10/19/2019

Wapa di Ume Resort & Spa (Ubud, Bali, Indonesia)



Head photo courtesy of the resort website.

Banjar Bentuyung, Gianyar, Jl. Suweta, Ubud, Kecamatan Ubud, Kabupaten Gianyar, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Hotel Website
reservation@wapadiumesidemen.com
+62 361 973178

THE GOOD
> Gorgeous staff. They make the impossible to make you feel welcomed, to help you with any query or wish. Genuine hard-working and friendly people at the reception, as well as the butlers, gardeners, waiters, and cleaners. 
> Large spacious room and bathroom. Comfortable firm mattress and humongous bed! Great set of toiletries with a wonderful scent, suitable for both women and men. 
> Luscious green gorgeous rice terrace surroundings, gardens, fountains, sculptures and decorations throughout the estate. Serene bucolic atmosphere. The main noise you get in the area is that of the frogs, geckos, birds, and crickets and, when it rains, from the rain. You can see the little animals walking around, and it is like being in the countryside with all the comforts of the city. One can unwind and relax. 
> Excellent fast reliable wi-fi. 
> Good satisfying breakfast included in room price. Many options, Western, Indonesian and a la Carte. Delivered to your room if requested. The restaurant is gorgeous, especially on non-rainy days with views to the fields, so it's worth going there. 
> Two bottles of water provided in the room and another two in the bathroom. If you need more, call reception ad they will supply more at no cost. 
> Shuttle to/from Ubud every hour on the clock. 
> Umbrellas provided for each room, as well as sleepers and robes. 
> Gorgeous communal pools, on the small side, but in wonderful settings, which make them special. 
> Free activities, like a tour of the surrounding rice terrace, yoga sessions, and coconut palm leaf craft workshop. 
> In-situ spa. 

THE NOT SO GOOD
> The photos shown for my room on Booking.com correspond to another room, not mine. I was expecting a balcony, as photographed, but there was none. 
> Wardrobe too small for two people! 
> Curtains difficult to open and close; the one on the front door was especially annoying as the entrance to each room is lighted at night and I had difficulty sleeping as the curtains could not be totally closed. The rails and/or rings should be changed to allow a more natural use of the curtains. 
> Very noisy mini-bar, especially noticeable at night. 
> Bulky impractical "make my room" sign. 
> No TV or music. Not a problem for me, but it might be a problem for other travelers. 
> Security box a bit too high for a small lady! OK for most men. 
> Prices in menu in restaurant, bars, and spa do not include govt taxes! Why note showing the full price tax included? Spa is lovely but overpriced, and so are the prices of non alcoholic drinks. 
> Some the information regarding pricing of taxis, drivers, tours etc. outside those offered by the hotel, were misleading and always on the upper side, as they told me to pay more than I should according to locals. 

Holiday Inn Express Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Head photo courtesy of Expedia.

84, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, 50200 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hotel Website
+60 3-2028 8888

This is a very good simple hotel in the heart of KL that offers everything you need in a short stay or stopover for a very affordable price, and has easy access to KL main sights, shopping malls and eateries. 

Herewith a wrap-up of my experience.
 
THE GOOD
> Great location, at about 12 minutes walking distance from the heart of KL, where you can find the posh Pavilion Shopping Centre, the affordable Fahrenheight 88 Shopping Centre, the Lot10 underground Malaysian and Japanese eateries, the monorail, and much more.
> Safe and secure hotel and rooms. Overall, I found the corridors and common areas quiet.
> Spotless common areas and rooms.
> Spacious room for a budget hotel!
> Good comfy mattress and pillows.
> Plenty of power points and light points in the room.
> Safety box, 2 bottles of water and coffee/tea facilities in the room, plus an empty mini-fridge, which I always find super handy to bring in goodies you want to buy and consume indoors.
> Fast reliable internet during your stay. If you are going to be around after your checkout, they kindly offer you a complimentary guest connection for you to use while in the lobby.
> Acceptable varied buffet breakfast included in the price.
> Staff are welcoming and willing to help.
> Tour desk has good prices
> There is a Family Mart, a decently sized grocery store with some simple eateries inside, plus two other posher cafes at barely 100 metres from the hotel.
> The three lines of free city loop buses can caught in the bus stop across the road.   
> Plenty of metered taxis around.

SO-SO
The Lobby is comfortable enough, but they could make an effort and revamp it a bit.

DOWNSIDES
>The escalators that go from the ground level to the lobby didn't work any of the days I stayed there. 
> The many lifts in the building can take quite a while to stop at your floor.
> Tiny wardrobe for a person, not to say for two.
> Staff need further training to reply questions about airport transfers to/from hotel.
> Tour desk only works with 2 people or more, forget it if you are traveling on your own. There are barely people visiting the desk and it is because they seem not to be interested in doing business, if you know what I mean. 
> No massage center or beauty salon in the premises. 
> If you happen to come down for breakfast at, say, 10am, you will find that they don't refill the trays, so you might find very little to eat. Some of the bakery goods are in a bakery cabinet to be kept warm, but the cabinet wasn't turned on and they were cold.


MIND
> Toiletries aren't available. You will find dispensers of soap/shampoo in the bathroom, and have to request other things at reception. Hair conditioner is not provided either at the room or at reception. It would cost nothing providing a dispenser of conditioner and another of body milk.  
 > Tourists are charged 10 Ringitt per day, so those fees have to be added to your booking fees later on, if you are booking online.
 > Lobby is on the first floor, not on the ground floor, which would be handier.
> There is a transfer desk outside the hotel, apparently not linked to the hotel. They offer private transfers at the usual rates, which are way higher than the taxis or Grab cars around.
> It takes around 1 hour to get to/from the airport.  A metered taxi, Grab or arranged taxi driver will cost you 65-85 Ringitt.

8/08/2019

Publique Bakery, Preston Market, Preston Vic

I have been there three times and ordered different pastries. All are fantastic. My fav are the chocolate twisters, totally fab, but everything I've bought from there have been great. Danish are wonderful! The place is a small dispatch, but the guys behind the counter are really nice . Pastries have a great price for their quality. Good coffee The place is inside the Preston Market and, although there is a pubic seating area in front of it, it would be great having something more secluded and a bit more charming. For the rest, this is my go-to pastry place in Preston. 
 

6/16/2019

JBL Endurance Run Sweatproof Sports in-Ear Headphones

I've had a pair of these for a couple of months and I'm most happy with the purchase and the quality of the product.

I work out very often, so I find that the normal earbuds are too big for my ears, so I cannot use them while exercising; others are too small, so they slip out; and others, are bad quality so they break down after a couple of weeks. I bought this pair because I find JBL a reliable brand with good quality sound products, and a bass that I love.

These earbuds are ergonomically designed, so they fit in perfectly in my ears, as they have a sort of hooked curve that sits perfectly inside the earlobe and they don't slip out. I also love that they seem not to get wet when I'm sweaty working out at the gym.

One of the things I love the most about these headphones is that the the buds themselves are magnetic, so they tend to stick to each other automatically. This is one of the main reasons why, unlike normal earphones, they don't get easily entangled.

The speaker pod is very good. I've used it to do voice recordings over the phone (for instant messaging) and for some simple podcasting. Of course, the pod is not a a recording microphone, but it channels the voice in a very neat and powerful way, and the sound quality is really good.

The main letdown is the awesome packaging. These headphones are wonderfully packaged with a deluxe-feel packaging box. Yet, is it necessary to waste so much material to pack a simple pair of earphones? To me the answer is no.

I wish they did the same with bluetooth capability, because I'd buy them without hesitation.

1/27/2019

Phat Stacks Burgers, Camberwell, Melbourne

Phat, pink and juicy meat pat. Gold, coloured or normal buns. Big size, well assembled. Fully satisfying, Fully yummy.

The chips are absolutely top-notch. I would visit just to have a basket of those. Golden, crunchy outside and soft inside, and so yummy overall.

The staff are delightful!, Genuinely umber-friendly, and they treat each and every customer as a visiting king/queen.

Pity that my belly is not bigger, because some of the stacked burgers and humongous shakes are just one of those things that you cannot let pass.

Betty's Burgers & Concrete Co., CBD, Melbourne

GOOD THINGS
The staff are all very welcoming, genuinely friendly and very accommodating.Great premises.Fast service

NOT SO GOOD 
Average burgers. Very Maccas but twice the price. Sorry, I'm fussy about my burgers. If you serve anything that reminds me of Maccas, which I visit now and then and I have nothing against, but you charge me twice the price, that's never going to be a hit with me. Any other chain of burgers has, at least to my taste, better menu and better burgers. Not that what I ate at Betty's was bad, it was just OK.

The Bakers Wife, Camberwell, Melbourne

Out of the beaten track, this vibrant full-of-character cafe in Camberwell matched my expectation.
The place is really charming, modern and accommodating.

The staff are a bunch of good-looking genuinely friendly hard-working chaps, and they made my experience something really enjoyable.

The menu had a mix of classics and innovative dishes, and they have specials of the week. Plus a large selection of baked sweets.
 
I had one of the specials, the octopus dish, which had a very tender flavorsome octopus, not chewy at all, on a bed of lentils, fennel and citrus mayo. The dish was generous in size and fully satisfying regarding flavour. However, I missed a bit of more texture in the dish, and a bit of more citrus anything, as the wedge of lemon and mayo were not enough, at least to me.

As a dessert I had one of their wonderful apricot tartlets. It was uber-fresh, fluffy, moist and full of flavor. However, I was disappointed that, despite apricots being in season, the tartlet had a compote of apricot not full pieces of the fruit. I think that would have got the tartlet to the next level. 

My iced latte was very good and a great size!

I loved the cafe, the staff and their food options. A bit of more finesse and they would get a five star from me.