Category: Travel

• Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore

  12.06.09 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | 2 Comments

  
  
  

  Love it! Love it! Absolutely love it. First of all, after many years of points collecting, I get some complimentary stay in Hyatt for my family. I would pick this hotel every time I go to Singapore for business. Sad to say that because of cost cutting, they remove this hotel from the preferred list. I hope they add it back on.

  Why do I like it so much? First the staffs are super friendly. They treat me the same even though the stay was complimentary. Next, the room is spacious, especially like the bathroom. The TV is a huge flat screen.

  
  
  

  I am glad they renovated the swimming pool and provide a children pool. My children absolutely love it. While my children were enjoying the pool, I ordered breakfast by the pool. It has my son’s favorite garlic bread and chicken drumlets. They love it. They asked me whether they can stay another night there.

  Lastly as I was checking out, the staffs casually ask my feedback on the stay. I wasn’t complaining but told them the air condition in the room was not working well. It switched off by itself and I had to turn it back on. For that, they waived my bill for my stay. Isn’t that great, hardly get this type of service in Asia.

  I will sure return to stay with them again! Absolutely.

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• RM1 Asam Laksa

  11.10.09 |Food, Travel| Permalink | 3 Comments

  
  
  

  Today where can you find a bowl of Asam Laksa for RM1 about US 30 cents? Seriously, there is and the place is in Kuala Jalan Baru, Balik Pulau, Penang. The stall is set up very long ago, asam laksa used to be only 30 sens.

  It is also a DIY asam laksa stall, meaning you scoop your own noodle, cut your own cucumber, onions, kunyit, chili and scoop your own hot soup. You can put as much as you one in the bowl with no extra cost. Of cause the bowl is small.

  The stall is managed by a malay family. I loved the Asam Laksa here. I can have at least 2 bowls of it on any day. If you go to Balik Pulau, you must go taste the special DIY laksa.

  
  

  
  

• Entertainment on SIA

  09.28.09 |Travel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  Last trip when I went on the SIA airlines, they had new planes with new set of bigger Entertainment screen in front of the seat. The screen slightly bigger compare to the old ones. The entertainment software has also been upgraded. It is easier for me to maneuver through the selections.

  I always like SIA entertainment programs. It has lots of movies, songs, TV programs and games to choose from. However I wished they put more reality, comedy, CSI and popular shows. My last trip programs weren’t so good. I was bored on the return trip not having stuff to watch.

  Another thing SIA has to work on is the frequent miles. It is not very useful as I still have to pay more even with a lot of miles collected. Sometimes the promotion tickets are better than reward miles. The tax and surcharges are costly. It is useless and I rather go with other airlines.

  
  
  

• Hyatt Summerfield Hotel

  09.07.09 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Hyatt Summerfield Hotel

  
  
  

  When I was in the Colorado Springs, I stayed in Hyatt Summerfield. Initially I booked Hyatt The Place which is more upper class. However there is no DIY laundry service, so I downgrade myself. I wanted all my laundries clean before going home.

  
  

  
  

  Hyatt Summerfield in Colorado Springs is very spacious. The room has a kitchen, a living hall and a bedroom. I believed land in US is always available which makes most hotel room spacious. The room was very clean. The only complain I had was the security latch to the lock was broken and every morning I received a 6am morning call. I feedback the morning call problem to the front desk, every morning but they told me they were fixing it. It wasn’t fixed till the day I checked out. It was really annoying having to wake up an hour early. I am not a morning person.

  I came back and wrote a feedback on Hyatt website. I was pretty pleased that the customer service responded to me immediately, apologizing about the bad experience. On top of that, they added points to my membership. Now I get a free night stay at any Hyatt hotel. Cool eh. Kudos to the customer service folks! For compensating me on waking up early to shut off the morning call.

  Hyatt Summerfield Hotel in Colorado Springs was very near to Garden of The Gods road and you can visit the rocks there. It is very beautiful all season. I visited it during winter and it was splendid. Next, you can go to Manitou Springs. Lots of beautiful places in CS. I don’t mind staying there.

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• Victoria Secret Shopping

  08.29.09 |Shopping, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Victoria Secret Shopping

  Last time when I was at Victoria Secrets, I walked in and walked out empty handed. I am not a lingerie person. There wasn’t anything for me. This time around, I walked in and I got these goodies.

  
  
  

  I am not sure whether it is cheap or not but I know that we cannot get any here. It was 5 bottles for US$25 or 7 bottles for US$30. I also got lots of sweet smelling sanitizers from there. Maybe they should open a chain of Victoria Secrets in Malaysia. I am sure lots of ladies, even men would be interested.

  One guy who took a hanger of lingerie and asked the sales lady loudly, ”Is this set complete?” “Do I need to get anything extra?” That was funny. The sales lady got shock for a while and later helps him. I used to subscribe to VS catalog and I like most of the blouses there. However the shipping is costly. Lets hope it will come here soon!

  
  
  

• Shopping Loots

  08.09.09 |Travel| Permalink | 2 Comments

  Yeah yeah yeah…who can beat me when it comes to shopping in US. Yeap, I got so much stuff that I got a big hole in my pocket. You know what I got? I got a few bottles of multivitamins for my children, Corelle dinnerware, Coach bags, 6 lb of cherries, chocolates, a vacuum broom, lots of clothes for my family, toys, shoes, nuts, coffee powder, …etc.

  
  
  

  I did have a hard time packing the stuff in. I always get a big box from my friend and pack it all in. Of course I had to carry the Corelle dinnerware on board my flight. Imagine I did shop some more at Hong Kong transit airport. The stuff that I carry back did give me a good exercise, I think it is the best weight loss supplements I can get.

  The airport walking path is of no help. I had to walk from one end to the other. Fortunately in Changi, there was some feet massage machine to pamper my feet before I return home. It was really a great trip.

• Free Meal

  07.31.09 |Travel, US| Permalink | 1 Comment

  Before I came to Colorado Springs, I ask my US counterparts what’s the weather there. All of them said hot and sunny. I landed here and it was cold. Now I am freezing. I didn’t even bought any jacket with me, just a knitted sweater. I have been drinking hot tea to keep me warm. Ooh, I brought rain from Penang too. It has been raining since the day I step foot here.

  The other day I walked into Boston Market to get a ¼ roast chicken with 2 sides for dinner to take away. The chicken wasn’t ready. I waited and waited. The chicken was still roasting. The waitress was nice, she offered me a drink. I sat down. She took my order. Next thing she packed everything and told me it was free. How nice.

  
  
  

  The reason it was free because the service was slow. Hey I only waited for 5 minutes. Don’t you just love it here? The chicken taste delicious too, better than Kenny Rogers. It was juicy and superb. I will go back again! Next stop, in-and-out burger. Yummy!

• Shopping At Castle Rock

  07.28.09 |Shopping, Travel| Permalink | 5 Comments

  I drove 35 miles to Castle Rock Factory Outlet on the day after I land. Fun starts before a busy week of work. They have summer sales there. You cannot imagine how cheap and how much I bought. There are many outlets there like Coach, Levi, Guess, Gap, Corelle and many more.

  
  
  

  Driving up there wasn’t too difficult because it is a straight road, just like Gilroy. However with Castle Rock, the shops are all in one place. I don’t have to drive from one zone to the other. If you are tired walking, there is a little nice food court for you to eat and relax. It has wifi too.

  
  
  

  Ok, here is the interesting part…..COACH IS ON SALE!!!!! It is not just sale but SUPER SALE. Yes, crazy price too. Most bags were like 50% discount and there are so many choices there. By the way, there is no queue whatsoever and not very pack with people too. Some bags were USD$99. See for yourself. You cannot believe how many I bought back. Now I am broke!

  
  

  

  
  

  Look at my Oshkosh receipt, clothes below USD$5. Back home, it is selling above RM40. Now you know why I have a problem packing. Not forgetting all the preordered toys that my children listed for me.

  
  
  

• Dreadful Flight Schedule

  07.27.09 |Travel, Work| Permalink | Comments Off on Dreadful Flight Schedule

  Yeap, I am off to US and my flight schedule is terrible.

  Thurs Night -> Fly to Singapore, stayed overnight at Transit Hotel.
  Fri Morn -> Fly to Narita, Japan. Then head to LA

  In LA, I arrived at 1:30pm, waiting for my Colorado Springs flight at 8:30pm. It was a long wait. There is nothing near by the airport, that I can do. I stayed in the airport and went online.

  Flight delayed until 10:30pm due to technical problem in the plane. They got another plane. I landed in Colorado Springs at 1:30am. Fortunately they didn’t cancel the flight else my plans all go down the drain. A few flights were canceled while I was there. United is really going downhill.

  There was one flight, they were overbooked. They made an announcement to give a free round trip on United in US, to anyone who want to give away his/her seat on that flight. Hotel and next flight arrangement will also be provided. I don’t mind if it was my flight.

  I am so glad that I made a decision not to collect the car on that day. I chose to stay near the airport and pick up the car next morning. At 2 am, no one will be there to hand you the car. It will be waste of money to take a cab to my hotel and back to collect the car. At least with hotel near the airport, I can use the airport shuttle.

  Most of the time, when I reach US, it is at night. I can sleep after that. However this time, I reached in the morning and I don’t have a place to sleep. It was really tiring and went to sleep straight after I checked in.

  Next up, shopping spree and you cannot imagine what I got! Ok, a few of you know because I was too excited to share the news…..

  
  
  

  Here is my rented car, no hybrid car this round…

  
  
  

• To Travel Or Not?

  05.23.09 |Travel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  I have 2 trips waiting for me to decide whether I should go or not. With the H1N1 scare, I am in a dilemma. I have already booked the flights, hoping to bring my family back to KL during school holidays. I can change the dates of the flight but it will cost me extra RM$200.

  I bet I am not the only one facing this problem. I really hope that the H1N1 virus is under control. I am not worried if I get it. I am just worried for my family.
  So should I fly or what?