14.9.11 - Trip to Johor Bahru

We made a trip to Johor Bahru, and stayed at Mutiara Hotel JB. Parking was quite a challenge as the car park lots were quite narrow. When I stepped onto the 5th floor that led to our room, in which we were to spend 2 nights, I found the corridor quite dreary. The carpets were a little dated and musty and there weren't any pictures hanging on the wall. Maybe my expectations were higher, as it claimed to be a five star hotel.

Fortunately, the beds were quite large and the room was quite OK and more cheerful than the corridor.

The swimming pool in the hotel was quite a shocker. There weren't any children pool. The lowest height in the adult pool was 1.1m. There was a tiny pool that resembled a round bathtub, perhaps around 6 feet in diameter. I guess that it was meant for the kids. It was too small and there were tiny black stuff in there, that I daren't let the boys step in. 

We had our meals at the shopping centre that was next to Mutiara JB. It had seemed small, but the more we walked, the bigger the place seemed. It was actually quite large. I didn't know that it was Holiday Plaza until the next day, when it dawned on me.  

Playing at McD slides in Holiday Plaza

The next day, we went to KSL City Mall, which was around 600 m from Mutiara JB. It was a large shopping mall too, but to my surprise, it didn't have even a bookstore. There were many outlets in KSL City and Holiday Plaza offering nail decorating instead.  We had lunch and dinner at this Cheesetarian Restaurant which had aquariums all around the dining tables. It was quite attractive, and we sat there and watched the fishes swim. Fortunately the tanks were clean, so it didn't mar our appetite. The food was quite delicious and reasonable priced. 

Sketching while waiting for their meals

The police had an event at the mall earlier and the boys posed in front of the police motorcycle and car for a picture.

I also thought of visiting Tesco at KSL City mall, but the moment we stepped inside there, we were approached by a man (not a security guard) that we had to put our knapsacks in rented lockers. It was totally different from Tesco in Mutiara Damansara and Tesco Kepong, in which we were allowed to bring our bags in. So we said our goodbyes and left for the hotel.