Euro Travel & More

It’s always fun to travel with a good friend or companion but not fun when they had just finished their drug treatment recently.  I suggest if you are ever going to travel with someone else besides your family and spouse, make sure the person has the exact same interest as yourself.  From a frequent traveler to another, traveling with someone who don’t share the same agenda with yourself can break a friendship.  So if you value your friendship, make sure you make all sorts of excuses just to avoid going together, even if you have to say you are actually doing  drug rehab. Muahaha!! i bet they won’t ask to follow you then.

Phuket also known as James Bond island to a lot of people .. because .. if you look closely at the above picture.. this was the place where they had filmed one of the James Bond movies .. in the 80s. I cannot remember which one.. but i’ve seen it before.. when i was younger.  So the local folks called this place James Bond Island from then on.

Phuket is definitely very touristy now, unlike those early days. .when i was there. I flew Thai Airways to Phuket.. and the sun and the beach was the best thing there.  The water was extremely clear and it’s a great place for just about any water sports especially diving or scuba diving.  Unfortunately, accommodation.. and food were not cheap then and i don’t think they are any cheaper.  I had actually expected it to be a lot cheaper since they weren’t fully developed than but i was wrong.  We were staying in a resort.. so everytime we needed to go out.. we had to hire a driver. There were lots of sea sports.. manned by the locals there.. and like i said.. it was fun.. but definitely not cheap at all. But the people in Phuket were very friendly and you are being approached for massages a lot.. and prices ranges between 30 – 40 dollars in the hotel wherelse at the beach front you can get a massage for $10.

Staying at a good resort means everything because the beach is just at your doorstep. You find every and anything within reach and Phuket’s night life at Patong is very famous .. you can party from late in the evening to wee hours in the morning. Yes.. they do have the go-go girls.. dancing skimpily on top of a bar.. and beer are really cheap.. but don’t get hassle into seeing some girlie show.. that might cost you a few hundred bucks.. by the time you get out.  And even though in Phuket they say that prostituition is illegal. .you do see alot of working girls but not as much as compared to those in Bangkok.

I’ve always thought that it would be a very romantic experience to go up on hot air balloon rides with your boyfriend or husband, but truth be told it was more exhilarating than romantic.  Well maybe it had to do with the fact that I went on a balloon ride with my boss and some business associates.  But nevertheless, it was amazing and it was definitely something I would remember forever.  After the ride we had to help with putting away the balloon.

For those who want to experience a balloon ride and take in some breath-taking views of the Grand River Valley and its surrounding countryside.  Also get to see some wild life and birds from the Great Lakes region, check out Xperiencedays for they are the best in more than just balloon rides.  I know you will have as much fun as I did.  Till today, that memorable glass of wine still tastes really good.

I do love Japan, the people are nice.. although they don’t speak alot in English at all… but if you can speak a little Japanese, they are delighted. There are so much to talk about in Japan .. but the famous Harajuku is a street you must not missed when you are in Japan.

Harajuku is an area between Shinjuku and Shibuya. This place is international known for its very bold youth style and fashion. Seeing kids with multi-colored hair here is not uncommon. Lined with many trendy and fashionable store and boutiques, you will find many fast food outlets, crepe stands and just about anything a young adult would love. If you can’t find anything to eat, you can always rely on Macdonald’s.

It is an extraordinary experience for teens dressed up in the most outrageous costume that represent their famous anime or even rock stars. And if you are with kids, don’t forget to get to Snoopy Town, right across the train station. Of course, you will noticed that the 100 Yen store is also bustling with people and everything is just at 100 Yen.

This morning I woke up and i missed Ho Chi Minh city so much, and all because of this – PHO. One of the best thing about traveling is trying the different food in these different countries. So if you are a avid traveler like i was .. you better train your tummy for some good food. Pho is one of the best food i’ve had. . in Asia. These bowl of good beef broth.. and slightly cooked beef was so soft.. and fragrant .. because of the cilantro that they used. It reminded me of the Pho in Hanoi… this is the version that I liked most. You eat them with raw onion that are sliced up on the sides . .with scallions too. Squeeze a little bit of hot sauce and mix it up with the broth.. and eat. Don’t forget to squeeze some lime onto it too.

The beef is tender and it melts in your mouth.. who needs some wagyu beef right..? The beef broth taste like beef stock.. but this was actually boiled beef carcass from many hours of slow cooking.. according to the store owners. You can ask for more bean sprouts.. if you like them. So head over to 288 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.. it opens from 5am to late at nite.

My Sony Vaio goes everywhere with me, whether it is a short trip or a long one.  The reason why i chose to buy a Vaio although many people had warned me against it because of its many problems, i never had any.  But the only problem i seems to encounter with my Sony is not being able to play games with it.  But other than that, it is small, light and i go online with it.. it has a built in web cam. .and i can watch a movie on it… and of course do my work.  My Vaio is a companion to me, it brings me lots of attention not only with the lady travelers but the kids as well.

For those flying UAL or even NorthWest Airlines, be sure to check out the beer machines serving free Sapporo beer at the UAL lounge.  There was no line up .. or a crowd and the machine is easy to use.  The japanese had this machine carefully thought out because as soon as you press the start button, your frosted glass that you get out of a glass fronted fridge, is tilted so that the foam will not be the only thing you get to drink.  With the ipods that we each carried, we plonked onto the lounge chair.. and made used of the Wi-Fi they had in the lounge.  You gotta love Narita Airport.

I cannot deny that I’m a proud Singaporean. For those who are not aware of this, Singapore is but a red dot on the world Atlas. In fact .. i had such a hard time finding it on the globe ball one day.. that i had to get the spouse, the in laws to help. We saw Malaysia.. but Singapore was no where in sight. Not kidding..! But anyone who had flown with Singapore Airlines would recognised the Sarong kerbaya .. the uniform for the air-stewardess on board.. and we are known for showing you the Asian hospitality.. even before you arrive in Asia. Of course, we also have the Singapore Changi Airport to be proud of, but that will be for another day and another post.

I stayed in Sydney for a good 5 months.. sometime in the late 1999 .. and i was very fond of the flea markets in Australia. The weekends were wonderful.. and something i looked forward to.. and being a hotelier.. you know we can never be too, too far away from the places where there are great food. The Kirribilli Market is one of those markets that happens every 4th saturday of the month. There are some awesome stuff there.. from homemade handicrafts of bags, clothings .. accessories.. by very talented people. They also have of course your home made cakes and sweets.. plus you can find all sorts of goodies here. I found some treasures here .. in my 5 months in Australia.

Handmade earrings.

Hand made slingbags and purses/coin purses.

Food, food and more food. In fact .. i learned all about organic food in Sydney. Thank you, Sydney..!! you helped me learned alot about healthy living.

KIRRIBILLI MARKET – Bradfield Park North, near Milsons Point Station, Open 7am to 3:30pm PH 02 9922 4428

Working in the hotel industry for 15 years and traveling as much as I did, I’ll have to say that getting invited to a wedding from a long staying guest/couple who turned into friends was my most memorable one.  The wedding was held at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia and the dinner was at the Ft Myer’s Officers’ Club.  The wedding was beautiful, we stayed at the Sheraton Suites and even tried to get into Jimmy Buffet concert in Union Street.

The day before the wedding rehearsal we were being surprised by a little tour arranged by the hosts, we spent most of the day walking and taking in the sights of Alexandria’s historic waterfront, the architecture of course, and we were immensely pleased that we had food tasting in several restaurants arranged.  A couple of blocks around King Street and near the waterfront offered quite a number of choices.  We tried some Thai food and was very impressed with the Ethiopian fare where the Torpedo Factory Food Pavillion was located.  They even had a Starbucks, and I thought to myself, I could certainly live here.  The old charm and the small community strike me as being a comfortable place to bring up my kids.  The real estate in Alexandria VA seems affordable and I would have checked it out if not for time constraints.

The waterfront was absolutely serene and I would love to spend my evenings there with my kid and my spouse. Persuading me to relocate there is not difficult at all but first I have to find out where DRodio Real Estate is, for I hear they are the experts in the Alexandria, Virginia Area.