Sometimes you just a change of pace.
Sometimes you just need to reconnect with the people you used to be a kid with to be kids again.
Sometimes you're so badly in need of both, you wish you could blow off work on Friday and leave for vacation one day early.
Or maybe that's just me.
Travel with people you actually like.
That way the long wait at the airport actually feels like fun; no mobile games, books or magazines required.
They'll also be the ones who order for you while you arrive fashionably late, just because you want something off the breakfast menu and won't make it in time before they change to the regular menu. And also not call you a diva when you walk back to Starbucks to get your coffee just because you insist McDonald's coffee makes your heart race.
Be secretly happy when the shopping isn't all that great - you're definitely not going to budget.
First stop: Johor Premium Outlets.
It was our first time there, but most of us have heard enough not to expect anything too amazing. And we were, as expected, not particularly wowed.
I went hoping to get myself a new pair of shoes for the gym, but no such luck. Both the Nike and Adidas stores seemed to have more clothes than shoes. Got quite excited at Nike for a second - my favourite designs of sports bras and shorts were on sale - but of course, they were not available in my size.
So, what were the pretty amazing deals we found at JPO? The deals on things I have absolutely no use for at the moment, of course. And one of them would come in the form of RM 100 for two super cute La Senza sets that would otherwise cost above RM 200 each (according to the store assistant, at least).
So, haul for the day: two super cute knickers from Victoria's Secret and a pair of cute peach-coloured jeans from Gap.
All the while, the boys were so sweet - no complaining whatsoever while the two of us shopped all afternoon. Or maybe it's because they got to hang out and talk about whatever it is they talk about when we girls aren't around.
Bring your own towel.
None of us really had much time to do much research for this trip. We just bought the flight tickets and that was that. So as the date of the trip drew nearer, a compromise between number of stars, our budgets and availability had to be made.
We ended up with Citrus Hotel in JB - ranked 13 of 73 hotels in JB on Trip Advisor, with 3.5 stars (4 stars on some travel review platforms).
Perhaps we should have done
more reading, and probably kept in mind that all these travel sites don't really award stars in a standardized manner, because four stars my little tushie.
Don't get me wrong, they have all the basics - staff were pleasant, beds were comfy, bathrooms are in perfect working order, and food is decent. So here's the rest of it:
About a week before we went on the trip, GM did some research because he was borrowing a colleague's MPV to fit the six of us comfortably during the trip. That was when we found out this hotel does not have its own parking. So be prepared to park along the street, if you can find any lots there, or in JB City Square, which was what we opted for.
So for RM 198 a night, you get no assurance that you'll get exactly the kind of room you booked, or that all your rooms will be nearby. However, the upside is if you've booked the smallest kind of room, this means you'll likely get bumped up into a bigger, better room if they run out of the kind of room you booked.
I ended up with the family room, which comes with a double bed and a single bed. And lots of empty floor space because there's no other furniture aside from the beds, a little table with your basic coffee-making needs, and a chair. Oh, and a TV mounted on the wall. The walls are pretty thin so don't expect to get away with laughing and cheering over drinking games - we got ourselves an angry shout from one of the neighbouring rooms.
So, to my upgraded room we go. The place has two lifts: a tiny one that just fits the six of us and our bags, with no wiggle room; and an even tinier one which just fits Jeff, our luggage, me and my claustrophobia.
It's also another one of those hotels that have bathroom doors that don't lock - like completely doesn't have a lock. What is with that? Seriously, is it so expensive to install a door that at least latches from the inside?
Jeff pretty much freaked out that I didn't bring my own towel, while I nonchalantly said that all hotels have towels, it'll be fine.
It wasn't.
First one I unfolded had stains on it.
Second and third ones were fine, although not quite as white as they should be. They also use that commercial detergent or softener that what seems like all cheap hotels use that smells like...er...some other liquid of similar consistency to softener.
Okay, tired. More on food and Legoland in my next post.
