It was raining cats and dogs last Sat morning. I was supposed to meet the rest at 6am in TP. As my house is just a road across the bus stop, i thought i could dash across without having to bring umbrella to Malaysia. But the rain was really heavy. Even though i was under the shelter, the rain splashed inside as though there was no shelter. I was shivering and could not move an inch. In the end, i had to brave myself and dashed across the road so that i won't be late. When i was on the bus, i couldn't stop shivering on my seat. But a group of old ladies boarded the bus and i had no choice but to stand up and offered my seat. So awful.. I had to stand and shiver all the way to Tampines. After i reached Sheena's house bus stop, i had to withstand the cold wind and rain for more than 30 mins before bus no 15 finally arrived. Luckily, the bus we catered was late too so the group was still waiting at TP. What a disaster morning!
As there was jam at the expressway, we thought we will definitely be late for the train. Luckily, we reached just on the dot. We took bus no 160 in Woodland and walked over to the train station at JB to take the 9am train to Kluang. It was RM17 i think. But the train was late and would only reach at 10am. Thus I went over to City Square to buy breakfast with Weilin, Wanting and Eng Chun (the CO gang). I tried the kuan lao mee but totally not nice. But the bee hoon that Weilin bought was totally awesome. I should eat that next time. It was also cheaper than my RM4 noodle.
We have 53 people travelling thus the whole train cabin was our people. It was fun and a lot of them kept taking pics at the train station. We reached Kluang around lunch time thus Yeuan Huei took us to eat at Lau Pa Sat. Mok (Cindy's cousin - a local) said that the coffee there is the nicest coffee in Kluang. I tried Wanton Noodle, Hao Fun and toasted bread there. Everything was cheap but ordinary. I love the toasted bread though. The kaya was yummy and the butter melted in the hot crispy toast. Lovely!
Yeuan Huei took us to the Honeyland to buy nonya kweh, cakes, egg tarts etc. As i went there before, i didnt eat anything there this time. I am not a fan of egg tarts. But Darren gave me his green tea egg tart so i tried it for the first time. It had a strong green tea taste but i still don't like egg tarts.
After the tea break at the Honeyland, we went to purchase the coffee powder and tau sa piah. Both shops were introduced by Channel 8 many years ago. I bought the coffee powder previously and my parents hated it thus i didnt dare to buy this time. It was cheap and many of my colleagues love it. I guess different people have different taste. But the tau sa piah (salty version) was fantastic. It was nice and fresh with super low price of RM2.80 per roll of 5. My parents and colleagues love this.
On our way to the hotel, Sheena bought a very nice and cheap hula hoop at a cane shop for RM12. She was very pleased with it coz it was cheaper than what her sister paid for in Singapore. I was influenced by her so i bought one of a lower quality but of the same price in Kluang Mall when we went shopping on the next day.
We checked into the Ailang Hotel which was opposite Kluang Parade. The room was around RM60 per night. It was clean and comfortable but there was no lift and breakfast provided. Try to ask for lower floor if your luggage is heavy or if you are not the type who love stairs.
We gathered at the lobby after a short rest and headed to the Gunung Lambak. We had to take a bus trip that cost RM1 and walked quite a distance to the entrance of the mountain. There was a lot of monkeys there. The climb was not an easy one thus when i reached the mid-hill, i told Sheena that i rather stayed there to play with the squirrels. But Sheena very keen to climb so i had to climb too. It was frightening as the terrains was high and uneven. We have to keep using ropes and trees. People in front and behind me kept felling down so i was extremely careful when walking. I kept thinking how am i going to climb down after reaching the peak. Scary. When i finally reached the peak, they told me that a local told them there was another easy way down at the other side of the peak. Thus we tried that road. It was really easier than the previous road but it was slippery due to the rain in the morning. As usual, i was extremely slow so as to make sure i won't slip and fall down. Due to my carefulness, i reached the entrance safely without any injury. Btw, i must thank the guys in front and behind me. They were very nice and offered help whenever they saw me struggling. Actually i was lucky, there was 2 groups behind us and we waited quite some time for them especially the last group. The 2nd last group was lost and luckily they met a jogger and led them back to the correct path. Paul was with the last group trying his best to help the girls. The forest was in total darkness when they were walking down. We almost wanted to call the police after an hour of wait. Next time, i think we should ask everyone to bring a torch. Or maybe this should be done in the morning instead of afternoon.
Mok's mum was extremely friendly. She came out to look for us and brought us to the bus stop so that we won't lost our way. I like her. Very nice and friendly lady. By the time, we went back for dinner, it was almost 9pm.
As everyone was hungry, we proceeded to eat our dinner at the food street opposite our hotel in our smelly clothes. I tried the Mee Hoon Kuey and Pig Trotter with Yam Rice. It tasted ordinary but the price was really cheap. Sheena let me tried her dumpling and i didnt like it too. The flour was too thick and the soup had very strong ginger taste. But the satay that Yeuan Huei bought was nice. Not much fats and they were very generous with their satay sauce.
Before we headed to watch midnight show, we went back for a shower and a short nap. I was so sleepy that i even thought of giving up watching the movie. But i have paid for it thus i decided to go even though the movie cost only RM9. The popcorns combo was cheap too. Only RM8 with 2 mineral water and 1 medium popcorns. I love the movie too. The 32 of us watched Inception together. As we were really tired, many fell asleep in the cinema. The CO gang went karaoke and they said it was cheap and good too. Maybe i should try it next time.
By the time we reached the hotel, it was around 3 plus and we had to wake up at 6am to go wet market. Tiring.
The next morning, we took bus to the Kluang Baru area. By the time we reached, Mok told us we were late as many stuff was sold out. I tried the big pao, peanut pancake, peanut muah chee or dumpling at the market. Yeuan Huei bought durians for Sheena and gang to try. They also bought dragon fruits and honey sugar. Sheena, Yeuan Huei and myself went to the hawker stalls to eat breakfast and i tried the fried mee with egg. I like the mee but not the bee hoon. There wasnt any other side dish for me to purchase. Maybe next time i should eat with the yong tau foo with this mee. After breakfast, Mok told us she hasnt had her breakfast yet thus i went to eat the famous Botak Curry Mee opposite the basketball court with her. It was yummy. I love it but a bit too spicy.
Next, Sheena and myself went to Kluang Mall to try and find shoes to replace our damage shoes. But we couldn't find anything there. Luckily Sheena found her favourite organic rice there so one objective was met. We also went to massage at the building opposite Kluang Mall. I did the 1 hour foot massage for RM30. So cheap! We met the others there too and they were doing the body massage. After massage, we went for lunch at the wanton mee coffeeshop near the Bat Town. It was introduced by Mok and i think it was quite nice. But i dunno why all the wanton in Kluang didnt taste as nice as Singapore ones. It was all very small without not much meat inside.
After lunch, Sheena went to pluck her eye brows at Kluang Parade. It was only RM6. Why everything was so cheap in Kluang? When we headed back to the hotel to meet the group, i saw Dominic's girlfriend and she told me the spectacles and contact lens were all half price of Singapore. So i went to the shop beside our hotel to buy contact lens even though i am not short sighted. Heehee.
While waiting for the 4pm 5 Stars tour bus back to Singapore, i went to buy my favourite Marybrown chicken wing. I dunno why this time it didnt taste as nice as the KL one. Regret.
Conclusion, we love this trip and my SAA colleagues want me to bring them there. Planning one soon..
