(The view from my quarantine room which unfortunately was nothing to shout about but at least I could get some sunlight into the room. When I am bored, I will look over when the office workers are leaving the parking lot in the next building for a change of sight)
This will be the second time that we will be undergoing 2 weeks of COVID19 quarantine but compared to the first time quarantine in Cambodia, the quarantine in Malaysia with Malaysian food and Malaysian hospitality is always welcomed.
Read Part 2 here
It was announced on the bus after it had left the airport that our quarantine hotel would be a 4-star hotel in the city centre. It was a long ride from the airport to the hotel and this time, there was no police outrider to escort us. Even so, we reached the hotel in good time and led into the side entrance, far from the main lobby.
Before we could check in to our quarantine hotel rooms, we first need to register ourselves and pay for 14 days that we suppose to stay. We were charged RM150 per day which includes charges for the room which comes with complimentary wifi internet connection and meals 3 times a day. We were given the pay by credit card, cash or online transfer.
(We were transported using the Malaysian Fire & Rescue Department bus from the airport to the designated quarantine hotel. It was a comfortable ride despite it being an old bus)
One of the foreigners got stuck at the registration counter – his employer paid for the quarantine but he was unable to produce the receipt. He called his employer and had to wait for the receipt to be emailed / Whatsapp-ed over to the MOH task force at the registration counter.
I intended to pay through online transfer first but considering how slow the connection was at the registration counter and they are not registering the credit card details, I changed my mind and used a credit card instead. RM150 for 14 nights should have been a total RM2,100 but they only charged us for 13 nights which meant we will be released on the 14th day.
We were given the room keys – each person got 1 room each unless you are with a family then you will get a shared room. We also got a QR code for the Whatsapp group of the currency batch so that they can keep us updated on all information and also collect any complaints or special requests (there were plenty indeed).
We were then escorted to our respective rooms and then left to our devices until further notice.
(It looked like a good room when I first opened the door and more importantly it had a window which is a must for me for a long term stay)
My room, in general, was large and clean as I opened the door and walked in. However as I started to walk around, it was obvious that the room was not properly cleaned. I hoped that it was cleaned and disinfected after the previous occupants had left. The floor was a bit dusty at some corners but I focussed on the areas where I would be walking and did some cleanup.
The single beds were too many for me so I decided to keep one for me to sleep and another for me to sit to have my meals and watch TV. The bed was hard but the pillows were soft so for the first few days I had trouble sleeping.
(The bathroom was also large and had a bathtub in addition to a separate shower place. Toiletries were provided but I used my own soap that I bought back in Cambodia for my showers)
The bathroom looked large and clean but it was not when inspected closely. I used some of the hotel shampoos to wash and clean up the shower area before I used it. The bathtub looked horrible and was not clean enough for me to even try to clean it.
The toilet and the sink were working well and the good thing was there was no bad smell when entered the bathroom (not like how it will smell in some cheap hotels).
(There was a large work desk in addition to a small desk at the front – it was large to keep my laptop and had enough charge points for all my electrical devices)
Although we were under mandatory quarantine for 2 weeks, it does not mean we are not working. Thankfully, the hotel provided complimentary internet connection to all the rooms although the strength of the wifi differs from one floor to another and also depends on the location of the rooms. The wifi strength in my room was strong enough for me to connect both my smartphone and laptop all day long.
Considering the window was just behind the work desk, during the day, I often open up the curtains to let natural light in. There was also a good LED table lamp which was bright enough to use at night. There were 3 charge points for all the electrical items so I don’t have to keep changing the cables for my laptop, smartphone and power bank.
In summary, the quarantine in this hotel is a good start with a large, sufficiently clean room which will be my home far away from home for the next 2 weeks.
To be continued in Part 4