Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - Trader Hotel Part 3

On my last day in KL, of course I was up early. In fact, I've almost been up all night, watching the view. I love watching how the clouds or mist seems to surround the tower, making them look even more stunning. And the lights of the tower, makes it glitters like diamond at night. What a lovely view that morning, with the moon in the backdrop. I was so in love with this view.... 

I enjoyed the last two of my bombolone in the room. Twin Tower vs twin bombolone! Hahaha. This photo is so iconic for me too! It was such a happy morning just being there and eating sweet stuff. I was almost too high from consuming all that sugar!

I managed to get the hot tub properly working this time, and threw in the forest scented bath salt. It comes in a package of herbs, and that's the package I bring home after drying it, and put it in my clothes drawer. It smells heavenly! And it still does after 2 years!

Here are some close up look of the tower. They both look stunning day AND night! 

Or the view of day and night of the full landscape. I can't get enough of this.

This was the last day of my trip. Bye Bye KL! Be back soon! I took a grab to the train station cause the MRT station was closed due to technical issues. I also went to the wrong station, KL Sentral instead of KL Station, and had to pay 10rm to board the train from KL Sentral. I tabao-ed a pack of Burger King for my lunch, and ate it in the train on my way home. I was happy. It had been a fruitful trip. 

From 1 day solo, to 1 week solo, and soon 2 weeks solo! Yup, this was just the start of my journey! In 2023, I did two more solo trip, one to Taiwan, and one to Nagoya Japan! Those will be coming up next! I am so happy I finally managed to finish blogging this. It was supposed to be completed by end of Feb, but it's now almost mid of March! I can't imagine how long the 2 weeks trip blogging is going to take! Especially since there are so much more to write about! Here is to many more solo trip to come in future! I'm already planning one to Alor Setar and Langkawi!

Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - Trader Hotel Part 2

Once back in my room, I was not leaving it! I've always wanted to stay in this hotel, specifically to watch the New Year countdown and fireworks. But I've never managed to book a room on 31-Dec before, and sadly, I've never found anyone to come share this beautiful experience with me before. So finally being here on my own, was something I was really proud of. Here's me enjoying the view and relaxing in my room. 

For lunch, I decided to go with nasi lemak, cut mangoes, and some fruit infused tea I got from Donki. The nasi lemak was surprisingly delicious even though it was quite a small portion. And isn't it iconic to eat such a national dish while looking out into one of the most famous national attraction in your country? Damn, I should plan another trip there! Maybe this time, a real New Year's Day stay.....

Needless to say, my dinner was also eaten on the same table overlooking the same view. The sushi was passable. I would even say quite expensive. But it did the job of keeping me full. I just wanted some Japanese themed food for dinner. 

Above are all the bath salt I actually had on hand! I decided to use the cheaper Donki ones. Interestingly I couldn't get the water heater to work in the bathroom on my first day. I suspect it was due to me not switching on any lights in the bathroom. It was working fine the next morning when I on the lights. What a pity. But I still managed to enjoy the bath twice. And a small hack I've picked up from using scented bath salt was, I kept the packaging, and I use them as closet freshener. The top left forest scented pack was amazing! Two years on, my clothes still smells lovely from the scent! Super love it. 

At around 5pm or so, I did order food delivery. I was too lazy to travel to Lalaport to buy these bombolone. Luckily, they were available online. And it was the same price as the store too. Since I was a foodpanda subscriber at that time, the delivery was free if I ordered above 25rm. Not a problem! I found a package deal with 4 bombolone and 1 pack of crouton that met the price range. I went down around 5pm to wait for the delivery, wondering what the hotel staff thought of me, lol. Able to stay in a high end hotel, but can't afford to dine in a restaurant. Who cares! Amazingly, they gave me an extra pack of crouton! I love this shop so much! And I've also discovered that not all croutons are made the same! Theirs was heavenly! Especially in soup, or in salad soaked in balsamic vinegar! S&I is a must buy whenever I come to KL again!

Even their packaging was cute and thoughtful!

And here are the lovely bombolone. I did thought of bringing them back to Penang. But I changed my mind. It was just too troublesome. So yes, I ate all 4 of them. 2 for tea, and 2 for breakfast the next day. In total, I ate 6 bombolone on this trip. I regret nothing!

The rest of the evening was spend just staring into the view outside. It started to drizzle around late evening, so I can't go and watch the fountain show at the KLCC garden. Oh who was I kidding, I was hopping to catch it from my view directly! But at last, due to the rain, it was cancelled.  But it was ok, the night view was still stunning enough to entertain me.  So that was what I did the whole night, and the whole early morning. Staring into the 60sgd a night view of the Twin Towers. And it was one of the most happy hotel stay I've ever experienced :) Here are some views for you to admire. 

And the last one is me, signing off for the night :)

Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - Trader Hotel Part 1

On the last morning of my budget hotel, I was ready to leave and start my luxury part of my holiday! I think I must have left around 830am or so, not even bothering to eat my breakfast. I wanted to make the walk to KLCC before the heat gets too much for me. I was staying at Trader Hotel, near Twin Tower. Remember when I said I wasn't anxious to get a good photo of the towers? That's cause I knew I would get to stare at it to my heart's content on my last stay. 

I might have reached Trader Hotel around 9am+. There was no harm, so I asked if it was possible for me to check in early? The receptionist checked and said there was a room available, but at a lower floor, was I ok with it. I just needed to confirm I can see the tower, since I paid extra for a tower view. She said yes, and I was given the keys to my room! What a relief! First thing I did was on the aircon, sat down and have a nice mug of Ipoh White Coffee with my Ipoh Biscuit I've bought along for this trip. Having breakfast and looking at that view. Did I mentioned I paid only around 60sgd for a night stay here? I had a lot of free values to redeem from Hotel.com. And this was what I was going to splurge on! 

Let me show you around the room. It was a rather spacious room! Super big fluffy bed that I didn't want to get out from. It reminded me very much of those nice hotels I stayed at during my business trip. Only this time, I was paying for this from my own pocket.

I love the sitting room area of the room, cause the full glass window looks out right into the KLCC Park and Twin Towers. I love the red chair to. I actually moved it later on to face the window and ate practically all my meals there. The sofa was for when I have not yet bath. And you can see my faithful thermo flask in the room too. I still needed my tea to calm my nerves.

One of the feature I was looking forward to was the bathtub in the room. I super love soaking in a hot bath, and especially so it bath salt was involved. I have brought some bath salt with me, but I've also bought a dozen or so from Donki during this trip. Was gonna relax in the tub at least twice in this stay!

But before I can settle down to enjoy the room in full without leaving it (which was what I've planned. Spending so much on a hotel room is only worth it if you are fully utilising it!), I needed to stock up supplies of food for my stay. KLCC was just maybe a 15minutes walk away, but the hotel provides a buggy service to bring you there and back. All you have to do is scan the QR code, and whatsapp the driver to come and pick you up. Since I've paid for the room, might as well use the service that is provided! 

KLCC has a cold storage at the basement. I was thinking what to get for lunch, dinner, tea, maybe next day's breakfast? But I was also on a budget, so restaurant food might be out of the question. I decided to try cold storage after getting some pampering supplies from Guardian. 

Here was what I got. Some nasi lemak, cause I'm on a Malaysian holiday, some sushi since I'm on a Japanese themed holiday, some fruits and juice cause I needed some fibre, and a can of cider just to relax. 

At Guardian, I got some face mask and some hair oil. The nose script and the Elemis face cream was what I brought along from home, and the bath salt was from Donki. Speaking of Elemis, I wanted so much to buy a gift pack for myself at Pavilion since I love their products. But the price was kinda high, so I put it off.... I did eventually got it from online shipping at almost half the price, and with tonnes of sample given too! So it was a happy ending for me. I super love their rose scented face cream.

After shopping, I took the buggy ride back again. I planned to stay in the room till I checked out, hahahaha. Above shows my to-do list for this stay, and I never did manage to go to the Sky Bar cause I was too lazy, not to the fountain cause it was drizzling in the evening. I did manage to leave my room to pick up some bombolone, and that was totally worth it. By the way, the cute comic book was what I got for myself from Kinokuniya. Cute right? Next few post will be on how I spend my time locked up in this beautiful hotel :P

Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - KLCC

 

The next morning, I didn't have much planned. I didn't feel like taking any long commute anywhere, and there wasn't anything I particularly wanted to see in KL. So I decided to have an early lunch (I think) and walked over to KLCC to check out Kinokuniya. There was a linked walkway from Pavilion Bukit Bintang to KLCC which I've never knew about. I needed to make my way there on my final night anyway, so I thought since I have time, I'll check it out one day earlier without my luggage first. Above photo was part of the scene from the walk (I think). I recall some part of the walk way was kinda closed, and you have to kinda figure it out where to go..... very Malaysian I must say..... -_______-

For lunch, again I decided to go big, and I have craving for tonkatsu. The ones with lovely mustard and starchy Japanese rice. I found Ma Maison Ebisu at the Japanese food court in Lot10. I wanted to try the ones at iSetan dining, but those were kinda out of my range. This one looks more "salary-man" price range :P

I must say, Japanese food quality in KL is very good! At an average price of 10sgd a meal, I would say it's a lot cheaper than in Singapore. The restaurants are often not crowded, cause it's still expensive to the normal Malaysian. And coming from Penang, why can't I get such food there? The quality of Japanese food in Penang was not only low in quality, but the price was ridiculously high too! 

I found Kinokuniya in KLCC, and skipped all the English book section. I headed to the Japanese book section and spend some time there. After much debate with myself, I actually purchased a book from there! Yes, a souvenir for my trip! I will show you the book in my next day's post. 

There was gonna be an Ultramen event at Kino, but unfortunately not when I was there. I've been avoiding traveling during weekends or going anywhere during weekends, and I discovered that most events are only held on weekends. What irony. 

I also found Din Tai Fung in KLCC, but get this, it's called DIN, and it's halal! What? XiuLoongBao without pork? What is this work coming to? That's a NO for me, sorry. I also find it hard to accept halal ramen store, or korean bbq like Seoul Garden. Might as well go vegetarian!

Had a lovely short day and went back to the hotel early. I was getting kinda sick of my cheap hotel and I wanted to sleep early so that the final luxury stage of my trip will arrive sooner. Yup, I've booked myself on my bucket list hotel in KL, splurging a one night stay there. More of that in the next post. But as a preview, I leave you here with a photo of the twin tower again! (hint hint!)

Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - Pavilion Bukit Bintang

After visiting Pavilion Bukit Jalil, I was back to Bukit Bintang quite late in the afternoon, and didn't feel like spending the rest of the day at the hotel. Since the sky was so beautifully blue, I decided to make it a Pavilion Day, and made my way to the Pavilion Bukit Bintang to check it out. Above photo was taken from Pavilion Bukit Bintang looking out, with Starhill on the opposite side of the street. Eslite, a Taiwanese bookstore chain was set to open a branch there in December 2022. I was too early this trip, so I missed it :(

I heard a Japanese youtuber describe Pavilion Bukit Bintang area as the Ginza of Malaysia. Really? The front view, with the fountain and the arch entrance sure looks impressive. But to be frank, I wasn't much a fan of mall no matter how fancy they are, unless they have a nice bookstore inside of them of course! And this one has none! Booo!

Here is a shot from inside the building looking out the huge glass panel. I love this shot. It's like one of those high end fashion magazine's shot of New Year City. Or so I dreamt. But seriously, it's a nice angle, right?

Back to the mall, there are the usual chain store here and there. Nothing very exciting. Oh wait, yes, I was excited they have a Paul in the basement. I was hoping to buy a quiche for dinner. But get this, Paul in Malaysia DOES NOT sell quiche! How un-French can you be??? Totally disappointed!

Similar to the Bukit Jalil Pavilion, there was a whole floor dub as Tokyo Street (instead of Tokyo Town in Bukit Jalil). Guess prime estate here is more expensive, so they could only afford a street? Hahahaha. But it was still impressive, with a huge kannon lantern marking the entrance of it. 

Lots of Japanese shops here. Including food restaurant and what note. They have a Muji there which I went to check it out. But again, I didn't spend any money there. Not even dinner. I wanted to eat at Santouka Ramen, but I was still full from my lunch of tsukemen.  Told you growing old was good for my travel budget!

I did came across these cute Japanese paper dolls at the mall and totally love them!

Nov was still Autumn going on Winter. Not sure why these spring /summer looking deco was here in the mall. Maybe to the Japanese, Malaysia is a permanent spring/summer! Anyway, I think I got bored after wandering around an hour or so, and decided to head back to the hotel to rest. 

Solo Trip - Kuala Lumpur (November 2022) - Tsutaya Books

Final post on Tsutaya Bookstore, all about books! I freaking adore books! And beautiful books are one of my weakness. I mean, just take a look at the above photos, a set of classics displayed so elegantly. I wouldn't mind owning a set. Actually, there was a phase in my life where I would just buy box sets cause they were so pretty and well, affordable for me at that time. I have a Harry Porter box set that I have yet to read at home somewhere!

Some of the box sets are so unique that you just want to own it, even though you have no idea what is it about. Like this Bob Dylan box set. Isn't it just beautiful?

I also saw this beautiful Anthony Bourdain book on World Travel for sale. Interestingly, I borrowed it from the library after my trip, and was glad I didn't buy it. It was pretty boring actually. I mean, he wasn't a bad writer. I absolutely adores his Kitchen Confidential book very much. But on travel, perhaps it was just better to watch his series instead. Every episode was iconic!

And guess how much the book cost? 208rm! That is equivalent to my 3 weeks grocery budget!

They also have beautiful collectibles book. Like this mini version of Harry Porter art book that fits right into my hand. And mind you, I have extremely small hands!

I saw a H.P. Lovecraft book in Japanese, and that brought me so much memories of my teenage years. 

There were also English version of Japanese book, like this one from Junji Ito. His horror stories are sometimes so mundane that it scares you a few days after you've finished his books. The horror just sits in your psyche waiting to pound on your when you were least expected. I read a book of his about spirals, and for the life of me, I would not ever own any plates or bowl that has that design!

There were also Japanese books, but very few than expected. I was quite disappointed at their selection actually. I would say Kinokuniya KL has a better collection. But as of 2023, I've stopped (or tried cutting down is a more accurate term) buying Japanese books first hand. I now only buy them from BookOff shops in Japanese. It is so much cheaper that way, and the books are still equally beautiful and new even though they are pre-loved. Some costing as little as just 100Yen!

There was this beautiful Moomin book which I could not afford. I have no idea when I started liking Moomin. I have so many Moomin stuff at home! Like glasses, bowls, pens, even cloth, and books. Oh yeah.... maybe it started out with a book. I had a Moomin schedule book once. Used it for a year and love it. I've even flew Finnair and been to Helsinki where Moomin is from.  But it was just a transit, and I didn't see much merchandise on my trip there. 

Anyway, I've regress. Look how beautiful that colourful Murakami book is! And it's one of my favourite too! Actually it was the one that made me start loving Murakami, all because of a play of word of The Wind-Up Bird, a handler of someone who was very special to me. Murakami stories are just like my friendship with this person, depressing, surreal, and without proper ending. And that is why I read every single Murakami book I can to figure out life's mystery. I love South Of The Border the best. Tragic love stories are my forte, lol. 

Can't tell whether this book is in Mandarin or Japanese, but man, a book on the science of ramen? And the illustration is so cool too! Who wouldn't want to own such an awesome book? 

There were also StarWars books, lots and lots of them. But I thought the above one was rather interesting. It was a cross between StarWards and Japanese Samurai. In what universe would that ever occur???

What about a baking book about StarWars? I know my cousin would love that!

There were also these beautiful collections of Thich Nhat Hanh's book. I do love his books. But they are like, in the range starting at 300rm! I'll stick with my library collection thank you very much!

Lastly, a book on Vincent Van Gogh. Ah, the sadness will last forever... Another tragic beautiful life story....

So ends our love affair with Tsutaya Bookstore this trip. Books make me so happy :)  

Ref:

Tsutaya Malaysia