Travel

My New Travel Backpack

June 26, 2017

Since my last trip, I am always looking forward to get a new backpack as my current Deuter backpack was starting to fall into pieces during my Europe trip with straps being snapped into half and it came to a point in which even the zips are malfunctioning after my recent Taiwan trip. I know it's time for me to get a new one before it became worse.

As I was walking around with my brother and his family today, I saw the Moving Out Clearance Sale being displayed at the House of Leather store in Aeon Cheras Selatan mall and I walked in to have a look without the intention of buying but I saw one which suits my needs and the colour I want and since it's having a 50% discount, I decided to get it.

The sales assistant was very helpful and was able to answer all my questions about the backpack. With a pleasant customer service like this, it adds extra points when a customer is having doubts on whether to buy or not.

The backpack I got from the House of Leather is a Blue Mountain 75L Adventure Outdoors Hiking Trekking Bag. This backpack is made from lightweight fabrics with water resistant material to ensure minimum weight without loss of strength and it comes with a rain cover for the bag.

After I got home, I checked the price on Lazada website and it's the same so I'm happy with that. Hahaha. Now I can use this new backpack for my next trip. Woohoo!

Source: Lazada
(Guess which colour I chose)

Source: Lazada


Source: Lazada

Travel

10 Reasons Why You Should Travel Alone At Least Once In Your Lifetime

April 30, 2017

Image credit: Google


"Travelling alone is the best gift you can give yourself"


When I announce that I’m going to travel, the most common questions I get are “Where are you going?, "When”, “With whom?”, and when I told them I’m travelling alone, some would give me that look on their face as if they couldn’t believe that one can travel alone because the next question that comes from them is… “What? Travelling alone? All by yourself? Oh my gosh!”

I mean, what’s wrong with travelling alone? It’s so much more liberating than travelling with a group of friends to be honest. I’m not saying travelling with friends is a bad idea but if you have experienced travelling alone to a foreign land, you know what I mean. So here are the 10 reasons I believe why you should travel alone at least once in your lifetime.


1. You Get To Plan Your Own Itinerary 

When you travel alone, you don’t have to stick to a fixed plan like those you follow if you travel with a tour. If you travel with friends, everyone has to come to a compromising conclusion on where to go, what to see, which place to visit. Imagine going with a group of friends, one is a history buff and can spend one whole day in a museum, another one wanna take photographs of nature, while the others want to go shopping which you’re not interested at all, but you like to just walk around the city to wander off along the streets to witness the daily life of the locals there. Are you going to follow your friends to a museum which you hate? When you travel alone, you get to go wherever you feel like it.


2. You Get To Eat What And Where You Like 

One friend wanna try Japanese food, another one must have Chinese food, while the other one just wanna grab something at a fast food chain while you want to try local delicacies. Another headache! Hahaha… when I travel alone in Europe, I can walk for so many miles just to find the cheapest restaurant. When it comes to food, everyone’s budget is different. Some would splurge on fine dining while others on tight budget would just grab and go.


3. You Can Go At Your Own Pace

When you are travelling alone, you can walk as slow or as fast as you want. You can spend the entire day in museum if you want to, or you can just walk around the town the whole day to see what interests you. When I enter cathedrals and palaces, I would spend so long standing there admiring at the details of the architecture and design. I would walk slowly to feel the atmosphere and the surrounding of the area while imagining how the aristocrats live there during that era. If your friends are not into architecture, they would feel so boring and want to leave that place to go to another place and that would spoil your mood because you don’t get to see what you want. Imagine having spent so much on the air ticket and flying so many miles but you don’t get to see what you like most. Isn’t that disappointing? You would regret. 


4. You Will Be More Independent 

When you travel alone, you have no one to guide you or help you but yourself. You have to ask directions on your own, you have to approach strangers (the locals there) to ask, you have to force yourself to talk a little bit of the foreign language in that country. Basically, you have to do everything on your own, thus training you indirectly to be more independent compared to if you’re in your own country where you friends might help you, your siblings or parents will get things done for you. If you travel with a tour, all you need to do is ask your tour guide and he or she will solve your problems for you and get the things you want.


5. You Will Be More Confident And Brave 

Relating to the point above, when you’re independent, you will become fearless. Well, to some extent. Not to say, you will now dare to jump out of the plane with a parachute immediately, but when you learn to solve problems and get things done all by yourself, you will have that confident in you. Imagine you’re in a foreign land where nothing is familiar to you. Everything is different from where you come from, so if you can survive there, you will have no problem going to other foreign countries in future on your own.


6. You Get To Make New Friends

When you stay in a hostel, you get to meet other travellers from other countries and you get to mix around with them, hang out with them at night and exchange travelling stories. At the end of your stay, you could exchange contacts such as add each other in Facebook, Whatsapp or other social platforms to stay connected.


7. You Will Be More Alert 

When you are travelling alone, you are responsible for your own belongings (passport, money, wallet, etc.). No one will be in-charge to take care of your stuff for you. Hence, you will stay alert and observe your surrounding to avoid pickpockets.


8. You Get To Stay Where You Like 

When you are travelling with friends, most likely all of you will choose to stay in a hotel or rent a big house for everyone to stay together, but when you’re travelling alone, you get to choose where you want to stay. If you’re on a tight budget, you can choose a bed in a hostel or a cheap room from those homestay websites but if you want to pamper yourself and can afford to splurge on luxury bed, then you can choose from the many hotels in that city.


9. You Will Create A Rewarding Memories

When you’re travelling alone, you get to experience everything first-hand because you walk on your own, you see things on your own, you approach strangers, you ask for directions, you get help from the locals, or you help other travellers, you try on the local delicacies, you take the local public transport. Every little action you take is decided by you and so, you will remember every single detail of your trip if you travel alone. It is a very rewarding experience. I can tell you that because until now, I remember every little thing that I experience on my own while I was in Europe.


10. You Get To Enrich Your Life Experience

With all the points above, I’m sure you get to see that the experience you get from travelling alone is not only rewarding but it enriches your life overall. Money can buy the air tickets, the accommodation and food but nothing can buy the memories you create with you along the trip, and that is what you will have in your brain for the rest of your life.

Therefore, in my opinion, travelling alone is the best gift you can give to yourself. Let go of that fear. Let go of your doubts. Go for it. After several times of travelling on my own, I kinda like it and I will definitely travel alone again. What about you? Have you travelled alone before? Where to? Do share your experience with us. Love to hear from you.

Travel

How To Plan Your First Solo Trip

April 23, 2017

So you have decided to travel on your own. Planning everything from scratch for the first time may sound intimidating but don't worry. It's not that difficult as it seems. Speaking from experience, I still remember my first time planning for my Europe trip which gave me such a big headache! I just don't know where to start, what to do, how to plan.

It took me awhile to get used to it and trust me, after you have succeeded in your first trip planning, you will gain experience to do the same or even better in your next trip.

Here are the step-by-step on what you can do in planning your first solo trip. Most people don't know where to start or what to look out for in their planning. With this guide, I hope it will somehow put you on track to get you going without going bonkers! Have fun and all the best!


STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:

1. First, do you know where you want to visit? Decide on which country you wanna visit. Let's take for example: Italy.

2. List out all the cities you wanna visit in Italy. For example: Venice, Rome, Florence.

3. Then, search online to see and read what is there to see or do in Venice. Write down the name of the places you want to see. Do the same with Rome and Florence.

4. Next, check out if the places you want to visit requires any admission fee. Most of the churches and cathedrals are usually FREE admission. Museums, castles, palaces will need admission fee but if you just want to walk around on the ground area of the palace without going inside, then it's free to walk around. Remember to write down the opening hours of the places to avoid being denied entry when you reach there.

5. Once you have the list of places you want to see in Venice, now you may decide on how many days you want to stay in order for you to be able to visit each place in Venice. If you only want to stay for a certain number of days, for instance, two days, then make sure you plan out carefully on the number of places that can fit into your schedule. Remember, you're travelling on your own. You may decide on how long you wanna stay in one place. Give yourself at least one hour for each place, so that you won't be rushing to the next stop without slowly admiring the beauty and details of the architecture.

6. Plan out the route from one attraction to the next one. Write down which train or bus to take. I recommend Lonely Planet guidebook because each attraction is listed with its public transport to take you there. You can also search it online.

7. Now, you may search and compare flight tickets via websites such as skyscanner or other reliable websites. If you know which date you want to go, make sure you check the weather because some first-timers end up experiencing snow without knowing it's winter time! Imagine not having the appropriate winter clothing and you have to buy there. It may be more expensive than to buy in your home country, but that depends. Worse still, some places may be closed during winter, so to avoid being disappointed, check on the website of the palace if they close on winter months.

8. For accommodation, search for the suitable one via Airbnb or other websites such as Tripadvisor, Booking.com, Expedia, Traveloka, Trivago, etc on which is near to most of the attractions sites you want to visit. Read the reviews from other customers about the hotel and decide if it's what you want. Some people must have hot shower and not all budget hotels have that amenity, so make sure you read carefully on the services and amenities the hotel provide before you make a booking.

9. Change your local money to the foreign currency. How much to bring? That depends on the admission fee to all the places you want to visit. Jot down each admission fee, add the total up. Next, you can search online on how much does a meal cost in Italy. Let's say a quick cheap breakfast on the go is €8, lunch is €10 and dinner is €20, so food for each day is €38. If you are staying for a week, multiply it: €38 x 7 = €266. I suggest you to make a round figure of €300. Don't forget that you need money to buy bottled mineral water, bus ticket, subway ticket to get you around.

NOTE: Most of the small shops, museums, local eatery shop may not accept credit cards. You may bring your credit card for emergency and remember to contact the bank issuer of your credit card and inform them on the country you're going to avoid having your card being rejected when you make a payment in a foreign country. 

10. Pack your luggage in advance to avoid missing out items you may need. I make a list of the items I need and tick-off each one after I've put it into my backpack to avoid leaving it behind at home.

Once you reached the train station or bus station of the next city you're about to embark on, try to get a free city map from the station information counter to get you around. They have maps for tourists and you can see the places of attractions and which bus or train to take or if some are within walking distance, that will save you from buying a ticket.

Image credit: Google

I recommend you to buy a safety travel pouch/money belt (as shown in the photo above) that you can wear it around your waist inside your shirt. You may keep your important documents such as passport, flight tickets, credit cards, extra cash in there and keep enough cash in your wallet. DO NOT wear the money belt outside your shirt, it is meant to be worn INSIDE! so that no one can see.


THINGS TO PRINT OUT:
Once you have booked your flights and accommodation, print out your boarding pass, the hotel reservation confirmation email from the hotel, the bus/train ticket (if you buy online). Basically, print out any important confirmation email and tickets and bring it with you. Also, print your passport (the personal info page) and bring it with you. In any case of loss, at least you have a print-out passport to prove your identity when you're making a police report.


IMPORTANT ITEMS TO BRING:

  1. Passport (check your passport validation, make sure it's not expired)
  2. Foreign cash
  3. Money belt
  4. Basic toiletries (Check the airline's regulations on the bottle size and volume)
  5. Clothing (Make sure it's appropriate for the season you're travelling. Check the weather forecast)
  6. Smartphone
  7. Phone charger (powerbank if you need)
  8. Universal plug adapter (Different countries have different power socket plug)
  9. All the print-out of important documents
  10. Credit cards (For emergency)
  11. Walking shoes (Make sure it's comfortable for walking)
  12. Spectacles/Contact lens (If you need. Don't forget the contact lens solution and lens case too)
  13. Pen and notebook (In case you need to write down addresses, or other important notes along the way)
  14. Camera and its kit (If you're bringing your DSLR or a compact digital camera)
  15. Travel guidebook (If you want to bring along)


P/S: If you have any other questions about planning your first trip, do leave your questions in the comment.

Travel

Europe Travel Tips

April 22, 2017

1. Bring your own recycle bag when you go supermarket because they don’t give plastic bags and if you want, they will charge you. Luckily I brought my backpack whenever I go out, therefore I can put the mineral water bottle, sandwich, bread all inside my bag when I buy these from supermarket. 

2. In Germany, Austria, and Italy, one ticket allows you to take any public transport: bus, train, tram (except taxi) provided the time duration on your ticket is enough for your journey. Yes, with that same ticket, you can just take a train and then switch to take a bus and so on. 

3. In Italy, a ticket of €1.50 is worth of 100 minutes (1 hour 40 mins) which means you can take public transport to anywhere you want within that period of time. Once that period expires, you have to buy another ticket. In Germany and Austria tickets also have their own duration on their ticket. 

4. Once you have bought the ticket, don’t assume you can just hop on the train or bus. You must first VALIDATE your ticket. How? In Germany, next to the ticket machine, you will find a small machine (as shown in the photo I took below) for you to slot your ticket into it and the machine will stamp your ticket with the date and time. Ticket Validate Machine 

Ticket Validate Machine

5. If you take bus or tram, you can validate your ticket inside as there are machines inside the bus and tram. Plain-clothing officers may inspect passengers if they have tickets or if you have validate the ticket or not. If you’re caught with a ticket without validation, you will be fined on the spot for €60 (around RM 300). So please REMEMBER to VALIDATE your ticket. In some places, you can buy and validate the ticket inside the trams. Tickets come in Single-ticket, Day-ticket, Family/Group tickets. If you buy the Day-ticket, you can use that same ticket for the whole day with limitless of times you take the public transport. 

6. If you want to take away, never eat it sitting down in their cafe/restaurant as it is rude and disrespectful to the food and the chef. And if you cannot finish your food, NEVER ask the waiter to tapau (pack to take away) the leftovers. It’s also disrespectful to their wonderful cuisine. I have witnessed how the Italian waitress admonished the two China girls on this matter to which I will only tell and demonstrate in person to my friends because the effect is more realistic. Hahaha… 

7. If you have empty bottles from the mineral water you bought, bring those empty bottles to any supermarket and they have a recycle machine where you put the bottles one by one into that machine to be crushed into pieces and after you have finished putting all your empty bottles, coins will be paid to you in a slot. How cool is that, huh? You are paid to recycle. What a good way to encourage people to recycle. Your empty bottles can earn some extra money and you can use it to buy sandwich or a public transport ticket for the day. 

8. When the train stops at your station, please don’t expect the door will open automatically. It won’t. There is a button for you to press or a handle for you to pull to open the door. So, don’t just stand there and wait for the door to open. Observe how the locals do it and you will get it. I guess with this way, the train doesn’t need to open every single door even there’s no one going out, as not to waste time and energy. 

9. In Europe countries (well, at least the 3 countries I went), people will stand on the right side of the escalator and those who are in a hurry, they will walk on the left side. So, please don’t stand in the middle or at the wrong side. Again, observe the locals and follow. 

10. Public transport (train, bus, tram) in Europe countries are very punctual on time and they display the time on the monitor at the station but please be aware that trains may be delayed or cancelled due to unforeseen reasons. If this happens, they will display the info on the big information screen but the thing is, everything is in German in Germany and Italian in Italy. You have to go to the information counter to ask or you could ask a local who speaks English to translate to you what does the information says on the monitor. German people are very helpful and kind. On this matter, I will blog in another post. If the train is cancelled, they will either direct you to take another train to connect you to your destination on the same day. So you have to ask the information counter staff and they will tell you which platform, which train number, what time to catch that other train.

Travel

How I Plan My First Europe Trip

April 21, 2017

Going to Europe countries has been my dream from young and I have been working so hard and saving even harder for years to make this dream come true one day, and this day has come. For many years, I have researched on the places I want to visit so the itinerary part is already done long ago. Early June in year 2015, I have started searching for flight fares, accommodation, bus and train fares as I’m going to take either the bus or train (whichever is cheaper and shorter in duration) from one city to another.

My mission is… 

4 countries 
8 cities 
In a month’s time. 

Sounds like The Amazing Race, eh? Haha… but unlike the Amazing Race where you see a couple or 2 friends in a group competing with other groups, I’ll be travelling all by myself. Yup! I’m gonna backpack alone through Europe. Woohoo! 

So, which 8 cities I’ll be visiting? Below is my route from the starting point to the last city. 

Berlin – Dresden – Munich – Vienna – Venice – Florence – Rome – Vatican City 

As you can see clearly from the map (please forgive my ugly and not drawn to the scale drawing but at least you get the picture and it helps readers to see clearly on my route), I’ll be flying to Berlin which is the first city in my trip and I will be flying back from Rome. I’m going to spend at least 3-4 days in each city. While I’m in Rome, I’ll go over and visit Vatican City too, so that makes it 8 cities. 

At first, I wanted to include France which is just next to Germany but if I include France, I’ll take more than a month and I can’t afford to take so many days off work. Haha… Another reason being France is huge and there are many places that I wanna visit there, so I decided to travel to France only in my next trip. Hopefully next year. 

Why am I travelling in September? Because it’s my birthday! Woohoo! This is my birthday gift for myself. For many years, I have been praying and wishing that I would be able to travel to these Europe countries one day, but I didn’t make a move to plan because there’s always question that comes haunting at the back of my mind asking, “Should I?” And then, I will just put it aside and brush it off by telling myself, “It’s OK, I’ll plan it next year.” but the same scenario would repeat like a cycle every year. 

Therefore, I told myself, enough is enough. Don’t let any excuse to hold you back from realizing this dream of yours. If I don’t make the first step, this Europe trip will always be a dream. I do not want to live with regrets. I do not want to regret for not doing things that I want to do when I’m able to do it. 

Don’t wait until you’re too old to travel where you no longer as energetic as you’re young. By that time, you won’t have the stamina and energy to walk for long and for far. Don’t wait until you’re married with kids because once you have a family, it’s difficult to travel and you have so many responsibilities and bills to pay. When you have a family, you can’t travel alone and just leave them behind. You will most probably travel with your whole family (imagine the expenses, well, if you can afford it then it won’t be a problem). 

Don’t wait until your parents are old and retired and they have to depend on you for allowance. How are you going to save for travelling? Don’t wait until you have no more teeth to taste the good food of other countries. Don’t wait until your eyes are blur to see those beautiful amazing architecture of historical palaces, cathedrals, museums, outdoor park/garden. 

So start saving seriously and start planning. Why start to plan so early? When you plan and search for air fares and accommodation, you will roughly know the total figure of how much you need for the trip and that figure will let you know how much and how long you have to save from each month’s pay in order to be able to book the flights and accommodation. 

Yes, flight tickets and accommodation fees will change yearly but at least for now, you get a rough idea on how much you need for that dream trip of yours. Do not just save without a purpose. You will never know how much you need until you start to plan and do your research.

Travel

The Italian People I Met During My Europe Trip

April 20, 2017

The Grand Canal of Venice, Italy. 
(Photo taken by me using Huawei Ascend G7 smartphone) 

What is the most common stereotype remark you hear about Italian people? That they are loud when they talk, and they move their hands a lot which to some may deem as too much or even rude but they are not rude. Italian people are very expressive when it comes to speech, music, food, and that is why it is only natural for them to have body movement and a wide range of intonations in their words. Italians use hand gestures to enliven conversations, strengthen their point, and communicate on a non-verbal level.

When I reached the B&B (Bed & Breakfast) hotel in Rome,I greeted by a pretty Italian girl working at the hotel. Besides showing me where the shared bathroom and the kitchen is, she gives me a map showing me the location of the hotel by circling on the map and then points with her pen and telling me how to get to each major tourist site from the hotel and where to take the train and bus to the city centre.

After she has done explaning, she repeats the whole thing again! YES! Repeat the whole thing from the very beginning by telling me, “So, this is the hotel…. *she circles it again… from here you can take the bus to… *points her pen along the route to show me…”

In the end, I have lost count on the number of times she repeated the whole thing but it’s at least twice if it’s not thrice. Please don’t get me wrong. I truly appreciate it because it makes thing very clear and she doesn’t want the guests to get confused and forgot what she said if she only explains it once. I love her personality and her service to the guests.

Another thing I like and admire about the Italians are the ones working in retail shops and restaurants. They will greet you “Buongiorno” when they see you and they will say, “Grazie” when you pay. Even the mail man, the guy who delivers newspapers to every house on the street will greet me. I was not very comfortable at first with strangers greeting me because in my country, people don’t do that. I know, it’s not very polite but that’s how it is.

The Italians make you feel welcomed, they can get friendly with you almost instantly, easy to warm-up kind of people. Below are some common Italian stereotypes that are actually true.

  1. Italians can’t live without pasta. 
  2. Italians talk with their hands. 
  3. Italians are all about “La Famiglia” (family is so important to Italians that they either live close to their parents or in the same house. The ties that bind families together are undeniably strong. Families often gather weekly for a meal or stay in close contact.) 
  4. Italians love good cappuccino. (They will travel blocks to find the best cappuccino.) 
  5. Italians are obsessed with fashion. (While everything doesn’t have to be designer, Italians like to wear high-quality fabrics. Individualism is also valued in Italy, and men aren’t afraid to wear bright colors. In fact, don’t be surprised if you see men wearing orange, blue, or pink pants.) 
  6. Italians aren’t afraid of public affection (I see many couples hugging, kissing on the street, in shopping malls, in the park, everywhere.) 

A good example on how friendly and helpful the Italians are can be described in two incidents of mine while I was in Italy. After pressing on the screen of the ticket machine, I was ready to insert the money but was shocked seeing so many compartment holes. While I was trying to figure out which slot to insert the money, I heard a man saying loudly, “the green one”. I turned my back to see who was shouting and to whom he was talking to.

There was no one around except me and that guy and then I realize he was talking to me when he looked at me and said, “the green one” again. I thanked him and gave a few nods to show my appreciation for his help. He was standing at the entrance and I was standing inside the station at the ticket machine so it was quite a distance, that’s why he has to raise his voice in order for me to get his words. How thoughtful of him to help a stranger even though he’s standing so far away.

Another incident is when I get into a bus, I have to insert my ticket into a machine to validate my ticket. In other words, your ticket must be stamped by the machine or else it is considered invalid and if you’re caught, you will be fined on the spot. As I was trying to insert the ticket into the machine, my card just wouldn’t get in. A lady who just got into the bus saw my predicament and helped me by taking my ticket and said, “Come, let me show you. Put it upside down. See? It went in.” See how thoughtful the Italians are.

I love how friendly and how kind and thoughtful the Italians are when they see you in trouble. They will never hesitate to come forward to help you without you asking. And don’t get me started with the food. Italian food (pizzas, pasta, cheese, coffee) are the best! I would definitely visit Italy again for more good tasty food. To all my Italian readers who are reading this, I love your country and the food there!

Travel

The German People I Met During My Europe Trip

April 19, 2017

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany.
(photo taken with my Huawei Ascend G7)

Admit it. We all stereotype people from another country. In the olden days, we woud hear people saying Japanese people are short but look at them now. We would also hear them saying all Chinese have single eyelid but you know that’s not entirely true. 

When it comes to Germany, the common stereotype one would hear is that the German people are cold and unfriendly. Let me tell you my experience with the locals in Germany during my Europe trip there and you would have a total perspective of the German people. 

The German people are very helpful and kind. They may look cold and unfriendly on the outside because they hardly smile but deep down, they are very helpful and kind. On my first day there, I have to take a train to the city from the place I was staying. As it was my first day, I only have big notes and the ticket machine only accepts small notes up to €10. 

Upon checking my wallet, the smallest I have is €20. I saw a local man buying his ticket at the machine next to mine. I waited until he bought his ticket before approaching him. I ask in my rusty slow German, “Excuse me, I have €20 but the machine only accepts €10. Do you have any small notes for me to change my €20 with you?” 

No question asked. He straightaway took out his wallet, pull out two €10 and handed it over to me. I gave him my €20 and thanked him profusely. No questions asked. He did not ask me anything nor said a word. The trust that they put on other people, even strangers is just amazing! That was my first encounter with a German. 

When I was at the train station looking at the time-table board, a young German guy who got down from the train, came up to me and said, “Are you OK?”. He was probably thinking I might get confused with their extreme detailed time-table of the trains and wanted to help me. I ask if this was the correct platform for the train number (I’ve forgotten the number now) and he said, “Oh! You just missed the train. It was this one just now. But never mind, the next one is 10 minutes and it is the red one. The red one,” he repeated the colour to make sure I remember it’s the red coloured train that I must get on board. You see? You don’t even have to ask anyone for help and this guy just approached to offer help. I was caught off guard initially because I never expected anyone would actually come up to ask if you’re OK, to check and make sure you are not lost. That was so kind of him. 

On the day I have to take a bus from Berlin to Dresden, I was kinda lost trying to find the street where the bus will arrive so I walked to a random bus stop and ask a lady there. Although she apologize for not being sure where the street is, she took out her iPad, tap on the map with street view and search for the street for me. To make sure she got the correct direction, she turned to another lady who was standing next to her waiting for the bus and I heard them conversing in German with the first one telling the other lady that I want to go to this street and if her direction is correct. The other lady confirmed it’s correct and so the first lady turned to me and taught me how to walk to there by showing me the map and also by pointing to some buildings as landmark for me to get to my destination. 

I thanked her profusely for the help. I find that even if they do not know, they would try their best to get the answer for you because they really want to help you. That is what I admire and respect the German people for. The extra miles they would go just to help you out is truly admirable. They are truly kind and helpful to those in need of help. 

Another incident is when I reached the main train station in Dresden, I went to the information counter and ask the lady there how to get the tram and which tram to take to the street that I want to go. She said, “Follow me,” and walked out from the counter and led me to a ticket machine. She pressed everything for me and all I need to do was to insert my money to get the ticket. She stood next to me to make sure I got the ticket and then showed me which exit to walk out from the train station to wait for the tram and told me the tram number to take. Oh my God! Where on earth would you expect a staff walking out from the information counter to help you to that extent? This is just too nice, isn’t it? 

There are many more nice heartwarming stories like these about my encounter with German people. To all my German readers out there who are reading this, I truly admire your qualities and respect your people and your country. I would definitely visit Germany again and again in future. You guys are the best! Germany always has a spot in my heart.

Travel

My Europe Trip Expenses

April 18, 2017

Image credit: Google

Many have asked me how much does it cost to travel on my own compared to following a tour agency. Please note that this Europe trip was travelled in the autumn of 2015 during September. Therefore, the prices and currency exchange rate is based on that period of time.

In this post, I will blog about the accommodation and the train/long-distance bus I took from one city to the another city. Please note that this post does NOT include the expenses of the underground train, tram, local bus that I took on my daily outing during my sightseeing.

When I state ‘whole apartment’ in the type of accommodation, it means I am staying all by myself without sharing with anyone, not even the host. The host is staying somewhere else, so I got the whole place to myself. The price stated is the total price for the duration of my stay, NOT the price for one night.

All the accommodation and the long-distance trains and buses are booked online and paid by credit card in June before my trip in September. All I need to do is print out the e-tickets to show proof to the officer on train when they go round to check each passenger’s ticket.


ACCOMMODATION

BERLIN
Type: Whole apartment
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €84
Booking website: Airbnb

DRESDEN
Type: One private room (staying with the host but he’s sleeping in his own room)
Duration: 2 nights
Price: €47
Booking website: Airbnb

MUNICH
Type: Euro Youth Hotel Munich
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €152.50
Booking website: booking.com

VIENNA
Type: One private room
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €98
Booking website: Airbnb

VENICE
Type: Hotel Astoria
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €198
Booking website: expedia.com

FLORENCE
Type: One private room
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €101
Booking website: Airbnb

ROME
Type: Colazione Al Vaticano B&B Hotel
Duration: 3 nights
Price: €163.50
Booking website: expedia.com


LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORTATION

From BERLIN to DRESDEN
Type: Long-distance bus
Company: Meinfernbus
Price: €7
Duration: 2 hours 40 mins

From DRESDEN to MUNICH
Type: Long-distance bus
Company: Meinfernbus
Price: €22
Duration: 8 hours

From MUNICH to VIENNA
Type: Train
Company: OBB
Price: €49
Duration: 5 hours

From VIENNA to VENICE
Type: Train
Company: OBB
Price: €69
Duration: 11 hours 48 mins

From VENICE to FLORENCE
Type: Train
Company: Trenitalia
Price: €34
Duration: 2 hours

From FLORENCE to ROME
Type: Train
Company: Trenitalia
Price: €29
Duration: 1 hours 31 mins


Currency Exchange Rate
13/7/15 €700 x 4.27 = RM 2,989
12/8/15 €900 x 4.46 = RM 4,014
Total: €1,600 = RM 7,003

Accommodation and Train: €1,054
€700 x 4.27= RM 2,989
€354 x 4.46 = RM 1,579
€1,054 = RM 4,568


FLIGHT TICKETS


Departure Flight
Airline: Qatar Airways from Kuala Lumpur to Berlin (1 stop at Doha, Qatar)
Price: RM 2,251

Return Flight
Airline: Sri Lankan Airlines from Rome to Kuala Lumpur (with 1 stop at Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka)
Price: RM 1,341 (€317.73)

Total Expenses:
4,568 (accommodation & train) + 3,592 (flights) = RM 8,160

*this total DO NOT include daily meals, subway train fare, snacks, bottled mineral water, admission fees to museums and palaces.



FOOD

What about food? How much should I prepare to bring for my daily meals? I believe this is the another crucial factor to take into consideration when you travel. I have written down everything I ate and the price so below is a list of the price for each food and drink in Germany, Austria, Italy in general.
  • A slice of pizza from subway train station:  €5 (RM 25)
  • Sandwich: €5 (RM 25)
  • A bottle of mineral water (1.5L): €1 – €2 (RM 5 – 10) *the price varies depending on whether you buy near tourist spot or at that far away shop down the road.
  • A plate of spaghetti: €8 – €13 (RM 40 – 65) *again it depends if the restaurant is located near major attractions or not.
One day, you probably need AT LEAST €20 (RM 100) for meals, so if you are staying for one week, €20 x 7 = €140 (RM 700)

So, if you take the previous amount of RM 8,160 + RM 700 (Food) = RM 8,860. That's not even up to RM10k yet. With approximately RM9,000, you can travel like me visiting Germany, Austria, Italy, and Vatican City within three weeks.

On an addition note, if you're lucky, you could get a cheaper flight ticket depending on the month you're going and also if you book in advance. Same goes with accommodation, if you choose a off-peak season, you might get a cheaper rate for your room.

If you have any questions regarding Europe trip, don’t hesitate to send me a message. I would try to help.

Music

Facebook Memories

April 17, 2017


Thanks to Facebook for showing me this memory today. It was three years ago when I participated as the piano accompanist collaborating with a local soprano, a good friend of mine. We performed Korean Folk & Art Song on 19th April 2014 at the Petaling Street Art House, Jalan Sultan. The recital performance was featured in a local newspaper.

I have been thinking to do a solo recital in future but there's a lot of behind-the-scene work to be done, such as getting a good and proper hall, renting a good grand piano, printing tickets, posters, coming up with a list of repertoire to perform, spreading the news over social media platforms. Therefore, it's not as easy as one would think about preparing and organizing a performance.

Well, let me go through my repertoire and see which pieces are suitable and interesting to be presented for my audience. With my baby niece in the house, it's hard to get some time to practise these days. I just got so drawn to her. Hahaha.

Travel

Many Travel Booking Sites Are Misleading Consumers

April 13, 2017

Image credit: Google

In the past, when one wants to travel, you would most probably go to a travel agency which provides the service to plan and book everything for you. All you need to do is to tell them your choice of destinations and once the itinerary has been set and prices are agreed upon, you just pay and wait to board the plane on that date.

In today's digital-era, many opt to plan their own itinerary and book flights and hotel on their own without the hassle of going through a middle-party. With many booking websites available, it is easy to look through and compare on the screen of your laptop or smartphone and with a few clicks here and there, voila! You'll be on your way to your dream destination.

But did you know that in a report published last week, the European Commission revealed that 235 of 352 travel booking websites they examined advertised prices or deals which were not the actual price at the end of the final page of your booking process. That's two-thirds of the total checked.

I'm sure some of you have encountered this scenario where you saw a good deal on the front page of a booking website and after you have clicked and filled up all your particulars, the moment when you click to proceed to make payment, you realised the total amount is not the same as the price advertised.

It baffles you as to what happened and why did the price hiked up at the last minute? Some of the websites did not show the hotel taxes and other miscellaneous amount until you click the final button to make a payment. In some cases, special deals prices were not available at the actual booking page.

Apart from that, some booking websites gave you the impression that certain deals are only available within a limited time, for instance, only 2 rooms left, only available today! The next time you see tagline like these, do not panic and book immediately to grab the last room because what they didn't tell you is that each booking website has a fixed amount of rooms given by the hotel to sell through their websites. That last two rooms applied strictly on their website. If you can't get a room in this website, try another one. Maybe you would get a cheaper or better rate.

Every year the Commission coordinates the screening of websites for a particular sector, with the help of the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network which brings together the consumer authorities of 28 countries (26 EU countries, Norway and Iceland). The authorities are responsible for enforcing EU consumer protection laws in the EU. The 235 websites with irregularities will have to correct the irregularities. Consumer Protection Cooperation authorities will ensure they comply by activating their national enforcement procedures.

Remember this tip: ALWAYS pay attention to the details. Read everything, every line. Make sure you know what you're paying.

Birthday

My Niece's 1st Birthday Party

April 09, 2017

Happy Birthday, my adorable niece!

Phew! Alas, it's finally done and over! I'm so tired from last night's party. My family hosted a birthday party for my niece. It's her 1st birthday, so we decided to make it big by having a buffet dinner. There are a lot of people that we want to invite so buffet is the best option without having to cook and prepare like mad!

I have been planning this for months, from searching and surveying which caterer to book for food, which bakery or pastry chef to custom-made the birthday cake. You must be feeling strange that aren't this supposed to be the parents' task to plan for their baby's birthday party.

My brother and sister-in-law are not very tech-savvy and have no clue where to find these resources so they have asked for my help to plan for them. Who knows? Maybe after this experience, I could take birthday party planner as my side job to earn some extra income. Hahaha.

Let's start with the caterer. I searched and read so many websites of different catering companies, paying attention to what the reviews from the customers say about their experience with the catering company. I even posted a question in a Facebook Group, asking people to recommend me a good, reputable caterer. From there, I eliminate one by one until I am satisfied with the best.

Once I'm done picking that particular catering company, I observe their Facebook Page everyday to look at the photos they posted and I realised that this catering company is quite popular and they have hosted many opening ceremonies of big companies besides those house-warming and birthday parties.

Thereafter, I informed my brother and sister-in-law about this catering company and from there, we contacted them for more details on the menu and pricing. We are given a long list of food to choose from and I quite like the variety they offer. For each item, you are given six options to choose from. For instance, fish, you can choose from Tomyam Fish Fillet, Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet, Buttered Fish Fillet, Bean Sauce Fish Fillet, Kam Heong Fish Fillet, or Thai-style Fish Fillet. 

Below are our choice of menu for the party:
  1. Prawns: Fried Prawns with Butter Oat
  2. Fish: Sweet & Sour Fish Fillet
  3. Octopus: Tomyam Sotong with Lady Finger (sotong is Malay word for "squid") 
  4. Chicken: Rendang Chicken
  5. Fried Chicken: Crispy Lemon Chicken Chop
  6. Vegetables: Fried Mixed Vegetables
  7. Noodles: Kampung Style Mee Hoon 
  8. Rice: Pineapple Fried Rice
  9. Steamed Food: Seaweed Roll
  10. Snacks: Bread Cheese Ball
  11. Refreshments: Baked Mini Desserts
  12. Fruits: Fresh Honeydew
  13. Desserts: Mixed Mango Juice and Ice Kacang ABC
The buffet spread

The seating area for the guests

Two workers from the catering company came around 5:30pm to set up the tables and arrange the food. They have set up the canopy one day earlier in advance. Very efficient and fast. The workers stayed for three hours from the dinner time we set which is from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. By that time, they would start to clean up their trays and other equipments and left us with the food, tables, and chairs. They would come another day to collect the canopy, tables and chairs.

How about the food taste? Most of the guests commented that the food was good and tasty. My family and I were satisfied with the quality of the food too. Since we have ordered Ice Kacang ABC, one of the workers was in-charge to handle the ice shaving machine to prepare the dessert for our guests.


Catering company: OTK Food & Catering Services
Website: www.otkcatering.com
Email: otkcatering@gmail.com
Phone: 012-228 8749 (Nicholas)


Let's move on to the cake.

Using the same method as how I choose the caterer, I searched a few individual pastry chef on Instagram. Most of the cakes are too small for 100 guests, therefore I tried to find a cake house which is nearby my house. We went there to ask for a quotation and I'm happy that they have a lot of designs to choose from.

Prior to that, we have already decided to order a birthday cake in the shape of number 1 with a Mickey Mouse on the cake and below is a photo of the cake.

The huge gigantic 3kg birthday cake

Apart from the buffet, the guests also applauded that the cake was nice, soft, not too sweet. Some asked me where did I order the cake. If you're interested, below is the location and contact number of the cake house.


Cherries Cake House
Address: 38A, Jalan Temenggung 19/9, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, 43200 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia Phone: 012-979 8862


Overall, the party was a success! We were tired at the end of the day but it was worth it. Thank you all for coming to join us to celebrate the baby's 1st birthday. We appreciate each and every one of you for spending your precious time with us.

A special thank you to my Godma and aunty Jane Ni for the lovely dress and all the balloons decoration for our birthday girl.



Disclaimer: This is NOT a paid nor a sponsored post. The views expressed on this post is solely my personal opinions.

Books

Are Fantasy Books Bad For Children?

April 06, 2017

My niece

 "The simplest way to make sure that we raise literate children is to teach them to read, and to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, at its simplest, finding books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books, and letting them read them."

--- Neil Gaiman ---

I have met some school teachers whom never allow their students to read fantasy books. Why? One told me that the language they use in fantasy books are not proper English with words and character names that are created on purpose for the story. Another teacher said it is not healthy for the mind to read something which is not realistic.

This group of adults believe that children who read fantasy books would most probably delve into a sense of escapism, the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.

Stories with magic spells, dragons, goblins, fairies would only encourage the young minds to escape from the reality world and to believe in those non-existent entities. I have read articles stating teachers in UK claimed that children who read fantasy books would develop difficult behaviours.

I am not here to agree or disagree on this topic for I'm not an expert in children's psychology and behaviour and I have yet to find any studies regarding this subject with substantial results. The reason I am interested in this topic is because I am concerned on the books I choose to buy for my niece to read.

As Neil Gaiman once wrote that there is no such thing as bad books for children because every now and then, it's fashionable for adults to criticize and declare certain books to be bad for children. Speaking from my personal experience, I grew up reading Enid Blyton, but do you know that she was once declared as a bad author and some parents banned their children to read her books.

What about you? Do you believe there are such thing as a bad author or bad books? Were you discouraged from reading a certain type of books when you're young? From my perspective of views, I tend to seek children books which are not only easy to read but stories with moral values for the child to learn the difference between good and bad behaviour.

For now, I would pick children books with more colourful images and not too many lines on each page for my niece because at this stage, I just want to instill a reading habit and the love for books. I want her to get attracted to books first, to encourage her to the wonderful world of fiction.

I will end with another quote from Neil Gaiman.

"Do not discourage children from reading because you feel they are reading the wrong thing. Fiction you do not like is a route to other books you may prefer. And not everyone has the same taste as you."

Any parents/teachers out there? What do you think of this topic?


P/S: If you would like to donate or sponsor some children's books to my niece, please email me at jhtanjhtan@gmail.com OR leave a message at my Facebook Page which is shown in the side column and at the bottom of this page. Just click on the icon and LIKE to FOLLOW my Facebook Page. Thank you for your support.

My Niece

First Grab

April 04, 2017

There is a Chinese belief that on the baby's first lunar birthday, the parents will place certain objects on the floor and let the baby crawl towards those objects and the first object the baby grabs will determine his/her future career.

My niece's first lunar birthday falls on the Gregorian calendar date of 3rd April 2017 and we placed objects like books, money, calculator, pens, ruler, and a toy piano and we let her crawl and see which one of the objects she will grab. 

Each object represents a type of profession.
Book = Scholar, Publisher.
Money = Investor.
Calculator = Accountant, Auditor.
Pens and ruler = Teacher, Writer, Author, Artist.
Toy piano = Pianist, Musician.

Let's see which one caught her interest. We were all so excited and anxious in waiting for her to reveal her choice.


Her first choice was the books and when we asked her to grab a second time, she grabs another book. Wow! It seems like she's really fond of books like her uncle (ME!!! Hahaha!) Book bears the meaning that she will become a scholar or publisher in future. Woohoo!

Look at the excitement and joy on her face the moment she got the book!

Birthday

Birthday Party Preparation

March 27, 2017

No, not my birthday. Hahaha. I'm preparing for my niece's 1st birthday party. I have searched for more than a month to find the best and trustworthy catering company. After observing them on their Facebook page and reading the reviews by other customers for more than a month, I decided to recommend it to my brother and his wife (my sister-in-law).

We have chosen the dishes based on their given options from the menu and they have paid the caterer. Today, my Godma came to my house with auntie Jane Ni with a lovely dress they bought for my niece to be worn at her birthday party.

Isn't this lovely? It's so pretty.

We went out for lunch at Secret Recipe and after that, we went to place an order at the bakery shop nearby for the birthday cake. A 3kg cake that costs RM270. Cakes are not cheap nowadays. Don't worry, I will snap a photo of the cake on that day, so stay tuned to my blog post and Instagram. Follow me if you're on Instagram.

Music

What To Do With Old Music CDs?

March 26, 2017

cds (1)
These are my music CD collection and what you see here is only a small portion of it. I have four more stacks standing behind these four stacks that you see in this photo.

I had them since I was in my secondary school (high school in US) and I have not been listening to it for years. It has always been kept inside the storage cabinet for so long and only recently I have decided to take it all out for my books. Yes, books! Oh, don't get me started on that. Hahaha.

Alright, let's get back to my CDs first. I don't know what to do with it. One part of me thought of just throwing it away but the other part of me thinks it's kind of a waste if I just throw it away like that. Music CD is not cheap and all of it are original. Well, like they say... support the artistes.

Another reason is that music is so accessible in this age of Internet where you can just listen to any song from many platforms out there such as YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, to name a few. You can even buy and download original music from legal sites without having to keep the physical disc at home.

I know there are some websites or apps that allow you to put up your pre-loved items for sale but I wonder if anyone would still want to buy CDs nowadays when new released songs is just a click of a button away. Who still wants to keep CDs?

And I hate getting on to new websites. You know why? I hate to create a new account and have to set up a profile before I can even start to upload my stuff to be featured there. Well, I guess you gotta do what you gotta do, eh?

On a side note, I would like to hear what do you guys think? Should I just throw it away or try to sell it online? Comments are appreciated.

Coffee

Farm Fresh Cafe Latte

March 26, 2017

img_20170306_153106-1
Seeing my hair getting longer and thicker, I decided to have a hair cut after lunch today. Once I'm done with the hair cut, I walked into Aeon supermarket just to walk around without any intention to get anything in particular.

When I walked to the cold beverages section where they put all the milk, yogurt, butter, cheese; I saw this little cute looking bottle and what caught my attention is the name on the bottle... Cafe latte. Another feature that caught my eyes is the round sticker at the bottom right stating EYES WIDE OPEN.

It's a Farm Fresh product. Farm Fresh is produced in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Yay! Support local product! The cafe latte contains 100% fresh cow's milk, Arabica coffee powder, and sugar as printed at the back of the bottle.

Let's talk about the design and the outlook first. I like the simple minimalist slim white bottle which is easy to hold and aesthetically pleasant. Now let's move on to the taste. It is fragrant with the aroma of the Arabica coffee and I like the fact that it is not too sweet. You could have the best of both worlds; coffee and milk together in one bottle of Farm Fresh Cafe Latte.

Personal

Welcome

March 26, 2017


Hi there! Welcome to my new blog. I'm sure you could tell a little about me from the title of this blog. Yes, I'm a classical pianist, and yes, I'm the unknown one. Well, not internationally (yet). Hahaha. Anyway, the main reason I created this blog is primarily for the love of writing and to document any important memorable events in my life. Hope you enjoy!

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