After arriving safely in Penang from Hat Yai in Thailand, despite getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere by the bus driver, I managed to purchase a Malaysian sim card in the nearest convenience store to book a Grab car to Siam Road in Penang. Initially, I booked a room at SO Hotel on Siam Road until a couple of days later I passed by Ink Hotel on the same road that made me extend my stay only to compare which hotel is the best in the area.
I know, now that I actually mentioned it… My decision was quite impulsive because I did it just to have something to talk about in a blog post. So this time, I want to compare the experience when I stayed at SO Hotel and Ink Hotel.
So, which hotel is the best around Siam Road in Penang?
Wait, do you even know that today is actually International Beer Day? If you don’t, then just know that there’s such a thing like International Beer Day and it’s celebrated around the world… This Friday!
As a beer enthusiast myself, beer is one of the alcoholic drinks that I can’t simply say no whenever I get offered. More especially when I travel overseas.
It’s the only drink with alcohol that makes me feel like I’m a responsible drinker. Anything stronger than beer, and I start rambling about my life problem. God knows why I am like this. LOL.
So today, I’m excited to present to you a piece of collaboration about beer. Together with more than 50 fellow bloggers slash travelers, we would like to share the local beer around the world with you that you can add on your bucket list.
Do you have your local favorite on the list? Go check this out!
Ever since I started planning out my Vietnam itinerary back home, I knew that I wanted to leave Vietnam for Cambodia by land through Kampot. And not the usual Ho Chi Minh City-Phnom Penh route that people often use for their Indochina travel.
However, as it turned out, I couldn’t find any transportation option from Chau Doc to Kampot online. Going to Ha Tien first was my only way in order to get the bus ticket to Kampot, since most of the transportation options from Chau Doc to Cambodia go directly to Phnom Penh.
After staying overnight in Ha Tien, I took Champa Mekong Express Bus from Ha Tien to Kampot and I’ll share the review of my journey with them here! 🙂
When I first planned my Bali trip, I really had no idea how Bali is in terms of location. Like, I’ve heard a lot of well-known areas around Bali like Kuta, Ubud, Seminyak, or Canggu. And if there’s anything that I keep in mind when I started planning out my trip, it was to avoid the Kuta area that is somewhat the least recommended these days.
Long story short, since I’ve spent around 2 weeks in Bali, I decided to stay at a few different hotels in various areas around the island.
I heard a lot of good stuff about Canggu from some travel groups I’m in on Facebook. However, a few months before my departure, one of my friends stayed around Canggu area and she wasn’t impressed. She told me that Seminyak seems like a better choice to stay around Bali.
According to some other friend, Seminyak is mostly suitable for young travelers who are keen on some nightlife as well. There are some pubs in the surrounding area, including the famous Mrs. Sippy Bali. Because of this, I then prioritized some hotel options around Seminyak, until I decided to book a room at The Alea Hotel Seminyak.
Let’s face it—planning your next big trip or vacation is a lot easier said than done. It gets even harder when the trip is last-minute or spur-of-the-moment, for lack of a better term. However, once you have that perfect holiday destination picked out, a mental itinerary of sorts begins to take shape in your mind. At that point, there is no going back.
You’ve been bitten by the travel bug and the only way to fix it is to make the trip in your mind become a reality. From there, it boils down to money. Do you have enough money saved up already? If not, how will you get it? Once you have the money, it becomes essential to allocate it appropriately to ensure you have enough to not only sustain yourself, but to actually enjoy your vacation. Ultimately, proper budgeting is the key to a successful vacation.
While budgeting may not seem like an exciting component of a fun-filled vacation, it is a whole lot better than running out of money half-way through your trip, or having to make less-than-desirable compromises.
Thankfully, there are ways to prepare yourself financially. Between disciplined saving and proper budgeting, you can go a step further, ensuring you always have money at your disposal—credit cards! As long as you are responsible with it’s usage, a credit card provides a financial safeguard. Plus, if you compare certain credit cards geared towards travelers, you will find that many of them offer cash-back and other rewards for travel-related purchases such as lodging, car rental, flights, and general day-to-day purchases. Do not let cash shortages spoil all the fun, and the sooner you start with your planning, the better it would be.
