Our Secret Valentine Getaway

A 2D1N stay at Grand Hyatt, Jakarta..


Modern minimalist theme spacious room..



Spacious comfy bathroom and walk-in wardrobe :p


Romantic night view from the room..

Our impromptu valentine dinner: Australian Wagyu beef hotpot


It wasn't an intended getaway as we were there to attend Jeff's wedding the following day. Nevertheless, we had a wonderful blessed weekend to ourselves :p

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY DEAR..

Osaka: Kobe Beef

Day tour to Kobe for only two reasons: shopping and kobe beef gourmet! :)

Kobe Sanda Premium Outlet contains 80-100 of branded outlets at bargain price.. This is where you can find label like Coach, Gucci, Kate Spade, Hugo Boss, Hamilton, Valentino at 35%-80% bargain!




Kobe beef has always been described as soft, chewy and melt in your mouth.. Unfortunately, the one being presented to us has lower marble score, around 8-10.. It's still good though.. The one on the right is proschiuto ham..

Visit to Kobe Farm to have a close-up look on the cows.. *mmm yummy ox-tongue :p

Osaka: Sightseeing

Osaka is the second biggest population city in Japan. However, its standard of living is much lower compared to Tokyo. As the result, many people migrate daily to Tokyo from Osaka via Shinkansen to lower their living costs. You can imagine how packed the train is in the morning!




A MUST-SEE places in Osaka is the famous Osaka-jo (Osaka castle). It is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a significant role in the unification of Japan in the sixteenth century. On the way to Osaka-jo, you will pass through Osaka-jo park -a beautiful serene park with awesome sight of Osaka-jo..




At night, visit the Shinsaibashi street -shopping district and food places.. It's surrounded by few giant shopping malls as well like Sogo, Daimaru etc.. so you will never worn out of choices here :)

Phuket: First Holiday Trip with Dear and Family

Finally, my long-awaited well-deserved holiday in Phuket! It was my first holiday trip with Manfred, and his parents! :) It was wonderful trip with good weather, fresh seafood, great bargains and lotsa fun!

Highlight of the trip was tour to the neighboring islands. Included in the itinerary were Maya Bay, Phi Phi Lay, Viking Cave, Monkey Beach, Coral Bay, Phi Phi Don and Khai Island.

Ride in the speed boat wasn't easy though smooth. High tide and strong wind made our journey jumpy and cold. The weather was cloudy with slight rain in the morning.

Our first destination was Phi Phi Lay, where our boat stopped by for snorkeling activities. It has awesome lagoon, and water was so clear that you can see the fishes swimming around you.




















Awesome lagoon view at Phi Phi Lay

Next we passed by Viking Cave and visited Monkey Beach where all the monkeys dwell. Dropped by for monkey feeding and photo taking. Thereafter, we went snorkeling at Coral Bay. The view of corals was really breathtaking.















Monkey Beach















Snorkeling in Coral Bay

Heavy rain poured down just about when we were to leave for lunch at Phi Phi Don. Fortunately, it was bright and windy when we reached our last destination, Khai Island. Beautiful white sandy beach with blue sky water. God has blessed our journey. If God is with us, who can be against us? AMEN!















Beautiful view at Phi Phi Don















White sandy beach at Koh Khai

Next day we visited Kata View Point where you can see all three beaches -Patong, Karon and Kata -from top, underwater world and National Park.















Phuket view from Kata View Point -BREATHTAKING- *gasp!















Underwater World

The trip was fulfilling, yet relaxing. Most importantly, we all had good recharging break and come back feeling refreshed! And, I and Manfred had crafted our first holiday trip memory :)




















Aren't we lovely and loving ;p

Krabi Trip

Krabi has what it takes for a perfect getaway destination -beautiful beaches, fresh seafood, great spa and friendly locals. My 4days and 3nights stay was very fulfilling and enjoyable. This holiday has been very memorable esp since it strenghtened the bond between me and James. This holiday was what our relationship needed!














Ao Nang Beach

We arrived in Krabi at 8am and was brought around for city tour directly. Places that we visited include Tiger Cave (with no tigers inside of course), Fish Farm, Krabi Town and several souvenir shops (as always in all tours). Surprisingly, the souvenir shops turn out to be cheaper than the normal shops in Ao Nang Beach. This is because that Ao Nang is a tourism area -something that we discovered only later on.

Around 2pm we reached our resort, checked in and asked for room service massage -just something that we needed after an early flight and tiring city tour. Dinner was by the beach -a romantic candlelight dinner (but candle was constantly being blown off by the wind -_-')

Second day was spent visiting neighbouring islands -Hong Island, Lading Island and Pakbia Island. We signed up for island tour package and travelled in big boat. Hong Island has a beautiful lagoon and thus make it a must island to visit. The downside, however, that it has not much sandy area for you to lie on. But hey cheer up, you can still snorkel and kayak here :)




















Hong Island Lagoon

There's nothing much to say about Lading Island. Scenery is beautiful but perhaps it's too secluded. We spent our time here relaxing and enjoying the scenery.














Lading Island














Pakbia Island -passed by but didn't stop due to high tide.

The island tour took up whole of the morning and afternoon of our day. We spent 10hours travelling and we were totally beat when we reached the hotel. We were crazy enough to swim for an hour after the travel though!

I and James agreed that the resort we stayed in was probably the best resort in the island. It was strategically located in front of the beach and near the town. Main exit leads to the main road; while back exit leads directly to the beach. The view from the resort is FANTASTIC -as you can see below.














I booked a superior cottage but was upgraded to deluxe FOC. The difference is that superior is on the first floor; while deluxe on the second floor. Additional facilities in deluxe include jacuzzi and open-air Balinese standing shower. Room was spacious yet private -perfect! Staff was friendly and service was fantastic. Nothing you could ask for more!














This is really a perfect place for getaway -esp for recharge. I'd definitely love to come back again -but not so soon. There are still plenty of places for me to discover such as Koh Samui, Maldives, Hua Hin etc.. This might have to wait till next year though ...














Sunset in Ao Nang -beautiful eh ;)

Christmas in Shanghai

Christmas in Shanghai is COLDDDDDD!!!! *BrrRRrrr..

The festive mood can rarely be seen in Shanghai, I guess China doesn't really celebrate Christmas. Well, there are Christmas trees around though, like Xintiandi, The Bund, Pudong, etc. And of course, there are many Christmas Eve lunch, dinner, Christmas brunch, lunch, dinner set. That's all!

It wasn't snowing during Christmas. Surprisingly, the temperature was pretty warm, high 10deg and low 4deg. At night, it was hazy and wet. Went to Bar Rouge for the Bund View, and all that we could see was haze. I was looking forward to White Christmas, but Shanghai only offers Hazy Christmas this year. Oh well...

Nevertheless..

Merry Christmas everyone! :) Have an enjoyable Christmas!

苏州 - 杭州 (3)

We spent the night at 西湖天地，a 新天地 of Hangzhou.. Along the corridor are the boutiques of Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Ferrari Club store etc.. Great architecture I must say..




















西湖天地

The second day was spent visiting the infamous 断桥！The legend has it that when a couple walked along the bridge, their love would be blessed and everlasting.. Well there's no harm trying since I want my love with dear be blessed and everlasting ;)

Actually the real reason we walked along the bridge is because we were heading to 楼外楼 for our brunch.. It only took us 20mins to walk past the bridge but we managed to found the freaking restaurant only 45mins later -_-' I was starving to death then!














The infamous 断桥

I managed to fulfill my desire for Hangzhou's specialty during the trip - 叫化鸡 aka Beggar Chicken，西湖醋鱼 aka Water Lake Vinegar Fish，西湖汤 aka Water Lake Soup，东波肉。。 Amongst all, I love 叫化鸡 the most..

One must be wondering why the name beggar chicken? In the past, the chicken was covered in a mud and cooked underground as they couldn't afford a cooking pot; hence the name. Of course, now it's no more done that way..

One thing I noticed is that the Hangzhou-ians 很会吃 醋！I could taste vinegar in most of the dishes!

We headed back to Shanghai in the evening for whole body massage and foot reflexology.. The whole trip, though fulfilling and enjoyable, has drained us so much that we needed the special relaxing treatment!














Best picture of the year!

苏州 - 杭州 (2)

We joined a one-day tour in Hangzhou and visited all of the scenic spots - 西湖，三潭印月，岳飞墓，灵隐寺，宋城，虎跑泉，龙井问茶。。 The tour begins from 7am all the way to 6pm nonstop! Imagine how tiring it was! But yeah that's how it is when you join one-day tour..

First itinerary was a visit to 西湖。 Only one word to describe: B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! I was totally speechless being amazed by its beauty..















Beautiful scenery at 西湖

We then headed to 三潭印月 by boat.. It's a small island, and again, filled with beautiful scenery! There was a stone of 三潭印月 said to be written by the emperor. It was believed that touching the character 印 may bring fortune - male is supposed to touch it with his left hand; while female with her right hand..




















*gasps! speechless..




















All the superstitious stuff -_-' But oh well :p















At 三潭印月

Next visit was the famous 岳飞墓, a memorial place for 岳飞将军。















岳飞 Tomb




















岳飞 Statue















The traitors that caused 岳飞 death - in the past, people spitted on them, thus there's a saying in the wall 'DO NOT SPIT'!

Afternoon was spent in 灵隐寺。 If you're not up into praying and burning incents, you can skip this place.. But well the place was pretty cool for picture taking.. The question is whether it worths the trouble..




















at 灵隐寺

Hangzhou is famous for its 龙井茶 aka Long Jing Green Tea, thus trip 龙井问茶 is compulsory in any tour itenerary.. I bought myself two box of 西湖龙井茶 :) The culture in Hangzhou is not to DRINK tea, but to EAT tea - 吃茶. After drinking the tea, they either eat the tea leaves, or collect it for pillow as the effect is good for your rest.. I tried eating the tea leaves and it was surprisingly good :)














Buying 西湖龙井茶 - looked so happy then as yet to found out was being fraud -_-'

Spent a relaxing evening in 宋城 aka Soong Town. The place is built to resemble the ancient city of China where even the people there were still wearing the traditional costumes. It's specially created to bring you back to the dynasty era.. Interesting place..















Notice the costume they're wearing..




















Posing with the guard :p

The last item on the itinerary was 虎跑泉 aka Tiger Spring Hill, the third famous spring China..tl However few days later, it was reported that the spring ran out of water! Apparently, two spring water companies get their drinking water from the back of the hill, which directly link to the Tiger Spring Hill -_-'




















The famous 虎跑泉




















Look at how the coin floats!














Our lovely patient tour guide