What Works

Sometimes it’s really difficult to discern what works and what doesn’t on the internet. Everyday and everywhere, there are all kinds of information found so easily that you really need to be very careful about believing what’s effective and what isn’t.

Luckily there are great sites around such as Trustsource.org which review and rank various products to help their readers make the right choice. Recently, they featured a whole host of hair loss products and the highest ranked product on their list was provillus, a super product that aggressively seeds the scalp to create new and health hair. It was given 4 great reviews and an overall rank of 94% which means those who tried it found it really effective. So if you’ve been battling hair loss, this is the perfect solution. Thanks to great sites such as Trustsource, I can now find products that really work based on recommendations and reviews from others.

Property Boom

During our trip to the Middle East, we were hosted by some really good hosts who insisted on taking us around the area. We were very well taken care of indeed and had the opportunity to view some of their housing projects and malls. In Bahrain, we saw lots of condos for sale and were told that condos there were hitting sky high prices. Some were even fetching up to a few million for a tiny 1000 sq ft space and rentals there ranged from at least US$2000 and above. It’s amazing how fast property prices and shoot up when there’s scarce land.

Shopping in Dubai

People have always talked about how grand a shopping destination Dubai is. I never realized till I had a stopover in Dubai airport on my recent trip to the Middle East. It was full of all kinds of branded items and they had a whole range of designer expensive watches. I was particularly attracted by a Ulysse Nardin watch. However, it was way beyond my reach as it came with a very expensive five figure price tag as well!

Is Insurance Important?

Sometimes people ask how important whole life insurance is when you’re young and not prepared to commit to expensive premiums. I recently read in a magazine that if you don’t have children, there isn’t much point in buying insurance as there wouldn’t be any beneficiaries to benefit from it in any unfortunate event. However, when you’re at the brink of youth, you can’t really see so far ahead and unfortunately, by the time you have children, you will be older and therefore your premium much higher. Hence, if you can afford it, it is advisable to get some kind of life insurance, especially if you’re traveling a lot or do a lot of dangerous sports or work. You never know when disaster might strike.

Help for Bad Credit

Help is finally available for those with a less than perfect credit. The recent sub-prime crisis has seen several sites which have come up to offer those customers with poor credit loans and credit card alternatives. These bad credit loans offer these customers a chance to rebuild their lives again and hopefully work their way towards a better credit rating to enable them to once again obtain loans and credit cards easily from the financial institutions.

So Many Mails

The worst thing about traveling is the number of emails I'm faced with when I come back. I had managed to reduce the emails in my mailbox to less than 20 but when I came back, I had 70+ flooding in! My colleagues who use laptops or Blackberries can at least clear their mails on the go as they have access to their email mailboxes. Sigh...it's such a pain clearing mails!

Van Insurance

One of my friends often travels to the UK for work. One of his jobs requires him to often drive a van to transport their stuff from the office to the exhibition site. I always advise him to ensure that he gets reliable van insurance so he will be protected in the event of any accident on the road. He told me he always does get insurance and recently was advised to purchase an insurance policy which was much cheaper than conventional insurance but came with the same coverage and policies. So if you’re ever required to drive a van in the UK, always ensure that you go with Cheap Van Insurance UK.

Need a Personal Holiday

I'm tired of traveling for work with the hectic schedules and rushed meetings. While I get to stay in the nicest hotels there, I don't get a chance to enjoy it at all! How nice if both could come together, personal travel with all the time in the world with a nice hotel! Unfortunately, on my own, I couldn't afford to stay in such swanky places!

Help with Magic

Magic home loans that is! I recently received pictures from my friend on his new apartment in London. It was a cosy little place on the East side which he had purchased as part of his 30th birthday gift to himself! I asked him how his mortgage rates were like and found that he had obtained some really good Home Loans UK from MagicLoans.com. It provides flexible loans between £5,000 and £250,000 which are repayable over any period of time between 3 to 30 years. They’re so flexible that they allow you to use the loan for anything you need, whether it’s for the refurbishment of the home or something totally unrelated such as a holiday! It’s such a flexible arrangement that I sometimes wish we had good offers such as this.

Dubai Airport

This trip was the first time I'd ever been to Dubai airport and I was quite shocked by what I saw. I had always been told of how great the shopping there is but I was totally unprepared for the many travellers I could see sleeping all over the place in between transit flights and connections. People were sleeping all over, from chairs to even on the floor! It was amazing!

Poker On The Go

I was transiting in Dubai airport on my trip to the Middle East when I noticed a man staring very intently at his computer. Wondering what he was doing, I took several steps past him before I dared to pluck up the courage to ask and try to peep at what he was doing. It turned out that he was playing online poker to pass his long transit wait here! I was really surprised and amused to see how intent he was on his game.

He even offered to teach me some tips and tricks about online poker and told me that he learnt it all from Pro360. It’s a great site that does fantastic reviews on all available poker sites and gives their recommendations on which are the best sites to play on and which give the biggest bonus. It’s great news if you’re a poker fan and would love to have a game at the poker table wherever you are, even on the go! So the next time you’re traveling and feel bored, sign up to play online poker!

Branded Luggage

Recently when I went on a business trip I was waiting for my luggage and was shocked to see what luggage sets some people travel in. A young guy was waiting for his luggage which appeared in a full Louis Vuitton set while another guy had a full set of branded luggage! I was amazed though as I would be so upset if any of my expensive luggage pieces came out scratched or worse, spoilt or broken! However, judging by the class these passengers traveled in, I don’t think having spoilt designer luggage really bothers them as they’ll simply buy another!

Terribly Long Queue

We stopped by at a petrol kiosk on the way back from Cherating yesterday. It seemed that everyone else was on the road as well as the kiosk and rest area was swarming with cars and people. I needed the toilet badly. I hopped over the smelly place and waited in a queue that never moved! Some idiot was hogging the toilet and from the sounds of it seemed to have her entire family in there! In the end, I opted not to go and waited till we got home. It's really ridiculous though!

Buying Clothes Online

I never used to buy many clothes online as I preferred to be able to try on the clothes before buying them. There was always a lot of uncertainty about whether the clothes will fit properly or look as nice as it did in the picture. However, I found out that lots of people do buy clothes online and are regular shoppers at any online clothing store. Their rationale was that online shopping gave them a wide range of brands, designs and clothes to choose from which they probably couldn’t find locally. I guess they’re right, especially if they don’t travel much. But since I love travel and do visit some countries with really cheap clothing, I’ll still stick to buying clothes from the racks.

Off to Cherating

I'll be off to Cherating this weekend for a function. I think I've only ever been to Cherating once, which was to Club Med Cherating. I don't recall much of the beach but I do remember that Club Med was loads of fun. All the food and drink you wanted, games, sports, activities and mini concerts every night! I wouldn't mind going back to Club Med again!

Play Ball!

I’ve never quite understood the game of baseball nor the baseball fever that seems to grip every American every summer. So when I got an opportunity to visit a friend who was living and working in New York, he didn’t waste any time in purchasing some world series tickets for the next available baseball game so I could get a taste of what American baseball was all about. Well, a world series, several yummy hot dogs and snacks later, I still can’t say I’m a baseball fan although I thought it was a really nice gesture that he did!

Quiet Time

My office people haven't been travelling much again. It's always like this. There's always a period of mad travel then everything will be quiet again. I guess in this case, it was due to the recent Eid celebrations. Now that it's over, perhaps travel will start picking up again. It's tiring business!

Rich State

When I was in the Kazakhstan recently, I couldn’t help but notice the huge swanky cars that were all over the city, thanks to the rich funds their oil had started to bring in. They had all kinds of luxury cars ranging from BMWs to Jaguars and Chryslers. Naturally, the presence of these cars will also start to bring in the subsidiary industries for car accessories such as Chrysler 300 accessories shops. It was amazing, for me, to see how something like oil can turn an ex-Soviet country into such a rich state in such a short time.

Travel Simple

Whenever I travel, I always can’t help but admire travelers who travel with their entire closet, jewellery case or make up cabinet. Some are replete with full make up, boots, designer handbags and gold bracelets before their flight. I guess if you’re headed somewhere to attend a function, it’s okay to bring all your finery along but if you’re just going for a holiday, it’s best to leave the finery at home. Granted you wouldn’t look as nice in photographs as you would with your diamonds flashing but imagine the heartache you’ll go through if they were to get stolen in a foreign country where you may not even be able to communicate with the local policeman? For me, the risk is just too high and I’ll just stick to my simple style of traveling. Just the bare necessities and make up, thanks!

Empty Office

The entire office is empty! And I'm the only one sitting at my desk at work! Isn't it amazing?! I think everyone must be on an extended holiday. I don't quite mind as the roads were really clear this morning and I do enjoy having no interruptions around me! I'm a bit of a loner :P

Sponsor My Travel

I love travel and would love to be able to travel to every country in the world and spend ages in each country if I could. I would love to simply sit and soak up the culture, taste the food and enjoy the sights and sounds of a new place. Hence, this little travel blog will have to help me earn some money via Bloggerwave to sponsor my travel plans! So, if you haven’t heard of Bloggerwave, sign up today! They’re a really unique opportunity that helps you earn that extra bit of cash to do the things you want!

Back to Work

The holidays are over which means only one thing, it's back to work and getting up early! *Yawn* Such a torture! I went to bed before 10pm last night, without even finishing my favourite Criminal Minds! Amazing, wasn't it? I think my body was just protesting having to go back to work after 4 days of sheer bumming! :P A nice vacation in itself even without going anywhere!

Christmas Shopping

I love the year end. It’s usually filled with holidays and festive cheer. The year’s simply flying by. It’s already almost December and Christmas is already almost upon us! This year, I’ve been really at a loss at what to get the bf for Christmas. There doesn’t seem to be anything in particular he has hinted about nor shown interest in. If I were still travelling, I might be able to pick up something for him at the airport or the country I’m visiting. Unfortunately I haven’t been travelling for a while already.

Luckily, I recently heard of Coupon Chief, an online site which offers fantastic discounts on hundreds of merchants with their coupon codes system. Since he likes running, maybe I can find him something at Adidas or Speedo. Christmas shopping definitely isn’t easy but it’s a lot easier with CouponChief!

Raya Tomorrow

It's Hari Raya tomorrow! The roads tonight in town were already incredibly clear! I've always heard that this happens in the city during the big festive holidays such as Raya and Chinese New Year but never had a chance to experience it for myself before! It made driving around such a brreeze with hardly any cars around! The reverse of course can be said on the national highways. We've been hearing traffic reports ot accidents, traffic jams and heavy traffic. Last year someone I know actually took 6 hours to return home when the journey usually takes 2 hours!

Store When Traveling

Don’t you hate how sometimes things pile up when you’re travelling? The last time I travelled, I had stacks of mail, junk mail and all sorts of correspondence to attend to while I was away. At times like that, I really need good storage solutions for all my mail so I can get to them as soon as possible after my return. This is especially since some bills need to be paid almost immediately. It’s time I start looking for a storage box that allows me to separate my mails!

We Have Lift-off

Yesterday a Malaysian made history when he became the first Malaysian in space. It was quite amusing though to see the government insisting he was an astronaut while the Russians called him a space participant. I do see the Russians point because although he was given some space training, he’s not a qualified astronaut and therefore will not be allowed out of the International Space Station. Whatever it was, I guess it’s a first step into space for Malaysia.

Unique Hobby

Some people have really strange hobbies. A friend of mine who lives in Australia enjoys walking around in the bush every weekend to look for unique rocks. He’s really interested in geology and would invest lots of time looking for little rocks, polishing them in his rock tumblers then displaying them. I saw lots of quaint little hobby shops catering to these hobbyists the last time I was down there and was quite impressed. Here, it would be difficult to find a shop to cater for your unique hobby.

Cherating

I'd almost forgotten that we were heading to Cherating next weekend until mom reminded me that day! Yippee! The only time I've ever been to Cherating was to Club Med Cherating which was heaps of fun and where I actually learnt how to fly from a trapeze! This time round, however, is going to be for a graduation ceremony! How unique eh? A beach concept graduation ceremony! I can't wait! We haven't been on a road trip for ages! :)

PPP Rocks!

Don’t you love PPP? I do! It’s the best blog advertising out there in the marketplace. There was a stage when my opportunities were decreasing with them as they started limiting blogspot opportunities to only two a day and segmenting the opportunities mainly for dotcoms or those who reside in the US. However, in the past month, they’ve very generously increased the blogspot opportunities back to three a day. Recently too I’ve started getting a bit more opportunities for my blogspot accounts if I make the effort to stay up or wake up early to get them. There are lots of people earning huge five figure payments from PPP which is just an indication of how generous they are with their payouts and opportunities! I’m nowhere close to that but any additional amount I can earn is very welcome indeed!

So what have I done with my earnings so far? I’ve taken out quite a sizeable chunk to buy me my first designer bag for my birthday this year! And because I had my PPP money, I was able to afford another designer bag when another one caught my fancy in Singapore just a month after buying the first one! I’m bad but without my PPP money I wouldn’t have my bags so here’s a big thank you to PPP!

Luggage Sale

I saw that the luggage shop in the mall was having sale all over the place. I've been contemplating getting a luggage for a while already, mainly because I don't have a proper bag to travel with and with my big trip lined up next year, it'll be quite tough going without a proper suitcase. Perhaps I should find out how much a suitcase will cost after the discount.

Call When You're Travelling

Don’t you love the internet? I love how the internet has made the world such a borderless world through their internet phone service providers. One great site that provides the lowest VoIP Phone call rates and highest quality calls is iConnectHere.com. It has been operating in the VoIP industry for over 10 years and is one of the pioneers of the Internet Phone service. My colleague tried their service before when she was traveling in Africa and was really pleased at how cheap and clear her phone call was to her family. Plus if you sign up now, you’ll get a $30 bonus with a full feature packed service! So if you want to constantly be in touch with the world for less, go with iConnectHere.com!

Baiyoke Sky Hotel Bangkok

My parents went to Bangkok last weekend. They originally booked the Baiyoke Suite Hotels with a tour agent but after I read some really bad reviews on it, I advised them to go with a better hotel instead. Luckily I have quite a number of Berjaya nights left and for just RM100 more, I managed to get them a room at the Baiyoke Sky Hotel which is much better. I'm waiting to hear about the room from them. Hopefully it was good.

Personalized Gift Bedding Idea

I recently visited a friend’s new house and was surprised to see some really interesting throws with her wedding photos on them! When I asked her about them, she told me they were a wedding gift from a friend who had traveled to the US recently. The friend had found a fantastic site that specially reproduced favourite photographs into throws, pillow covers, duvets and even Bedding! It’s quite affordable as well with throw pillows just starting at $59.95 and throws and blankets going at $79.95. I thought that it was such a novel idea and a fantastic way to present someone with a personalized gift of their favourite photos. I should ask my friend in US about it and whether they ship abroad!

Singapore Trip Cancelled

We were supposed to head down to Singapore at the end of this week for a meeting. However, the information that was supposed to be provided was not given and hence, the meeting has been pushed back to next week. Maybe this time I'll opt to stay overnight there instead of doing the one day trip. It's less tiring and hectic!

Beautiful Paris

The last time our company had a business trip to Africa, we had to transit for more than 15 hours in Paris. Although we were all really tired from the work we were doing, we were really happy to be given the opportunity to run around and look at the sights in Paris. In less than 12 hours, we managed to see most of the main attractions in this beautiful city – The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvres, Champs Elysee and the Notre Dame. We didn’t make it to the Sacre Coeur as it was simply too far. We were really lucky that my boss’ secretary managed to book us hotels in Paris which were in a great central location. This meant that we could cover most of the places on foot and save some our allowance instead of blowing it on the expensive Metro.

I loved Paris and though I’m glad to be given that little teaser of the city, I would very much want to return some day. Although, if I’m returning on my own budget someday, I’ll have to opt for cheap hotels with Hotel Club instead of the swanky ones my company put us up in! Perhaps the next time there is an airline offer, I should consider Paris!

Long Break

And nowhere to go. This weekend is the Hari Raya holidays which goes on till Monday. I've also been required to take a compulsory day off on Friday which makes these 2 weeks a short week! Yippee! :) However, it's a pain having 4 days off and having no plans. The siblings and I don't really want to go outstation as we'll be crowding with everyone else on the road which makes it a pretty stressful journey. Maybe we'll just stay in KL and hit all the new malls that have just opened! :)

Compatible Phones

Sometimes when you travel a lot, it’s good to invest in the latest cell phones with 3G functions. Otherwise certain countries may have incompatible network services which results in you not being able to use your phone. I encountered this when I was in transit in Korea and was shocked to find no cell reception when I turned on my phone. It turned out that Korea uses a different network service which my phone wasn’t compatible to. The next phone I’ll buy will be a compatible phone. At least I’ll be able to stay in contact wherever in the world I am.

DVDs On The Go

I used to wonder how people travel with children on long road trips or long plane rides when they can be fussy and whiney. However, recently, on my travels, I’ve noticed lots of parents who solve that problem by bringing along a portable DVD player and their child’s favourite DVDs to keep them entertained throughout the long road trip or flight. One parent I spoke to told me she gets hers from Digital Framez which has a great portable 10 inch DVD player which is the perfect size to be packed up. It has a rechargeable battery pack enabling 4 hours of continuous playtime so that means 4 hours of bliss for her while her child is entertained! It is DIVX compatible so most DVDs and CDs can be played on it with ease including downloaded ones in MP3, MP4 or JPEG formats. It built-in anti-shock system makes it highly resilient to those little curious hands while its clear LCD screen will keep them entertained for hours. So parents, don’t leave home without it!

Singapore Trip Tomorrow

Off to Singapore tomorrow!

I'm going down South to our neighbour for a meeting. Going to Singapore never fails to thrill me. Although they're just across the Causeway, their food, atmosphere and shopping centres are so different! Even their people seem to speak differently! :P I often get a sense of vibrancy, urgency and modern-ness I don't get back in my own city in KL. I wonder why...perhaps that's the difference between a third world and a first world country!

Trip Coming Up?

I wonder if there's a trip that's going to be coming up. There are some things happening in Kazakhstan now and I know one of my colleagues from the UK is there now trying to sort things out. However, here, everything's been quiet on the front as to whether anyone from here is heading there. I do wish there'll be some notice if there is any trip though. Nothing worse than a last minute announcement! However, I think with the coming Raya holidays, it is likely any trips will be pushed off till after then.

Visit Las Vegas

I used to have a colleague in my previous company whose family lived in Las Vegas. He was in the process of getting his green card to head there to be with them but used to make annual trips there. He used to tell me lots of stories about the famous Caesars Palace, the cheap shopping outlets, the amazing shows and fun casinos in the city that never sleeps. It sounded like such a fun place to visit and somewhere I’ll love to visit someday. Maybe I should go visit him while he’s staying there already then I can get a local to take me around to the great sights!