Review : Avi Spa, Port Dickson

Bringing a baby for a short trip is like packing the entire house

Overview of the resort: My first impression on Avillion Port Dickson was so-so. First of all, we arrived at 3.30pm and the chalet  was not ready! We waited until 4:30pm (after numerous calls to the lobby) then only it was ready. The chalet in itself is very impressive. Spacious rooms and even bigger bathroom. I love the room! Service is generally ok but could be better as it is a five-star resort. The staff does not voluntarily smile or greet us. So in general, for the price we paid, it wasn't worth it. 

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The newly renovated Avi Spa is breathtakingly beautiful. Somewhat reminded me of the resorts in Maldives. I like the service as the staff there are courteous. The problem is because the premise is small, the rooms are always fully booked, so I recommend to call in advance to make prior booking before heading down to Port Dickson. 

The lounge area is exclusively for priority customers - i.e. those who stay in premium water chalet. They serve finger food there. The staff was gracious enough to allow us to quickly snap a picture before we went off. 

Both me and hubs selected the normal body massage as the spa package was expensive! We reckon that it was not worth splashing our money like that. The entire session took us 90 minutes. 

Treatment Room:

- Beautifully decorated. I love the interior. Very exclusive Tiffany-color theme. 

- Overlooks the ocean so it is real good ambiance with the sound of crashing waves. 

- Couple room is big and airy.

Massage: 

- Started off with the foot soak and was gently scrubbed using sea salt.

- Frankly, I didn't enjoy the massage that much. Too strong pressure. 

Beautiful isn't it? 

After the session, we were usher out to the open-space balcony where we sip on their ginger tea while overlooking the sea. I love this concept. Extremely relaxing  :)

All in, I would recommend just for the experience. I really didn't enjoy much the massage. And it is quite pricey as well. 

Love;

Mummy Geri

On Hiatus : Holiday in Avillion~!

Disclaimer: All photos from Avillion. 

Heading to Avillion Port Dickson for a much needed break and relaxation before the hubs goes off for his secondment in Singapore. :(

 It's gonna be a family trip - our first ever with Baby Isaac together with both the grandparents to help to babysit while we have our quiet time together. Can also bring Baby Isaac for his first ever swimming experience! There are kids room and a mini petting zoo as well!! 

Can't wait to try their all new Avi Spa. Looks soooooooooooooooooooo good!

Mummy here is extremely excited!!
Till then.

Love;
Mummy Geri

Food Escapade in Sydney (and Melbourne)

Here are the food places (in my opinion) worth mentioning in Sydney - and to some extent Melbourne since we stopped by there for a while during our recent trip to Sydney in August. They are in no particular order:

(1) Cafe Inniene, Bourke Street Melbourne. 

The cafe was just a stone's throw away from the place where we stayed in Melbourne, Causeway Inn on the Mall, so naturally we dropped by there for breakfast. It was among the cheapest there as well. I like that dining was al-fresco because the weather was fantastic (cooling). I had their breakfast set and chai latte. It was yummy-licious! :)

(2) Bratwurst Shop,Queen Victoria Market Melbourne.  

OMG! This was SO GOOD!! They use french loaf, and the humongous sausage was so juicy! Top that up with cheese, sauerkraut, lots of mustard and chili sauce - it's a perfect combination.

(3) Ying Thai, Melbourne

Good Thai food. Full stop. 

(4) San Churro, Lygon Street Melbourne.

Ultimate comfort food. Lightly battered, sprinkled with powdered icing, and dipped in chocolate. Hmmm~

(5) Schnitz, CBD Melbourne.

Schnitzels are actually breaded cutlet made with boneless meat. To me, it was pretty much like your normal fast-food joint . So really nothing much to comment here. 

(6) Pancakes on the Rocks, Sydney.

I don't think this place needs introduction. The pancakes were fluffy and out of this world. So so good. :)

(7) Lindt Chocolate Cafe, Cockle Bay Wharf Sydney.

Honestly I am not a chocolate fan, so I don't have much to comment. However, the raspberry ice-cream  coupled with the thick dark chocolate poured over it was heavenly. Of course, the view over-looking Darling Harbor adds to the entire ambiance too.

(8) Fish Market, Sydney.
I really don't know what is the hype about this place. The seafood platter was so-so. In terms of freshness, it was so-so also.

(9) Chat Thai, Sydney.

In my opinion, they serve the best Thai food!! Reasonable pricing too. It was so good, we went back there twice! Must go!

(10) Pho An, Bankstown Sydney.

Aside from the Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle) in Springvale Melbourne, this place serves the awesome~st most authentic Pho ever! This is because the place is a Vietnamese community and the beef that they used are Australian beef which are tender. The place is out of the way from CBD. We were quite blessed cos Bear's uncle drove us there. :)

(11) Some restaurant near Blue Mountain, Sydney (forgot the name).

The food was bleh and very expensive too ... only consolation was that the pumpkin soup was really delicious. 

(12) Harry's Cafe de Wheels, Wooloomooloo Sydney.

True to the hype, the hotdogs and pies were really good. Just be prepared to get real messy! Must try! 

(13) Clipper's Cafe, Glebe, Sydney.

Their chai latte is the best~est that I have ever tried!!!! You need to sieve the spices yourself. Soooooooooo good~! Must try their baked egg with tomato sauce and lamb sausage as well. Awesome breakfast place. Just a caution though, it could get pretty packed over the weekends with students from UTS. 

(14) Hurricane's Grill, Bondi Beach, Sydney

Must must must must go!!! EAT THE PORK RIBS AND NOTHING ELSE!! Please make reservations or you will have to wait like mad.

That concludes our makan escapades in Sydney (and Melbourne).
You hungry yet?

Love;
Mummy Geri

Review : Flying First Class with Optiontown

Now that I am back from my long break, I am extremely rejuvanated and recharged for childbirth  work and blogging.

For those who are advocates for Air Asia, you would know that flying long-distance can be quite a pain. Literally. They are smaller than the normal ecomony class seats that you pay for those full-fledged airlines. And you can't recline that much. Heck, even leg space can be pretty cramp for those tall ones. Trust me, I know. I flew on AAX to New Zealand (RM750/return tickets) for 13 hours straight and to Melbourne (RM500/return tickets) for 8 hours straight. No joke I tell you.

Of course, that being said, to be fair, we only pay a small fraction on what we would be paying on other non-budget airlines. So it's not right to complain too much as well la. If you are not happy, then don't fly with a budget airline ... simple as that.

Yes.. that's how you will look like after 8 hours of flight on AAX. 

Take my recent trip to Sydney, I only paid RM900 for a pair of return tickets whereas for MAS I would have to fork out approximately RM2,600.

And then ... some brilliant people came up with the idea of selling premium tickets (those flatbeds) at a small top-up for those seats who was not sold out.

Win-Win Situation :

Consumer like me benefit.

AAX also benefit - why waste the space when you can earn, albeit at a lesser margin?

And the brilliant company is Optiontown who is affiliated with AAX to coordinate sales of the premium tickets. What happens is that AAX and Optiontown will send an email (usually 1 month before your flight) to offer an option to upgrade into premium. The process is pretty straight-forward, just follow the instructions and voila ~ you are potentially on your way to flying "first class".

Now why I emphasis potentially is that confirmation of your upgrade will only be emailed to you 3 days before departure or up to 4 hours before flight time. Yes, I know James Bond timing. In view of the above, you are advised to only check-in once you've received the confirmation email.

The reason why it is so last minute is because they need to pick out only the "left-overs of sales" and there are only 12 premium seats on each AAX flights.

You would however need to pay the upgraded top-up upfront. Fret not though - in an event if your upgrade is unsuccessful, your money will be refunded back to you within 5 days.

For me, the top-up was a steal. I only need to pay RM400 per way. Basically to fly "first class", I only paid a total of RM1,700 for return tickets.

A quick comparison shows that I would need to fork out:  

(i) AAX Premium Class - Approximately RM6,000

(ii) MAS Business Class - Approximately RM10,000

(iii) MAS First Class - Approximately RM24,000

Need I say more? :)

I was praying hard that both ways I would be entitled for the upgrade because it would do me good being 7 months pregnant and all. And my prayers were answered! :) I was super elated!!

And all I've got to say is that - it was so darn worth it. For those who are entitled for the option to upgrade, I would highly recommend for you to go for it!

Flat bed.

First-class service.

Own toilet (we share with the pilot ~ heh!)

Priority boarding.

No regrets. :)

Love;

Mummy Geri

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Will be going off for a holiday .. until then .. chiows~! :)

Review : How Reliable is PYO Travel?

I know a lot of people are rather sceptical to book online travel deals. Me included. So when we did our bookings through PYO Travel for our Japan trip in February this year, I was honestly really concerned. Although we got it for a good deal, it was still a large sum of money to be paid upfront. Furthermore, all transactions were done via online.

Now that we have paid, gone, and came back from our trip, here is my feedback on PYO:

(1) Reliable. They are a subsidiary of Reliance Group. Need I say more?

(2) Value-For-Money. The packages that PYO offer is really cheap comparatively. Because they are part of Reliance, the itinerary are very similar to those that you pay for if you book under Reliance. Meaning, for almost the same thing, you only pay a fraction of the price. 

(3) Service. The tours, hotels, and tour guide is top-notch. Again, it is because they are engaged under Reliance. During our trip, there was a family who paid the full Reliance tour package but followed us on some of the tours and hotel stay. So in other words, the hotel's condition and the location provided for is spot-on. 

(4) Customer Support is So-So. The only problem that I have with PYO is that there is no one picking up on their support lines at all. If you were to go to their Facebook page, you would notice similar complains have been raised before. And yes, it has not been rectified yet. However, you can always drop an email to them at support@my.pyotravel.com, they are pretty fast at replying emails. Worse case, just write on their FB wall, they will almost immediately reply. 

Ok.. understood. So I've made my payment, now what? 

Since I am a planner, I emailed PYO and asked the following:

(1) What are the items that are not covered in the package? 

(2) When will I receive my voucher confirmation?

(3) How can I select seats/meals/luggage on the AAX flight? 

The above are crucial so that you won't be caught off-guard with additional charges. And yes, everything can be done via email. You need not worry because PYO will send a confirmation flight voucher (for those familiar with AAX bookings, it is the same voucher) on the items that you have selected and paid for (e.g. seating etc etc).  

All in, I think that PYO is worth being given a try and since I have, I am pretty confident in them. Looks like I will be making more bookings through them when there are more good deals in the future.

Love;

Mummy Geri

Mission : To Conquer Sydney Before I Pop

Ever since my trip to Melbourne back in 2010, I fell in love with Australia. I love the culture, the sight-seeing, the food, and the weather. 

Twelve Apostles, Melbourne

So this year, we are heading to Sydney instead (yes, even though I'm about 7 months pregnant). The plane tickets were booked in advance before I knew I was pregnant and I don't intend to burn it. I've never been there and Bear has been going on and on that I must make it a point to visit the place. Thank God we have friends who has offered their place throughout our stay in Sydney, if not honestly we wouldn't even thought of making the trip those darn exchange rates! So yeah.. one last trip before I pop. I'm rather excited actually. :D

Let's not talk about the must-go places that Bear intends to bring me, I'm sure it's pretty standard that everyone would probably know. What I'm gonna share is where Bear intends to bring me to feast! :)

(1) Pancakes on the Rocks 

Yes, I love pancakes and Bear said there is this awesome place in Darling Harbour that I must try out. Can't wait!! :)

Yums!

0_o *drools*

(2) Sydney Fish Market

Bear is a huge fan of all things seafood - actually me too except for fish (unless if it is Dory). So this is more to satisfy Bear's cravings than mine actually. Accordingly since it's a fish market, the seafood here must be real fresh I reckon. I know Bear would love it, that's for sure.

(3) Harbour Cruise Lunch. 

Pretty romantic yes? Dining on a cruise with the view of the city. :)

(4) Harry's Cafe de Wheels

Ever since Bear came back from Sydney years ago he has been talking non-stop about the Woolloomooloo Hotdog and Pies - even until today! Well, if it is as good as it claims, I don't mind trying. It does look pretty yummy on photos though. 

Chilli Hotdog

Pie & Mash

Erm.. I think that should be all that I could think of my head that Bear has said he will bring me to try. And I can't wait. Best part is.. I have an excuse to whack the food and gain weight and no one has a right to kutuk *ngek**ngek*

Love;

Mummy Geri

Let it Snow in Nagoya!

Nagoya is a very metropolitan place. Nothing much, but it felt like you are in a Western country because the buildings, lighting, sights, and sounds really reminds you of New York .. .or something like that.

(1) Pretty light. It feels Christmas~y although technically when we were there it was still CNY.

(2) Bought my two Burberry Blue Label here in Nagoya. Actually, Bear bought the other one for me. *hugs*

(3) And then, while we were minding our business shopping and then on our way to have dinner, it started S.N.O.W.I.N.G~~!! It was the most one of the most shioking event ever in my life!! Totally didn't expect it at all, and it has been my life-long dream to experience falling snow. Granted, it is not a white Christmas .. but I sudah cukup puas. :) Of course, naturally the temperature started dropping rapidly, and I eventually couldn't feel my nose and toes. We quickly scurried back to the comfort of our hotel.

(4) It snowed throughout the night and the following day... and as a result...

(5) Snow-covered everywhere!

(6) According to our guide, this is one of the worst snowfall in Japan. Are we blessed or what? :)

I HEART SNOW ALTHOUGH I WAS FREEZING MY ARSE OFF!!

Love;
Mrs Lee