Our entrance to the communist country of Vietnam was not as smooth nor as grand as our other entrances. First-off, the bus ride from Siem Reap took the entire day. Secondly, the Vietnamese Immigration is corruption in action! Crossing the border was easy enough - bus conductor got all our passports, Cambodian immigration officer stamps it and off we go. A few minutes away and we all get down, this time for Vietnam Immigration and all hell broke loose. Apparently, the system is not to have a system. Everyone just brings his/her passport (preferably with cash stuck in between) to the [View Full Entry]

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Flying in from Kuala Lumpur via Air Asia, we arrived at Siem Reap at 8AM (minus 1 hour from Perth / Singapore / KL / Manila time). The airport is small but very charming. As pre-arranged, we were picked from the airport by the tour guide I booked - Saron. But apparently, we were also picked up by the hotel so Saron said he was surprised to see 2 placards bearing my name In the end, he just sent away the hotel driver and waited for us. We got lost for a while looking for our hotel as it is new [View Full Entry]

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Flying in from Langkawi via Air Asia, we arrived at the KL LCCT (Low-Cost Carrier Terminal) past lunch time. Having found out that the cheapest way to get to our hotel was through the Star Shuttle, we immediately looked for their counter as soon as we got our bags. For RM15 per person, the Star Shuttle takes you from KLIA or LCCT to a select list of hotels in the city (check out their website for the listing). The airport is about an hour away from the city center and as our hotel was the second to the last stop, we [View Full Entry]

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Flying in from Singapore via Air Asia, we arrived in Langkawi tired and sleepless from our night sessions with friends. At the airport, we changed enough money to last us for the Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur legs of our trip. In Singapore and Malaysia, we found out it is always best to change money at the airport as the rates are so much better. For a small airport, there are a lot of shops at Langkawi International, probably because the whole archipelago is duty-free! We also came right smack in the middle of the Malaysia Grand Sale so we were very [View Full Entry]

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On a cold winter night, we flew in from Perth, Australia to Singapore via Jetstar Airways. It was our first time to fly Jetstar and we were curious on how it was going to be. Aside from the 1-hour flight delay, the trip was comfortable and uneventful. You do have to pay for everything aboard, including food (there was one complimentary bottle of water though), entertainment, and blankets/comfort pack. You have to pay in the currency of your departure OR arrival country. Hot meals go for AUD15, softdrinks and juices for AUD3 and alcoholic drinks for AUD6+. Since we had an [View Full Entry]

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On Easter Sunday, we hied off to Fremantle to see the annual Street Arts Festival. The day was scorching but we managed about 3 hours of walking around, watching the various shows and just people-watching :D I'm pretty sure more interesting stuff turned up later that day but we were just too sunburned to stay :) [View Full Entry]

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Check out Scarborough at night -- to see Scarborough during the day, check out my other blog on Scarborough Just wanted to post some pics here taken from an impromptu visit to the beach a couple of nights' ago. I had to jump out of the car to catch the sunset on time, took some photos of the emptying beach, watched people dance like fools in the rave party, took a long walk on the sand, then had seafood dinner at Jimmy Dean's overlooking the beach . [View Full Entry]

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We're trying to make the rounds of the famous beaches in Perth and here is the 2nd one -- Cottesloe Beach. We started out in fine weather, with a bit of a chill but with plenty of sun but unfortunately, it was already bleak and windy when we got to Cottesloe. Cottesloe is much shorter than Scarborough Beach and with a lot less people. It's sort of a neighborhood beach and I actually like it better than Scarborough. There's a breakwater so the waves aren't that big and surfing is not allowed here. Maybe that's why Cottesloe gets all the mommies [View Full Entry]

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It's summer and the bikinis and surfboards and SHARKS are out in Australia!!! To sample the famous beaches in our part of the world here in Western Australia, we went to Scarborough Beach. It's a scene out of Baywatch, complete with the lifeguards, the (pale) sunblocked bodies baking in the sun, the surfer dudes but minus the very Aussie Shark Patrol (!!!). The beaches of Perth are part of the Indian Ocean and they say learning to surf here with sharks in the water are as common as people learning to drive in the US! During our trip to Scarborough, the [View Full Entry]

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On my first birthday in the land of Oz, here is what we did: Woke up late. Had a leisurely breakfast (while doing the laundry). Traveled to the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA) at Hillarys Boat Harbour. Had an awful lunch at Sorrento Quay. Got lost going home (but passed by some really good views at Swan Valley). Slept. Had a haircut (because it was Thursday, and trading hours are extended until 9PM). It was great! It's so...normal. [View Full Entry]

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