7/06/2014

Mega Bangna Shopping Mall (Bangkok, Thailand)


Head photo courtesy of Bankok.com 

39 Moo 6 Bangna-Trad Rd. Km.8
Bangkaew, Bangplee,
Samutprakarn,
Bangkok 10540, 
Thailand 
Phone: 2-105-1000
Facebook (mostly in Thai)
Website

I spent one of my transit days in Bangkok at this shopping mall after a lady at reception in my hotel told me that, "if you like shopping, you have to go there".

The shopping mall is massive, and you will need a big amount of time to visit all the shops you are interested in advance, and those that will captivate your attention. Despite the size, the mall does not feel overwhelmingly big or unmanageable.The place is very spacious, trendy, luminous, with ample corridors, fancy toilets, shiny and squeaky clean. It has harmony and style, and mix of fashion, home and, electronics, electric and health shops, stunning jewellers and jewel stands, gym, cinema, Ikea and what is not. 

That day, I had a simple plan, that turned out better than expected:
1/ Finding a Thai place to eat. To my surprise there is a Food Walk, like a outdoors food hall around the building, with a considerable number of restaurants with different world cuisines. I did choose an authentic Thai restaurant, though, very cheap and yummy, and I was enchanted by the conversation of the lady owner, the yummy dishes that the chef cooked for me, and the pop arty cool decoration on the walls. 



2/ Visiting some of my medium priced favourite brands to check my fav  products, like Yves Rocher, Body Shop, Zara, New, Mango, and places of that sort. These and many more were all there.
3/ Checking out the shops in general. I was gladly surprised at finding a mix of medium brands and very posh ones, designer shops included, elegantly blended together without a sense of mismatch.
3/ Looking for a beauty salon and a massage salon. I was gladly surprised at finding an humongous number (I mean, many...) of beauty salons, some of them very exclusive, offering treatments that were affordable for foreigners but very posh, as they use the latest technologies and the poshest of the poshest of products. The parlours of some of them were fabulous. There were also several hair and nail salons, and several Thai massage places. I had a great experience at the place I visited for manicure-pedicure, and at the massage place where I had my foot massage done.

Everyone I found in the shopping mall and I asked for help (directions, prices, or whatever) was mega-lovely! Really, they treated me  like a queen (despite me wearing unflattering backpacker clothing), with the kindness and class that Thai people are known for.

There is a taxi stop (metered taxis, thank Gosh!) at one of the exits of the building, which comes handy to return to your hotel or to the airport. Most of them do not speak English or just several words, so have your hotel card at hand - in Thai!

The Free Shuttle Bus from the BTS Sky train Udomsuk station stops at one of the sides of the mall, and you can get from/to the airport from here, easily at a fraction of the price you will pay if you take a taxi. The shuttle passes by many hotels in the area, so check at your hotel if you can benefit from it.

The day flew by fast and I had to leave in a hurry because I was late for my airport transfer. My only regret at leaving the shopping mall was not having gone there earlier in the day, and not having an extra day to continue my bangnaning! I take note. Next time I visit Bangkok, I will expend a bit of time at this shopping mall, this is a promise I make to myself, as I have visited the city and Thailand several times and I'm done with sightseeing. 

Most recommended, especially if you are lady.

Table Mountain Aerial Cableway (Cape Town, South Africa)


Tafelberg Road
 Lower Cable Station, 
Cape Town Central 8001, South Africa
Phone: +27 021-424-8181
Website

 There are cable cars and then there is "the" Table Mountain cable car - one of the most spectacular cable cars I have ever seen. Just the engineering of the cable car is amazing due to the roughness and remoteness of the area. The cars are perched in the sky, and seeing the cable car from afar is an spectacle of its own.

 The return ticket is about 20 Au/USA Dollars (if purchased at the window), but well worth it the price. Why?
>> Because you get to Table Mountain, one of the natural wonders of the world (tick)
>> The cable car revolves around itself, so all passengers have a view of the spectacular surroundings (tick).
>> One of the window panels has no glass, so passengers can take a picture or enjoy the scenery without barriers (tick).
>> The guys driving the car are very welcoming, lovely and informative (tick).
>> There are cars going up and down every five minutes (tick).
>> You can buy the tickets online so you don't have to cue (tick)

 If you go to Cape Town you MUST a) take the car. b) see the car from afar and take the very sought photo with the the two cards crossing in space. Just saying.

The main downside is that the cable car is subject to weather conditions, which are quite unpredictable in Cape Town, and change from day to day and from hour to hour at the top. There is an electronic board before entering the lower part of the ticketing area informing whether the cablecar is open or not. To avoid any disappointment, check their website on your smartphone before heading that way.

MIND
Prices are reduced for children, South African senior citizens, students and for SANPARKS pass holders.

WARNING
The cable car closes annually for maintenance works. This year 2014, it will be closed from the 28th July to the 10th August.

7/04/2014

Gautrain (Johannesburg, South Africa)



Phone: 0800 428 87 246
Website
Facebook
 
I have used the Gautrain train a lot during my stay in Johannesburg and I love it. 

The Gautrain (pronounced Hah-ooh-train) is a fantastic first-class train service that takes you to major destinations in Johannesburg.

The stations are well organised and signalled, with plenty of ticket machines and info booths, and electronic boards informing of time and platform of the departures. The trains run every 10-15 minutes and they are fast, reliable, uber-clean, pleasant to the eye, and comfortable. They have a very efficient information system on the train: voice information is given throughout the trip regarding stops, connections and destinations, while the electronic boards provide the same info in English, Afrikaans and Zulu (?) languages. There is lot of space to park your baggage while travelling, but they get filled up quickly and a landscape of suitcases is part of the Gautrain experience.  

At the moment, the Gautrain has two train lines. The first one goes from Park to Hartfied (Park, Rosebank, Sandton -change line here if you go to the airport- Malrboro, Midrand, Centurion, Pretoria, and Hartfied) and the second one from Sandton to the Airport (Sandton, Malrboro, Rhodesfield, and O. R. Tambo International Airport). 


If you are the distracted type of person or your brain is off during the trip, no worries,  you don't have to remember anything about these lines. Once you get your train gold card (the one you use to top up and use as a ticket pass), turn it over, look at the back, and voila, the route of both lines is shown there. How mindful is that?!!!

Prices are OK for foreigners, but a bit high for most working class locals; however, discounts are available by purchasing weekly and monthly passes. The ticket to the airport is around 135-155 Rands, depending on which station you jump on the train; nothing compared to the rip-off prices that taxis charge foreigners from/to the airport.

I hope the train adds some more stations or lines in the future.

More ticket windows, or at least two vendors per window, are needed at certain stations and times when cues are normal and you can easily spend more than 10 minutes waiting. No kidding. 

MIND
The Gautrain station and the sightseeing Red Bus are directly connected and easy to combine.  

Park Inn Sandton Hotel (Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa)


Park Inn Sandton Hotel
118 Katherine street
2196 – Johannesburg
South Africa
Phone: + 27 (11) 303 1000

Park Inn is one of those 3-star hotels whose number of stars should be upgraded because of their location, service and value. 

Although the hotel is used by many business people and flight companies to host their staff, this is also a good place to stay for tourist purposes and if you want to be in a safe central area in Johannesburg as many tour companies pick up and drop off from this hotel.

The hotel is very modern, functional and sleek, with a great contemporary mix of furniture, decoration and lighting. Urban and cool are the two adjectives that define it better. The waiting area in the lobby and the smokers outdoors area are trendy, stylish, colourful, welcoming and very comfortable. 

The rooms are spotless clean and shiny, very spacious, with plenty of room for your luggage, a desk, and a spacious bathroom. The room is covered by a cool reproduction of the an old B&W photo, and the  blinders have the same photo printed on them, so the room looks great.  If you open the blinders you will have plenty of natural light during the day, but the room is well illuminated and has a good set of artificial lights. The toilet has separate shower, toilet and basin with two huge mirrors, but the set of toiletries was disappointly poor and average quality. The TV in the room has messaging and wake up in-built services, and a nice selection of channels, several devoted to sports and movies.  The room has a set of complimentary coffee and tea making facilities.

The hotel is very safe and secure. They have an intelligent lifts system, which works with your key card. You introduce it in the slot, press your floor number and the indicator shows which one of the three lifts is lifting you up. This allows just customers and staff to get access to the rooms, and also makes difficult for possible intruders to get to any floor by the lift.  During the early hours of the morning and late of the afternoon the lifts are heated, which feels like heaven in the freezing Jozi winter.

There are conference and meetings rooms, in an area in front of the main entrance, an outdoor pool that I avoided due to the weather being so cold.  There is a shoe cleaning position by the reception with and old groovy shoe polishing chair. I thought it was old-fashioned and unnecessary until I noticed that most business men were wearing leather shoes, and this service was a brilliant idea!
 
The hotel has a complimentary shuttle to the Sandton City Shopping Mall, which is attached to Nelson Mandela Square, leaving on the hour every hour. The same shuttle will take you and pick you up any time, on request, to the nearest Gautrain Train Station (Sandton Station) to take the train to the International Airport or Pretoria, among other destinations. You can walk if you want, as the shopping mall and the train station are at about 15 minutes walking distance.

The hotel has  free Wi-Fi, but it is temperamental and you are limited to a certain number of MB per day, so you can't do much beyond emailing and browsing. If you are on a business visit or just want to upload tons of photos and files, you will need to pay for a better connection.


RGB Bar and Grill (Breakfast 6:30-10:30, lunch & dinner 12:00-22:30) is the restaurant catering for the hotel guests. Breakfast was included in my booking. The buffet breakfast was just fabulous, one of the best ones I have ever had.  I was wowed by the large and varied selection of sweet and savoury, hot and cold options they have. You can have your eggs done, on the spot, the way you like, and add the ingredients you want from the many available in your omelette. Among the hot dishes, there were noodles, congee, spicy minced meat, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms and potatoes, chicken, pork and beef sausages, crispy bacon and so on. They have a huge selection of gourmet breads to choose from, wonderful pastries, and natural juices. American coffee is served by default on each table, but if you want a "proper" coffee, you can tell any of the waiters and request your espresso or cappuccino. People with early departures can also order a breakfast pack (only cold food inside) the previous evening, and you will get it from reception next morning. The lunch and diner menus are set and include a mix of international favourite dishes, but the options available are limited, the dishes average in taste, and not worth the price. The restaurants at the Atholl Square are a better option and the price is similar.  
The bar opens from 10:00 to 2:00 daily.
All the staff were shy at the beginning, but as soon as you talk twice with them they warm up and let their smile shine. All the staff were lovely, but the guys at the reception desk were all fabulous and helped me with anything I needed, from tours booking, breaky packs, transfers and what's not.  

I MISSED
In my room, I missed a good set of toiletries (not even cotton buds were provided), a bathrobe and disposable sleepers, and a mini-fridge! No mineral drinking water was provided either as, according to a sign, the water from the tap is drinkable. 


MIND
-- If you forget your key card in the room, you won't be able to use the lift, so find your way through the stairs.
-- The set menu in the restaurant is the same menu you have for the room service, which goes from 6.30am-11pm, and there is a surcharge of 30 Rands per tray.
--  You have Atholl Square around the corner, literally, and there you find a fine selection of restaurants, two supermarkets, a beauty salon and hairdresser, and some fashions shops. There is also an ATM (operational from 8am). Some of the restaurants and cafes are terrific. 
-- I got my room, breakfast included, from Expedia at terrific prices, better prices than the ones you get by booking directly via an Agent or via the hotel's website. 

IF THIS WERE MY HOTEL I WOULD...
  • I would improve the selection and quality of toiletries and add an extra tissue box in the room, so one does not have to move the one in the bathroom up and down. I would also provide customers with disposable sleepers and a bathrobe. 
  • I would improve the ventilation system and the air-conditioning. The latter wasn't good at heating the room, which was quite cold in the mornings and evenings, while the ventilation system in the bathroom brought a strong smoke odour from other floors (mine was non smoker), while the sewage in the shower had a strong stink the day I arrived, just in that cubicle.
  • I would bring in a tour desk into the hotel. At the moment, the hotel provides info and help you booking, but you cannot pay directly, and the staff at reception are super-busy most days. 
  • I would improve the dining options. The breakfast is awesome, why not providing similar awesome lunch and/or dinner buffets? Also, a more sophisticated cuisine would attract customers instead of bringing them to the restaurants in Athol Square.  
  • I would enlarge the number and variety of TV channels, with additions in other languages.

    Overall, this is a great hotel. I was pleasantly surprised by everything and I would certainly use it again if I ever return to Jozi. 

Tasha's Cafe (Johannesburg, South Africa)

Tasha's Cafe 
Shop 16, Atholl Square Shopping Centre
Cnr Katherine and Wierda Road East
Sandton, Johannesburg
South Africa
Phone: 011 884 03 65
Website
Menu
Hours:
   Mon-Sat 6.30-18
   Sun 7.30-16:

 What a great cafe!

The girls at the beauty salon next door recommended it to me while having a pedicure, and I am glad that I visited. The owner happened to be seating next to me that day, too!


Located in Atholl Square, this small European-like cafe and restaurant is simply wonderful. 

The selection of food and sweets is fabulous. I have one of their Spanish Quesadillas and it was fresh, tasty and filling. Truly delicious. The Pear and elderflower granita was simply fabulous, prepared on the spot, with the right amount of sugar, the right thickness and a wonderful refreshing distinctive flavour. I finished my meal with a coffee, which was just average, and a lovely Red Velvet Cupcake that was yummy and fluffy. 

The ambiance is warm, classy, trendy and welcoming, with plenty of wonderful decoration elements on the counter, walls and even the ceiling. I just loved it. Even the uniform of the staff is classy and elegant!   

The place has plenty of staff, and you won't feel that you have been forgotten or nobody is paying attention to you. Quite the contrary, everybody will be around you, perhaps too much around you, and you will have a personal waiter attending to your needs. In my case, a tall lovely guy called Anthony. Mind you, if your personal waiter is busy, any other will run to your feet to make your food wish come true. Seriously! There are plenty of newspapers for customers to browse. I always love this.

Tasha's welcomes people from all ages, locals and foreigners, which says a lot about any cafe or restaurant, and there is a constant flow of customers.

The place can be pricey for locals, I think, but it is OK for most foreigners and if you happen to live or stay in any of the hotels in Katherine St, you must visit!

7/03/2014

Fiji Beach Resort & Spa Managed by Hilton (Denarau Island, Viti Levu, Fiji)


Denarau Island,  Nadi,  Viti Levu, Fiji
TEL: 679-675-6800
FAX: 679-675-6801
Website

 I spent a week in this hotel last Australian summer, during the Christmas period, and I had an unforgettable time.

 Denarau Island is just Paradise, all green and posh with lovely beaches, palm trees and the care and attention of the always welcoming Fijean people.

 The location was fantastic, the apartments were huge and very classy. The room had a big bedroom with a large firm comfy bed, flat TV and plenty of storage room, alarm clock and nice views of the ocean. There bathroom was also huge (shower+bathtub) with a good selection of good quality toiletries. The living room was also huge, with sofa, TV, an eating area and some cupboards. My apartment supposed to have a kitchenette, but it only have some plates, cutlery, a kettle, and a mini-fridge, so it was impossible to cook some of my meals on my own as I intended initially.

The infinity pool was one of my favourite spots. They provide you with free towels, you can order drinks from the side bar, and choose the pool that suits you best: families, children or adults only. They are not deep, so even bad swimmers can enjoy a swim without being afraid of drowning, especially not having a life saver program in place. The spot is wonderful as it is by the beach and the chairs and big umbrellas are stupendous. Heaven!

 The hotel shares a private beach with the Sheraton and other hotels and it is wonderful having the option of walking around or having a swim if you want so. Mind the sharks. You can also do water sports, paragliding among other things, in this beach.

 The inner part of the hotel, is covered by gardens, tastefully laid out, and decorated with traditional Fijian elements of pottery and wood. Really beautiful! 

There are three restaurants at the hotel, all very expensive, but the food is good, the settings excellent, and the staff very charming and attentive, although a bit distracted at times. If these options were not enough, the restaurants organise nights devoted to Fijian cuisine, Spanish cuisine, etc. also at very expensive prices. For example, a Spanish cuisine night was 130 US$ and the wines were not included!  If you have a kitchenette, you can buy your groceries at the supermarket at Denarau Port and cook yourself.



The staff were uber-friendly and helpful: cleaners, porters, waiters and waitresses, gardeners, towels booth people -  almost everybody. They would always say Bullah to you with a big smile, and treat you like a king/queen, so customers can enjoy the Fijian hospitality and have Fiji Time the way it should be enjoyed.

 There is a Tour Desk at the Lobby and the people working there are fantastic, caring and very helpful. My especial thanks to Sereana, who made possible the impossible for me and did always everything with a big smile and a chillout Fiji Time. Most tour operators pick up /drop off from hotel, but most of them require a minimum number of people to operate.

Golf cars to take you and your luggage around, to move people around if the weather is bad,  or just have mobility problems, or just if you are feeling a bit lazy to walk to your apartment.

 These a family friendly place, and there are tons of activities planned for the kids and the whole family, and the staff really enjoys dealing with kids as Fijeans are also family minded. Having said this, there are set activities organised every day at set times that are targeted to everybody in the hotel, not just families. 

There is a small gym at the hotel, for those who mind their fitness during their holidays, but don't expect too much..


SO SO
-- My room was door to door with another apartment. I could see through the space between the two panels of the door. Even worse, the place is surely used as a family apartment when needed, so there is not noise insulation, and I could hear, word by word my neighbour's high-in-swearing phone calls to his partner after a break-up. 
-- I booked for a room-apartment with kitchenette facilities (so it was NOT an studio), but I was placed in one that has none. I had to request cutlery and croquery. I realised that there was a mixed up with my room type when I had unpacked everything, so I did not want to make any fuss and pack and unpack again, but the type of room was clearly shown in the voucher I provided with my online booking details.
-- No free Wi-Fi in the hotel!! Hello Hello Mr Hilton, are you in the 21st century YET? Paid Wi-Fi is so very last century.
-- Denarau Island is a wonderful place, but it is isolated from Nady and real Fiji. Perhaps you are not interested in real Fiji or Fijians, so this might not be a problem for you.
--  Everything is ridiculously expensive. The restaurants, the mini-shop and the coffee shop. Prices we pay in Australia or more. One wonders whether the locals benefit from this prices and the profits that the hotel makes.
-- There is nothing more annoying that having people drinking for hours in groups inside the pool when they could easily do so on the side chairs or at the bar. If you want to swim you have to deal with these people. I have no problem with people having a good time during their holidays but not at my cost. I love swimming, so I think it is not too much to ask to being able to enjoy the wonderful pools that this hotel has for swimming or bathing. But the hotel cashes in with the sale of alcohol, so the drunkards win.
-- Unlike most of the staff and the two big restaurants, some of the staff at the Spices small cafe were rude, unwelcoming and/or treated customers as they were making us a favour. This is not a charity shelter. We pay a lot of money to be there, and we have to work hard to get the money, so please remember this. :)))  

 

MIND
== The cyclone season around Christmas Time can be nasty. Check your period of holidays when visiting Fiji. I went during this season and I had gorgeous weather except for the first day.
== There are tons of mosquitoes in the evening and night if you seat outdoors, they will certainly like you. Use repellent.
== Port Denarau Shopping Mall is a 20 minute walk from the hotel, and you can find a bit of everything, restaurants, supermarkets, bottle shops, chemist, souvenir shops and pubs. The place and the prices are for foreigners so you will pay a lot for everything, but way less than you will pay in your hotel of selection. If you stay for a week or more in the hotel you will certainly want to buy some snacks and food items to have in your room. There is a beauty salon, nails place and hairdresser, too!
== The city of Nady (pronounced Nandy) is 30 minutes away by car.

IF THIS WAS MY HOTEL I WOULD...
-- I would make sure that you provide the room you say you would.
-- I would provide a free shuttle to Port Denarau or give customers vouchers to take the Bullah Bus.
-- I would provide free Internet not just at the Spices Cafe, everywhere. If Wi-Fi is a problem, high speed LAN would make wonders for guests!
-- Create an Fiji traditional restaurant. This is Fiji, no?
-- I would reduce the pricing of most things at the little shop, as they are ridiculously expensive.  No tourist likes feeling squeezed as a lemon just because he/she is on holidays.
-- I would request a drinking etiquette and ban drinkers from the pools like right now. Can we keep some etiquette at a posh hotel or is this too much to ask?

 TIPS
# If you don't want to take the Bullah Bus to Port Denarau, you can easily walk to the mall. It takes about 20 minutes. Still, the weather is humid and hot, so carry an umbrella and drinking water. Another option is taking one of the minivan buses that the locals take, which costs a fraction of the price and take you there the same. Ask at reception for details. The buses stop at few metres from the lobby.
# Learn to say hello and thank you in Fijian language to the staff as they really appreciate this. After all this is their country.
 # If you want to enjoy a spa without paying the prices you have at the hotel spa, go to the Pure Fiji spa at Port Denarau. There is also a hairdresser and nails salon next door at a fraction of the price.
# There are a couple of supermarkets and bottle shops in Port  Denarau, so you can buy your groceries from there if you want to cook some of your meals.  
#  If you don't want to use strong DDT repellents, buy Reniu lemon grass spray repellent from the hotel mini shop. They are environmentally friendly and keep the mosquitoes at bay without infusing with chemicals the people around you while you spray it... 

7/02/2014

Lola & Punto (Granada, Spain)


Calle Montereros, 10
 18001 Granada
 Spain
 Phone: +34 677 470 582
 Facebook

 Knitting an crochet are very much back and in vogue nowadays, and Lola & Punto has done a terrific job at making of a tiny space a paradise for knitting lovers and hand made nuts.

 The shop is very small, but it has very catchy windows and a lovely fully packed interior. It is a welcoming colourful place. I love their walled asymmetrical shelves packed with colourful wool and cotton hanks.

 Their selection of crocheted dolls is just lovable. I bought the bunny in my photo for my niece, and a crocheted hat. They are not only pretty and catchy, but also made with very good cotton, so they can be washed safely in the washing machine. If you want the same item in another size, the owner will make it for you quite fast and give you a ring to let you know that it is ready. She did that with the hat I bought for my niece and had it ready in 3-4 days.

I loved their bead necklaces, made with Indian wooden hand-painted beads. The ones already made are fabulous but they might be too expensive for your budget, as they were about 30-40 Euro, which is about Au 50$. However, they have a good amount of individual beads for sale, so you can get and mix the ones you like, buy leather thread (so many colours to choose from!), as well as other little things to make your own unique piece of jewellery for little money.

The owner holds regular workshops, inside the shop, to teach you knitting and crocheting some of the wonderful things she has on display.

 Customer service was great. You can browse around unmolested or just ask the owner for help and assistance.

Handmade items are pricey (for Spanish standards) but affordable for foreigners, and you know that your are buying handmade good quality stuff, not a mass produced item.

UPDATE 2016
Most of the jewellery making stuff they had for sale in the past is gone, and the service is not as friendly.