malaysia

Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa: Family-Friendly Resort in Desaru

Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa is a contemporary casual and relaxing resort located in the heart of Desaru, Johor. It provides an ultimate gateway for romantic couple retreat, an excellent location for family reunion, dream beach wedding, blissful honeymoon, as well as a family-friendly vacation.

Formerly known as Pulai Desaru Beach Resort & Spa, Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa has been rebranded, revamped and opened in Mar 2017. This resort is very popular among the locals because it’s set on Desaru Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, overseeing the panoramic views of the South China Sea.

Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa

Truth be told, I’ve been wanting to visit Desaru for a long time. My first trip to Desaru was 20 years ago when I was studying in UTM, Johor. It was such a memorable trip to me. So, when I stumbled upon the resort brochure in a travel agency recently, I told V that we must make a trip there soon. And after a few website clicks, we’ve landed in this beautiful resort. Yay me!  😎

Getting to Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort and Spa

There are several ways to get to Desaru:

  1. Driving – It’s about 1.5hr drive from Singapore via Senai-Desaru Expressway
  2. Private Taxi
  3. Bus
  4. Ferry – It’s just 30mins from Changi Ferry Terminal to Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal. From there, you can arrange for a transfer to Sand & Sandals Desaru Resort (~20 mins).
Limbongan Maju Ferry to Desaru
Limbongan Maju Ferry to Desaru

Personally, I find that the easiest way is to travel by ferry – which we did! The journey is just half an hour. We took the 9:30am ferry from Changi Ferry Terminal (not Changi Point Ferry Terminal, they are different places!). The ferry operator is Limbongan Maju Shd. Bhd.

It’s a small ferry with a capacity of about 60 people. Frankly, I’ve always been sea sick on smaller boats, but this ferry is quite stable despite its small size. And thankfully, I had NO seasickness at all!

Read More

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat 2017

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat is an annual spooktacular family-friendly Halloween event that takes place from 6 to 29 October 2017. Guests can dress in costume, collect goodies at “brick-or-treat” hut, or participate in the After Dark party and costume contest. Or they can simply enjoy the fun rides and attractions that LEGOLAND has to offer!

When I broke the good news to Edison that we’ll be heading to LEGOLAND for the Halloween event, his face lit up as his eyes widened. He was on cloud nine because this was his first time attending a Halloween event, and it’s happening at his favourite theme park, LEGOLAND. Obviously, he was also more than thrilled to break away from SA2 revision LOL.

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat
LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat

What to Expect at LEGOLAND Malaysia Brick-or-Treat

Here are some of the featured activities at this year’s Brick-or-Treat that you can look forward to:

Spooky Trail
LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat
Spooky Trail

Pick up your Brick-or-Treat Show Guide from the first hut (near the entrance). Collect your first Halloween stamp here and proceed to the next 4 activity huts. Once you’ve collected all the 5 stamps, you can head to the redemption hut at LEGO Kingdom zone to redeem your mystery gift. There are different activities at each hut, for instance Scream-oo-Meter, Learn-A-Spell, etc.

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween
Testing his lung power at Scream-oo-Meter

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat
Redeemed his mystery gift, happy happy!
 Spook-Tacular Costume Contest

It wouldn’t be Halloween without a costume contest, right? You’ll be thrilled to know that –

Kids aged, 3 – 11 years old, dressed in full Halloween costumes can enter the park for FREE! *

LEGOLAND Malaysia Halloween Brick-or-Treat

The costume contest is held during the Brick-or-Treat Carnival Celebration at LEGO Kingdom Castle Area from 7 to 7:30pm. Looking at the contestants all dressed in fancy Halloween costumes, my mind was whirling with excitement. Seriously, these kids are so awesome! Last Saturday’s winner was the boy dressed in Chinese vampire costume LOL. Congrats on his well-deserved win!

Read More

Somerset Medini Iskandar Puteri: Serviced Apartment near LEGOLAND

Somerset Medini Iskandar Puteri! I’ve heard so much about it being the serviced apartment nearest to LEGOLAND Theme Park and very wallet-friendly. Finally, I get to check this place out and yes, I really like it. =)

Somerset Medini Iskandar Puteri is part of a large chain of serviced apartments worldwide managed by The Ascott Limited. In fact at Nusajaya, there are 2 serviced apartments under The Ascott Limited. The other one is located next to Hello Kitty Land, and it’s called Somerset Puteri Harbour Iskandar Puteri. At 33 storeys high, Somerset Medini Iskandar Puteri offers more than 300 units of studios and apartments for families of all sizes at affordable rates.

Two months ago, I met up with my brother’s family in Nusajaya as we planned to bring our kids to LEGOLAND. We stayed at Somerset Medini. I booked a 1-Bedroom Premier for our family of three. My brother, on the other hand, booked a 2-Bedroom Premier for his family of four.

Somerset MediniSomerset Medini Iskandar Puteri

From this apartment to LEGOLAND, it’s only 5 to 10 mins of leisure walk. To get here, you just need to walk from LEGOLAND to the opposite Mall of Medini. Take an escalator to level 1 of the mall and walk across the street. The apartment is right there. For those who drive, there are plenty of basement carpark lots. There is no complimentary parking for guests but a highly discounted rate is offered. RM10 nett for 3D2N that includes multiple entries – I find it very affordable.

Read More

Sanrio Hello Kitty Town & Thomas Town at Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park

Indoor theme park is always a good idea when you want your kids to have fun, but not under the hot sun. Am I right? Recently, we made an impromptu trip to Puteri Harbour (our last visit was in 2015!). Considering the very hot weather lately, we chose Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and Thomas Town over LEGOLAND this time.

Before I booked the tickets, V asked me a question. “Is Edison too old for indoor theme park?” Well, errrr, seriously is there an age limit for indoor theme park? Come to think of it, he hasn’t been to one except for KidZania for the past 1+ years.

So, I asked him. 😊

His face instantly lightened up when I said Hello Kitty. As some of you may be aware, he likes Hello Kitty – pretty much influenced by me! This time, I was planning to check-out the new Hello Kitty themed room at Hotel Jen too. So, imagine his excitement when it comes to a weekend of PLAY and HOTEL STAY with zero homework LOL.

Get discounted admission tickets as well as easy transfer from Singapore to Legoland / Hello Kitty Land from KLOOK.

Sanrio Hello Kitty Town

Sanrio Hello Kitty Town
He loves Hello Kitty and is totally COOL about it! LOL.

Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park is a four-storey building that resembles a shopping mall. It houses Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and Thomas Town. The first storey is accessible to all visitors – you can dine at Red Bow Café, shop for your favourite cartoon characters’ merchandises and purchase your tickets.

Sanrio Hello Kitty Town is located on the second storey. The moment we stepped out of the escalator, we were wowed by the striking pink and awesome cuteness that screamed “check me out now!”. Haha!

Sanrio Hello Kitty Town

Over here, you can explore Hello Kitty’s home, watch her live on-stage, pose with her, enjoy the family rides and activities, as well as experience the adventure in Hello Kitty in Oz.

Read More

Take Me to Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour Hello Kitty Themed Room

Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour has launched 12 distinct Hello Kitty themed rooms in Jan 2017. The first of its kind within Southeast Asian region, these vibrant rooms are sure to give you a 360° Hello Kitty experience, together with SANRIO HELLO KITTY TOWN that’s located right next to it. Now, take me to Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour Hello Kitty room!  😀

Aww! Can’t wait to unveil all the cuteness to you right now.   😎

If you’re keen to read about our first visit in 2015, read these:

Need transport? Check-out easy transfer from Singapore to Legoland / Hello Kitty Land from KLOOK.

Hotel Jen Puteri Harbour Hello Kitty Themed Room Overview

Jen’s Hello Kitty Themed Room comes in TWO room types: 1) Deluxe Room 33 sqm (10 rooms), and 2) Premier Room 53 sqm that’s perfect for big family (2 rooms).

The themed rooms come in THREE different Hello Kitty master themes: Pink, Sailor and Hello Kitty in Oz. Under each master theme, there are FOUR individual room design choices. This means ALL the 12 themed rooms in Hotel Jen are uniquely DIFFERENT!

Now, let’s take a peek at some of the themed rooms (images courtesy of Hotel Jen).

Hotel Jen Hello Kitty Room
Hello Kitty Themed Room – PINK Theme
Hotel Jen Hello Kitty Room
Hello Kitty Themed Room – SAILOR Theme
Hello Kitty Themed Room
Hello Kitty Themed Room – HELLO KITTY IN OZ Theme

Read More