Travelling

I live to travel, travelling thrills me, it excites me, I love travelling to new places, having new experiences, I just HAVE to travel. I consider myself lucky, having been to quite a number of places in my lifetime. I just booked myself to Cambodia for January - can't wait!

Came across a nice quote recently, thought I'd share it with everyone:

"We travel initially to lose ourselves, and yet we travel next to find ourselves. We travel leaving home, despite never been home completely, yet we travel and we carry a sense of home with us..."

The Aryani - Boutique Resort

I do recommend The Aryani for those who just wanna have a quiet getaway on resort grounds without leaving the place (warning : website doesn't do justice to the place). Aryani is a boutique resort in Kuala Terengganu sitting on land owned by the royal family of the state. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from the airport, cabs are easily flagged down from outside the airport or most of their packages come with free pick-up.

The elevated lobby is right next to the Seria Restaurant and they greet you with a refreshing lemongrass drink and freshly fried keropok lekor while you register. From here, you get a good view of the pool (image above) - which is the central highlight of the resort.

Rooms are all villas and there are only 20 of them in total. All rooms have an outdoor bath and the first time I was there, the upgraded superior room also had a sunken bath! It is a very romantic place but can be a bit quiet at night, so if you're not planning to have babies or hot sex, bring a board game, a book or have music available to fill your time.

They only have one restaurant to cater to your dining needs, their 3D/2N package comes with breakfast and dinner, ala carte items are around RM40-50 if you're not on the package. The local breakfast is delicious! The nasi dagang is really good. Dining options outside are not many and you have to take a taxi out to town or nearby eateries (no restaurants, only local huts). They also provide tea time snacks and coffee and tea making facilities.

Nothing much to do in town either, but go to the local market (pasar) in the heart of town and you can get batik material and sarongs, the ride there is about RM15-20, they don't do meters so don't bother, its all standard.

With a view like that from your room, just stay in and leave only to go to the airport. Best thing to do while in Aryani is to hang out by the pool or go for a spa treatment. I recommend the lulur and milk bath. The jacuzzi overlooks the sea and the setting take you back to good ol kampung atmosphere. Staff is respectful and polite.


Go there to totally relax and unwind.

Anna Does Bangkok

My blog initially began as a travel blog , having just returned from Bangkok, thot I'd write everything down before I forget. It'd be good also for those intending to travel, I've left some tips on places to go, stuff to do and eat and etc.

I've been to Bangkok 3 times prior to my recent trip there on December 11, hated it! Hated it all 3 times, hated the traffic, the people, the air, almost everything. Funny thing is that everyone who came back from Bangkok couldn't stop talking about how nice it was and when they would be planning their next trip.

Well, 4 days later into my recent Bangkok trip, I was already planning my return trip! Maybe it was the company, but I really loved the food and the shopping. Also, things there are cheap and good. Now I know what I HAVE to go to the weekend market, Chatuchak. I can't say I like the people though, its funny that for a country that attracts that many tourists, they don't actually do anything about getting people in the travel industry to brush up on their English. Our tour guide was pointing out the Sheraton Imperial and my friend actually heard her saying "Shirley Temple", and palace was or course misinterpreted to be Paris! Sigh...

Must Sees and Must Dos for Bangkok:
1. Chatuchak Weekend Market - don't check with the locals on anything, they told us it closes at 5pm, we were there shopping till at least 8pm! Check out one of the outlets which sell branded seconds, they have everything from wallets, to messenger bags, handbags and etc. Great steal and many in good condition. Bargain like hell and buy, don't bother checking other places, the choices and quality don't seem to be that good. I was actually quite surprised that Chatuchak had a lot of local designers, good quality and orignial stuff and not just the branded copies. SOOO recommended for shoppers
2. Emporium Supermarket - Exporium is good for shopping, not all high-end branded goods only, somehow we got to shopping for bras. All my friends tell me they go to Bangkok to buy bras, I am wondering if I missed out something coz Malaysia also sells bras, I know, I've bought them before (duh!). Ok, now guilty I understand why, choices, quality and price. That said, you MUST eat at the food court. Goodness, they actually had shark's fin soup served in one of the stalls. Highly recommended is the "seafood omelette", you can have a choice of mussels or oysters (these puppies are HUGE, not the 5 cent Malaysian coin size). Being the seafood lover I am, I had both! :D. Its impressive for its choices, the layout and its excellent food! Its also cheap for its quality.
3. Siam Discovery and Paragon (the latter is the newest kid on the block). Siam Discovery for The Loft - an outlet which sells an interesting array of products good for gifts, unique household items etc. Paragon mainly has branded outlets, but I particularly LOVED the supermarket, its choices, layout, variety. Oh on my last day there, I found out that a 10 year old girl fell from the 1st floor to the basement where the food court is. She smashed her face and was in intensive care! :O><
4. www.healthandspa.com excellent Thai massage and so cheap, THB450 for 2 hours and in a private room, couldn't ask for more.
5. Stay at Bangkok Suite www.bangkoksuite.com its a new hotel, at the start of Petchburi Road, cheap and good. I'm a fussy traveller, so if I think its acceptable, it is of some standard. Small, but clean and new (for now). I paid only THB700/night! Only problem is that it is not that close to a BTS station, but I figured that the price does make up for the need to travel around by taxi (which is cheap anyway). I'd stay there again. They also have internet access for free downstairs, which helps when there is the occasional needs to check emails.

Bangkok aside, try a day trip to Ayuthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand. Nice ruins, good photo ops, interesting history. I can imagine what it would have looked like back in the 14th and 15th century when the kingdom of Ayuthaya was most powerful. After that, no real Thai royalty ruled, the generals took over the reign. On the way back, we went to Bang Pa-In (Summer Palace). I honestly thought I landed in Austria or some European palace grounds, do take a visit, the grounds and structures are impressive. Oh, SO go try the local Thai ice coffee right outside the palace grounds, its a stall to the left of the gate upon exit. Really good buttery aroma, strong coffee.

We then took a cruise from Ayuthaya back to the port in Bangkok, took about 4 hours. We were so hungry when we got on board that we raided the buffet spread the moment we stepped in. We noticed that when we finished our 2nd helping, the boat had not left the dock yet! LOL. Needless to say, everyone then spent the next 3 hours and 45 minutes sleeping/working off the buffet in the stomach.

As of now, I have already made future bookings for my trip to Bangkok next year. This time, am planning to get in by Friday so I can prepare for endless shopping in Chatuchak! I will focus on major shopping this time around