Category: Personal Travels

3 Days in Bali Recap

Alas, I have returned to Bali!!!!

I had been here back in 2016 and knew I’d come back one day. That is how much I liked it.

Wonderful island with so many things to do and enjoy, stop #3 on this trip.

If you are interested in how much this all cost and the visas/entry forms needed – click here.

If you are interested in the preceding trip to Ho Chi Minh – click here.

Sunday, December 29th

We arrived in Bali around 4pm.

I had read that the airport in Bali had become super busy since the last time I was there, but I was well prepared. If you read the budget breakdown I had linked at the beginning of this post – you will see ALL the necessary requirements to enter Bali and how much they cost.

Let me tell you…. having ALL those things prepared and ready? We landed and got out of the airport in under 10 minutes. Be prepared. Move fast.

Because I had the epiphany some weeks before to pick a hotel close to the airport, we arrived really fast from the airport.

The hotel we were staying at was Risata Bali Resort & Spa.

During the 12-minute or so drive to this hotel from the airport, I spoke to our Grab driver. I mentioned to him that we had initially booked a villa out in Canggu and he said to me, ‘if you were booked there, our drive now would have been almost three hours to get there in traffic.’

So. About that epiphany? Good decision making.

The hotel was cool. Nothing particularly outstanding, but for location it was especially perfect.

Aside from the location being prime, the second best thing about the hotel was the Indian restaurant they had on site.

Annapoorna.

We were SO hungry so we went there after we dropped our bags. Listteeennn. The food here was outstanding. Delicious. Loved it. The best garlic naan I’ve ever eaten as well. If you are in Bali and around the Kuta beach area, or staying at this hotel, make sure you eat here.

After eating we took a little nap and then we were off to a nightclub. Yay dancing.

The plan was to go to this weekly Sunday event named Afroroots.

The club location was only 16km away. We decided to leave at 930pm so we would get there with enough time to get in before 11pm, because it was free.

HA.

We arrived at 1210am.

Over 2.5 hours after we left the fucking hotel. TWO AND A HALF HOURS IN THE CAR to go 16 kilometers. We were so pissed. The only saving grace was that the party was really good! The place is small but the vibes were great.

At least when we left back to the hotel at 230am, it only took 30 minutes to get back. The traffic had subsided. Thank goodness.

Monday, December 30th

I want to say we did a lot today, but not really? We woke up, and went to another beach club and stayed there for ten hours. Literally, the entire day.

Time for the ‘worlds best beach club‘ – Finns Beach Club!

We booked our table/bed way ahead of time, and we were in the VIP Adults Only Section, which had its own entrance and our pool area was for adults only. Hallelujah. I hate being drunk near children.

Finns was so much fun, I don’t think writing or photos will really do it justice. Living it in the moment was everything. My boyfriend and I just had an absolute ball.

The staff was AMAZING and took such good care of us, the drinks were flowing and there were eight different restaurants to order from. EIGHT. While we loved our time on Yona Beach Club for Christmas, this? This was soooo much more fun. The music as well. But specifically, the food. Having eight different cuisines at your whim is quite the situation for a foodie like myself.

Booking the bed came with a minimum spend, which was like $400.00 CAD equivalent. We were there for ten hours eating and drinking, and we still came up $100 short. I couldn’t believe how much we indulged and still didn’t spend it all. We just gave it to the staff as a tip.

I will tell everyone to go here just for one day if they are in Bali. Great time will be had and also, we had the best luck ever. This is rainy season in Bali and we got zero rain. Beautiful sunshine all day, and trust me, I got burned bad. I had the physical proof of how nice it was.

Make sure you get the pizza and make sure you get the 10-person drink. I know, we were just two people. But, YOLO.

Tuesday, December 31st

We made it to New Years Eve.

Today we were trying to do some relaxation and chose to do it at Bodyworks Spa.

This place was so beautiful. You see it in person and it is heavenly. We both got individual massages along with rose baths. Great experience. It was also really neat that when looking through my massage bed the word staring back at me was ‘gratitude‘ – wonderful moment for me. Exactly the message you’d want to see before you enter a new year.

By the time we left the spa, the crazy traffic had begun again. Shocker. It was so bad that our Grab driver at one point suggested maybe we should hop out and take motorbikes. Yeah, really bad.

Luckily he also mentioned there was a toll road for $2.00 CAD or so, and yeah it was the long way around, but there was zero traffic that way. So we took that route to get back to our hotel, much faster.

Naturally, took a nap again.

At about 1130pm we walked over to the beach by our hotel. Another bonus of the location of the hotel, the beach was super close.

Fireworks on Kuta beach were fun. You could see damn near the entire side of that island lit up.

Welcoming 2025 on a beach in Bali – happy and memorable moments in my life.

The Bali shenanigans were done on January 1st, it was time to go to the next country.

I did enjoy Bali on this second trip there, especially the food and Finns Beach Club.

However, the overcrowding of the island is ridiculous. I know I am a tourist and therefore a hypocrite saying this, but it really is a problem. I was in Bali in 2016 during this exact same time of year as well (Christmas/NYE), it was nothing like this.

The traffic situation is a catastrophe. I complained last year about the traffic in Lagos, Nigeria – but that is a city of many many millions and also, not an island. And also, it isn’t foreigners, the city is populous, that is why Lagos is so busy. But Bali? No no no. This is all tourists.

Anyone who travels has definitely been in places like Cairo or Lagos where the traffic is nuts. But you never feel unsafe, because it is locals driving. They know what they are doing, they know their country roads.

With Bali, so many people on the motorbikes are foreigners and this makes it anxiety-inducing on the roads. Maybe just for me? Maybe.

Not sure I have the same ‘want‘ to return to Bali like I did after my trip in 2016, but you can’t trust me when I say things like that……if I ever see a flight deal, I might fly right back.

  • Mirna

3 Days in Ho Chi Minh Recap

This was stop #2 out of our whirlwind five-country-jaunt through Southeast Asia.

If you’re interested in the preceding trip to Phuket, click here.

If you’re interested in how much it all cost, click here.

I was really excited to get o Ho Chi Minh, been waiting to visit Vietnam since I was in middle school. I love the food and I knew this would be a goodie! Country #67.

(…..as always, links to the places, restaurants, tours etc. are embedded in the names! If you’d like to do some of these activities on your trip to Ho Chi Minh)

Thursday, December 26th

So on departure from Phuket, our flight with VietJet Air was an hour delayed. We thought okay, that’s not too bad……until we got to Ho Chi Minh.

We landed at Ho Chi Minh airport and waited in line FOR TWO FUCKING HOURS to get through security. Between the delay in Phuket and this, we pretty much lost an entire afternoon of shenanigans in Ho Chi Minh. We didn’t get to our AirBnB until 830pm!!

Once we arrived at our AirBnB, we were happy at how spacious it was. The building has a 7/11 at the base of it, a pharmacy, another market and a pool as well.

If you’re interested in the AirBnB – click here. We liked the location, the space and the host was responsive. Nothing super duper impressive, but it did the job.

We made an attempt to walk around to get some food, but the area was all like bridges? It was super confusing and we were so tired. Totally not in the mood for any particularly long walks.

Such a waste, we just walked back to the AirBnB and ordered some Popeyes on Grab. That is how tired we were and over this day. Stupid airport.

Friday, December 27th

Woke up today and ordered some more food on Grab. Don’t judge. This was really good!

Today we had a reservation at Emerald Spa.

I had contacted them a month or so before and made our bookings.

My boyfriend was going to get the 105 minute premium hair wash, 45 minute basic facial package and the 50 minute salt soak for his feet. I was going to also get the 105 minute premium hair wash and a 90 minute back massage.

Total: 2,496,000 VND = $142.61 CAD.

What a freaking deal!!! If you use TikTok I am sure you have seen those viral head massages with the hair wash. Yes, they are as amazing as they look. You MUST get one. I fell asleep during mine, that is how relaxed I was.

The masseuse was wonderful, the facilities were clean and at the end you got to enjoy some soup and yogurt. Loved it.

After the spa we were actually supposed to go on a food tour, but there was a torrential downpour outside. See photo below.

No way I was walking around in that.

We rescheduled the food tour and went back to the AirBnB.

At the concierge desk we had seen these cards for a laundry service. We were messaging them on WhatsApp and they came to pick up all the dirty clothes we brought from Thailand. Very clutch service.

Again, we ordered some food on Grab and watched Netflix. The weather really messed up the evening plans. The banh mi was really good though! Small win.

To salvage SOME part of this day, we woke up from our naps at 1130pm and decided to go out to the infamous Bui Vien Walking Street.

The rain had stopped, this was our chance to see some action.

This was akin to the fun party street in Phuket. Best comparison. Only thing I didn’t enjoy was that unlike the street in Phuket, they allowed vehicles on this walking street. I really hated that. In Phuket you were able to walk peacefully without worrying a motorcycle or car would hit you. No such peace here.

We just picked two different bars and ordered some drinks to people watch. Very entertaining.

So many people. So many clubs and bars. Soooo many shenanigans to watch.

Saturday, December 28th

Woke up today and made our way to this gorgeous cafe named Cafe Miền Thảo Mộc.

While you’re in Ho Chi Minh, you have to stop by here. It is STUNNING.

Might be the biggest cafe I have ever seen and you can tell so much thought went into it looking beautiful. If you’re into pretty photos, this place is for you.

Also, the food and the smoothies were really good and cheap. We tried not to eat too much before our food tour, but this was lovely.

We went back to the AirBnB for a bit, because our laundry was scheduled to be returned.

For 8.1kg of laundry picked up, washed, dried, folded and delivered back to us.

Total? About $24.00 CAD. HELL YEAH. USE THIS SERVICE. Totally worth it.

No hardcore rain today, food tour time!! Booyah.

The one we booked is called ‘Ho Chi Minh City: Walking Food Tour with 13 Tastings‘.

I want to apologize ahead of time, I have NO clue where my photos from this food tour went. Every night during my trip I upload everything to my drive, but for this? I truly have no idea where all the photos went. All I have is the photos I had uploaded to my Instagram. Sorry for the captions. But at least I have something!

Here are all the items we ate on this food tour:
1 : Bún Cá Kiên Giang (Kien Giang Fish Noodle Soup) – this was MY FAVE item
2 : Bánh Tráng Nướng (Vietnamese Pizza) – hearty
3 : Bò Lụi Xả (Grilled Beef With Lemon Grass) – my second favourite thing, but everyone else on the tour said this was their favourite
4 : Khoai Lang Bong Bóng (Balloon or Sweet Potato) – I liked the sweet potato one
5 : Ốc Nhồi Thịt (Snails Stuffed with Pork) – I know this sounds crazy, but I love snails and I love pork so??? Duh. Delicious for me..
6 : Bánh Tráng Mè (Cracker with Coconut tasted) – yummy!
(Also the drink in this stop is Nước Mía – Sugar Cane Juice) – this was SO good. You can get it with cumquat. First time I ever had that, must mix it.
7 : Bánh Mì (Vietnamese Banhmi) – when is banh mi not delicious?
8 : Bánh Bao Chiên (Savory Dumpling) – very good
9 : Bánh Tiêu (Empty Donuts) – when are donuts bad? Yeah. Exactly.
10 : Cơm Cháy Chà Bông (Crispy Fried Rice) – my boyfriend really liked this dish
11 : Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Pancake) – I liked all the stuff in this
12 : Bò Nướng Lá Lốt (Grilled Beef with Betel Leaf) – I failed miserable at putting this together
13 : Bánh Plan (Flan cake) – good
14 : Chè Bắp hoặc Chè Bà Ba (Sweet Soup with Corn or Mixed Sweep Soup) – I had the sweet soup corn option and I liked it! Great finish.

This food tour was probably the best deal you will ever get in your life. All those items were $30.00 CAD per person. That was the cost of the tour. Unbeatable.

We loved our guides and the other people on the tour from USA and Europe were cool. Great walking tour, yummy food. Totally stuffed.

Today we were leaving for our next stop, Bali.

Catastrophe at airport again. I can’t even make this shit up.

First you show up, and have to go stand in the check-in line for your airline (for us it was VietJet again). We only had carry-ons and we checked in online, but no, that doesn’t matter. At this airport you MUST have the physical boarding pass to go through security. Also, we had the exact same bags flying TO Ho Chi Minh, but the VietJet person at the counter made my boyfriend check his bag (for free) for this flight to Bali? Didn’t understand that. It was the same bag, same airline, same size. Just another nuisance for when we land in our next destination.

Please see photos below for how long this fucking line was again. Two hours of standing, part two.

If it wasn’t for the damn airport, Ho Chi Minh would have been damn near perfect. But the two hours on arrival of waiting and two hours of waiting on departure, no thank you. I will not be returning here until someone posts that this has been fixed in some way. For a massive city with many tourists, this is unacceptable.

Maybe enter somewhere less busy and get to Ho Chi Minh by car? I don’t know. You have to get there just for the food alone.

  • Mirna

4 Days in Phuket Recap

This will be part 1 out of FIVE recaps from this trip. Yes, there is a lot.

If you’re interested in all the entry requirements and how much it all cost – click here.

The first leg of this lengthy trip was going from Toronto to Vancouver to Singapore to Phuket.

The trip started kind of wild because our flight from Toronto to Vancouver ended up being delayed two hours and had to be de-iced? This was slightly concerning since I think our layover between landing in Vancouver and taking off for Singapore was only 2.5 hours.

I spoke to the flight attendant on the Toronto to Vancouver flight and my boyfriend and I got lucky, apparently there was a group of ELEVEN that also had to make the flight to Singapore. They were definitely going to hold the next flight for thirteen people. Not so sure it would have been held for just us two.

Did not miss flight, thank goodness.

The food on the 16.5 hour flight from Vancouver to Singapore was terrible. Air Canada should be ashamed of themselves. Thank goodness I know to purchase snacks at the airport before I board. Otherwise I may have starved. What do you mean the ‘snack’ option is a tuna sandwich and that is the only option? I don’t eat tuna.

Then by the time it was breakfast all they had was pork noodles. I just wanted some damn eggs and bread. No surprise, Air Canada just doing Air Canada things.

Sunday, December 22nd

We left Toronto on Friday and arrived in Singapore airport on Sunday. Damn time difference will really have you fucked up.

Thankfully, we arrived in my favourite airport in the whole damn world – Changi. I love this place. We were able to have some food and they had these great chairs we could lay down on during our layover.

After the short layover we flew with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Phuket, Thailand.

I want to tell you, this short flight had THE BEST FOOD I have ever had on an airplane. Wowzers.

I chose the spicy seafood noodles. 10000/10

The dessert was a mango panna cotta as well, literally one of my favourite desserts. So impressed. If I can ever afford a lengthier flight with Singapore Airlines, I will be taking is ASAP.

We landed in Phuket just fine, there was a long customs line, but it moved fast.

FYI – when you land, try to follow the directions for Grab more carefully than we did. There is a designated pick up area, you can’t get the Grab anywhere else.

There is no Uber, we used Grab throughout our entire trip for getting around and for food deliveries. Make sure you download Grab and/or Bolt on your phone while you’re still at home.

The drive from Phuket airport to Patong Beach was pretty long, I think we were in the car just a little over an hour.

Our first hotel was the Ibis Phuket Patong.

The room was quite small, but the staff were wonderful, there was a pool and the location was SUPERB. Loved it.

We trapsed over to the nearby 7/11 because I had seen on TikTok these Toastee things. I wanted to try them so bad.

I really liked the cheese one! Get the cheese one.

Then we walked over to Patong Beach to watch the sunset.

The beach is busy, but it is really beautiful. I love that you can get so many varieties of food and have them in real plates and bowls on the beach. Wonderful experience, make sure to not miss this.

Oh, and if you are someone who partakes in cannabis, you’d quite like this area as well. There are as many dispensaries as there are 7/11’s. Enjoy.

Monday, December 23rd

We had an early morning today. Booked a trip to the famous Phi Phi Islands.

Our car picked us up at 7am and again, a lengthy drive ahead of us.

We arrived for our speedboat at 8am. I will say I read about the speedboat ride being unpleasant, especially for people with back issues. I am someone with chronic back issues, I did well! It was just fine for me, my back didn’t hurt and I didn’t get any motion sickness. The ride was almost an hour to Phi Phi Don.

The entry fee for Phi Phi Don is 20 Baht ($0.83 CAD) per person. Nothing too crazy, make sure you have the cash on you to pay.

We walked around Phi Phi Don for a bit before the captain for our private longtail boat met up with us. I liked Phi Phi Don, for a small place, it is quite busy. There is a lot going on.

If you see in the pictures below – the company we booked this excursion with was SUPER DUPER organized. The day before they sent us this detailed PDF of everything we would be doing, the times, the rules etc. Amazing. I love organized and orderly, and this company as most definitely that. All day, everything was on time.

The name of the company is Discover Phi Phi – click here if interested.

As beautiful as the water and surroundings were, we were totally enamored by the rock formations. These little islands in the area, so freaking cool. You just float by and wonder how they got to look like that and what happened to make them.

The first stop was monkey beach. We saw a family of monkeys, maybe seven of them all together. Very cute. Don’t try to feed them or touch them. The beach is very nice as well.

As we were floating by all these other islands, I was so happy we chose to go for a pricier tour that included this longboat just being for us two + captain. The super crammed big tour boats? No thank you. Made the right choice.

The second stop for us was the famous Maya Bay. If you are of a certain age, you will remember this location from the Leo DiCaprio movie ‘The Beach‘. I have wanted to go here FOREVER. This famous beautiful beach.

The entry when you arrive is 400 Baht ($16.66 CAD) per person. Again, make sure you have the cash ready because you will be pulling up in your boat and hopping off REAL quick. Also, make sure you have your sandals/shoes ready when you hop off the boat onto the pier because the sun makes the ground unbearably hot. I touched my bare foot on it for like 15 seconds and I paid for it. Very painful.

Well, the lines are crazy long, and you can’t swim on this gorgeous beach. I think I may have been the only person who didn’t know that? The disappointment was HEAVY and imminent. There was this beutiful water and sand, no swimming. And if you try to go in the water even past your knee? The men working on the beach will sound a horn at you telling you to get back out. So, don’t do it.

After 45-minutes or so, we left the beach and hopped back on our longtail boat. There was a quick 10-minute ride around the island and stopped to have lunch aboard. By this time, my boyfriend and I were pretty exhausted. I have to say I was pretty happy this was the last stop for the day.

Sat back at Phi Phi Don and had some ice cream waiting on our speedboat back to Phuket. Again, easy ride back and another one hour in the car back to Patong Beach.

This was the best time ever for a nap. Listen. After the crazy weekend of travel and now a whole day tour? Yes, naptime.

Once we woke up we walked over to Sugar Club, located on the infamous Bangla Road.

I had contacted a promoter at the club weeks before to secure a VIP booth for us two. This worked out well, I hate being in large crowds. I rather have all the space to myself.

The minimum spend for the booth was 6000 Baht ($249.85 CAD). This was easy peasy for me, because one bottle of my favourite rum pretty much came to that in the nightclub.

I’d recommend going here to party if you like hip hop and like dancing. You will be doing a lot of dancing. Had an absolute BALL. We left the club at 4am, that’s how much fun we had.

Tuesday, December 24th

Yep, got up at 1pm today.

Hangovers are not so fantastic. I will pretty much tell you about hangovers on all my trips I swear.

The perfect hangover cure was eating some soup. Which soup? Tom Yum soup. This was one of the best cures EVER. This soup hit the spot and it felt like I was a brand new person suddenly.

Walked back to the hotel and opted for a one-hour massage by the pool. My body was so messed up from the flying and the tour and dancing? Gosh. Needed this, got it. Helped a lot.

Took another nap, of course. Then we decided to walk back over to Bangla road and bring in Christmas amongst all the debauchery.

Wednesday, December 25th

Today we were heading to spend our Christmas somewhere pretty fucking dandy.

(sorry, cursing, Christmas, bad, I know)

The World’s First Floating Beach Club – Yona Beach Club.

At 2pm we took a Grab over to the Patong Jetty Dock. This is where we would catch a small speed boat over to the main boat for the day. We were greeted with nice little drinks and thankfully had booked our sunbed on the boat a very long time ago, they were letting everyone know the place was sold out. Shout out to me, doing everything super early.

It was only 10 minutes to the main boat and wow. The only feeling you have is WOW.

It is pricy, I will admit. But this is one of those places you should go party once in your life. Especially if you’re in Phuket? Hell yeah.

Very fancy pants. The food was good, the drinks were flowing. We somehow didn’t even use our entire minimum spend, pretty shocked by this. But it was so hot and we were just busy having a good time. Food and liquor and dancing? Made some awesome friends from South Africa too. Amazing Christmas. Make sure you get the French fries! I know it’s something simple, but SO YUM.

We were on the boat form 2:30pm until 9:00pm. Great.

Unfortunately as we were about to leave, people had way too much to drink, as you would expect. Some jerk vomited on the counter and it got on my nice sarong, had to throw that out immediately. Gross.

Otherwise, it was an amazing experience.

Went back to the hotel, packed up our stuff and went to sleep. End of the Thai portion of this trip.

WE LOVED THAILAND. I would go back to Patong Beach immediately, and would recommend it to everyone. Yes, I will say, the place can get a bit tawdry. I was slightly surprised to see that other tourists were out on Bangla road with their infants / toddlers? Not sure I’d bring a child there. But I don’t have kids, so. Who cares?

One more thing before we departed from Phuket, I must tell you to eat at this place (see photo below) at the airport. The ramen was sooooo good. You need it in your stomach, you need it in your life. We regularly talked about this specific ramen dish during our trip, that’s how good it was.

Moving on to Ho Chi Minh next!

  • Mirna

15 Days in Southeast Asia Budget Breakdown

Happy 2025 all!!

Had to start your year with a budget breakdown that will make your head spin, I know mine did writing it. There are so many details in this, but I do try to be thorough! Maybe someone will need this information for their upcoming travels.

I did five countries on this trip: Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore with my boyfriend. Two of these are new for me (Vietnam and Thailand) and the other three I visited back in 2016, for my 30th birthday. I didn’t have a blog back then so I am super excited to share everything about this trip with you this time around.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

** remember all the links for the hotels, excursions etc. are embedded in the names/amounts. You can always click those and go venture to see more about them or book them yourself

Flights

Let me start with the flights. We booked those super duper early in the year – January 16th.

The main flight from Toronto to Singapore is with Air Canada.

The total cost of the flight was $1638.00 CAD.

I think when we booked this they had just released this route going from Toronto to Vancouver, and then Vancouver to Singapore. The flight from Vancouver to Singapore is 16.4hrs, long as heck. Thankfully we did book this so early, because by JUNE it was already at $5000.00 per person for the same flight and by December?

$9,500.00, economy, same damn flight as me. Ridiculous. That kind of price better have me flying to Mars.

Checked in luggage is included in the cost of the Singapore flight, but I don’t trust Air Canada with luggage, and with the country hopping? I rather just me and my carry-on bag.

The next flights were booked two days later (January 18th) and went as follows:

Singapore to Phuket, Thailand = $194.00 CAD one-way, direct with Singapore Airlines

Phuket to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam = $129.00 CAD one-way, direct with VietJet Air

Ho Chi Minh to Bali, Indonesia = $137.00 CAD one-way, direct with VietJet Air

Bali to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia = $148.00 CAD one-way, direct with Air AsiaX

Kuala Lumpur to Singapore = $43.00 CAD one-way, direct with Air Asia

Making your head spin right? I know. Lots of flights.

The total cost of all flights for this trip came to $2289.00 CAD.

I think this is a REALLY good amount for country-hopping during the most expensive time of year to travel anywhere. Hope when people read this, they see why booking very early is important!! It gets more and more expensive closer to the date.

The route has us landing in Singapore, but heading to Phuket like four hours later. I learned in my earlier travels to always END your trip in the country/city you fly home from. So the trip goes around and the last few days are spent in Singapore before we fly home. Less stress.

Stays

Now, let me get to the stays.

Yes, FIVE different stays.

The first one is the Ibis Phuket Patong – December 22nd to December 26th, in Phuket.

I wanted something close to the beach, in the middle of the action and with a pool.

We got the ‘Superior Queen Room‘ and the total cost for three nights is $387.00, so $193.50 CAD per person.

The next stay is an AirBnB – December 26th to December 29th, in Ho Chi Minh.

We initially had a hotel booked here, but with us just traveling with carry-ons, I wanted somewhere we had access to our own laundry. This unit has that! It also has a pool, looked super cute and had awesome reviews.

Total cost for three nights is $159.00, so $79.50 CAD per person. Hell of a deal I think!

The next stay is at the Risata Bali Resort & Spa – December 29th to January 1st, in Bali.

I had booked an AirBnB I fell in LOVE with wayyyy back in January for Bali. Unfortunately, as the days lead up to the trip, I saw the weather (it is rainy season) and traffic situation in Bali on TikTok. It was at that moment, I had to choose being practical over fancy pants. The original AirBnB was all the way in the bush, and to get to destinations we want to go out to – it would take a WHILE in traffic.

Therefore, I opted to book something closer to the airport and also within walking distance of a beach so we can see the fireworks on NYE, without having to travel far.

We got the ‘Superior Double or Twin Room‘ and the total cost for three nights is $339.00, so $169.50 CAD per person aaand breakfast is included!

NOW TO MY FAVE STAY BOOKING FOR THIS TRIP!!!

The next stay is at Arte by Thomas Chan – January 1st to January 3rd, in Kuala Lumpur.

Last time I was in KL, I booked the cheapest possible hotel. That shit was dingy as hell. I was a brokey then, but this time, I am slightly less broke, and traveling with my boyfriend. Last time I was traveling solo for the low-low.

You can get very nice hotels and AirBnB’s in Kuala Lumpur, the choices are endless for not a lot of money. However, I saw this hotel online a couple of years ago and swore if I ever went back to my favourite food city, I would get a hotel room here.

Now, did this cost a lot? I think so. But, shitty hotels in Toronto cost the same, yolo. #GirlMath

Once you see how this hotel looks and our room, I think you’ll understand why it was necessary to be extra as hell.

We got the ‘Palatial Noire III‘ and the total cost for two nights is $604.00, so $302.00 CAD per person aaand breakfast is included!

The final stay of this trip is at the Ibis Budget Singapore Clarke Quay – January 3rd to January 5th, in Singapore.

During my time visiting Singapore in 2016, I stayed in a hostel. It was a private room in a hostel, but nonetheless, a hostel.

This time I have a real hotel and everything!

I chose this specific one because of its proximity to all the fun things in Singapore, aka, food and the Lion. Plus, the price was right.

We got the ‘Standard Double Room‘ and the total cost for two nights is $363.00, so $181.50 CAD per person aaand breakfast is included!

Total cost of all the stays: $962.00 CAD per person.

I think that’s pretty alright! It could have been cheaper, obviously.

But, I deserve this.

Excursions & Events

Now, let us discuss the pre-booked shenanigans.

Once we arrive in Phuket, the first excursion we are doing is to the Phi Phi Islands. I do not care how busy it is, how many tourists there are – I saw the movie THE BEACH and will see that beach in my lifetime. We had booked a different tour before, but I saw this random one on TikTok that has the speed boat but once we arrive to the island-area, we have our own longboat for four hours. I rather that, I hate sharing and other people near me.

This was booked via Discover Phi Phi and it cost 11,200 THB total / $456.00 CAD / so $228.00 CAD per person for the day.

I love some beach clubs. LOVE.

I had been eyeing Yona Beach Club for sometime on Instagram.

It is the worlds first floating beach club, and I can’t think of a better way to spend Christmas, right?

You can go to this beach club and just pay an entrance fee to be there all day. But like, I can’t live with NOT having a booked space for myself. The idea of having to try and find seats, and then other people will want those seats too. No thank you.

My boyfriend and I chose to book a ‘sunset bed‘ which is on the second floor of the beach club. The lower part with the big swimming pool is the main party area, but I didn’t necessarily want to be amongst that either. I want to be able to leave the chaos and observe.

The cost was 15,000 THB / $636.00 CAD / so $318.00 CAD per person for the day.

Within this price we get the sofa bed to ourselves, shuttle boat transfer from the pier, entrance fee, towels, passenger insurance and 9,000 TBH ($378.00 CAD) to use towards food and beverage.

I’m freaking excited for this. NO LIE. I know this price is crazy for a day, don’t yell.

When we get to Vietnam, of course, we have a food tour booked!!

The tour is called, ‘Ho Chi Minh City: Walking Food Tour with 13 Tastings‘.

Yes, THIRTEEN. I cannot wait. I am going to devour everything. Also, the price was incredible at only $38.14 CAD per person.

Now, yes, another damn beach club.

Going from the worlds first floating beach club to a place that it is the world’s BEST beach club, aka, Finns Beach Club in Bali.

Last time I was in Bali, I went to Potato Head, so I am excited to see what Finns is like.

The cost was 4,000,000 IDR + transaction fees / $433.00 CAD (with fees included) / so $216.50 CAD per person for the day.

As you will see in the photo below, on December 30th the place is super booked up, we are one of those sold out beds in red.

We chose a bed at the ‘Finns VIP Oceanfront‘ – because there is a pool, and the area is only for 16+ patrons. I don’t want kids anywhere near me when I’m drinking, thanks.

The 4million IDR ($355.00 CAD) is 100% credited towards food and beverage for the day. This also includes escorted entry, valet service, welcome drink and afternoon spritz. I want it ALL. I will have it all.

FYI – you can actually go to Finns for free, there is no cover. You can go and pay as you drink and eat, just finding your own seat amongst the masses somewhere. Again, not for me, I like things paid for ahead and a space designated just for me.

I had mentioned before that Kuala Lumpur is my #1 food city on the planet, so of course, we have a food tour booked there as well.

This tour is called ‘Culture on a Plate – Kuala Lumpur Food Walk‘.

Can’t even begin to tell you how amazing the food in Malaysia is, so I know this will rock.

The tour is 2.5 hours and cost $70.87 CAD per person.

Finally, in Singapore, I just want to make sure my boyfriend sees Gardens by the Bay. This is a pretty magical experience if you’ve seen them before.

Total cost was $79.96 CAD per person for this.

We opted for this choice because it includes entry to various parts of the Gardens and there is no time limit, like there would be on a group tour.

Total cost of all shenanigans booked: $951.47 CAD

I plan on having an epic time. Trust me.

Visas

I will try to make this as succinct as possible for EACH country! Also, note, all of these things are applying to me as a CANADIAN citizen at the time I traveled. I don’t know if it will change and I don’t know how it looks for people with different immigration status or different nationalities.

Thailand = no visa required or declaration

Vietnam = visa required

  • Applied for this about three weeks before the trip, a lot of information about your trip is required. Make sure you have a photo of yourself, scan of your passport and all your stay + flight information prepared to upload.
  • Received approval within three days.
  • There is NO visa-on-arrival available for Vietnam, so you have to do this before you go on the trip.
  • Link to Vietnam visa application site: click here
  • Cost for Visa = $37.09 CAD

Indonesia = visa required, tourism tax for BALI required, customs declaration required, health declaration required

  • Applied for the 30-day-tourism-visa about three weeks before the trip, a lot of information about your trip is required. Make sure you have a photo of yourself, scan of your passport and all your stay + flight information.
  • Received approval as soon as submitted.
  • There IS a visa-on-arrival option for when you arrive at the airport, but I don’t want to wait in line.
  • Link to Indonesia visa application site: click here
  • Cost for Visa = $47.20 CAD
  • The tourism levy I think is JUST for people heading to Bali, because clearly we mess up the environment, so we should have to pay up for maintaining something so beautiful.
  • Paid for this three weeks ahead.
  • Also can be done on-arrival at the airport, but again, I don’t want to wait in line.
  • Link to Bali tourism levy site: click here
  • Cost of tourism levy = $14.17 CAD
  • The Indonesian customs declaration has to be done a couple of days before you arrive,
  • Also can be done on-arrival at the airport, but again, I don’t want to wait in line.
  • Link to Indonesian customs declaration site: click here
  • Cost: free
  • The Indonesian health declaration has to be done a couple of days before you arrive.
  • I think can be done on-arrival at the airport, but again, I don’t want to wait in line.
  • Link to Indonesian health declaration site: click here
  • Cost: free

Malaysia = no visa required, digital arrival card required

  • The Malaysia Digital Arrival Card can be done on the website a couple of days before you arrive.
  • I am not sure if this is available on-arrival at the airport, but figured have it done before arrival just in case.
  • Link to MDAC site: click here
  • Cost: free

Singapore = no visa required, arrival card required

  • The Singapore Arrival Card can be done on the on the website a couple of days before you arrive.
  • I am not sure if this is available on-arrival at the airport, but figured have it done before arrival just in case.
  • Also, you will see on the site there is this new e-pass thing you get instead of a passport stamp? Going to see how that works out.
  • Link to SGAC site: click here
  • Cost: free

Now, I have never been to Thailand or Vietnam, but I was still surprised as Canadian we need a visa to enter? That’s cool though.

I do not remember ANY of these declarations for when I went to Bali, KL and Singapore back in 2016. I also don’t remember if I needed a visa to enter Bali then, definitely didn’t have the tourism levy.

Total cost of country-entry-requirements: $98.46 CAD

Given how much everything just to enter Nigeria cost me last year, this is nothing. Just was tedious trying to get everything done for each country, boohoo me. I know.

E-Sim

I usually do the whole Rogers Roam Like Home option for my trips, but, trying to be a bit better with my cellular spending this trip.

On Airalo I found an e-sim that is valid for 136 countries!!

All five of these countries are on this list, so I won’t have to switch every time I land.

Will report on how this worked out when I return.

Total Cost: $100.00 CAD for 20GB data

For spending money I budgeted $1000.00 CAD.

Aside from Singapore, our currency is decent in the other four countries, and we pretty much have so much stuff booked and paid for ahead of time.

I was smarter this time, buying PHYSICAL money for all five destinations before the trip!! I will not get caught with malfunctioning credit cards and debit cards this time. I mean, maybe I will, but I will have some cash on hand to help me out.

The total budget for this trip is $5364.93 Canadian.

I’m very proud of this total price!!!

Were the beach clubs necessary? No.

Was the super pricy hotel in KL necessary? No.

Even the excursion from Phuket to Phi Phi could have been done for cheaper, but guess what? SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SPLURGE ON YOURSELF. (I realize I put this every time I make a fiscally unsound decision)

Regardless, very proud of this total for everything we are doing and again, during THIS time of year.

See you when I get back!

  • Mirna

4 Days in Santiago, Chile Recap

Another long weekend getaway, except really far this time.

Also, sorry it took me a month to write this, I’ve been busy being beautiful.

For country #65 I made my way to Santiago, Chile and I went solo. I thought when I booked this that it was such an amazing flight deal that I couldn’t pass it up. The days leading up to it was when it hit me that Chile is REALLY freaking far. Maybe don’t just go there for a long weekend, like I did. Be smarter. But try to still get a good flight deal, duh.

If you are interested in the budget for this trip – click here.

Friday, October 11th

My flight was with Avianca late night on Thursday. Everything went well for that and it was a red-eye to Colombia and then another flight from Colombia to Chile.

When I arrived in Santiago airport, I was prepared for the Uber shenanigans. The rideshare service isn’t allowed to come to the airport to pick people up, so you have to go to where gate 5 is, walk across the street to the parking garage (where the ticket machines are) and have your Uber pick you up there and make sure to sit in the front seat. Then it looks like a friend or relative is coming to get you. Because once I saw the cost of the shared shuttles or actual taxis? Absolutely-the-fuck-not. I was not paying that much. The Uber from the airport into central Santiago was $27.00 CAD one-way.

I had a really simple check-in to my wonderful AirBnB. The host left detailed instructions on how to enter and that made everything smooth.

This AirBnB was AWESOME. I had a whole loft to myself and it was two floors. The place was clean, spacious and even had a washer/dyer combo, which comes in clutch when you travel with just a personal item like I do.

If you are interested in staying in this AirBnB, click here. You will NOT be disappointed. If I ever return to Santiago, I would come back here immediately.

At 8pm I had a reservation from a while ago to a place called Pulmay Seafood & Bar.

I wish I had made this reservation for a little earlier in the day, but I had decided to take a nap so it all worked out. I was MARVED by this time of night though.

For my meal I ordered: a shot of sea urchins, southern razor clams, mussels, octopus and a tres leches cake.

I’ve had sea urchin before in Peru, this one was interesting as a shot. The mussels and octopus were good as well. However, the razor clams and the tres leches? OH YES. I loved the clams and the tres leches was by far one of the best I have ever tasted. If I wasn’t so damn full, I probably would have ordered a second round of the dessert.

Only thing that really sucked at the dinner was that my credit card would not work. I thought that was a bit odd, but my debit card did work. Figured I’d give a heads up to all of you about these issues, as you will see them continue throughout my trip.

Saturday, October 12th

I had a good night of sleep at the AirBnB and made my way over to the area my spa booking was for today.

Before the spa I walked over to a nearby Starbucks, and listen, they had so many delicious things on their menu that we do not over here. The dulce de leche muffin, for example. So good. Also, my credit card tap worked just fine at this establishment.

I walked over to The Secret Acqua + Spa, where I had booked 2.5hrs of relaxation for myself.
Because of my card issues the night before, I asked them if I could pay before I began any of the pampering and guess what? Now neither my debit or credit card would work. Bullshit.

Thankfully there was a Shell gas station down the street and it had an ATM in it. A WORKING ATM, thank you. I was able to take out cash from my card and pay for my services with that. Again, total pain in the ass. I don’t understand how a fancy pants country like Chile was giving me a hard time with my cards when I had no issues in Peru, Brazil, or Colombia.

Now that I was stressed, guess I was lucky to be in a spa.

I got a package that consisted of 20-minutes of hydrotherapy, 1-hour full body massage and 1-hour cranial massage. With tip, the total came to like $201.00 CAD. Which is VERY good compared to what I would have paid in Toronto. My masseuse was great and I was happy with the experience.

After the spa, I took an Uber back to central Santiago. Before I went back to my AirBnB I figured I’d go find another ATM to take more money out and avoid any more embarassment.

Do you know I walked around for NINETY minutes in the center of the city, and finally on my seventh, yes SEVENTH, ATM was actually working? I literally walked the streets to find ATM after ATM that was not working or out of service. What the hell is that? I went to banks and convenience stores, just nothing. Eventually I had found AGAIN a damn gas station. I was able to take out cash there.

In the evening, I had another reservation at a place close to me named Sarita Colonia.

This place was cool as heck. You have to come eat here or at least drink here if you visit Santiago.

For my starter I had the catch of the day ceviche, which was good. Not as good as Peru, but good nonetheless. For my main course I chose this GORGEOUS gnocchi with Korean BBQ Braised Hake. Must. Must. Must. Order this if you come to the restaurant. For my dessert I had something called ‘the Princess’ which was just like chocolate and peanut butter stuff on the plate. This was just OK.

Sunday, October 13th

Today I was going on a whole-day tour!

Leaving early in the morning I was picked up in a van with about 12 other people, not a big group. Everyone was from everywhere and I even made a friend on the tour, who was also traveling alone. If you see this Garrett, HAAAAI FRIEND. Also, the tour guide, Cristian, LOVED HIM.

I hope if you book this tour, you are also lucky enough to have him as the person with you. He is so knowledgeable and fun. Really one of the best parts of the tour was him!

First stop was somewhere to use the bathroom and get some breakfast. I want all of you wine drinkers to know, there were FREE samples of wine on this stop. You might be interested.

From there we drove on to Vina del Mar. We got out of the van to see this cool flower clock that had been given to the city by Switzerland. Because of course, who else does clocks/watches like them? Gorgeous.

Then we drove over to Museo Fonck where I got to see one of the Moai! Never thought I’d see one of these without going to Easter Island, but here it was, in front of me. Pretty awesome part of the day.

Moving on we drove over to Valparaiso.

The first stop was a fish market where we got to see the ocean, some sea lions and the LARGEST PELICAN I HAVE EVER SEEN SINCE ZION WILLIAMSON. If two of those pelicans had it out for me, they probably could have lifted my fat ass and carried me over to Argentina. Massive birds.

Then we made our way over to the cable car which would take us up high to see a beautiful view of Valparaiso. Bring really good walking shoes on this trip, because you could walk for hours and have the best time, and probably get lost. If it wasn’t for Cristian, I’d definitely end up somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be.

All over there are really amazing murals painted, and there was a place called ‘The Yugoslav Passage’ which was hilarious to me, as a former Yugoslavian. Make sure you also stop by the abuela selling homemade alfajores. Was really happy to have the cash I’d taken out the night before in this moment. Delicious.

We stopped to have lunch at a place called El Terrat.

I definitely twisted both Garrett and Cristian’s arms to have a shot of tequila with me here. Strong twist.

This restaurant has a beautiful view and I had the salmon, which was HUGE and delicious.

From Valparaiso we went over to some fancy pants Vineyard for more wine tastings. As I do not drink wine, this wasn’t my thing. I just gave my glasses of wine to my new pal. If this had been rum or tequila? Then I would have been all in. If you love wine, clearly Chile is the place for you.

Then there was an hour ride home and the day was done.

If I return to Chile, I am going to land and head straight to Vina del Mar and/or Valparaiso. They are GORGEOUS cities. And although Santiago is cool, these two cities had so much more I wanted to see and walk around to explore. I hope I can come back to either one day.

If you are interested in this tour, this is the link to it here.

On Monday morning my flight was supposed to be super early, and then I was going to have a 4hrs layover in Bogota. Getting the email that the flight wouldn’t leave until two hours later was AWESOME. I would love to sleep in more, yes.

Unfortunately, when I got to the airport, the flight ended up being delayed another 90 minutes. My four hour layover went all the way down to 30 minutes. Shit.

If you have ever been through customs in Bogota, you know it can also take a while. My biggest regret was not stocking up on food in Santiago airport. Because when the plane landed in Bogota? Myself and the other 10 or so Toronto people trying to make that connection had to RUN THROUGH the airport to make it in time. We were the last ones to board, but we did make it, yay. Unfortunately there was no time to grab water or food. So basically I didn’t eat any real food from morning until late at night when I got back to Toronto. Felt like absolute hell. Do not recommend.

I do recommend Chile though! I loved it and felt very safe as a solo traveler.

Minus the stupid card issues, you should be smarter than me and just buy the damn currency in cash. I hate buying local currency, but this is one of those situations that it is necessary.

  • Mirna