Category: Personal Travels

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

4 Days in Santiago Budget Breakdown

Another long weekend, another trip.

This time I did a solo trip to Santiago, Chile. Country #65 for me, and #32 solo.

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

Let me start with the flight. I booked that waaay earlier this year, on January 10th.

The flight is with Avianca – as many of my Central and South American flights are.

The total cost of my flight was $419.00 CAD.

Now listen, this is an INSANELY low price to get all the way the fuck to Chile. Do you know how far south this is? Really far. It will be six hours to fly to Bogota, Colombia and then ANOTHER six hours from there to Santiago. I’ve seen this flight regularly stay at $1000.00 or more, so to get it for $419.00 was truly a steal.

Yes, this is personal-item only.

The AirBnB I chose for this trip, I’ve actually had my eye on for a bit.

I knew I’d eventually make it to Santiago, so I had a list of places I wanted and this one was still available for my dates.

This is a gorgeous two-floor loft, all to myself. The host is lovely, the location is great and I mean….look at it. I was not passing that up.

The total cost for three nights is $292.61 CAD and I will let you know what it was like when I return.

If you’re interested in checking it out – click here.

I do have one excursion booked for this trip and that is going from Santiago to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar for the day. There was a lot of booking options for day-trips out of Santiago, but this one stuck out the most. I read that Vina del Mar is gorgeous, so I wanted to see it for myself.

It is a lengthy tour (10hrs) for $137.07 CAD.

Will let you know how it was when I return, if you’re interested in this tour – click here.

For spending money I budgeted $350.00USD which is about $500.00 CAD. I figure for the amount of food and Ubers I will be taking, this should be a good amount.

The total budget for this trip is $1348.68 Canadian.

I am hoping this budget is good enough, but I also know Chile is on the higher end of pricing for South American countries and the food options look insane. I will be indulging.

See you when I get back!

  • Mirna

3 Days in Dallas Recap

You’d think with this trip being so short I wouldn’t have bullshit happening to me, but listen, bullshit was aplenty.

I finally went to Dallas, Texas to see my favourite football team on the planet play at home. My beloved, expensive and disappointing Dallas Cowboys.

There is no budget breakdown for this trip because my flights were free with some credits and Aeroplan points, the ticket for the Cowboys game was paid for my mom as an early bday gift and the AirBnB, okay, I’ll mention how much that cost.

Saturday, September 14th

I loved that my flight wasn’t until 130pm today. Those are the best departures to the USA! I flew to Dallas with American Airlines and everything went as it was supposed to. Timely. Comfortable.

When I got to Dallas, I immediately took an Uber over to Krab Kingz Dallas. Prior to this trip I had literally planned ALL of my stops/Uber trip because the city doesn’t have the best transit and I can’t walk around in 39-degree-celsius heat. No.

At Krab Kingz I had this delicious platter that consisted of shrimp, potato, and corn. I am a simple girl. But it was yummmmmy. I liked the seasoning. Also, why does Snapple taste so much better in the United States? Sugar. Must be sugar. I liked it.

From Krab Kingz I took an Uber to my next planned food stop – Cookie Society, Addison. Now listen, I’d fly back again just to go get cookies here again. My chosen flavours were: cinnamon roll cookie, cannoli cookie, banana pudding cookie and snickerdoodle. I literally chose here because I am obsessed with anything banana pudding, HOWEVER, BY FAR, the best cookie was the cinnamon roll cookie. I wish I had gotten 19 of those. You have to come by here and try these things if you have a sweet tooth like I do.

After filling myself with seafood and cookies, it was time to take my Uber over to the AirBnB.

My Uber driver told me where I was staying was ‘the hood’, but I don’t know what people want me to do with information when they say that. Okay? I liked the house I was staying in. This lovely couple from Spain were my hosts and I had a private room and bathroom in their home. Very cozy, simple and clean. Oh, and the air conditioning was COLD and the price was RIGHT.

For three nights I paid $138.31 CAD. Not bad at all. Not sure I’d stay here again, because I’d like to see more of downtown Dallas next time. But it was a stay that had everything I needed for my first trip. If you’re interested in it – click here.

After taking a shower (because it was HOT AS FUCK OUTSIDE), I hung out a bit in the air conditioning and then head out to eat again. I know, big belly girl. Eating again.

I took a pretty quick Uber over to Taqueria El Si Hay. Funny thing about this is that before the trip I had already planned on going to get food at this spot, but my Uber driver from the airport ended up recommending it as well. It was a sign.

The lineup is long for the tacos, so when you arrive go to the side to get an esquite first. What is an esquite? It is corny deliciousness made in front of you with like cheese, sour cream, butter and then hot sauce on top. I think I am forgetting some other ingredient, but whatever, it was so good. This may not be for you lactose intolerant people, just in case.

After eating that I got in the line for the tacos. I opted for the chicken taco and beef tongue, with a Mexican Coca-Cola to wash it all down. The chicken taco was okay, but the beef tongue? OH YES. This is the star, you must get this. I sat down on the side of the parking lot and ate everything as hoards of Ford F-150 trucks blaring Spanish music hung out while their orders were prepared. My kind of scene. Also, not only was the food very good, for the esquite, two tacos and drink it was only $14.00 USD. I think that’s a pretty dandy deal.

I went back to my AirBnB, showered again (still hot outside) and went to sleep. Big day ahead of me.

Sunday, September 15th

Woke up at 8am today to prepare myself for the day I had been waiting 30 years for. I was heading to see my Dallas Cowboys play at home.

Since there is no transit to Arlington, Texas and no shuttles – I had to plan out my Uber timing well. I don’t drive and yeah, that’s the only option. As a Toronto person, having a sporting place this far is insane without ways to get there that don’t involve just a car. I want to see the Raptors? I walk downtown. I want to see the Blue Jays? I walk downtown. I want to see Toronto FC? I can take the TTC, walk or take the GO.

I’m very much a pro-walking city person, this is not one of those places. Luckily all my flights were free, because I would end up spending all my money on Ubers in Dallas. From Dallas to Arlington at 8am = $26.00 USD one-way.

Before the trip I did my research on where to eat near AT&T stadium prior to the game and I settled on The Biscuit Bar for breakfast.

This place is VERY busy, so grab your order and go sit down immediately. It was packed with so many Cowboys fans as well as Saints fans. Apparently their Google works the same way mine did.

I got this french toast biscuit, some seasoned tater tots and a banana pudding. I liked this banana pudding and the other items were good. Nice to put in tummy before the game. It was also super fun listening to the visitors from Louisiana complain they couldn’t order liquor (it was 9am) – and I found out it was because on Sundays in Texas you can’t serve liquor until 10am. Church and whatnot. Having visited New Orleans last year, I understood. Those people party 24/7. Love them and their accents.

After eating I wanted to head to AT&T stadium to see what the pre-game situation was like. I read that they open the gates at 10am and that people are tailgating even way before that.

I truly had planned to walk from this breakfast place to the stadium, but that heat?? Oh no. It wasn’t happening. As I was about to order my Uber, a group of people in a party bus playing music pulled up and asked if I was going to the game. I said yep, and suddenly, I was also in this party bus. No Uber needed. Love that for me, great way to arrive to the stadium.

When we got through the crazy traffic and pulled up to the stadium I thanked the group and went on my merry way to enter Jerry World.

What a sight. Top 3 best moments of my life. Bucket list things.

You can tell money and thought was put into the game day experience here. I know Texas is a football state, but wowzers. Between the Saints tailgaters and Cowboys tailgaters, costumes, music, food……just wow. I was so happy I arrived early to take this all in.

Eventually I went inside AT&T Stadium and the first thing I got myself was a Cowboyrita. I heard about these strong margaritas, had to get one. Yes, it is strong. It is like $20.00 USD, but I doooo not care. I will be purchasing it next time I go as well.

I walked around for a bit to see all the cool things going on inside and then went to my seat. Now, my seat was all the way in the 400-level and it didn’t matter. The view was perfect. I could see everything. I was again impressed by the design of the stadium being able to see things even from the further up seats.

Cowboys lost terribly today. I don’t even want to write all about it because it was REALLY bad. Had to listen to ‘WHO DAT?!’ cheers down the hallways at our own stadium. Brutal.

It was disgustingly hot at this time of day. Shout out to the locals from Texas and the people that came in from Louisiana who can handle this heat. I am not built for this. It was brutal.

The Uber was showing like $114.00 USD to get back to Dallas? Fuck that. I wasn’t paying that.

I hung out in the shade for a bit and then walked over to a Walmart that was nearby. Someone on Twitter had mentioned this Walmart had cheap Cowboys gear to be purchased. I need that. Also, I imagined they’d have air conditioning. Needed that even more.

Got to the Walmart and bought some Cowboys stuff. By the time I did all that the Uber surge pricing went down to $45.00 USD so I took it!

I got back to the AirBnB and was so exhausted I just ordered some wings on UberEats and watched the remaining NFL games. Probably could have gotten up to more shenanigans, but that morning and the heat afterwards got me good.

Monday, September 16th

Woke up today ready to 1) eat some deliciousness and 2) head home.

Well, one out of two happened. Batting 50% here.

I left the AirBnB and made my way over to Terry Blacks BBQ.

Listen. This BBQ and those cookies on the first day are reason enough for me to come back to Dallas. Unlike my Cowboys, these did not disappoint.

I got in line and ordered: cream of corn, coleslaw, mac and cheese, cornbread, banana pudding (duh) and then some brisket as my meat. The lovely lady at the front also suggested I try something called ‘burnt ends’. Holy moly. I would just order these on their own. She gave me a serving of them for free because I mentioned I’m Canadian and flying home. So wonderful.

The meal was insane. I wanted to sleep for six days after having all that food to myself.

Stuffed and happy, I took an Uber over to the airport. This was about 3pm and my flight was at 6pm. I figured I’d just hang out on my laptop and answer emails for a bit and chill.

15 minutes after arriving at Dallas Fort-Worth ……….

‘Mirna, your flight is delayed and is now departing at 19:30. We apologize and are working to get you on your way’.

Okay, so I’m here at 3pm and my flight won’t be leaving until 730pm. Annoying, but whatever.

Then SIX emails followed this delaying and delaying and delaying further all the way to 23:50. Went from leaving Dallas at 6pm to leaving almost at midnight? Oh. And then I got the email that the flight was cancelled all together. Fucking great.

I went to the counter and the Air Canada agents were useless. I had already been at the airport for almost five hours now. Had to call both of my jobs to notify them I couldn’t work the following day. Also, had to find out what the hell was going on for the night – this included a ONE HOUR wait on the Air Canada customer service line.

The agents gave me a voucher for a hotel and put me on a 7am United Airlines flight leaving from Dallas to Chicago to Toronto. I begged them to put me on the 12pm direct flight from Toronto to Dallas but they said they couldn’t. So now I wouldn’t get any sleep and I’d have a connection to get to Toronto. Whatever.

I got to the hotel and the hotel gave me the wrong room – because the room they gave me already had people in it. Just kept getting better.

Eventually I fell asleep and woke up at 4am for my 7am flight – Tuesday, September 17th.

Oh. No. 415am I got another email by Air Canada notifying me that THIS FLIGHT had also been cancelled and now I am on the 12pm flight. Yes. The one I had begged for and now woke up at this early ass time for nothing.

Went to the airport for the noon flight and that all went well.

It has been three weeks and I am still fighting with Air Canada for some compensation but they said both cancellations were out of their hands. I will keep fighting.

Overall, I liked the sports and food portion of my trip.

I could have lived with the Cowboys game not having gone so great, but the Air Canada fiasco really left a bad taste in my mouth.

I’d still go back to Dallas though!!! BBQ and Cookies and Cowboys. Love those three.

  • Mirna