Genting Awana one room apartment review.

I booked Awana Genting one room apartment, during my recent visit to Genting.

My rating:Good
Reason: Because they maintained it, compared to other apartments. The room and the area was quite spacious. They gave us meals for breakfast and lunch, which was a bonus for the rates we paid. Basic amenities included. This apartment has a balcony and a couch to relax. Just that it is far from the top of Genting, where all the entertainment are situated. Therefore, a relatively quiet place to stay. They provide shuttle bus to the cable car.


Facilities: Badminton court, swimming pool, golf course
I would recommend this: for those who wants a fast getaway and a short honeymoon.
What I like most: Fresh and cooling air, king size bed.
Don't expect: White sheets, jacuzzi bath and a 5 star hotel.

Basic Thai

For all those going to Thailand, learning some basic words in Thai and using it, will be interesting and the local people they are happy to hear you speaking Thai. I have compile a few basic Thai phrases:

Hello/good morning ----- Sawatdee krup/kha
Thank You ----- Kob Khun krup/kha
How are you? ----- Sabai dee mai?
Fine, Thanks ----- Sabai dee
Where is the toilet?----- Hong nam yu tee nai?
How much does this cost?- Nee thao rai?
That's too expensive----- Peng mai
Is there any discount?--- Lot noi dai mai
Goodbye ----- La gon
Sorry ----- Koh thot
Yes ----- Chai
No ----- Mai Chai

Chiang Mai- Elephant Camp and Bo Sang Umbrella Village

Visit the Mae Sa Elephant Camp, if you have not seen a elephant show before. In fact, you should visit this place. I been to elephant camps, shows before, but I like this the best. There are more things to see and I guess more creative elephants. You can also take a ride on the elephant. But is can be quite costly.
I have put some photos of the elephant show:
(but I did not put all my pictures of the show, as I do not want to show everything that happened, so it will be more exciting for all those going to chiang mai)

Next to Samkamphaeng Road, that is where most of the handicraft factory or outlet are located. Silk, Cotton and Bo Sang Umbrella Village.
There are quite a few company that makes umbrella, they have the really commercialized one and the not so commercialized one. For me, I don't really like the commercialized one, because I feel that they are really expensive and not so passionate about their work, or because they keep pushing you to buy their products. I went for both this time, I told the driver about my plans to go to the Bo Sang Umbrella Village, and he showed me two places. First, I went into the not so commercialized one, I can't remember the name though. This is what I saw:

Beautiful artwork, amazing handicraft, impressive skills! and it is not finished yet!! The finish product must be incredible! The umbrellas was so beautiful, that I was tempted to bring one home for myself. Too bad, there was not enough space for me to do so, plus it was costly to ship it. So I decided against that idea.

This women is starting from scratch... putting glue on umbrella.

There was a man, that was able to draw on the pants and t-shirts. Very realistic drawing. Impressive skills! Can take that back as souvenir!

Then we got him a plain t-shirt to draw on and see what he did to the t-shirt.Really I'm not lying, he is really talented! Look at the picture, it was drawn from scratch... to this beautiful t-shirt.

I went to the commercialized one too, it is actually Thaksin's family shop. Really good service, but very commercialized, feel pressured to buy. I wonder whether it is closed down now?

Chiang Mai- Night Market

Yellow lights shinning brightly, crowded with people, stalls selling a variety of things---It is none other than the Night Markets. Chiang Mai has a few night markets, the night bazaar, is the most famous one, but I was told there it more for tourist. They have a few local ones too.

What do we all like to do there? Basically, it helps us get a taste of how local people lives their life, it is a cultural experience, for some though it is where the pocket holes get bigger. Yes, Shopping!!! Chiang Mai is famous for handicraft, so the local people too, they sell handicraft, hand-made jewellery, very nice ones too and at a reasonable price. You can buy clothing too, I found that it is cheaper here than in bangkok.

Small Food stalls--- I did not dare try anything, wasn't adventurous enough, but did tried the tamarind juice, it was good and cheap. Did not have any food poisoning afterwards, fortunately, a sign of relief!

There is something special that I bought from Chiang Mai Night Market, is a tea pillow. A Tea Pillow, you must be shocked that I bought that. I thought that it was something special to bring back. They put tea leaves in the pillow, and the pillow smells good. From Chinese tea to green tea. Every month you must take it out to sun it, then the tea smell will come back. If at anytime, you do not have enough tea, maybe you can cut the pillow and get some from there....Haha! Just my crazy thought!

Remember to experience the night markets in Chiang Mai!

Below are pictures of the night market:

Chiang Mai -Doi Inthanon National Park

The national park is quite far, maybe approximately 1-2 hours from city center by car. Prepare your journey before you go. I hired a car with driver to take me out the whole day, to wherever I wanted to go. Starting at 8:00am, I wanted to beat the crowds, to get to the mountains early and have a clear view of it. The journey up was quite cooling, even though the sun was shining brightly. It can be quite cold up there, depends on which period you are going, i heard that the lowest it ever went was -8c, so don't forget to check the weather before going or to bring a small jacket.

Look at the picture above, do you know what that is? Snow? No! During the journey up, I was looking at the sky, and this is what I saw, it is actually clouds. very interesting. It looks as if it was snow or cotton wool. Really I'm not kidding!

Look at the lovely flowers, it is truly impressive! There are so many colourful and beautiful flowers. Truly a postcard picture!

Climb up and take pictures of the flowers and the beautiful scenery, plus enjoy the cool and fresh air.

I took many pictures on Doi Inthanon and was really spectacular place for me. I never seen such array of beautiful flowers before.

The waterfall, there is quite a few in Doi Inthanon, I didn't have time, so I went to one. But the recommended one is Mae Ya Waterfall, it takes extra effort to there. This waterfall is quite nice too! Be very very careful when visiting the waterfall!

Chiang Mai Hotel Review

Chiang Mai- one of the tourist destination in Thailand. I want to share with you about my trip to Chiang Mai.

My friend recommended me to stay in this hotel, Royal Princess, as I wanted to stay near the night bazaar and he could get me special rates.Therefore, I followed his recommendation and booked the hotel.


The hotel is really strategic, if you want to shop at the night bazaar everyday. It is just opposite the night bazaar. So just cross the road and you will see it. The room is good, but for the price they are charging( i just checked on the website: 2400Bper room per night), I would say that it is quite expensive! After comparing, the hotels nearby, other hotels has much cheaper rates and it is still, just walking distance to night bazaar. If you are on budget, I would recommend that you try other hotels, but if you would like a very comfortable and luxurious stay...then this might be suitable for you. My room was just a very normal room, wasn't anything special in it! In the hotel, there is a tour company that arranges tour, but I think they charge much higher than others.

Pro: Really near Night Bazaar.
Cons: Sometimes the noise from cars passing by could be heard from the hotel room (especially if you have the rooms facing the night bazaar),expensive.



The other hotels nearby the night bazaar:
CH Holiday Hotels
Sriwongse
Royal Lanna
Central Duangtawan
Downtown Inn
Pornping Tower Hotel
Star Hotel

*Note: This is just a list of other hotels that I found, it is just for your information. I do not know whether it is good or otherwise, as I have not stay in any of this hotels other than Royal Princess.

Coming Soon- Chiang Mai

Hi Everyone,
I will be writing soon on my journeys to Chiang Mai. As usual, with lots of photos included!!! I will post 1 post everyday. Come back soon!

Langkawi- In Search for the most beautiful beach

Yes! Searching for the most beautiful beach in Langkawi! I heard from many people and read websites, forum and blog to search for the most beautiful beach in Langkawi. (As you know, I love beautiful scenery.) There were so many different views on which is the most beautiful part. So my goal when I was in Langkawi is to find out for myself, the most beautiful beach of langkawi to give my views on it, to proof some people wrong on this subject. In order to reach my goal, I travel around the whole island by car from one end to the other, from one beach to another to take pictures and to find the answer. I covered almost all the beaches in Langkawi, except for one or two. As for my conclusion, look for it below.

This sea has very beautiful colours, mix of all the blues, dark and light,plus the mountain as the backdrop and the blue sky, the yellow sand. I was shocked to see the yellow sand, i thought it was very dirty, but come to think of it is works as contrast to the sea colours.

This is another beach, look at the colour, looks like there is only 2 tones. What do you think? Pretty! The sand this time is whiter, it just gives a beautiful picture.

This beach the water is has the darker tones of blue but the sand, is so white!!! The entire picture, the blue sky, the white clouds, the dark green mountains, the dark blue sea and the widespread area of white sand, make everything picture and postcard perfect.

Another beach that we saw the water was much clearer, compared to the others, lighter blue shade of sea colour nearly to white.

Just on Langkawi Island, you are able to find so many different type of beaches, not to forget the Pasir Hitam beach too. My verdict for the most beautiful beach on Langkawi Island, would be...... deng deng deng.... ALL. Are you surprised why I say that? That's because I feel that each has their own unique beauty, comparing from the colour of the sea, the colour of the sand. When I take pictures of all of the beach in Langkawi, it all turns out very well. It is up for you to decide then which one you like better! Unfortunately, I would say, the sea water is not crystal clear, on some beach, the sea water can be quite dirty.

Langkawi- Cable Car

This is on one of the must-do list in Langkawi. I thought that it was just an ordinary cable car ride, but I was surprised, there was quite a nice view from above and you can enjoy the cooling air. You will be able to see the architectural feat of the hanging bridge, Amazing!
Walk on the bridge, from the beginning to the end! Don't be afraid of the heights, you will enjoy it, for sure! I took many pictures, all of it turn out well.

Just to share with you a few of my pictures:

The hanging bridge!

Walking on it!

The view from the bridge!

The view of the majestic mountains!

The bridge- from another angle!

Langkawi - Island Hopping

Straight away as recommended, the next day, we decided to go for Island Hopping. I would say of all the 3 islands that they usually take you, there is one that I really like is....Pulau Beras Basah. After looking at the photos below, you will know the reason, why I make that statement. Make sure they take you to this island too, but the boat man told me that sometimes, they will close this island, for some time in order to make sure it is "recover" by itself from all the human "pollution". Haha!



Below are the pictures of Pulau Beras Basah:

Look at the clear water! Crystal Clear!!

Very nice scenery!!

look at the colour of the water light blue and darker blue.

You can enjoy swimming in this beautiful sea,

I did that but I felt that I was bitten by small fishes,

I think I was bitten by ikan bilis. Ha!ha!

My trip to Langkawi - Hotel

I went to Langkawi in 2007, here is some photos of what I did and where I visited.

Renting a car would be a good idea to go around the whole island. Don't forget the most important thing to do: Go to Duty Free Shops....Don't forget to buy Chocolates...Ha ha, that's what I feel is important! For me not bringing back duty free chocolate, feels like I haven't been to Langkawi. It is really cheaper there.

I stayed in Awana Porto Malai because they were having promotion. I would say that the hotel was not bad, just that it is a bit far from the town, and it does not have a beachfront. The hotel has a big swimming pool. It is a good hotel to relax, if you want a relaxing holiday.


Here are some pictures of the surrounding area of the hotel:

Pictures taken from the hotel.

The view of the sea, but awana doesn't have a beachfront.

The beautiful sunset at Awana Porto Malai.

Hotel Ritter Heidelberg

As I was passing by this road, walking on the streets of Germany,I found this hotel, very amusing. It has the, maybe around 14th, 15century architectual design and it is transform into a hotel.Love the old design style. Was very interested in it and decided to check the price of the hotel and date the hotel was build. I found the website, it mention that it was build in 1592. Wow! Such long history. According to the website, the standard room cost 144 euro, whereas the superior room cost 175 euro and the deluxe room cost 206 euro.

If I ever had a chance, I would love to stay there one day!!!

Website:http://www.ritter-heidelberg.de/en/
Location:Hotel Zum Ritter St.Georg,Hauptstr. 178 / 69117 Heidelberg,Germany

London- Useful Information

I needed to plan my one day free and easy stay in London, was researching on which is the easiest way to travel around, what to do, and found a few websites that was quite helpful, I wanted to share it with everyone.

Transportation:
Tube Map, Buses, DLR, River, Trams, Rail Map
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/
Eurostar
http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp

Tube Planner:
http://www.tubeplanner.com/
This site was very useful to help us plan our journey using tube, from which station to go to and which station to get down. Very exact. We relied on this during our trip and it work out well.

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Travel/Transport/London/Underground.htm

Tourist guide(Places to go):
http://www.londontourist.org/ This website gives you a sample itinerary.

http://www.londontown.com/

http://www.visitlondon.com/

http://www.london-tourist-travel-guide.com/

Parks:
http://www.royalparks.org.uk/
If you are planning to go the the beautiful parks in london. This website gives you lots of information on it.

ZSL London Zoo
http://www.zsl.org/
If you press how to get there, tehy give you a very detail and exact list on how to get to the zoo, through public transportation.

British Museum
http://www.britishmuseum.org/