Filed under: Travel
I had my doubts about Huahin. A three hours drive from Bangkok, it sounded more like a pseudo resort town than a real resort destination. It doesn’t even have its own direct flight ! I had further doubts about our resort choice, V Villa, because the website was not as shiny, photoshopped and well designed as some others I have seen, and I read reviews online that said their multi-bedroom villas are not equally made and their Jacuzzi smells funny. But I decided to go there in the end, after taking into account cost – it was significantly cheaper than the alternative (by which I mean I saved enough to buy some very decent masks).
In the end, I had a fabulous time. The weekend getaway was by no means perfect, but it was definitely an absolute bargain for value. By bargain, I mostly refer to V Villa. Huahin is pretty much what I expected – not the resort destination I had in mind. The town itself is quite urban, plain and unimpressive (a less crowded version of Bangkok). In my one excursion out of the resort for dinner, the restaurant (a really decent one by local standards) looked like a “dai pai dong” (the Canto phrase referring to street dining in Hong Kong, which barely exists anymore due to hygiene reasons). The seafood, which is supposed to be amazingly fresh due to its proximity to the sea, was not really amazing. 
The main attraction of the town – the beach, was nothing to be excited about. We have better beaches in Hong Kong. The sand was granular and rough, and it was crawling with small tiny crabs. All the white bumps in the sand, that’s them! The uneven looking parts of sand in the first picture, that’s all them too! They did have the decency to make themselves scarce when we tried to walk on them though (they are so abundant, there is no way to get to the shores without walking through them). But would I lie on that beach and chill with them? Hell no! I’d much rather chill by the pool side of my resort.
That brings me back to V Villa, which was everything I imagined a beach resort should be. You pretty much get what you see on the website (our photos here look almost the same as the ones on the resort website!). It had a beautiful infinity pool that overlooked the beach and ocean. Combined with the (mostly) clear blue skies, it was perfect.
Our villa was spacious, clean and modern, complete with a living room/dining room area and a private pool. They provided us with a iPad and mobile phone to use during our stay. The mobile phone in particular was genius. I think all hotels should offer this service, so guests wouldn’t have to pay exorbitant mobile phone fees to dial locally on the go. How much does a regular 2G phone cost? 
The “butler service” (the villa version of housekeeping) was very helpful, and managed to meet all our requests. We had a in-villa BBQ that was excellent. There was a private chef cooking for us by our private pool side, a buffet of side dishes laid out for us in our dining room, someone helping us with our plates etc. It was a perfect night in!
The spa was also excellent. The price was very reasonable for a resort spa (at around US$50 per hour). There was even a 30% discount promotion! We had a treatment every day. My favourite was the hot compress massage, which felt divine. After our long journey there (the 3 hour drive was painful!) it was just what we needed. The food was also very cheap (though not delicious). The best meal I had there was the pasta buffet. Now those prawns were very fresh! The whole villa is also wifi enabled. But I think the best thing about V Villa is that it is a boutique resort, with less than 20 villas. So they were really able to maintain the relaxing and peaceful resort environment one desires. It may also be because we went during low season (and after a recent flood). Most of the time, we felt that we were alone in the resort!
The resort staff organized an elephant riding day trip for us as well, providing free transport there and back (they must have an agreement with the elephant place). It was my first time riding an elephant, and I had a fabulous time. A little dull at first, since the trek we went around for 1 hour is nothing like in the photos. It was more like a manmade trek, sparsely furnished with a few trees and pond. But then they let us ride on the head of the elephant (vs. sitting on the chair tied behind them), and that was a LOT of fun! We even got to feed them afterwards! The elephants are really quite smart . The path was filled with their own feces, and they never ONCE stepped on them. They very strategically went around them. How cool is that?
As I said though, the trip was by no means perfect. What you don’t see in the website and the pictures is that the resort itself is admittedly getting a little old. Our pantry for example. We didn’t want to go in there unless it was absolutely necessary. The outdoor cushion seating could use some refurnishing. The daily activities they claim they have (doll painting, kickboxing, yoga) doesn’t actually happen. The second bedroom, in a 2-bedroom villa is indeed built unequally to the master bedroom (much better for a family vs. 2 couples I think). Our bathroom also smelt of bad plumbing. The one thing that dominated my attention for the whole trip though, was the fact that the whole area is infested with mosquitos!!! I wore shorts in my villa’s bathroom for 5 minutes, and immediately got 2 bites! My friend wore shorts and t shirt to dinner one night (where we sat indoors) and got over 30 bites! I am not sure if they have always been there to begin with or if this is a recent phenomena because of the flood, but they were everywhere, just hovering around to bite you if you don’t cover yourself with mosquito repellent at all times (hint: they do NOT respond to Hong Kong bought repellent!). I even got bitten through my black leggings twice! This is by no means the fault of the resort. The whole town is infested with mosquitos. We were in the lobby of the Hilton, thinking we should’ve stayed in a hotel vs. a villa to avoid the mosquitos, when we saw a whole bunch of them just lurking in the shadows! We ended up spending a good portion of our time engaged in anti-mosquito activities. We sprayed mosquito repellent on like perfume. Slathered ourselves with lemongrass oil (apparently they don’t like the smell). Stuck on lemongrass smelling stickers before we slept. Consistently burnt anti-insect incents. Requested that our room be sprayed with insect repellent on a daily basis. Mastered the art of “slipping” through doors, the minimize the chance of them following us indoors. We even downloaded an anti-mosquito app on our iphones, which emits sonic sounds that are supposed to deter them!
Did I have a good time? Yes! I especially loved riding on the elephant’s head, hanging by the infinity pool and having daily spa treatments. That fact that it was all very good value for money was a bonus. But would I go again? Probably not. The three hour ride to and back (in addition to the 1.5 hour plane ride), I reiterate, was PAINFUL. The beach was mediocre and let’s not get me started on the mosquitoes again. Next time, I want to go to a real beach resort destination with a direct flight. Does Koh Samui have direct? Maybe the KK Islands in Malaysia? Either way, I can’t wait!
Forget about scenic postcards. Next time you’re in London, get me one of these as a souvineer- LuLu Guiness clutches!
This postcard clutch is infinitely more useful and chic. It even says London on it! You can’t get more touristy than that. There are many compartments too! Though my cousin has it, and she tells me that she can’t fit much in because it is so thin- just her iPhone and a few essentials.
I’m usually not a fan of blatant displays of souvenirs (i.e. though shalt not wear your I heart NYC t shirt out in public). But, I think this Union Jack clutch is subtle enough. The sequins glams it up, don’t you agree?
Not quite as nice as the two clutches above, but this cab clutch is still quite fun. Imagine the cheesy jokes! “Let me grab my cab”
We’re veering a bit away from souvenirs but isn’t this lip clutch so cool? It doesn’t say London as the others do, but it screams London punk fashion.
While we’re on the topic of clutches, I really wouldn’t mind this one either. It would do so well on a night out. And check out that lining!
So yes, the next time you drop by London, pick up one of these. There’s a flagship store somewhere, but FYI they also have a good size collection at the basement of Harrods- right next to the tax counter!
Image Source: Lulu Guinness
Filed under: Travel
This time around, I got to explore the sweet spots of Sydney.
The first stop was Cupcakes on Pitt. Since the cupcake craze hit, you can see this store all over the city. I went to the original store on Pitt Street, and frankly, I would’ve missed it if my friend wasn’t showing me the way. Though I don’t doubt its popularity as the two girls in front of us ordered over $200AUD worth of cake.
I ended up with the following flavors: vanilla, lemon, meringue, butterscotch, cookies and cream and sticky date. I didn’t eat all of them myself, but I did especially enjoyed the novelty of the lemon meringue flavor. Though the cake itself was nothing special. In fact it was a bit dry. Oh how I miss Crumbs!
Wandering around the Rocks and curious about the huge line outside, I stopped by the Le Renaissance Patisserie on Argyle Street to have a look as well.
Turns out it is a little shop of yummy French delicacies.
I left with 2 different chocolate creations, a mille feuille, a creme brulee, a lemon tart and a fruit tart. I definitely wouldn’t mind frequenting one of these if I have one nearby. I can try one choice each day of the week! In the end, I only managed to try the mille feuille, which wasn’t too bad. Maybe a bit too sweet.
But then, it is a hard to beat dessert for me. Ever since I fell in love with the mille feuille at the Cafe de la Paix in Paris last month, nothing quite compares.
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had a thing for matchy matchy pajamas. During college, when everyone else was walking around the dorm in oversized t-shirts and shorts, I was wandering around in matching “Chicks Rule” pjs from Target. So imagine my delight when I came across Peter Alexander, at Center Point in Sydney. A whole store devoted to girly matchy matchy pjs!
Not so much an animal lover myself, I immediately gravitated towards these two pajama sets, with the multitude of bows and pink stripes. Oh the choices! In the end, I settled for the bow prints, since I thought they were more special and unique than stripes. Though I’m mighty tempted to stop by Peter Alexander before I leave and pick up the pink stripe set as well. The bows on either side of the pockets are too cute!
I am also loving these pants full of charms. Though I’m not too hot about the t shirt. I think it’ll look better with this super soft pink waffle Henley I also picked up from PA.
They are quite creative when it comes to their night dresses as well. I really like this daisy print over sized shirt dress. Unfortunately, they ran out of the waffle leggings that are supposed to go with it, and I’m all about matchy matchy. I also think that this drape printed t shirt is quite interesting, because it made me take a second glance. From the thumbnail, I thought it was actually draped!
If there is one store in Sydney that I would like to empty out, I think Peter Alexander is it!
Image Source: Peter Alexander
Filed under: Travel
Clearly I’ve been caught with the travel bug this month because I’m in Sydney right now!
Even though it is winter here, the weather has been pleasantly mild with sunshine and blue skies (fingers crossed this will continue on the week). I have actually lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Sydney, since I frequently came here as a teenager. Deprived of Abercrombie in Hong Kong, I used to think I was in shopping heaven and I’d happily whiz back and forth around Center Point stocking up. Dotti, General Pants and SDS were my favourites.
But things have definitely changed since then. Now that I’ve met Abercrombie and made the acquaintance of a host of other international designers, it no longer seems that exciting to be whizzing around Center Point. In fact, Dotti at Center Point has disappeared (though my friend assures me that it still exists in a more sophisticated version of its former self. I just checked, their site still exists!). Come to think of it, a lot of Center Point has disappeared due to a (much needed imo) renovation.
Now I feel a bit at loss for where to go! Maybe it’s time I did some more exploring of Sydney.
They may have lost a few stars in the past few years, but dinner at La Tour d’Argent in Paris has to be one of the fanciest dining experiences of my life. Granted I’m not much of a foodie and haven’t been to that many fine dining places, it is still quite difficult these days to impress my jaded city girl eyes.
Located along the river Seine, we were quickly greeted by the doorman as soon as our cab arrived and shown into a luxuriously appointed waiting area. The maitre d’ led us into the bar while we waited for the rest of our party. I was struck by the air of sophistication. Was it ok to order a glass of orange juice? Then they showed us through the mini “hall of fame” where we waited for the liveried driven elevator to take us to the dining area. I noted the presence of JFK and the Empress of Japan.
The main dining room on the top floor of the building had a beautiful view of the river Seine and Notre Dame. As the sun set outside, I envied the couples dining by the window seats. How extremely romantic! I must come back some day with my loved one! And of course, everyone was dressed beautifully. If there was ever a time and place to dress up, this was definitely it!
My eyes widened as we were presented with a wine list the size of an encyclopedia- now that is impressive! Since we don’t exactly frequent such establishments, we decided to go for the full tasting menu to ensure that we gave it a good try. I’m not exactly a foodie, so I won’t go into excruciating detail of every dish and how everything tasted, but here is the menu. They are definitely good at is making it a night to remember. Towards the end of the meal, they presented us with a custom made menu of our meal that night, complete with the date, which wine we chose and who our chef was (above).
The main theme of the restaurant was definitely the duck. They were everywhere. The home grown ducks are so famous here that we even got postcards with the reference number (since 1890) of the duck we ate that night on it. I ate duck number 1090196!
In particular, the pressed duck is most popular. You can see them making it right in the middle of the dining room. First they cut away the breast and thighs. Then they put the remainder of the duck into the presser (the thingy on the left), to squeeze out all the blood, which they then use to make a sauce to pour over the breast and thigh meat. Juicy.
One thing I do feel qualified to comment on is the dessert. This feuillete aux fraises de bois is the most exquisite thing ever. The slices of strawberry on top are actually sweet and crunchy. You’d thing that the tiny strawberries lined below are sour, but they were surprisingly sweet. Combined with the cream and crust, they were little bites of heaven! Definitely one of the best of its kind that I’ve tried!
It was definitely one fancy meal to remember.
The other day I mentioned that I was going to visit the temple of Balenciaga aka the flagship store in Paris on 10, avenue George V. Well, it was a good thing I copied down the address properly, because I nearly missed it.
I nearly thought it was renovating and left, because all I saw was the huge Balenciaga ad next door from a distance. It turns out that the flagship store is indeed opened. It’s just that the only sign that indicates the flagship store is the many Balenciaga bags sitting by the window. Talk about discrete!
Filed under: Travel
From a beautiful little place called Interlaken.
This is the view of the Jungfrau, reputedly the highest point in Europe. My camera doesn’t do the view justice, but it’s the white mountain in the distant between the two green ones.
I know I’m usually remise in my blog posts anyway. But in case you’re wondering, it is because I’m out of the country until the end of next week, with only a super slow mini laptop as my only mode of communication with the rest of the world. It’s been a painful adjustment.
Paris so far has been fun. I must say, it is actually a lot more fun coming as a tourist vs a student. I love a good hotel breakfast. Lafayette is a tourist zoo, I much prefer Le Bon Marche. It is also a good idea to get in through the SIDE entrance at the Louvre when the line to the main entrance is a mile long. Oh and the Lido show was a bit disappointing. Do NOT go for the full meal, because the food sucks. The show itself was a bit like Cirque de Soleil, except with more scimpily clad performers. There was water, ice skating, a real horse, juggling and lots of synchronized dancing. Ironically though this is the FOURTH time in my life there and I’m only in my early twenties.
Going to visit the temple of Balenciaga tomorrow. Can’t wait!
Naturally, I went shopping in Tokyo.
On my last visit, my friend took me to Shibuya 109. For a teenager, that was 7 floors of heaven and I spent almost a whole day there. If you look up once you get out of the Shibuya JR station, you’ll see it. This time, I took my cousin K there and she was in heaven. She adores the cutesy Japanese fashion there. Floral prints, light denim, big bows, polka dots, lace, frills, long dresses and more floral prints. It’s not usually my style, but even I was tempted to get a super cutesy Japanese floral dress for Halloween. In the end, I gave in and got an adorable straw boat hat with a blue/white striped ribbon. I figured there was a bit of Chanel in it.
After seeing all the beautiful clothes Sea of Shoes got at Laforet on her trip to Tokyo, I simply HAD to stop by. While I found that Furfur and Hotel 55 was a little beyond my budget, I did find some lovely stuff there that was more to my style than Shibuya. It is a bit more sophisticated, with cute flowy cream and lacy dresses and shirts. At first I was doubtful whether I’d wear this style in Hong Kong, because they are a slightly bohemian, and bohemian is so last decade. But in the end, I couldn’t resist the many super kawaii Japanese girls around me anymore, and bought the whole outfit at EarthMusic&Ecology and immediately changed into it. I felt super feminine and cute- almost like a local!
Ironically, even though my hotel was right in Shinjuku, I didn’t really get a chance to check out all the fashion in the department stores. The last time I was here, the fashion wasn’t my age. But now I get the impression that I should’ve spent more time here. Instead we spent a lot of time getting lost in the subway trying to find our way out. We later figured out that we should make sure we get out the correct exit off the train- the south gate.
I did get a chance to check out the food halls though in our search for souvenirs. We stocked up on Yoku Moku cookies, but later regretted it when we found them cheaper at the airport. We should’ve waited! But they do taste really rich and buttery and make wonderful presents.
Now to some of my goodies. The top left is the outfit I got at Laforet, complete with the straw hat I got at Shibuya 109. I rationed that this would make a nice breezy outfit for a summer trip! On the right, is a sailor blazer I got at Shibuya 109. Don’t you love the navy blue trimmings? I was waiting for my cousin to try on a dress when I spotted a girl walking pass in this jacket. When K commented that she saw it in a store we’d just been to, I knew I had to have it. The cutting is not that great, but it’s fun and it’s on sale. What’s not to love? At the bottom, is an over sized white t shirt with silver stitching that I spotted at EarthMusic&Ecology. It’s a bit more edgy than the rest of the store, but it was very me. It is currently my favourite item in my wardrobe. It looks super cool paired with shorts or skinny jeans! I also got a lacey breezy cream top from EarthMusic&Ecology (Yes, I did a lot of damage at EarthMusic&Ecology) and a plain white shiny tee shirt from Yecca Vecca. I figured they’d be excellent tops to mix and match with.
Next time I really need to spend more time at Shinjuku and the Omotesando, make my way to Ginza to check out the delicious patisserie places and book to see the Ghibli Museum. Maybe the Tsukiji market. I really need a few more days in Tokyo!
Thanks to Girl on the Ave for sharing her special places with me 
