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Hey Hive!

If you missed the previous post, we started recounting another vacation where we went just across the border for a few days to Johor Bahru, Malaysia! This was back in July 2023, when it was too hot to travel elsewhere and we just needed a short getaway.

Last week, we started our second day getting a nice pick-me-up from The Alley, a Taiwanese bubble tea shop.

Then we headed to our new accommodations, trying out Double Tree Hotel by Hilton! It was our first time staying in a Hilton-associated hotel and we were completely blown away by the service! We even received warm cookies at reception!

The hotel was very nice and even had a lovely pool. 

After we checked out the hotel, we took a walk to the nearby mall which was actually the mall attached to the Causeway, called City Square.

We had a nice lunch there where we tried this famous wantan noodles with almost 90 years of history! 

It was very delicious and satisfying and while I don't think Sean was full, I think we both enjoyed it a lot.

16 July 2023. Sunday.

After that it was time to we decided to walk around the mall for a bit to digest our food. 

We wandered into this anime hobby shop just to take a look at all the different designs. We weren't that caught up in the recently popular anime at the time, so the only characters I really recognised were those from Genshin Impact.

There was a whole wall of bags depicting all the different characters, it was quite a surprise.

There were some fans, key chains and a lot of acrylic stands.

At the time I was still begrudgingly playing the game so I didn't buy anything. I just liked window shopping.

In the atrium of the mall there was a Japanese Festival going on, and they had some nice sakura-themed decorations up.

There was even a photo spot with some paper parasols so we took some photos.

The atrium also had some pop-up stores, one selling more anime merchandise.

But there were some other small businesses as well, selling homemade goods like crafts and snacks.

There were quite a few stalls here and it was nice for them to boost small businesses.

This one in particular looked pretty cool, they even had wands and sword replicas!

There were more shops here and we took a look around but didn't end up buying anything since nothing really caught my eye.

It was still nice to window shop though.

There was this very cool mural on one of the walls in the mall which I thought was really well done.

I was surprised they made a reference to covid though, since it would be a little dated, but it's still very nice.

After that we were pretty much done with the mall since there was nothing we particularly needed to buy.

We were still pretty full from lunch so we decided to go check out a cat cafe!

We looked up cat cafes on Google and came across this one that houses both a cat cafe and a dog cafe, so we were intrigued and thought they'd have a bundle ticket so we could go to both.

Sadly, when we arrived, the dog café was just closing up. It seems the furry friends need a little more quality time with their caregivers.

But thankfully the cat cafe was still open so we went there instead!

The cat cafe was located on the upper floor so we went there, and the staff member gave us some instructions like putting booties on our shoes and sanitising our hands.

There were some rules as well for people to take note of when visiting.

We could already see so many cats from the entrance and were so excited! This cat Ferris wheel was so cool too!

There was a bench right as we walked in and there were so many cats on it! They all looked healthy and well cared for, which was good. 

I always feel a twinge of hesitation when visiting cat cafes. Not all of them maintain the right environment or provide proper care for their furry residents, but this one seemed good so far.

The cafe itself was quite spacious with lots of areas for the cats to climb and scratch.

The clientele left something to be desired though. There was a child who was being quite rough with the cats, sometimes almost kicking them. I was shocked the her parents let her do that. Thankfully she's still small do I don't think she did any damage other than annoying the cats but still.

There were also other customers looking at the girl with disapproval on their faces. But I tried not to let her bother me.

Time for lots of cat pictures!

They all looked so lovely and I wanted to pet them but I also didn't want to disturb them. It was a tough call.

Look at this one with his little legs!

We mostly sat there admiring all the cats since we didn't want to disturb them. There was one Siamese cat that came up to us though! It felt like we were chosen.

After that he looked quite sleepy so I just went up to him to take a photo by this big wall of cat feeders!

I just wanted to take photos of all the cats tbh. They seemed quite unbothered by humans around them which was good, especially with the children around.

These cats looked like they were guarding the entrance.

The young girl had just run past when I managed to get this shot and that cat on the right had the perfect expression.

Me when I see young kids 

While exploring the feeder wall, I was thrilled to spot a stunning Bengal cat making its entrance! It was my first encounter with this gorgeous breed, and witnessing the intricate patterns of its fur was truly a remarkable experience.

There was this grey shorthair that was quite friendly and laid down next to us so we couldn't resist rubbing its belly!

We sat there a while just petting and stroking this adorable kitty! 

The Bengal kitty was walking around and I couldn't resist taking more photos! Unfortunately he didn't let us pet him but I was still happy to be near him.

There was another grey cat (I think it was a Russian Blue?) that was pretty friendly as well. 

It felt so therapeutic being near all these lovely cats! I just wished the kids weren't around to disrupt the peace since the adults were mostly quiet.

One of the parents bought a snack for the cats and was soon swarmed by all the cats.

It was quite a shock to see them all gathering around her, immediately alert after lazily lying around the whole time.

There were a few that didn't join the hoard though, like this heterochromia one that looked so derpy.

There was also this one with quite a meme face that we had to get a photo with!

At some point a staff member also came by to monitor the cats and they all swarmed her thinking there were treats.

But once they realised she didn't have any, some of them stalked away. It was quite funny seeing their faces.

There was this very fluffy cat that resembled one of our neighbours' cats. 

I tried to take some portraits of the cats but some of them moved away too quickly. This one turned out alright though.

There was this cat up in one of the cat trees looking down on everyone.

This one waiting for a human butler to fill up his food bowl.

We also managed to get a selfie with this cat falling asleep! It was so cute!

Unfortunately, the time came for us to leave since our slot was up and they were closing soon. I didn't want to leave yet but alas, it couldn't be helped.

Since we were one of the last people to come in, we were one of the last to leave. I managed to get some photos without anyone else around.

At the last moment, we saw this hairless cat in a sweater in the Ferris Wheel! It was pretty cute, in a non-traditional sense I guess.

Our ticket also affords us a drink and an ice cream each, and they had a semi-outdoor area for people to sit and enjoy their refreshments.

We had a lime ice cream and a pineapple soda of sorts. It wasn't too bad. 

We had such a wonderful time at the cat cafe! Despite a noisy child causing a bit of disruption, the experience was pure joy. Being surrounded by so many adorable cats offered us the perfect dose of furry therapy that we desperately needed.

But that's going to be all for today! Thanks for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

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Check out my previous post in this series!

Fancy Hotels and Noods - TacoCat’s Travels #299 (MY)

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