Tuesday, September 05, 2006

UTM 37th Convocation Part 1

Over the last weekend, three significant events occurred that made a great impact on me: the Malaysian carnival sales came to an end, I went on a road trip with my family, and it was UTM's 37th Convocation.

Usually the photo-snapping-happy me would have lots of pictures, but due to some reason I didn't have the urge to shoot away during the course of events. Maybe it was it was my big day and I was having the pre-convo jitters. Or it could be because I desperately need a new compact camera. Blame it on the ego.

Anyway, I did have a good time with my family. Trips with all family members participating are getting rarer nowadays, and even though the car was a bit heavier, it was fun.

We stayed at the Zon Regency Hotel by the sea (formerly known was Eden Garden Hotel). Why is it spelt "ZON" and not "ZONE"? If it's an effort to promote the use of the national language, it sure is a dumb move. With the dodgy and dirty streets, tourists have other things to remind them that they're not in Singapore anymore.

Initially I had the impression that it was a 5-star hotel, making it a good place to stay, albeit the longer distance to Skudai. I realized that I was dead wrong when I was greeted with this.

Snakes on a Plane? Try Cockroaches in a Hotel Room!

I could see the little ones crawling onto the bed when I was about to sleep, attempting to challenge the much-larger species for bed space. Without mercy, I did my very best to annihilate them. Damn buggers. It was like a scene from Starship Troopers.

Other than the crappy room, the hotel was ok. They have this open space where you can see the lounge and listen to the live one-man-band from the corridors, if you're too cheap to actually get a drink at the lounge.

The other consolation that we got was the duty free shoping complex that was situated right next door. It used to be quite a rundown place without many visitors, and even after the refurbishing and renaming of the place, it still seems a bit desolated during the weekends.

Got myself a pair of Hush Pups, adding to the existing two pairs that I have. All merchandise there are sold at RM10 cheaper on top of the discount, woot!

Another puppy in the family.

Beers were selling cheap but the prices for other alcoholic drinks didn't seem to be much different. I bought a bottle of Bacardi Lemon and a couple of beers, which I downed the night before my convo. And I slept like a baby.

Technorati tags: johor bahru, zon regency, utm, convocation

thought completed at 9:33 PM | 3 comments

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