A very short stay at the E&O

Over the weekend I was invited to accompany my husband to his company's annual dinner Penang. We stayed at the very luxurious Eastern & Oriental Hotel located on Lebuh Farquhar. We arrived on Friday, just before noon and were allowed to check in early!! The staff at the front desk were friendly and efficient. They sorted out our early check-in in a jiffy and were thorough in explaining what and where things were in the hotel.

After checking in, we went up to our suite to off load our luggage and to take a few quick snaps.


The bed...

Gloriously comfortable with pillows that were soft and welcoming.

The living room that came attached to the bedroom.
Very old style and, as expected, the sofa smelled a little musty.

The bathroom has a tub in the middle,
and is flanked by the loo on one side and the shower cubicle on the other.

The shower cubicle and one of two sinks-
one for Him and one for Her. The amenities are nothing to shout about.

After that, we headed down to one of the hotel's eateries for lunch. Sarkies Corner has been outfitted to look like a coffee shop from days gone by. And while the staff were friendly enough, they lacked the finesse and attention to detail that one would expect from a five star hotel. As we were seated we were told by our server that they serve only A' la carte there and that if we wanted to sample the buffet, we'd have to go over Sarkies in the new wing. As my husband was pressed for time- he had to rush off for a meeting, we decided to go for the buffet, and walked over to Sarkies only to find that the buffet did not start for another hour and so we had to walk all the way back for lunch.

While the walk wasn't long, I was annoyed as it still took us about 15 minutes to walk over and walk back and to be seated again. We quickly ordered and poor Hubby had to wolf down his lunch. The food was passable, nothing to shout about, I am ashamed to say we ordered Char Koay Teow and Assam Laksa. I know, I know, it's a sin to eat those in a hotel when we could have gotten it anywhere else outside and a fraction of the price.

Sarkies Corner

A very expensive kopi tiam

My Assam Laksa- which tasted alright

After lunch Hubby rushed off to his meeting and I spent the rest of the day lounging around the fab hotel room. When he got back we got dolled up and attended the annual dinner. Here's a shot of us after the do, taken in the bathroom!!!

Heheheheh..This had to be taken in the bathroom
beause the lighting in the bedroom was too dim!!!

I must say that I didn't get to take many shots as Hubby had to rush off to work and I was allowed to waddle around the grounds by my own pregnant self. Hopefully we'll get to go back and visit again another day, although I wouldn't be fussed if we didn't stay as I think the hotel is a little over rated.

 

 

 

Our Babymoon

Sun, sea and surf... sounds like the perfect Honeymoon doesn't it?

Well our recent trip to Bali was meant to be just that. The only catch is that I booked the trip in late April before the little alien came along, so our Honeymoon became our Babymoon.

We stayed two nights at the Nikko Bali Hotel in Nusadua and had a really relaxing time. I am still suffering from morning sickness so we didn't go out of the hotel at all while we were there. But that didn't bother me. We had booked into a Club Room, but were told upon arrival that there weren't any left and were then upgraded to a Club Suite free of charge.

We spent most of out time hanging out in the Club Lounge cabanas where they provide a free flow of beer, fruit juices, coffee, tea and at 5pm, wine and spirits.There was finger food available throughout the day although I didn't fancy any.

Cocktail time

We didn't make it into the sea either as it water was way too cold. We were told it was because the tide was coming in from Australia where it was winter and so although it was bright and sunny in Bali, the water and the wind was exceptionally cold.

Kiaaaaa! C-c-cold!!! 

The view was amazing from the little cabana we chose

It looked even better at night

Hubby enjoying a drink during happy hour

Me having a lie down

Hubby spoiling me rotten by making me toast

Making toast for me proved too tiring so he needed to take a nap

While I didn't really mind not being able to go out this time around, I am sure if I hadn't had morning sickness I would have been very disappointed. The food served by the hotel was passable but expensive. But I suppose that is to be expected. If I hadn't been expecting I think we would have ventured out to sample more local fare. I really wanted to try their 'bebek' or duck and babi guling. Oh well, that'll have to wait for our next trip I suppose... with a little monster in tow.

Our first familymoon- Cambodia

La di da, it's been three months since we got married and we're back from our first familymoon!

Familymoon? Whassat you ask. Well basically, it's a Honeymoon, with family in tow...Anyways, with Mum, Dad and sis along as well we had loads of fun.

We were there for a grand total of 3 days and two nights only and spent all our time in Siem Reap. We stayed the Tara Angkor Hotel. The staff were efficient, polite and very friendly. The rooms were clean and met all our expectations.

We visited Angkor Wat, several smaller wats, a silk factory, a spice factory and shops selling ceramics and quilts. We hired a car and was taken around the city by Sam, our driver cum tour guide who also runs a small orphanage and school as a volunteer.

On the first day we had tea at a branch of The Blue Pumpkin (http://www.tbpumpkin.com) located just a few steps away from the Old Market. They serve hot from the oven pastries, sandwiches, soups, fish and chips and other finger food that tasted good and seemed good value for money to us.

Dinner that first night was at Red Piano, (http://www.redpianocambodia.com), also a stone's throw from the Old Market. We also had Cambodian fare at Viroth's (http://www.viroth-hotel.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=107 on our last night and was wowed by the ambiance of the restaurant. It was rather hot and humid in Siem Reap when we visited, but the ceiling fans did a good job of keeping the temperature down. The food was really good as well! I can't remember what we ordered, but amongst the many dishes were Amok and a Cambodian curry that was good, but a little too sweet for my Malaysian tastebuds.

Visiting the wats was an amazing experience and I marvel at how such grand and beautiful structures could be built all those hundreds of years ago. I couldn't help but feel a little sad though, at seeing how they were ruined. Hopefully with the continuous help from various foreign NGOs, these amazing architectural specimens can be fully restored.

A cleansing pool in Angkor Wat

At Ta Promph

Tiny tiny us at Ta Promph 

In front of Red Piano



The whole family at the Silk Farm

At the Spice Factory

Hubby and I just off the plane at Siem Reap International Airport

Mum had told the hotel earlier that we were on our Honeymoon so the hotel added a few extra touches to our decor.

Awww... so sweet. They even sent us a cake!!

Tara Angkor Hotel- A great place to stay if you are in Siem Reap!