Just in end July, Y and I took a well-deserved (that's what I always say) break to Bali, after having not been back there since 2009 when our buddies YL and SH got married. Talk about how time flies! To be honest, I am not crazy about the sun and beach, but was definitely looking for some zen-break and just lazing about doing nothing. I was pleasantly surprised this trip to find many things to see and eat just alone in the area of Seminyak (where we stayed during the full week) and nearby Canggu area too. Hello Coco! Hanging out at Seminyak Beach. STAY Bali is highly concentrated with many areas you can pick from to stay at ranging from casual hostels to private villas...
Courmayeur is a lovely little Italian village located at the foot of the famous Montblanc mountain in the Aosta Valley. Conveniently located just beneath the entrance to the tunnel on the Italian side of Montblanc, it can be easily accessed from the French side. I first came here last year with Y when we visited Chamonix for spring skiing (see blog), and decided to visit Courmayeur for a day to ski and eat, just 30 minutes drive away from Chamonix. We decided to spend 4 nights this year after our skiing in Megeve, to get some good ol' Italian fix, and Y and her group of friends wanted to explore more of the slopes here, and get in more practice runs before the 2017 season...
Hakuba, in Nagano, most well-known for being the first ski resort in Japan to host the Winter Olympic Games in 1998. A lot of friends ask me, why Hakuba as compared to Niseko - a popular ski destination for many tourists from SE Asia and China? I have summarised in a few points below: It's at the heart of the beautiful scenic Japanese Alps, which means the alpine views that one gets here is not just of one mountain but many, which you notice very well when you are on the slopes and even when driving to the different slopes and town areas. In Niseko as one skis down the slopes, you tend to just see one Mount Yotei. Close proximity to Tokyo. I am not...
My 2016 was completed with a fun winter trip to the region of Shirakawa and Takayama in the Hida region of the Gifu Prefecture for some sightseeing and a ryokan stay, followed by a ski trip to Hakuba with Y and R. Given how full flights were to Tokyo when we booked this trip sometime in August, we decided to be creative and flew to Nagoya instead and drive up towards Takayama for our 1st stop, renting our car at the always reliable Nissan Rent a Car at the Nagoya Airport (Chubu Centrair International Airport). We only had a night's stay in Takayama before leaving for Hakuba the next day, but Y and I managed to jam pack our 30 hours in the Shirakawa and Takayama...
Chamonix is the place where the first Winter Olympics were held in 1924, and also holds the reputation as one of the world's leading ski resorts, known for some of it's really challenging slopes and one of the best views of Mont Blanc. This explains why it's pretty much on the bucket list of every hard core advance skier and snowboarder given its variety of mountain and some really tricky slopes. Erm well, as for the rest of us, can't say that all of us are extreme advanced skiiers but we chose Chamonix as a venue for some early spring skiing over the Easter week, since its high altitude would guarantee us some decent weather. After comparing the various Europe ski altitudes, Chamonix stands out with its resort...
No matter what, I have to squeeze in a ryokan with a hot spring whenever I am in Japan during their winter time, and I didn’t expect everywhere that I wanted to go to be fully booked up when I started looking around for options sometime in August. Yes, so I have warned you, if you do decide to go ryokan and hot spring hopping in end December to January, I have news for you - it’s one of their peak periods which means book very early plus everywhere be pricier. After much research, I decided to try Kotohira Kadan, located in a small town called Kotohira in the Kagawa Prefecture. It seemed the ‘closest’ to Osaka (and by that I mean a crazy 3...
Having my snack on board Air France from Paris to New York. After an 8 hour flight in Air France Premium economy, and a taxi ride to The Ludlow Hotel New York from JFK airport, I finally arrived with Y in New York, one of our favourite cities in the world! This was my first time staying in the Lower East Side or what it is sometimes abbreviated as LES. This neighbourhood has transformed a lot from what I used to remember. There seems to be lot more eateries, boutiques which makes walking from Lower East Side to Noho to Soho all the more fun now! Upon arriving at The Ludlow Hotel (180 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002, Tel:+1 212-432-1818), the porter who was dressed quite coolly...
After admiring the breathtaking fur coats at the Fendi Haute Fourrure defile at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Y was invited for an exclusive preview two days later to 9 Avenue Hoche. A beautiful space in this Haussmann style building had been specially converted to host the exquisite Fendi Haute Fourrure collection where customers like Y had the privilege to be up close and personal with them, and learn from the best in Fendi – their in house resident fur expert accompanied with other fur artisans who were responsible for making these furs come to life. We were picked up in a car and whisked away to this building where Guillaume, the Retail Director for Fendi SE Asia, and another friendly French lady from Fendi greeted us and brought us...
This year’s summer holidays had a special meaning for Y and I as it was a first time we were taking a full month off to travel with Y’s friends in different cities, and also the first time that Y was invited to a fashion show in Paris, and it wasn’t just any show we were talking about here. It was the FENDI Haute Fourrure show, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld’s first collection debut at the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week with the collection titled aptly ‘Silver Moon’. This show was also held to celebrate Karl Lagerfeld’s 50th anniversary this year designing for FENDI, and what better way then to showcase it through its luxurious furs which the house of FENDI is so known for! Karl Lagerfeld’s...
In my visit with Y this year for our ski trip to Niseko, we arrived at Sapporo's New Chitose Airport and given that we arrived first before everyone else, we had to explore the Steiff Nature World which was a Steiff Teddy Bear Museum here in the airport! How cool is that? We realised that this airport is really a great shopping and entertainment place especially for kids. When we finally figured out our navigation in this large airport that almost seemed more like a large shopping mall chock full of restaurants, shops and theme parks, we found that we have to walk towards the "Smile Road" to see my furry friends. As we made our way there, we saw there was a Doraemon themed sky park, a large Hello Kitty...
