Excellent Value Budget Hotel In Ipoh

If you've figured out from my previous posts, I was in Ipoh with caramel honey last weekend for a wedding dinner. Since we didn't want to drive back home last at night, we decided to stay the night. After some thorough searching, I found the French Hotel in downtown Ipoh.

Very near to most shops, restaurants and malls in Ipoh, the hotel was a pleasant surprise! Clean and comfortable rooms (we were lucky coz the hotel was just refurbished) and helpful staff were some of the best elements of the hotel. 

Guitarist not included!

By the way, it was raining when we arrived, and after a tiring 2-hour drive, we were relieved but a bit skeptical when we saw the old neon-looking sign of the French Hotel but after being ushered inside the indoor garage for the night (coz of the rain) which we were grateful for, expectations of the hotel were definitely off to a good start. 

On the whole, it was an enjoyable trip. Being in the centre of the laid-back town of Ipoh gave us a great advantage to explore the wide variety of hawker stalls and Chinese restaurants around the area. At a very reasonable rate of MYR138 per night, it's worth checking in here for a weekend stay.

Scariest Ride of My Life!

Caramel honey and I spent the weekend in Ipoh as we had a wedding dinner to attend there. The strange part is, we don't remember seeing taxis or cabs anywhere in town. Except for the odd minibus, we never saw taxis waiting by the road, seeing that this is Ipoh town with its glorious food stalls and tourists milling about. Such a vast difference from KL where you get a gazillion taxis at every corner. 

Thinking about taxis just reminds me of my time in India, few years ago. 

My family and I were in Agra, India. Having just visited the Taj Mahal, the tour van dropped us off at our hotel but we wanted to do some shopping (which happened to be around the Taj area) so we decided to take an auto to get there. If you've visited India, Cambodia or Vietnam, you'll notice the traffic is next to insane - how they manage to drive/ride without colliding into one another is an acquired skill.

So we hailed an auto from the hotel, the bellboy explained to the driver that we wanted to go to the Taj Mahal area as we wanted to do some shopping. Once we got in (in being a 3-seater on a 3-wheel ride with a mini engine) and he started driving, I thought I was gonna fall out! It's like being on a not-so-fast roller coaster on 3 wheels. If you had just eaten, trust me, you DO NOT want to get into an auto.

To our surprise, the driver asked us, as best as he could, where/what we'd like to do. So we explained we wanted to do some shopping (mind you, we were already near the Taj Mahal at this point). Then, he went on saying, he knows of a shop not far away that sells nicer things for a cheaper price, etc. Next thing we knew, he had made a U-turn and started speeding away to this so-called souvenir shop. 

My dad started shouting at him to turn back to the Taj Mahal and he kept arguing with my dad - obviously India locals know best! In the end, we insisted he take us back to the hotel (which he did, thank God) and my dad gave an him an earful (and complained to the bellboy). Good to say, we never took any autos after that!

Anne Frank Museum, Enormous Pancakes & X'Mas Markets @ The Dam!

More and more gorgeous canals - especially along Prinsengracht (where the Anne Frank Museum is located). I took a canal cruise here and was so taken by the lovely houses lining the canals and how gorgeous everything from the balconies covered with ivy to church bells ringing in the distance to every leaveless tree. People cycle EVERYWHERE in Amsterdam, by the way. In fact, there are lanes dedicated for cyclists so before you cross anywhere, look out!

The Anne Frank Museum was such a moving experience for me. If you've read her diary before, you'll feel the same way, I'm sure. As I went through room to room, I felt as if I was transported back to World War 2 and there I was living in this tiny room. It's an enlightening experience just moving through the place the Franks hid for months before being caught by Nazis. I highly recommend anyone who's read the book or just plain love going museum-hopping, to visit the this place. 

One of the best croissants I've ever had in my life - was at this place. It's just next to the Anne Frank Museum so you can't miss it. In my case, it was the best option in getting out of the cold!

Westerkerk Church is just around the corner from Anne Frank Museum. Since we were there just before Sinterklaas, church bells kept ringing every now and then which made the whole atmosphere even more enchanting. I had planned on climbing to the top of the church tower as you can apparently get an awesome view from there, but sadly the tower is closed to the public at least until next year. 

Yes, you're right. I did not finish this gigantic (apparently normal-sized) bacon-cheese pancake but that's only because it was deliciously filling! Less than 10 Euro :)

As we had our nights free, we ventured into the X'Mas market in Leidseplein, a noted nightspot area in Amsterdam. Plenty of street food to cater to the hungry in the ice-cold weather. Speaking of which, shortly after we got here, it started raining ice! Thanks to this, we had to eat in one of the bars nearby. There was also an ice skating rink nearby with skates available for rental. 

Glad to say, we didn't go skating but enjoyed soaking in the scene that made us feel all Christmas-y inside.

Charming Windmills, Sex Shops & Heineken Up-Close @ The Dam!

This is the windmill village of Zaanse Schans. There are about 4-5 windmills still operating here, each for a different purpose, spice, wood, etc. The village is surrounded by water and complemented by lots greenery, quaint houses, cheese and clog factories, windmills, sheep, ducks and fresh, crisp morning air. About 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal Station, the entire village can take about 2 hours or more to walk through.

Amsterdam Centraal Station - where most of the Intercity trains, buses and trams start from/end at. When I first saw the building, I thought it was a church of some sort coz the architecture was so intricate. We spent some time here just looking for the right tram stop to head back to the hotel. Mind you, there are trams going in every direction, especially in Dam Square. So it's not a surprise if you end up on the wrong tram heading in a different direction all together.

One of the many, many canals around Amsterdam. When I first got here, I was so excited that every single time I saw a canal, I just started snapping like a mad person. I'm sure the Dutch people in trams would have looked upon us with amusement and thought, "The things tourists do!"

One of the many sex shops in the city. For someone like me, this was something different so you can imagine the number of passersby staring at me as I tried to take pics of the shop!

Heineken Experience was highly enjoyable. Since it's a former brewery, we were taken on a tour of how Heineken started, with cool motion shows, games and a look at the ingredients/process in brewing beer. You'll need about 1.5 - 2 hours in here. Plus, at the end you get 3 free pints of Heineken beer and another cool thing is, you can get your name or something similar engraved on a bottle of Heineken beer, various mugs or glasses. 

I opted for the glass, as you can see from the pic above - got it engraved as a x'mas gift for caramel honey. Would have bought more if I didn't have a lot to carry already!

Snorkeling @ Blue Lagoon Beach, Bali

Since the trip to Bali was caramel honey's b'day gift from me and knowing how much he loves the sea, I thought we could do something different than the usual sitting-on-the-beach-drinking-playing-guitar so I planned in snorkeling for the both of us.

The Blue Lagoon Beach is on the east side of Bali and it took us about 1.5 hours from Kuta just to drive there. But the beach was worth it - it was like a hidden paradise. Take a look:

Caramel honey with his trusty Coleman!

The entrance to Blue Lagoon Beach

It gets even more intriguing...

And you come across this!

Paradise :)

Since it was our first time snorkeling, we rented the gear and life jackets (as we're prone to panicking in the sea - me especially!). At first, we spent some time just enjoying the beach and observing people snorkeling from the shore, how they were doing it, etc. 

When we decided to go in, we had the hardest time getting our fins on and when we did we got rooted in the sand and had difficulty yanking our fins out! I think we must have been quite a spectacle as we were the only ones there in life jackets and me shrieking every now and then when the strong current made my fins sink in deeper into the sand. LOL!

Finally, a fellow snorkeler came by to help us out. He and his girlfriend I presume, taught us how to put on our masks and fins the right way and what to do when waves gush into the snorkel tube. Before you know it, caramel honey got the hang of it and was off exploring the vast shore covered in corals and colorful fishes. 

I needed some help just floating on the surface coz let me tell you, if you're not prepared for what's under the sea, you can be terrified. I saw huge corals and the most amazing fishes and at some point the corals/rocks dipped further below and you cannot see the bottom anymore. That. is. terrifying. It's like a black abyss. But if you're prepared to be amazed, you'll enjoy being so close to fishes that you can touch them.

Anyway, it was an experience. The beach is clean and water is quite sheer so it's easy to see what's underneath. Another good thing, there are not many people there, just a few couples lounging around, minding their own business so it's pretty much private. Now that caramel honey has found something else to enjoy on the beach, I think once I get the hang of it or go more often, I'll get used to another world underwater :)

Bali: Sunset Boutique Hotel, Kuta

If you're looking for budget accommodation in Bali, you should most definitely check out Sunset Boutique Hotel. The hotel is located in Kuta town itself, which is quite convenient coz you're about 2 mins drive from the shopping district, clubs and bars as well as, the beach.

We got quite a good rate for our room too, which was a 2-bedroom suite. The entire suite for 3 nights (with complimentary breakfast for 3), came to USD285 (about RM920) and among the 4 of us, it was only RM230 per person. Pretty worth it, right? Mind you, we booked this 1 week before we arrived, through AsiaWebDirect.com. Check out some pics of the suite below.

The pillows are amazingly soft!

The view from our balcony

The hotel service is EXCELLENT. Staff were very friendly and helpful - on arrival we were greeted with cool towels and iced tea. Check-in was a breeze and within minutes we were already up in our room. Another plus point is their room service. Their food is reasonably priced (for the portions served) and tastes just as good. So if you're thinking of spending the night in, try the food from their room service menu.

Another thing that we couldn't get enough of was the hotel pool. Pool hours are till 10pm but the management let us use the pool even till late, as long as we didn't make too much noise :) We spent most of the time in the whirlpool which was like heaven coz the water was so warm!

On the downside, their spa is not much to talk about. The treatments are quite pricey and the baths are done in your room itself, so you don't really get the spa experience. However, Kuta town is crawling with spas at every corner and women along the street will be showing you their spa rates, so I'm sure you would be spoilt for choice.

Overall, the Sunset Boutique Hotel is amazing for a budget hotel. The hotel is clean, well-maintained, staff are friendly and attentive, and it's in Kuta itself. If I go back to Bali, I would most probably stay there again :)

Bali: Uluwatu Temple

On the day we arrived, we had time to check out the Uluwatu Temple before checking in. A note when visiting temples, if you are wearing shorts or anything above the knee, you might have to wear a sarong before entering. Most temples provide sarongs but unless you wanna wear some sarong covered in another person's sweat, you might want to bring a wrap for yourself.

We had to walk quite a distance to get to the temple itself but when we got there, the breathtaking view caught us off guard. We were standing at the edge of a cliff and could hear the waves crashing on the rocks below us!

Sadly, we could not see the sunset as it was on the other side of the island. The view, although picturesque, reminded me of the movie Shutter Island. If you were to fall off this cliff, I doubt there would be any chances of survival. This place should be renamed as 'Suicide Peak' :P

By the way, the temple is covered with your neighborhood-friendly species - monkeys. So avoid dangling anything in your hand, especially food items, sunglasses, camera. There was a scene where a monkey snatched this guy's shades from his head, climbed up a tree (very high, if I might add) and dropped the shades to the ground!

Unfortunately for the guy, no amount of glaring and swearing at the monkey is gonna get his glasses back.

By the way, Uluwatu Temple is also where they have the Kechak Dance but we were too worn out from all the walking and we couldn't wait to check in and get settled so we had to give that a miss. But from what I've heard and read, the dance is quite impressive.

Right outside the temple entrance

Stay tuned for the review of the hotel we stayed in - The Sunset Boutique Hotel!

Bali: Scrumptious Flying Fish

On our first day in Bali, Dean (our driver/guide) took us for a scrumptious lunch at this Balinsese restaurant. We insisted that we only wanted to try local food, so no Western, Chinese, Indian, etc. The one dish Dean said was quite popular among the locals was the 'Ikan Terbang' (not sure how this works in theory as there were no pics in the menu). 

When the fish arrived at our table, it looked...somewhat rearranged...BUT still delicious nonetheless. Check out the pic of Dean proudly holding the 'Ikan Terbang' below. 

Some of the other dishes we tried:

Sticky Rice

 Ayam Penyet

Ais Kacang with Avocado

End of the day, the bill came to about 30,000 rupiah per person (about MYR10 each) which is really cheap considering the dishes we ordered. Where else can you get all these for 10 bucks in Malaysia?

Bali: Dumb Blonde Moment

Something's bound to happen when 4 girls go for a trip alone. In this case, we were supposed to board the plane for Denpasar, Bali from 10.20am onwards. Since we got to LCCT 3 hours earlier, we thought we had plenty of time to spare. By the time we reached the boarding gate, there were no other passengers there and the gate was closed but the officer was still at the counter.

So like most people, we thought " Oohk, the flight hasn't boarded yet" and we continued to snap pics of ourselves. Next thing we knew, our names were being called on the PA (last call by the officer behind the counter!) and we scrambled for our passports and boarding passes. The plane was just next to the gate but as we got nearer, we noticed the plane had a Thailand flag on the front - with the word 'THAILAND'.

Still unfazed, we thought the plane was used for Thailand flights as well and went on to board the aircraft. But things started feeling strange when the flight attendants kept saying "Sawadika". One of my friends checked with them and turns out, the flight was to Bangkok!

OMG. Of all the most embarassing situations we've ever gotten ourselves into, this must be the worst. We rushed past everyone who was already seated, down the steps and asked a nearby technician for directions, who pointed at one END and we could see another plane parked there. Glad to say that we boarded the right plane in the end!

Shenzhen: Camera battery dies in Splendid China

At this point of time, my camera battery died so I could not get any pics of Splendid China. The park has the same concept as Window of the World but only contains replicas of wonders from all over China.

But we were just too tired from walking all around Window of the World that we didn't have the energy to walk around Splendid China. Plus, the cold was getting to my feet (2 pairs of socks did not help). The skin on my feet had become so dry that it was cracking (no idea how the locals survive the weather).

As per the tour, we were supposed to watch the Cultural Show at the park in an hour so we just decided to chill out at one of the resting spots there. We did manage to catch the horse show though. These riders perform daredevil stunts on the horses in a make-believe 19th century battle scene.

The cultural show was also good - although a bit slow. But the show portrayed China's many cultures with the lavish costumes and folk dances. It was a good experience :)

After the show, our tour guide, Michelle took us to this shopping district about 10 mins away from Splendid China. Can't remember what was the street called though but it was pretty much like KL or downtown Hong Kong. Lots of designer brands. We were also warned (many times) about pickpockets in this area.

Once again, the fashion sense here is similiar to Hong Kong. Leather boots, fur boots, PVC boots, leggings, skirts with netting and fur coats. Since most of the stuff were the same thing we saw in Hong Kong, I decided to nip into Starbucks and indulge in a hot vanilla. No suprise that when we got back to the hotel after having dinner, we just crashed into bed :)

Shenzhen: Window of the World

U'know the main reason why I even wanted to go to Shenzhen was to visit Window of the World. Over 100 replicas of the world's wonders, historicla heritages and famous scenic sites (scaled down of course) in a single theme park. I think I took over 100 pics just here alone so I'm just gonna show a few here and the rest you can check it out here.

Famous Statue of David

The Eiffel Tower, Paris

Not sure which part of the park is this from...

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Borobudur, Indonesia

Some Japanese Garden...

The Taj Mahal, India

Against the backdrop of St. Mark's Square, Italy

Holland

The Temple of Abu Simbel, Egypt

The Sphinx, Egypt

Yea, my friend thought this would be hilarious *roll eyes*

The Colosseum, Italy

We were given 2 1/2 hours to explore the park but I tell you, it's not enough. Walking from one replica to another takes a lot of energy, not to mention stamina. We had to miss the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty - basically the whole of USA. But at least we got a whole load of Europe and Asia :)