DONE!
24 - 27 January 2013 Bangkok
7 - 17 February 2013 Japan
24 - 26 May 2013 Kuala Lumpur
14 - 16 June 2013 Bangkok
21 - 24 June 2013 IAACA Seminar in Jinan, China (work trip) + 25 - 30 June 2013 Tokyo
5 - 9 August 2013 Club Med Bintan
27 September - 1 October 2013 Taipei
12 - 17 October 2013 Nanjing
2 - 5 November 2013 Bangkok
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
3D3N Bangkok
Flights on Scoot: 2 Nov 1745/1005 , 5 Nov 2005/2325 (FlyBag and Fly $75.71 FlyBag both ways $88.71)
Accommodation: 2N at Grand Millennium Sukhumvit (FOC), 1N at Siam Kempinski (4678.58 baht)
Ok so this is our 3rd trip this year but really, so sue us. The extremely affordable flights is a big shoo in for us. Minor regret not getting Tokyo tickets as well when Scoot launched the Morning Glory promotion.
Day 0
Doesn't really count as a day because by the time we reached Grand Millennium, it was like 8.30pm. The cab passed by Giusto en route to the hotel and I recall seeing this place on our last trip and thinking that it's not a suitable dining place cos my in laws were with us.
This time round, no such considerations. We popped by and browsed through the menu. Learnt that they also serve set lunches which were much more affordable but the husband gave in when he saw I wanted to try their ala carte.
We had an appetizer and 2 mains - Hokkaido Scallop, Striped Tenderloin on rock salt, and Spaghettini with salmon and lobsters sauce. Total bill came up to 3001 baht, possibly the most expensive meal we ever had in Bangkok. The Hokkaido scallop came up to about $40 for a small serving but it was really fresh. I guess Jap food ain't cheap around here. I super loved the spaghettini, the sauce was mildly spicy it was fantastic.
After dinner we went on an exploratory walk through Soi Cowboy, complete with many skimpily dressed girls waving to the expats to invite them in for drinks. Many tourists abound too, more keen on observing what goes on than actually patronizing. We walked through twice and then retired for the day.
I super love the bed in Grand Millennium. It has a cushiony top that kind of wraps your body when you lie down. The pillows are also of acceptable height to me. I am famous for being fussy about pillow height. I thank God for the free upgrade to the Club Room too. Alas we were not generous enough to pay additional for lounge access and breakfast which came up to almost $80 per night.
Day 1
Off to Bangkok Christian Hospital for our health check up on a bright Sunday morning. Appointment was at 0800 and after arriving, we settled for the comprehensive package that came with additional EKG and other tests. 2350 baht each. Procedures: height, weight, blood pressure, eye sight test, blood test, urine test, preliminary doctors consultation, x ray , EKG, final doctors consultation.
Some minor drama after they took my blood. I felt faint and could not get up. Then I kind of lost consciousness for a while and when I woke up again, there were 3 nurses beside me each trying a different thing to help me - one was fanning me with a piece of paper, one held some nasty smelling medication possibly to wake me up, the other was just kind of tapping my shoulder and asking how I felt. I think I gave them a huge scare. After I was awake, they made me lie down on the bed for a bit and brought me a hot drink. After I felt good enough to go, the nurse who took my blood was still reluctant and doubtful that I was fine. What a morning for them.
The entire process took up to about 1000ish and we got 50 baht coupons to eat at the food court. Once we were done, it was about time to go back up for the results of all the tests. Everything was normal for Tobs. For me however, the doctor remarked that I have an unusually low resting heart rate (41) as compared to other people (60-80). I was asked to see a cardiologist to get to the bottom of this; although the doctor did suggest that my exercise habits may be the reason for the low resting heart rate.
After all is done at the hospital, we headed to Central World for lunch at Pizza Company. No promotions ongoing so we went for the usual 12 pcs wings and a extreme cheese loaded pizza. I still think cheesey lava 3 from Pizza Hut is better though. Then we went for After You where I finished almost 80% of the new Ferrero Toast. Yum but I think Nutella is good enough for me.
Claimed my Ensogo deal at Yumly Yenly and the drinks were quite nice, especially the Aholic one. Trooped back to the hotel cos we couldn't do much from the food concussion. Back in the hotel, Tobs promptly hit the sheets while I lingered around a bit before heading to the gym.
Then it was our 1700 appointment at Urban Retreat for the Relax Package (1100 baht). 60 mins foot massage and 60 mins head and shoulder massage. This was done in the room on the mattress much to the dismay of Tobs as he was looking forward to sleeping on the foot massage chairs. Oh well.
After spa we headed to claim my other Groupon deal at Charlie's Creperie at Soi 19 in front of The Key hotel. It was a quaint place and all the foods was prepared by the male boss. Had a chicken apple crepe and a spinach and egg crepe. Both were good. Will consider coming here for breakfast in future.
Raided Tao Kay Noi at T21 and bought a box of Beard Papa puffs back. The seasonal special was strawberry. Missed the earl grey chou we had the last time. It was really good.
Day 2
Ta-to delivery arrived promptly at 0930 and everything got settled quite quickly without any fuss. We packed up and checked out before heading to Giusto for the lunch. It's 299 for the appetizer buffet and 170 for the main courses. We ordered a grand total of 4 main courses (gasps). But if you take a look at the serving size, 4 suddenly becomes manageable. The 4 were - stuffed pumpkin ravioli, strip loin steak, sea bass and stuffed chicken breast. All were quite nice and my favorite was the beef of course. Had 3 servings of dessert (100 baht each) and didn't really fancy the tiramisu (too little sponge cake). The vanilla millefielle was fine though. Didn't like their sherbets though Tobs polished it all up.
Headed to Kempinski for the change in hotel. We were served a cold towel and cold lemongrass drink upon arrival and while waiting for the staff to process the check in. They upgraded us to a room with balcony though we had not much use for the balcony really. The room was modern and nice though a tad smaller than the Club Room we had in Grand Millennium.
I then headed to Platinum Mall for shopping and ended up buying quite a bit of things, 2 of which I regretted and ought to have thought a bit further. The husband joined me halfway through and we bought more of his stuff. Then it was off to Centara Grand The World for dinner.
This has got to be the most worthwhile deal I bought. Buffet dinner at The World and Ginger with free flow wines. The variety of food was mind blowing. The World served an international spread while Ginger was more towards Chinese and Japanese. Ate super lot and went for multiple servings of the chocolate fondant and apple crumble. Much yums and fats!
KO-ed quite early without managing to watch Body of Lies. Maybe it was the food or the bed. Hm.
Day 3
Woke up in a flurry because it was 0950 and breakfast ends at 1030. We headed down and was served by a really warm staff, bookie (pls don't ask me why). Ordered the Egg Florentine, French Toast, Thai Omelete and Thai pancake. Returned to the rooms around 1100 and called to request for a late check out. Unfortunately, the hotel is 100% booked so they need the room back at 12pm. Boo. Packed up while watching Pitch Perfect in the background. Bye bye Siam Kempinski.
Left the Tobs at the business centre of the hotel while I wandered about. Took a walk around Siam Square area to find massive construction ongoing to revamp the area. Settled for a 2hr Thai masgea at Chang and it was really good.
Met up again at 1500 for more makan and picked the Thai Seafood restaurant over the Korean restaurant. The food was nice and we were shocked that the signature fish was so huge we almost could not finish it up. Thereafter, the plan was to head to After You but alas, they were closed for a break! Bad timing:(
So we settled for Coffee by Dao but the dessert is not that fantastic. I think we are thoroughly spoilt by Japanese dessert. Heh. Then it was a mad rush to complete buying all our stuff and claiming tax refunds.
When we got a cab at 1739, the cabbie wanted to extort us of 500 baht without going by meter. Time to find a reasonable cabby to pick us and drop us off man. Hate these kind of cheats. We were also stuck in the jam for quite some time as well and it was quite unnerving. But thank God everything worked out in the end and we are now enroute back.
Overall, would have been more restful if I had the whole of Saturday in Bangkok to do what I wanted. But on well, no complaints. Am a fan of Grand Millennium now and hope to stay there again:)
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
6D5N Nanjing, Shanghai, Hang Zhou
Day 1
Singapore to Nanjing 12 Oct 1045/1550
Nanjing to Singapore 17 Oct 1705/2210
Flight price:
Hello Nanjing! The flight was surprisingly bearable and we got lucky and was assigned yellow seats. Cabbed to our accommodation, Hilton Nanjing and checked into a beautiful room.
Headed to Tong Qing Lou for dinner in the mall right beside the hotel. En route out, we bumped into the Scoot crew who happened to be staying in Hilton as well. Heh. Ordered super lot for dinner, but my favorite is the Fish soup. Total bill came up to about SGD40 only. There's a Walmart in the mall as well so we did a bit of shopping and picked up tidbits.
Day 2
Nanjing to Shanghai on 0935 train 134.5y. By the time we reached the tailor it was close to 1. Choosing the fabric and all took more time but we had a lot to do! Tobs did 2 pants and 6 shirts; I did 4 shirts, 2 blouses and 1 skirt. Then we went to another shop and I got a cheongsam made as well. Total damage: 100y for shirts, 150y for skirt, 180y for pants, 280 for my copy blouses, 680y for my silk cheongsam.
Planned to eat Nanxiang but when we reached, we realized that it no longer was at that location. :( settled for someplace to fill our stomachs and then rushed to the train station (still missed the train and had to take the 1700 one to Hangzhou East 73y). Reached Hang Zhou quite late but managed to get a cab to the hotel (Courtyard Mariott) and reached close to 6.
Dinner was at Grandma's Place at Hangzhou Da Sha. There was a queue but it moved quickly. The queue call is also extremely cute: A43, wai po han ni chi fan le! We ordered quite a lot: 1 grandma's wing, fei niu, cha xiang ji, ma po tofu, jiu huang fen pi, green tea biscuits, walnut pumpkin juice and papaya white fungus juice. Total damage: 146y. That is less than SGD30. We were very shocked and awed.
Unfortunately, food is probably the only cheap thing in China. I did not do any other shopping cos everything else did not seem to be worth it.
Day 3
Visit to Song Cheng. Do enquire with the hotel front desk on tickets. Our concierge gave us the wrong information that the price is the same regardless of where the tickets are purchased so we decided to purchase it at the location itself. Alas, the price ain't the same! We paid 300y for zun bin seats when the same would cost is 280y if we had purchased it with the hotel. Oh well.
Song Cheng is basically a theme park modeled after a city in the Song Dynasty. It is smaller than it seems and you will be able to finish walking around in probably 2 hours? If you want to watch all the shows, be sure to take note of the timings. We missed some 11am show cos we reached later. Watched the Cheng Ren ceremony and the knife throwing stunt show though. The latter is good. The former just involves enthu visitors dressing up and performing a rite.
There were also some good attractions such as the interactive Qing Ming Shang He Tu. There were also 2 haunted houses but I didn't exactly dare to do those. There is also a small amusement park area complete with vertical drop and a few other rides. We took the swing.
Song Cheng Qian Gu Qing is one of the world's top 3 shows. It was quite a good performance with fantastic lighting and special effects. Unfortunately, viewing pleasure is severely tainted by the 90% of the other people in the audience! made up of people from a particular country who do not adhere to the basic instructions to not take flash photograph! not to stand up in the middle of a performance, etc.
We also had the misfortune of sitting in front of a couple with a kid. The parents would annoying point out stuff to the kid and shout aloud what is about to happen next. What a way to enhance viewing pleasure huh. Not to mention the kid has amazing hygiene habits - she sneezed into Tobs and I. Twice. How do we know? We felt water droplets on us and no, it was not one of the special effects.
If you are able to put up with all these negative externalities, the show is quite an excellent one. Unfortunately, I will from thence forth always associate the show to the uncouth people who allow their kids to sneeze into others. 2 shows: 2pm and evening show. Both will be equally crowded with tour groups, I expect. Seats on the left and right block are slightly cheaper 280y compared to middle block 300y. If you are feeling rich, pay 480y for seats in the best rows and get a cup of long jing tea served to you at the last item.
Day 4
When we requested for a late check out at the front desk, the guy did not even bat an eyelid before agreeing to let us have the room till 3. We headed out to get Rikuro cheesecake but it was nowhere as good as what we had in Osaka of course. Then it was onto the bookstore before heading to a mall for shopping. Unfortunately we did not end up with any buys.
Came back and caught the 1618 train back to Shanghai 92.5y and checked into Grand Mercure. They said they upgraded us to an executive floor room but sorry, it doesn't look nowhere as fantastic. I think the Hilton room was the best so far. This room suffers from terrible space planning - the toilet is probably larger than the actual living area of the room. :(
The weather took a strange turn and it became really cold all of a sudden. The winds were also quite strong. I'm quite happy to be returning home soon. As I told Tobs when we touched down, this is probably the only country where I arrive and hope to leave soon. Everywhere I go, there's a sense of impending doom : whether I will get into personal danger, whether my belongings will get picked, whether while crossing the road I will get knocked down by vehicles that don't seem to have regard for traffic rules, etc. I also get highly annoyed and frustrated in this land where no one seem to queue, even the elite. At Hilton, we had a properly attired lady who tried to cut our queue. Then another guy in business suit came and just cut it blatantly by leaving his card on the counter and said "check out!". While at breakfast the day before, some businessman cut our breakfast queue as well. Sigh. All you can do is to grit your teeth and bear with it.
Day 5
We had cheesecake for breakfast cos our lousy package at Grand Mercure did not include breakfast. Then it was off to the bookshop where we bought cheap books before heading to Di Yi Shi Ping Shang Chang. Had Nanxiang (but nowhere as great as the branch in Yu Yuan), tried Xiao Yang Sheng Jian (fat and sick), and meat moon cake.
Then it was back to the tailors to collect our clothes. Unfortunately they were not ready as we hoped and we spent quite a bit of time waiting. By the time we had finished collected (cheongsam not complete still) it was past 2 and we had to catch the 3pm train. There was traffic jam on the way which made it worse. Reached the hotel around 2.45pm and had no chance of catching the train so we took some time to repack.
The most annoying thing about their train stations is the fact that the automated ticketing counters (available exclusively for their own people) is right beside the entrance to the station but the ticketing counters for poor foreigners like us is like frequently 10mins away. The Shanghai one was a wholly different building a street away. (...) took the 1600 hours train 139.5y and promptly fell asleep on board from exhaustion.
Then it was a nightmarish queue at the Nanjing Station taxi stand. We got a nice London cab and reached Hilton. Paid for the additional upgrade for 199y and got club access. The room did not look drastically different though but it was a lot bigger. The bed was like 2m! Thanks to the husband's employee benefits, we paid only 749y:))
It was off to Shi Zi Qiao for dinner but it was damn a long cab ride away. We ordered xia huang tofu (not as good as the last time), duck bun, jing pai jian jiao, yi tong xian, tang yu miao, wang fu pao jiao ji, and green bean. I would only recommend the duck bun and jing pai jian jiao. Those were the 2 dishes we ordered twice. The green bean was a really good discovery cos after stupidly ordering chrysanthemum tea, we observed that many tables had the green bean. When we ordered a jug, it was really good - like green bean soup just thicker, paste form. We finished half and decided to take away the other half.
Day 6
Breakfast in the club lounge was full of privacy. The host made a good cup of cuppucino as well. We lazed about the room as much as we could before heading out to wal mart for last buys and then to lunch at Tong Qing Lou. Had the dun shuang tou again but it didn't taste as good as the first time round. Also had angus steak cubes, xinjiang style roast pork rib, rice crisps in soup,and papaya with hashima. Bill came up to 196y.
En route back to our room with 2 bagful of wal mart shopping, we remarked that it must be the first Hilton saw club room guests being so cheapskate. Heh. Cabbed to the airport and even though we were supposed to take off at 1705, it was delayed due to instructions from Shanghai airport (seriously, I don't know how this air control thing works) so we only taxied close to 1815.
While in the air, there came a point in time when it started to stink real bad and my entire row had to keep fanning away the stench. It became so bad that we buzzed the flight attendant and asked for air freshener. After spraying the walk way with the air freshner, it still smelt real bad and a Singaporean flight attendant, probably leader of the crew, came to make an announcement in Chinese seeking the assistance of all passengers to put on their footwear. It was totally hilarious (not her but the fact that such an announcement had to be made) but kudos to her bravery and innovation. It certainly did what the air freshener could not do.
Overall, I would probably not take another trip here any time soon. My worst travel experiences and flight delays all occurred here. Maybe when the general hygiene and culture changes?
5D4N Taipei - Day 1
Flight: TZ 202 27 Sep 0055/0540
TZ 201 1 Oct 1535/1955
G (Fly) $46.72
Accommodation: Westgate hotel, Xi Men Ding
Somehow this Scoot experience was not as pleasant as the one to Sydney. Nevertheless I still managed to get some sleep. Bused to Taipei Main Station before taking the train down to XMD. Hotel was not ready for us to check in yet (it was like 8am) so we went around the area in search of breakfast. Went to this one that looked rather crowded and ordered quite a lot of stuff, thanks to the over zealous husband. In the end our bill came up to be quite a few times the normal patron's.
Most of shops aren't open yet and I suggested going for a massage. Went to where Li Bing Hui used to be (down from Watsons) but found it was replaced by a hotel. Went back to Westgate to check and found that they shifted. Now they are down the street from the police post, quite near TS. Both of us went for the 2 hour package and were thoroughly refreshed.
Then it was off to Zhong Xiao area where we picked up a deal, had pancakes and headed back to check in. The husband did a telcon and while I initially was supposed to head to the gym, I decided to sleep in since I didn't get a good rest on the flight. After 2 hours of napping, I was refreshed and ready to go again.
We headed to the Taipei Zoo Station for the Maokong Gondola. There is a one day pass that you can purchase that includes unlimited gondola rides. We managed to get a crystal cabin (with transparent floors) but it didn't make any difference since it was dark and the floor just looked black. Had some nice views of the city although the lights weren't as fantastic as some of the other Japanese cities but oh well. We got off at the top but realized there isn't much to do and promptly took the gondola back down.
Headed to Shi Da night market and ate a lot of street food. Discovered a fantastic Dan Juan stall and a crepe stall with a respectable queue (will try next time). Back in the hotel room, we watched variety programmes till late and only turned in close to 1am.
5D4N Taipei - Day 4 and 5
Day 4
We dropped by Pegavision to test try their daily lenses. I was really surprised at the quality. These must be the thinnest lenses I have ever worn! Even thinner than the dailies that I usually wear (Focus dailies). You need to purchase the 1st 2 boxes at the original price of 1000 Twd. Thereafter, everything is discounted and you pay member price. The Aquamax dailies, for instance, go at 500 Twd for 2 boxes for members. Only catch is you can only buy for your own prescription. I bought 4 boxes on the spot (1500 Twd only!) and the husband did the same. On top of that, I get additional perks for referring the husband (any 1 box at 100 Twd). Ended up buying more boxes and also got their bi-weeklies to try. Total damage: 1500+1500+1000=3500.
Headed out to Yong Kang Street again where we had Lao Zhang beef noodle. Also ordered the Fen Zheng Niu Du and it was so good we ordered another serving. Total damage: 800 Twd. Due to my limited stomach capacity, we decided it was better to order 1 large beef noodle and a small beef soup so we can split the noodles and it would be just about sufficient for each of us. Also got a Cong Zhua Bing without basil. Have developed a serious liking for it. I was stuffed but the Tobs was not happy to let his stomach rest. We went to Dong Men Jiaozi Guan and had their chives dumplings and beef Guo Tie. The latter was better. The former was not very fantastic.
Decided to thrash Diamond Tony cos I revised my rating for it to a 6 while Tobs gave it at 3 so overall 4.5, fail. Perhaps next time. We were still very stuffed and even though we were tempted to head to Shii Da, we eventually went back to XMD to pick up a Black Ball dessert. Rested in the hotel for a bit before heading out again. We shared a small Ah Zong Mian Xian and this was the first time we ever tried it (can you believe it?) but I'm not a huge fan of mian xiao and really, it's quite overrated.
Did more shopping at XMD where the husband faithfully helped with paying for all my purchases. Not much, really, just a work bag at PG Mall, 2 pairs of Sally.com and facial masks for mother-in-law. Headed back to the hotel for more pigging out: the devil cake tasted a lot better after defrosting. There were great variety programmes going on as well, including this one where husbands were put brought sexy dances to see if they could remain unmoved, all this in front of their own wives. Then it was the make up challenge and we also watched an interesting programmes featuring foreigners. Good fun:)
Day 5
Headed down to the Gu Ting gym for a quick workout before stopping by Yi Zhi Xuan to grab mua chee and then to Sun Merry for the Taro cake. Then it was straight back to the hotel for last round of packing up before we checked out and headed to Ma La to stuff ourselves. It was good as usual. It our appetites were not as before. Only ordered 11 plates of meat this time round.
Trusty driver Mr Shen picked us up and we had a good ride to the airport. Costed 1000 Twd only and his car is superbly maintained. The husband especially likes the new interior and the classical music he plays. Good thing that Mr Shen is not your usual chatty cabby so the ride was very peaceful, the way we like it.
Hope to return soon, before my Pegavision membership expires, to get more contact lenses. It is just a tad further than Bangkok but there exists no language barrier so it seems preferable. And that is our short trip in a nutshell.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
5D4N Taipei - Day 3
Woke up earlier than my alarm. So I sneaked quietly down to the gym before 8.30am only to find the gym quite packed with 3 men. Luckily the elliptical was still available for use. The gym had a grand total of 3 equipment - treadmill, elliptical and bike. Not a fantastic gym but at least something.
The breakfast at Westgate is just okay but no complaints cos I brought my buo luo taro bun and the san xing cong egg rolls down to supplement. Then it was haircut time before we walked around ximending. Lunch was at san ge mian xian. We got a deal for 219twd only that consists of 2 bowls of noodles, 2 drinks, 1 side dish and 1 appetizer. Super good deal. Then it was more snow ice at ximending mango ice. Super stuffed after the 2 bowls.
Shopping around ximending is hard without unlimited luggage space. I finally found the highly recommended Sally.com shoes. Will probably get a few. There's a bag from PG Mall that I may get as well. Hm. They also have A grade bags. Hehe. Watched street buskers and donated to the gangnam style guy.
Then it was down to Zhong Shan to collect another deal before cabbing down to Ningxia night market again. I quite like Ningxia for the feel and the food selection. I went straight to queue for the yam puffs while Tobs went to get the da chang bao xiao chang. Even after he got it, I was still queuing so he went to get the run bing. It was then back to hotel and we pigged out in the room while watching variety programmes. Watched one where teams compete against each other to sing a complete song with a conductor giving members the cue. We were super tickled by this tarsus-looking person who can't seem to get it right and keeps going at the wrong line.
5D4N Taipei - Day 2
Day 2
Woke up at 11.59am and had to check my iPhone, iPad and watch to confirm that's the time. We slept at closet to 1am this morning so that's close to 11 hours of sleep. !!!
Changed up and went down to Yong Kang Street for Yong Kang Beef Noodle. Ordered 1 large beef noodle, 1 beef soup, 1 fen zheng pai gu and 2 hong you chao shou. Then it was a mandatory zong he Tianjin cong zua bing at the corner stall before we had zong he mango snow ice at smoothie.
Headed down to Yuan Shan station for the Taipei Expo Park. There's a rice exhibition with lots of stalls for rice and rice-related products. We headed for the Pavilion of Dreams. I read about it ystday night while trying to find an alternative to visiting Dan Shui.
At the Pavilion of Dreams, you are given a handheld device called the Dream Time Machine. We then went through the Grand Hall with kaleidoscopic screens and a short film on a drop of dew. The. It was the Square of Aspiration where users were able to see themselves in their dream story. The Hall of Cooperation is not too exciting but the Station of Courage was quite pretty with the 360 degree circular screen. There were also special effects based on the story scene. The Terminal of Action was on flight and didn't mean much. It ended with the Music Box of Dreams which was quite fascinating to watch.
Then it was off to Shilin where we got Bei Hui papaya milk (super love). We also found a lot more new stalls open, including an excellent Beijing meat skewer stall (3 for 100twd). Probably should not eat hao da da anymore since it is so super unhealthy and heaty. It has lost favour with me. Sheng Jian Bao has shifted its stall to a more secluded area.
Cabbed to Ningxia for round 2. Our favorite: Yam biscuit and yam ball. The queue is quite long. It totally worth it. Yam biscuit has pork floss and salted egg yolk in it. Quite like a moon cake. It what's surprising is that it is not oily at all and the yam has a very nice natural flavor without being too sweet. Tobs had 2 sausages from different stalls and we shared a kimchi cheese roll. Got there too late and Guan Zhi Lin was closed (da chang bao xiao chang) and also a spring roll stall that I would have wanted to try. Maybe will go down earlier one of these days.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Club Med Bintan 5D4N
The deal: Club Med Bintan 5D4N
The company: The husband, The folks, The in-laws
The cost: $750 per pax, including ferry and Club Med membership
On Monday morning as we trooped down to Tanah Merah MRT enroute to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, I wondered if this was the worst idea in a millennium. On Friday, as I was on a cab home from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, I decided it was fantastic and I want to be back again real soon. This time perhaps without the folks.
For the ill-informed, Club Med is an all-inclusive resort. You pay 1 price and you don't need to care about anything else anymore. All your meals and drinks are provided for. All the activities that you would ever do (except for those exclusive ones like spa and private golf lessons) are also included.
When we picked Bintan, it was more of a safe choice since it was our first Club Med experience and we wondered if it would suck. And in terms of travelling, a 55min ferry ride is hell lot better than flying to Phuket, Bali or driving up to Malaysia.
Day 1
It poured the entire morning. Even when we got to the resort, it was still pouring but the GOs' spirits were high. They led us around to show us to our rooms. Thereafter, we gathered at Santai Bar for finger food (yummy otah and satay) while waiting for lunch at Waterfall Restaurant to begin at 12pm. Tobs wasted no time and tried a cocktail. I got myself a Honey Lemon, which I grew to become addicted to over the next few days.
After lunch, the parents insisted we rest cos Tobs was running a headache. I badly wanted to do Archery at 3.30pm though but okay, husband needs rest. He napped while I did work (gasp). This is what our room looked like:
How I would describe the room: frills-free. The bed was comfortable, although it creaked like crazy. Not stunts or jumping on the bed man. The desk chair was hard and positively bad for your posture. The "TV" is better described as a computer monitor in my opinion. We hardly watched TV when we were there.
By like 4pm, I was sick of doing work. Hello, I did not take leave, pay 750 bucks to come to Bintan to do work people. So I decided to leave the husband in the room and take a walk. It was pretty serene and lovely. The beach was actually decent, although I'm not a very beachy person. Walked past a GO who invited me for Beach Volleyball. I told him not today (was not dressed) and he gave me a sad look. I told him maybe tomorrow. And he shouted back, "you're not leaving tomorrow are you? cos some people just say that to make me happy" or the like. It was quite funny. I was quite entertained by the hospitality and warmness.
At 4.30pm, I was back in the room cos the husband was due to wake up. We were going for the Zen Yoga at 5pm (hello, cannot do nothing on Day 1 pls. did not pay 750 bucks to do nothing!) and we made it to the Zen area. We laid beach towels as mats and practiced on the grass, having to deal occasionally with giant ants crawling onto the towel and not having enough length to lay completely flat, but yes, we survived.
Then it was dinner at 6.30pm. Meal times are fantastic cos it's a good buffet spread of Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Western cuisine with daily specials available. I grew to love their artisan breads baked by the in-house baker. It rocks. I especially heart white chocolate bread and the walnut bread. Ate tons while I was there. Then it was a quick post dinner walk about the premises to familiarise ourselves with where everything is.
Day 2
The weather rocked. We did an early morning jog up to the gym and worked out a bit before making it for breakfast at about 7ish. Then it was straight onto activities - had to make reservations at the Snorkel shack for the 10am boat trip out and got flippers and mask to practice at the pool.
When it came to the real deal, it was a good first experience snorkelling. We held hands and snorkeled everywhere together, pointing out cute and interesting creatures to each other. Spotted sea urchins, corals and all sorts of funny fishes that have no qualms about swimming right up to you. But the marine life is dying and you can see that there are quite a bit of dead corals, which we should really do something about - I cannot imagine there not being any more of these beautiful things in 10, 20 years' time.
After we came back, we washed up and then headed straight for lunch. Then it was a short break before we all gathered for Archery at 3.30pm. The instructor, Jayrate, was a total comedian. There were some annoying kids in front of us but they were soon gone. Thereafter, we had a good time of practice, including cheering each other one when we hit bulls' eye.
But after a few rounds, your arms would get tired. I also tried the larger bow that the men were using to shoot a further target but sadly, my strength wasn't sufficient. When we needed to take a break, we just adjourned to the courts where we played badminton and basketball. We really spent good time sweating it out.
Alas, dinner at La Terrasse was not quite up to standard. We had to make reservations for this early in the morning as there were limited seating available. It turned out to be a starter and a main that we could choose, coupled with a small buffet spread of fruits and dessert. Tobs didn't have enough and we went for seconds at Waterfall subsequently and made a mental note not to go for dinner at La Terrasse anymore. However, to be fair, the portion can never be compared to a buffet spread. Plus, I felt the ambience at La Terrasse is nicer, quite romantic. Couples should opt for that.
Day 3
Everyone did Yoga in the morning at the Spa with Eric. I worked up quite a bit of sweat after the sun salutations and everyone was warmed up for the day. The folks and in-laws carried on with Pilates at 10am while Tobs and I went to the Golf Practice Area for lessons. Wayan and Rod were excellent coaches, giving you individual attention and correcting your postures. Even though we only did swings and driving, I could feel a tiny ache in my lower back but was assured by Wayan that it is normal as the body is getting used to this new motion. I would highly recommend the Golf instructors. They are extremely warm and friendly, easy to talk to. We even learn of the Wayan's romantic love story - everything is possible at Club Med:)
In the afternoon, I badly wanted to have a go at the Flying Trapeze. Tobs was not doing it. Period. I also knew better than to try to convince him to, since he absolutely hates heights and does not see the point in learning circus tricks. As for me, I just wanted to try! After sitting at the side and observing others for what seemed like close to half an hour, I decided to have a go. Tobs will have a very animated description of what happened when I had my go. As for me, I am just pleased that I did it. Will I do it again? Maybe, hopefully when not so many people are watching me get kicked off (!!!).
Then it was a quick dip in the pool, where there were many other kids in our way as we tried to do laps. But it was fun. Would be better if there were an adults only pool but okay, can still make do.
Even after the swim, the husbands' ear didn't get better (he suspected water got stuck in there since the snorkeling trip) so we decided to head to the Infirmary. Dr Olivia was very kind to inform that it was definitely not water but ear wax (ewww). There was a quick irrigation procedure done to flush out the ear wax (which was huge and gross btw) and he was given ear drops to ease the inflammation. Total damage about SGD77 just for that.
After dinner, we decided to grab a drink and sit by the pool to talk about life, while waiting for the nightly performance at 8.45pm. It was quite nice and romantic, really. And the performance featured the circus team doing an array of stunts on hoop, sash and rope. The applause seemed lackluster at times though, so I felt a bit sorry for the team - I'm sure those stunts are not as easy as they seem!
Day 4
Yoga with Eric at 9am again and it was back to Golf with Wayan. We learnt the full swing today and my Dad came along as well. The amazing thing about golf is that it teaches you to be focus. Many a time, I catch myself turning my gaze to see where my ball is going but that just screws up the aiming and precision. I had to learn to stop being so full of myself and focus on the ball in front of me and stroke it. Another thing I learnt - to stroke, because whacking the ball is not efficient at all and may even be counter-productive. I'm actually beginning to like golf - it is quite a graceful sport with beautiful beginning and ending poses.
It started to pour soon after and in the afternoon, we tried to do indoor stuff as much as possible so it was Cardio at 3pm with Eric again. We managed to throw a few balls at the basketball court until they had to shoo us away for a company event. We ended up in the Squash court and learnt how to play a new sport.
The resort was also visibly more crowded as more Singaporeans poured in for the long weekend ahead. But alas the weather was not too cooperative so it resulted in massive crowds in the indoor sports area cos all the outdoor stuff was not available.
Day 5
Managed to secure a late checkout at 11am. Yoga at 9am but this time with Chelsea (from the circus team) cos its Eric's day off. Chelsea said "you're the one who found the giant lizard!" when she saw us. I guess that's our reputation now? The people who found the giant lizard with the huge tail that was in bright orange/yellow. At least I'm not "you're the one who had to be kicked off the trapeze!". Heh. We wanted to go for golf but it was full, no thanks to the flood of Singaporeans who came in and were hungry for activities.
Packed up and checked out. Chionged the last lunch where I had 4 lamb chops and 4 slices of white choc bread. Our GO, Claire, sat with us and we learnt more about her (including the fact that she's only 22!). May, the Village Chief, dropped by our table and reminded us to go for the lucky draw at 2pm. At 2pm, the Dads booked the KTV room and sneaked away while Tobs and I plus the Mums hanged around for the lucky draw. The 1st to 8th prizes were for stuff that you could use on the resort - including 60/90min spa treatment, breakfast in bed, private golf lesson, etc. And after the 1st prize was announced, I was going to leave and throw my numbers away when Tobs made me stay for the surprise draw.
The surprise draw: a 3D2N stay for 2 pax at Club Med Bintan. Woah, I thought. And told Tobs, yes, if it is God's will. May announces that the number ends with 8. I shortlist the only number that I held ending with 8. She then says it begins with 1. I think, okay.. can it be..? She then says, the Chinese like this number because it means prosper all the way. At this point, Tobs says it must be 168. So I thought ah, too bad, no game BUT May then announces my number (128) as the winning number. *screams
In utter disbelief, I went up to receive my prize. Thereafter, I was congratulated by a ton of GOs and felt really happy and blessed to have won. We all then rushed to the KTV room to announce this good news to the Dads and found them sleeping in the KTV room -____-". They woke up and shared the joy. The room got extended for another hour and they sang while Tobs and I escaped outside to use the Billard Tables.
When the time came for us to depart at 4pm, we checked out luggages and boarded the bus. May came personally to bid farewell to guests and a bunch of them lined the driveway to wave to us as we left. It was definitely heartfelt and sincere hospitality we never enjoyed elsewhere (except Japan, of course).
Needless to say, we will be back (since I won the 3D2N!). We are also looking at other resorts now that our first experience was so fantastic. Hoping to head to Phuket sometime next year. And when we are able to afford it, a villa in the water in Maldives or Mauritius. I heart Club Med!
The company: The husband, The folks, The in-laws
The cost: $750 per pax, including ferry and Club Med membership
On Monday morning as we trooped down to Tanah Merah MRT enroute to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, I wondered if this was the worst idea in a millennium. On Friday, as I was on a cab home from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, I decided it was fantastic and I want to be back again real soon. This time perhaps without the folks.
For the ill-informed, Club Med is an all-inclusive resort. You pay 1 price and you don't need to care about anything else anymore. All your meals and drinks are provided for. All the activities that you would ever do (except for those exclusive ones like spa and private golf lessons) are also included.
When we picked Bintan, it was more of a safe choice since it was our first Club Med experience and we wondered if it would suck. And in terms of travelling, a 55min ferry ride is hell lot better than flying to Phuket, Bali or driving up to Malaysia.
Day 1
It poured the entire morning. Even when we got to the resort, it was still pouring but the GOs' spirits were high. They led us around to show us to our rooms. Thereafter, we gathered at Santai Bar for finger food (yummy otah and satay) while waiting for lunch at Waterfall Restaurant to begin at 12pm. Tobs wasted no time and tried a cocktail. I got myself a Honey Lemon, which I grew to become addicted to over the next few days.
After lunch, the parents insisted we rest cos Tobs was running a headache. I badly wanted to do Archery at 3.30pm though but okay, husband needs rest. He napped while I did work (gasp). This is what our room looked like:
How I would describe the room: frills-free. The bed was comfortable, although it creaked like crazy. Not stunts or jumping on the bed man. The desk chair was hard and positively bad for your posture. The "TV" is better described as a computer monitor in my opinion. We hardly watched TV when we were there.
By like 4pm, I was sick of doing work. Hello, I did not take leave, pay 750 bucks to come to Bintan to do work people. So I decided to leave the husband in the room and take a walk. It was pretty serene and lovely. The beach was actually decent, although I'm not a very beachy person. Walked past a GO who invited me for Beach Volleyball. I told him not today (was not dressed) and he gave me a sad look. I told him maybe tomorrow. And he shouted back, "you're not leaving tomorrow are you? cos some people just say that to make me happy" or the like. It was quite funny. I was quite entertained by the hospitality and warmness.
At 4.30pm, I was back in the room cos the husband was due to wake up. We were going for the Zen Yoga at 5pm (hello, cannot do nothing on Day 1 pls. did not pay 750 bucks to do nothing!) and we made it to the Zen area. We laid beach towels as mats and practiced on the grass, having to deal occasionally with giant ants crawling onto the towel and not having enough length to lay completely flat, but yes, we survived.
Then it was dinner at 6.30pm. Meal times are fantastic cos it's a good buffet spread of Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Western cuisine with daily specials available. I grew to love their artisan breads baked by the in-house baker. It rocks. I especially heart white chocolate bread and the walnut bread. Ate tons while I was there. Then it was a quick post dinner walk about the premises to familiarise ourselves with where everything is.
Day 2
The weather rocked. We did an early morning jog up to the gym and worked out a bit before making it for breakfast at about 7ish. Then it was straight onto activities - had to make reservations at the Snorkel shack for the 10am boat trip out and got flippers and mask to practice at the pool.
When it came to the real deal, it was a good first experience snorkelling. We held hands and snorkeled everywhere together, pointing out cute and interesting creatures to each other. Spotted sea urchins, corals and all sorts of funny fishes that have no qualms about swimming right up to you. But the marine life is dying and you can see that there are quite a bit of dead corals, which we should really do something about - I cannot imagine there not being any more of these beautiful things in 10, 20 years' time.
After we came back, we washed up and then headed straight for lunch. Then it was a short break before we all gathered for Archery at 3.30pm. The instructor, Jayrate, was a total comedian. There were some annoying kids in front of us but they were soon gone. Thereafter, we had a good time of practice, including cheering each other one when we hit bulls' eye.
But after a few rounds, your arms would get tired. I also tried the larger bow that the men were using to shoot a further target but sadly, my strength wasn't sufficient. When we needed to take a break, we just adjourned to the courts where we played badminton and basketball. We really spent good time sweating it out.
Alas, dinner at La Terrasse was not quite up to standard. We had to make reservations for this early in the morning as there were limited seating available. It turned out to be a starter and a main that we could choose, coupled with a small buffet spread of fruits and dessert. Tobs didn't have enough and we went for seconds at Waterfall subsequently and made a mental note not to go for dinner at La Terrasse anymore. However, to be fair, the portion can never be compared to a buffet spread. Plus, I felt the ambience at La Terrasse is nicer, quite romantic. Couples should opt for that.
Day 3
Everyone did Yoga in the morning at the Spa with Eric. I worked up quite a bit of sweat after the sun salutations and everyone was warmed up for the day. The folks and in-laws carried on with Pilates at 10am while Tobs and I went to the Golf Practice Area for lessons. Wayan and Rod were excellent coaches, giving you individual attention and correcting your postures. Even though we only did swings and driving, I could feel a tiny ache in my lower back but was assured by Wayan that it is normal as the body is getting used to this new motion. I would highly recommend the Golf instructors. They are extremely warm and friendly, easy to talk to. We even learn of the Wayan's romantic love story - everything is possible at Club Med:)
In the afternoon, I badly wanted to have a go at the Flying Trapeze. Tobs was not doing it. Period. I also knew better than to try to convince him to, since he absolutely hates heights and does not see the point in learning circus tricks. As for me, I just wanted to try! After sitting at the side and observing others for what seemed like close to half an hour, I decided to have a go. Tobs will have a very animated description of what happened when I had my go. As for me, I am just pleased that I did it. Will I do it again? Maybe, hopefully when not so many people are watching me get kicked off (!!!).
Then it was a quick dip in the pool, where there were many other kids in our way as we tried to do laps. But it was fun. Would be better if there were an adults only pool but okay, can still make do.
Even after the swim, the husbands' ear didn't get better (he suspected water got stuck in there since the snorkeling trip) so we decided to head to the Infirmary. Dr Olivia was very kind to inform that it was definitely not water but ear wax (ewww). There was a quick irrigation procedure done to flush out the ear wax (which was huge and gross btw) and he was given ear drops to ease the inflammation. Total damage about SGD77 just for that.
After dinner, we decided to grab a drink and sit by the pool to talk about life, while waiting for the nightly performance at 8.45pm. It was quite nice and romantic, really. And the performance featured the circus team doing an array of stunts on hoop, sash and rope. The applause seemed lackluster at times though, so I felt a bit sorry for the team - I'm sure those stunts are not as easy as they seem!
Day 4
Yoga with Eric at 9am again and it was back to Golf with Wayan. We learnt the full swing today and my Dad came along as well. The amazing thing about golf is that it teaches you to be focus. Many a time, I catch myself turning my gaze to see where my ball is going but that just screws up the aiming and precision. I had to learn to stop being so full of myself and focus on the ball in front of me and stroke it. Another thing I learnt - to stroke, because whacking the ball is not efficient at all and may even be counter-productive. I'm actually beginning to like golf - it is quite a graceful sport with beautiful beginning and ending poses.
It started to pour soon after and in the afternoon, we tried to do indoor stuff as much as possible so it was Cardio at 3pm with Eric again. We managed to throw a few balls at the basketball court until they had to shoo us away for a company event. We ended up in the Squash court and learnt how to play a new sport.
The resort was also visibly more crowded as more Singaporeans poured in for the long weekend ahead. But alas the weather was not too cooperative so it resulted in massive crowds in the indoor sports area cos all the outdoor stuff was not available.
Day 5
Managed to secure a late checkout at 11am. Yoga at 9am but this time with Chelsea (from the circus team) cos its Eric's day off. Chelsea said "you're the one who found the giant lizard!" when she saw us. I guess that's our reputation now? The people who found the giant lizard with the huge tail that was in bright orange/yellow. At least I'm not "you're the one who had to be kicked off the trapeze!". Heh. We wanted to go for golf but it was full, no thanks to the flood of Singaporeans who came in and were hungry for activities.
Packed up and checked out. Chionged the last lunch where I had 4 lamb chops and 4 slices of white choc bread. Our GO, Claire, sat with us and we learnt more about her (including the fact that she's only 22!). May, the Village Chief, dropped by our table and reminded us to go for the lucky draw at 2pm. At 2pm, the Dads booked the KTV room and sneaked away while Tobs and I plus the Mums hanged around for the lucky draw. The 1st to 8th prizes were for stuff that you could use on the resort - including 60/90min spa treatment, breakfast in bed, private golf lesson, etc. And after the 1st prize was announced, I was going to leave and throw my numbers away when Tobs made me stay for the surprise draw.
The surprise draw: a 3D2N stay for 2 pax at Club Med Bintan. Woah, I thought. And told Tobs, yes, if it is God's will. May announces that the number ends with 8. I shortlist the only number that I held ending with 8. She then says it begins with 1. I think, okay.. can it be..? She then says, the Chinese like this number because it means prosper all the way. At this point, Tobs says it must be 168. So I thought ah, too bad, no game BUT May then announces my number (128) as the winning number. *screams
In utter disbelief, I went up to receive my prize. Thereafter, I was congratulated by a ton of GOs and felt really happy and blessed to have won. We all then rushed to the KTV room to announce this good news to the Dads and found them sleeping in the KTV room -____-". They woke up and shared the joy. The room got extended for another hour and they sang while Tobs and I escaped outside to use the Billard Tables.
When the time came for us to depart at 4pm, we checked out luggages and boarded the bus. May came personally to bid farewell to guests and a bunch of them lined the driveway to wave to us as we left. It was definitely heartfelt and sincere hospitality we never enjoyed elsewhere (except Japan, of course).
Needless to say, we will be back (since I won the 3D2N!). We are also looking at other resorts now that our first experience was so fantastic. Hoping to head to Phuket sometime next year. And when we are able to afford it, a villa in the water in Maldives or Mauritius. I heart Club Med!
Tiny Tiles - a great round up for a vacay
There are just some moments that can never be captured with words. And what better way to capture memories than to take a snap shot of that special moment?
I wanted to look back on the years we had together so I embarked on this mini project to pick one picture of us for each year that we've been together. It can be of an overseas trip, or used in our old Planet Fitness gym card, or a special couple photoshoot that we won. I did a compilation and this is what I got:
These are not all there is. Once I started, I thought of making tiles for my family members as well as my in-laws. Afterall, we don't stay with them and I thought it would be a nice gesture to have momentos they can stick on their fridge to remind them of us.
And once I got started, I realized that I should also keep one photo of each trip to Japan that we did. So the tiles just grew. In the end, I ordered close to 40 over tiles and the combined order (with 2 other colleague) came up to about 3.8kg (gasp!).
Tiny tiles are reasonably sized - 4.5cm by 4.5cm. You can print almost anything on them. My colleague printed inspirational quotes and they looked quite spiffy, I must say. Even group shots can be fitted into these tiles quite decently.
Katheryn does a lovely job cropping photos and getting back to you on stuff that requires your input (instead of going ahead to impose her own preferences on say border colour). The service is prompt and bulk discounts are available. This makes for a good gift for friends as well - I made some to celebrate 3 years of work together with some of my best colleagues who came in together at the same time.
For fresh gift ideas, do check out Tiny tiles (webpage) and their Facebook page. For my next project, I may think of doing a small feature wall of a mosaic of these tiny tiles to show case our vacay adventures. As for now, these are just inhabiting the fridge door and also plastered around my office cabinet as a timely reminder of the good times we shared and of the most important people in my life.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Day 0 Tokyo 25 June 2013
Flight: Beijing to Haneda on Air China 1725 to 2145
Accommodation: Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo $489.59 for 5 nights (room only)
Met the husband at Beijing airport and we took the flight to Tokyo together. Upon reaching Tokyo at close to 10pm, we were eagerly waiting to claim our luggage when *drumroll* his did not turn up. In all our years of travel, we have never lost a luggage. To top it up, we also did not renew our annual travel insurance. He was quite bummed but I still remained excited. Hello, we are in Tokyo - nothing can douse this mood!
Took the airport limousine to Ikebukuro (1200Y each). Was a good choice to hop onto the 10.45pm bus even though it would entail a bit of walking to the hotel. The other bus that will drop us off at the hotel was leaving at 11.25pm.
Managed to locate our hotel quite easily. In case you were wondering how on earth did we bag such a fantastic deal, kudos to ZUJI Singapore with the 50% discount. No, this is not a sponsored ad. We paid for our accommodation.
After dumping our luggage (actually just my luggage!) at the hotel, we headed out to hunt for food cos Air China food was not that great. There were plenty of food options available in the vicinity - Mos Burger, Sukiya, breakfast joints and also small hole-in-the-wall kind of modern Japanese-western bar.
We settled for Sukiya.Obviously I had my cheese gyu-don and he had the promotional item gyu-don with an additional slab of unagi. It was really good and wholesome. The entire meal was just 1570Y. Now you see why I refuse to have Yoshinoya in Singapore.
Accommodation: Hotel Metropolitan Tokyo $489.59 for 5 nights (room only)
Met the husband at Beijing airport and we took the flight to Tokyo together. Upon reaching Tokyo at close to 10pm, we were eagerly waiting to claim our luggage when *drumroll* his did not turn up. In all our years of travel, we have never lost a luggage. To top it up, we also did not renew our annual travel insurance. He was quite bummed but I still remained excited. Hello, we are in Tokyo - nothing can douse this mood!
Took the airport limousine to Ikebukuro (1200Y each). Was a good choice to hop onto the 10.45pm bus even though it would entail a bit of walking to the hotel. The other bus that will drop us off at the hotel was leaving at 11.25pm.
Managed to locate our hotel quite easily. In case you were wondering how on earth did we bag such a fantastic deal, kudos to ZUJI Singapore with the 50% discount. No, this is not a sponsored ad. We paid for our accommodation.
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After dumping our luggage (actually just my luggage!) at the hotel, we headed out to hunt for food cos Air China food was not that great. There were plenty of food options available in the vicinity - Mos Burger, Sukiya, breakfast joints and also small hole-in-the-wall kind of modern Japanese-western bar.
We settled for Sukiya.Obviously I had my cheese gyu-don and he had the promotional item gyu-don with an additional slab of unagi. It was really good and wholesome. The entire meal was just 1570Y. Now you see why I refuse to have Yoshinoya in Singapore.
Count Your Blessings
If I do whine in future about not having that many overseas trips..
"I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do the better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given like that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed."
"I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do the better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given like that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed."
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
5th IAACA Seminar in Jinan, China
Flights:
SIN-PEK 0930 to 1530 on Air China
I was quite fortunate to get my personal screen on board because it is apparently rare for Air China planes to be equipped with personal screens. Was seated beside a male Chinese who was quite keen on straightening out his outer wear (which was actually a thin shirt) to make sure it doesn't get crumpled when he sits on it.
Then I reach Beijing. The air looks cleaner than hazy Singapore. I find the enthusiastic greeters (one of them was Raphael) who escorted me to the bus with several other delegates (including Shaun) waiting.
SIN-PEK 0930 to 1530 on Air China
I was quite fortunate to get my personal screen on board because it is apparently rare for Air China planes to be equipped with personal screens. Was seated beside a male Chinese who was quite keen on straightening out his outer wear (which was actually a thin shirt) to make sure it doesn't get crumpled when he sits on it.
Then I reach Beijing. The air looks cleaner than hazy Singapore. I find the enthusiastic greeters (one of them was Raphael) who escorted me to the bus with several other delegates (including Shaun) waiting.
We waited around somemore before we get transported to Beijing International Hotel. There, more delegates appeared and the hotel lobby was a mob of delegates and greeters/coordinators. Most do not speak Mandarin and require the assistance of the coordinators. Since we could speak Mandarin, we could settle the check in ourselves.
The next day, we got shipped out of the hotel for the high speed train to Jinan. The ride was quite smooth and they provided beverages and a small snack pack on board.
We got first class seats but the business class ones were even better. A coordinator speaks to the entire cabin full of delegates with whatever English he could muster and apologizes for his bad English at the end of his announcement. The delegates clap and laugh. We were unfortunate to be seated in front of 2 delegates who talked non stop during the bus ride to the high speed train station AND on the high speed train to Jinan so we barely got to nap.
Accomodation at Jinan was the Shandong Da Sha Hotel, which was excellent. They even have their own movie on demand (but I only realized this on the 2nd day!) and I watched Argo. Was mildly disappointed to get a twin room instead of a double but no complaints since I don't foot the bill.
We have all meals at the hotel restaurant with a lake (man-made) view. At the end of the trip, I was so sick of international buffet. Shouldn't we eat proper local Chinese food instead?
We were very well taken care of by Yang Chao and her friends. Had dinner outside on both nights with plenty of maotai to go along, and also zu2 liao2 on the 2nd night.
The Chinese were very good at giving gifts as well. In the end I had to throw away a lot of the boxes and packaging in order to stuff the things into my tiny luggage!
It was quite unfortunate that our itineraries were so rushed and we did not have time to visit the local attractions. Yang Chao said we must come back again and they will bring us around. Such hospitality and warmth. Many thanks to our coordinator, Ms Jiang Xiaolin as well. We probably were the most fuss free delegates since we could get by and handle a lot of stuff on our own given our command of language.
On Monday we left in the afternoon to catch the high speed train back to Beijing and checked into Beijing International again. This time, I was given a much better room than before. It was excellent and so conducive for working that I stayed up till close to midnight churning out EIC questions (...). Actually we wanted to head out (cos Shaun wants to shop) but the weather was not looking too great so we ended up staying indoors.
And that concludes the very uneventful official leg of my work trip.
Monday, June 17, 2013
2D2N Bangkok - Day 3
Must be the Swedish massage. We slept really well and even for me (given I can't stand the mattress and the pillow) I didn't wake up till close to 0815. Just a point of reference, the previous day I was awake by 0715.
On to the next stop - paragon departmental store to get all that I have set out to get. Thank God I cleared everything on my list - lingerie, underwear, goggles, just that Scholl's insoles was out of stock else it would have been perfect. Dropped by H&M as well and was blessed to pick up exercise shorts that were reasonably priced (799B). Took a breather at Paradise Dynasty and ordered my 6 pcs cheese xlb (185B) and my usual sliced pork la mian (195B).
Last stop, the supermarket for Brands items. Got to claim VAT refund on those as well. Whee! Picked up some chou from Bake a Wish. Note to self - the husband thinks the strawberry one is a little artificial. Opt for vanilla in future.
Packed up and made sure everything was in order before I left for my waxing appointment at 10am. The service was quite fast for full leg (800B) and I was done at 10.30 although there were still some sticky bits left behind. Supposed to be at 53 salon by 11 for my hair appointment and I happily decided to walk from soi 23 when my destination is soi 53. Thank you google map for giving me wrong directions and a misconceived idea of how inconvenient the place is. In the end, I walked 2 BTS stations to get to Thong Lor and was gong to head down soi 53. I was about 8 mins into soi 53 then I wondered whether all this trouble was worth it. The unit number is 55 and it seemed to be a pretty damn long walk. This was when I decided to abandon all ideas of the hair treatment and just leave. Next time, perhaps.
By then it was like 1130 (yes I have walked close to an hour). I figured since I was in Thong Lor, why not look for the branch of After You? After walking down soi 55 for about 5 mins, I decided better not, since I'm uncertain of the exact location. May end up walking for a really long time. Then the brilliant idea to head to Siam.
First stop, After You. No queues. I was apprehensive about finishing a Nutella Toast myself but the baby toast is just 20B cheaper than the actual one so I figured no point. It was good but would have been better with company from the husband. By the last third, it was getting slightly too much for me to handle. But I finished it anyway (except the ice cream).
Last stop, the supermarket for Brands items. Got to claim VAT refund on those as well. Whee! Picked up some chou from Bake a Wish. Note to self - the husband thinks the strawberry one is a little artificial. Opt for vanilla in future.
Then it was a mad rush to make it for my 3.30pm foot massage appointment but I reached close to 4. Still got my massage and it was ok. Think the masseur might have been skiving cos I was sleeping. We grabbed a cab close to 6 due to some delays on the MIL's dental stuff but for 450B (horrible cabbie did not agree to turn on meter) we got to the airport in less than 25 mins!
Super long queue for VAT refund. On hindsight, ought to just opt for credit card refund then don't need to queue. Esp since the refund was only 196B after taking 100 or admin fee. Tobs bought 2 dozen chicken drumlets and we almost couldn't eat it. Had to sit at the waiting area, hoping that there are more late comers while we chomped down as much food as possible. Didn't manage to finish, that shall be breakfast tml:)
The next time we come back, hopefully there is no more babysitting to be done and we can properly stay in Siam Kempinski please!!!
Sunday, June 16, 2013
2D2N Bangkok - Day 2
My Ta-to delivery was supposed to arrive at 9am. By 9.45, it was nowhere in sight and I was getting seriously impatient. Did not help that the front desk staff is like most unhelpful human in Bangkok. So I left at close to 10am, after leaving my Thai mobile number with the front desk.
Was supposed to go to Jinny's store for grade a bags at Silom Village which required me to take the MRT to Silom before changing to the BTS to reach Surasak. I tell you the best decision I made was to get the free SIM card. The hotel front desk called close to 10.30 saying that the delivery guy came (like finally) and I had to urgently text Tobs to get him to return to settle the payment. But thank God it went smoothly and we got our goods.
It was quite a chore trying to locate Jinny's. I got slightly lost but thank God there were helpful passers by who pointed me in the right way. The weather was scorching hot and I had to keep drinking to keep myself hydrated. When I got to Jinny's, the first bag I picked up also became the one I bought. The collection is decent and the quality is better than those you see in Platinum. Was super happy with the buy and even though I only managed to bargain off 200B, it was a good buy at 3600B (paid 2100 in credit card and 1500 in cash).
Very tempted to grab a cab to head to Central World but I know the husband will not approve. So I obediently took the BTS to Siam and walked. Lunch was 8 pcs chicken drumlets at Pizza Company (179B) plus the usual maggi mee papaya salad I always get at Central Food Hall (60B). Then it was Platinum Mall.
Just to satisfy myself, I popped by the shop with the secret room that contains (apparently) grade a bags from Korea. I took a look at a similar one that I bought and the shop owner's starting price was 5800 (or sth) but he said he will give it to me for 3800. And this is for the smaller one. I had a quick look at the make, it was nowhere near Jinny's and therefore I conclude that my buy was fantastic. Did see some shops selling Jimmy Choo bags in quite good make too. Perhaps for next trip? :)
Needed to get a cheap replacement for my tour bag that is severely overused and the zip has even come off. Decided on (shop name) that was selling bags for 300B each for 2 pieces and will drop it to 250B if I get 3. This is when it would be really quite useful to have a bunch of gfs who can share purchases. But being the bargain hunter I am, and the fact that the marginal cost of the third bag is only 150B, I took 3.
Revisited some of my short listed shops from last time and bought a dress from (shop name) for 600B. Alas the one I was eyeing is out of the larger sizes. Boo. Grabbed another Korean style top cos it was only 200B. Barely had time to shop around much cos our Urban Retreat appt is at 4pm.
We finally finished the package with the in laws doing 2hr Thai and the husband and I doing 2hr Swedish. I initially protested to being in the same room with him because I expected him to be noisy when he sleeps. Turned out that I was the noisy one instead as I developed a blocked nose for facing down for a prolonged period of time. So that was the last 3 sessions for our 10,000B package. I asked if there were still selling it and unfortunately, no more!
Dinner was at San Sab and we had quite a feast including 2 chicken dishes (the fried winglets are not v good), pad Thai, some strange beehoon, fish (nice but ex) and San Sab Son Tum (like!). It was apparent the Tobs was not full and we grabbed some cream puffs from Beard Papa. Thank God for seasonal special - green tea! Next time we should try the green tea beverage too. Saw a few people getting it.
Uneventful end to the night where a green tea cream puff was dropped onto the floor and Tobs bought a GMAT book and scored and additional discount.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
2D2N Bangkok - Day 1
Primarily for the purpose of taking my in laws for their dental surgeries at Bangkok Smile, the husband extended an invitation to me. I instructed for tickets to be booked but to reconfirm just before payment was made. Unfortunately, on the day of intended payment, I was uncontactable for work reasons and the tickets were purchased.
But no complains on my part, except for the fact that this is an awfully short trip and no matter how I try to plan my itinerary, it did not see that I would be able to accomplish all I set out to do.
Flight: Scoot return. TZ 302 1735/1855 TZ 301 2005/2320 Fly price $314.09 FlyBag (return leg bag only) $327.09
Not fantastically cheap I know, because of severe procrastination on the part of someone when I have been saying since January after our earlier trip that we should book ahead.
Accommodation: Citadines Sukhumvit 23. Nothing to shout about unless you are looking for long term stay and have use for a living room area and a kitchenette. Hate the bed and pillows. Tuk tuk to Asok BTS available.
Exchange rate: 24.2
Got a free tourist SIM card from True and only had to top up 50B for credits. Main purpose was so that I can unlock all those Ensogo credits that I have accumulated. They refuse to unlock unless there's mobile verification. Ugh.
Cab ride to hotel was fine except it was a squeeze at the back seat. The hotel is also a distance away from the station so after putting our things down when we decided to head out, we had to rely on the Tuk Tuk.
Headed to T21 for a late dinner and settled for Chabuton, which was still having the 59B for 3 side dishes promo. They also have a new promo, 15% off bill if you show your passport. Unfortunately the husband was too eager to lock up valuables we didn't enjoy this benefit. He also stupidly ordered Miso ramen when their top recommendation was Tonkatsu. I got their Champion set which came with a small salad, gyoza and chashu don. 169B only! Total damage came up to 552B.
Also got a Yoghurt cheese cake from Secret Recipe for takeaway cos that will be my breakfast. 115B. Came back and watched another episode of Secret Garden. Yeah to DVD player in room:)
Now (15 June) I'm just hanging around waiting for the Ta-to delivery guy to come.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
3D2N KL
Post trial vegetating trip. I told Tobs that I absolutely need a short getaway after CHC 1st tranche.
Accommodation: Traders Hotel, KLCC
Transportation: Aeroline coach 8am departure from Singapore. Transtar first class coach 2.30pm return from KL
Day 1
Aeroline coach
$50 one way. Departs from Harbourfront. Provided 1 bottled water, 1 meal and 1 hot drink. Toilet on bus for light usage. One rest stop. Reached Corus Hotel at around 3.30pm cos of the public holiday jam. Private entertainment was not too bad. Watched Total Recall on the journey. There are also power points to charge electronic devices so no worries about iPads running out of battery. May try Odyssey in future cos I heard they provide wifi on board.
Food
I made the call to head to ichiban boshi for food but unfortunately it did not match up to standards. The whole meal costed RM 90+ and it wasn't memorable. In fact, it was quite disappointing, resulting in the need for the Tobs to get a hao da da ji pa (which he allowed to turn cold so it wasn't that nice when we had it).
We also went to try our luck at New Shanghai which turned out to be quite good for the dim sum. The variety is fine but the quality is there, especially the fried items. Loved their BBQ Chicken & Pineapple Puff (RM3.50), Cheese & Potato Puff (RM3.80) and the mega huge dumpling (RM3.80). There are special offers if you come after 2.30pm on weekdays. I believe there is also a morning special but only for weekdays. Spent RM56.50 in total.
Also went to have grass jelly at Meet Fresh on level 6 pavilion. Much like Black Balls just a lot cheaper. En route back we also saw another grass jelly shop called Snowflakes on level 4. Supposed to try it soon. Redeemed deal for 2 cups of bubble tea at ochado as well. Their honey aloe vera green tea is good. Their roasted milk tea however, did not have any roasted quality to it at all.
When we got back to the hotel, our cake had arrived but the box was kinda huge so I had to do some improvisation so that the cake can fit into our tiny fridge. Ordered Oreo Mille crepe this time and it was nice (what's new?).
Entertainment
Even though we had earlier requested, the DVD player was not in the room when we checked in. Even after we got back past 7pm, it was still not done. But a simple call and it was all settled and we watched 3 straight episodes of Secret Garden. It is super excellent!
Day 2
Woke at 7.30am and hauled the husband to the gym. Headed for breakfast thereafter and at 9.15am, the restaurant was quite crowded. The spread is good, only 2nd best in terms of variety and quality (after Centara Grand). But I think we over ate. Plus more Mille crepe we had.
Headed to pavilion again. I did some shopping while the husband went to the bookstore before staking out at Meet Fresh to read his books. Bought a black skirt at Nichii and Padini was having 50% store wide but unfortunately I didn't find anything suitable. These days, I only buy work clothes (sad).
When done, we headed to Dragon-I in a not-yet-hungry state. Had cold spicy chicken (RM16), la main with pork chop (RM18), xlb (RM9.80), tofu with spices (RM8) and of course, my corn juice (RM10). Total came up to RM71.70 and the husband very kindly nagged that this is still RM30 cheaper than our meal at ichiban boshi, which was not even half as satisfying.
Grabbed some fried dim sum from New Shanghai to have for dinner. And picked up some items from The Loaf as well. Planning to try Komugi Cafe before we head back home tomorrow.
Finished watching the 2nd disk for Secret Garden and it just gets more fun especially after they switch bodies. Will probably do some reading before we turn in early tonight.
Day 3
Managed to secure late check out for ourselves. Did not stuff ourselves as much for breakfast due to impending overload of choices. We did try Komugi Cafe. The cheese cake was delicious but can't be kept at room temperature for too long. :( otherwise I would definitely have brought some back.
But the tofu cheese cake and all the other random stuff we ordered at Komugi proved to be too filling. W couldn't stomach a full meal and could only collect the Carl's Junior burger that I bought from a deal and grab some more dim sum from New Shanghai. We were having problems trying to transport the remaining Mille crepe home because the box has become quite a pitiful state and cannot possibly hold. So we were even considering buying Tupperware to bring the cake back.
Thank God that due to our large order at New Shanghai, they gave us a box! And I promptly transferred the dim sum into bags so that the cake can occupy the box:) cabbing to the pick up point for Transstar was extremely efficient. It took like less than 10 mins and we were super early.
The coach ride back was quite comfortable except for the fact that there was no toilet on board for light usage. The seats were huge and plenty of entertainment options available.
After dropping off at Golden Mile, we took a cab back and that was our uneventful vegetating trip.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Get miles on credit cards
I know this topic has been done to death but I feel the urgent need to share some hidden truths people may not know about. I own the following cards and these are the privileges on each:
1. UOB PRVI Miles Platinum American Express® Card
Earn 2.5 miles for every S$1 spent overseas
Earn 1.6 miles for every S$1 spent locally
Bonus 20,000 miles every year if you spend more than S$50,000 per annum
Complimentary one-way limousine transfer to the airport
BUT the fine print:
You accumulate UNI$ first at the rate of UNI$4 for S$5 spending. Then you will need to convert your UNI$ into miles. That requires you to fill up some form to link your UNI$ account to your KrisFlyer account, and a $20 fee. Conversion is in blocks of 10,000 for UNI$5000.
To get the limousine transfer, you need to charge travel-related expenses (limited to air ticket bookings, hotel bookings or any travel package from a travel or tour agency) of at least $500 to your card. I haven't used this privilege yet, which brings me to the most problematic part:
This is a AMEX card and is not widely accepted. You may find problems finding merchants that actually do accept an AMEX card.
Final rate: S$1 = 1.6 miles
2. Citbank Premier Miles Card
Earn 2 Citi Miles with every S$1 overseas spend.
Earn 1.2 Citi Miles with every S$1 local spend (No minimum spend required, No rebate cap)
Complimentary Priority Pass membership (2 complimentary visits per year)
Conversion is available to several types of frequent flyer membership. For KrisFlyer, 1 Citi Mile equals to 1 KrisFlyer mile. There is a $25 fee and this takes 5 working days. Min 500 for each transaction.
Final rate: S$1 = 1.2 miles
3. Amex Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Card
Bonus 5,000 miles upon sign up
Earn 1 KrisFlyer mile with every S$1.60 charged to your Card.
1. UOB PRVI Miles Platinum American Express® Card
Earn 2.5 miles for every S$1 spent overseas
Earn 1.6 miles for every S$1 spent locally
Bonus 20,000 miles every year if you spend more than S$50,000 per annum
Complimentary one-way limousine transfer to the airport
BUT the fine print:
You accumulate UNI$ first at the rate of UNI$4 for S$5 spending. Then you will need to convert your UNI$ into miles. That requires you to fill up some form to link your UNI$ account to your KrisFlyer account, and a $20 fee. Conversion is in blocks of 10,000 for UNI$5000.
To get the limousine transfer, you need to charge travel-related expenses (limited to air ticket bookings, hotel bookings or any travel package from a travel or tour agency) of at least $500 to your card. I haven't used this privilege yet, which brings me to the most problematic part:
This is a AMEX card and is not widely accepted. You may find problems finding merchants that actually do accept an AMEX card.
Final rate: S$1 = 1.6 miles
2. Citbank Premier Miles Card
Earn 2 Citi Miles with every S$1 overseas spend.
Earn 1.2 Citi Miles with every S$1 local spend (No minimum spend required, No rebate cap)
Complimentary Priority Pass membership (2 complimentary visits per year)
Conversion is available to several types of frequent flyer membership. For KrisFlyer, 1 Citi Mile equals to 1 KrisFlyer mile. There is a $25 fee and this takes 5 working days. Min 500 for each transaction.
Final rate: S$1 = 1.2 miles
3. Amex Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold Card
Bonus 5,000 miles upon sign up
Earn 1 KrisFlyer mile with every S$1.60 charged to your Card.
Earn 50% more miles when you spend S$5,000
Receive an additional 50% more miles when you spend S$12,000
Double KrisFlyer miles for bookings on singaporeair.com
Miles credited directly to your KrisFlyer account
This is a AMEX card and is not widely accepted. You may find problems finding merchants that actually do accept an AMEX card.
Final rate: S$1 = 0.625 miles
Conclusion: I have been accumulating spending on my Citibank Premier Miles card since forever. The rate is reasonable and I don't have to worry about miles expiring.
However, I would start carrying around my UOB Prvi card more often and take the opportunity to charge it if the merchant accepts AMEX card. Then again, going by the need to convert in blocks of UNI$5000 would require S$6250 spending. At the end of the day, I still think the Citibank Premier Miles card makes the most sense.
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