Chocolate Ville: Most Romantic Place in Bangkok

Posted on April 4, 2018 by missuschewy

Hello everyone! I figured I need to finish up my Bangkok travelogues so here I am! I had many friends and followers asking me about Chocolate Ville when I posted IG stories during our trip so this post is for all of you who are keen to know more about this beautiful place! Some had asked if Chocolate Ville is located in Hua Hin and the answer is no. Chocolate Ville is also not exactly in Bangkok, but it is rather near Bangkok. Depending on traffic conditions, it would take about 30 to 45 minutes’ journey by car from Pratunam area.

We had a private driver for our trip and since Chocolate Ville operates only from 4pm onwards, we got our driver to pick us up at around 3pm so that we would have ample time to walk around for photos before having dinner there.

Being the unofficial planner for our trip, I had to find places that are suitable for all three generations. In one of my previous posts, I blogged about our day trip to Maeklong Railway Market which was not particularly well-received by the group. Good thing everyone liked Chocolate Ville because of the pretty and romantic European village theme which has a unique “Dining in the Park” concept.

I mean honestly, who would have thought that such a place exists around Bangkok? It is so not Bangkok at all, if you know what I mean! And also, did I mention that admission is FREE?!

Even my in laws could not resist having their photos taken with their grandchildren!

There are many nice photo spots around Chocolate Ville so it is really important to arrive early to give yourself time for photos, as well as avoid the potential crowds that might start to stream in during dinner time. Also, the entire place is quite huge!

I observed that the crowds came in at around 6ish even on a weekday but it could be that Chocolate Ville is a popular choice on Valentine’s Day (yup we visited on 14th Feb!). Heh not surprising at all since I reckon Chocolate Ville is the most romantic place in Bangkok!

Besides arriving early to avoid the crowd, good and bright lighting makes your photos turn out really nicely!

As with the rest of Bangkok, it was also a little hot and humid over at Chocolate Ville. I strongly recommend wearing light, breathable clothing there. Thankfully, my nursing dress from JumpEatCry is made of polyester material which is very soft and cooling to wear.

I love that there are numerous bears of different shapes and sizes scattered around Chocolate Ville. This is one of my favorites!

Yup it happens. Just another unglam moment lol.

I strongly advise that you make reservations if you are keen to dine at Chocolate Ville as the entire place gets filled up pretty quickly. I copied what everyone else did, which was to leave on Chocolate Ville’s Facebook page, a 5-star rating with a specific template:

Dear Chocolate Ville,
I would like to reserve a table for (number of) adults on (date)
Please find the details as below for your reference :
Guest name: XXX
Date: XXX
Time: XXX
Preference: non-smoking area, Riverside, and sunset view.

Thank you so much!
This is the first time we visit Chocolate Ville.
We’ve learned from friends recommendation that Chocolate Ville provides delicious food and nice scenery.
We hope we can have a great time in here.
We understand that you will cancel the booking without notification if we come late.
So that would be great if you can confirm the booking for us so that we can mark it down on our schedule.
Thanks a lot for your assistance in advance.
Have a nice day.
I hope to get your reply soon.
Thanks.

The above is cute and funny but hey, it works. Someone from Chocolate Ville will confirm your reservation by providing a reply to your comment.

As it is a central restaurant, the same food menu will be provided regardless of where you choose to dine in Chocolate Ville.

I was feeling quite ravenous from all the walking around Chocolate Ville and managed to only take photos of half of what we had for dinner. The food was quite good and also reasonably priced. The menu features a good mix of Thai and Western food. Alcohol is strictly served only after 6pm.

Since the night is still young, it is a good idea to head over to Talad Rot Fai Srinakarin night market which is about 30 minutes by taxi. Estimated taxi fare is around THB 350 to 400. There’s also Grab in Bangkok if you prefer!

A quick recap:

– Make reservations on Facebook if you intend to dine at Chocolate Ville.
– Wear light and breathable clothing.
– Remember to bring along your camera.
– Chocolate Ville opens only at 4pm.
– Take a taxi around 3.30pm and aim to arrive around 4pm for ample time to explore.
– Alcohol is served only after 6pm.

Would you be keen to visit Chocolate Ville during your next holiday to Bangkok? Let us know! Stay connected with us on Instagram @missuschewy and on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy 🙂

Chocolate Ville
Soi Nawamin 74, Yak 3-8, Kaset-Nawamin Road
Klong Kum Subdistrict, Bueng Kum District
Bangkok 10230, Thailand

Opening Hours:
Daily
4pm – 12 midnight

TrollsTopia at Universal Studios Singapore

Posted on April 2, 2018 by missuschewy

Getting the Universal Studios Singapore season pass is one of the best decisions we have ever made and to date, we had visited the theme park on multiple occasions since the pass gives us unlimited access in a span of 6 months. On Chanelle’s 4th birthday, we decided to check out the TrollsTopia event which commenced early March and will last till end April.

We thought that face painting would be a good idea for the birthday girl and Chanelle was excited because she was eager to put on some “makeup” lol. It costs $10 for eye design and $20 for half face. Alternatively, there is also hand painting at $10. Chanelle went for the half face painting which actually looked like a full face painting to me. Perhaps her face is too small. Hahaha.

The designs are all Trolls-inspired and you can let the artist know your choice from the design board.

I was quite amused to see Chanelle interact with the artist in her own ways. Not sure if they were talking but I caught her winking at the artist many times and the artist was trying hard not to laugh out loud!

Almost done!

Applying some finishing touches!

Tadaaaaah! Chanelle was really pleased! It took her awhile to realise that she really had “makeup” on and that she wasn’t dreaming!

We popped over for a mini photoshoot which was also Trolls-themed of course! There were Trolls hair of various colors to choose from.

Cayla decided she was too cool for Trolls hair and proceeded to chuck the wig aside lol.

For anyone who’s interested, you can get your Trolls face and hand paintings done at Trollify Yourself!

How could we miss the TrollsTopia musical performance? It’s important to grab a programme sheet as soon as you enter USS to keep yourself updated on the show timings. We assembled ourselves in front of the stage 5 minutes beforehand to get a relatively good spot. The performance was entertaining with songs and dances.

Hahaha I didn’t know that misterchewy stood so far away from us until I viewed the photo and he said that Shrek pulled him close.

The Madagascar carousel ride is always a must for the girls!

We couldn’t stay around for long because we had to send Cayla for the class. Will definitely be back soon for TrollsTopia which ends on 29 April! 🙂 Stay connected with us on Instagram @missuschewy and on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok Afternoon Tea Review

Posted on February 27, 2018 by missuschewy

To some Singaporeans, Bangkok is all about shopping, shopping and more shopping. Foodies like us value eating more than anything else. On the third day of our Bangkok trip, The Chewys had the luxury of sleeping in and subsequently took a Grab car to Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. We were staying at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit and the journey from our hotel took about 20 minutes due to a slight midday traffic jam.

Thankfully, the girls were pretty well-behaved along our way there and upon reaching Mandarin Oriental, we were captivated by the beautiful and luxurious hotel interior.

Overlooking the Chao Phraya river, the Authors’ Lounge at Mandarin Oriental is one of Bangkok’s most photographed locations. It was originally an open roofed garden with a tortoise pond and since 1976, the Authors’ Lounge features a glass roof and is the place to enjoy afternoon tea. Over the last three centuries, many famous writers have stayed at the hotel and their photographs are showcased in the newly restored Authors’ Lounge. The ‘Heritage Authors’ Noël Coward, James Michener, Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad are now immortalised in four new private lounges.

I am always cautious and want to avoid any disappointment when it comes to holiday planning, so I reserved a table for the four of us a couple of weeks before our trip. I booked the earliest slot for afternoon tea at 12pm and perhaps it was a weekday, we got to choose where we wanted to sit. What I didn’t like was that Mini misschewy started to whine because it was close to her nap time and one of the staff forewarned us that if Cayla continued to make noise, we would have to be moved to a table at a corner as it would disturb other (non-existent) guests. I mean young children are bound to laugh, cry or talk loudly. She could have ushered us to a corner table in the first place. It resulted in us jumping up every time one of the girls let out any form of sound exceeding 60 to 75 decibels and we had to constantly shush them. LOLOLOL.

Moving on..! The Author’s Lounge offers three types of afternoon tea sets. If you are a vegetarian, there’s something for you! Apart from that, there is a choice of Western Afternoon Tea Set and The Oriental Afternoon Tea Set. If you are dining alone, I would definitely recommend that you go for the Oriental set where the items are traditionally Thai. Dining with friends? Then you should have the best of both worlds! Each set costs ฿1450++ per person and is inclusive of free flow tea of coffee.

My choice of tea: Pink Garden Tea – Regal garden roses accent this green tea blended with notes of Provencal red fruits. A blooming bouquet as blissful as a summer day.

His choice of tea (without even having to look at the menu): Moroccan Mint Tea – A great favourite, this fine TWG Tea green tea is perfectly blended with suave and strong Sahara mint. A timeless classic.

We didn’t have to wait long for both the afternoon tea sets to be served. Yaaay! And look! So Instagram-worthy!

Little Tai Tais in training 😛

I love the use of ceramic tiered tiffin to present the oriental set! Traditional with a touch of class.

We really enjoyed The Oriental Afternoon Tea Set. Most of our favorites were the savory food items such as:

– Lime-marinated crabmeat sandwich with lemongrass and chilli
– Minced chicken, chilli and black olive sandwich
– Roasted pandan chicken
– Steamed Thai dumplings

From the selection of pastries, these were pretty unforgettable:

– Kanom Sai Sai, sweet coconut pudding wrapped in banana leaf
– Steamed pumpkin custard
– Mango tartlet with vanilla cream
– Candy bale fruit chiffon cake

We were impressed by the Oriental set but that doesn’t mean we paid any less attention to the Western Afternoon Tea Set.

Here are some of the finger sandwiches that we reckon are worthy of mention:

– Green asparagus dips in clear tomato aspic on white sour dough bread
– Smoked ham, sun dried tomato and honeydew melon
– Open-faced smoked salmon, sour cream and beetroot sandwich
– Cucumber, dill and cream cheese on oat bread

Apart from the chocolate desserts, these were quite nice and refreshing:

– Minted light cream and strawberry sphere
– Vanilla yoghurt cream, streusel and pineapple chutney

If you only have time to indulge in one afternoon tea session in Bangkok, make the Authors’ Lounge at Mandarin Oriental your choice! Hope you guys have enjoyed our Mandarin Oriental Bangkok afternoon tea review! Stay connected with us on Facebook and on Instagram 🙂

Authors’ Lounge
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Tel: +66 (2) 659 9000 ext 7390-4
Email: mobkk-reservations@mohg.com

Afternoon tea timing:
12pm – 6pm (Last order at 5.30pm)

Hong Kong Photoshoot with Shoot My Travel

Posted on February 21, 2018 by missuschewy

During our Hong Kong trip late last year, we dedicated some time to a casual family photoshoot in Central area. We wanted a little tour around the area as well, and what better way than to engage a freelance photographer via Shoot My Travel? It’s the perfect way to experience the city through the lens of a local photographer! Shoot My Travel photographers are available in over 250 destinations so you can always easily engage one wherever you go. Wylie was our photographer and we communicated via emails and subsequently whatsapp prior our trip.

It is very important to discuss your preferences and expectations with your photographer so that you can have a smooth photoshoot on the day itself. Based on previous experiences, a shoot in the morning is better for us because the kids are chirpy and smiley, before their nap time that is. After deciding on the date and time of the shoot, we moved on to settle the location of the shoot. I told Wylie that I wanted to avoid modern architecture as I preferred Hong Kong’s colonial charm. She provided some really good suggestions and Central appealed the most to me.

I totally forgot about planning our outfits for the shoot and was about to haphazardly throw in some clothes into our luggage when Wylie texted to ask if we will be in matching attires. It was difficult to pick out something coordinated which we have not worn before in previous shoots but I finally managed to go for a neutral-colored theme, with the girls watching matching dresses. I think we look pretty ok in the photos!

Wylie went the extra mile and got her assistant to help us with our bags and stroller so it really lightened our load during the shoot. They arrived early and we got to commence the photoshoot right away. This is very crucial especially when you have young children! Every second counts! LOL.

The shoot was a relaxing one and we got to explore the area which we couldn’t have done so without Wylie showing us around. It was a pity we could only one hour because the kids usually get restless very quickly! I would definitely recommend going for at least a two-hour shoot if you can afford the time. Shoot My Travel has various packages that can cater to your needs.

Rates start from USD$234 and gift cards are also available to surprise your friends or loved ones! For more information or to book a photographer, visit https://www.shootmytravel.com/

Changi Recommends X Ocean Park

Posted on January 17, 2018 by missuschewy

It has been raining a lot in Singapore and I can’t help but be reminded of the wet weather experience we had at Ocean Park during our Hong Kong trip in November. We spent almost a week in Hong Kong and the weather was perfect, except that it rained the entire day in Ocean Park, right from the minute we set foot on the theme park! *Grumbles* Hahaha. It was too late to make any changes to our plans so we decided to just embrace the cool weather and have fun!

While researching for our trip, I found out that the MTR South Island Line opened in December 2016 and there is direct access to the park entrance if you alight at Ocean Park Station. Super convenient and it’s only 3 stops away from our hotel!

Besides the convenience in travelling, we also got our admission tickets and fast passes via Changi Recommends! Basically, you can get everything covered just by visiting the website! Changi Recommends offer good deals on connectivity (WiFi and SIM), transport, and activities, etc! Getting our Ocean Park tickets before our trip is definitely a good decision as there are huge money savings and most importantly, we saved time without having to queue for our tickets at the park.

Entering the park with our e-Tickets was a total breeze too, as we simply had to flash our phone to get the QR codes scanned. Alternatively, you may also print the tickets on A4-sized paper 🙂

Although Ocean Park offers complimentary WiFi, we found that it was a little unstable (not sure if the rainy weather played a part? haha) and we got disconnected at times, much to our frustration. Good thing we had our WiFi router which we had loaned from Changi Recommends! In fact, staying connected throughout our holiday was vital as we often had to seek information online as well as update my social media pages with photos of our trip! Hehe.

Ocean Park is really huge and it’s basically divided into The Summit (highland) and The Waterfront (lowland). I also highly recommend going for the Ocean FasTrack as it gives you priority accesses for designated rides and attractions. It’s kind of like a fast pass and we managed to beat the queue for the Ocean Express!

The Summit features all the crazy exciting rides that you can think of and they are definitely not for the faint-hearted! Needless to say, we did not go for any of these rides because we weren’t up for it, plus it was raining! Also, Little misschewy did not meet the minimum height requirement for all the rides there. LOL.

The restaurants were all packed because it was lunch time and everyone was seeking shelter, so we decided to stop by a food kiosk for a quick bite instead. The giant turkey leg was so juicy and delicious!

Since we are already at The Summit, we checked out the Ocean Theatre where there was an animal fun talk on seals.

Took the Ocean Express back to The Waterfront and both girls fell asleep because it was their nap time.

Again, we managed to skip the queue at The Grand Aquarium, thanks to our FasTrack band which was worn around our wrists!

Time for a snack!

This is one of the mascots at Ocean Park but I can’t remember his name. Haha.

Each time we passed by the mascot meet and greet booth, we would take a photo with the various mascots on duty. Lol! Super cute can!

Don’t have to worry about getting hungry as there are plenty of food kiosks and restaurants scattered all over Ocean Park.

Whiskers Harbour has up to 11 attraction rides that are more suitable for young children of Little misschewy’s age.

Hahaha just to make sure that Little misschewy is eligible for the Frog Hopper ride.

Totally clueless before the ride lol.

The hubs and I were really evil because we kept laughing when Little misschewy got frightened and buried her face in her hands.

On the Balloons Up-Up-And-Away ride! It’s actually a mini ferris wheel that moves really really slowly. Haha.

Make sure you stop by Whiskers Theatre to catch the Ocean Heroes!

It is very meaningful as you will get to learn about ocean conservation through the songs and dances. Although the songs were in Cantonese, we could get the message through their wonderful performance.

There are a number of baby care rooms in Ocean Park so it shouldn’t be an issue if you want to feed your little ones or have his/her diapers changed.

Finally it was time for our cable car ride! It is another must-do at Ocean Park! The kids loved it so much!

This place is like a mini Chinatown. Very good for photo ops!

There are a few game stalls so if you are feeling lucky, do give it a shot and win some prizes!

We actually stayed till closing time! Can’t wait to revisit Ocean Park when the kids are slightly older and of course, thank you Changi Recommends for the awesome experience!

The Chewys’ Hong Kong Disneyland Photoshoot by WanderSnap

Posted on December 6, 2017 by missuschewy

During our recent trip to Hong Kong, I featured WanderSnap in one of my Instagram posts and subsequently received a handful of DMs asking me to share more about this revolutionary photography portal. In case you missed it, I had previously blogged about our very first experience with WanderSnap in Bali earlier this year. 🙂

WanderSnap affordably connects families and businesses with local photographers to create beautiful work and life images. What I like about WanderSnap is the flexibility it gives. You won’t find yourself groaning about fixed photography packages that are way out of your budget. Instead, there is a huge pool of snappers for you to choose from based on how much their works resonate with you, as well as the snappers’ hourly rates. Of course, that keeps everyone happy!

Why hire a snapper from WanderSnap when you can simply take selfies? Honestly, I’m so done with selfies. As we are a growing family (from two to four lol), it gets incredibly challenging having to make sure everyone is in the frame, and smiling at the count of three. On good days, we get a good shot out of 20 tries. On bad days, let’s not talk about it. LOL.

We visited Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disneysea last March and one of my biggest regrets is not taking enough photos while we were there, having the time of our lives. For our Hong Kong trip, I made up my mind that selfies are not going to cut it. Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was WanderSnap! We had such a great experience in Bali, so why not do it again? You can search for a local snapper based on destination and there is a large pool of Hong Kong snappers for you to choose from! Also, there are really good Singapore snappers if you are planning a casual shoot of some sort 🙂

Creating beautiful memories in Disneyland is a dream come true for me. Scott Abraham was our snapper and you can view his WanderSnap profile here. He is from Scotland and is currently living in Hong Kong while furthering his studies. Even though Scott is only 21, he has many years of photography experience and his works speak for themselves. Scott’s travel and landscape photography is just so amazing and impressive! Also, I found it hard to believe that he is only charging US$50 per hour. We engaged Scott for 1.5 hours and purchased his admission ticket to Disneyland. Best decision ever!

We communicated via whatsapp the day before the shoot and agreed to meet at 10.45am outside Market House Bakery along Main Street, U.S.A. Scott arrived early and was already waiting for us to commence the shoot.

Thankful for great weather on the day of our photoshoot, albeit a little too bright and sunny! Haha. Mini misschewy was having her morning nap but not to worry, you will get to see her very shortly 😛

Having a snapper with you means you get tons of pretty photos! Prior the shoot, I told Scott that my wish was to cover at least Main Street, Fantasyland, and Toy Story Land. It always helps to do some homework beforehand!

Cracks me up to see Little misschewy acting all dainty.

Look who’s awake! 😀

I love Fantasyland because it’s very fairytalish (duh lol).

It was Little misschewy’s second time on Dumbo the flying elephant! First time was at Tokyo Disneyland!

It wasn’t part of the plan but stepping into the Fairy Tale Forest (presented by Pandora) gave us plenty of photo opportunities!

Scenes from princess fairy tales come to life in a magical garden setting beautifully crafted in miniature scale.

We paid Tinker Bell a visit! She’s really cute and funny!

This is one of my favorite candid shots.

Loving the oh so colorful Toy Story Land!

Hello Sheriff Woody!

The cast member working in Andy’s Toy Box created these bubbles for us! Major love!

The Chewys are reporting for duty and looking out for Little misschewy! Haha.

This photo gets me all teary-eyed. Some day my prince will come..

Time for some ice cream to reward the girls for being quite cooperative during the shoot! Hehehe.

I don’t think I will ever get tired looking at these photos! If you are planning to engage a snapper for your next holiday, get $50 credit when you create an account with WanderSnap via this link https://wandersnap.co/friend/travelwithcharlene during signup! Thanks WanderSnap and Scott for these priceless photos of our family! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about WanderSnap. Also, stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Hong Kong Disneyland 2017 Trip

Posted on November 30, 2017 by missuschewy

Hola chewy friends! This is gonna be a photo heavy post on our two days (8th & 9th November 2017) in Hong Kong Disneyland! I had previously reviewed the newest hotel in Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, Disney Explorers Lodge, and you can read about it here.

Many of our friends thought that we were crazy beyond words to book a 7.30am flight to HK, especially since we were taking Little misschewy and Mini misschewy with us. It was actually my idea and when I sounded misterchewy out prior to purchasing our air tickets, he was totally up for the challenge. LOL. Yup, we left our house at 4.30am to head to the airport. I wanted Disneyland to be the first stop of our HK trip and planned to reach there as early as possible so that we could make the most out of our admission tickets!

We spent a considerable amount of time in our hotel room when we checked in at Disney Explorers Lodge but luckily, I still remembered to perform my timekeeping duties. Hehe. When we reached the park, it was around 2pm which wasn’t too bad considering we reached HK airport at 11.30am!

Plenty of “distractions” once you enter the park. Gotta focus! Haha.

We first passed by Mickey and Minnie at Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A and was appalled to see the long, snaking queue of fans, which actually shouldn’t really come as a surprise since they are Disney’s most popular couple! Just a few metres away, we spotted Donald and Daisy! There was a queue too but it looked manageable so we joined in without hesitation.

It’s really sweet that the mascots interact with the fans. Little misschewy was shy but after we had our photographs taken, she kept saying “Daisy Duck hugged me!”

We were really lucky because the queue for Duffy and Stella Lou was quite short too!

It is easy to miss Market House Bakery, so be sure to keep a look out because there are plenty of goodies to fill your hungry tummies!

Just look at those Donald Duck and Winnie the Pooh donuts! Cuteness overload! We bought one and I wanted to take a nice photo under natural light but Little misschewy just wouldn’t allow me. LOL.

It was time for the Flights of Fantasy parade but we gave it a miss because our plan was to watch it the next day. Since most people were watching the parade along Main Street, U.S.A., it was a splendid time for us to go for as many popular attraction rides as possible!

Our first ride was Orbitron at Tomorrowland. We queued for about 5 minutes only!

Have you seen anyone eating while on a flying saucer ride?

Try your hand at one of the game stalls if you visit HK Disneyland!

I have always enjoyed It’s a Small World since my first ride at Tokyo Disneyland many years ago!

Sing along to the classic anthem of world peace during a musical boat tour hosted by the children of the world. Climb aboard a cozy boat and set sail along the Seven Seaways canal for an approximate 9-minute journey.

It was hard to take photos because of the dim lighting and there was plenty of movement from the singing and dancing dolls, and also the boat ride. Taking videos would be a better idea!

Due to routine maintenance and inspection, It’s a Small World will be temporarily suspended from January 3 to 16, 2018.

When we were in Fantasyland, we grabbed FastPass tickets for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

Another highly recommended ride for young children! The four of us shared a Hunny Pot and were taken through a colorful, song-filled storybook wonderland!

As it was quite some distance to walk to the Baby Care Centre at Main Street, Mini misschewy and I managed to find an empty bench near Mad Hatter Tea Cups which was temporarily suspended during the time of our visit. A baby’s gotta drink when a baby’s gotta drink!

In the meantime, misterchewy and Little misschewy went for the Cinderella Carousel which looks even more stunning at night.

Boy, were we famished after a long day! Early dinner beckoned at the Royal Banquet Hall.

This medieval dining hall serves American, Japanese and Chinese specialties. Be spoiled for choice as you choose from four food stations — Grill, Japan, Guang Dong and International.

I had the Japanese Curry Pork Chop Bento (HK$139). The portion was quite huge! Food tasted mediocre but still acceptable.

The hubs chose the Baked Pork Chop with Rice Combo (HK$129) so that Little misschewy could share some of his food which was non-spicy.

We bought the 3-in-1 meal coupon which includes an ice cream or popcorn.

Just look at these! How cute!

Decided it was a good time to squeeze in a bit of shopping before the night time parade! So in love with the new Disney character, Stella Lou!

Continued shopping before fireworks began!

Called it a day after watching “Disney In The Stars” Fireworks!

We were ready to conquer Disneyland again on our second day! Dedicated about 1.5 hours in the morning for a photoshoot which I will blog about in a separate post!

Time to reward ourselves with some food and it was lunch time anyway! Love the Explorer’s Club Restaurant at Mystic Point!

Both kids were asleep so we queued for Mickey and Minnie!

Grabbed a good spot for the Flights of Fantasy parade!

Sofia the First!

Little misschewy was so excited to meet Snow White in person!

Isn’t this such a sweet photo?

We skipped the night time parade and fireworks on the second day since we had already experienced both the day before. Did some last minute shopping along Main Street!

Do you know that there are two Disney stores at Hong Kong Airport? If you regret not getting something you like at Disneyland, you can always try your luck at the airport!

If not, there is always Airfrov that you can count on! Get travellers to shop for you! New users can get $10 credit just by signing up on Airfrov’s website or app! Go to the Credits page and redeem “CHEWY” code BEFORE you post a request. The credits can be used for $5 off $35 spend, or $10 off $70 spend (before service & delivery fee). Some of the items you see in this photo aren’t mine! 😉

Hope you enjoyed reading about our two-day trip to Hong Kong Disneyland! Stay tuned to our next post!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

Disney Explorers Lodge in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel Review

Posted on November 23, 2017 by missuschewy

Hello everyone! I will be starting a series of blog posts on our recent family trip to Hong Kong (8th to 13th November 2017) and this first installment is a review of Disney Explorers Lodge, the newest hotel in Hong Kong Disneyland which opened on 30 April this year.

In the past, staying at a hotel in Disneyland had never once crossed our minds. Since we were travelling with Little misschewy and Mini misschewy this time, we decided that staying in Disneyland would be a nice experience for all of us! Plus it would be well worth the money since there are four of us! LOL.

Spending a night in a hotel in Disneyland isn’t cheap but there are special hotel offers listed on the Hong Kong Disneyland website where you can save up to 40% off when you book 21 days in advance. One day in HK Disneyland is definitely not enough especially when you have young kids in tow, so we selected the Room and 2-Day Ticket Package which starts at around HK$3624 (S$626). The standard rate (room only) for a one-night stay in Disney Explorers Lodge averages about HK$2600 (S$449) to HK$3350 (S$578), depending on season, so the package is really enticing and value for money!

DISNEY PRO TIP: This is not mentioned anywhere in the HK Disneyland website if you search under Travel Information but there IS an airport shuttle service which you can request, by emailing Disney Resort Centre at online.reservations@hongkongdisneyland.com
This is only for hotel guests. Per trip, it costs HK$40 per adult and HK$20 per child (3 to 11 years old). We took the Combo (1 Adult & 1 Child) at HK$50 + 1 Adult at HK$40, which is HK$90 (S$15.50) in total. Do take note that the operating hours of this airport shuttle service is only from 10am to 8pm.

Upon confirmation, we received this Airport Shuttle Counter Map which was really useful in helping us locate the counter service staff upon our arrival at the airport and we were led the way to the shuttle bus at the carpark. This airport shuttle service is very convenient and highly recommended if you are planning to head straight to Disneyland from the airport. The journey from the airport took about 15 minutes.

We chose to stay at Disney Explorers Lodge because it is the newest hotel of the three and also because I was attracted to its exploration theme. I absolutely love the lodge motto “ad explorare et somniare” (“to explore and dream”). Interestingly, the rooms are facing and furnished according to the four unique tropical climates of Asia, Oceania, South America and Africa.

Since we arrived on a Wednesday, there wasn’t any queue for check-in, much to our relief. However, the check-in process took a little longer than expected and Little misschewy started to grow impatient, so we went exploring the huge lobby together!

There is also a hotel map framed on the wall at the lobby.

Yay finally! The hubs received a smaller version of the hotel map (as compared to the one on the wall), park admission tickets, attraction priority pass, field guide, guide map, times guide and a handful of stickers!

Time to freshen up in our hotel room before visiting the park!

Even the hotel lift is so cool! Wish I had taken photos of the lift buttons and all!

How cute is this room key card!

All of us were so excited upon entering our room and boy, was it huge! Little misschewy was the most exhilarated of all and couldn’t stop gushing over all the little Disney-related details she discovered while prancing around in our room.

I had earlier requested in my email to be provided with a baby cot but a bed guard was attached to one of the beds instead.

We stayed in the Oceania wing, overlooking the beautiful Rain Drop pool.

Breathtaking, isn’t it? I wanna wake up to this everyday!

Gotta love the bathroom amenities! We brought home the tin box as a souvenir.

There are toothbrushes for kids too!

Plastic cup for children to prevent breakages!

I was quite amused to find hotel room slippers in different sizes!

Ready to conquer HK Disneyland with our guide map and times guide!

There are resort shuttle buses to ferry hotel guests to and from the park. You may also choose to walk, although I would advise against it since the shuttle bus comes very frequently.

I have confirmed with Disney cast members that this is a loop service, starting from and ending at the Disneyland Resort Public Transportation Interchange.

Will be blogging separately about our two days in HK Disneyland!

Apart from in-room dining, there are other dining options available in Disney Explorers Lodge, namely Dragon Wind, World of Colour Restaurant and Chart Room Cafe. In the interest of time, we only had breakfast at Chart Room Cafe.

Really adorable Mickey pancakes but mediocre in taste. If you have the time and budget, you might wanna go for the character dining buffet experience at Dragon Wind, where the Disney characters mingle with guests and go to every table for photo taking! We skipped that because we are not a fan of buffets.

Disney merchandise collectors will be happy to know that there is a shop at Disney Explorers Lodge, called The Trading Post. You can find some items that are exclusively sold at this shop.

DISNEY PRO TIP: What do you get when you place two of your room card keys side by side? Hehe. You need not return these cards upon checking out! They are meant as souvenirs for Disney Explorers Lodge guests 🙂

When we returned to Singapore, I received an email to participate in a survey for being a hotel guest of Disney Explorers Lodge. The reward is a couple of wallpapers which you can use for your PC and mobile phones.

Hope this review on Disney Explorers Lodge is useful to you! Feel free to comment or email me at missuschewy@gmail.com if you have any questions. You may also drop me a text at my Instagram @missuschewy 🙂

The Chewy’s Bali Trip 2017 (Part Two)

Posted on November 14, 2017 by missuschewy

Helloooo! We are back with the second part of our Bali trip! Since we were travelling with kids, we decided to spend a day at the Bali Safari and Marine Park! We took a cab from our hotel and the journey was about an hour or so.

One of the major highlights of Bali Safari and Marine Park is its Safari Journey! You will see why soon!

The air-conditioned tram took us through the habitats of Indonesia, India and Africa. We got to see many wildlife up close!

Cayla was excited too!

It was really scary to be able to see the lions up close! Like they might suddenly pounce on us or something! LOL.

Did the lion smile for the camera too? Or was he licking his lips?

The ride was really enjoyable because our guide was jovial and informative.

Shhhh.. Do not disturb the tigers!

The boat ride was kinda exciting too! Cayla fell asleep though! Hahaha.

There’s a huge water play area!

This funny girl was asking how do elephants dig their noses!

Yes this photo says it all. The petting zoo is SMELLY!

Like REALLY SMELLY.

We returned to our hotel for a swim! Just misterchewy and Little misschewy since I had to take care of Mini misschewy!

We hailed a Blue Bird taxi and went out for some shopping!

Bought some souvenirs at the nearby shopping mall.

Ordered room service when we got back!

This marks our very first trip with our two kids! 🙂

The Chewy’s Bali Trip 2017 (Part One)

Posted on November 5, 2017 by missuschewy

HEHEHE! Here comes a super long overdue post on our Bali trip back in March this year! Procrastination game strong. Hurhur! 😛 Suddenly very motivated to get this up on the blog because we are going to Hong Kong next week! LOL. Also, it was Cayla’s very first overseas holiday trip at 7 months old, so I must blog about it!

As far as I could remember, the girls were quite well-behaved on the flight. Anyway it was just a short 3-hour journey! When we touched down at Denpasar International Airport, our driver was already waiting to pick us up. We booked our airport transfer via Klook and the prices vary according to location. Our hotel is situated at Kuta which is nearer the airport compared to the other areas.

Four Points by Sheraton, Kuta was our choice of accommodation because it’s a Starwood hotel and also relatively new. Plus, prices are very reasonable!

After climbing the short flight of steps, we were welcomed with ice popsicles! I think they were mango-flavored. Check-in was swift and smooth!

Our room was located on the ground floor because I booked a room with lagoon access, which means you can simply jump straight into the pool from your room balcony!

I wouldn’t say that our room was exactly very spacious but there was sufficient room for a baby cot, two luggages and a stroller.

The view from our balcony! It made all of us so excited lol!

Prior our trip, I registered Chanelle for the P.I.M.P (Papa! I Made a Pizza) class. It costs only IDR 100,000++ for kids under 12 and if adults want to join in, they may do so at IDR 200,000++. The pizza is yours to eat after the session and the price is inclusive of a soft drink and gelato too.

Definitely a great experience and bonding activity for parents and children.

The pizza tasted really yummy actually!

After lunch, we checked out the hotel’s indoor playground! Very impressed by how clean and sophisticated it looked!

Decided to head to the nearby shopping mall in the evening. LOL both kids were too tired by then.

Did a bit of shopping and stopped by A&W! Look at Cayla eyeing my root beer float! LOL.

When in Bali, drink Bintang beer! 😛

Oh yes! We were celebrating our 4th customary wedding anniversary and the hotel surprised us with a slice of chocolate cake when we returned to our room after dinner 🙂

All ready for our adventure the next morning!

We rented a stroller from Bali Baby for our entire trip. No need to bring a stroller along which can be quite a hassle! Rates are affordable and they offer delivery to your hotel.

Our private driver picked us up around 10.30am and the journey to our first destination took about an hour!

Finally reached Taman Ayun temple and the weather was scorching hot. We didn’t manage to take many photos there because Chanelle decided to do her big business there and also refused to cooperate. Lol.

Next stop was Jatiluwih rice terrace! Supposedly a very nice place but then the sky was very dark and gloomy! Erratic weather in Bali!

Quick lunch at the restaurant. They were trying to promote their buffet but we werent exactly very hungry.

Our third and final stop of the day was Tanah Lot, where we had a photoshoot! Haha it was a pity the kids were very tired and cranky by then! Anyway, you can read about our experience here 🙂

Settled our dinner at the hotel!

Part Two of our Bali trip coming next! 🙂

missuschewy

Singapore Lifestyle and Travel Blog

Category Archives: #Parenthood

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The Chewy’s Bali Trip 2017 (Part Two)

The Chewy’s Bali Trip 2017 (Part One)

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