Just An Ordinary Girl

Photo By: Elin Chow
Official Website: Ritz Garden Hotel
Address: No. 86 & 88, Jalan Yang Kalsom, 30250 Ipoh, Perak Darul Ridzuan

I went on a company trip to The Lost World of Tambun in Ipoh with my colleagues last week. For our trip to Ipoh this time, we decided to stay for a night at Ritz Garden Hotel after one of our colleague offered to book an apartment unit for us.

Ritz Garden Hotel, Ipoh Malaysia

Ritz Garden is a 3-star hotel offering rooms, suites and apartments in a variety of sizes to suit different accommodation requirements and budgets. Conveniently located in the heart of Ipoh city, the hotel is just a 10-minutes drive from most of Ipoh's famous eateries like Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken 老王芽菜鸡 and Funny Mountain Soya Bean 奇峰豆腐花.

Room Rates

Ritz Garden Hotel offers guests a choice of accommodation at affordable great rates. Guests are free to choose between a range of standard hotel rooms, suites or apartments. The types and rates of accommodation offered by Ritz Garden is as per below:

The rates stated above are inclusive of breakfast. Since there were 9 of us, we got ourselves a 5-rooms apartment for about RM 500 a night (corporate rate), which worked out RM 55 per person. It was definitely a good value of money. So, if you are intending to visit Ipoh with extended family or a large group of friends, I believe Ritz Garden Hotel will be a great accommodation choice for you.


Excitedly, we entered the apartment and were pleased to be greeted by a clean and spacious room. It was well-lit by yellowish standing lamps, which seems to give the entire room a very warm and relaxing feel. Within minutes of entering the apartment, I have fell so deeply in love with it. The entire room was so elegantly decorated and it felt just like home as soon as we stepped in.


Our apartment comes with a living room with a small dining area and kitchenette. It has a very nice high ceiling, giving the entire place a very spacious look.


The living room is very spacious, equipped with a 4-seater sofa set, a wooden coffee table and a flat screen TV. This was just the perfect place for family and friends to gather and enjoy some quality time together.

Everything was great in the apartment except WiFi, which unfortunately, was not working at all. So, what is the point of having ''free WiFI'' when you cannot even connect to the internet?

Furthermore, it was disappointing that Ritz Garden only provides 4 bottles of mineral water for each unit when it could accommodate up to 10 people. That was so stingy of them!


The apartment also comes with a spacious dining area for you to sit around and relax with a cup of tea.

This was where we spent our the rest of our night playing drinking games and getting ourselves drunk. Shhh~~~


Beside the dining area, you will find a small kitchenette, equipped with basic appliances such as microwave oven, fridge, induction cooker and electric kettle for cooking light meals. Heavy cooking is however, not encouraged since there was no stove provided in the apartment. I believe this is always the best way to keep the entire place free of oil and grease.






Since induction cooker is provided, a simple steamboat session is still possible. Just remember to bring along some basic dining utensils from your home

The bathroom was well-equipped, spacious and clean with a small shower cubicle. There was no bathtub, but we were fine without it. However, the toilet flush was not working in the en-suite bathroom and we could not flush properly after use.

Hand and bath towels and hairdryer are also provided in both of the bathrooms.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we had wonderful time staying at Ritz Garden Hotel. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a clean and spacious place in Ipoh city that can accommodate as much as 10 people. This is just the ideal place for large group of family or friends travelling together.

Price wise, it was still very affordable, especially when you are sharing an apartment with a large group of family and friends. Everything in the apartment was clean, well-maintained and nicely furnished. The only downside was the non-working WiFi and faulty toilet flush. Hopefully, the problems have been fixed by now.

Apart from that, guests can also enjoy many other amenities, including swimming pool, gym, steam and sauna, library, snooker and cinema. However, due to limited time, we did not get to use any of the hotel facilities at all.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter  for any latest updates on my blog. So stay tuned!

Photo By: Elin Chow

A trip of Taiwan is never complete without a visit to its night markets. Night markets are an unique part of Taiwanese culture and are the best places to visit to taste a number local delicacies.

Feng Jia (also known as Feng Chia) Night Market 逢甲夜市 is a must visit in Taichung 台中. Some says that your trip to Taichung is not completed if you have not visited Feng Jia Night Market. This is a bustling night market famous for its wide variety of innovative and cheap streets food.

Feng Jia Night Market 逢甲夜市



Located in Xitun District 西屯区 in Taichung District, Feng Jia Night Market is known to be one of the largest night market in Taiwan. Covering area up to 1 km around Feng Jia University 逢甲大学, the night market offers a wide array of Taiwanese snacks, drinks, food, fashion clothing, accessories and entertainment at a relatively affordable price.

Just like most night market in Taiwan, Feng Jia Night Market usually opens around 7 pm and continues until the wee hours of the morning. Even so, you will still find a handful of main stores opening at 2 pm in the afternoon.


Due to limited space in Taiwan, Motor scooters are the most popular mode of transportation on the island. At any given time of the day, it is not difficult to find hordes of scooters zipping up and down the streets, cutting through the crowded narrow alleyways, sidewalks or even night markets.

In Feng Jia Night Market, rows of scooters lined up outside of restaurants, shops and everywhere along the streets, Most of scooter riders in Taiwan tend to ignore traffic laws and safety as they drive their scooters through night markets flooded with pedestrians.

I remembered that there were a few occasions when I almost got run over by a scooter while I was exploring the night market. Thus, it is important for you to stay alert and watch out for the dozen of scooters that cut through the night market at all time.

Having to watch out for the dozen of scooters that cut through the night market is certainly annoying. If not for the scooters, perhaps I would enjoy visiting the night market even more. Personally, I feel that scooters should be banned from entering any night markets in Taiwan for safety reasons. But I believe this will not be happening any time soon.


The night market is always very crowded and noisy on weekend with vendors calling out their menus and fast-paced music playing over loud-speakers playing across the streets.

Although the night market was really crowded, we were glad that the streets are generally wide and spacious. Thus, we do not feel uncomfortable walking among the people.



There are also plenty of trash bins placed at regular intervals down the long stretch of road for visitors to throw their food trash away.


For hygiene purposes, food stall vendors are required to wear a mask and apron during food preparation. Even so, we noticed that there are still a significant number of them who have failed to comply with this hygiene requirement.


Most of the night market also have some small restaurants offering a number of simple courses that allow people to finish a full proper meal without having to eat their way through the night market.


Feeling hungry and tired, we stopped by a small restaurant to have a quick meal before we continue to snack our way through the night market. This is where I managed to try the Taiwanese minced pork rice 卤肉饭 for the first time. It was so delicious!

Unfortunately it is impossible for us to try everything. I would suggest visiting the night market with an empty stomach so that you will have more room to stuff your face with all the unique and awesome street foods.

To be frank, I am not particularly fond of night markets. But I must admit that night markets are indeed the best place to spend your evening shopping for bargains and enjoying local food at a budget price. Among the 4 night markets (Feng Jia Night Market 逢甲夜市, Kenting Shopping Street 垦丁大街, Luodong Night Market 羅东夜市 & Shilin Night Market 士林夜市) that I had visited in Taiwan, Feng Jia Night Market is undoubtedly my favorite due to its spacious streets and the variety of food and fashionable items it offers.

If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 11D10N round island tour itinerary for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 11 days in Taiwan. Be sure to follow me  Facebook or Twitter  for the latest updates on my 11 days adventures in Taiwan!

The twin room features a queen size bed, ensuite bathroom, individually controlled air-conditioner, a 37 inch flat-screen TV and a private balcony.

The balcony was tiny, so small it could barely fit a chair on it. Furthermore, there wasn't much of a view to enjoy, so the balcony was actually a little redundant. There was also a lingering drainage smell on the balcony.



Located beside the bed, you would find a small wooden desk with some free coffee and tea provided.


At a small corner of the room, you will also find a 2-seater purple couch, a mini fridge and a closet. The purple couch is just perfect for family to gather and sit down together after a tiring day of sightseeing and shopping. Unfortunately, the closet is not even usable as the couch has completely blocked its doors. So, there was no way for us to store our things in the closet without shifting the couch aside.


The bathroom was very small and there was simply too little space for us to hang our clothes and towel when we shower. Thus, I have to be really careful not to wet the clothes that I am about to change into after shower. But other than that, the bathroom was equipped with basic toiletries like towels, shower gel, shampoo and disposable toothbrush and toothpaste.

Although the balcony and bathroom was tiny, but fortunately, the room was a decent size. There was actually of plenty of space for us to place our luggage around without tripping over them. Overall, I must say that our experience at Feng Jia Inn was pleasant, but not awesome.

The Inn was clean, safe and affordable. I would recommend Feng Jia Inn to anyone who are looking for a clean and cheap accommodation for your visit to Taichung. However, please note that the Inn does not offer any breakfast options to its guests. But this should not be a big problem since convenience stores and local eateries are within walking distance from the Inn. There was no reception counter, so it is best for you to call and inform the owner at least 30 minutes before you arrive at the Inn.

But for me, I would probably skip this Inn and spend a little extra to stay in a comfortable hotel the next time when I visit Taichung again.

Everyone wants to look good all the time and we all like to be pretty. However, finding time to look good when balancing a hectic city lifestyle can be a little daunting — but it doesn't have to be.

First and foremost , looking good starts with good skin and good skin can be achieved with proper care. Thus, having an effective daily skin care routine can dramatically improve the look and feel of your skin.

Simply follow these simple tips and tricks below to look naturally beautiful.

Stage 1: Cleansing
A basic skin care regimen starts with a good cleanser. Washing your face with a cleanser twice a day is the basis for maintaining a fresh look, even when you are not wearing any makeup. Cleansing your skin regularly helps to remove makeup, pollutants, bacteria and any excess oils, dirt and debris from your skin. This will keep your pores clean, thus allowing skin care products to penetrate deeper and more efficiently into your skin.

Remember to be gentle when you are washing your face. If you scrub too hard, you might cause irritation to your skin. Avoid touching your face unnecessarily with your dirty hands as this will spread bateria and dirt from everything you had touched onto your face. This might cause breakouts and irritation to your skin.

Certainly, it is difficult not to touch your face at all. If you feel uncomfortable, always carry some wet tissues or blotting papers with you to wipe off any oils or dirt from your face.

Stage 2: Hydration
Moisturizing is an essential part of any skin care routine that helps to create healthy and good-looking skin. A well-moisturized skin always makes one look healthier and younger.

So, in order to keep your skin soft and well-hydrated, it is important for you to choose a good moisturizer that is suitable for your skin type. A good moisturizer can be easily absorbed by your skin and acts as a wall in preventing moisture from escaping, thus making your skin look and feel soft.

Some of the common factors that caused our skin to lose moisture are air-conditioner and prolonged exposure to the hot and humid weather. Do you work day in, day out in an air-conditioned office? Do you sleep in an air-conditioned room everyday? If you do, are you aware of how drying it is on your skin? Because of that, it is more important for you to moisturize your skin no matter what. You can do so by keeping a moisturizer in your desk drawer and apply it whenever your skin feels dry. Apart from that, you might also want to consider adding a facial serum to your daily skin care routine. A facial serum can not only help to add moisture, but at the same time, provide nutrients to the deeper layer of your skin.

However, eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water is still the best way in maintaining a healthy skin. Unhealthy and oily food may taste good, but they are terrible for your skin. Reducing intake of fast and junk food would help to prevent breakouts.

Stage 3 : Makeup
You might also want to apply some makeup to enhance your natural beauty further. Even women who are not born with natural good looks can look stunning with the application of the right makeup.

But what if you live in a city where your morning is hectic and you have only minutes to make yourself look your best? Here are some quick makeup tips on how to look your best even when you only have minutes to spare.

Face

A dull complexion is definitely not a good way to start your day. Brighten and perk up your dull complexion with the application of BB cream. After that, set it with some finishing powder for a matte and flawless finish.

Eyes

Every woman should know that eyes plays a vital role in sexual attraction. The appearance of the eyes is a dead giveaway when you are tired. Puffy eyes, dark circles and eye bags are telltale signs you haven't had enough sleep. If you wake up with terrible eye bags or dark circles, I would suggest you to focus your time on your eyes to ensure you look awake and rested. Apply concealer to the eyelids and under eye to conceal redness and dark circles, then set with a touch of translucent powder you. After that, apply some waterproof eyeliner to add some extra definition to your eyes. Forget about the eyeliner if you are in a rush. A mascara is a great alternative to add definition to your eyes.

Of course, the best way to get healthy eyes is to get sufficient amount of sleep every night to avoid puffiness. However, the busy and hectic city lifestyle often does not allow us to get sufficient amount of sleep. Thus, eye makeup is a good way to reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles around the eyes.

Lips

Apply a moisturizing lip tint, lipstick or lip gloss to add some color to your face. If your lips are dry and flaky, apply a lip balm instead.

Which product to buy?

With the tons of beauty products offered in the market today, deciding which ones to buy can be rather difficult. So, if you find yourself in such dilemma, I would suggest you to try more than one product to find what best suit your skin. After all, it is all about feeling light and comfortable after your applied the product on your skin.

Interested ladies who are looking for new beauty products to try can check out the wide range of beauty products from various brands offered by ZALORA online.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter  for any latest updates on my blog. So stay tuned!

Photo By: Elin Chow

It's been a week since I came back from a 11 days vacation to Taiwan with my husband and his family. This was undoubtedly, our longest overseas holiday to date and now, I am excited to share all of our wonderful adventures in Taiwan!

We decided on Taiwan as our first family overseas holiday destination at the end of March. I must say it was a very last minute decision since we only have about a month time to plan and settle everything for our trip.

It is definitely not easy to filter through all the 3000 + photographs which I have took in Taiwan and I wonder how much motivation I will need to edit every one of them before I actually upload and post them up on my blog. It will probably take me months to finish my entire Taiwan travelogue, so please be patient with me.

To be frank, I seriously do not have any idea how to write or start my Taiwan travelogue. There are simply too many experiences and photographs that I would like to share.  So, for easy reference, I figured out that putting up an itinerary first might be the best way to start my adventures in Taiwan.

Transportation

Eva Air

For our flight from Kuala Lumpur to Taiwan, we decided to fly with Eva Air, a Taiwanese international airline based in Taiwan.


This was the first time we flew with Eva Air and I figured out that it might be good for me to share some of my experiences I had with the Taiwan-based airline.

The service was great, but it was disappointing that flight attendants did not offer water to us often enough. Throughout the 4 hours flight, we were only offered water twice. The first was right after the flight took off and the second was when our meal was served. We could have asked, but I believe we should not be asking at all. It will be good if Eva Air could make some improvement to this.

The food was awful. We get to choose between two choices - chicken spaghetti or beef rice. Between the two, I chose the chicken spaghetti which comes with a bread bun, mango cake, fruits and salad.  I did not even finish half of it and I noticed that I was not the only one who did not finish the meal. As for the in-flight entertainment. the options was good, but we feel that there could be better selections.

Overall, the flying experience was pleasant, but unfortunately, I was not feeling very impressed. If I am given a choice to choose between carriers, I would probably skip Eva Air and fly with another airline the next time instead.

Private customized tour package

As this was our first time visiting Taiwan, we have no idea how we should go about planning our trip. After some discussion, we decided to engage the service of a private tour guide to help us plan an itinerary, book all of our accommodations and drove us around the island.

You may ask why did we decided to engage a private and customized tour service rather than going free-and-easy? Well, it is largely due to the flexibility, privacy, convenience and comfort which a customized tour service can offer. I will say it was a great choice indeed as we get to experience and discover Taiwan from many different angles. The entire trip was pleasant, hassle-free and unforgettable.

So, after searching around on the internet, we got in touched and decided to book a 11 days 10 nights private customized tour package with Mr Rocky Tsai 蔡天赐先生. I must say that choosing Mr Tsai was really one of the best choice we had made for our trip. We had a really enjoyable travel experience!

Now, let me explain and summarize in details what are the things that made us felt so pleased and satisfied with the service provided by Mr Tsai.

1. Prompt in replying

Our first interactions were on Facebook messenger after we added Mr Tsai as friends. We provided him our travel dates and expressed our interest in engaging his services for our trip. So, he asked us where we would like to visit so he could draft out a detailed itinerary for us and quote us a price. We listed a few compulsory places of attractions which we would like to visit and at the same time, expressed our desire to do a round island tour in Taiwan. A round island tour in just 8 days time!

Mr Tsai was really quick in replying and drafting a detailed itinerary for us. All of our discussions were done on Facebook messenger and it usually would not take him more than a day to get back to us.

Our subsequent message exchanges went on smoothly as well. It took us about 2 weeks to confirm our itinerary as we kept on making amendments to the itinerary which Mr Tsai has drafted out for us. Even so, he was still very patient in answering our inquires and tries his best to accommodate to our requests. Once we are satisfied and confirmed everything on the itinerary, we are requested to transfer him a small amount of deposit to book down his dates for the trip.

2. Clean & Spacious car with WiFi

Mr Tsai drives a 9-seater Volkswagen Transporter Shuttle that offers us ample of storage space for our luggage. His van is very clean, well-maintained and comfortable. There is free portable Wifi provided in his van, which allowed us to stay connected throughout the entire trip. This also explained why there is no need for us to purchase a pre-paid SIM card since we touched down in the country. Dual port USB chargers are also available for us to charge our phone any time. So, there is no need for us to worry about our phone running out of battery at any time during my trip.

In addition to that, Mr Tsai is also thoughtful enough to provide us with a local mobile phone to enable us to contact him easily. Free flow of bottled mineral water are available as well for us to drink while travelling on roads.

3. Careful & Experienced Driver

Mr Tsai is a very careful and skilled driver with at least 20 years of driving experiences. Throughout the entire trip, we have never felt any discomfort arising from the torturing long car ride. Be it climbing uphills to the top of the mountains or driving around the winding mountainous roads, he has no problem delivering us to our destination safely at the shortest time.

3. Professional & Punctual

Our flight was delayed and we arrived in Taiwan 30 minutes later than expected . Upon arrival in Taiwan, we were delighted to find Mr Tsai was already at the airport waiting for us. From our conversations, we got to know that he had been waiting for us since more than an hour ago. He was at the airport early to ensure that he will not be late to pick us up.

Apart from that, Mr Tsai was always very punctual to fetch us from our hotel and start our itinerary for the day. He was humorous and hardworking guy who is always trying his best to entertain and assist us whenever we needed his help.

Throughout the 11 days we spent with him, he will never rush us to get to the next destination. We were free to visit and explore every destination at our own pace. He will not bring us around for shopping unless we requested him to.

Contact Details

For those who are interested in engaging the service of Mr Tsai, you may contact him either via:

Facebook: Facebook Messenger
Whatsapp: +886-926-123000 (International) / 0926-123000 (Domestic)
Email: rockytsai531205@gmail.com

11 Days 10 Nights Round Island Tour Itinerary

The below shows the itinerary we have planned and covered during the 11 days we spent in Taiwan. Hopefully, this will be helpful to those who are planning to visit Taiwan any time soon.

All the places on the itinerary below will slowly be linked to the individual blog posts that will follow by in the next few months. So be sure follow me on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest updates on my 11 days adventures in Taiwan!

Day 1: Taipei 台北 / Taichung 台中

Kuala Lumpur International Airport 吉隆坡国际机场 > Arrival Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport 台湾桃园国际机场 > Taichung Xitun District 台中西屯区 > Check In Feng Jia Inn 逢甲Inn > Feng Jia Night Market 逢甲夜市

Day 2: Taichung 台中