So during our trip to Phuket, we also went to a nice spa to enjoy the local massage and foot reflexology session. In Phuket, there are so many local massage establishments to choose from that you will be spoilt for choice. In the end, we went for Let’s Relax Spa which is nearby to Jungceylon Shopping Mall. This is the lobby area which is nicely decorated!
We were asked to sit at the sofa and then served with tea while waiting for our masseuse to arrive. From the sofa, I can see that they do have some spa products for sale too!
A nice water feature behind where we were seated. Love the sound of running water against background spa music!
We were asked to changed into comfortable slippers before ushered to the foot wash area.
The foot wash area where our foot was delicately washed before proceeding to our foot reflexology session first. We had booked for Heavenly Relax package, which is 2 hours 45 mins and cost 1,100 THB. It consists of foot reflexology for 45 mins and Thai massage for 2 Hours.
It was a very nice experience! Too nice in fact! And that’s why my partner decided to continue with Facial Relaxation at 1,200 THB for 1 hour while I roam around Bangla Road…LOL
Our choice of accommodation (Superior Double Room Garden Wing) during our trip to Phuket was Deevana Patong Resort & Spa, which we made the reservations directly through their website at THB 2,500 nett per room per night. There was a promotion package going on and for our 3 nights stay, we are entitled to the following.
3-4 Nights Paid (A&B)
*A) Airport round trip transfer
*B) Choice of ONE Free Selection:
B1) 1 hour Thai Massage.
B2) Afternoon tea & snacks.
B3) Free late check-out till 05:00 p.m.
We chose B3 as our flight departing Phuket is 2205hrs so that we do not need to hang out outside too long. Deevana Patong Resort & Spa do have wireless internet access available for all areas in hotel free of charge but I was told that some rooms in the Garden Wing may have slightly weaker signals.
Hotel Lobby at Deevana Patong Resort & Spa. The resort is conveniently located in Patong and it only takes a 10mins walk to the beach as well as nearby amenities. If you don’t want to walk to Patong Beach (and possibly other places of interests), please do check out the shuttle bus service timings at the lobby. We only knew about it on our last day in Phuket. 🙁
The Balcony at Deevana Patong Resort & Spa to redeem our free welcome drink. During our check-in, we were also given discount voucher for 10% off on food and beverages.
Our welcome drink at Deevana Patong Resort & Spa. It was really nice and refreshing!
View of the pool from The Balcony. Note the rooms with balconies? These are the Spa Wing rooms.
View of the The Garden Restaurant from The Balcony.
If you chose the 1 hour Thai Massage from the promotion package, I believe you will be treated to a relaxing massage here at Deevana Spa.
We booked for a Superior Double Room (Garden Wing) but when we arrived it was already fully occupied. Hence, our room was upgraded to Superior Double Room (Spa Wing)! Yay!
Superior Double Room (Spa Wing) – TV and make-up table area. The small fridge below the TV is for me to keep all my beers! Wahahaha!
Toilet at Superior Double Room (Spa Wing). Do note that you can open the window and look out (watch TV or chat with friends) while you do your big business!
Shower area at Superior Double Room (Spa Wing). It was clean but the water drainage clogs up after a shower!
Our balcony area at Superior Double Room (Spa Wing) – Good for having a cool beer, chit-chatting or just relaxing around! It also a great place to hang out our wet clothes after any water sports or Songkran session.
Pool view from Superior Double Room (Spa Wing). It’s still early and no one is swimming yet!
View of The Garden Restaurant from our room. Our room rates include daily breakfast!
Breakfast time! You can see that’s lots of people during breakfast but not after that. I believe all of them went out to have fun!
View of swimming pool from The Garden Restaurant.
American buffet breakfast. Eat all you can! LOL
We also took a walk around Deevana Patong Resort & Spa and it was pretty huge! I believe the above should be the Superior Double Room Garden Wing that we booked for. 🙂
We think it should be the Garden Wing… because it faces a garden…errm…
There was another pool in the resort too!
Front view of the garden wing rooms.
This the other pool which is nearer to our room, which is always happening with hot music! Check out the pool bar for some cool drinks too!
Yeah, it rained when I was in Phuket but it was short and definitely didn’t dampened anyone’s mood!
Night scene at the resort.
Front view of the resort during the night, just after a rain which made it cooling.
Just outside of Deevana Patong Resort & Spa are some shops catering to the neccessary stuffs for tourists, e.g. Internet, car rental, taxi service, restaurants, pubs, minimarts, etc. Personally, I didn’t visit any as my stay was pretty short and I was always out and about.
Overall, the stay at Deevana Patong Resort & Spa was positive and comes with thumbs-up from my partner. Having said that, we are sure to return again!
We went to a short trip to Phuket recently (12th April to 15th April 2012) and it coincides with the Songkran festival in Thailand. This blog post documents the first day of Songkran (12th April 2012) and the location is along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi. Going out during Songkran means getting wet but I still have to, as I still need to get lunch!
Along Thanon Ratuthit Songroipi, it’s really packed with vehicles. Do note the water all over the roads and it’s not because of the rain. It’s all man-made! Errm.. splash 🙂
Timing is around 2 pm and the fun is only beginning!
A few young ladies posing for the photos. Warm and friendly folks but that didn’t stop them from shooting me with water!
Walking through, note the guy with the white bucket, he dumped me with all of it! And that’s ice water! Burrr….Hahaha!
Parties, music, booze and water! What more do you want? LOL
Well, that’s the scene at Bangla Road, famous for it’s nightlife and popular spot for nightclubs, go go bars, ice bar and beer bars. Is that a fire engine in the photo? It looks too havoc and I didn’t go in as it wasn’t the direction I’m heading to! Going through Bangla Road will lead you to Patong Beach.
Finally reached Jungceylon and not sure why but I always have the impression that things is going to be milder here….hell no! It’s like a mini-disco and the party’s hot!
Getting a bit more towards the crowd and was bombarded with water guns!
Check out the video for the wild scene at Jungceylon!
Got through the mob and went to the other side of Jungceylon, where things are much quieter but still can hear the distant music!
The scene beyong Jungceylon is not so wild! I guess the action stops at Jungceylon….but might not be the case as I didn’t walk any further.
War time! Busy shooting each other and I’m just waiting for the correct time to pass by without getting caught in the fire!
Walked back to Jungceylon to get lunch and the crowd is as still psych up as before. If you are thinking why that’s so much water around… look below for answer.
Well, they basically use a fire hose! That’s so awesome! LOL
Going back to my mission of buying lunch in Jungceylong shopping mall. Looking for Fuji Japanese Restaurant, one of our favourite food chain in Thailand.
More food and fun in Jungceylon but I’ll come back another day to explore.
Jungceylon Water Fountain Show, happening daily at 7pm and 9pm. The plan is to eat dinner and watch the show! Not today…
Some nice decorations at Jungceylon.
Walking back to resort is slow as I still get shot with water. Plus, this time round I have to protect the food, which I have also asked the restaurant to provide more protection. But basically, what I did was holding the food above my head, of course it comes with stares from some people, which I told them politely “It’s food!”. LOL
If you feel hungry after all the water fight, there are still food stalls around to have a quick bite to regain energy for next battle!
Fried Chicken, anyone? The Songkran celebrants usually leave stall owners alone so that they can still get on with their business.
Crowd at Tiger Inn Phuket = Happening!
Look here to see why!
By the time I got back to the resort, I was already soaked, dried and then soaked again! But at least the food is safe! Hahaha!
If you are curious about the white stuff on the face, that’s talcum powder, flour, or rice powder that is used by Songkran celebrants to smear all over your face, hair, arms and back ! I believe it’s said to protect you from evil!
Awesome! Another photo that I took in Ho Chi Minh City during my travels was used in an article – World’s Most Delicious Street Food by Travel + Leisure. The article also appeared as “Street Food 101: A Global Guide” in T+L Magazine May 2012 issue.
Please do head over and have a look through the whole of World’s Most Delicious Street Food article. It was mentioned that it’s the survivor’s manual to eating the best (and safest) street food! So I’m sure you’ll learn something from it. 🙂
Recently, a photo that I took in Ben Thanh Market (in Ho Chi Minh City) was used in an article – The World’s Best Cities for Street Food by foodandwine.com. Please head over to http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/worlds-best-cities-for-street-food/10 for the photo that is being used. Look through the whole of the slideshow to see the rest of the best cities for street food!
Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I last posted on my blog so will start with something simple and nice – Photo Shoot at Kuta Beach, Bali. 😛
Yeah, this time the location is overseas at Bali and I am helping my brother again. We (including my mum) also took the opportunity to sightsee since we are already here. Will work on the blog post soon. 🙂
Introducing the team:
Styling: Winnie Loo
Hair & Makeup: Angel Gwee
Photography Assistant: Ronald Tan
Model: Carmen Solis/ Diva Models
Weather was rather erratic as we went in March 2011 and it was wet season between the months of October to April. Nevertheless, we got lucky and had sunny skies for the morning during the shoot!
The following is a guest post by Emma, a 24 year old traveller originally from Nantwich, Chesire. Emma enjoys cycling at weekends and adventuring abroad on a budget. Emma lives with her partner in London.
Cyprus is an enchanting island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Turkey and Syria. Ancient Greece and Great Britain both hold strong cultural influences over the island, making it a great place to absorb the local culture while enjoying some home comforts. I travelled to Cyprus in July 2010 to discover the local culture and traverse the fantastic landscape.
The island is split into two parts, with the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus under separate control. Northern Cyprus relies upon Turkey economically and politically following the independence of the island, with the Republic of Cyprus proving more popular with tourists. Cyprus is a very popular destination in the summer months, as I shared my trip with throngs of other visitors – all eager to enjoy the scorching temperatures.
I began my holiday in the Southern City of Larnaca which has its own airport. The airport is much more convenient for travelling to the city (its just 5km away) compared to the more popular Paphos which is over 100km! However, I did manage to find flights to Cyprus much cheaper when I selected Paphos as my destination city and so this is something to consider.
Larnaca has some fantastic cultural reference points including the ruins of anchient city: Kitium. The city is said to be the birthplace of the philosopher Zeno although unfortunately the remains of his household have since disappeared. The city also houses the remains of the Biblical figure St. Lazarus in the beautiful Byzantine Church.
From Larnaca I travelled inland, up to the Troodos Mountains to experience the panoramic vistas of the island. Although the mountain rage in popular in the winter months with skiers, the area still had plenty to offer summer travellers like myself and I embarked upon a trail along the Caledonia Falls. The walk included views of a fantastic waterfall and culminated in a trip up to the Kykkos monastery which, we were told, is the richest in Cyprus.
After the excitement of the mountains, I came back down to sea level to visit the coastal city of Paphos. Situated on the west coast, the city enjoys a cooling sea breeze making the temperatures much more mild – somewhat crucial given the peak summer months of my trip! Primarily famous as the supposed birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, her temple and other shrines can be found there, as well as Paphos Castle and the imaginatively named “Tomb of the Kings”.
The penultimate stop on my holiday was the capital Lefkosia (or Nicosia) which is shared by both halves of Cyprus. Surrounded by an impressive 5km Venetian wall, the historic part of the city is separate from the modern areas, offering two distinctly different experiences. The city is filled with fascinating artifacts from its decorated past, with the Leventis Municipal Museum proving a treasure trove of interesting information.
As my time in Cyprus drew to a close, there was only one place to visit to ensure my trip ended on a high… Travelling back to the Eastern side of the island, to catch my flight back home, I stopped over for a night in Aiya Napa the glamorous hub for nightlife on the island. Aiya Napa stands in stark contrast to all of the culture available across the rest of the island, a shining beacon for a stereotypical Mediterranean beach resort – bright lights, loud sounds and all night dancing!
Cyprus has something to offer everyone whether that’s nightlife, culture, history or fantastic scenery. I found Cheapflights to be a great resource for flights to the area and with deals from as low as £79pp the island is suitable for any budget.
Several months ago, I was fortunate to be contacted by the editor of an in-flight magazine who is putting together an article on Sapporo and was asking whether I am keen to lease my photos that was taken in Sapporo during my Japan Trip in 2009.
After some clarifications (type, resolution, credits, etc) on how the images will be used, I sent over a total of 43MB worth of high-resolution photos for their selection. The package consists photos of Hokkaido Shrine, Sapporo Clock Tower and Sapporo Beer Garden.
Sometime later, I was glad to be informed that my Hokkaido Shrine photo (above) was used in the Sapporo feature in the December 2010 – January 2011 issue of Aspire, Hong Kong Airlines’ in-flight magazine. A soft copy of the magazine was also sent to me! Please see below. 🙂
This short trip to Batam was made on 10th Sept 2010 (during the long weekend of Hari Raya Puasa), together with the same gang of friends that went to Malaysia (See “A Day in Kuala Lumpur 2” and “A Day in Malacca“). Our package at Harris Resort Batam is as below. It’s slightly more expensive than usual due to the holiday peak period.
It Is Good Deal @ Harris Funky Room (Old Wing Room)
Adult twin sharing: $127.00 per person
Child without bed: $36.00
Infant: $18.00
Package price includes:
– 2 way ferry tickets
– 2 way land transfers
– 2 nights stay with daily breakfasts
– FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children.
– FREE one time 30mins bicycle ride for two per room per stay.
– FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay
– FREE access to sauna, cold plunge pool at H Spa & fitness.
– FREE access to Wi-Fi internet within hotel premises.
– FREE one time two-way shuttle services to Nagoya Hill for all paxs.
*Depart hotel 1100hrs & 1400hrs (Batam Time)
*Depart Nagoya Hill timing 1430hrs & 1730hrs (Batam Time)
*FCFS basis, guests MUST register at bell counter soonest or at least 02hrs before departing time.
Package excludes:
– Singapore terminal tax $20.00 per person pay at Harbourfront Centre
– Batam terminal tax $7.00 per person pay at Waterfront City Batam Terminal
The ferry ride was rather fast and we reached Waterfront City Batam Terminal in less than an hour but getting through the immigration took some time due to the bulk of travelers. Above shows a shop selling variety of products, just as you walk out of the immigration. We bought tons of food, snacks, beer, etc here!
Land transfer from Harris Resort Batam. It was only a few minutes drive from the ferry terminal.
We were given twin rooms despite requesting for double bed rooms during our reservation. I think those who took the first ferry out from Singapore manage to get the limited double bed rooms as there were lots of travelers checking in. We checked-in to our rooms and then took a walk around Harris Resort Batam (mostly pool area). Then, we went to the restaurant to have a small bite as we missed lunch and it almost nearing dinner time (4pm).
The pizza looks great but we didn’t eat it as the portion is rather big and we were going to have dinner pretty soon. Our dinner will be using the “FREE one time lunch or dinner for paying adults and children” which is included in the package. The free dinner was …. 🙁
Harris Resort Batam – Old Wing (we are staying here).
Harris Resort Batam – This is the new wing and it will cost a tad more than the old wing. We had a sneak peek at one of the rooms (during housekeeping) on the ground floor and it seems smaller than the old wing rooms.
We went to the bowling centre to play the “FREE one game of bowling for two per room per stay” in our package. You have to rent the bowling shoes but it doesn’t comes with any socks!
Nice swimming pool at Harris Resort Batam.
If you are early, you can grab one of these sheltered seats. How nice it would be to relax here (with beers)!
Lobby area of Harris Resort Batam. The lifts that we used daily! Hehe…
Beach area near Harris Resort Batam.
Small yacht berthing at nearby dock near Harris Resort Batam.
We took the free one-time return shuttle services from Harris Resort to Nagoya Hill for shopping. We had made the reservation for the shuttle service one day earlier.
We wanted to try the original Ayam Penyet Ria but it was closed. By the way, there is a Ayam Penyet Ria in Lucky Plaza (Singapore)!
Food street at Nagoya Hill. Lots of food for you to choose!
77 Es Teler – We tried one of the desserts which is very much like Ice Kacang. There is also a Es Teler in Singapore too! It’s at Far East Plaza Singapore.
Our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam, we wasn’t able to get the double bed room so we improvised on our own. Haha!
The rest of the area in our bedroom at Harris Resort Batam.
Bathroom at Harris Resort Batam. It’s clean but the hot water is pretty inconsistent, sometimes it’s hot and most of the time it’s cold! Wahaha!
The sun is setting soon. Taken at a seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal.
Dinner at a kelong-style seafood restaurant near to the Waterfront City Batam Terminal. I can’t seem to remember the name…
Fried chicken and Sambal Kang Kong.
Chilli crabs.
Hot Plate Tofu.
Black pepper crabs.
Daily breakfast at Harris Resort Batam was rather lacking but not entirely not consumable.
A pet monkey at a restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam.
The restaurant beside Harris Resort Batam, where we had our lunch, before leaving for our ferry back to Singapore. We had actually requested for early ferry departure in the morning but it was already full so have to settle for the afternoon one.
Fried Chicken Rice Special.
One of the ferry at Waterfront City Batam Terminal where we were waiting to board our ferry back to Singapore. The trip went by without a lot of photo taking as there wasn’t really much to shoot! Also, we didn’t venture far away from Harris Resort Batam to engage in other activities as we were traveling with children. It’s really a “getaway”! Haha!
Continuing from “A Day in Kuala Lumpur 2“, we decided to check out from the hotel early (immediately after breakfast) so that we can visit Malacca on our way back to Singapore. We spotted Philea Resort and Spa when we exited the expressway and went in to have a look. 🙂
Philea Resort and Spa, seems like a quiet place to rest and relax.
Close-up view of the accommodation at Philea Resort and Spa. Think the ambiance at night will be great!
Swimming pool at Philea Resort and Spa. There wasn’t much guests around when we were there, think they might have checked out…
Then after our lunch, we took a short stroll to the nearby “Tan Kim Hock Product Centre” to buy Dodol durian.
Other then Dodol durian, there are also many snacks and food products for sale. Some of them are really nostalgic – products that we used to have in Singapore!
Old historical scene of Malacca.
Passing by a Chinese temple.
YSL (Yue Sang Loong) selling Chinese raw medicine.
Old style coffee shop – we still have something similar back home in Singapore but it’s getting less and hard to find. Maybe I should go take photos and blog about it before it’s gone…
Provision shop at Malacca.
Antique wares at Malacca.
Heard that this is the famous Chicken Rice stall at Jonker Walk…but we already had our fill. Hehe! Next time!
Spotted San Shu Gong (三叔公) so we went in to buy food products. Heard there is one San Shu Gong at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 too!
Interior of San Shu Gong – there was a lot of people inside buying stuffs and it was pretty hot as the air-conditioning is not working. This photo shows the quiet corner as I didn’t want to jostle with the shoppers. Haha!
We couldn’t stand the stuffiness so we quickly bought our stuffs and left. There is a Lao Qian Ice Cafe near the entrance of San Shu Gong.
Walking down Jonker Street in search of famous Chendol to eat.
I didn’t have a gook look but think the stall is probably selling Ding Ding Candy…
Passing by a stall that sells ice cream shaped like an egg.
Hokkien Huay Kuan at Malacca.
Grilled cuttlefish – you can smell it from a distance away… 😛
Interior of Jonker Dessert 88 and it’s actually a cafe museum. Love the old nostalgic setting!
In the shelves, there are many exhibits such as old currency notes, pots, artifacts, etc but I think majority of the patrons are concentrating on the food only!
Ice Kacang from Jonker Dessert 88. My friend had this!
After the dessert, we went back to our car and continue our journey home to Singapore. We met with a massive jam at Johor Bahru (all the Singapore cars are going back!) and the vehicles were practically not moving at all. Then, we decided to break away from the jam to go for dinner first and hope that the traffic jam have eased. We were thinking too positively – the jam was worse after our dinner! We then decided to try going back by Tuas Checkpoint instead of Woodlands Checkpoint and to our surprise, there wasn’t any jam at all and it was so smooth. Lesson learned, next time just whack straight back from Tuas Checkpoint if we go to Malaysia during long weekends in Singapore, I think traffic will not be as bad as Johor Bahru even there is a jam! But crap happens too and you can be never too sure!
