BARA BARA BUDGET SATUN HOTEL IN PAKBARA

After an elaborate discussion past the midnight hour on the phone with Mr. Ridwan Wahid, the driver of the road trip, we finally decided to stay at Bara Bara Budget Satun Hotel in Pakbara on the 21st November 2024.

Muslim friendly hotel room

I don't understand why the hotel classified itself as a budget accommodation, as everything was great.

The room was spacious and clean, and was well taken care of.

The swimming pool was awaiting as you opened your room door.

There was a coffee maker machine near the swimming pool and you could get free-flow of your coffee and other drinks as well. The hotel actually served some food for breakfast for the guests [first come first served] as well as other snacks at the same spot.

We even had breakfast at an open area near the swimming pool the next day [READ HERE].

The [young] Malay ladies at the reception counter could not speak Malay though but they could converse in English.

The parking area was like a one-minute walk from the hotel, near the 7-Eleven store.

All in all, it was a pleasant stay at the hotel. One thing to improve was to at least have an iron to be used by the guests. Mr. Ridwan's wife could not iron her hijab/head scarves to be worn the next day.

Another point worth mentioning is that the hotel was near the pier to Koh Lipe Island. We met five young women from Malaysia who put up a night there before taking a boat to the island across.

[MY HATYAI/SATUN TRIP MAIN PAGE]

THE SPECIAL EVENT FOR THE RETIREES ORGANIZED BY JOHOR BAHRU DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICE

A special event was organized by the Johor Bahru District Education Office for the academic and non-academic staff who had already retired and will be retiring soon. As for me, I have been a retiree for 11 months already.

The event was held in Yanalis Club & Cafe in Puteri Harbour, Iskandar Puteri.

I met a few friends there, but there were people who did not turn up for the event.

First, there was Puan Suhana Suratman, an ex-colleague of SMK Taman Universiti.

Then, I met Mr. Armugam who sat at the same table, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar.

A friend of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia [UPM] who was doing her Bachelor Degree in Counselling, Puan Hafsah, was also there.

It was just a brief function and I had to get some other food which was more filling at other place right after leaving the venue. That should be the very last party related to my retirement, in the last month of 2024.

THE STAY AT APA HOTEL KOBE-SANNOMIYA

APA Hotel Kobe-Sannomiya was the accommodation during my stay from 18th - 24th July 2024.

First of all, only one person was allowed in the room, and it was called a business hotel if I am not mistaken.

The room was really small. There was no space for me to move around. From the entrance to the window, there was only one small space for one person to pass. Perhaps the Japanese were trying to maximize the use of space so that they could have more rooms in the building.

Despite the size, the room was well equipped with all the necessary facilities for a traveler.

Even the lobby occupied a small space on the ground floor.

the view from the window: daytime

I realized, at night, when I looked out of the window, I could spot a sail boat and the word KOBE in the air (which were on the hill/mountain).

One reason I would stay at this hotel would be of its strategic location which was near to Sannomiya Station. The staff there were also quite helpful and they could converse and communicate in basic English.

[MY KOBE TRIP MAIN PAGE]

THE [HALAL] GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE AT KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

   24TH JULY 2024    ~ The first mission at Kansai International Airport was to find this [halal] UDON restaurant I visited back in 2017. Nevertheless, I just could not find it and I found the whole airport was something different from the last time I came.

So I had to hunt high and low for any halal shops in the airport as I was getting hungrier after arriving before the sun rose. I ended up asking the information desk and was told there was only one halal eating place there.

Firstly, I had to go to this lane with the sign TASTY STREET [which I found a bit funny] where there was the food court.

There was a row of stalls selling all kinds of food but there was this only one stall with HALAL FOOD RESTAURANT sign, which should be a big relief for me.

I had a bowl of rice and also a bowl of noodles. Actually I had ordered the wrong food combo. Instead of buying either one, I bought both. I had to choice but to enjoy the last meal in Japan before leaving.

The gastronomic adventure at the airport should wrap up my trip to Kobe, Japan, this time. One thing for sure, I am going to miss all the real Japanese [halal] food after this.

[MY KOBE TRIP MAIN PAGE]