I woke up Friday feeling sluggish. The more-than-one-week on-off fever and sore throat looked like it was going to stay for a bit. But it's a holiday!! I wasn't about to just laze around the house and 'manjakan' myself. Mesti lagi sakit. Fresh air is what I need... in a matter of a blink of an eye, I prescribed myself a remedy... a road trip!!
The destination? I was game for anything... even driving up north to Penang. But the destination that kept coming back to mind is Morib. Yes, Morib. Why Morib? Because the last time I was there was when I was in Std 1 and I think it was two years ago that my mom went there with some of her persatuan group and came back with sooo many good words about the "new" place. Of course, at that time no one believed her!!
Well, perhaps my mom was right, I thought. I also felt Morib fit the bill for being a not-too-far yet a-world-away-from-KL destination. I needed to get out. I needed to breathe non-KL, non-Klang Valley air. And a road trip must be done!!
But to go on a road trip must have kaki, right? I immediately called my cousin who is a travel junkie herself, going on travels around the globe like four times a year - kalau negara2 dimana AirAsia go to, is like every other month.
But I knew I'd be challenged with Morib. I mean, come on. Who wants to go to Morib, right? hehe... True enough, the voice on the other line screamed, "hah!! Morib????" kih3...
She tried to persuade me to go to Malacca instead, since she's been eyeing a particular framed set of Baba Nyonya porcelain spoons for the longest time. It was love at first sight for her. But she had never actually seen the spoons in person. She had fell in love with them from the photo I took at one of the antique shops on Jonker Walk on my last visit there!!
While talking on the phone, we were both on the net googling for places. I said ok for Malacca provided we can stay at one of the quaint boutique hotels on Jonker itself - the two I know being Heeren House and Puri Hotel. Found their phone numbers and called -- no luck!! full house.
Deep in my heart, I still wanted to check Morib out. Don't ask me why. I just wanted to. There were very few hotels which I found through the net - Impian Morib.. called them and they were full. Found a bungalow for rent -- it said "perfect for a family of 5 and more".. called them and they were full. I asked the auntie on the other line if she could recommend other accomodations in Morib and she said Hotel City in Banting, 15 minutes from Morib.
Called my cousin again and she suggested Colmar Bukit Tinggi. I said, yeah maybe for a day trip only as the food there sucks. Hehe. She agreed with me. Kama Lodge, Taiping (never been there, but have seen photos of it - lawaaa) a tad too far la pulak... in the end I convinced her, let's do Morib. And I said we could do a little visit to historical royal town of Jugra near Banting (been there before and was awed by the building) and that sealed the deal!!
Then it was, "I drive, you drive?"... I volunteered to drive since she actually just went for a torn knee ligament operation less than 3 weeks ago!!
So the girls and I packed our bags, I picked her and younger sis up (they live 5 minutes away from me), dropped my maid off at mom's (tak muat kereta) and we were on our way to M-O-R-I-B!!
An hour and a half later we were in Banting... we passed by Hotel City... your typical 2* (!!) hotel... and decided we should drive straight to Morib to check out the beach and redah any resorts we may find there -- who knows (we pray) they just might have rooms available for walk-ins.
And then we saw Hotel Impian Morib... the one which was full on the phone... tried our luck and alhamdulillah... they had one last sea-view chalet available and we took it!! It was clean, new and quite cantik, really...
After checking in and having lunch in Banting town, we went to Pantai Morib. Surprise, surprise... it was c-l-e-a-n... the beach was really nothing to shout about, and airnya bukanlah biru but it was clean and teratur. And serenely peaceful. Big Banyan trees line up the driveway to the beach.
My model by default with a Banyan tree in the background. Photo below: Pantai Morib. Serene, isn't it?
The windy weather was perfect for kite-flying and many in the crowd were doing just that. The girls begged for one and flew one themselves in no time...
After the visit to the beach, we went back to our hotel (250 metres away) and the kids continued their fun in the swimming pool while mommy took a walk with her camera.
We stayed indoors Friday night and ordered food in while watching OIAM finals on tv. It rained Saturday morning and that hindered us from going again to the beach in the morning. We could see the beach from our chalet and it was high tide and the waters looked angry. It soon stopped raining at about 10.30am and we decided to check out of the hotel, leave Morib and continued our 'adventure' in Jugra-Banting. Till I post stories and photos of what we did in Jugra/Banting, here are photos of the girls just before we left the hotel. Morib, we'll be back!! ;-)
18 comments:
At least you have been to Morib twice! I have never jejak my feet there pun. Always thought it is a waste of time to go to Morib, what with a poor review of the beach.
Hmm...your posting and pics have definitely change my perception of this place. The Impian Morib looks like a nice hotel to stay. It looks as good as any 3-4 star hotels in the East coast.
Thanks for sharing.
MHB,
Trips to Morib will be only be a short trip cos with my DH's family in Banting and Klang, they'll tell us its a waste of $$$ if we go to hotels.
It did not rain at all in Klang during the weekend. But it was rather cool so we had fun running errands during this long weekend.
Glad u had fun. We did too.
love,
it's such a nice place...and glad u guys had fun..
oh...ur girls nampak mcm anak mat salleh with the long dress and pretty hats...so sweet..hehe
MTT -- I don't blame you!! Though I was there once before this recent trip, I did not have a memory of it... just that I knew I'd been there before.
Impian Morib was nice, clean and new. You are right about it being at par with some of well-known resorts in east coast. What made this trip enjoyable and satisfying was the fact that we did not have any high expectations. I mean, what to expect from Morib, right? Morib exceeded our expectations, so to speak. And thank God!! ;-)
Aida -- if I knew you're familiar with the area, I would've asked you for directions!! In our excitement of being konon2spontaneous, we did not do our site search and ended up driving to cyberjaya, dengkil and baru jumpa banting!! ;-) but we didn't mind it, really... it was a trip where everything goes!!
LadyDi -- yes, it was a nice place and we enjoyed ourselves.
Macam anak omputeh?? hehe... gambar morib tu macam ala-ala Perth ke?? heheh
I've never been to Morib, maybe I shd try....for a short break. PD dah boring...
principal -- if you go, go without high expectations... takut nanti kecewa.
having said that, i would definitely go again with maybe a bigger group... what I noticed about the people at the beach was this: they were mostly locals and I assume being locals, they sort of have a sense of responsibility to keep 'their' place clean whereas PD every Tom, Dick and Harry flood the place and tinggal sampah sarap sebab mentaliti orang kita is jaga barang/tempat sendiri but tempat org lain lantaklah... well, that's just my observation.. it may not be accurate at all
OMG...the place is beautiful. Errr I'm one of those guilty ones who have not jejak my feet to Morib. After reading this, I think I'll gonna drag the kids here one of these days. Does Impiana Morib have a website? Any idea?
Kay -- I dare say that the place is nice... and for a nice seafood dinner you can drive to Bagan Lalang 40 mins away. Like I mentioned in my other comments, do not go with high expectations and you'll be surprised at what a rural town can offer.
I can't find any websites on it, but this is the closest:
http://www.pnsb.com.my/terkini/hotel_impian_morib.htm
If you google Impian Morib, you can also find other commendable reviews about the hotel.
Hmm.. I didn't know Pantai Morib is quite nice!
I always have this perception that it's dirty and not worth visiting. Hey, someone should do something about changing that perception coz I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way about Morib!
Thanks for the info & pictures.
MrsN -- I know!! yeah, that's what we all think of Morib kan?
Well, come to think of it, bagus jugak tak ramai orang flock that place so that those who actually go can really enjoy the peace and serenity of a rural town beach area!! ;-)
You know, photos can be deceiving.. are you sure you were in Morib? The Morib?? Hmmm... Not bad eh?
MHB,
My gawd u took the long way round lah hehehe tak perlah, at least u were there for an adventure jugak lah kan??? ehhehe
My DH kata Morib is going through a resurrgence amongst the local folks. But in actual fact the local prefer it to PD; PD too crowded.
We hardly go there cos day trip, so no hotel stays and hence no swimming ppol. My kids prefer pools than the beach.
Yes, Bagan Lallang yummmmmsssssss really honest to gawd fresh fish
jabishah -- hehe... I can understand your disbelief... yes, were in M-O-R-I-B!! the sleepy beach town near Banting tuuu... not bad at all..
Aida -- I do hope Morib can retain its rural charm... kalau dah jadi cam PD... TAK BEST!!!
next time g taiping yang Kamal lodge tu ek..it is beautiful..
Hi Miss FB -- yes, kalau ada rezeki memang nak check out Kama Lodge tu...
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