Short Trip To Kamala in Phuket, Thailand

This was the first time going to Phuket, Thailand. I was told to choose place that is not Patong by my girlfriend as she just wanted some place with peace and quiet. The process of elimination meant that we stay in Kamala, which is about 10-minutes away from Patong.

I flew into Thailand by Tiger Air (SGD 190/head) as usual and the flight was about 2 hours long. When I arrived at the Phuket airport, we arranged for the hotel, Ayara Kamala to pick us up. Took us about 50 minutes to reach the hotel which was situated up a slope and we could only check in at 2 pm.

The wait was worth it. I had booked a deluxe room with pool access (~SGD310/night net) and I think I cannot get the same value in Singapore.

The resort feel was very strong and it showed in how they decorated the room with elephant motifs and the sprinkling of flowers. I did a google and found out that Ayara did not mean elephant but rather, poem, in sanskrit.

You might think that I paid quite a bit for the room but if you have the view below and a pool, I do not think you will complain. I spent most of the time dipped in the pool or tanning by the front yard. It is shared by 4 other rooms but we did not all use the pool at the same time. I do not have a morning shot but the views were fabulous and post card perfect. I guess it was what you would call a blue sky holiday.

Back from Phuket, back to work

Went to Phuket, Thailand, for a quick getaway. Spent three days at a lovely resort there in Kamala. However, it is starting to look poorly timed as both work and school are chasing me for assignments! Some photos and a short write-up of the trip will follow in the next 1-2 weeks.

Recounting Chiang Mai (no photos)

Went to Chiang Mai in November 2014 with my secondary school buddies to look for our Thai friend based there. Booked my trip through Tiger Airways (again) way ahead in June that same month and it cost me only SGD 300 return but no frills. We were supposed to fly on Thursday and return Sunday afternoon but the airlines had to reschedule the flight (due to lack of passenger load?). This in turn meant that we spent only 2 days and 2 nights in Chiang Mai and that we could not fully enjoy our stay at the luxurious Shangri-la Hotel. We got a corporate rate on our accommodation (sans breakfast) and it set us back only SGD 65 per night.

Highlights of the trip were:

• Dinner at Baanrai Yarnyen a traditional Thai restaurant, where we had nice Thai food and then fried insects (for us tourists). All the insects were deep fried so they tasted basically the same.
• Visit to an elephant sanctuary, where we rode an elephant. It was a scary ride for me especially when going down hill as the seats were not very secured. You are advised to bring alot of THB 20 notes as tip and to buy the elephants food. There were also other miscellaneous rides - bullock cart ride, sampan ride - that were aimed at taking all our small change.
• Dinner at Mix a fushion cuisine restaurant opened by my friend's auntie.
• Drinks at Warm Up Cafe. I was told by my friend that it was the most happening place to be at and when I was there, I felt that it was the equivalent of Timbre in Singapore. Although there were eight of us, six of us finished a bottle of whisky in the hour we were there because the two host had to drive!
•  En route to the hotel, we visited the Anusan Market and played with air pistols.
• On the final day, we made a short trip to the Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It was the only temple we went to and the place was very grandly decorated. The dome of the temple was covered in gold leaf!

Overall it was a great trip because of the company. Got to catch up with a long lost friend who shared great insight. Had we spent one more day there we might have stayed in the hotel to chill, although the pool water was very cold since it was "winter" time

Breakdown of cost

Airfare: SGD 300 return by Tiger
Hotel: SGD 130 for two nights
Guide+Driver+Van: THB3,000 for three days

Portfolio -1.6% vs STI

I am writing this as I prepare for my third flight since the last blog post. I will write more about the trips to South Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong later in December. 

Despite the gains to the Straits Times Index (STI) over the past few months, the portfolio remains weak due to the slide in Super Group's share price. My fully invested in cash portfolio is down 1.6% against the STI on a YTD basis.

Not included in the portfolio for the year are my additional purchases of Super Group during the year and F&N late in November. Including these purchases, the dollar value of the portfolio touches the SGD 100,000 mark which is one of those milestones in an investor's life. Month on month, the portfolio did chalk up some gains but were not enough to reverse the losses. Interestingly, I have observed that my defensive stocks Auric Pacific and UOB Kay-Hian have each shed about 20-30 cents each since the start of the year. Because my cost of purchasing them is low, I have thought it nice to keep them for dividends. However, if the decline is a leading signal of greater difficulties, perhaps it is time to cash out.

The portfolio has done horribly so far in 2014 and it will be third year out of six year that I under perform the benchmark. There are many learning points and worthy of an lengthy reflection post. 

An unexciting visit to Perth

I visited Perth, Australia, with two of my friends over one of the September weekends. I flew in by Jetstar and got out by Scoot. The Jetstar flight got delayed but fortunately, I was covered by travel insurance. Because I booked early, my total airfare was close to SGD 400. Again, I stayed over at my friend's spacious apartment in the CBD and that minimised my lodging expenses. 

The itinerary was very predictable. Everything you have heard about Perth is very true. It is quiet, slower paced and lacks commercial tourist attractions. Outside the CBD, the number of Asians who have migrated to Australia or are working here, is very high. Still, this is not as high as the number of foreigners working in Singapore.

Day 1 started very late. Our rescheduled 7 am flight reached Perth airport at 1230. By the time we got to the city center, it was 2-3 pm. Our first meal was at a local fast food burger joint Grill'd somewhere in the vicinity of London Court. The burger below set me back by AUD 15 dollar! Food photos are the good work of my friend.

My Taiwan Trip (June 1-9)

Taipei 101

I went to Taiwan from June 1-9 with my girlfriend and visited Hualien and Taipei. I booked the Tiger Airways ticket way in advanced in February and for two persons and they cost me SGD 900 in total. This included hot meals and 20 kg baggage check-in to Taiwan, and 25 kg baggage check-in to Singapore. The Tiger Airways plane was a bit cramp for me. My friend who went Taiwan two weeks before recommended Scoot but said they charged quite a bit for booking.

The travel itinerary went like this:

Taipei Mainstation

June 1: Flew from Singapore's T2 to Taiwan's Tao Yuan International Airport 1. Took a bus to Taipei Main Station, from there a slow train (3 hours) to Hualien Station and a taxi to Jimei Home Stay (a min su), where I stayed there for 4 nights. The home stay was good (SGD 100 per night) and the only problem I had was that all the TV channels were local.