3 Days 2Nights WOW Penang Holiday, 9 – 11 December 2010

A few weeks back, my eldest brother invited us to join him and my parents for a short vacation to Malaysia. His initial destination was Langkawi. We went to the Silkair Road show to try to book our tour packages. However, we were told all the Langkawi packages were sold out. As we were flexible with the dates and destinations, the consultant finally managed to confirm us for a 3 Days WOW Penang holiday. With this confirmation, we were all ready and looking forward to another great holiday experienced.

Day 1: Thursday, 09 December

Singapore → Penang (MI 360) Dep: 1320 / Arr 1445

We met up with my eldest brother and my parents at Changi Airport Terminal 2. As Adrian just took his annual leaves for the Phuket trip, he was unable to get leaves for this Penang trip, so it was just Anthea, Anders and I.

We checked in our 1 luggage and went in to the Duty Free area for a quick snack before our flight. Refreshment was served on board the 1 hour flight from Singapore to Penang. As usual, the children had their child meal.

Upon arrival at the Penang airport, we were met by the local representative and he drove us to our hotel – G Hotel. This hotel was highly recommended by the consultant who booked us for this holiday.

We had booked 3 rooms for our party of 4 adults and 2 children. To our delight, we were all upgraded to the Executive rooms. The hotel rooms had the added value of FREE Mini Bar and FREE WIFI. The mini bar was replenished daily and both Anthea and Anders enjoyed the drinks and the kit kat bars.

It was almost 4pm by the time we checked in and the 1st activity would be swimming for the children. While we went to the pool, my brother and my parents went around the hotel and check out the vincity.

We met up around 6pm for dinner. Our 1st stop was the Esplanade area. We took a nice stroll by the Esplanade and managed to even visit Fort Cornwallis before dinner.

Dinner was at the Red Garden and we had a sumptuous dinner of sushi, Penang yong tau foo, 芽菜和海南鸡肉。 After dinner, we took a walk to their famous Eastern & Oriental hotel to admire the hotel architecture. Then we called it a night and went back to the hotel to rest as we had a full day of sightseeing the next day.

Day 2: Friday, 10 December

For this trip, my elder brother had done up a tour itinerary for us and he was our official tour guide.

We rented a chauffeur driven mini car for our party from the hotel tour and transport desk. The charge was MYR$50 per hour. The driver was Mr. Tan and he was a very nice, elderly man. We proposed our routing and he even added on a few other ad-hoc stops for us.

Our tour of the day included:

1. Penang hill – view the closed site area as they are now upgrading the cable car. According to Mr. Tan, it should be ready by New Year.

2. Kek Lok Si – visited the famous temple and saw the 观音 statue.

3. Coffee Tree – bought coffee and some chocolates. Highly recommend for coffee lovers.

4. Fishing Village – En Route to tropical farm, we stopped by a Fishing village and saw fisherman came in with their catch – lots of fishes of different type.

5. Tropical Fruit farm – located at the hill top, we paid about RM$28 for an adult and RM$20 for a child for a guided tour of the farm. The children had a great time listening to the growth of different kind of fruits. At the end of the tour, we were treated to a Fruit Buffet and a nice cup of fruit juices.

On our way back to the hotel, we had lunch at a local coffee shop. We ordered the Fried Kway Teow and 炒面 and to our greatest surprised, the 2 dishes tasted very good, even though it was a small shop and the “chef” was a very young lady.

On way back, we requested Mr. Tan to bring us to local product shop to buy some 土产。He brought us to a shop quite near to our hotel – 田园土产 (Tean Ean Local Products (M) Sdn Bhd) located at 90 Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 10050 Penang, MY.

The 豆沙饼和马蹄酥were very fresh and tasty. We were very happy with our purchase.

As we had a long day of tour, we decided to do dinner at the shopping centre next to the hotel. We had Manhattan Fish market and it turned out to be a very good choice. As none of us had eaten it in Singapore…haha.

We had ice cream after dinner and then went back to the rooms for a good night rest. It had been a very FRUITFUL day for us, especially the children.

Day 3: Saturday, 11 December

We had buffet breakfast at the café and then we checked out 2 rooms and kept our room for late checked out.

We had booked the mini car and again we had Mr. Tan as our driver cum guide.
Our day 2 itineraries were as follow:

6. Reclining Buddha temple along Lorong Burma Road.

7. Khoo Kongsi temple - This temple has rich historical value and learning about it gives me the interest to find out more about my own root too…hehe.

8. 水上人家 - seeing the houses built on such condition reminds me of those old kampong days.

We had a quick tea break stop at a local coffee shop in Little India and tried the roti canai (aka roti prata)

9. Our final tour stop was Blue Mansion (Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion). There was a guided tour at 11am and we were brought around the Mansion and given a very detailed introduction. It was really an awesome tour and to learn so much about the history of the Mansion.

We left the place around 12noon and went back to the hotel to get change and checked out. We had a quick lunch at 小南国 at the shopping mall before our transfer pick up to the airport for our flight to home sweet home.

It had really been an enjoyable tour for the family and we learnt so much about Penang in such a short span of time. There are so much more places to see and things to do and I know we would be going back again for the Durians and fried Kway Teow.

Till we meet again…Jumpa Lagi Penang!!

Penang → Singapore (MI 355) 1805/1930

4 Day 3Nights Phuket Rest & Relax Families Trip, 26 – 29 Nov 2010

This was the Tan Clan inaugural families trip and I must say – it was a successful trip. We were a party of 8 adults, 2 children, 1 toddle and 2 infants. First time we managed to go on a short vacation with all of us included.

Day 1: Friday, 26 November

Singapore → Phuket (MI 754 )Dep: 1320 / Arr 1405

It was a 1hour and 45 minutes flight from Singapore to Phuket. We were seated all near to one another. It was the 1st flight experience for my youngest niece – Taeia Tan. She took it really well.

Upon arrival at the Phuket airport, we were met by the Holiday Inn resort representative and we had 2 minivans for our families transfer.

We checked into the hotel and was given a Superior king-sized bed for our family. The other families had queen sized bedroom. My 2nd brother in law booked a family suite for his family.

As usual the 1st activity was swimming. Yeah, the children were all very excited and had great fun at the resort’s kid’s pool. Even the 2 infants also came in for a quick water play.

In the evening, we had dinner at the Hard Rock café and then adjourned to the hotel lobby for the welcome drinks. Then we called it a night and had good rest.

Day 2: Saturday, 27 November

We had an enjoyable buffet breakfast and then the children went to the kid’s club and had some fun at the club.

Then we headed to the poolside again and they played for some time before we went back to the room to change.

Lunch was arranged at Jungceylon shopping centre. This shopping mall was huge and it housed many familiar brands – Robinson and Carrefour can be found in this mall. It’s very close to home shopping. We had lunch and then explored the shopping mall. After that, some of us took the Tuk Tuk back to the hotel and we decided to walk back. It was about 10minutes walk to the hotel and along the streets, there were plenty of street shopping and amazing discoveries.

In the evening, we went by to the beachfront and we negotiated a deal for a Banana Boat ride. Together with my 3rd brother in law, his wife and my Father in law, Anthea tried her 1st ride on the Banana Boat. The ride was very fun and they were overthrown at the end of the ride when they were near the beachside. She enjoyed the ride so much and kept telling us about the fun of it.

We had dinner at the Thai restaurant in the hotel. Then we headed back to the rooms for a good night rest.

Day 3: Sunday, 28 November

During our last trip to Phuket in 2008, we did Safari tour. So this time round, we decided to try something different. We booked our family of 2 adults and 2 children for the ATV (all terrain vehicles) tour. It was a 2 hours of thrilling ride in the mountainous terrain.

As it was drizzling in the morning, it made the slopes very slippery and muddy and these add on the excitement of the rides.

After the 2 hours, we were all dirty and tired. We headed back to the hotel for a quick bath. Then had our cup noodles lunch in our rest before resting for the afternoon to regain the energy.

For dinner, we headed out the beachside for some seafood dinner. It was a simple and nice meal by the beach. After dinner, we took a stroll back to the hotel. On the way, we even stopped for Haagen Das Ice cream.

Day 4: Monday, 29 November

Phuket → Singapore (MI 753) 1455/1740

We woke up to a nice and relaxing buffet breakfast. After that, we started to pack and got ready for our home going flight.

We took a minivan from the hotel to the airport it cost us THB 1200. Then it was checked in time and home sweet home.

Overall, the 4D3N had passed by very quickly. We had so much fun and great families bonding time with the extended families. So it was a really good experienced for the Ace family.

For now…we look forward to our next families travel, would this be Beijing 2011?? To be continue….

4 Day 3Nights Sunway Lagoon & Kuala Lumpur Trip, 3 –6 June 2010

This is our family 3rd visit to Sunway Lagoon and 2nd time to KL and I must say – it gets better each time.

Day 1: Thursday, 3 June 2010
Singapore → Kuala Lumpur (MI 833 )Dep: 1615 / Arr 1705

It was a 45 minutes short flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival, we were meet & greeted by the agent at the arrival hall. He briefed us on our next few days pick up itinerary and then fetch us to Sunway Lagoon Resort.

We checked into our room and I was happy and pleased to see that they had upgraded the rooms since we last stayed in 2006. The rooms seem to be modernized and also more hi-tech with all the electronic gadgets.

Immediately Anthea and Anders changed into their swimming gear and Adrian brought them to the pool for a quick swim. After swimming, they came back to change and we headed to Sunway shopping centre for our dinner. We had KFC as our 1st meal for this trip. I was so surprised that the KFC in Malaysia still served the bun which I used to dip with the whipped potatoes. : )

After a good dinner, we walked around the mall and discovered a few new shopping atriums. The place had changed and it is so much bigger now with so many shops.

Anthea and Anders had fun with the rides in the play area. After the rides, we went back to our room and rested for the night.

Day 2: Friday, 4 June 2010

We woke up to a nice sunny morning and had our buffet breakfast at the café. The Sunway theme park opens at 11am and we went in around 11.15am. The park admission ticket had now changed to include 3 parks instead of the previous Wet Park or Dry Park. So with our admission tickets, we could go to the Interactive Zoo and the Amusement Park within the theme park. Of course, the price of the ticket had gone up. For adult – RM$80 and Child is RM$65.


We had a whole morning of fun going round the different place in the park. Exploring the different rides and also trying a walk on the suspension bridge. The children were eager to get to the pool, so finally we ended at the poolside.

Around noon time, we decided to take a lunch break. As we had re-entry vouchers from the hotel, we were able to go back to the park later. So we decided to go for lunch and a short rest before going back again. It was the right decision as the children were tired out from all the slides and water play.

We had Macdonald for lunch and return to the room for an hour nap. In the evening around 4.30pm, we headed to the theme park for the water play. The children enjoyed them so much and finally left the park at its closing time – 6pm.

We went back to change and then headed to the mall for our dinner. We went to I Canton for dinner and the food was delicious.

After a good dinner, we walked around the mall a while before going back to rest.

Day 3: Saturday, 5 June 2010

We woke up to a sunny morning and had a sumptuous buffet breakfast at the café. Then we went back to pack up and got ourselves ready for our pick up from Sunway Lagoon to Kuala Lumpur Berjaya Times Square.


We arrived at the hotel around 11.45am and checked into our room on the 39th floor. Once again, we went straight to the swimming pool and had a quick swim.


Then we went back to change and headed to the Times Square shopping mall for our lunch. The mall is huge and it has about 10th storey of shops and restaurant. There is an Indoor theme park in this mall. It is the Cosmos Theme park.

After lunch, we went to the theme park, as requested by the children. We went in and they tried different rides at the children section. They had a whole afternoon of great fun going from rides to rides. Both of them especially enjoyed the bumper car. : P

After almost 4 hours of fun rides in the park, we decided to call it a day. We had dinner at a restaurant called Uncle Duck and I remembered this was the same outlet we had eaten before during our trip in 2007. The food was nice and price affordable.

Day 4: Sunday, 6 June 2010
Kuala Lumpur → Singapore (MI 321) 1215/1305

We woke up early for our buffet breakfast. Our pick up was 9am and we were all set for home sweet home.


It has been a wonderful family vacation and Sunway Lagoon seems to be like our 2nd home or 3rd….just like Club Med. It’s a very family oriented vacation and the children had a splendid time.

I am glad that Anders is now enjoying more of the water fun and he no longer has fear in water. As for Anthea, she is still enjoying the theme park rides and I believe if we go back to the Cosmo Theme Park, she will be too tall for the kiddy rides.

4 Day 3Nights Club Med Bintan, 13 – 16 March 2010

1-2-3 here we go again….yes, it’s 1st time for Adrian, 2nd time for Anders & me & it was 3rd time for Anthea…haha.

As usual on day of coming home, both the children were “complaining” the stay was too short and they wanted more days. Ok..Point noted and will try to arrange a longer trip next round.

Once again, this place had proved itself to be a World of Happiness, there were no agendas to follow, and it was simply relaxing following the Sun, Sand & Sea.

Day 1: Saturday, 13 March

Singapore → Bintan (TMFT )Dep: 1400 / Arr 1345

For our outbound trip, due to some mistake done by the Ferry operator, 4 of us were upgraded to the Emerald Class cabin. It was like business class on airline..hehe.

We were given priority boarding and do not need to follow the crowd who were queuing. Then on board, we were seated on the upper deck. The seats were able to be inclined. When the ferry started, drinks were served on board for the Emerald class. It was a very good experienced for the family. Especially the children – they simply enjoyed ordering their drinks.

Upon arrival at Bintan, we went to the Club Med counter to do our check in. the reception gave us our rooms keys and towels cards.

Then we were transferred to the Club Med. A little incident happened – as we disembarked from the bus to the resort, Anders missed a step and felt back on his back. He had a slight cut on behind his head and bruises on his back.

The resort doctor immediately brought us to the clinic and attended to his injuries. She cleaned his wound and applied some antiseptic. Then the GO came in and asked if we were ok, then she escorted us to our rooms.

We had 2 adjoining rooms for the stay – one room with a King Sized Bed and the other with a double twin bed. It was a surprised to me as I was only expecting one room.

After checking in and making sure Anders was ok, we went for a tea-break at one of the snack bar.

Then we went back to take a short rest before starting our holiday.

In the evening, I brought the children to the pool for a swim and we met their good friend – Peter. He was a mini club teacher when we were in club med in 2008. Now he is a life guard. We had a nice time at the pool and Adrian went for his gym routine.

Then we went back to change and got ready for dinner. It was buffets for breakfast / lunch & dinner. So the children went around freely getting their own food. Not forgetting their favorite drink bar too. There was free flow of juices & soft drinks.

After a sumptuous dinner, we went to the poolside to watch the entertainment program. It was a very nice aerobatic performance by the GO’s. Then after the show, there were games stall by the poolside and we had a fun time trying out the different games.

Then around 12pm, we went back to our room and call it a night.

Day 2: Sunday, 14 March

We woke up to a sunny & beautiful morning. After a good breakfast, we went around to check out the activities. We had wanted to try Archery but the Q was quite long. So we decided not to wait. I went to do the aqua aerobic while Adrian brought the children to the beachside for some water fun.

The aqua-aerobic session was very enjoyable and following it was a water polo game among the participants. It was a really fun session and I truly enjoyed the sun and got tanned right after…haha.

As usual we had our lunch and managed to watch a special Hollywood show by the poolside. It was a comedy and we had a good laugh.

Then we took our afternoon rest before going for our evening activities. Anthea & Anders played a game of badminton with Adrian and I went to the gym to do some workout.

We had dinner after we went back to shower & change. We went to the theatre after dinner to watch the night entertainment. It was a standup kind of comedy and it was very hilarious. Anders was laughing non-stop throughout the show. Usually before the night show starts, there will be children game for the kid’s club children and Anthea enjoyed watching the games. Anders even had the chance to go onstage to join in one of the game.

Once again after the show, we were all led to the main bar for the crazy signs dance and we had so much fun doing the dance. Then there was another round of movie mania performed by the GO’s.

While watching the show, Anthea & Anders ordered their own drinks from the kids section of the bar. They really know their way around & enjoying the special privileges.

We went back to our rooms around 12 midnight again…haha.

Day 3: Monday, 15 March

I woke up early in the morning around 6.30am. I wanted to book the Terrace restaurant for dinner. This restaurant served grilled food and they only allowed reservation guests.

Since it’s school holiday and with so many Singaporean around, I need to be a bit KS and true enough, when I went to make the booking, we were already the last few to be seated for the 1st dinner seating.

Since I was early I had my breakfast and went for the morning power walk. It was a good walk around the outside of the club.

After the power walk, I met up with the children & Adrian at breakfast table. They were enjoying their breakfast. I had some bite before going for my aerobic sessions at the gym. The 2 hours session was very strenuous but was very energizing for me. It has been a long time since I do classes.

We met up by the pool and the children were having a good time too and they got so tanned.

In the evening, we went to the beach again and they managed to kayak for a while. Then we had water play by the beach and the pool.

Dinner was at the Terrace and we had a good meal of grilled sotong, crabs, salmon, lobsters with special sauce and many more food.

After the dinner, we went back to the bar for a drink before going for the show again.

Yes, we ended in bed around midnight again…: P

Day 4: Tuesday, 16 March

Bintan → Singapore

Simply rest & relax till our departure at 1400. Arrived Singapore 5pm.

It was our home sweet home day, although we were all a bit sad to go home but I know we will be back for more again, one day.

It has been another memorable and enjoyable family vacation.