Mad Rush From Cube Hotel (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

So I checked out of Cube Hotel (above), the budget-friendly hotel located along Jalan Pudu. Cube would be one of the better surprises although if you wanted "space", you'd have to look elsewhere. 

PALPABLE SUSPENSE

It was going to be a mad, mad rush to LCCT. Procrastination involves an eventual degree of palpable suspense. Somehow, it will catch up with you. It almost caught me. I had all day for a relaxing ride to the airport but I kept putting it off until I realized the possibility I might not make it to my flight. 

But I did. Barely. 5 minutes before the boarding gate closed. Thank heavens for web check-ins.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

  

Masyarakat Park in Petaling Jaya (Malaysia)

At least Metro Manila has Pasig River. The folks from Malabon and Novaliches have their Tullahan River. Kuala Lumpur, unlike most thriving great metropolises, doesn't have a major river flowing through it. The ones they have, Titiwangsa and KL Lake Gardens, are man-made, albeit worth visiting. Thus when I ventured into another pond at Taman (Park) Masyarakat, it was like finding needle in a haystack.

My destination was Petaling Jaya (PJ), essentially a new city (declared a city in 2006) and a satellite township of Kuala Lumpur, located in the Petaling district of Selangor. If you think it's far from KL, you'd be mistaken. It's just 5 stops from KL Sentral's Kelana Jaya line, a mere 2 ringgit travel. I've long wanted to visit.

From the train station (Taman Jaya LRT), you could visit the Amcorp Mall, a 4-level shopping and business complex, situated just across a football field. To it's left is the city's green lung, Masyarakat Park. It's a great place to just watch people walk by, jog, fish (yes, there's plentiful in the lagoon), etc. There's a couple of children's park in the vicinity too. There are places of worship in the area: Christian churches (St. Francis Xavier Church), a Hindu and a Taoist Temple. I may have to check them out one of these days. Mostly though, the area isn't meant for tourists so I kind of felt like I was eavesdropping on the locals. Not quite.

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The Room with a View - The Fault of My Stars (Metro Hotel KL)

I knew I'd love Metro Hotel even before I was able to stay in it. In fact, I booked a room 5 months before my transit to South America. I wanted to include it in my "been there" list. Why not? The hotel breathed life to that dreary, iffy corner of Jalan Pudu and Imbi. What used to be a derelict, albeit neglected construction carcass is now a concrete high rise; not particularly eye catching, but nevertheless au courant and welcoming. More than anything, the location is a cinch and clincher, right at the fringes of Bukit Bintang, just beside the Imbi Metro, and located across Berjaya Times Square. Everything is accessible from here: Central Market, Puduraya Terminal, Bintang Walk, Jalan Alor, Liuli Fountain at the Pavilion, and the malls scattered nearby - minus the beautiful chaos and unfaltering hum of Bintang Station

This is my almost-funny story with Metro Hotel Bukit Bintang. 

After a 12-hour flight with Air France from Paris, I was finally concluding my long-haul November/December trip that took me to more than 20 cities/towns, riding 13 plane rides through Amsterdam, Paris, Rio Janeiro, Lima, Cuzco, Paris, etc. This will be my last stopover, a three-day respite before finally heading back home. I like my "night caps" in KL, just staying inside my hotel, watching late-night movie and feasting on 8-ringgit lanzones. Zipping through KLIA 2 and KL Sentral, I finally arrived in Metro Hotel Bukit Bintang.

HAPPY WITH PINAYS

It would be no surprise that a toothsome Filipina would man the front desk. I was more than pleased. I wasn't there to get chummy, not by a long shot, but it's nice to have a compatriot. She seemed to be doing great because the other staff kept referring to her. Check in was brisk and I proceeded to a corner room with a spectacular view from the 7th level (8th floor actually). It was 4 PM and my spirit was melting away like a candle. Before getting a shut-eye, I opened my laptop to check messages. I need to get connected to get updated with work and home. Unfortunately, wifi was not working at all. Wifi these days is among top considerations in picking a hotel. These aren't the early 2000's when you'd require exorbitant long distance fees to get connected home. Since I couldn't get connected, I rang front desk. Miss Philippines answered. I thanked her for giving me what I'd consider a prime room, then told her about the wifi connection. After all, my Agoda booking requested that I be lodged somewhere with good connection because I require it! She said she'd call maintenance and get the line rebooted or something. I slept. I badly needed to rest.

NO INTERNET, MY FAULT

I woke up half past 6 and learned that I still could not connect. Zilch. I rang again. This time though, she was getting testy. I was of course surprised when she told me, "Everyone connect, only you no internet!" She did seem to have a good graspof English at the reception (like most Pinoys do) but when she gets riled up, her English turns into fractured phrases. So it was my fault that I don't get an internet connection? It was time to put my foot down and get her to her place. Instead of talking in Tagalog, I spoke in clear English. The medium of instruction in Filipino business is English, and now I meant business. No more "kababayan" niceties. I was the paying guest, and she was the hotel employee who's answerable to my needs as per contract of my hotel stay! Moreover, I refuse to be accorded rude behavior when I wasn't being rude, not by anyone who seemingly is unemployable in my country thus had to look elsewhere.

REDEFINING HEROISM

In my country, Filipinos who leave home for work are considered heroes. Those who stay on to endure what our country has to offer aren't. For some twist of fate, we've redefined the meaning of "heroism" to suit this diaspora. I'd have thought that heroism should be based on less selfish motives than just feeding "his own a family". This is debatable if it were to be pointed out that feeding a hungry family (and sending dollars from overseas) is universal enough to qualify as an important factor to improve an economic parameter. If that were so, it would be equivalent to almost 3 billion people, and not just the estimated 2.2 million Filipinos who work overseas. "Feeding family" isn't exclusive to Filipinos. The rest of the world does it. But it is popular to call 2.2 million "heroes". I'd say real heroes are a much smaller number and it isn't based on migration. But I am digressing.    

MISS PHILIPPINES

I went down the front desk and spoke to Miss Philippines. I hate making a fuss, but wrong is wrong. Agoda says Metro Hotel has excellent wifi, one of the reasons I booked, aside from curiosity being a frequent traveler. If I knew otherwise, there were a hundred hotels in the Bukit Bintang alone to choose from. I never had wifi problems in KL before even in dirt-cheap inns and backpacker joints. Metro Hotel was supposedly a 3-star hotel. What's worse, I was dealing with a fellow Filipino who doesn't seem to know her place - or the proper aptitude to deal with paying guests, for that matter. Why did I have to talk down to her to get what I required? It was so unnecessary. She sent a maintenance guy to my room. As it turns out, there was limited wifi connection by the door, not by my beautifully placed desk. I had to clear the desk where the safe was, placed my laptop there to get a connection. I would stand doing this because it was actually a cabinet housing the refrigerator and the safe. When I move an inch, I'd lose wifi.

Now this predicament was easy to solve. Just inform your guest that there are rooms with superlative views, but with limited connectivity. If they require better connections, give them one, most especially if they've noted that during booking.

TARZAN LANGUAGE

More importantly, re-train a front desk staff on manners and proper staff etiquette and remind them to know their place. "Everyone connect, only you no internet?" Are we on Tarzan-language these days? She, of course, apologized after I reminded her that, for the duration of my one-month travel, in all my 11 or so hotels from 5 countries (France, Netherlands, KL,Brazil and Peru), Metro Hotel Bukit Bintang was the only place where I could not connect! How's that for Tarzan speak?

MY MONEY

I wasn't going to run amok over non-serviceable wifi. I was if idiots talked down on me like they knew better. Excuse my French but I am footing the bill for this room, not you. You get part of your salary from my money. How clear is that? It wasn't even the intermittent wifi. It was the attitude. "Everyone connect, you no connect?"

Metro Hotel has 119 beautifully interiored rooms, spread on 12 floors. The beds are among the most comfortable in KL. Everything here feels and smells new. After all, it just opened in 2013. They are also well rated in Agoda. Taxis are a dime a dozen in front of the lobby, and the guard will get an honest one, albeit fixed-rate, for you.

I will book again with Metro Hotel in the future. I like the hotel. It would be among my favorites here (among 25-30 hotels I've stayed at Bukit Bintang area alone) had it not been for this attitude debacle. Most of the staff are polite and competent. I do not require friends from any hotel staff. I require, not even impeccable, but competent service. Should she be a Filipina, usually known for warmth and efficiency, I will switch to "business-like". Give me Malays anytime. Isn't that ironic?

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The new tunnel along Jalan Pudu just opened.

All that desk for my laptop and I could not even use it there. I had to move to a cabinet by the door (below) to get an intermittent wifi signal.

I had to clear this cabinet and place my laptop there to get an intermittent signal. Yup, standing while going online by the door. 

Spacious bathroom with fully functional hot-water facility.

Painting inside my room.

Rainy day at the capital.

Jalan Imbi

Jalan Pudu. Furama Hotel is seem from a distance. Berjaya Times Square at the left.

Front desk (reception)

By the elevator hall.

Outside the hotel. The guards would be glad to get you your taxi and will emphasize how much you need to pay. No extra charges here.

Metro Hotel Bukit Bintang

A Little Corner Called Miharja (KL, Malaysia)

It would be an outskirt of KL; a place called Miharja where an LRT station via the Ampang Line leads to a bus terminal that transports people to Cameron Highlands. People mostly forget that Kerayong River flows through this Malaysian niche.

I was on my way to the highlands and had half an hour to kill so I decided to take a little stroll at the terminal's periphery.

What I discovered was this greenery: a river, not sure if it's a tributary to the Kerayong or it is the Kerayong itself; a wooden bridge; a bit of a woodland; benches lining a pathway. Here's a place that could be developed into a parkland, a green lung, a breathing space.

It's also easy to find eateries when you're hungry or just need a little munch, like a siopao maybe? Or a coconut cookie? Or both? Taman Miharja could be easily forgotten, but it has possibilities.

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Hello Again, KL! - KLIA2, Wolo Hotel and "The Gathering"

It's probably the longest time I've been away from KL in the last 7 years. Nine months. My May 2014 trip didn't require transit in the Malaysian city. Unexpectedly, they've dismantled the absolutely functional LCCT, the low cost Malaysian airport that kept winning awards, and replaced it with Kuala Lumpur International Airport's (KLIA) modern twin, KLIA2. Gone are the long, sweaty parades on tarmac just to get to the immigration counter.

KLIA 2 is spread like a dragonfly, with the gorgeous Sky Bridge as the insect's body. Make no mistake, the walk to get stamped in is still lengthy (probably even longer than before) but I didn't mind this. The hallways were gorgeously minimalistic with indoor foliage and cool air wafting around. Everywhere you looked, you could get a view of planes properly docked in their own ports.

The immigration hallway seemed small compared to LCCT's wide expanse, but there were a couple more in the next room, separating Malaysian passport holders from foreign visitors.With hardly any questions asked, I got finger printed again (for my biometrics) then left to claim my baggage. This trip was of course special because I took my family with me. The arrival hall was one big shopping mall more than an airport shop - and, Boy!, there were plenty - 200 shops, I heard. Though not particularly fond of mercantile activities, I was pleased to check out this new, welcoming terminal.

I bought some Malaysian Ringgit at the CIMB counter then headed towards the trolley-friendly lifts to take me to the bus terminal, an improved version of the old KLIA's hentian. There's obviously more space here, and booths (metered taxis, prepaid taxis, buses) stood beside each other. No barkers, which was a relief. I bought a ticket (still worth 10 RM) for an Aerobus seat and was told that the bus would leave in 20 minutes. Hmmm. Twenty seems like 20 days. But, lo and behold, my bus left 10 minutes earlier when it got filled to capacity.

The bus ride to KL was, like most rides, relaxing and fast (1 hour). We reached KL Sentral just after rush hour dwindled. This time, I didn't have to walk out of KL Sentral and across Tun Sambanthan Street to get to the monorail station. "Nu Sentral", a new mall now connects KL Sentral to the monorail, improving connectivity and providing more convenience to the commuters. The advantage of progress.

Amidst a flurry of KL'ites and tourists, we escaped from the chaos of our train and out into Bukit Bintang, still a buzz of activity. I was pretty excited to get to my latest hotel find - Wolo Bukit Bintang Hotel, an ultra chic hotel located in the epicenter of Bintang's kilometer zero, and probably the most central hotel in the Golden Triangle.

My room at the 7th floor provides generous view (first photo above) of the intersecting Bukit Bintang road and Jalan Sultan Ismail. The road excavation for the city's new subway train station (which allegedly boasts of 15 new stations) was underway. The huge LED TV just above McDonalds flickered with advertisements. This is KL's Leicester Square. To my right, I could see the KL Tower hovering over other high rises.

Wolo Hotel boasts of a contemporary atmosphere; the mezzanine and second-floor lobby are peppered with modern art pieces. The wall at the front desk, for example, has a delectable montage of disposable objects, like plastic cups, spoon, knives and covers, brilliantly turned into high art. They're arranged into worm-like pieces, like an abstract depiction of a singular idea. I can't quite figure out what it's supposed to be, to be honest. But isn't that how art intrigues the mind?

There's a life-sized origami of a horse beside the elevators framed by a blinding parade of figures. Floors are decked with round lights that change colors. Meanwhile, flickering strobe lights move around while electronic music plays overtime.

There's the statue of a one-eyed child reading a book; his LED eye is transfixed on an empty page of a book. From all these, I realized that this was an exquisitely hip place to be.

Tous Les Jours, an "authentic French bakery", occupies the ground floor of Wolo. This is also where breakfast is served.

Wolo's hotel lobby.

Lot 10 shopping mall is just across the street.

Check in was fast, but my reservation for a bigger 22 square-meter room didn't come through. "We are full, sir," Now you wonder why there is such a thing as reservation. Since I booked with Agoda, it was essentially a paid room - which I did not get because some incompetent twat didn't reserve what's supposed to be "reserved" several weeks in advance. Why reserve when they won't allot the darn room to a paying guest?

So I ended up with a smaller 18 square-meter room. What's the big deal, right? Well, there's this room fee difference, minimal, but nonetheless, one is more expensive than the other. I pointed this to the front desk girl this. "No sir, it's the same price," argued the girl. I didn't want to argue there but I checked! And even if you check Agoda's booking right now, any idiot will read the difference. There is a difference - so Miss Counter Girl was either fibbing or she was this bumbling idiot who doesn't know what she's talking about.

A mural of plastic cups, spoon, covers and knives on display at the front desk.

Art gallery or hotel lobby?

Japanese-inspired sleeping quarters with mirror walls. This is actually a raised platform surrounding these "taller" beds.

Despite the aforementioned debacle, I settled down and found my room pleasant. The beds are surrounded by a raised platform, giving the impression that they're mattresses lying down the floor, as though I'm in a Japanese abode. What looked like cabinet doors slid sideways and opened into a bathroom. How cool was that? The bathroom has two partitions; one for the toilet and the other for the shower which is situated beside a glass wall covered with blinds. If you've a nudist streak, you can raise the blinds to reveal a view of the busy streets below.

Later that night, I caught a screening of a Malaysian Chinese film: Bingo Chang's "The Gathering", a romantic reunion flick buoyed by immensely charming actors (particularly Jack Tan aka Chen Zeyao), employing the backdrop of Taiping's rustic charm. I've heard of Taiping before, but it's probably never been gorgeously captured on film until now. Taiping is described as "a quiet pensioner's paradise with century old trees lining its roads." Finally, there's a new Malaysian destination worth planning for.

This is the Eye in the Sky!