Aloha Friday

February 29, 2008 By 13 Comments

This is my first time to join Aloha Friday.

My question for today is ‘What is your most memorable vacation trip?’

For me, I have to say that our Disney Cruise trip is one of the memorable trip for me. For one, it’s the first time that I cruised. I have heard so much about you can either Love it or Hate it. I’m glad that I loved it. Also we are a huge fan of Disney. We have always vacationed at Disney World way before we have kids. And now that we have kids it’s even more of the reason to go there. It’s just something in the water there that makes me feel like a kid again whenever I visit there. Going on a Disney Cruise did bring back the same thing. We enjoyed our time chasing after the Characters for the signature or just roaming on the ship. I especially loved the private island there.

So now we are planning another cruise to the Carribean. The reason that we didn’t go with Disney again mainly is budget. But I would love to go back again.

Filed Under: Family

Five Finds for Friday – Budget Travel

February 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I want to start a new ritual on my blog. Five Find for Friday will be about five things I find useful for Friday. It will be something that will help in planning a great weekend trips or an upcoming vacation.

The first one for this Friday is about five websites for planning your vacation on a budget.

1) VRBO.com – The Vacation Rentals By Owner is a good and economical way to save on your accomodation. You will definitely get more for your money when comparing to book a hotel versus a villa at your destination. The site is in a simple design at best. Don’t expect any fancy graphic or feature but it gets the job done.

2) Wi-Fi Free Spot – With the new technology you can’t deny the fact that internet is part of everyday life. Even if you want to get rid of it but sometimes it becomes handy during your vacation. This site allows you to find out where the Wi-Fi free spot is on your destination. Save yourself from internet cafe charge for your souvenir.

3) Airfare Watchdog – Sign up for the weekly newsletter of home city for any deals during that week. There are deals that are unadvertised and you will be the first one to know. The site will take you to the booking site that has that promotion.

4) Budget Travel – Provide deals and round up of deal of the month. This site is easy to navigate. However, the destination information is not as extensive as other well-known destination guide site.

5) Frommers – This well-established destination guide website is based from best selling travel books publisher. You can literally find the information for any destination with well written information. I always go there first to check out the information about my destination.

So there’s my find for this week. There are plenty more that I’m sure are equally good. But hey! you can’t please everyone, right?

Let me know what is your find for this Friday! Check out more finds here at Frugal Friday.
Filed Under: Saving, Travel Tips

Persian Teahouse & Mediterranean Cafe

February 28, 2008 By 1 Comment

This week I have been on the world tour for lunch time. Normally, I pack lunch for work (not by choice but more by necessicity). However, with the cold snap this week along with the laziness that build up in me we have been ignoring our lunch we packed in the past few days. And when we eat out, I love to eat in the ethnic food restaurant rather than typical chain restaurant. It just makes me feel a bit more like I’m on my little vacation.

I’m a very easy eater. If it doesn’t taste so bad, I will probably eat it all. So I’m not a really good food critic.

First stop for this week is Papoulis Mediterranean Cafe. It’s a good size, quick bite Greek cafe. The food is fabulous especially Gyro Beef & Lamb. The cucumber salad that comes with it is fresh and tasty. The deco is nicely done with a huge map of that part of the world on the wall. There is little corner with cook book, snack, cheese and other ingredients that you might find in a Mediterranean market there. Plus the price is very reasonable ranging from $3-9 depends on what you order and how big your appetite is that day. It’s a quick escape to a little Greek in the middle of the South.

Our second stop of the week is Darvish Persian Teahouse. What a great place to try the authentic Persian food and take in the real atmosphere of the Persian Teahouse. The decoration puts you right in the Persian teahouse. Ok.. I have never been to one but a co-worker who came from there said it’s pretty close. I just felt like I have stepped into another world away. Now, it doesn’t mean that the deco will be the only thing that will impress you. The food is … fabuuuuuuloussssss. I ate and ate till I felt the pain.

We went during lunch on the weekday and they had the buffer all-you-can-eat for $7.99. Great price considering what we had. I started off with Rice and Gourmet Sabzi (a blend of green herbs), Gheimeh (tomato stew), Kashk-o-Bodenjan (a delicious blend of eggplant in a golden sweet onion) and grilled veggie. Then I moved on to the real heavy stuff. The Kabob-e-Kubideh (ground beef), Kabob-e-Barg (tenderloin) and Joojeh Kabob.. Yum yum.. I finished up my meal with Hot Persian tea. It had an amazing aroma. That wrapped out our perfect meal.

If you go during weekend evening, you will get to enjoy the entertainment as well. I haven’t tried that yet but you bet that it is on my to-do list already.

What can be better than trying a little bit of different cultures without breaking the bank! I know that it can’t compare to the real experience but at least it gives me the taste of what is the real experience can be magnified once we get there one day. :)
Filed Under: Food Around the World

13 Things to do in or around Atlanta

February 28, 2008 By 9 Comments

This week Thursday Thirteen I got the idea from the blog posted by the Atlanta Traveler. Since I live here, I think it’s more appropriate to talk about things we can do in or around Atlanta area that are kid-friendly .

1) Georgia Aquarium – You can’t come to Atlanta and not visit the GA Aquarium – The World’s Largest and Most Engaing Aquarium. With its unique design you can explore the aquarium at your leisure.

2) World of Coca-Cola – This brand new museum dedicated entirely to Coke is one thing that we have yet to visit. It sits next to the GA Aquarium in the downtown area. If you are a coke memorabilia collector then I guess you can’t go wrong here. Plus who can resist tasting nearly 70 different products from around the world.

3) Centennial Olympic Park – Spring is right around the corner so it’s time to check out what is on the calendar at the park. With the new All Children’s Playground and variety of events like Music @ Noon or Wednesday WindDown, it’s no surprise that this is one of the best thing to do when you are in Atlanta. Plus it won’t hurt that all these events are Free.

4) Atlantic Station – This modern mixed-use district with the concept of Live, Work and Play in Midtown is a good stop for any visitors or local. The area surrounds by various restaurants, shops, movie theatre. There are also various events throughout the year.

5) Imagine It! Children’s Museum – A great place for children of all ages. Perfect to take a break during a hot day in Hotanta if you come to visit during Summer or cold day in winter. With calendar fulls of events, no wonder parents keep coming back here.

6) Zoo Atlanta – A good size zoo perfect for family with small children. It’s not too big to overwhelm little kids but enough to keep them interested. Don’t forget to visit the Panda exhibit! And if you feel too tired, you can always hop on the Train express for a short break.

7) Atlanta Botanical Garden – A great place to visit especially during Spring and Summer. They have variety of flowers and plants and special exhibits throughout the year. Also with little kids in mind they will get to explore in the Children garden perfect for the pint-size visitors.

8) Stone Mountain – This Atlanta Theme Park is one of the top destination for visitors. However, Stone Mountain is not just about the theme park, you can also have a good fun weekend with your friends and family in their picnic area. You don’t need to pay for the park ticket but you will have to pay for the parking per vehicle. There are also lodging inside the park and golf course. This is what we call all-in-one.

9) Chattahoochee River National Park – A great park along the Chattahoochee river on the Northern part of Atlanta. This park stretch over 48 miles along the river. Visit the headquarter to check out any special activities or go on a picnic in the park. For more active families, you won’t be disappointed in many outdoor activities like hiking, walking, rafting or river tubing.

10) Piedmont Park – The favorite in-town park next to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This park has everything for everyone in the family even your fur friends. The dog park, playground, picnic area and swimming pool just to name a few.

11) Fernbank Museum of Natural History – The Fernbank Museum of Natural History is a great place to visit especially with your children. They will get to explore, learn and connect with the cultures and the history around the world. Plus, it won’t hurt to have the Dinosaurs in the middle of the lobby for them to check out in awe.

12) Underground Atlanta – A unique market in the heart of downtown Atlanta. It’s a fun place to shop and eat. We love the chicken wings at the food court. By far, it’s the best we have had and who would have thought that it’s in the food court.

13) CNN Inside Studio Tour – Another tourist attraction in downtown area. It’s fun to check out what is really going on behind the scene. One of the longest escalator ride I have ever tried. If you are afraid of height, brace yourself!

What are on your list to do around town?

Atlanta Things To Do

Filed Under: Activities, Day/Weekend Trips, Travel in North America

Are you ready for Spring Break?

February 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Expedia.com
As the Winter is coming to an end and we are approaching Spring, I have been busy checking and planning our little getaway. So here are some deals I found from Expedia. Don’t wait till the last minute as good deals and great price will get snatched away. It pays to start early!

How about Spring Break on the beaches:

Pacific Mexico: Flight + 4 nights from $431 – Expires 3/17/08
Hawaii: Flight + 4 nights from $486 – Expires 3/31/08
Cruises from only $199, Plus up to $100 shipboard credit – Ongoing
Caribbean: Book early and save! Packages from $441 – Ongoing

Or how about explore the Cities:

Vegas hotels from $40, Flight + 2 nights from $262 – Expires 3/14/08
Paris: Hotels from $170; Air + 3 nts from $869 – Expires 3/18/08
Orlando on sale: Save 30% on 3+ nights! – Expires 3/28/08

Remember you snooze, you loose!

Filed Under: Cruising

7 days with Dora?

February 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Royal Carribean is launching a new Theme Cruise – Nickelodeon Family Cruise.

Can you take 7 days with Dora and SpongeBob?

Filed Under: Cruising

My Nemesis!

February 27, 2008 By 5 Comments

For anyone who knows me knows that I hate doing laundry more specifically folding and putting it away. It’s just something that will be on my list to delegate if I win a lotto. (only if I start buying it..)

But in the meantime, I just have to come up with some game plan to make it more manageable. So far, here are a few things that work out for me.

1) Forget about sorting.. Who need to sort if you use cold water cycle. You kill 2 birds in 1 stone. Save your electric bill when you use cold water and save your own sanity when you don’t have to sort your clothes.

2) Wear your PJ more than one night. I take shower every night so basically we are clean when we wear our PJ to go to sleep. So there is no reason to use it again the next night.. or the next night.. or the next night.. I will leave it up to you to decide how many times.

3) Hang everything that you can fit in your closet! First, it helps with the wringle. And second, it saves your time.

This is What Work for Me this Wednesday. Head here to check out more tips.
Filed Under: Family

Cabin Fever

February 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment

I’m (actually WE are) not an outdoor type person. So the idea of going on a vacation to a cabin seems to be out there for us. But I love to think that deep down I still have my youth adventurous sense within me. Recently, we had a conversation with a few friends from church and we got to talk about weekend getaway. So I let my fingers do the work and found this gem not too far from us.

The Cabin Rentals of Geogia has several luxury cabins up in the Blue Ridge area in the North Georgia Mountain. The one that I absolutely fall in love with is the Timber Fall Ridge. This is a 5 bedroom/ 5.5 bathroom lodge with the view of the mountain and Toccoa River. The picture of the family room makes me think that it’s the hotel reception area. How gorgeous is this!!! The rate is also more affordable than say cabin in the Gaitlinburg area. The rate ranges from $200 – $425 per night depends on the season. But check their website for the most up-to-date information.

If you are not looking for a big lodge, there are other options as well. Like a 3 bedroom lodges which have several cabins there.

What to do in the Blue Ridge mountain you might ask! Well, for a start why do you need to do anything if you stay in this beautiful cabin that has everything from game room, theatre room, hot tub and porch. But if you must, there are hiking, fishing or sightseeing around town. Plus there is a Blue Ridge Scenic Railway nearby which I think Mr. Z will be thrilled and insisting on going.

Well, I am determined to try this cabin. So I will contact the owner and wait to see if thing will work out. If so, I will have more to report on this gorgeous cabin. Also, I do not get any commission on anything from this!! This blog is used as a collection for my traveling plan. So this is one of my plan. :)
Filed Under: Day/Weekend Trips, Travel in North America

Smart Saving on Cruising

February 24, 2008 By 2 Comments

As our cruise vacation is approaching (Yeah!!!), I have learned so much during this process. A lot of people might wonder why since this is not our first cruise. True. But this is the first cruise that I handle all the booking and planning myself. Our Disney Cruise was handled by a friend so I didn’t have to worry about shopping for the cheapest one or learning other tips from other cruisers (much to my regret though). So this time, I determined to learn more and be a more educated traveler (or cruiser in this matter).

So here are some of the tips that I learned and did.

1) Book the cheapest stateroom available – This advice might not be for everyone since we all have different priority. For me, this trip my goal is to explore and enjoy ourselves outside our room. So room size or amenity is not my top priority. My budget on the other hand is on the top of my priority. For us, I went for the lowest catgeory which is IS. This is the Interior Stateroom – No Guarantee. It means we won’t know where our room will be yet. It’s a bit of the gamble at this point. I figure I will pack a lot of Bonnie and Dramamine.

2) Book your excursion yourself – The price of the excursion offering my the cruise company can be as high as 20% more than private tour at the port. However, I have to put a note here that I also book an excursion via cruiseline on certain port. It will depend on your comfort level. Some people just feel safer going with the cruise knowing that they will wait for you if there is any problem. For me, I book an excursion in Jamaica via the ship only because it’s cheaper than if I go directly with the resort.

3) Don’t try to do too much – Sometimes the best saving is to do nothing at the port. After all, the best way to explore is maybe wandering around. Again, make sure that you have good understanding on the safety in each port. I decided to forego any excursion in Mexico. We will take a cab to the park and enjoy a day on the beach.

4) Stay with friend before boarding the ship – If you like most cruisers who have to fly or drive to the port the day before, the hotel cost will add to your budget. We are lucky enough to have a few friends in FL so we will crash at their place instead of paying for a night in a hotel.
Filed Under: Cruising, Saving, Travel Tips

Pirates of the Caribbean

February 23, 2008 By 1 Comment

I have recently read a good tip from Traveling Mama on a fun way to expand your vacation activities by going treasure hunting. It’s called ‘Letterboxing’. Here is what they say on their website: LETTERBOXING is an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp artistry in a charming “treasure hunt” style outdoor quest. A wide variety of adventures can be found to suit all ages and experience levels. Click on the desktop items above to explore this fast-growing hobby.

So I head over to Letterboxing North America to check out whethere there will be any letter boxes hidden in any of the three ports for our upcoming Caribbean trip.

So this is what I found out for each port:

Cozumel – There are 3 boxes hidden on the island. One is hidden at Mr. Sancho’s Beach restaurant and another two I have yet to figure it out.

Ocho Rios – There is only 1 box there.

Grand Cayman – There is also 1 box there on the Cayman Islands. It’s hidden in the Pirate’s Cave in Bodden Town. (Appropriate for our plan) I didn’t originally plan to visit there but it will be interesting activity and unique one apart from other cruise excursions.

Now, I just have to print out and study the clue with the kids. Also we will probably need to get a journal book, our own personalized stamp (that will be a cool craft project with them on the weekend), stamp pad and a compass (or maybe GPS, who use compass this day!).
Filed Under: Activities, Attractions/Museums

Saving with CVS

February 22, 2008 By 3 Comments

As I mentioned before that I recently took up Coupon Clipping, it has been a good experience so far. And this week I have taken one step further by trying out CVS phenom. I have heard (or read) so much about how you can save a bundle with CVS coupon and ECB system. Since I already have CVS card and a CVS store nearby I figured I will give it a try.

First of, I headed to CVS store to pick up this week ad. I didn’t get it from Sunday newspaper and because I like to look at newspaper or insert instead of view it online. Then I started to scan it through my coupons to see if I can match anything up and also look for special deals especially one with ECB.

Here are some of the deals I got.

- Toothpaste – $2.99 – $2 ECB – $0.50 Coupon = $0.49
- Huggie – $8.99 – $2 Coupon = $6.99
- Hershey’s – $2.99 – $2 off = $0.99

The bottom line is I paid about $23 for products worth $51. So not bad for a first timer. Pad myself in the back for that!! :)

Check out other saving tips here.
Filed Under: Saving

13 Destinations for my Vacation

February 21, 2008 By 8 Comments

Sometimes vacation is all about our imagination. It will be nice to get to go on a real destination on your dream vacation.

As I have so much time on my hand (apart from working, cooking, taking care of our home, cleaning, etc..), I have come up with 13 destinations that I would like to go on my vacations. These are not the finite list as I refuse to limit my own dream. I want to go places.. different places, different cultures.. Only time will tell.

For now, enjoy my Thursday Thirteen.

1) Hawaii – This is my top destination. It’s just something about the beach that always attract me.


2) Italy – I want to go back there and be able to take my time and get to travel the whole country especially Venice, Rome and Florence


3) Greece – Again something about the ocean.. It’s that blue sky with the crisp clear ocean. Plus Greek food is one of my favorite.


4) Australia – This might happen sooner if I can manage the budget. When we go back to Thailand next trip, I want to try to have a side-trip to Australia. After all, it will cut the flight time by half.

5) Ireland – This one is for Mr. Rojo. He thinks he has an Irish blood.


6) Switzerland – I don’t know how to ski but I would love to go ski there. Does that make me sound a bit insane?


7) Japan – Technically, I have been there countless times except I only set foot on their airport. I don’t think that count.

8) China – Especially Shanghai, it’s the Western city of China.


9) Mexico – It won’t be right not to visit and get to your our neighbor, heh?

10) California – I have been there 10 years ago. But I think my one trip doesn’t do justice to that State. I would love to go back to San Diego, San Francisco and LA (this one mainly for Thai food)


11) Las Vegas/Grand Canyon – Whatever happen in Vegas, stay in Vegas. :)


12) Fiji – We can always dream, right?

13) Brazil – I would love to visit the Amazon and take in the vibrant culture.

That’s it folks. My list. So where are your dream destination?

Filed Under: Travel in Asia, Travel in Caribbean, Travel in Europe, Travel in North America

Now, this is my kind of vacation

February 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Picture from 9beaches.com

I love to read about travel or destination articles especially beach or island destinations. One of the places that I have always dreamt about going is the On-The-Water hotel. But we all know how ridiculously expensive these type of hotels are. I mean they aren’t meant for typical working mom like me but for celebrity or millionaires who can shell out $2K a night just like we buy 1 penny item in Publix.

Till now, meet 9 Beaches Bermuda Resort. Recent article (or maybe not so recent. It just happened that I just found it) on MSN Travel section gives the detail on this resort. I didn’t even care to read the whole review. Just the idea of something a little bit more within reach and closer appeals to me to have to put it on my to-travel list.

There are different cabana types that you can choose from in this resort. The most expensive ones are the one that sit directly on the water. They called ‘Paradise Pier Over the Water’. Appropriately named if I may. It looks like a real paradise.. The rate as of 2008 is ranged from $370-$470 per night. Ok.. It might not be that cheap but when you compare to what you will be paying in let’s say Bora Bora, this seems like a good bargain to me. And the most importantly it’s within reach. I just have to wait for maybe 2 years. :)
Filed Under: Beaches, Travel in Caribbean
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