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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Photowalk around Kuala Lumpur with Samsung NX Mini


Thanks to Manoah and Samsung Malaysia Electronics, I was invited to a fun-filled photowalk around Kuala Lumpur featuring their latest camera, Samsung NX mini, Samsung's slimmest and lightest interchangeable-lens camera to-date. Weighing 158g (body only) and sporting an ultra slim (22.5mm) design, the Samsung NX mini can easily slip into almost any pocket or bag, yet still delivers the powerful results passionate photographers demand. Provided with features such as a 3.0-inch flip-up display and wide angle lens exclusively designed for selfies, it's definitely every girl's favourite!

Since it was my first day playing with the camera, I'll just post up some of the pictures taken with this NX mini and review the camera on a separate post later.


















Despite its slim appearance, I'm pretty impressed with its performance that the pictures turn out to be quite nice. With 20.5MP BSI CMOS Sensor, pictures taken with this NX mini burst with vivid colours. I'm not a professional photographer and I mostly use my camera for blogging purposes, I think Samsung NX mini performs pretty well for my daily life. I just can't wait to explore more about this NX mini! :D On a side note, do follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more pictures taken with this NX mini with hashtags #myNXmini.


Samsung NX mini comes in 5 colours: white, pink, mint green, brown and black and it retails at RM1,399 only (with 9mm F3.5 lens). The other kit lens will be available starting 1st June 2014. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/1h2O2vz.

Thursday, April 24, 2014

✈ Travel Guide to Bangkok

My blog stats has been increasing tremendously recently and I found out it's because of my recent travel blog posts. It's really rare that I received such high stats and I really wanna thank you guys for reading and supporting me all this while. Today, I'm gonna take a break from the usual travel posts but I'll be doing a guide to Bangkok instead as I find that travel blog are really useful when I was planning my itinerary; where to shop, eat, transportation and etc. So I think it would be great to share my itinerary and some travel tips especially for those who are travelling to Bangkok for the first time.

1. Currency
For me, currency rate is one of the most important point when I'm travelling to overseas because it can make such a huge difference of how much Thai Baht I can own for RM1. I've found two currency exchange offices which offer the lowest rate in town; one at Kepong Village Mall and the other one located in front of Fahrenheit 88/Lot 10 (the corner shop where you will see if you're walking from Lot 10 to Fahrenheit 88). Fyi, I exchanged at 10.28 on 22nd December 2013.

2. Accommodation
I stay in Lub D Hostel in Siam Square during my visit to Bangkok and it's actually one of the top hostel in Bangkok. Perfect location where it's just right in front of the BTS National Stadium station, walking distance to shopping malls in Siam and Pratunum. Since we're on budget and we didn't plan to spend much time in hotel, so we seek for hostel instead of hotel. It costs us about RM60 per night per person. I will be doing a review on Lub D Hostel on a separate post so for the moment, please visit siamsquare.lubd.com for more information.


3. Transportation
If you have done research on Bangkok's traffic or been there before, you should know they have really bad traffic just like Kuala Lumpur. So I would suggest you guys to take BTS Skytrain to tour around the city instead of taking taxi or bus especially during rush hour unless you're going to floating market or somewhere far away from town. However, keep in mind that you should ride on metered taxi only or else they will charge you double the taxi fares.

Tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) is also one of the famous transportation in Bangkok. However, there are some tips you should take note before ride on a tuk-tuk and beware of scams:
1. Always agree on the price and bargain before you ride on a tuk-tuk as they always charge more on foreigners.
2. Do not ride on a tuk-tuk during rush hour or long journeys.
3. Avoid the "friendly" tuk-tuk drivers who may present themselves as guides and offer you rides to floating market or tour around the city.

If you do really want to experience a tuk-tuk ride, go for a short distance journey and ask the receptionist of your hotel about the price of a tuk-tuk ride to avoid scam.


4. Airport transfer to hotel
I would suggest you guys to take public taxi instead of bus or train from airport to your hotel for time saving. Look for the public taxi signboard as soon as you pass the immigration counter and claimed your luggage, then you will see a big counter outside the airport and lots of public taxi queuing out there. Write down your destination to the counter girl and they will assign a taxi driver for you. You're recommended to print out the hotel address in Thai or map for the taxi driver in case if they can't read in English. From airport to Siam area cost around 350-400 THB and it took approximately 30 minutes. On a side note, if you're flying AirAsia, you will be landed in Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), but not Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

5. SIM Card
Having mobile phone data access in foreign country is great as you can keep in touch with your family, search for attractions or restaurant reviews and etc. However, I did not purchase SIM card when I was in Bangkok as we were so busy shopping for the whole day that we didn't have time to use our phone. Besides, hotel, restaurants and even massage center do provide free WiFi for customers. Hence I wouldn't suggest you guys to purchase SIM card if your main objective is shopping only unless you can't live without Internet like my friend who was using her phone 24 hours even when we were shopping, eating or taking train.

If you insist to get a SIM card, you may purchase DTAC Happy Tourist SIM from any of their mobile service center, airport, 7-11 and Family Mart. They have two types of package, namely SIM 49 and SIM 299. SIM 49 costs 49 Baht and you will get 15 Baht free call. However, you will need to top up for Internet usage. For the first time top up at 150 Baht or more you will get free 30MB Internet (valid for 7 days). While SIM 299 costs 299 Baht and you will get 100 Baht free call and free 7 day unlimited Internet. For more information, please visit www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/touristsim.html.


6. Weather
It's a must to check their forecast weather before you're flying off to that country. The weather was rather chilly when I was in Bangkok. Silly me that I thought Bangkok will be in hot season for the whole year just like Malaysia, so ended up I was wearing a tube dress and caught cold on the first day. Fall sick during trip is such a big turn off so make sure you do your research beforehand and bring appropriate clothing. For your information, during June to November it's rainy season, December to February is cool season (great time for sightseeing), and March to May is hot season (remember drink plenty of water!).

Photo credit: Google


Feel free to ask my any question about Bangkok as I've done research and planned the trip on my own, so I'm kinda familiar with the places. Even after I came back from Bangkok, I still keep myself updated of news of Bangkok and various attractions. I will be doing a top 5 shopping places in Bangkok based on my own experience, how do you think? :)

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Previous posts of Bangkok:
Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/01/day-1-in-bangkok-wat-pho-temple-of.html
Asiatique, The Riverfront: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-1-in-bangkok-asiatique-riverfront.html
Som Tam Nua, Siam Square: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-3-in-bangkok-som-tam-nua-siam-square.html
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Siam Discovery: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/04/day-3-in-bangkok-madame-tussauds-wax.html

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Prodigy Redefine Launch with DJ Da Queen!



We party every day! Thanks to Manoah, I had a great time with my pretty babes during the official launch of Prodigy (previously known as The Butter Factory) last Friday. What's best is their awesome line ups featuring DJ Da Queen, DJ Edz, Marc, The Project and Mr. Fluff! Great music, great companion, free flow of drinks, what can I ask for more? :) Can't wait for the second round!


Prodigy KL
No. 1, Jalan Kia Peng,
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Website: www.prodigykl.comwww.facebook.com/ProdigyKL

Monday, April 21, 2014

Shizens "Stay Firm Stand Firm" Online Photography Contest

Since ancient times, women were rarely offered opportunities to work and learn. Yet, their inner strength can still be seen through their roles of giving birth to new life, taking care and protecting their family. But as time passed, women began demonstrating their capabilities in undertaking more responsibilities, raising a family as well as being part of the workforce and contributing to social welfare. As evolution enhanced the confidence level of every woman allowing them to showcase their inner strength, they still recognized the importance of physical beauty and strived to maintain their outer beauty through various means.


As a means of acknowledging and recognizing the efforts of all women, Shizens will be launching a "Stand Firm Stay Firm" campaign from April 2 to April 30, 2014 where customers and fans will stand to win loads of attractive prizes by displaying their inner strength and outer beauty through a photo contest. The "Stand Firm Stay Firm" campaign aims to display the outer beauty of women while also revealing their inner strength, which serves as an encouragement for them to stand firm within our society.


Photography Theme: Strong emotions, Human & Feminine


The best photos will receive amazing prizes worth up to RM18,000, proudly sponsored by Shizens, Flissco and Samsung.



Photography Enthusiasts
Open to all photography lovers who has the passion of bringing picture to life! However, there are certain requirements needed for the photo as the selected photo will be printed in large.
  • Photograph shall be taken using compact camera, DSLR camera (or of its similar)
  • Minimum image size is 5MB
  • Studio photography with lightings are allowed

Mobile Photography
Specially dedicated to all smartphone photographers! Mobile photography has made huge strides in this modern era and we've seen lots of talented mobile photographers over the years.
  • Must be taken by a smartphone or any other mobile devices.
  • To take part via Instagram, hashtag #standfirmstayfirm on your photo
  • You may also submit your photos via this website.


For more information, please visit
Website: www.standfirmstayfirm.com

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Aussino Stock Clearance up to 80%!


Event: Aussino Stock Clearance
Date: 25-27 April 2014
Time: 10AM - 6PM
Venue: Syopz Mall, Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

In conjunction with the Malaysia's largest clothes buffet as I've mentioned previously, Aussino is having a stock clearance up to 80% too! Same date, same time and same venue, so why not walk over to have a look of their bed sheets or towels after your shopping session at clothes buffet? See you there!

Saturday, April 19, 2014

One Spring Day in Cameron Highlands ♥

Past three months have been really tough for me due to studies. Tough subjects, worst timetable where I had classes everyday from 8-4 continuously for three months, exam every two weeks... Gosh, I wonder how I survived from that. So Carynn has suggested for a 2D1N trip to Cameron Highlands right after finals as a reward for our hard work for these three months. Basically it's like a healing trip where our main objective is to enjoy the chilly weather up there and steamboat. Yes, having steamboat in Cameron Highlands is da bomb! So we didn't visit much places and sightseeing except for Lavender Garden and BOH Tea Plantation. Yippie (Y)


Once I stepped into Lavender Garden, I was mesmerized by their beautiful decorations and the sea of colourful ever blooming flowers. You'll expect to see lots of beautiful flowers in this post later :)

Inspired by the love lock bridge in Paris, there's a love lock area near the entrance too.

Isn't it beautiful? Coincidentally there was a couple posing for their wedding photos aww :)

And of course there's lavender in Lavender Garden! We're so lucky to see the lavender was blooming! :D



Flowers picking area for RM2 each. Can I have the peach colour one please? :)

More and more flower sea! Trust me, it's way more beautiful if you see it in person :)

Must do thing when you're in Cameron Highlands - self pick strawberries! It was not strawberry season hence we just give it a pass. 



Happy group picture before we leave yay ^_^


Lavender Garden
Tringkap,
Cameron Highlands,
39100 Pahang, Malaysia.


View Cameron Lavender Garden in a larger map

Operation hour:
Mon to Thu: 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Fri to Sun: 9:00AM - 7:00PM
Entrance fee: RM5 for adult, RM3 for kids

Website: www.cameronlavender.com | www.facebook.com/cameronlavendergarden


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The next day, we went to BOH Tea Plantation for some cool fresh air and fyi it has been listed as one of the must-visit place in Cameron Highlands. BOH Tea Plantation has a total of 8,000 acres planted with tea and it's the largest tea plantation in Southeast Asia. Not forgot to mention that the road journey to BOH Tea Plantation is very narrow and winding so do give a honk to let oncoming traffic know there is a car coming. It was kind of fun to honk the horn after a while :P

The view of green rolling hills, with the neat regular rows of tea plants, is truly breathtaking and refreshing!


We girls then decided to walk down to the tea plantation for more magnificent view, it was a great experience!


Couldn't resist to take more selfie because the place is too amazing! YAY

With the whole tea plantation behind us ♥ I wish I can wake up to this view every morning :)

The Sungai Palas Tea Centre does offer a free guided factory tour every 30 minutes of how the tea leaf is processed, from sorting, drying and so on. Apart from that, you may drop by their cafe and pamper yourself with a nice cup of tea, cakes and enjoy the enchanting ambiance and view of BOH Tea Plantation. I guess I will visit this place every weekend if I stay in Cameron Highlands :P What a great way to end this tiring semester, cheerios!


'BOH' Sungai Palas Tea Centre
Jalan Gunung Brinchang,
39100 Brinchang, Cameron Highlands.



Operation hour:
Tues to Sun: 9:00AM - 4:30PM
(Closed on Monday)
Entrance fee: Free

Website: www.boh.com.my

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