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!