Paris Trip: Notre Dame Cathedral - April 2014

I went to France on April 2014 for business trip + honeymoon. Yup..I'm just married..Haha..like you care.

Me and my other half went to several places, one of it is Notre Dame. Its on the central of Paris. This place is one of the must visit place in Paris. Its was a very nice weather that day, not too chilly like any other day. I can even wear my not-so-thick Parka. My first impression of that place was like Wow..Its wow because of so many people (children and tourist) there. We barely get to take picture without any human body in it, in fact we don't have any of the picture. Well that's not bad after all, its one of Paris attraction, of course there are a lot of people there. 

I love the place, it has an amazing architecture. The building was surrounded with neat landscape and beautiful flowers.

   

How to go there:

* Because the hotel i stayed is near by Gare Du Nord station so my direction will start at Gare Du Nord station.

Stations: Gare Du Nord - St. Michel Notre Dame (RER B - blue line)
Zone: Zone 1 (Paris)
Fare: 3,25 € (One Way)

Direction:
From Gare Du Nord, look for RER B line (blue line). Take the train to Antony/Massy Palaiseau/ St Remy direction. St. Michel is only one stop away from Gare Du Nord station. Exit at St. Michel station. There are a few exit at St. Michel, i don't remember which exit is the nearest to Notre Dame but as long as you exit at St. Michel, you will find your way to Notre Dame. Trust me, we did.

Personal Experience:

• Its crowded when we got there, probably because of school holiday. Spotted school children playing treasure hunt.
• The place is quite smelly, only at the entrance. Smell like pee, in fact almost all of the metro stations i transited/stopped smells like pee. 
• If you are Muslim, there are a few Lebanese restaurant where you can buy Halal food along St. Michel side walk.

Tips:

• Because its too crowded, beware of your belonging.
• If you planned to tour around France in different Zone, its better to purchase 1 day pass which covers Zone 1 - 5.

South Korea: Namsangol Hanok Village

Namsangol Hanok Village is a traditional Korean village. It quite interesting to find that the hanok village is actually located in between modern buildings in Chungmuro. 

I was there on last spring, the village is full of cherry blossom tree. It was beautiful, especially when wind blows, the petals falling like snow, and scattered on the road like carpet. Its totally amazing. There is no cherry blossom in my country so i deserve to feel amazed.

 

Below is the information i took from Visit Korea website. 

Directions

Subway  Chungmuro Station (Seoul Subway Line 3 or 4 Exit 4 Walk along Hanongmaeul-gil st. for 5 minutes.  Bus  Take Bus 104, 105, 263, 604, or 7011.  Get off in front of at 'Twegye 3 (sam)-ga Hanongmaeul' Walk to the exit4 of Chungmuro Station, then along Hanongmaeul-gil st. for 5 minutes. Operating Hours 09:00 ~ 21:00 April to October: 09:00 ~ 21:00 November to March: 09:00 ~ 20:00 Closed on Tuesday Hanbok Experiance One of the attraction here is the Hanbok experiance. For us tourist, we definitely excited with the offer but unfortunately, we (me and the rest of the rombongan cik jijah participant) didn't get the chance to try out the Hanbok because it was closed. Damn!!!

Here are some info of the Hanbok experience offered at Namsamgol Hanok Village.

Fee: KRW 3,500

Time: 11:00~17:00 (closed on Tuesday)

For more info please visit : http://hanokmaeul.seoul.go.kr/ (Korean)

Tips:

• Bring along some 'jajan', biscuits or water. You'll get exhausted from the mild uphill and downhill walk.
• Avoid TUESDAY if you plan to visit this village. 

South Korea - Guest House Review: 5th Hostel, Seoul (Hostel Korea)

Last year when we visited S.Korea we stayed at Namsan Guesthouse 2. Its a nice place too and located right at Myeong-Dong, the shopping heaven. But, Namsan Guesthouse has raised their room price and all, we decided to look for some other guesthouse. After googling for days and months we chose 5th Hostel.

5th Hostel located at Geumho-Dong., Seoul. This hostel is one out of many other Hostel Korea branch. Even though it does not located at the center of big city but it is safe and less busy. The area complete with multiple convenience store, bread shop, coffee shop, restaurant and beauty shop. Most importantly, its near to subway station, Singeumho Station. From Singeumho Station to hostel is about 5 min away.

Check out their website: 5th Hostel. I don't take much picture of the guest house but thanks to google, i manage to took some of the picture to show u guys.

                                     
                                     

All picture own by Hostel Korea.

My personal experience, the available room is not spacious but it acceptable. There is still some space to put your begs. There is also a small CRT TV, which is good enough for entertainment before go to sleep. And while we were there (April), the weather is quite chilly. But thanks to the outspread heater on bed, we had a very quality sleep. There is also washing machine and clothes drying areas.

On hospitality wise, all workers are friendly enough to greet you whenever we bumped with each other. Because i didn't spend much time at the guesthouse, i couldn't explain more about the staffs. But looking at pictures and messages send by visitors who stayed there before, i could tell, the staffs are friendly and likeable.

For those budget traveler out there, this place is recommended.

South Korea - Guest House Review : Kiss & Fly B&B Guesthouse

I've been to Korea again for the 3rd time on last April. I have no idea why i kept going back there almost every year. I'm gonna make some review regarding 1 amazing guest house that me and the rest of my travel partners get to spend a night before gone back to Malaysia. My personal opinion, this place is really Daebak-대박 (awesome in Korean).

Sometimes when we travel, there are possibilities to arrive late at night or leaving early in the morning. One of the solution is to take transit hotel, inside or nearby the airport. But for budget traveler, a guest house is the best option.

Kiss&Fly B&B Guesthouse is actually a double story bungalow house located at Unseo-dong, Incheon. Located near to airport, about 10 minutes away from the airport. It is a new town/village as described by taxi driver. It is indeed a new town/village, once you enter the area u will know. Its a very calm, cozy and eye soothing neighborhood. Its like a combination of a modern and rural neighborhood. In between big houses you can see small farming area almost everywhere around the neighborhood. Its a completely different scenery to us.



Check out the interior (not much pic tho). There is 2 dorm, for female and male each and 1 family room. Price per head is KRW 20000 (RM 60). The price has been raised a bit. It was KRW18000, last time we went there. This guest house is child friendly, so it is very convenience for those travel with baby or children.

There are many options to book for room at the guest house eg: Hotel.com, Booking.com. Just google for Kiss and Fly Guest House, and choose from the option listed.

Check out their website www.kissnflybnb.com for more info.
 
Thanks.

Kota Kinabalu-Kundasang Trip - June 2011

Hi again,

Kali ni nak share pasal trip 3D2N ke Kota Kinabalu pula. This time around i went with my colleagues. It was a fun yet tiring vacation i have ever experienced. Walaupun tak de la pegi berjalan byk tempat sgt pon. The day we touched down at KK airport we straight away went to Kundasang. We rented a car and made a long drive from KK to Kundasang. Its just 2 hour and 30 min drive but it felt like forever. Maybe bcoz of the bumpy, sloppy and scary road makes us felt like we never gonna reach Kundasang. But thank GOD we did reached Kundasang safe and sound.

There are sooo many beautiful places in Kundasang. Somehow u felt like u so not in Malaysia. The air, the surrounding, the mountains felt like you actually on the other side of the world. Teeettt!! 

While at Kundasang we visited a few popular places such Poring Hot Springs, Tagal Sg Moroli Fish Spa dan Sabah Tea garden. Its actually a typical places tourist will visits when they reached Kundasang except mendaki Gunung Kinabalu lah. Plus, ade satu tmpat menarik kat Kundasang ni. Kundasang ada 1 small town which locate a few food stores, grocery shops and some other shops. But u will be surprised with the look of the so-called Kundasang small town (i yg panggil mcm ni). Condition tmpat tu mcm baru lepas kena bomb. Trust me..sgt tragis. Iskkhh..lupa lak nk snap gambar. 

We departed from Kundansang on the evening of the second day dan smpai KK dh nk dekat maghrib.Untuk perjalanan ke KK yg lbih selamat dh rasa mcm diredhai..travel la siang2..bukan ape, jalannya pusing2 klau, bahaya utk bergerak malam unless dh biasa dengan jalan tu.

Di KK,  we have dedicated our sweet times to find souvenirs for friends and family..err food oso in the list. Target food kitorang adelah lobster. Alhamdulillah, jumpa juga dekat pasar malam depan Le Meridien hotel apartment yg kami sewa. Jgn ditanya harga lobsternya berapa..boleh buruk muka klau dikenang. mahal wooo..compare to mabul mmg tak yah compare. mabul's lobster is way way way cheaper. Banyak gerai yg jual seafood bakar so boleh choose memana yg berkenan di hati. Berhati2 juga dengan lobster, tanya harga dulu sebelom beli sbb ianya bukan murah..takut tak cukup cash di tangan nk bayar.

The next day, we spend our times linger around pasar borong and KK town je. Lepas tu ke airport dan bersedia untuk balik ke sarang. All and all, the trip was fun, definitely will come back..nk pegi manukan island pulak.

Pulau Mabul - The 3D 2N Story

Hi..

This entry is about Mabul Island. Mabul is such a beautiful island with breathtaking sea view.I fall in love with the island's clear blue sea and breezy fresh air.

On last May me and my girls Am & Wawa went to the beautiful island . Its was 3D 2N vacation. We stayed at Scuba Jeff. Click the link if you want more info. Scuba jeff would not be the best place to stay but the facilities, staffs, foods, services are all acceptable. I'd give them generous 3.5/5.

We took 3D 2N Snorkeling Package which cost us RM450. Complete package info, check scuba jeff websites. This package also includes meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So no need to worry about food as u will get enough food to survive for the whole vacation. Except snorkeling, some other activities we did like touring the Island, visiting the local people villages. 

For those who love photography, this is the time to capture the beautiful scenery of Mabul. The beautiful sunset glow, the peaceful sea landscape, the unique village, white sandy beaches..Mabul offers it all. Not to forget fresh lobsters with price as low as RM5. Nowhere on earth can offer that cheap price for a lobster.

 Hurry up people!! Save up and release your stuffy head at Mabul. Its a real deal. 

Korea Trip - June 2010

First time going abroad really is a memorable experience. Me, my sister and her husband decided that we should go to Korea. On June 20 midnight, we took off from KLIA and touched down at Incheon Airport on June 21 morning. Finally, dreams come true. We even flew to Jeju Island. Its a beautiful island, fresh seafood, fresh air, fresh fruit and many friendly ajummas (auntie). Very well preserved island.

Beautiful Korea

We spend a week in South Korea. Few days at Jeju-do and the rest at Seoul. We have no difficulties in finding accommodation, thanks to the informative "Lonely Planet" book. All information needed are all in it including phone number.
While in Jeju-do, we stayed at Global Motel, Tapgong-ro. Motel rate per night is W30,000, around RM80. Comfortable, large and clean room with bathroom attached.
In Seoul we stayed at Itaewon also known as Foreign Town. The only reason we stayed there is because we need to find Halal food and the only place we know that offers halal food is Itaewon. The Motel we stayed (forgot the name) is exactly in the middle of the busy Itaewon and room rate at about W45,000 around RM100 per night. Quite small but clean and ok laa.. And one more thing, information kiosk is everywhere in Seoul, so make a good use of it.

Seoul

Tips while u in Korea:
1) learn simple greeting also some basic words such toilet, airport etc

2) always bring along empty mineral bottle, u might wanna use it while in the toilet. Malay must do this.

3) carry with you, map, notebook, and pen or pencil to use in case of you need to ask for direction, write down the location..they probably can help you. its not like Korean people don't speak English, but they very shy shy..:D

The Book

4) Its hard to find halal food (except Itaewon), so bring along snack to munch along you journey.

5) If you travel without tour guide/agency..buy urself "Lonely Planet: Korea" to help you with all sort of information including maps, places info, transportation info and etc

The necessities

6) Don't forget to collect map, booklet and
pamphlet From information counter at airport.

7) Bring ur camera, u might don't wanna miss out on a breathtaking view of Korea.

That are all the tips i can think of until now, you might wanna consider above tips when visiting Korea.
We will re-visit Korea on end of March next year, hopefully we can treasure more beautiful side of Korea.