The Blue Coral Aquarium

*This entry follows the set from our outing in September 2015 to celebrate my Mum's birthday at KL Tower*

Conveniently placed right at the entrance of the KL Tower, the aquarium offered something different.

They had more than a dozen tanks in the place, with species ranging from the children favourite the clownfish - Nemo - to a small shark. Quite colourful and I must admit that my children enjoyed it.

Quite a nice detour after having lunch at the revolving restaurant ...

Entrance fees was rather steep at RM12, but it was not too bad. The staffs were mainly foreigners though making communication somewhat "challenged" at times. Since space was rather limited, the aquarium could get a bit crowded as you would have to double back on one of the ends before you get to the exit.

It was no Aquaria but it was not half bad ....

The KL Tower

The last time we had a meal at the revolving restaurant must have been a couple of years back. It was under a different management and the food then was better than when we visited recently.
On the plus side, there was a few new attractions - the old Blue Coral aquarium and F1 simulator were still there - including a new mini-zoo. There was also a new platform opened with shops and space for cultural dances and activities, dubber the 1Malaysia Cultural Village. There was also a crane pulling up a table for dinner should you wished to have your dinner dangled up in the air. Not my cup of tea however!

The Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve had now been reopened and one can walk down the hill via a jungle trail from the tower. Certainly the tower had plenty of things going for it at the moment.

Not much of a view unfortunately with the haze ...There are a few taller ones ....But, the management would have to be more slick. There was the perennial issue with parking which was a pain. Luckily this time around Julia booked a spot with the valet. And booking our table at Atmosphere 360 was a bit of an ordeal. I had to personally turn up there to finalise the booking as initially the management insisted on me paying the 50% deposit. I wouldn't mind paying the deposit but I had to either bank in the money into their account and email them the receipts, or alternatively give them my credit card details, which included a photocopy of the card front and back! That would be silly don't you think.

So, I might as well turn up there and pay up front. And then there was the surcharges for the window seatings and the fact that they could only accommodate up to 10 on a single table. We were in a party of 11! So we had to book 2 tables, and had to pay the surcharges twice!

Do not look at the sun!My Dad having a peekCoupled with a limited selection of food and lack of a la carte menu, bringing kids would not be much fun. The lunch buffet package cost around RM90, and dinner package cost twice that. I guess you would be paying for the novelty factor.

I wished that the management could get their activity streamlined fitting with their status as one of the premier destination in Kuala Lumpur. And another thing, I could see that although the locals made the majority of the front line staff members, there were plenty of foreigners about. What impression would this give to our visitors?

Happy Birthday Alya

Julia's youngest daughter turned 9 yesterday, and they had a party near their place in Kajang. I was lucky that I was able to make it since I was on call the evening before. Otherwise, Anita and the boys would have to get there themselves.

Alya was clearly happy as plenty of her friends turned up. Her presents were picked by the boys and hopefully they realised what she liked.

Part of the games. And my belt was off as well! Luckily my pants didn't fell off!

Initially Irfan joined the games, but after being kicked out after the second round, he went quiet and clang on to Anita for the rest of the party. Idlan however was having fun! Anita was picked to play one of the games for parents and luckily, although she lost, she didn't have to do anything silly!

The restaurant provided the games and the mascot came along of course for good measure. My Dad got picked on for his white hair. The staff kept calling him Colonel Sanders!

The mascot meeting AlyaTime for cakes!

My Dad, Colonel SandersThe cucus

I was the photographer as usual, and luckily I could still focus after the long hours last night. I was snoring away be the time i reached the car for the ride home ....

Mum's Birthday

My Mum turned 67 today. She had been blessed with good health the past year after her heart issues from 2013. She was keeping active with friends and all and in the last had done some traveling as well.

So, my Sister and I brought her out to lunch, taking the whole clan along. The revolving restaurant was the one on top of the KL Tower, called Atmosphere 360. It was a great occasion although the thick haze and poor visibility took away the gloss off the venue somewhat.

The place had changed since we last been there. The menu seemed different and the place had undergone some make-over since. After dinner, we had a quick look at the observation tower - but again, there was not much to observe due to the haze!

Next we stopped at the aquarium and a mini zoo at the bottom of the tower. A real day out for the kids, Mum was happy that everybody was there.

Simple Birthday

This year around, my birthday fell towards the end of Ramadan. Obviously Raya takes priority hence there were no celebration or anything like that. Just a simple berbuka at home, with some cakes.

That's the best way to celebrate your birthday anyway.

An for the present ......