Family travel
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Day 2 – Around Frankfurt
Frankfurt, October 8th, 2013
The boys were hungry and they wanted rice, so off we went to Frankfurt city taking the train from Offenbach OST to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Paid €15 for the fare. We had Arabic rice at Al Rafedain Restaurant, Baseler Straße 15, Frankfurt. It is near to the hotel I stayed last year.
During lunch, I read the Frankfurt City Guide that I bought from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof earlier on. On the last page, I read about super-saver card. We could actually buy a group ticket for €28! What a saver. And there we were already spending €45 for one and a half day. Bummer. We later got to the hauptbanhof (station) and went strait to the tourist info counter and bought the super-saver card.
The super-saver card includes unlimited use of public transport system for a maximum of 5 persons as well as 50% discount on admission to selected spots in Frankfurt city. Later we went to buy Ortel data plan prepaid card at a phone shop (operated by Pakistanis) on Kaiserstraße, just across the station. We got the simcard for €15 and dataplan for €14.90. Alles war gut. So off we went to our next destination: Hauptwache.
Hauptwache
The Hauptwache (Main Guard) is a central point of Frankfurt am Main and named after the baroque building (above photo) in 1730. It was the headquarters of the city’s Stadtwehr militia when Frankfurt was an independent city state and also contained a prison. In 1866, the Hauptwache became a police station. In 1904, the building was used as a café and remains one to this day. Heavily burned in World War II bombing, it was reopened in a provisional form with an altered roof in 1954. In 1967, with the building of the U-Bahn tunnel through the city, it was dismantled so it could be moved and rebuilt over the new underground U-Bahn station. The plaza has undergone another major renovation when the S-Bahn station for suburban trains was opened in 1978.
Today, Hauptwache station serves as one of the most important crosspoints of the Frankfurt public transport system. Eight of nine S-Bahn lines serve the station as well as five of seven U-Bahn lines.
From Hauptwache, we later walked about 10 minutes to Römer via Liebfrauenstraße and Neue Kräme.
Somewhere at Liebfrauenstraße.
Yassin in front of Maggi shop at Neue Kräme. Yassin loves Maggi noodles, and asked me to snap this photo. MAggi came into existence in 1872 in Switzerland, when Julius Maggi took over his father’s mill. He quickly became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming to improve the nutritional intake of worker families. Maggi was the first to bring protein-rich legume meal to the market, and followed up with a ready-made soup based on legume meal in 1886. In 1897, Julius Maggi founded the company Maggi GmbH in the German town of Singen, where it is still based today.
“Ibu, you like Starbucks, right? Take my photo here. Peace!” said Yassin.Römer
The Römer is the city’s most important landmarks. The Römer is dominated by the Lutheran Old St. Nicholas church and it has been the city hall (Rathaus) for 600 years. The Römer merchant family sold it together with a second building, the Goldener Schwan (Golden Swan), to the city council on March 11, 1405 and it was converted for use as the city hall.
At Römer. Posing with a golden lady. Paid few Euros for this photo opportunity.
Yassin in front of buildings at Römer.
Artist at work: Rudin Serge.
Yassin jumping with joy. Seen behind is The Römer’s famous three-peaked façade with medieval design. 
Having coffee at Römer.After having coffee, we moved on to visit the Historisches Museum Frankfurt (Frankfurt History Museum).
Azmi busy snapping pictures in front of Historisches Museum Frankfurt.Historisches Museum Frankfurt
The Historisches Museum Frankfurt has its origins in collections of the city and its citizens dating back to the fifteenth century. Founded in 1877/78 on the basis of civil initiatives, it is the oldest museum in Frankfurt to be financed by the municipality. Since its founding, its mission has been the preservation, scientific investigation and mediation of historical objects and images of the trade-fair town. Today the museum has at its disposal the most extensive collections pertaining to the history of culture and art in the city and region of Frankfurt am Main.
Azmi reading about The Cellar of the Burnitz Building.
Azmi and his dad watching Frankfurt City diorama.
Yassin mimicking the militaria armour suit behind him.We had great fun visiting this city museum which offers great insight about the background of the city’s past with its vast exhibits of architecture, photography, paintings, ceramics, metal, militaria, furniture, sculpture and many more.
We later walked across the road in front of the museum to get to River Main.
A woman enjoying the weather by the Mainkai riverside.River Main
The Main is a river in Germany, with a length of 527 km. The Main flows through the German states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (forming the border with Bavaria for some distance) and Hesse. The largest cities along the Main are Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg.
View of River Main.
On Eiserner Steg; pedestrian iron bridge built in 1868 that connects Mainkai and Schaumainkai.
The iron bridge has become on of the locations where loving couples attached their locks – inscribed with names or initials – onto bridge railings and then throw away the key into the river, to ‘lock’ in their union and to symbolise their everlasting love for each other.
After crossing the river, we walked to the nearest station and got back to Frankfurt Hauptbanhof and went for dinner before making our way to our temporary home. It was 7°C when we reached Offenbach and we were walking fast to get home and turn the heater on.
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauptwache_(Frankfurt_am_Main)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6mer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggi
http://www.historisches-museum.frankfurt.de/index.php?article_id=28&clang=1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_(river) -
Day 1 – Offenbach/Frankfurt
My family and I arrived at Frankfurt Airport around 6.45am on October 7th, 2013. After claiming our luggages, we went straight to Avis counter as my husband had booked a car online (paid for a week rental using debit card) but the process didn’t went well as Avis needed a credit card to verify the booking at the counter. As my husband and I only have debit card, we had to cancel the rental. My husband had wrote a refund claim e-mail as I wrote this and that will take about two weeks to clear. But nonetheless, at least we know what to expect if we were to rent a car in Europe again.
We took a taxi to Offenbach as taking the train was out of the option as we had big luggages and a box full of books to carry. We reached the place we rented around 9am. Had to wait an hour for the owner to come as check in time was at 10am.
Boy, it was cold!The owner, Dr. Mai, is a Muslim Egyptian doctor staying in Frankfurt with her family for 15 years already. She showed around the fully-furnished apartment and told us that we were free to use everything and thank God for the washing machine and electric cooking stove. These are top on the list when you have a family travelling with you.
Dr. Mai’s house is awesome!I am very thankful to have found Dr. Mai on Airbnb. I got a very cheap deal renting the place from her as the rental was not based on pax as what the hotels in Frankfurt (perhaps in Europe) are charging. There were other places listed on Airbnb around Frankfurt but all were not within my budget so I opt to stay outside the city. Anyway, staying at any hotel in Frankfurt during book fair can go up to €300(and more) per day!
My family were all tired and they took a little nap before exploring Frankfurt.
After sitting on 12 hours flight.We went out later in the afternoon around 5pm and took the train to Frankfurt city. We walked to Offenbach OST (10 minutes walk) and paid around €15 (one way) to reach the main station, the Frankfurt Am Main Hauptbahnhof.
Frankfurt Am Main Hauptbahnhof.The boys were already hungry (we had nasi impit and sambal ikan bilis for lunch at the apartment) and having visited Frankfurt last year, I know a nearby Halal place to have dinner. We went to Thai Fun at Elbestraße, about 5 minutes walk from hauptbahnhof.
Yassin shared fried rice with his dad while I had rice with chicken and mushroom. Azmi had rice with tomyam.
Busy with phones! It was either they were tweeting or sharing photos on Instagram. Haha! We bought a prepaid data plan earlier and shared connection. I will blog about this on a separate post on ‘how to plan a trip to Frankfurt with your family’. Sounds good? Stay tuned!And that was all for Day 1. We took the train back to Offenbach and paid another €15. Yikes, €30 altogether.
Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow!
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I’m back from Frankfurt!
Oh I miss my blog! I tried to update my blog from Frankfurt but didn’t have enough time to do so. Frankfurt was great! I had 3 days to spent with my family and they rest were spent at book fair. I missed the zoo and Main Tower as I had to be at the fair. But my family did had a great time there.
I will blog about places in Frankfurt individually but at the meantime, here are some photos from our trip:
Me reaching up for autumn leaves.
Yassin, Azmi (my stepson) and my husband.
Our home for 10 days.
Yassin and Azmi in front of Hauptwache old police station, now converted to restaurant.
Yassin and Azmi hugging giant ice-cream.
Having coffee at Romer.
Crossing Baseler Straße. -
Bukit Gambang Safari Park
Bukit Gambang Safari Park is really a good place to take kids and I am glad that my son, Yassin, suggested the place. We really had a blast and will revisit the park when it fully opens next year. Currently, the safari park is on it’s pre-opening stage and offers ticket at a cheaper rate since March 2013.
Sprawling across 138 acres, the Safari Park currently has four areas that we can visit: Wild Savannah, Simba Hill, Foreign Village and Night Jungle. Other areas under construction are Forest Land and Land of Predators.
Wild Savannah
First region we visited was the Wild Savannah which is only accessible by taking a tram. This is an area where animals roam freely and we were advised not to open door or windows for safety purpose.
Wild Savannah is divided into few areas and those we visited was African Savannah, Tropical Rainforest and Australian Outback.
We spotted these animals:
Nyala.
Wildebeest.
Zebra.
Eland.
Impala.
Emu.
Tiger.Simba Hill
After making rounds around the region on a ram, we were sent back to the station. Later we went to Simba Hill by foot. By escalator, actually, hehe. Simba Hill is where a couple of rare White Lions reside. White Lion is a rare colour mutation species in the lion family. The DNA – recessive gene causes the colour of the lion range from blonde to near-white. These lions may live up to 20 years and weigh up to 250kg for males and 182kg for females. These lions spend up to 20 hours per day resting and the remaining time is left to feed or walk around.
Female White Lion. The male was sleeping somewhere.Foreign Village
Later we walk up the Hill and reached Foreign Village. This area is divided into small areas like Petting Kingdom, Malayan House, Saddle Castle, Farm House and many more.
Here we interacted with animals like Llama white kangaroo, Alpaca, Llama not to mention ‘kampung’ geese!
Malayan House – Replicating the Malaysian typical ‘kampung’ house environment.
Just outside the Malayan House, we were able to see the ‘good old day’s’ animals which are not often seen in our concrete jungles.
Me interacting with a Llama at Petting Kingdom.
Pretty Swiss goat at Farm House. It was smiling for the camera 🙂
Another Swiss goat that likes to be petted.
Yassin petting a horse.And that was all. We did planned to go for the Night Jungle but after having dinner, Yassin fell asleep like a baby. We will take that trip another time as we got a set of free tickets for next visit.
If you like to visit Bukit Gambang Safari Park, here are some useful information:
Tickets:
Adults: RM38; Children: RM18 (with MyKad/MyKid)
Adults: RM68; Children: RM48 (without MyKad/MyKid)
* FREE Admission for children below the height of 90cm
Operating hours:
Daily operation hours: 2.00pm – 10.00pm daily
Night Jungle: 6.00pm – 10.00pm daily
Website: Bukit Gambang Safari Park
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Holiday at Bukit Gambang Resort City
Hello! Am now at Bukit Gambang Resort City. Yassin specifically wants to come here so here we are. Reached Bukit Gambang yesterday and first area we went to was the waterpark!! Yassin had a blast. Today we will go to the Safari Park. Will post pictures of animals tonight.
At the meantime, here’s photos from the waterpark.
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Top 8 Tips on planning your first trip to Hong Kong Disneyland
I have been asked by few friends to share tips on how to plan the first trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. Here are my Top 8 tips I crafted from my experience for planning a Disneyland vacation, and related link to assist you:
1. Read information about the resort – Hong Kong Disneyland is located on reclaimed land in Penny’s Bay, Lantau Island. The park consists of six themed areas: Main Street, U.S.A., Fantasyland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land. There are two themed hotels in the area: Disneyland Hotel and Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.
Disneyland Hotel.2. Where to stay – It is advisable that you stay at either Disneyland Hotel or Disney’s Hollywood Hotel for easy access to the parks. Shuttle bus is provided free to the parks. Click on hotel link to find out more about the room rates.
3. How to get the tickets – If you stay at the above hotels, you can get the Room and 2-Day Ticket Package. Check out hotel offer to learn more. Else you can book 1-Day or 2-Day tickets online.
4. Disneyland Transportation – Hong Kong Disneyland is located on Lantau Island, and is accessible via an array of convenient transportation options. From the airport you can take taxi for HKD100 (four passengers). If you want to experience the MTR, take the Airport Express. Buy tickets for four at a discounted rate of HKD150. Get down at Tsing Yi and take the orange line to Sunny Bay. From SunnyBay, take the pink line to Disneyland. Alternatively you can take a bus from the airport to Tung Chung for HKD3.80 for adult and HKD1.50 for a child (concessionary). Buy tickets to Disneyland at Tung Chung station at HKD13.50 for adult and HKD6.00 for a child (concessionary). From Tung Chung you have to get down at Sunny Bay and take the train to Disneyland.
You do the math and see which is cheaper.
5. Disneyland Dining Plan – For Muslim, Halal food is available at both hotels upon request and if you are not around the hotel, look for Tahitian Terrace located at Adventureland. Tahitian Terrace serves Singaporean Laksa Rice Noodle Soup, Black Lentil Set, Roasted Lemongrass Chicken Steak with Rice, Penang Fish Curry with Rice and Penang Fish Curry with Rice. All food served here are certified by The Incorporated Trustees of The Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong.
Alternatively, you can also opt for fish, fries, tofu or vegetables at some of the restaurants available in the park. For buffet breakfast, the hotels normally have international meals like baked bean, bread, rice porridge, scramble egg, pancakes, waffles, etc for you to choose from.
6. Best Disneyland Attractions – Disneyland has a ton of attractions, and it is advisable that you take 2 days to explore all the theme parks. But if you have a 1-Day pass, here are some suggestions of what not to miss:
a) Flights of Fantasy Parade: Begins in Fantasyland, near the entrance of Storybook Theatre 3:30PM
b) “Disney in the Stars” Fireworks, Sleeping Beauty Castle, Main Street, U.S.A. 8:00PM
c) “The Golden Mickeys”, Fantasyland 12:30PM 1:45PM 4:00PM 5:00PM 6:15PM
d) Character greeting and photo opportunity: Main Street, U.S.A Town Square 10:00AM – 5:30PM, Fantasyland Fantasy Gardens 12:00PM – 6:30PM, Sleeping Beauty Castle 10:00AM – 5:30PM, Tomorrowland 10:30AM – 5:30PM, Toy Story Land 10:30AM – 6:00PM, Grizzly Gulch 10:30AM – 5:30PM.
e) Disney’s FASTPASS attractions: Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Space Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Use your ticket to get a FASTPASS ticket located outside the attractions.
Please check the Daily Calendar to see if the timings are the same.
Please check the park map and print it out for your guide beforehand. Alternatively, you can get the park map from hotels or from the City Hall situated at Main Street USA.
7. How much to bring for shopping – I spent about HKD1011 (Approximately RM405) to buy merchandise as below and hope this can be your guide of how much to bring for shopping:
a) Buzz Lightyear Sword – HKD125
b) Mickey Original T-shirt for adult – HKD205
c) Mickey T-shirt for kid – HKD195
d) Mickey T-shirt for baby – HKD168
e) Mickey 3D Pen – HKD38
f) Disneyland iPhone 4s casing – HKD150
g) Minnie Mouse Hair Clips – HKD50
h) Mickey Acrylic Keychains 4pcs – HKD80
8. What’s the weather like – It is important that you know the weather before packing for this trip. Here are list of seasons and the average temperature:
a) Spring (March to May) – Temperature and humidity are rising. Evenings can be cool. Average Temperature: 17oC – 26oC
b) Summer (June to August) – Hot, humid and sunny, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The temperature can exceed 31°C but high humidity levels can make it feel even hotter. Average Temperature: 26oC – 31oC
c) Autumn (September to November) – There are pleasant breezes, plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Many people regard these as the best months of the year to visit Hong Kong. Average Temperature: 19oC – 28oC
d) Winter (December to February) – Cool, dry and cloudy, with occasional cold fronts. The temperature can drop below 10°C in urban areas. Average Temperature: 12oC – 20oC.
So there you go. Happy planning your visit to Hong Kong Disneyland!
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Disney’s Hollywood Hotel
This is the continuation from previous post.
Waking up Yassin was easy as I promised him the night before that he gets to go to swimming pool if he wakes up early. After taking shower, we went to Chef Mickey to have our international buffet breakfast. We had the usual; bread, eggs and what not. Chef Mickey was not in sight, we guess he was busy preparing breakfast.
After breakfast, we headed straight to the swimming pool. The water was warm and Yassin had a blast swimming and playing on the slide.
After Yassin finished swimming, we went to the garden area to get some shots. And let me take this chance to show you around the hotel.
Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is one of two hotels at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is themed to 1930s Hollywood. The hotel has 600 guestrooms each with the “garden view”, the “sea view” or the “park view” that overlooks the Hong Kong Disneyland Park.
Decorations around the hotel include classic cars from the 1930s, a pavement decorated as a strip of film, names of roads and highways in California, the El Captain sign and even the ‘world famous’ “HOLLYWOOD HOTEL” sign.
The hotel itself has a very art deco style, and is themed to the 1930 golden age of movies.
There are five restaurants in the hotel. Chef Mickey (the main restaurant) has an international cuisine buffet, while Hollywood & Dine has quick-service food and beverages. Studio Lounge is a full-service bar with specialty drinks and snacks. The Sunset Terrace opens seasonally, with outdoor BBQ cuisine. The Piano Pool Bar sells drinks to guests sitting around a piano-shaped pool. The Piano Pool also has a side toddler pool, with a slide.
There’s a gift shop called Celebrity Gift that sells plush, toys, pins and stationeries near the lobby area.
As for its accommodation, Disney’s Hollywood Hotel offers A-List rooms. There are three captivating room types, each designed for the comfort of a family of four. Room types are according to outside view: Garden View, Sea View and Park View. When planning your trip to NSW, be sure to choose Yamba accommodation in NSW for a memorable and comfortable stay.
Amenities include one king-sized bed or two double beds in all rooms (non-smoking rooms available), flat-screen LCD TV, in-room high speed internet access, free wireless internet access at hotel lobby and dining locations, guest parking spaces, guest limousine service, in-room safe, cribs upon request, laundry and valet.
Before we left the hotel, we did some shopping again at the Celebrity Gift shop. We took the shuttle bus and headed to Disney train station. We waved to the trees, the people, the hotel and everything we saw on the way to the station.
‘Goodbye Hong Kong Disneyland…until we meet again’ was our last words before setting our foot on the Disney train that took us to Tung Chung station.Next post: My tips on how to plan for your trips to Hong Kong Disneyland!