tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59036169187862531552024-03-19T15:00:32.930+08:00Life as a Bon Vivanteat • cook • travel • shop • snap • blogJasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07065954132923109958noreply@blogger.comBlogger425125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-21037731163216882512013-06-30T01:47:00.000+08:002013-07-08T02:22:13.317+08:00LEGOLAND MALAYSIA - APRIL 2013<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8561342005/" title="me and my many emotions? haha by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="me and my many emotions? haha" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8561342005_93f557df67.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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This post is indeed a long overdue post. <a href="http://www.legoland.com.my/" target="_blank">Legoland Malaysia</a> opened its door around November 2012 and since then many flocked there expected it to be a theme park comparable with that from Denmark.or Windsor UK. It is all about managed expectation in my opinion. Similar to Hong Kong Disneyland, we only hear complaints about how small it is compared with other Disneyland around the world but to be honest, I think we shouldn't really compared to that extend and give the benefit of the doubt. Yes the park is quite small I have to admit but given the open space and fierce heat, one actually wants to complete the visit sooner than later perhaps haha. In any case, I actually enjoyed my visit to Legoland Malaysia perhaps because I am a huge fan of Lego!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8562050908/" title="#Legoland #Malaysia !!! Are you ready? I surely am! by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="#Legoland #Malaysia !!! Are you ready? I surely am!" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/8562050908_aa8f4e5c34.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Most if not all who show interests in going actually thought Legoland Malaysia is close to KL but the fact is that it is situated in Johor Bahru, 40 mins drive away from Singapore! I highly recommend going to Singapore and take a short bus ride over (shuttle package available from <a href="http://legoland.wtstravel.com.sg/" target="_blank">WTS Travel</a>) because in my opinion, there isn't much to do in the Johor Bahru area at all!!!<br />
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Most of the rides at the park are tailor for children but enough for a Lego fan to see. I recommend a day trip only from Singapore so you can depart in the morning and return by the evening for dinner followed by visit to the Universal Studio the day after.<br />
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One of key attractions for me is the MINILAND! I say that part of the part is worth the trip already to be honest! First exhibit that catch my attention was the airport!! Not surprising right? Come on! Look at the details of the construction and some of the cars and planes can move as well!! Check out the Taj Mahal and Cruise liner!! I wish I will have the chance to construct something like this! There are many other real life structures in the MINILAND but I will not spoil it by posting the pictures because I do want people to visit for themselves and appreciate the power and magic of Lego!!! Would I go again soon? Perhaps not until their hotels are open in 2 years time. It is worth visiting now? YES for sure and bring your kids (and plenty of sunscreen + water too)!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8560950333/" title="#KLIA built with LEGO Bricks! #legoland #Malaysia #travel ... I want that airplane!!! @kewpielovesyou , want one? by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="#KLIA built with LEGO Bricks! #legoland #Malaysia #travel ... I want that airplane!!! @kewpielovesyou , want one?" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8560950333_f2880fc00c.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8562058358/" title="Someday, someday I will build myself one of these!! #legoland #lego #Malaysia #travel by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Someday, someday I will build myself one of these!! #legoland #lego #Malaysia #travel" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8562058358_7c8745f010.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8562062014/" title="Welcome aboard #LEGO cruise! #legoland #Malaysia ... Simply Amazing! Love! by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Welcome aboard #LEGO cruise! #legoland #Malaysia ... Simply Amazing! Love!" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8562062014_481485e055.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8560959449/" title="Name this structure! ... a masterpiece both in real life and in LEGO! #legofun #legoland #Malaysia by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Name this structure! ... a masterpiece both in real life and in LEGO! #legofun #legoland #Malaysia" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8528/8560959449_6c1e7784dd.jpg" width="500" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/8561040835/" title="Pirates of the ... #LEGOland !!! #Malaysia by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Pirates of the ... #LEGOland !!! #Malaysia" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8521/8561040835_3b58cdda51.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com79tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-58851845971339035632013-06-22T02:20:00.000+08:002013-07-08T02:24:03.094+08:00Clarisonic Plus Body Extension<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/clarisonichongkong" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Clarisonic Plus </a>is not just designed for face but your body as well. As shown in my first post on Clarisonic Plus, the device comes with a body brush as well. The body brush is slightly larger in side and by default the cleansing cycle once you plugged the brush into the device would be 3 minutes. Too short for your whole body? Just click again to give it another go if you ask me for more of the sonic movement cleansing in your shower! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I think the main benefits of the body cleansing function is to focus on certain parts of your body that you think would require in depth cleansing. For guys in particular, the neck, back, lower leg, heels and feet would be the key areas especially during the hot summer times when I wear shorts and sandals most of the time. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Can't reach your back with the device? No worries, the C</span></span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">larisonic PLUS Body Extension comes to the rescue! It is specially designed for those hard-to-reach areas of your body like your back. Ensure to apply relevant body lotions / cream after use (shower) because after the gentle cleansing and exfoliation of your skin can help absorb skin care products much better as a key benefits of the device. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Believe</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> it or not, it was more relaxing and comfortable than I imagine it when I put it to the test to my neck and back. True that it is a bit bulky and for many guys it may be an extra process during their quick shower routines, but I think it is a worthwhile giving up my singing sessions in my shower to apply this cleansing process during the summer times. Oh wait, I can sing and cleanse at the same time! </span>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-79910109047634753132013-06-10T04:21:00.000+08:002013-06-12T04:29:52.113+08:00Clarisonic Plus - A Promising Two Weeks Affair <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After using the Clarisonic Plus for about 2 weeks, I have to
admit I am fairly impressed with the results, so far at least. As mentioned, my
main concerns have been excess facial oil during the summer humid days and the
built up of dirt / dust particles resulting in unwanted pimples. Daily facial
cleansing has been part of my grooming routines but needless to say I wanted to
try something different perhaps. Clarisonice has been on the market for quite
some time but I just didn’t have the chance try it until now given the
opportunities. During the course of the past 2 weeks trial (or affair), I used one of my favourite bliss’ fabulous foaming face wash together with the Clarisonic Plus and they worked well as a
combination for me and my gentle skin. Of course you can use your own cleansing products but make
sure it foams in order to get the best results. For some reasons I found it quite fun perhaps because I am a guy and I like to play with all sort of gadgets for fun or in this case for my personal grommig. </div>
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There are several points worth noting after a week of daily
usage of the Clarisonic Plus: 1) do not press too hard against the cheek / face
because it can get overly dry and 2) follow the recommended cleansing cycle
length. Obviously I overlooked the above 2 points and result with very dry skin
the day after. Also, there is not need to use any grainy exfoliating cleansers
with the Clarisonic Plus because the main idea of the device is to help you do
that, any cleansing products which foam up would work just fine in my opinion. </div>
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How can it cleanse if you just let it gently work against
your skin you may ask? To answer that it is hard not to compare with the OLAY
Pro-X which I used before. Aside from the fact that the Clarisonic Plus brush
is softer and gentler to the skin, an important difference between the 2 is the
way it works. Instead of circular motions, the Clarisonic Plus uses its
patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per seconds to cleanse your
skin. Imagine vibrations at sonic frequency to bring out the dirt / dust
particles underneath. One of the key benefits of such is how it would minimize
the friction and pulling effects of similar devices that employs the circular
movements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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As a guy, in order to maximize the benefits of the cleansing
using Clarisonic Plus, I would highly recommend doing a basic shave prior to
using it to increase the effectiveness of the cleansing. Yes it is a little
more work and prep but for the sake of better skin, I say why not! </div>
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To be honest, it is quite difficult to visually see a huge
difference comparing with a before and after image of my skin in terms of
so-called increased skin smoothness and/or “glow and radiance” as many female
users would like to describe the results because the complexion of guy’s skin
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What guys aim for with the help of Clarisonic Plus may not
be for better glow and radiance for the skin but for a lack of a better word,
matte-tifying skin. Simply put, the reduction of excess facial oil. After about
a week of using the device, I did find less of an excess facial built up during
the day and closer to the end of the 2 weeks period my nose pores seem to be
less / lighter but I think it will take a bit more time to exfoliate nose pores.
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Overall speaking, I am impressed with the results from my intimate 2 weeks affair with the Clarisonic Plus especially as a guy wishing to reduce excess facial oil or like I said, to have matte-tifiyng skin. I will continue to use it for the next several months and post updates / feedbacks especially with regards to my nose pores which I really struggled to get rid of before. </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Next post will be about the additional body brush! Without revealing too much at the moment, all I have to say is that it was quite fun using the Clarisonic Plus body cleansing function especially with the extender configuration. No! I meant it in a good way! Stay tuned! (so much to talk about! I also wanted to share about my recent 8-days Bali trip!) </span></div>
Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-39948035560413228202013-06-02T01:50:00.000+08:002013-06-03T01:51:49.324+08:00Intimate Moments with Clarisonic Plus<br />
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Who said guys do not care about personal grooming!?! If you ask me, all guys do just the fact that not many are willing to admit so. I am here to admit that I am more than just a fan of personal grooming, I am quite anal about it as well. Believe it of now, I have 2 shelves full of various hair, skin and facial / body cleansing products for different occasions and weather. I am currently hooked onto "bliss" line of product including their "blood orange+white pepper soapy suds," "blood orange+white pepper body butter" and "blood orange+white pepper hand cream." I am also trying out Korres Natural Products and their line of shower products as well. Never heard of it? It's from Greece and I bought it from ASOS. Yes, I am that serious about my grooming products and continuously trying out new brands for the sake of better skins.<br />
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I may not speak on behalf of all men but I am quite certain that most guys care about their personal grooming and hope to have better skins as well just that as men, we are quite lazy and simply want results and want them fast without getting into the technically jarons / know-how such as oily T-sector or how come my skin always have excess oil. Just show us how to get rid of them and we will do it!<br />
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What triggered me in writing about personal grooming after so many years as a blogger is the popular Clarisonic Plus, the sonic skin Cleansing device for face and body. I am very lucky to have the chance to try out this Clarisonic Plus as a courtesy from she.com and Clarisonic HK. I have used similar cleansing device before such as Olay Pro X and Hada Crie (borrowed from gf to try) as shown below. However, the former brush was too rough for my delicate skin and the latter simply took too long to complete the entire session, a 15 whole minutes. True that the header is for deep-level facial cleansing but 15 mins is just too longer, way too long! Forget it!<br />
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As a mention, simplicity is a key for men's grooming and Clarisonic Plus seems to be able to fit that requirement. It claims to be simple, fast and convenient because by default it cleanses for a combined 1 minute in total for your forehead, both cheeks and nose as well. Also it is waterproof so can do all that facial cleansing in the shower as well as the body cleansing which takes 3 minutes max with the body brush. Of course you can change the speed of the device and duration of the cleansing but for me the default setting works just fine, cannot be bothered to adjust to be honest.<br />
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The device is often associated with makeup removal / cleansing but for guys, that may not apply 90% of the time. I wanted to give it a try not because I have make up that requires removal or cleansing but more interested in how it can reduce excess facial oil. My habit of twice daily face washing / scrubbing does not seem to be doing much help in reducing or minimize the excess facial oil during the humid summer days. Clarisonic Plus claims to be able to reduce oily areas and clears pores as well as many other benefits such as help better absorb skin care products and reduces the appearances of wrinkles but it is yet to be seen in the course of the next few weeks when I am going to try it out.<br />
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First impression of the device is that it is larger than its competitors but for me it is quite alright, perhaps because I have big hands. Size does matter and the bigger the easier to handle in my opinion even for girls.<br />
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The original package comes with several cleansing gel for different skin types but you can use your own as long as it will foam up to a certain degree.<br />
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Simply put a small drop of cleansing gel onto the damped brush and let the sonic motion take over as instructed. 10 secs on the left cheek, 10 secs on the right, 20 secs on the forehead and 20 secs on the nose & chin. Done! Audible alerts notify me for each of the 20 secs interval. The immediate difference I find between similar devices is the softness or gentleness of the brushes. I can actually continue to watch TV while cleansing my face but then again, for 1 minute in total, I am not going to miss much am I? After use, I simply clean it through with water. I took the brush out because it would be easier to dry but I can imagine if I am living in London, the dryness of climate would dry it without the need to disassemble it.<br />
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As mentioned, it comes with a body brush as well. What I like about the body function is the fact that they come with an extender!!! Yeah! Attach to it and I can reach parts of my back which I cannot without the extender!! The default setting for body is 3 mins and once you switched the brush the device will auto detect that as well according to the instruction I am yet to try it and I will share that experience next time. No pictures sorry because I will be in the shower!!! </div>
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So what do I think about the Clarisonic so far after using it for the first time? So far everything seems to be positive but will need more time to test out the result of course. Would my occasional excess facial oil be reduced over a period of regular uses? Stay tuned and you shall find out! I do like how I only need to use it for a combined one minute to cleanse all the necessary parts of my face with just one single button. True that it is bigger than I expected but the fact that it is waterproof and rechargeable battery can last up to or around 8 days or use can offset the relatively bulky dimensions I suppose. </div>
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Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-71056730181055300082013-03-30T03:15:00.001+08:002013-03-30T03:15:16.092+08:00Insight Vacations 2013 - Paris / Luzern / Munich<div style="text-align: center;">
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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. </div>
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Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com81tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-77929141350298376192013-01-13T14:00:00.000+08:002013-01-14T15:33:18.742+08:00Sheraton Macao Cotai - Part 1 / 3 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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 <b><a href="http://sheratonmacao.com/en/" target="_blank">Sheraton Macao</a> hotel</b> 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.<br />
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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 ...)<br />
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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<u> <b>8</b> Presidential Suites!</u>!!!!! 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 <b>Club Deluxe Suite</b> which you can check out on <b><a href="http://dorothyma.com/" target="_blank">Dorothy Ma</a>'s</b> 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 <b>Ambassador Suite</b> 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. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Master En suite Bathroom with Bathtub and .... waterproof Crestron remote for TV in bathroom! (shower room on the side as well)<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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I was quite surprised to see very cute bunk beds as well as little potty for kids in the bathroom!</div>
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They also provide kids amenities as well. I didn't show the image here but they also have bathrobes for kids!</div>
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Even in the 3 different pool areas, they have special facilitates for kids!<br />
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For those into exercises, their gym is quite large with the usual equipment as well. </div>
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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? :)<br />
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com53tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-84022582177148041132012-12-10T15:27:00.000+08:002012-12-10T15:27:35.084+08:00Sassy’s Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys! (2012)!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last year I contributed to the <a href="http://sassyhongkong.com/hk-christmas-gift-guide-for-guys-2012/" target="_blank"><b>Sassy's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys</b></a> 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 <b>Herb-savor</b> but apparently it is no longer available in Hong Kong so I need to see where else I can get it!! Argh! ... <b></b>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 <a href="http://www.jasonbonvivant.com/2012/09/travel-consultant-flight-centre-hong.html" target="_blank"><b>Travel Consultant</b></a> 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! :)<br />
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So what's to come on my blog?<br />
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<b>Macau (Dec 2012) - Sheraton Macao Hotel </b><br />
I will be covering more than just the new hotel but also the overall development of Macau in the past few years and what I think about it in general. Oh, possibly a brief mention of the <a href="http://www.hotelisboa.com/dining-guincho_a_galera" target="_blank"><b>Guincho a Galera</b></a> at Hotel Lisboa Macau as well, great deal for lunch in my opinion! <br />
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<b>Paris , Lucerne and Munich (Jan 2013) </b><br />
I will be heading for these three destinations in Jan 2013 partly for work. Lucerne and Munich are new destinations to me and I am quite excited to take some photographs, especially city scenes with snow! Oh the coldness! <br />
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-83189242808965369512012-10-01T15:27:00.002+08:002012-10-01T15:29:45.594+08:00Island East Markets (Hong Kong)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Simply put, it is fun to be part of something great! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/myfashionbirdcage?fref=ts" target="_blank"><b>My Fashion Birdcage</b></a> along with <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/vintageand?fref=ts" target="_blank">Vintage&</a> </b>participated in this weekend's<a href="http://hkmarkets.org/" target="_blank"> <b>Island East Markets</b></a> 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)<b> <a href="http://www.wanderlister.com/post/32584685641/islandeastmarket" target="_blank">The Wanderlister+ Asia</a></b> as well as 2) <a href="http://www.razlan.net/2012/10/island-east-markets/" target="_blank"><b>You Got Me Blogging</b></a>. Yep you can find our booth (<b>My Fashion Birdcage</b> & <b>Vintage&</b>) in both articles! Sigh, I should have dressed up in a vintage shirt right? The <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/IslandEastMarkets?fref=ts" target="_blank">Island East Markets</a></b> runs <u>every Sunday until 21 October 2012 from 10am-5pm</u>, so drop by and have some fun, show some support! Follow their <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/IslandEastMarkets?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> </b>for the latest updates!!!<br />
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-28389444478518971672012-09-19T23:58:00.003+08:002012-09-19T23:59:12.846+08:00Travel Consultant - Flight Centre Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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 <a href="http://www.flightcentre.com.hk/" target="_blank">Flight Centre Hong Kong</a> 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 <b><u>jason[dot]tse[at]flightcentre[dot]com[dot]hk</u></b> (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! :)Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-87217841691987834612012-08-29T05:35:00.001+08:002012-08-29T05:36:33.531+08:00Untitled - My Rare Rant on Current Affairs<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jasonbonvivant.com/2012/08/untitled-my-rare-rant-on-current-affairs.html" target="_blank" title="Faces by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Faces" height="500" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4154/5051138149_7c4ea79ced.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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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.<br />
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News over the past year have been covering how the Chinese economy has been slowing down especially the manufacturing / export sectors. Why are we so surprised with that? All developed countries such as USA, UK and even Hong Kong as a developing city have been through such development stages in the past. Low value manufacturing often takes up a huge percentage of GDP for developing nations during the initial stages and gradually moving upwards to either valued added manufacturing or the service industries or hopefully both in order to remain competitive. Is China moving towards that trend? Can China's so-called amazing growth be sustained in the long run? Who knows, it all depends on the actions / policies being implemented in the distant past and future. <br />
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Let's travel back in time for a bit for a brief history review. China was a gold mine for cheap labour in the 1980s when the nation first open its door to foreigners and manufacturing of course was the first industry to be concentrated on along with along of capital injection into infrastructures by the local and central government which contributed a large % of growth even to this date. What I am more interested in is to look closely at the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) over the last several decades ... by companies of different NATIONS. <u>Again, I did some simple research and the following statements are based on my own researches and please correct me if otherwise. </u><br />
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Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong took the most benefits out of the open door policy initially. Hong Kong is close to China especially near initial Special Economic Zone in southern China where cheap labours were plenty. Most if not all Hong Kong businessmen took advantage of the cheap labour (and being Chinese of course) and started manufacturing of all sorts of items for export. Oh there were plenty of riches but most if not all items being manufacturing during that period or even up to the late 1990s by these Hong Kong-owned factories were low-valued products which gradually have lower margins due to higher labour cost and etc. Many of these factories were closed down in recent years especially those without the vision of upgrading their production line or business objectives to more valued added products or change their whole business model to fit into the current macro development of China.<br />
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What about the many US-based MNCs which wanted the cheap labour in the manufacturing sector of China as well? True that they wanted to take advantage of the cheap production but the main objective of many US-based MNCs including that of McDonalds, Wal-Mart, GM or Nike for example are beyond that. Their target is China's growing <u>domestic consumption market</u> which has tremendous growth simply due to the size of the population. Cheap production can be migrated whenever needed but the high savings rate and huge domestic consumption potential is what many US-MNCs are looking at! The pie is getting larger by the day as the income level of Chinese is increasing as we speak. The size of the so-called middle class is the drive of consumption and the US MNCs can see that way back in 1980s while many Hong Kong-owned factories in China were busy pumping out socks or plastic toys.<br />
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What about the Japanese? Yes they did put an effort in the manufacturing businesses as well like the Auto industries but their key contribution to the growth of China over the past few decades was in the infrastructure businesses. Equipment, technology and even skills were somewhat transferred as well. Many roads, bridges, highways and high-speed railways were built with the help of Japanese firms and their investments. The same applies to German's investment during the past few decades of rapid growth in China. Oh almost forget about the many energy projects and infrastructures which the Japanese and German investment have contributed. Guess who invested the most on the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, especially the power turbines and generators etc?<br />
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The named nations above are just a few examples of how they contributed to the growth of China in the recent years and what their major focuses, specialisations or objectives were / are for China. So what can China do to avoid being led by other nations and be great economically speaking? Well, I think many State Owned Enterprises (SOE) or formally SOE now public companies are moving in the right direction by acquiring new technologies, management skills as well as specialisation in producing value-added / high-valued products in the manufacturing sector and rapidly developing the financial & service industries. This is the best way to turn China into a consumer-based market.<br />
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So what exactly is my point of writing this post? I am not quite sure, just want to share what I have in mind for a while and hence the title of this post. I guess one thing we should be careful is how to evaluate a situation from both sides. A drop in the manufacturing / export figures may not be a bad sign for the overall growth of China as a whole and the amazing growth over the past few decades may not be solely the results China itself but with contribution from companies that you may not pay attention to normally. These companies / MNCs have long term interests in the Chinese market with their respective objectives.<br />
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Of course, one should also pay attention to how much China has been spending on infrastructures since the 1980s and how much of those monies are borrowed in terms of debts. Airports, roads and highways are great and necessary infrastructures for the development of a city / countries, however, international airports built geographically NEXT to each other in terms of provincial regions using tax payers / borrowed monies may not be so wise in all aspects. The reasons as to why such White Elephant infrastructures were built without much planning between provincial governments are matters cannot be explained fully in this post because of the complications and complexity of how the Chinese government works, or more accurately how the officials are being evaluated annually in terms of performances. I will not open the can of worms in this post, perhaps the next?<br />
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end of blah blah blah ... more to come perhaps?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-34990627852616345402012-08-25T01:23:00.001+08:002012-08-29T03:44:41.107+08:00Bali, Indonesia (Aug 2012)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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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)<br />
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The government is quite smart in implementing the Visa On Arrival (VOA) system for many common wealth nations of which one simply arrive at the airport and pay USD25 for a 30 days VISA. Based on my research before the trip, for less than 7 days, one needs to pay only USD10 for the 7 days stay but apparently the real situation as different even when I asked the only answer I got back was ... "USD25 please." Not a bad way to gather foreign currencies. Oh remember not to use up all your local currencies before department because there is a Passenger Service Charge of IR150,000 (around USD15), another interesting fee in my opinion.<br />
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Also, due to the unit of the currency, don't be surprised your purchases / returned changes being rounded up by the thousands in monetary value, it is their custom I hear. Some shops may give you candies instead but based on my experiences, they just round it up.<br />
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If you plan to travel to many tourist sites including historical buildings in the different parts of Bali, it is highly recommended that you hire a car and a driver. Average cost is about IR600,000 (around USD55-60) for 10 hours and you can basically go anywhere for that period of time. Realistically, you are hiring the car and driver for less than 10 hours because of the terrible traffic. If you opt for taxi, make sure travel by the meter. There is also another option which is to use hotel taxi which take you to any destination within a specific district for a fixed price, pre paid as well. The cost would be about 30% - 35% higher than by the meter but in a much more comfortable ride of course. Is it worth it? I think so especially the taxi fares are quite cheap even in Hong Kong standard.<br />
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Alright, even with the boring stuff, here are some of the places I have visited and would definitely return / recommend.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.villadedaun.com/" target="_blank">Dala Spa at Villa De Daun</a></b><br />
Literally an oasis in the middle of the city. Located behind the busy streets, you can find this cute little villa resort with this wonderful Dala Spa! We spent an afternoon here being pampered and then followed by a simple yet satisfying meal under the sun listening to the music performed by the wind and the leaves. (<a href="http://www.villadedaun.com/">http://www.villadedaun.com/</a>)<br />
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<b>Anantara Seminyak Spa Resort </b><br />
Sunset in Bali is usually around 6-615pm and quite on time as well! So if you do plan to watch the amazing sunset, make sure you head to whenever you want at least an hour in advance due to traffic! The SOS Supper Club at the Anantara Seminyak Spa Resort overlooks the Seminyak Beach and with their large beds one can sit back, relax and enjoy the sunset while enjoying a glass of cocktails. (<a href="http://bali.anantara.com/">http://bali.anantara.com/</a>) Oh of course you can also dine under the sky while overlooking the sunset as well here at the SOS Supper Club.<br />
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<b>Potato Head Beach Club</b><br />
Almost anyone visit Bali knows about Ku De Ta, it is beyond famous as the beach side lounge but I personally prefer the nearby Potato Head because of the atmosphere. With a minimum spending IR500,000 (around USD45-50) you can have the bed! Trust me, it is quite easy to achieve that amount. (<a href="http://www.ptthead.com/">http://www.ptthead.com/</a>)<br />
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<b>Sardine</b><br />
Dining in a rice field under the sun, enough said! (<a href="http://www.sardinebali.com/">http://www.sardinebali.com/</a>)<br />
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<b>Theta Spa by the Sea</b><br />
This spa is not as upscale or as luxury as the Dala Spa but the packages are much more reasonable. The premise is by the sea, being part of the Ramada Bintang Spa and Resort so do make sure you book the room overlooking the sea to get the best bargain! If you are not a spa person, go for their foot massage option in a separate glass room overlooking the sea / beach as well. (<a href="http://www.thetaspa.com/">http://www.thetaspa.com/</a>)<br />
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<b>Breeze @ The Samaya Bali</b></div>
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Dinner by the sea. Enough said. Excellent Service! Quite a memorable dining experience to dine by the sea eating Indonesian cuisines haha. I quite want to stay here on my next trip to Bali! (<a href="http://www.thesamayabali.com/">http://www.thesamayabali.com/</a>)</div>
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Bali, I will be back next May! I hope the traffic problem can be improved!!! </div>
Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-72576008510051902422012-08-02T02:43:00.001+08:002012-08-02T02:43:56.981+08:00My Paris Favourites<div style="text-align: center;">
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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? :) <br />
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<b><a href="http://www.aubonaccueilparis.com/aunbonaccueilparis/Bienvenue.html" target="_blank">Au Bon Accueil </a></b><br />
Reasonable prix fixe menu for lunch and dinner. Great food and service but the best part is how the restaurant is basically under the Tour Eiffel. Pick the tables outdoor on the sidewalk and enjoy the sun, food and atmosphere. <a href="http://www.aubonaccueilparis.com/">http://www.aubonaccueilparis.com/</a><br />
14 rue de Monttessuy, 75007 Paris (Métro Alma Marceau)<br />
Tel: +33 01 47 05 46 11<br />
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<b><a href="http://huitrerieregis.com/" target="_blank">Huîtrerie Régis</a></b><br />
Oysters, oysters and more oysters. This small joint serves only oysters so get ready to indulge oysters by the dozen! <a href="http://huitrerieregis.com/">http://huitrerieregis.com/</a><br />
3 Rue Montfaucon, 75006 Paris (Métro Mabillon or Saint-Germain)<br />
Tel: +33 01 44 41 10 07<br />
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<b><a href="http://parisbymouth.com/lecume-st-honore/" target="_blank">L'Écume St Honoré </a></b><br />
Oysters + Seafood! If you aren't satisfied with just oysters, stop by this casual joint in the city for some fresh oysters and wild selection of seafood! While you are there, you can simply stand by the counter and pick your items! :) <a href="http://parisbymouth.com/lecume-st-honore/">http://parisbymouth.com/lecume-st-honore/</a><br />
6 rue du Marché St.-Honoré, 75001 Paris<br />
Tel: +33 01 42 61 93 87<br />
Closed Sunday + Monday<br />
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<b>Crêperie Beaubourg</b><br />
Lovely authentic-enough Creperie at a great location overlooking Centre George Pompidou.<br />
2 rue Brisemiche, 75004 Paris, France<br />
Tel: +33 01 42 77 63 62<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.pierreherme.com/" target="_blank">Pierre Hermé</a></b><br />
Just the name says it all right? Just a tip, make sure you go to the right one because not all outlets have pastries. Also, you can buy the pastries and eat at the nearest sidewalk cafe enjoying / observing the French way of life. Make sure you free up at least an hour or so for this sweet destination. <a href="http://www.pierreherme.com/" target="_blank">http://www.pierreherme.com/ </a><br />
72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris<br />
Tel: +33 01 43 54 47 77<br />
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Should have tried:<br />
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<li>Le Meurice <a href="http://www.lemeurice.com/le-meurice-restaurant">http://www.lemeurice.com/le-meurice-restaurant</a></li>
<li>Le Chateaubriand <a href="http://parisbymouth.com/le-chateaubriand/" target="_blank">http://parisbymouth.com/le-chateaubriand/</a></li>
</ul>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-18585467731028363902012-08-01T01:05:00.000+08:002012-08-02T01:06:47.832+08:00Amazing Summer Surprises!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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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 <b><a href="http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-acro-s/" target="_blank">Xperia arco S</a></b> releasing early August. Okay that's the <u>first surprise</u> 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?<br />
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Some say I have gained weight, I say I gained ALOT of weight to be exact! Thanks to the large amount of butter I like to consume nowadays. Oh that was suppose to be a compliment to butter! :) So what are the <u>second surprise</u>? For those who follow my Facebook, you may be seen a picture of me ... well, me with a slight makeover perhaps. It was a fun and quick costume makeover organized at the birthday party of <b><a href="http://www.gentlemenstonic.com/pages/Hong-Kong.html" target="_blank">Gentlemen's Tonic </a></b>at Landmark. Thanks to them and the image, I have decide to get a circular glasses and soon you will see me with a new look! :)<br />
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As for the <u>third surprise</u>, it is sort of an announcement about the end of my tai tai lifestyle for the past year or so haha. I will soon work in the travel industry (starting September) so if you need to purchase air tickets or travel packages with hotel accommodations, do let me know and I will help arrange everything! More shameless promotion to come closer to September. In the meanwhile, start thinking where you would like to take a break for Christmas! Oh almost forgot, I will be traveling quite a bit this month as well so stay tuned or follow me on <b>Twitter</b> (<a href="http://twitter.com/jasonbonvivant" target="_blank">@jasonbonvivant</a>), <b>Instagram</b> (<a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/jasonbonvivant/" target="_blank">@jasonbonvivant</a>) and <b>Facebook</b> (<a href="http://facebook.com/jasonbonvivant">facebook.com/jasonbonvivant</a>) for live updates! :)<br />
<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-1148148567512594852012-07-26T06:00:00.002+08:002012-07-26T06:01:22.918+08:00Ngong Ping 360 + Tai O Day Trip (July 2012)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.np360.com.hk/en/" target="_blank">Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car</a> 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?<br />
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My day started with a cable car ride from the Ngong Ping 360 Station in Tung Chung. The queue was longer than expected so get their early! To shorten your wait, get the crystal car cabin!<br />
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For a small price difference, I would definitely pick the crystal cabin with a transparent floor which passengers can look down at bird's eyes view! The ride took us about 25 mins and on a day with temperature around 33C, the cabin was quite cool without air conditioning, perhaps because of the height and proper ventilation. A suggestion is to pick a non-foggy day to visit because otherwise quite difficult to take a clear picture of the landscape during the ride. One thing I don't like was even for the higher priced crystal cabin, you still have to sit with plenty of strangers, max 8 per crystal cabins. Of course it depends on your luck whether visitors picked the crystal cabin option.<br />
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Arriving at the end of the uphill ride, the Ngong Ping Village awaits. Good that I was looking forward to a good tan, otherwise you better get your sun screen lotion ready. Oh of course you can get your umbrella ready to shield yourself from the sun as well. :)<br />
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The Ngong Ping Village isn't huge but there are quite a number of food outlets, ranging from Chinese to Pizza. I think traveling to Ngong Ping Village via the Ngong Ping 360 wasn't really for the food but for the experience. Treat the trip as an outing, an opportunity to take a day off, to enjoy the sunshine and walk off the excess fat (if any). Of course it can be a pit stop on your way to Tai O Fishing Village. Walking down the main street of Ngong Ping Village, you will see the Giant Buddha sitting peacefully on top of the mountain, one can access it from the Ngong Ping Village if you choose to climb all the stairs to reach it of course.<br />
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On the day of my visit, the Village hosted a special performance by the Shaolin & Wu Dang Kung Fu masters from China. It actually fitted the theme and atmosphere with the Giant Buddha at the back and traditionally styled structures along the main Village street.<br />
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The Ngong Pin 360 actually offers certain packages which include a shuttle service to Tai O Fishing Village from the Ngong Ping Village and include a boat ride around the village as well as dolphin sighting. We took the 15mins shuttle from Ngong Ping Village to the Tai O Fish Village. <span style="background-color: white;">The first thing I saw was the local famous salty fish all around the side streets.</span><br />
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That was the first sighting, the first smell was the rich aroma of shrimp paste! I can't help but to take a few deep breath because I was in love of the aroma! Tai O Fish Village is also known as Venice in Hong Kong because of the type of sea side settlement as well as how boats are the main mode of transportation.<br />
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The different parts of the village were connected by bridges but it is much easier to transport by boats.<br />
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Most houses here are stilt houses constructed above the tidal flats because residents in this community for generations do not feel safe on land and much easier access to the sea for their liveihood.<br />
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The atmosphere and surroundings of Tai O Fish Village haven't changed much over the past several decades from what I can see and it should be kept this way if possible to retain the local traditions as well as their way of life. Changes are part of urban development but changes can be non-destructive if done properly. Sometimes happiness can be attained without much effort, it is often a choice you make that defines how far you are from happiness. This charming old man's smile made my day and his charcoal grilled squid made my stomach smiles! So please t<span style="background-color: white;">ry to smile more for life's little things around you and let happiness find you by slowing down! :) </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7645838386/" title="IMG_2072_Snapseed by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2072_Snapseed" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8163/7645838386_03db649aff.jpg" width="333" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7645808012/" title="IMG_2032_Snapseed by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2032_Snapseed" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7645808012_013926cdbf.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-78721540717525014062012-07-13T16:31:00.001+08:002012-07-13T16:31:43.241+08:00Tour Eiffel - Paris (June 2012)<div style="text-align: center;">
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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.<br />
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In the case of Paris, sitting at cafe by the street, having a cup of double espresso and eating my favourite sweets from Pierre Herme .... for 1.5 hours without any real plans what to do next and observing the way of life in the neighbourhood were few of the best travel activities in my opinion. There is no need to be in a rush during your travel, take your time, enjoy the moment, enjoy the atmosphere. I strongly recommend you to try these sort of activities on your next vacation!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7187271855/" title="Untitled by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="Untitled" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7239/7187271855_e333c1d41c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-28018813623376080272012-07-06T19:26:00.000+08:002012-07-06T19:27:39.997+08:00What 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. <br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />======<br /><br />[from my personal blog July 2010]<br /><br />I came across the following passages while reading about biscuits, the story of producing biscuits to be exact in Alain De Botton's recent work titled: "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work." I find it quite interesting and true how he relates the topic and expresses his views towards the meaning of work.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />When does a job feel meaningful? Whenever it allows us to generate delight or reduce suffering in others. Though we are often taught to think of ourselves as inherently selfish, the longing to act meaningfully in our work seems just as stubborn a part of our make-up as our our appetite for status or money. It is because we are meaning-focused animals rather than simply materialistic ones that we can reasonably contemplated surrendering security for a career helping to bring drinking water to rural Malawi or might quite a job in consumer goods for one in cardiac nursing aware that when it comes to improving the human conditions a well-controlled defibrillator has the edge over even the finest biscuit.<br /> <br />But we should be wary of restricting the idea of meaningful work too tightly, of focusing on the doctors, the nuns of Kolkata or the Old Masters. There can be less exalted ways to contribute to the furtherance of the collective good and it seems that making a perfectly formed stripey chocolate circle which helps fill an impatient stomach in the long morning hours between nine o'clock and noon may deserve its own secure, if microscopic, place in the pantheon of innovations designed to alleviate the burden of existences. </blockquote>
<br />It made me think about my job and how it fits in the bigger picture of life or of the society. Are we or am I somewhat contributing in the microscopic ways for the advancement of culture or society? To be honestly, I have no idea, I am yet to grasp the ability to view things in this direction or perspective but I do want to attempt. I believe the wish to do so is already a big step to begin with. Perhaps minor things I do can make a huge difference in one way or the other. <br /><br />A quick look around town, retailers and consumers continue to benefit from each other in a magical way with a common denominator we call money. Everyone works hard to earn a living, earn some extra bucks to spend, to satisfying their desire in whatever ways they can afford. I think it is a fair way and no objection to that at all. However, I am sure at some point in life, one would step back and ask oneself the question of "meaning in life / work." Unfortunately, I don't understand why such "reflection" usually happens during times of turmoil or times of turbulence? Such thoughts or ideas should be equally prevalent during boom times am I right?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-33267201060239278872012-06-18T07:16:00.002+08:002012-06-18T07:17:01.608+08:00The Queen's Diamond Jubilee - London (June 2012)<div style="text-align: center;">
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Like I said, the best camera is the one that's with you. I was quite serious when I said I will document (visually) my recent travels using just my iPhone instead of my DSLR. As promised, I carried just my iPhone in my jeans pocket during my recent visits to London & Paris. The results and overall experience turned out to be quite satisfying. Smartphone photography has its technically limitation but with enough practices, one can overcome them with different smartphone photography software as well as acquired skills. Let me share some of the images I took in London using my iPhone with post-processing applied using Snapseed, Instagram, Camera+ and TiltShiftGen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oxford Street</td></tr>
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It wasn't planned but my London visit turned out to be during The Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration. The city was full of joy, full of cheerful mood and the Union Jack can be seen almost in every corner of London. Whoever supplied / manufactured those flags are smiling for sure! Many Diamond Jubilee themed products can be seen in most, if not all, stores you step into. I was amazed at the scale of the celebration and truly wonder about the cost of it and how much taxpayer money was spent on this week long or perhaps month long (including preparation and the extra bank holiday) celebration. As stated in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/05/diamond-jubilee-taxpayer-foot-bill" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, "The culture department has estimated that the extra bank holiday could cost Britain's ailing economy £1.2bn," and the "cost of Queen's ceremonies 'unknown as yet'." I am not saying that it is not worth the celebration, it was truly a celebration that was once in a life time for the country as well as the Queen. As commented by many, Queen Elizabeth II is one of the few or perhaps the only one in England's history that acted as the head of state for such long time without a single flaw since her coronation 60 years ago. The word 'flaw' is quite tricky but generally speaking, we haven't heard any negative thing about the Queen right? Or she misbehaved in any sense? Anyhow, enjoy the smartphone photographs I took! :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Pancras Station (International - EUROSTAR)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown's Hotel Afternoon Tea - Diamond Jubilee specials</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Bathing? - Hyde Park </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carefree as the Duck or Free as a Bird? - Hyde Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relaxing </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What? What is Closing Down???</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is your favourite colour? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meat Fruit @ Dinner by Heston Blumenthal </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">le Miserable</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luxury should start young right? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com12London, UK51.5073346 -0.127683151.3492066 -0.4435401 51.6654626 0.1881739tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-14599701475168603402012-05-12T02:22:00.000+08:002012-05-12T02:26:19.907+08:00Instagram ME @ Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No longer a 9-5 person, I live an interesting lifestyle which may or may not appeal to everyone. Do you wonder how a typical day of mine goes by? <b><a href="http://www.lifestyleasia.com/en/features/more/jason-bon-vivant-tse-s-instagram-me-column-11432/" target="_blank">Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong</a> </b>recently asked me to participate in their <b><a href="http://www.lifestyleasia.com/en/features/more/jason-bon-vivant-tse-s-instagram-me-column-11432/" target="_blank">Instagram Me</a></b> feature, to document my day via Instagram. Check it out <<a href="http://www.lifestyleasia.com/en/features/more/jason-bon-vivant-tse-s-instagram-me-column-11432/" target="_blank">here</a>> or stalk me via Instagram at <b><a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/jasonbonvivant/" target="_blank">@jasonbonvivant</a></b>.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-24231567813776496112012-05-12T01:22:00.000+08:002012-05-12T02:24:26.790+08:00The Danger of GeneralizationRecently the "food blogging" community in Hong Kong has been under a degree of pressure or more frankly speaking direct criticism from media as well as the F&B industry in Hong Kong. Alright, criticism maybe a strong word, perhaps, for a lack of a better word, concerns for the rapid growth of the so-called "food blogging" industry in recent months. Criticism is a natural byproduct of increased popularity and unfortunately it is the case in question with regards to "food blogging." First of all, one must understand the difference between "food blogger" and "bloggers who blog about food," because there is a difference and I repeated, there is a difference between the two and it is wrong to put both under the same category as "food bloggers." Such generalization is very dangerous indeed. I am not trying to distinguish myself between the two and I really see no need to do so because it matters not ... really. Let me show you a few examples:<br />
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"oh you write about food once a week on your newly started blog? Great, you are a food blogger." </blockquote>
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"oh you post about food on your FB? Great you are a food blogger." </blockquote>
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"oh you don't have a blog? oh wait, you tweet and you Sina Weibo right? Great, hello food blogger." </blockquote>
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"oh you write about food cultures? so you don't do restaurant reviews? Nice talking to you." </blockquote>
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"oh you post food reviews on Openrice? Great can I interview you as a food blogger?" </blockquote>
So please explain to me what exactly does it mean by being a food blogger? I am not sure myself. It really matters not what I am being called since I blog because I like to share my experiences via words and images. What happened to the blogging community in Hong Kong you ask? As I mentioned, the blogging industry in Hong Kong is still in its infant stage and the rapid growth in recent years are good for its development. However, depending on the direction of the participants in the community or to put it bluntly, how bloggers discipline themselves, the development can hindered greatly.<br />
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Recent growth of the blogging community in Hong Kong is a result of technology advancement, particularly the greater uses of smartphone which allow users to "blog" on the go using various social media platforms. Blogging in general is no longer restricted to a website, many different forms are out there such as Tumblr, Twitter and Sina Weibo. Like it or not, they are being accepted as blogs nowadays to a certain degree. However, when it comes to "food blogging," many neglected a key element which contributed to the current scene. It is the push & pulled factor created by the F&B establishments. The OVERabundance of food tastings specifically for bloggers, events targeting just bloggers and to every so subtle hints of asking to blog about it asap contributed to the rapid growth we are seeing recently.<br />
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Many F&B establishment rushed to the hype of social media in recent months because it is the "next big trend," and many jumped on the bandwagon without really thinking through the approach or what best their own establishments. The easiest for them is to organize bloggers events or blogger tastings so increase the exposure in a short period of time, hence to sudden surge of bloggers tastings. Don't get me wrong, these events are quite common among the blogging communities around the world and many treat these events like traditional media events, but the issue is what do people look for in return, what sort of roles are the bloggers and what do restaurants want in return? A simple compliment to the chef for the good meal or an immediate spread of information via blogs? what happened to the value of word of mouth? With the increased number of tastings is the increased number of blog posts about them. With the increased number of blog posts there are more readers finding their "new found" interests in sharing their dining experiences online via various social media channels. <u>The cycle continues. In other words, the restaurants created the demand for "food" bloggers and the community supplied them with an overabundance of bloggers to fill that gap and now "concerns" are surfacing for the quality of the supplies they help created</u>? I feel that this vicious cycle is putting a negative image to bloggers in general no matter what you blog about due to the generalization issue mentioned.<br />
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Once again, I am not distinguishing myself from anyone or saying that I am different because I do attend invitations every now and then. I would write about my experiences stating that the event was an invitation or not. What put me off sometimes with invitations is the bold assumptions many of the restaurants or PR assume. I once rejected an invitation for tastings and the immediate reply I got was, "oh how come? It is a free meal." What is that suppose to me? I am coming because of the free meal? I should come because it is a free meal? Because you are inviting me over for a free meal I have the obligation to write about it? This is a very dangerous assumption and I have no idea how this comes about. Perhaps I am the very few that would actually turn down invitations!?! When did blogging become my job and I must attend to every single event, because the last time I checked, my bills are not being paid from blogging.<br />
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I do not represent all food lovers who blog but I for one is not a professional food critic (perhaps a food writer at times); I simply enjoy sharing my gastronomic adventures with my words and images and try to learn more about the food that I am eating. What does that make me? a food blogger or a blogger who enjoys blogging about food?<br />
<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-4555453637572823092012-05-09T04:48:00.000+08:002012-05-22T04:56:50.603+08:00Travel - Singapore (April 2012) - Oasia Hotel<div style="text-align: center;">
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Situated just 2 MRT stations away from Orchard Station, Oasia Hotel @ Novena turned out to be much more convenient than I imagined. I stayed at the hotel over the Easter weekend in April and thanks for the generosity of the hotel, my accommodation was free of charge. While it was a big help to have free accommodation, the air tickets to Singapore seem to be climbing every quarter since a few years ago. There are over a dozen daily flights to Singapore operated by various airlines but never seems to be enough I suppose. Then again, Singapore, as mentioned previously, is an international financial center and is Hong Kong's closest yet most fierce competitor in terms of economic as well as policy development. I am bringing up this topic once again because the Oasia hotel is situated in the middle of the Novena district, a medical hub of Singapore serving not only the locals but as well as foreign visitors for various intentions. In other words, Singapore is investing as well as prompting the development of medical tourism. Hong Kong government once mentioned the idea of promoting medical tourism but like many other policies and initiatives, hardly anyone knows what happened to them. I will talk about this issue on a separate post, this one I will stick with the sharing of of my experience at the hotel.<br />
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Oasia Hotel opened late last year around November and the whole exterior as well as interior carried a very contemporary feel to it. It may seem like a business hotel by design, it can certainly be for leisure purposes as well with the various facilities and of course its location close to Orchard Road. Being in the center of the Novena district, Oasia Hotel is the only hotel surrounding the various medical facilities, which means for those wishing to stay during treatment or visiting can stay here and within walkable distance can reach to the different facilities. Even smarter is how the hotel transform the first few levels into medical services or so-called medial specialists center where "medical suites" (similar to what we call clinic) are in place. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7244016930/" title="IMG_0003 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0003" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7097/7244016930_b728304f1f.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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There are 3 main types of rooms, with Superior and Deluxe occupying most of the floors up to 21/F. 22/F and above are Oasia Club Rooms (and of course the few Club Suites). The key difference between the normal and Club rooms are the exclusive usage of the club lounge, the Living Room on the 21/F where there is also a sky pool for Club level guest enjoyment<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7244009520/" title="IMG_0011 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0011" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7238/7244009520_f4f4636e0f.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7244006428/" title="IMG_0013 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0013" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5441/7244006428_21ccc5f59a.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243998994/" title="IMG_0022 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0022" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7243998994_f444261b78.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7244002898/" title="IMG_0016 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0016" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8015/7244002898_8f97b079b0.jpg" width="333" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243993552/" title="IMG_0025 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0025" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/7243993552_b033d466e4.jpg" width="333" /></a>
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The 100 Club Rooms and 4 Club Suites are all designed by Super Potato with wood being the main theme. What I love about all their rooms is how the don't use carpet! Carpets to me are no longer the trendy thing for hotels because they get dirty quite fast and a main cause of allergies for people like me.<br />
Most of the Superior and Deluxe rooms are filled with sunlight thanks to the large windows. All blinds are electronically controlled, wonderful for lazy individuals like myself! Oh by the way, don't be surprised on the different configurations of the rooms on the same level and/or the next room. That's their creative styles!<br />
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The following are Superior / Deluxe Rooms:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243952436/" title="IMG_9965 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9965" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7221/7243952436_1332284bc4.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243947158/" title="IMG_9969 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9969" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7217/7243947158_88c1c466de.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243949720/" title="IMG_9967 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9967" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7082/7243949720_0b54f13f48.jpg" width="333" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243960100/" title="IMG_9961 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9961" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5079/7243960100_5e55a5beb6.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243965186/" title="IMG_9959 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9959" height="333" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7243965186_18f16b061f.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243963078/" title="IMG_9960 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9960" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7081/7243963078_5898c25fce.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div>
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The following are Club level rooms designed by Super Potato:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243988924/" title="IMG_0033 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0033" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5463/7243988924_8f6d4af26b.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243984322/" title="IMG_0037 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0037" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5451/7243984322_aed30c07a7.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243980992/" title="IMG_0040 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0040" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5239/7243980992_43d0c65324.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div>
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Being a business / leisure hotel, there is a gym as well as plenty of conference rooms as well for guests.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243944604/" title="IMG_9977 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9977" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5332/7243944604_52a8e3917e.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jason-bonvivant/7243936444/" title="IMG_9985 by jasonbonvivant, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9985" height="333" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7088/7243936444_f0df15a138.jpg" width="500" /></a>
</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-69500875074676859312012-05-06T18:12:00.000+08:002012-05-06T18:12:23.510+08:00Happy Birthday!! I am 3 already?!Time flies! I just realized the blog has turned 3 sometime last week and I almost forgot about it. Yes, I have been blogging for 3 years and mostly on food obviously and lately general lifestyle. However, I think it is time to turn a new leaf once again and do something different! I am still going to blog about food of course but it will be <b><u><i>photographically driven</i></u></b> with just the right amount of words. Details of the the new approach will follow along with a new face lift for the blog as well. Stay tuned!<br />
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In the meanwhile, something of a preview perhaps + shameless promotion? Many of you know how I have a growing interest and passion into photography as well as smartphone photography in recent times, and I plan to further promote / share my experiences in my upcoming trip to part of Europe (TBC) on the go! Smartphone photography is more than just the ability to capture the moment using your phone almost immediately, it is the ability (or possibilities) to share images almost instantaneously through different social media channels such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Sina Weibo and of course Instagram. In other words, you are able to tell your story through your images almost real time!<br />
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If you are interested in my upcoming travel(s) on the go, please do stay in touch via one of the following channels. (Click to access)<br />
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-24364522070772380062012-05-06T01:50:00.000+08:002012-05-18T01:53:00.316+08:00An-tico Enoteca & Pizzeria (Hong Kong)<div style="text-align: center;">
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Stepping inside An-tico reminded me of NYC, the lofty atmosphere, the subway tiles, the high ceiling and the 1920’s style custom light fixtures made me feel right at home. It is rare for a Hong Kong restaurant to have such a huge space but all of WindyCity's restaurants especially the notable Dan Ryan's and Amaroni’s outlets in Hong Kong have huge space. An interesting observation is how all of Windy City's Hong Kong establishments are situated inside malls / venues that have a cinema. I wonder what was the logic or business decision behind that. Anyhow, thanks Barbra and her company for treating me to this meal and I do wish her to have a great trip to Guam in October!<br />
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We started out lunch with the signature An-tico's Wing Bites. It wasn't what I expected, instead of deep fried, they were partly grilled with strong hints of rosemary. I have to be honest that the presentation was not the pretties but I guess the flavors compensated the look. After all, the taste and flavors should be the key right?<br />
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If you love Avocado, you will love the Crab Stuffed Avocado. The flavor of the crab meat matched the subtle taste of avocado. The texture ... well, just like another other avocado I suppose haha. Nonetheless, a great way to start the meal with.<br />
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I forgot the exact name of the dish but what I do recall is the name pastry Cigar and Cod Fish somewhere in the name or in the ingredient list. We were all expecting something like a normal fish stick but instead of bread crumbs the outer layer would be made of thin layers of pastries. We were partly right in that respect, the outer layers were of thin pastries but the inside was more like Portuguese style Bacalhau croquette.<br />
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For pizza we ordered the Trevisella (Neopolitan Pizze style) which came with plenty of rockets! I like how they serve the pizza in a separate rack so to save table space. You can put stuff underneath as well like pasta! I did exactly that!<br />
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For pasta we ordered the Fettuccine with shrimps and scallops. Very generous with the seafood as well as pasta, can be shared between two persons easily! The scallops were quite large and retained the freshness and sweetness to them.<br />
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The Housemade Soft Gelato was alright, nothing overly exciting if you ask me. The Soft Gelato served was more on the creamy side for your information.<br />
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The dessert highlight got to be the Banana Boat!!! Childhood memories! Once again, thanks Barbra for inviting!<br />
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</div>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-5082706803461516742012-05-04T00:15:00.001+08:002012-05-04T00:15:58.911+08:00The Art of BullshitI wrote this following post quite a while ago on my personal blog (which I no longer update because I plan to consolidate all my thoughts and express them here on this platform). What triggered to dig up this old post was the large amount of bullshit I have been hearing recently. I have no doubt that we all have our fair share of bullshit but when one is being bombarded by them in a short period of time, headaches!<br />
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So do you like to bullshit? Why do we bullshit? How do we distinguish a lie from a bullshit? I just finished reading a book titled On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt attempts to answer the above questions in a philological approach. The following introduction and excerpts I found to be rather interesting. What do you think?<br />
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One of the most salient feature of our culture is is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in it ... we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves ... </blockquote>
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What bullshit essentially misrepresents is neither the state of affairs to which it refers nor beliefs of the speaker concerning that state of affairs. Those are what lies misrepresent, by virtue of being false, since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its nonrepresentational intent. The bullshitter may not deceive us, or even intend to do so, either about the facts or about what he takes the facts to be. What he does necessarily attempt to deceive us about his enterprise. His only indispensably distinctive characteristic is that in a certain way he misrepresents what he is up to. </blockquote>
<b><i>On Bullshit</i></b> by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press, 2005.)Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-61131453376926927322012-04-19T02:13:00.000+08:002012-04-19T02:20:26.058+08:00Beertopia! Hong Kong - 28 April 2012 [Event]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Attention Beer Lovers! A new beer fest <a href="http://www.beertopiahk.com/" target="_blank"><b>Beertopia!</b></a> is coming to town, this time with over 90 craft beers from around the world including Hong Kong's microbrewery, Typhoon Brewery. The festival will take place at the historical Western Market in Sheung Wan on the April 28, 2012. Tickets are limited and range from HKD250-300. Not a big fan of beer, no worries, attend and learn about them and enjoy the live music, beer lectures as well as play games such as beer pong and flip cup. Oh beer pong! I am definitely going to be there to try out some craft beers and support my friend who dedicated his time to organize this event because of his love for beer! Cheers to all! Stay tuned stay informed on <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/BeertopiaHK" target="_blank">Beertopia! Facebook Page</a></b>! Almost forgot, check out the beer list <<b><a href="http://www.beertopiahk.com/beers.html" target="_blank">here</a></b>>.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5903616918786253155.post-78802148000670941772012-04-17T17:36:00.001+08:002012-04-17T17:38:59.921+08:00Travel - Seoul, Korea (Jan 2012)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just realized that I did not really blog about my short trip to Seoul back in Jan 2012. Two reasons, one being I was there for a mere 24 hours so didn't many opportunities to explore around and the other reason being I didn't bring my DSLR with me on this trip. However, like I said at the <a href="http://www.jasonbonvivant.com/2012/02/smartphone-photography-be-creative.html" target="_blank">Smartphone Photography</a> talk during the Social Media Week Hong Kong 2012, the best camera is the one that is with you and in my case iPhone is more than qualified to be the best camera at that moment. Smartphone Photography is getting very popular and an increasing number of aspiring photographers (as well as professional photographers) are getting more involved with smartphone photography for its mobility as well as a treating it as a separate category on its own. No matter how one defines smartphone photography, to me it is a a form of photography and it is evolving as we speak.<br />
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With so many photography software / apps designed just for smartphone, we can now edit images on to go to a degree that may or may not be compared with desktop equivalents. Some are quite powerful like <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/hk/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8" target="_blank">Snapseed</a> which changed the way how I photography as well as edit images taken with my iPhone. Below are some of the photographs I took using my iPhone (+ various photography apps) during my Seoul trip. Enjoy! Feel free to follow me on Instagram <a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/jasonbonvivant/" target="_blank">@jasonbonvivant</a> ... happy eating and photographing! :)<br />
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<br />Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07248380346212960020noreply@blogger.com105