Pada tanggal 31 Disember lepas, kami sekeluarga mengambil keputusan untuk bermalam di Metia Residence. Maklumlah, sambutan tahun baru, kononnya nak tengok persembahan bunga api dari kediaman kami di tingkat 19.

Selepas makan, kami menuju ke Metia Residence dan meletakkan kereta kami di tempat letak kereta yang berbumbung di tingkat P3A. Sekiranya nak parking di keliling bangunan pun boleh, ada banyak tempat letak kenderaan yang percuma.
Kami pun menaiki lif untuk ke tingkat 19, tingkat yang paling atas sekali di Metia Residence. Disini, semua pintu masuk dan keluar di setiap tingkat termasuk lif mesti menggunakan kad akses sekuriti. Ini untuk menjamin keselamatan penduduk. Tambahan lagi, ada pengawal sekuriti 24 jam yang sentiasa meronda disini.

Tiba-tiba, anak-anak pulak ajak turun ke Tingkat 7. Di tingkat 7 ni ada segala kemudahan apartment seperti, gimnasium, kolam renang, tempat BBQ, bilik sauna dan tempat permainan kanak-kanak. Puteri-puteri kami memilih untuk berenang di kolam renang. Disini, pemandangannya juga menarik. Lihatlah gambar tu. Untuk anak-anak yang bawah umur 5 tahun, ada satu lagi kolam air yang cetek , sesuai untuk mereka berendam dan bermain air.
Putera-putera pula memilih beriadah di gym untuk aktiviti angkat berat dan kardiovaskular. Saya pula ke bilik sauna. Dapatlah jugak buang lemak semasa berada di bilik panas tu selama 45 minit. Sebelum naik ke apartment, budak-budak sempat bermain di 'playground' pulak.
Selepas solat maghrib, saya keluar membeli makanan untuk makan malam di Giant Hypermarket, 5 minit aje dari Metia Residence. Disitu, selain pelbagai makanan di 'food court', ada juga fastfood seperti McDonald's dan KFC. Saya tapau aje KFC bucket dan membeli sedikit barangan di Giant untuk dibawa pulang. Kalau nak masak di apartment pun boleh. Dapur gas, microwave oven dan peti sejuk disediakan. Tapi lebih mudah tapau aje.
Setelah menjilat jari memakan KFC, detik yang ditunggu-tunggu telah tiba. Bermulalah 'countdown' menyambut tahun baru di kaca TV. Kami pun berkumpul di beranda untuk melihat pancaran dan mendengar letupan bunga api nun jauh di PJ dan KL. Amat indah pemandangan langit di malam hari. Tiba-tiba, ada kedengaran letupan mercun yang kuat.
Kami bergegas ke bumbung apartment. Memang berbaloi kami naik ke bumbung. Kali ini, ada tembakan berdas-das bunga api ke langit dari bangunan sebelah. Ini baru live action! Memang seronok pengalaman kali ini.

Untuk sarapan pagi, kami memilh untuk makan roti canai sahaja di kedai mamak yang terletak lebih kurang 300m dari tempat ini. Selepas mengemas pakaian, kami pun menaiki kereta dan menghala ke Restoran Al-Rafi Bistro.
Sambil memakan roti canai dicicah dengan kuah dalca, saya terfikir, oleh kerana kami jarang-jarang menetap disini, elok sahaja saya jadikan apartment ini sebagai homestay. Boleh juga saya membantu orang luar yang datang ke Shah Alam atas urusan masing-masing yang inginkan tempat menetap yang selesa. Tambahan lagi, pengunjung dapat menikmati kemudahan hotel tetapi bayar pada harga homestay. Memang berbaloi untuk orang yang berkeluarga atau yang datang 4 hingga 6 orang. Kalau berbanding dengan menetap di hotel memanglah harga kami jauh lebih murah. Oleh sebab ini, maka lahirlah homestay shah alam yang dinamakan "The Penthouse @ Metia".
One Night in Metia Residence
On 31st December last year, our family decided to spend the night in Metia Residence. We wanted to see the fireworks from our home on the 19th floor, as there will be a celebration of the new year at 12 midnight.

After lunch, we headed to Metia Residence and parked our car in the covered parking lot at level P3A. You can also park at the free parking lots situated around the building.
We then took the elevator to the 19th floor, the topmost floor at Metia Residence. Here, we have to use a security access card at all entrances and exits on every floor including the elevator . This is to ensure the safety of the residents. Furthermore, there are security guards who patrols the area on a 24 hour basis.
Once we got into the apartment, we slumped on the sofa to relax ourselves in the living room. From the balcony, we can see a view of the Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur skyline. On a clear day, you can also see the KLCC Twin Towers and KL Tower. As the living room has air-conditioning, it was perfect for us to have an afternoon nap.
After a short nap, my children bugged me to go down to Level 7. On the 7th floor of this apartment, there are amenities such as a gymnasium, swimming pool, BBQ area, a sauna room and a children's playground. My daughters chose to swim in the beautiful pool. From the pool, the view was awesome as you can see the same view from the apartment's balcony. For small children, there is a wading pool for them to have fun in the water.

That evening at dusk, I went out to buy food for dinner at the Giant Hypermarket, which is 5 minutes away by car, from Metia Residence. There, apart from a wide variety of food at the food court, there are also fast food restaurants like McDonald's and KFC. I bought KFC for take-away and bought some stuffs at Giant to take home. You can always cook in the apartment as there is a gas stove, microwave oven and refrigerator. For me, it is more convenient to buy prepared food rather than cook.
After dinner, all of us sat in front of the TV to wait for the new year countdown. As the countdown began, we gathered at the balcony and when the clock struck 12 midnight we could hear loud explosions of fireworks from as far as Petaling Jaya. The beautiful images of the fireworks lighted the night sky.
Suddenly, we heard a loud firecracker explosion nearby. We rushed to the rooftop of the apartment. This time, we saw live fireworks display from the adjacent building which is just a few metres away. What an experience it was.
For breakfast, we decided to eat roti canai at the nearby mamak restaurant located about 300m from this place. After packing our clothes, we drove to Al-Rafi Bistro Restaurant
.
While eating roti canai with a dash of dhal curry sauce, suddenly I had a thought. Since we rarely stayed at Metia Residence, why don't I just make it as a homestay apartment? By doing this, I can help outsiders who comes to Shah Alam for whatever reason to have a comfortable place to stay. In addition, visitors can enjoy the facilities like that of a hotel but pay the price of a homestay. It is very suitable for families or for a group of 4 to 6 people. Of course, our price is much cheaper If compared with staying at the hotel . For this reason, this Shah Alam homestay was born and I name it "The Penthouse @ Metia".