The Secret Garden and The Rain Forests

At the lower ground floor of 1 Utama Megamall in Petaling Jaya, Selangor is a hidden gem known as The Secret Garden. To access this place, you need to look out for Secret Recipe Restaurant and the elevators are located just diagonally opposite. When inside the elevators, you can see that The Secret Garden is located on the UR floor which probably stands for 'Upper Roof'.

Above is my snapshot of the place near The Secret Garden where you can take free shots. It is only opened on weekends and public holidays from 10am to 10pm.

Just beside the free photography area, is this place with decorations of roses and pictures hung up, where I also took the liberty to snap another photo for posterity.

When you enter, you need to write your name for visitors and the time entered and an optional column for telephone numbers if necessary. This is the view that greets you when you step in. There is a palm tree with lots of planted plants that are carefully tended, trimmed and watered to as opposed those that grow wild along the riverbanks.

As you walk further up, you will see this large plants resembling banana trees with its large fronds, except that they are of another species.

You will also find colourful crotons greet you with its many varieties of hues like red, orange, purple, green, yellow, etc. My parents used to plant many crotons in our garden of the landed property. They are identified from the many colourful leaves of a plethora of varieties like those with pear-shaped leaves, twisted leaves and the like.

Halfway of the The Secret Garden is this hanging plant from the ceiling called 'Stringy Cissus' which are carefully cut to shape and allows the visitors to walk through at just the correct height. It gives a feel of romanticism as one walks under it that stretches for a few metres.

As you exit the Secret Garden, you will find the same elevator that brought you up and this is the graphic decoration of the lift. There is a facebook page to sign up for the Secret Garden.

As we exit the Secret Garden, and walk on the right side, we saw signs leading to The Rain Forests and followed the guide sign. This is the entrance to the Rain Forests which was near open dining concept restaurants. There were ponds and huge trees.

The architect must have designed The Secret Garden and The Rain Forests together to blend in the two at different spots for unique attractions only at 1 Utama Megamall.

One can also find koi fishes or Japanese carp hiding under a plant in the koi pond of The Rain Forests. At least you can experience the natural ecosystem within a shopping mall.

There are also waterfalls of 2 to 3 storeys height showing The Rain Forests at different levels with koi ponds at the bottom most floor. This wraps up our visit to 1 Utama for natural mother nature being grown here.

My Experience Staying at Vouk Hotel Suites

Above is a photo taken outside the exterior of Vouk Hotel Suites, an establishment owned by MBI, the owner of the now famous M Mall at Penang Times Square. During the Hari Raya Holidays from 6th to 7th July which happened to be my birthday on the first day of Raya, my partner and I stayed at this newly opened hotel located at the junction of Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah in Penang.

Being a new hotel suite, we parked outside in the compound of the hotel as there were a few parking bays. Potted plants were placed on the outside to spruce up the look and feel of the hotel.

Inside the lobby, there were intricately designed lotus flowers lights coming from the ceiling and also the floor with matching designs. They give a feel of luxuriousness to the interior of the hotel suites, which is the signature design of MBI - added with a touch of posh.

Inside the room of the topmost floor which is 10th floor, we went into the room using the card key and slot in the card to the holder to turn on the electricity and air-con. This is the queen size bed beckoning us to take a nap soon. The room is not too big and just right for 2 persons. It has an adjoining room separated by a locked door. However, voices and sounds from the next room was rather loud for a hotel such as this. Apparently, there is not enough sound proof added to the walls or ceiling.

Unlike most hotels where you have to pay for food inside the fridge, here it was complimentary at Vouk Hotel Suites. The cup noodles, tea sachets, bottled mineral water, mixed nuts, 2 cans of drinks and chocolate wafer were on the house - all for the taking home or dining there. One caveat though, after I had bathed and then it was my partner's turn to bath, the floor started to flood with an inch thick of water - apparently the water could not flow out smoothly in the water pipe. Other than this inconvenience, I think, it was rather worth it at RM 201 net inclusive of GST and other charges to stay here.

JOB - Just Over Broke

For many a JOB stands for 'Just Over Broke' and employees live from pay cheque to pay cheque. At the end of the month, the money is in bank account is almost finished and nil. How do I know this? Because I was also guilty of living beyond my expenses and have to work from hand to mouth. This happened during my days in Singapore where people power dressed with branded goods from top to bottom. They certainly dress well and look good but the wallet is usually empty or bank account with low reserve that could last just a couple of days of meals.

Working for others is just like eating 'bitter gourd' and you have to labour hard for your keeps. Since the fall of Adam, the first man, mankind has to labour hard and strive hard to put food on the table for their families. This can cause stress and undue pressure. And prolonged stress has been known to cause diseases. Which is why it is better to work for yourself, being your own boss or entrepreneur.

Visit to Entopia, upgraded Penang Butterfly Farm

This is the exterior of the upgraded Penang Butterfly Farm in Teluk Bahang that was recently built. It is a huge building housing many exhibitions, souvenir shop, cinema and a cafe. We were driving round Penang Island and chanced upon this mega building at the corner of the junction and curiosity got the better of us. Hence, we paid RM27 per adult and it is free entrance for the disabled.

This banner is located near the entrance and shows the various displays and building sections so that you won't get lost. It is easy to read and navigate with this banner. Pamphlets are placed on the table for the taking as a guide.

This is a giant frog slide for kids to play with. Inside the exhibit are tiny frogs, tadpoles, butterflies, pupa, fireflies, centipedes and dragonflies.

This is the enclosure and view from inside Entopia. Notice the fake tree and leaves right smack in the center. There are guided walkways and stairs to take you through from one exhibit to the next.

The butterflies on the right are the real ones and are poisonous or bitter in taste. Predators which have previously eaten the real poisonous butterflies will remember the nautious effects and will avoid such species in future. On the left specimens are the fakes mimicking the real ones and act like the real ones too. They are non poisonous but the pattern on the wings are almost similar to the ones on the right.

This banner shows the directions as you take the escalator up to the cinema showing a movie related to insects and butterflies.

This is a hand simulator game with a detector to get the coordinates of your hand movements and display them on the screen to protect the butterflies that appear on screen and get rid of predators. There are Levels 1 and 2 for various challenges.

This pink and white paper cuts resemble butterfly shape and are pieced together into a creation from floor to ceiling. It is quite near the exit where there is a souvenir shop. For more information, check out the address and contact number below:

Entopia
Address: No 830, Jalan Teluk Bahang, 11050 Penang, Malaysia
Tel No: +60 4 8888 111
Website: http://entopia.com/