Fashionista's Hotel Review: Memoire Hornbill Hotel

Holla!

My internet connection has gone a bit bonkers the past few weeks (I had limited internet connectivity but wasn't able to upload photos due to the line disconnecting every 10 minutes or so), so am only able to complete and upload this blog now that I've settled things with my internet provider. My humble apologies on the late posting of this blogpost.

Anyway, a few weeks ago we had the opportunity to tour around one of Kuching's boutique hotels, the Memoire Hornbill Hotel located at Jalan Keretapi (3rd Mile, next to McDonalds), and here's a photoblog of the visit:

Hotel lobby. We were warmly received by Mr Chanthy and Mr Rock.

Rattan swings and lounges at the lobby. Such a relaxing ambience. I could hang out here all day!

One of the bedroom suites at the hotel. Each room depicts the warm Cambodian hospitality, with earth and natural hues decorating its interior.

Facilities and basic amenities available in the bedroom. 

Twin-sharing room. Plush comfortable pillows and snuggly blankets, what more could a traveler ask for?

Another bedroom suite, this time decorated in blue and yellow. I am sure kids (and adults too) would love the rattan swing =).

They have two bedrooms which can accommodate those with special needs. The room and bathroom is comfortable enough to fit a wheelchair. 

Bedroom suite. 

Food stalls in front of the hotel. 

Various choices await (they even have ice-cream!). 

Big screen, perfect for football matches and other sporting events. 

So what do I think about Memoire Hornbill Hotel?

For one thing, I love the fact that it's so convenient to get food. The availability of various food stalls within a few steps of the front door of the hotel. There's also a large screen tv within the compound which is perfect for football matches, the world cup or even the Olympic games. If you came to Kuching in a car, or if you have a rented car with you, there's plenty of parking spaces within the hotel's vicinity. What I found to be impressive about the hotel is the availability of rooms for those with special needs. There are not many hotels who are able to cater to their needs and provide specially designed bathrooms so that a wheelchair can comfortably navigate in and out of the bathroom. This makes it very, very convenient for those with special needs to attend to their needs. Other than the lobby, there's also waiting areas on different floors complete with rattan chairs for guests to hang out and chill.

Alexa trying out the swing. Don't worry dear, I don't think you're that heavy =P.

The hotel has other facilities such as a function room which is perfect for small and intimate functions, weddings and gatherings so do give them a call at 082-413551 if you want to check their other facilities.

One for the photo album! Thank you Tressa for inviting me, I absolutely loved the hotel and how it caters not only for the usual travellers, but also to those with special needs as well. 

Would I recommend the hotel? Obviously! A comfortable boutique hotel, with a huge selection of food (and McDonalds if you love the fast-food chain), charming and attentive staff and a very economical price, you can be sure that you're trip to Kuching will be a great one. Do check out the hotel's website [here] and Facebook page [here] for more info.


Happy holidays!



xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista Travels: Robbed in Ho Chi Minh City

Very recently I saw a friend posting on Facebook a newspaper article on tourists being robbed by taxi drivers in Ho Chi Minh City. 

The newspaper article that my friend had posted on Facebook. Thank you Ismandy for highlighting this article on Facebook today. 

I've always been wanting to blog about my own experience but I've kind held back from blogging about it because I did not want to re-live the experience. You may have noticed that I did not blog about my trip in Ho Chi Minh City either for the same reason. And I was only able to blog about halal food in Ho Chi Minh [click here for the link] about a year after the trip. 

Anyway, it seems that the rogue taxi drivers are getting quite aggressive so I thought it's better for me to share tips on HOW TO SPOT A FAKE TAXI DRIVER IN HO CHI MINH. 

Before that, let me share with you what happened. 

Us on that fateful day. 

It was the second day of our trip. We had just arrived in Ho Chi Minh the day before. We wanted to see the sights and because we had Alexa with us (traveling with a baby is definitely different compared to traveling with just your partner), we decided to join a tour. It was a whole day tour and it included lunch. Unfortunately, the lunch was not halal. We did not join their lunch but we did manage to grab some croissants and hot chocolate at Starbucks. 

The tour ended at around 4 pm. It was still early so we decided to ask the bus driver to drop us off near Ben Thanh market where we knew that halal food would be plentiful. Had some food at Salima Halal Restaurant and then we went off to Ben Thanh market in search of souvenirs. 

By 6 pm we decided to head back to the hotel. Our hotel is not that far from Ben Thanh market (perhaps about 15 minutes walk) but it had started to rain. Because of Alexa (she was sleeping in the baby carrier at the time) we decided to take a cab and immediately grabbed the one which was conveniently parked in front of Ben Thanh market. The car was painted in white and green, similar to other taxis and there was a meter on the dashboard. Hubs decided to sit in front for safety reasons (he felt that we would be more vulnerable if all of us were sitting at the back). 

While the driver was driving, I noticed that the meter was moving pretty fast. That kinda got me slightly worried. And then as I was looking outside, I also realised that the windows were tinted black. Alarm bells started to go off in my head. This doesn't look right, I thought. But he had the meter and there was an ID as well on the dashboard. So I just kept quiet. 

And then he stopped by the main road (a very busy intersection) and said (in broken English), he cannot go any further. The road is packed with cars and he is unable to turn into the small road that leads us back to our hotel. He asked for payment.

Since hubs was sitting next to him, hubs asked me to pay (because I was sitting at the back, and thus at a distance to the driver). Took out money from my wallet and paid the amount on the meter. The driver got angry and said not enough. He then took all the cash that I had in my hand. 

Bear in mind, Alexa was sleeping at the time in the baby carrier. Hence, Alexa is positioned in between me and the driver. I did not know what happened to hubs because he suddenly started asking me to just give my money to the driver. It was weird for me that hubs did not seem to notice him taking my money and instead asked me to just give the driver more money. 

The driver noticed that I had more cash in my wallet. He took a newspaper and put it next to Alexa's neck. Instinctively, I feared for Alexa's life. I did not know whether there's a knife inside the folds of the newspaper and I certainly do not want to find out. However, I did push the newspaper out of the way and lo and behold, I saw his other hand underneath the newspaper and was inside the opening of my wallet. How did he do that, I don't know. But he was very smooth and cunning. I pulled away my wallet, gave him almost all the money in my wallet (you can always replace the money that you've lost but you definitely cannot replace lives) and satisfied with that, he finally allowed for us to leave the car. 

By this time, I was shaking. Hubs, unfortunately, was oblivious. Outside the cab (or fake cab) hubs asked me what had just happened. I said, I was robbed. Hubs was shocked. He thought I was arguing about cab fare (I mean, seriously? Me arguing over cab fare?). We walked slowly to our hotel and told the staff that we had just been robbed. Johny (the receptionist at our hotel) had warned us about being robbed by taxi drivers the day before, but because I was busy tending to Alexa, I only half-listened to him. And funnily enough, we got robbed just the next day. 

Now that I've gotten the story off my chest, here's how you SPOT A FAKE CAB in HO CHI MINH CITY. 

The city is filled with Vinasun cabs. It's the best cab (most reliable and safe). All tourists are encouraged to take only Vinasun cabs. They are very easy to spot, white and green paint, logo on top of the cab. 

Logo by the side of the passenger doors as well and company number. 

The Vinasun logo is very visible and easy to see. The phone numbers on all Vinasun cabs are the same. Vinasun cabs are not tinted at all. 

This is one of the entrances to Ben Thanh market. Behind the black car, you can see white cars parked at the entrance of the market. That was how we got into the fake taxi. We had just exited the market and (fortunately or unfortunately) there was only one cab in the vicinity. As it was raining, we jumped into the car immediately without checking the logo. We only saw shades of white and green and thought that we were in a Vinasun cab. 

And here is a fake cab. Looks similar right? Same white paint and green numbers. But it's not a Vinasun logo. Even the phone number looks almost similar. And if you notice, the windows are tinted black. 

Fake cab. Different logo. Black tinted windows. However, car paint color is almost the same to Vinasun. 

To compare, this is how a Vinasun cab looks like from the side. 

So, I hope this post has been helpful. The reason for me writing this is to ensure that you (my fellow travellers) are safe and able to differentiate between a fake cab and a legitimate cab. Despite the trauma, we went to Ben Thanh market the very next day for the one reason so that we could take photos of these fake cabbies for me could warn others on how to spot them. As Johny (our hotel receptionist) would say, just take Vinasun cabs and nothing else.

Would I go to Ho Chi Minh again? Truth be told, after that incident, I had second thoughts about traveling but now, after having Alexa join me to other countries such as South Korea, Indonesia, China and also on our many trips within Malaysia, I know that it would be very difficult for me to stop traveling. Inshaa Allah, I'll try to take extra caution the next time and make a lot of dua'a for Allah to keep us safe. That being said, if there's an option to rent a car with a driver, I'll go for that option the next time.

Alexa was only 1 year and 3 months old at the time of this trip. All praise be to Allah for keeping us safe. Although we were robbed, we were unharmed. Alhamdulillah.

Do take extra care and enjoy your holiday, peeps!

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Spelunking at Merapoh, Pahang

Inspired by Batman (if you're interested to watch the clip, click [here]) and obviously my recent trip to Mulu Caves, last weekend I decided to explore some caves in Merapoh, Pahang. This trip was co-organised by Project Vacation and Pakatan Bejalan.

The trip was supposed to be for Saturday and Sunday but we started our journey on Friday night, leaving KL at 10.30 pm and arriving in Merapoh at 2.30 am.

This is my first adventure caving experience and here's a photoblog of my trip:

The drive to Merapoh from KL (our meeting point was LRT Gombak) took almost 4 hours. This was taken on the way back to KL, very scenic view from the highway. 

Gua Rimau (Tiger's Cave)

We explored three caves over the weekend, two on Saturday (Gua Rimau and Gua Kubang Rusa) and one on Sunday (Gua Padang Kawad). We started with Gua Rimau on Saturday morning and left our homestay, SGI Outdoor Merapoh at 8.30 am and headed to the entrance of the cave which was only a 10-minute drive away.

Since the roads leading to the cave are unpaved, we were transported in pickup trucks and four wheel drives.

Unpaved road leading to Gua Rimau.

A short description of the cave and safety briefing is conducted every time before we enter the caves. For safety reasons, we were all provided with safety helmets and each helmet was equipped with headlights. However, you can bring your own torchlights should you need more light in the caves.

Waiting in line. There were 30 over people who participated in this event. Coveralls are not provided but are recommended for the trip simply because they are made of thick fabric and does not rip easily. Besides, they are a one piece (therefore they do not snag easily at any branches/ leaves when you need to climb up and down).

Climbing up.

Entering Gua Rimau. 

Cave formations.

A description of the cave features, flora and fauna by our guides. 

Cave window.

The interior of Gua Rimau.

Venturing deeper into the interior parts of Gua Rimau. Some parts require a bit of climbing and clever manoeuvring. 

The twin towers of Gua Rimau.

A view of the entrance of the cave from inside.

Gua Kubang Rusa

After lunch, we headed to Gua Kubang Rusa (which is also known as Gua Air Mata Dayang).

For Gua Kubang Rusa, the activities here involved not only cave exploration, but also cave tubing. Thus, we are required to wear safety helmets and life jackets before entering the cave.

The entrance to Gua Kubang Rusa. 

Getting ready for cave tubing.

And off we go!

Since this trip involved quite a big crowd, we were divided into two groups, the first group would do cave tubing first while the other group explored the interior of the cave.

Cave exploration.

Cave tubing. According to the dictionary, cave tubing is an extreme sport in which participants float on inner tubes and traverse underground rivers in networks of caves and go over small falls.

Gua Kubang Rusa's interior.

The interior of Gua Kubang Rusa.

Post cave tubing and exploration. Tired but definitely satisfied =).

Gua Padang Kawad

On Sunday morning we left for Gua Padang Kawad which is located about 30 minutes drive away from our homestay. Gua Padang Kawad was the secret route that the communist used before independence and during the early formative years of Malaysia. To read more on the history of this cave, you can click on the link [here].

Getting to Gua Padang Kawad requires at least 45 minutes of trekking.

Arrived at the entrance of Gua Padang Kawad. The reason why you can't see the entrance is because it's just a tiny opening in front of a small stream. Getting into Gua Padang Kawad involves a bit of crawling.

Safety briefing before entering the cave.

Climbing up against the flow of water in Gua Padang Kawad. Photo courtesy of Adli.

The exit point of Gua Padang Kawad. I myself wasn't able to take photos inside the cave because it's dark and quite wet. However, I must say that the cave formations and colours of the walls were absolutely breathtaking.

Us. Spelunkers. Or at least we were for the weekend. Photo courtesy of Artchan.

Adventure caving is definitely different from what I initially expected. The caves are left in their natural state and the caves are in itself a home of various flora and fauna which made the experience very interesting (and some parts quite icky). 

Would I recommend adventure caving? Well, let me just say that adventure caving is not for everyone, and definitely not for the faint hearted. Going into dark, damp and sometimes tiny spaces may be scary and claustrophobic but then again, we are here for the experience and it is definitely an experience which you will not get anywhere else. I find Gua Padang Kawad to be the most interesting of all simply because you are traversing into the interior of the cave on a narrow path along an underground river (or stream) and the cave interior is filled with all sorts of different formations and colours that is just beautiful. Masha Allah.

To those who are interested to participate in these kind of events, you can visit Project Vacation's instagram [here] and Pakatan Bejalan [here].

Looking forward to another adventure soon, inshaa Allah =).


xoxo Mrs Fashionista