must remember not to stay at Cititel so as to avoid this useless hassle of train transfer in future.

10pm. Time for another dinner for the day. Especially when the food at KLCC food court left an aweful impression ,there was much urgency to put things right. At Midvalley's basement, people were still out at full force eating on a Tuesday night. We had dim sum, noodles and porridge at Xiang Fan. For MR59, it was not exactly a steal for a less than top notch Cantonese cuisine. Nevertheless, we were grateful as we remembered how we were without food after the opera in Munuch.

Night Dim Sim at MidValley basement , Xiang fan

Visa and energy maxed out, from spending and walking, we hit the sheets, never mind the hard pillows and smoky room.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

We woke up late and missed the 8.20 am KTM train to downtown , if it ever came at all. We reached KL Sentral at the ungodly time of 9.30am and should have considered a taxi for all that loss of time.

From KL station, 1 stop from KL Sentral, we oohed at the Moorish design of KTM's HQ. It was beautiful, seriously! The last time I 'lusted'  a train station so much as the one at Musee Dorsay in Paris. Then, of course, I have this new found fascination with train related buildings so my opinion does not really count as accurate, does it ?

KTM HQ

Beyond, it was the national mosque. White, huge and dignified, it stood resplendent in the morning sun.

We made a visit, free of charge, but I had to put on this purple robe to cover my modesty. Not that I wasn't, but well, in Rome , do as the Romans do. We toured the massive prayer halls , walked on cool huge marble floors and had a documentary from a China Muslim volunteer. That was when I decided my mandarin was beyond redemption.

Prayer hall

From the mosque, we walked over to the KL train station and ended up at Central Market again. Despite its kitsch, we bought a little note book for H, RM4, and went over the place with a fine comb, in case we missed some good bargains. There was none.

Back to the now familiar Petaling Street, we had beef horfun and hokkien mee for  a ridiculous RM20, drinks included, at Kim Lian Kee. I believe the Chinese in KL must be a happy lot, with consistently good food and great prices to boot.

Noodle place Kim Lian Kee in Petaling St is a die-die must try makan place

We took a bus from Pasir Seni station  ( u41, RM1 ) to Bukit Bintang. It was a long ride for such short distance, due to the horrendous traffic. The bus driver bent backwards for us to alight these 2 lost tourists at the traffic junction of Jalan Pudu and Bkt Bintang, nearest the shopping belt and a distance from the actual bus stop. This would never happen in Singapore! I was beginning to love these easy going KL-lites already !

Bkt Bintang bore the brunt of the invasion of the Chinese foot massagers. They were literally everywhere, though why so many were needed beats  me! I would not speculate if there were more extra services other than foot massage.

We dropped by Sungei Wang Plaza, Lot 10 and found nothing to our liking. It was like shopping in Serangoon shopping center or Bukit Panjang Mall. Double blah!

One of the new kid on the block was Pavillion. We surveyed the overly ornate fountain and much lauded bakery, The Loaf. The bakery is owned by Malayisa's former premier , Mahathir. Pat had decided that if we see the man drinking coffee in his own shop, we would grab a copy of his biography and get him to autograph. He was not in and just as well. I would have given him a piece of my mind about the limited choice of buns and cakes.

The Loaf @ Pavillion KL

Despite this shortcoming, we ate cakes and buns and did a rerun of the coffee food from 3pm-4pm, talking and daydreaming aloud. It was good that 20 years into the marriage, we still could find something to say even though the food could have fueled our conversation more. Mostly, I repeated everything while hubby listened.

At Pavillion's Parkson store, Pat got himself a jogging shirt for less than RM50, while I bought 2 jogging T's for RM117. J said sports things are cheap, but perhaps it had been sometime since she had visited KL.

A short detour to a book shop , and bought a comic book on Malaysia's politics ( evidence of Malaysia's free speech ), we proceeded to Poh Liang Bakutteh at the top level of Pavillion. It was bakuteh of all sorts, 4 dishes at a princely RM75. Food was good actually but the posh exquisite restaurant was  a bit over the top for me. I would have preferred a place where the locals eat. But after a day of walking, I was bushed and nothing sumptuous could tempt me to walk further.

Bakuteh place at Pavillion

Our most expensive meal in KL

On the way back, at Lot 10, Debenhens uplifted my spirit. I bought a pair of pants for almost RM200. Suddenly , the tiredness of the day lifted and even the long annoying commute back to Midvalley seemed bearable, perky in fact.

KL is alluring at dusk

The second last day in KL has all the hallmark signs of a successful holiday.

Thurs 23 June 2011

This day, we were home bound, 1 day before H is to be back from Tioman.  I never fail to be prepared for the unexpected !

We checked out of Cititel at 9am , surprised at the lack of tourist crowd. It was speedy enough. We left our bags at the concierge and head for the last food target in KL : Yong Tofu in Ampang.

What could have been a 30 minutes taxi ride took 2 hours because of the long commute. The train connection from Midvalley to Ampang was horrendous. It was a KTM ride from Midvalley to Bandar talek ( RM1 ),  a rapid train to ChanSowLin ( RM1.60), and then another train to Ampang. The poor connection at Midvalley cascaded and we had a domino effect delay all the way. It was going south so as to go north wards, a bad decision. It was not cheap either. Another lesson learnt : cheap and fast public commute can be a fallacy.

11am, lost in Ampang, hot and bothered, we did not have the good sense to catch a cab. Google showed the restaurant to be close by but someone must have tweaked the scale or something. We walked 2 km in the simmering noon heat and almost abandoned our quest for Ampang Yong Tofu.

In an obscure junction, Foong Foong Yong Tofu stood cheek and jowl with a couple more such restaurants. There was not much other than YTF, which we devoured. Our agonizing hours of reaching this place was quickly forgotten as we refilled our plates and reordered, eating like this was our last meal. After 30 pieces of giant YTF and a bowl of supersized dumplings for RM30, we forgave everybody and everything. That was how good it was.

TO me, KL is about the most delicious yong tofu in the world !

With a lesson learnt, we took a cab back to Midvalley, for just RM 18 , which lasted 30 minutes, even in the noon jam. At Gardens Mall, we shopped aimlessly , from 1.30-2.45 pm, and achingly. We sought refuge at Coffee Bean for 30 minutes before retrieving our luggage from Cititel.

3.15 pm, we made our way back to Midvalley KTM station, which we were beginning to hate. We took a train to Bandar Talak Selatan, 20 minutes and on time ! At Bandar Talak Selatan, we bought the KLIA transit train tickets to LCCT for RM10.80 each. It was a train coach combo, with train from Selatan all the way to Salat Tinggi and then a transfer to coach service to LCCT.

Rapid train to KLIA. Originating from KL Sentral, it stops at Selak Tinggi for coach transfer to LCCT

It was a small world for Pat, as he met an army mate on the coach. While the guys played catchup, I dozed off.

5pm. LCCT. Our flight, TR2549, was delayed for more than 1 hour. We checked in our luggage at this leg, all 14 kg, 1 kg shy of our purchased limit.

Dinner was the most uninspired meal of nasi lemak and beehoon at the 'Food of Asia' canteen in LCCT. I would not even attempt to describe my meal, and at RM20 for such quality, was a total ripoff.

TR2549 touched down in Changi almost 1 hour later than scheduled. We could not stomach any more train rides , having had our fill of train adventures in KL on this day. Taxi from Changi budget airport set us back by $25, a price to pay for speed and convenience.

All in all, one of the best trips, sans the grilling weather. We had a day of washing before H came back with her own load of dirty laundry the next day. Would I go to KL again ? Definitely! Lovely food, sweet people and wonderful prices. But not staying at MidValley again! Maybe somewhere downtown , with easy reach to Port Klang or Batu Caves.