Category: Travel

• Penang Island Playground For Children

  03.29.08 |Playground, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Penang Island Playground For Children

  Here is a useful post for any Penang visitors who want to find children playground for their kids.

  1. Youth Park (Free)
  2. Metropolitan Park in Relau (Free)
  3. Shangri-la Golden Sands Adventure Zone (With Fee)
  4. GIANT Bayan Baru Supermarket (Free)
  5. Tesco EGate Supermarket (Free)
  6. Tesco Extra Sungai Dua Supermarket (With Fee)
  7. Jusco Queensbay Mall (With Fee)
  8. Queensbay Adventure Zone near the Skating Rink (With Fee)

  Let me know if you know any that I have missed out.

• Gold Elite Krisflyer

  03.06.08 |Travel| Permalink | 3 Comments

  A few weeks ago, I received my gold elite Krisflyer card from Singapore Airlines. Yeap, after I have accumulated 50,000 miles in the silver membership year. The membership is only for a year. I have to enjoy it while I can.

  What benefits do you get for this prestigious Gold card?

  1. You get to use the Star Alliance Gold lounge around the world. The lounge has lots of comfortable seats with free internet access. It also has a mini bar for drinks and snacks.
  2. You get to check in an additional piece of baggage or extra 20kg when you traveled with SIA. Let’s hope I get another trip to US to loot more shopping stuff back. *wink*
  3. Priority check-in without any Q.
  4. Priority boarding.
  5. Priority baggage handling.

  Let’s hope I can enjoyed all the above while it lasts.

  
  
  

• Hotel Carlton San Francisco

  02.13.08 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  
  
  

  One thing that I liked most about Hotel Carlton is that it is very environmental friendly. The first hotel I stayed, that provided 2 bins, one of which is a recycle bin. They are certified as a Green Business.

  “Green businesses help reduce waste and protect our environment by employing pollution prevention practices, minimizing waste, and conserving energy, water as well as other natural resources”

  Besides that, the location of the hotel is good. A 5 minutes walk to the nearest SF famous cable car stop and 10 minutes walk to Union Square where the shopping places are. However it is pretty quiet around the area at night.

  
  
  

  The staffs are fantastically friendly. The room was very clean and cozy. It has complimentary evening wine at the lobby reception and free WiFi internet connection. However there is this one staff that really spoiled my good impression of the hotel. It is a small matter and I will not talk about it here. Overall I am very satisfied with the hotel and would recommend anyone to stay there.

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  If you plan on taking a trip to any place in Europe, then find cheap hotel rates online. You could be traveling to Spain or Australia and you can still find great luxury hotels at amazing prices. It can be easy to find pet friendly hotels when booking online as well.

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• Big Apple Vs J.CO

  02.09.08 |Food, Travel| Permalink | 4 Comments

  I heard so much about the 2 Kuala Lumpur donut shops where people queue to buy it. I went to the Curve Big Apple to get a dozen of my own. I went there during the night time and there wasn’t any queue. How fortunate. A donut cost RM2 per piece. It is cheaper if you get ½ dozen or a dozen.

  
  
  

  I really love it at the first bite of the Big Apple donut. The donut is really soft and the toppings melt in the mouth. I have sweet tooth so it really taste good. However for those who doesn’t like sweet things, maybe you may not like it.

  A few days later, I went to Pavilion lower ground floor to try out J.CO donut. The toppings are almost the same as Big Apple but it has more selections. Yes, there was a queue but I could get a box within 15 minutes. If you do not want to queue, you can go to the drink counter and pick up a dozen right away. However, you cannot make any selection.

  
  

  
  

  Overall, I like Big Apple’s donut because of the soft base. J.CO’s topping is not as sweet. J.CO is also cheaper. By the way, both donut shops, the donut is made fresh on the spot. Now it makes DD taste really bad.

  If you come to Penang, please bring me these donuts. Yummy….

  Recommendations: Tiramisu, Al Capone, JCrown Almond.

  
  
  

• KL Roads

  02.06.08 |Kuala Lumpur, Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on KL Roads

  
  
  

  Picture Credit: Google Map

  Kuala Lumpur roads have changed so much since I left home in year 1998. Now there are more and more highways. It sure looks messy. I still can manage to drive to most places. However I did made a few wrong turns.

  By the way, wrong turns in KL can be very costly. Once I ended up paying 2 tolls when I could have paid none if I didn’t made that wrong turn. Worst is, it is a longer distance which means a waste of petrol.

  I found that a lot of KL drivers are always rushing which means they like to speed, tailgate and cut queue. I used to be one of them but I have changed ever since I move away. I heard over the radio that most of the above mentioned can lead to a big ticket.

  I bet if everyone drives courteously, everyone will reach home safely and faster. Often traffic jams are caused by those who cut queue or cause a deadlock in traffic, because everyone wants to pass by no one wants to give in. Of cause the most obvious ones are those who cause accidents and those who are kepoh aka busy bodies looking over at the accident.

  Anyway drive safely if you are travelling long distance during Chinese New Year. If you cannot, please take a flight or a train. I don’t even dare to recommend taking a bus.

• Santa Rosa Hilton Hotel

  02.02.08 |Hotel, Travel| Permalink | 1 Comment

  
  
  

  The Santa Rosa Hilton is a nice hotel near the Sonoma Winery. You can visit 140 over different wineries near by. The room is spacious and very clean. It was a very nicely decorated room. The bed was huge for a petite lady like me. One thing I like about the bed is, it has lots of soft pillows. They also provide CrabTree toiletries. Another plus is free broadband and wifi.

  
  

  
  

  However the staff wasn’t very friendly. When I arrived at the hotel, I was lost because I missed the lobby and park a distance away. Next mistake I made was to take out my luggage and went to the check in service desk. By the way, there is no ramp to wheel the luggage back up. I have to carry it 3 steps up. I wonder how a handicap person reached the service desk.

  The room given to me was on another building. The hotels have a few separate buildings. The staff went over the direction too fast, didn’t catch what he was saying. Anyway I managed to make my way through. I had to bring my luggage back to the car and drive to another building.

  Lastly it has no DIY laundry and hotel laundry charges per piece basis. I hardly see any hotel staff around. Location wise, there is nothing that is near walking distance. If you need a place to eat or shop, you would have to drive out.

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• SIA Check In Online

  01.30.08 |Travel| Permalink | 2 Comments

  I really like SIA online check in system. You can check in online within 48 hours from the departure date and print your own boarding pass. If you have baggage, you can deposit it at the check in counter. The one thing I like about it is you can pick your seats if the flight is not full. Last trip I chose a window seat with empty side seats. I can lie down and sleep on all 3 seats.

  
  
  

  On the screen, you can see green for available seats, grey for occupied and blue, and your current seat assignment. If you want an aisle seat, it is best if you can tell the agent at the point of purchase. Most of the seats are pre-assigned. It is best to tell them the exact seat number if you know.

  Don’t ever choose seats that is near the front row with basinet as you may hear baby crying if you are sensitive to sound. Don’t choose seats near the kitchen or toilet, again you will hear stewardess making noise preparing meals or strangers standing next to you while waiting for their turn to use the toilet.

  If you pick seats at the back rows, you get to board first. If you pick seats near the front, you get to embark first. You can have both if you upgrade to business class or first class or if you travel enough, you get GOLD membership. With Gold membership, you can use the VIP lounges during transit. They served food & drinks too and you can use Internet for free.

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  There are places online where you can print different things like checks, labels, and even magnets. If you are looking to have a magnet printed like car magnets, look no further than VistaPrint.

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• Hot Dog Car

  01.19.08 |Travel| Permalink | 3 Comments

  
  

  
  

  I saw this in SFO and it is really cute. It is actually a car that looks like a hot dog. I am not sure whether it is an advertising thing or it really sells hot dog. If anyone knows what it does, drop me a comment.

• Driving In US

  01.19.08 |Travel| Permalink | Comments Off on Driving In US

  
  
  

  It is a great experience driving long distance in US. My previous trips were mainly driving from hotel to office or hotel to airport. This trip I had to drive about 2 hours up north. There is so much difference between driving in California and here. I am not pressured as the cars do not follow my back closely. Drivers will stay a distance away. Most drivers adhere to the speed limit and they do not seem to be rushing.

  I could adjust to driving on the right side very well. I am not sure why but when I came back, it took me some time to re-adjust back.

  I was worried because I still haven’t really worked out the stop junction yet. I had to ask my hubby a couple of times. You know those junctions with stop sign and no traffic light. It is a first come first basis and everyone has to stop. If you reach there and stop first, you have the right to go.

  At Santa Rosa, it was bad driving at night. The road will fog up and the street lights are very dim. One night, I made a wrong turn and it ended in a road that I could only see a foot away. It is so dark, roads were narrow and I thought I was in a jungle. GPS really helped here. I depend on it very much and most of the time, it brings me to my destination.

  I stole a shot while I was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. It is not as long as the Penang bridge but more expensive. I had to pay US5.00 for the return trip.

  
  
  

• A Day In San Francisco

  01.10.08 |Food, Travel| Permalink | 6 Comments

  
  
  

  When you talk about SFO, you will think of Golden Gate Bridge. It is the landmark. I am glad I drove on it. I will try to take a picture when I drive back.

  
  
  

  I went to Fisherman Wharf by taking the famous cable car on land. It cost US11 for a day pass and you can hop on or off anytime. You got to taste the clam chowder which is thick and delicious, plenty of clams. On a cold day, it is the best thing to warm your body up.

  
  

  

  

  Of coz, THAT is the place for seafood. Look at the gigantic lobster and crab. I had the combination seafood and it was great. Along the road, there are plenty of souvenir shops. The thing with these shops is to do a price survey. I noticed that one shop offer 5.99 for an item, if you walk further down, it cost 2.99.

  There were many shops on sale like GAP, Victoria Secrets, Macy..etc. However most of the items were winter clothing which is not suitable for Penang weather. Oh I got a little gadget, a digital photo frame. Yeah yeah yeah…I am a shopaholic. Vien already prepared a box for me to bring stuff back. Hey I can bring 2x32kg back.

  
  
  

  By the way, I walk into Victoria Secrets and I came out empty handed. My hubby will be greatly disappointed.