Asian Tiger

Or else, you may end up like me during my recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, last week.  I ended up with almost no place to sleep or wash up.

I had an extremely busy schedule last week which included an overnighter business trip to Kota Kinabalu.  My secretary had tried booking all my favourite hotels but it seems like the hotels had a vengeance on me.  Radius International was fully booked; which I can relate to because its a boutique hotel tagging a normal hotel rate. I would recommend you this hotel if you ever make a trip there.  Promenade Hotel on the other hand, did not offer me the normal rate I pay but handed my secretary a RM208++ price tag; I, of course, rejected and got her to look for other hotels.

The resourceful lady called my counterparts in Kota Kinabalu and they suggested a number of hotels but they all carried price tags to which I would consider unreasonable.  In the end, my secretary booked me into Tang Dynasty Hotel located within Plaza Wawasan for a price of RM150++.  The hotel requested for my credit card number to confirm the booking but since I was engaged in meetings right up to the night, my secretary could not catch hold of me.  In the end, she wrote me a note with all relevant information including the credit card payment.

It was late at night and I was about to catch my flight to Kota Kinabalu, so, I thought, what the heck, I’ll just forget about paying and do that when I check into the hotel.  I arrived in Kota Kinabalu just past midnight and proceeded to the hotel in an airport taxi.

After an uneventful 15 minutes, I was at the hotel reception and provided the front desk officer with my booking number.  The booking was there alright but to my horror, she said the booking was canceled at 4pm because there was not payment made.  I said it was alright and just check me into their hotel room just like a walk-in guest.  She said “I’m sorry, Sir.  All rooms are fully occupied.  I only have the Business Suite with King Size bed.”.

I protested, I lamented, I showed her my colours, I was on the verge of screaming my heads off, I didn’t believe if what she said was true or was it a business tactic to sell these exorbitant rooms.  Here I was, at 1am, tired, unclean and look like wounded prey.  An easy meal for them to sell me their expensive room.

No way am I going to be slaughtered in the middle of the night.  I told the front desk to recheck her computer and give me a cheaper room or else I will walk out of the hotel and head over to Promenade Hotel which is a stone’s throw away.  She checked her computer, then acted up a surprised look and said that there was a family deluxe room which is significantly cheaper.  Feeling really tired, I accepted.

If only I had confirmed my room early, this kind of hassle would not happen but what I hated was the questionable upselling of hotel room to me.  So, if you are going on a trip, confirm your hotel early or else….

Thanks to nemo of Asiayak for a kind invite to participate in Asiayak’s Photo Contest. The winner stands to receive a return air ticket for any destination served by AirAsia. If you do not already know, AirAsia is Malaysia’s very successful budget airlines that fly regionally. They are poised to be the next major airline to fly long-haul on a shoestring but that’s another blog post altogether.

Back to Asiayak’s photo contest. Though the prize is an air ticket, should you choose not to accept that, you can opt for the cash prize of US$150; approximately RM517.00. Not bad for just submitting photos and praying for it to win.

Here’s my submission for the contest. I took this photo while sitting in a tour bus at a roundabout in Bali. The bus was driven at a high speed which made photography difficult. I’m glad the photo turned out alright save for some reflections visible at the bottom left.

Hope I can make it to the finals, if not winning the prize.  I urge you to participate in Asiayak’s photo contest; you never know if you’ll land that free air ticket for a nice vacation or cash money.

Finally, it has been 3 years since I have had a proper vacation. This year, I made a promise to treat myself to a well rested vacation. This time around, I will be taking a 5 days break, yes, pathetic huh, to call that 5 days of siesta - a vacation. My last vacation was a 21 days of well travelled around Scotland and Paris; an expensive vacation indeed.

In a few weeks time, I will be heading south to the mystical island of Bali; a Hindu majority population. This is going to be my second trip to Bali; the previous trip in 2003. Many of my friends have asked me why am I still keen on Bali especially when it has been bombed twice; they suggested holidays in Maldives instead. If you have been to Bali, you will understand why I’m going back there as opposed to any other beach destinations; mainly the people and the culture - it’s fascinating.

I’ve planned out my trip. Over the 5 days, I shall leisurely visit 3 places in Bali that has been nominated as Unesco’s World Heritage sites; the Pakerisan riverbanks near Gianyar, Jatiluwih’s terraced paddy fields and the Taman Ayun Temple of Mengwi’s. Apart from visiting these places, I will want to go diving for mola-mola, south of Bali.

Ever since the bombings, Bali has virtually quiet down. Traders and tour operators have slashed prices downwards to capture as many suckers tourists as possible. At the same time, quality of service keeps improving to maintain high tourist satisfaction; in a bid to encourage repeated business and word of mouth advertisements. I’m getting impatient; just can’t wait to get to the white sandy beaches once more.