Hear it from Bangkok!

So about a month back, the entire Chew family decided to take a trip up to Bangkok for some food and shopping. It had been quite some time since we traveled together as a family so this trip was kinda special for me. Bangkok was just as I remembered, hot and humid, good food, great shopping and bad traffic. But nonetheless, I had fun. 

Hannah's first South East Asia trip... Malaysia doesn't count. 

Chilling at the airport while waiting for boarding. 

Plane selfie. A must for every flight. 

Stayed at Happy 3 Residence. Pretty nice place within walking distance to MBK and Siam Paragon. 

Check out the excited... and hungry faces. 

Selfie with Uncle Daniel, Hannah's only immediate uncle. 

When in Thailand, eat Phad Thai. Actually I eat Phad Thai everywhere. It's my favourite Thai food. Yums...

Taking the train to avoid Bangkok traffic. 

Crowd on the way into Rot Fai Night Market. 

Ducks, ducks, ducks everywhere...

Candies?

Hello beautiful! You belong in my mouth...

Sat down amidst the crowd of people and heat for a yummy bowl of seafood tomyam noodles. 

We rearranged McD furniture for an impromptu family photo shoot. We ain't shy like that... 

Platinum Mall!!! Shopping haven... 

But first, Hannah needs to feed. Thankfully Platinum Mall have good changing aka breastfeeding room in their toilets. 

My little Brown Riding Hood looking so bulat with her Aunty Joyce. 

Our entertainment for the entire trip. So thankful for the numerous babysitters available... 

Having dinner at Siam Center Food Court

Celebrated Grace birthday with yummy ice-creams

Hannah at the pool with Aunty Lydia and Uncle Edwin

Just a photo of Bangkok infamous traffic

Little batgirl all ready to head out

Hannah's first tuk tuk right. You can tell from her facial expression that she can't decide what to make of this. Being in cramp quarters is not her thing. 

Dancing with Aunty Lydia

We met Spidey in Bangkok... 

We sat down for dinner at a sidewalk restaurant in Asiatique. While waiting for food to arrive, Hannah attracted way to much attention. Even the waitresses wanted pictures of her. Haha... 

Good bye, Bangkok! 

It was a short but fun trip. Wished I had more time (and money to spend). Oh well, next time... Be good Bangkok. Till we meet again.. 

Now everyone can travel...

Malaysian Airlines was having a super duper cheap sales 2 days ago and Rockstar and I managed to get tickets to Osaka, Japan for only RM 378/return flight for 2 pax. That's RM189 per person with MAS. We also managed to get flights to Los Angeles for RM 3178 return flight for 2 person, which amounts to only RM 1589 per person. Woohoo!! This will be my first time to USA. Feeling so excited already.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that, most, if not majority of my friends thinks that I am super duper rich for being able to travel so much. Even though I wish that to be true, fact is, I am not. I don't have a secret money tree planted at the back of my house, or a secret treasure cave hidden somewhere. I don't earn big bucks with my business and I struggle most of the time covering costs. So question is, "How do I travel so frequently?".

Here's how I do it.

Firstly, most of my meagre income goes to travelling. I cut down on expensive food (as per my corporate days) and hawker center food became a daily routine. I drink plain water. I spend less on petrol and toll as I work from home half the time. I don't spend much on clothing, cosmetics, etc.

Secondly, I stay with my in-laws. Which means, no rental or bank loan every month. No bills, no household expenses. This amounts to a lot. I know I know, we will have to look into our own place soon, but for now, I value my traveling experiences.

Thirdly, the most important aspect, is that Rockstar and my schedule is flexible. We can travel whenever we want to. (Other than my commitment to Boys' Brigade every Saturday). We scoured around for cheap flights (as shown above), we travel on weekdays, we travel during non-peak season. This all counts in reducing travelling costs.

Of cos having a supportive husband helps a lot :) but most of the time, we travel light and simple.

It's actually very easy and affordable, more so now with the budget airlines, competition among airlines, and easy access to the world wide web; for us to be able to look for good deals and prices.

So since I'm nice ;p , I'm going to list down some of my expenditure for a few of my previous trips, just to prove that travelling is not that expensive after all.

*chup* let me go dig my records first.

OK. Here goes. 

Siam Reap, Cambodia 4D3N (February 2013)

Flight                                                           RM 700
Accommodation                                          RM 471
Food & Beverages                               RM 237
Land Transport                                            RM 62
Tourist Attractions                                       RM 237
Others (shopping, gifts, souvenirs, etc)          RM 133

Total expenses                                             RM 1840/2 = RM 920 each for Rockstar & I

Hat Yai, Thailand 3D4N (January 2013)


Train ticket (sleeper bunk)                           RM 100
Accommodation                                          RM 50 (twin sharing)
Food & Beverages                               RM 59
Others (shopping, gifts, souvenirs, etc)         RM 235

Total expenses                                            RM 444 for just me

*if you minus all the shopping, its not that much

And for those who say that Japan is way too expensive, here's an eye opener. We traveled from Tokyo to Osaka and then back to Tokyo. We ate non-stop. We stayed in decent hotels (eg. Best Western). It's actually a very doable place to visit. 


Osaka & Tokyo, Japan Trip 6D6N (November 2013)
Flight                                                          RM 1830
Japan Rail Pass                                           RM 2220 
Accommodation                                         RM 1207
Food & Beverages                              RM 607
Transport (not including Japan Rail Pass)     RM 77
Tourist Attractions                                      RM 138
Others (shopping, gifts, souvenirs, etc)        RM 273

Total expenses                                            RM6352/2 = RM 3176 each for Rockstar & I

So are you convinced yet that travelling is not that expensive after all? Start saving now, a little goes a long way. I wish you all the best as you go on trips. Take the first step and don't look back. 

Stay tuned for more travel experiences. I have Cambodia, Philippines, Paris to blog about..

...and another 4 overseas trip to look forward this year!!! 

Woots!!!

Hatyai : Eating & Shopping Trip (Part 2)

Hat Yai night markets only opens from Thursday to Sunday. We caught a tuk tuk and the driver brought us to the Asean Night Market about 15 mins away from the town center. We arrived about 5pm, but it was slightly too early as quite a number of shops were not opened yet. I would recommend going about 6pm. 

The Asian Night Market sells lots of food, clothings, shoes, 2nd-hand clothes and items, accessories and bags. And it was all so cheap that I went crazy... sort off. :) How not to when dresses and shirts and shoes are going for 100-150 baht = RM10-15 each. 

Food was abundance. Right in the middle of the market, they were selling pork. So we stopped for pork knuckles rice, fried pork/ pork chop rice and pork meat noodles for dinner... yes, again. Even though almost every table was filled and streams of customers flowed in and out, food arrived quickly  The pork knuckles was tender and well-cooked. The fried pork was crispy and slight burned. The noodles was tasty with a slight saltiness to it, different from Cantonese noodles. Very delicious and tasty. The only con is that there is no menu in English. Its authentically Thai. Just look around and point at what others are eating :)

I love going to night markets because its so colourful and busy and interesting. As the sky turns dark and the lights of the stalls got brighter, we stop for a breather outside the market, just to take it all in. The night ended with an absolutely delicious berry+milk yoghurt dessert concoction. Your cup with be filled with yoghurt and topped it with 3 toppings of your choice. 29 baht each. Bliss... 

Next morning, not so bright and early, we headed out for brunch. Pork again. Noodles, rice and everything pork. I think I had eaten enough pork to last for the rest of the year.:)

With just a few hours left before catching the train at 4pm, we wandered the streets of Hat Yai. Taking in the sights, the smell, and the taste of it. We stopped by this stall, just opposite the Lee Garden Plaza, which sold mega humongous prawns and skinny legged quails. Alas, we didn't try them but we did have the sticky mango rice, one and only we had in Hat Yai. 

And no, I didn't make that little boy so angry. He was running out in and out the shop, shooting his toy gun. Then he sat in front of the television and watch a war/army/guerrillas movie with lots of blood and shooting. He looked up just as I took a picture of him. This is evidence to what violence can do to children. 

The trip ended on a sweet note, with frozen cold ice-cream  cum yoghurt folded into rolls, arranged nicely in a cup, topped with cream, marshmallows and berries.. food heaven!!! 69 baht. 

There was just to many things to see do and I wished we had time for other sights like the floating market, the waterfalls, the hills, the beaches. As the train toot-toot out the station, I made a promise to myself that I will be back. 

Sawasdee ka Hat Yai!

Laew Phop Kan Mai Na Ka.

Hatyai : Eating & Shopping Trip (Part 1)

Using the KTM  we arrived in Hat Yai slightly before noon. The Hat Yai Train Station is a small, dusty, old station with a few tracks running past the station. We got off and had to walk across a couple of train tracks to get onto the platform. It was hard getting directions as the officials do not speak English. 

Luckily, we managed to get some directions with lots of pointing and gesturing and simple English from the tuk-tuk/taxi drivers. We exited the station and took a short walk to Tune Hotel. 

First glimpse of Hat Yai. Bustling border town with a mix of Thais and Chinese. Hokkien and Mandarin is widely spoken here. 

Tune Hotel, our home for the next couple of days. Surprisingly  the rooms are huge. I've stayed before at a few of Tune Hotels and this is not a norm. Their rooms are usually small and cramp. However, Tune Hotel Hat Yai have a very spacious room with enough space for me to dance around :p

After we settled in, we headed out to look for food. First stop, Odeon Shopping Center. Food Court is located on the top floor, with a few stalls but with good enough range of food. Being a big fan of German Pork Knuckles, my dad ordered that and we had a good meal with tasty, home-cooked pork knuckles. The meat was boiled till it was soft and sweet. Great start to our first meal in Thailand. 

Next stop, Kim Yong Market, with lots of stops along the way. There was just too many things to see and every time someone stops to look at something, everyone have to stop as well. Cons of travelling in a group. 

Sad to say, Kim Yong Market was a disappointment. After reading so much about it, there was nothing much to see and buy - just lots of toys, food stuff, car accessories, etc. 

We then walked to Robinson Department Store, which is a big contrast compared to the outside. However, its not as posh as the Robinson in Kuala Lumpur (I'm not sure if its the same company). Anyway, clothes, shoes, accessories are pricier then we expected. My parents enjoyed themselves and spend quite a bit of time at the housewares department.

I did managed to get myself a piece of fried chicken for 19 bht just outside Robinson Department Stall. It tasted really good, oily and slightly crispy, or maybe it's because I was hungry.  

Walking back to Tune Hotel, my mum spotted bowls and bowls of Pork Knuckles from the back entrance of a kitchen; which my parents could not resist and thus we had a very early dinner. 

Pork Knuckles was more fatty this time. Green Curry was super spicy which made us cried. Almost. Portion was super huge and we had to tapau some. Omelette was too salty but a generous helping of prawns. 

Night view of Hat Yai from my 3rd floor Tune Hotel room. I wished I had asked for a room on the higher floor. 

Next morning, we had breakfast.. or brunch at a hawker restaurant like just opposite Tune Hotel, on the left. We had pork porridge, hokkien mee, fried rice and char kuey teow. All every different from Malaysia but nonetheless good and tasty and cheap. 

We wanted to try the pineapple as it looked very interestingly small, about half the size of our normal pineapple but the price of 120bht made us decide otherwise. Says who Thailand is cheap. 

A temple as we walked along. Just directly behind Tune Hotel. 

We headed up north, towards Lee Garden Plaza as I read good reviews about it. However, we found out later that this Lee Garden Plaza is the new one. The old one further down south is no longer around. We did passed by a few other department store, small enough that I don't really consider them department stores. But the vendors were surprisingly rude. I think it's because there are less tourists as compared to Bangkok, which is more tourist orientated, and thus friendlier. 

Lee Garden Plaza is a new mall with a nice mix of big spacious shops and small quirky shops. We spotted some brands and quite a few interesting things. However, the newness of the mall is evident with the lack of people and the unopen stores. But I have high hopes for it. A very nice place to hang out. There is a big shoe shop towards the back of the mall where we bought quite a number of things. 

Carrying our bags of shopping, we headed back towards the hotel for a shower and some rest before continuing our food and shopping trip. Travelling with my parents means going at a slower pace with lots of coffee break in between. However, I'm not complaining. It allowed me to see the roses by the roadside :)

Next up, the night market.