Deluxe Queen Room 2641 in Tower 2 - Back Again in 2024 @ KSL Hotel and Resort in Johor Bahru in Malaysia

Once the borders reopened, I have been an even more frequent visitor of Johor Bahru in Malaysia and my record can be almost weekly at one point. As usual, KSL Mall is a must visit for the massages and earlier this year; I even booked a staycation at KSL Hotel and Resort! 

My last stay was almost seven years ago so I guess it's timely for an update, especially with the deterioration of Holiday Villa that was pretty obvious for my stay last year. 

Most people would recognize the set of lifts which would be the nearest to the hotel check in lobby, and opposite Starbucks. The above set was for Tower 1 and ones for Tower 2 was all the way at the back! 

Room assigned: 2641. Do bear in mind that the highest floor was 27. Nowadays, I would indicate under special request, when I book online, that I would prefer higher floor, and extra pillows! 

Lift landing on 26th floor.

Opposite would be Tower 1.

Corridor was the dim kind but the windows on both ends brought in much natural illumination that somehow made such corridors less eerie. 

Room

Room 2641; knock knock and we were in! 

At 26 square meters, this Deluxe Queen Room wasn't huge although sufficient enough. Bed was  so comfortable; Alex almost wanted to ask about the brand so that he can replace the one at home! 

Pathetically small table although not an issue for me since I don't use. Alex is a heavy user since he has the tendency to buy snacks and binge while watching television.

View in front of us. 

Better remain fully clothed.

Swimming pool right below us. 

View outside our room over two days. 

For this staycation, we booked for two nights.

Across the water, where the three chimneys were, would be Singapore. I always wonder how the Coast Guard plans their patrol routes and maintains surveillance to prevent illegal crossing since the Johor Strait isn't that wide and I am confident people can easily swim across. 

Pretty small television screen, on stands, together with the provision of in-room safe and mini fridge. Since I have the tendency to bring along my laptop, in case of emergency whereby I need to work, the safe is a must-have for me.

Wardrobe with ironing board and iron.

Electric kettle and bottled water.

Now the washroom. Basic toiletries but I must say the bottle of shower gel was too small and a squeeze almost dispensed half of its content! That's too little, especially since Singaporeans have the tendency to shower twice a day! 

Toilet with non-electronic bidet! As I have mentioned a few times, I am surprised that most hotels don't provide this. Think about the amount of toilet paper you would save; that's cost saving and also a drive to sustainability! 

Bathtub with rainfall shower. As you can probably see, there were mold at the edges of the bathtub and given the strength of the showerhead, the flooring was guaranteed to be wet after shower! In addition, the shower screen had a smell. Adding to the complaints was that the towels were too thin! 

Gymnasium

Rules and regulations as above; I think this is the first time I am reading that "anyone with any kind of bad skin condition would be prohibited from using the gym"! Pimples considered as bad skin condition?

Before you step into the section with gym equipment, you would notice one table tennis table and one pool table. So instead of being term as a gym, I would say this is more an activity centre! 

An easier to read notice.

Love the "spare a thought for others".

Gym equipment were varied and for the price I am paying for the hotel room; absolutely worth every cent. Personally, this would be one of the main reasons for choosing KSL Hotel and Resort in the future.

Pool

Well, having a pool in the middle of two towering blocks filled with hotel rooms isn't a great idea for those who prefer a bit of privacy. Anyway, it's not huge and generally more popular with families. 

There's this Dinosaur Water Theme Park that's just next to the pool; separate admission charges at RM 20.00 per person (regardless of adult / kid). It's not that expensive although again, I would prefer paying more for a bigger one with more rides and features.

Floats were not for free?! 

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Address

33, Jalan Seladang, Taman Abad, 

80250 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

Map

As above 

Pricing

Deluxe Queen Room - S$72.18 a night

(booked via Trip.com)

Additional Information

One key advantage staying at KSL Hotel and Resort would be its proximity to the KSL mall, which was literally just downstairs! And I kid you not, Singaporeans can spend the whole day in the mall, without even stepping out. 

Another advantage; for most hotels, we would have to check out by noon. And if you are not keen to return to Singapore so early, you can deposit your luggage at the concierge so that you can continue to eat and shop at KSL mall to your heart's content! 

Painted Animation Lane (動漫彩繪巷) @ Taichung in Taiwan

Before video streaming gained traction in my life, a lot of my precious time was spent on books; specifically comic books that were highlights of my growing-up years.

I was therefore quite excited when the tour guide for my recent Taiwan trip mentioned we would be visiting a lane that was filled with drawings of comic characters! It would no doubt be a nostalgic walk down memory lane! 

Known in English as the Painted Animation Lane, this attraction wouldn't take too much of your time as it wasn't very long. Even for us, it was only a 15-minute stopover. 

First thing that greeted us was this mini bus stop that reminded me of a scene in the anime film, Totoro! Aside from comic books, I am a fan of anime films by Studio Ghibli! p.s. would love to visit its theme park in Japan if there is an opportunity! 

Old Master Q; these should be the earliest comic characters I remember as the comic books were always present in barber shops, where we can indulge in the comic series while the barbers cut our hair. 

The artist made full use of the surroundings to work his magic; it could be an empty wall, a shop shutter or even the zinc protection for a building! By the way, do you know that Painted Animation Lane is the work of just one man!?

SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons; both are American cartoon / animated series that I don't really follow, even though I am aware of their existence! 

I am more acquainted with Super Mario; a game that got me fixated on video games unless my poor skill forced me to decide that I just didn't have the knack for it, and go back to reading comic books. How come there wasn't any Princess Peach?

My favorite comic, higher in ranker than Old Master Q, would be Crayon Shin-chan! From the first time I heard of this five year kid who was sexually mature in thinking, his comics brought a dose of sunshine whenever I am feeling sad. Even though I don't read Japanese, I had more than 40 books of the Chinese translated version. 

Deadpool; more an English comic but I guess most people know of unconventional hero from the movies, rather than the comics. 

How many comic characters can you identify from the above?! I counted Hamtaro, Astroboy, Sailor Moon, Pokemon, Ranma ½, Yi Xiu Monk, Bow Wow etc.

Likely from the hentai series. 

Supposed to be the most classic scene from One-Piece! Interestingly, I watched a few of its movies but never its comic books. A few friends actually recommended me to check out its animated TV series instead. 

I actually recognized the character on the right although I don't remember her name. I did recall she was in the most popular comic series in the 80/90's, Dragon Ball. 

Rockman - another video game that I failed miserably. 

Garfield and Popeye The Sailor Man; the former comic strips were classic whereas the latter was a cartoon which I eventually lost interest in as the storyline was always about the same.

Nostalgic scene from the Street Fighter Arcade Game! Those were the times where friends would share secret moves to win the match! Again, such games were not my forte. I am actually lousy in video games, preferring to play RPG instead.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Back in those days, I didn't have the money to buy comic books and it's much more economical to rent. Given my poor memory, I would usually rent an entire set when the series had completed, and read them over a few days / weeks. 

Naruto kindled the fantasy of ninjas but the books came out so slowly; I eventually gave up at about book 50 or so! Turned out the run was almost 15 long years! 

Humongous mural of One-Piece. The comic first started in 1997 and although it had been more than 25 years; do you know that the story has not ended?! Maybe I should buy this once it ends its run so that I can slowly indulge in its story after I stop working.

An impressive painting of Dragon Ball, with many notable characters! I can actually read traditional Chinese characters due to my appetite for comic books; many of which were translated in Taiwan / Hongkong, where traditional Chinese is used. 

The Painted Animation Lane came about because the owner of the above motorcycle store found that the exterior wall of his shop was too dull and decided to paint over it! The result was good enough to draw comments that encourage him to paint more! Obviously can see he is a fan boy for comics! 

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Address

Lane 100, Linsen Rd, West District, 

Taichung City, Taiwan 403

Map

As above. 

Location Map

As above.

Click HERE for the Summarized Itinerary for Our 8 Days 7 Nights See Iconic Taiwan Anew Tour Package via Chan Brothers