Our Travelations

ADVERTORIAL

If there’s one thing we always make sure to bring with us during our travels, it’s our credit cards. No, it’s not for any luxurious purchases or anything (well, if Jeff wants to indulge me now and then, I won’t mind!), but rather, it’s for emergencies. And sometimes, it’s just easier and safer to pay with a credit card than risk carrying wads of cash around.

Some cards also give travel-related privileges that, as avid travelers, we really, really like. Jeff has one that allows him to convert his spending into miles that can be used to redeem flights on a much sought after airline. I don’t have such a credit card, but I have two frequent flier cards. Anyway, we both thought we were sorted when it came to smart spending for our travelling needs.

Well, we were wrong – luckily, we can now remedy that, thanks to a very informative dinner session with Citibank recently.

During the sharing session, we were ‘educated’ on their suite of credit cards, which includes the one we think is most suitable for avid travelers, the Citibank Citi PremierMiles Card.

Citibank presentation session. It was very useful - check out J paying attention at the top of the table!

While our current travel related reward cards allow us to claim miles for flights, this one lets us claim our accumulated miles for just about anything that is travel related.

And being independent travelers (fortunately, we do sometimes enjoy full-fare flights and hotels as part of our work), we fly a lot on budget airlines and stay frequently at guesthouses and hostels. So, being able to claim for these is just great!

Citi PremierMiles Card

Features/benefits of the Citi PremierMiles Card include:

• Up to 2 Citi Miles with every $1 spend
• Annual bonus of up to 20,000 Citi Miles
• Citi Miles are redeemable on most airlines or any travel-related spend (you have to make the travel-related purchase using your Citi PremierMiles Card)
• Citi Miles never expire

Honestly, travelling is a major part of our lives – it’s part of our work, it takes up a big chunk of our leisure time and needless to say, our relationship is strengthened through shared experiences while travelling – so this card would really help us make the best of our travelling budget. Hey, who doesn’t want a free 5-star hotel stay, eh?

Well, we’re both going to sign-up for one.

If you would like one too, head to this Citibank Credit Cards/Ready Credit page, where you can enjoy a $40 Tangs voucher if you successfully apply for both a Citibank Credit Card and Citibank Ready Credit. If you successfully apply for either a Citibank Credit Card or Citibank Ready Credit, you’ll enjoy a $20 TANGS shopping voucher.

[Comparatively, offline sign-ups will not receive any vouchers. Online sign-ups not using the link above will receive only a $20 Wisma Atria voucher.]

Besides this, all holders of Citibank Credit Cards can participate in the Citibank Gourmet Pleasures programme, something which I think would be right up our alley (and yours too!). I think there’s a foodie in every true-blue traveler – I recently had a great discussion with a group of travel writers and we came to the fantastic conclusion that food, travel and culture are very natural bedfellows.

Here’s evidence that the Citibank folks really know their food – we were treated to a very delicious feast at Coriander Leaf that night:

A very interesting starter: Eggplant with a pomegranate salsa

Crab cakes, the second starter and my number 1 dish that night

My main: Codfish with a miso dressing

J's main dish: Roasted rack of lamb with a balsamic dressing

Anyway, I’ll do a reveal of my card, and hopefully, what I spent my miles on, soon.

Thanks Citibank & 24seven for a fun and informative session (and a yummy dinner)! We also met many new friends and fellow bloggers

Esther

For avid and independent travellers, Skype shouldn’t be something new. It’s a very popular software application that allows users to make free calls over the Internet. Calls to mobile phones or conventional landlines can be made at a really low rate.

Since getting the Apple iPhone, I’ve been making use of Skype more and more because it really is very convenient. There’s no need to have a headset or microphone connected to my laptop, I just dial and talk on the iPhone using the Skype app. I use it a lot for work as well as for calling friends, relatives and other contacts while travelling.

However, I had only been using Skype whenever I managed to get a WiFi signal because Skype couldn’t be used over a 3G connection in the past. But now it can and I’m really happy about that!

Jeff and I received that update and learnt about other developments at a Skype blogger event organised during this year’s CommunicAsia in Singapore last month.

One of the more exciting things to come out of the company recently is Skype on TV. Having Skype on your TV will allow you to chat ‘live’ with others on a widescreen high definition TV.

Skype on TV in action

The feature is available on selected television sets. I think this will be useful for groups of people who need to talk to each other, like families who are living a great distance apart, or when a certain demonstration needs to be done, like in a virtual sales meeting, for example. You can read more about it at this Skype “On your TV” page.

Besides this, we learnt that a large chunk of Skype users are those who use the application for business purposes. I’m guilty as charged. But I love my job which makes it kinda like play – does that count?

We were given some pretty cool door gifts and one of them is this Skype iPhone cover. It’s quite cute and trust me, it’s waaay thinner and classier than my previous chunky silicone one (which attracted dust actually).

Skype iPhone cover in white

Can you spot the Eiffel Tower with the fireworks going off?

Anyway, we bagged three covers so that we could run our very first GIVEAWAY!

Get one for yourself by leaving a comment on how you use Skype in your life. Share some tips with us all! Do this by the end of the day on August 7 and we’ll pick three of our favourites to win a Skype iPhone cover each. Don’t forget to leave your email address so that we can contact you if you win.

A big thank you to Daphne of XPR and Skype for inviting us to the event!

Esther

A lot of backlog, people. Bear with us. And yes, many apologies!

First up, let me tell you about Green School Bali, which I had the privilege of finally visiting in April.

I had known about Green School since last year in my previous job, but only recently did I manage to visit. We were hosted by the warm and friendly Ron Stones, Green School’s consultant director.

With its tagline, “Equipping Children for 2025″, this school is seriously a school for the future. It is almost entirely made of bamboo and is such an interesting, inspiring place to learn. Famed Canadian jeweller John Hardy and his wife, Cynthia, built this school because they wanted to teach children about sustainable living – they also built what could possibly be the world’s largest bamboo building, the Heart of School, a grand, imposing, three-storey structure, located within the school grounds.

Miniature model of Heart of School, made out of bamboo

Besides teaching the standard International Baccalaureate (IB) and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) syllabus, there is also a Green Studies programme, which includes topics like carbon footprint analysis, water studies and even, organic farming and gardening.

Within the Creative Arts and physical education programmes, students delve into yoga and batik painting using natural dyes made from vegetation on site, and martial arts, with the Balinese traditional art of Mepantingan being an important component. Students, aged between three and 15, learn by doing, with each child tending to their very own vegetable patch.

I wrote about the Green School at the SE Forum site, so feel free to click on the link to find out more.

Jeff wasn’t with me on this trip – oh, how I wished he could have seen the school with his own eyes – so, this post is as much for him as it is for you, dear readers! Enjoy!

Part of Heart of School, entirely made of bamboo

School football field

The students' tomato patch

Students are encouraged to use reusable water bottles to collect the spring water that is made conveniently available from water points within the school compound. Do not use plastic. Make a choice.

Hydro-energy harnessed from the fast flowing Ayung River which divides the school

View from the bridge at the entrance of the school

A beautiful set of photos (not taken by me) of the school can be found here.

*****

• Green School Bali is located at Jalan Raya Sibang Kaja, Banjar Saren, Abiansemal, Badung, Bali 80352, Indonesia.

*****

Esther

Its so serene at the Bayon temple of Siem Reap in Cambodia in 2007

The Bayon temple within the Angkor Thom complex in Siem Reap vies with Angkor Wat as the most favourite attraction in Siem Reap. Over 2,000 large faces carved on 54 towers give this temple its majestic character. Built nearly 100 years after Angkor Wat, Bayon was built in the late 12th century to early 13th century, by the King Jayavarman VII, and it was dedicated to Buddhism.

This smaller, more intimate temple was certainly one of our favourites and we visited twice, just to soak up the calming and peaceful atmosphere of the place. This temple is also situated along the running route of the annual Angkor Half-Marathon, and as a running enthusiast, I hope to run the race and gaze at the temple as I pass.

~ Esther

Esther

Xi Tang, just outside Shanghai, China in 2005

Xi Tang is a small water town that has nine rivers that snake around and overlap each other. It is in Zhejiang province, just a couple of hours away from the busy and cosmopolitan Shanghai. Here you will find old-styled crafted stone bridges that link the different parts of the town. People use the waters running through these canals for cooking and daily consumption; furthermore, residents use these waterways to travel to other parts of town and for merchants to transport their goods. The town was made even more famous when the action sequel, Mission Impossible III (which featured Tom Cruise) was shot along the banks of this tranquil town.

Here the people are nice and tourism then in 2005 had not really arrived. Hopefully, it will remain a scenic and historic area for the residents who still enjoy the tranquil serenity of the place. Choose to stay with one of the residents and thoroughly immerse yourself in this very interesting and peaceful place.

~ Jeff

Esther