Entree Kibbles

Monday, August 31, 2026

Sunway Pyramid Hotel - Deluxe Room @ Petaling Jaya, Selangor [Malaysia]

Nowadays, when I travel to Genting Highlands, I prefer to fly instead, using the Seletar Airport to/fro Subang Airport route, via the propeller plane of Firefly Airlines, as I couldn't endure the long bus ride back to Singapore!

It would be too rushed from Genting Highlands to Subang Airport; hence, in my recent trip, we opted to stay a night at Sunway Pyramid Hotel, a four-star establishment, and took the opportunity to meet up a few of Alex's game friends.

Checking in and instead of getting a welcome drink; we were gifted a welcome cookie instead. Unlike those pre-packaged cookies, these were served warm with a taste similar to those from Subway! I am not complaining at all.

Collected our room keys!

Room Number 09134

Our deluxe room at 28 square meters on the 9th floor. Recently renovated in 2017, with over 600 rooms, our block was the shorter one; albeit nearer to the reception and main entrance.

Classy looking and fully carpeted, I did find the layout a bit strange as the first thing that greeted us immediately after entering the room was the double bed.

Typical room amenities that included the in-room safe, the mini-fridge, the electric kettle, and also an iron with ironing board. For me, the most important had to be the safe since I do bring along my personal laptop along when I travel.

Our room was supposed to have a window view and it sure did; although it looked out into the inner corridors, that didn't appear to be accessible, serving as an aesthetic purpose with no practical use for hotel guests. This to me, felt somewhat cheated.

The washroom seemed like it was based on the 1980s design; functional no doubt, and without a bathtub, which I can really do without as a walk-in shower is safer in my opinion.

Emergency escape plan for your reference.

A lot of rooms for just one level.

Gymnasium

The resident fitness center was located on the block right behind ours, and required taking another set of lifts to access. Decently sized; my issue was that it's pretty isolated and when I am the only one using the gym at around 9.00pm, it felt a bit too eerie.

You can opt to visit another gym at the sister hotel next door; Sunway Resort Hotel. A much pricier hotel, you would be guaranteed with a much bigger, bigger equipped facility.

There's even lemon-infused water!

Swimming Pool

Even though Sunway Pyramid Hotel had no swimming pool, you can also choose to visit the one at Sunway Resort Hotel. Pretty nice, with a cascading waterfall; the only disadvantage is its proximity to the buffet breakfast restaurant, and the gym.

Buffet Breakfast

Located at Sunset Terrance of Sunway Resort Hotel, this buffet breakfast was already included in our room package, with no option to opt out since I am not exactly a breakfast person and could do without.

However, if it is already part of the room pricing, I am not going to waste my money! To host all the guests from Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Resort Hotel, the restaurant had a lot of seating, with plenty to offer, from local delights to international cuisine like Middle Eastern.

Hope the above gave you a good gauge.

It's easy to miss out on the live stations as they were placed outside the air-conditioned area. In addition to the egg station, there were also stations for tosai and Swedish crepes.

I didn't have much, attacking more on the fruits. For the rest of the food, I thought they were okay; not really worth wasting my precious calories on.

One thing that I really enjoyed though; was the teh tarik!

There's even a section for kids, with their favorite food, at a height that's just right for kids to help themselves, like adults. Not sure if the parents were happy with the food selection though.

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A primary benefit to stay at either Sunway Resort Hotel or Sunway Resort Hotel would be the ease of access to Sunway Lagoon theme park, which should be considered as Malaysia's best, and most comprehensive given that one ticket gave you entry to "water, amusement, wildlife, extreme, scream, and Nickelodeon zones"!

Acc

ess for Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Resort Hotel, respectively. Since my annual pass for Genting Skyworlds had lapsed, maybe I should go for for the Sunway Lagoon theme park annual pass instead.

And maybe next time, I could book for the more atas Sunway Resort Hotel. Problem was that a recent accident at Sunway Lagoon theme park, and this kind of gave Alex the jitters and he is having second thoughts! Not for me though; an accident means the theme park will tighten safety even more, and that's beneficial!

Address

Persiaran Lagoon, Bandar Sunway,

47500 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Map

As above.

Website

https://www.sunwayhotels.com/sunway-pyramid/

Pricing

Deluxe Room - S$127.76

(via Agoda.com)

Sunday, August 30, 2026

Stopover at the Gate of Hai Van Pass Between Da Nang City and Hue City in Vietnam

Hai Van Pass is a 21-kilometer twisting mountain pass that has existed for almost 2,000 years and was historically a major connection between Da Nang City and Hue City, before the completion of a tunnel in 2005.

For any day trip to or from the UNESCO Heritage of Hue City, a stopover to at the ancient gate of Hai Van Pass is almost a guarantee, and that's the reason for my visit.

Let's climb up to the main gate of the military fortress that was built in 1826 during the Nguyen Dynasty. Many structures were actually destroyed during the Vietnam War, and they were only restored in 2024.

Honestly, I could have been persuaded that this arched entrance was undestroyed during the war as it looked too plain, too dated to feel that it was only rebuilt a few years ago.

Known as the world's most majestic gate by the emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, this outpost was strategically located at 500 meters above sea level, and this view looked out to the beautiful beaches of Da Nang City.

While there were security guards, it didn't seem to have a ticketing system. However, there were two sets of operating hours; summer and winter, which I would share at the end of this post.

Photo-taking by tourists.

No idea about the significance of this door.

Exploration time!

Not much shelter so load the sunscreen.

Spectacular views in front and behind us. As mentioned earlier, one view is southwards, pointing to Da Nang City, whereas the other is northwards, towards Hue City.

Those with sufficient time to spend can consider patronizing the shops below the attraction. For us, we were more keen to spend more time at the last imperial city of Vietnam.

Captivated by this vibrantly colored bug.

Those with hyperactive kids should be mindful of the seemingly invisible barricades and ease of accidental falls. I am afraid of heights; so am already attuned to the risk.

Didn't stop me from climbing higher though. My apparent carelessness is well known but to have survived so long in life is really a blessing. Nevertheless, you don't catch me bouncing all around at this are, like my usual self.

Yellow building; can't remember what's inside.

Bunkers in the area. Even though we also have bunkers in Singapore, many were sealed off, and I bet all of them wouldn't be able to command such a good view. p.s. Singapore's highest hill is less than 200 meters!

Nothing much inside the bunker anyway.

There's also a shrine that had a temporary shelter that totally looked out of place. Was it built simply as a shelter in event of wet weather?

According to the tablet within, it's an altar for the mountain god. Such a prestigious spot for a shrine; albeit a pretty small one.

As tourists to a country, we should always respect the rules and regulations. Despite being a maverick, I think it's hard to not to notice the barrier preventing visitors from going to the top of the archway.