Shuutravels: August 2013

#shuutravels Bangkok Food Guide part 2

By Shu - 19:00

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A Nice Summer

By Shu - 23:00

This is the starting sentence of my mega-overdue travelogue for my end of Year 1 trip to Nice, France. After a horribly long winter in London, it is of no surprise that we all decided to head down South to the coast of France for some sun. The 4 day long trip was relaxing, and rather enjoyable even though there is arguably not much to do in Nice.

So our 4 days was split between spent travelling around Nice, and taking day trips out to Eze, Monaco, Cannes and St Paul! I don't think we saw anything spectacular per se, but each day trip was enjoyable in its own little way I guess, with us discovering little pockets of joy and swoon-worthy things.

Day 1: Nice

Yep, Nice (pun - you saw that coming) beaches, and the sea is such and amazing shade of blue! I immediately regretted not bringing my swim wear ): The day was mostly spent wandering around the city center and lying on the pebbly beach.

Day 1: The rather gorgeous man-made waterfall at Le Chateau on the eastern side of Nice.

Le Chateau de Nice is a little little hill which we can ascend to reach a couple of viewing points. There's a fair/bazaar at the top and a cute little playground but nothing much of interest other than phototaking at the viewing points that offered a rather picturesque view of the Mediterranean!

Day 2: Duck Confit at a French Restaurant

I LOVE. One of the best I've ever eaten! The duck was sooo aromoatic due to the garlic *drools* I love french food!

Days 2: Eze - the uninspiring and anticlimatic village that greeted us after a tiring climb.

This was an interesting day. We took a bus to Monaco, and decided to stop halfway to visit Eze, a fortified medieval village perched atop a hill. A HILL. Well, it took us about 1.5-2h to climb up a rocky and sometimes non existant path, and I was dressed in slippers and a fishtail skirt. Go shu. However, adventuregirl93 must admit that she really enjoyed the "hike" - I love climbing, scrambling past rocks and walking through the forests!!

Day 2: Monaco

We continued onto Monaco, and lo and behold it just had to start pouring. Half of us didn't have umbrellas so we just stood around and whiled time away. We went into the famed Casino Royale where I was entertained for about 1hour by people playing blackjack and roulette HAHA. I wish the poker rooms were free entry as well! ): Anyway it is strangely fascinating to see people play at the casino, and also to watch the experienced dealer work the cards.

Day 3: Cannes

Again, another strangely underwhelming place. We visited the site where the Cannes Festival was held just the week before, and it looked literally like an old Singapore community club. *lame max* Good thing is that unlike most of Nice beaches, the Cannes beaches actually are sandy, so to get our London-fied bodies tanned we went!

Day 4: The Little Fascinating Village of St Pauls

St Pauls is probably the most interesting place we visited on this trip. This village is full of art galleries by French (and some Italian as well I think?) artists - really cool! There are even art deco and pop art styles on display (and sale) alongside the more classical styles of painting. I would recommend a trip to this place! Of course, being filled with mostly galleries and souvenir shops, St Pauls is very much a tourist village. Nevertheless, fascinating!

Us pulling epic faces :P

Don't judge, what's a trip without some obligatory self shots?

Attempt to be artistic x Shu is a macro lover

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So that briefly sums up my 4 day post exam trip to Nice in France. Well, I am a pretty laidback kind of person, so "boring" and slack trips like this don't really irk me. But if you're one who likes trips saturated with sights and information and landmarks, I wouldn't recommend more than 2-3 days at Nice. Also, I REALLY WANTED TO CLIMB THE BAOU DE ST JEANNETE. GROWL. But transportation was a bitch and no one really wanted to climb it with me. So oh well. Maybe I will get the chance to climb again! :)

Till the next! Hardworking Shu is back at blogging to chronicle her life in the past year. xx

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Bangkok Food Guide (part 1)

By Shu - 18:30

Just recently, I completed a 6 day trip to BKK – the dream city for many Singaporean shopaholics. Unfortunately, despite me beginning the trip with so much excitement and enthusiasm, I think I can safely say Bangkok has largely been unimpressive, especially when it comes to shopping. The Platinum Fashion Mall was merely a giant Far East Plaza/ Bugis Street full of cheap and poor quality clothes, and I guess there are rare gems to be found but hey, Shu and patience don’t go hand in hand. Plus, I was rather disappointed at the rather boring Melissa collection – I was looking forward to getting them cheap in BKK! Unfortunately, there was no sale and somehow this season’s shoes are just bleh. Oh well.

But!! If there was one reason why I’d willingly go back to BKK again, it has got to be FOR FOOD. I think almost every meal I’ve had there was either satisfactory or SUPERMEGA DELISH. OOH I really love Thai food. I wish I had more time and courage to try more street food though hahahaha. BKK is not exactly the cleanest place on earth so half the time I was kind of paranoid that I will return with an upset stomach… Nevertheless, I shall share my favourite food haunts from Bangkok!

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Once Upon a Time
Petchaburi Road, Bangkok 10400

Shona introduced me to this quaint little restaurant just off the main street. I went there for dinner the first day after we touched down, and it was so good we just HAD to eat there again before we left hehe.

Of special mention has got to be the green curry and the super sinful squid stir fried with butter and salted egg yolk. The green curry was packed with an astounding array of spices and was hence very flavourful. There was some really weird pea/spice (?!?!) in it that tasted incredibly bitter if you bit into it though...

Green Curry

Stir Fried Squid

The restaurant is really dark, however, so don't expect to take any decent photos there with your $500 compact camera. (Disclaimer, for the horrible photos)

Fresh Coconut garnished with a pretty orchird

Pad Thai

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Greyhound Cafe

Siam Center Level 3

This has got to be one of the most famous cafes in Bangkok haha. Everyone I know that has been to BKK will eat here lol. Fortunately though, her popularity is deserved! I loved my pasta, the chicken wings, AND THE DESSERT. *sweet tooth alert* My favourite was definitely the sea salt caramel cake. I wish there was a little bit more sea salt, but other than that, the fudgey chocolate was perfect! Photo time! :D