G&L in Dubai 2015 - Day 2

Day 2 - Itinerary
1) Burj Khalifa
2) The Lost Chambers Cove at Palm Atlantis
3) Desert Safari and Dune Bashing

I like the second day better out of the supposedly 5D3N. It was more relaxed and we followed the itinerary! Dubai is really big and understandably, not all areas have access to public transport. So, taxi was heavily relied on in Dubai and do take metered ones. In Dubai, the taxis are creamed coloured with green top. Anyway, back to where we last stopped at, oh ya, we went to the world's tallest free standing tower - the Burj Khalifa. 

The Burj Khalifa from a distance but within the Dubai Mall's vicinity. It's the torch thingy behind the palm tree. 

Tips to Burj Khalifa

1) Be an early bird. Purchase your tickets online from their website so that you won't be disappointed. It is cheaper, quicker and stress-free. Popular time slots are at 1.30pm and 6pm. They ran out almost immediately even though you just checked it that day but for a week in advance. I got my tickets at AED125 and including administrative fee it became AED130 per person. It will costs around AED400 if you purchase on the spot. That is if you are lucky to buy any tickets. I just purchased mine a week in advance noting that the sunrise slots are only for Fridays and Saturdays starting from 5.30am at every half an hour interval. 

2) You just need to remember your name and handphone number because that is how you print your tickets at the ticket machines! 

3) If you choose to collect from the ticketing counter, then do not forget to bring your booking confirmation, the credit card which you have used to purchase the tickets and your passport for ID check. 

4) Even though we purchased our tickets for the 5.30am time slot, you can't get into the lift lobby until your designated time slot. However, should you have a different time slot with your friends, you can just let the staffs know that you came with friends and they have entered the lift. 

5) There is a queue at the lift lobby but noting the speed that the lift took from ground to level 124, you only had to wait at 3 minutes tops. Please be early if you want to catch the sunrise. Sunrise in Dubai in March is between 6.30am to 6.40am but you can see the sky changing colours from 6am. So, it is nice to be out at the observatory deck from 6am. 

6) Wear comfortable shoes (could be slippers if you like) and bring a jacket with you. The wind is really strong at the observatory deck outside and no point getting hats. 

7) It is always good to bring flash lights or install a flash light app on your mobile phone to take good self-portraits with the sunrise skyline at the back of you as the backdrop. 

8) Recommended time spend at the top is about 2 hours or less. 

This was around 5.45am. You get to see the night view. 

 As the day breaks, blue spectrum appears. 

 Cameras all ready! 

 Getting brighter in just matter of minutes

O.M.G. 

Killer sunrise view

This was the best sunrise ever. 

 Just before we (L-R : myself, Linda, Keavie, Snowie, Mei and Karen) go back to the hotel for our breakfast

 Admiring the height

For this excursion, I am with the KL boys - from L-R : SH, Joe and Calvin. 

We shared the same taxi to and fro to the Burj Khalifa. 

An artistic impression. My favourite candid photo. 

So proud of myself. Perhaps I need to crop out the railings at the bottom of the photo. 

Is the sunrise ticket worth all the sleeping hours?? YES! How often can you watch sunrise from 124th Floor of a building and in the middle of the desert??? Price aside, it is THE experience that you can never get anywhere else other than in Dubai. So, it was worth not sleeping more hours. Some who have visited that day may think that it is nothing great but it was for me. ^^

 It took just 1 minute. The world's fastest elevator! 

Spot the difference between the highways in Malaysia and in Dubai. 

Dubai highways/motorways have 5 lanes and at the speed of 120kmph, making it the world's fastest highways/motorways within the city. 

And, there are no potholes! The roads were all silky smooth like butter........

Happy girls after breakfast and all ready for our first day in Dubai, ok, second day in Dubai! 

We travelled in three coaches/buses labelled as Camel, Abra and Land Cruiser because there were 102 of us in total! In our group, one of our colleagues brought her baby and her 4 year old boys. 

 Baby Amos dozing off with Snowie jiejie (sister)

We entered Palm Jumeira towards the Atlantis Hotel without realising. Palm Jumeira is a man made island and it was built since 2008. All its 1,600 residential units were sold out within 72 hours of its opening. Amazing. There is an underwater tunnel to be crossed to get to the Palm Jumeira which I found to be awesome. The underwater tunnel does feel different than those through the mountains like in Ipoh. I wonder if it is like this when the one in Penang which connected Teluk Air Tawar and Gurney Drive is completed. 

 The Palm Atlantis hotel. It must have a world record somewhere. Dubai owns 10 world records in the Guinness Book of World Records. 

Nope, we are not staying in the hotel or visiting the hotel. We are going to the aquarium. 

First entry is only at 10am. 

If you have visited the aquarium in Singapore, you wouldn't be in awe with the one here. But, I was asked to consider about this man made aquarium from another point of view in that this aquarium is located in the middle of a desert city. How cool is that? Err.. ok. I still prefer the one in Singapore. 

Like all aquariums, I like the zen feel about it whereby you can just drowned yourself in its peacefulness and hear yourself in amazement at the sight of the deep sea creatures swimming in front you. I found pleasure sitting in front of the aquariums and just admiring them stingrays! It was indeed a nice and comfortable feeling. It was a good rest for both the mind and the body. 

We then proceded to lunch at City Max Hotel. Out of the 3 lunches, most of us like this best. Even though it is rice and curry just like all other lunches but it tasted better. Maybe because we haven't got sick of the hotel food yet at that point after all it was just the beginning of the trip. I didn't take photos of our meals because it looked the same or I didn't get the chance to even take any due to extreme hunger. 

We were sent back to the hotel for a short break and changed into comfortable clothes (sand proof if possible) for our Desert Safari tour. The desert dunes are about 40 minutes drive away from the city and we were advised to wear clothes with less holes as possible. Haha.. The desert sand were very fine and could easily find their way into our clothes and shoes. 

 Here we go! 

 Posing with our land cruiser, and we were assigned to the first one. There were two to three types of experience for the rides - adventurous, average and mild with the first being like a rollercoaster ride but better or the mild being a walk in the park kind of drive. No prizes for the correct guess, we picked the adventurous one. Each dune bashing drive takes around half an hour. 

Sand everywhere 

 Dune buggies!

Desert-ers!  

 Well, not all are ours. 

 The desert camp where we will have our dinner. There are also henna artists on site, free Arabian traditional costume to try, free shisha tobacco and sand boarding at AED100! 

 Sunset at the desert, truly different than those at the beach or at the paddy fields. Ok, I am not saying the grass is greener on the other side but hey, we're at the desert! 

 This LED man went on for a good half an hour just spinning and changing lights on his body. 

Can you see Polaris starlets? It is a string of 3 stars pointing north. 

Joe did ask a good question, which way is north? 

So, the desert dune safari took about 6 hours and we reached back the hotel around 10pm. The night is still young and some of us gather at one room to have some chit-chat over alcohol. FYI, alcohol is really expensive in Dubai and you can't just simply get alcohol anywhere without having a licence. Only licenced bars can sell alcohol so luckily we got ours from Changi Airport. 

Vodka with honey. Sweet. 

It was yet another sleepless night. Last night, I got up early for the sunrise and I would probably wake up around Malaysian time the next day. 

G&L in Dubai 2015 - Day 1

Dubai oh Dubai~~~ 

It is pronounced as Dubayy by the local residents in the city. 

It is a city of superlatives and also loads of man-made stuffs. Many asked if I had a good time and whether Dubai is worth visiting. I replied, "It should be in your bucket list. You need to visit the city at least once in your lifetime." 

I enjoyed myself while some did not. But, for those who did, we began to appreciate Mother Nature even more. Dubai does not have its own natural resources other than oil and gas, so every living flora and fauna are very precious to the state. The city was originally a desert and in the short span of 30 years, it boomed and became one of the best cities in the world to visit. 

Day 1 - itinerary

1) Penang - Singapore

2) Singapore - Dubai

3) Traders Hotel by Shangri-La - Dubai Mall 

With fellow pretty colleagues in Changi Airport, Singapore during transit to Dubai. 

It was one of the best company trips I've been (even though this was only my second one) because I get to meet all my colleagues from Penang and KL branches. Once a year, we gather and start to gossip about work and exchanged information! Haha.. Maybe it is not really a good idea. 

Gate E8 at Terminal 2 - luckily there was a water cooler and plenty of power plugs to charge our phones! 

Beef free meal. Never again. 

The flight was 7h 40m and we flew with Singapore Airlines (SQ). I didn't really sleep because it was during the day and I don't want to go through a jet lag. Eventually, I did take a short nap and watched about 2 movies or so. 

 With my travel buddies

By the time we arrived at Dubai Airport, it is already 7pm and when we finished and exited from the immigration checks, it is already 9pm! It was the longest wait ever at the immigration and don't be surprise when there isn't any information or arrival card to be filled in upon arriving the city.

Our tour buses were late and we had to depart not accordingly. We just filled up the bus as we go rendering some with missing luggages as they thought their bags would've been collected and placed in the bus. Imagine the shock when they got to know that their bags were left at the baggage claim area still. Fortunately, everyone found their bags.

We bunked in at Traders Hotel by Shangri-La. I liked Shangri-La hotels. We stayed at Rasa Sayang Shangri-La resort before in Penang and loved the king-sized bed. So, for this hotel, I shared a room with my new roommate, Mei and we had a good sleep. The bed was not as hard and the pillows were the best! Good down pillows and very nice to hug with.

 Bathroom facilities were fantastic and we got a bath tub too, unlike some. 

 So, rooms ending with 60 seems to be bigger in all floors. 

 Bathrobes if you need any to waltz in

After dropping off our bags and had our super late dinner (it was around 1am in Malaysia), few of us left for Dubai Mall to collect our tickets to see sunrise at Burj Khalifa. We took the local metro and were in awe. The station was very modern and very well maintained. It had good air-conditioning but the tickets were pricey. We paid AED14 for a return ticket (which we didn't use til midnight) and along the way, we get to see Dubai's night time.

So, the rumours were true. They do have Gold ATM machinese in the UAE and we were lucky to see one in Dubai Mall. Located at the lower ground of the Dubai Mall just outside Patiserrie, we were fascinated and intrigued by this machine. With a credit card, you can purchase any gold of your choice from AED580 onwards.

 The available choices

There is also an indoor waterfall. We were late but guess what, the mall closes only at 12am on Fridays and Saturdays. It is their weekend by the way unlike the usual weekends in the rest of the world. 

It was a short excursion to the Mall and we hope to drop by again some other time during our trip. We took the taxi back to our hotel. The taxi stand is located just behind this waterfall and there were plenty of taxis. When departing from the mall, the taxi fare starts from AED12 (instead of the usual AED 5.50) due to the government's regulation on all shopping malls. If you are travelling in a group of 4, then you can save on the taxi fare even more.

Gotta rush back to sleep and wake up to catch the sunrise at Burj Khalifa first thing in the morning. 

Yella Fork @ Chow Thye Road, Penang

Yella!

Finally, an opportunity to check this place out with my fellow girl friends (and her spouse). Yella Fork is an Aussie-Asian fusion cafe set up by a fellow junior from school. He was in Melbourne, Australia for four year before settling in Penang and open up this forking place for fellow forkers in Penang. 

So, knowing the owner, this cafe attracted a lot of us from school. Classes from 1999, 2001, 2004 all came to show our support for Julian Ooi (the owner / the chef / the brain behind the menu / da boss) and his food! So, if you like fusion food as much as we do, why not drop by for lunch or dinner? The background music and song choices were good and without students, rest assured you can hear and speak without any problems. The level of noise is almost none. 

We visited Yella Fork yesterday and we came in 3 batches making us a group of 7. Located at Chow Thye Road (with an easier access from Tavoy Road or Service Road off Burmah Road, use Waze if you are unsure) and with neigbours like Monkeycup, Basement 6, That Little Wine Bar, Isaribi Tei, Jempul Tree etc, this area is packed with foodies especially during lunch hour in the weekdays and it is not as busy over the weekends. So, parking is a breeze if you drop by on Saturday afternoon. But, be sure to make a reservation before you go if you are coming in a group of more than 5 pax. 

The exterior and interior of Yella Fork

(L-R, clockwise from top) Presto soup, Roasted Crispy Pork Belly, Rasta Beefsta, BBQ Ribbing, Forking Kai, off the menu penne pasta with pesto, off the menu Rui Fang's spicy fix, nachos, rose latte and their signature dish right in the middle of the photo is Pie in the Sky!

The price of their meals are akin to those in Route 9 at Bishop Street whereby with an upgrade of RM7, you can get an appetizer of the day, soup of the day and a canned drink. If you wish to change the drinks, no problem. Just top up a few more ringgit for the drinks of your choice. So this was the flexible set meal whereby you can pick your own main course and just top it up with RM7 for a full 3 course meal. They have another set menu with fixed 4 main courses. At RM20, it comes with a soup of the day and a canned drink. With an extra RM3, you get your drink of your choice. So, this place is pocket and wallet friendly. The portion of food is huge and it is filling.

(L-R) Affogato Apple, Banana Fruuze, Poached Pear with ice cream and their dessert of the day menu

Their dessert is to die for especially the Affogato Apple. I am not a fan of coffee but I must say the warm cinnamon apple slices did compliment the coffee and ice cream very well. The coffee taste was just on the right dose and does not overkill the whole taste of the dessert. The chocolate chips in them did wonders too, giving it a bit of a crunch. A very nice ensemble of desserts and the poached pear is soft and not mushy. It was a clever idea to freeze the banana with some ice too! 

Overall dining experience with Yella Fork is good and we do look forward to their new menu in two weeks time. They have unique names for their food and the taste is different depending on how adventurous your taste palette is. Nonetheless it is the best rendezvous for schoolmate from CBW. I hope you guys will also have the same thoughts as us and have a friendly meal at Yella Fork.

Yella Fork
Address: 27A, Jalan Chow Thye, Georgetown Penang, Malaysia
Mobile: 011-1256 8528
Opening hours: 11:30 - 22:00 (with afternoon rest between the hours of 3pm to 5pm)
Facebook page
Parking: In front of the cafe or its surrounding. Limited. Be early to avoid disappointment.

AK House / AK Travel - Bangkok, Thailand

When my mother told me that she found a Taiwanese operated guesthouse in Bangkok and suggested to stay there in our pre-CNY trip, I thought we hit a jackpot! Finally, we are staying at a place with staffs speaking a language which we could comprehend - Mandarin! 

It was not just Mandarin speaking staffs, but also all things Taiwanese such as Chinese instructions, Taiwanese guesthouse rules - no rubbish into the toilet bowl as well as proper introductions to everything in Bangkok all in Mandarin. You will need to book through their booking form in their website and the guesthouse will then contact you via email. Do take note that all correspondences are in Chinese and I am glad that my mother is Chinese literate. 

This guesthouse is fairly new because they have just moved 30 metres down from its previous location Sukhumvit Soi 81 only in November 2014. However, AK House has been in operation for a couple of years. We stayed with AK House in January 2015 and out of the 4 days, we met Taiwanese staffs who worked at the guesthouse on a working holiday program and local Thai staffs who could barely speak any English but conversationally and decent Mandarin or Thai.

For an English educated person like me, I had no trouble navigating around the guesthouse despite all things written in Chinese. There is a lift connecting all floors and it is only 4 storey high. Each floor is quiet presumably and if you are a light sleeper, do remember to request for quiet room away from the busy Soi 81. The room which was assigned to us is a room on the fourth floor facing the roof or the back of local residential houses. So, it was really quiet and we had quality sleep. 

It is not just an ordinary guesthouse as it also appeared like a boutique hotel. The beddings, linens and decorations used were vibrant, warm and a fusion between Taiwanese and Thai art together. So, the iconic colour for this guesthouse is orange. Room rates starts from THB1200 a night for two. Bed is kingsize, overhead shower, hundreds of channels on the TV, bottled water, coffee and tea are replenished every day in your room for you and unless you instruct the guesthouse to make up the room for you, then only they would do so. There will be Mandarin speaking staffs between the hours of 7am to 7pm and just a local Thai security guard after that who could barely speak any English or Mandarin. 

Once you have made the booking and the booking has been confirmed by the guesthouse, you will then be provided with a PDF file containing the directions to the guesthouse via taxi or sky train (BTS). The nearest skytrain to the guesthouse is BTS On Nut (pronounced as on-noo). "Nearest" is an understatement because you will need to walk about 7 minutes into Soi 81 before reaching the guesthouse. There are also motorcycle taxis available at the beginning of Soi 81 just underneath the skytrain station if you don't feel like walking. Rates differ depending on distance but it begins at THB20.  BTS On Nut is about 5-6 stops away from BTS Siam but only 2-3 stops away from BTS Thong Lor for your mango sticky rice fix. 

Instructions courtesy of AK House. All copyrights belonged to AK House and I am using these for illustration purpose. 

When using a taxi from the airport to the guesthouse, remember to have the guesthouse's address in Thai and the guesthouse's mobile number handy. Our taxi driver got lost (I seriously think he is pretending to be so) and I dialled the number for the taxi driver on his handphone. Remember to insist on using metered taxi regardless of how much the taxi driver tells you. Our driver offered a flat rate of THB600 (to include the tollway fares) from Don Mueang (DMK) airport to the guesthouse but at the end it only costed us THB480 including the tollway fees of THB120. The taxi ride was almost an hour due to ridiculous traffic jam into the city. 

Sukhumvit Soi 81 (soi means street) is a quiet street away from downtown or CBD (central business district) in Bangkok, so it really felt as though you are staying and living in Bangkok just like the locals. There is a 7-Eleven nearby for your daily needs (thank God!) and a local drugstore, massage parlour, launderette; all are just walking distance from the guesthouse (under 2 minutes walk). There is not much of a night life around the guesthouse per se but you can find a small night market and street food near the BTS On Nut station. Tesco Lotus is on the other side of the BTS station and there is an elevated walkway to Tesco upon exiting the skytrain. You may get your Rabbit card (BTS card like Oyster card in London) where you can preload credit in them and used them as and when you get in to the skytrain. The Rabbit card has an expiry of 2 years so if you plan to visit the city the following year, just keep the card if not you can have the deposit of the card (THB50) refunded to you together with any leftover balance in the card.  

Don't forget to have some noodles at this makeshift stall just a stone's throw from the guesthouse. It is only opened in the evenings til night time. It is by far the tastiest and cheapest bowl of noodles I have had in this trip. THB35 to THB50 a bowl.

AK Travel

AK Travel is AK House's sister company which organises local tours in and out of Bangkok city. We signed up for a day tour to Hua Hin with AK Travel. There is a van which will take us to the AK Travel's office at Chit Lom from our guesthouse at On Nut. Similarly, after your trip, the van will also drop you back to the guesthouse. The excursion to Hua Hin starts at 8.30am and finishes about 12 hours later. Costed THB1650 per person, it included transport, petrol, tollway fees and all entrance fees to the local attractions. 

Itinerary
AK Travel - Marukathaiyawan Palace/Palace of Love & Hope, Cha Am - Plearn Wan (Vintage Eco Village), Hua Hin - Hua Hin Railway Station - Hua Hin Beach - Santorini Park, Cha Am - AK Travel

Marukathaiyawan Palace

Plearn Wan

Hua Hin Railway Station

Hua Hin Beach

Santorini Park

Tollway R&R for toilet and snack break to and fro Hua Hin from Bangkok. 

In conclusion, it is very rare to see a guesthouse/hotel that also has its own travel agency for tourists especially Taiwanese ones (we're Malaysians and they don't seem to mind as long as we could speak Mandarin) and their service is top notch. Taiwanese tend to speak very slowly and they take it easy. The driver who drove a group of us to Hua Hin was an excellent driver. He drove very fast despite having children in the van and he is helpful. The guides which AK Travel arranged are also Mandarin speaking, so not to worry about communication. He will also share his mobile number with the group in case we got lost during the trip. Motion sickness medicine are also provided for those who are prone to car sick. 

I would recommend this guesthouse to everyone who speaks and read Taiwanese Chinese and Thailand people for one is not that fluent in English so, to save you some headache and if you could speak Chinese, stay with AK House. At least, you will be briefed and guided in Chinese before venturing out to Bangkok on your own. 

Griffiths @ Kampung Bharu, Bukit Mertajam

Kampung Bharu hosted a lot of f&b outlets and some of them managed to sustain themselves in business for the longest time even though the rapid change in Penangites' demand in quality and quantifiable food and drinks in Penang. Such as Shunka, Kim Castle, Kuo Fu Chen Steamboat etc.

Griffiths is not new to the locals in that area but to me it is. It is a bit like Route 9 at Bishop Street whereby with a top up of 4 ringgit, you can pimped up your main course with a free tea and soup. However, just a selected few main courses and it is different every day.

I ordered a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich and was disappointed with it came without a side salad. I wasn't sure why a piece of lettuce leaf was placed next to the sandwiches though. Did they forget to put in the side salad? Anyway for RM8.90, I couldn't ask for more.

My sister ordered carbonara and the portion is decent and the price is cheap. Amongst all the cafes and restaurants we have dined in, the prices of pasta dishes sold here is the cheapest and by cheap it means you can get it as low as 8.90 a plate for aglio olio. Of course, different people have different taste palette but judging from the number of patrons in this restaurant, it is popular.

The restaurant is open everyday between 10am to 10pm. If you know where Old Town Kampung Bharu is, it is just on the opposite side situated between another cafe and a fashion boutique. Drive slow after Shunka on the left and CIMB on the right.

No service or government tax, correct as of 19th January 2015.

Haem-beogo, Megamal Pinang

Happy New Year!!!

I am late by about 10 days but it is still not too late. After all, another New Year is coming that is the Chinese New Year! So, I wish all my readers, have enough and plenty to eat. Travel more to see the world and most importantly, be happy and always be merry! 

So, Haem-beogo appeared in my sister's Facebook and noting that it is a novel restaurant in mainland Penang, we decided to give this place a try. We didn't have any expectation but we were excited that it is Korean. At least. 

Megamall Pinang had losts its popularity in recent years due to the island competitors like QBM, GPs and 1st Avenue but nevertheless, I am seeing this mall turning into Sungei Wang Plaza or Berjaya Times Square. It still has patrons but I am glad that it could still sustain until today. I was surprised to see how busy level 2 was this afternoon. A corner just after Popular Bookstore, was occupied with just 4-5 eateries, namely Little Chef, Little Saigon, Delights, Tasty-inn and Haem-beogo, which is the highlight of this post. Note to myself, must go back there for Vietnamese food at Little Saigon. 

Their tagline:

“Annyeong Haseyo! “안녕하세요”.
We Bring You The Authentic Korean Burger Experience. 당신을 사랑합니다. 

The restaurant has "indoor" and "outdoor" seatings and we chose the "indoor" one for its ambience.  

The menu. As you can see, the dishes are named after cities in South Korea, boasting their signature pork/beef burgers.  The prices shown are just for the burger and with 2 different type of add ons, you can have a complete meal. RM3.90 for fries, kimchi and a drink or RM3.00 for bottomless drink. 

 The walls are nicely decorated to give foodies a Korean eatery feel. 

You could also learn some simple Korean words or phrases by looking at one side of the wall. 

The size of the glass is unexpected - Venti in Starbuck's scale. So, it is good enough for one person.  

I ordered Busan Kimchi Pork haembeogo (hamburger) - RM12.90 with RM3.90 add on.  

My sister had the Masan BBQ Beef burger - RM17.90 and with RM3.90 add on.  

I didn't capture the add on description on the menu, so this should give you an idea. A sink is available on the premise to wash your hands after your meal.  

We graded our dining experience as "A" for effort to the management and so-so for the overall taste and price.  

Don't be surprise to see these two restaurants share tables and chairs as they are owned by the same management. So, you can have food from Tasty-inn at Haem-beogo. 

Their facebook page is here and their website here.