Cebu 17 Sep to 22 Seo 09

Day 1 Mactan Island, Shangri-la




Day 2 Cebu City, Fuenta Pension House



One of my least favourite cities in the world, just feel uneasy being there ...

Day 3 Bohol Island

Took a 3hr ferry to Bohol Island, just to get out of Cebu City ...

Rafflesia

Saw them on the way to Mt. Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu 05 Sept to 08 Sept 09

The 3 of us went to KK during the Sept school holidays and stayed at Shangri-la Rasa Ria this time round.
Beautiful resort but out of the way, therefore we stayed at the resort & ate at the resort most of the time.
Luckily I took a package with dinner credit coz the dining options at the resort was not fantastic and very expensive.



















There is a Nature Reserve within the resort where you can see Orang Utans & other animals.
Nikki signed up to a the Ranger of the day ...

Tango Nanshi - Comments on Trip Advisor

Posted these comments on Trip Advisor

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g293913-d659162-r38213837-Tango_Nanshi_Taipei-Taipei.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT

Report On Taipei

Great trip, plenty of walking, not enough of eating

First up, report on the hotel, The Tango Nanshi
Some pictures, the room, study desk and the cool bathroom.
Rain shower, hotspring jacuzzi tub and japanese style toilet & a large LCD TV ...






There was an earthquake early on Monday morning at about 8am while I was still sleeping.
Bed was shaking badly, hangers rattling in the closet and I thought there was an animal in the room creating all the commotion ...

Taipei, Taiwan

The plan so far :-

15 Aug 2009 （SAT）

1400hrs
Check in hotel, Tango Nanshi

1500hrs
Taipei 101

1700hrs
Eslite (誠品)

1900hrs
师大夜市

2200hrs
MOS Taipei


16 Aug 2009 （SUN）

Morning
JiuFen 九份

Lunch
Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐)

ICE MONSTER Shaved ice

1400hrs
Wufenpu 五分埔

1700hrs
Raohe Street Night Market(饒河街觀光夜市)

1900hrs
Shilin night market （士林夜市)


17Aug 2009 （MON）

Morning
Hotspring 北投
春天酒店，www.springresort.com.tw

Afternoon
淡水

Visit the Fisherman’s Wharf & Lover’s Bridge （渔人码头&情人桥）
DanShui Old Street (淡水老街)

Night
Japanese Dinner

18 Aug 2009 （TUE）

天母

Taipei, 15 to 19 Aug 09

Booked Tango Nanshi.
Situated in Nanjing West Road, Tango is just 3 minutes by foot away from transit, shops and restaurants. Its convenience rivals that of other bustling cities such as Tokyo .

The modern glass wall design amongst the historical streets sets a peaceful atmosphere and reflects the remarkable usage. THE Tango Nanshi, tango the old and the new.

1st two nights in the Superior Studio, a windowless room and the next two nights in the Premier King room with whirlpool & hot spring bathtub, as a little treat... ;p

No fixed plans yet but will be going to 九份，北投，淡水，渔人码头，情人桥 and of course, the various famous night markets like 士林夜市， 绕河夜市

Upcoming trips

Bintan for 1 night - 09 August 09
Other than the 3 of us, there's also N & J.
Staying at Bintan Lagoon

Taipei after that, from 15 Aug to 19 Aug 09.
Accommodation not decided yet, nothing plan yet ...

Gold Coast Pictures

Long overdue pictures from out trip to Australia ...

esta

spreadsheet of our viewings

Gold Coast Queensland, Australia 12 June - 18 June 2009

Night flight on Etihad (From Abu Dhabi to The World) Airline to Brisbane in 6 hours ...

Yeah !!!!

Itinerary @ The Moment

Itinerary for our 7D5N Gold Coast trip as follows :-

Day 1 - Night flight to Brisbane, not hopeful of getting much sleep but we should be okie ...

Day 2 - Arrive early morning in Brisbane, by the time we get 'transferred' to Gold Coast, should be noon ...
Free & Easy rest of the day, in other words, not yet plan for the day ...
Maybe shopping and some seafood ???

Day 3 - Morning, to Paradise Country Recreation Farm for farm shows. Farm shows includes sheep shearing, boomerang throwing, cow milking, sheep dog demonstration, hand feeding kangaroos and many more hosted by the locals. BBQ Lunch @ the farm.

Afternoon, SHOPPING (yeah!!!) @ Harbour Town Factory Outlet, where there are about 120 outlet stores including Oroton, Nike, and a David Jones Warehouse. Also, there is a large Woolworths, and a large 14 screen Reading Cinemas complex.

Day 4 - Movieworld, here we come !! Must take rides include Batwing, Superman Escape, Scooby-Doo Spooky Coasters and many many more la... I love these high thrill rides ...

Day 5 - Seaworld, not very keen actually but we've got free transfers and admission tickets, so ... gonna look see.
Hopefully we won't spend a full day there as we don't have the luxury of time, trip too short ...

Day 6 - Free & Easy, maybe more shopping or likely Dreamworld ...

Day 7 - Half a day, in the morning, before our flight home *sob*

Gold Coast Queensland, Australia

The Gold Coast is a city and local government area in the southeast corner of Queensland, Australia. It is the second most populous city in the state and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is also the most populous non-capital city in the country. Gold Coast City is renowned for its sunny subtropical climate, popular surfing beaches, expansive waterway and canal systems, a skyline dominated by high-rise apartment buildings, a peaceful rainforest hinterland in the west of the city, active nightlife and its wide variety of tourist attractions.

Songkran Festival

The Thai New Year (Thai: สงกรานต์ Songkran, from Sanskrit sankrānti "astrological passage"; Chinese: 潑水節) is celebrated every year from April 13 to April 15. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off are taken on the weekdays immediately following. If they fall in the middle of the week, many Thai take off from the previous Friday until the following Monday. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season.

Songkran this year fall on Mon to Wed and the festivities started on Sat, 11 April. By 12 April, it was impossible for us to get anywhere on our bike without getting wet.
This is a good picture to explain what & how it happens. Score of people, both locals & foreigners standing at the roadside, with their weapon of choice, eg. buckets, waterguns, pails, baby powder etc,
getting ready to splash whoever passby in their cars, bikes, pick-up, tuk tuk and on foot.
Nobody is spare.

Those trucks on the road have their own supply of water on board so that they don't miss out on the fun. Young and old join in the
festival, it is a family affair.

Me and my weapon of choice, winnie the pooh water backpack... Didn't manage to take a picture of after the battle but it was pathetic ... :( but loads of fun.

Once in a lifetime experience !!

New Favourite City In Thailand

I declare Chiang Mai our new favourite city in Thailand, much better than Bangkok.
More activities, cheaper shopping and better food.

The hotel we stayed in D2 was great, excellent location at the night bazaar, good service and comfy room with a little surprise from housekeeping each day. In the 5 days there, we received some Thai snacks, a rolling massager, a notebook and some sweets.

We took a day trip on day 2 to Doi Inthanon National Park.
At 2,565m, Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand and its surrounding areas are designated as the Doi Inthanon national park. The park itself lies roughly 90 minutes' drive southwest of Chiang Mai and is popular for its magnificent waterfalls, flora and excellent views. You can drive all the way to the top, where stately chedis have been erected in honour of the present King and Queen of Thailand. The climate up at the top is almost alpine and cool at all times of the year, with sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures in winter.
Definitely worth the day trip!!

We visited these places

• Wachiratan waterfall
• Mae Yai Falls (I think)
• Karen Village
• Royal Project
• Hmong market
• Royal Chedis

We rented a bike and rode to Doi Suithep National Park on the 4th day.
Doi Suthep-Pui used to be known as Doi Oi Chang. Its new name comes from the name of a hermit, Prarusiwasuthep who lived at Doi Suthep-Pui was a protected forest. In 1973, The Royal Forest Department decided that Doi Suthep and 13 other forest areas in the country should eventually be national parks.
We went to the temple, it was quite spectacular. The temple sits upon a distinctive peak and supports a community of souvenir vendors and restaurants. Entry to the temple is via an exhausting 300-step stairway lined with two elongated nagas (protective serpents). There is also a funicular rail. The centrepiece of Wat Pratat Doi Suithep is the magnificent gilded chedi and a peaceful courtyard.
A 20-minute ride farther up the mountain will take you to the Phuping Winter Palace, which is a popular residence for the current Royal family. We went to the palace and ended up being caught in the storm. It was a warm-up to the Songkran Festival.

Chiang Mai 08 Apr to 12 Apr 09

Hmmm... except for accommodation, nothing has been planned for the trip that starts in 7hrs...
Not a good sign but we'll go where the wind brings us.
To some wat(temple) for sure

Am I Clever Or What ...!!

For next week's Chiang Mai trip, I made reservations at Dusit D2 resort more than a month ago.
Early this week, went into their website and saw that they have a better promotion, with free lunches and free fisherman's pants thrown in as part of the package & at a LOWER price.....

dusitD2 chiang mai

dusit songkran splash 2009

package includes:

• 2 nights accommodation
• daily delight box
• daily buffet breakfast for up to 2 persons
• a delightful “after- splash set lunch – world cuisine” for up to 2 persons at moxie restaurant (once during your stay)
• welcome “red bull energy mocktail” drink
• songkran fisherman pants (for all stays between 11-15 april)

Terms & Conditions :

3 days/ 2 nights from thb 6,999++/ per stay
valid date: 1 – 30 april 2009

Called the hotel to change the booking & saved about $200 in total.
Am I clever or am I clever ...

PS: It's the Songkran weekend when we are there ...

Nonya Craze Malacca 20 - 21 March 09

Went to Malacca for 1 night with parents and their friends.
Maybe went with the wrong company but both Nikki & myself didn't enjoy the trip.
The hotel, Bayview Hotel, was horrible with a capital H... I will not recommend the hotel to anyone.
See my review at Trip Advisor ...

Bangkok 17 - 19 March 09

Photos of the food... glorious food ...