Insight Vacations 2013 - Paris / Luzern / Munich

I know, it has been a long while since I last posted but my job as a travel consultant with Flight Centre Hong Kong has been both rewarding and busy at the same time. Writing blog post seems to be a luxury nowadays but I am trying my best to post and at the same time tweet and ido Instagram as often as possible. Traveling is now my favourite pass time and a great way to relax along with the culinary delights that I am going to enjoy along the way as well. Recently I went on a 7-day escorted with Insight Vacations and I loved it! Cities I visited include Paris, Luzern and Munich! I am usually not the  the type that would join a tour but this trip changed my view. I think for those who wanted to explore more than 2 countries and more than 3 cities in a single trip and wanted everything to be organised, it is the best way to go around indeed. You may question the comfort-ness of the coach I was travelling on but to my surprised, Insight Vacations is very proud with the fact that their coaches have one of the most leg room and I can personally say that it is true! I think it is even better than many regional business classes on flights! Here I have attached some of the pictures I have taken and hope you would enjoy them as much as I did. Next post? It will be my trip (March 2013) to Singapore and the newly opened Legoland in Malaysia.   

Sheraton Macao Cotai - Part 1 / 3

I talked about Macau (Macao) in quite a lengthy post previously, mainly about the city as a gaming capital in south east Asia. This time I am going to talk more about it in a slightly different perspective I suppose. I have been to Macau many times but most if not always just day trips because of the convenience of the 24 hours ferry services running between Hong Kong and Macau. I was lucky enough to be invited by the newly opened Sheraton Macao hotel in the Cotai area. What's in the Cotai area? I think it is basically the Macau version of the Vegas strip with countless hotels and casino establishment in the area.  A quick look around you will see countless construction sites nearby with other major hotels planning their new openings in the next few years. The Sheraton Macao Cotai hotel is the largest in terms of number of rooms within the entire Sheraton chain worldwide, with a total of room count of 3,896 rooms situated in its Sky and Earth Tower. With that large number of rooms, there are pros and cons obviously which I will talk about later.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the hotel was the sheer scale of it. The lobby wasn't the largest I have seen but it was the check-in area that truly shocked me! Look at that queuing setup! I suppose if 20% of guests check in together, it would be quite a scene! Imagine if the occupancy rate was about 80% that means 3,896 rooms x 0.80 ~ 3200 rooms ~ 2pax per room ~ 6,400 guests .... okay, yes, a proper queue system is required!!! Oh wait, apparently the weekend we checked in, the occupancy rate was almost 98% !!! (Note: 1,948 rooms of the Earth Tower is yet to be opened, likely in Feb2013, but still ...)

Then again, I was glad and happy for the 98% occupancy rate because without that I would not be upgraded from a Club Deluxe room to ... one of the only 8 Presidential Suites!!!!!! How does it feel staying in the Presidential Suite all by myself? Of course it was ... NICE ... but to be honest, even if I am traveling with my girlfriend, this is a bit too much, too big to a point I feel slightly lonely and overly quiet in that huge suite with 2 en suite bedrooms + living room + media room + meeting room + kitchen and .... a treatment room!!!! if you are traveling as a couple, I suggest to go for the Club Deluxe Suite which you can check out on Dorothy Ma's post. I was too lone and hungry that night I went to her room to order room service at 2am! Her room was much more cozy for couples! If you are traveling as a family, of course Presidential Suite is an option! :) Or perhaps the Ambassador Suite which is slightly smaller but enough for a family. Let me show you what I mean. My DSLR lens was not wide enough to take interior images so I used my iPhone instead so please excuse the lower resolution for the following interior shots. :)

Living Room(s)? 

Media Room (controlled by Crestron central remote control) 

Meeting Room? Dining Room? 

Treatment Room! yes a treatment room! 

Master Ensuite Bedroom with OSIM foot massage device!!!

Master En suite Bathroom with Bathtub and .... waterproof Crestron remote for TV in bathroom! (shower room on the side as well)

Guest Room

Guest Room Ensuite Bathroom 

 Now you can imagine how big the suite was right? It took me 15 mins to decide which room I should sleep in, the master bedroom or the guest room closer to the entrance? Oh and I did take a bubble bath! they have everything for the guests!

Most of the other rooms of different categories are quite spacious but my favourite is still the Club Executive Suite. Again, check our Dorothy Ma's post for more details. Other than that, one of the room categories I really liked was the Family Room! Not many hotels nowadays would offer family room  and even if they do it would simply be like connecting rooms and similar. However, here at Sheraton, they put some efforts into making a family room a truly family room in my opinion.

I was  quite surprised to see very cute bunk beds as well as little potty for kids in the bathroom!

    

They also provide kids amenities as well. I didn't show the image here but they also have bathrobes for kids!

Even in the 3 different pool areas, they have special facilitates for kids!

For those into exercises, their gym is quite large with the usual equipment as well. 

I mentioned about the sheer scale of this hotel in terms of room numbers, one thing worth noting is that even if you are staying at the Club level, having Club access for daily breakfast  there can be a chance that you have to wait in a queue in the morning depending on the occupancy rate during your stay I suppose. However, no worries, you have the option of heading to one of their restaurants as an option. We picked the Feast which is basically a buffet restaurant. I will cover more on that in my next few posts. Enough to digest for now right? :)

Sassy’s Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys! (2012)!

Last year I contributed to the Sassy's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys and this year, let's keep the momentum and check out what sort of cool items I have recommended for this year's Christmas! My favourite got to be the Herb-savor but apparently it is no longer available in Hong Kong so I need to see where else I can get it!! Argh! ... Now that I am into travel, I tend to check out more travel gears and accessories so I will start posting more frequently on food, travel and gadgets, I promise. I have been trying to adjust and settle in at my new role as a Travel Consultant with Flight Centre Hong Kong and I can confidently say that I am now ready to get back into action to ... SHARE! Want a sneak preview of what's to come? click to Read More! :)

Island East Markets (Hong Kong)

Simply put, it is fun to be part of something great! My Fashion Birdcage along with Vintage& participated in this weekend's Island East Markets in Quarry Bay! Quoting from their website, Island East Markets is Hong Kong first Sunday farmer's market to promote the best of "Hong Kong, be it fresh produce grown by Hong Kong’s most dedicated organic farmers, handcrafted goods made by local artisans, or the best local brands and bands." I always wanted to see such a regular Sunday markets in Hong Kong similar to that of London'd Spitafield Mrarkets but I surely cannot recall one that was of this scale and with such wide varieties of vendors, you name it you they got it! You would not be leaving empty handed for sure, or hungry for that matter! I was too busy at my booth yesterday to take any pictures for the events but you can check out comprehensive coverage by 1) The Wanderlister+ Asia as well as 2) You Got Me Blogging. Yep you can find our booth (My Fashion Birdcage & Vintage&) in both articles! Sigh, I should have dressed up in a vintage shirt right? The Island East Markets runs every Sunday until 21 October 2012 from 10am-5pm, so drop by and have some fun, show some support! Follow their Facebook Page for the latest updates!!!

Travel Consultant - Flight Centre Hong Kong

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I will be venturing into the travel industry in Hong Kong and it is now official! I will be working for Flight Centre Hong Kong as Travel Consultant! Yes I am quite excited about the role because as many of you know, I am passionate about travel and tend to over-share my travel experiences online via various social media outlets. As Travel Consultant, I can now either share my travel experiences [and gastronomic adventures]with clients or help them arrange the whole trip as if I am traveling to that destination!!! If you or your friends have any upcoming travel plans, drop me a note at jason[dot]tse[at]flightcentre[dot]com[dot]hk (or call me @ +852 2830 2793) and let me handle the rest! If you so happen to pass by Happy Valley, drop by our retail shop to say hi! :)

Untitled - My Rare Rant on Current Affairs

I wanted to write something on macro economy for a long while but never found the time and I think it is a good time to do so mainly because I am in the mood to do so. Marco economy may not be the right term for what I am going to talk about but something in relation to that perhaps. Hey, I am just expressing what I have in mind aka BLAH! ... Anyhow, here we go. Over the past year or so, the world economy has been in turmoil for various reasons, one key concern is of course the EU debt crisis. I am not here to talk about that but rather on the overall development of China which the whole world has been paying attention to for more than we care to admit.

Bali, Indonesia (Aug 2012)

It was my first time visiting Bali and after my recent stay, I now truly understand why people rave about it so much that one would return whenever possible. The sunset along the many amazing beaches was truly memorable to say the least! However, there were many surprises, some being pleasant while some being shocking confusing to me as a tourist. Firstly, the weather was beyond amazing! I was expecting high humidity like Singapore but during my stay it was nowhere close to being humid, the climate and weather was so good! What I dislike the most about Bali (which many may agree) is the terrible traffic! I am quite speechless about the traffic because I really don't know what can be done to improve the situation unless the government demolish a whole lot of buildings and existing roads to widen them. Kuta and Seminyak districts are seriously congested ALL THE TIME! (Note: All images are by iPhone 4, experimenting with smartphone photography)

My Paris Favourites

Many who don't follow my twitter or foursquare ask about my recent Paris experience in terms of food, here is a list of places I went to (or should have visited) during my stay which I like to recommend. I will update this list continuously as an excuse to visit Paris soon perhaps? :)  

Amazing Summer Surprises!

Quite a lot of surprises the past few weeks and I would like to share them with you very briefly.  It is no secret that I get invited to various events including tastings as well as restaurant openings. Really thankful for the opportunities. Recently I have been invited by magazine Fashion & Beauty, yes a fashion magazine, to attend the opening launch part for Sony's new water resistant smartphone Xperia arco S releasing early August.  Okay that's the first surprise to me because I got invited to this sort of event. Don't get me wrong because I won the lucky draw and won myself a brand new Sony Xperia arco S. HAHA a happy surprise indeed! Perhaps it is time to give Android OS a try?

Ngong Ping 360 + Tai O Day Trip (July 2012)

Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car has been in operations for many years and it is considered one of Hong Kong's key attractions to both local as well as foreign visitors. True that there were certain incidents over the past few years which affected their reputation but the way I see it, incidents happen in all sort of transportation including air flight or even cruise but it doesn't mean one would stop using them right? You are entitled to your own opinion but for me, I have been looking forward to such a cable car ride for what it is especially when the only other cable car ride in Hong Kong is the one at the Ocean Park. I have to admit, one of the reasons I was so looking forward to it was because I like to find out what sort of experience to expect from such huge investment in constructing this attractions just for the purpose of visiting the Ngong Ping Village, Giant Buddha and en route to Tai O Village?

Tour Eiffel - Paris (June 2012)

We often travel with the objectives to find the best restaurants, hunt for bargains or even to find the best location to photograph (with) iconic structures as an alternative to having a signboard saying "I was here." Hey, I am guilty as such at times but is that the best way to experience a city, to understand the culture and ... travel in general? It is an open-ended question for all of us to think about but my recent trip to London and Paris, I tried something different, I travel without my DSLR and only with my iPhone with me. Yes I mentioned about that in my previous post but in additional to illustrate smartphone photography as a valid category of photography, I wanted to travel through my own eyes and not through the viewfinder.

What is a meaningful job?

I am not certain if I posted the following personal entry on this blog before but I am doing so because ... I can. The entry was written almost 2 years ago but nothing seems to have changed in terms of my view towards the topic. We are all working towards some sort of an objective in life and to attain that we often have to take the path less travelled. Some are more fortunate to have the option to do while some require a bit more effort in doing so. The reality is, at this stage of age, it is almost impossible for everyone to start the race from same starting line. Accept this fact and work towards overcoming such disparity if you like to call it as such. There is no point in whining about it because it would not change anything just because you say so. What prompted me to say all these? Someone recently asked me for career advice and my reply was quite straight forward, "there is no such thing as a career nowadays, create your own career and build on it." Perhaps it was a bold statement for the kid about to enter university but I personally think if one cannot understand the changing definition of a career, he/she is in for quite a surprise down the road. The ability to anticipate change is very important and it takes more than piles of textbook to learn about it. I was then asked or more accurately been informed the ideal situation is to find a job that is meaningful. OKAY, there is no such thing as a meaningless job, it may be meaningless to you because you labelled it as such due to your dislike of it but it surely is meaningful to someone else you may or may not know. Guess what, someone may even envy your so-called meaningless job for many reasons. While the word meaningful is very subjective, do think of the following passage the next time you want to use the word to describe the job you picked.