Euro Travel & More

When it comes to factory shopping or premium shopping .. as Asian we never miss a chance to arrange for a trip there.  When  you have branded names at only 10% of what you usually pay for .. what do you think we would do right..??  Located in Petaluma Boulevard North, we had a nice drive up to the factory outlet. It opens everyday i think… and you can find brand names like BCBG, Guess, Puma, Gap and more. Having a car was definitely useful.

I of course made good use of my time there.. and bought not only clothings.. but perfumes and cosmetic.. about 40% off.  The SAKS Fifth Avenue Outlet store had many good deals.. and if i could.. i would  have bought the whole store out.  Yes. .I went crazy.. !! donch asked me why or how.. i did. I bought a Calvin Klein coat.. for the man.. at more than 50% discount… woohoo..!!!

Lots of walking done that day.. and they had these benches everywhere.. but as you can see .. it wasn’t as crowded as you would think.  But it was a weekday.. maybe not so many tourist then eh.

Shooeeess..!!! woohoo..!!

I had the privileged to stay at the Marco Polo Hotel, Hong Kong many years ago and I’ll have to say that it was one of the best hotels that i’ve stayed in. Not only is the room spacious, you should the bathroom.. it has both shower and bathtub…. plus the view was fantastic. Plus Marco Polo Hotel, Hong Kong is centrally located at Harbour City Kowloon, so one can conveniently go shopping or reach a MTR to go from one place to another. And not forgetting, it is just a few steps .. literally .. a few steps away from world famous Star Ferry.

The front desk receptionist speaks perfect english.. therefore it was easy to communicate my needs to them. We did dine at the Le Brasserie, a French restaurant.. and i remembered the excellent flambes we had. Enjoy their outdoor heated poor located at their 6th Floor, although it is a pity that they don’t have a gym within the hotel now.

The Ocean Terminal just next door, is for those who wants to go on cruises. Directly opposite the hotel are some smaller shopping center but of course with Harbour City just a few steps away.. with more than 700 shops/tenants.. one don’t really need to go anywhere else for food and shopping. They also have 2 cinemas in there. Awesome..!

Traveling around the world twice because of the work I used to do makes me realize that everyone celebrates Christmas in pretty much the same way.  Joy, Giving and lots of Love, and what better way to show all this to your child than with a  Santa Letter all the way from North Pole.

Yes, you can now make every child in your family, whether your own or those of your relatives, experience the magic of Christmas by getting them a personalized letter from Santa.  I bet you can put a smile on any child’s face this Christmas by being thoughtful.  Check out the phone calls from Santa as well, great for the older kids.

Halifax, Nova Scotia is one of the most vibrant city in the province of Nova Scotia. Besides the many pubs and restaurants available here, you will find one of Nova Scotia’s biggest and grandest casino. Nova Scotia is also known as Canada’s Ocean playground, so you can also expect alot of water activities here. The famous Peggy’s Cove is not to be missed of course. Boasting of the second largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney, Australia, summer is definitely the best time to visit.  Tall ships and the many music festivals and the fireworks in the harbourfront is some sight.

Besides all the awesome places to shop.. once can find some authentic cuisine here.. like Dharma Sushi for Japaneses.. and Pete Frootique.. for all kinds of exotic fruits.. as well as food from London. There are some Greek restaurants there.. and don’t forget the many dim sum places you can try chinese food at.  Halifax is also one of the places.. i get all my chinese groceries.  The people are friendly.. and it’s almost like going home.

Traveling and eating goes hand in hand, so you can imagine how one can keep fit .. when you travel as much as i did.  I believe in eating moderately . .but there are some things that you just want to eat and eat non-stop.  I remember eating in a certain restaurant in Newark .. when i was on a project for a month. .and i would eat there at least once a day.  Often people asked me what is the best cuisine around, and i cannot even begin to list them out.  Some diet pill info is nice to have when you travel a lot on business.. but like i said.. everything in moderation is my motto.  What is yours..??

Picture was taken just outside of Gold Coast Airport and they do lived up to their words . .about being as cheap as chopsticks.  So you asked .. what’s the catch.. right..??  well .. there is no catch.. but this is what it works out to be.

First of all.. don’t expect any meals.  Make sure you book your meal before you board..because you save like a few bucks.  No worries if you don’t you only need to pay RM$25.  Don’t get too hopeful with the meals served on board.  I was advice to choose the western meal.. since the caterers were from Australia.

There are also no assigned seat.. so it’s a first come first served basis… don’t expect any special treatment. Your seats are assigned.. just before boarding.. and don’t get taken in to pay extra.. so that you can get the assigned seats you want.  So since there is no assigned seat.. you can imagine.. the rush and the crowd. .and the ruthlessness.. just to get in there first.

You also pay for what you carry, carry on luggage do not go free.. like your regular airliner. For every 15kg you pay like $7 USD.  Choose the lowest available rate when you pre-book and then top up .. when you check in… if needed.

In flight entertainment.. with your own screen..??  wach you talking about..??? hhahaha!!   no seriously .. there is none.. but you can rent en eplayer for about $9 USD, it is actually a portable player with some latest Hollywood movies. So if you don’t wish to pay extra.. bring your own entertainment.

But all is not lost.. i’m happy to let you  know that everyone flying AirAsia X .. will be enjoying some in flight entertainment by Thales.  I haven’t taken a flight in November.. so i won’t really know.. but I will be doing Melbourne next year. .using AirAsia.. so lets see where they are then.  As for the air stewardess.. i hate to be the  one to burst your bubbles.. but they are neither cute nor very friendly..but if you have a Westerner for a boyfriend or husband. .or with your boss like i am.. then you are ok.. they treat you way better.

So yes.. if you want to pay peanuts.. you fly Air Asia.

When you’ve worked for a company that requires you and your team of engineers to travel around the world as much as my mine did, you know you need to look out for your people.  This was what happened when I was put in charge of all travel arrangements for my boss, the engineers and also the sales associates in the Spanish Company I had worked for. Affordable international coverage, costing as little as $1 a day per person, was definitely the best thing I learned about and took care of whenever we traveled.

We were in Vietnam sometime in 1995 and there were riots because a civil war had started.  Even though we were told that we were safe in the hotel, there was one afternoon in which we were hurriedly evacuated from the hotel due to more unrest in the country.  In the midst of all the turmoil I came down with a high fever and because of my travel insurance and their co-ordination with the hospital there, I was evacuated from Vietnam by helicopter, paid by the insurance company.  Whether you are traveling for vacation or business, never leave home without Travel Health Insurance from www.mnui.com, you can never be too sure about tomorrow and you need to be prepared.

I lived in Australia, Sydney for 6 months.. when a hotel I used to work for decided to build a no frill hotel there.  I wouldn’t say the name of the hotel because I had sign a legal contract binding me from talking about the negotiation to the opening of the hotel.  Because of my work in Sydney, I was able to visit Melbourne and Gold Coast a few times.

JetStar is owned by Qantas and flies around Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, because of their low fare, I was able to travel around Australia and even hopped over to New Zealand using JetStar.  Since Jetstair is also owned by Singapore Temesak Holdings, you can be ensured that the standards and quality of everything on the flight is not too, too bad.  My flights were always within a few hours.  Like from Melbourne to Gold Coast was only 2hrs.  I didn’t mind the seats at all.. but the stewardess could definitely need tack .. when dealing with the passengers. Remember flights are darn cheap.. as compared to flights in Canada.. so don’t expect to be served a lot of food.  And to avoid chaos or missing your flight, make sure you are there at the gate about 30mins before boarding, I hear they can be anal at times.

The best friend wanted to have her honeymoon on some Caribbean cruises but the husband to be wants to visit Paris since he is a chef by profession.  Both are very good friends.. and whoever i take sides with will offend the other.  Pray tell what kind of advice can i give..? Sometimes, having traveled as much as I did is not such a good thing afterall eh.

Having flown Singapore Airlines countless of times, you can imagine how pleased i was to find that they had upgraded the seats this time round for my flight to New Dehli.  The last time I flown a SQ777 .. they still had their old seats.. which weren’t the best and most comfy .. i’ll have to say. The new business class lived up to its name.. and the seats as you can see here.. were wide enough to fit at least 2 person .. or looked like it.

I didn’t have any stewardess hovering over me.. but they were very nice and discreet and had asked me a few times if i needed a juice or even milk .. before saying goodnite.  I had a pretty good meal on board too.. i heard the meal that nite was prepared by a celebrity chef in Mumbai, sorry no idea what his name was… but it was pretty good.  And by the way.. i was most pleased with the washroom, they had deeper sink in them.. so i don’t have to have water splashed all over my lower blouse or jeans, while trying to wash up.