A lot of you have been asking about our honeymoon and all. So here you go! In total, we spent about $8,500 for this trip (excluding our own shopping and food). So is the trip worth every penny we spent on this trip? Read more below!
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To be honest, I have never been on a packaged tour since the age of 7. Sadly, I cannot really recall those before I turned 7.
Like what James always say: “We should enjoy hard after we have worked hard enough!”. Thus, we went straight for a good looooong holiday! This round, we took up a 13-Day, 11-Night Italy, Switzerland, Paris, Germany + 2-Night Dubai Trip with euHolidays.
I was initially very worried & scared but at the same time, excited. Worried & scared because I am more of a conservative person. I kept having thoughts like “What if there are delays”, “What if I get robbed or pickpocketed?” and just many “What ifs”! All these concerns were real because they were shared to me by close friends and relatives around me.
Having been to Europe a couple of years ago, the pickpocket issues there were very real. I went there with my university mates and some of them got ‘preyed’ upon! I almost experienced it first hand when one of my uni mates who was sitting right next to me got preyed upon by them…. I have to admit that I just developed “Euro-phobia” since then. Therefore, this is also simply the reason why we decided to go with a tour group. As much as you would think “bigger group means bigger prey”, it meant more peace of mind for us especially if you have a good mama-san there!
Thankfully, we had a great mama-san during this trip. She is actually the tour manager, Susan. Being a conservative person, she kept reminding and keeping a lookout for us. Must say that the trip wouldn’t have been the same without her!
We flew in with a stop over at Dubai airport. Fortunately, we only have to wait for a short one hour during the stopover; thankfully not much time was wasted during the flying portion! Our first stop was Italy – Rome. We visited the Colosseum and the price of the ticket was included in the trip so we did not have to top up for the entrance.
It was very hard to get a good shot there as the place is crazily packed! Still, this is not to be missed by first timers to Rome! Having been there for countless times, Susan knows where and which angle so she helped us with some photo-taking there! I was even guilty to say she took even better photos than we did! Haha! That was not the only merit of her; Susan is definitely very well read as she knows every location inside out from its rich history, heritage, local practices and so on. For James, this is definitely a plus point as he really love to know a place inside out! He always say that is the point of travelling!
For this, another plus point for euHolidays!
Picture taken in Rome
We also visited St. Peter’s Basilica, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and even visited our first Christmas Market at Piazza Novona! We were very lucky because it was the Christmas season so we had a lot of Christmas markets to shop and experience. Even more lucky as we met the Pope himself! That very day we visited the St Peter’s Cathedral, he was giving his blessing to the visitors! What else can I say, we are blessed to be on this trip LITERALLY!
Personally, I love Siena the most when we were in Italy. I love the peace and the structures of the building! They have the oldest building in whole of Italy. If you know their artistic history, that was the gothic period. From structures to food, everything is good! Even a simple pizza there taste super good! According to Susan, Siena is not somewhere easily accessible without a coach. You can make a day trip there but it will cost you a few hundred bucks to book a cab to and fro.
Picture taken in Siena
Next up, we went to Florence and Venice. Needless to say, they are very beautiful too!! Beautiful in a different way. Venice was so pretty that I look as though I was photoshopped in all the photos! We also saw how figurines were made by their masters using murano glass there. We wanted to buy wine glasses back but they were so expensive. 2 for SGD300-400 (I can’t remember the exact price)? Nonetheless, we still manage to get a glass horse which is now part of the accessories at James’ drinking corner in the house!
Fun Fact: Do you know that there are no land transport in Venice? You will have to take a water taxi to reach Venice and also when travelling within all the small winding channels of Venice.
Picture taken in Venice
Picture taken in Venice
Of course, I love my outlet shopping at The Mall in Italy too 😛 I bought a Gucci and Prada bag there! We were only given 2 hours to shop. I wished we had more time though. Queueing to enter the different boutiques took up 1/3 of the time already 🙁 I also regretted not getting the YSL bag that I saw. It was only $1,800 at the outlet mall and that was nearly 40% off the retail price!!!
The bags were so affordable that I find everything in Milan expensive when we were there 😛
For Germany, it was a 1-Day trip and we only visited the famous Black Forest so not much photos were taken there. It certainly is nice to know that the stuffs at Germany are really cheap. Cheapest in fact, as compared to the other parts of Europe. We bought winter beanies for 5 euros each!
Probably our most favourite activity – ‘Sledding’ in Switzerland. Sledding at Wetterhorn Mountain is only exclusively available to euHolidays so if you are keen to slede there, I would suggest you to give euHoliday a try!
Picture taken in Switzerland
P/S: Traveling up to the mountain is very expensive. The Cogwheel Mountain Train cost us more than SGD$300-400 (if I didn’t remember wrongly). Do note that the tickets are not included in the package. You will have to top up for this as an optional tour.
If it is your first visit to Switzerland, I would strongly suggest you to go for it. I enjoyed the beautiful view of the mountains and Alps but I wouldn’t spend the money again if I were there for a second visit.
Picture taken in Switzerland
Sledding was so tedious but fun though!! We did like some training before the actual 2 rounds of sledging. It was freezing like crazy because it was a mad -16 degree celsius. Our ears, fingers and toes almost broke!!! I would still pick the cold than the weather we have right now though! I love layerings!! Good for a different type of OOTD though! Haha!
Picture taken in Switzerland, Wetterhorn
Food and transportation are VERY VERY expensive in Switzerland. But if you are a Rolex fan, do shop for one here! James was definitely looking out for his sports range Rolex during this trip. They have slightly more designs available in Switzerland but…. not the biggest range. Read on to find out more about Rolex shopping.
Picture taken in I-Forgot-Where because we were having too much fun
It was my second visit to Paris and I had a very different experience. I was not on a packaged tour so I focused more on shopping the previous round. I felt that my trip to Paris this time round was more thorough – they covered the place with a city tour (We roamed around the city in a coach and in a boat ride). We had a day of free day so we roamed around the places that were introduced to us.
I met another 2 couples in the group who were there for Honeymoon as well so the 6 of us traveled together all the way. We visited Louvre Museum and died after that because we literally walked a few stations and combed the city by foot. These people here are so nice to travel with and I am so glad to have them with us!!
Picture taken in Paris
P/S: We attempted to take a night train to Zurich when we were in Switzerland, Horgen (where we stayed there for a night). We succeeded but it took us 40 minutes to get our train tickets because we couldn’t understand the language. Nonetheless, thanks to the friendly locals, we still made it! We came to a conclusion why we took up a tour package for our honeymoon. LOL!!
We topped up some euros and took a boat ride around Paris too. The view was fantastic but again, we were freezing like crazy.
Picture taken in Paris
Picture taken in Paris
We had a free day in Paris and the entire tour group decided to spend that free day at the outlet mall so all of us chipped in and paid extra for the coach and Susan’s arrangement. As compared to Italy, Paris outlet mall has more brands but lesser variety in a brand. I would pick Italy, The Mall anytime!
After spending 13 Days and 11 Nights in Europe, we flew to Dubai for a 3 Days 2 Nights trip. The change in weather was drastic. Imagine going from a -16 to 34 degree celsius in 2 days. OMG! And you can imagine our luggages, we had to pack both Winter & Summer clothing!
We took a water boat taxi to the Gold Market which they called it a Souk. Not Zouk ok! It was a very different experience and it felt as though I have been to the place before because of the show Running Man where they would played games in the show. The places looked exactly the same!
As we did not comb Dubai thoroughly, I do not have much to share except the Desert Safari Tour, which the 6 of us booked privately. It was a good experience and if you are planning to travel to Dubai, do head over for an experience too. It is not expensive. We booked the tickets online for $59/2 pax, inclusive of transportation to and from your hotel.
Like our Garden by the bay, Dubai has their own Miracle Garden too. The Dubai trip was pretty much free and easy except for a half day tour with Susan and the local tour guide. It was very cute in there but the sun was seriously too hot for us to enjoy 🙁
To our surprise, Dubai has a lot of Rolex models that are always out of stock in Singapore. We went to a few shops in Switzerland and were told that the few models were always out of stock too. The price of the watches (after tax rebate, exchange rate and credit card charges) are almost comparable to the retail prices in Singapore boutiques. Only difference is that you still get a chance to buy a two tone sports model there whereas in Singapore, you could be waiting for a lifetime to get a new one! If you are keen to get a sports model, do visit the biggest mall in the world, Dubai Mall. They have a three storey Rolex there!
We flew back to Singapore after Dubai and there were a lot of hiccups with the airline. Families with kids were separated and so were James and I. My seat was repeated. Another guy and I got the same seat number and the staff at the airport refused to help us rectify it; neither did they accept our request to put us together.
Luckily, Susan was there to manage the situation for us; otherwise, flying back would have been a disaster! I can’t imagine the kids sitting by themselves without their parents :O
All in all, I had a wonderful honeymoon all thanks to euHolidays; there is minimal conflict of interest as we paid for the trip but the trip did meet our expectations and it met our objective of “we just want to relax this honeymoon so let’s leave the itinerary planning to someone else”. For the places that were touched-and-go, we will certainly be back to experience them now that we have a good idea of what to do and where to explore now.
travel
Expedia New Add-On Advantage
I love traveling! So much so that I have to travel least 3 times a year just to keep myself sane. You can say that I literally work to travel so that I can get the most exposure in life! However, it can get a little taxing financially to keep up with this interest of mine as the flights and hotels can be expensive at times.
Like any typical millennial, I seek value, convenience and flexibility. The deal that allows me to combine all three aspects in one thrills me the most! This is why I rely on Expedia so much!
I have always known Expedia as a travel booking website where I can book
everything from cheap flight tickets, hotels to even packages. It saves me a lot of
time jumping from portal to portal just to get my flights and hotels settled.
What attracted me further was that they have recently launched a new feature – Add-on Advantage.
This feature allows all Expedia account members to enjoy savings up to an astounding 57%* off their hotel room bookings as long as your flight is booked on Expedia site!
It is really user-friendly and only consists of 4 easy steps here:
1) Visit Expedia.com.sg to look for a flight or package
2) After the confirmation of the flight or package, hotel discounts will be unlocked with Expedia Add-On Advantage
3) Book your hotel room ANY time you want but no later than your travel date – phew, no rush procrastinators!
4) Search thoroughly and book as many times as you want and enjoy up to 57%* off with Expedia Add-On Advantage
If this is not a good deal, I don’t know what else would be. It is less than half the usual price yo! You can save this money for shopping, eating and more shopping again!
If you need more information, please visit https://www.expedia.com.sg/addonadvantage?mcicid=AOA072018_532x299
Bye for now and see you at the other side of the globe!
PS: *terms and conditions apply.
For more information, please visit https://www.expedia.com.sg/addonadvantage?mcicid=AOA072018_532x299
The Face Shop Sent Us To Seoul!
I am no stranger to Seoul as this was my third visit to Seoul and my second visit was less than half a year ago. However, this was my first Winter experience. I have been to places like London and Newcastle and they were cold, but not as cold as minus 12 degree celsius!! Other than leaving my gloves and Heattech socks out, I must say that I was well equipped for this trip with 3 coats in my luggage. Lol!
I am not kidding about the weather. Just look at the frozen sea below!
My purpose for visiting Seoul again this year was for The Face Shop! The Face Shop (TFS) was my first K-Beauty brand during my younger days as they were one of the first to enter Singapore. So TFS Singapore, thank you for flying me all the way to Seoul, putting us up in a five star hotel and arranging all the activities for us!
Day 1 was free and easy. After touching down, we were greeted by two good-looking oppas. LOL. We were sent to the hotel and zoom, the 4 of us (Yina, Jamie, Kristin and me) set off for some good food and shopping! The weather was very very very very cold. We couldn’t do without our gloves. I shall not touch on where to shop in Seoul because I have already covered it previously: http://maybelinesim.sg/2017/10/14/where-to-shop-in-seoul-korea/
Day 2 was a little pack but enjoyable because we get to try out all the new launches and even customize our own eyeshadow palette! We also managed to visit TFS in COEXMALL and did a quick shopping at Express Bus Terminal!
My customized palette are mostly coral shades because I really love peaches & coral tones.
Not sure if you know but Dr. Belmeur is actually one of the brands that TFS carries. Dr. Belmeur is a derma-cosmetics skincare that is safe and suitable for people with dry and sensitive skin as well.
We were given a detailed run through of the products the line carries but I have yet to try any of the products from this range even though I have long heard about it. I thought the packaging looks clean but I never knew that it is a derma-cosmetics brand. New lesson learnt! And now that I have their products, I can give them a try this month! Haha.
I am a very lipstick person person so I was VERYYYYY happy when I saw the new Flat Velvet Lipstick in my room! The application was SUPERRR smooth! Check out all the colors below. I may be doing a giveaway on the entire set later this month so do check back on my Instagram 😀
We actually went back to TFS 2 more times after the store visit because we couldn’t resist getting some limited edition cosmetics which are not available in Singapore :OO
Look at those marble blushes! Love love love the packaging a lot!
Day 3 was all about the SNOW AND SKI FOR MEEEEE! I have yet to see snow before so this was my first. I was told that the snow at the resort were all man-made but it’s okay, we managed to catch some snow falling from the sky right outside DongDaeMun at night! Hehe. This marks my first ever snow experience!
The highlight for the entire trip was probably learning how to ski for me! I fell really really hard a few times that left me limping for 8 days after I was back in Singapore but it was all worth it because it was SUPER FUN! I know how to ice skate and roller blade well so I thought they were the same but who knows, it was so hard to balance on the slope! Luckily for Kristin and I, we had Yina to guide us along. Lol.
The guys from TFS Headquarters were equally fun as well. We skied together for quite a bit! Haha.
Even though it was a very short trip, I am so glad I came as I got to know the brand a little deeper and I really do enjoy the company of Yina, Jamie and Kristin! Once again, Thank you TFS Singapore for flying us over for the wonderful experience!!! 🙂
Where to shop in Seoul, Korea?
Shopping can be really enjoyable in Seoul when they have all the latest fashion trends there!
Here are some places to share and I am ranking these places based on my favorite. I am price (I like cheap stuffs! Haha) and quality conscious.
1. Express Bus Terminal (Goto Mall)
(Credit: Eastasy)
If I only have a day to spend in Seoul, the first place that comes to my mind will be Express Bus Terminal. It is like Singapore’s Bugis Street but with better and faster fashion trend.
Even the clothes quality here are so much better! Best of all, the prices are even cheaper. You can get a very trendy pair of jeans for $20 or a jacket for $10!
2. Hongdae (Hongik University Street) and 3. EHWA Woman’s University
(Credit: VisitKorea)
I enjoy spending time roaming around the university streets because of the atmosphere there. The people are younger, happier and chattier! It may not carry as much stuffs as Express Bus Terminal but you will be able to spot some men’s apparels here. James got himself a few outerwear at Hondae.
Be sure to try the street food here too! It is half the price of other shopping districts.
4. Myeong Dong shopping Street
(Credit: VisitKorea)
Even though Myeong Dong is one of the most famous shopping street in Seoul, I find their items OVERLY priced. Yes, including those pushcarts. They sell almost the same stuffs that you can find in Express Bus Terminal and university streets but at double to triple the price.
However, if you are looking for beauty related products, Myeong Dong has one of the most varieties to offer. I also love shopping around their ABC Marts (which you can also find in Taiwan). Sneaker lovers anyone? Catch some good deals there! You can also find designs that are not available in Singapore.
Street food? EXPENSIVE.
5. Dongdaemun: Good Morning City, hello APM
(Credit: VisitKorea)
Mmmm.. Even though this is a wholesale place, I personally do not enjoy shopping there unless I have some spare time to waste. Otherwise, it will just be another late night shopping option for me since they open till late.
However, there are a lot of food places around the area. Quite a good place to chill actually! Oh, Common Ground is another hipster place that you should visit too (not for shopping though)!
I have of course, been to more than just these 5 places but I am only sharing what I love most. Hope this post will be useful for you 🙂
Join me onboard Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas with a special price!
I know I have been traveling in Aug and Sept. You will be even surprised to find me traveling in October again! Haha. Lucky me! How can one with a full time job travel once a month? Just make full use of the Public Holidays or take a Friday off and travel out for 3D2N!
This time round, I will be travel out of Singapore from 20 October to 23 October 2017. You can also hop onto the ship with your family members at a special price!
These special rates are exclusive to Maybeline readers – please email your particulars to carrie@alvinology.com and you will be contacted shortly for booking.
The first 25 cabins to be booked will receive a swag bag (worth over S$100), so it’s like another $100 off! Haha.
Promotion is only valid until 22nd September 2017.
More details on the cruise:
3 Night Kuala Lumpur Weekend Cruise
Dates: October 20 – 23, 2017
Itinerary:
| Day | Port | Arrive | Depart | Remarks |
| 1 | Singapore | – | 1700 HRS | Docked |
| 2 | Port Klang | 0700 HRS | 1900 HRS | Docked |
| 3 | Cruising | – | – | Cruising |
| 4 | Singapore | 0800 HRS | – | Docked |
Special rates for twin-sharing staterooms*:
- Balcony stateroom is priced at SGD489 per pax (before taxes & gratuities of $123pp)
- Oceanview stateroom is priced at SGD389 per pax (before taxes & gratuities of $123pp)
- Promenade stateroom is priced at SGD389 per pax (before taxes & gratuities of $123pp)
*Terms and conditions apply:
- These special rates are valid only till 22 September, 2017.
- Please note that single guest in a stateroom will be charged a single supplement for the cruise fare, and guest under 18 must be accompanied by another guest 18 or older in the same stateroom.
- No cancellation, refund or changes allowed for cruise, shore excursion and specialty dining once confirmed.
- More terms and conditions are found in the booking form.
What to do in Hiroshima
So… We were back from Hiroshima less than a month ago! Our latest wanderlust took us to the city which encountered the world’s first ever nuclear destruction. Nonetheless, what we encountered during this trip was anything but terror in this modernized, beautiful city!
PS: Good news to share for those who like to fly via SilkAir – from the 30th Oct there will be flights from Singapore to Hiroshima and vice versa!
In our opinion, here are some of the must-visit places:
1) Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum & A-Bomb Dome
It is one of the UNESCO Heritage Sites in Hiroshima and knowing James will never give UNESCO site in any country a miss! If you planning to go to this site, I would recommend spending a good one day there to learn of the destructive power of an Atomic Bomb & immense in the history of Hiroshima.
We stayed at ANA Crowne Plaza which is just a 5 mins walk away.
More importantly, we were there on the 6th August too! Make a guess what’s the significance of this date? It is the fateful day which the Atomic Bomb ‘Little Boy’ was dropped and to be exact, 8.15am in the morning.
Apparently, this is the only structure that survived the bomb blast and still standing till this very day. It stood there to consistently remind the future generation that nuclear power should never be used as a form of deterrence.
You won’t see much laughter or merry-making around this place even among the tourists. The mood is mainly sombre around this vicinity; It is as though the tragedy just happened the day before.
Nonetheless, we did not hesitate to break our first smile when we saw these beautiful paper cranes near the site. Folding paper crane is a form of respect and culture near the site! Be sure to fold one when you are there in memory of the victims.
We did our part and learnt how to fold paper cranes at the Orizuru Tower nearby. Best time to go to the tower would be close to evening time as you also get to enjoy the entire Hiroshima city landscape.
2) Miyajima Island (Itsukushima Shrine & the Iconic O-Torii Gate)
Ever seen the famous O-Torii Gate floating in the middle of a sea?
This is exactly where we decided to spend our second day! One can never miss out Itsukushima Shrine when they are at Hiroshima Prefecture. Take a 30-minutes boat ride near the A-Bomb Dome site to Miyajima Island!
You can take some nice photos at the back of the boat. Be sure not to miss this instagram-worthy moment!
The first impression you will get of Miyajima Island is that of Nara Park because of the wild deers roaming around freely. Sadly, the only difference is you are not allowed to feed the deers here 🙁
Be sure not to walk around freely with a paper in your hand. In fact, that was what happened to my map as one of the deers ripped it apart thinking it was food!
Well, the deers stole my map but did not have the chance to steal the limelight from….the iconic O-Torii Gate in front of the Itsukushima Shrine!
The are so many interesting cultural practices e.g. Praying, Ward of Bad luck, Reading your luck etc within Itsukushima Shrine. So be sure not to miss exploring every part of it!
3) Kin-taikyo Bridge
A very iconic Bridge which is broken into three sections. It was said that they made it this way to reinforce against the strong tides of tsunami/flood.
It is so long we only manage to capture one section of the whole bridge. But, you got the idea right?
4) Shimanami-Kaido Bridge
If you are a cycling enthusiasts, do a day trip out of Hiroshima for this! Just to share the distance we cycled that day; from one end of the bridge to the other.
It is approximately 6-7km. The good thing is you can return the bike at the station situated on the other end of the bridge.
Just look at how much we are sweating! I would say it is not so much from our exertion on the bike but instead the weather! The summer in Japan is definitely no joke! I would say even the hottest day in Singapore couldn’t be compared to the heat there!
4) Hondori Shopping Street
This is the biggest shopping street in Hiroshima! To be truthful, don’t expect to shop heartily here. I feel the shopping scene in Dontoburi is far more vibrant compared to this one! Nonetheless, it is still worth a visit if it is your first time there.
Well at least for retail pleasure, they have our favourite Uniqlo and GU there! If you are thinking of getting some LifeWear, you know where to head to.
Oh! Do not miss out the super famous I-chiran Ramen there too! You have to queue for it in Tokyo and Osaka, but I promise that there is no queue here! It was so good we had it for supper on two consecutive nights!
5) Sera-kogen Farm (aka The Land of Sunflowers)
You will surely smile at this place if you missed smiling at A-Bomb Dome site! Just look at this picture which is a small subset of the whole sunflower farm!
Unfortunately, due to a tight schedule, we did not get to spend much time there. I shall leave you guys to explore this place on your end and take multiple pictures!
Some other places that you may want to include in your itinerary includes Ota House, Iwakuni (Yamaguchi Prefecture) & Kikko Park (Samurai Living quarters on one end of the Kin-taikyo Bridge).
[Bali] Our Stay In Holiday Inn Express
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You guys know that I just came back from Bali right? I am very very grateful to HolidayInn Express for hosting us during our stay in Bali.
We took the 7am flight and camped at the airport since 3am for some Duty Free shopping and breakfast so we were VERY VERY VERY tired when we arrived in Bali at 10am. Nonetheless, that did not dampen any bit of my mood and excitement in visiting Bali! As soon as we hit the plane, only ONE letter came into mind: Zzz.. 2 hours plus later, we reached Bali (Depasar) Airport!
We were greeted by the beautiful and peaceful looking interior of the hotel and the check-in process was quick because the friendly staffs were all very experienced. From the lethargic look on our faces coupled with those unavoidable Jia Jia & Kai Kai eyes of ours, I bet they knew how tired we were after the SUPER DUPER early morning flight.
In terms of their front desk customer relation, I must say they deserve 2 thumbs up !! Not only were they prompt in replying our requests, you hardly see a tinge of frustration on their faces despite our interminable requests. They even went the extra mile to help us with some of our hotel planning and recommended us on some of the activities we can do.
My very first photo in Bali!
You don’t find the usual hotel glitteries around Holiday Inn Express. And it is basically because of this, i feel much closer to home with their simple & clean layout.
Don’t expect to see hotels in Bali to those skyscrappers sort like some in Singapore. In fact, this is already one of the tallest around town. You will see why I say that from the roof pictures below.
After checking in, what we did next immediately was to explore the room and the facilities!
First up, the room…
To some people, the word “Express” does lead to some form of skeptism. But to be very frank, the hotel room does not have the likes of an “Express” hotel room. The room is clean with a super comfy king-sized bed!
Room is spacious, definitely enough for two to roam around without knocking into each other!
Our room overlooked nicely into the courtyard which end up being a hugh perk as we could easily check if our tour guide/drivers have arrived at the lobby even before the reception can call us!
Next to the facilities!
We headed straight to the roof and was pleasantly greeted by the pool which J eventually did swim a couple of laps on the last day of our stay! My baby can be quite a clean freak and judging from the fact that he did not even make a noise over the pool water, i guess it passed the cleaniless test! 🙂
A nice little hangout area, particularly useful at night for a group of friends where they chill around and admire the nice starry night in Bali.
After exploring, we went back to take a quick shower and rested for 40 minutes before heading out to explore Bali.
40 minutes of rest and it took less than 30 seconds for this lazy bum to climb into bed! He absoultely have no idea I snapped this!
Shortly, I also joined in to enjoy the comfy bed..
*4o mins passed*
See those REJUVENATED face of ours and all ready to hit the Bali streets!
This brings me to the other benefit of staying in Holiday Inn Express! That is once you get out of the hotel, all the supermarket, malls, art markets so on and so forth are within a stone’s thrown away distance! In fact, you are already at the Heart of Kuta itself!
You will see quite a few familiar brands in Kuta square such as Rip Curl, Havianas, Polo RL etc. Best part is you will find the prices there much cheaper than in Singapore. Take for instances, a Havianas slippers cost easily 15-20% cheaper there!
Apart from shops, you will find many fast food restaurants eg Mac, KFC so rest assured you are never ever gonna starve in Kuta, Bali regardless how picky an eater you are.
Because Kuta Beach was also near, we walked over for a stroll and to dine by the beach for lunch.
Less than 15 minutes walk, we were already at the famous Kuta beach where surfers like to visit!
Not just a good place to surf but also a good place to do #OOTD & #photooftheday!
More OOTDs at the back alley.
Putting the back alley for even better uses apart from OOTD: *Opps!* -> *Ooo La La!*
Tofu eaten!
Rayban fans caught in a candid moment!
Our first day in Bali was pretty much spent combing the streets of Kuta and the beach. Surprisingly, there are so many things to buy and shop there and I spent almost one third of my IDR there!
Apparently, after one day of shopping & exploring, we were all pretty dead beat! We had a quick shower with the well-equipped amenities eg body wash, shampoo, toothbrush etc before heading for bed. Both of us were soon sound asleep without much external disturbances or noises.
Stay tuned for the next post, you will see what the hotel has to offer for breakfast and we we did in Bali!
Taipei Day 1
We took the 8.30am flight and reached Taoyuan Airport at 1.15pm. By the time we retrieve the luggage and all, it was almost 2pm. Cabbed from the airport to our hotel at Xi Men Ding straight. I have no idea why, when people told me that the cab fare in Taipei is much cheaper, I thought it would cost about 20-30% lesser but hell no. Our cab fare from the airport was SGD50. The distance is like our Jurong to Changi Airport (slightly further up). It would only cost SGD25-30 for that distance in Singapore though.
After checking in the hotel, we roamed around Xi Men Ding for lunch. Settled comfortably in a Japanese Restaurant. Each bowl of ramen only cost about $6. The portion is slightly smaller than what was served in Singapore.
And not wanting to waste any time, we took the metro (MRT) down from Xi Men Station to Hou Shan Pi Station where you can find Wu Fen Pu wholesale market.
The MRT fare is fairly cheap. SGD0.80 for a ride. And single ride journey tickets are in the form of a token. So cute!!
Wu Fen Pu is one hell of a good shopping place! It is so huge that it took me 3 hours to comb the entire place twice. I spent $200 on clothes for me and J within that 3 hours. My brother managed to grab quite a bit of male clothing too.
What to buy in Wu Fen Pu: Mostly clothes. Shoes are not exactly cheap here. You can get it cheaper at other parts of Taipei.
Station: Blue Line – Hou Shan Pi
After 3 hours of shopping, it was already 7pm so we walked over to Rao He Night Market. There is no direct station (Hou Shan Pi is one of the nearest) here so I would suggest you to cab there or walk over from Wu Fen Pu after shopping.
Rao He Night market has very good street food!! They do sell clothes, shoes and accessories but I would prefer the clothes at Wu Fen Pu instead. You can find cheap female shoes at NT200 (SGD8-9) where my mom and I got 2 pairs each. Male shoes are cheaper here. My brother got 2 pairs of loafers at NT500 (SGD22) each. Male loafers usually cost about SGD40-50 even in our Bugis Village.
My dad had Stinky Tofu there, although he insisted that it was good, I wanted to vomit at the smell of it. EWWWWW!
After all the street food and little shopping done at Rao He, we cabbed back to Xi Men Ding for more.
Xi Men Ding is very lively at night! I also realised from the Superdry Store in XMD, the stuffs here cost more than Singapore! A tee here cost about SGD90 when we could get it in Singapore for SGD70.
I love the people in Taiwan because they are dog lovers!!! You can see them everywhere!! Oh ya, pet clothing are cheap in Wu Fen Pu too!
Loot for first day.
