Malaysia, Club Med & Singapore
Diary of a family trip to Malaysia, Club Med and Singapore.
Day 1:
Our arrival into Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) was seamless. A very easy process collecting bags and going through customs. I would recommend you take the airport taxi into town to your hotel. Most efficient and only around AUD$45 for the 45 minute trip which is pretty reasonable. We had a late night arrival into Kuala Lumpur city but there were still people everywhere, bustling, busy and unfortunately very smoky due to fires in Indonesia. We checked in and started planning our next few days.
Day 2:
Our exploration begins…breakfast of Roti Canai and the kids have decided that this is one of their favourite meals. Walking through town, map in hand, first stop Jalan Petaling and Chinatown where all manner of tasty morsels were tried, each costing no more than $2, so if the outcome was not favourable, it was not a hardship. We also visited the wet market where the kids could truly see where their food was coming from. Fresh meats and vegetables of all descriptions, sometimes a bit confronting, but always interesting! On to the Central Market which was a mecca for tourists and highlighted the local arts and crafts. Great that it was undercover and air conditioned as the heat and humidity of the day rose. Merdeka Square was being set up for the next day’s Malaysia Day Celebrations and 56 years of Independence, so again was full of hustle and bustle. This area is also a primary area for the Formula 1 Grand Prix which takes place in October. Malaysian flags and bunting decorated all of the government buildings and there was a growing sense of excitement for the next day’s festivities. After a day of trekking around the city it was back to the hotel for an afternoon swim and relax before hitting the shops below in the Berjaya Times Square shopping centre.
Day 3:
We woke to helicopters buzzing the city and gun salutes for National Day. Morning roti at a local eatery then off to Sunway Lagoon. Sunway is really five parks in one, Water Park, Animal, Xtreme (bungy, quad bikes), Scream (roller coasters and stomach churning rides) and Western (more rides with a Western theme). The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves splashing in the wave pools and racing down the waterslides. As animal lovers the Animal Park went over really well and the exhibits were very well put together. I particularly liked the wrist bands which you could load money onto and use for all spending. Between down pours we managed to see all the parks and go on most of the rides. I’m not a fan of roller coasters and the like so gave the Scream Park a miss but the kids loved it. All in all a fun day then shopping and dinner in Sunway Mall, this was fantastic. Lovely fresh sushi for dinner which was a third of the cost of home and I found a Zara store, one of my favourites, having a sale…damage was done to my credit card!
Day4:
Batu Caves. After Roti breakfast at our local restaurant (yes they were beginning to greet us by name), we took the Monorail to Central then train to Batu Caves. Local transport is very easy, clean, well sign posted and cheap! Batu Caves offered us our first interaction with monkeys, and lots of steps! The Caves are sacred to Hindus and housed many Hindu temples within the open cave system. After our morning exertions trekking up into the caves, we had an Interesting lunch in an Indian Vegetarian restaurant where the kids tried lots of new dishes. It was great for them to experience not only a different religion and culture, but different food as well. The funny thing was that they didn’t believe the “vegetarian chicken” they had been eating was actually tofu! When I said it was Vegetarian Chicken, they insisted the chickens were vegetarians, only eating vegetables. Lunch finished and we were off to Kanching Recreational Forest in Selangor to check out the local waterfalls. There were lots of brazen monkeys and lots of people cooling off in the various ponds. Hundreds of people splashing about, picnicking and throwing their rubbish in the forest. Few amenities and large signs stating you bathed at your own risk of falling ill. Needless to say we didn’t allow the kids to splash. I like to travel with an open mind; however, it is always disparaging to see the amount of rubbish simply dumped in the beautiful rainforest. It makes me very happy to live in a country that does pride itself on natural beauty and likes to take care of it. Back to watch the evening storms roll in from our hotel room. Dinner was a “sampling” affair of the various restaurants in the downstairs mall.
Day 5:
Taxi to bus station and 4 hour ride to Kuantan, taxi to Club Med Cherating. AAhh, back into a loving embrace. We were met on arrival and it was great that the reception staff knew our names and offered us cold drink and towel before a quick orientation and showing us to our rooms. An afternoon to swim followed by cocktails/mock tails and a poolside relax before we checked out the facilities. Dinner was as expected, fantastic food and lots of it. I was prepared having stayed at Club Med before and packed loose fitting clothes! Needless to say the desert buffet still got me and I overindulged just a little bit. The evening show was circus themed and the acrobatics were so professional, it was amazing. Despite our long travelling day we couldn’t resist the group dancing at the conclusion of the show before dragging our feet off to bed. I was so glad to shake off the big city blues and back to the ocean and fresh air. My first impression of Cherating was that it was rustic and needing a little TLC, but the longer I stayed, the more I fell in love with the little quirks of the village. It is one of the older Club Med Villages and they are slowly renovating it. I guess it is hard being such a popular village to do a full renovation when the occupancy rates are consistently full.
Day 6:
Wonderful sleep, rooms charming and very comfortable. We had an interconnecting so kids had plenty of space. Again, the rooms were well used, but overlooking a few minor bumps and scratches we were very happy. Breakfast buffet with everything you could think of and more on offer before sending the kids off to kids club. Actually they were bothering us as they just HAD to be there at opening time! Once they were settled we fell into our routine of a morning swim either in the main pool or the ocean. A morning orientation tour of the village was on offer so we decided to join in so we could make the most of our stay. We didn’t want to miss a thing! We met up with the kids on the flying trapeze having a ball, exclaiming “thanks for bringing us here, best time ever!” My daughter found a temporary new BFF so was happy. With the kids happily ensconced in the club, we checked out the Zen pool in the adult’s only area of the resort. Down to the beach bar, back for lunch and back to the beach to catch up with kids who were out on a catamaran for a quick sail. I was so happy to find an afternoon Zumba class and quickly got to chatting with Erick from Mauritius who was the instructor. We planned to catch up during my stay to swap moves and have a little jam session…I was happy! The Kids Club finished at 5pm so after picking up the kids and having a quick swim we set off to get ready for our firefly excursion. One word. Awesome! We set off in a flotilla of small boats down into the mangrove creeks. The drivers waved red lights which attracted the fireflies that descended in droves. I said they were fairies and if they landed on you it gave you good luck. The kids were in raptures, only made happier when a firefly landed on each of them, flashing away. It was truly magical. We arrived back at the village in time for a late dinner and the evening show which was an Indian themed acrobatics extravaganza.
Day 7:
The day of activity. After breakfast and our regular morning swim, it was off to check up on the kids and their archery lesson. Jeff and I did the Jungle walk which was more uphill obstacle course than anything else and unfortunately did not see any animals. Off to the tree top highwire where we were harnessed up in safety gear and set loose along the cables and wires that made the course. It was great fun and a good challenge clambering over the cargo nets and down the flying fox. Squash followed …then another dip in the ocean to cool off before lunch. The afternoon was spent at leisure by the pool sipping cocktails, reading and listening to my music. Zumba class at 4 after which it was back in the pool with the kids for fun and games. Loved the ingenious use of water guns by the GO’s to scare off the troupe of monkeys that decided to come down from the trees along the rooftops to start scavenging food from the poolside. A good appetite had been built up over the day so we were looking forward to dinner where three of the GO’s joined us gave us a great insight into the workings of Club Med. Seriously, if I was single and 20 years younger I would work for this company. What great opportunities it affords people with so many different talents and options for employment. By now we were all in a routine so after dinner it was off to watch the Glee show which as always was very entertaining, then dancing before bed.
Day 8:
You know you are on holiday when your daily routine involves food, then a swim and then just kicking back and doing not much but more eating and relaxing. This is the situation I was finding myself in. After breakfast we checked up on the kids doing their treetop walk, and then decided to head to the beach for an early morning kayak around the bay. It was sunny, the sea was calm and it was a great kick up the bum for the rest of the day. Lazing around down at the beach bar followed and while I listened to my iPod and read, Jeff chatted amiably to the bar staff, many of whom we had gotten to know when they joined us for a meal. The GO’s were all very interesting and had a story to tell as to how they came to work for Club Med and why they had no intention of leaving. We found ourselves wandering over to the Zen pool after the beach bar closed and chilled out in the ambiance of the adult only paradise, lazing on the cabana watching the tide slowly go out. We walked back for lunch where more GOs joined us then back by the main pool for a while until my 4pm Zumba class. (Can you see the pattern yet?) We picked up kids from kids club at 5pm for playtime in the pool before dinner. Tonight the kids were putting on a special show for us and we had to make sure they were ready in time for their big performances. Off to the Comedy show in the theatre which was perhaps the weakest one in the repertoire of performances, and off to bed.
Day 9:
It was time to get in some more exercise to burn off my excess calories from overeating and drinking all those luscious cocktails by the pool. After a light breakfast (only 2 plates this morning…), we thought a rematch in squash was in order so it was off to the courts to sweat out 5 litres of water, or so it seemed. A quick dip in the sea cooled things down before heading into the gym for a good hours worth of dancing and quick catch up with Erick. Another swim before lunch and heading down to the beach to catch up with the kids. Madalyn was back on the hobie cats sailing while Oliver played with us in the waves. All went well until I felt fire across my left ankle. An errant jellyfish decided to taste my leg and yowzers did it sting! I rushed up the beach where a good supply of vinegar was on hand for just such occasions. Although painful, it was nothing a few cocktails couldn’t fix. Off to the Zen pool to chillax before picking up the kids from kids club and yep, more swimming! Dinner then the Michael Jackson Tribute show and more dancing with the Club Med staffers afterwards. Tonight they put on a Miss Cherating Beach beauty pageant. Just picture ten guys dressed in drag and strutting their stuff around the stage in high heels and sparkly dresses. I must say some of them seemed to enjoy the attention and the glitz just a little too much! And some looked much better as ladies than men!
Day 10:
A bittersweet morning of goodbyes before we took our coach to Kuantan airport. A short hour long flight with Firefly and we were back in Singapore. Aah, after Kuala Lumpur, what a beautiful, clean, modern city. I do love Singapore, so easy to get around but still essentially Asian. We checked into our hotel the Marina Bay Sands and headed straight up to the 57th floor to the Infinity Pool overlooking the city skyline. Wow what a view! We had a splash and a late lunch before heading in to prepare for our venture into Chinatown for the evening s entertainment. It was the Mid Autumn festival and tonight was the lighting of the lanterns. Streets in and around Chinatown were blocked off so parades and festivities could ensue. We had dinner at a lovely local eatery before perusing the street markets and watching the fireworks go off. What a wonderful evening. Back to the hotel and a quick stroll around the adjoining mall before we were all well and truly stuffed and ready for bed.
Day 11:
Ok, I am officially a fan of Singapore. I haven’t been here for about 4 years but am amazed at the changes in the city. Not only are we staying at a hotel that was still under construction last time we were here, but also there are so many new attractions to see. Today we spent the whole day at the Garden by the Bay. It is, in a word, Amazing! The Super trees, large tree-like structures with vertical gardens that fan out over the gardens are wonderful and the Skyway linking them is a must do. The Flower Dome and Cloud forest are wonderful and even the kids didn’t complain and were in awe as we made our way through the different displays and under the waterfall. We ate at Satay by the Bay, a collection of hawker stalls where we easily were all fed for under $20. After a substantial lunch, it was back to explore the Heritage Garden and Dragonfly Lake, and all the sculptures dotting the gardens along the way. Back to the hotel for an afternoon swim then off to the Marina Bay shops for a bit of retail therapy. It was mostly window shopping for me, as the like of Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Prada were just a little out of my budget. Indoor ice skating, a Casino, premium shopping and dining, this centre was beautiful. At 9:30pm we sat outside to watch the Wonderful show which certainly lived up to its name. A combination of fountains, laser light and projection on water mist all supplemented by a wonderful soundtrack and bubbles. It was spellbinding and the perfect way to end an evening. On walking back into the shopping centre, we stopped to marvel at a huge sculpture which was a concave bowl with water swirling in a whirlpool and draining into a pool two stories down in the middle of the shopping centre. We decided to head back up to the hotel viewing deck on the 57th floor to have a look at the beautiful Singapore skyline at night. Spellbinding.
Day 12:
It had to be done. Today was the ubiquitous Hippo, Hop on hop off double decker bus tour around the city. We started out late as we needed a sleep in badly. The bus offers four routes around the city as well as discounts to various other attractions. We took the day tour and plugged in our headphones for the commentary. One good point was that they had a separate station for kids which made the commentary much more fun, with Maddy constantly filling us in on funny facts she had just learnt. As we made our way around the city we stopped in Little India, the Merlion and other interesting places. Back for an afternoon swim at the hotel pool before heading out to the Gardens by the Sea and our favourite Satay by the Bay hawker stands for dinner where I just had to have my chilli crab!
What a great trip and what a great end to a fabulous family holiday. I can’t recommend Club Med highly enough for a complete family getaway and Singapore is a wonderful family destination that really offers something for everyone. We will be back!
Below are some tips we picked up that may be worth taking a note of…
Food is really cheap and there are numerous hawker stalls selling all manner of foods. Why not try something different?
Taxis are cheap and offer an easy and direct way to get around. Also the local MRT (underground) and busses were very efficient and easy to use.
Haggle in markets, especially in Malaysia as it is expected.
You need to pay for the toilets in Malaysia so always carry loo paper with you as it is not supplied and there is nothing worse than being caught short.
Bring sunscreen, it’s very hard to find in the shops and very expensive!
In Malaysia, make sure to dress modestly, it is a largely Moslem country. Singapore is less restrained but still be mindful of what you wear.
A good idea also to bring some insect repellent, especially if you are planning outdoor activities.