Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria 2

Hello everyone!  I'm back.  When I started blogging, I had many ideas as to what I would like to put in this blog.  I still have the ideas, however, the time for blogging seems to elude me.  So, please bear with me if I stop blogging for 2-4 weeks.  I'm still here (probably stalking/reading your blogs), but cannot write my own blog post.  Anways, let me share with you another point of view regarding the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria (read my previous blog post here).  A week ago, I was invited to stay in the Crowne Plaza by a business associate as part of a conference.  Upon checking-in, I was asked by the front desk personnel if I will be sharing a room with Mr. C____.  Whoa! What?!  Well, not really...I don't sleep with strangers...Teehee.  I said no and she gave me my card key for my room.  As I opened the door to my room...lo and behold...I was booked in a SUITE ROOM!  Yehey!  That was really unexpected!  Here are pictures of my room...

Bedroom

Inside the bedroom

Bedroom Closet

Seating area

Seating area

Spacious bathroom



Luxurious bathroom

The room is spacious and equipped with the usual hotel amenities.  There's no free wifi though.  However, you can use the free broadband internet connection.  All in all, I would say that this is a great suite to spend some time in.  Unfortunately, I get to use it for a few hours only (for sleeping then check-out before 12nn the next day).

That's it for now.  Talk to you later!  Thanks for dropping by.

The Peninsula

Welcome back!  Here is another hotel review for today.  I attended a conference last week and the sponsor booked us for a night at The Peninsula.  I have attended multiple weddings at The Peninsula, but this was my first time to stay in one of their rooms.  Here's my room...

Bed	Office area

TV and bar

View from my room window

Bathroom sink

Bath tub

I failed to get a good picture of the shower area and the water closet.  The room was roomy (sorry for the pun) and the bathroom size was just right.  I didn't expect much from the hotel since I know that The Peninsula has been standing on the same ground ever since I can remember.  My mom used to work in Jupiter street and we would always pass by the hotel when we get the chance to pick her up from work.  I vividly remember the nice water feature/fountain in the corner of Makati Ave. and Ayala Ave.  Surpisingly, the rooms were well appointed and did not look old.  It actually was semi-modern (if there's such a thing...the decor was a cross between traditional and modern).  The room did not feel old or look old.  I actually liked the room.

My stay also included free breakfast buffet.  The buffet was not bad but I've had better.  Nothing beats my favorite Heat (buffet breakfast of Shangri-la Edsa Hotel).  The array for the breakfast buffet was limited but you won't go hungry.

All in all, I had a good stay in The Peninsula Manila.  The best part about my stay was that I had the chance to buy a very nice pair of earrings from one of their jewelry stores.  I'll blog about it next time.

Thanks for dropping by!  Leaving you with my requisite hallway picture...

Grand Hyatt

Hi guys!  I attended a conference in Jakarta a few days ago and I was booked at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.  And my, oh my...it was really grand...



 

And my room was oh so nice!  I wish I had a room as grand as this in my own house...
 

The nice and comfy bed

 



The office and mini bar area

 

The walk-in closet



The bathroom

And look at this sink...

It was soooo nice....ooooh...



And that little white thing on the right upper most part of the phone is my life saver.

I took the wrong charger for my iphone when I was packing for this trip.  Good thing the room was equipped with this port.  My lifeline to the world can now be charged.  Yey!

Swimming Pool

I had a view of the huge swimming pool from my room.  I wasn't able to use it though.  :-(

And now, for this box over here...

It's the mini bar...so cool!

The top part had the refrigerator.

First drawer had some glasses and nuts.



Second drawer had some more food.



And here's the view from my room...Grand Hyatt Hotel is right in the middle of Jakarta's business district.  The hotel is actually connected to the Plaza Indonesia Mall and very near (2-minute walking) to 2 other malls. 

That was my Jakarta trip.  It was short but very informative (I attended 1.5 days of lectures) and I had fun shopping around the area (although, the shopping was short-lived due to time constraints).

That's it for now.  Have a great day!  Thank you very much for dropping by.

 

Sky 100 and Disneyland HK

Hi guys!  I'm alive!  I'm sorry I was gone so long.  It was a very very busy past few weeks for me.  Anyways, let me just blog about my experience in HK (recent trip last June 1-5).  Let's start with SKY 100...

Sky 100 is the observational deck of HK's tallest building, the International Commerce Center (ICC).  Situated in West Kowloon, the ICC was opened to the public last 2010 and is the 6th tallest building in the world.  The views from the observation deck was breathtaking.  HongKong looked better from this view.

That day, we also went to the happiest place on earth...Disneyland!  I was fortunate enough to be with fun, funny new-found friends during this visit.  Even if our stay was just for less than 6 hours and I was able to ride in 2 rides, see 3 shows and 1 parade, I had lots of fun!

My ticket

My snack...it was Mickey Mouse waffle...yummy!

Main street station

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Hello Mickey in flowers!

We didn't wait for the fireworks (we left early to try to get some more shopping done before we left for Manila the next day).  That was good decision since the management cancelled the fireworks display a few minutes before the schedule due to inclement weather (it started to rain when we were leaving the park).

I've always liked going to HongKong since it's very near (only 1 hour 30 minute plane ride), it has Disneyland and the shopping is really good (good deals and good brands).

Until next time.  Thank you very much for dropping by!

Agnes B and Black Burger

Hi guys!  Let me share with you 2 dining establishments that I ate in when I was on a recent trip to Hongkong.  I ate at Agnes B Le Pain Grille Cafe in World Trade Center, Causeway bay.  This was my first time to eat in this cafe although I've heard rave reviews from it from other bloggers.  This was what I ordered:

Delices - chocolate mousse, chocolate ganache, chocolate sponge cake, raspberry feuilletine

Vanille - walnut, vanilla custard, puff pastry



Iced latte

All the mini patisserie looked delicious.  They just don't look delicious, they were also really yummy!  Both the delices and vanille were extremely good.  They were not very sweet and very very tasty.  As for the iced coffee, it was a little bland but a little sugar made it better.

I really liked my dining experience at Agnes B.  Maybe I need to save money for their leather goods.  Hihihi...

Now let's go to the other establishment...the beloved McDo.  I specifically wanted to eat at Mc Donald's just to try their Black Burger.  And here it is...

I liked this one too!  There were 2 beef patties, lettuce, a small amount of mashed potatoes and dressing that tasted like mayonnase with ketchup.  All in all, the taste was really good.  It was yummy!

 

If ever you are in Hongkong, I highly recommend the Black Burger from Mc Donald's and patisserie from Agnes B.

 

That's it for today.  Thank you so much for dropping by!

River Safari

There's a new "safari" in Singapore.  Let me present to you the "River Safari".  I went to Singapore last week and visitd the newly opened River Safari.  This attraction is between the famous Night Safari and the Singapore Zoo.  The 12-ha attraction is the newest addition to Singapore's Wildlife Reserves.  It opened last April 3, 2013 and the river cruise attraction is yet to open (late June 2013).  In here you will find lots of aquatic and terrestrial creatures that are found in the different famous rivers of the world.  Each part of the River Safari features a different iconic river and its creatures.  These are: Mississippi, Congo, Mekong, Nile, Ganges, Murray and Yangtze.  Here are some photos I took using my trusty old iphone 4S.

 

 

Inside the River Safari there are lots of aquariums where all the aquatic creatures are housed.

 

 

In the middle of the attraction, this expansive space awaits you...

 

 

 

This area is where they will hold the river crusies which will start by late June 2013.

 

There are lots of other spaces that I wasn't able to take pictures of.  The attraction even boasts a Panda Forest.  But this is worth blogging...

 

"The world’s largest freshwater aquarium at the Amazon Flooded Forest showcases a surreal world of manatees, fishes and other creatures swimming amongst giant trees, created every year during the rainy season when the river rises 30 to 40 feet." - taken from their website

 

Sleeping manatees

Swimming manatees

 I love these manatees.  They are so graceful and can be very mesmerizing.

 

All in all, I loved my experience at the River Safari.  Next time you are in Singapore, drop by the Wildlife Reserves and visit the River Safari, Night Safari and the Singapore Zoo.

 

That's it for now.  Thanks for dropping by!