Greece Costing

I have people asking me about the cost incurred so far for my trip, I said it kinda reasonable taking into consideration that am covering 2 countries - flying to/fro from Greece to Romania, flying to Santorini and taking fast ferry to Mykonos and Mykonos back to Athens. Aside from that the whole trip is around 12 days, minusing 2 days for traveling; meaning I have full 10 days for myself between Greece and Romania. But of course am only spending 3D2N in Romania. Talk about being detailed. Hahahha....

Basically, this session will not cover my itinerary (perhaps the next entry instead), instead we will go thru the cost and how I researched (macam real) this prices and options.

To be fair, I am NOT that rajin lar (hardworking am not!), hence what normally happens is this : chores split between Andrea & myself - either we split by country or by mode.

Example : During out Morocco & Spain trip, I cover Spain; and Andrea Morocco. New Zealand was split in a way that Andrea handles transportation and I accommodation. Thus, for this trip; we decided to do the same as the later; that I do the transportation and Andrea accommodation (hot swap the role).

And in terms of sightseeing places, we do it together and decide.

We normally surf AttitudeTravel where you can view ALL the low cost carrier airlines in the world. It has proven helpful for my few Europe trips. But this time around.... jeng jeng jeng

... we decided to go via Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz etc. But but but..... at the end, Expedia was the winner; base on the track record (our track record that is) - we managed to get RM2000 for 6D5N Hong Kong/Japan return flight plus accommodation. Hahhahah... thus, they're the clear winner.

I used Expedia for my flight from Athens to Santorini and Athens/Bucharest return (plus accommodation). After researching multiple ways, we realised leveraging on Expedia to search for flight + accommodation combo is much easier and cheaper.

As for the ferry, I just google and prays alot. Hahhahah.... Actually, you can book the ferry via Expedia as well. Once site fits all... tah dahh...

The only cost that we haven't included in is the Hop-On-Hop-Off and the entrance fee to all the sites. In fact, we haven't done any research on this part, once I managed to do over the weekend (like real I will); I shall be updating the blog.

So, if you guys have any suggestions, advice, tips or ideas, feel free to share... do share.... please share.... pretty pleaseeee..... coz we really appreciate it

;)

My Pre-Journey to Greece & Romania Begins

Been telling myself that I will do a blog on this 1 month prior to my journey, hence & obviously I hate fail SUCCESSFULLY with FLYING C.O.L.O.U.R.S. YUP! Just like the rainbow after the rain with a huge pot of gold at the other end, of course mine without the gold (nor the rainbow... ;P )

Anywaysssss, (mind my dabbling away with a bunch of nonsense [bad habit as some might know]); My so called beautiful plan is to SHARE a bucket full of related (AND unrelated) infos with travelholics and those who weirdly enjoyed my ranting (still wondering why, seriously!?!??!). Looking at the date -911- obviously am not that trustworthy now huh! Hahhaha.... Hey! I was busy doing... er.... erm.... er.... WELL!!!! Just plain BUSY! (running our of excuses here!).

Basically what I will be sharing will be as below in absolutely no particular order or logic or seriousness, which mostly be based on my mood swing (with or without PMS influencing), idea overload or mental block at that specific point of time *wink wink*.

C.O.S.T (so important that there's a period at every capital letter!!!! Wah larweii!!!)
Itinerary (daily visit will be loose but moving from place to place is FIRMED & FIXED)
Packing list (must be fashionable and thematic to the location, Baju Kurung is in the list too)
MUST have packing list (aside form clothing lar of course.... isk isk isk)
Souvenir list (who, whom and what - WAJIB nih)
GADGETS (this is the adding to the luggage weight)
Weblink & sites (to help those that might or will be going - sharing is caring mahh...)
Preparation - mentally & physically (Ohm.......)
AND lastly....
REALTIME BLOGGING if internet permits (hahhahah.... can't be blogging without the net hor...)
I however MUST caution you travelholics out there, my trip DOESN'T come THAAAAAAT CHEAP, but most of the time is cheaper then package trip. Why is that so; one might ask (sounded cam real real lak), this applies to an expensive/Europe country only ler kan...

Since I have been saving and will be traveling there (doubt I be making a trip to there ie "expensive/EU country" within the next 6-10 years), I might as well maximise the trip. This includes if I need to do island hopping just like upcoming Greece trip, or do extreme sport ie Microlight flight in Chiang Mai, or Milford Sound overnight cruise/Shotover Jet, or Interislander from South to North Island in New Zealand; then I will fork that extra dollars for it (missed the Fox Glacier though due to timing...sigh) OH! Or take the train to Marakech to experience Jamaa el Fna or even travel all the way to Andalucia to visit Al-Hambra; I WILL DEFINATELY DO IT. Cause I figure, the next time I'll be going "again" to that same country would probably be in the next 6-10 years or so; hence, might as well lor... ngam mou?!

When it comes to UNESCO sites & cultural shows yadda yadda... , I will try (very best) to fit it into my budget, as I said above; flight is already a one-time cost, to go again to these country means double the flight cost. MAXIMISE it in the first trip! LOGICAL?

Covering 1 country FULLY is better then magical trip ie 1-2 night per country (I've seen this in loadsa tour packages; in fact covering ONLY 1 CITY each country, aiyoyooo... ), no way you gonna remembers anything of that country UNLESS your main objective is for passport stamp or what my friends say passport chop-chop lar.... I did 3 weeks Italy and that kinda set the bench mark. The shortest would be 4D3N in 1 city - Stockholm (thus I must visit again - planning Scandinavian country for next year). Oh! I did Brussel for 1 day as it was a transit - kira tak aci ler...

Am no shopaholic but BIG TIME travelholic, soooo.... souvenir cost is high as I purchase by city and COUNTRY. And my problem? Tak pandai kedekut (I don't stinge) with my friends.... argh.... leh bankrupt nih. This is so true especially for fridge MAGNETS (especially FLUFFY MAGNETS). I can end up buying few in 1 city alone (and these are for myself muahhahaha *evil laugh*). More magnets pic HERE.

HARD ROCK CAFE - YUP! Am a collector of shotglasses and shirts. This does makes my cost go slightly overboard under my shopping list. (Opsy daisy!)

I am about to finish my laundry thus my blogging too. Well, right now, let's do first thing first ie buying catfood at Uptown. Hahhaha.... Here kitty kity...

Eid Fitr in Malaysia

Title gempak giler.... macam ler selama ni I dok Raya di perantauan. Hahhahahaaa....

A small caption from Wikipedia on 'what is Eid Fitr :

Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr (Arabic: ‎عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast". The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. The first day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month Shawwal.

For me; it is very simple, we go visiting to relatives' houses etc and do what we do best - EAT EAT EAT. Soooo..... all the 1 whole month of Ramadhan fasting gone to waste in just 3 Eid days. Hahhah.... It's ok, you know what they say > Raya skali setahun jek (Eid/Raya on celebrated once in a year - so indulge!).

On Eid day; first house visit is and always be Mummy's house (my aunt, my mother's elder sister), we visited her again on 2nd & 3rd (and every other day) reason being MALAS MASAK (LAZY TO COOK!), Well.... mummy have a maid and surely they have food daily ler kan... *cheeky grin*.

My sis and meself with new Baju Kurung Raya (Malaysian Malay traditional attire), cloth bought from Japan. Nak sangat original Japanese cotton kekonon.

Did you notice the print on my sis Baju Kurung? Cute right - the cat print. HEHEHHEEE...

Raya at Kak Za's house, this is the pond where Misha (the one on the left) fell of a chair. Her late dad jumped down to her rescue, and guess what; the pond is ankle high ONLY. HAHHAHAHHAHAA.....

Maira wanted durian, and then only I just learnt that durian IS her favourite fruit. I personally don't like durian.

For those that might not know of durian, below excerpt from Wikipedia.

The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family (although some taxonomists place Durio in a distinct family, Durionaceae). Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.

The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia.

The durian, native to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, has been known to the Western world for about 600 years. The 19th-century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace famously described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds". The flesh can be consumed at various stages of ripeness, and it is used to flavour a wide variety of savoury and sweet edibles in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also be eaten when cooked.

What best to do and kill time during Open House - main batu serembat (5 stones). Sapa terror main nih, I tried; gosh..... mana lambung, mana tangkap, mana kaut... ish. DULU cam terror giler babs!

Daniel taking pics with Abul Aa'sz, the currently favourite toddler. Comei gilerrr...

I insisted that Mummy (my aunt) to take a pic with her nieces. Why? The solid coloured Baju Kurung (Malaysian Malay traditional attire).

Mamak Is guiding Abul Aa'sz on glma fashion, he claimed he is the best person to teach this. Siapa berani sangkal, meh sini!

My cousin bought some flowers for her open house the next day.

Hyperlink credit : Wikipedia