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[Bangkok/Thailand Attraction]- Lucky Bunny Cafe

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We had a very delightful experience at Lucky Bunny Café during our recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand; and this is a place we highly recommend if you are looking for some awesome homemade Thai food with some lovely and cute bunnies as your companions.

A distance away from the heart of Bangkok, Lucky Bunny Café is located in a residential area and to get there via public transport, you can take the Bangkok Metro to Lat Phrao Station and thereafter, take a taxi straight to Lucky Bunny Café. Alternatively, if you prefer to take a taxi and head straight to Lucky Bunny Café without the hassle of taking the Bangkok Metro, you can do that too but you might encounter heavy traffic congestion along the way. Make sure the taxi driver charge you by the fare meter and not on an agreed sum; else you would be ripped off during the journey.

When you are near the area [assuming you are using Google Maps to track your location, which we did], do look out for directional signs that will lead you to the doorstep of Lucky Bunny Café.

The entrance to Lucky Bunny Café is very well-decorated and though it is set in a home, don’t hesitate to go in and enjoy the warmth hospitality from the owners of Lucky Bunny Café.

Areas of Lucky Bunny Café which guests can access to are the dining room, the bunnies’ room, and the garden.

Lucky Bunny Café Dining Room

Lucky Bunny Café Bunnies’ Room

Lucky Bunny Café Garden

When we were presented with the food menu by the owner of Lucky Bunny Café, both Jacqueline and I were scratching our heads because they were written in Thai. Thankfully, the owner is extremely conversant in English and we placed our food and drinks order with much ease.

You might also want to take comfort in the knowledge that the drinks and desserts menu are in English.

While waiting for our food and drinks order to be ready, we took a quick look at the garden and admired the really cute figurines. There were definitely tons of opportunities for snapshots, even in the dining room!

The Cute Sheep Figurines in the Garden

Foxy Mehmeh Riding the Vintage Scooter in the Dining Room

Presenting to you the food, drinks, and dessert that we ordered at Lucky Bunny Café.

Tom Yum Soup with Chicken

Spicy Minced Pork with Thai Herbs

Thai-Styled Fried Rice

Chocolate Waffles Served with Bananas and Vanilla Ice-Cream

Italian Kiwi Soda & Italian Lemon Soda

Are you ready for some squealing good time?

After a very satisfying meal, we went to the bunnies’ room and we had a lot of fun cuddling the super adorable bunnies. The best part was, some of the bunnies even showed us a trick or two and they were really funny!

We were also very privileged to have the owner of Lucky Bunny Café with us as we learnt a few tips about keeping bunnies, how to maintain the bunnies, and what kind of food to feed the bunnies.

By the way, some of the bunnies at Lucky Bunny Café are for sale and they are top grade premium bunnies [they even have something like a pedigree certificate too]. The bunnies come from a farm that Lucky Bunny Café works with and trust us, the bunnies are really affordable, healthy and well-maintained; yes, way cheaper and even way better than the bunnies from the pet shops we have here in Singapore.

Now, if you really want to explore Bangkok, Thailand and you are looking for a unique place to dine, Lucky Bunny Café is one place you should include in your itinerary the next time you plan your free and easy trip to Bangkok.

Address: Chiang Mai, Thailand 50290
Operating Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays 1030 hours to 2000 hours, Closed on Mondays
Mode of Payment: Cash Only
Contact Number: 6685-1955465 

Enjoy & Have Fun!

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[Hotel Review]- Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok, Thailand

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We were recently in Bangkok, Thailand for 4 days 3 nights and our accommodation was the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok. We personally chose to stay at the Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok because of its closed proximity to shopping malls such as CentralWorld and Platinum Fashion Mall; moreover, the hotel is about 30 minutes away from Suvarnabhumi Airport via the Airport Rail Link, which has its Ratchaprarop Station located within a 10 minutes walking distance of the hotel.

The hotel has an entrance lobby on the ground floor to the rear of the Watergate Pavillion Shopping and Leisure Complex, which can be accessed either via the complex or by the access driveway alongside the building.

The reception desk is on the 9th floor and can be accessed by the lift from the entrance lobby.

Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok features 281 rooms and suites that will appeal to all travellers; whether single travellers, groups of friends travelling together, families, or couples.

The interior décor of the rooms is characterised by a light and airy contemporary design, with an ambience that reflects Pratunam‘s reputation for fashion. The accommodation options offer a variety of configurations, from two double beds best suited for families, a king bed for couples, to bunk beds in a separate area for the younger ones.

Each room and suite offers individually controlled air-conditioning, minibar, tea and coffee making facilities, satellite TV, hairdryer, workstation, IDD telephone line, and complimentary wireless internet access.

We stayed in the Deluxe One Bedroom Suite and it was a really comfortable experience. We were actually quite impressed with the fact that there’s a turn-down service and guests had the freedom to choose the kind of pillows they want.

Here are some details of the rooms that are available at Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok

Superior Rooms

Superior Rooms offer 26 metres of living space and these well-appointed rooms combine a bright and modern décor with the option of either a king bed or two double beds, and can comfortably sleep up to two adults and one child.

Superior Family Rooms

Superior Family Rooms provide two double beds and can accommodate up to two adults and two children. Furnished in a bright décor, each room offers 26 square metres of living space. Several Superior Family Rooms connect to Deluxe King rooms via an interconnecting door.

Deluxe Rooms

Offering a choice of either a king-size bed or twin beds, the Deluxe Room can sleep up to two adults and one child. The room size is a minimum 26 square metres and the interior décor is distinctively modern.

Deluxe Family Residence

Deluxe Family Residence Master Bedroom

Each Deluxe Family Residence can accommodate up to two adults and three children. The Deluxe Family Residence comes with a master bedroom and bunk beds that are situated in a separate children’s area; thus ensuring privacy for all.

Bunk Beds Situated In An Separate Children’s Area

The living space is a comfortable 34 square meters including a bathroom equipped with a bathtub. Additional in-room amenities include a DVD player.

Deluxe One Bedroom Suite

Deluxe One Bedroom Suite Master Bedroom

With a living space of 39 square metres and offering a king bed and a sofa bed, each Deluxe One Bedroom Suite comfortably sleeps up to three adults or two adults and two children.

Deluxe One Bedroom Suite Living Room

Sleek and modern in design, the Deluxe One Bedroom Suite has a spacious bathroom with a bathtub. Additional in-room amenities include DVD player, iron with iron board, and a hair-dryer.

Metro Suite

With 107 square metres, the Metro Suite comes with a terrace, an airy living room, and a bathroom with bathtub.

Metro Suite Terrace

Metro Suite Living Room

Metro Suite Bathroom

Metro Suite Master Bedroom

The Metro Suite can accommodate up to three adults or two adults and two children, with a king-sized bed complemented by an extra bed. This contemporary designed suite has additional in-room amenities such as DVD player, iron with iron board, and a hair-dryer.

At Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok, you will never go hungry or thirsty. Apart from the in-room dining that is available in all rooms and suites 24 hours a day, there’s also a wide variety of food & beverage outlets and we’re pretty sure you will be delighted with the myriad of food and beverage choices that are available.

Café 9

Café 9 is an all-day restaurant, located on the 9th floor of the hotel, and designed with a light décor and spacious ambience.

The restaurant offers indoor seating and has an outdoor seating area next to the Moom Sabai water feature.

Café 9 Outdoor Seating Area

Café 9 serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets, and an a la carte menu that lists both international and Thai dishes.

Infuze

Located adjacent to the reception area on the 9th floor, and with the restful water feature of Moom Sabai on the other side of the glass wall, Infuze is an ideal rendezvous point and as a place to sit and relax with some tea, coffee, cocktails, and snacks.

Lounge for Guests of Infuze

Chilli Hip

Set on the hotel’s rooftop and with innovative lighting and dramatic city vistas, Chilli Hip is a fashionable venue that serves creative Thai and Asian Cuisines.

Most of the tables at Chilli Hip are al fresco but there is a small private room enclosed with glass walls available for private functions.

If you are planning to have dinner at Chilli Hip, here are some dishes that we strongly recommend!

Fried Tiger Prawns Stuffed with Spicy Minced Pork, Served with Chilli Sauce

Seafood Stew With Crispy Noodles

Steamed Seabass Fillet with Coconut Broth

The Chilli Dome

WALK

The WALK is a rooftop lounge set slightly above Chilli Hip.

A trendy place with exciting drinks and designer snacks, the WALK features music from a resident DJ together with an interactive video wall and stunning views of Bangkok by night. Seating is alfresco.

Here are some really unique Thai-inspired drinks that we had at WALK.

Red Chill

The cocktail is made up of Vodka, Cointreau, fresh watermelon, fresh pineapple, lemon juice, and honey syrup.

Tom Khar Martini

The cocktail is made up of white rum, Malibu, fresh galangal, and coconut cream.

And should you feel sinful after all the eating and drinking, Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok has a Fitness Centre where you can sweat it out!

The fitness centre has supervised programmes and offers assistance from qualified supervisors utilising the most up-to-date equipment.

If you muscles are aching after long hours of shopping, why not pop by Cense by Spa Cenvaree?

An urban retreat offering a choice of therapeutic treatments and massage, Cense by Spa Cenvaree has treatment suites for singles and couples.

There’s also a jacuzzi and sauna at Cense by Spa Cenvaree and after your therapeutic treatments and massage, you can have a good relaxing shower with the shower facilities that are provided.

What We Really Think Of Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok

Having stayed in a couple of upscale hotels, we are very sure that Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok won’t disappoint the seasoned travellers. A 4-star hotel with 5 stars service, staying at Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok is really value for money. With so much facilities to offer and coupled together with the warmth hospitality from the hotel staff and the closed proximity to shopping malls and the Suvarnabhumi Airport, we highly recommend that you choose Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok as your accommodation the next time you plan a trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

Before we end off this posting, here’s a tip for you if you would like to get the best room rate for Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok; instead of booking the rooms through Agoda or any other online agents, it is best for you to book directly from Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok. Bookings can be made -> here

Finally we would like to extend our gratitude to the wonderful hotel staffs of Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel for hosting us and for making our stay at Bangkok, Thailand a really pleasant one.

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[Post-Trip Thoughts]- Holiday in Bangkok, Thailand

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It has been more than a decade ever since I last visited Bangkok, Thailand and while I don’t really recall much of my previous trip to Bangkok; I have to say that the city is really unlike what I have imagined. My guess is, over the last decade, many things in Bangkok have changed and the city has developed rather rapidly and extensively. However, some things in Bangkok hasn’t change much; the Thai people are still as friendly and helpful, and Bangkok roads are still as jammed-packed with traffic.
To be honest, we were rather apprehensive about going to Bangkok when we read, listened, and watched the media reports about the ongoing protests and demonstrations that are happening in Bangkok, but after much consideration and thoughts, we decided to go ahead with our plans while monitoring the volatile situation.

If you’re planning a trip to Bangkok any time soon, it is extremely important that you guard yourselves and take extra precautions to avoid getting into any trouble. It is imperative that you avoid protest areas with crowds and also, do not wear any red or yellow shirt.

Before deciding on our daily itinerary and travel plans, we monitor the local news and updates pertaining to the political protests and demonstrations by checking out the following sites:

Richard Barrow

Richard Barrow is a Travel Blogger in Thailand tweeting about breaking news, Thai food & travel, and Thailand events. We highly recommend that you “follow” him on Twitter because his updates are regular and extremely accurate. In fact, we managed to avoid most of the protests and demonstrations because of the updates from Richard Barrow.

Tourism Authority of Thailand

Official Facebook Page of the Tourism Authority of Thailand [Singapore Office] where you can get news updates and ideas for your trip to Thailand.

We will be sharing more details about our Holiday in Bangkok in a few upcoming related posts but for now, here’s a general overview:

Flight

For this trip to Bangkok, we flew with Jetstar Asia Airways on the Airbus A320 and it cost us SGD$520. In terms of flight experience; it is almost like any other low-cost airline and there’s really nothing much for us to be “wow-ed” about.

Accommodation

During our recent trip to Bangkok, we stayed at Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok and it is a relatively new hotel that is about 8 months old. As Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok is located on Ratchaprarop Road in the Pratunam district, it is very near to shopping malls such as Pantip Plaza, CentralWorld, Gaysorn, Siam Square, and etc, places where you can shop till you drop!

Hotel Lobby of Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok

A Picture of the Living Room in the Deluxe One Bedroom Suite that We Stayed In

We personally chose this hotel because it is about 30 minutes away from Suvarnabhumi Airport via the Airport Rail Link, which has its Ratchaprarop Station located within a 10 minutes walking distance of the hotel. We will be sharing more about Centara Watergate Pavillion Hotel Bangkok in a separate posting so do look out for it!

Travelling in Bangkok

Taxi

Honestly, it is very hard to understand why the roads in Bangkok are always congested but thankfully, the taxis are relatively affordable and they go by the fare meter. You should and you must always insist that the taxi drivers charge you by the fare meter and not on a mutually agreed sum of money because otherwise, this would give them the opportunity to charge you even more than what it would have cost.

For a 30-minutes journey, the taxi fare will cost an approximate amount of 120 Thai Baht [about SGD$4.80; based on an exchange rate of SGD$ 1 = 25 Thai Baht].

Trains

There are three main types of trains in Bangkok; the BTS Skytrain, the Bangkok MRT [Bangkok Metro], and the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link. The fares for a single trip ticket will cost at most 45 Thai Baht [about SGD 1.80; based on an exchange rate of SGD$ 1 = 25 Thai Baht].

Do note that the BTS Skytrain, Bangkok MRT, and Airport Rail Link are not integrated and hence, you will have to exit the train station to cross to another train service i.e BTS Skytrain to Bangkok MRT or Airport Rail Link to BTS Skytrain; unlike Singapore where you do not have to exit any stations to switch to the NEL Line, LRT, or Circle Line.

BTS Skytrain

The Bangkok Mass Transit System, commonly known as the BTS Skytrain, is an elevated rapid transit system in Bangkok. The system consists of 34 stations along two lines; the Sukhumvit Line running northwards and eastwards, terminating at Mo Chit and Bearing respectively, and the Silom Line which plies Silom and Sathon Roads, the Central Business District of Bangkok, terminating at the National Stadium and Wongwian Yai. The lines interchange at Siam Station and have a combined route distance of 55 km.

Bangkok MRT [Bangkok Metro]

The Metropolitan Rapid Transit [MRT] is a rapid transit system serving the Bangkok Metropolitan Region in Thailand. It has 18 operational stations along 27 kilometres of underground track. The Blue Line, officially the Chaloem Ratchamongkhon Line, is the only line currently in operation. As of 2011, two extensions of the Blue Line are under construction. When completed, the Blue Line will become a loop line around the centre of Bangkok, with an extension to Bang Khae on its western side. The MRT Purple Line is also under construction. It will connect Bang Sue with Nonthaburi in the north-west, and will be the first public transit line outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Bangkok Airport Rail Link

The Airport Rail Link is a rapid transit line in Bangkok. The line provides as an airport rail link from Suvarnabhumi Airport, via Makkasan, to Phaya Thai station in central Bangkok. Most of the line is on a viaduct over the main eastern railway. The 28.6-km route is the fourth rapid transit line in Bangkok, after 2 BTS and 1 MRT lines. Services consists of two Express Lines, a 15-minute non-stop service between the Makkasan City Air Terminal and the Airport; a 18-minute non-stop service between Phaya Thai and the Airport; and the City Line, a commuter rail service with 8 stations.

Attractions & Shopping

For this trip to Bangkok, we went to a few places and some of them like the Lucky Bunny Cafe, Talad Rot Fai Srinakarin, and Alpaca View Farm & Cuisine, are off the beaten track [not found in your usual tour agent’s itinerary]. Hence, we will be sharing more details about them in separate posts as well.

Other common places that we went to are the Platinum Fashion Mall, CentralWorld, Big C Rajdamri, Siam Paragon, Siam Square, Watergate Pavillion Shopping Complex, and Palladium. Again, we will be sharing more details about them in separate posts.

As this post is just a general overview of our holiday in Bangkok, more details will be up once we are done with the consolidation of information and the editing of pictures that we took.

Stay tuned to more details soon!

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5 Google Apps That Allows You To Travel Carefree with Google!

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Yesterday, I was at the office of Google Singapore for the “Travel with Google” media event and I picked up a few interesting insights and tips about using Google’s products. As there are quite a number of Google products to be mentioned, I will just be highlighting a couple that I feel would be a great help for your travel needs.

Obviously, every IT-savvy individual knows what Google is and as far as I know, we have been Googling about almost anything under the sun. Now, if you’re an iPhone user, does that mean you can’t enjoy Google’s products? Absolutely not! Most of Google’s products are available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Some products from Google that we will be highlighting in this blog post are; Google Now, Google+, Google Play, Google Map, and Google Translate.

Staffs from Google Singapore explaining to us about Google Cultural Institute.

While we won’t be explaining much about the Google Cultural Institute in this blog post, you must absolutely check it out because it is a really cool microsite by Google and I instantly fell in love with it! There’s just so much interesting facts, history, and cultural information that’s available on Google Cultural Institute!

With mobile technology advancing so rapidly and society becoming more affluent, almost everyone has access to a Smartphone and trust me, your Smartphone can be your best travel companion. Remember those days in the past when you have to pack tons of gear into your luggage whenever you travel? Gears like maps, camera, foreign language phrasebooks, and even thick guidebooks? Yes, travelling was quite a cumbersome affair; especially if you’re on a free and easy trip! However, thanks to mobile technology, you can now cut down on those unnecessary weight and go on a mega shopping spree without worrying about excess baggage.

Staffs from Google Singapore were conducting a hands-on demonstration for us.

Here are some tips on how Google can help you be a better world traveller.

Google Now

Google Now gets you just the right information at just the right time. This is useful for everyday life, but especially useful when traveling because Google Now can get you information about your new surroundings.

For instance, Google Now can help you uncover some great activities, by showing you events happening around you, suggesting websites for you to explore as you research things to do, and nearby photo spots to visit. You will also see other cards designed for travel, like the currency conversion, translation, and flight status cards.

Google Maps

Remember when you had to figure out if you were in quadrant A5 of page 67 in whatever book of maps you were using? Those days are long gone, thanks to Google Maps on your mobile device.
You can get indoor views of many malls, shops, and restaurants to scoop out that perfect shopping and dining location.

Google Translate

Google Translate allows you [and your interlocutor] to speak into the app, or handwrite, or even take a picture to input the language that you want to be translated. If you were ever stumped on what to order at a Japanese countertop sushi restaurant, fear no more; you can just snap a photo of the menu text, brush your finger over the bit you want translated, and voila, you now know what to order!

Google+

With Google+ you can automatically upload photos and videos as you take them using Auto Backup. With Auto Backup enabled, photos and videos taken with your smartphone are automatically uploaded to a private album on Google+. No more wrestling with cables! Once uploaded, you can easily share them later from your phone or on the web, and if you’re worried about incurring excessive data charges, you can also have the option of backing up your photos when you’re connected to free WiFi-hotspots.

Books on Google Play

Stuck on a train with nothing to do? Google Play comes to the rescue! Home to the world’s largest selection of e-books, you can read them anywhere you like; on a tablet, phone, or e-reader. The best part is, your bookmarked page stays in sync across all your devices!

These are just some of the products from Google that I find really essential and helpful for frequent travellers; but of course, there are other products that are equally useful such as Google Trends, Google Hangout, and Google Drive. For now, here are just some products for you to start exploring with!

Should you find this blog post helpful, do share it with your friends and do stay tuned to us because we will be sharing about the other products from Google that are not listed here.

Happy Googling!

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[Attraction Review]- Resorts World Sentosa Adventure Cove Waterpark

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This is one long overdue blog post but we reckoned that it would be quite timely to publish this blog entry because its the September School Holidays! So, if you’re wondering where’s the next place to have a little bit of fun in Singapore, why not check out the Adventure Cove Waterpark at Resorts World Sentosa?
A Short Video of Our Day Out @ Adventure Cove Waterpark

Jacqueline and I visited the Resorts World Sentosa Adventure Cove Waterpark sometime ago and we had lots of fun and even had a few close encounters with all kinds of fishes and stingrays too!

Our first stop for the day was Ray Bay and we really want to thank Singapore Polytechnic for giving us a pair of tickets to have a close encounter with stingrays.

The Ray Bay, a place where you can have close encounters with stingrays.

Take a look at those stingrays! In case you’re wondering, the stingrays at Adventure Cove Waterpark are perfectly safe and harmless because their barbs have been removed.

As we were the only ones at Ray Bay, we had all the time in the world to feed the stingrays and touch them. If you’re worried about the stingrays, the trained instructors are present throughout to allay your fears.

Were there any unpleasant moments with the stingrays? Not really except the fact that some stingrays might gently nibble you to ask for food. But really, the stingrays are really friendly.

Tickets to Ray Bay cost SGD$38 per person and they are subjected to availability because each session can accommodate a maximum of 6 guests. Little ones must be at least 5 years old and at least 107cm in height to participate. If your little ones are under the age of 12, they must be accompanied by a parent/legal guardian and if you are under the age of 21, your parent/legal guardian must complete and sign the liability form.

After the Ray Bay encounter, we went to check out the rest of the remaining rides and attractions. For the little ones, there are play areas like these that are more mild and not so adventurous.

If you’re more adventurous, you can probably check out the Tidal Twister, Dueling Racer, and a whole lot of other fun rides!

Tidal Twister

A crowd pleaser with mild to wild transitions, Tidal Twister sends you careening down an unpredictable passage of swirls and slaloms, delivering maximum fun at maximum speed.

Dueling Racer

Grab a racer mat and take your friend on a dueling high-speed competitive plunge to the finish line. Clock the fastest time down this steep Dueling Racer and claim victory with the biggest thrill ever.

Pipeline Plunge

It’s like riding a water tornado in the dark! Experience dropping through an elevated chute that sends you careening down banked turns, radical twists and dips before splashing out in a pool of water.

Riptide Rocket

Southeast Asia’s first hydro-magnetic coaster, the Riptide Rocket is probably the most exciting and adventurous ride at Adventure Cove Waterpark. Like an intense rollercoaster on water, it combines all the powerful climbs, plunging drops, terrifying twists and tight turns to set your adrenaline pumping.

If you’re like me and you like to bummer around, you can either take a nap here…

or you can just laze on a tube and take a leisurely ride down Adventure River, floating through 14 stunning habitats including a lush jungle garden, a mysterious grotto and an underwater tunnel with a sea of marine life swimming above and around you.

Say “hello” to Uncle Ray.

Well, even if you don’t purchase tickets to Ray Bay, you can have some not really close encounters with the stingrays from the Adventure River.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to do some snorkelling at the colourful Rainbow Reef where you can enjoy some close encounters with 20,000 friendly fishes! The queue and wait might be long but it is extremely worth it!

Jacqueline posing for a photo while she snorkels away.

Our friendly snorkelling instructor whom splashed the salty cold water at us to get our bodies acclimatised to the temperature of the water at the Rainbow Reef.

Types of fishes you can try to spot at the Rainbow Reef.

A closer look at what’s underwater while snorkelling at the Rainbow Reef. Is that Nemo?

After one long day of water fun, we headed to the souvenir shop to get some souvenirs and boy, were they oh so expensive!

Fancy a Pink Dolphin?

Every time we chance upon a “Press A Penny” machine like this, we can’t help but to get a coin souvenir to keep as a momento.

Anyway, there are official photographers from Adventure Cove Waterpark whom are present to help you take photographs with their professional cameras and we highly suggest that you take as much photos as you want because you can purchase a disc that contains all the soft copies of the photos inside. Then again, the price can be rather steep and you might probably just want to waterproof your camera and snap all you want without forking out too much.

Here are the prices for the entrance tickets to Adventure Cove Waterpark!

[Image Credit to Resorts World Sentosa]

As the food prices at The Bay Restaurant is a tad too expensive and not value for money, we decided to dine at Din Tai Fung which is located outside of Adventure Cove Waterpark but within Resorts World Sentosa.

Pork Cutlet Fried Rice @ Din Tai Fung

Xiao Long Bao @ Din Tai Fung

Lychee-Peach Prawns @ Din Tai Fung

We’ll probably write about Din Tai Fung another day but well, we had a blast at Adventure Cove Waterpark and we will definitely be visiting again!

To go or not to go?

Yes you should, for a day of wet and wild fun in the sun, come and experience it all at Adventure Cove Waterpark!

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[New Taipei]- Jingtong Old Street and Jingtong Train Station

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Wow! It has been four days since we last blogged and we’re currently so busy with so many events that are happening this week and the following week that we haven’t even got time to really sit down and take a breather!
Well, with 3 more months to go before the end of the year, we believe many of you would also be in the midst of preparing your travel plans for the coming school holidays and hence, in this blog entry, we will be sharing about Jingtong, a place that we recently went during our recent trip to Taiwan.

Jingtong, also known as Jingtongkeng, was once the largest coal mine established by the Taiyang Mining Company. In the past, drawn by the flourishing mining industry, many people flocked to this area to seek work. However, Jingtong’s mining industry was dismantled after the government began to import cheap coal. Worse still, as there were no other industries to replace coal mining, Jingtong suffered a massive exodus. Today, the area still has remains and monuments of its industrial past. As attractions are concentrated and are easily accessible, tourists can easily follow road signs to relive the history of Jingtong.

A monument to remember the history of Jingtong.

Jingtong Old Street

Located in Pingxi District, northern Taiwan, Jingtong was originally a coal mining town. Today, it is specially well-known for its tourism trade with numerous souvenir shops and exhibits that depicts the history of the area and the coal mining industry.

Some of the unique traditional snacks and drinks that we came across at the old-fashioned grocery stores there.

A flavoured carbonated drink that requires you to pop a metal ball in order for the liquid to flow out.

These are flavoured ice-creams in the shape of an egg.

The souvenir store has a number of memorabilia that you could purchase and for us, we prefer having souvenirs in the form of a metal token.

Jingtong Train Station

Ranked as one of the Top 100 Historic Century-old Buildings in Taiwan, Jingtong Train Station is one of Taiwan’s four remaining wooden stations. Its simple, antique Japanese style that has been maintained since its opening attracts many tourists. The inside of the station contains well-preserved wooden benches, old telephone handsets, and vintage ticket gates from which tourists can buy an old-fashioned, card-like ticket as souvenirs. Stepping into such an atmospheric station is like reliving memories of an old movie. This is definitely a must-see for nostalgic railway fans.

How the inside of Jingtong Train Station looks like.

If you would like to board the train at Jingtong Train Station, here’s the train timings and prices for your reference.

The really colourful train at Jingtong Train Station.

Jingtong Train Station is a really charming place that provides good opportunities for photo-shoots!

If you wish to, you can also purchase a bamboo pole where you can write down your heartfelt wishes and hang it at Jingtong Train Station.

A closed-up photo of the wishes that were written on the bamboo poles.

Verdict?

To go or not to go?

We highly recommend that you INCLUDE Jingtong Old Street and Jingtong Railway Station in your itinerary if you’re travelling on a Free and Easy trip to Taiwan.

Personally, we could identify with the town’s unique charm and we really love the scenic place. In fact, some of the scenes for the movie, “You’re The Apple of My Eye” were shot there too. Truly, Jingtong station is definitely one of the most authentic and traditional Japanese-style train stations in the island of Taiwan and you shouldn’t miss it.

To get to Jingtong, you can either hire a private vehicle or alternatively, you can take the railway train that is bound for Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung on the Eastern Line from Taipei Main Station. Thereafter, get off at Badu or Ruifang Station and transfer to the Pingxi Line. If you prefer to visit more places in New Taipei, we highly recommend that you get a private driver but if you’re on a shoestring budget, then taking the train might probably be the best solution.

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Free and Easy Itinerary for Holiday in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Taipei is the Capital City of Taiwan and it is the place that most first-time tourists to Taiwan would visit. It was during my first visit to Taiwan that I fell in love with the place, the people, and the food. As a matter of fact, words alone can’t really express the feeling I have whenever I visit Taiwan because Taiwan is like a second home to both Jacqueline and myself. Hence, it is not surprising that every year without fail, Jacqueline and I would travel to Taiwan and we would always go to our usual hangouts to do some eating, shopping, and sightseeing. Some of our usual hangouts in Taipei would include Raohe Night Market, Shilin Night Market, Ningxia Night Market, Ximending, Wufenpu, Q Square Mall, Guang Hua Digital Plaza, Zhongshan Metro Mall, and Taipei Main Station Underground Mall.
Truly, there are also many other places in Taipei that we have yet to uncover and every year as we travel to Taiwan, there would always be something new for us to explore and discover. Hence in this blog post, we will be sharing about our usual hangouts in Taipei and why we make it a point to visit these places every year without fail! As we have explored new attractions in our recent trip to Taiwan, we will be sharing about our experience in the next blog entry and as crazy as it may sound, we actually have plans to include these new “finds” into our usual hangouts the next time we visit Taiwan.

Raohe Night Market

There’s a store at Raohe Night Market that specially sells Taiwanese goodies like the “Iron Egg” [also known as Tie Dan], Sun Biscuits [also known as Tai Yang Bing], and fruit-flavoured Jellies. This would perhaps be the best place to get souvenirs for all your family members and friends as they would be slightly cheaper as compared to the retail stores at the airport. Sumptuous street-food at Raohe Night Market

Yummy Grilled Scallops

Desserts Galore at Raohe Night Market

A must-try at Raohe Night Market, fried Oreo balls!

There are quite a number of mini arcades at Raohe Night Market and most of them have the toy catching machine which would get people instantly hooked. Though playing the toy catching machine provides much thrill and is cheaper than playing in Singapore, we would still suggest people to buy the toys from other retail stores as it would be much more cheaper!

Having some fun at Raohe Night Market.

A photo with our Taiwanese friend.

Personally, Raohe Night Market is a haven to me because this is where I can get my business long-sleeved shirts and long pants at a great deal. The quality is comparable to what you get from G2000 and it’s way much cheaper. The best part is, the tailor is able to alter the pants on the spot.

Whenever we are at Raohe Night Market, we would always visit our favourite desserts shop to have this really yummy oreo chocolate with peanut-flavoured ice-shavings. We highly recommend it if you’re planning a visit to Raohe Night Market.

Truly, Raohe Night Market is one night market you do not want to miss when you travel to Taipei! In fact, this is the place where we bought lots of Taiwanese goodies for our family members and friends. Apart from the tempting food that you could find at Raohe Night Market, you would also be able to shop till you drop!

Wufenpu

[Image Courtesy of Wikipedia]

Wufenpu is rather well known as a wholesale hub for clothes retailers and it is Taipei’s largest wholesale clothing market. As Wufenpu is about 10-15 minutes walking distance from Raohe Night Market, we would always just drop by to take a look at the clothing that are being sold and also check out if there are any good deals. Hence, you might want to visit both Wufenpu and Raohe Night Market on the same day.

Shilin Night Market

[Image Courtesy of Wikipedia]

Shilin Night Market is the most famous and busiest night market in Taipei and it is also a favorite focal point for Taipei’s night life among residents and visitors alike. Usually, when we visit Shilin Night Market, we would always check out the clothing and apparels that are available and also indulge in the sumptuous local street-food at the same time.

Ningxia Night Market

Fishball Store at Ningxia Night Market

Fresh Sashimi at Ningxia Night Market

Chicken with Egg on Hotplate at Ningxia Night Market

Having some fun at Ningxia Night Market

Ningxia Night Market is a rather small night market and it would be the best place for delicious local street-food because of the large variety of food stalls that are operating there. If you’re planning to do some shopping, Ningxia Night Market would be out of the question because the stalls there mainly sell food.

Ximending

Ximending is a place for the youths and it is comparable to our local Bugis Village/Street. Most of the time, we would go there to check out the latest fads and also indulge in some Japanese food at our favourite Japanese restaurant.

Sushi

Salmon Sashimi

Chicken Cutlet Bento Set

The Japanese restaurant has a rather interesting train conveyor belt that some Japanese Restaurants in Singapore used to have. Besides dining at the Japanese Restaurant at Ximending, we would also be shopping around for stuffed toys and backpacks.

Feeling pretty adventurous, we would often visit the hair saloons at Ximending for a haircut!

At the Special Hair Saloon.

Zhongshan Metro Mall

[Image Courtesy of Tripadvisor]

For the avid readers, there are a couple of bookstores at Zhongshan Metro Mall and they are really cheaper than what you get here in our local Popular store. The only downside is, most of the books are written in Chinese and there are few English books. Nevertheless, the books that are being sold at Zhongshan Metro Mall are really cheap and you might just want to consider picking up a book or two. Taipei Main Station Underground Mall We would always end up at Taipei Main Station because whenever we travel to other parts of Taiwan via the High Speed Rail, this would be where we eventually end up before heading to our serviced apartment in Shuanglian. Whenever we are at the Taipei Main Station Underground Mall, we will always buy this really delicious Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake that always have people queuing up for it every day! The Cheesecake is made on the spot and served fresh from the oven!

The Long Queue for Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake.

Fresh and Hot Yummy Cheesecake Made On The Spot.

Finally gotten Uncle Tetsu’s Cheesecake after a long wait.

Q Square Shopping Mall

[Image Courtesy of Trip Advisor]

For some upscale shopping, we would always head to Q Square as it is within walking distance from Taipei Main Station. Furthermore, Q Square Shopping Mall has quite a number of well-known retail stores. We were quite surprised that we even found an Awfully Chocolate store there!

Guang Hua Digital Plaza

For the geeks whom are into electronic and tech gadgets, Guang Hua Digital Plaza is the place to go. Whether you’re planning to repair your mobile phones, get some computer accessories, or purchase a new tablet/PC, Guang Hua Digital Plaza is the place for everything geeky.

Convenience stores like the 7-Eleven are aplenty and we often visit them to get our cravings for convenience food fixed.

Cheese Risotto with Shrimp from 7-Eleven.

It really looks and tastes super yummy!

Every time we visit Taiwan, this is how much we would splurge at the 7-Eleven Stores.

Redeemed our free gift for splurging!

Well, there are quite a number of places that we have yet to uncover in Taipei, Taiwan but the places that we have listed here in this blog post are the places that we frequently go to every year! If you find this useful, do share it with your friends too! 🙂

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[Taichung Attraction Review]- Carton King & Banana New Paradise

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In our recent trip to Taichung, Taiwan, the last two attractions that we went to was Carton King and Banana New Paradise. If anyone is wondering, we actually planned for a day tour in Taichung because we really miss the Tai Yang Bing [a.k.a Sun Biscuit/Cake] and we found it pretty pointless to spend money on High Speed Rail Tickets to Taichung just for boxes of Tai Yang Bing. Hence, we decided to sniff out other attractions that we haven’t been to so that we could kill multiple birds with one stone.
Carton King

Last year, we were at the Carton King branch in Nantou and this time round, we went to the Carton King Creativity Park in Taichung. The Carton King Creativity Park in Taichung is way bigger than the one we went to in Nantou and there are also more things to look at and shop for.

Ticket booth made of cardboxes and paper.

Entrance tickets to Carton King Creativity Park cost $200 TWD and it also comes with a voucher that we could use to buy souvenirs or food and beverage.

Almost all of the displays in Carton King Creativity Park is made by corrugated paper.

Sitting on the sofa like a boss. The sofa was made out of cardboards.

If you wish to purchase some of these unique displays, you can do so at the souvenir store but you would have to assemble them from scratch. The souvenir store also has some really interesting cards that you might want to check out and purchase as gifts for your family members and friends.

Apart from the souvenir store, there’s also a mini bee/honey museum, a restaurant, and a candy store! As our next destination was Banana New Paradise [a unique 1900s-themed restaurant], we skipped lunch at Carton King Creativity Park. If you’re planning to visit Carton King Creativity Park, do note that the restaurant only serves lunch from 1100 to 1400 and dinner from 1700 to 2030. A meal for an adult would cost approximately 250 TWD to 400 TWD and for children, it would cost about 150 TWD.

The dining table and seats in the restaurant at Carton King is also made of cardboard.

At the mini honey/bee museum at Carton King Creativity Park. This is the reason why I deserve to be an actor.

Jacqueline’s new found friends.

To go or not to go?

Verdict: Carton King Creativity Park is really unique and there are probably no other places like it. There are tons of opportunities for photos and if you’re an artsy person, Carton King Creativity Park might be your source of inspiration for some creativity. The souvenirs available are reasonably priced and some of the DIY kits are pretty interesting and suitable to be placed at home for decoration purposes. Hence, we personally feel that you ought to have Carton King Creativity Park in your itinerary if you’re planning to visit Taichung. In fact, we would definitely return to get some more stuffs from their souvenir store because they are really unique and inexpensive.

Banana New Paradise

Banana New Paradise is situated near to the Confucius Temple, the Taichung Broadcasting Bureau, and Yizhong Night Market. It was a pity that we didn’t have much time to explore this part of Taichung because we uncovered quite a number of attractions in this vicinity where Banana New Paradise is at.

Banana New Paradise has an old train carriage right outside their restaurant.

Old telephone communication system onboard the old train carriage.

If you wondering what is Banana New Paradise, it is essentially a theme restaurant that serves Chinese and Taiwanese meals. The decorations and displays in the 1900s-themed restaurant is really unique and you will get a taste of what it feels like to be living in Taiwan during that era.

The restaurant even has an entire, authentic-looking replication of a Taiwan street from the 1920s to 1940s. Apart from the colonial-era store fronts and the displays of real antiques, there’s also old mailboxes, signs and posters, a 50-year-old taxi, motorcycles, fully-stocked camera store, dentist office, barber shop, movie theater, and a candy and toy store too. All these can be found in Banana New Paradise and they are really a sight to behold.

The toy and candy shop!

Yes, they even have features from the Ching Dynasty!

Old school barber shop.

An old school cinema booth! We used to have something like this in Singapore too.

Old school cinema posters.

Real antiques that are extremely rare.

I don’t really know what this is but it sure looks like a machine used for shaving ice.

Your eyes ain’t tricking you. This is not some part of an alley. In fact, they are inside the theme restaurant itself!

It’s time for school!

We were quite surprised to see this fire hydrant inside the restaurant too!

Jacqueline posing for a photo with the fire hydrant.

Old school cameras.

Visitors can sit at tables along the “street”, or inside “shops”, and enjoy Chinese and Taiwanese meals.

The super duper unique food menu.

And how was the food?

It was really superb!

When we were there, we did not manage to arrive in time for their normal lunch hours and as a result, we only managed to order some light snacks to fill ourselves. Hence, it was more like a high tea session than lunch.

Char Siew Pau

Carrot Cake

Fried Beancurd Roll

Fried Sticky Rice

Ice Lemon Tea

Icy Mango

To go or not to go?

Verdict: Banana New Paradise is definitely one of the most extraordinary theme restaurants in Taichung and the food is relatively superb as well. The cost of having a meal at Banana New Paradise is reasonable though it is considered to be on the higher end by the locals. If you’re a history buff and you want to have an experience of what living in Taiwan during the 1900s is like, you might want to include Banana New Paradise in your itinerary. Furthermore, there’s no entrance fees and you pay only for what you consume in the restaurant.

Overall, our one day tour at Taichung was a really fruitful one and as you can see, we bought lots of goodies on just one single day.

I was personally very tired from the one-day trip in Taichung and here I am taking a quick power nap before arriving in Taiwan for the rest of our trip.

 

In our few upcoming blog entries, we will be sharing with you some of the interesting places that we have been to in Taipei and New Taipei so do look out for that! Have a lovely weekend! 🙂

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[Taichung Attraction Review]- Xinshe Castle & Mushroom Farm

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During our visit to Taichung, one of the attractions that we visited was the Xinshe Castle, a European-style castle. From the Lavender Cottage, the journey took about 20 minutes by car and according to our driver, the Xinshe Castle is quite a popular tourist attraction.

The entrance tickets to Xinshe Castle cost $250 TWD and it comes with a $100 TWD Voucher which could be used for shopping and food/drinks.

The exterior façade of Xinshe Castle looks rather grand and its compounds are huge!

There are tons of man-made water features and the place offers ample photo opportunities.

However, we spent less than 20 minutes at Xinshe Castle and we felt rather cheated because the attraction just wasn’t worth the money. In fact, when we were there in June this year, mosquitoes were aplenty and we aren’t sure if it was due to the season/weather. However, what we do know is that the mosquito bites that we received were stinging pain!

Trying my very best to force a smile for the camera because the mosquitoes were getting on my nerves.

If you have Xinshe Castle in your travel itinerary, we highly suggest that you bring along some insect repellent and apply them to your body to keep those pesky mosquitoes away. Otherwise, you might want to leave Xinshe Castle out of your travel itinerary.

Another attraction that we visited was the local mushroom farm and it was quite a last minute decision because during the car ride, we noticed that there were quite a number of mushroom farms around the vicinity. We also found out from our driver that the place was well-known for its fresh mushrooms.

When we arrived at one of the local mushroom farms, the place wasn’t as pretty as any attraction would appear to be but it was quite a worthwhile learning experience as we saw how the mushrooms were being grown and harvested by hand.

The place was rather dark and humid and the conditions were suitable for the mushrooms to grow. Apart from mushrooms, lingzhi are being cultivated as well.

Fresh mushrooms ready for harvesting.

The mushroom farm also have some food products for sale and you can sample some of them before making the decision to buy them. Some of the products include fried vegetable chips, dried mushrooms, and other fresh produce.

Overall, we personally feel that Xinshe Castle was a waste of time and money and its only a place good for visiting only once. As for the mushroom farms, you might just want to drop by a while to take a look and learn something new.

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Lavender Cottage @ Taichung

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It is now time for us to indulge in sharing about our recent trip to Taiwan. For this year, we spent only 4 days in Taiwan and though it was a short vacation, we managed to cover quite a number of attractions and we returned back to Singapore tired but happy.

Our 4 Days 3 Nights itinerary were as follows:…

Day 1- Taichung & Taipei Taiwan: -Lavender Cottage -Xinshe Castle -Mushroom Farm -Carton King Creativity Park -Banana New Paradise -Xi Men Ding

Day 2- Taipei, Taiwan: -Xi Men Ding -Raohe Night Market

Day 3- New Taipei & Taipei, Taiwan: -Jingtong Railway Station -Shifen Old Street -Shifen Waterfall -Jiu Fen -Gold Ecological Park -Golden Waterfall -Shuinandong Smelter -Ying Yang Sea -Shilin Night Market

Day 4- Taipei, Taiwan -Shuang Lian

As we have previously written some articles about our earlier trips to Taiwan in 2011 and 2012, we might be repeating some of these entries as there are some new and updated information to include. Hence, do give us some time as we do our best to consolidate our various experiences in Taiwan.

As usual, we took the midnight flight to Taipei via Scoot Airlines and we arrived at Taoyuan International Airport at 05:55am in the morning. Having picked up our baggage and cleared the customs, we took the U Bus, Bus Number 705, to Taipei High Speed Rail Station. The cost of the bus trip is NT$30 per person and it took about 20 minutes.

Since we arrived early at Taipei High Speed Rail Station, we had some light breakfast and then boarded the High Speed Train to Taichung.

Last year, we took the Business Class Seats but for this particular trip, we decided to go for the Economy Class Seats as we wanted to save more for our shopping spree. The cost of the train trip was NT$540 per person and it is way cheaper than the Business Class Seats. Furthermore, the only difference between the Economy Class Seats and Business Class Seats is that the Business Class Seats are wider and Business Class Passengers get some complimentary light snacks.

Before we even embarked on our flight to Taiwan, we had prearranged with our hired driver to pick us up at Taichung High Speed Rail Station. Hence, this really save us a lot of hassle and trouble from having to lug our luggage around, and the best part is, we had more time to cover more attractions.

Our first stop for the first day was the Lavender Cottage.

Having done some extensive research, we decided that we wanted to reconnect with nature and hence this was the very reason why Lavender Cottage was part of our itinerary. The car journey from Taichung High Speed Rail Station to Lavender Cottage took about 45 minutes and because it is situated in the mountains, there aren’t any public bus that plies the area. Hence, the only mode of transportation to get there would be via private transport and if you’re up for the challenge, you could hike up too but it will be quite a long journey up.

The operating hours for Lavender Cottage are as follows:

Monday to Friday 10:30 – 18:30
Saturday to Sunday 10:00 – 18:30

In case you’re wondering whether there’s any entrance fees to Lavender Cottage, yes there is. It will cost NT$200 per person to enter Lavender Cottage but to be honest, the price is really worth it as the entrance ticket also comes with a NT$200 voucher that you can use to shop for souvenirs or buy food/drinks.

When we were there, it was the season for Salvia Flowers and though we expected to see tons of Lavender Flowers, we didn’t have the opportunity as it wasn’t the season for it. In case you’re wondering, the season for Lavender Flowers is from November to April.

The Lavender Cottage offers tons of opportunities for photo-taking and we really like the setting.

When we reached Lavender Cottage, the first thought that came to our mind was to take a deep breath of fresh air! The sky was indeed beautiful and what do we see? A heart-shaped cloud!

Even the souvenir shop has lots of interesting stuffs that you can purchase too.

We were quite spoilt for choices as there were so many souvenirs to choose from. They had tea leaves.

Handmade Soaps…

Bathing Salts…

Oil Essence…

Scented Creams and Lotions…

Of course there are tons of other souvenirs that are available at Lavender Cottage but it would be too much to list them all. So, if you’re wondering what you should get if you happen to be there, we will highly recommend you to get their handmade soaps or their scented bags.

An overview map of Lavender Cottage.

When you start walking around Lavender Cottage, you might spot some Geckos like these and it is said that they are attracted to people wearing white t-shirts. I’m not too sure if they bite or what not but it is better for you to stay clear of them.

Here are just some shots that we took while exploring Lavender Cottage.

A cart full of logs for the fireplace.

Looks somewhat like our Singapore Botanical Gardens.

The colourful signages that points to the various attractions in Lavender Cottage.

They even have the merry-go-round ride in what seems like a jungle.

Jacqueline playing with the stuffed toys.

One of the food and beverage outlets where you can purchase some cakes and drinks.

If you wish, you can have a picnic in the jungle for that nature-feel.

There are postcards available from the souvenir shop and you can actually buy one and send it to your family members and friends, or even to yourself.

A nursery room in the jungle!

How I wish there was something like this when we were outfield.

Pretty flowers!

The owners of Lavender Cottage stays in this really huge house and in case you’re wondering, yes, there are people currently living in it.

The really beautiful ladies bathroom/toilet that every lady dream to have at home.

To go or not to go to the Lavender Cottage?

Well, we say, “To Go!”

The Lavender Cottage is a worthy attraction and like we mentioned, there are really tons of opportunities for photo-taking. Moreover, the scenery is really beautiful and when you stepped into the surroundings, you will find yourself relaxed and calm.

Given the opportunity, we will definitely visit this beautiful place of nature again. Though it may be quite a distance, the journey is definitely worth it. However, do bring along some insect repellent as there will be pesky mosquitoes that are eager to feed on you.  If you would like to check it out for yourself, the details of Lavender Cottage are as follows:

Address- No. 20, Zhongxing St, Xinshe Dist, Taichung City 426, Taiwan Telephone- +886425931066

If you also want to find out more information about Lavender Cottage, you can check out their website that is written in Mandarin at: http://www.lavendercottage.com.tw/

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