Tag: travelphotography

Resort Review: Thistle Port Dickson

This is one of the resorts that holds great memories for our family. We’ve been to Thistle Port Dickson twice this year, and the high level of satisfactory feels just like the first time.

And that first time was way back when we had family gathering on Shafa’s side of family, soon after our marriage, and especially soon after Shafa’s late dad was diagnosed with Leukemia. That was way back in early January 2015. It feels bittersweet to come back, but it always hold special place in our hearts.

This is one of our many favourite things about Thistle Port Dickson. They have kids pools and adult pools, with different depths. Also they have another infinity pool – our favourite since the first time we visited this resort about four years ago!

Always our favourite infinity pool! Each time we’re at Thistle Port Dickson, we would always come by the infinity pool for some pictures, especially during sunset. It looks magical.

Back when we were just a travel couple, this was our favourite spot to swim because it’s far from the main swimming pools of the resort. It’s quite peaceful to swim here, especially since it has a nice view. Now? Practical is more important than romantic. Most of the time we’ll be at the kids swimming pool.

Such a beautiful family room here at Thistle Port Dickson!

There is one double bed & one bunk bed, enough to accommodate two adults and two children. We personally love the decorations around the bunk bed – so cute!

We never appreciate petting zoos until we became a parent.

Kids LOVE animals, especially if they can pet them. Thistle Port Dickson offers bunny petting time between 10am – 11am & 4.30pm – 5.30pm. Our toddler definitely was excited to see the rabbits and birds!

And… Our favourite spot to snap pictures! It’s been years, but this swing is still here at the beach of Thistle Port Dickson.

Somebody seems to be enjoying the game! If your boys are not up for holiday at Thistle Port Dickson, you now know where to take them.

What’s your thoughts on the resort? We would love to hear from you!

Resort Review: DoubleTree Resort By Hilton Penang (Part 3 – Kids Club, Famous Attractions And Swimming Pools)

Here comes Part 3 of our review on DoubleTree Resort By Hilton Penang. As promised, we will now share our experience touring around Kids Club, picking two famous attractions and splashing in the swimming pools.

Evergreen and refreshing, this walkway is just beside the swimming pool at DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang. Perfect for your OOTD (just like what Shafa’s mom did)! Guess where we’re heading to?

We went to the Kids Club in DoubleTree by Hilton Penang! Upon touring the area, we really love the concept.

Located just opposite the kids swimming pool, Kids Club is your answer if you need to leave your kids for a while to do some work or errands, or probably just to have a quick date with your spouse!

Open from 10am to 7pm daily, the centre is filled with fun and educational activities.

From arts & crafts, splash time, picnics, storytelling, juggling, zumba, masterchef, Ukulele lessons and cartoon-time – your kids will love this place!

There are even Batik Handkerchief Painting and outdoor cinema too 😍

If they’re not the activity type, there’s even a place to lie down and watch TV.

Too awesome! Watch below video, recorded live on Facebook, where we (and the staff) explain about Kids Club in detail.

That afternoon, we went to round the island for awhile. There’s quite a number of attractions in Penang, so yo have to know what you want to see.

Have an interest on bugs, spiders, lizards and butterflies? Head over to Entopia! Located just a mere 17-minute drive from DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang, this is a perfect place for nature and animal lovers!

In the evening, we manage to fit in pool session into our itinerary. Nothing makes a toddler happier than playing with slides and landing in water, with feet on sands.

We love the concept of this kids swimming pool at DoubleTree by Hilton Penang, located just beside the Kids Club! Listen to how our toddler squealed with excitement in the above video.

It’s definitely one of the best kids swimming pool experience we’ve had! This kids swimming pool at DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang even comes with sandy floors, as seen in the above video. Now, this is our definition of fun!

And let’s not forget the perfect green view just beside the pool! Not only DoubleTree by Hilton Penang has fun kids swimming pool, the view from the pools was also very mesmerizing. Watch below video, recorded live on Facebook, for our full experience at the swimming pools.

The swimming pool area is also perfect for romantic stroll after dinner at the Makan Kitchen!

Makan Kitchen is located just beside the swimming pool. With just enough lighting to light your way, but not too bright to spoil the romantic mood.

Let’s move on to yet another one of the best things for kids at DoubleTree by Hilton Penang – the TeddyVille Museum!

It is Malaysia’s first and largest collection of Teddy Bears from various nations and eras.

There’s some entrance fee to pay to get into the museum, though.

Before you go back, you may want to buy some souvenirs from the shop.

They have tees, jackets, key chains, towels, magnets, and of course, teddy bears!

Look at how excited our toddler was, touching the cute life-size teddy bear.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at DoubleTree by Hilton Penang. Thank you for having us!

What’s your thoughts on the resort? Wold love to hear from you!

Hotel Review: Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani

JenjalanKami is so excited to have our second trip to Sungai Petani! Read our first experience in Sungai Petani here.

This time around, we’re going to see what’s all the buzz about at Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani. Let’s check it out!

1. Nice view of the pools

Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani is located in Sungai Petani, a town in Kuala Muda District, Kedah. Whilst most of our other hotel reviews have sea views (oh yes, we’re beach lovers), the view from our room is satisfactory.

We had pool views! And it’s nice to see some greeneries around the hotel as well.

Don’t forget to bring your camera to the poolside at night! Who knows you’ll be able to capture some stunning shots. We particularly love this angle!

2. Behold the beauty of the Junior Suite

You may want to remember this room number. This is the Junior Suite that we stayed during the trip… And we love it!

Upon entrance, you will see a mirrored cupboard on your right, and a big cupboard on your left. You definitely can bring another guest in this suite, and still have loads of places to put your things!

Now you see, we haven’t entered the bedroom area yet – but the space was very large! It’s large enough that our toddler decided not to sit down and explore the whole area. There’s a living room with TV at one end, and a study table at the other end. We decided to put an extra bed for Shafa’s mom in the middle between these two areas.

Just beside the living room is the dressing table. Perfect, because Shafa’s mom loves using dressing table to put on makeup. Shafa rarely use it – she doesn’t wear makeup!

The toilet is separate from the shower room – so no need to fight if you need to use the toilet NOW!

And this is the bedroom… The cupboard that you see immediately when you enter the room is connected to the shower room, which you will see again in below pictures. There’s also a low shelf near the window of the bedroom to put your extra things.

And the shower room was great – it has Jacuzzi! Our toddler definitely had loads of fun bathing in there. He didn’t want to come out!

And beside the Jacuzzi is the cupboard, which was connected to the bedroom. The bathrobes are in there, so it’s really handy!

Watch the above video, recorded live on Facebook, to have a better view and feel of the Junior Suite!

3. Breakfast with a view

Who wouldn’t want to have this? Having your breakfast with a great view of the swimming pool. Probably let your kids have their fun at the swimming pool while you’re enjoying your own sweet time with your favourite food. Of course, your parental eyes will always want to look at your kids whereabouts – so this is definitely the place where you want to be if you’re not a water person!

And we definitely love the view of the egg counter… So full of greeneries! Watch the above video uploaded on Instagram to have a look of the live cooking there. The video is pretty shaky, though. Our toddler was not cooperating!

There’s a Roti Jala counter just beside the egg counter. We were quite frustrated that the Roti Jala was finished on our first day of breakfast (which means it must’ve tasted really good), but definitely happy when it’s available on our second day of breakfast! Watch below video for the full look and feel.

4. Tasty lunch and desserts

As family travellers, we know firsthand how unpredictable kids, especially toddlers, can be. They can get tired after pool time, and doze off in your arms just when you’re about to leave for lunch. Like this particular guy!

So it’s pretty convenient to just have lunch at the hotel. And we did just that! It was a great decision – turns out the hotel serves great lunch and desserts! Check out our previous post on food review at Garden Terrace, Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani.

5. Don’t forget to have your dinner at Hotmas restaurant

We know, the picture of the restaurant wasn’t that amazing. But believe us, the food was great!

After having a frustrating dinner during our first night at a restaurant nearby the hotel, we decided to try Hotmas during our second night, thanks to the reviews that Yusof had read online. It’s just a 4-minute walk from the hotel to the restaurant!

It was a great experience. They serve big portions at an affordable price. And the best thing is, the service was quite fast for that amount of crowd. Kudos!

So what’s your view after reading the full stay review at Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Top 3 City Destinations That Will Make Your France Road Trip Perfect

France is definitely a great country to visit. Not only because of its beautiful landmarks and sceneries, the people are also very friendly and helpful. However, be ready with some very basic French vocabularies, such as “combien” and “un” to “dix”, as well as “tout droit”. These words will give you such a big help!

For a road trip with very limited time, Below are three top city destinations that you should include in your itinerary.

1. Lille

Perfect for old city lovers, Lille is a historic 17th century city. It offers historical landmarks, museums, heritage sites, shopping, art, great hotels, and restaurants.

You don’t want to miss this city, especially since it is so easy to get to via Eurostar from London (only 90 minutes from London). As for us from Den Haag via Ouibus, it takes a mere 3 hours 55 minutes ride. Both of these will arrive at Gare Lille Europe (signboard in the picture).

The building in the picture is Garre De Lille Flandres, the main Railway Station of Lille. It is a terminus for SNCF Intercity and regional trains. It is only 500m walking distance from Gare Lille Europe, and both stations are adjacent stops on one of the lines of Lille Metro.

2. Rouen

Rouen is a vibrant city with beautiful architecture. The buildings of Rouen shows elements of a Norman architecture, such as half-timbered houses and Gothic cathedrals. Below are some of the buildings worth visiting in Rouen.

The picture is of Le Gros-Horloge (the big clock). It is a beautiful astronomical clock set within a Ressainance arch that stretches over the street bearing the monument’s name.

Other beautiful places and buildings include Historial Jeanne D’Arc, Old Market Square, Grande Pharmacie Du Cntre and the churches.

3. Paris

Visit to France is incomplete without visiting this city of love! Paris has so much to offer it’s visitors. The main one, of course, is the Eiffel Tower. You can choose either to pay more by taking the lift to the first or second floor, or you can pay less and use the stairs! You can skip the long queue by booking online, but be sure to book on a much advanced date, as it is always sold out! Alternatively, you may book your visit with a tour group, which is the fastest way to go up (with a bit more to pay, of course)!

The city is best explored by riding the hop-on-hop-off buss. It will take you to the tourists attractions around Paris. You can then visit Arc De Triomphe and Champs-Elysees, the best shopping place in France!

If you are an art lover, or just want to see the Mona Lisa, head over to the Louvre Museum! The museum is very big, you may want to use the map provided to visit the highlights of the museum, if your time is very limited.

These are the three cities suggested for the city lovers who are having road trip to France. Happy planning and have a great trip!