Sawatdee Phuket & Loveli Boutique Guesthouse

Date of Visit: 05th January 2012

My 2012 trip started by kicking off to Phuket together with my college besties in early of January. And of course, I need to fly all over from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur before flying again to Phuket on the next day. Well, it's kinda tiring in the first place because we need to wake up as early as 3am in order to catch our 6am flight to Phuket but then, we were more thrilled and excited for this island and beach getaways. 

#1: Witness sunrise from hundred feet above the sea was breathtaking. I always requested for window seat.

#2: Adorable Thai Customs signboards

Once we came out from the arrival hall, I saw our guesthouse driver was holding a paper with my name written on it. He introduced himself as Lob and he was indeed a friendly and funny person. Drove all the way from airport to the guesthouse, he did told us lots of things and info about Phuket including the night market which only will be held on every Saturday and Sunday so we won't feel bored.

So after a ride for roughly less or more than 40 minutes, finally we arrived in front of our guesthouse. The name of the guesthouse we were staying throughout our visit in Phuket was Loveli Boutique Guesthouse, which located at central of Patong. I came across this lodging from a Malaysian blogger, J2Kfm who went Phuket earlier and after discussed with my besties, all of them agreed to book this guesthouse as we saw it received tons of positive feedback. Plus, it only requested for 10% deposit instead of paying full before check-in.

We were only allowed to check-in the room at 2pm and cause we arrived to early, we were approached by Andrew, a very friendly Briton who runs this guesthouse for some Phuket travel packages such as Phi Phi Island Day Trip, Simon Cabaret Show, Phuket FantaSea and more. Overall, I think the packages offered were affordable and without thinking any longer, immediately we bought few of the packages (will blog with more details in the next few posts). Plus, this also saved our time and energy instead of scouting around for all those packages.  

#3: One of the host of the guesthouse, Neil whereas the guy behind is Andrew. Both of them are very helpful and funny at the same time. 

#4: It's not only a guesthouse, they are also a travel agency that provide services from booking airticket, transportation to city tour. 

 #5: Family room with 4 single beds

One of the main reason which choose this guesthouse was because it can accommodated 4 of us in a room -each and every of us got our own single bed. It's been almost 3 years we didn't meet each other, therefore we need a room like this to catch up lots of things among each other.

#6: Nicely decorated on our bed

#7: Some part of the room's amenities and facilities 

The guesthouse even offered broad range of amenities such as the satellite/cable TV, fridge, kettle, DVD player, universal adapter, cupboard with hanger, safety deposit box and even wooden towel rack that make us feeling so comfortable, like we were in our own home sweet home. And if at night feeling kinda lazy to hang out, there are tons of free DVDs available for borrowing at the lobby. Therefore, who say we need to stay in luxury resort to enjoy all these? 

 #8: The bathroom

The only downside was the bathroom. Although it quite spacious, the cleanliness met our standard and almost all the basic toiletries were provided such as bath towel, shampoo, shower gel and hot water but it's overflow everytime we bath. Imagine four of us were sharing one bathroom and had to wait for 5-10 minutes before the other can use.

 #9: Perfect and excellent location

Despite the bad water system in the bathroom, nothing beat the best when comes to the location of this guesthouse. First, there's a 7-11 convenience store located right just beside the guesthouse. Oh boy! Not just in Taiwan, Japan & Korea, I love the Thai's 7-11 stores cause they have so many kinds of foods to choose from at anytime you want. Most of the time, we bought our breakfast from there. Second, there's a shopping mall by the name of Jungceylon is located 2-3 minutes away. Even the bustling Bangla street and famous Patong beach is just 10-15 minutes walk.

#10: Recommended on Tripadvisor 

For the price we paid, it's really worth for every penny we spent and definitely one of the defining experiences to stay in this guesthouse. Delivering tip top services to each and every of their guest house, no wonder this guesthouse is always fully booked regardless whether is peak or non-peak season. Loveli Boutique Guesthouse is indeed one lovely lodging to stay when in Phuket without hurting your wallet. 

So if you are interested to stay in Loveli Boutique Guesthouse, hurry up make the reservation cause their rooms are kinda limited. Here is the official website - http://www.loveliguesthousephuket.com/index.html

NOTE: Just when I wanna begin to blog about Phuket, this reminds me of recent heartwrecking movie I watched last Sunday, "The Impossible".  Definitely one of the best movie you shouldn't miss out this year. I was crying like hell throughout the movie. 

Top 10 Berlin Attractions & Sightseeings

• Dresden, 800 Years Old City in Germany 
• Met United Buddy Bears in Berlin

Date of Visited: 04th October 2008

Germany's largest city and capital since 1990, Berlin is certainly one of the city in Europe must visit. Berlin is one vibrant city as most of its buildings were built with the funds received from various countries and in return, making this city an interesting of both mix and match styles. When comes to attractions and sightseeing, this city has no definite centre and pockets of attractions are dotted all over the place. Berlin is kinda a very large and spread-out city, so it's not practical to get around by foot. Therefore, the most convenient and easiest way to travel around the Berlin city is by taking its extensive public transport system.

During our visit there, we did went and visited few of the famous attractions which shouldn't miss out. Here is the top 10 list of my personal favourite attractions and sightseeings in Berlin:

1. Brandenburger Tor

  
Brandenburger Tor or Brandenburger Gate is the symbol and landmark of Berlin. This gate has its own history for more than two hundred years and it's symbolize of peace and unity. Crowning on the top of gate is the bronze quadriga of victory, a four-horse chariot that used in Roman times were a symbol of triumph. 

2.  Checkpoint Charlie 

Checkpoint Charlie is the famous border crossing between East and West Berlin, where American and Russian forces stood against each other after the creation of Berlin Wall. There is even a museum showing different methods of escape from former East Berlin to West Berlin.

3. Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which known as Holocaust Memorial is the memorial in Berlin dedicated to the thousand of Jewish victims during the World War II. This memorial took over a year to complete and was opened in December 2004. Means by the time we visited this, it just less than 4 years old. This attraction is located close to Brandenburger Gate and not far from the bunker where Hitler committed suicide. 
  

All of these rectangular grey blocks are vary in heights. 

 

4. Reichstag

Reichstag Building is parliament house and mirror of German history.

5. Rotes Rathaus

Rotes Rathaus or known as Red Hall City is the town hall of Berlin. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government of the Federal state in Berlin.

6. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church is the symbolic centre of West Berlin, an anti- war memorial to peace and reconciliation.

7. Berliner Dom

Berliner Dom, the cathedral church of Berlin is the largest church in the city and it serves as a vital center for the Protestant church of Germany.

8. Berlin’s Fernsehturm

Berlin’s Fernsehturm is a TV Tower and the tallest building in Berlin. As urban legend has it, the tower’s height is 365m high so that every child would be able to remember it, just like the days of the year. But turns out that the actual height of this tower is 368m.

Berlin’s Fernsehturm is located not so far away from Berliner Dom. 

9. Potsdamer Platz

Once one of the busiest squares in Europe, Potsdamer Platz was heavily damaged in World War 2 and then lay empty during the cold war because of it's position between east and west Berlin. Today the square has been revived and is once again a busy hub in the center of the German capital.

10. Berlin Wall

Last but not least, the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall in the East Side Gallery. It is the largest open-air gallery in the world with over one hundred original mural paintings in 1.3 km-long painted stretch. I did blogged about this before in full post - The Rising & Falling of Berlin Wall.  

DT with Germany's flag

Unexpected First Trip of 2013

Well, it's not an unexpected trip anyway cause both Boyfie and I did plan earlier for a trip to Johor just for the newly opened Legoland Theme Park but unfortunately the airfare was extremely expensive. A return airfare from Kota Kinabalu to Johor Bahru for a person via AirAsia cost roughly RM270 plus and we were thinking to postpone until we managed to get a very cheap one. Out of sudden, AirAsia was having this 1Malaysia Integration Programme by offering 10,000 free seats to all Malaysian early of this month. I was just trying my luck and I was so shocked when the return airfare was RM15 only (only had to pay for the airport tax). Without thinking any longer, immediately I purchased as we managed to save at least RM250 per person and for two, we saved roughly more than RM500. Yes, both of us are accountant and auditor, therefore we are quite calculative.

Newly launched of AirAsia 1Malaysia aircraft version

For this trip, we tried to limit our budget up to RM1,000 for two pax including hotel, transportation, foods and admission to Legoland but this of course, excluded our shopping spending. Who knows that my sister has two Legoland 30% discount vouchers given by KFC Singapore and as for the hotel, I managed to redeem up to RM75 from Agoda.com for the points I accumulated. Hence, for a 3 stars ranking hotel that cost RM420 for 3 nights, I only paid RM345.

It's scorching hot during our visit but it's better than pouring day. 

The only problem that we're facing throughout the trip was the mode of transportation mode it was kinda inconvenient for both of us. We did check the schedule of the public bus but sometimes it can't guaranteed that we might able to catch the bus. On the day we went to Legoland, we woke up as easly as 6.30am to catch the bus at 8.30am but we didn't see any sign of bus when the time as scheduled arrived. Then, on the other day we tried to catch bus at 10am and we reached 15 minutes earlier, the related party told us that the bus has left earlier cause there was no sparking space for them. Oh my gosh! Some of the bus driver were not even honest and lied to us that we had reached the desired bus stop but turns out to be other bus stop. Kinda hard to believe that this happened in my own country, Malaysia. Shame to say that! Therefore on the last day, we spend almost RM100 just for one way from our hotel to airport cause we worried if we trying to catch a public bus, in returns we might miss our flight due to inconsistency of the public bus.

However, throughout the trip besides Legoland, I enjoyed meeting up two group friends of mine; one was my college classmate and the other was my university housemate cum my travelmate to Japan and Korea. Both of them did offer to bring us around but we rejected cause we got our own plan. Not just travel around Johor Bahru, Boyfie and I managed to go Singapore too for a day trip. From my previous trips to Singapore, I always bypass from Johor Bahru to Singapore by renting a car. This time around, we took public bus, then went through the immigration checking point and went back to the bus again. Seriously speaking, all of these processes were not convenient especially for those who lugging with huge luggage bags and also for those elderly people.

If you look closely, I was stopped by the officer from taking any photo. No photos are allowed!

Nothing much I can blog about my this travel adventures except for Legoland Theme Park as well as review of the hotel I was staying - 11@Century Hotel, which I will blog in the next few posts.

For more of my travel updates, follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

Castleton, United Kingdom #throwback

Castleton is my first ever trip when I studied in United Kingdom back then and I had never blog about this before. Frankly speaking, none of us had ever heard of this place before but after our senior explained how beautiful and scenery was that place, immediately we signed up with our senior to join for this 1 day tour. Afterall, discover new place wasn't a bad idea and might gain new experiences.

#1: Castleton signboard

Castleton is a small little village located in the north east of England. The name itself was taken upon a castle which built besides the famous river known by the local. You won't find any high skyscrapers or even public transportation such as trains surrounding this village. All we saw just a row of old dark brown houses and shops without any paint of them, two or three small churches and an art gallery.

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7: Colourful blossom flowers in front of somebody's house

#8: As we walked further, we saw a flock of white fluffy sheep and it's my first time of seeing them.

#9: A flock of sheep, a clear blue sky and a lush green field makes this a perfect photo.

#10:Oh look! Even the sheep know how to look in front of the camera. Amazing!

#11: Initially I had this naughty thoughts of rolling down the hill but tons of sheeps' poo poo. 

Castleton might seems nothing extraordinary but this place totally gave us the relax feeling and also stress free from keep thinking of the non-stop weekly assignments and presentations. Especially for people like us who living in the big city might not able to enjoy this kind of place back in our own city, this place is incredibly breathtaking and pristine. Castleton, a truly clean and fresh air village.  

#12: Before leaving Castleton, a group photo with my unimates.

5D4N Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia Trip Itinerary (2011)

Here is the compilation for all the post relating to my trip to Jakarta & Bandung last two year for 5 days and 4 nights.  

Day 1 (20th December 2011)

- Arrived Jakarta & MaxOne Hotels.com 








Day 2 (21st December 2011)

- Part 1: Leaving Jakarta for Bandung
- Part 2: First Day in Bandung 







Day 3 (22nd December 2011)

- Bandung - Kampung Daun, Tangkuban Perahu, Dago & Riau Street and Rumah Mode
- Superheroes Everywhere in Cihampelas Street 





23rd December 2011

- Back to Jakarta & Ibis Jakarta Mangga Dua 







24th December 2011

- Mangga Dua Area & Goodbye Jakarta







Extra Features:

•  2011 Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia Trip (Sneak Peek)
•  Accommodation: Sensa Hotel Bandung
• Travel Haul & Expenses

Hence, this post concludes the final travelogue of my Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia which also my final trip for year 2011. I know that I am backdated travel blogger which claimed by one of the blog reader of mine and I did tried my best to blog as fast as I can but it seems that there are too many things for me to blog about. Even my 2008 UK & Europe trip I haven't completed yet and I had been abandoned these travelogue for quite some times. Therefore, I might continue with my 2008 UK & Europe trip in the next few blogposts before starting with my 2012 travelogue.

My Travel Haul & Expenses of Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia (2011)

It's time for me to share what did I bought from Jakarta and Bandung and how much did I spend throughout my 5 days and 4 nights trip to there.

Most of the blog readers thought I bought and spend a lot since Jakarta and Bandung claimed to be one of the best shopping paradise.

Combination of mommy and mine shopping haul.

But actually, I only bought 3 pieces of top for myself and all bought from Bandung city. The right one is Esprit, but not sure whether it's genuine or counterfeit. I did bought few too but mostly to my sister, Boyfie and also to the top commentator of my blog - check out my post on Top Commentators for Year 2010 & 2011.

Bought this bag from Harcomas Mangga Dua, Jakarta cause it costs RM18 only. But only last long for 3 months. Like they said, what you paid for is what you got.

Slipper that cost RM8 from Bandung. Not intentionally to buy this and it was being forced by mom cause my sport shoe was freaking wet due to heavy rain upon arrival in Bandung city.

These two long necklace were bought in WTC Mangga Dua, Jakarta before leaving the city. I am currently so addicted to these long necklace. Thinking to venture into this kind of business. Anyone of you interested in necklace by the way? 

Last but not least, fridge magnets is one of the items that for sure I will buy whenever I travel. It's kinda hard to buy fridge magnets in Jakarta and even Bandung too. For the Bandung, I stumbled upon a street seller in Cihampelas Street and thank goodness, we were able to bargain with him but for the Jakarta, I bought in the airport and for sure, it was freaking expensive. Just to add into my travel collection, I had to close my eyes on the price that time.

Well, as you can see, not many did I bought cause I not fond of the fashion in Jakarta and Bandung.

And this is my sharing of the full details of my travel expenses that mommy and I had spend throughout the 5 days and 4 nights trip around Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia. [All except the one I marked with * are the expenses incurred by two persons.]

(The rate as at the time I changed; RM1 : IDR2,810)


NOTE:

1. It's consider cheap for a return airfare which cost RM165 per pax but we only found out that this doesn't included the airport tax departed from Jakarta. Airport tax cost IDR150,000 per pax and it's compulsory to pay before flying.
2. Baggage allowance for flight to Jakarta was 15 kg (RM35) and flight from Jakarta was 30 kg (RM70.
3. Stayed in MaxOne Hotels.com for first 1 night before leaving on the next day to Bandung - post here.
4. Stayed in Sensa Hotel Bandung for 2 night and gosh, it's one of the best hotel I ever stayed. Highly recommended. - post here.
5. The hotel that I booked earlier but didn't stayed cause unable the locate the hotel's location.
6. Therefore, stayed in Ibis Jakarta Mangga Dua before flying back home - post here.
7. Included airport tranfer from and to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
8. Transfer from the train station to our hotel.
9. Bought the train tickets and depart from Gambir Station, Jakarta.
10. Alternative option cause mommy didn't want a train ride anymore. Bought the tickets on the first floor of CiWalk.
11. Rate for 12 hours per day including the fuel but excluded the parking and entrance fees.
12. Admission fee for a tourist is IDR50,000 but cause both mommy and I looks like Indonesian (kinda an advantage for us), we were being charged under local fee for IDR13,000 per pax only whereas the parking fee is IDR10,000. We paid on behalf of our local driver too.
13. Most of my souvenirs and shopping haul are as above photos.