Happy New Year 2012!

I can't wait for 2012 to come coz i'm looking forward for the next vacay. ;

2011 has given me so much strength and happiness. I embraced every challenges that came to my door. I'm grateful to ALLAH for giving me the courage to stand tall. Alhamdulillah.

Travel Insurance

OK! Akhirnya dah decide on buying travel insurance from where. I just called Triways KLCC, looks like travel insurance from AXA provides better coverage. The price for VIP plan is RM65 for 6-10 days. Just perfect for my trip.


Travel Insurance? Checked!

Preparation to Paris

Wow!! That's all I can say!! hahahaha penat kut bt research psl paris ni...lagi2 sbb byk sgt benda nk beli, jadi kena tgk byk sgt website, visit designer boutiques lg nk compare price, baca comments and also experience org lain utk dptkn tips and ideas...One thing for sure, kalo dh smpi Paris, mmg kena shopping la kn..hehe tp kna ade priority sbb kalo x silap ni country ke 7 sy visit tahun ni...kopak2!! Gunung pun runtuh kalo kena tarah selalu kn..haha


So far, I've made up my mind on what to purchase for me. So far ade la 5-6 benda yg nk di beli that include handbags, wallet, watch and few more items. Utk abah, adik & umi pn dh di fikirkan. 


Selected tour pn dh beli. Ticket disneyland pn dh setel. Cuma ade sikit2 lg yg still nk kna tgk and need our final touch.


18 days to go!


p/s: Upset sket arini sbb airport shuttle from Airasiago dh sold out. Wpn this time we all akn travel naik Etihad Airways, tp still hepi nk guna service airasiago utk tours. Ada setengah tu mmg murah & berbaloi. Hmmm...terpaksa la guna service provider lain kn...

Travelling Essentials

Before travelling, I believe everyone has their own" things to bring" list. I do have myself. Why do I do that? Well, just to make sure that I don't forget the most important and essential items. My must bring list includes:

1. My passport (This is really2 important. Make sure you keep in with you. Kalo tertinggal, cane nk fly kn??? ;))
2.Camera (mana bole tinggalkn! haha)

3. Money (in that country currency of course!)

4. A basic supply of toiletteries items (small size shampoo, shower gel, tooth brush, sunclock etc)

5. Some medications (I normally bring panadol, minyak cap kapak & losen halia utk lenguh2 kaki. haha)

6. A simple map of your destination for quick reference (you may print it from internet. Ape pn, pls get a decent 1 at the airport. Senang sket nk jalan2)

7. Food supply (at least bwk maggi, 3 in 1 sachets, tuna, kari ayam dlm tin, buns and biskut sket)

8. Enough clothes (yg ni kalo x bwk lnsg, x tau la nk ckp..tp bole bli baru kn..huhu)

9. Travel Insurance (kalo bole, baik amek. Just to be safe than sorry kn..)

10. Essential documents (mcm hotel booking receipt, online tickets etc)

11. An empty mineral water bottle! (sgt2 penting for me sbb ssh nk jumpa bidet kt overseas. kalo lupe, harus la beli kt sana. hehe)

Don't forget to do some research on places of interest, how to go there, cost of living and etc before you go so that you'll have some ideas on what's going on there. Nnt x payah nk tanye2 org bagai kn..

Most important of all, HAVE FUN!!!! :)

p/s: do learn some basic phrases or language. It will certainly help you.

My passion for travelling

I luv travelling so much..and I'm an avid traveller! I just luv to see the place, the people, the culture and not to forget tasting the local foods. It is just not of comparison to what we have, but also to observe how people live everyday and I believe that's what makes everyone's unique. 

Every place has it's story. 

I'm going to PARIS!!!!!!

Horeeeeee!!! Horeeeeee!! I'm going to Paris!!


I can't believe it...Out of the blue, without any planning, suddenly I bought a ticket to Paris..


How ridiculous & crazy..well, that's just me... ;)
The idea came to me in a snap..


I can't wait for December to come..I'm truly and super duper excited now...
The best part of it, I can celebrate my birthday in PARIS!!! Yeay!!!
How cool is that????..hehe


and Laduree Macarons anyone?? ;) ;)

LOUIS VUITTON

Louis Vuitton or widely known as LV is a luxury designer brand that many people adore. Often enough, we, as the normal crowd (including me!) wonder about the price. Normally, LV will revise their price about 2-3 times annually. Most of the time, the price is going up! Of course LV is cheapest in its home country France. But not all of us can afford of going to France just for the sake of buying a LV handbag. 


The cheapest flight to France from KL on AirAsia costs around RM1600 during promo time. The lowest hotel rate in Paris is about RM250 per night. The total cost that you need to fly to Paris for a 2 nights trip is around RM2600 including RM500 for food & basic transportation cost. And that doesn't include cost for a LV handbag yet. I think the cheapest LV handbag is around RM 2000 in France (Pls correct me if I'm wrong coz I'm not sure about the price in Paris). In short, you will need at least RM 4600 for a handbag shopping trip in France. **Note: This is only estimation cost.


Unless you have a friend that could help buying a LV bag for you in Europe. Definitely WORTH IT!! However, I think it is still OK to buy a LV bag in Kuala Lumpur. Here are the list of the prices that I could remember from my visit on Monday:

Speedy 25

Neverfull

     Speedy 25: RM2550
     Speedy 30: RM2600
     Speedy 35: RM2650
     Neverfull GM: RM2900


Because of that, I've came out with a simple formula to estimate the price of LV bags in Malaysia by referring to USD price (suka hati aku je kn...hahahah). In general, you may multiply USD with a factor of 3.333. From my calculation, the factor varies from 3.31 to 3.4. To be safe, I do recommend a factor of 3.333. For instance:


     Neverfull GM: RM2900 (USD 870) --> USD 870*3.333=RM 2899.7


Or, for accurate price, please feel free to call LV store. They are really helpful. 


A piece of advice to all LV and designer handbag lovers, do buy from the store coz it is authentic. Nevertheless, if you choose to buy online, please be careful with fake sellers. Do buy from the trusted sellers only and please check their reputation as well. As for me, I am comfortable buying from the store as I can be sure of the authenticity.


Cheers! :)

Melawat Brunei Darussalam: Day 3

Hari ni dh last day kitaorg kt sini. baju pn dh kemas lebey kurang. Flight kul 3.55pm, so still ade masa sket utk jln2 and wrap up trip kali ni. Target harini nk g pantai & kedai Happy Star lg sbb ade lg souvenirs tak beli..Sejurus selepas sarapan, kitaorg terus ke Pantai Muara. Jarak dia lebih kurang dlm 30km dr apt kitaorg. Pantai Muara ni sebelah askar nyer Base. Time ni dpt la tgk askar2 terjun parachute...

Jauh jgk rasenye nk ke pantai ni..otw blk ke bandar, kitaorg lalu depan kampung ayer...penduduk kg ayer ni park kereta derang kt tepi jln jer..then amek sampan utk blk umah..tu la rutin derang setiap hari...

Rumah2 kt Brunei x byk berbeza dgn Mesia cuma yg sy noticed xde bangunan pencakar langit cm kt KL. They live a very simple life here..sgt tenang...Org kt sini bwk kereta sgt sopan...xde hon hon cm kt tmpt kita..Siap berenti kasik laluan kt pejalan kaki. Kt sini, nk jumpa motor sebijik kt atas jln pn ssh..x mcm kt KL..hehe

Dh beli2 souvenirs, kitaorg decided nk try Jollibee plak..Jollibee ni terletak di Kompleks Yayasan..Rasa dia boleh la.. :) :) 

Okay..jam pn dh dkt kul 1pm..dh kena gerak blk hotel & bersiap ke airport. Smlm sy dh booked airport shuttle kul 130pm. Yg bagusnyer dok D'Anggerek apartment ni, shuttle service 24hrs tau and it's free! cuma 3 mins je ke airport..siyesly dekat..

Tu la penutup jalan2 carik makan kitaorg 1 famili di Brunei..We had so much fun..yg penting, dpt jgk kitaorg jejak kaki ke sini..

Budget keseluruhan trip kali ni ialah RM3000 utk 5 org including hotel, flight,mkn, sewa kereta, souvenirs etc. Well done!!

Ketibaan AK 267..Sayonara Brunei....

Melawat Brunei Darussalam: Day 2

We started our day dgn having breakfast at the apartment. Right after breakfast, terus menuju ke area Tamu Kianggeh. We parked our car there and jln ke kedai souvenirs "Happy Star 1.80". Mmg target harini nk beli souvenirs pn. Kedai ni terletak di bangunan kaler pink. Mmg boleh nmpk from the parking area. 

Org2 Brunei mmg rekomen kedai ni sbb menurut mereka, kedai ni jual souvenirs murah. Fridge magnet bole dpt 4 for B$10 & 3 for B$10 depending on the design and type. Keychain plak kalo x silap B$5.90 for 6 pieces. Baju t-shirt paling murah B$10.90. Kalo nk kualiti yg elok sikit, dlm B$12.90-14.90 cmtu.


Lepas beli souvenirs, kitaorg singgah kt kedai kain Firoz Jaya. Saje nk tgk2 kain sbb org kata kain kt sini murah. Firoz Jaya ni dekat je dgn kedai Happy Star td.

Kitaorg beli 3 pasang saree silk dgn harga B$24 (RM60) sepasang. Setiap pasang kain ialah utk 5.5 meters. Saree ni mmg lembut, jadi kitaorg rasa mmg sangat murah & berbaloi. Chiffon pun murah. Ada yg harga cuma B$1.50-B$1.75 semeter. Ade yg mahal sikit. Tp kitaorg x beli sbb malas nk lining. hehe Boleh juga ke kedai Nazmi kalo nk beli kain pasang.


Kain setel! Next, ke Tamu Selera lg sbb adik saya kepingin nk makan nasi ayam penyet yg sedap tu lg. hehe Arini kitaorg order 5 nasi ayam penyet, 1 sup tulang, 3 milo ping, 1 tongkat ali dan teh o panas. Total B$23. 

Bile perut dh full, baru ke Masjid Yayasan sbb nk solat & melawat masjid. Kt sini zohor masuk kul 12.15pm cmtu. Cantik masjidnyer...cuma time2 cmni, cuaca sgt2 panas...

Kubah masjid, pili air dan jubin kecik ni sume ade element emas. Mmg superb! 


Lepas solat, kitaorg ke satu tempat yg special di Brunei. Kitaorg nk carik Restoran Aminah Arif sbb nk try Ambuyat, makanan traditional masyarakat Brunei. Ambuyat di buat dr sagu & di makan dgn sambal binjai atau binjai+tempoyak dan lauk pauk. Restoran ni terletak di Kiulap. Mmg before smpi lg, saya dh tetapkan target utk makan ambuyat kt sini. So, ape2 jd pn, musti kna jumpa. haha Tp punyalah ssh nk carik restoran ni..lama gak la kitaorg pusing2 Kiulap & tanya org. Org yg kitaorg tnye plak, Indonesian. Ambuyat pn dia x tau. So how? Kitaorg tetap gak gigih mencari. Tup tup jumpa. YEAY!!!


Kedai ni terletak x jauh dari Kiulap Plaza Hotel. Kalo nmpk signboard pepsi ni, masuk ke dlm ok.

Kitaorg order set Ambuyat utk 3 org & cendol selasih. Total B$28. Ni gamba ape yg kitaorg order.

Ambuyat

Daging urat tumis

Cendol Selasih

Overall, saya rasa Ambuyat ni boleh tahan. Lauk pauk yg disediakan mmg sedap. Rugi kalo x cuba. Kalo nk tau lanjut psl restoran Aminah Arif ni, sila ke aminaharif.blogspot.com


Sesudah mkn Ambuyat, kitaorg singgah jp tgk iPad2 kt kedai berdekatan. Harga kt mesia lg murah. :)


Lepas dh mkn2, kitaorg ke Gadong lg sbb nk g tgk Masjid Gadong & solat kt sana. Masjid Gadong mmg lg besar dr Masjid Yayasan. Rasanya ni masjid Utama di Brunei. Byk pokok2 kt sini jd kurang panas. hehe

Selesai solat, dlm kul 620pm cmtu, kitaorg terus ke Pasar Gadong..carik makan lg..yeay...Pasar Gadong ni cm dh jadik tmpt faveret kitaorg plak..hehe Mlm ni kitaorg beli burger ayam (B$2), burger kambing (B$3), apam balik (B$2), chakoi (B$1), nasi ayam penyet (B$2) & sambal kacang ikan masin...Yummy2...Kitaorg tapau & mkn kt bilik..End of Day 2...

Melawat Brunei Darussalam: Day 1

Selamat Datang ke Begawan! That's how the stewardess greeted us. Oh! Agaknyer Brunei ni famous dgn panggilan Begawan la kut kn... :)

Trip kali ini ialah trip jalan2 cari makan bersama family. Kitaorg berlima. I'll try my best utk share experience kitaorg kt sana including our spending. Maybe boleh di jadikan reference to those yg berminat nk ke Brunei. Trip kami bermula dr 14 Oct smpi 16 Oct 2011. Flight dr LCCT kul 645am. Kitaorg dpt tiket ni dgn harga RM660 utk 5 org. Kul 5am br gerak dr rumah. Mmg kelam kabut. Nasib baik dh bt mobile check-in awl2. Kitaorg parking kereta kt sana sbb nk jimat kos teksi. haha

Kitaorg smpi Brunei agak lambat dr yg sepatutnya sbb ade passengers yg missing msa derang bt headcount sblm flight bergerak. Smpi jer Brunei, dh ada org Hotel yg tnggu kitaorg. 

Kitaorg stay kt D'Anggerek Apartment. Very near to the airport. Cuma 3-5 min jer. Bilik ni kitaorg booked thru AGODA. Total harga bilik utk 3 hari 2 mlm termasuk 1 extra bed ialah RM940. Smpi apartment, wakil dr A.A. Car rental dh tnggu pn kt Lobby. So kitaorg amek kunci bilik and kunci kereta skali. Simpan barang dulu sblm memulakan journey ronda2 Brunei. Yeay!

Bilik kt apartment ni besar & selesa. So far, kitaorg mmg xde complaint psl bilik during our stay kt sana. 

Kereta yg kitaorg sewa tu Chevrolet Aveo Sedan (Manual). Rental for 1 day is B$50 including insurans. Gambar kereta lupa nk amek. 1st tempat kitaorg berenti ialah Tamu Kianggeh. Tamu ni terletak di Bandar Seri Begawan (BSB). Dr apartment, cuma drive ke arah pusat bandar je.  Tamu Kianggeh ni mcm Pasar Tani. Kitaorg cuma beli mangga muda je kt sini.1 longok B$1. 

Next, kitaorg ke Tamu Selera sebab perut dh lapar. Tamu Selera ni cm Medan Selera kt Mesia. Kt Tamu ni kitaorg makan nasi ayam penyet, sup Tulang, dgn Tongseng. Utk 5 org makan, harga total ialah B$24 (RM59). Utk info kitaorg tukar duit B$1=RM2.44. Kedai yg kitaorg mkn ni alas meja dia kaler biru. btul2 sebelah kedai yg ade alas meja kuning. Nama kedai x ingt. 

Lepas makan, kitaorg ke Yayasan Sultan Haji Hasanal Bolkiah. Kt area Yayasan ni, ade Masjid & shopping mall.

Weather kt Brunei time ni panas ya amat...lg panas dr KL...tu yg x bergambar sgt sbb x thn dgn cuaca dia. Kaorg msk Hua Ho Dept Store sbb nk beli air & kudapan. Air mineral dia yg 1.5L tu harga dlm B$1-1.50. Juice dia ade yg murah (B$0.80) and yg mahal (B$4). tp air red bull dia mmg murah. cuma B$1 jer. Kalo convert, x byk beza dgn mesia. Cuma, kalo kita kerja kt sana dgn rate gaji sana, harga barang2 mmg murah. I would say, dgn gaji B$2000 per month, dh boleh hidup selesa.

Lepas beli air, kitaorg blk bilik sbb dh penat. Dpt la tdo kejap. After solat maghrib, kitaorg kuar jln2 ke Pasar Gadong. Area Gadong ni lg meriah dr BSB. Ade byk mall and kedai2. Saya rasa ni la tempat tumpuan org2 Brunei. 

Kt Pasar Gadong kitaorg try nasi katok, sosej BBQ dan nasi ayam penyet. Nasi katok cuma B$1. Pasar Gadong ni start dr pukul 5pm smpi 1030pm kalo x silap. 

Kitaorg beli jugak sambal kacang & tempe dan sambal kacang & ikan masin (gambar kt atas). Mmg sedap. Harga cuma B$1 je utk 1 cawan. Kt pasar gadong ni jugak ade org jual jering rebus. Ingtkan kt kelantan je yg ade. hehe

Dh makan, kitaorg g amek gambar Masjid Yayasan. Mlm mmg cantik...

Mmg cantik dan mendamaikan....Tu la penutup Day 1 kitaorg kt sana....Mata dh ngantuk, badan pn dh penat. Jom blk tdo...ZzzzZZZzzzz....