Johor Bharu

On the 19th August 2007, my family and I went to Johor Bharu. Husband had to go for his usual weekly work trip and because it was the school holidays, we decided to join him. This time round, with Dr. Nur's advice we decided to stay at the Hyatt Regency Johor Bharu. The top photo is the Clock tower in front of the Hotel. Husband says that is the largest working clock tower in South East Asia. Don't know where he got that information from. Following are some photos from our hotel room. We had a sea-view room. The main reason for choosing Hyatt was because of the pool. It had a larger pool and the pool had shady trees, compared to Puteri Pacific, the water at Hyatt's pool kept cool even at noon.

The next photo above is Hospital Besar Sultanah Aminah. As we arrived late evening, I didn't realize that we were so close to the hospital. All night there were traffic noises. If you drive pass the hospital at night it looks like Kingdom Hospital... I am sure there are stories to be told as the hospital is one of the oldest and probably one of the biggest in Malaysian.

The last photo is the scenery right in front of the hotel. I haven't had a chance to research about the site, but as I may be going to JB later during the longer school holidays, I will gather more information.

Staying in Hyatt Regency was a nice experience. The room was spacious and the air conditioning was not freezing. We could simply spread out the bedpread on the carpet and accomodate the 2 kids. As the hotel was fully booked we couldn't get spare beds, but it was alright. However, the problem was always breakfast. The coffee house where breakfast was served is beautiful but cramped. There is always not enough tables and I had to always wait for a place. The buffet area was way too tight. You can't help bumping into someone else when you are going around plating and choosing what you want for breakfast. The selection is also quite limited and with little variety daily. However, the wait staff are friendly and they do try to accomodate your requests.

The hotel, location wise, is not so favourable if you don't have a car. Unlike Puteri Pacific, where it is adjoining to Kota Raya, staying in Hyatt means that you are dependent on others to have lunch or dinner outside if you are without a car. Good thing I had Dr. Nur to help me out on that. Of course there are some food stalls and restaurants at a walking distance, but it is not conducive when you are with 2 small children.

This is Dr. Nur. She's my school mate and was my class mate for Form 1-3. She has her own clinic in JB and I have been visiting her during my trips to JB. Normally she will bring her 4 children to the hotel and swim with my 2 children. This time round, she took me to her clinic for a visit.

Redza playing patient and Doctor with Dr. Nur.

All the walls were covered with family photos or artwork by her children or by herself. The photo above, you can see the pencil drawing of her youngest child in the corner. She drew that. WOW! An Artist trapped in a Doctor's body! ;-)

I had fun of course, apart from the stress of Nur's hubby waiting for the roast chicken to cook. Next visit I'll make sure more info of JB and also maybe a trip to Singapore!