Prince Residence Chiang Rai & Night Bazaar Hotel Chiang Mai

31 Dec 2015

It is year end, and our next destination is so -called chilled city, Chiang Mai. You're not gonna waste the chance visiting Chiang Rai as you hv reached Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Rai , we stayed at Prince Residence. The location is strategically in the city, whereby the nightmarket is within the walking distance. 

I mean, it is just next to the hotel! The hotel owner is really accommodating. From the hotel info,  the iron is not provided by the hotel.Nevertheless, we took chance to request for it.

And guess what, the owner has lugged iron board all the way  from the house next to the residence. What an effort.  With its economy class range hotel, I think the hotel is really satisfactory and worth our money.

In Chiang Mai we stayed in Night Bazaar hotel.  And as it is named after, the hotel is just walk away from night bazaaar.

On the night time, Chiang Mai is busy with night market with assortment of handicrafts, blouses, dresses( and I got myself a bunch of them too!).

The halal food is also easy to find from the hotel, as it is nearby to Masiid Hidayah. Personally it is not as comfy as the one in Chiang Rai despite the same price that we paid. But , considering other upside of staying in the hotel especially its strategic location,  I think it is recomendable for those who plan to stay in the budget hotel in Chiang Mai.

J. Hotel, Krabi, Thailand

If you are planning on having vacation in Krabi, and still looking for a  nice lodging to stay, my suggestion is J. Hotel, people!

My friends and I were have stayed in this hotel during our trip and it was worth it! The price per pax is affordable for economy traveller, and strategically located at the heart of Ao Nang.

If you want to see both sunset and sunrise, it is just a few walks away from the beach. And it is not soo hard to get Halal foods in this area.

There are also numerous spas with all kinds of self pampering treatments available around this area as well as souvenir shops. But you might want to skip  the shopping here, if the price concerns you =)..

Places We Stayed in New Zealand

Just recently my friends and I went to New Zealand for 14 days. Yes it was the longest trip we have made so far, thus made it the most lodgings we rented throughout the journey. So this entry is served for overview of our lodgings, whihch is highly recommendable for budget backpacker, or luggage-er, for that matter.

Auckland, North Island

On the first day, we were greeted with Malaysian hospitality by Kak Anita who have been staying in Auckland for quite some time. The best part is that we were welcome with mee hailam in the midnight followed with nasik lemak for breakfast. That was the warmest hospitality received from a friend before we started our journey -all on expenses. Kui kui kui..

If you choose to stay at affordable guest house run by Malaysian, Mesra Guesthouse is the best option. We were greeted from doorstep, and they were even helping and guiding us to pick the 'must-go-places' in both North and South Island.

The guesthouse is on bed and breakfast concept. All you have to do in the morning is to get dressed and  while getting ready to launch the journey of the day, the breakfast is ready on the table.

And the location is perfectly situated at a scenery neighborhood, that surely we have to snap some pics before hop on the car.

Rotorua, North Island

From Auckland, we drove to Rotorua for its attractions such as Lake Taupo, which is well known for Bungy Jump activity and its vast scenery lake. And there is also Maori Cultural Heritage Center that is worth to watch when you are in New Zealand, apart from super gorgeous scenery  surrounding the village like hot spring, geyser and etc.

It took three hours driving from Auckland, thus we decided to stay overnight in Rotorua. We were lucky to learn that budget and yet comfortable hostel like YHA hostel is available in NZ land. They have a few common areas such as kitchen complete with cutlery and cooking utensils, rest area and etc. Most importantly the premise is clean! With the cost as cheap as 20 dollar per pax per night, the value we get is very worthy.

South Island

When we reached South Island, the trip was switched to a very independent mode. We rented a campervan! It was convenience in a sense that we didn't have to do repetitive packing and unpacking stuff, not to mention the idea of lugging our suitcase everytime we reached the accommodation. So we saved our energy from that hassle.

Unlike Northen part,South Island is campervan-friendly. All you have to be prepared is to reach the campsite before midnight for safety reason.

Every night the campervan need to  be charged, which its facilities only available at holiday park or camp site.  We have selected Top 10 holiday parks throughout this trip for its extensive facilities such as kitchen, laundry and washroom. Everything about the facilities is hygiene and well-maintained that made you forget the exhaustion of long drive instantly.

About the campervan, we hired this luxury vehicle from Kea.  The daily rate varies according to specific season, and we were lucky as we hired it during off-season. Yes, there is other budget campervan available on the intenet. But being the first timer behind its wheel, we didn't want to take the chance.

So we went to a few Top 10 Holiday Parks around South Island and one of  the best is in Christchurch.

We returned to Auckland from South Island to explore the northest part of New Zealand in Paihia. Staying one night in Paihia, we chose to stay again in YHA hostels as it is located very close to Paihia town. Just purfeccttt~

Peaceful Cottage & Cafe Du Mont,Nagarkot & Hotel Nepalaya,Kathmandu , Nepal

If you plan to enjoy sunset and sunrise scenery at Nagarkot, Peaceful Cottage & Cafe Du Mont  is just almost perfect accommodation to go for. 

It is located at the hillside facing to the Himalayan range. Reaching to the top of the hill was another adventure ride, thank God we have an expert local driver to maneuver the hill side and bumpy route.

There is nothing extravagant reception that you can expect in this premise, but the warm smile and service received from the hotel staff were good enough for make ourselves comfortable.

We dumped our luggage in the room and took no time to rush to the roof top of the building. It was about time to see the sun set.  Did I tell you how awestruck we felt upon seeing the scenery? Wait till the next entry comes out. He he.

But one thing that was not  so pleasant to bear on the night time was the cooooold night like we were sleeping in a roofless house on the icy floor.  The heater was not provided,with only a hot pouch  to give our feet some warmth, with considerably thick but-still cold blanket, we went through the chilly night with sound sleep.

 

The room is clean, and so is the bathroom. All necessary amenities are provided, including towels. And the water heater is also provided, aaahhh,, heaven.

In Kathmandu, we chose to stay at Hotel Nepalaya. It is located very strategically at the center of Kathmandu city, Thamel road. Which means it is just a few walks away from their popular market. Yes, good bargain means good shopping. Wink!

The stay comes with breakfast, and I learnt a good  recipe to bring home, cornflower fried with egg. Yumm~Seriously, you might want to give it a try yourself.

The room is clean and its hygiene level is satisfactory.  The flip side of the stay in Nepal is that the intermittent electric supply which has caused us to sleep in cold for a few hours and got the heater on the next. Nothing much that they hotel can do to satisfy us, despite our complaint, as it is due to the government policy of on the electricity supply. Anyway, despite the minor hiccup, it is still a good place to stay.

Shangri- La Putrajaya

I got another chance to explore luxury hotels in Putrajaya recently, so I chose to stay at Shangri La Putrajaya.

The location is a bit isolated from the hectic roads in Putrajaya. Situated on top of the hill, next to a palace, this business trip felt like a holiday.

The room has luxury of space in bedroom and even we can use valet parking at the front door to park our car. How cool is that.

This is rare,surely. 

Another thing I like about staying here is that they offer variety of breakfast choices, that I could sit there for hours savoring the delicacies. Ah well, for my case, I need to be there as early as 7 to eat to ensure that  I could reach my training class punctually, no?

Intercontinental Hotel, KL

28-30 August 2014

 As far as I could remember, this is the second time that I visited this hotel after like, errrr... years. So this time I was attending a so-called conference namely Women In Engineering Leadership Intensive 2014.  Yeaa, it might sound so wow but in reality, there were so many things from the seminar being over-rated and we can consider ourselves as being over-expecting. But hey, I was glad to meet a bunch of young and poised career women slash singles slash mothers slash boss slash blah blah blah, and it was, incredible!(Did I say inspiring too? Yes, it is.).

Ok, what all these that I am blabbering about? Let's get straight to the hotel room of this formerly known as Niko Hotel,shall we?

The good side about this second visit that my room was upgraded to club suite , yes!

The room is spacious, just spacious enough for my mental expectation and comfort. Yea..gedik , I know. *wink*

 

One thing I like to survey first step into a hotel room is its bathroom . You can tell how luxury and comfortable your stay from the sight of its bathroom size. Well, at least that what I've been thinking to myself, and to some extent, it's true.

The hotel has also has provided the pillow options, for a person who sleeps on the back and on the side. Both style are provided with different set of pillow, upon request. As for me , I just couldn't care less, so long the room is sound-proof enough, I'm sure I'll be having a tight sleep then.

Likewise other luxury rooms that I have stayed before, this room is also featured with glass that we can  see thru the bathroom. Fret not,the blind is there, one can use the bathroom safely without being scared of being peeped. (Only if it is not your spouse I guess, I don't know).

And they provide the coffee maker with various selections of coffee too! It just that I am not into coffee too much, or I`ll be wide awake all night if I did it once.

Speaking of toiletries, they are so generous,and yes, I requested another set of them just to maximize bathtub experience. Yeeay!

Sandat Inn, Kuta,Bali

Next 'stop' for year 2014 is Bali. Budget accommodation is always our preference, so we selected to stay at Sandat Inn which is situated at the heart of Kuta City.

We arrived at midnight, and we were very fortunate that the front desk is always open for check in.

We had a good night stay for 3 nights in Bali. It just that the room does not provide  water heater, (thankfully the weather was nice day and night) and kettle, which was quite unfortunate for our plan to boil instant mee  for snacks.

Nevertheless, there is icebox provided in each room, so it was a great aid for our left over food storage.

Locationwise, it is just a few walks away from arrays of shops for beachwear, souvenir and etc, but be careful, the price might be marked-up higher which wise customers should know when the bargain took place. And didn't I tell you it is just a few walks away from Kuta's center of night clubs? Not that we walked into there, though, but it's worth a stroll to have a feel of the  nightlife here.

Pullman Lakeside & Resort,Putrajaya

24-26th June 2014

So I was selected to attend a training for 3 days at PLC, Bangi.

I never knew that there is another prestigious hotel situated in Putrajaya, apart from Marriot, which I have stayed there a few times.

A friend of mine told me of this hotel, and I decided to give it go.Why not?

Apparently it was a peak time for the hotel, and due to that reason, my room was upgraded to a suite!

As I entered the room, the exhaustion of long journey  vanished instantly.

The room is spacious, and luxury  that I enjoyed the lone time gracefully. There is a huge balcony outside of the room. But it was hazy, thus being outside out the room was not as comfortable as being the room.

Ikoi-no-Ie,Kyoto and Hotel Empire, Shinjuku,Tokyo

When we were in the planning and charting process for our trip to Japan , finding a nice but cheap accommodation felt like the hardest challenge. It took my  whole day on weekend to ensure that the place I decided won't be a hassle to get there with us lugging the big luggage from the train stations.

During this trip, we stayed at two different lodgings, one in Kyoto and one in Tokyo. Yes , it was a bit tedious arrangement considering both cities are separated by almost three hours trip by the Japan fastest bullet train,namely shinkansen.

In Kyoto, the cheapest yet convenient accommodation that I found and chose was this modern Japanese-style , Ikoi-No-Ie

The route from the train station to the premise was a bit tricky, that we have no option but to ask around the local(read: with a great effort of body language communication). We were ushered by a nice local fella until we reached the reception door.All our sweats and exhaustion were instantly forgotten upon greeted by the receptionists who are pretty in the kimono.

Gosh, her skin is so flawless and soft, I hate that I envy her. haha!

 

I dont know why, but my biggest fear about staying in Japan was my imagination with their small space to live in. I was right, when our room for 5 was under the roof of the premise, that we have to climb the ladder to get up in our room.

But with foldable mattress, the room was just adequate to the five of us for eating, praying and spreading our long fatigue foot across the room, and most importantly , to laugh out loud :p.

The sun rise very early, at 5 am but the day is bright like 7 am in Malaysia.

 

So we have to forget to laze around but to get up and explore Kyoto and Osaka while the day was early.

We stayed here for three nights, just err... just enough to cover Kyoto, Osaka and approaching Kobe with fastest pace that we could keep up with.

In Tokyo I selected Hotel Empire Shinjuku which is just a few minutes walk away from Shin-Okubo JR train station.

We arrived quite early at this hotel. Early as in before the allowable check-in time of 3 pm. Apparently Japanese is too rigid and in a positive way, punctual about time, even the reception guy didn't budge when we chat him up into allowing us to get the access to our room earlier. Gah~!

Thankfully the cafe is just next door, so we have had our quick,simple lunch  before we checked- in and resumed the tour to the next attractions in Tokyo.