Follow:

Browsing Category:

Where to stay

    Resorts World Genting Highlands

    21/04/2019
    by
    Watch our experience on IGTV <3

    I can’t believe it’s been a month already since our trip to Genting Highlands, Malaysia. We had the best time running around being kids again. The trip itself had a rocky start, but luckily arriving Resorts World Genting made it all worth it. For those of you who don’t know, Tom had some ‘minor’ issues with his passport when leaving the country. Long story short, he got on a later flight and joined me in Genting Highlands… at 2 AM. 12 hours after I touched down.

    SkyAvenue 

    This is where everything happens!

    From the moment I walked into SkyAvenue Mall I was baffled over the shopping opportunities and dining choices. I’ve never been to a mall like this in Asia before. With more than 100 retails options, SkyAvenue is a haven for shoppers. You can get everything ranging from your everyday needs to exquisite jewellery, timepieces, shoes and gadgets. And even if your not a shopper or a foodie,  you’ll always stay entertained.

    guy talking to the dinosaur at jurassic research center
    guy sitting on a unicorn stretching his hands out with purple background in resorts world genting highlands 3d art museum

    We clearly had too much fun in the 3D arts museum. I wish I could share all the crazy pictures we took, but there’s just too many!

    girl falling into a black hole in space in resorts world genting highlands 3d art museum
    Hahaha… our 6 years together on the dot photo, guys! How Tom really feels…
    I had not expected it to be as entertaining as it was.. It was so well done! With lightbulbs dancing to the beat of the music and an animated orchestra playing lively tunes on the LCD screens all around the stage.
    girl holding a trolly at the zombie breakout at skyavenue mall in genting

    Head down to the Level 1 and watch the SkySymphony, an orchestra of audio, visual and kinetic winch technology. I can promise you, you’ve never seen anything like it. You’ll also find an arcade, a world class cinema ‘Bona Cinema‘ with an IMAX screen, screening all the newest movies, an indoor theme park ‘Skytropolis’, an adventure land with ‘Jurrasic Research Centre’, ‘Ripley’s believe it or not‘, an arcade, a children’s playground, a 3D-art museum and even a haunted Zombie experience.

    You can also find the largest casino in the entire country in this mall. Not only that, but the nightlife scene here is ON with Zouk Genting on the ground floor.

    couple together in zouk genting in the dark with no people around
    Someone got lucky and was let in a bit earlier for pics…
    There’s too many picture options at the ‘Bona Cinema’!
    Attention to the details!

    Skytropolis

    Going to SkyAvenue Mall and experiencing Skytropolis indoor park was special to me. Mainly because I love theme parks in all variations, but also because I’ve never been to an indoor theme park before. It’s so well done with an LCD screen running along the roof in the middle of the theme park, changing the scenery from daytime to night time so the only time you can be certain of is playtime!

    skytropolis theme park in genting with lcd screens everywhere
    How cool is the entrance to Skytropolis? So many lights, so much fun!
    skytropolis theme park in genting with neon lights

    We had so much fun going on all the rides and doing all the experiences around there. Do watch the IGTV video, we even zip line through the mall! My all time favourite was The Void, a 3D gaming experience that literally took you from being in the real world to somewhere remote in just seconds. I tried “Wreck it Ralph” and “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire”, both amazing. Although I have to say the Star Wars game was my favourite if I could only choose one. I’ve done 3D games before but this was next level. Put on the VR-headset, gear up and get lost. There’s equipment, buttons, handles, sounds, temperature changes and all sort of interactive objects along your route. I still wonder how it looks without the glasses, he he.

    These LCD screens were plastered all around the ground floor, changing the mood by the minute.

    Restaurants

    Oh man… you will be spoilt for choice and it’s hard to choose only 2-3 restaurants throughout the days as you won’t have time for them all no matter how you plan it.  

    Who else LOVES fish and chips? Although I have to admit we actually finished the cheese first…

    We had the pleasure of eating at the “Laughing Fish”  by Harry Ramsden where they had delicious fish and chips dishes following their original recipes from London and endless sweets for the ones with a sweet tooth. My favourite was the sticky toffee pudding!

    Juicy and salty to perfection!
    Thai Influencer crew at Highline!
    Nancy     and Fiancee, M from Palapilii and Eat & Shout girls <3

    For night time you need to dine at ‘Highline Roof Top Market’ where the food is stylish, the drinks are flowing and the view is breathtaking! You can spot the gondolas going up and down the mountains in the night time fog. Being in our mid twenties we were also loving the live music playing in the evening mixing between our favourite tunes and the classics our parents love.

    food presented from food court at skyavenue resort world genting highlands

    Walking through SkyAvenue mall there’s endless of Asian and European food chains as well, and if you’re like me and loves an in between activities snack, there’s plenty sweets, ice cream and bubble tea places for you to grab something on the go.

    We loved the combination of foods we got to try, ranging from Malaysian traditional delicacies, Halal food, Indian cuisine and other international cuisine. If you want to keep it safe and simple or as a filling bite after hanging out all day at the bar street on the SkyAvenue roof top- grab a pizza set from Motorino.

    Needless to say, you’ll never go hungry!

    Awana SkyWay Gondola Cable Car

    And even though SkyAvenue has everything that you might need for a fully enjoyable holiday… there are other places to visit while you go to Genting Highlands. Hop onto ‘Awana SkyWay Gondola Cable Car’ and you can ride up and down the hills of Genting with stops at the Chin Swee and Genting Highlands Premium Outlets. You can opt for a glass floor gondola or the regular one. If you are afraid of heights or easily get motion sickness, the glass floor one is not for you.

    awana skyway cable car genting

    A big thank you to Resorts World Genting for the hospitality! If you are planning a trip with your family, your friends, your lover and don’t want to go far from home, this is the place! It’s something for EVERYONE here. The flight to KL is only 2 hours from Bangkok, and Genting is only a 1-2 hour drive from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport depending on traffic. Extremely convenient, and you’ll never have to leave the resort! So glad we decided to give KL another try, as the only time I’ve been in Malaysia earlier was for the Amazing Race Asia… let’s just say that this trip was a lot less hectic although we did take a lot of pictures with murals again, he-he!

    Where to stay when travelling to Pai, Thailand

    18/03/2019
    by

    Since posting our photos from our oh-so-amazing trip to Pai, we’ve been getting so many questions about where we stayed, where we had our sunset picnic and not least, where that fantastic bathtub picture overlooking that lush green garden was…  

    I’m happy to tell you guys the wait is over!

    I think we can officially agree that I am the slowest blogger ever. But you know what they say… slow and steady wins the race.

    couple toasting to a beautiful sunset in thailand
    Usually the company of the sun is enough reason to love the sunset, but it was an incredible feeling to level up to this luxurious experience.

    As always I love to surprise Tom for his birthday with unknown locations and this year was no different. Although, this year Tom chose the location himself, I kept the experiences and hotels as a secret. But I usually like to keep the destination a secret too.

    You can see some our previous birthday trips here: PAI & SARABURI.

    In this post I’ll be focusing on the places we stayed. As you already know, during our last trip to Pai we stayed Yoma Hotel, Puri Pai Villa and the pool villa at The Quarter and even if these were fantastic, I had to go for something new this time around.

    Day 1: Pai Village Boutique Resort & Farm.

    a cute little hut in nature in during sunrise
    How cute is this little hut <3

    I’ve always wanted to stay at Pai Village Boutique Resort & Farm, but during our previous trip it was fully booked. Though the price might insinuate it, Pai Village does not have large, fancy and modern rooms, but the location is everything and their reviews were amongst the best for all the hotels in Pai. I loved the vibe of the hotel. As the name already reveals, Pai Village has their own farm in which you will get free access to when staying at their hotel. It’s a nice boutique style hotel, with cute huts nicely situated in a beautiful garden in the middle of Pai centre, all air-conditioned of course. I would recommend to get the bigger rooms. We had the Deluxe Village room and it was an ok size for the both of us with a nice little balcony to hang out at.

    a wooden outside patio with a bed during sunrise
    I need myself one of these outside areas… I could lie out there all day. It was such a nice change from Bangkok and the polluted air!

    wooden outside area to relax in front of hotel rooms
    So lush! This is where you can hang out for breakfast, afternoon tea and snacks and just chill in the nice fresh air. Right before walking into the garden where the huts are located.

    a girl pointing at koi fishes in the sunshine
    couple sitting in front of a wooden bar looking at the camera and holding hands
    All wooden details <3 at the Blue OX bar area!

    The Blue Ox restaurant was amazing, and so was the breakfast buffet in the morning. What really stood out at this hotel from the moment we checked in was the service. The staff there is so intuitive and helpful with everything.

    Birthday boy <3

    I contacted the hotel prior to checking in to make sure they could provide a champagne breakfast surprise and they did so without any hassle. It was super easy to arrange, which most of you know from living in Thailand, things usually aren’t unless it’s part of the regular menu.

    They even made this cute little room decor. Tom loved it, as you can see…
    cute bunny eating and staring at camera
    They also have a bunny coffee shop where you can cuddle and feed these cute bunnies!

    Pai Village is my favourite hotel in all of Pai. The perfect location, great food, good wine selection, nice rooms, but the most important thing; impeccable service. They really made us feel loved!

    Day 2, The Oia Resort, Pai

    This is what you are greeted with at the entrance. A majestic views overlooking the rooms and the man made water feature that runs through the property.

    The Oia Resort is a Greek themed hotel located a couple of kilometres from the centre of Pai. I think there were about four buildings inspired by a different place in Greece. We stayed in Corfu! The hotel offers 24 hours pickup service, but it’s probably easiest to get there by yourself if you’re only a couple of people travelling. The best way to go would be to rent a bike.

    girl standing on a swing by the water in the sunlight looking at the camera wearing a crop top and jeans shorts

    The rooms were spacious with a huge bathroom with quite the perfect bathtub to chill in during night time. Not great lighting though, hence no pictures. And to my favourite part about the room, the outside deck to chill on with your feet dipped into the cold water. Sunset was amazing from there!

    girl sitting next to a blue wall with a big window looking out on the waters, sitting on a bed with pink rose petals around her
    H a p p y B i r t h d a y T o m!
    girl sitting on a patio next to the eater during sunset with sun beams glowing in the background
    All the rooms on the first floor has decks to hang out on, and your own kayak too!

    Great vibes all around at this hotel and a nice breakfast selection too. They had fresh Cape Gooseberries so say no more! My only issue was that it was kind of half finished at some places. They were definitely missing some decorations on the walls in the rooms and pillows both in the seating area inside and outside on the deck.

    girl sitting on a fruit boat serving thai fruits and looking at the camera smiling
    If you stay on the patio/deck area outside your room at 10 AM you can have fruit delivered in a boat right at your door step.
    thai fruits on a platter in the sunlight

    I think this is a great hotel if you are travelling as a family or just looking for a good experience out of the norm!

    Last but not least,

    Final day: Reverie Siam

    Reverie Siam is situated on a gorgeous property not far from the centre of Pai, by the river banks. It’s a colonial style hotel and they’ve followed the theme well throughout the whole property.

    There’s a nice chillout area for the adults to hang out by the river and two nicely sized pools situated on a grounds disguised as natural stone pools. Both pools use a salt water system.

    couple walking on a balcony in pai

    Even if you’re not staying at the hotel I would highly recommend you to visit the Silhouette Bar which is the bar/restaurant at Reverie Siam. The food and cold cut/cheese spread is something you won’t find other places in Pai. Oh, and the wine selection is great! They also do some amazing cocktails and it’s reasonably priced.

    For anyone asking where the bathtub picture was from, this is the place, but make sure you get the villa as this is the only room with this feature.

    If you want to make your experience even more special you can book the sunset champagne experience that we had. It’s worth it! It’s one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve ever witnessed. If you’re looking to stay somewhere luxurious in Pai (with the best rooms we’ve seen so far), Siam Reverie is your safe bet!

    Going back to one of our favourite places in Thailand!

    01/02/2019
    by

    a girl sitting and eating cake

    Had to get Tom a bday cake from Pai’s #1 bakery… only thing was that the minimum order was 2lbs cake. Safe to say we ate cake every day! It’s lemon cheese cake. SOO GOOD.

    girl sitting by the pool Pai has so many cool hotels! I ended up booking a different one for each night. This is from our private villa at The Quarter. Loved the hidden pool. 

    woman walking over a bridge

    a thai city during sunset

    We are going back to Pai!

    So excited to be going back to Pai next week for Tom’s birthday. It’s one of our favourite places in Thailand. For those of you who don’t know where Pai is, it’s located in the north of Thailand past Chiang Mai. In the province of Mae Hong Son. Mae Hong Son is known as one of the mountainous provinces in Thailand. So you can believe me when I say that the scenery is perfect wherever you turn your head.

    The usual route would be to take a plane to Chiang Mai and get a bus from the centre/airport (has to be organised with your airline and only Air Asia offers this at the moment). Pai is famous for the 762 narrow and winding turns you have to conquer to get through the mountains before you arrive. It’s part of the charm, and so worth it. Though, if that’s not for you, there’s still an option to fly all the way with a small plane on a local airline called Kan Air.

    Curious to see what we did in Pai last time?

    Tom’s surprise bday trip to Pai // Our favourite hotel in Pai // The perfect Sunset in Pai //

    Chiang Mai bound!

    24/09/2018
    by

    girl holding an umbrella in the rice field

    // Rice fields and endless nature! //

    girl in a private pool in chiang mai

    //Can you believe it, this was our private pool at Dhara Dhevi during our last stay in Chiang Mai…//

    Hi lovlies.

    I’m heading for a new mini adventure tomorrow. Jumping on a plane in the morning and straight to Chiang Mai.  Hopefully the rain won’t be too bad. We were stuck between a beach holiday in the south or nature in the north and we both agreed that if the rain would start to pour, Chiang Mai was the place we wanted to be. We had an amazing trip to the North and Pai last year, but haven’t been in Chiang mai since our fantastic stay at Dhara Dhevi in 2014. Safe to say the city has developed a lot since our last trip. And to our pleasure I’ve heard that the café/bakery game is strong up in the north right now. Can’t wait to find spot some nice hidden gems and just enjoy the nature.

    See you guys there!

    Yim Yam Hostel Bangkok

    16/01/2018
    by

    Welcome this new Bangkok Hostel!

    The hostel scene in Bangkok has become quite on the uptrend. There’s hostels everywhere, but most are similar and lacking that vibe that should come with travelling solo and trying to meet new people. We had one night at the Yim Yam Hostel in Ratchatewi area before we headed of to Maya Festival last month and we were pleasantly surprised. English speaking staff, some that are there because they fell in love in Bangkok, deciding to make their stop a little more permanent than the one week originally planned for. These guys really makes the place! Décor that gives this perfect artsy setting. And pretty much every spot is perfect for Instragrammers wanting to get some pictures for their social media account.

    instagram worthy hostel bangkok

    chic decor bangkok hostel

    You might not be able to see it in the picture, but this place is packed with tables and turns out to a cosy study place at night time. They also serve freshly brewed coffee and drinks exotic drinks. If this was closer to my home I would choose this before True anyday!

    nice room girl bangkok hostel

    More pix of this room or if you wanna book. HERE.

    ratchatewi traffic hostel

    Set the whole nailing of the interior aside, the vibe at Yim Yam was very welcoming. I could assume anyone travelling from abroad or lacking knowledge about the best spots around Thailand would find this place very rewarding. Even me, who has lived here for 5 years actually got see a new area of Bangkok.

    decor chic bangkok hostel

    One of the many places to chill in the garden

    breakfast in the garden at a hostel in bangkok

    table in the garden at a hostel in bangkok

    Their large garden and nice seating areas is a major plus. You won’t find much of this here in Bangkok.

    There’s  events and outings for everyone to join! On Saturdays they have a BBQ night with an all-you-can eat for an extremely low price. Afterwards the crew will take you to Khao San road and you can experience Thailand as a real traveller, he-he. You can check their Facebook page for updates.

    The rooms are neat, and the private rooms were nothing less than a nice hotel room but for an affordable price. We also loved the location, right next to the BTS (Skytrain) and the amazing drink and food place at night time called HEAT. Being a Thai local, you know those pieces are a steal!The hostel is also only minutes away from The Grand Palace, The Platinum Shopping Complex, Victory Monument, Wat Po, and Siam Paragon and other shopping centres. Quite convenient, especially if you’re only here for a short amount of time.

    I would love to come back here again, even just brushing by and enjoying a nice cup of coffee, staring out at the traffic passing by. <3

     

    My Favourite city in Europe

    01/10/2017
    by

    We only stayed in Lisbon for 3 days, and this might be too short and unfair of a statement for me to make. But Lisbon is now my favorite city in Europe. It’s trendy, artsy and full of culture. For any food lover out there, Lisbon has some amazing restaurant and dining concepts.

    Time out market was one of them. A hip food court with international dishes and stalls serving wines and beers from Portugal. I always get so surprised at how affordable it is to dine out in southern Europe. I wish I had some photos from the Time Out Market, you’ll have to click here for pictures. They’re building one in Miami now, so please Bangkok. Let’s get one here too! Unfortunately AND of course fortunately ,we got a new camera in Portugal but the RAW format is not compatible with our Lightroom so I’m missing so many photos.

    Loved my fresh pressed coffee and Bocadillo in the morning.

    Portugal is famous for their delicious sea food, so of course we had to try out one of the best seafood restaurants (called Sea Me) in town. Make sure you make a reservation beforehand, we learned the hard way… let’s just say it was the longest we’ve ever queued up for a restaurant. But it was so worth it. And do pair it with Portugal’s famous green wine “Vinho Verde” It’s light, sweet and bubbly and so easy to drink. That’s the only wine I drank during my stay there. I also don’t have any photos from this place… the food and drinks were just too good to waste any time.

    Casa da Índia. This is where the locals eat traditional Portuguese food. You have to come here for lunch. It’s packed and the service a bit slow, but a great way to experience the laxed lifestyle of this happy people. I can vouch for the Piri Piri Chicken and Picanha.

    We were lucky enough to be invited to the Navigator to see their eucalyptus nursery and the beginning of how their office paper is made. Navigator is the world’s premium office paper best seller founded and produced in Portugal.

    The city seems flat when driving in to Lisbon, but you’ll be surprised at how steep the streets of Lisbon really are. It’s so beautiful to walk around and get lost there, and just a small tram journey away lies the stunning district of Belém. This is where Jeronimos Monastery and the famous Belém tower is located.

    Whenever I find kinder ice cream or pistachio, gotta buy it! Always ends up melting in my hands though…

     

    This should be a scene of Game of Thrones!!


    Jerónimos Monastery in Belém

    Stunning Jerónimos Monastery in Belém

    girl at jeronimos monastery

    Jerónimos Monastery

    girl in streets of lisbon

    arc in lisbon

    You can stay in the centre of Lisbon too, and still get to see some historical architecture. This is Rua Augusta Arch.


    Photo from Bica Duarte Belo, you must take a stroll up here if you’re in the city. The locals claim that this is one of the most beautiful roads in the world.

    We stayed at a loft apartment in the middle of Lisbon that we rented from The Blue House Lisboa. Perfect location and great value for money. They have loads of apartments that could fit your needs, travelling solo or as a family.

    I’m already looking forward to  my next trip to Portugal, where Lisbon is one of the cities I definitely want to revisit!

    Have you ever been to Lisbon or Portugal?