Category: Travel

London

London.

My long time friend Dato’ Sri Andrew Abishegam, who was in London recently, sent these pictures when I was chatting with him on WhatsApp the other day. I think the first is Harrod’s of London with multiple contrails in the sky. Lovely pics and the two pics are copyright DS Andrew Abishegam.

The second picture is the Queen’s Windsor Castle, I am guessing. I have not been to London for so long, l don’t know where all the Malaysians like to stay these days. I can’t even remember the names of some of the nice hotels I stayed. I will add direct links to some of some of the hotels popular with Malaysian visitors when I find out.

Third pic is of me as a pigeon whisperer in my younger days.

I have created a special page for hotels in London.
http://www.mycen.my/hotels-in-london/ See updated page here: http://www.tvsmith.my/travel/london-malaysian-magnet

Meanwhile, use the dynamic London-centric scrolling banner there or go to http://www.mycen.my/agoda/ to search for another hotel anywhere in the world

Let’s Pop!

Let’s Pop! A stay at legendary Bali is now more affordable than many may think. Like to introduce you to an affordable and stylish place with colours that pop. Haha. I got to know ethnic Indonesian Hokkien Treshia Lim (Lim E Cha) when she was working at the Swiss-Belhotel International in Bali. She went back to her hometown in Medan to work for Radisson Medan. Before I can visit her at the Kota Kuliner (culinary capital) in which the North Sumatra city is known for, she is back in Bali. Such a nomadic life for a hotelier. She is also a Catholic and a foodie.

She is now with the corporate office of the chain that runs the Pop! Group of hotels and they have a nice and affordable hotel in Bali. With information from her, I created a custom page for Pop! Hotel Kuta Beach Bali. It is also the first time I am implementing Agoda’s dynamic banners in which other hotel options in the same destination are displayed with scrolling views. Seeing the Google map may be dizzying as there are over 3000 hotels listed by Agoda on the island! Pop! Hotel Kuta Beach seems a logical choice because the rates are truly affordable and it is very near the beach and popular eating places. The hotel has all the modern amenities such as free wi-fi and pool. It is also a fairly new hotel, being only 3 years old.

For more info or to book, go to: http://www.mycen.my/pop-hotel-kuta-beach-bali/

#bali #kuta #beachhotel #indonesia #pophotel #island #beach #hotel #denpasar

Yangon Was Rangoon

Another helping friend booked a Myanmar hotel through me. The friend is a fairly experienced traveler to Myanmar and he picked the The RGN City Lodge, Downtown Yangon this time.

The hotel is conveniently located in the heart of Yangon, close to a major thoroughfare but fronts a much quieter street in a commercial district. Although there is old school rattan furniture in the room, the bathrooms have modern rain showers! I like rain showers.

What do you think of the location Myanmar friend Hsu Wai Phyo and Malaysian expatriate living in Yangon, Joachim Rajaram?

Rooms in Myanmar have been getting relatively expensive because of shortages and a surge in business visitors after Myanmar opened up. I am surprised the room is sub RM 200, given its location. Maybe there was a flash sale or promotional price at the time of booking.

We forget a similar hotel in the heart of KL city could probably cost more.

To book this hotel or to check rates at any hotel in any part of the world, go to http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

In The Midst Of Saigon’s Crazy Traffic

The best way to enjoy Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City is by motorcycle but it comes with a caveat. There were like 7.43 million motorcycles in the city in 2016. You just get pushed along helplessly in an endless sea of two wheelers.

A couple of hours ago, I had just jumped off an inter country/cross border bus from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

It was crazy, even edging to the side of the road to do photography or to check the GPS and that can be be impossible. I had a Garmin handheld GPS but navigation was impossible and dangerous.

I wouldn’t recommend riding a bike unless you know the roads or consider yourself a very experienced rider. The only time I could take pics was when the flow stopped momentarily and I was sandwiched in the middle, like as in this pic. Don’t take selfies as I was told, as it can attract phone snatchers. It is a recent phenomenon though.

I am happy to note that motorcyclists in Saigon were mostly ethical. They always make way for a stranded pedestrian and, unlike here, there is no crazy honking or cursing when another vehicle stalls.

Eventually I gave up and parked the bike by the roadside and called the hiring company. They agreed to pick it up. I took a motorcycle taxi (Xe Om) back to the hotel. The bike hirers seemed more worried about the return of their crash helmets. Same experience I had with hirers in Pangkor Island. Haha.

If you are planning to go to Saigon, remember to book a room from my Agoda affiliate page at http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

Search for Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC or Saigon where Agoda will list over 1000 hotels in the city alone, many with low flash rates. There are also over 100 hotels listed for Pangkor, Lumut and Sitiawan..

Learning Human Reproduction In Vietnam

I took a random tricycle bike tour of Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City at one time. At one street, I saw the strangest sight. I asked my cyclo (trishaw) driver who are all these people sitting by the roadside, all with a single, shiny VCD disc at their feet?

Selling “Human Reproduction Videos”, he explained, perhaps embarrassed.

I told him we buy human reproduction videos at night markets back home. They have catalogs. Also we are more practical, we just call them blue or sum kap, I mumbled to myself, not sure if he can hear me through the traffic din.

Boss, can we pull over and see if they have classic human reproduction titles like Debbie Does Dallas, Deep Throat, Devil In Miss Jones, Buttman’s European Vacation and those movie parodies like Saving Ryan’s Privates, Pulp Friction, Good Will Humping and Tiger’s Wood? They were all VHS titles and are collector’s items now. Cyclo man: VHS?! Your country not very advance(d).

Technology allows newer discs to leapfrogged old technology such as VHS and Betamax tapes from an era when women will claim the “story” in adult titles is essential. The practical guys just want to fast forward to the action.

Similarly, many developing countries such as some in Indo China never experienced land lines as mobile or wireless networks leap frogged connectivity without the massive cost and time needed to wire a nation.

My budget hotel in Saigon had a desk with a PC and LCD monitor setup in ever room. They were more advanced. So much trouble just to get free wi-fi in any hotel those days.

If you are planning to go to Saigon, remember to book a room from my Agoda affiliate page at http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

Search for Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC or Saigon where Agoda will list over 1000 hotels in the city alone, many with low flash rates.