CutiCuti: Thailand - Royal Express, Hua Hin

Property: Royal Express, Hua Hin

Date:  30 June 2014 (1 night)

Price: 1,320 Baht/night (~RM 132.00)

*If kebetulan time booking tu, this hotel ada buat promo boleh dapat discount up to 45%*

Room Type: Superior Twin-Room (no breakfast)

Booked via booking.com 

Those staying at Royal Express will need to check in at the main building; that is the Citin Loft Hotel. Located just opposite the road. 

10 Random Facts About Me - When I Travel

Assalamualaikum. Hello!

I was tagged! Dulu kala aku suka jak buat tagged entry ni. Kalau boleh semua pun aku mau buat cepat. Tu belum masuk entry yang terima² award tu. Tiap kali received award, P to the Yo aku beria tayang di sidebar.

Sekarang, aku terpaksa jadikan 'kerja' as alasan untuk jadi perasan sibuk. Hence lambat sikit up tagged post ni. Sadis betul cara meng-explain. Pfftt!

Considering sudah kena siku oleh si Nana, marilah cepat siapkan tag post ni. Dari aku drama berthrowback non-stop di ig & fb, better lah luang masa buat benda alah ni. At least boleh kenal mengenal. Gitu motif tag post ni as per her.

So here goes...*gambar perlu untuk menceriakan entry* puke now!

Drama: Bukan Rezeki, Redha lah

Assalamualaikum.

I've been eyeing & searching for the lowest ticket fare to South Korea for the past few months. My main mission is to enjoyed autumn; by myself. That's the plan; or should I say...that would be the poyo theme of my holiday. Kononnya!! 

I informed the boss that I'll be taking a week leave in the mid of October. Perfect timing for peak foliage; so I told myself then. 

Unfortunately, that 'themed holiday' plan went down to the drain when I saw no decrease on the flight fare. I subscribed from certain websites for the latest price alert. Every time dapat email, mesti the price offered weren't within my budget. I gave up & cancelled my cuti a week ago.

Then yesterday, ntah angin mana rasuk diri. I opened Air Asia website. And to my utmost surprise, the price has dropped. Like, drop gila gila gila! Half the fare I've been seeing all this while.

Without hesitation...I clicked, clicked, clicked. I was about to make the payment when suddenly...

"Confirm kah dapat cuti ni?"

"Ok buy first, think later. Or buy first, then minta cuti later."

But such words failed to 'cleared' my uncertainty. 

So patiently I waited for the boss to arrive. Only to be 'smacked'. 

"Sudah cakap ndak jadi cuti kan. Ada few pekerja pun minta cuti, sudah kasi approved dorang."

"Boleh lah cuti, 23 Oct to 25 Oct."

HUWAAAAA. HUWAAAA.

How am I supposed to balik kampung in just 3 days? Does RM 740.00 (plus RM 200.00 for KK-KL tickets) worth the cuti u gave? Nangis darah, guling atas rumput.

Maka si Err pun pasrah. And after a few moments of muhasabah diri, I am now in the "redha phase". Tu pun lepas the sensible friends lontar advices. Calm down. Mesti ada hikmah di sebalik semua ni. Mesti! 

Allah has BETTER plan(s) for me!

Kalau lah aku proceed jak beli ticket tadi without having a second thought...memang hancur jiwa; berderai airmata tengok ticket burned. 

Untuk rawat hati lara because I am in the midst of accepting the reality (partly refused to accept it, to be true), I decided to re-watch the Kdrama I recently put in my fav-list. Layan tengok muka si L or as per my Merengmate...anak hikan. Rain adalah handsome tiba² dalam ni. 

My Lovable Girl

To Azra! Enjoyed ur autumn foliage at Naejangsan! Sesungguhnya jealous habis meter! Semoga berjumpa si Daun Merah-Jingga. Take loads of pictures & harus share kat blog please. Have fun!

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: Thailand - Lub'd Hostel Silom, Bangkok

Property: Lub'd Silom, Bangkok

Date:  29 June 2014 (1 night)

Price: 450 Baht/person (~RM 45.00)

Room Type: 8-beds Female Dormitory

Booked via booking.com (non refundable).

Our dorm; Sathorn 2.

The top level (L4) is where all the ladies dorms are located. This level is strictly for women only. 

Natural lighting from the transparent roof. Exercise performed early in the morning, descending the stairs to reach the lobby area. 

Breakfast is not included in the rate. But there's a bar near the reception counter. The guest can buy their breakfast meal at a reasonable price. 

Area to dine or just to mingle around. 

We were pretty tired after our dinner at a restaurant near the hostel & having arrived late in the evening  had decreased our energy more. Hence we decided to called the night off; early. We missed the opportunity to mingle with the other guest as we departed for Hua Hin quite early the next morning as well. Lucky sempat say hi to our fellow dormmates. 

Ruang santai at our dorm. Spacious enough to performed ur prayer here (for Muslim). 

Cerita Bingai: Next to this space is a glass door. We can see the corridor from inside the dorm. When Ms G went to take her bath, I was all alone in the dorm. Imagining stupid things in my head. 
"What if suddenly Ju On enters through the glass door. Or one of those famous Thai ghost muncul from the ceiling?"
Ok bye perangai bongok!

View across our bunk bed. And as usual, the brilliant me didn't take the picture of the whole dorm. *clap clap* 

Bathroom (female). Separated shower & toilet.

Courtesy of the hostel for the guest. Some are donated by the guest. KEEP means "u can use these BUT don't take the compartments with u". Common sense lah kan, ndak kan dengan bekas sekali mau hangkut. Tapi wujud ok orang macam tu.

They provide shampoo & bath foam at each shower room. Memahami jiwa traveller yang malas bawa benda alah ni semua. *pointing all fingers to myself* 

Few halal restaurants nearby the hostel. They're just walking distance away.

1. Deen Restaurant

# My friend Lady Dreamer (here) wrote a review about this restaurant in her blog. Apart from the direction given by her, u can also reach this restaurant by alighting at Chong Nonsi (Silom Line). It closes at 9pm.

2. Indian Vegetarian Restaurant

# We had our dinner here on our first night in Bangkok. My plan to dine at Deen got cancelled as we arrived a bit late that night. We happened to find this restaurant by chance. 

3. Dubai Restaurant

# Located right at the junction heading to the hostel. As it was fasting month when we were there, this restaurant close early. We only came to know about this the next day on our way to Chong Nonsi station.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with this hostel. Checking-in & checking-out is pretty convenient. No hustle bustle. Friendly staff & they speak good English. Love their concept! If u're planning to go to Bangkok; please go checkout their website (here)  for more information. 

If given the opportunity to go to Bangkok again, I would love to try thier other branches. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

Land of Ong Bak Day 3 - Hua Hin Train Station

Assalamualaikum. สวัสดี!

Forgo the lame bingai story & lets continue with my trip to the Land of Ong Bak. Continuation from here. Two months has it been. Memang macam siput mau share experience. Cuba kalau trip 'balik kampung' laju jak aku update. Semangat.

But don't take it wrongly. I did enjoyed this trip. In fact, I fell in love with the Thais. So friendly, helpful & very accommodating. If asked would I revisit this country? My answer is a definite yes! 

God's willing, I planned to visit the sunflower field in Lopburi one day. My maiden trip to Thailand was in Jul, not an appropriate season to go see the sunflower. Ladang adalah kering kontang sebab masa tu kan musim panas. Zila told me the best months to go is during the last three months of the year. Musim sejuk katanya. Info pasal sunflower trip pun boleh korek from Nani's & Zilla's blogs. Senang kerja. 

1 July 2014 - Hua Hin

Before checking out that day, we went to Hua Hin Train Station. Located not too far away from our hotel, we decided to just walk to the station. Hirup udara segar di pagi hari. 

On the way to the station, we passed by a park with a statue in front of it. Didn't really bother to read the inscription on the plaque attached to the statue. Truth was, I can't wait to visit the cafe at the station actually. Haven't had any breakfast yet. Woohooo alhamdulillah Allah bestowed me the 'ABC slip' on my third day in Thailand. 

Just found out, there's train service from Hua Hin to Bangkok. Read here for more info. 

Kalau tau, boleh try test. I would really love to try the sleepers-overnight coach. Ndak pernah lagi merasa overnight journey by train. Another reason to have another visit perhaps. Kena try naik local train at least once if visiting other countries. Asyik fast train jak kan, di Malaysia ada. Walhal Sabah Borneo train pun aku ndak pernah naik. Tapi kecoh mau naik train negara orang. Tettt!

It took us less than 10 minutes to reach the station. Rasanya kalau ndak stop click sana, click sini...lagi cepat kami sampai. 

Design yang ada frame red-orange ni memang tradermark Hua Hin aku rasa. 

Boleh berlari sukati jiwa raga ke seberang sana. Dengan syarat, beware of any train(s) coming. Jangan berangan mau buat suicidal attempt sangat. 

Mostly fridge magnet Hua Hin memang style yang frame begini (refer 'signboard' belakang aku). TAPI, kau ndak beli pun kan Bie. Kunun collect FM, piirah sangat.

Ok sudah penat ronda the train station. It's time to feed the hungry tummy. (Awal pagi Allah bagi ABC)

I had imagined something like this for my 'own place'. Insha Allah.

We chose this spot to enjoyed our breakfast. The coffee served wasn't up to my expectation though yet the cafe's calm ambience balance that. 

Someone who is not into coffee nor tea found her 'solace' in green tea. At last! No more "Do they serve other than caffeine?" Having to settled with choco drink every time we go ngopi was kinda boring for her already.

Took the opportunity to post the postcards as well. They sell stamp here just asked the lady at the counter.
Tepi meja ni ada postbox, just dump ur postcard inside. And nantilah dengan sabar postcard sampai ke tangan penerima.

Old train coach in front of the station.

Along the way from the train station to the hotel. Pretty epic fire station huh. Reminiscing my childhood. Balai raya di kampung looked like this. 

Habis breakfast. We made our move back to the hotel. We've planned to leave for Bangkok early. Ndak mau lah sampai lambat nanti mesti kepenatan. We took the minivan in front of the mall where we met the handsome Ahjussi driver the day before. Its easy peasy to find a minivan bound for Bangkok. We just have to say 'Bangkok' to the the minivan driver. No need to make the sengau voice like what we did when we're looking for the bus stop for Hua Hin minivan. 

Journey to Bangkok took almost 3 hours. Lesser than the journey to reached Hua Hin. We reached Bangkok in the late afternoon. I didn't sleep much throughout the journye. Sibuk nyembang sama Ms G, ntah apa jak topik kami cover. We disembarked at Victoria Monument & rode the sky train to our hotel which is located in the Siam area. For that, I will continue in another entry. Sudah capek menaip. Sekian.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Drama - Manusia Bingai Bertingkek!

Assalamualaikum.

I was truly dumbfounded when a friend of mine suddenly pm-ed me in FB & showed me this (refer pic below). She was my classmate back in primary years & we've never talk to each other ever since we left school. But I am deeply thankful to her for letting me know about this. 

Land of Ong Bak Day 2 - Hua Hin Night Market

Assalamualaikum. สวัสดี!

The most awaited moment by both Ms G & I. A stroll along Thai's night market. They say, night market is a must place when u visit Thailand. And so we fulfilled that to-do-list. We asked the Ahjussi driver to dropped us at Hua Hin night market after our visit at Swiss Sheep Farm (story here). 

The traders were just starting to set up their stalls when we arrived. It wasn't time for breaking fast as yet hence I felt like every food stalls we passed tried to lured me. Telan liur banyak kali. 

30 June 2014 - Hua Hin

 

Just observing this Ahjussi preparing the ice tea was enough to make me drool. It's myy favorite drink! 

I want to order the drink soooooo bad but managed to shoo the idea away. Plain water for buka puasa please Bie. My lips were too dry at that time I know it will bleed. Sign of dehydration. So yeah, ditto to other drink & annyeong plain water! I am always extra careful with what I consumed when I travelled. Jatuh sakit time berjalan is definitely a big no-no. 

Forgive us for being naive. We have to take a pic in front of the bar-with-the-night-market concept because we never saw one back home. It was set up sebaris with the other stalls along the night market. 

Woohoo. Gumbira dalam hati bila dapat stall ni. The nasi beriyani ayam was a bit pricey (120 Baht) but knowing it's the only stall that sell halal food there, kenalah terima hakikat. We also bought 2 pieces of bawal goreng (size half my palm) for 50 Baht each. 

Ms G bought quite a lot from the night market. Aku kesukaan tengok dia beria shopping. As for me? Cuma sehelai tshirt yang ada tulisan Hua Hin. Roh bershopping-mopping belum merasuk diri. 

This concept of night market memang smart. Atas tu adalah museum berkonsep ala rumah. We didn't go up to have a look though sebab masa ni mata sudah melirik² plastik di tangan. Fokus sudah lari. L to the Par. Aku adalah berpuasa without sahur, harap faham. Ni statement P to the Yo.

Actually selalu ada angan² mau gambar motor with Thai's plate number. Ntah kenapa tapi syukur, sudah termakbul. 

The stall to my left side sells varieties of postcards & stuffs related to Hua Hin. 

Unfortunately the brilliant Miss Err didn't buy anything there. Not even a single postcard nor a piece of fridge magnet that represent Hua Hin. Jangan cakap untuk orang, untuk collection diri sendiri pun ndak da. Sampai rumah baru lah menyesal itu, menyesal ini. Ada perasaan mau bang kepala on the wall. Hampagas betul! 

We decided to just walk back to our hostel. Boleh cuci mata tengok pekan Hua Hin di malam hari. Masa tu baru nampak the tourism centre where all the minivans from Bangkok (final destination Hua Hin) make their stop. It situated just in front of a temple. But please don't ask the temple's name. 

Pastu on the way, nampak a cafe that we frequented everytime we travel (statement bingai lupa diri) opposite the road. As if both thinking the same thing terus berlumba mau lintas jalan to get to the cafe. Dan² lupa diri; lupa niat murni yang mau consume only plain water. Pfft!

Truth is we never bother to lepak at this coffee shop at our hometown. But that feeling jadi lain macam whenever this shop came into our sight during traveling. Terkinja gedik ntah apa special cafe ni. Told you, statement minta penampar!

After membasah tekak & tumpang aircond kedai, kami pun continue journey balik hotel. Which is just 5 mins walking distance from the night market. Hua Hin sumpah panas walau di malam hari. Ndak sedar peluh menitik² sampai belakang baju basah. 

Syukur alhamdulillah! Finally, craving fixed! Ini lah paling dinanti. Bought this from a famous stall at the night market. Yo'oh famous, just because stall tu ada gantung few pics of celebrities buying from them...terus conclusion ni mesti sedap sebab famous. 

And!! Oppa Mango tu sangat handsome. Gagah perkasa. No pic taken sebab Omma ada bersama. Sila behave. Tapi regret gila kenapa ndak beranikan jak diri untuk snap pic with him. Kan? Control sangat lubang hidung, padan muka. Balik bilik, refreshed & time to feast the hungry tummy. Sengaja makan mango sticky rice ni lambat² sebab mau menikmati kununnya. Nikmat gila! Alhamdulillah.

Malam tu tidur awal sebab schedule the next adalah pack. Tapi ndak dapat lena sangat sebab ada lagu tambahan from the roommate. Ahaks. Penat sungguh si kawan. 

eryantierdabdulkarim