Guest Contributor on Travel Happy

I've written about Travel Happy in my previous post. It's a very informative personal travel guide to South East Asia. I was asked by Chris Mitchell, the author of Travel Happy to contribute a piece of article. I was gladly obliged. It was quite flattering to be a guest contributor on such a well established site. I wrote a piece on tips of booking tours in Phuket based on my personal experience, and it was published today. You may find them useful if you are traveling to Phuket and planning to take a tour in the near future.

Speaking of guest contributors, I found another good travel blog a couple of days ago that also welcomes contributors, Brave New Traveler. It publishes news, views and opinions of today's savvy travelers, and definitely does not lack rich contents. Be sure to explore it.

A Night with the Four Course

In my previous post, I talked about the Cedar Room and its unique wood structure exterior and interior characteristics on our little excursion to Tigh Na Mara Resort on Vancouver Island. It is however the fabulous seafood that attracted people from all over the world.

It was the Sunday night during the Easter long weekend. We just came from a wedding in Victoria, and were rather looking forward to having a nice quiet meal. The menu was simple, just a couple pages. I have always preferred dining establishments that have a simplistic menu, based on my opinion that if a restaurant claim to do well in too many things, then they really can’t excel in anything. Nick ordered a simple Steak off the menu, straight up rare. I ordered their four course menu, which came highly recommended by the server. I am a seafood fan, and every item on this four course meal except the desert are all seafood oriented. The first course was fresh steamed clam from a local cove, cooked in fresh garlic, cracked pepper, parsley and white wine. It set a high standard for the rest of the meal, as it was done in perfection with just the right amount and mix of spices and alcohol to induce a flavor so intoxicating that it left us anxious to see what coming up could possibly outshine this first course. We were certainly not disappointed by the second course, sautéed warm tiger prawn salad. I have had seafood salad before, in Thailand. This dish was quite different from the Thai dish, for it had a sweet and sour foundation that was derived from the watercress and spicy chili garlic vinaigrette. Once we had our appetite teased, it was finally time for the main course, Fresh local halibut baked with Dungeness Crab Mascarpone and Basil, wild rice and Pea Saute. There is nothing quite as enticing as seafood caught the same day, and it was baked to perfection and artfully garnished by the chef. We topped the meal off with a little In-House made raspberry cheesecake, which completed a wonderful meal that left us with a new appreciation for not just the abundance of our local seafood source, but the creativity and dedication of the local kitchens that literally made us craving for more.

The Cedar Room

When thinking of a refreshing getaway at a resort, Parksville is usually not the place that pops to mind. Make no mistake though; this little town located in the middle of Vancouver Island, just north of Victoria, has captured the imagination of the many pleasantly surprised visitors, much like yours truly. This time we made a weekend trip to Tigh-Na-Mara Resort, a well known spa resort on Vancouver Island.


It was a typical west coast April evening, rainy and cool. After we checked in late afternoon, we went to the Cedar Room, a fine dining establishment that has a reputation as one of the most authentic seafood restaurant on the island. The exterior of the dining room is rather unassuming, except a huge piece of cedar plaque that bears the name of the restaurant. Once inside though, the center of the focus is on the wine cellar through the glass walls. The hotel lobby adjacent to the restaurant is featured by a gas fireplace and a river rock covered pillar surrounded by a network of cedar beams hanging over the dining area.

The photo above outlines the well lit hotel lobby. Stay tuned on our stay and dining experience at Tigh-Na-Mara Resort.

Lunch at Bengal Lounge

I've mentioned the Fairmont Empress Hotel in my previous posts. It's classified as 5-star hotel; however, there's been a mixed review on tripAdvisor.com. Based on individual travelers' reviews from TripAdvirsor, the 5-star Fairmont Empress is more like an average hotel, rated 3.5 out of 5 taking into consideration of room, service, value, cleanness, and pool. While some were very happy with their stays, others weren't very enthusiastic about it.


I've never had the opportunity to stay there, so I cannot really comment on the hotel in those aspects. However, I was impressed by the Bengal Lounge where we enjoyed a traditional Indian curry lunch buffet. The setting was adults oriented, suitable for business meetings, romantic dinners, and even semi-formal family and friends gatherings. One feels just as comfortable, dressed up in business attire, reading the paper and drinking martini at the bar, or taking your family out (at least the grown up ones) for a Sunday brunch.


We learned from our server that most decors in the restaurant were originally imported from India. I was particularly impressed with the majestic pillars and the wall mounted Bengal tiger skin seen in the photo above. They remind me of a British colonial style dining room from a time long past. Overall, it was an unique and fun experience, and I gave it a high rating for. However, I would definitely take the English "High Tea" at the Empress next time, served with an amazing variety of fancy and fattening pantries. Probably a better fit for the English style city, eh?

Spring Visit to the City of Garden

I lived in Victoria for almost seven years. I live in Vancouver now, but I go back to Victoria once in a while just for a visit. Now I appreciate the city and the people more, and am discovering it from a different perspective.


Victoria is known as a city for "the nearly dead and the newly wed". It's true that it's retirees' heaven, and young couples' new world. It attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world every year. I'm lucky that I live still considerably close to it. Just hop on BC Ferries from Vancouver, I'm there.

The photo you see here was taken over Easter weekend at the popular Victoria Inner Harbour, in front of a number of century old buildings, including BC Parliament Buildings, the Fairmont Empress Hotel, and Royal London Wax Museum. As you lazily stroll along the causeway of Inner Harbour, you get a great view of a fleet of sail boats docked peacefully in the water. This is definitely a destination stop not to be missed.

Afternoon Tea at Fairmont Empress

Fairmont Empress in Victoria often dominates travelers' photo composition, but it's most known for its British style afternoon tea. It is a tradition that has lasted almost a century, and is popular among the locals. It'll be an unique experience for you to take home.

This year they're featuring once-in-a-lifetime package, Dine & Discover - The Titanic Exhibition. The whole package includes one night accommodation at the Empress and two tickets to the special exhibition at Royal BC Museum. It's only available for the next six months up until October 14th. You can book the whole package right here. So if you are planning to visit Victoria this summer, be sure to check it out.

BC Parliament Buildings

I spent my Easter long weekend in Victoria, BC, and will share my mini vacation with you in the next few posts. What you see here is British Columbia Parliament Buildings, where BC government body assembles and makes legislative decisions.

The buildings were constructed more than 100 years ago, and are full of history. I highly recommend the public tour provided by the Legislative Tour Office. The guided tour, FREE of charge, runs approximately one hour, Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm. It runs more frequent during the Summer months from May to August. Group bookings are also offered and can be booked online. You can find more detailed information here.

Happy Faces in Phuket Town

One of my favorite things to do in Phuket Town is exploring street vendors in the market. These two boys are waiting for Thai Glass Noodle Salad. I couldn't help noticing the expression on their faces, and joined in, ordered a Thai Papaya Salad. For an instance, I was brought back to my own childhood, and might have had the similar thrill on my own face too.

Thai & European Food & What?

Here's a sign you may find amusing. While waiting around at Chalong Bay to take the speed boat to get to Racha Island, Nick spotted this sign off the road. At the first look, I didn't really notice anything different until I looked at it closely, thinking if it was a mis usage. Guess not.

Soaking up the Sun

It's been raining 20 days for the past 22 days here in Vancouver. It just doesn't seem to be an end to this depressing weather. I wish I were below the equator right now, sunbathing on golden sand beaches and drinking fresh coconut juice. Wouldn't that be nice? This photo was taken by my husband, Nick, on Surin Beach, about 15 km north of popular Patong Beach. It's not a very populated beach. We didn't see many tourists out there. It's just a perfect place to get some quiet time to yourself. Look at Nick! He was just soaking up the sun and taking everything in with his lens.

A Dizzy Display for Your Senses

If you like good quality knock offs, make sure to stop over at MBK Center in Bangkok, one of the biggest malls in Asia. Brand name knock offs like these perfumes are all over the mall. I was blown away by its display of perfumes at this store. You can also easily find Diesel watches, Gucci bags, and Billabong beach wear. Almost anything you desire. It is truly shoppers' heaven.

A Frolic in A Birthday Suit

I took this photo on Kamala Beach, 20 minutes north of the popular Patong Beach. Kamala got hit severely by Tsunami in 2004. There were still some debris left on the beach when we were there last October. Restaurants and hotels were being renovated around the beach. There didn't seem to be much going on except for a few sun bathers hunkered down on the beach. We were just walking through the beach, trying to take everything in. This little boy caught my eye. He seemed to determine to have a good time with his mother. The surrounding didn't really bother him at all.

Monk's Grill at Whistler Upper Village

There is no lack of fine dining restaurants at Whistler. One of them is Monk's Grill situated at the Upper Village on Blackcomb side. It provides a vibrant dining atmosphere appealing to couples and outing groups. The restaurant is renowned for a wide selection of wine, steaks and seafoods. Check out their menu here. Be sure to make a reservation during the peak ski seasons. Nick made the reservation online during our last stay up there. Waiting for a table is the last thing you want to do after a hard day of skiing.

Dining at Whistler Village

It's fun to ski and snowboard through Whistler alpine mountains, but it can be expensive to eat there. One of the cheap eats is the Old Spaghetti Factory at Whistler Village. It provides a casual family setting, good quantity of Italian food. Every entree comes with minestrone soup or green salad, freshly baked sourdough bread, hot tea or coffee, and ice cream as desert. Price ranges from $10 to $15. After a hard day of skiing, hot seafood fettuccine sounds like the perfect choice, doesn't it? However, be prepared to wait to get a sitting during the dining hours. It is a quite popular place among travelers. If you are looking for more dining options, Whistler Blackcomb also has an online dining directory for the Village, which has a complete list of restaurants including the price range.

Shoulder Injury

My dear readers and fellow bloggers, I'm afraid that I will not be posting any new photos or articles for the next little while due to a dislocated shoulder injury from snowboarding. I'm done for the rest of the ski season. Kiss the alpine mountain good-bye 2007, but I'm not done with blogging. I'll write soon once I gain some mobility back. To the skiing and snowboarding lovers out there, have a great and safe season! It just keeps getting better and better at Whistler - home of 2010 Winter Olympics.

Adara Whistler Hotel

After spending the New Year's Eve at Whistler Blackcomb and enjoying every minute of it, Nick suggested that we celebrate my big birthday up there. He found a great accommodation deal with Adara Hotel on Last Minute Hotel Deals provided by Whistler Blackcomb. If you are traveling to the ski hills next few weeks, and planning to stay there for a few days, be sure to check out those deals. You never know what hidden treasures you may find there.

We checked in this little boutique hotel after a day of snowboarding on Whistler. Adara is the first designer boutique hotel at Whistler. The hotel itself isn't large, but is "supremely comfortable and elegantly sculpted into a bold, contemporary design" - Small Luxury Hotels of the World. I particularly loved the warm and rustic design elements in the hotel lobby. The designer red lounge chairs with the live gas fireplace and big river rocks make you feel homey and at ease instantly.

A View From A Seaside Lounge

This picture captures the very spirit of Racha Island, the sense of exclusiveness, comfort and playful luxury. This is the outdoor lounge situated right on the beach near the main lobby. The maple wood structure provided the perfect photo frame. The cloudless blue sky blends right into the layers of the sea down below, just the perfect back drop for the inviting wood and wicker furnitures.

Waiting for the Sunset

This photo was taken at the Racha Resort where Nick and I spent our honeymoon. We were just enjoying the sunset while most visitors had gone back to their villas to get ready for dinner. I thought that was the most beautiful time of the day. It's not that I don't enjoy blue sky with sunshine, I just love sunset more. No words can describe the intense fiery colors at sunset. So I'd rather snap it with my camera and remember it forever.

ADIDAP - All Day I Dream About Photography

One of my passion is photography, and when I came across a good photography site, I like to share it with my readers. ADIDAP - All Day I Dream About Photography is a good place to get photography ideas, tips and resources. Techniques such as selective color effect in black and white photos and transforming an image to a painting are commonly adopted by professional photographers, and they do wonders to your photographs. Antoine Khater, the author of ADIDAP, provided step-by-step tutorials on how to add those effects to your photos using Photoshop. Give them a try and see how you like them.

Exotic Thai Food

We came across these exotic Thai food at a local night market in Phuket Town. It was right before supper time, and my appetite was instantly boosted when I saw these "tasty" creatures :p. Not only did I have to snap a few photos of them, but I also tried those oily crunchy legs and heads...NOoooo, I'm just kidding.