Event/ Travel/ Automotive/ Lifestyle: City Bloggers Drive 3 with The All-New Honda City

Happy Hari Raya Haji & public holiday, guys! It's been a crazy week at work, and about to get crazier. I've finally found some time to blog about my trip with Honda two weekends ago! Big 'thank you' to Honda Malaysia for inviting me to be a part of City Bloggers Drive 3. It was a fun-filled and meaningful 2D1N trip filled with lots of first's for me. For instance, I drove on the highway to Ipoh and then went water rafting for the first time in my life... and survived! XD

   DAY 1   

I actually travelled from JB to KL the day before as the trip starts early the next morning. We met up at Rail Canteen @ Sunway Nexis, Damansara for breakfast and that's when I met the Honda team, found out who my car-mates were and had a clearer idea of the itinerary. PS: Get ready for a photo-heavy post ahead! This is my first sponsored trip and car post, so it's gonna be quite long :p Some images are mine and some are courtesy of the Honda City Bloggers Drive official photographer :)

After breakfast, there was a short briefing session where we were basically given an introduction to the new Honda City, briefed us on the itinerary and gave the usual safety talk. 

Now, let's talk a little about the awesome car first. We had a brief walk-through about the 4th generation of All-New Honda City. Currently, Honda City is the best-selling model for Honda Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., being popular amongst families, young executives, young couples and students alike. With prices starting from RM74.007, it is not expensive at all and for its price-range, is actually a high-quality car with amazing features. There are several variants of the Honda City (S, S+, E & V Variant) and everything can be easily controlled by the push of a button. Some of these features include:

Smart Entry - open the door by lightly touching the sensors when the key is in your pocket.

Push Start Button - easy ignition for your convenience, no more fumbling for your keys!

ECON Mode - enjoy smooth driving with improved fuel-efficiency with a push of a button.

Cruise Control - Cruise at any speed you want, effortlessly.

Hands-Free Telephone Steering Switch - connects via Bluetooth to your phone to accept or reject calls hands-free, or even connect to Siri via voice recognition.

Steering Audio Switch - easily control favourite tunes without your hands straying too far off.

Safety is one of the main concern for most car owners and Honda City definitely did not neglect that point. With advanced features like  not 1, not 2 but 6 airbags (for the V variant) to protect you, you can drive with a peace of mind. The 6 airbags include Dual Front SRS Airbags, Side Curtain Airbags and i-Side Airbags. Other added safety features are Rear 3-point ELR seat bealts with pretensioners and load limiters, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), emergency stop signals and ISO Fix for child safety seats. 

The All-New City is powered by 1.5L SOHC i-VTEC engine for maximum power (120PS @ 6,600 rpm) and maximum torque (145Nm @ 4,600rpm) coupled with Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT) for the perfect combination of driving performance and fuel-saving.

And seriously guys, the 536-litre boot is so big that it can fit TWO grown men in it! By the way, there are 5 colours of the All-New Honda City - Modern Steel Metallic, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Taffeta White, Crystal Black Pearl and ours is the Brilliant Sporty Blue Metallic.

Groufie before we head out!

(Check out all their blogs for more about the trip! From left: Cindy, Fauzi, Hafiz, Diya, Suzai, Syafiqah, Ashley, Bro & me)

Proof that I can drive HAHA. I was placed in the same car as Ashley and Cindy and we got Car #3, which was also the display car. The first thing I realised is how comfortable and spacious the car is. And ok fine, the steering wheel and seat is adjustable so even a tiny person like me can drive it comfortably. #stopsayingIcantreachthepedal

*raise the race flag and.... We're off!

We were so excited at first. There is an option to plug in your phone into the HDMI connection and Ashley streamed her playlist from her phone (via MirrorLink function) so we blasted some music reaaaall loud and started headbanging in the car XD The audio was amazing, thanks to the 8-speaker audio system! Each of us were given our own GPS, SmartTAG and walkie-talkie. We passed by a drive-thru Starbucks and Ashley casually suggested to the entire convoy that we stopped to grab some drinks. The Honda team was so nice, they said OK! So we all got some free Starbucks for the journey, y'all. Yayyy thank you <3

I sat at the back seat for the first part of the journey. You might say it's because I'm small but I was REALLY impressed by how much SPACE there is in the cabin. Sufficient leg room, 6 cup holders (for the V variant) including on the armrest, smart storage compartments, multi information combination meter rear ventilation air-conditioning, 2 USB Jacks in the front and 2 power sockets behind! The last part is super important for me as I'm constantly fighting with the rest of my family in the car to charge my phone haha. But you do need the car jack thingy to connect your charger/ USB cable though.

Did I mention that the 7-inch display audio is touchscreen as well? Super canggih lah. It's very intuitive and easy to use if you want to find your fave radio station, connect Bluetooth or control the air-conditioning with the electrostatic touch panel. Somehow, big touchscreens look cleaner and less cluttered as compared to many buttons, don't you think?

For the 2nd part of the journey, we had a drivers' change and because I told the Honda team that I am a relatively new driver & have had no experience driving on the PLUS highway prior to this, they said this route to Ipoh was the easiest, so I can drive. I was really nervous but thank goodness my car-mates were there to be my extra eyes and also I was the first car to follow the convoy Lead, so I felt more relieved. It's not that hard after all! Only a small mishap when I tried to take a drink and the power steering swerved a little too much. SORRY, I've never handled a car with power steering before (my Myvi where got so canggih) and scared the sh*t out of the girls XD

Arrived safely in Ipoh! Phew.. First stop, LUNCH! This is apparently a very famous Nasi Ganja eatery in Ipoh called Restaurant Yong Suan. I was told that nasi ganja is similar to most Malay mixed rice, but this one is so addictive that you'll crave for it once you've tried it! The restaurant was PACKED when we arrived and I felt kinda bad for the people queueing outside as we just walked in like a boss to our reserved tables.. ><

The nasi ganja might not look like much, but taste-wise it's really not bad! I've never had this before and while the rendang and fried chicken were pretty conventional, I really liked the coconut sambal and salted egg! The curry was pretty good too. If you've never tried this delicacy and are willing to queue, I'd say go for it!

#carinnxootd for Day 1 haha XD

Ahem.. This is a pretty awesome jump shot! We were supposed to go for a mini photography session in Ipoh town after lunch, specifically to see some murals, but it was pretty jammed and we were kinda pressed for time. So a short stop at the Ipoh Clock Tower it is then! I've never really explored Ipoh before (it has always been a short stopover for me), so I'd really love to travel there again soon! 

After that, it was straight up north to Penang! Ashley drove most of the way cos it's her hometown and she lives near the place we're heading XD We arrived at Juru Auto City for the Honda Family Road Trip roadshow around evening. The Honda Family Road Trip is Honda's roadshow which will be held in 14 different locations across Malaysia. Patrons get to be a part of the Honda experience with their whole family and join in some of the exciting activities too. You can check out this link HERE to see where the road show is headed to next.

Everyone who takes part will get to leave their fingerprint on the 'Wall of Fame'. Left mine in purple with my blog link, try to spot mine if you're there! :p

It was pretty hazy that day, so we were thankful that the exhibition hall is fully airconditioned. So many cars! Not only the Honda City, but other Honda car models as well.

Some activities that you can do at the Honda Family Road Trip is get a free test drive or even a free car check-up! Outside, there are Honda booths and vendors for more activities as well. I'm not sure about the other locations but the night that we were there, a stage was set up for a mini concert by some local artistes as well!

And there it is.. The all-new Honda City in Dark Ruby Red Pearl! Omg, what a beauty. Kinda like Ironman's red suit. The 'Exciting H Design' is further enhanced by this stylish, vibrant wine red with shiny finish. The "H" represents the Human Centrer, with driver and passenger as the emphasis. The front of the sedan has a solid wing face and integrated Platinum Grille and sporty aerodynamic contours with the Shark Fin Antenna. The distinctive headlights are powerful front fog lights, the mirrors are auto-retract with turning lights and the car is set with 16" multi-spoke Alloy Wheels. Now I know why so many customers requested for this colour via a recent market research. Heard that this model is super hot-selling now, which is why we couldn't drive it. But nvm! All the City are equally good in specs. 

Had fun with the girls, posing with all the different props for each car. I find the superheroes one extra amusing haha XD Oh yea, there's a photobooth as well so if you happen to upload a photo on your Instagram, make sure you hashtag #HondaFamilyRoadTrip to get a FREE print!

Extreme concentration while painting our eggs. Haha. It's supposed to be a kids' activity to differentiate solvent-based and water-based paint, I think. Saw the girls trying their hands at it and couldn't resist painting one myself too. We get to keep it as a keychain after that too. 

Nah, how's my froggy egg? Haha. Not super fancy but I think it's quite cute lah.. At least I painted within the lines.. Like doing manicure. You should see Cindy's, it's super nice!

There was a Test-drive Session with the Celebrities after that! We got the chance to test-drive the Honda Accord with Astro talent, Zhao Jie Ying! She drove, and was really nice about it. Had a short chat with her in the car and we joked about driving the car straight back to KL since it's so nice haha XD

After being in the car for most of the day, we were famished. Honda did prepare some snacks for us in the car though we were craving for dinner already. So, they brought us to Bagan Prawn Village. It's one of the many seafood restaurants by the sea and according to Penangites, this was one of the more famous ones. It's also a halal-certified restaurant. Drooling yet? The food was a tad bit salty for me but still good. I can never resist seafood, especially crab and prawn! Recommend you to try the must-order Bamboo Prawns and Chilli Crab with mantou, woohoo syiok.

After dinner, it's time to head back for some rest. We spent the night in Penang at The Light Hotel. Photos don't do justice to how pretty our hotel was! Check out that chandelier! We had welcome drinks and warm towel when we arrived too, good service. (PS: Lemme know if you guys would like a more detailed review of the place yea)

Mirror selfie with the kakak cantiks :D

From left: Me, Sizzling Suzai, Pinky Momma, Pika! 

Can you believe that I had this room.. ALL TO MYSELF?! Honda is seriously too generous, giving us the VIP treatment. I feel so pampered T.T I didn't even wanna go out, just wanted to enjoy the queen sized bed all to myself. Ok time to crash for the night!

   DAY 2   

Had breakfast at The Spice Brasserie before we headed off. Quite a scrumptious spread, I must say.

Convoy ready for Day 2! Today we are going to Gopeng, Perak for water-rafting! At this point, I was still contemplating if I wanted to go haha. 

But first, a group pic with my car-mates!

Mandatory group photo before setting off :D

Finally, a decent car-fie with the girls haha. We kinda mellowed down for the 2nd day dy. No more head-banging, too tired. Lol. I didn't drive on the second day so thank you girls for driving most of the way!

Our awesome convoy. The photographer is so dedicated, he kept sticking his head out during the journey to get great shots like this (thank you!). We had a Lead car, led by Ray & Ivan and also a Sweeper car at the back to check for oncoming traffic, like fast cars on the right lane. Kudos to them all for keeping everyone safe and ensuring a smooth journey! Oh yea, we also spotted a few tank engines on the way back, no idea why. Anyway, this shot was taken on the way to the Gopeng forest so you can see how sturdy the Honda City is, can even brave through the haze, rain, mud and narrow roads, fuyoh.

Arrived safely at Riverbug Asia, Gopeng. So much lush greenery :D Too bad I forgot to take photos of the facilities, it was really quite cool! The rooms and toilets were all pretty clean, totally not what I expected. 

FOOD again! Honda is trying to make us fat XD 

Remember I was super hesitant to join in the water-rafting activity? I had this fear that I would be swept away by the current cos I'm too light. T.T And finally, the other bloggers managed to convince me to join. The girls were all so nice lah, telling me they'd protect me from falling and all :D So ok lah, since everyone was joining, I shouldn't miss the fun too! It was a 20-minute lorry ride to the site and another 200m walk to the river. Err.. Got photobombed by our guide JayZ here while putting on the safety gear haha. We had a safety talk and all, then proceeded to choose our groups and guide. Sooo nervous... 

Ini bukan muka main syiok, know. It was seriously fun! Once in a lifetime opportunity, I so did not regret joining! As expected, I did fall into the water once at the bigger rapid, despite grabbing onto the rope with my dear life. But JayZ grabbed me real quick and I was rescued haha. Sumi fell too, but she floated quite far and we had to paddle to rescue her. XD Got such an adrenaline rush. Bucketlist checked! (Would love to blog more about this experience again! But for now, I shall just let the photos do the talking!)

YES, we survived! XD

Full group pic with the bloggers, Honda team and our guides! The rest who didn't join went on a mini excursion around Gopeng, I think. Well, I fell but at least our whole boat didn't sink like the other team #teamkaram hahaha XD Cold, wet but happy!

Showered and got ready to head back to KL. We were all too tired after the water rafting and Ivan offered to drive us back. Oh yea, we were given gifts when we arrived as well - a Targus luggage and personalised Barry Smith luggage tag, omg! *touched* The itinerary was slightly delayed but it meant we had more time to spend together. Made new friends, got to experience driving a great car and tried so many new things within a span of a weekend. Thank you all for a wonderful trip! Most of all, thank you Honda & Jireh Consult for making this happen <3

For more information on the Honda City, please visit any Honda dealer or call Honda Malaysia's toll-free number at 1-800-88-2020. 

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Disclaimer: This trip was sponsored by Honda Malaysia and Jireh Consulting to test drive the all-new Honda City. Any views related to the car was written based on my honest views and personal experiences after personally testing out the car.

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