My Booking.com Horror Story - Ximen 日記

Booking a hotel online has never been easier. You just need to go to Google Map and choose the property you need. There are lots of booking sites for sure, but I stuck with Booking.com for the sake of convenience since they had my particulars. For my recent Taiwan trip, I actually booked 3 different properties through them. 

This was taken at our replacement hotel, Just Sleep Sanchong.

Our bookings with 2 properties, K-ONE Homestay and No. 21 Jiaoxi Hot Spring Homestay went smoothly, with the properties keeping in touch with us through the Booking.com chat functions about our arrivals etc. But the property we booked in Taipei, Ximen 日記 in Taipei, located at No.36, Xining South Road, Wanhua District, 108 Taipei was a complete disaster and rightfully deserves a blog post. 

So Booking.com bookings are all confirmed with the credit card details furnished to the company and the properties can make a deduction for any deposits required through the card officially. 2 nights before I was supposed to check in this horrible hotel, I received a message from them through the chat function at 7.32pm that they required a deposit of TWD1000 by 8.00pm on that same day. Read chat below - 

Check the time stamp. They can send and read message but not assist.

Ok my mandarin really sucks and I do not use PayPal, and because I do not have a Taiwan telephone number as I was using an eSIM, I was at a loss when I read the message much later. I even tried to get a local to see if he can help me with calling the property but was alerted by him that Booking.com was being compromised before as the news article showed!

When I finally managed to contact the hotel that very night, I could only speak to the front desk who answered and feigned ignorance and that she was unable to do anything as she is only a receptionist and thus refused to help in any way. She even went to say that it was no big deal and all I had to do was to rebook online. Ok, so here comes the problem. Over 90% of the hotels in that area was fully booked for the same period and there wasn't even ANY accommodation availability on Booking.com at all! Taiwan is overrun by tourists these days!

Super nonchalant when they finally replied after cancelling.

I was super frustrated that I was unable to get any assistance through the property and even Booking.com was unable to help that very night because I was unable to get through to them as well. Thankfully we had a local tour guide, who helped us to finally get an alternative hotel the next day through his connections at a further location, at a higher price, and for a smaller room that we had to squeeze into. That hotel, Just Sleep Taipei Sanchong turned out to be GREAT (which was a blessing in disguise) but we had to make do with the squeezing and all the additional costs that came with it. 

Reaching Booking.com was hard as well.

My Opinion

Accommodation prices are on the rise in Taiwan due to the success of their tourism board in promoting this sector and hotels are all raising prices which is understandable. My hotel booking was confirmed months ago and guaranteed by my credit card. I find that to cancel my booking based on a failed deposit payment request via a personal account through the chat within 28mins of asking, was ridiculous at best. 

I am of the opinion that the property had lots of customers waiting to book and at a much higher price than what I have confirmed months ago and came up with this bright idea of cancelling confirmed bookings at their end based on sketchy company policies etc so that maximum profits can be realized. Most likely not the first time also lah.

I finally had the time after returning to give finally give Booking.com a call and confirmed that this request by Ximen 日記 is running afoul of their guidelines and they will take action. I had also requested for compensation for the anguish (true ok, really KNN) and additional costs, and they mentioned they will look into it. I am not THAT hopeful BUT I feel there is a need for customers like you and me to be aware of what they are getting themselves into when booking with third party companies.

Even more importantly is as a customer, when assurances are they able to give when a property decided to unilaterally cancel a confirmed booking just that easily? I mean they sounded apologetic when I called earlier to register my displeasure but sorry cannot help me when I was there in Taiwan with wife and 5 kids with nowhere to stay lah. What actions can they take against the property? I think the property will still be listed and rooms sold through them lah. I cannot believe I took the time to blog and call up to complaint lor but it was NOT RIGHT for them to do such a thing.

One really needs to be prepared for the unexpected and so I hope this post serves as a caution to anyone travelling to Taiwan (especially if you are thinking of booking with Ximen 日記), or anywhere else for that matter when it comes to booking through third party apps. Have fun travelling and all the best in all your other bookings!

How Our Hong Kong Trip turned into a Fly-Cruise Holiday!

Check out Hong Kong Tourism Board booths at the CIQs!

Travel with a family of 7, is really quite a stressful thing. It is often a deliberation between should we spend that kind of money on holidays or should we save it for rainy days. There is never a right or wrong answer. However, after hearing from my colleague about the promotional airfares to Hong Kong on SIA last December, I know I would be wrong not to book! Cost us less than $2.3k return for our family of 7, inclusive of 175kg luggage allowance. One thing though, in the rush to complete my booking, I accidentally booked an 11-days holiday instead of our planned 7 days.

Onboard Resorts World One for 4D3N of comfort, fun and great food!

Hence I had to plan for activities for the family to fill up all the days lor. And the idea of doing a short cruise came to mind as I remembered that Resorts World Cruises are operating off Hong Kong as well. Ended up going for their 4D3N Resorts World One cruise from Hong Kong to Kaohsiung, Penghu and back, making our first family vacation post-Covid a Fly-Cruise holiday instead and we even got to visit Taiwan this time!

Having our lunch at Umi Uma Sushi &Teppanyaki! Love their beef steak!

Yummy beef!!!

Day trip to Kaohsiung and visited Chi Kan Lou!

Ended the tour with shopping at Liuhe Night Market.

But the night is still young and we are back for more games onboard!

Our next shore excursion was to Penghu and we visited Tianhou Temple.

Got to visit an Aqua Farm where we did fishing and had grilled oysters and seafood congee!

The kiddos had fun fishing squids and big fishes.

On our way back to the cruise after the shore visit.

And then we are back to eating again. This time to Silk Road for a sumptuous Chinese lunch cuisine.

The timing was impeccable, as we made our way to the cruise center from the airport once we arrive in Hong Kong and made it in time to be leisurely being brought onboard the cruise ship. From there we started our eat-sleep-play-shop routine for the next 4 days. As with all our prior experiences with Resorts World Cruises, the staff were absolutely fantastic and all the inclusive food were definitely sufficient for our family. But as we had the opportunity to try their specialty restaurants, I must say that they were awesome and I would recommend their Chinese restaurant Silk Road as well as the Teppanyaki! Hot Pot though was so-so we felt.

So this is how the building that we are staying in looks like from inside.

The lift was pretty scary for the kids lah, and they serve either odd / even floors.

Alas we felt that the cruise was so short lor, and it was over before we knew it. Having being pampered onboard for the few days, it was like Heaven and Hell for the family. Ok lah, maybe it's an exaggeration but you know how expensive hotels can be in Hong Kong and that we also need to book 2 rooms for 8 days, I ended up booking a motel named Toronto Motel in Mirador Mansion that is situated beside the infamous Chungking Mansions. Also where the famous Jenny Bakery is located at. Let's just say that for one to be able to stay in the room, one would need to be blind to a lot of things. I for one is okay with it but I thing many Singaporeans, especially the kiddos these days, may have trouble staying that place. What to do? Only $53/night leh.

A random cafe we walked into. I think we ate quite a lot of instant noodles lol.

Visited the peak with the family.

Finally got to visit the rather new Monopoly Dreams. Lots of IG worth backdrops la.

Revisited Temple Street, but it seems like it is not as vibrant as before. In fact all the streets are still recovering I think.

This is Arte M, with visual light projections.

Machiam the Van Gogh Exhibition in Singapore. Same same but different though.

Revisited Ngong Ping and took the crystal cabin with see-through glass bottom!

Looks great with the clouds!

Had a little time at Tai O Village.

A must-visit in Hong Kong, Disneyland!

Visited Ocean Park as well!

The kiddos having fun at the different rides at the park.

It was like an Aquarium, Zoo and amusement park rolled into one. Recommended for the whole family and the queues were all very manageable!

Sigh... gotta return home so soon! 

Wah, to be absolutely honest, the food in Hong Kong really feels more expensive from the last time we visited. I based my observation off the prices of the coke you can get from different establishments lor. The pocket feels so much lighter after every meal sia. Anyways whilst the accommodation was not as good as what we had onboard the cruise, I tried to make up with all the activities for the rest of the trip. We visited The Peak and finally experienced Monopoly Dream, visited Arte M for a few trippy hours, took the cable car to Ngong Ping to visit The Big Buddha and Tai O Fishing Village. And of course, how can miss Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park? It was a whirlwind holiday filled with great food and comfort at first, followed by fun activities with the family that would hopefully be something to reminisce in the years to come!

Some Tips from our Recent Hong Kong Trip (2023)

Those of you who had been following us would know that we only recently went on a family trip to Hong Kong tio boh? Forever being the bargain hunter and advocate of "can save why not?", I think it is my duty to share some of the tips I discovered from my recent trip with you. Hence if you are going on a trip to Hong Kong soon, maybe some of these may come in handy –

This is the package you will receive. Just need to follow the instructions to claim your freebie!

Welcome Gift - As a tourist, you are entitled to a special $100HKD gift by Hong Kong Tourism Board. We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport and their booth is right after the arrival gates, cannot miss one. Go grab a gift card with a QR code inside and follow the instructions on collecting your gift. We redeemed ours for a return trip on Hong Kong Airport Express train ticket each.

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Mobile Data – I dunno about you, but I am quite tired of having to charge portable WiFi devices liao. For my current trip, I actually relied on e-sim data that I purchased off Shopee. I get no commission one and I dunno if there are any other better ones out there. But I got mine from here, and it served me well and was the cheapest! Only $6.50 for 2GB daily for 7 days lor but take note it is data only.

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The motel we stayed in, is machiam our HDB flats lah.

Accommodation – This one I dunno how many will dare to follow what I did lah but my accommodation was really one of the cheapest around. It is basically one of the many guesthouses / motels in Tsum Sha Tsui (specifically Mirador Mansion). I booked mine through booking.com because it allows for free cancellation. Actually you go have a look at their listing here. Photos showed the place bright and airy but when we checked in, they moved us to another motel called London motel, which looked a little spooky lah.

Just google for Hong Kong accommodation and select the cheapest. These will surely pop up. I am only trying to tell you that in my own humble opinion, that these places can still do lah. We basically only use the rooms from 11pm – 8am every day. Bring your own toiletries etc, but easily bought from the provision shops downstairs.

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Octopus Card – This is an essential card you need, that you can use at lots of retail shops on top of transportation. There is a dedicated counter at HKIA selling these cards, as well as single / return Airport Express tickets (at a discounted rate of 4). There is a deposit of $50HKD that I was told can be refunded but only to realize that there is an admin fee for return within 3 months of issue. Cards will be inactivated if not used for 3 years. Take note of the card serial number if you can, in the event you lose it like me (dropped from a roller coaster ride).

Take MTR or Tram easily with the Octopus card.

Aiyoh navigating Hong Kong is just like getting around Singapore. All I needed was Google Map (and mobile data obviously) and you are good to go. Almost everywhere is so well connected by MTR that there was no need for any taxi ride for us, unless in a super rush for time.

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There are rides for everyone at Ocean Park, on top of the all the animals you get to see. Including the pandas!

Amusement Parks – I must say that this is my own personal view hor, dun flame me. If there is only one park you have time for, I honestly would recommend you to Ocean Park. It is basically an Aquarium, Bird Park, Zoo and amusement park rolled into one. There was something for every one of my 5 kiddos for sure, just that we do not have enough time to visit everything. We went on a Monday and there was hardly any queues to get onto rides etc.

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Most of our meals were taken at the random Cha Chaan Teng we stumble upon when on the move.

F&B - I feel that the food is quite expensive there these days, even for the humble Cha Chaan Teng. Especially those in the more touristy areas has prices that can be comparable to Singapore restaurants liao. But somehow their milk tea and toasts tastes really nice lah. Oh the bottled soft drinks there also costs like $12HKD up at most places but you can find provision shops selling them at $6HKD and you can bring food and drinks into the Disneyland and Ocean Park one hor. I saved myself from some heart pain by doing so because I have got 5 thirsty hippos lor.

So yeah, hope you find the above info useful for your trip to Hong Kong!

Home Entertainment - LUMOS NANO & LUMOS MOOD Projector Review

What is LUMOS MOOD Lighting Projector?

Have you ever wondered how magical it would be, to chilling under the stars before falling asleep? I did that once, over in Rawa Island over 2 decades back. One really needs to be far away from any light pollutions to be able to see the stars shining brightly in the sky. The closest we got to reliving that moment was over at an indoor glamping over at Changi Experience Studio, with artificial stars.

Nifty little projector, that comes along with a remote control.

Now guess what? I can recreate almost the same feel right in our own bedroom with just a LUMOS MOOD projector that cost under $100. You can play around with the different settings such as the colours, brightness, movement and play soothing music over the speaker via Bluetooth. It definitely feels interstellar!

Never thought that such a small device would be able to project over such a big area of space!

The kiddos were absolutely in love with the projector, especially our youngest Starri who demands for us to turn it on just prior to her sleeping time. To prevent any overheating over 2 hours, it would be wise to set a timing using the controller to prevent you from falling asleep “under the stars” with the device on!

LUMOS MOOD - Plug & Play

It only took us 5mins to open the box, connect the type-C USB cable, plug it into the power source and turn the device on with the pressing of a single button. Totally idiot-proof and even my Louie was able to operate it totally on his own! You can control the basic functions via the buttons on the device or use the remote control for more options. Connecting my mobile to the device was also a breeze and it even syncs patterns to my selected music.

One can literally sleep under the stars, or even the galaxy for that matter!

Hahaha the only funny thing was that my phone was once connected to the device unintentionally while I was using my mobile when the kids turned it on. I thought my phone speakers went dead as the sound from my mobile was played in the room where the kids and the device were in, without me knowing, instead of through my mobile.

This is a short throw only. It can project to an even larger space lor! 

LUMOS NANO Portable Projector

I have been wondering to myself why one should buy a bulky television these days, when one is either on their mobile devices or projecting screens onto walls? I for one had tried a projector and felt that it would totally replace my 70inch plasma TV, especially when it is just as smart, but with the added advantage of compactness that allows me to keep it when not in use.

This is even more incredible. Look at how small the projector is!!!

There is sure portability in a projector, as compared to a TV but I have never thought that I would be able to bring one out as conveniently as a LUMOS NANO that weighs only 400g! It has its own internal rechargeable battery on top of its already ridiculously small size, and the Dolby Audio speakers works great as well! In fact, I think it is smaller than some humidifiers we see in the market lor!

So small, and with its internal rechargeable battery, you can bring it anywhere you like lor!

With its Android 9.0 operating system and Netflix and YouTube preloaded, one only needs to connect the device to Wifi and it is good to go and ready to entertain the kiddos throughout the school holidays lor! For Leroy who likes to show off his gaming skills to his siblings, he can even project his mobile screen via its Air Screen app.

LUMOS NANO - Pro and Cons?

With the ability to project the image onto a plain wall within your usual HDB room, and even onto the ceiling if you lack the wall space, this nifty device would be totally awesome for you to watch a movie or for kids to catch YouTube videos. I would think that using this would be better than the kids straining their eyes on their tablets or mobile devices. You can connect via Bluetooth, or through the HDMI cable provided.

Now Leroy can show off his skills in Mobile Legends to Louie, on the big screen and without him breathing behind his neck as he tries to sneak a peek!

I am seriously no expert at video or image resolution etc, but I can very honestly tell you that the projected images were not as clear as my big-ass expensive projector at long distances and under normal light conditions. However, it still projects very clear images under low/no light situations with its Premium DLP Display Technology at 1,500 lumens. And also then again, this little thingy is only one-fifth the price point of the one I was using previously, so there is really nothing to complain about. The kids noticed no differences in sharpness at all and were all happily using it lor!

Should you get LUMOS MOOD and/or LUMOS NANO

LUMOS MOOD vs LUMOS NANO

Ok so these are basically two totally different types of projectors that I am writing about in this one review. If you feel you or your kids would appreciate the feel of inter galactic travel along with your choice of soothing music, go ahead and get the affordable LUMOS MOOD that could possibly lull you and the kiddos into the mood for relaxation and sleep. Costs $99 with 1-year local warranty and you can get it directly here.

Then with regards to the LUMOS NANO, I personally feel that this device is very worth its price point at $599, given the device’s many uses and portability. You can basically bring the NANO anywhere and play anything anytime you want lor. And these are quality products from our very own local SG company, surely can #SupportLocal too!

Durians for Birthdays?

I actually quite like durians, and would often stop to look see whenever I see them stacked up high at the fruit stores during the season. But I would never buy them by the kilo, as I am always scared of getting "chopped carrot head". I would however be tempted once in a while, to get their pre-packed ones whenever they decide to slash prices during the closing hours. That is definitely a hit and miss for me because I am no connoisseur, but with pricing at 3 for $10 type, no complains lah.

Seems like there is only one person left in my family who likes durians and would happily eat them with me. The rest seems to not mind, but would also not like lor. And the person is none other than my firstborn, Steffi, whom also just celebrated her 14th birthday last weekend! Time really flies. She was just an infant in my arms but has blossomed into a teenager now. A birthday cake is of course a must and we had an indulgence this time round thanks to The Durian Bakery. 

Her delicious choc cake filled with durian pulp and the awesome Dark Choco MSW Mousse!

So we had the very 'gelat' Dark Chocolate Fudge Drip Cake with Mao Shan Wang Core which was totally relished by the birthday girl and myself lah. Chocolate and durian do complement each other lor. But that's not all we had, as they not only have cakes, but also sells a variety of durian patisseries as well! And if you cannot make up your mind, you can get their Signature Durian Dessert Box and try them all!

Just look at all the durian goodness!

Ok I am not exaggerating. The huge-ass puffs are the biggest I have even tried and chockful of delicious pulp!

Definitely a great experience for durian lovers, without the need to unhusk or the messiness, and it definitely tastes like 100% durian flesh in my cakes and bakes. Thank you The Durian Bakery, for sending all these goodies over on Steffi's birthday!