Itinerary for Malaysia-Singapore-Indonesia Trip 2014

I've done, by far, my most complicated travel to date, that is the three-country, one-week trip that together with my travel buddies, we've done last February, 2014. Now here's the itinerary we've had for that trip. I've revised some of it because some activities we've done and some are not due to factors that are unexpected.

The pool area of Colmar Tropicale

Day 1     Feb. 16      8:00 p.m.       Manila Departure

             Feb. 17     12:00 a.m.      Kuala Lumpur Arrival

                              7:00 a.m.      Breakfast / Visit Petronas Tower

                             10:00 a.m.     Berjaya Times Square

                                                 Shuttle to Colmar Tropicale

                              3:00 p.m.      Check-in Colmar Tropicale

                              3:30 p.m.      Free time / Rest / Sightseeing

                              7:00 p.m.      Dinner

We've arrived at midnight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and from there, we took a bus to the KL grand terminal. Since most establishments and the terminal itself were closed, we did what the locals do: find any cafes open, in our case, McDonalds, and there we could have some shut-eye. Many locals were there sleeping, too, waiting for daylight and the staff don't care! Awesome! Save some money from hotels.

Day 2      Feb. 18       7:00 a.m.        Breakfast

                               8:00 a.m.        Japanese Garden / Animal Park

                              12:00 p.m.       Check-out Colmar / Shuttle back to KL

                               2:00 p.m.        Check-in at Hostel Cosmopolitan

                               3:00 p.m.        Batu Caves

                               5:00 p.m.        Bukit Bintang, Petaling Street,

                                                    Petronas Towers by night

                               

Since it was raining and the weather seems to be getting bad, we've skipped the activities from 3:00 p.m. onwards and just settled in and rest at the hostel. We can't do anything when it comes to Mother Nature.

Day 3       Feb. 19       3:00 a.m.        Shuttle to KLCC Airport

                                8:00 a.m.        Kuala Lumpur Departure

                                9:35 a.m.        Singapore Arrival

                               12:00 p.m.       Day tour (Haw Par Villa, Botanical

                                                     Gardens, Marina Bay Sands)

Day 4       Feb. 20      9:00 a.m.        Breakfast 

                                                            11:00 a.m.       Shuttle to Airport

                                2:30 p.m.       Singapore Departure

                                3:30 p.m.       Jakarta Arrival

                                4:00 p.m.       Travel to Taman Safari by car

                               11:00 p.m.      Check-in Taman Safari Caravan Lodge

Day 5       Feb. 21    7:00 a.m.       Breakfast

                             8:00 a.m.       Safari adventure / animal encounter

                             3:00 p.m.       Travel by bus from Puncak to Jakarta

                             5:00 p.m.       Check-in Hotel 55

Day 6       Feb. 22    8:00 a.m.       Breakfast     

                             9:00 a.m.       Taman Mini Indonesia Indah

                            12:00 p.m.       Lunch

                             2:00 p.m.       Pasalubong shopping

                             6:00 p.m.       Dinner / Rest

Day 7       Feb 23     8:00 a.m.       Breakfast

                             9:00 a.m.       More pasalubong shopping

                            12:00 p.m.      Check-out Hotel 55

                             5:00 p.m.       Travel to Soekarno Hatta Airport

Day 8       Feb. 24    12:00 a.m.     Jakarta - Manila Departure

             

Our itinerary in Indonesia is not that hectic because we didn't expect heavy rains. We stayed at our hotel and, luckily, it's nice despite the bad weather.

Happy travels!

Day 2: The Brekkie, The Japanese Garden and The Animal Park at Colmar Tropicale

After our first well-rested night at Colmar, I prepared myself for a long day ahead. I woke up early, excited, not of the activities of the day but because of the breakfast. 

We were guided by the staff to the buffet breakfast and I can say, for the hungry, it's a food haven. So many choices that I could not decide what to eat first. 

Needless to say, I stood for my second serving! I'm full already but I can't seem to stop eating!

Pasimple lang getting my second serving.... 

After that well-deserved brekkie, we strolled the village again while waiting for the van that will take us to the Japanese Garden. 

The view from the lobby while waiting for the shuttle van

The shuttle van

For RM12, you get to enter the French village, Japanese Garden and Botanical Garden. It's build to mimic how a garden will look like in Japan, nice for photos and you can rent a kimono for RM20. Other than that, nothing much. It's just a garden on top of a hill. Oh, and there's a lot of uphill walking.

After we check out of the resort, since the check-out time is 11 a.m., we left our bags at the safety of the lobby staff before we went to see the Animal Park. It's almost noon but we've managed to take time to go see it. Well, the brochure said "animal park" so we expect to see animals, as in lots of them and in numbers. But imagine our disappointment, Steph, Jen Mitch and myself, that there's only a couple of deer and rabbits on the site! OMG, I should have just rented Bambi and watch it in my room, or I should have just buy a rabbit's foot for luck! In which case, well, photo op is a must since we're already there!

Disappointed in the the animal park but I enjoyed the swing like a kid!

But overall, our two days in Colmar is amazing. It's normal to be disappointed sometimes because that's life. No travel is ever perfect and there will always be bumps along the way. 

See you soon, Colmar! Now it's time for us to go down Kuala Lumpur.

Happy travels!

Day 1: Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills, Malaysia 2014

Hello, Malaysia! It's a breezy February night when we arrived at KLIA. This is my first time travelling with my office mates Jen, Steph and Mitch and I've organized the trip so I'm a bit nervous about that. It's the beginning of our one-week, three-country backpacking adventure. First stop: Colmar Tropicale, Berjaya Hills, Kuala Lumpur.

The facade of the village from the entrance.

Inside Colmar...

Colmar Tropicale is a French-themed village replica of the original one in France. It is 2,700 feet above sea level amidst 80 acres of rainforest with its medieval and picturesque surroundings that brings you back to an era steeped in culture and romance. We opted to stay for two days to give ourselves ample time to check out the place and have as much photo op as we like.

Our room was awesome! We've avail their two-room en suite with bath tub and a nice view with it! 

After a much-needed rest from our midnight flight and almost two hours of land travel (mind you, there are so many zigzag roads to reach it!) we went to check out the whole village.

On travels like this, after sightseeing and so many photo ops, we're hungry. So we dined out at the L' Orient, one of the five restaurants inside the village.

It's a very great first day for us! After dinner, we'll take our leave and be awed at the comfort of our room as we sleep the night away. Tomorrow will be another awesome day at Colmar Tropicale!

Happy travels!