Sabbatically Speaking: “Running on Empty”

Week of April 2nd, 2023

As the title suggests, this week I was simply running on empty – there was nothing left in the tank for me to give to anyone, including myself. However, the most important thing I can do for myself, regardless of where I am, is to listen to my body and adjust accordingly. While this week is a pretty “boring” week, I’m going to add an Airbnb review since I’m spending most of my time there!

Sunday was a pleasant day of rest and relaxation, I found myself still jetlagged from my travels the week before. Honestly, this was, by far, the worst jetlag I’ve ever experienced in my life. The uncomfortable nature of my bed surely did not help my case. Whereas the bed at the Alila Bangsar was pleasant, cozy, and inviting, this bed was stiff and unforgiving. My Airbnb host was kind enough to send over an interesting choice of mattress pad, but that has provided mixed results.

My focus this week was solely on getting my routine back together. March was an extremely busy month for me, which was spent in 6 different cities across 4 continents/subcontinents and 5 different time zones. So as you can see routine was not something I had going for me and I desperately needed to get that back. I did succeed in getting back into my workout routine, eating more regularly and healthily, and also just creating a better system for what I wanted to spend my energy on.

For most of my Sabbatical, I still followed the “traditional” M-F schedule in terms of being productive Monday through Friday (sometimes Monday through Thursday) and then enjoying my weekends. However, I realized that schedule made no sense for me since I rather go out during the week to avoid crowds, work on Saturdays and rest on Sundays. So now I take Sundays, Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays as my days off. It’s very interesting how we fall into that “living for the weekends” trap even when we don’t have to! It’s important to note that I do, also, take “vacation” time to focus on traveling and enjoying myself – generally once or twice each month.

Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall | Photo Credit: Motherhood Magazine MY

The only “exciting” thing I did this week was to go on a date to see Creed 3 at Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall‘s movie theater. We were initially supposed to go to Suria KLCC to watch the movie, but surprisingly they didn’t have a night show on Friday so that’s why we went to Sunway Pyramid. I made the mistake of thinking “A mall is just a mall” and didn’t read up on Sunway Pyramid beforehand…at all. Had I known this mall would be this “extravagant” I would have arrived earlier so I could take pictures and go ice skating at the rink inside of the mall!

Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall is an Egyptian-themed mall about 10 miles away from Kuala Lumpur’s City Centre (KLCC) in the family-friendly area of Subang Jaya. Next to the mall is a large theme park called Sunway Lagoon, a few universities, a medical center, and several hotels and residences. It’s a really good area for a family to spend a day, a family could easily go from surfing on one of the world’s largest surf pools in the morning to ice skating in the afternoon then end your day with a movie and snacks. Sunway Lagoon currently has a questionable “American culture” Wow Wild West themed night park – I promise you it’s as cringe-worthy as you can imagine. I wish I never saw the details, but now I can’t look away…

My actual weekend plan was to spend Friday to Sunday in Kuantan since this is where my love affair with Malaysia began. I wanted to go back for some rest and relaxation, and to reconnect with a friend I met at the Hyatt Regency in 2020. However, I canceled this trip (and lost money on the flight) because I honestly could not stomach the thought of being on another plane. Since my friend relocated back to Penang, I didn’t have the same motivation to go anymore. The bright side is that I was able to get my Hyatt points refunded, and with this new Bilt-Hyatt promo using my points later in the month is far more advantageous.

That’s my boring week in a nutshell – it doesn’t make for exciting content, but it’s what I needed. Assuming you made it this far, you’ll be rewarded with a review of my Airbnb! It’s kind of juicy so keep reading…

Kuala Lumpur Airbnb Review – “All That Glitters is Not Gold…Nevertheless, It’s Nice”

Views

Roooftop View

Yoga Deck

Cafe

Lounge

Gym

Pool Views

Hot Tubs

Rooftop Patio

Rooftop Amenities

Outdoor Showers

Airbnb Unit

Airbnb Balcony

Airbnb Offerings

Now that I’m about halfway through my stay at this Airbnb, I feel that I have been here long enough to give a thorough review of the building, the unit, and the overall experience. Overall, I am enjoying my stay here and I would recommend this Airbnb but there are definitely some issues that make me go “hmmmm”.

My current Airbnb is in a two-tower condominium/apartment complex called The Colony and The Luxe by Infinitum – I believe the only difference between the two towers is the mix of units that they have and the height. The building is very much so set up for investors to take advantage of listing on Airbnb, and some units are sold “bundled” together. This is a very interesting property ownership scheme and it does make it very easy to find an Airbnb in this building, but it does present some issues down the line.

The Good

Location – The location is quite well situated. There’s great proximity and views of KLCC from the building without being right in the heart of it all. It’s convenient to get around by car, public transit, and possibly walking. Also, Quill City Mall is directly across from the building for added convenience.

Spacious – The unit is nice and spacious! I’ve never seen a unit in an apartment building like this before – it has two floors, like a townhouse, which helps to separate the living space from the sleeping space. A bathroom on each floor makes it super convenient for when you have guests over. There are two separate balconies, which makes for a nice place to sit and eat. There’s also plenty of light thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Amenities – The building has a lot of amenities, including but not limited to a gym, a large pool, hot tubs, a sauna, lounge areas, a cafe, a yoga deck, and an outdoor grilling/party area. It’s nice to have these modern conveniences at your disposal so that you can truly enjoy your stay.

Security – The units in the building are only accessible via access card on the elevator, and my unit has two sets of dead-bolted doors between the common hallway so I do feel very secure. There are security guards in the lobby, but they don’t seem to actually care who comes in. I’m used to having security ask for my ID to get my keys, using an access card to enter the building, and/or having a wristband to get in.

The Bad

Noise – While cities are generally noisy, it’s not the usual city noises that are the issue. There are extremely loud generators on this side of the building running constantly. There’s construction noise both in the building and outside on/off. For some reason, there are fireworks that go off sporadically every single night since I’ve been here between about 10 pm and 2 am.

Build/Maintenance – Like many new builds and buildings that market to “Airbnb Investors”, the maintenance of this building is not ideal. You can tell that the building was built quickly and little effort has been made to maintain it beyond cosmetic maintenance. The pool has been closed for several days now because of an overgrowth of green algae (see above), the hallways sometimes smell like sewage, the showers don’t drain properly, and there’s definitely a bug problem. Granted this is all exasperated by the climate of Kuala Lumpur, this is a new building so don’t call it “luxury” if you won’t maintain it.

Comfort – As comfy and cozy as the furniture looks, it is all cheap and uncomfortable…even the cute fuzzy couch. Ha! As I’ve mentioned before, the bed is horrible. The added downvote for comfort is due to the host not providing day-to-day things that make long-term living in an Airbnb “homey” like blankets, hand towels, decent kitchenware, or even just a broom. It’s not one thing per-say, it just lacks a certain je ne sais quoi you’d expect in an Airbnb, but it’s perfectly fine for shorter stays. My thought is if Hyatt House can provide it, then so should your Airbnb.

Location – Blessing meet curse. Thanks to the location, the traffic around my building is horrible – like midtown Atlanta on a Friday night before a game or a concert bad. Also, despite there being a mall next door and KLCC nearby, the area isn’t very pleasant to walk around – it feels oddly disconnected from the rest of the city and just not walkable. To be fair, Kuala Lumpur isn’t very walkable in most areas.

List item

The “Interesting”

Walk-Out Shower – The second balcony that I mentioned above…well it’s off of the shower. No, not the bathroom. It’s off of the shower itself. You can step right out of the shower and onto the balcony. I laugh about this daily, but it contributes to the bathroom feeling like a sauna 24/7.

Dual-Key – If you look at the floor plan below, you’ll see that there are two separate units that share a common foyer. There’s a unit right next to the first floor of my unit and I’m fairly certain that it is owned by the same person. The developers sell many units in the building that are just like this with a duplex/loft on one side and then a small one-floor studio on the other side. They go out of their way to advertise these units as being useful for living in one unit and renting out the other one, generally on Airbnb since the building does offer a housecleaning service.

The Host – My host seems to have a general lack of empathy and problem-solving that is interesting at best. I asked for a mattress pad since the bed was uncomfortable and she had what can only be considered a couch cushion brought to me. I’ve complained twice now about the pest issues I’ve encountered and let’s just say the response that was provided was tone-deaf at best, and rude at worse. The same issue arose a few days later. Did she send pest control – no. Did she send someone to clean or provide me with cleaning supplies since she thinks I’m not cleaning enough – also no.

The Listing – I am almost 110% certain that the Airbnb I’m in is currently on the market. That’s not really all that strange, it happens often, but they listed it a week ago and didn’t mention it. THAT is the interesting part! What’s even more interesting is that it’s listed as a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom, and it definitely only has 1 bedroom. If they’re counting the bonus unit then that would be a 2 bedroom 3 bathroom, so I have no idea if they’re selling both units or just the portion I’m in. I’m intrigued now.

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