Yesh, I am back from my trip and am now planning for my one last holiday in May before heading back. Planning for a trip is something I love and hate at the same time. I liked it because I can be in full control of where I wanna go and when I wanna go. And during the research you can learn more about the history and story behind the place of interest that you are going. But the researching and planning part can be a real pain in the ass.
To all my friends who are contemplating to plan your own holiday, here are some info/websites that I find very useful (might be more relevant for european countries). :)
1. Mode of transport. If you are planning to go to more than one city/country, then you can choose between taking a train, taking a coach bus, taking a plane or have a road trip. Do check out the rates of each mode of transport. Sometimes taking a train can be just as costly as taking a plane. If you wanna travel by train, then you have to book damn early to get the early bird cheap tixs. Otherwise you might wanna consider taking a budget airline. If you are traveling within Europe, you can checkout these airlines:
Easyjet
Ryan Air
Fly Be
BMI Baby
If you are planning to drive, then you can check out Hertz, Europecar or Avis. But before you set off please check the speed limit of the country you're going, how their speed camera looks like and do check to see if they have any restricted zones or peak hour surcharge. Do note that some countries have tolls and sometimes the tolls can be quite a substantial amount. To check out the toll, fuel charges as well as the estimated time taken and mileage of one location to another, you can go to Via Michelin.
2. Plan your route. Which cities and countries do you want to visit. I am a typical kiasu singaporean so I always try to go as many places/countries as I can. A good map would be useful to plan your route. Alternatively, you can log on to tour agencies (eg. tralfangler tours) to find out their route and take reference from them. After all the places they go to must be well worth a visit. :)
3. Places of interest. Wikitravel is a great help in this area. And also every country/city will have their official tourism website. They sometimes have suggested itenary or routes you can take which is a great help also. And most of the time they also have the map of the location, which has all the places of interest marked down, for downloading . And if you have a place of interest in mind but dont have the address or you dunno where it is located, you can search it in google map.
4. Hotels in Europe are rather costly. And sometimes they are expensive and yet crappy. For me and hubb, a comfortable room is important for a good rest after a long day of travelling. Hence we always book our hotel through booking.com. They have a wide selection of hotels and so far their prices are the most competittive. And they also have ratings for the hotels from guests who have stayed in the hotels before and the ratings are a good gauge of how crappy the hotel is. We usually book rooms with 7.5 and above ratings. A note when you are booking hotels in Europe: do make sure that the room you are booking comes with shower and toilet ensuite. It is common for hotels here to have shared bathrooms and toilets. And also if you are travelling during summer months, do check that the hotels have air conditioning. Most hotels have heaters but not all have air con.
5. Do check the weather forecast before you travel so you know what clothes to bring. Although it might be spring/summer, it can sometimes be quite cold when a cold front is passing through. And also you can plan for indoor activities on forecasted rainy days.
I think that should be all. I am no expert in holiday planning but all these are some of the tips I learnt while planning for my past holidays. Hope they help and may everyone enjoy their holidays!! :)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Oh My
Oh my. Sorry for not blogging lately. I've been busy with:
1. Planning for my UK holiday. Im setting off tomorrow and I've yet to finished my itenary!! But then I'm only left with the last destination and our program will depends very much on whether hubb got the tixs to see the MAN U match, which we will know the results by today.
2. Reading manga. One of the best thing I found on the web, it to be able to read mangas online. But sadly, the translation of the mangas I was reading were not complete. Hence I will have to wait for the translated volume to be out and god knows when. Seriously, I think reading manga is even more addictive than watching drama. To me at least.
3. Cooking, playing MJ, cleaning house and everything else.
Ok. That's all. Please pray together with me for blue sky bright sunshine at the places I'm visiting. :D
1. Planning for my UK holiday. Im setting off tomorrow and I've yet to finished my itenary!! But then I'm only left with the last destination and our program will depends very much on whether hubb got the tixs to see the MAN U match, which we will know the results by today.
2. Reading manga. One of the best thing I found on the web, it to be able to read mangas online. But sadly, the translation of the mangas I was reading were not complete. Hence I will have to wait for the translated volume to be out and god knows when. Seriously, I think reading manga is even more addictive than watching drama. To me at least.
3. Cooking, playing MJ, cleaning house and everything else.
Ok. That's all. Please pray together with me for blue sky bright sunshine at the places I'm visiting. :D
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Baking n Cooking
A good friend of mine told me that when she was reading my CNY post, the first thought that went to her head was: wow... is this the gal i know...
Well, knowing how I was like back in SG, I wouldn't blame her for having this thought. I think I was one of the most lazy and unhomely person around. I only packed my room like once a year (during CNY) and the cooking I've ever done was cooking instant noodles. In fact I was so bad in the kitchen that when my dad saw me cutting an apple, he got so worried that I will cut myself that he took over the knife from me. And when I said I wanted to cook something, usually my parents will end up doing the cooking instead and my only job will be to read the instructions from the recipe.
But now that I am cooking regularly, I can proudly say that cooking/baking isn't that difficult at all. The washing up is a bitch though but that is another story. Back to cooking/baking, just take the first step and cook something and you will feel so happy when you eat your own creation, especially when your loved ones are savoring it as well.
Here are some tips to make your cooking/baking experience a little easier... :)
Have a recipe. If you are new to cooking/baking, its best to have a recipe and follow it step by step. Choose a recipe that is not too complicated. If after reading the recipe and you get question marks, then its better you look for another one. You can never go too wrong if you follow a recipe
I usually take recipes from food blogs or cooking forum because:
They are recipes tested and proven successful by the blogger
There are usually pictures of the food so you get an idea of how the end product is going to be
You can read the comments left by other blog readers. If alot of people commented that they tried the recipe and its good then you know the recipe is a keeper. Usually the comments also have questions from readers who tried and didnt get it right and so you can learn some tips and know what to advoid while cooking/baking.
Before you cook/bake, read the recipe first and visualise yourself going through the steps. Note the cooking/baking or preperation time of each step so you can save some time and will not karang kabok when you are cooking/baking.
If you are unsure of the taste or if the food is cooked, it is best to taste try first. But be hygenic. Use a separate spoon!!
Ask!! Ask advice from those who can cook/bake very well. If possible, stand beside them and watch them cook/bake. You will be able to learn alot from them.
And lastly, JUST DO IT. Trust me. If I can cook, sure can YOU. But do make sure you have a dish washer.
Well, knowing how I was like back in SG, I wouldn't blame her for having this thought. I think I was one of the most lazy and unhomely person around. I only packed my room like once a year (during CNY) and the cooking I've ever done was cooking instant noodles. In fact I was so bad in the kitchen that when my dad saw me cutting an apple, he got so worried that I will cut myself that he took over the knife from me. And when I said I wanted to cook something, usually my parents will end up doing the cooking instead and my only job will be to read the instructions from the recipe.
But now that I am cooking regularly, I can proudly say that cooking/baking isn't that difficult at all. The washing up is a bitch though but that is another story. Back to cooking/baking, just take the first step and cook something and you will feel so happy when you eat your own creation, especially when your loved ones are savoring it as well.
Here are some tips to make your cooking/baking experience a little easier... :)
Have a recipe. If you are new to cooking/baking, its best to have a recipe and follow it step by step. Choose a recipe that is not too complicated. If after reading the recipe and you get question marks, then its better you look for another one. You can never go too wrong if you follow a recipe
I usually take recipes from food blogs or cooking forum because:
They are recipes tested and proven successful by the blogger
There are usually pictures of the food so you get an idea of how the end product is going to be
You can read the comments left by other blog readers. If alot of people commented that they tried the recipe and its good then you know the recipe is a keeper. Usually the comments also have questions from readers who tried and didnt get it right and so you can learn some tips and know what to advoid while cooking/baking.
Before you cook/bake, read the recipe first and visualise yourself going through the steps. Note the cooking/baking or preperation time of each step so you can save some time and will not karang kabok when you are cooking/baking.
If you are unsure of the taste or if the food is cooked, it is best to taste try first. But be hygenic. Use a separate spoon!!
Ask!! Ask advice from those who can cook/bake very well. If possible, stand beside them and watch them cook/bake. You will be able to learn alot from them.
And lastly, JUST DO IT. Trust me. If I can cook, sure can YOU. But do make sure you have a dish washer.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Box of Love IV
When I am down, I just need to think of all the wonderful people (my family, sisters n friends) I have in my life and I'd feel blessed immediately. Eventhough I'm about 10,747km away from most of them, the distance doesn't make me feel less loved.
Every now and then, very blessed me will receive a box of love from Singapore.
(Short recap for those who didn't read my old blog)
Box of Love 1 was from mummy, daddy n sis. It was a box full of cooking condiments and our xmas presents.
Box of Love 2 was from my 3 nana sisters. It was a box full of my favorite Singapore tidbits, magazines and instant noodles. I was told again and again, to share them with hubb.
Box of Love 3 was from my another good sis, FF. It was a box full of winter items for me to keep warm during my winter trip. Unfortunately, some misfortune happened at the customs and the box never made it to me :(. But though the box didn't reach me, I still received all the love and kind intent in the box.
Box of Love 4 was from my chao FG!! The box came when we were away for our winter holidays. Luckily a friend received the box for us. I was so excited when An msged me that I have a parcel at her place!! And when I opened the box, it wass full of 好料!!
Jelly powder (wanted to make but I got no jelly mould)
Herbal Chicken Instant pack (cooked!! refer to past post)
Japanese curry paste
Gong bao sauce (on waiting in the list)
Sambal fish powder (on waiting list!! looking for the right type of fish for curry here)
Half of the box is empty by now and I'm still thankful and grateful that I have such wonderful family and friends. I only wished that I have been as wonderful a friend to you as you have been to me. Once again thank you my dearies. I thank you and I love you. :)
Every now and then, very blessed me will receive a box of love from Singapore.
(Short recap for those who didn't read my old blog)
Box of Love 1 was from mummy, daddy n sis. It was a box full of cooking condiments and our xmas presents.
Box of Love 2 was from my 3 nana sisters. It was a box full of my favorite Singapore tidbits, magazines and instant noodles. I was told again and again, to share them with hubb.
Box of Love 3 was from my another good sis, FF. It was a box full of winter items for me to keep warm during my winter trip. Unfortunately, some misfortune happened at the customs and the box never made it to me :(. But though the box didn't reach me, I still received all the love and kind intent in the box.
Box of Love 4 was from my chao FG!! The box came when we were away for our winter holidays. Luckily a friend received the box for us. I was so excited when An msged me that I have a parcel at her place!! And when I opened the box, it wass full of 好料!!
Inside the box are:
Instant noodles (half finished)
Chicken rice mix (used!!)
Porky (half finished also)
Sambal chilli (used to cook sambal kangkong n sambal stingray)
Mee soto paste (on waiting list)
Bah Kut Teh bag (haven use yet cos we still have like a dozen more BKT bags in our cupboard)Jelly powder (wanted to make but I got no jelly mould)
Herbal Chicken Instant pack (cooked!! refer to past post)
Japanese curry paste
Gong bao sauce (on waiting in the list)
Sambal fish powder (on waiting list!! looking for the right type of fish for curry here)
Half of the box is empty by now and I'm still thankful and grateful that I have such wonderful family and friends. I only wished that I have been as wonderful a friend to you as you have been to me. Once again thank you my dearies. I thank you and I love you. :)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
My CNY 2010
Sorry for the lack of posts. As you all know, CNY ended officially yesterday and for a home maker, CNY is absolutely the busiest period of our job. We clean, cook, wash and play MJ like 5X more than usual. So now after CNY and a few days of good rest, Im ready to blog again. :)
So this was how I spent my CNY 2010. My last CNY in France...
My hectic week begins 1 week before CNY. Or to be precise, 3 days before CNY...
11 Feb, Thursday.
Started spring cleaning. Threw away all unwanted magazines, faulty items, forgotten and expired food in the cabinets and stuffs I think I wouldn't want to eat/touch/use again. Dusted, vacuumed and moped every corner of the house. Cleaned kitchen cabinets, kitchen walls, shelves, TV console with wet wipes.
12 Feb, Friday
Baked some almond cookies for CNY in the afternoon and went for the CNY dinner with hubb. I would have loads of photos of the dinner but alas I had a real bad breakout on my face and I forgot to insert my memory card into the camera. So, no photos. I did take a few though, that was saved direct into my camera memory but Im too lazy to go dig out the transfer cable right now plus I looked hideous that day so Im not gonna post my ugly pics here.
13 Feb, Saturday, CNY eve
This has to be the busiest busiest day of all chinese housewives. Hubb has to go out so I'm left home alone to prepare the stuffs. Reunion dinner was at An's place and we were having steamboat. I will settle all frozen stuffs and An will settle the fresh meat section. Thank god for her else I think I would never be able to cope. I wonder how mum managed to do it all the past years. So anyway, work begings at 1pm.
First, thaw all frozen stuffs in the freezer.
Changed bedsheets.
Marinate and prepare minced meat for wanton.
Clean chicken and start cooking steamboat broth
Baked another batch of almond cookies
Wrapped the wantons
Clean prawns and cut off all whiskers and sharp ends (on the tail and head)
Vacuumed and mopped house again
Cleaned toilet.
Cleaned washing basing and scrub bathtub
Check that all food is thawed
Lay food nicely in trays and plates.
By this time An called to ask if I needed any help and came up to help me bring the food down to her place.
We started dinner at around 8, and this year round, although we reduced the quantity of food, we had too much food again.
At 9+ Su and her hubb dropped by An's place and we had MJ all the way till first day of CNY.
14 Feb, Sunday, CNY day 1 n Valentines day
Woke up late but still managed to video call mummy and wished them all a happy CNY. Saw my Valentine surprise on the dining table. :) Had dinner at our favourite seafood buffet restaurant, followed by more rounds of MJ.
15 Feb, Monday, CNY day 2
Had a potluck lunch gathering at E's place. Woke up early at 10 to make ngor hiang for the gathering and glad that most of them enjoyed my ngor hiang.
Thereafter, hubb and I went to get my spoiled boots exchanged. Story goes like this: about 2 months ago, before we went for our winter holiday, hubb bought me a pair of boots. And barely a month after wearing it, the zipper of the boots spoiled. I was very upset cos the boots are not exactly cheap. So, hubb called the store and they asked us to bring the boots down for them to check. But we can only do so on weekdays. Hence, we didn't have a chance to go to the shoe store till another month later, on 2nd day of CNY. It has already been 2 months since we bought the boots and we were half expecting them to tell us that its been too long for them do anything but to our surprise, the lady just checked the zipper, and told us that we can go choose any pair of shoes that matches the price of our damaged one!! I was so happy!! And to make it even better, the sales were still on so in the end, I gotten a new pair of boots that was originally cost 2X more than my spoiled pair, but it was on 50% off. Damn happy!! Ended the night happily with more MJ.
20 Feb, Sunday, CNY day 8
Invited An and her hubb over for dinner to celebrate "ren ri" together (I miscalculated). Cooked roast chicken (ang mo style, am going to try the chinese style roast chicken some day), fish maw soup, cereal prawn and steamed fish. An made some yummy yam ngor hiang and burbur chacha. We ended the meal over eating again as usual and played big 2.
24 Feb. Wed, CNY day 11
Was also hubb's birthday. At his request, cooked all of his favorite dishes for him which includes chilli crab, char siew and kailan. We over ate again and were so full that we didnt even managed to eat the 寿桃 that we initially planned to have for dessert.
28 Feb, Sun, Last day of CNY
The day to eat 汤圆. Invited Sam over for dinner. Cooked charsiew (again cos its hubb's favorite), braised duck (1st try but didnt turn out very well. Not flavourful enough for me) and chyesim. Ended the dinner with 汤圆 as dessert.
And there you go, thats my year of tiger this year, with loads of cooking, loads of cleaning and scrubbing (of dishes and kitchen floors especially) and loads of MJ. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I always forgot to take pictures of the food I cooked. By the time I remembered, they are already half gone in our stomaches. :)
So this was how I spent my CNY 2010. My last CNY in France...
My hectic week begins 1 week before CNY. Or to be precise, 3 days before CNY...
11 Feb, Thursday.
Started spring cleaning. Threw away all unwanted magazines, faulty items, forgotten and expired food in the cabinets and stuffs I think I wouldn't want to eat/touch/use again. Dusted, vacuumed and moped every corner of the house. Cleaned kitchen cabinets, kitchen walls, shelves, TV console with wet wipes.
12 Feb, Friday
Baked some almond cookies for CNY in the afternoon and went for the CNY dinner with hubb. I would have loads of photos of the dinner but alas I had a real bad breakout on my face and I forgot to insert my memory card into the camera. So, no photos. I did take a few though, that was saved direct into my camera memory but Im too lazy to go dig out the transfer cable right now plus I looked hideous that day so Im not gonna post my ugly pics here.
my almond cookies... melt in your mouth, not in your hands... so good i will at least have 3 once i start eating...
13 Feb, Saturday, CNY eve
This has to be the busiest busiest day of all chinese housewives. Hubb has to go out so I'm left home alone to prepare the stuffs. Reunion dinner was at An's place and we were having steamboat. I will settle all frozen stuffs and An will settle the fresh meat section. Thank god for her else I think I would never be able to cope. I wonder how mum managed to do it all the past years. So anyway, work begings at 1pm.
First, thaw all frozen stuffs in the freezer.
Changed bedsheets.
Marinate and prepare minced meat for wanton.
Clean chicken and start cooking steamboat broth
Baked another batch of almond cookies
Wrapped the wantons
Clean prawns and cut off all whiskers and sharp ends (on the tail and head)
Vacuumed and mopped house again
Cleaned toilet.
Cleaned washing basing and scrub bathtub
Check that all food is thawed
Lay food nicely in trays and plates.
wantons all wrapped up n ready to be thrown into the steamboat... :)
We started dinner at around 8, and this year round, although we reduced the quantity of food, we had too much food again.
At 9+ Su and her hubb dropped by An's place and we had MJ all the way till first day of CNY.
14 Feb, Sunday, CNY day 1 n Valentines day
Woke up late but still managed to video call mummy and wished them all a happy CNY. Saw my Valentine surprise on the dining table. :) Had dinner at our favourite seafood buffet restaurant, followed by more rounds of MJ.
my surprise... flowers n a big brown paperbag... loves!!
15 Feb, Monday, CNY day 2
Had a potluck lunch gathering at E's place. Woke up early at 10 to make ngor hiang for the gathering and glad that most of them enjoyed my ngor hiang.
Ngor hiang... Hubbs helped with the frying and cutting. But when he does the cutting, there are always missing pieces... hahaha
20 Feb, Sunday, CNY day 8
Invited An and her hubb over for dinner to celebrate "ren ri" together (I miscalculated). Cooked roast chicken (ang mo style, am going to try the chinese style roast chicken some day), fish maw soup, cereal prawn and steamed fish. An made some yummy yam ngor hiang and burbur chacha. We ended the meal over eating again as usual and played big 2.
24 Feb. Wed, CNY day 11
Was also hubb's birthday. At his request, cooked all of his favorite dishes for him which includes chilli crab, char siew and kailan. We over ate again and were so full that we didnt even managed to eat the 寿桃 that we initially planned to have for dessert.
Chilli crabs that were a tad too spicy and not sweet enough because I used sambal olek chilli sauce. Will try again using other type of chilli sauce. Should have better results.
28 Feb, Sun, Last day of CNY
The day to eat 汤圆. Invited Sam over for dinner. Cooked charsiew (again cos its hubb's favorite), braised duck (1st try but didnt turn out very well. Not flavourful enough for me) and chyesim. Ended the dinner with 汤圆 as dessert.
charsiew!! hubbs favorite!!
**
And there you go, thats my year of tiger this year, with loads of cooking, loads of cleaning and scrubbing (of dishes and kitchen floors especially) and loads of MJ. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I always forgot to take pictures of the food I cooked. By the time I remembered, they are already half gone in our stomaches. :)
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