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Friday, December 29, 2017

Mediterranean Cruise MSC Meraviglia 7N Genoa Civitavecchia Palermo La Valletta Barcelona Marseilles Day 1 Embarkation

We had a good night's sleep at the Holiday Inn Genoa.  The next morning, we woke up in good time for breakfast.  Breakfast started at 7AM, as it was a Sunday.  We got to breakfast slightly past 7AM, and there was a good crowd.

The spread for breakfast was decent, as you can see in the video below.  In particular, my parents enjoyed it (they spent more than 1 hour eating!).  The emphasis of the spread was more on cakes, pastries etc.  There was sufficient hot food to meet our needs, though no live egg station (e.g. no fried eggs).



After breakfast, there was still plenty of time.  When we looked out of our balcony, we could see the Meraviglia coming in. Excited!

Anyway, there was no point heading to the cruise port so early. So, my family decided to try the subway to get into Genoa.  The nearest metro station to Holiday Inn was called Dinegro, about a 400M walk.  The entire light rail system only has 7 stops! Here is the map.

I bought a family ticket (9 Euros, 4 pax can travel) and took the metro to De Ferrari, and walked around a bit (to exercise the legs), and then we took the metro back to Principe (which is the train station), where we went to buy our return train tickets (i.e. Genoa to Milan Centrale). This time round, we opted for First Class.  And finally, we took a slow walk back to the Holiday Inn.  Despite all the walking, we managed to get back to the hotel before 10AM.

Back in the hotel balcony, we could see the 172,000GT MSC Meraviglia docked.  Excited!

We packed up and left our hotel around 1030am.  As there were 6 of us, with 5 large bags and numerous smaller ones, I asked the hotel reception whether there were any taxis big enough for us.  The reception recommended an 8-seater van, which I agreed.  The van came in 5 minutes, and he could take all our luggage, which was cool.  The ride to the cruise port took only 5 minutes (it is 1.5km away) but it would not have been feasible to walk given the luggage, and the fact that it was starting to drizzle.  The cost of the transfer was about 20 Euros.

Yacht Club Boarding
At the cruise terminal, we followed the signs to the boarding area.  We were directed to the baggage drop off area, and right there was an MSC Yacht Club tent, with a butler waiting.  Similar to our 2015 cruise on the Preziosa, the Yacht Club experience starts right from baggage drop-off.  Once our bags were settled, we were escorted by a butler to the check-in area.  Remember, you have to print out all the forms in hardcopy in order to do the check-in.  That part was done quite speedily, and very soon, we were escorted by the butler to board the ship.  In doing so, we bypassed all lines of passengers waiting to check in.  That was part of the YC experience.

Video below consists of some GO PRO footage from boarding the MSC Meraviglia.


Unfortunately, I did not capture comprehensive GO PRO footage this time round.  Must have forgotten to keep the camera running!  So, here is our boarding experience from Dec 15, on the MSC Preziosa trip, for reference.


Taking on Passengers at Every Port of Call
An interesting aspect of MSC Meraviglia cruises out of Genoa is that the ship takes on passengers at every port for this repeated itinerary.  I found out that the busiest ports were Genoa, Barcelona and Marseilles.  Some said almost half the pax disembarks at Genoa.  For us, it was troublesome to get to Genoa, but because we wanted the Royal Suite, it was only available for sailings out of Genoa.  If we were more flexible with cabins, we would likely board in Barcelona instead. 

In case you are thinking that we are lavish creatures, only wanting to sail in the Royal Suite, the reality is that the Royal Suite cabin on the MSC Meraviglia was one of the few types of YC cabins where our kids stay for free (only had to pay daily service fees).  When I divide the cost of the Royal Suite by 4, it made a lot of sense, since all 4 of us get YC privileges.  I decided to book my parents in an interior YC cabin (obviously that is the most cost effective YC option), so that 3 generations could enjoy the cruise together, in the Yacht Club.  Good fun!

The butler escorted us all the way to the Yacht Club concierge, which was located on Deck 16, front of the ship.  As this was my second time in the YC, I knew what to expect.  It was the first for my parents, so it was certainly very novel for them.  At the concierge, we were asked to open an account (either with cash, or credit card) as well as which newspapers we wanted, and I chose the Straits Times (a Singapore paper).  At first, the concierge staff said that she didn't have such a paper (she was looking at a printed list), but then I said that this option was available two years ago, when I sailed on the MSC Preziosa.  Anyway, I know for a fact that the Straits Times of Singapore has a digital version. So the staff kindly checked her computer system, and indeed, there was!  So, it was good fun to receive a printed copy of a Singapore local paper every day of the cruise.  I even featured the Straits Times in some of my videos, as you will see.

All this was done very quickly, and then we were ushered to our respective cabins.  My family took the Royal Suite Cabin 15008, while I had booked my parents in an interior YC stateroom, Cabin 15007, which was just around the corner from our suite.

Cabin 15008
We entered our cabin for the first time, with great anticipation. Our seapass cards were waiting for us on the table inside our cabin.  The published size of the Royal Suite was 700 square feet (interior).  It certainly felt large. Here are some photographs.

Masterbedroom in Cabin 15008. Classy looking.

Living room, with a large Samsung Smart TV.  There was another Samsung Smart TV in the master bedroom.

Two large sofas and the coffee table in the living room.  The sofa on the right would be converted into a bed, where my kids would sleep.

Bathtub in the toilet.  It came with jaccuzi features as well as very interesting 'disco' lights.  I'll show that to you in later videos.

Video of Cabin 15008.
Ok, here come the videos.  The first video, a brief one (only 1 minute), was taken when we first stepped into the suite.  This allows you to see some of the suite in the condition when we first entered the ship.  Looked very good.


This next video, taken late in the cruise, is a much more detailed walk-through of Cabin 15008.   By that time, we had slept more than a couple of nights in the suite, hence you can see the difference (i.e. see the mess lol).

Privileged to stay in this suite for 7 Nights.  It was an awesome experience.

Lunch on Embarkation Day
It was lunch time! YC guests have a dedicated restaurant.  When we sailed on the MSC Preziosa, the YC restaurant was located at the aft of the ship, while the rest of the Yacht Club was at the front of the ship.  Hence, walking to the YC restaurant on the Preziosa took a while.  On the Meraviglia, all the YC restaurant is now located together with all the YC facilities, making it truly a ship within a ship.  Our cabin was on deck 15.  Concierge and Top Sail lounge on Deck 16.  There is no Deck 17.  Deck 18 is the YC restaurant and Deck 19 the pool deck.  There is an internal lift serving Decks 14 to 19.

We headed to the restaurant, and we were seated at a corner of the restaurant, and there we sat for the next 7 Nights.  For dinner, we were always served by the same waiter.  For breakfast and lunch, the waiter could be different.

It was a sit-down lunch.  Drinks (wine, beer etc) were also available.  Here are some photos of the food.  This was the Ahi Tuna, one of the starters.

This was some beef.

And this was one of the desserts, carrot cake.  Look at the carrot decoration on top of the cake.  Isn't it cool?

After lunch, we headed to the Top Sail lounge for coffee and drinks, and there more finger food was waiting for us.  There would be plenty to eat and drink on this cruise.

Here is the video of lunch, and then the Top Sail Lounge.  Delicious.


In this video, I show you the drinks list in the Top Sail Lounge of MSC Meraviglia.


This picture shows you the complimentary cocktails.  More than enough for me!  In fact, I didn't get the chance to try all.  I liked the Long Island Iced Tea.  Rather potent.  You could ask for any cocktail, without the alcohol.  Good fun for the kids, as they could choose any cocktail they liked, sans the alcohol.

Taking A Walk
After the wonderful coffee and finger food in the Top Sail lounge, it was time to take a walk to explore the ship.  We weren't in a hurry to explore it thoroughly, but we wanted to check out the shor excursions as well as the Galleria Meraviglia (MSC's version of the Royal Promenade), which was on Deck 6.

But before that, we first headed to the main buffet area, to check out what was available for lunch.  The buffet area, called the Marketplace, is located on Deck 15 (same deck as our cabin), from the mid to the rear of the ship.  We would leave the Yacht Club area, walk past the indoor/covered pool area (which was called the Bamboo pool) before reaching the outdoor pool area (I think they called it the Atmosphere Pool) before reaching the buffet.

A picture of the Bamboo (Indoor) Pool.

A video, showing you some table tennis, indoor pool, hot tub, table soccer, and the Bamboo Bar drinks list.  Later on, I discovered that YC customers could get access to most drinks at the bars ship-wide.  I will then go on to try out some drinks at the various bars.  Watch out for those videos which will come up later in this review.


As we made our way to the Marketplace Buffet via Deck 15, we have to walk past the Atmosphere Pool (or the outdoor pool).  They have a large LCD screen, as you can see below.  It was raining, so whatever outdoor activity they had planned, was now moved somewhere else.

Marketplace Buffet Deck 15
We have arrived at the Marketplace Buffet.  The venue was rather large, but certainly it got crowded, since the ship has so many passengers.  In the video below, I try to show you the food available for lunch.  I didn't find the selection of food to be particularly extensive (compared to say Royal Caribbean).  Given that we had YC privileges, we did not dine at the Marketplace buffet during this cruise, other than getting some pizza.  Take note that the buffet area is quite large, and the rear of the buffet is usually less crowded than the mid-ship section.  There is usually just one live carvery section, and the line to get the meat was long.


Galleria Meraviglia / Plaza Meraviglia 
Time to hit the Galleria and Plaza.  This feature of the ship was new to us.  I would assume that MSC copied the concept from Royal Caribbean, except that instead of calling it the Royal Promenade, it has become a Galleria or Plaza (more Italian).   Such a space was not found on the MSC Preziosa. Notice the Dome?  That is what MSC claims to be the largest LED Dome at sea.  A very interesting use of technology.  They even had what they called a Dome Show, held thrice a night.

There was a speciality dining restaurant on the Promenade, Eataly.  We didn't eat here, but here is a look at the menu. On the left side, it says that they have a Dining Experience for 20 Euros.  You get 3 dishes plus 1/4L of House red, white, or rose.  The menu changes daily.  On the right side, they have the standard menu. A plate of spaghetti costs between 6 to 8 Euros.  Grilled Sea Bream was 13 Euros, Grilled Beef Slider sandwich was 12 Euros.  Desserts like Tiramisu was 6 Euros.

Here is a video of my walking through the Meraviglia Promenade. (Ooops, that's an American way of putting it).  But because we tend to associate this feature with Royal Carribean, we end up calling it the Promenade.  As you can imagine, given the sheer number of pax on this ship, the Galleria Meraviglia can get very crowded indeed.

After the walk, we went back to our cabin to take a rest.  We took a dip in the hot tub - it was very novel for us.  There would be a safety drill for passengers who boarded in Genoa, and who missed the drill yesterday.  For us, the drill was conducted in the MSC theatre, which was at the forward of the ship, but many decks below us.  Because MSC took on passengers at every port, this drill had to be conducted every day.  We didn't have to bring any life jackets.  They took our attendance when we got there (by scanning our sea pass cards) and then we just sat down and observed the lift-jacket demonstration, in at least 5 languages.  It was all over in under 30 minutes.

Oh, here is a video of one of my kids enjoying the hot tub.  Have fun!



Dinning on Embarkation Day - Yacht Club Restaurant
Soon, it was time for dinner. This would be our first of seven dinners in the Yacht Club for this cruise.  In the YC, it is anytime dining.  We like to eat early, so we are usually at the YC Restaurant at 6:30pm (that is then they open), or shortly after.  I saw this cheese table on the way in.  Cheese platter was available on the menu every night, if you cared for that.

Here is a picture of the restaurant, when we got there.  Still empty. The time was about 1830hrs.

Here is a video of our dinner experience - first dinner on the MSC Meraviglia Yacht Club Restaurant.


More pictures.  At every dinner, I will ask to try both House White and House Red.  This was the House white tonight.

Here was the fish dish, for the mains.  As you can see, the serving size was not large.  But we liked it that way.  This was because we ate as a family, and we often ordered multiple starters/mains/desserts to share.  And we would ask our waiter to serve all the multiple courses at the same time, during each course.  What I mean is that we ask for all our starters to be served together.  Once we are done with starters, we ask for our mains to be served together.  So, you can imagine that our dinner table is always full of plates, as we try and sample all the different food!  Great fun to sail with the family.

Here is a picture of the Tiramisu dessert.  This was available every night, and I liked it very much.

Well, as the ship left Genoa, it started getting rather rocky.  The seas certainly weren't very calm, and I guess it didn't help that the YC cabins were located at the Forward of the ship, and high up.  So, in this position, we are prone to more rocking.  So we decided we had better get an early night.  Sleep while the ship is rocking, and hopefully when we wake up, we are in port.  We found these chocolates on our bed.

This concludes Day 1 of our cruise.  See you tomorrow!

Monday, December 25, 2017

Mediterranean Cruise MSC Meraviglia 7N Genoa Civitavecchia Palermo La Valletta Barcelona Marseilles Pre Cruise Day

We go on another cruise!  This time, we sail out of Genoa, on a 7N cruise to the Western Mediterranean! The ship is the MSC Meraglivia, and the itinerary as follows:


Where is Genoa?  Quoting from Wikitravel - Genoa (or Genova in Italian) is a historical port city in northern Italy, the capital of the Region of Liguria. Genoa today, as a tourist attraction, is often shadowed by cities such as Rome or Venice, even though it has a long history as a rich and powerful trade centre. However, with its multitude of hidden gems behind cozy alleyways, excellent cuisine (notably fish and seafood), renovated old port, beautiful sights (including one of Europe's biggest aquariums), and its position as the European Capital of Culture in 2004 have made the birthplace of explorer Christopher Columbus an enticing place which is gradually becoming more included in the touristic market. With pastel-coloured terracotta-roofed houses, artistic churches, lovely seaside villas, and also several luxurious boutiques, Genoa is a must see if you want to experience the "quintessential" Italy.

In short, what the above description is saying that Genoa is a historical city, and we were told that her economy isn't doing very well these days, having been overshadowed by other bigger Italian cities.  Fortunately, tourism continues to be a big money puller.  They have a decent cruise port, and it is good that MSC ships call at her ports very frequently (in fact, some are home-ported here).

How to get to Genoa? Turns out that Genoa isn't that easy to get to, at least from Singapore. She has  a small airport (Genoa Cristoforo Colombo), with limited connected to Europe.  (Most flights are to other Italian cities).  The last time we flew into Genoa, using Ryanair from London Stansted. (They only fly 3-4 times a week).   This time, we decided to fly from Singapore to Milan Malpensa, and then find out way via public train to Genoa.

Flight from Singapore to Milan
We flew on Singapore Airlines SQ 368, Singapore to Milan direct and non-stop.  The aircraft departs Singapore close to midnight, and would arrive in Milan Malpensa Terminal 1 around 6AM in the morning, local Milan time.

At Singapore Changi Airport (which to me is the best airport in the world), I spotted this Christmas magical display of Sanrio characters.  Added greatly to the festive mood!


Priority Pass Lounge - SATS Premier Lounge
Since I had to use up some complimentary passes, I decided to visit a Priority Pass lounge at Changi. I chose the SATS Premier Lounge, as they are quite reliable.  Many airlines (those without dedicated lounges) also use this lounge for their business class pax. Here is a video of the lounge experience


SQ 368 to Milan
Singapore Airlines operates their Airbus A350 for the Singapore to Milan route. The plane I flew on was very new, I think about 6 months old.  Even though I have flown with Singapore Airlines many times (both in Economy and Business), this experience is still novel for me.  Why? As I was flying in Economy, and it was a red-eye flight, I decided to spend an additional USD 90 to purchase what is known as a Preferred Seat.  Other names include Emergency Row, or Exit Seat.   This is what my seat, 47J, looked like.  On the left of this picture.





















Here is a screenshot of the seating plan on the SQ Airbus A350.  My seat was 47J.

Verdict? Was the USD90 worth it?

Verdict? It depends.

The Pros.
No doubt that the legroom was plentiful.  I could stretch my entire leg horizontally, with no issues.  This allowed me to have a very good sleep.  But take note the disadvantages below.

The Cons
1. Preferred seats are right next to the toilets.  Hence, this place could get very busy indeed, especially during peak hours for toilet use (e.g. after meals, before landing).

2. At 47J, you will hear a 'ding', 'ding', 'ding' (9:26), and a blue light coming on.  What was that all about?  Turns out that whenever a passenger presses the call button for a flight attendant, the ding sound will happen, and a small blue light will be activated. (9:26).  The ding beeper and blue light is located right above the aircraft door, near 47J.  You can imagine the 'ding', 'ding', 'ding' throughout the night.  Fortunately, they gave me ear plugs, and I managed to sleep through.   I think this wasn't an issue for 47B and 47C (i.e. the preferred seats at the other aisle), although I'm not sure.

3. Preferred seats have no space to put your backpack under your seat. Everything must go overhead.

4. The inflight entertainment screen can only be deployed when the aircraft is in the air. So you don’t have access to movies when the plane is on the ground, during take off, and during landing. Other passengers in normal seats have access to the IFE throughout.

Overall? Given that I had a good sleep (which was very important to me), the USD90 was worth the money. However, if I flew again, I would try 47A, 47B or 47C next time. (i.e the other side of the aircraft)

Seats-aside, the rest of the flight was good.  We were served supper shortly after takeoff from Singapore Changi. I chose the Beef with Noodles option.  I found the beef a bit tough, but it didn't bother me too much as I wasn't hungry.  We were given a Magnum mini as dessert - that was nice.  I slept a lot and woke up about 3 hours before landing.  Breakfast was ok. I chose the noodles again.  Everything went like clockwork and we landed in Milan safely.

Here is the video of my experience.



Arrival at Milan Malpensa
The airport was very quiet as we disembarked.  I think our flight was the first to land that morning, which was helpful because immigration lines moved quickly.  I noticed that they had only 2 counters in operation at that time in the morning.  After clearing immigration, we waited for a short while and got our luggage.  Take note that the trolleys cost 2 Euro (using coins from the machine).  I had to get a trolley since we had big luggage.  Fortunately we had some Euro coins from our previous trips to the EU.

Once we got to the public area, we headed to a cafe to get some coffee and food. Here is a video of us walking in Milan airport, then on the train, and finally arriving at Milan Centrale.


How far were the train rides? Well, it was two train rides. First, you need to take the train from Milan Malpensa Airport to Milan Centrale station (about 1 hour), on the Malpensa Express.  Next, from Milan Centrale to Genoa (Genova Principe).  The second leg is on an inter-city train.  Snapshot below from Google Maps.


Milan Centrale
In this video, I show you some scenes of Milan Centrale station.  The pickpocket situation in Milan is so bad, the first thing the machine tells you is to 'Beware of Pickpockets".  We arrived in Milan Centrale earlier that morning, from Milan Malpensa, after flying in from Singapore. (Singapore Airlines!)  At Milan Centrale, I had to buy tickets for the next leg, from Milan Centrale to Genoa Principe.  I used the Self Service machines.  They accepted credit cards, but required a PIN.  Thankfully I remembered my PIN. The second class ticket cost 21.5 Euros per adult.


It was quite a nightmare for us when we boarded the train to Genoa.  First we had to get our luggage on board the train - pretty high steps.  Then, we discovered there weren't proper areas to store our large bags.  Worse, some pickpockets made an attempt on one of us, thank God she didn't manage to steal anything.

Beware, they work in groups of 2-3. One of them will try to distract you.  In our case, she pretended to be a train passenger and appeared overly helpful with our luggage.  The other(s) will then try to pick from your pocket, handbag or bagpack. As the train was quite crowded and busy, people were in close proximity.

We also discovered that we boarded the wrong carriage.  When we took the train from Milan Malpensa to Milan Centrale, there were no assigned seats. But for this inter-city train (which went all the way to NICE), there were assigned seats and carriages.  My video shows you a picture of the ticket, and more importantly how to read the ticket (CARROVA means carriage).  Remember to board the correct carriage.

After all that excitement, we made it safely to Genoa Principe.  Phew!  Thank God.

Here is a picture of train tickets.

The earlier video also shows you our arrival at Genoa Principe and how to walk to the exit. From there, we took a taxi, to bring us to the Holiday Inn Genoa, where we would be staying for a night, pre-cruise. The hotel wasn't far away, but there were some surcharges. The bill came up to under 20 Euros. ( I think it was 17)

Holiday Inn GENOA
Checking in for the Genoa Holiday Inn was a breeze.  We arrived just after 1pm, and our rooms were ready, so we could get access to our rooms.  (Official check in time was 3pm).

For my family of 4, I booked a normal family room, and the hotel very nicely upgraded us to an Executive Family Room.  Very pleased.  This is the video of what the room looks like.   



It was time for lunch!  After putting down our bags and washing up, we asked the hotel reception to call a taxi for us.  We were headed to downtown Genoa, to get lunch at this restaurant called Yuan Restaurant Genoa.  I had found the restaurant on Tripadvisor (https://www.yuansushigenova.com/)  

The restaurant clearly lived up to the recommendations on tripadvisor.  It was very good and inexpensive!  They had awesome lunch sets, costing  about 11Euros each.  I got this mixed sushi for 11 Euros.

My parents took the Chinese menu, which was 10Euros per pax, and it even came with two courses! It was very good value, as you can see in the video below.  We had 2 large bottles of beer, costing 4 Euro each.  Take note, there was a rather steep set of stairs to climb up to the restaurant. 


After a good lunch, it was time to take a walk.  Need to combat jet lag! We were in downtown Genoa, and it took us about 5 minutes on foot to get to the famous Piazza De Ferrari.  From Wiki,  Piazza De Ferrari is the main square of Genoa. Situated in the heart of the city between the historical and the modern center, Piazza De Ferrari is renowned for its fountain, which was restored in recent years along with a major restyling of the square. Today next to Piazza De Ferrari are numerous office buildings, headquarters of banks, insurances and other private companies, making of this district the financial and business centre of Genoa, so that Genoeses popularly refer to it as the "City" of Genoa. At the end of the 19th century Genoa was the main financial centre of Italy along with Milan, and Piazza De Ferrari was the place where many institutions were established, like the stock exchange, the Credito Italiano,[1] the branch offices of the Bank of Italy, founded in 1893.

After taking some photos of the piazza, I headed towards Piazza San Lorenzo, where the Genoa Cathedral is.   Along the way, we passed a nice Christmas market.  


We kept walking beyond the Cathedral (it was downhill) and ended up near the water.  We could see the aquarium.  Took a taxi back to the hotel from there.

Here is some Go Pro footage of the walk.  


We didn't do much later that evening.  Tired.  We had some food at the McDonalds (inside the Co-Op) opposite the Holiday Inn.  And it was time to rest and sleep.  

Steps up Italian Train
Before I end the pre-cruise day, here is a picture and a short video clip of the steps up a typical Italian inter-city train.  The reason I am showing you this is because you have to carry your luggage up and down the train, if you intend to use the train for inter-city travel.  Therefore, heavy pieces of luggage could prove to be a challenge. 



Here is the video.


Continue to Day 1 of the cruise, where we embark the MSC Meraviglia! 





Monday, November 13, 2017

Nasi Lemak Burger & Ninja Burger Singapore

Nasi Lemak Burger for Breakfast

This was from the McDonald's at Serene Center, on a weekend morning.  I visited the Macs and discovered that they were serving the Nasi Lemak burger for breakfast!  Couldn't resist, so I had breakfast (again).  Ordered the Nasi Lemak burger plus Latte.  Pretty good for breakfast.

 

Ninja Burger for Supper

This was from a different McDonalds.  Decided to try out their latest burger, called the Ninja burger. Fit for a Ninja!  That's what the box said.  Satisfy your appetite for VICTORY with a juicy, crispy chicken patty, glazed with sweet Nanban Sauce, topped with shredded white cabbage and Japanese tartar sauce, all tucked between a charcoal bun.  Resistance is futile!  How did it taste?  Remarkably similar to the Nasi Lemak burger.  I think they used the same sauce!



Thanks for watching!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Cashless in China

China.  They are so advanced when it comes to cashless payments!  You got to visit China to see it for yourself, just how widespread WeChat pay and Alipay are used.  These days, the Chinese don't need cash, don't need debit or credit cards.  It is all about paying using their WeChat wallets or Alipay wallets.  Fantastic.

In China, they all use smartphones.  Even the elderly.  See this video taken on the Guangzhou Metro.

At the Guangzhou Bus station, you can buy tickets using the QR Code. They put up all the QR codes on the wall.  No more ticket booths. No more ticket lines.  Your phone becomes your ticket booth.  Your phone gets the e-ticket (no more paper).  Amazing stuff.


Even the vending machines accepted mobile payments.  In this video, we pay for our vending machine drinks using the WeChat wallet. It was so easy and convenient!  No need for spare change!


Amazing stuff.  We in Singapore are so behind.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

iPhone 8 Plus Unboxing and Speed Tests versus iPhone 6S Plus

Well, after using the iPhone 6S Plus for two years (which incidentally is a very good phone), I decided to get an upgrade.  At first, I was keen to buy the iPhone X, but it seems to be out of stock, and so I looked more closely at the iPhone 8 Plus.  I soon realised that the 8 Plus came with the same A11 chip, as well as the same rear facing twin 12MP camera.  Of course, the iPhone X would have all the new fanciful features, especially the front array of sensors, but I think given that this is the first iteration, I will probably wait out.

So I got the iPhone 8 Plus instead.  Here is my unboxing.  At 202g, it feels a little heavier than my existing iPhone 6S Plus (172g).  Size-wise, the two phones are almost identical, though the iPhone 8 Plus twin rear cameras protrude a bit.  Other than that, I can't tell any difference.


Installing my new phone from iTunes was very easy, so I had no downtime at all. Since I had both iPhone 6S Plus and the iPhone 8 Plus side by side, I decided to run a few benchmark tests, to satisfy myself that the 8 Plus was indeed more powerful.  After all, one was using the A9 chip, and the other the brand new A11 chip!   Here is the video.  Indeed, the 8 Plus did very well with all these benchmark tests, relative to the 6S Plus.


Thanks for watching!!

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Singapore Changi Airport Lounge Compilation

Here is a compilation of all the videos I have made during my visits to various Airline Lounges in Singapore Changi Airport. I have put this in one blog page for easy reference.  Take note the year I visited these lounges, since things may have changed since.

First, the SilverKris Lounge in Singapore Changi Airport - the lounge at Terminal 3 is the flagship lounge of SIA.  Take note that this is NOT a Star Alliance Gold lounge. I have used this lounge a few times (flying SQ Business Class).

SilverKris Lounge - October 2013


SilverKris Lounge - November 2015.  On this visit, I had Fish Congee for supper.


SilverKris - November 2016 - on this visit, there was some Teochew Cuisine. 

Krisflyer Gold Lounge - March 2017
This is the lounge for Star Alliance Gold members. In this instance, I had Krisflyer Gold status, and hence could use this lounge, even though I was flying in Economy class.


SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 1 (June 2016).
This was also a Priority Pass lounge.  They had their Signature Laksa, which was cool.



SATS Premier Lounge in Terminal 3 (Dec 2016)
Care for some Mee Siam before your flight?

Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for updates!

MSC Preziosa Yacht Club 7 Gorgeous Dinners! 2015

We sailed on the MSC Preziosa in 2015, out of Genoa.  In this blog post, I put the movie links to the 7 gorgeous dinners we had in the Suite restaurant, dedicated to Yacht Club guests.  It was a most awesome experience!

Day 1 - The theme was Mediterranean Flavours & Savours.  This was the first of seven dinners and it was awesome!  Notice that the drinks list changed every day too.  Awesome!


Day 2 - This was a Tex Mex dinner. I had prawn cocktail to start.  There was seafood pasta.  I had the Tex Mex meat dish for the main.  Enjoyed both white and red wines, and plenty of desserts too!


Day 3 - Gala dinner, which came with a gold coloured menu.  The white wine was the Grillo 2012, which was super easy to drink!  I had the escargot, family member had the scallop. Rock lobster bisque was very good too.  My main was the beef fillet, and it went superbly with the red wine!  Desserts were very good as usual.  So much good food.  Thank God for the feasts!


Day 4 - Tonight was Italian Flavours.   The main course had beef too!  Overall, the cooking was good.


Day 5 - Dinner, while ship was in Malta.  They had some Dim Sum starter, which was, well... at least they tried.  Again, a very good dinner.  Care for some duck?


Day 6 - Our second gala dinner.  This time, we got some lobster!  Delicious!  Gala dinner again, with a beautiful gold menu.  Grilled oysters to start, cannelloni, Terrine of duck foie gras, and lobster tail! And plenty of beautiful desserts (as usual).  MMmmmmm!!


Day 7 - Final dinner before disembarkation.  Sob sob.  Excellent service from our waiter over the past 7 evenings.  Rack of lamb!  The last night, so I got drunk on the white wine (Chardonnay).  It was very addictive.  But if you are going to get drunk, remember, don't drive.  Sail instead!

Wonderful food on a wonderful cruise!
Till we cruise again.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Guangzhou China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, Executive Room and Executive Lounge Experience

We stayed for 3 night at the China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, in Guangzhou, China.  We stayed in an Executive Room (17F), which is the same floor as the Executive Lounge.  This stay was for a short holiday getaway.  We flew to Guangzhou on Singapore Airlines.

[Edit - as at June 2019, I couldn't find this hotel on the Marriott Bonvoy app.  The hotel has its own website now - https://chinahotelgz.com/en/; I suspect the hotel has been sold.]

We chanced upon the hotel after looking through various options.   The reviews said that while the hotel was on the older side, everything else was fine and location was good (right next to Yue Xiu Garden Metro station). Hence, we booked it since the rates were very competitive. We paid around $210 SGD (including taxes) per night for our Executive Room.

This hotel was built in 1984, and reportedly the first 5-star Hotel in Guangzhou. I'm not sure when Marriott took over this hotel (could be from Day 1).  As a result, the design makes it look a bit cramped, and the ceilings are definitely low.  Check out this fun video I made of my head almost hitting the ceiling when I jump.



Executive Room
Now, back to more serious stuff.  We had a standard Executive room, non-smoking, King-Sized bed.  It was a very comfortable room, not the biggest standard room you'd find, but that was because this hotel was built back in 1984, and probably the standard wasn't to built too large a room then.  Here is the video.




Executive Club Lounge Evening Appetizers & Cocktails
The Club Lounge served appetizers from 1730hrs to 1930hrs.  We ended up taking our dinner there every evening, after we had gone out for the day.  Though it got a bit crowded at time, we could always find a seat.  The food spread was decent, bearing in mind that they did not promise to serve dinner, but we always found enough to eat.  Here is a video compilation of the 3 dinners we had in the Executive Lounge.  There was always one manned station.  The fresh fish soup was excellent.



Executive Club Lounge Morning Breakfast
While the food spread at the Cafe Veranda downstairs was better, we always had our breakfast at the Executive Lounge.  We preferred the peace and quiet, and there was more than enough to eat anyway.  So here is a video compilation of our breakfast.


Mooncakes and afternoon tea
This video compilation shows you the afternoon tea (which was just a sandwich and mooncakes), plus a brief glimpse of the gym, and also the swimming pool.  No time for swimming for us, but the pool looked long enough to do decent laps.


Thanks for reading!

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Singapore Airlines Singapore to Guangzhou Economy Class Experience Airbus A330

We fly Singapore Airlines!  This time from Singapore to Guangzhou, in Economy.  We take a short holiday to Guangzhou.  On schedule, the flight by Singapore Airlines is 4 hours. SQ flies twice a day to Guangzhou, from Singapore Changi.

The flight we took was SQ850.  See below for a dummy booking.  The price we paid was much lower than $882.50 return (we paid around $350/pax).   If you book early enough, you should be able to get reasonable fares.  The timing of the flight was pretty good too, departing Singapore at 0820 and arriving in Guangzhou at 1220hrs. No time difference between SIN and CAN.


Flight - Singapore to Guangzhou
The flight to Guangzhou was smooth and enjoyable.  The actual flight time was 3hr 40min. It was a morning flight, so breakfast was served.  As usual, I chose the Asian option.  I managed to watch one movie on the flight up - Wonder Woman.  Check out the video below.  There was no crew change in Guangzhou. This meant that the same crew that flew us to Guangzhou, would fly back from Guangzhou to Singapore. 



Flight - Guangzhou to Singapore
Our return flight was equally good.  This time, it was an early afternoon flight.  Again, I chose the Asian food option, which was very nice.  I also had the Singapore sling, and some wine.  I watched one movie on this flight too - Great Wall (Director Zhang Yimou)


Two very good flights on Singapore Airlines. Thanks for watching!



Thursday, August 3, 2017

Singapore Busker Lawrence Wong Khaw Boon Wan MRT - Hilarious!

This Singapore Busker uncle has a decent deep voice, plus decent guitar skills.  But what really stood out was his lyrics.  Really funny.  He sings about Lawrence Wong, Khaw Boon Wan, about HDB, about MRT, all to the famous tune of 'Blowin in the Wind' by Bob Dylan.

Worth a watch, Singapore talent!


Since you are on my page, why not check out the famous Nasi Lemak Burger!  This burger was introduced for a short while by McDonalds to celebrate Singapore's 52nd birthday, in the year 2017.  I tried it once, not too bad, though I still prefer the real Nasi Lemak.


Speaking of Nasi Lemak, the Adam Road Nasi Lemak is rather famous in Singapore.  This stall is called Crave, serving the famous Adam Road Nasi Lemak.  Yummy!
Have a good day!

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Nasi Lemak Burger McDonalds Celebrates National Day 2017 - Pasir Panjang 99 Bends Night Ride

I try the McDonalds Nasi Lemak Burger.  The first reaction was - what?  Well, I only found out about this burger from some social media reports, as well as reactions from friends on Facebook.  So I decided to try it, since it was so novel.


How was the experience?  Not bad.  Worth a try, especially if you are a Nasi Lemak fan.  If you don't like Nasi Lemak, then no point.  Here is the video I made.


What's the big deal, you may ask?  Well, prior to this, nobody associated Nasi Lemak with a burger.  Why?  Nasi Lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked with coconut milk.  When you think of Nasi Lemak, you think of rice.

Which begs the question - Nasi Lemak Burger?  The name itself is a bit of a contradiction.  Nasi means rice in Malay.  So where is the rice?  Maybe precisely because it is so counter-intuitive, nobody has tried to make Nasi Lemak in a burger form before, until now. And, this must account for the great interest.  Usually, nobody is really very interested in burgers, well at least in Singapore.

We are not really a burger nation.  But now, with this Nasi Lemak variation, it has really opened our eyes to many new possibilities. Put the two most unlikely food together, and you can actually get something that works!  So, thank you McDonalds for teaching us a larger lesson in thinking out of the box.

Since we are on the topic of Nasi Lemak, here are some other Nasi Lemak videos that I have made in the past.

Nasi Lemak @ 35,000 Feet Singapore Airlines Business Class
Privileged to fly in SQ Premium cabins, and on this flight, I had Nasi Lemak for breakfast.  It was a heavy breakfast, and certainly I was very full thereafter! 

Pak Nasser Nasi Lemak - Air Asia
On another Airline, this time low-cost.  Air Asia!  I had the Pak Nasser's Nasi Lemak.  Very good for airplane food.

Adam Road Nasi Lemak @ Orchard ION
This place was called Crave. Supposed from Adam Road Nasi Lemak fame.  The food was decent.  I have had their Nasi Lemak several times.


Qiji Nasi Lemak (with Chicken Cutlet)
This foodstore called Qiji serves decent Nasi Lemak too.  In this instance, I chose the Nasi Lemak with chicken cutlet version. Good!


Enjoy your Nasi Lemak! Oh, almost forgot, below are the videos of the 99 Bends ride.

Riding uphill - from Pasir Panjang, towards Kent Ridge.


Coming back, this is downhill. Didn't need to pedal much, just let gravity do its work.
Enjoy!

Sunday, July 9, 2017

National Day Parade Song 2017 - Because It's Singapore

National Day Parade 2017.  The theme song this year is 'Because Its Singapore'.  A bit cheesy, but then again, National Day songs are such.
    

With NDP 2017 round the corner, rehearsals are in full swing. Here is a helicopter flypast, with the state flag.


F-15SG bomb burst, right over a rainbow!  Very awesome sight!.


Go Singapore!

Thursday, July 6, 2017

38 Oxley Road Exhibition 2015 Will of Lee Kuan Yew

So much has been said about the recent squabble between Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings.  This fight has made news all over the world, and Parliament devoted 2 days to debate it.

Recall that there was this issue of the Estate of Lee Kuan Yew loaning items to the NHB for some public exhibition, and the requirement by the Estate to show the first part of the now-famous 'demolition clause'?  Well, how many people actually visited that Exhibition?

Turned out that there is this youtube movie showing viewers what this exhibition was about, as well as the famous clause and how it was displayed!

Screenshot - Scale model of 38 Oxley Road

Here is the video.  Happy watching!


Let's hope the saga blows over.   Not doing Singapore any good.


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Thatched Hut on Concrete Poles Avani Sepang Goldcoast Church Camp Mitsui Outlet

Church Camp 2017 

Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 

Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort.  According to their website, "AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort offers guests the ultimate over water escape amongst an untouched gem of natural beauty.  Stretching over 1 KM of water, the contemporary villas face the sheltered waters of the straits of Malacca, perfectly balanced accessibility and seclusion."

Just where is this resort?  The location is just south of KLIA, in the state of Selangor.  I drove there via the 2nd link and this is the route we took.  First, we drove to Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA, which is north of the resort.  That journey took us about 3 hours, with a stop in between.  The absolute distance as shown in the map below was 324km via the highway, from 2nd link. (Tuas)  Clearing the 2nd link took about 45 minutes, and after that the drive was very smooth.


MITSUI OUTLET PARK KLIA SEPANG 
We arrived at Mitsui Outlet slightly after noon and spent about 2 hours there.  The outlet was not small, but rather quiet.

Prices Not Low
There were many outlets shops, but as you can see the prices were not low, even after discounts.  We checked out the Timberland and Geox stores. Only window shopping for us.

Food not cheap & No Supermarket
By Malaysian standards, food wasn't cheap.  It wasn't too expensive either (if you compare to Singapore standards) but at least the place was clean and pleasant.  Our lunch was in two parts, first at a Japanese eatery called Don Don Tei, and then we had coffee at this cafe called The Loaf, a premium restaurant/bakery that started in Langkawi and owned (in part) by Tun Dr Mahathir.

The Loaf Signature Iced Coffee
We had some iced coffee (pour warm milk onto ice coffee cubes) at the Loaf.  Interesting experience.


Video of Mitsui Experience
The full video of our Mitsui Outlet Park experience here, including our lunch at Don Don Tei, as well as snippets of the various shops available at Mitsui.  Not cheap.


Drive from Mitsui to Avani Sepang
The drive took about 45 minutes.  Here is the route.  Drive was easy with GPS.  I must say that the resort was rather ulu (secluded).  There was a small town, about 10km out.  The biggest shopping center would be Aeon Seremban 2, which we stopped by on our way home.

Arrival at the Resort
We arrived before 3PM.  Unfortunately, our rooms weren't ready.   Many other church members had already arrived before us (including several coaches).  So we walked around the resort to 'look-see'. This photo below summarizes my main picture memory of the resort - Thatched Huts on Concrete Poles!  LoL.

Main Lobby & Parking - 25RM
Before I forget, what about parking?  You had two options.  First, pay 25RM so that you can park within the compound.  They call this valet parking, but in reality it is a 25RM fee to park your car, and they will charge you a re-entry fee of 10RM every time you drive out and come back in.  So, what happened was that most of us just parked for the entire time we were here, for 25RM.

Parking outside was free, but at your own risk.  At night, the whole place was very dark.  If you car disappeared, nobody would know.  None of us dared to risk it, well not for 25RM.  Here is how the parking looked like.  I realised it could get full, if too many people drove.  Parked cars from church almost reached the gantry! (But still some space on the right side)


This is the layout plan, shaped like a Palm.  I think when this place was first built, it was called Palm Resort, for obvious reasons.



The layout of the villas as seen from a top view.  There is a trunk which leads to the mainland (where the lobby and conference rooms were).  The center of the palm tree is the Bila Bila restaurant, pool, and other restaurants.  Then there are 8 other smaller branches (they still call it trunks).  Our Family Villa was 817.  In this video, I show you the buggy ride from our Villa (call the buggy by dialing 0 on the room phone, Free-of-charge) to the main lobby.  The buggy goes quite fast.  Hold on tight!


Family Villa
Our family stayed in this villa, which was very comfortable for the 4 of us.  There was a sitting area, plus two separate bedroom areas, with movable partitions acting as doors, all under this one thatched roof.  Two toilets, two balconies.  It was a unique experience to wake up to the sounds of water. During low tide, there was only mud though.  Check out the video.


Fitness Centre 
Check out the fitness centre (also located in a hut) plus the infinity pool.  The weather was very hot and the fitness centre was air-conditioned, which was good.  Not a big place, just two threadmills.  Hardly anybody used it.  The infinity pool wasn't very big either, and it could get crowded.  You could get pool towels, but they had to be returned at the pool, i.e. could not bring them back to our rooms.  Be careful if you have kids.  It would be quite easy to climb over the edge of the Infinity pool and fall over.


Infinity Pool
This is the edge of the Infinity pool. The pool was not deep at all.  My kids could stand throughout the pool, so I don't think the pool was any deeper than 1.2M at all points.

Pizza
After some swimming, we decided to get a pizza to share.  This cost RM 33, 12 inch pizza.  Freshly made, taste wasn't too bad.  Good for sharing.


Room Service Menu
We went to the Bila Bila cafe to order the pizza, waited for it (about 15 minutes) and brought it back to our room.  Later on, we realised that we could have ordered room service, through the interactive TV in our room, and get it delivered.  Price was the same!  I decided to make a video of the room service menu, to give you a sense of the prices.  It wasn't too bad, given that this was room service.  Nasi Goreng for RM 30.



Breakfast
As this was a church camp, our meals were fully catered, so we didn't have to spend additional on food.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, all at the same place (Bila Bila), buffet style.  Overall, the food quality was decent, but not spectacular.  Then again, we did not expect spectacular stuff, just good-to-eat would suffice.  I didn't do many videos of the food this time round, just this one during a breakfast.

Thank God for Church Camp
Overall, it was a pleasant stay and a good break from the hustle and bustle of Singapore.  Even though getting around the resort took a bit of time (waiting for buggies, or walking, or cycling), campers were very co-operative and by and large, very few people were late for the official events and church messages.

The church camp committee wisely arranged for the older campers to stay on the main trunk, so as to minimize the distance of travel.  For the younger families, it was more fun to stay on the branches, because it was quieter.  The main trunk gets busy with plenty of traffic.

The overall feedback was positive, as we enjoyed a very different experience as compared to what we have in Singapore. This place was also popular for church camps, as we know of other churches which have had their camps here, and right after our camp, there was another church coming in for their camp.

Thank God for a safe and pleasant camp, and for the wonderful fellowship and the messages.

Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 

Address of Resort
No 67, Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, Kg Bagan Lalang, Sungai Pelek, 43950 Malaysia


Sunday, April 2, 2017

Beijing Trip Day 4 - Beijing Underground, Lama Temple (outside), Hutongs, WangFuJing, Din Tai Fung

Trip to BEIJING, CHINA

Day 1 - SQ Flight to Beijing & Renissance Beijing Capital Hotel
Day 2 - Mutianyu Great Wall Following Michelle Obama Tobbogan Ride and Ming Tombs
Day 3 - Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven & Summer Palace
Day 4 - Beijing Underground, Lama Temple (outside), Hutongs, WangFuJing, Din Tai Fung

We have reached Day 4 of our wonderful trip to Beijing.  To recap, we are here for a short couple holiday (without the kids), and we had tremendously enjoyed Day 1 (SQ Flight and Hotel), Day 2 (Mutianyu Great Wall) and Day 3 (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City).

Today, we will get around the city ourselves, using the Beijing Subway! Now, the Beijing Subway is quite a subway to be reckoned with.  According to Wiki, the massive network has 19 lines, 345 stations, and 574km (or 357 miles) of track. The subway is the world's largest in terms of ridership, with 3.66 billion trips delivered in 2016, averaging almost 10 million trips a day, this is more than double of London Underground's ridership of almost 5 million a day.


The Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel is across the road from the Viva Plaza (富力広場), and the Shuang Jing (双井) Underground Station is connected to the Plaza.  Of course, you could enter the Shuang Jing (双井)  from the road.

Now, where were we going?  Here is an extract of the Beijing Subway map.  ShuangJing station sits on a Line 7 and Line 10 intersection, and we were headed to YongHeGong (Lama Temple).  In the image below, I circled both stations in black.

"You are here" - Exit A for the Viva Plaza.  That was the entrance we used.  Very cool.

Buying Tickets and Security Checks
Alright, we got to the station.  It was time to buy tickets.  In the video below, you will see us fiddling around with the self-service machine.  Click on the English option.  It was straightforward to use - locate the station that you wanted to go to, select the number of tickets you wanted, confirm and pay.  You'll get the tickets (which is a contactless card) plus change.  Pretty simple.  Now what gets very interesting is the security checks.  I soon realised that in every station, they X-rayed the bags of every passenger before they let you enter.  They also asked you to take a sip of your water.  Security is tight in Beijing, no doubt about that.


Somebody told me to be very careful with the X-ray machines, as sometimes, theft does occur.  The below video is an example.  The chap just behind the lady was planning to steal her bag all along.  He puts his hand into the X-ray machine, fishes her handbag out, and leaves. Scary.


We reached YongHeGong station and found our way to the Lama Temple.  The place was crowded! This was the line for tickets.

And the entrance to the temple after you have bought tickets.  The gate looked good in the bright sunlight.

Anyway, we decided not to enter.  This video shows you the ticketing area and the crowds.  Also something on Beijing Bicycle share.


HuTong Opposite Lama Temple
We realised that opposite the Lama temple, there was a Hu Tong.  What is a Hu Tong?  From wiki, these are narrow streets or alleys, commonly associated with Beijing. Hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan (or courtyard houses). In recent times, a large number of hutongs have been demolished, to make way for modern developments. Nowadays, the remaining hutongs are protected.

In this video, we take a walk around the Hutongs.  Check out the juxtaposition of old and new, especially the new cars!


See the Hutong conversion, to modern shops.  Just keep the shell of the place. Fascinating stuff.  Also plenty of locals walking around, enjoying the place.

A word of caution about Hutong toilets.  Not exactly first world.  No doors, mostly squatting, no sink to wash your hands.  My wife told me the female toilet was like this too.  Welcome to China! Check out the video below.


Heading to WangFuJing
Well, that's China.  Anyway, after the Hutong, it was time to go to WangFuJing.  Again, we took the Beijing underground. It was very easy.  To get to WangFuJing, we took the underground from YongHengGong to WangFuJing station. I circle the two stations below.  It was an easy ride, with one change at DongDan.

WangFuJing, Beijing, is one of the most famous shopping streets in China.  We weren't here to shop, but more to check the place out. Until the late 1990s, traffic could go through, but it is now largely pedestrianized, making it easy to walk. It was a bright and sunny early afternoon when we got there.

This video shows you our leisurely walk along WangFuJing, as we headed towards the APM Mall.


What we were looking for in the Mall? Lunch!  Our plan was to have lunch at this place called Din Tai Fung, which is a rather famous eatery, well known for her Xiao Long Baos (Pork Dumplings).

Xiao Long Bao Controversy
Time Out caused a controversy by likening Xiao Long Bao dumplings to popping zits.  I've watched the Time Out video, which isn't very flattering.  Basically making fun of the awesome Xiao Long Bao.  Anyway, here is how you should eat Xiao Long Bao. We had a share of delicious Xiao Long Bao at Din Tai Fung, at Beijing APM Mall.  The food was good, though I must say that I couldn't taste much of a difference between the normal Xiao Long Bao and the Crab Meat Xiao Long Bao, though the latter was twice the price of the former!

This was the entrance to the Din Tai Fung at Bejing APM Mall.  I recall it was on level 5.

WangFuJing Snack Street
After a good lunch, as we were heading back to the underground station, we passed by the snack street (almost by chance) and decided to head in to take a look.  Oh wow, this place was crowded, and sold all types of exotic food.  Grilled tiny lobsters caught my attention.  Check out the video - the tiny lobsters were still alive, but skewered on a stick, ready to be roasted.  Seeing is believing!


Alright, our last stop before heading back to the hotel was the Silk Street.  We took the Underground there, but really, this place is more like a tourist trap.  Many shops, but very few people.  Didn't want to haggle, so decided not to buy anything.  Saw posters like these, and felt that they were trying too hard.

So, after all that walking and taking of the underground, it was time to go back to the hotel to chill out. We were too early for dinner in the Club Lounge, but we parked ourselves at the lounge anyway, helping ourselves to some drinks and light snacks.  Made this video during tea time.


It was good fun watching the staff set up the place for dinner.  Many staff, all very busy.  Wonderful place to chill, and watch our dinner being laid out.


And soon, it was time for dinner!  Plenty to eat, as usual.  Plenty to drink as well!  Tonight, the speciality was Panini. Rest of the food was pretty good too.


Pandas Bei Bei & Jing Jing showing you the Studio Suite
And, the final video of this post?  A rather silly one done by my two toy pandas, Jing Jing and Bei Bei.  They will show you our studio suite again!  Take it away, Panda!


Thanks for watching!