Oh I miss the Clam Chowder in Fisherman Wharf in San Francisco. Every time I go, I must have it. It is creamy and has lots of clam in it. I wonder anyone here make it as good as the one we get there. If yes, please let me know. I can have a few bowls of this. It goes well with the fried calamari too. Simply delicious!
I am looking around for a contest that can win me a Orlando vacation. I would want to bring my family there. Orlando has the Big 4 theme parks there. I am sure my children would love to stay there, adults would too. I remembered when I step foot into Disneyland, I become a child again. It is a great feeling.
If you know of any cost efficient way to get me there, I would love to know. It will certainly be a dream holiday for my family!
Walking into New York Times Square is like walking on a streets surrounded by lights. The ambient just blow me away. It is something like Vegas minus the casino. I am glad I have a chance to go there. I wished I had more days there.
Most of the building has LCD screens like TV, flashing the ads. One building, pictures below was completely covered with LCD screen. Look for yourself!
I was at KL Sentral and it really needs improvement. It is suppose to be where travelers go to take transport to and from the International airport. Lots of tourist will go there.
First, it is so crowded like a night market. It is difficult for people to walk, not to mention hurling their big luggage around.
Secondly, it has only 1 lift to go down to the bus stations. Why can’t they build more or build extra escalators? The lift is small and very torn down.
Thirdly, the taxi station does not have enough taxis. When I got my ticket, the cashier told me I can wait for a long time. What can I do but wait. There is no other transport to my destination. Some taxi came by but didn’t stop. Some were parked near there fishing for people who can pay more. I can see some tourists were frustrated because a few taxi went passed him. He and his family were waiting, poor children must be hungry there.
Finally I got into one myself but the taxi driver was not very happy because the place I was going to is a congested area. Since it was a festive month, I gave him extra tip for the ride. That’s make him happier and it was the only time, I saw a smile in him.
Lastly, when I got down from the Air Asia bus at KL Sentral, there was a taxi ticketing counter. The cashier just told me “no taxi”. Wow! I got shock by her. However I saw a lot of taxi men fishing for customers asking for extra. This is so typical.
I must say the Malaysia Immigration for passport renewal has improved. Kudos to all the staff there in Penang!! First they sent me a reminder stating my passport is about to expire. I will travel soon so it really helps me to get it renewed. I don’t want to be at the immigration gate only to find out my passport is not valid.
Secondly, I can download the renewal application form from their website. I remembered I used to queue for that form and also need to pay RM1 for it. It is also a waste of time because a number is given only after you filled up the form.
It only took me 30 minutes to get everything done. However it still takes 2-3 hours before I can collect the passport on the same day. I collected the next day instead.
Next is the US Visa application. The online form is driving me crazy. Imagine I filled up half of the form and it all vanished into thin air.
You can download the form here.
I stayed in this hotel in Jan 2010 on my business trip to Santa Rosa. However my stay wasn’t that pleasant. It had a bad start and finish. I booked the hotel through my company travel agent and it was suppose to come with a free breakfast and Wifi. I was very sure of it because I checked before I booked it.
On the day of arrival, the front desk told me no complimentary breakfast or Wifi. I should have printed out the reservation info. Anyway I went online with paid Wifi to verify and call the front desk. The front desk verified again but he said I can have the free Wifi but no complimentary breakfast.
I stayed there for 4 nights and on the second day, I received a notice from the General Manager with an email address. I wrote to him with regards to my complimentary breakfast. He told me to go ahead and order the breakfast, he will have it waive off my bill. Pretty cool.
I worked late for a few nights and in the morning, I called room service for breakfast so that I do not have to make a rush.
At the end of my stay, the bill came but the breakfast was charged. I told the checkout person but he told me that room service was not part of the deal. He also explained to me that I should get the complimentary breakfast vouchers upon check-in and have my meal in the restaurant. I wasn’t given those vouchers upon check in and the GM didn’t say I could not call room service for breakfast. I just didn’t like the way the checkout guy talk to me. Anyhow, he settled it with his GM.
Another upsetting part was I went for dinner at Brasserie Restaurant, I wasn’t given a menu for ordering. I had to get the menu myself. On top of it, the waitress who saw me didn’t bother to come and take my order. I had to go to another part of the dining area and a waiter serving that area served me right away.
On the last day, there was a fire drill but there wasn’t any notice given. All the doors were closed. I took the stairs but it led to a lock door. If really there was a fire, I will be dead. I climb back up the stairs. The drill was over when I came out of my room but no one bothers to open back the doors. Ooh there was also a door for the elevator. Elevator was not working too. I had to walk a couple of rounds to get to the exit. Imagine dragging my bags here and there. It was really frustrating.
There wasn’t any DIY laundry service and I have to go to Marriott Hotel next door to do my laundry. The front desk lady was kind enough to do a electronic key for me to get into the laundry room and provided free WiFi while I waited for the laundry to be done.
I will not ever stay there again! Of all the Hyatt hotel I stayed, this was the poorest customer service ever!
Cleanliness:
Service:
Facilities:
Overall:
I am sure for those who book Air Asia flights and pay by credit card, you are charged RM5 per one way ticket per person. Return trip will be RM10. If you have n number of people flying, it will be n*RM10.
Today I booked AA flights and realized they don’t charge if I pay by debit from my CIMB account. It also applies to Maybank, Public Bank, Ambank and Bank Rakyat. Just click Debit on the payment page.
Don’t let them charged you the costly convenience fee unless you don’t know where to use your money. Be Smart!
It is in SEASON!!! Yeah it is one of my favorite fruit. Some countries may not have this fruit, it is really too bad for them.
The fruit is purple outside but the edible part is white. It is juicy, sweet and very nutritious. I heard now they have pure juice extract from mangosteen. I wonder how many mangosteen to make a bottle of juice.
Do you know that if you look at the bottom of the fruit, you can tell how many edible white parts in the fruit? Example the one in the picture has 7 petals which mean it has 7 white parts in the fruit. I love choosing more petals. Simply delicious, if your country does not have this fruit and you are in Malaysia, you have to try it.
I must say that the highway in Klang Valley is really messy. It has a very poor roads planning. They build and collect toll but never take into consideration of driver friendliness. Imagine one road can be split into 4 different directions. If you miss, you land up in la la land. Sign boards are never clear.
I always got lost coming back from TheCurve. I got on the highway and never know which road to take because there are plenty of options. One of it go through 2 toll booths, one of it goes through 1 toll booth but drive a very long distance and the option I need is to avoid all tolls. All options go to KL, so never follow sign board that says KL.
Let me show you what I mean:
Finally some kind soul pointed out to me, when I got out from TheCurve to the highway, I go pass the first right exit, take the second exit and take the right most lane to make a U turn. Who would have known?
I think I will need a GPS next time I drive in KL. It has been too long staying away from KL.
Many asked me where are the good food in Penang. Well, good food is everywhere. I believed everywhere you go, there are hawker stalls. Most hawker stalls have asam laksa, chow kuew tiew, Penang G cheong fun with dark prawn paste and others.
I always passed by the Sg Pinang Food Court when I am on the Jelutong Highway and I decided to drop by for some good food. I must say that there are a lot of varieties of food there. If you are here, you should go. It is not hard to find if you go on the Jelutong Highway heading to town. You have to go early to get a place to sit, it is always filled with people.
One special store is the BBQ seafood stall. Many varieties of seafood that you can bbq to eat. I ordered the special bbq brinjal. It is the most expensive brinjal I ever eaten. It cost me RM8. From a local point of view, it is costly.
You must try this place if you are visiting Penang. It is not very hard to find.