New York! New York!

I bring you the great New York City! Lots of firsts here, this is my first holiday in a year, my first trip out of the UK which isn't work related which also means my first trip where I can actually walk around the city instead of being cooped up in an office!

I absolutely love New York City. I don't know what it is, but the vibe you get from the city that never sleeps is amazing.

Now I am an avid fan of lists, I like my lists and they act as a safety blanket for me. So in respect of this, my posts will be list-driven. I'll try to keep my lists short (max of 5 points - I went to some course which says readers lose interest or can't retain more than 5 ideas, I wonder who came up with this rule...) but as I have a habit of digressing (which you may have already notice at this point) the list may well spiral out of control.

Things I love about NYC:

• Shops open till late
  
  This is great as it means you get to pop into the shops for a little pick-me-up after work.
  
  
• Great food
  It is so easy to find great food in NYC. There are plenty of restaurants, diners, cafes, bakeries and it is affordable!
  
  
• Air conditioned subway
  Unlike the Underground which has been likened to the moving oven in the summer months.
  
  
• Duane Reade
  The "pharmacy" which can be found at every street corner, stocked full with Reese's Pieces and celebrity magazines. =)
  
  
• Petite Sizes
  They have a huge range of sizes in the States which means the shops carry a good petite range (much better than the UK anyway)! Yay! This means there is no discrimination against women who are 5'3" and under!

NYC always offers interesting architecture!

Top Tips for NYC:
Now as I'm not much of a touristy type, I can't say very much of the sights to see around NYC. I went to that city with 2 things in mind....FOOD and SHOPPING. So these tips relate directly to those pursuits.

Empty looking street with TIme Square at the horizon...
there was a benefit run or something

Shopping:
Shopping is absolutely amazing in NYC. Sure there is sales tax, but as you will see below, they scratch that for visitors to the city, but the wealth of shops on offer is to die for. I guess it was a good thing for us as the exchange rate was working in our favour when we were there! £1 = $2! Now that is the type of maths I love!

• Discounts
  If you are an out-of-towner, bring your driving license/passport to the visitor centre of Macy's or Bloomingdales and you get 11% off all purchases in store (they will even tkae 11% off discounted items!)
  
  
• Jeans
  If you are a jeans aficionado, don't miss the jeans department in Bloomingdales. It is filled to the brim with every imaginable brand. It is a bit daunting at first, but the sales assistants are ready to help. All you have to do is look a bit lost, and someone will be there to the rescue. Tell them your size, type of cut you are looking for, and they will scour the department bringing back their hot picks. You don't even have to leave the changing room.
  
  
• Abercrombie & Fitch
  A&F is ridiculously overpriced in the UK. Fly across the pond, and the jeans are automatically half priced (with current exchange rates). Sales assistants aren't as friendly though and they all have that inevitable model pout...which is what you expect when you employ store models rather than sales assistants I guess.
  The flagship store in 5th Avenue does get *very* crowded and couple that with the pounding music and potent perfume which they generously spray (you can smell the store from a distance) things can get very uncomfortable. Head to the other store downtown in Pier 17. The women's jeans collection isn't as good, but am told the men's department is very well stocked there.
  
  
• 5th Avenue
  Great for all your designer needs and there is a huge Banana Republic shop there. J Crew also has a shop there but you'd have to make your way towards the Rockefeller Centre. It does get hideously crowded as the day progress though. The Apple Shop is at the bi
  
  
• SoHo
  Unlike Soho in London (where it is a gentrified red light district), SoHo (and it actually means something there: South of Houston Street) in NYC has tonnes of shops which fits more comfortably in my price range than those in 5th Avenue.

Food:

Yummy French Toast from Malibu Diner!

Eating out in NYC is quite an enjoyable experience as it is so easy to find good food and they don't have to break the bank. These are some of the places we went to which we'd highly recommend (and where I start to break the 5 points a list rule!):

• Malibu Diner ( 163 W 23rd St, Btwn 6th & 7th Ave)
  We were here for breakfast and it was delicious! It is unpretentious diner serving up pancakes, French Toast and the like. Lots of locals go here and it feels very New York (I know, I'm such a tourist). Portions are big (as they usually are in the States) so I'd recommend sharing your meal.
  
  
• Nobu Next Door (105 Hudson Street, next door to you guess it, Nobu)
  The acclaimed Nobu chain - it costs an arm and leg in the UK - but is more affordable in the States. This has the same menu as Nobu - but you don't need to make reservations. Restaurant opens at 5:45pm and you should aim to start queuing at the door a little before 5:45pm. Diners come early and we were the first in line. =) Food we amazing, some were a little too subtle for me, but I guess that is fine dining for you.
  
  
• Brooklyn Diner (212 West 57th St - near Carnegie Hall...and Hooters)
  I was here for breakfast in my previous trip to NYC and they serve the best pancakes with fresh strawberries I have ever had. Again portions are huge - so if you aren't a big eater, be prepared to share. We were here for lunch this May and again, pretty good food. More expensive than Malibu Diner though and it does cater more for the tourist.
  
  Please do not be tempted to go to this "singing" diner near Times Square. We were there early on a Saturday morning and having not-so-good Broadway hopefuls singing their lungs out at 9am on Saturday while you try to hold down pancakes and eggs is not an experience I want to inflict on others.
  
  
• Serendipity (225 East 60th Street)
  A quirky cafe that serves up mouth watering desserts. Check out the $1000 Golden Opulance Sundae. We went for the more affordable banana split and Frrrozen Pineapple Lime. Great atmosphere and waiting staff. Could do with better music though. Was told that a queue forms in the evening - but we had no problems getting a table when we were there. Great for celeb spotting.
  
  
• Asiate (Mandarin Oriental, Columbus Circle)
  This sits on the 34th Floor of the Mandarin Oriental, overlooking Central Park. Another fine dining place, and one which I think is worth booking a table for as it gives you breathtaking view across the park. Try to get a seat by the window. We walked in without any reservations on a Sunday and they had no trouble sitting us (though we were a bit removed from the window) - eventhough we had our trainers on. =P We had the brunch which was yummy. As with all fine dining places, portions are more manageable. It looked like it was going to be pretentious, but they are very accomodating.
  
  
• Azusa (3 E 44th St)
  This is a great little Japanese place tucked in a corner off 5th Avenue. It is quite authentic (during the both times I was there, the place was filled with Japanese - so I assume it is authentic) and the food is quite cheap (about $10 per person) and portions are generous though by no means huge.

Things we'd like to have tried but never got the chance to:

Empire State Building, doesn't look that impressive in real life!

• Go on top of the Empire State Building
  We came a bit unprepared and did not book tickets in advance. The queue snakes around the block, so it would seem like poor time management if we were to spend half the day queuing up when we can go explore the city!
  

• Soul Food
  mmmm...I love my fried chicken with mash and gravy! And instead of eating KFC, I thought it would be great to try some authentic soul food. Having looked through the guide books and references from friends, good soul food places are found around the Harlem area, which was a bit too far given we only have 5 days in NYC.
  
  
• Korea Town restaurants
  There were loads of restaurants round this area and also a fried chicken joint (hmm, another KFC - Korean Fried Chicken) - but again didn't get a chance to savour this.
  
  
• Gossip Girl Walkathon
  It is sad, I know, a grown woman watching Gossip Girl...but I watch it for the fashion..honest! I would have loved walking around the Uppe East Side going "Gossip Girl!" while visiting all the haunts featured in the movie, but another one of those things that we didn't have time for while we were in the pursuit of food and clothes (yes, we are running out of those things in the UK, so we have to stock up whilst in the States).

And there you have it, my guide to NYC. Not sure who will find this helpful, but at least it helps me remember what I got up to when I was there! But i think this city is excellent to explore on foot, we walked 20+ blocks and it is amazing to feel how the vibe changes as you go through different parts of the city. The post may be several months late....so perhaps it is time to visit it again to refresh my memory!

The Naked Cowboy! The icon of Times Square!
We only saw him on the way to the airport, so this is a shot through the window of the taxi!

Las Vegas, USA

Thanks to CSI, I've always considered Last Vegas to be a city with plenty of drunk hooligans on the streets. Not the type of place for a family holiday. I'm glad I was wrong. During summer, Las Vegas is flooded with families, children and old folks enjoying their holiday break. Yes Vegas is ALL about gambling, but there's plenty of other things to do as well...

 

Getting there... Budget airlines like US Airways fly very frequently from LA to Vegas. You can even get flights bundled with hotel stays from their website too. During summer, hotel prices are very competitive and there are so many hotels there to choose from! If possible, catch an early morning flight to save time. Upon arrival at Vegas' McCarran Airport, you can play at the slot machines while waiting for your luggage :).

 

Weather... Summer in Vegas is HOT HOT HOT! As it's surrounded by the desert, outdoor temperatures can shoot up to 45 degrees C! Within 5 seconds of walking outside, I could feel a headache coming. But the Ang Mohs seem to be having fun in the sun while my sister and I zoomed straight for a building to hide from the heat. The sun can be up till 8pm at night. And the air is very VERY dry too. So drink lots of water to prevent heatstroke and dehydration. But the good thing about summer is that the sun is up by 5am! So be up bright and early...

 

Accomodation... The Las Vegas Strip is a 6.4km long straight road lined up with hotels and casinos.

There's so much to see and do in Vegas that you could be out till late night. With such weather, you won't want to get sick walking outdoors under the sun. And you won't want to be walking outside at night with strange and drunk people that come out at night. Therefore it's best to stay in a decent hotel near the middle of the strip. Buy an all-day monorail unlimited ride pass for USD 9. I stayed in Sheraton's Planet Hollywood for USD 100 a night which is just right opposite the Bellagio Fountains and within walking distance to most of the main attractions.

 

Star Trek : The Experience... This is strictly for fans. Located in Las Vegas Hilton (accessible via monorail), I was surprised to be lining up for tickets with other fans, and I didn't feel like a weirdo at all! Plenty of Star Trek memorabilia to see and buy. The Borg Invasion 4D have actors dressed up as Borgs walking around as you move through a "futuristic research centre" invaded by alien beings. It was pretty cool and yet a musing too as you know it's all fake! Admission tickets are around USD 40 per person, but if you're a fan (like me), you would definitely splurge on this!

 

Madame Tussauds Wax Museum... This famous wax museum is located in The Venetian Resort along The Strip. For USD 24 per person, it's not cheap! But if you're not planning on going to London to see the original museum, you might as well check this one out. Walk amongst the very realistic looking American icons and pose as much as you want with Arnie, Jolie and Tiger. What I liked best was you can touch the wax figurines and hug it for a photo moment.

 

The Venetian... This is one hotel that you MUST visit. The interiors were built to mimic Venice, complete with canals, gondola rides and a very realistic fake sky painted on the ceiling. Actors dressed in costumes would perform opera or pantomimes to entertain the tourists. All the buildings, paintings and sculptures were constructed with so much detail. Very amazing!

 

Bellagio Fountains... This spectacular musical fountain starts performing from 3pm till 12 midnight daily. Watch it dance at night to different music and lighting every 15 minutes. Watch it from the ground and then watch it again from Paris' Eiffel Tower opposite. And it's free!

 

Eiffel Tower... Vegas is a very bling bling city. That's why it looks best at night, when all the neon lights are turned on. Another must-see is the magnificent bird eye's view of the city from Paris Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower at night. Watch the Bellagio Fountains from above ground. The view is really awesome!

 

Other things to do... Walk into all the main hotels along the Strip such as the Caesars Palace and The Mirage. These are all famous Vegas icons seen on TV and in the movies. Each hotel has its own theme. Caesars Palace have huge Roman statues all over the hotel. Allocate some time to watch concerts or performances. Each hotel seem to hosting at least one. I wanted to catch Jubilee, an on stage showgirls performance but unfortunately I didn't have time. But these shows don't come cheap. It costs a whopping USD 80 per person!! *Gulp!

 

In conclusion... Vegas is a city with plenty to see and plenty to do. It's like Genting, but many many times bigger and a lot well maintained. And it's very easy to get around too. Gambling is the main money making business but there's still plenty to do for those who are not interested in gambling. During summer, it's still safe for people to be out till midnight as the main Strip area is still flooded with tourists. But of course, don't be wandering alone in any lonely spots. Mexican men line up along the streets at night distributing pamphlets advertising for prostitutes. Ignore them and just get back to your hotel room before all the tourists disappear.

 

But don't go to Vegas just for Vegas alone. It's also a city that's nearest to another very famous American landmark. I'll leave that for my next blog post :)

United States of America - Planning Your Trip

I was very fortunate last year to be sent to Chicago for training. And I took the opportunity by taking a week off after that to check out Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Before I rave about how great the trip was, here are some tips I would like to share :

 

 

Book your flight and apply your visa early, especially during summer (mid year). The visa application can be a long process due to the need to get your employer's letter and attending the interview.

Ensure transit time is long enough. Most airlines flying off from KL will stop by either at Hong Kong, Taipei or Tokyo before proceeding to either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Security checks to US bound flights are more stringent and requires longer time. Hence it's best to have enough transit time to avoid missing your connecting flight.

Upon arrival in either LA or SF, you'll need to get your passport stamped and lug your luggage to the next connecting flight. Therefore you'll need to go through the whole process of security checks again. Please ensure you have at least 3 hours of transit time.

Los Angeles International Airport or LAX is more low tech than Subang Airport. They don't have enough runways and immigration counters to cater for the amount of inbound visitors. Hence they constantly face runway traffic jams, especially during night time arrivals (peak time). Then there's that super long queue at the immigration. So if you need to catch a connecting flight from LAX, please ensure you have at least 3 hours of transit time.

In LAX, the International and Domestic terminals are not connected internally. You'll need to exit the International terminal and depending on which airline is your next flight, either catch a bus or walk to the Domestic terminal. Best to at least take a look at the LAX map from their website before you go.

US is BIG. Very very BIG. Plan your trip down to the geographical details and factor in traveling time from one spot to another. Do not trust their "1 block away" description. Use Google Maps to gauge the distance yourself. Even if it might be more expensive, but it's worth staying in a hotel that's near the place you plan to visit to avoid spending too much time traveling.

Public transportation in most US cities are not very good and taxies are expensive. Most popular tourist spots have special bus pickups from most hotels. Or sign up for a local tour from your hotel or online.

If you're a girl traveling alone or in small groups, it's safer to stay in a more reputable hotel chain like Sheraton. During summer, it's around USD 120 a night. Don't forget it's easy to get guns there.

Most of their places of interests are big too and usually takes a whole day. Don't be too greedy and limit yourself to 1-2 places per day.

Summer have longer daylight hours and you get more time to have fun! Remember to wake up early.

Each city may have their own tourist-friendly packages, for e.g. Chicago City Pass which includes public transport with entrance fees for half the price. So do a lot of Googling before going.

Check your money properly as all the notes look the same.

Most cities have a factory warehouse nearby selling branded goods at bargain prices. You'll be able to find a USD 12 Liz Claireborne handbag.

I personally think it's more fun and worth it to plan a free and easy US trip on your own instead of signing up for a tour package. Most tour packages will try to cover many more places, but a lot of time will be wasted in traveling from one spot to another.

Of course more time and effort is required to research on your own, book the hotels and buy tickets online. But in return, for the same price, you get to see more things and most importantly, spend less time on the road.

Beijing, China

Tadaaaa! A big *muaks* to the Monkee for inviting me to contribute here. I simply love traveling too and last year was THE highlight of my traveling adventures.

I'll start with Beijing, my most recent trip early this year. But please never ever visit China during the winter season. If it wasn't a free trip there (the few perks I get from being a corporate slave), I would prefer to avoid sub-zero weather.

Language...My first tip for those who would like to visit Beijing. If you can't speak Mandarin, either join a tour group or go with people who knows enough Mandarin to save your live. Do not believe what CCTV tells you about the English proficiency level there.

All major signboards are in Mandarin. All taxi drivers cannot speak any English. Even 5-star hotel staff can speak only very very little England. I spent one day walking around alone in Beijing and I had problems ordering a McD. The attendant was asking me something in lightning fast Mandarin and it was gibberish to me.

Food...I always make it a point to eat the local food when I'm in a foreign country. Staple food here is flour based like Man Tous or Paos which are steaming hot white buns with meat or vege filling. I find Beijing food very different from our typical Chinese food back home. It's either tasteless or very salty and usually dripping with oil. Pork is not very common here too as it's very expensive. They prefer beef and lamb.

You've not been to Beijing unless you have their Peking Duck or Bei Ya. Every local will tell you different places for the best duck in town. But most M'sians might tell you that our local PJ Sunrise roasted duck tasted better. However the thin crispy skin is very yummy (and sinful) and I prefer to eat it alone without the flour skin and cucumber strips.

Shopping...Beijing is shopping haven for imitation goods. Silk Street or Xiu Shui Market is a 5 storey building filled with stores selling fake LV, Prada, Gucci and whatever nonsense you can imagine. You can get there via subway. Bargaining is a must as the prices quoted can be 10 times more than the actual price. The strategy is to quote a ridiculously low price. If they refuse, you just walk off. If they call you back, it means they're actually willing to sell you at that price.

But of course they'll try to coax you to increase it. Refuse strongly and threaten to walk off without showing any hesitation. Most of the time they'll give in. Similar to Bangkok, Beijing is a good place to shop for handcrafted knick knacks. Definitely no problem in getting those local souvenirs for your uncles, aunties, girlfriends, boyfriends, girlfriend's mother etc etc... Just remember to bargain! And always give small change to avoid being cheated.

Great Wall...It's the only man made structure that can be seen from space. Hence it should be in your must-see list. There are 3 sections opened to public, Ba Da Ling , Mu Tian Yu and Si Ma Tai. Ba Da Ling is too touristy (I heard it has Starbucks!) while Si Ma Tai (being the least commercialised of the 3) is very far from Beijing. Hence I would recommend Mu Tian Yu. If you have a group of people, rent a taxi to bring you there and go early in the morning. Take a cable car up and walk along the wall. The wall stretches for miles. It's amazing how it was built up in the hills in an era without cranes and tractors. We were even panting like crazy after overcoming some of the steep sections of the wall. Spend at most half the day (morning) up there.

Summer Palace...After the Great Wall, drop by the Summer Palace or Yi He Yuan for the 2nd half of your day. It's the Emperor's largest royal park with a huge lake. And during winter, the whole lake is frozen! Hence you get to slide on ice or just fall flat on your bum! (which luckily I didn't). Everything built for the Emperor is extravagant. Massive temple structures. Massive gardens. Massive everything. And it requires a lot of leg power walking from one end to the other.

An annoying thing is that besides paying an entrance fee to the Palace, you would need to buy another ticket to enter the main Pagoda. But we ran out of time and closing time was approaching so we didn't bother. There are a lot of shops selling souvenirs and this time no bargaining is required as the goods are priced reasonably. It'll match the price you bargained in street markets.

Forbidden City...Another must-see location in Beijing. Similarly to Summer Palace, it's another massive area to cover. Since it's winter, walking with frozen thighs is difficult. Unfortunately, when I was there, the main throne room was undergoing major renovations in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. That was suppose to be the highlight of the area. Darn! It's easy to get lost in there as you navigate between the many small rooms. Surrounded by massive tall walls, it felt more like a prison than an Emperor's dwelling and you'll feel a hint of loneliness while walking along its long corridors.
The buildings are all beautifully crafted and decorated with intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes. Small rooms around the city are now mini museums displaying royal pottery and jewelery. Despite the bright sunny weather, it was freezing. Luckily these rooms had heaters for us to recover from the -4 temperature! It's impossible to cover every inch of the palace. Would recommend spending half a day to cover the main attractions.

Just opposite the Forbidden City would be the Tiananmen Square together with the Chairman Mao memorial. Tourists would be queuing up in the morning to enter the memorial to view his embalmed body. The National Museum is next door too but it's closed till 2010 for major renovations. All these places easily accessible via subway.

One might notice the lack of information in museums regarding its communist policies. There's no mention of the Tiananmen Square Massacre anywhere. Even popular blog sites like Blogspot and Wordpress are filtered out by their local ISPs. However, putting political views aside, Beijing is a good place to visit just for its long history as a once powerful empire of the past. Just be prepared to do PLENTY of walking!

Shen Zhen, China

Shen Zhen is a train ride away from Hong Kong. You would need a separate visa to get into Shen Zhen and if you're not local, you are deemed as an 'alien'. Look closely to your entry slip. I guarantee you, that's what it says you are: an alien - and will be so for the length of your stay.

I'm not a fan of China. But I'll keep my prejudices to myself. It's a personal thing.

Like I said, it is a train ride away. You can train from Hung Hom, like us, and get off at Lo Wu. The train system from Hong Kong is modern, simple and efficient. No fuss. Too easy. And whoosh, within, I forget, an hour? You are, technically, in a different country.

There are two different cultures to be understood here. Hong Kong-Chinese are exceptionally different from China-Chinese. They are two separate cultures and two separate cities with two separates of everything. The food, the currency, the market price, the hygiene - it's like being in a different world. What am I saying? It is a different world. Chinese they may be, but it's very similar to having two different sorts of frogs in neighbouring ponds.

Once you arrive in Shen Zhen, you'll know what I mean. Keep your papers in order, your official photos up-to-date (someone in my group got into trouble for looking 'drastically' different from weight loss) and your bags close to you. Don't make unnecessary eye contact. Be polite and you'll be alright.



Good points in Shen Zhen definitely lies in the shopping. If you're mad about retail therapy, this is definitely your sort of pond. It's dirt cheap. Bargain hard enough and you can bring home a new luggage with a whole new wardrobe. Shoes. Skirts. Tops. Coats. Hats. It's amazing. Be warned that there are fake notes circulating in the city. There are subtle differences to the notes so be wary when you receive change to your purchases.

The one place I am anxious to write about is Splendid China. [Note: Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to go to Window of the World and so I advise that you allocate time to tear yourself away from shopping (hard, yes, I know) and wander to the Window of the World. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.]



It is a fascinating, fascinating place. It's pretty big (30 hectares) and is divided into three sections. My favourite would be the miniaturized tourist attractions in China which has been painstakingly recreated and reduced to a scale of 1: 15 and the effort is just awesome. There are shows during the duration of the day and if you're interested to meet Genghis Khan, you have the opportunity to so in the afternoon. Its Chinese Cultural Show is also something worth boasting about and the spectacular performance will keep you at the edge of your sit. It's almost always a full house so make sure your tour guide (or yourself) book it early. It's quite spellbinding.



Splendid China has made me realized something. This part of the world, everything is about size. If you were to make something small, make it very, very small. If you were to make it big, make it gigantically huge. If you wanted to say something, say it to the point of being excruciatingly loud, or else, be silent. To be mediocre and average in China, in my opinion, is uncommon. It might be something to do with the massive population of the country and perhaps, in order to get somewhere, you have to draw some sort of attention to yourself. It's very yin and yang, there is certainly no gray area.

China is, no doubt, spectacular. However sometimes, it gives me a spectacular headache for being too loud.

Sovereign Hill, Ballarat

Sometime last year I did a story for Going Places, the in-flight magazine for Malaysian Airlines about Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Victoria. It was a really fun piece to do and even though it was my second visit to Sovereign Hills, I still enjoyed the atmosphere.

To those who has been there, you will remember it as the oldies town. Mainly because the whole place is set back in the gold mining days. The whole place is built to reenact the town as it was 150 years ago. Which means, townspeople in period costumes and horse-drawn carriages (and the trace of horse poo in the air).



I found the place fascinating and one of my regrets were not requesting for an over night's stay at the Sovereign Hill Lodge. If you're staying after hours for the sound and light show - Blood on the Southern Cross (which comes highly recommended!) you should also consider staying a night in either Ballarat town or really, if you can afford it, why not pamper yourself with convenience at the Lodge. (Look, after the show, it's going to be dark, probably really cold and the last thing you want to think about is where you're going to end up for an average night of sleep. Bugger it all and think about rolling up in soft, fresh sheets and tomorrow's breakfast.)



The Blood on the Sovereign Cross is a remarkable show shown only after dark (because it's a lights show) and it's exceptionally good. And no, I'm not paid to say this - though I wish I was (I was paid to write but I wasn't paid to lie about it).



Well, if you've been there, let us know what your experience was like and perhaps we can compare notes. :) Cheers!