After a good night sleep we woke up slowly and headed for Port Authority bus terminal to take the bus to Woodbury Premium Outlet. We caught the 11.15 bus after an ok breakfast at the terminal. By noon we started our big shopping adventure!!!
It was kind of a community of stores, and ALL brands you can ever imagine; Dior, Nike, Levis, Converse, French Connection, DVF, Gucci, Banana Republic and soooo much more.
We started of getting Jacob equiped with four pair of Levi's for 200 kr each! Then we just kept on going!
We realized that we needed some kind of strategy to even get through the stores we wanted... it was impossible to go through them all. We focused on sportswear; Nike, Adidas and Puma, and after Puma ballerinas and Nike running-skirt for me, we ended up in the Banana Republic store and got stuck... I found a great red/pink dress, a flowery top, a cool rain-coat, a nice casual cardigan and a t-shirt for 1300 SEK!!! Jacob got 5 t-shirts and 2 polo-shirts(piké) for 450!
With some lunch at the food-court we got more energy and got even more stuff at Converse, Esprit, French Connection and more random unknown stores.
At first we planned to take the 18.00 bus back... but, we ended up taking the one that left at 20 instead... And we still did not spend enough time in the Kenneth Cole store... BUT! The last 5 minutes, Jacob did a 5 minute shopping at Esprit(two short-sleves-shirts; 350) , they just fit him perfectly!!!
So, on the bus back we were exhausted!! Back in town we took the subway back to our hotel and got to 'Chipotle', a mexican "fast-food" restaurant, just round the corner. A big Chicken- Burrito with some nice guacamole later we literarly fell asleep amongst our shopping-bags!
A great shopping day in New York!! (ok.. some 40 minutes outside of Manhattan.. but still)
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Friday, April 09, 2010
New York - here we come!
Yes, that's right, we're back on the road (or the pavement, in this case)! This time it's a 5 day trip to New York City!
We landed at 5 PM (11 PM Swedish time) on Wednesday. Transfer was kind of slow but we finally made it to our hotel on Manhattan. After a great Bibim Bob at a restaurant in Korea town, we tucked in after having been awake for some 21 hours ...
After 8 hours of a good night sleep we got up bright and early and caught the morning Staten Island Ferry with all the commuters. The weather was perfect with blue sky and 25 degrees! With a big latte and a bagel we got a great view of the Statue of Liberty in the morning sun. A nice and romantic way to see the NY skyline!
After some planning of the day in Battery Park we walked our way through lower Manhattan and got to TKTS ticket booth 15 minutes before it opened, barely no queue! We got Broadway tickets to Hair for half-price!
After a quick detour to Century 21, a mall with discounted clothes, we saw the World Trade Center gallery right where the twin-towers used to be. A huge reality check! A breathtaking exibition, really!
An urge for food got us to a great Hummus restaurant in Greenwich village - The Hummus Place! The dishes were just superb! You just have to try it out! After this nice pit stop, we passed a local basketball court were the player were arguing more than playing ;) Although it felt very American.
We strolled through West village and saw some of the fancy stores, and when we reached DVF in Meatpacking district I just could not only look through the window. Fantastic dresses!
Next stop; Apple store! After some thinking we decided for an iPad and an iPod nano (for me), unfortunately the iPad was just sold out but we will try in another store.
The night started at an italian restaurant just by the theatre. 'Hair' started at eight and it was a happy hippie show with great singing and dancing! Amazing! Before taking the subway home we stopped by Times square where we were blown away by all neon lights and huge billboards.
An amazing day in sunny New York!
Jacob & Tina
------------------
Sent from my Android phone
We landed at 5 PM (11 PM Swedish time) on Wednesday. Transfer was kind of slow but we finally made it to our hotel on Manhattan. After a great Bibim Bob at a restaurant in Korea town, we tucked in after having been awake for some 21 hours ...
After 8 hours of a good night sleep we got up bright and early and caught the morning Staten Island Ferry with all the commuters. The weather was perfect with blue sky and 25 degrees! With a big latte and a bagel we got a great view of the Statue of Liberty in the morning sun. A nice and romantic way to see the NY skyline!
After some planning of the day in Battery Park we walked our way through lower Manhattan and got to TKTS ticket booth 15 minutes before it opened, barely no queue! We got Broadway tickets to Hair for half-price!
After a quick detour to Century 21, a mall with discounted clothes, we saw the World Trade Center gallery right where the twin-towers used to be. A huge reality check! A breathtaking exibition, really!
An urge for food got us to a great Hummus restaurant in Greenwich village - The Hummus Place! The dishes were just superb! You just have to try it out! After this nice pit stop, we passed a local basketball court were the player were arguing more than playing ;) Although it felt very American.
We strolled through West village and saw some of the fancy stores, and when we reached DVF in Meatpacking district I just could not only look through the window. Fantastic dresses!
Next stop; Apple store! After some thinking we decided for an iPad and an iPod nano (for me), unfortunately the iPad was just sold out but we will try in another store.
The night started at an italian restaurant just by the theatre. 'Hair' started at eight and it was a happy hippie show with great singing and dancing! Amazing! Before taking the subway home we stopped by Times square where we were blown away by all neon lights and huge billboards.
An amazing day in sunny New York!
Jacob & Tina
------------------
Sent from my Android phone
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Home sweet home!
Well, we finally landed on swedish ground... We had two nice days in Bangkok before leaving for home! We spent the time in our nice hotell and in the malls. The heat was intense... so being indoor was nice. Although we had some time to enjoy the hotell pool on the roof.
The shopping was nice... but expensive. We had expectations of things being cheap in Thailand... but that was not the case now in financial crisis... But still I got some nice sports wear and Jacob got a nice summer jacket.
The trip home was ok... The flight from Bangkok left at 00.20 and Finnair is not as fancy as Quantas... but we got some ok food and got a few hours of sleep.
When we landed in Stockholm we were lucky to get an earlier flight to Gothenburg which was very nice!
Jacobs dad picked us up and we got to Vänersborg by 12.30... just in time for lunch! We got nice swedish potatoes and herring!! What a nice start on the homecoming!!
We spent the friday and half saturday with Jacobs parents and we got very well taken care off!! We got great food and got to wash all of our well used clothes.
On Saturday we got into the car and started the last miles to home... we stopped by in Gothenburg to visit Jacobs brother. And the evening was perfect with my sister gathering the entire family for a perfect reunion with great food and drinks.
The last day of vacation started with some running... oh god that was tough!! But we got through it. Then a brunch with friends and now... going through mail... getting to the grocery store... and enjoying the fact that we can spend the night in our own sofa!!
We are extremely happy with our trip and will remember it for ever and ever!!! Big thanks to my dearest Jacob who helped and stood by me through the tough times... and who I enjoyed all the amazing things with. I love you!
The shopping was nice... but expensive. We had expectations of things being cheap in Thailand... but that was not the case now in financial crisis... But still I got some nice sports wear and Jacob got a nice summer jacket.
The trip home was ok... The flight from Bangkok left at 00.20 and Finnair is not as fancy as Quantas... but we got some ok food and got a few hours of sleep.
When we landed in Stockholm we were lucky to get an earlier flight to Gothenburg which was very nice!
Jacobs dad picked us up and we got to Vänersborg by 12.30... just in time for lunch! We got nice swedish potatoes and herring!! What a nice start on the homecoming!!
We spent the friday and half saturday with Jacobs parents and we got very well taken care off!! We got great food and got to wash all of our well used clothes.
On Saturday we got into the car and started the last miles to home... we stopped by in Gothenburg to visit Jacobs brother. And the evening was perfect with my sister gathering the entire family for a perfect reunion with great food and drinks.
The last day of vacation started with some running... oh god that was tough!! But we got through it. Then a brunch with friends and now... going through mail... getting to the grocery store... and enjoying the fact that we can spend the night in our own sofa!!
We are extremely happy with our trip and will remember it for ever and ever!!! Big thanks to my dearest Jacob who helped and stood by me through the tough times... and who I enjoyed all the amazing things with. I love you!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Koh Tao & Hua Hin
After having spent five days on island "Koh Samui", me mostly in bed with high fever and bronkitis and Tina on the beach and in the massage chair (not at all jellous ... ;-), we continued to another island - Koh Tao.
Koh Tao is famous for it's great diving spot, with clear water, live corals and plenty of fishes. Since neither of us have a dive cert, we book a day-long snorkelling trip. When leaving the harbour in the morning, the (english) guide said that the sea would probably be a little rough on the way to the first spot, but that it probably would be a problem. It got to be a little bit more than rough, with huge waves hitting the side of the rather small fishing boat with full power. Tina got sea sick and afraid, and didn't felt well at all. I tried to ensure her that the boat would not turn over, and that everything would soon be all right ... After a good half an hour, we finally entered some quite waters and arrived at the first snorkelling spot, all in one piece! As soon as we jumped into the warm and clear water, we forgot all about the wild boat ride ... The corals were so colorful and the fishes were all over us. It was indeed true what the guide has told us - if you stay still in the water, the fishes will come right up to you to check the "new guy" out! ;-) We visited another four snorkelling spot around the island during the day, all equally great but yet unique in their own ways! Hard to compare with the Great Barrier Reef but it comes very close in term of over-all experience. Probably the best snorkelling spot in all of Thailand, I would guess ... On the evening, we hanged out in an Italian-Thai restaurant, watching some of the action from Roland Garros (French Open in Tennis). Not too bad ...
The next day, we continued our trip north in Thailand (by a combined ferry-bus ticket) to the coastal town of Hua Hin (3 hours south of Bangkok). Our hope was to finally spend some time in a "normal" city; doing some shopping, perhaps playing some golf, hang at a cafe and just do normal "city" stuff ... Our hopes has at least partly come true!
Hua Hin only have 50000 inhabitants and the center feels pretty small. Tina has done a lot of shopping around for 100% Thai silk, which is quite cheap here (15 Euro per meter). We also did the town's only shopping mall ... The prices are higher than you expect and the range was not great either. Nonetheless Tina bought a clock, some long longed ear plugs and a cool and crasy dress. Yesterday, we went down to the beach, which wasn't great. But we are then comparing it to the Lamai beach at Koh Samui and Long Beach at the Perhentian Islands so the competition is super hard! The water was sooooo warm but not that clear. And we couldn't lie on the beach for more than 15 minutes because of the annoying and very persistent sand flies. If it isn't the sand flies, it is the mosquitos that are making our lives a little bit harder. We have bites everywhere! We can't wait to get home to cold Sweden with only a few mosquitos, where you don't have to put a special cream on before you go out to keep (some of) the mosquitos away ...
Today we got to play a round at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course. If you teed off after 3 pm, you got a 25 Euro discount, an offer we had to use (it got expensive anyway, around 55 Euro a head incl club rental). We arrived at 2.30 and after quite a lot of confusion at the reception, we met up with our caddies (compulsory, at least for non-locals/tourists) and head off to the driving range to warm up the muscles a bit ... After all, last time we held a golf club was in September. And it didn't start well; Tina barely hits the ball and on my third shot, the club slipped out of my grip and flew a good 50-60 meters! To the spectators joy, of course! No introduction needed! ;-) After my small mishap, I stopped at the shop for a towel and a glove, needed on a warm and humid day as this! We teed off at 3 pm and after a couple of holes we both started playing really great, and we really had a great day at the course! First time playing with a caddie, and we probably would have been better off without them ... It was first at hole 12 that we realized that the lengths they told us were in yards and not in meters! That's why I kept hitting pass the green! And after the round, the security guard firmly told us that we were expected to tip the caddies each 12 Euros! I tried to tell him that I wasn't pleased with my caddie, but he would not hear on the ear so we had to cough'em up ... ;-) And of course, the golf course is no sancuary for mosquitos, plenty of sand flies there (very odd since there was barely no sand in the bunkers ;-) But a couple of more bites makes no difference to us anymore ... All this aside, we really enjoyed it!!!
Tomorrow we're catching a bus up to Bangkok, where Tina has reserved a room at a really nice hotel with swimming pool, gym and breakfast buffe! It's the last two nights "on the road" - we got to make the most of it! And enjoy it!
As we have said before, the Thai heat and the mosquitos are really beginning to wear us down, and we can't wait to board the plane on Thursday night!!! Even though our trip couldn't have been any better, it will still be very nice to come home again!
See you all soon! TC!
Koh Tao is famous for it's great diving spot, with clear water, live corals and plenty of fishes. Since neither of us have a dive cert, we book a day-long snorkelling trip. When leaving the harbour in the morning, the (english) guide said that the sea would probably be a little rough on the way to the first spot, but that it probably would be a problem. It got to be a little bit more than rough, with huge waves hitting the side of the rather small fishing boat with full power. Tina got sea sick and afraid, and didn't felt well at all. I tried to ensure her that the boat would not turn over, and that everything would soon be all right ... After a good half an hour, we finally entered some quite waters and arrived at the first snorkelling spot, all in one piece! As soon as we jumped into the warm and clear water, we forgot all about the wild boat ride ... The corals were so colorful and the fishes were all over us. It was indeed true what the guide has told us - if you stay still in the water, the fishes will come right up to you to check the "new guy" out! ;-) We visited another four snorkelling spot around the island during the day, all equally great but yet unique in their own ways! Hard to compare with the Great Barrier Reef but it comes very close in term of over-all experience. Probably the best snorkelling spot in all of Thailand, I would guess ... On the evening, we hanged out in an Italian-Thai restaurant, watching some of the action from Roland Garros (French Open in Tennis). Not too bad ...
The next day, we continued our trip north in Thailand (by a combined ferry-bus ticket) to the coastal town of Hua Hin (3 hours south of Bangkok). Our hope was to finally spend some time in a "normal" city; doing some shopping, perhaps playing some golf, hang at a cafe and just do normal "city" stuff ... Our hopes has at least partly come true!
Hua Hin only have 50000 inhabitants and the center feels pretty small. Tina has done a lot of shopping around for 100% Thai silk, which is quite cheap here (15 Euro per meter). We also did the town's only shopping mall ... The prices are higher than you expect and the range was not great either. Nonetheless Tina bought a clock, some long longed ear plugs and a cool and crasy dress. Yesterday, we went down to the beach, which wasn't great. But we are then comparing it to the Lamai beach at Koh Samui and Long Beach at the Perhentian Islands so the competition is super hard! The water was sooooo warm but not that clear. And we couldn't lie on the beach for more than 15 minutes because of the annoying and very persistent sand flies. If it isn't the sand flies, it is the mosquitos that are making our lives a little bit harder. We have bites everywhere! We can't wait to get home to cold Sweden with only a few mosquitos, where you don't have to put a special cream on before you go out to keep (some of) the mosquitos away ...
Today we got to play a round at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Course. If you teed off after 3 pm, you got a 25 Euro discount, an offer we had to use (it got expensive anyway, around 55 Euro a head incl club rental). We arrived at 2.30 and after quite a lot of confusion at the reception, we met up with our caddies (compulsory, at least for non-locals/tourists) and head off to the driving range to warm up the muscles a bit ... After all, last time we held a golf club was in September. And it didn't start well; Tina barely hits the ball and on my third shot, the club slipped out of my grip and flew a good 50-60 meters! To the spectators joy, of course! No introduction needed! ;-) After my small mishap, I stopped at the shop for a towel and a glove, needed on a warm and humid day as this! We teed off at 3 pm and after a couple of holes we both started playing really great, and we really had a great day at the course! First time playing with a caddie, and we probably would have been better off without them ... It was first at hole 12 that we realized that the lengths they told us were in yards and not in meters! That's why I kept hitting pass the green! And after the round, the security guard firmly told us that we were expected to tip the caddies each 12 Euros! I tried to tell him that I wasn't pleased with my caddie, but he would not hear on the ear so we had to cough'em up ... ;-) And of course, the golf course is no sancuary for mosquitos, plenty of sand flies there (very odd since there was barely no sand in the bunkers ;-) But a couple of more bites makes no difference to us anymore ... All this aside, we really enjoyed it!!!
Tomorrow we're catching a bus up to Bangkok, where Tina has reserved a room at a really nice hotel with swimming pool, gym and breakfast buffe! It's the last two nights "on the road" - we got to make the most of it! And enjoy it!
As we have said before, the Thai heat and the mosquitos are really beginning to wear us down, and we can't wait to board the plane on Thursday night!!! Even though our trip couldn't have been any better, it will still be very nice to come home again!
See you all soon! TC!
Monday, June 01, 2009
Koh Samui!
We arrived to Koh Samui on Friday after a lot of effort... It all started with the interesting trip from Malaysia to Thailand. We left the paradise Perhentian island at 8.00 in the morning, with the speedboat, as planned. When we got to the pier Jacob did some bargaining with the taxi drivers to take us to the Thai border for 70 ringit(ca 160 sek), it would be a 1,5 hour car trip.
The car was old and hot...
But at about 10.45 we arrived... we had read that this particular border was not very safe... but still it was the closest and easiest one to use... and nothing had happened for some time now. The taxi driver tried to scam us by telling us he wanted 90 ringit all of a sudden... but Jacob was persistent and did just give in with 5 ringit more...
We walked through the border in the heat... got through the passport control and the health control(they take our temperature at every border...).
Then we got on these mopeds to the train-station... interesting...
We got to the train station and got two of the last tickets left on the train to Surat Tane in air-conditioned sleeping wagon... Sounded good... I mean 9 hours on the train.. nice to get some sleep and have it nice and cool.
The time needed to be moved back one hour, so we suddenly had one and a half hour before the train should leave. We got ourselves a nice, spicy Thai meal. And at 11.30 the train left the station. We had ok seats that was folded out to beds during night.
All passengers had nice snack-bags with nuts and fruit... but since we did not know where to buy it... we had to wait for the train salesman to sell us some food.
The hours went by... and so did the boredom... oh my god... 9 hours on a train that went like 50km/hour.. in a very bumpy way.
The train was only 2,5 hours late... so we arrived at 11.30. And hopped on to a small truck... with some other tourists going in to town. They dropped us off at a hotel, and we got a nice sleep.
The next day we had bought at package deal at the hotel, getting us by bus and boat to the island Koh Samui... It was pouring down at 7.30 when we was picked up. There was a truck outside were all the bags were thrown in... and also the passengers. So, the 8 of us going with the boat was going to sit in the rain on the back of the truck... But... me and Jacob were fast and got the seats in the car!! Then there was this English guy who got really irritated with the fact that he had paid for transfer in the rain... specially since there were seats left in the car. The driver was an angry man talking very bad words about us 'stupid tourist people'. Finally, they all got in the back and we drove to the next stop... where some of the passengers needed to pay more money... nobody knows why. The English guy again was upset and it almost caused a fight with the driver... Not a very good start...
We needed to change car... getting into another back of a truck... The English guy paid finally... and got to go with us... (him and his girlfriend almost did not get on the truck...).
So after a lot of arguing in the rain... we headed for the next stop. We waited for 20 minutes... and got loaded in a minibus... that took us to even another bus... a bigger one. This bus took us to the actual ferry!!
So... we were told that the boat were leaving at 8.00... but it left at 9.30. At 12.00 we arrived to the island.
The island was a lot bigger than we thought and after going to the place we thought we were staying... we realized we were not going to find our fantasy bungalow there(Chaweng was to busy and crowded... not very nice). So yet another bus/taxi to Hut Lamai and we found Beers Guest house... Well, sounds like a party place... but oh... the opposite. A nice little family having some bungalows and a lovely restaurant just by the beach. We love it here!
Unfortunately Jacob has coming down with some fever and a throat thing... so he has been resting by the fan and on the veranda... (poor him). I, on the other hand, have enjoyed the beach... walking a long with it.. sunbathing... sea bathing... foot massage... beer by the beach front... well... all that a nice vacation should contain! We are hoping the fever lets go soon so Jacob can join me..
Tomorrow, or the day after we are heading for Koh Tao, a smaller island for some snorkeling. Then we are spending the last days in Hua hin and Bangkok. We admit it... we can not wait to get back home... Only 10 days left!!
See you all soon!
The car was old and hot...
But at about 10.45 we arrived... we had read that this particular border was not very safe... but still it was the closest and easiest one to use... and nothing had happened for some time now. The taxi driver tried to scam us by telling us he wanted 90 ringit all of a sudden... but Jacob was persistent and did just give in with 5 ringit more...
We walked through the border in the heat... got through the passport control and the health control(they take our temperature at every border...).
Then we got on these mopeds to the train-station... interesting...
We got to the train station and got two of the last tickets left on the train to Surat Tane in air-conditioned sleeping wagon... Sounded good... I mean 9 hours on the train.. nice to get some sleep and have it nice and cool.
The time needed to be moved back one hour, so we suddenly had one and a half hour before the train should leave. We got ourselves a nice, spicy Thai meal. And at 11.30 the train left the station. We had ok seats that was folded out to beds during night.
All passengers had nice snack-bags with nuts and fruit... but since we did not know where to buy it... we had to wait for the train salesman to sell us some food.
The hours went by... and so did the boredom... oh my god... 9 hours on a train that went like 50km/hour.. in a very bumpy way.
The train was only 2,5 hours late... so we arrived at 11.30. And hopped on to a small truck... with some other tourists going in to town. They dropped us off at a hotel, and we got a nice sleep.
The next day we had bought at package deal at the hotel, getting us by bus and boat to the island Koh Samui... It was pouring down at 7.30 when we was picked up. There was a truck outside were all the bags were thrown in... and also the passengers. So, the 8 of us going with the boat was going to sit in the rain on the back of the truck... But... me and Jacob were fast and got the seats in the car!! Then there was this English guy who got really irritated with the fact that he had paid for transfer in the rain... specially since there were seats left in the car. The driver was an angry man talking very bad words about us 'stupid tourist people'. Finally, they all got in the back and we drove to the next stop... where some of the passengers needed to pay more money... nobody knows why. The English guy again was upset and it almost caused a fight with the driver... Not a very good start...
We needed to change car... getting into another back of a truck... The English guy paid finally... and got to go with us... (him and his girlfriend almost did not get on the truck...).
So after a lot of arguing in the rain... we headed for the next stop. We waited for 20 minutes... and got loaded in a minibus... that took us to even another bus... a bigger one. This bus took us to the actual ferry!!
So... we were told that the boat were leaving at 8.00... but it left at 9.30. At 12.00 we arrived to the island.
The island was a lot bigger than we thought and after going to the place we thought we were staying... we realized we were not going to find our fantasy bungalow there(Chaweng was to busy and crowded... not very nice). So yet another bus/taxi to Hut Lamai and we found Beers Guest house... Well, sounds like a party place... but oh... the opposite. A nice little family having some bungalows and a lovely restaurant just by the beach. We love it here!
Unfortunately Jacob has coming down with some fever and a throat thing... so he has been resting by the fan and on the veranda... (poor him). I, on the other hand, have enjoyed the beach... walking a long with it.. sunbathing... sea bathing... foot massage... beer by the beach front... well... all that a nice vacation should contain! We are hoping the fever lets go soon so Jacob can join me..
Tomorrow, or the day after we are heading for Koh Tao, a smaller island for some snorkeling. Then we are spending the last days in Hua hin and Bangkok. We admit it... we can not wait to get back home... Only 10 days left!!
See you all soon!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Paradise?!
We left the heat in the jungle and got to the east coast... finally some sea breeze!! And the water was turquoise and 25 degrees... couldn't be better!
We are now at Perhentian Island Kecil(the small island) and we got a bungalow at Matahari Chalets, a nice and clean set of bungalows right next to the beach.
We are now at Perhentian Island Kecil(the small island) and we got a bungalow at Matahari Chalets, a nice and clean set of bungalows right next to the beach.
Our Bungalow veranda!
The beach!
We are relaxing and trying to acclimatize to the heat.. it is not that hard with the beach that close... Although we left the jungle the mosquitoes are all over us... but at least we have a good mosquito net over the bed.
We have spent the two first days on the island on the beach and on the veranda of our bungalow! Nice and easy! The weather has been nice, the few clouds we had today had a nice cooling effect! No real sun burn yet ... Lots of delicious fruit juices and shakes! We can't stay away from the coffee-chocolate-shake, it's addictive! :-)
Not the perfect sharpness in the picture.. but doesn't he look good!!
Happy Tina on the beach restaurant!! Waiting for yet another fruit-shake!!
After the snorkeling, we're probably staying on the island yet another day, and then we're heading for Thailand (sorry Khang, looks like we're leaving out Redang)! We just have to figure out how and where to cross the border ... Better ask some locals, or even better ... some backpackers!
C U soon (only 2 weeks left)!
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