Euro Travel & More

Marriott Harbourfront Hotel Halifax NS

breading — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:01:41 +0000

With fiberfill pillows and cushion throws in the room that we had stayed in at the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel in Halifax NS, it was sure a very comfortable weekend we had last week. We had stayed at the Marriott Courtyard before but we do prefer the Marriott Harbourfront more. Not only because it’s more comfy but the hotel is relatively newer than the other one. But I really loved all their pillows that they had in the room – making our sleep for the weekend such a good one. Even my kids loved the cushion throws that were provided in the room on their sofa beds.

The Harbourfront is centrally located and there were many restaurants and cafes available within walking distance and a short walk from the waterfront too of course – where the tug boats were and you can get a cruise there too. Service is great and they have a nice pool as well as a tub that we had used every morning and a pretty good gym there – I think they may have bought new equipments when we were there. Like all hotels here in the West – parking was expensive but we really had no choice if we wanted to stay downtown.

The Danna Langkawi

breading — Sat, 05 May 2012 17:34:27 +0000

The Danna Langkawi is one of the best hotels that I’ve been to thus far – it certainly beats the Pelangi Beach or the Mandarin Hotel in Langkawi when they were first opened. This hotel is not only luxurious – it has one of the best services one can find in any hotels in the world. The staff are so friendly and they really go beyond their call of duty to make your stay as comfortable as possible.

They even have a kid’s club for your kids – so this is a family oriented hotel.

The rooms are huge and so comfy.

This is part of the bathroom – and as you can see – very unique design.

A jacuzzi in all the rooms.

And a balcony as well – the resort is absolutely gorgeous – the beach is just next to the resort itself and everything is within reach. If you are in Asia and want a relaxing place to go on vacation – this is the place.

Touring Lunenburg On My Scooter

breading — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:58:03 +0000

This summer one of the places that the spouse and I are going to tour is Lunenburg because of the new scooter that I had just bought – we are now looking for some funky looking motorcycle helmets for me and the kid, so that she can ride behind me. We feel so ashamed that we haven’t been to Lunenburg even though it’s so near to us and one of the places we would like to visit would be IronWorks Distillery and of course the scenery and view of Lunenburg is said to be breath-taking.

Lunenburg has so many interesting buildings and museum and even though it’s a slower path community, I think we will grow to love Lunenburg. I hear that the waterfront is another place we have to visit as it is a National Historic Significance, I can imagine us on our motorbike/scooter and the breeze blowing against our faces and we take in the beautiful sea breeze and the colorful town. Summer come quick!

Umeda Sky Building

breading — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 22:43:32 +0000

Even though it is called the Floating Garden Observatory let me tell you in advance that there is no garden to admire, should you choose to visit the Umeda Sky Building. But for 700 Yen – I thought it was a great experience and like any major city in Japan, there is a sky building aka observatory tower. I have to say that the Umeda Sky Building in Osaka was very nice and I won’t hesitate to recommend you spend a few hours there. At the basement was a food court – built like in the 1920s- 30s – and lots of shops that you can go into and shop and browse, so be prepared for plenty of walking.

The kids loved going up and down the escalators just because – but you can use the glass elevator to get right up to the top of the Observatory center.

I suggest going just before sunset and when the sky turns dark – view the night lights and then head downwards and explore. The Observatory has offices in its building – so not everyone there were tourists – some really worked in the building. Right at the top of the building was a gift shop – but you can also check out the lounge and restaurant on the ground floors.

Like you see in this picture, I was really in awe about the architectural aspect of the building – just like the one in Tokyo but all the glass makes it looked so futuristic but in fact inside it wasn’t. But go visit the Umeda Sky Building when you are in Osaka.

Back To Work Mode After A Vacation

breading — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:13:15 +0000

Like all Asians we are pretty smart when it comes to taking short vacation and then turning our mind and body back to work while some of my friends from the West – cannot turn off the vacation button and come back to work even more tired than before. So people asked me all the time – how I do it when we take long weekend vacations – or in the middle of the week break for a few days every other month. Well, first of all – I love my job – and as soon as I get back to the office, you will see me doing all the necessary clearing up of emails and unwanted office papers with my trusty royal paper shredder and of course it comes with my special chai tea to keep me alert and refresh – but the trick is this – come back a day earlier – and make sure you are unpacked and all your laundry done (in the hotel) before coming back to work – that way – you never really need to worry about getting into the mode again for work. I love taking short breaks – the mini- vacation works great for me and my family – we only need a few days to rejuvenate and when we get back to work – we are ready to go again for another 4 – 6 weeks and then another mini – vacation – I think it is so much fun.

Food Street Hong Kong

breading — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:59:55 +0000

For those who’ve never been to Hong Kong – you don’t know what you are missing – the street food is aplenty and boy! do I eat too much when I am there. I told the spouse that I was going to eat till I drop and then I’m going to go on a diet when I come back – don’t care about diet pills side effects because I’m going to eat till I’m contented. These smelly tofu is a must to try – an acquired taste – it’s like the durian – the king of fruits. When you smell it it’s not that good but after putting them in your mouth and eating it – you don’t want to stop eating just one piece – they are so addictive.

Of course, there is more than just smelly tofu in Hong Kong – the congee is to die for too – so smooth and so good – and cooked for hours in a claypot for a good consistency – you can never get this in the west.

Steamed glutinous rice with crab.

Poh Loh Pau with a chunk of fresh butter.

The famous egg tarts

Chinese Neapolitan cake?

Curry fish balls a must have.

Roasted meat – yummilicous. yes, I’m going to eat first and then think of losing the weight and going on diet later. How can one resist all these good food right? and these are just only 1% of the food I’ve eaten in Hong Kong. Yes, Hong Kong is bad for the weight and health but hey! you only lived once.

Embassy Suites – Niagara Falls Toronto

breading — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 01:43:48 +0000

We had never stayed at the Niagara Falls before but since there was a special deal on Dealfind one day – we decided to make a trip up to the Embassy Suites by Hilton. We arrived late in the evening and it was a very busy spot as you can see. Located at Fallsview – with casinos like 2 blocks away – its definitely a great location for those who wants to try their luck in the casino.

As for us – we turned in early and got up early too – just so we can talk a walk around and see what Niagara falls have to offer us.

With TGIF just behind the hotel and the Keg in the hotel itself – you don’t even have to walk out of the hotel if you don’t want to. I think the best part of staying at the Embassy Suites is the spectacular view of the Horseshoe fall on the Canadian side. But be warned to stay on the upper floors else you will be disappointed.

The rooms were huge and clean – but it had seen better days – the aging of this magnificent hotel is showing – another few more years – they would definitely need some renovation. And what’s with hotel and their bed cover colors – those are the most deary looking ones – but most hotels have the same type of bed covers.

The outlaws room – which was just as huge.

A little kitchenette – great for family who has kids like us.

A jacuzzi for those romantic evenings – don’t forget to bring some bubble bath and rose petals.

A very awesome view from our room – we were pretty pleased.

A pretty big pool which gets really busy with kids during the weekend – so if you have kids – don’t worry about them not having fun – they will make friends really quick like mine.

Surprisingly, they have a big business center at the Embassy Suites even though the room has wireless.

The lobby was really nice – but I won’t go to the Manager’s reception if I were you – they served us drinks in a plastic cups! hahahah!! too funny! Overall, it was a good stay and we will return if we had just a good deal for the room. The rooms were like $149 a night but it included food vouchers for The Keg Steakhouse and casino chips of up to $50 and some manicure spa thing for $50. A pretty good deal if you asked me – so we can’t complain eh.

Vacation With Kids

breading — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:13:59 +0000

While we never leave home without our kids – our neighbors never bring their kids on vacations because they claimed they never have as much fun when they have to bring along their kids. I can fully understand it but having kids on vacation doesn’t mean no fun at all – in fact, I think that it’s an experience that one will cherish for a long, long time.

When we travel with our kids, we make sure that we go to places that they want to go – and even when they are teenagers – there must be places that they would love to travel. For teenage girls and boys there must be some shopping area that they long to go to – to get the stuff they cannot usually get at home, say like the Electro-Harmonix Pedals that I was once asked to look out for – for a friend’s son or a cosmetic brand for my neighbor’s teenage daughter at the airport.

So if you’ve never been on a vacation with your kids – whether they are young or old – I’m sure there must be a place that they would love to spend time with you and your spouse as a family. Be it shopping or just an interesting venue – or like a family that I’ve known since I was a kid – where history was their thing – so they travel to different part of Europe every year. I hope to bring mine to everywhere to see the world, to experience the different culture – and the rich history of different people. So this summer – plan a trip for the entire family – you will be surprised how awesome it would make you feel.

A` La Maison D’amitie’ B & B

breading — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:56:58 +0000

What a spectacular view to spend a few romantic days at this Bed and Breakfast right? but i strongly recommend the summer to be here – for it gets real cold during other seasons. Sleeping on the edge of the world – was written by someone else – I wouldn’t use that phrase to describe this B & B but I would love to stand at the edge of the cliff – that would be quite amazing right?

I haven’t been there myself – but from what I’ve read – I would be thrilled to go spend a weekend there during the summer. They only have 4 rooms in total and you get really pampered when you are there – so what’s not to like right. Rates are pretty reasonable for the kind of room and service you can – the address is RR # 1 Box 3674 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, B5A 4A5, Phone : 902-645-2601. I know where to put my daughter’s godmother from Singapore when she comes for a visit.

Marbles Kids Museum Raleigh NC

breading — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 18:16:08 +0000

As a parent with an 8 years old going to Raleigh NC for a wedding, we of course looked into some fun activities for the kid and the Marbles Kids Museum came highly recommended. So after dropping in our friend’s home for a quick visit to view their new home – which was torn down completely and renovated again to their exact specification. Their new home was lovely of course and kept so clean and the carpets were being cleaned by carpet cleaning chapel hill nc professionals – which reminds me I need our carpet cleaned sometime soon too.

The wedding was in Chapel Hill but Raleigh isn’t too far away either – so we happily went and spent a few hours at the kids museum. It was huge and reminds me of the science center back home, one can’t finish seeing everything in one day.

From building cars and racing them, the kids can work on building a Lego tower as well and shooting plastic balls in their new exhibit. We didn’t do the imax theatre because my kid is scared of it. We liked the fire truck – and train tbales at the kids museum. Admission to the kids museum is only $5 a person. So if you are down in Raleigh NC – don’t forget to check out the Marbles Kids Museum.