Posts filed under 'Travel'
every now and then, i get emails from friends and strangers asking for recommendations of places to go and things to do in Hong Kong. what i usually do is forward them all a copy of an email i hastily wrote a while ago, but for a while now i’ve been thinking of doing up a proper list of the to-do’s in Hong Kong. and i finally did!
it’s not going to be the best and most comprehensive list ever, because after all this is just one person’s opinion, but hopefully it will be somewhat helpful for all you folks who are planning a trip to HK anytime soon :) and if you haven’t been there yet, please do go!!! it’s an amazing city and i absolutely love it. given the choice, i would live and work there.
The List, in no particular order:
To Do
1. Mongkok
Mongkok is, to me, the essence of HK more than any other place. it is loud neon signs, street food stalls on the sidewalks, markets, throngs of people rushing some place, char chan tengs (cafes), traditional medicine shops, DVD stores and clothing stores all crammed into one very haphazard and bustling zone, yet still retaining the gritty and rustic charm of old Hong Kong. so amazing. you cannot go to HK and skip out on Mongkok! located on the Kowloon side, Mongkok houses many of HK’s best tourist attractions, such as the Ladies Market which sells all sorts of clothes, shoes, bags, jewelery and household items; the Bird Market and the Flower Market; Fa Yuen Street which is sport shoe haven; Portland Street, the infamous red light district in Mongkok; and of course, the wonderful Temple Street (aka Miu Kai) which is in my humble opinion the best street market in all of HK.
a quieter Mongkok in the middle of the night
Bird Market, Flower Market, Goldfish Market and Fa Yuen Street are great places to shop at if you’re looking for something specific, but even if you’re not looking for what they specialize in, they are all very interesting places that are worth a visit if you have the time. if you don’t, however, i’d suggest going straight to Ladies Market or Temple Street – the former is more fashion-centric and the latter has just about everything under the sun. dont forget to bargain! Portland Street nearby is also worth a look-see; it’s seedy yet vibrant, and definitely intriguing at night. walking amongst all the brothels and vice dens located here is like transporting yourself into one of those HK triad movies!
2. Victoria’s Peak
it’s a mountain on HK Island that boasts a magnificent view of Hong Kong, barring smog and mist. the sunset and the nighttime view here are gorgeous. take a tram or bus up from Central to The Peak, then follow the jogging trail around the mountain top till you get to That Spot where you’ll find all the photographers camping out. fair bit of walking, but the view is completely worth it.
3. Islands
HK has MANY islands surrounding it, but the more well-known and accessible ones are Lamma, Lantau and Cheung Chau. visiting the islands is something that most tourists dont do because they either dont have time or are not interested in the rural side of HK, but visiting Lamma Island was one of the best things i ever did in HK.
Sok Ku Wan on Lamma Island, where all the seafood restaurants are
Lamma Island is a 20-30 minute ferry or sampan ride from Aberdeen and Central (i would recommend going from Aberdeen because then you’ll boat past the Aberdeen Fishermen Village, a little village where the people live on boats) and is very quaint and tranquil. i spent some time hiking around the villages in Lamma, peeking into people’s houses (discreetly and from afar!) and playing with the random pet dogs that were running around. it was great just being able to observe and be amongst their culture. later in the evening, i had a fabulous seafood dinner while watching the sunset. Lamma is famous for its seafood, but meals here can get expensive!
village in Lamma Island
oh and to TVB fans, Lamma Island is where that show ‘Taste of Love’ was filmed :P
i would really have loved to visit Lantau Island, but sadly in all my time there i never got to go there :( from what i know of it, Lantau is more developed and more touristy than Lamma is. it’s the island on which that massive Buddha with many steps leading up to it is! Lantau is also home to Tai O, a really old fishing village on stilts that is supposed to be a very interesting visit.
4. Disneyland
i didnt like Disneyland very much when i went there. it was expensive, the queues were very long, the rides were unimpressive and the whole of the place just very small. i would give this a miss, but if it’s your cup of tea, why not?
5. Partying at Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong is the hip and glitzy party district in Hong Kong, where the yuppies, models and trendy folk are in abundance. it’s the place to go if you’re looking for somewhere to party – lots of bars and clubs in the vicinity. Martian’s favorite HK club, Volar, is here too. clubbing in HK is really different from clubbing in KL; over there, queuing in at the entrance doesnt mean you get in. they are really selective with who they allow to enter, and if you’re not on the guestlist, chances are you wont be getting in. so i mostly prefer just hanging out at the bars on ground-level to people-watch. oh and there are lots of yummy people to watch here :D lots of good restaurants here also!
LKF in the daytime. the pubs and bars are up the road
Lan Kwai Fong is located in Central, just up the road from Queen’s Rd Central and a short walk from the Mid Levels Escalator.
6. Taking the Ferry
view of HK Island from the ferry
another one of the things i loved doing in HK was taking the ferry across the harbour from the Kowloon side to the HK Island side. it’s just one of those quintessentially Hong Kong things to do! it’s a beautiful view at night as well if you’re coming from Kowloon and heading towards the brightly-lit and glam HK Island. in the evening just as the sun is setting, it’s even more gorgeous. and if you’re lucky, you may be able to catch one of those red-sailed junk boats sailing across the harbour! i NEVER saw one in my entire time in HK, until Martian took me on one for our first anniversary :) so yes, you can go on the junk boats too! though i regret to inform that i dont know how that is arranged :\
7. Temples, Museums & Beaches
i must say that i’ve only ever visited one temple (Tin Hau) and two beaches (Repulse Bay & Stanley Beach) in Hong Kong and no museums at all, but dont let my lack of enthusiasm stop you from checking out these places :P apparently the Hong Kong Museum of History is quite cool, and temples are really quite an important part of HK culture. as for the beaches… well, i guess as a tourist, there’s really much more to do in HK than tanning at the beach. but Martian recommends Shek O!
Stanley Beach
8. Shopping
a lot of people i know equate a HK trip to SHOPPING SPREE!!!, and even though i didnt shop very much in HK, i can definitely see why they say that. the fashion is diverse and up-to-date, you can put together the quirkiest styles here, everyone on the street is well-dressed and is good fashion inspiration, and things can get really cheap during the sales. some places that i like to shop at:
a) Causeway Bay
there is a lot more to CWB than just shopping, and when i’m there, it’s usually to hunt down good places to eat or just to poke around the streets of CWB.. but there are lots and LOTS of boutiques and clothing stores here. mostly trendy stuff that’s geared towards students and young adults. jeans galore. mid-range prices throughout! CWB is located on HK Island, and i would definitely recommend some time spent here even if you’re not looking to do any shopping. lots of good char chan tengs and noodle shops here!
b) Nathan Road
something like CWB, but more concentrated and is one long road instead of a labyrinth. Nathan Road is located in Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side, and is heavily trawled by teenagers. mostly street wear, also mid-range prices. the surrounding area of TST also has a lot of shopping
c) Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui
THE BEST SHOPPING MALL IN ALL OF HONG KONG. it’s humongous and has EVERYTHING from low and mid range merchandise to the high end stuff like Gucci and LV. it’s a bit like 1 Utama + Pavilion and i absolutely love it to bits. i could spend all day shopping here! there’s also a City Super (excellent supermarket) as well as cinemas here. Harbour City is on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui.
d) Temple Street
as mentioned above in the Mongkok section
e) Soho in Central
i spent a lot of time in Central because Martian lived really nearby when he was staying in Hong Kong. and believe you me, there’s a lot of shopping to be done here too. the shopping here is very much different from that of Causeway Bay and TST; it’s mostly quirky, quaint and themed. there are lots of these small but classy boutiques in the Soho area of Central, where the merchandise are things like pretty dresses, hats, shoes and bags by budding local designers and jewelery. there are also some really cool shops selling earrings, candles, new age books, antiques, girly things and boy’s toys. lots of places to poke around, especially if you’re looking for things and styles that are unique, personalized and quirky.
there’s also this street in Central called Pottinger Street, where a short and steep street is dedicated to stalls and stalls selling fancy dress costumes. it’s the COOLEST. i’ve bought loads and loads of stuff here, such as animal ears, angel wings, pirate costumes, police and nurse costumes, wigs, hats, face paint and the like. i love this place! prices can be bargained down.
a costume shop in Pottinger Street
besides shopping, you can also head down to Queen’s Road Central, which is practically the artery of Central, and treat yourself to an all-HongKong crowd jostle survival :D dont leave HK without doing this! there are also lots of good restaurants and hole-in-the-wall eateries around Central, which brings me to…
TO EAT
1. Dim Sum
once you have HK dim sum, no other dim sum is ever going to be good enough for you. sigh the siew mai and cheong fun is just …!!! i grasp for words to describe the sublimity. anyways the place where i had the best dim sum in HK is called Fu Sing Shark Fin & Seafood Restaurant. yes they serve shark fin, *scowl*, but the dim sum here is really out of this world – fresh, succulent, delicious, authentic. an absolute MUST-TRY here is the special char siew pau, which is made in polo pau style; it’s slightly crispy on the outside but oh-so-soft on the inside, with juicy marinated barbecued pork filling encased in a fragrant and milky golden bun… MMMM. BEST CHAR SIEW PAU IN THE WORLD. go early though, because this pau runs out quite soon and sometimes you have to place reservations for it. the Fu Sing Shark Fin & Seafood Restaurant is located on the 1st floor of Sunshine Plaza on 353 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai.
another place that is recommended for its dim sum is this place called Luk Yu Tea House which is tucked away in a little lane at 24 Stanley Street in Central. i went there on my first trip to HK and i quite liked the dimsum there, but it can be quite expensive. Fu Sing’s dimsum is better and more worth it!
Luk Yu Tea House in Central
also, you cant go wrong with Maxim’s Palace, which is a tourist favorite. it’s located in City Hall across the Mandarin. it’s not the best food and is always very packed, but it’s convenient to get to and slightly cheaper than other yam cha places.
2. Porridge / Congee
HK porridge is smooth and usually very simple in preparation. and also awesome :D you can get porridge in practically all yam cha spots, and they’re usually very good, but the one i like most of all is from this little congee & noodles place called Happy Garden, located on Canton Road just opposite the Harbour City mall in TST. one trip to HK, my parents and i stayed on Canton Road, and EVERY SINGLE NIGHT we went to Happy Garden for late-night wan tan noodles and century egg porridge. that’s how good it is :D
3. Char Chan Tengs
HK char chan tengs are what places like Kim Gary and Wongkok CCT got their inspiration from. they are noisy, crowded, brightly-lit little eateries that are open till late, and serve fare like instant noodles, fried rice, sandwiches, that notorious honey-coated french toast and drinks. it’s a very specific kind of cuisine that is unhealthy (haha), cheap (by HK standards… still quite expensive upon conversion from RM) but comforting and sticks to your bones.
char chan tengs are everywhere in HK, like EVERYWHERE, and they all really taste the same to me. there’s a chain called Tsui Wah which is supposed to be like an institution of HK because it’s the most familiar to locals and tourists alike, and the food there’s not bad. Martian and i usually pop in there for hot drinks during the winter or for instant noodles when we’re feeling peckish.
even though we get places like Kim Gary and all those other HKish places in SS2, i’d definitely recommend you try the real thing in HK :) tung lai cha and kong chai meen ftw!
4. Yung Kee roast goose
best and most famous roast goose in HK. it’s located on Wellington Street in Central. fat, succulent, amazing, crispy, tender, oily, delicious goose. enough said. *drools
5. Egg tarts
egg tarts at Tai Cheong Bakery
oh but you must. you must. YOU MUST. like dimsum, the egg tarts in HK are also a must-have when you visit. there are several famous (as in SUPER FAMOUS with long queues etc) egg tart bakeries in HK, but the one that i love most and always always always go back to is called Tai Cheong Bakery in Lyndhurst Terrace, Central. sigh so good. i have to have it every trip i go to HK. i bought some back for waimin last time and i think she fainted from how yummy it was. let me try to describe it: the egg filling is custardy, soft and sweet; the pastry is smooth, slightly dense but light, and melts in your mouth. it’s pure magic when you take that first bite and let it spread over your tongue. SIGH. please, if you trust me, you have to go to Tai Cheong bakery and buy their egg tarts.
6. DESSERT – Hui Lau Shan (that mango place) and Honeymoon Desserts
Hui Lau Shan in Causeway Bay
another HK institution. you see it all over the place as well, and even if you dont read Chinese (the signboard is in Chinese) it’s easily recognizable because all these mango-type places usually just jump out at you like that. Hui Lau Shan is a place that sells everything mango, be it pudding, drinks, mango with shaved ice, mango with glutinous rice, mango with sago, and many others. it’s good stuff but the novelty eventually wears off.
however, the place that i REALLY like but dont get to go to often cos it doesnt have as much presence as HLS is Honeymoon Dessert. the dessert array here is much wider and much more innovative, yet maintaining many authentic desserts. my favorites here are the Mango Pomelo Sago, Durian & Black Glutinous Rice in Coconut Milk, and Mango & Black Glutinous Rice in Vanilla Cream. mmmmm :)) Honeymoon Dessert has outlets in Sai Kung, Central, Causeway Bay and some other places that i dont know of.
Durian & Black Glutinous Rice in Coconut Milk, and Mango & Black Glutinous Rice in Vanilla Cream
7. Krispy Kreme
only if you’ve never had them or you have friends clawing at you to buy some back for them! there are several KK outlets across HK, but the only one i’ve ever been to besides the airport outlet is the one at Elgin Street in Soho, Central. the donuts at the airport outlet are slightly more expensive than at the other stores, though!
8. Rice bowls at 7 Eleven
cheap and good; absolutely amazing during the winter when it’s like 10 degrees out. i loooooove because they are cheap and so convenient – just pop the bowl in the microwave oven in 7 Eleven and you’re all set. perfect supper solution if you’re lazy to walk very far and want something hot. Rice with Minced Pork and Salted Fish, i do miss you so!
9. Noodles
shrimp dumpling noodles
again, nothing like the real thing. i dont have a specific place to recommend because these noodles shops are all over the place.. and they’re ALL good :)
MISC TIPS
1. English is only widely-spoken in certain areas in Hong Kong, so it’s always helpful to find out the Cantonese name of the place/street/building you want to go to, as most cabbies dont really know the English name of those places, especially streets and buildings.
2. the Octopus Card is very very helpful. it’s a stored value card that you can use for public transport (buses, trams, MTR), at most supermarkets and 7 Elevens and also McDonalds :D you can get them at all MTR stations, which you will most probably be seeing very often because taxi fares in HK are just killer expensive.
3. from the airport, taking the Airport Express is the cheapest and quickest way out. there are 3 stops: Tsing Yi, Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. a return ticket on the Airport Express should cost about HKD 160 (RM 80), whereas a cab from the airport will cost HKD 350 (RM 175) and up. if you are traveling with 1 other person or alone, then the Airport Express is definitely cheaper and drops you at very strategic locations.
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okay that’s all i can think of for now :) hope it’s helpful, and do feel free to add on to this list if you’ve got any good recommendations for things to do, places to eat at and places to see in Hong Kong!! also do feel free to ask questions, and i will try my best to answer you.
August 12th, 2008
i’ve just come home from Pulau Perhentian, still sticky from a glorious 4 days of swimming in clear sparkling sea and lazing around in the sand doing absolutely nothing.
by the end of the first day, we were already wondering what the hell we could do for the remaining days in order to pass time, but everything just fell into place really nicely. we went snorkeling and banana boating, built random stuff in the sand, played Truth or Dare and Heart Attack, played stupid games like Johnny Whoops and Open Close Open Close, got lost in a forest at sundown (seriously.. i should dedicate a whole post to what happened), endlessly and relentlessly made fun of Freddy’s stomach and Justin’s puking, dug a big hole and buried ourselves in it, and many other random things. the crevices in between were filled with lots of cat-napping in the sun and gossiping over ice cream. nice :)
photos with accompanying stories!
#1 the 10 of us in Kuala Besut, waiting for the ferry to Perhentian
#2 us girls at the island :) L-R : aira, christine, me, sieutheng
#3 them boys! L-R : ben, freddy, jin hang, justin, darren, haow kang
#4 them boys being … themselves :\
#5 all of us! did we use self timer for this? if so, man we have some skillz!
#6 Jin is the God of Dark Skin. here we are, hailing him and offering sacrifices so that he may have mercy on our fair pasty white epidermis on this sunny holiday
#7 everybody say hello to Freddy! everybody say hello to Freddy’s stomach! heehehehee!
#8 everybody say hello to Freddy and Ben :\
#9 us heading out for some snorkeling.. lots of funny snorkeling stories!!! one day i must share them :D
#10 doesnt Freddy look so cute in snorkeling gear while feeding fish?!
#11 HAHA THIS IS JUSTIN AFTER HE PUKED. hahahaha. Jus is very cute wan – he pukes all the time on trips. the last time there was a trip to Penang, he puked mid-air while parasailing. so now not only has he puked in air, he has also puked in the water. one day we wanna bring him on a roller coaster so that he’ll puke on land, too!
#12 haha we found some rocks and did the Sports Illustrated thing!
#13 if you’ve been following my Plurks over there on the sidebar, you’d know that we found a watchtower and started hurling ourselves off it. this is Jin taking the first plunge!
#14 me!
#15 Christine!
#16 Darren being born
#17 Freddy doing an egyptian walk off the watchtower hahahhaa
#18 Ben tripped HAHAHAHA SO CUTE
#19 i dont really know why boys always start building stuff the moment they hit the sand. this is them building Mesopotamia
#20 … while we girls camwhore and laze in the sun and make them fetch us drinks!!!
#21 we took a boat from Perhentian Besar (where we stayed) to Long Beach, which is on Perhentian Kecil. Long Beach is soooo much nicer than our beach, with a lot more eye candy too! nicer food as well. this is us sitting in this really massive hole that we chose to dig for no apparent reason
#22 and this is us sandbaking ourselves
#23 Ben wanting to lick my toes!! can see, no have :D
#24 then we went banana boating, where the banana boat gets towed really quickly by a speedboat that takes sharp turns in attempts to throw us off the banana and into the water
#25 this was when we already took one very painful fall into the water where someone’s fingernails cut Freddy’s leg, Ben got water-whiplash and the rest of us were smarting all over from the impact. haha! le ouchness
#26 Darren captured us mid-splash! but got my camera wet =( i fear for its health =( but at least we got a nice picture!
#27 after getting tired of making one too many sand penises and sand breasts, the boys decided to build the Pyramids of Giza
#28 that’s my arm playing Open Close Open Close and everyone else looking confused while trying to figure out the game!!! HAHAHA! Open Close is this game where you have to guess if i’m showing you an Open or a Close. only the truly intelligent will be able to guess!!!
#29 so? open or close? :D
#30 awwwww so cute our boys <3
#31 this is us outside our rooms at the Cocohut, right before checking out
#32 and this is where we spent 4 whole days of fun and bonding :)
i’ve only been back home a few hours and i already wanna go back to Perhentian. the air in this life is so filled with manners, politicking and to-do’s… but in Perhentian, we had the most refreshing time of salty sea breeze, jokes, laughter, story-sharing and camaraderie. sharing masturbatory confessionals (oh yes we did!) in Truth penalties over a game of Heart Attack was so much fun! so was gossiping late into the night and digging that huge hole.
but absolutely nothing can top the time we accidentally entered and got lost in the jungle while searching for this specific beach to watch the sunset. tell you guys about it in the next post :) it is the best Perhentian experience ever!
June 27th, 2008
okay, this is the post on the cute hotel i stayed at in Bangkok! i’ve been getting so many emails asking about this hotel after i mentioned it in the Chatuchak post, and now i’m feeling quite regretful that i didn’t take pictures of the hotel properly. haih! but i will try my very best to do justice to the cuteness of this hotel, ok? :P
Reflections is a place that would typically be classified under boutique hotels, but i think a better term for it is ‘art inn’. converted from a few shophouses into one of the coolest travel accommodations i’ve ever stayed in, Reflections resembles an inn more than it does a hotel because of its size, layout, amenities and location; with its lobby doors opening right out onto the streets of Pradiphat, Bangkok, it is distinguishable from its neighbouring pharmacies and grocery stores only by the bright turquoise colors of its walls.
i thought it was a little strange to find such a striking boutique hotel/inn nestled amongst these common and drab shophouses, but i later realized how much it added to the overall charm of the place. your balcony opens up to life in the midst of non-tourist Bangkok, and you cant help but feel extremely welcome and at ease in a place that is so genuine and down-to-earth.
Reflections has only 30 rooms, and the reason why i think it should be called an art inn is that each and every one of its 30 rooms has a theme and design unique to itself. no two rooms in Reflections are alike, and they are all conceptualized and designed by different artists. isn’t that so cool! eeyang and i had a lot of fun browsing through their website and picking out which rooms we wanted.
here are pictures of the rooms we stayed in!:
ROOM 409
Price: 1850 baht /night (RM 185)
#1 this is Eeyang’s room – Room 409. according to the hotel staff, the theme here is ‘positive energy-meets-nature’. the room is actually not as warmly-lit as the pictures imply, and it can get a bit gloomy in here because the lighting isn’t very powerful, but overall it’s clean, simple and very spacious.
#2 we had a good giggle looking at the shower, because it opens right into the bedroom, and there’s no door to the bathroom/toilet space :P this room was quite uninteresting to us because there really wasn’t much relevance to the theme, and nothing quirky to poke at :( the other rooms, as you shall soon see, are less spartan and have a lot of very interesting touches.
#3 eeyang posing on the bed. isnt that stool with the phone so cute! oh and the notepads in this hotel are pads of multi-coloured post its :D
ROOM 203
Price: 2250 baht /night (RM 225)
#4 this is the door leading into Room 203, which was my room, and located on the ground floor of the block next door (Reflections takes up two blocks of shoplots), and they’re separated by a small walkway compound. we were SO lucky that someone canceled their booking and we could get this room upon check-in, because it was one of our first choices :D
#5 this room is huuuge and very cheerful! after the gloom and barrenness of Room 409, i was glad to come into this homey and cozy room. aptly, this room is themed ‘Wish You Were Here’ and has tones of nostalgia and old charm.
#6 this is the bathroom of Room 203. the wooden part is where the shower area is. i like! bigger bathroom than the previous room, although also separated by curtains and not a lockable door.
#7 the artist of this room really knew how to bring out the theme of nostalgia. lots of interesting old-school toys and dolls to poke around with in this room. i really liked it in here :)
ROOM 202
Price: 2250 baht /night (RM 225)
#8 Room 202 is an EXTREMELY CUTE room!! it’s the room next to mine, and when we came back from breakfast, the housekeeps were in there cleaning up, so we asked if we could go in to take a look. i was so enamoured by the little details of this room that i forgot to take a shot of the whole room :( but you can click here to see what it looks like
#9 this is a sink right in front of the bed, where you can use those paints and brushes and paint onto that mural next to the sink. damn nice right! it was very cool seeing all the arty additions by all the people who’ve stayed in this room before and left behind a little bit of themselves on the mural :)
#10 this is the clothesrack. haha two big birds!
#11 the mirror that’s been painted on, too. check out the lockers behind me that serve as drawers!
#12 this is the sofa-bed. eeyang and i originally wanted this room for the sofa bed because we could have saved on the double room costs :( but oh well. such is thy fate if thy booketh thy hotel room only 4 days before trip!
GENERAL OPINION ON ROOMS:
i really prefer the latter two rooms to the first; the extra RM 40 really makes all the difference. all rooms in Reflections have free wifi access (an extremely strong deciding factor for me when choosing hotel rooms!!!) but the rooms in the second block get stronger connectivity. we couldnt get connectivity in Room 409 at all, which was another reason why i didnt like that room.
note that ALL rooms in Reflections have double beds; there are no single or twin bed rooms. this posed quite a problem on this trip, hence we had to book 2 rooms and spend a lot of money. haih. so this is a hotel best for couples or friends who don’t mind sharing the same bed. there are some rooms with sofa beds though, and i think there is one room that actually has a single bed next to the double bed. OR, you can do what we realized WAY too late we could do, which is purchase one of those extra beds for 500 baht (RM 50) per night and have it wheeled into your room :) *tries not to grumble at amount of money that could have been saved*
besides 202 and 203, our other first choices were Room 303 and Room 402.
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#13 our room keys!
#14 stairs leading up to the rooms in the first block. every wall and corner of the entire hotel has some form of art splashed on it.
#15 the broadband-enabled computers in the lobby. thai broadband is faaaaaaaast. there are also lots of books and bangkok travel guidebooks next to the computers. you can borrow the books :)
#16 this is the hotel cafe, where you have your free ala carte breakfast. like the rest of the hotel, it is extremely cute and happy, and has a lot of quirky artistic touches :)
#17 … like this curtain made out of neckties! eeyang and i were goggling at the creativity of this. though it would look much nicer if there were more neckties on the bar!
#18 .. and this super cool chair with little toys glued all over it :) it’s so creative and comfy that i wanted to bring it back home with me T____T
#19 funny drawings like this one are placed where the overhead menu boards usually are
#20 sofas in the cafe for you to read or just chill
#21 eeyang and i with the big teddy bear in the very small hotel lobby. on our last day, both the couch and the bear were gone, because they are apparently the props for the newest room redesign
#22 the extensive DVD library in the lobby!!! you can take any of them back to the room because each room has a DVD player!!! did you know that i found Singing In The Rain and The Seven Year Itch in their collection!!! oh my god!!! but we ended up getting Romeo + Juliet but fell asleep watching it :(
#23 adjacent to the hotel lobby is a space where the hotel owners sell original-design bags and notebooks and clothes and stationery and lots of other stuff. i never managed to ask the hotel staff who designed these things, nor did i get to buy anything :(
#24 CDs at the shop space
#25 clothes and art for sale
#26 very cute notebooks that i wanted to buy back as souvenirs!!! but our ride to the airport came so early :(
#27 funky bags for sale. see the luggage bags behind, in the display window? I WANTED ONE SO BADLY. why did the cab have to come so soon!
okay no more pictures. lemme just give a quick summary of the main facets of a hotel stay :
Rooms: absolutely creative and so much fun to stay in, very clean and comfortable, wifi-enabled, double beds only (but you can purchase additional beds), bathrooms have no door, good beds and pillows, nice towels and bathrobes. room in the first block can be gloomy. book early because there are so little rooms in this place! Rating : 4/5.
Service: top notch. it is a small establishment run by a small handful of people, and each and every one of them were very kind, polite and hospitable. eeyang found a smoke buddy in one of them :P they are extremely helpful, especially with directions, and they don’t hesitate at all to go out and hail a cab with you to tell your cabbie where to go (many cabbies cant speak English). 5/5.
Price & Booking: all rooms go by 4 rates – A) 1850 baht, B) 2250 baht, C) 2950 baht, D) 3450 baht. these prices are just right for boutique hotels. but of course this is Bangkok, and you can find cheaper hotels anywhere in the city, but none as unique, comfy and cool as Reflections :) bookings can only be made via their website and phoning in.
Amenities: no pool or gym, though this was no problem for me as i never use either when traveling. there is a hotel cafe with ala carte breakfast, open 24 hours with room service delivery. hotel shop selling those bags and stuff. hotel is wifi-enabled (though some rooms have very weak connectivity; check with concierge prior to booking). two broadband-enabled desktops at lobby. dvd library and a dvd player + tv in every room. air conditioner and hot water in all rooms.
Location: Reflections is located in Pradiphat, which is a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the city center (Sukhumvit, Silom and all) if traffic is good, and that costs about 50 – 70 baht (RM 5 – 7). it’s a 10 baht (RM 1) tuk-tuk ride or a 8-minute walk to the nearest Skytrain station, which is the Saphan Khwai station. in Bangkok, any hotel that’s near the Skytrain = GOOD; very convenient to get around. Reflections is also extremely near the Chatuchak Weekend Market (hehe!) and it costs about 30 baht to get there via tuk-tuk. it is very easy to get taxis from the hotel, and the hotel staff will help you with this. ALSO, there are lots of money changers here – on the same road as Reflections – that give very good rates. change your money here, trust me :D
thus ends my happy review of Reflections Rooms in Bangkok :) it is a lovely, kitsch, quaint place that i’m so glad to have discovered. yes, i would definitely recommend this hotel, and it is definitely where i will stay from now on whenever i go to Bangkok.
feel free to ask me questions if you have any :) charge you i will not, obviously, but if you would like to offer me a Clarinase pill, it would be very welcome. the last of my Clarinase stock was confiscated at the Freedom rave :( runny-nosed and feverish i am now. sigh!
May 13th, 2008
today i’m going to blog about the best – and also my favourite – place to shop in the whole wide world : the Chatuchak Market in Bangkok :)
no trip to Bangkok is complete without a visit to the huge and famous weekend market that houses a vast labyrinth of shops and stalls selling just about anything a shopper could ask for. some 20,000 shops are tucked away haphazardly in this market, separated into 26 different sections according to their 9 categories of wares – books & collectibles, plants & gardening, home utensils & decor, pets and animals, antiques, clothing and accessories, handicrafts, furniture and miscellaneous; somewhat systematic but still thrillingly chaotic.
not only does Chatuchak have the most mind-boggling variety of products for sale, but everything is also CHEAP like nothing you’ve ever seen before!!! so cheap that every weekend in Bangkok, resellers and business owners from all over the world descend onto Chatuchak to stock up wholesale on super-cheap clothes, furniture, accessories and jewelry to bring back to their shops to re-sell for triple the price. (read: Bangsar and Hartamas boutiques ;) the rest of us holidaying shoppers can also share the joy of finding bargains in every nook and corner of the market. dangly earrings for RM 1 per pair? little wooden stools for RM 3? sundresses and original artist-designed tshirts for RM 15? a whole box of beautiful glass jars for RM 8? only in Chatuchak :)
upon touchdown in Bangkok, eeyang came to ask me : “so where do you wanna go first?” and i instantly screamed “CHATUCHAK!!!!” please, as if he even needed to ask. sigh i seriously believe that my birthplace is actually Chatuchak. there is no other place on earth in which i feel more at home and ALIVE :D and so we spent the first 4 hours of our time in Bangkok trawling Chatuchak and scavenging for the best buys. we emerged happy! very very tired and sweaty but happy.
pictures! :
#1 little bags and clutches going for 59 baht (RM 5.9) and 100 baht (RM 10)
#2 this is a shop selling art materials; there is a whole area in Chatuchak just for handicraft stuff. i go CRAZY buying materials everytime i’m here! sieutheng, ginny and vvens, you guys would love it too. ink pens, marker pens, all kinds of paper, string, ribbon, buttons and all kinds of craft items for super cheap!
#3 bundles of tissue paper for so cheap. i remember how when we were doing that Valentines’ Day roses project back in Form 5, and i was so happy to find tissue for RM 30/bundle at SSF in Jalan TAR. here in Chatuchak it’s RM 10, without bargaining yet. sigh!
#4 adorable puppies for sale :) there was a REALLY cute pure-breed pomeranian that cost only RM 200!!! wtfish! in KL it would probably sell for RM 1,600.
#5 this is my attempt at taking a The Dog picture, hehe. it’s a quasi-milo dog!! :D
#6 handmade postcards that i bought for RM 2 each after bargaining. i was so attracted to them because the postcards featured a lot of teddy bears that i actually have! see that monkey, and that Tigger and Piglet? i have them too! the photos in the postcards were taken by the shopowner’s sister – she’d take all her soft toys along with her and drive around the rural areas of Thailand to do her photoshoots, then make cards out of her photos. so creative! i bought a whole bunch back to use as birthday cards :)
#7 earrings for RM 1 a pair. i bought a dozen :D hello!!! it’s RM 1!!!
#8 this shop color-coded all their earrings. the girl in the photo is Malaysian too, and she kept going, “aiyo die lah how could i have spent so much money buying all those earrings from The Curve when it’s so cheap here!!”. i totally know how she felt because i kept seeing at Chatuchak all these dresses that i bought from Bangsar.. but at one third the price i paid :(
#9 happy mugs!
#10 happy clips!
#11 lots of little shops like these that sell pretty clothes. even though they’re quite cheap, the problem is you cant try the clothes on. unless the shop happens to have a makeshift dressing-room; usually just a pinned up cloth. works, nevertheless! the blue dress i’m wearing in the McDonalds video is from Chatuchak – cost only RM 10! i bought the same dress in pink too.
#12 haha this is eeyang eating some chocolate donut thing. he’s wearing my heart necklace -___- he just came into my room, picked it up and threw it around his neck. i didnt even realize he was wearing it until i took this picture. even then, he didnt want to give it back -_____- haih sometimes i worry about him.
#13 REALLY PRETTY FLIP FLOPS FOR ONLY RM 5!!!! it’s not even the strawy/beachy type of flip flops that are so native to Thailand. sigh. i was so smitten i bought 3 pairs. that’s my finger pointing at a pink pair that i bought. i wanted the orange one at the upper left corner but no size :(
#14 eeyang thought i had to have this shirt because i am actually a cat ^___^ i should have bought the piggy one at the back because i am also a pig :| the shirts here are slightly more expensive (RM 20) cos they’re original designs.
#15 handwoven Moccasin-type shoes! so cuuute. but one rainy day and it’ll be all ruined :|
#16 me and the best drink that Thailand has to offer – the orange juice! they use these oranges that are very very much like mandarin oranges, and the drink is just so mind-numbingly good. SIGH. i miss!
#17 we bumped into Jack Sparrow hahahaha
#18 bags! but after trawling all of Chatuchak, i didnt find any that i really really liked :\
#19 this shop looks like it belongs in a mall, doesnt it? Chatuchak has loads of these. very quirkily-designed shops with quality products.
#20 so cool, right? a bag made out of an empty rice sack
#21 pouches and pencil cases for RM 9.90. i bought that colorful one underneath the sign, and also a red faux croc skin case for my make-up. contentment!
#22 gorgeous tribal-design earrings! RM 8 per pair, also original designs. no other shop in Chatuchak had these earrings.
there are soooooooo many more things quaint items in Chatuchak that i didn’t take pictures of, and also that i wish i bought :( eeyang and i went back to Chatuchak again the following day because we felt we just HAD to buy more stuff. haha. my biggest regret was not buying this beautiful oil painting from this artist who had a most unique and dreamlike style. but it cost RM 150, and i didnt have enough cash on me :\ by the time i got more cash, i couldnt find her shop again.
which brings me to …
PINKPAU’S TIPS FOR CHATUCHAK MARKET!
1. if you see something you like, buy it right away. don’t even think of walking around to compare prices and then coming back, because chances are you won’t be able to find the shop again. that’s how big and messy Chatuchak is
2. if you MUST move away from a shop but want to come back, ask them for a business card or the section and soi (street .. or in this case alley) of their shop. most merchants in the market will know how to direct you back to your intended shop just by looking at the section & soi.
3. dont stray too far from your friends!! it can be a REAL pain in the butt to locate each other again, even if you have phones. if you are in a big group and it’s just impossible to shop together, designate a place to meet-up again at a certain time. one good spot to do this is the Clock Tower. there are buggies in the open-air areas that will ferry you around for free, but you must ask them to take you to your intended spot.
4. wear comfortable shoes. i’d suggest something like flip flops, which are comfy but also easy to remove in case you want to try on or shop for shoes
5. dress lightly and appropriately for the hot sticky weather, and also for lots of shoulder-rubbing and body-grazing; the Chatuchak crowd is not to be underestimated :P
6. try not to use the bathrooms if you can help it. the bathrooms are few, overly crowded, dirty and faaaar away.
7. yes you can bargain at most shops!
8. have fun exploring Chatuchak!!! here, only the fittest will survive and emerge victorious :P
oh, chatuchak. oh, cheap shopping. oh, wonderful smorgasbord of hodgepodge and bric-a-brac. my heart longs for you so! hey if anyone wants certain kinds of things from Chatuchak, lemme know :) i may be going back there sometime in June or July, so can help you folks buy.
i’m going to write about my hotel in Bangkok in the next post. oh it is the CUTEST hotel you will ever lay eyes on, and i’m so excited to write about it!! :D
May 7th, 2008
i know i said a while ago i’d put up pictures of my trip to Ringha / Shangri La and also of the local food we had in Kunming, but i’ve decided not to. there is only a simple reason behind it, but i know that once i start ranting, i will probably say more than i should and the result will be an excessively long and largely irrelevant post about a topic that doesn’t deserve more than a few words. so… no :)
okay here’s just one food picture from Kunming:
this is a little shop in town that sells flour buns filled with different kinds of stuffing. everyone in the vicinity seemed to be eating one, and so i really wanted one too, but when we got to the shop we didn’t know how to read the chinese signs :( and the staff couldn’t speak english! the only board we (actually, Martian) could read was the one that says ‘peanut’, so that’s the one we got. and it was really good, too :D
now… can someone please read out the rest of the boards to me? pleeeeease! so i know what other types of buns i missed out on! yes lah i know i’m damn banana please dont laugh at me :(
and here’s ONE picture from Ringha.. because it’s too beautiful a place to not have any photos of it at all :
this is what we woke up to every morning in Ringha. they don’t call this place Shangri La for nothing.. :)
sigh. i really want to share the Ringha pictures. i spent so much time there trying to capture the perfect pictures, i can’t not put them up. haiyah whatever lah right? i don’t know why i’m being so angry also. wusaaaaaa. inner peace. righto. so here are some of my favourite pictures from Ringha :
#1 the river behind our hotel, taken on the first day when it hadn’t snowed yet
#2 sheep!! there are lots of mountain animals roaming around the area. there’s a particular abundance of yak, the butter from which is used for lots of things, including cooking, making candles and making.. tea. yeah. yak butter tea O_O
#3 snow at night :) this was right after dinner on our first night, and when the hotel staff told us it was snowing, we both ran squealing into the night. okay lah maybe just me :( all Martian did was laugh at me
#4 part of our really, really nice room. we stayed at the Banyan Tree :) our room is one of the most gorgeous rooms i’ve ever stayed in – it’s like a Tibetan-style mountain lodge!! all the rooms have 2 floors with 2 bedrooms, and the *entire* bottom floor is the bathroom and the changing room. the bathtub is especially cool – it’s right in the middle of the open bathroom floor, and is of the wooden Japanese tub kind. really nice to soak in amidst the freezing weather! the resort is very cozy and has lovely, authentic Tibetan decor – lacquered furniture, woven carpets, dark wood paneling and all. yes i’m trying very hard not to gush :| and you know what.. all the rooms in the resort actually used to be YAK STABLES where the farmer lived on the top floor, before the land was bought over and converted into a resort. such clever preservation.
#5 hot ginger tea: Ringha’s cure for anything at all. altitude sickness? have some ginger tea. fatigue? drink ginger tea. nausea? ginger tea. headache? ginger tea. foot pains? ginger tea. sexual disinterest? yup you guessed it, ginger tea. it’s actually very nice and tastes like tong yuen soup, but with more body to it. both Martian and i love this tea :) i really wish i’d asked them for the recipe; i don’t think it’s as simple as boiling ginger and brown sugar!
#6 Martian playing with the telescope that we never figured out how to use
#7 isn’t Ringha beautiful. sigh. i can only imagine how gorgeous it looks in the summer.
#8 hahaha a cute kid with rosy cheeks that i managed to coerce into giving me a picture when we visited town, which was a long bumpy car ride away from the hotel. check out his cell phone!
#9 me trying to taste snowflakes
#10 :)
#11 ya ya this is Martian trying to be funny… he didn’t realize that he kept stepping on all this horse and yak poo, which i had noticed and cleverly maneuvered away from. sigh baby, study and work so hard also no use if you donno how to avoid yak shit :\
#12 you see!!!!!!!! this is him desecrating perfectly pretty snow by wiping his poo-covered shoes on the snow :( beauty destroyer :(
#13 the resort’s lobby and Martian’s green umbrella
#14 and this is my favourite photo of all :D on the resort grounds, there is this looooong path of stones that leads to one of the resort’s buildings. we were snapping some photos on this path when i looked down and noticed one particular stone that said… banana cake. hahahaha i started laughing like crazy and i kept looking around the resort to find if there were anymore stones that had cake names on them, but no more :(
okay that’s it for pictures :) the Ringha and Kunming trip was one that i really enjoyed. but. oh well.
i’m now in Starbucks Mont Kiara studying with Eeyang again. again!!!!! he has realized that he cannot study with anyone other than me, you see. anyway it’s good to be back here in my SPM hangout. i remember how i used to come here all the time with Waimin during our SPM preparation period cos it was the only Starbucks that opened 24/7.
Mont Kiara.. such memories. missing scrunchies, space invasion, cookies and creme ice cream, The Shining, black see-through curtains, rarely-used kitchens, sharing stories, a thousand bucks left on top of the television… i only wish i could go back to that time. i’d have so much fun; in the midst of all my sulks, i’d have a secret smile.
April 19th, 2008
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