Saturday, 27th December 2014 Before we begin our weekend staycation at JB Tebrau City, we decided to stop by at Coffee Valley for breakfast. This was a nice, independent coffee house located along Jalan Trus, about 10 minutes walk from the Johor Bahru Customs. Coffee Valley occupied the second level of the pre-war shophouses in JB's historic core. With its high ceilings and warm hues, the environment made me relaxed the moment I stepped into the café. I could probably spend my entire day here actually. I ordered the Egg's Benedict with Waffles. The breakfast set came complete with a generous serving of fresh fruit platter and of course, a nice dose of the daily brew. This was certainly a great start to our staycation as we welcomed a nice, idyllic weekend in the Johor State ... read more

Friday, 24th October 2014 Determined to fully utilised my 1-Day BTS Pass, I decided to make as many stops as possible today to make my 130 Baht go a long way. From my hotel at Wong Wian Yai Station, I took the BTS to National Stadium Station where the Jim Thompson House was another 5 minutes walk away. This was hidden beneath a walkway in a rather secluded location. Next, I continued my skytrain journey to Siam Square where I had breakfast at McDonalds at the bottom of Amarin Plaza. After breakfast, I continued to the JCB lounge within the same building for some refreshments while making use of the complimentary wifi facilities. The staffs were pleasant even though I was not a Japanese National, they made me feel really welcome. No visit to Bangkok would ... read more

Wednesday, 22nd October 2014 Early this morning, after a wholesome breakfast at the hotel, we engaged a driver to bring us to the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard and the Huay Mongkol Temple. Since they were not too far from Hua Hin Town, we avoided the fatigue of spending too much time on the road to get from one point to another. More quality time could be spent on sight-seeing instead. The weather was scorching hot by the time we reached the Huay Mongkol Temple. Nevertheless, the temple was a good place to say our prayers and rest our feet. By the time we reached Hua Hin Vineyards, it was already lunch-time. Granted the prices at the in-house restaurant was anything but cheap, it commanded a nice vista overlooking the vineyards and the surrounding greenery. In the ... read more

Monday, 20th October 2014 One of the major highlights of my trip was the 19-hour railway journey that I took from Butterworth (Penang) to Hua Hin (Thailand) covering the distance of 940 km. My journey started on the afternoon of 20th October 2014 where I caught a free ferry ride from Georgetown to Butterworth Railway Station. I had always enjoyed train travel and doing a railway trip across the Malaysian border to Thailand was some sort of a bucket list fulfilled. I wasn't daunted by the long hours spent on the road since the train cabin was relatively comfortable onboard the International Sleeper Express Antarabangsa Train # 36. This service is operated by the State Railway of Thailand. One month prior to the start of my journey, I went over to Johor Bahru Railway Station and ... read more

Saturday, 18th October 2014 The skies were rainy as my Jetstar flight made her second landing attempt at the Penang International Airport. It got me real nervous after failing on its first descend. Finally, at 5pm this afternoon, my flight landed safely at the Bayan Lepas Airport - signalling the start of my 8 days trip around Penang and Thailand. Catching the RM 2.70 public bus from the airport to downtown Penang was straight forward enough for me. After about 50 minutes on the road, the driver dropped us at the KOMTAR bus interchange where I made my way to the hotel on foot. I was staying at the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g298303-d1231105-r236703222-Tune_Hotel_Downtown_Penang-George_Town_Penang_Island_Penang.htmlTune Hotel along Jalan Burmah and it wasn't really fun walking under the rain while keeping a lookout on the signs that point... read more