Couples Negril - Jamaica

Couples Negril - Jamaica

Ah... my first visit to an all-inclusive adults only resort and I've got nothing to say but good things. This place was paradise and near perfect for any type of escape from the realities of life.

As we first landed in Jamaica from fly WestJet (our preferred airline here in Canada), the warm sea salt air was a welcomed invasion of humidity from the dry flight. Stepping into the Montego Bay Airport, it was a surprisingly well developed terminal with all the modern amenities that you would expect. We made our way through customs and headed over to the Couples Resorts waiting area where we were greeted by friendly staff and most importantly... an ice cold Jamaican Red Stripe beer.

While we checked in, staff took care of our luggage and we had a chance to refresh while we waited for the shuttle bus to come get us. This was a fantastic perk with Couples Resorts as other resorts that don't have private shuttles could be a pricey trip from the airport.

The ride was an uneventful one (which is great), but the driver was friendly and we made our roughly one hour trip to the resort soaking in the views of the ocean and the sites of local small towns.

Arriving at the resort, our bags were taken care of and the driver was appreciative of the $2 USD tip. They don't actually work for the resort and so are not part of the "all-inclusive" gratuity package. We were immediately greeted with glasses of champagne and seated on comfortable couches while we filled out the check-in paperwork.

Following our host, we were guided to our room where we quickly settled in and took in the views from the balcony. Our luggage arrived promptly and I immediately felt the rush of relaxation and the worry-free attitude come over me that Jamaica is so well known for.


We gave ourselves a quick tour of the resort, ignoring the guided tour that the resort offered. I'm sure it would have been helpful, but we just didn't feel like waiting the extra couple hours before the tour started. The resort was wonderful and intimate. It wasn't huge, which is a great plus in my books as it didn't take much walking to get to any specific area.





The pool was clean and the pool bar always had good service. Tons of beach chairs are readily available and it was never an issue getting one with a great view and lots of sun.

The food was excellent and the staff as friendly as they come. The all day grill was great and we definitely enjoyed the chicken. Evening meals could be had either at the buffet (Casava Terrace), the asian restaurant (Lychee), fine dining (Otaheite), or at the beach bar/grill. I'd recommend Casava Terrace and Otaheite the most. Be sure to make reservations at least 24 hours in advance for Otaheite as it's a fine dining experience and there's a dress code in effect. Although Lychee was tasty, my palette was a bit too sophisticated for the asian tastes that they could produce; it just wasn't up to par for asian food, but I observed many other people enjoying their meals.

The included water sports worked out great. The SCUBA diving staff was phenomenal and I'd give them all a kudos. They were amazing. Sugar, the SCUBA manager, was amazing and is definitely an asset that Couples should never lose. His instructional skills and patience in teaching newbie SCUBA divers was great. My fiancée had a blast and became a SCUBA Open Water diver under his tutelage.

Overall, the experience was amazing and I truly do hope to return to this little piece of paradise in Jamaica. It was simply amazing.

Chronic Tacos - Vancouver (Gas Town)

So there I was, walking by myself on water street, wet, cold, and hungry. I had initially made it a goal to find a good sushi restaurant, but that plan fell through when the only one I found had a line up. I continued down the street when I saw Chronic Tacos across the street. My stomach grumbled and demanded that I feed it, so, with my stomach in control of my mind, my legs obeyed and in I went into the Chronic Taco.

On first entry, I was not very impressed. My first impression was that this was some dingy pub that had been abandoned and turned into a make-shift Mexican joint. Red walls and shoddy decor definitely didn't help. There was TVs every where like a sports pub but no bar. The first sign you see is: SEAT YOURSELF PLEASE. The servers were friendly enough, since I was dining alone and there was no bar, I ended up taking over a table for 5 by myself.

I ordered a Corona which was on special for $4.50, they were sold out. That's disappointing; a Mexican restaurant without Corona, oxy-moronic? I ended up with a Pacifico, not my typical taste in beer, but my stomach reminded me I was thirsty.On the servers recommendation, I had a fish taco and a meat taco, both with a soft tortilla shell. The real Mexican name escapes me at the moment. She said they were both really good and only $3.50 each, so for the price, why not?As I sipped my beer and stared out the window at the depressing rain that vancouver is so famous for, a basket of tortilla chips appears with what seems like a homemade salsa. Instinctively satisfying my hunger, my hands and both begin working in unison to consume the basket. The salsa wasn't anything special, I think I could have made it in my magic bullet at home, but it was free and went well enough with the beer.

My two tacos took about 15 minutes to appear. By the time they got to me I had already finished my beer. I took at look at the dish and it looked appetizing enough. No utensils were to be seen. I guess this is the authentic Mexican experience. So, with what I hoped were clean hands, I formed the soft shells with their contents into a taco shaped form and began stuffing my mouth.

First to introduce itself to my tongue was the fish taco. The fish was battered and there was tartar like, but more mayo-ish dressing on it. Combined with the lettuce, guacamole and some salsa, it was surprisingly tasty. I engulfed the whole thing with a hungry four bites. If I ever came back here, that's what I would order.The meat taco was nothing special and quite honestly, other than having some bite to it, is not even worth mentioning.

All in all, for a quick... Wait, for a fairly cheap dine in lunch experience in Gas Town, it's not a terrible place. I think this place needs a huge renovation as it seems to have an identity crisis. The whole bill came to about $18 for the two tacos, basket of chips and salsa, and two beers. Not bad I suppose.

Would I make a special trip for it in the future, doubtful...Service was good tho... And easy on the eyes...

Beer Revolution - Calgary

1080 8 Street SW 
Calgary, AB T2R0J3

Now here's a pretty cool place that I didn't know existed until just recently. The Brewster downtown across from Safeway on 8 ave SW is where this wonderful new Craft Beer House is now located. Brewsters got split in half and this beer oasis now occupies half the property.

On first entry, the modern decor and multiple television screens were a welcome sight. What really caught me off guard were their airport style listings. It took me a while but then I realized what they were.

These screens showed the magic of Beer Revolution. 24 taps, and each type of craft beer listed which were on tap at the time and how much was left in the keg. Brilliant.

The manager/owner explained to us that they had over 300 beers in kegs but only 24 taps, every time a keg taps out then they flush the lines and but in a different kind of beer, then update the board. Brilliant. Another thing to note is that the lines to the kegs are only about 4 feet long... not like Craft where the lines are 50+ feet, thus reducing the amount of beer that sits in the lines and goes bad.

These guys really have a passion for great beer and their enthusiasm and service shows it. Food is nothing to scuff at either so have a look at their menu and try out some foodies!

They really know their beer and if you're a beer connoisseur, I highly recommend checking this place out!! I'm looking forward to my next trip back...

Sorry... long time...

I know it's been a while since i've made any sort of entry... but it's been one hectic month for everything. I've got a list of places that I'll be bloggin about so hopefully I'll get around to it this month and before I leave on my trip to europe in July. Some things to look forward to in the next little bit:

Beer Revolution
Five Guys Burgers
Pacini's

TTYL!!

Raj Palace - Calgary

124 Country Hills Landing NW 

Calgary, AB T3K5P3

In a few words, delicious, fantastic service, great food. 

I would like to commend this restaurant for its excellent indian food. I was extremely impressed with the level of service and found the food great tasting and plentiful.

We had ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo, Mysore Masala Dosa, Chicken Dum Biryani and Garlic Naan. What a feast.

The Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Vindaloo were fantastic. Both had a delicious sauce that was easily a take home item afterwards to be mixed with my own rice. They were rich in flavour and the meat was tender and full of flavour.

The Garlic Naan was the best that I've ever had. Some other places I've been to simply use garlic butter on their naan, however here there was a nice spread of finely minced garlic all over the naan. It was delicious and definitely gave me the garlic breath that I was hoping for after eating a few. It was a perfect compliment to the chicken tikka masala and the lamb vindaloo.

The Chicken Dum Biryani was excellent. It was my first time ever trying this dish and I highly recommend it. It comes out as a bowl of deliciously spiced rice and buried within it are a couple drumsticks and thighs. It was superb and the blend of spices were intoxicating.

The Mysore Masala Dosa was like a potatoe pancake. Well, at least that is how I related to it. It was delicious and piping hot when it arrived at our table. I highly recommend this dish as it too was my first time trying it and I loved it. 

The customer service was great and I could only assume that it was the owner who was serving us. Each dish was explained as it arrived and when asking for recommendations they were very knowledgeable. 

Check this place out the next time you're in the Country Hills area. They are definitely worth the stop and their prices are fair. Good job folks!

My name is really Ada Wong

And yes... I really am that hot. So if there's anyone out there who doubt my validity, by best friend James Wong can vouch for me. Check out my website for recent pics.

http://adawong-spy.webs.com/

Pro Dive - Cairns, Australia

This adventure started out back in October. Through what I thought was thorough research. I happily booked a dive trip for myself, my sister and my friend. Both my sister and I were booked for open water dives and my friend for the open water course. We had booked through an agent, Aquapro Dive Travel, AquaProDive.com, because they were offering a slight discount, however the five trip costed us $620 AUD and the OW course $740 AUD.

As we arrived into Australia from Canada, we landed in Sydney where we spent a few days vacationing. The day that we planned to fly to Cairns, Quantas had a labour dispute and shut down the airline that weekend. As a result of this, our flight was cancelled and we could not get to Cairns. I immediately called Pro Dive and explained the situation, however they were apathetic to the reason and told us that because we didn’t cancel within the 48 hours of our plans that we could not receive a refund. I was extremely disappointed.

Pro Dive then offered to credit our money for a period of six months so that we could use it again at a later date with the stipulation that we could only use it as a wait-list for their boats. I did not have much of a choice and therefore accepted. Upon my return to Canada, I began to make plans for the next trip to Cairns to try again to make this great GBR dive.

I kept in contact with Pro Dive over emails throughout my winter months and we came to the conclusion that March would be the best time to go as it was their low season. My sister and I made plans to fly around the world again. We were assured time and time again that the dates that we had planned would be great and that we wouldn’t have a problem with getting on the boat. We had put our names down on their lists for the option of 3 different days and started our travels with confidence.

Prior to our departure from Canada, I reconfirmed with Pro Dive that the dates we listed for would be available and they assured me that we should not have a problem. As we arrived through Hong Kong on our connecting flight, I received an e-mail from Pro Dive saying that things were not looking good anymore but they were trying to keep a couple spots open for us. I was worried and replied that we would be there within eight hours.

As soon as we arrived to Cairns, we immediately went straight to the Pro Dive Shop and introduced ourselves. Nicky, the lady that helped us out immediately provided us with a smile and began to explain that the dates that we had selected were all booked up.  Disappointed and frustrated I asked her if there were any more available, she explained that there was an opening on a Sunday (We had listed for thur, fri, and sat). I jumped at the opportunity, however frustrated because now I knew I would have to re-arrange all our flights, accommodations and my work schedule back home, but I flew around the world just for this trip!

Nicky tried to book us for the Sunday trip however she ran into problems and could not. She called the head office asking for help when they started to explain to her that she was not allowed to put my sister and I on the boat and that we had to be wait listed. The only way was for us to pay for the whole trip again to be confirmed. I was outraged!! I’m standing right there in front of them having travelled for nearly 20 hours and they tell me that they can’t put me on the boat. Nicky then continued to tell me that they were having a special that week and that the trip was cheaper than it usually is, $535 AUD. Although her intention was good, her impact was not. Why were they discounting the trip to fill the boat when they assured me that they were trying to keep the spots open for us before we arrived?!?!

This was absurd! I travelled around the world to use money that I already paid them in confidence that they were going to help us out in getting us on a boat for a range of dates that they confirmed were a good idea. They then would not put us on a boat when I arrived knowing that  I was the one that had to change all my plans (at a hefty financial cost) to accommodate for them. They then said I had to pay again!!!!!???!!!

I was naturally upset, however, I remained calm and tried to reason with them. They had already taken my friends money with no regard or refund, and were trying to swindle more money from us. I offered to pay them a premium (of about $100 AUD) to confirm our spots on the boat for Sunday, however they refused. After a while of pacing and realizing that I did not want to miss this opportunity having flown around the world, I tried to make other compromises. I asked if I could have the credit made transferable so that if I could make this trip I could at least give it to a friend of family member, they refused. Finally, I said that I would pay the price of the confirmed trip providing that they take the monetary value of the credit and give it to the crew as a gratuity. The business had already taken my friend’s $740 AUD without providing services, why should they take our money as well?!? I was more than happy to make this deal because I could see that Nicky was frustrated too and that she did want to help us. The company still refused!!

At this point I was very angry. My sister was in tears and I knew that I had a lot of work to do in order to change all our plans and still have to pay the full (but discounted for this week!) price to make this dive happen. Here came the biggest mistake I made, I paid for the trip in full, again!!

Their consolation was that they would keep our credit live for another 6 months and now offer transferability of the name, but why would I let someone go through the exact same experience I just had?!?

I am really disappointed in the way this business is run. I understand that every business is out to make money, however this business pretty much bullied my money out of me. My mistake was letting them do it. Every business will come into contact with extenuating circumstances, it’s how you deal with those circumstances which speak loudest.

-When Pro Dive refused to give us a refund or even partial returns, they acted like a greedy company.

-When they were told that my friend could not return for a second trip to Australia from Canada, they refused to allow any transferability of his credit and said that there was nothing they could do.

-When they told me that they were doing everything they could to hold our spots for our arrival, tell us that it’s a good time to travel, then say that the spots were full, and I find out they were offering a special week discount to walk-ups for those dates that we had agreed to, they were being UNTRUSTWORTHY, DECEPTIVE, and MANIPULATIVE.

-They would not empower their own employees to do what they knew was right.

This company is not reputable in my books and I feel like I let them steal from me. I suppose part of the problem was me letting them do what they did to me and now I hope that this won’t happen to anyone else.

The trip went well and their staff was professional, it’s a shame that they have to work for a company that does not put their guests first and is run solely for the purpose of extorting money from their customers. The way I was treated by the company makes me feel bad for the way they may treat their own employees.

It is my recommendation as a traveler, diver, employee of a major airline, that this company is not well run.

DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR BUSINESS.

I know that I am not alone in similar opinions as when I spoke to other in the region while I was there, many people did not have a good opinion of them, had I known this, I would have never booked this trip with Pro Dive. Do not make my mistake! There are better businesses out there that deserve your hard earned money!!!

GBR Diving

Great barrier reef... Wow, what a season to go diving, torrential down pours, big waves, low visibility... It definitely was not what I was expecting.... I'm quite disappointed. And to top it all off, I had quite the case of sea sickness. It was quite the trip. I'll post of pics of the dive and a full review of Pro Dive Cairns when I get back home. I can tell you this though, it won't be a glowing review.

Cairns - day 2

So, we hired a car and drove up the coast to Daintree Village which was a bit of a disappointment. We were hoping to visit the rainforest which I think we were driving through but never really got a chance to actually walk through it. To actually see the rainforest, you had to take a ferry to cape tribulation which also required a 4x4 vehicle... We had a hyundai Getz.

So after driving a couple hours in massive rain, the likes that Canada would never see, we stopped at the shannonvale winery. This place makes wine from exotic fruits, not grapes. We enjoyed a free wine tasting of wines made from pineapple, mango, sapote, ginger, and purple mangosteen. They were definitely unique and I ended up purchasing some ginger port and mango wine. I've yet to figure out how to get them back... Lol...

We stopped at Kuranda and visited the Barron Falls which was quite spectacular. Finally, we came back to Cairns and capped off the evening we a drink and headed to bed early.

Day 1 in cairns...

Wow what a day so far. We landed and headed straight for pro dive to check on our diving trip only to be disappointed that the days we wanted were full... Ugh. Now I have to resched all my air fares and lose out on a day of work, I'm extremely disappointed.

Pro dive was not much help in the matter ad made it quite difficult to work things out... Nicky, the front desk girl that we talk to was super friendly, what this company misses out on is empowerment. How can you entrust loyalty of customers without empowering your employees to make the tight decision. Due to the situation, we could not use the credit that was extended to us by the company for our five on Sunday, forcing us to pay full price for the trip. This is a loss of 620 Australian dollars. I had tried to make two concessions, one was to take my credit and give the full amount as gratuity to the boat crew that would be taking me out on the dive or give me transferability. I was disappointed that they chose the later. Honestly, Nicky was good enough trying to help us that I would have tipped her the 620 dollars then let the business keep it. The business thought otherwise.

So after having it all settled, we've walked around cairns all day and are trying to figure out what to do tomorrow... Winging the next two days... Any ideas for things to do in cairns?

Here's some random photos throughout the day...

Hong Kong - 3 hour layover

Just landed in Hong Kong after a 13 hour flight in economy class on board a Cathay Pacific 747-400. My bum is numb. Managed to watch 4 movies, In Time, Money Ball, and 2 Chinese movies. Service was excellent as is to be expected from an airline like Cathay.

Right now I'm trying to consume a one liter bottle of water before going through security to get to our transfer gate... Why is there a security check point for internal transfers? Anyways...

I'm about half way done the water now... Should go get some food... Got another 8 hour flight to go for Cairns.

I'm a little worried because Pro Dive, our dive company says that their boats are filling up. I guess I won't know until I get there tomorrow.

Enjoy the pics of various randomness as we wonder the hong long airport in the international wing. I swear, if I didn't know better, I would think this place was a mall instead of an airport.

Adventure begins

Alrighty folks, finally on vacation... Mission: to fly to Australia on standby to try to get on a dive boat on standby from cairns to see the great barrier reef. This whole standby thing is pretty unpredictable... Well, it was last time...

I will be blogging from my iPhone for the next couple weeks, so please forgive the formatting issues.

Just landed in Vancouver and are currently waiting for the next leg of the journey, a 12 hour flight to hong kong. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the first meal of the adventure, the inaugural feast, the start of it all...!!

Burger king...

Basil - Calgary

Basil

Here is a delicious place for some pho located in the NE of Calgary just off Barlow Trail and 32 avenue. The short and sweet of this place is...

The restaurant is very clean and presentable. The pho is actually quite tasty and well proportioned. Unfortunately they only have one size. Prices are decent for a Pho restaurant and their sate soup actually has sate flavour, unlike other restaurants that usually just put hot sauce/oil into your soup. I ordered the Pho Dac Biet with sate soup and it was quite enjoyable.

Come on by for a taste. The soup was good, not great, it could have had more flavour but it wasn't the worse that I've ever tasted. In my opinion, it is a worthy bowl of pho in Calgary. It is really tough to write a lot about pho since pho is pho... so if you have never tried it before, just head on out to your local neighbourhood pho restaurant and try some.

Petites - Calgary

344 17 Ave SW

On the joyous occasion of my significant other's birthday, we had decided to make reservations at Petites in Calgary. This is supposedly a french cuisine restaurant that apparently had decent reviews so it was the woman of the hour's choice to head down and give it a good tasting.

We had made reservations for about 12 persons and we awkwardly seated at a mash of 2 person tables pushed together. Large groups is definitely not a speciality of this restaurant. To support that as well, they were insisting that our food choices be limited to a smaller menu that the chefs had apparently pre-prepared for. I found that a little disconcerting that they could not support their full menu just because we were a larger group. It kind of boggles the mind actually, I mean, what if everyone in the whole restaurant ordered something different? Does this mean they would have difficulties in keeping up? It did not really make sense to me. When comparing our limited menu to the full menu, there was not really much of a difference other than about 5-6 dishes that were eliminated, one being the roast canard that the birthday girl really wanted and with some near-begging, was allowed to order, like they were doing us a huge favour or something.

The meal began with complimentary foccocia bread and a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dip. We ordered the beef tartare to start and I had the Beef Tenderloin done at medium-rare. The food arrived promptly and the Tartare was fantastic. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture since I was hungry. I do recommend the tartare though, it was an excellently prepared appetizer. Well proportioned and made with excellent spices, the aromas were delicious as we spread it over some lightly toasted bread.

The beef tenderloin was very well prepared. Succulent and juicy, so tender in my mouth that it felt as though it was nearly melting. It was rich with flavour and a great cut of meat. The potatoe puree ( also known as mash potatoes to us laymen) was a good side as was the vegetables. Presentation seemed a bit messy and not the most appetizing, most definitely not what you would expect from a classy french restaurant. It was like they just blobbed the mash potatoes on the plate and put the beef on top with a ravioli hat, smothered in gravy. The chef could use a little more creativity.

The plate of duck was even worse for presentation, however it did taste very good as I had a couple bites to taste. The arctic char that the other's ordered had a nicer presentation, however I didn't have a chance to taste it. From their feedback though, it was very well received.

Service was decent. We were served by two asian male servers who seemed well knowledgeable about the dishes that were being served. They were always around to make sure our water was full and made sure that any drink orders or whatever else we needed during the meal was available. Unfortunately, their lack of a french accent took away from the fantasy of french cuisine, however that is to be expected in Calgary.

The mandatory gratuity was added to our bill which is something that I have always despised. I am usually a 20% tipper when the service and food are excellent but when I am forced to pay gratuities I tend to pay down to the last penny. It is a disadvantage to the service staff in my opinion as I have a pretty high tolerance for poor service, after all, I have worked in the industry in the past.

Overall, I would recommend this place for a night out with a few friends or even a date, though not a regularly occurring night out. There is comparable food around Calgary for similar, if not less, prices.