We'll Be Right Back!

Well well well... In this uncertain period of economic turmoil, what with talented professionals being laid off - big names like Director, VPs, Head of Division - and with you wondering whether your job is equally at stake.. The Travelling Teddies have had the pleasure of being blessed with beeziness - with work likewise  personal life (busy is good...).

Cubbies is currently undergoing her intensive practical driving lessons before her actual test on 27th February! So she is a BUNDLE OF NERVES right now... Cubbies thought of NOTHING but her driving and spoke of NOTHING but her driving. She has cancelled and postponed all her travels for the month of February to concentrate on her crash course.

Errr... "Crash", it seems, is not a good word to use right now.

As for Meebops... Well, meebops is always busy. She is taking up classes now to further nurture her penchant and flair for languages. Good for her! :) She will be back soon... Just not sure when exactly. Hehe...

This blog will be silent for the time being so Cubbies can concentrate on practising everything she knows about how to make her Cubby Buggy move in a straight line!

(picture taken from here)

So... GOOD LUCK TO CUBBIES! And more updates from The Travelling Teddies coming up very soon!

Ciao!

The Daily SHOOT! - Kid in Lombok

Kid in Lombok, originally uploaded by tgtwb.

This was taken in Lombok Island, a haven separated from its more popular brother, Bali.

I believe the kid in the photo is one of the Sasaks, who are the local inhabitants in Lombok. We were on a tour then, to visit various hotspots within the island (not many though) including to the Sasak Tribal Village.

Majority of the population in Lombok are Muslims, but as you travel within the island, you know that Hinduism is widespread and is still practiced on the majority Muslim island. Compare this to Big Brother Bali - where majority are Hindus.

And Hinduism made its presence felt and known - when even in a clearly defined Islamic set of rules, the Sasak indigenous people created they own "religion" and beliefs, called the Wetu Telu - which is a unique religion that blends both Islam and Animism and is only found in Northern Lobok, from a village of Bayan.

They consider themselves Muslims but incorporate rituals borrowed from Hinduism, Taoism and Animism where worldly offerings (like clothes, toothbrush, food etc.) are sacrificed for the dead to use in the after-life.

Very interesting indeed...!

My December Savings On KM!

Is a whopping... $144 cold hard coins! Mwahahaha! More than i did the last 3 months... Impressive :)

As usual, i am rolling the $4 over back into my Mentel's tummy and putting aside the rest for my Melbourne trip. I am sooooo... haaaaaapy! With this month's takings, i now have a total of 130 + 130 + 96 + 140 = $496!

That's roughly, AUD 498. Whoa...

Imagine all the new clothes and the new hats and fur-coats (i do synthetics only..) i can be getting in Australia... :D *blink*blink*blink*

The Daily SHOOT! - Rice Paddy Field

Rice Paddy Field, originally uploaded by tgtwb.

Snapped a picture on our long, strenuous climb up to the Sindang Gile Waterfall, which was near Mount Rinjani.

The climb is not for the too old or the too young, because the pathways are tiny, probably only slightly larger than you 2 feet put together. Climbing it on a wet day (which we did) will be dirty and slippery - which not good considering the height between where we're climbing down to the ditch below spell dead-by-then.

But Lombok, just like its famous neighbour, Bali, is where you can find plenty of picturesque landscape of paddy fields that will constantly rapt you in awe.

There's so much that these islands have to offer. We never grew tired of it - always something there for everyone...

The Audacity of McDonald's In Food Haven Thailand...

Grrowl!!!

So my time in Bangkok is soon coming to an end (tomorrow) and last night was probably one of the best night i had in days.

After work, i rested on the lovely couch for about 10 minutes before changing into my "teletubby" swimsuit for a good, 45 minutes swim in the hotel pool. I was mislead into thinking that it is one of those wonderful wonderful "infinity edge" pool, but it was just a regular rectangular one that is super quiet. This is of course, a strictly business hotel (Sukhothai Hotel) and only business users patronise it - but even business dudes and dudettes need to unwind, like yours truly!

So off to swim i went... and after working out the arms and the legs and the paws, jumping in the water to entertain myself (yes, i literally did...), it felt good... but i also got hungry. And during the entire swim, my mind was going back and forth on what i should have for dinner. I am definitely not going into the city and one of those bustling shopping arcades like i did the day i arrived, and the next closest civilisation is 20 mins walk from the hotel (Suan Lum Night Bazaar).

I was wet, hungry and slowly turning grouchy... Walk? Its the last thing i wanna do...

So i got creative and decided to order in. I am sick, SUPER DUPER SICK with hotel food, so i asked Concierge if i can call in McDonald's to the hotel to deliver food to me. Being a 5-star class hotel, they said in their sing-song thai accent, "Sure Madame... You call this number (which was 1711 by the way) and you pay charge for the telephone at the hotel and you pay for your food directly to McDonalds.."

Perfect. Just what i needed.

So i dialed 1711 and the greeting was in thai - i thought to myself, "Darn, i don't speak thai... How do i.." and the voice on the other end was saying, "For English, press 1..."

The operator took my order, which was: 1 SUPER-SIZED Double Fillet O' Fish Meal (comes with this SUPER HUGE fries), 4 piece spicy chicken drumlets and 6 piece chicken nuggets. I was hungry and surely, i got greedy.

Then the voice on the other line said, "May i ask how many party is eating?..." So i said just one.

There was complete silence, and then she said, "Moment please..."

I thought she was gonna sell me life insurance in case i collapse and die of heart attack but all she said was: "Your order will arrive at seven, four, five PM. Thank you for calling McDonalds and have a nice day."

It was surprisingly fast and accurate. The meal came knocking at my door at 7:45PM and the entire thing cost me 266 Baht - it was dirt cheap. Back at home, the meal would've cost S$18++ and not even the SUPER SIZE meal. And yet, you see people here a lot slimmer and leaner than those back home.

My meal was satisfying and i was a happy happy camper by the end of my dinner.

I must say though, no fries taste as delicious as the ones i tried in Hong Kong. The ones i had last night was a little on the soggy side, lots of salt though but had that bitter aftertaste, much like what you'll get back home (i think its the oil they fry in). The one in Hong Kong however, man that's like Fries Heaven. It crispy, yellow, just the right consistency and dose of salt, a little oily but its just... Ooooooh.. TO DIE FOR.

As for my maiden experience with McDonald's in Bangkok, pretty exciting. The super large coke is still in my mini-bar though.

Silk Air... Smooth As Silk? Not!

Grrrowl!!!

I hate complaining. Oh yes i do... I hate complaining about stuff and just being a grouch over every single thing, like some people can. But a good feedback, is always... you know, good.

My maiden flight into KL on Silk Air, while it was a smooth, almost turbulence-free journey, was as claustrophobic as i expected. Why do i even have expectations? It is a budget carrier flying to "exotic destinations within Asia..." Fine. Fine. Fine.

Since the opening of the skies agreement to enable more competition to one of Asia most restricted air sectors (Singapore-KL route), a lot of budget carriers have been sprouting up air travels that cost as much as a coach ticket into the city - we have Air Asia, Jetstar, Tiger... all benefiting in a way or another, from Asia's most lucrative air destination.

As a result, low fares from these budget carriers have eaten away a large segment of an expensive pie that before this, only Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines get to enjoy. These price wars means Good News to travellers but not so good news to SIA and MAS.

But the giants are not sleeping. SIA and MAS had to react. I mean, the price war is one thing, the recent hike in fuel prices is another big issue. Smaller planes consumes less fuel and therefore, more savings.

So since November 2008, Singapore Airlines (which is the parent of Ms. Exotic Silk Air) has since launched code-sharing flights with Silk Air and MAS. The latter went even further, giving in to the pressure, and have long started this "fly for free" frenzy - which i personally think is one of the dumbest idea MAS ever came up with. I mean come on! You are a full-fledged airline with a reputation. So what if you are priced higher than your competitors? You have an edge that low-cost carriers don't offer, like.. like.. mileage for example! Sheesh...

Speaking of which, i am glad SIA did not follow suit. Its ridiculous.

Ok back to Silk Air, its not that i have an issue with Silk Air. Its just that... its really, really small, and cramped and people with long legs or fat bottom will not have much choice but to sit completely still the next 45 minutes of their flight.

Oh i tell you my experience... When the plane touched down, like in all planes that touched down, ALL pasengers scrambled to get their luggages from the overhead compartment. Your humble savant here was actually pushed aside by this mad-probably-Chinese-Japanese-business man just so he can get to to his luggage out in the front (which he could have easily taken on the way out). Before i could even gather my surprise, i bumped again into another man behind me, and then pushed again by a lady reaching out for her Louis Vitton. Like what in God's name is this world coming to??!!

I looked around me, and i realise, that it wasn't just the people behaving abnoxiously, it was the sheer small size-ness of the plane. It was like... It was like flying on Air Asia, in turquoise blue! BAH!!!!!

While SIA isn't any better in its service, in fact, it sucks even more than Silk Air. But i'd give a one star above Silk Air for the size of the fleet. I always give SIA a star above all other airlines for size. I get to sit comfortably and when i stand, i don't get pushed around like an unwanted teddy bear. I hate people pushing me around!! Bleargh...

The price war is ugly and will get uglier as Tony Fernandez (CEO of Air Asia) buys more fleet and letting people sit on it for free, while inspiring more and more low cost carriers to follow suit. So said the man himself, "Now Everyone Can Fly...".

In fact, SIA is now charging only S$293 each, under 2-to-go promotions and so on - there's no better time to fly to KL than now. These heavily discounted prices are way wayyyyyy below the old S$400 per head for a seat on the plane.

Just... Not Silk Air. I would so love for SIA to remove Silk Air from the code-sharing thing and do what every good parent would do... Let them fly to other exotic, dreamy destinations.

The Daily SHOOT! - The Royal Castle

The Royal Castle, originally uploaded by tgtwb.

There is something about Poland that you cannot put your finger on. Its drab, grey and dull yet filled with something alive from within the spirit of its people.

After Berlin, we headed off on an overnight train to Warsaw, Poland. Totally a different world from its glitzy, wealthy neighbour, Warsaw saw gigantic grey bulidings; ones that were not meant to attract the attention of passer-bys, or what i call "the after-effect of Communism".

Daytime almost seemed like Warsaw was a deep, dangerous city to be walking in daylight (let alone night time!).

The city centre (where the main train station is) was buzzing with noise in the rush hour, pollution from public buses... like any metropolitan city.

10 minutes tram ride into another part of the city, the streets seemed deserted - with loose scrap of the daily paper, swooshing around and nothing but the sound of the strong wind blowing across your face.

Walking down to the Old City, is like entering a completely different world. Its cultured, charming... and almost quaint with couples, young and old, rich and middle-class looking out for a place to grab a light bite and a couple of pints later into the night.

The Royal Castle, standing proud at the entrance of Warsaw's famed Old City was the official residence of the Polish monarchs and houses offices of the Kings, Queens as well as the Royal Court.

The castle is set on a plateau overlooking the River Vistula. It was closed when we were there but i heard that the grandeur interior is not to be missed. It is a dramatic historical monument about the rich in Poland. Not to be missed when in Warsaw.

The walk to the Old City is an attraction in itself that you shouldn't miss. It takes 20 minutes to walk in but WALK, its worth it.