Owner: Lazy Bone - Frequent Traveller's Blog URL:http://lzbone.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 02:03:35 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Being a frequent business traveler, I travel to other countries at least once or twice a month. I write about interesting stories happened in my trips, including reviews on hotels, food and restaurants. Site statistics:Click here
Interesting Travel Blog 2007-09-18 08:38:00 I've stumbled across an interesting travel blog. Unlike other blogs, it covers travel stories in Asia.One recent entry was about How To Overcome Con Artists in Asia. In this entry, the blogger reveals that a lot of 'trainee' tourguides actually spend very little time bringing tourists to the interesting spots. Instead, they were brought to factories to buy things, which the 'trainee' tourguides earn fat commissions.Well, I don't think they always pose themselves as 'trainee'. The same scam is included in big and major ground tour agencies. Most of the ground tours end up in some kind of factories. This happens the most in China, even under the so called 'government owned outlets'.There are other con stories in the same post, which I'm not going to repeat here. One is about Bangkok's disguised 'international police'. Worth checking this site for the detail.Another interesting entry is about a story in Bangkok as well. We all know Thailand has a lot of Ah Gua ('lady boys' Read more:Travel
Stories on Accommodations 2007-09-13 05:12:00 As I travel alone most of the time, I'd really appreciate if my friends don't mention any horror stories to me. :)I try to avoid any horror stories, instead try to get some cheerfull and funny stories. The most terrible horror stories for single travelers like me is related horror accommodation stories. Just before my trip to Delhi, my aunt told her horror stories in a local hotel, which gave me the chill. Well, not that I believe in her stories, but if the image is in the brain, one can easily be manipulated by our brain and start imagining things.That's why, I always reject any accommodation stories, be it in a hotel, service apartment, rented bungalows, etc.Our company has two bungalows in the Fraser's Hill and Cameron. My colleague hinted some scary accommodation stories that I dare not to listen in full. However, I've caught a few words before knowing where he was going to, and it was too late to stop planting some images in my brain (even though I didn't listen the res Read more:Stories
Bangkok Chatuchak Weekend Market 2007-09-01 20:51:00 I've been to Bangkok
so many times, but I've never been to the famous Chatuchak (or Jatujak) weekend market. That's because I've only been to Bangkok on business trips and have never stayed over the weekends.The last trip to Bangkok, since my best friend is now based there, I extended my stay to visit her, and naturally Chatuchak market is in my 'must go' list.This world's largest weekend market can be accessed via BTS Skytrain. There are almost 9,000 individual booths, selling almost everything that you can imagine and cannot imagine.Some of these stores are manned by factory owners who sell the over-produced goods or second grade goods. By second grade, it could be due to inconsistent colour that couldn't match the order. These goods are sold at very cheap price.I like this market a lot more than those in Beijing or Shanghai. The main reason is the price - the offer/asking price. One can be an idiot paying for something 10 times another pays, when you shop in China. An Read more:Weekend
, Market
Smart Signboards For Buffet Tables 2007-09-24 08:27:00 When I was having my breakfast in Traders Hotel, Beijing, I saw this little signboard on each table. Something they newly implemented, which I’ve never seen previously. The signboard has a red surface on one side and a green on the other.The red one says something like: This seat is occupied.And the green one says something like: I’m done. This seat is available now.Well, whenever I have my meals (buffet), I always carry my bag with me to the food bars, to prevent theft. As a result of that, the waiters can sometimes mistaken the seat as unoccupied and put another guests there, especially before you’ve started.This signboard becomes very helpful now, especially to single business travelers like me. A good idea that I think other hotels/buffet-restaurants can adopt.Ah! There is one thing to note though. As a courteous diner, one must remember to turn it to green, when finish dining, so the seat would not be ‘occupied’ forever. :) For once, I forgot to turn it until I’ve near Read more:Smart
, Buffet
, Tables
Please Horn 2007-09-28 08:40:00 In some countries, honking is a norm on the street. ‘Toot-toot’ ‘Beep-Beep’ ‘Baa-baa’ ‘Been-been’ ‘Boon-boon’!India is one of these countries. Behind trucks and buses, there are writings that say: PLEASE HORN, or SOUND YOUR HORN, or BLOW YOUR HORN. They all mean the same thing.I asked my Indian colleague and he laughed out loud. He told me that if one doesn’t horn and someone hit his car, he is to be blamed as others would question him why he hasn’t horn.So, when you are changing lane, you must blow your horn. If there is a guy in the lane, he should horn to tell you that he is there. If he doesn’t and you hit into his car because you don’t look, he is to be accused wrong.In short, people just like to horn, and no one gets offended by horns.In some countries, mine included, you don’t hear horns everywhere, but if one does, he tends to get angry as it signals that you are being ‘scolded’ or ‘cursed’. So, don’t simply blow your horn in these countr Read more:Please
Perth, Australia 2007-10-07 23:12:00 Before I got this job, I rarely traveled out of the country. The only few places that I've ever traveled to were: Singapore and Thailand. A year after our marriage, DH & I signed up for a tour to Perth
, Western Australia
.Before we went, I got a lot of 'cold water' from people I know. The spontaneous reaction was like "Ergh! Why of all the places, you choose this boring place?" Some said, there is not much of entertainment, not much of night life, etc in Perth, and they said better to go to Sydney.Now I think back, perhaps these negative comments helped to lower my expectation, I ended up enjoyed the trip very much. After so many years, and after visiting so many places (holiday or business), nothing could beat that Perth trip. It is the best trip I had in memory. Perhaps that time DH & my relationship was at the peak - it felt so romantic with your lover, wherever you go! People thought we were on our honey moon trip, hahahah!We ended up with a lot of nice photos, and I made
Blogging Tips Meme 2007-10-07 02:11:00 Got this tag from Sean. Actually his other tag in the same link is more fun to do. Hahaha!Back to this tag - it is easy, just share with us about your tips in blogging:*****************************************************************************Copy the list below and star five of your favourite ones, add your own tip and pass it on1. Look, read, and learn.2. Be, EXCELLENT to each other.3. Don’t let money change ya!4. Always reply to your comments.5. Blog about what you know & love.6. Don’t use filthy language-buy a dictionary.*7. Blog about something educational.8. Be yourself; others will follow.9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain.10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting and organized!*11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!!!12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy!*13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic.14. Don’t clutter your blog with ads all over the place. IT’S IRRITATING.15. Don’t comment for Read more:Blogging
Movies Onboard 2007-10-04 08:43:00 I’ve always disliked sitting the old airbus flying certain sectors like Beijing and Delhi. The seats are old and can only recline slightly just to make one comfortably sitting up – not lying down. Unless one is extremely tired, it would be hard to sleep. Unfortunately these 2 sectors’ flights usually require overnight sleep.Flights to Beijing usually depart at 12:30 midnight and arrive at 6:30am. Return flights from Delhi usually leave at 2am (KL) and arrive at 7am. Really don’t understand why MAS hasn’t upgraded these planes yet.Anyway, going back to the topic of this post – movies. These old aircrafts not only have seats that are uncomfortable, they also do not have individual screens for movies. So, you can’t sleep and you have no entertainments unless you want to read the whole night.In my last trip to Delhi, I was surprised by MAS’s effort to meet this need! They’ve introduced a portable entertainment device, just like their normal TV screens but wireless.They ga
Sydney, Australia 2007-10-03 10:44:00 Sigh! How many times I've been telling that I've never been to Sydney
? Not sure why I kept getting requests to write reviews on hotels in Sydney. I have rejected quite many of such requests, quite sad seeing money flies away like that. :PI'm not very good at search engines, to be frank I only use Google. I know of wikipedia, but never thought of using it to search for locations like Sydney. This morning, my supplier sent me a link to wikitravel for Hanoi, as we are planning for a trip soon. This is when I tried looking for Sydney in wikitravel. The result is encouraging.It is like a travel guide book, has an overview, geographical detail, history/people/climate/etc, how to get in, where to stay, how to get around, what to see, what to do, etc.In the list of places to stay, it lists down cheap hotels, mid class hotels as well as what they call 'Splurge' hotels. Very useful site.With that site, I learnt something new about Sydney, and really hope I get a chance to be there. Read more:Australia
Italy Experience 2007-10-19 20:33:00 2 of my best friends went to Italy
for their holiday, and returned with sour experience.I met one of them last week, and got to know some of the detail. I'm waiting for her to give me the details in writing - I have bad memory which city and which hotel those things happened. After getting the details from her, I will share in this blog.On the other hand, in this travel blog, it lists quite some Italy Highlights, includes things like basic Italy travel guide, things to do, maps, photos, restaurants, attractions, deals, etc.But one thing I guess missing from this site is what to be caution/lookout for in Italy.It is either their bad luck, or Italians are generally not friendly to Asians, their bad experience is in almost in every cities, throughout their whole trip!Well, I guess their disappointment is also amplified with their high expectations before going. They've got too much of movies' influence, thinking that all Italians are warm and friendly. So, when they got cold treatm
Trips cancelled 2007-10-18 08:44:00 My trips to Hanoi and Jakarta next week were cancelled, very last minute.It was just yesterday that my boss told me to cancel them. Tickets were already issued so we will have to pay for a 'penalty' fee to airline. But the cost would be minimal compared to the total amount that the whole trip would take.I was supposed to have a stressful trip next week. Original plan was to fly to Hanoi on Monday, conduct workshop on Tuesday, fly from Hanoi to KL and with 1h15min to transit to Jakarta. A very short time that can be easily screwed up if Hanoi-KL sector is delayed even slightly. If miss the flight to Jakarta I'd miss the last flight out.But all worries no longer a concern, coz I'm not going anywhere for the rest of this year!Why? Because we have just realized we blown our travel budget! When I tried to get the latest finance figure, I found out that the budget that we're working on, is entirely different from what finance has. The truth is, we've been using a wrong budget n
Bumpy Trips to Delhi 2007-10-11 08:44:00 I’ve been to New Delhi 3 times in 4 years. All the 3 times, the flights were bumpy, all the way from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi.Yes, ALL THE WAY. Turbulence all the time.In my first trip, I was 7 months pregnant. The seatbelt sign was switched on all the time. I need to pee, but was advised to sit down, until I couldn’t hole it any more. Hey! 5.5 hours, how to hold???In my second and the last trips, the seatbelt sign was switched on 70% of the time. Drinks are hard to be kept on the table without spilling.If we take statistics, it is 100% bumpy. Caution: small sample of n=3. :P Read more:Bumpy
Holiday on Cruise 2007-10-27 21:29:00 Apart from a few dream holiday places of mine, I also long to be on a cruise for a holiday.Since young, I have been wishing to go on a real cruise, but know that it is very expensive. Those cheaper ones in Malaysia are the Star Cruise
s, which my mom and sister have been. It stopped by at Phuket Island and came back to port Klang.Based on that experience, my sister told me it is not fun, as most of the activities are targetted at young kids. The main activity for the adults is gambling. :( This is so different from what I imaginated.However, my friend won a prize to Carribean Cruise. Based on her experience, my impression on cruises is revived. They have many entertainment outlets for adults like Moulin Rouge showroom, cinema, game room, Karaoke, disco, etc. So, not just gambling!Of course, going on big and nice cruises like the Hawaii Cruises, Alaska Cruises, European Cruises etc, would need us to fly to big cities like Venice, Barcelona, Rome, Seattle, Vancouver, Hawaii, etc.O Read more:Holiday
Paris 2007-10-25 08:21:00 Lately, a few of my blogging buddies wrote about Paris
. One of them said that, most people think of Paris they think of Paris Hilton.Guess what? You must be laughing out loud that I am so outdated that I've never heard of Paris Hilton. I searched in Paris Accomodation for Hilton Hotels. Didn't find it.Then, searched in wiki, only found out that that Paris Hilton is a woman. Paris Hilton doesn't mean Hilton Hotel in Paria! :P Seriously, Paris to me, only means: Romance, Tourist, Cafes, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe... and recently added Robert Langdon from Da Vinci Code (by Dan Brown)! :P I haven't been to Paris before. It is a city that I do not want to go on business trip. I'd certainly want to go with hubby. Knowing our styles, we will definitely look for cheap Accomodation in Paris, as we would most likely go backpack. Been talking about this with a friend few years ago. Maybe give it a couple of years more, we will do that![Brought to you by CheaperthanHotels.co.uk]
Traveling to Europe 2007-11-01 08:44:00 DH is now in Germany and Denmark for a product training. I have so many expiring Enrich reward points that I really wished to go with him to save some accommodation, but then he is traveling with another male colleage and they share room. :(Many people would join their hubby like this, and take the opportunity to extend the stay and go to other Europe
an countries like Italy's Rome (one of my dream place), Prague, Barcelona and other nearby places.I hope DH is going again next year. Have heard of how beautiful Germany is, really wish to see it myself... Read more:Traveling
Radisson Hotel, Noida 2007-10-30 10:23:00 In my recent trip to New Delhi, I stayed in the Radisson Hotel
in Noida
. This hotel is 3-4 years old/new. It is situated in the centre of the Noida district, very near to many office buildings.It has a very strategic location, as traveling from the hotel to any offices takes only 10 to 15 minutes.This hotel is very beautiful with nice interior and varieties of restaurants. Its Indian restaurant, RED, is rated the best Indian restaurants in town. Similarly it also has an award winning oriental restaurants.I love this hotel, but it is very costly, just like any other hotels in India. It costs me INR 16,200 per night (c. RM1,500) inclusive of breakfast and airport transfer. With the same cost, I can probably stay in a 5 star hotel in KL for 4 or 5 nights.An alternative is to stay in Delhi, an hour drive from the office area. The savings is not great, but still big. Intercontinental Hotel can cost around INR 11,800 per night (c. RM1,000). For the comfort and convenience, I prefer R
Fresh Pistachio from China 2007-11-03 10:50:00 When you buy pistachio nuts from countries like Australia, it can easily reach RM100+. At least that was the amount my mom paid when she visited Melbourne.Last week she spent her holiday in JiuZaiGou in China
. Bought a pack of fresh pistachio for only RM15. They are really unprocessed and we need to peel off the hard shell to eat the nuts.This is the first time I see fresh pistachio.When I first saw it, I thought it was a pack of Cadbury chocholates! At first, we were so stupid, used hammers to knock the shell - lots of hassle to eat that tiny nut inside. As a result of that, no one really interested in them. A day later, my sister realized that a tool is provided! The tool looks like a key, is made of steel, with thin edge to be inserted in the natural crack of the nuts and with a slight twist the nut can be pry open easily!Look, this is the key and the nut (looks like a chocolate, right?):Can you see the hairline crack on the nut?Just insert the key like this and then twist.Pop! The
My blog is reviewed 2007-12-10 08:42:00 Valmg from Home and Vacation has done a review on Lazy Bone a few weeks ago. She offered to review our blogs for free in the PPP forum, how generous she is!!In her review of this blog, she pointed out that my blog has very little usage of photos. For a travel blog, photo is very important in bringing out the attractions.I actually had a problem with that, coz I didn't have a good camera. I relied a lot on my cellphone's camera, which was very sensitive to movements and lights. I often unable to take any photos in a rush.Now that I've got a new camera, I believe I can make better quality posts with better pictures. :)
Vegetarian western food restaurant - Camp Forest 2007-12-22 10:27:00 When we first saw the ad of Camp Forest
Restaurant in the Kepong Metro magazine, I wondered if it is a branch of Cameleon Vegetarian
Restaurant because they share the same Chinese name: 甘味林.This restaurant
is not just a vegetarian restaurant, it is a WESTERN vegetarian restaurant that serves the common western food people like in KL.We decided to give it a try, because I love the food in Cameleon, and I did hope the quality of Camp Forest is at least equivalent to Cameleon.We went there on Thu evening. The first impression when we arrived was very good. The restaurant was set up in a tropical forest mood. Dining inside, you won't feel that you are in the city. Instead, it gives me a feeling like having holiday in a resort place!The restaurant has a few fountains and a man-made 'waterfall' with koi fishes around the diners. It has attracted both my children immediately. They chose to sit near the water so they can observe the fishes and fountains.My son ordered spaghetti 'O'
Great Japanese Dinner at Zipangu, Shangri-la KL 2008-03-04 07:39:00 My sister has decided to give me a treat last weekend, and she brought me to Zipangu at Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur for a Japanese
feast.She chose this venue because she is the Shangri-la's Prestige Platinum cardholder, which entitles her for 50% discounts on the bill (before tax). She highly recommended Zipangu's foie gras, and has been mentioning it many times. This is the first time I try that out.These are the things that we ordered...First, it is the not-to-be-missed sashimi. As both of us like only Salmon, she ordered Salmon Belly (Sashimi Harasu). Salmon Belly is more tender and juicy. It basically melts in your toungue, and it is a lot sweeter than other parts.RM65Then, the rice came. We ordered Rice in Green Tea and Salmon Mustard Onigiri (Rice Ball). We are very Asian, must eat rice. Read more:Great
, Dinner
Massage in Bangkok 2008-02-15 07:27:00 If you have been to Thailand, but not experienced a Thai massage, then you are considered not visited Thailand!That was what I was told, when I first visited Thailand many years ago.I am not a person fond of body massage because I dislike strangers touching my naked body. And I don't like the typical Thai massage, as I have fear of breaking my bones when they twist my limbs. :PSo, I settled for foot massage, and I trully love it. Thai's foot massage is different from the Chinese, though they both refer to it as Foot Reflexology.As my job now requires me to travel a lot, everytime when I go to Bangkok
, I never missed it. However, year on year, I feel a drop in the quality. I got disappointed on many occassions. My colleagued even stopped doing massage completely.But then, my friend wh Read more:Massage
Fuji restaurant, Bangkok 2008-02-04 11:22:00 When I was in Bangkok
, my best friend took me to this place in Tesco -- Fuji Japanese restaurant
. It is a chain, and my friend said the price is very reasonable.I was very hungry the time when we had our dinner. It was way passed my usual dinner time, due to time difference and shopping done. :PIn the beginning I still able to take photo, but when my main course came, I've just forgot about it. LOL!Here is fry asperagus. Very fresh and juicy. I like it with a little bit of chilli.Egg sushi and seaweed:Here is the mushroom salad. I don't quite like it, coz there is too much of glass noodle.This is the usual egg pouch sushi (dunno the name). It is quite different from what I had in the past, coz the rice inside is not just plain rice. It has a mix of some pickles and finely chopped mushroom.
Pratunam Market 2008-02-02 05:34:00 In my last visit to Bangkok, I had a very busy schedule. Meeting was from 8am to 5pm everyday. On the second day evening, right afte I dropped my stuff back to the hotel, I took a cab to the Pratunam market.I was deterined tha I must do some shopping. I have been grounded for more than 3 months and havn't got the chance to buy any CNY clothes for the children and even myself!I went to the Pratunam wholesale market, despite knowing it was probably too late. When I arrived 80% of the shops were closed, and the rest were in the process of closing. I managed to catch one shop before they closed the shutter. It is a shop for children's clothing.As I was in a hurry (can't believe that my bladder was full at this critical hour!), I didn't have the energy and time to negotiate, but I was pre Read more:Market
The Davis, Bangkok 2008-01-29 05:14:00 This is my second time staying in Davis
hotel in Bangkok
. It is not as convenient as the other hotels on the main street like Intercontinental, when it comes to transportation. However, in terms of food and massage, it is fantastic.Staying in Davis do not require breakfast. I came out of the hotel, and could see Starbucks on my right.I went in and ordered some simple breakfast, just sandwiches and coffee.While I was sipping my coffee and reading my book, I found 2 other nearby cafe for great breakfast. Could have gone there earlier, but I took the shortest way!Just opposite the Starbucks, it is the Kakao Cafe, which serves chocolate stuff - drinks nad food.And just on the opposite right of Starbuck, is AuBonPain, a bakery with nice chicken wrap - I ate there the night before. :)Further dow
What kind of balcony is this? 2008-01-27 05:13:00 I came across this in Bangkok:I kept wondering, why would people build a door that leads to no where, on the first floor? The roof of the lower unit is just made of thin aluminum. From the look, I can tell it definitely cannot support human weight.So, why have that door? And they are all opened. Yes, I used ‘they’, coz the whole stretch of the wooden shop lots are like that! Interesting…
Car fell off from 8th floor, 1 dead 1 traumatized 2008-01-25 05:11:00 When I was in Jakarta few days ago, there was a tragedy in the building that I visited. It happened in the morning, before I arrived – thank God I didn’t have to witness such thing. It could happen just in front of me, just at the taxi drop-off area!There was a car fell off from 8th floor parking bay. When the car fell off, it went upside down, and hit another car on its left passenger’s side. Luckily the car on the ground, driven by a lady, has no other passengers. She was traumatized, of course, but alive.The driver of the fallen car died on the spot. Some witnessed told me that the scene was very scary, with blood and brain everywhere. They said his body was half gone!Apparently the driver wanted to do reverse parking, somewhat went over the edge, hit the grill. It is very common
Nadaman restaurant, Shangri-la Jakarta 2008-01-24 04:49:00 This is the first time I stayed in Shangri-la hotel in Jakarta
. They have a very nice Japanese restaurant
, with very good food and services. I liked it so much that I revisited the second day – both for lunch as my meeting ended too late.First DayI always like to eat gindara shioyaki (grilled cod fish), but not every place serves it. Teriyaki is more common than shioyaki, but I dislike teriyaki sauce.The Gindara Shioyaki set includes 3 servings of sashimi. As I was recovering from food poisoning, I requested to change that to tempura.The appetizer is very good. A small portion of chopped toufu covered in some fish flakes. I like the fish flakes, yummy!They served the tempura first. Ordinary, but fresh.This is the salad, which has the jellyfish on top, quite different.And here is the gind
Nighmare dealing with accommodation rental 2008-01-07 05:23:00 Since JohnChow has blogged about this, you'd have already read this. If not, let me share this ridiculous travel story with you.Before reading on, let me ask you a question: When you stay in a hotel, are you charged by day or by night stay?Pedro & Grace are frequent travlers, who has travelled to many places and stayed in many types of accommodations. They will start travelling around the world nonstop for 1 year starting from January 2008, with their second stop in NYC from 18 Jan to 18 Feb, i.e. 31 nights.As they planned to truly experience NY Living, they wanted to rent an apartment instead of a hotel. They have booked themselves in Furnished Quarters (Jersey City).Their nightmare has just begun after the availability is confirmed. First, they had to pay $1k for deposit which
'Personal' Steamboat 2008-01-04 04:13:00 I like to eat steamboat, but I hate to sweat in front of the hot pot, in Malaysia's hot weather!Recently restaurant with new concept of individual steamboat is mushrooming. Unlike the conventional steamboat where everyone shares the same big 'boat'/pot, this new concept gives everyone an individual pot - all by one self.On the New Year Eve, we dined in one of these restaurants near Carefour Kepong. I guess people normally order 1 set per person, which costs from around RM18 to RM30 each, depends on the type of meat (beef is more expensive than chicken).As we went in a group of 5 adults (incl maid) and 2 children, we ordered a 'couple set' (for 2) and another single set. With that, they gave us 3 individual pots. I had one, which I cooked for my 2 children and my maid, which MIL and FIL Read more:Personal
LED rope lighting 2008-03-24 05:31:00 I've been asked to review this LED rope light from Birddog Distributing.I've never heard of this LED rope light, so I did some research. I am pretty much surprised with its beauty and its benefits.Basically, LED (Light-Emitting-Diode) is the kind of light bulp used in most of the cars' tail lights. My old Satria's 3rd break light used LED. And lately I've bought some torch lights with LED bulps as well. They are usually brighter than the traditional light bulps. Because it doesn't involve burning of filaments like traditional bulps, LED uses less energy and producing more lights/brightness.And these LED rope lights are slowly replacing conventional rope lights due to its energy saving, low heat and long lasting attributes.Though I could see there are various types of rope lights (2-wire, 3
Recommend Site To A Friend
