It all started one fateful morning, as we hauled our luggage in the car, I could hardly contain my excitement. Our faithful battered Proton Ertiga purred as it shot out of the garage. The trees flew past along with the scenery as we roared past Kuala Lumpur. Our first stop was Muar, a town in Johor Bahru, for its beautiful murals. Since I knew the drive would take over 3 hours, from Puchong to Johor, I got out a book and started reading. However, after 15 minutes or so, a wave of nausea overcame me, forcing me to look outside with a green face.
Slowly, the wild of nature got replaced by the industrial look of Johor. Now, different people picture different images in their minds when the word ‘Hotel’ is said to them, and I am one of those who picture a place which makes a home look dirty and dull in comparison, so imagine my shock when we pulled up to a tiny, dingy apartment. I practically froze in shock. However, the interior was rather livable in, at the very least.
We dumped our luggage in our room and trooped out towards the car. We were going to head towards the fabled murals of Muar, which were conveniently located a few streets away. We pulled up at a street, parking next to a carpet shop. I clambered out of the car and stifled a gasp. The murals were so beautiful, they made reality seem bleached and washed out. We strolled along the alley, taking loads of pictures and marveling at the splendor of the artwork. Slowly, we made our way back to the car, to explore the other alleyways. However, it seemed that all the other alleys were filled with pictures of modern cartoon characters, and they weren’t worth taking pictures of. so I and my mum made our way back to the car, while my dad lingered around to see if any of the other alleys were worth our time. While we were in the car, my mum seemed to take an interest in some carpets for display, so she purchased 3. Once my dad was back, we sped off to our next destination, Tanjung Emas, a popular location for tourists. There was a splendid view of the sea from there, and there was a golf course nearby. My dad took out our drone, a DJI Air 2s, and took some sweet shots from the course, mostly of grassy hills, to be completely honest, and then we got out of there, setting course for our hotel. Then, we trekked to a nearby restaurant chain called US Pizza. Now, many of you readers might have had a different experience with them, but I had one completely different. Here is my full review of US Pizza.
First, the prices. The amount of money we needed to pay to obtain only a wee couple of items soared well over RM100. I was regretting coming here even before I had seen the food. Next, it took them an abominably long time to serve us our food, which was; 1 personal Pizza, 1 Cheese Boat, 1 glass of lemon tea, 1 pitcher of ice tea, and 1 plate of Crazy Garlic Stix. The drinks came well before the food, and while they did make a nice tea, that didn’t make up for the wait. Next, when our food came, I developed a saying: “The Picture, and the Product.”. Basically, I’m saying that the picture and the product are the same things, but the picture is more glorified, and the product is basically disheveled. Makes sense? No? Back to the story. Anyway, the personal pizza was the size of a saucer and had hardly any sauce on it. the toppings were very dry. As dry as the desert. The crust was jagged and sharp, and if you weren’t careful to chew, it could hurt bad. The cheese boat was essentially glorified Four Cheese Pizza, but with more cheese, so it actually was steaming and liquid-ish. According to the ad, it also had ‘Premium Butter Spread’. That was the only tasty thing, besides the tea. The ‘Crazy Garlic Stix’ were just hard-baked breadsticks with the sauce they use to make garlic bread coated on it. The breadsticks themselves were hard and almost unchewable. I was glad when we left. We crashed at the hotel at around 11:00, after packing our suitcases, and woke up early the next day to head to Desaru: our next destination.
We were looking at a long trip, so we got up early, as mentioned before. Instead of taking the usual long stretch, we were stopping at a few beach locations. First, we went to a kopitiam, (Malay coffeehouse) famous for it’s toast. Next, after a 52 minute drive, we stopped at a beach named ‘Pantai Teluk Wawasan’ where we just took some pictures. Next we stopped at ‘Hentian Sebelah Kulai South Bound’. After that, we went straight to our resort, which was called ‘Tunamaya Beach and Spa resort’. Apparently, it was a very good resort. Rumors said it had a swimming pool. Who knows? We were rapidly approaching and I was very tense. What if it were another dingy chalet filled with endless specimens of dung beetles? 7 kilometers. 6 kilometers. 5 kilometers. 4 kilometers. 3. 2. 1. We pulled up at some towering gray buildings. I was still doubtful. We passed a security guard. A little less doubt. We drove into a massive arc that connected to a squat building. I saw the interior. And my doubt vanished. It was polished, and shining, and so luxurious. We checked in, and there was an infrared camera instead of the regular contactless thermometer. I enjoyed that. There were some sofas for waiting, and welcome drinks were on a table. Right beside the lobby was some land, and the beach around a kilometer away, and a pool. In the center of the pool, there was a tiny restaurant, designed so that people could sit in the water and eat. There were cool bridge arcs leading to and from the kitchen. The kid pool was fenced off. It. Was. Awesome. After a short wait, we received keys to our suite. We slowly made our way up the floors. Ding! I stepped outside. The hallways leading to the rooms had massive long windows. Our room was a little way from the elevator. My dad unlocked the door and I trooped inside. I gasped. It was stunning. There were large toilets, a huge bed, and a fair sized balcony. There was also a television, and a smaller bed. Lamps provided ambient lighting, and a beautiful gradient against the harsh sunlight of the beach. I sauntered into the room, and kicked off my shoes. I strolled to the bedside table, and picked up the remote. The television was set to Boomerang. Touché. The bathroom was normal enough, except for the massive toilet, as mentioned before. I started changing to beach attire, and when I was ready, watched TV while waiting. When we were all ready, we trooped down to the beach. My mum, because of her leg injuries, hung back awhile, while me and my dad went to muck around in the sea. However, I wanted to build with sand, so I went back to the shore. The sand was white and slightly moist. Perfect for building. I satrted to dig a trench, to make a wall. I had made around 12 centimeters, when my mom also went to the sea, and told me to watch her handbag. I nodded. Then, I was back to building. When I was done, my castle had a huge wall, a watchtower, and I was going to start on a main building, when my parents returned. Then, I got up, and returned with them to the pool, feeling the warm sunshine on my back.
After swimming, we trekked upstairs, and took nice, long showers. I was kind of gloomy already, but my dad announced it was lunchtime. So I, with some hesitation, put on my jeans instead of my pyjamas. After some searching, we screeched to a halt next to a restaurant dubbed “Di Laksmana”. There were huge cages, filled wih shrimp as big as my forearm. Next to the tables were bathtubs filled with eels. We plopped down at a table. A waiter gave us a menu. Nothing looked eye-catching, or flashy, so I picked out a Nasi Goreng USA. The waiter ambled off grumpily. After a short while, a steaming platter of rice arrived. My dad’s meal. Next, my mom’s meal arrived. Then, my meal arrived. It was a steaming lump of rice that threw aroma in the air, surrounded by little mini sausages, finished off by a huge burger patty, with a side of coleslaw. I was so hungry, I didn’t think. I just ate. The rice was smashing. The sausages and patty were, well, normal. My belly got filled as quick as our car. After that quick, but satisfying lunch, we went back to the suite. My dad had driven all day, so he collapsed on the bed as soon as the door opened. I changed, and started watching Boomerang. Soon enough, I was falling asleep myself. Another day bit the dust.
The next day, I was just waking up when the sun was high in the sky. My dad was already downstairs to fly the drone, and my mom was hanging around to wait for me. I slapped some clothes on, and trooped downstairs. The breakfast was hosted at the hotel restaurant, which was located right beside the lobby. I dashed to the wafting smell of sausages, to meet the long train of buffet trays. I might have shed a tear or two in my awe. I rushed forward and started to try to pack the entire line on one plate. After the pile on my platter was a whopping 20 centimeters tall, and was on the brink of collapse, I sat down and dove in like a savage. However, even for a seasoned Chomper like me, the plate held a lot of food. I found my rythm slowing down gradually as I devoured more and more. Soon, I was glaring with a baleful eye at a single piece of toast. I was packed to the brim. I simply had no space. I was like a hard disk packed with videogames and files. There wasn’t a single metaphorical byte left in me. However, I forced my hand to pick up the toast. I, with great reproachfulness,
Please fininshsshshs