It's More Fun in the Philippines: Bataan - Day 1 at the NPC Nuclear Power Village

     Since I am just a short post away from wrapping up my Macau travel adventures, I'm going to blog about my Bataan adventures since I've been itching to do it for a long time already.

     If you remember, last August 2011, the Philippines had a rather extra long weekend because of several holidays.  So, I was so flustered thinking about being stuck at home.  I wanted to go to Baguio but my reservation was put on-hold and when it was finally okay, it was already too late to go.  Anyway, my family and I ended up staying at the National Power Corporation's Nuclear Power Village in Bagac, Bataan.

Macau Adventures: Day 3 - The Venetian Hotel

     It wasn't my first time at the Venetian but I was glad to be back.  I love the huge rooms and the opulence, and the fact that you can fit 6 people in the Bella Suite; more if you don't mind sleeping huddled like sardines on the bed, or sleeping on the floor.

     Anyway, Venetian is such a huge hotel so it's easy to get lost.  Good thing they give their guests maps for easier navigation.  While there are a lot of people milling around, once you get to the hotel wings, you'll see a staff checking people out, asking which room you'll go or asking to see your key card.  Security is good.

Hotels and Accommodations: Courtyard @ Heeren, Melaka, Malaysia

     As you may have probably noticed, I only have good words for Courtyard @ Heeren, which is not surprising given the quality of the service it provided to us.  It was clearly superb.

     Our trip to Melaka would not have been possible were it not for the suggestion of the Courtyard @ Heeren staff, the affable Amar, to buy us bus tickets for an earlier departure for a return journey to Singapore.  It was really unexpected for the staff to go out of their way just to make our plans push through.  Imagine, the staff had to reserve and buy the tickets for us and the hotel paid for it in the meantime.   When we arrived, we paid for the tickets.  I was thoroughly impressed!  So, to Amar, Audrey and the rest of the Courtyard @ Heeren staff, thank you very, very much!

   

Location

    It is located along Heeren Street, a few feet away from the Heeren Guesthouse, almost in front of the Baba House, and a very short walking distance from the famous Jonker Street. It's centrally located so the places of interest in Melaka are within comfortable walking distance from the Courtyard.  Here's the map they sent me via email so I would not get lost.

Reception

     Courtyard @ Heeren is one of the many heritage homes-turned-boutique hotels in Melaka. But I assure you that this one is a gem.  Their rates are quite reasonable, and I dare say, cheaper than what I expected to pay for, and their rooms are just divine.

     Anyway, when we arrived at the Courtyard @ Heeren, the staff, including Amar, promptly gave us some welcome drinks, cold pomelo juice, and helped us settle in. The room was not yet ready since we arrived earlier than the check-in time but we had no problems with it since we needed to go out immediately to withdraw some cash at an ATM machine (Amar told us how to go there in detail).  Amar gave me the tickets, which I paid for, and gave me a receipt of our room booking which I previously paid for by credit card.

The door to the left leads to the rooms on the ground floor.

Reception area (main door on the left side)

Stairs leading to the breakfast area.

 Superior Room

     This is the first room that you'll see and surprisingly, it was not noisy at all.  This, despite the fact that everyone has to pass by our room to get into the other rooms.

     The superior room has twin beds and the bathroom is just so cute with colored glass.  The bathroom has an illusion that it is bigger than it is (although it is quite at a comfortable size) because of the mirrors obscured by the wooden bars.  I love the rain shower and I should say, the bathroom is really clean.

     I should say that the superior room is definitely a bargain at RM 200 I paid for, and that includes breakfast for two, too.  The colored glass on the windows gives the room a certain warmth and undeniable charm.  Over all, the room is just so pretty.

 Breakfast area

     Accessible through the stairs at the main entrance.  Breakfast is basic but tasty.  There's an omelet station, too. 

Around the Hotel

     There is a small courtyard inside with seating area and furniture reminiscent of those I usually see visiting old homes in the Philippines.  It evokes a feeling of nostalgia, really.  The mortars and pestles on the garden are a nice touch; and old iron (is it?) for cooking/baking are so cute I wanted to just stare at them all day.  There was even a old blade fan from a ceiling fan converted into a deco piece.

 This is the small space outside our room (window-side).

 I know the photo is crappy, really blurred.  But I like it, and its the only one I have. 

 That's the upstairs room above.

Singapore Adventures 2011 Day 2: Festive Hotel at Sentosa

     

     I have read from several reviewers over at the Tripadvisors that the Festive Hotel is such a busy hotel and check-in sometimes takes time.  So, my trip companions; i.e., my mom, sister and friend, decided to check-in late.  Well, we were still loitering around Chinatown anyway.  By the time we reached Sentosa, it was past 4 p.m. already, but I was not bummed about it.  Rather, I became quite excited the moment I saw the Disney castle!  Just kidding! It was the castle from Far Far Away in Shrek.  It's the Universal Studios' castle after all, not Disneyland's.

     Since it was late, check-in was a breeze.  And the concierge, unlike the reviews at Tripadvisor, was helpful and polite.  The concierge even gave me two extra monorail passes, although I am only entitled to two.

    We got up to our room, and we were pleasantly surprised! It's big, and the view is really nice!  Yay!

View from the balcony.

The cable cars look cute!

The couch converts into a bed.

The kid's bed can fit a small adult, but the stairs are steep.

The bathroom is huge but it doesn't have a bath tub.

     The lcd tv was very gracious; it greeted me!  Also, the tv serves as infoguide on the attractions, like the Universal Studios.

     After less than an hour since we got to our room, a chocolate cake with huge strawberry toppings was sent to me, with compliments from the hotel.  It was for my birthday.  I did type on the booking info that I'll be celebrating my birthday in Singapore, but I wasn't expecting a cake, with a candle.  If that's not considered as great customer service, hell be damned.

 

Thoughts: Random But Important Things I Learned While Travelling in Singapore

     I just got back home from Singapore and Malaysia around 1:00 a.m., and I have one too many tidbits of information I learned while travelling in these neighboring countries.  Well, you probably all know that you're not supposed to bring in gums in Singapore, and all those shenanigans, right?  After all, Singapore is a "fine" country, at least that is what the souvenir t-shirts say.  But I won't talk about things that will get you fined, but things that will make your life easier while in Singapore...those things that would not embarrass you.  And things you can do to save money.  So, this post is kinda long, but you'll get a lot of tips, for sure.

Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Sun Moon Lake, Part 3: Full House Resort!

     From Ita Thao Pier, the Sun Moon Lake Ropeway is around 650 meters away.  There's a sign, that is how I knew how far is it.  I followed the street signs from Ita Thao Pier and no more than five minutes, I came upon this quaint lodging, very rustic and charming.  This is that something I was looking forward to discovering in Sun Moon Lake.  It's a treat waiting for me to find. It's a log cabin, and there were tables outside its garden.  I took a step closer, and I saw a fantasy land.  I almost squealed in delight!  I love gardens and everything cute, and all of these are in this place called, Full House Resort. 

Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Day 1: Hostel Frenzy and Train Ride to Taichung

     

 

     In my last post, I said that I contemplated on whether to pursue with my Sun Moon Lake plans or not.  I decided to finally just go for it.  But first things first, I had to find my hostel and leave my luggage.

     It took  me at least 15 minutes on foot to reach the hostel because I was taking my time.  On the way, I passed by a mini-mart (I forgot the name) and a lot of shops.  One of my markers was a police station, and when I saw it, I thought to myself, "Yay!  I'm near!"  But passing by a lot of closed shops, it seemed like a rather long walk.  Good thing that the establishments there are numbered; when I saw No. 132, I almost leapt for joy.  However, I still had to find the keys, enter the hostel, and climb up to the 3rd floor.

Asian Travel Adventures: Ho Chi Minh City - Airports, Hotel and Tour Arrangements

     The last trip I had, before Ho Chi Minh City, was in Beijing, China, last November 2010.  I am quite fortunate to have been able to embark on another Asian travel four months after.  It also means, again, that I am running low in savings.  I think that I haven't hit the penniless stage just yet, so, for now, I am indulging in trips abroad and I have upcoming trips to Taiwan next month and to Singapore in July. 

     That being said, I swore that I would not spend too much money in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).  I wanted to save some dollars for my Taiwan trip; after all, I had this belief that I would be spending less in HCMC because I had friends who'd be travelling with me and with whom I could share the hotel cost.

Beijing Adventures - Day 3: Hotel Kapok

  So, this is our third day in Beijing, and our package tour ended here.  Before that, the tour guide and our driver chauffeured us to our new hotel, in Hotel Kapok near Wangfujing.  After we checked in our belongings, they drove to Quanjude restaurant for lunch.  And we parted ways, sigh.  I started missing having a chauffeur and a guide after an hour or so.

     It's small, just four to six floors, but it gives off a different vibe.  It's a lot hipper, if I may say so, very urban, very modern. And it's cheaper there than at the Marriott.  I think we paid USD 100.00 or so per day.  While the hotel was small, we were able to sneak-in a third person.  So, we saved a lot.

   

     The rooms are decent sized, ours was a courtyard room, but the huge bathroom took half the space.  No complaints, though.  The bathroom's super clean and the all-glass walls made it really cool. For the size of the bathroom, however, they didn't put in a tub.

     The twin beds are comfy; the sheets crisp.  For pillows, you get to choose which one you prefer; just ask housekeeping for a kapok pillow, for example.  The closets are small; the bathroom hogged the space.  We put our luggage at the entryway inside the room.  And, there's free internet!  Yipee!

     The lobby is small but the front-desk personnel promptly greets you every time you come and go.  The hotel restaurant is small, but pretty and they serve their buffet breakfast there.  They also have a mini library and cubicle spaces where one could read or browse the net. 

     At night, the hotel looks like a starry sky.  It's all the more beautiful.  Plus, you could see the Forbidden City nearby.  There's a gate which is walking distance from our hotel.  You can see it from the street.

     Over-all, I like it here than at the Marriott.  The buffet tastes better, too.

Hotels & Accommodation - The Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Chongwenmen, Beijing (Now rebranded as Penta Hotel)

   

     My friends and I opted for a hotel+land arrangement package for our Beijing trip.  Since we dilly-dallied in applying for a visa (we got ours a day before departure; mine was expedited and we received our passports just before we went to the airport), our reservation for everything was last minute.  Yup. 

     Our supposedly 3-day tour became a 2-day tour because I didn't want to sleep at the airport and wait for the sun to rise.  So, our airport pick-up service, a huge van, greeted us when we arrived in Beijing and we were promptly chauffeured to our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Chongwenmen.  My friend chose this hotel because it's a Marriott.  It was expensive, though. We were booked for 3 nights, Tuesday to Friday.

     Beijing looked kinda sleepy when we arrived. Maybe because it was already past midnight.  The Courtyard, too, looked sleepy.  It was so quiet it seemed as if were the only guests there.  But the lobby had a Christmas tree, yay!   The hallway on our floor smelled of newly-installed carpeting.  Our room, too, smelled, looked and felt new.  And it was decent sized and spotless. No plumbing smells from the bathroom. 

     All's well?  It should be, right?  We checked-in late, 12 hrs. past the regular check-in and the third bed was not yet set-up.  We had to wait for an hour before it could be arranged.  No one was answering the phone at the housekeeping.  We had to call at the front-desk lobby to tell them our concern.  Plus, the phone's not working properly.  It kept on unhooking and thus the dial tone sound on speaker came on  frequently.  It was annoying and it was did so on unholy hours!  I unplugged it so we could have peace.

     Aside from those, our stay was okay.  The beds were comfortable; it was hard but it's hard everywhere.  Besides, it was good on the back.  Buffet breakfast had a good variety: rice, porridge, bacon, ham, has brown, assorted bread, juices, fruits, but it was the same everyday.  Still, it's filling and delicious.

     The biggest pluses staying at the Courtyard are: 1) close proximity to the subway station; and 2) grocery, shopping and dining.  The Courtyard is connected to a mall with a grocery at the basement, the New World Shopping Plaza.  Also, there's an H & M near the hotel as well as smaller malls like Soshow.   There's a nearby Starbucks and Mc Donald's, too. On the downside, there's no free wi-fi, not even on the lobby.

     This is the view from outside our room.  The mall in front is Glory Mall; there's an H & M there.  Below, on the left, not in picture, is the underpass to the subway.  On the right side, not in picture, are Starbucks and Mc Donald's.