image source: Plastic_Bat via flickr

If you live in the Hamilton, Ontario area and love to go to Vegas you’re in luck!  WestJet will have an 11 week trial of flights from Hamilton to Vegas starting September 9th, 2011 to November 28th, 2011.

Now I wonder if these flights will be cheaper from Hamilton Airport as opposed to Toronto Pearson Aiport? hmmmm….

Just got this in my email from Travelzoo.  Check out this amazing deal from Toronto to Iceland from $599 pp:

• Roundtrip nonstop flights to Reykjavik from Toronto
• Two nights at the 4-star Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Natura
• Breakfast daily
• Golden Circle tour visiting Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir
  geothermal area and Thingvellir National Park
• Admission to Laugarvatn Fontana, a newly renovated
  geothermal spa featuring hot spring baths and steam rooms
• Additional nights including breakfast cost $59 per person

click here for more information!

Image via Wikipedia

McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets taste the same in Toronto, Chicago, Paris and Hong Kong.

Image via Wikipedia

“Thumbs Up” has different meaning all over the world. Click here to see the different meanings.

When we decided to book our trip to Cebu, everyone was asking us if we booked at the world famous Plantation Bay Resort. We were originally going to book at Plantation Bay, but we decided to give Crimson Beach Resort and Spa Mactan a try.

You never know what to expect when you book a hotel/resort. All you have is the pictures from the resort website and a few from trip advisor. So I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. I didn’t get the best…it was even BETTER than the best, better than what I had expected. Let’s break it down:

Food

There isn’t a lot of restaurants at Crimson, but Saffron Cafe is all you need for your stay at this resort.  They offer buffet and a la carte options but I love me some buffet food.  The food was excellent!!  Not as big as the buffets as an all inclusive resort or Las Vegas, but it’s all about quality not quantity at this resort.  The selection of food was changed every day and the dessert options were just AMAZING! Dessert is my favorite part of the meal, and their dessert options did not disappoint.  One night they had this dessert called Yema with nuts (made with condensed milk and egg yolk) and I was in heaven!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  I could go on and on about the food. But just trust me, you will not be disappointed with the food at this resort.

Staff/Service

Where do I even begin?  Everyone working at Crimson is super friendly.  You are always greeted with “Good morning ma’am/sir” with a smile.  Everyone also always places their right hand over their heart as they greet you.  I’ve never ever experience this kind of service anywhere.  Even at the buffet, the servers are just amazing.  Now you might say that they are being nice because they want a tip.  There is just something different about how they greet you, serve you.  They genuinely want you to have a great time.  The customer service here is on a level I’ve never experience but want to experience again, and again and again.

The Rooms

Just like the pictures, the room was really nice.  Any hotel/resort that has a rain forest shower head, you’ve got me! Beds were comfy, wi-fi was great!  We stayed in the Deluxe Room.

The Beach

Well, the beach isn’t as big as what I had expected. It is really really small.  But I wasn’t even fazed by it because the resort is so beautiful it didn’t really matter how big the beach was.

The Pool Area

Three different pools that are connected, one of which is an infinity pool.

Overall Experience

If you haven’t noticed, I’m in love with Crimson.  I would stay here again and I recommend this resort to anyone staying in Cebu for a few days.  It’s a great place to just relax, eat and enjoy the great scenery.

Image via Flickr by PJFurlong06

Always have Kleenex – you will never know when you’ll need it.

Don't overpack! Image via Flickr: zingersb

I love packing. I don’t know what it is, but I just love it. Whenever my parents are going on vacation, I call my mom up and tell her I will help her pack.  Here is my list of items you should NOT pack:

1. Hair Dryer - pretty much all hotels have this covered. There is no sense in bringing along your personal hair dryer. It takes up space and it’s just not needed.

2. Big Shampoo Bottles – if you’re a frequent traveler like myself, you can buy travel size containers to put your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, moisturizer, etc. I personally don’t like the hotel shampoos.   I have naturally curly hair so I need my hair products. I transfer them into my travel sized containers. Less space and less weight.

3. Too many shoes - all you really need is one pair of good walking shoes and one shoe you can wear at night. That’s all you need ladies! No need for a carry on for just shoes.

4. Lots of clothes - If you think back to all the vacations you’ve taken, I’m sure there are a few items of clothing that you did not wear.  You don’t need your full wardrobe.  I went to Asia with just a backpack and small duffel bag as a carry on.  This is what I took on my trip:

2 pairs of pants, 5 tops, two cardigans, and two shorts, a bathing suit and a cotton dress.

Some of the clothes I packed, I knew I wasn’t going to bring them back (I had planned to leave some clothes behind).  This allowed me to shop for new items and not add more weight to my luggage.

5. Lots of books - If you can afford to get one, invest in an ebook or an ipad.  It will take up less space and you have access to an insane amount of books.

6. Towel - I used to pack a full size towel whenever I went on vacation, but I no longer do that. If you want to use your own towel, I would suggest to purchase a travel size towel.  I bought one for my Asia trip, just to try it out and it wasn’t too bad.  It took up less space, and it worked.  You can check your local outdoor store for travel towels. I purchased mine at Atmosphere.  Or you can always air dry

If you have any suggestions of what not to pack, let me know. Would love to hear your suggestions!

Maybe one day, I’ll be like Rolf and not pack anything!

update: I did pack underwear and socks too…didn’t include that, but figured that’s a given!

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Always ask to get upgraded to business class, you’ll never know if you don’t ask.

Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal

Arriving in Macau

Before you exit the port, there are a bunch of taxi drivers asking you if you would be interested in a private tour of Macau.  The first gentleman approached me and I said, “No Thank You”.  A second gentleman approached me and I said the same thing, “Not interested”.  I was a bit hesitant because being the cautious person that I am, I wasn’t sure if I would really get a tour and wasn’t sure if I could trust these people.   You always hear horror stories about people getting scammed and my mother always told me not to talk to strangers (side note: if you’ve seen the movie Taken, you know what I’m talking about).

At this point, R (my husband) decided to go to the bathroom so I was waiting around and the same gentleman kept asking me if I was interested.  He kept reassuring me that he is a real taxi driver and started giving me brochures.  So since I was waiting, I figured I would ask him how much.  He said his price (I can’t remember how much it was) and I was thinking, that’s a bit much.  He kept lowering the price, and I started to think, okay maybe this isn’t such a bad idea after all (I’m cheap, so he was starting to speak my language).

So after talking to him, I told him I wanted to discuss it with R. We figured we don’t really have a plan of what to do in Macau, it would be a 2 hour tour, and we’ll get a nice tour of the city.  Plus, after talking to Hong (the driver) I was getting a good vibe from him.  So we decided, why the heck not.  If you’re wondering, we paid $930 HK for a private 2 hour tour, which is about $117 CDN – $58 CDN each, not bad if you ask me.

A-Ma Temple

Taking this tour was a great idea!  Not only did we get an amazing tour of the city, our taxi driver was also our personal photographer.  Macau is the only place on our Asia trip were we have many photos together.  He knew where to place us in the photos, it was great!  Hong was so friendly and very knowledgeable about Macau.

The View from Macau Museum

St. Paul's Ruins. The main facade and the foundation was left standing after a fire in 1835

Senado Square. Look at all the decorations. So pretty!

Macau is a beautiful place.   We were lucky to see the decorations from Chinese New Year, it was beautiful!  In Macau, you can see the Portuguese influence in the architecture of the buildings and then you have these massive Casino/Hotels that would probably swallow some of the hotels in Vegas.

MGM Casino

Portuguese Egg Tarts - these were AMAZING! We ate them so fast we didn't take a picture of it.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle in Hong Kong, take a day trip Macau.  It was well worth it!  Don’t forget to try the Portuguese egg tarts…mmmmm…sooo good!! (p.s. if you notice from my previous post, and this post I love egg tarts!)

fun fact: Macau is also spelled Macao.

Photo by INtraveler

A smile never gets lost in translation.