A Spanish Daydream

I’ve been feeling stuck in a bit of a rut at the moment. Work sucks and life’s been feeling rather boring. So when I browsed through the papers this morning, the huge words screaming Cheap Hotels in Mallorca leapt out at me! Mallorca - one of the most beautiful beaches of Spain where the rich and famous frolic and sun themselves under the Spanish sun. Spain, what wouldn’t I give to have a chance to go to Spain! The Cheap Mallorca Hotels offered were really quite reasonable although the Euro is rather strong at the moment. If I could only find a cheap plane ticket to boot, I’ll definitely be catching the next flight out to Mallorca! The advertisement even offered reasonable Hotels in Palma, another great beach off Mallorca Island that promises sun, surf, sangria and funky nightlife. Sigh…what wouldn’t I give to be sipping sangria and serenaded by a gorgeous senor on Mallorca Island right now!

Singapore, here I come!

I'm finally, finally making my way down to Singapore for the Great Singapore Sale! Oh boy, I simply can't wait! I've waited for ages for this trip but had to postpone it was my shopping buddy was busy in June.

The only problem about staying in Singapore is the cost of the hotels there. I did a quick search online yesterday and found that most hotels near Orchard are all in the region of $200 which translates close to RM500 here! That could buy me a swanky 5-star room here as opposed to a crappy 3-star one in Singapore! Otherwise I guess we'll just have to stay further from the shopping areas and pay less.

Anyone got any good hotels to recommend?

Sunny Sydney

A few years ago I took my family to Sydney for our annual vacation. I used to study in Australia and wanted to show them the beauty of the country and city I had fallen in love with. As we wanted a hotel in a central location and close to the attractions, Darling Harbour Hotels was our first choice. We found a really great deal on a hotel apartment that fitted our family of 5 perfectly and came with all the additional facilities such as laundry and a kitchen. My dad loved the fact that it was so near Chinatown and he could walk there every morning to pick up breakfast. We, on the other hand, loved the proximity to the fantastic attractions on Darling Harbour such as the exhibition centre, maritime museum and of course, the delicious restaurants lining the Harbour.

The next time I went to Sydney again with J, we opted for a different location and chose from a list of Central Sydney Hotels. That put us still close enough to Darling Harbour but also close to the City Centre which was wonderful as everything was within walking distance. I truly love the vibrant, multicultural feel Sydney has and would visit it again if I could. Of course I’ll need to wisely choose the location of my Sydney Accommodation. However, Darling Harbour continues to remain a huge favourite of mine!

My African Adventure

I once went to Mali in West Africa for work and although I didn’t quite enjoy the hours that I went through, I was captivated by the beauty and exoticness of Africa. What I loved most about the trip was our stopover in Johannesburg. As part of our air ticket, we were given an option of really swanky Hotels near Johannesburg Airport to rest during our long 18 hour transit. The hotels were really luxurious and I truly enjoyed the 18 hours that we had to rest.

Ever since that trip, I’ve always wanted to return someday to experience the thrill of seeing wild animals close up in a safari and to see again the exotic beauty of the Dark Continent. Recently, a travel fair was in town and they were having great promotions on flights to South Africa! My friend from UK, SL, truly loves Johannesburg and has been there several times already so he was the first person I consulted for affordable Hotels in Johannesburg. He had lots of great recommendations and advised me to visit Cheaper Than Hotels to look for great deals on Johannesburg Hotels. They even have special hotels and lodges located within the safaris where you can really get up close and personal with the wild animals! Now I’m really tempted to go to South Africa! I just need to check my finances!

Off to Penang

I've been asked to trot along to Penang this weekend with a friend who needs to get some stuff done. It's been ages since I've last been there! I recall going there at least once every year with my family just for a gastronomic holiday! My mom used to study in Penang so she was pretty familiar with the good places to eat and where to go for the best food. However, I've heard that many stalls seem to have disappeared and good places keep changing all the time. I think it's been more than a year since my last trip there.

I can't wait! Miss my absolute favourite Penang rojak! *drools*

Any tips on where's good to eat is definitely welcome :) For now, all I know is that I should avoid the Lorong Selamat char kuey teow like the plague :P

Naughty, naughty!

When the sun (or lack of sun) has set on Patong Beach and when the sun-burnt, red angmohs have hauled themselves up from the deckchairs on the beach, a certain road on Patong Beach starts to come alive!

Bangla Road (no, it has nothing to do with Banglas!) magically transforms from a busy and nondescript street into a hedonistic playground for naughty boys and girls, whichever your preference!

The lights slowly start to come on as the open bars start filling up quickly. Neon lights, bring them on! See that bell in the picture? A man feeling rich or some poor unfortunate drunk man can ring it to buy drinks for all the bar girls on the floor! And those poles? They're the perfect thing for the pole-dancers to snake their lithe bodies around!

The street truly comes alive with booming music and crowds of people around 10pm all the way to 3am. Single guys beware or rejoice! ;) Any guy walking past any bar will be set upon by girls trying to invite them in with their winsome smiles and seductive voices. Tempted, well beer's cheap at only THB100 a bottle and some do tequila shots for THB40 so stumble into every bar if you can and make the girls a very happy bunch!

There's lots to cater for everyone, whatever your preference!

Pretty girl or prettier lady-boy? You decide!

"You want photo? THB100 only!" Sweet or gruff voice?

Peacock Girl: Just at min, let me adjust that $%#? headgear they make us wear!

Turqoise Girl: Meeter, what you want? THB2,000 only, cheap cheap...

Smile and say cheese with some gorgeous ladies...or boys!

And finally, I'll leave you with some pictures of my favourite bar. This is one of the earlier bars you'll see if you come in from Rat-U-Thit Road. You won't miss it, they've got one of the sweetest girls right up front on the table. Yep, that girl in black. What I noticed was that while most of the girls danced with a glazed expression on their faces, she sang along to the songs animatedly as she bopped and gyrated. Truly a crowd-puller!

And just one more cos she was really quite sweet. By the way, I'm sure this was a SHE!


Ah, Phuket Playground Paradise! Enjoy a beer, the show, the entertainment and the experience of something different!

As they say, good boys go to Heaven....bad boys go to Phuket! ;)

Getting to Phuket

Phuket! What does this jewel in the Andaman Sea conjure up? Land of the sun, sand, smiles and some other "s" words that never fails to result in sniggers and raised eyebrows whenever I mention I'm going to Phuket. This, bearing in mind, that I'm a girl! Nevertheless, hairy old angmohs with young nubile Thai girls aside, let Pinkelle show you how to have good, clean and cheap fun in Phuket!

From KL:

Phuket is just a hop, skip and jump away! Only 1 hour 15 mins by flight, I should be headed there a whole lot more often than just once a year! We went by Malaysia Airlines this time, courtesy of someone's airmiles (thank you! ♥) and for once got served food instead of having to buy overpriced nasi lemak! Hurrah!

I thought I heard some options being offered but by the time it reached me, it was only vegetable fried rice with 2 fishballs and some chicken slices, served with a fruit compote and juice. Not having eaten airline food for a while and starving from having no breakfast, this went down very well indeed!

Note to self: Never take seat 15 on a 737 flight - you get served last while those behind you will get their food first!

Arriving in Phuket:

Phuket International Airport is not a very large airport. When you arrive and exit Customs, you'll find a few booths offering accommodation and transportation services. There are lots of taxis available into town for at least THB500-THB600 (RM50-60) a trip but if you're a bit of a skinflint like me, head for the Limousine Service desk on the right of the exit gates. They do minivan services into Patong, Phuket Town and the various other beaches for a flat fee.

Phuket has 3 main beaches - Patong, Karon and Kata. Patong is the main "happening" beach where most of the tourists head to. Lots of cheap accommodation, bars, entertainment (both good and not-so-good!), shopping...you name it, they have it all! Karon and Kata are quieter beaches with a smaller town area so you may not have as many choices as Patong. So it's really what you're looking for.

A trip to Patong is THB150 (RM15) per pax and you hop onto a minivan that'll set off once it's full. Lots of tourists and backpackers use this option so you shouldn't have too long a wait. The only downside of using the minivan is that they will stop a short distance away at a tour centre where they will try to sign you up for accommodation, if you don't already have one, and other tours. Wait till you reach the beach, there's a whole lot more competition and better prices there! If you already have your accommodation, just give your hotel name to the tour people and wait a little while.

Once they've sorted out the hotels, you'll be on your way again, trundling over the steep hills and terrifying roads of Phuket Island! The driver will drop you off at the doorstep of your hotel which if you're lucky, you could be the first or if unlucky, the last left on the van! It'll perhaps take you about an hour to transfer from the airport to your hotel this way so if time is essence and you're dying to hit the beach ASAP, opt for the taxis.

A teaser of what's to come....

Stay tuned!