Seat Sale and Super City Sale!

Travelling has never been made easier and cheaper. With airline seat sale on almost every airline, there are also great hotel deals available online. And guess what, you can get hotel discounts up to 60% when you book online from the 23rd up to the 29th of June for stays between the 10th of July until the 30th of September exlusively at Accor Hotels City Super Sale.

Our family got a zero fare air ticket to Hong Kong this year, and it would be nice to stay in a 5 star hotel like Hotel Ibis North Point. And guess how much is the rate for this hotel for the Super City Sale? 45.16 USD. That's a great deal for a luxurious hotel right? But then, this sale is only until the 30th of September and we will only be going there in October. And besides, we want to save a lot on accomodation that's why we are going to stay at our cousin's house. Now, that's a 6 star rating with Zero expenses! Heheh!

Anyways, you better check out the cheapest airfare to your holiday destination now and immediately book your hotel for this trip. There are over 250,000 room nights that will be on sale, with rates starting as low as US$25 per night! You deserve a great holiday!

My Itinerary in North Thailand

Travel booking, done! Airline tickets booking, done! There's no turning back, I'm going to North Thailand on a group tour as my contest prize in a blog contest. I won't be writing about how I feel anymore because I think I'm already becoming very redundant. Anyway, let me show you the itinerary of my Treasure of the North travel, compliments of Intrepid Travel and Dodo. I truly thank God for letting me win this contest!

--- The itinerary they sent me----

Day 1 Bangkok

Make the most of this bewitching city of skyscrapers and temples, chaos and calm. Sitting on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok is a fusion of country and city influences. Why not arrive early and visit the dazzling Grand Palace and the majestic Emerald Buddha?

Day 2 Sukhothai

Cycling is the best way to see Thailand's first capital, set amid leafy forests and perfumed gardens. Pedal between fertile rice paddies and enjoy the tranquility. A trip to the night market is a real eye-opener - the choices for dinner here range from fried rice to fried bugs.
Day 3 Lampang

Step back in time and tour Sukhothai's fascinating temples by bicycle, stopping off at a local market and sharing a picnic. See the impressive murals of Wat Phra That Lampang Luang or enjoy some pampering at the local herbal sauna and massage centre.

Day 4 Homestay

Ride an elephant through the forest and stay to see bath time. Spend the evening in the home of our village friends and witness rural Thai life first-hand. Be treated to a traditional khan toke dinner accompanied by live music and a dance performance. In the morning, offer alms to the monks or stretch out with a yoga session.

Days 5-7 Chiang Mai

Take a relaxing soak in hot springs en route to Chiang Mai. Situated at the crossroads of one of South-East Asia's most important trade routes, the northern capital is a legendary centre of ancient culture, adventure, relaxation and shopping. Bike between the temples, take a cooking class, cruise down the river on a bamboo raft or hone haggling skills at the markets.

Day 8 Bangkok

Celebrate the end of the adventure over a cold Singha. ( hmmm I would rather have an ice cold Coke!)

Image taken from wikemedia.com

Tandas Means Toilet

When I hear the word 'tandas' ( toilet) I can't help but chuckle because I could remember our experiences 7 years ago.

You see, my Hubby and I got married here in Malaysia so all my family and some friends ( 23 of them) came to Malaysia. It was all their first time to be in Malaysia and for most of them, to a different country. So, you can imagine all the culture shocks they must have experienced. And the part of their bodies that must have most of the shock were their tummies! Generally, Filipinos don't fancy eating spicy food. And since the groom was an Indian so, they didn't have a choice but to eat hot and spicy Indian curry.. That's when the trouble ( in their tummies) began. That explains why the first Malay word that they learned was not " Apa Kabar" ( How are you?) but " tandas" since they have to go their regularly. :) We even had to make a lot of stops in during our bus travel from Kuala Lumpur to Taiping because they had to go to the toilet many times. But what I appreciate most when travelling by land here in Malaysia is that they have clean toilets and bathrooms in the Rest and Recreation stops. It would be great though for them to build beautiful bathroom suites like that from Better Bathrooms but then I guess that'll be too much to ask since luxurious bathrooms are meant for hotels and not for Rest and Recreation' stops.

Anyways, those were our family and friends' 'tandas' experiences. :)

Malaysia Travel Announcement

Effective next week, it is already mandatory to fill up health declaration forms which are given onboard the plane, as announced by Deputy Prmie Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin. These health forms will include personal particulars, health status , flight and seat numbers. Since it is already mandatory to fill up these forms, failure to do so could result in jail term of up to 2 years and fine up to 10,000 Ringgit. This has been one of the actions taken by the government to curb the spread of the H1N1 virus.

So, if you're boarding the plane to Malaysia, please fill up the health declaration forms honestly and help in containing the H1N1 virus.

Sipadan Island - Top 3 Best Dive Site in the World

I was watching one of the shows in Discovery Channel's Travel and Living when I saw that they featured the Sipadan Island here in Malaysia. They said that it's one of the best diving sites in the world. I googled about it and found out that the Barracuda Point in Sipadan is indeed the Top 3 of the world's best.

I've always dreamed to scuba dive and I guess it'll still be a dream as of this point. If ever I go scuba diving, I would want to do it together with my Hubby. I'm sure he'll also enjoy the experience. But then, my Hubby has some vision problems and has been wearing glasses and sometimes contact lenses. So, I'm not sure if you can wear one while scuba diving.

Speaking of contact lenses, it has really been quite a hassle for him to wear them lately. He had to change them every 3 months. We got the cheaper brands for his contact lenses but they were not so good as it made his eyes itchy. After experiencing this, we had actually thought of LASIK. This is indeed one of the safest and effective method to correct one's vision. But upon learning that the cost of Lasik procedure is very costly, that option didn't enter our minds anymore.

But just now, I've come across a site that compared the one time cost of iLASIK and the lifetime costs of buying contact lenses and I was so surprised with the figures. It turned out that buying contact lenses ( especially if you've started early) indeed costs more. Hmm..

I guess, I've gone so far from my diving topic already. But I just hope that one day, I could go scuba diving with my Hubby. And on that 'day' maybe my Hubby's vision is already corrected through Lasik technology.

My Favorite Place in Taiping

The Taiping Lake Garden is indeed my favorite place in Taiping. This place is just so serene and beautiful. A few days ago, when we passed by the place we can't help but stop and was tempted to try out their boat ride. Even our 1 and half year old son was saying " Yide! Yide!" when he saw the boats. We couldn't resist our kids excitement when they saw the rides so, we went out of the car and proceeded to the lake and buy our tickets.

So, here are the beautiful scenes you can see from the boat ride in the lake.

Intermission: For You And Your Kids

Now that we're on a break, we're always on a look out for all the family friendly events and activities locally. We really want the kids to enjoy and make the most out of their stay here in Taiping. Just last week, we went to the zoo and then a few days ago we had a boat ride at the Lake Gardens. We're thinking of visiting the Museum next time too.

If you're residing in the United States, there's a widget from ParentsConnect.com that's available to inform you of all the family friendly events that's coming in your own place. I've just installed one in my homepage and you might want to check out what's the latest event in your own state. Better yet, you can even install the widget in your own homepage or social networking pages and start informing other parents too. This cool widget not just acts as an information widget for you and your other parent friends but it's also a cool gadget that can give you a chance to win a cool 1,000 $!! Yes, that's the prize that they're giving away to the site that has the most clicks. So, better install one in your site now and let your friends start clicking!

Taiping Zoo and Night Safari

Last week, we had the privilege to visit the Taiping Zoo again. I can't count how many times we've been to this zoo, but each time we go it's a different experience especially as we go at different stages in our kids life. It's actually the first time for our boy to go to the zoo and he loved seeing the animals close. As for our girl, she can already identify most of the animals but her learning is further enhanced by seeing them in their 'natural' habitat.



What I like about Taiping zoo is that you have the option to tour the place through riding the train or by foot. This time we chose both. The Zoo indeed caters to children's needs as there is also a big playground and a lot of resting places.



The Taiping Zoo and Night Safari is a must place to visit if you happen to come to Taiping, Malaysia. Here are the fees :

Taiping ZOO
Open everyday of the year including Sundays & Public Holidays
8.30am to 6.00pm

Adult- 12 RM
Children ( 3-12 years old) - 8 RM
Video/Camera- Free of Charge
Zoo Mini train - Free of Charge

Night Safari
Visiting hours
8.00 to 11.00 p.m
Open every night including Public Holidays
8.00 to 12.00 a.m
On Saturday nights and eve of Public Holidays.

Adult - 16 RM
Children (3-12 years old) 10 RM
Video/Camera- Free of Charge
Zoo Mini train - Free of Charge

My Future Travel Companions

Until now, I still haven't made up my mind whether to travel alone this August or not travel at all. We're actually doing all the necessary arrangements now but still my heart is not 100% set. I've already been trying to imagine how I'll miss my kids and hubby if I travel alone. But on the other hand, I feel I need this break and for sure this opportunity will only pass once. By the way, this trip is courtesy of the the travel contest that I won.

I've already made a check list of things to bring to ease my 'loneliness' during my solo flight. These will be my travel companions. Here are some items on my list : books, my netbook and mp3 ( still have to buy one as I gave mine to a friend last year). It's quite timely that I found a site that offers free legal music downloads for mp3s. It's called Kerchoonz. As I surfed through their site, I found out that it's more than a free download site. They also have free videos, games, quizzes, chat, forums, groups and a whole lot more. It's like an all-in-one site where you can make friends and even earn online. Cool huh!

A Different Taiping

Last Saturday, our family went out to town to have our dinner. On our way to Taiping Sentral, we were surprised to see there was a heavy traffic. We thought that maybe there's a police check or an accident at the junction but found out that there wasn't any. Then, in Taiping Sentral, we could hardly get a parking space because the place was just crowded. It was somehow understandable because it was a weekend. That could have explained the crowd.

But on our way back home, there was heavy traffic again. And found the town so crowded and 'alive'. The crowd and the jam made Taiping looks so different as its usually just a quite, peaceful town with 'traffic' unheard of.

Then, we remembered, it's a the school holidays now, so maybe all the students and workers working from different states must have been back to the town ( balik kampung) and not to mention, vacationers and local tourists must be flocking the town now to go to the zoo or maybe just relax in this quite and peaceful town.

Traveling on a Shoe String Budget

We made our travel plans for this year but then, we have a little bit of a problem, we don't have much budget to fulfill most of our travel plans. So, what should we do? We have actually drawn out 2 options for this 'problem'.

1) First, we could always cancel those plans, stay home and do nothing . But, then we have already booked our tickets ( which we got as cheap promo fares) for one trip and the other trip is actually a prize from a contest ( but, I still need some pocket money and other expenses even if I already have free accommodation, internal transport and etc).

2) Second option would be to go on with our plans, pray for God's provision and try our best to come up with extra income and savings.

Which option sounds better? Of course, the 2nd one isn't it? And because we've chosen the 2nd option, we are working hard to Earn extra money. Good thing, I also found another way of earning through Yovia Blogs. It's quite a new site and offering free blogs to limited bloggers but I think they've got quite a lot of ways to earn from it. This site is also quite helpful for new bloggers since they give free tutorials and tips on how to start one.

So, hopefully we won't have to cancel any of our trips and be able to enjoy the rest of the year.

My Favorite Food in Taiping

Taiping is known for its Popiah, Char KuayTiaw and other food. But my very personal favorite is the Curry Mee that we usually buy in Pokok Assam. It's actually just a very simple shop in someone's garage but it's very delicious and not to mention very cheap too!

Oh, even looking at my not so good shot of the curry mee , reminds me of the aroma and the delicious taste of this curry mee. So, if you happen to come and visit Malaysia or Taiping, then you got to try this yummy dish.

Intermission: Of Exercise and Hip Hop

Exercise, that's what I need. I think it's about time to take out the Exercise DVD that I bought when we were still in the Philippines, the Hip Hop Abs DVD! I remember using that DVD for exercise and it was the first time that I truly enjoyed exercising because I was just like dancing - Hip Hop! Usually, when I use exercise DVDs I'll always look at the clock and impatiently want the whole routine to finish. But not with HipHop Abs, it's has a fast and fun exercise routine.

And speaking of Hip Hop, you might want to check out one of the newest talented rapper in town, Nyce Billy. He was the first place winner of the Faces in the Crows Showcase. He has signed under Everything to Gain Entertainment and getting quite recognized in the international scene. You might want to check out his newest single " Pour on the Floor" which is soon to be heard in your radio. And if you want to know more about him, you can check him out at myspace too.

And back to my Hip Hop dance exercise, I can't wait to start exercising back again. I know that I can only reap the benefits of exercise, once I'm consistent and well motivated to do this again. Well, all the best to me. Who knows, out of this dance exercise I might be a real Hip Hop dancer in the future! LOL! Just kidding!

Now You See It, Now you Don't

I'm talking about my Page Rank. It has once again got an N/A rank from Mr. G. And as usual, I don't know the reason for such. But I've finally made up my mind that whether or not the PR 3 would come back or not, I have to buy my own domain for this blog.

I'm sure having its own domain would indeed have more benefits than being a free hosted blog. So, watch out for the new domain of From Asia and Beyond.