How the name of my blog was born

Musings of the Travelling Carrot.... You may wonder why it is called this way.
Oftentimes, we pay more than what an item or day trip is worth when we are on holiday.
We are in a foreign land & not familar with how things work there. Even though you know you are cheated at the time of payment, you still have to pay for fear that hooligans may jump out behind you, especially in third world countries. I have also been "cheated" in some countries. You travel & end up being a carrot for others to slaughter, i.e. travelling carrot.

However, if you do enough research before your holiday, your chances of being a travelling carrot will decrease. I hope my blog will help readers.

Bangkok - May 08

Bangkok is a country that is on my holiday list yearly, and for reasons none other than shopping!
I also go to massages at Healthland Spa (www.healthlandspa.com). If you are there with friends, it is worthwhile to get packages(3,500 Baht for 10 times) to share.

PS: I never bring a camera to BKK as my time is preoccupied with shopping.

Shopping places on my checklist:
1) Platinum. This is my favourite. I spend at least 1 full day there. An air-conditioned indoor area with 4-5 floors of shopping. It is a wholesale centre, i.e you have to buy at least 3 pieces from a shop to enjoy discounted pricing (make sure you travel with at least another kaki). The cheapest price for a top or skirt is around $8. You can see the same item selling for at least $30 plus in Far East. That explains why I almost never shop in S'pore. Most of my clothes are bought when I am on holiday.

2) Pratunam Market. The clothes are not so pretty compared to Platinum & it is less orderly. However, you can dig up good bargains if you have time.

3) City Square. This is opposite Platinum. I always go there to get my working skirts @ $8. The material is better than G2000.

4) Chatuchak weekend market. I do not spend too much time there as most of the items are sourced from Platinum/Pratunam. However, they have cheap & lovely furniture at the outskirts of the market.

Planning for a Europe Trip

I deliberated for many months if I should go Europe on a tour package with ASA or backpack instead. Eventually, I chose to backpack as I wanted to cover more grounds in a city. The typical tour package only brings you to the famous sights and it is a touch & go affair, which I absolutely hate.

Lessons learnt in my planning for Europe:

1) price of air-tickets increase closer to the date. It takes only 1 night for prices to jack up!

2) price of tour packages also increase closer to the date

3) with the above 2 points, pls plan holidays in advance

4) Swiss Pass goes a long way in Switzerland. Free museum passes & transport. It costs a huge bomb if you were to get point-to-point tickets there

5) Never get the Euro rail pass for Italy. I was cursing & swearing as I still had to wait in line to reserve tickets for the fast trains in Italy. Reservations are mandatory. Point-to-point tickets are the way to go. You need not queue & you can just pay at the self-service machine.

6) Stay in the youth hostels in Switzerland. It is cheap & well equipped with kitchens.

7) The walking distance from the train to hostel may be only 10 min in the guidebooks. But it actually takes 15-20 min when you walk! Bear in mind that the writer is an angmoh & has longer legs. Also, the books will not advise you that you have to walk up a hill! Although it is only 5-10 min more, time passes slowly when you have a 20 kg backpack.