Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Dromomania?

Secured another week of annual leave!
The 4th week of July.
Me & my crazy thoughts...
Having those thoughts of traveling abroad.
I think I'm becoming a travel addict.
But who cares? Traveling is such an awesome thing!
To see what God have created, constantly saying the word "WOW" every time I see something cool~

"When you travel often, you will be addicted to it forever. Our destination is not the place, but new way to see things." - Henry Miller
Well said. *clapping hands*
Totally agree.
Till then, see ya! (:

Sunday, June 23, 2013

So the wait begins...

21 more days and I'm going for my annual leave! Really can't wait. Can you feel my excitement?? (:
This time round...can you guess where I'm going?
Hong Kong, Macau & Shen Zhen! (:
It'll be my second time visiting HK, but my first time to visit Macau & SZ.
To be honest, if I have a lot of money, I wouldn't give a second thought. I will just jump down from the Macau Tower!
I've always loved those out-of-your-mind activities.
On my bucket list:
Bungee jumping
Sit on a helicopter
Get on a hot air balloon
Sky diving
Wake boarding

I've got a chance to do all of them this year. But, all of the above mentioned activities costs at least SGD$100 & above. OMG.
Anyway, back to the main topic.
It's pretty much of an impromptu thing~
My mum have always wanted to go to HK.
So, I have annual leave from 15th-21st July.
And the G12 conference is from the 18th-21st July. (Theme: Breath of Life)
I was thinking...hmmm, why not go somewhere out of this country?
I was searching for cheap tickets but I wanna travel in comfort. And I was looking for flights in my handy dandy S3. Cathay Pacific has offers, but it ended on the day I searched for the tickets. So, the prices are from SGD$500 & above.
Next, Jetstar. SGD$400 and above. Crossed out the above 2.
Last hope, SIA! It's kinda unlikely that SIA will have cheaper tickets than Jetstar right?
But NO!~
I bought my SQ tickets for SGD$389.10 per pax. Can you believe it?!
So happy!
That's all~!
Ciaos!

P.S. Be a smart consumer!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Free & Easy? You want it, you have it!

ATTENTION!!!
Today I'm gonna talk about ..."How to travel Free & Easy!"
First, you need some courage, some money, some crazyyyy thoughts, and some supportive people!
And you are all set to go!
Nah, just kidding. It's easy, but not that easy~
Alright, here's the elaborated part...
Step 1:
Apply for leave.
For my job, it's quite tough to get annual leave because we do get a few pregnant staff and there goes your annual leave slots. Did I even mention we start to "chop" our annual leave slots in October for next year's slots? Yea, so I think you roughly get the idea about how difficult it is to get annual leave right?
So...after you have gotten your leave, think about where you wanna go. Finland? Iceland? Greenland? Sweden? That's Step 2. Ohhh, and don't forget to inform your family!
Then, for Step 3! For me, I think I actually planned to go to London like alone, in December 2012. So...I had about 8 months to save my money. And way plenty of time to plan! (:
...Which brings me to Step 4: Plan your Itinerary.
Actually I was contemplating whether to put "Book your tickets" as Step 4 instead of Step 5. But, I made a small mistake for my recent trip. So yea, hence "Book your tickets" will be Step 5.
How do you plan your itinerary?
Go do research on the internet (duhh~). Tourism websites. I believe most countries have their own Tourism websites. Or TripAdvisor? Lonely Planet? Guidebooks. Blogs. YouTube. Don't be surprised! You can roughly get the idea of where to go by looking at videos. Google Maps. It's good if you know how to use Microsoft Word, Paint.
Learn some of their language, or gestures.
Step 5:
Book your tickets.
As you guys know, I'm the kiasu type. Going to different websites almost everyday to check out the air tickets prices is my thing. Unfortunately, my job doesn't allow me to book air tickets way in advance! Only like 2-3 months before I fly. But thank God! Airlines do offer last minute deals...(:
Some websites I recommend, Zuji, Chan Brothers.
Once you know where you wanna go, and the duration of your trip, quickly book your tickets!
For my London trip, I booked 10 days. But alamak, too short. I've included too many things and now it's kind of squeezy.
Another Tip: Are you willing to sacrifice your comfort? If you are willing, go ahead to book budget flights.
But if you aren't willing, you can consider joining "frequent flyer" programs. The groups which I know of is Star Alliance. If I'm not wrong, I think they are the largest group in the world. Another one will be One World. Next, Sky Team. Choose one you think you will benefit the most from, or based on the airlines which is in the programs, as well as where the airlines fly.
Qatar & Emirates are pretty good airlines, but they have their own frequent flyer programs.
Don't forget to buy insurance!
Step 6:
Edit & Print your Itinerary, your relevant documents (don't forget to make photocopies of your passport, ID, Credit Cards, Hotel Vouchers, Entrance tickets) keep one with you in separate places, and keep one at home!
I can't stress this enough. That is, safety!!!
- Bring a money belt with you. Those you hide secretly under your shirt. Travel stores sell it at S$10.
- Keep your valuables out of sight.
- Bring a muggers wallet. Wallet that is with some cash to "satisfy" the mugger.
- Register with eMFA (for Singaporeans)
- Buy travel insurance. Some banks offer discounts.
- Know where your country's embassy is, in the country you are travelling to.
- Bring those door stopper if you are staying in the room alone.
- Bring TSA approved locks.
- Report your location at a particular time and everyday to your family.
Step 7: the last but not least
COUNTDOWN!!!!!!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Somewhere only we know


Cover by Max Schneider & Elizabeth Gilles (Original by Keane)

Someday, I wanna go somewhere with you, somewhere only we know.