Keep Safe & Stay Vigilant When Visiting Lisbon, Portugal (2018) - Part 3

So, now I've seen the best of Portugal's second largest capital, Porto and wondering what will Lisbon be? Will this capital city of Portugal as charming and beautiful as Porto, or it's just another overrated city to visit?

Let's find it out now.



FROM PORTO TO LISBON WITH HIGH-SPEED TRAIN

In my previous post, I shared that we took high-speed train from Porto (São Bento or Campanha) to Lisbon. The journey takes approximately 3 hours and it costs €18.50 for a second-class category. I prebooked my ticket via online and you may check the timetable and fare here. Normally, the booking opens for reservation two months in advance and I found the website is pretty simple (English language is available) and it's not that difficult to book from. The train from Porto to Lisbon-Santa Apolonia runs every hour and if you are lucky, you might get as low as €9.50. 

PICKPOCKETING IN LISBON

We're welcomed in Lisbon with an awful and bad incident - we're almost being victim for pickpockets. While on our way from Lisbon Main Train Station heading to our hotel, we took lift at the metro station since we have quite number of huge luggages with us. Just when we're about to enter the lift, two young guys were so rush to get in. They even jumped over our luggage and at that point of time, I started to smell something fishy. I was right - by the time we got out from the lift, both of my cousin and my backpack's front zip were opened. Luckily, nothing went missing cause we placed those our important handbags where we stored our cash and passport in front of us. These thieves are commonly targeting on tourists especially those with plenty and huge luggages - cause that's the time where you are busy carrying and dragging your luggage bags and you will be less focus on your other bag which store valuable items. Another shocking story shared by a friend of mine is that her wallet stolen inside church. Unbelievable! A holy place which you never thought of but it did happen. So be extra vigilant when you're vising Lisbon. 

WHAT WE DO & SEE IN LISBON FOR 2 DAYS

1) Tram 28 - This is the ultimate thing you shouldn't miss when in Lisbon. Take a ride on this nostalgic yellow tram and it will takes you up and down through most of the historic parts of the city. Unfortunately like we expected, it's one long queue by the time we arrived and it seems like not worth the wait. It's best to arrive early in the morning to beat the crowds. You can use Viva Viagem card (I will share it more later) or pay the ticket on board. Again another strong reminder: Beware of pickpockets here! Tram 28 is increasingly popular with pickpockets.

Nearest Station: Baixa-Chiado Metro Station

2) Alfama - It's the oldest neighbourhood of Lisbon and home to many of the city's best attractions; such as Lisbon Cathedral, National Pantheon and National Tile Museum. Walking through Alfama's narrow cobbled streets and steep staircases will unexpectedly lead you to a delightful and colourful ancient houses - this is truly a perfect spot for photo opportunity especially for the Insta-hungry travellers. 

3) Time Out Market - Not in my list initially but somehow we accidentally bumped into this. I ever came across Time Out Magazine but I never thought there's a real Time Out Market. Time Out Market is the first ever market in the world where everything has been chosen, tasted and tested by an independent panel of city experts. This is where you can find all the Lisbon's best and finest food under one roof. We managed to savour a piece of blueberry cheesecake here and it's amazingly delicious. 

Nearest Station: Cais Do Sodre Metro Station
Opening Hours: 10am - 12am

4) Praça do Comércio - Sitting on the northern bank of Tagus River and surrounded by classical 18th century building, Praça do Comércio is to consider to be the largest public square in Lisbon. Once known as "Gateaway to Lisbon", it is currently dotted with countless of cafes, restaurants and shopping venue. If you are looking for typical souvenirs like magnets, keychains and so on, you can find plenty of souvenir stores here. However, I personally think the souvenir stores along the pathway to Alfama offer better deal than here. 

5) Santa Justa Lift - Also known as "Carmo Elevator", this is the city's best-loved landmark and it offers spectacular viewpoint overlooking the city. This extraordinary structure where the elevator built inside a unique Gothic tower was built to transport the passengers from the lower streets of the Baixa district to the higher higher Largo do Carmo. 

Nearest Station: Baixa-Chiado Metro Station
Opening Hours: 9am - 11pm

Entrance Fee: €5.30 for a return ride. Free entry if you bought the 24-hour Carris metro ticket (€6 per person for 24 hour ticket includes unlimited rides on metro, trams, buses, funniculars and the Santa Justa Lift)

TRAVEL AROUND LISBON

Talking about public transport in Lisbon, it's actually pretty easy to navigate around the city with its extensive and efficient public transport network such as metro, tram, bus, funicular, urban train and even ferries. You can ever reach the airport (Aeroporto) under the red line and railway station under blue line with metro (you can refer the Metro map below). Although the metro announcement are made only in Portuguese, signs and ticketing machines are generally in bilingual in Portuguese and English.

[Photo credit to here]

Before starting your journey around Lisbon, it's wise to get a Viva Viagem card. It's the easiest and faster way to pay the journeys on public transport in Lisbon. A card itself costs €0.50 and it's non-refundable. To load it, there are three options available:

Single Trip		€1.50
Day Pass (Valid for 24h after first use)	Metro & buses	€6.40
	Metro, buses & ferries	€9.50
	Metro, buses & trains	€10.55
Zapping (Stored Value)		€3.00 - €40.00

To know about Viva Viagem Card, read more here.

OUR STAY IS LISBON

If money wasn't an issue, I would choose to stay somewhere near Baixa-Chiado metro station cause this is where most of the major attractions located. But because there are three of us and not many options available for a room of three, I booked our stay nearby Intendente metro station. Still not bad considering it's just three stations away from Baixa-Chiado and there's a shared kitchen within the property. 

LX Center Guesthouse, Lisbon

Date Stayed: 11 October - 13 October 2018 (2 nights)

Room Rate: €60 per night for a triple room with private bathroom. There's an additional surcharge of €1 per person per night for city tax. Booked from Booking.com

TOTAL EXPENSES WE SPENT IN LISBON - PER PAX

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	€	RM
Accommodation LX Center Guesthouse (2 nights) Add: City Tax (Per head per night) Transportation Metro around Lisbon Food and drinks Groceries for lunch and dinner Others Postcards and stamps Magnets Lisboa tote bag Coaster	€40.00 €2.00 €7.75 €7.65 €7.60 €7.50 €4.00 €2.50	196 10 38 37 37 36 19 12
	TOTAL	385

Note: Exchange rate&nbsp €1 = RM4.86 as at October 2018

The official currency in Portugal is the Euro (€).

Magnets in Lisbon is relatively cheap. I found six for €5 in Alfama. 

PORTO VS LISBON

My verdict on Lisbon - I still think Porto is more better than Lisbon. Even both my mom and cousin seconded this too. One of the main reasons is due to the pickpocket incident. Though it was unsuccessful attempt, but this causing us to wander around with a worry heart. Secondly, it was overcrowded with tourists almost everywhere. I found Porto offers plenty of things to see than Lisbon. Even tram in Porto is more attractive than Lisbon's tram 28, to be honest.


Tram in Porto with blue tiles on it

My upcoming post, Sintra! One of the most beautiful palaces in Europe I ever visited - Pena Palace.

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2 Days in Porto, Portugal (2018) - Part 2

When comes to talking about Portugal, the first city will instantly hit one's mind is none other than Lisbon. But then, have you ever heard of Porto before? Neither do I. I never knew about Porto until Mytravelmatez shared with me about this coastal city and he said I should make a visit there. And so here I am in Porto for another new discovery and adventures together with my mom and cousin all the way from London after spending three days three nights there.

FLYING WITH RYANAIR TO PORTO FROM LONDON STANSTED

First time with RyanAir. I heard so much about RyanAir but never have I ever experienced it eventhough visited Europe couple of times, not until this trip. One way trip from London Stansted to Porto can be so cheap - it's like £17 (approx. to RM94) but after all those add-on such as baggage fee and seat selection, ended up in average we paid £46 per pax. Wondering why we rather pay for the seats instead of waiting for the time to check-in? Read below:

#1: Got to experience flying with another new airlines again - RyanAir

Under the strict new rules starting May 2018, any passenger who arrives at the airport without having checked in beforehand will subject to a fee of £55. And even if you have checked in but arrive at the airport without your boarding pass, again you will being charged a boarding card reissue fee of £20. Bear in mind, you can only do web check-in and print your boarding pass within 72 hours from your scheduled departure time. This mean that anyone on a holiday of longer than three days, you might need to access the internet and the more hassle is you need a printer to print the boarding pass, which may not be easy abroad. To avoid all these hassle, I rather reserve and pay the seats and print in Malaysia rather than wasting my time trying to look for a printer in London. 

FROM PORTO AIRPORT TO CITY CENTRE

There is a metro line heading straight to the city centre from Porto Airport. The ticket can be purchased at the machine in the station. But because there was no one to guide us, I bought the wrong ticket. Luckily just one instead of three. The ticket is known as Andante and it's rechargeable ticket for the price of €0.60. As for the fare of the travel card, it depends on which zone you are travel to. Since the airport is consider in Zone 4, therefore a single trip cost €2. 

#2: Aeroporto do Porto (Porto Airport)

WHERE TO STAY IN PORTO

If you are looking for an excellent and ideal location, probably you can take these two into considerations; somewhere close to Trindade or Bolhão stations. And I chosen the first one where I booked a short-rental apartment not far away from Trindade station.


#3: Our two nights crib in Porto

Speaking about the apartment I booked in Porto, we kinda enjoy it cause it has almost everything - there's a kitchen for us to cook, two comfy beds for us to have a good night sleep, a clean and chic bathroom with basic amenities, excellent and great location within short walking distance to majority of the attractions. However, there's one and only major issue why I didn't give full rating is because there's no elevator. Imagine that the property is located on 4th floor and with our two huge luggage bags - it was absolutely like steps to hell while carrying our bags up.

HM - Bonjardim Duplex Charming Apartment
Date Stayed: 9 October - 11 October 2018 (2 nights)
Room Rate: €80 per night and it's fit perfectly for three guests (approx. to RM132 per person per night). Booked from Booking.com

EXPLORING & DISCOVERING PORTO 
Oh well! On the first day in Porto, we decided not to do any sightseeing but just walked over to nearby supermarkets to buy some groceries. The good part of travelling with mom is that she will prepare and cook a hearty meal for you so you won't feel homesick.

#4: A hearty dinner for three. Thanks mom!

Since we had adequate of rest the day before (more than enough), it's time for us to dress up, get out for another new adventures - exploring and discovering the second largest city of Portugal.

1) Mercado do Bolhão - Known as Bolhão Market, it's a traditional market where the local get their fresh vegetables, meat, fish and flowers from. The market is very close to where we stayed but unfortunately during our visit, the market was temporary closed for renovation. So close, yet so far. I guess my mom will be very excited if she get to experience the "angmo" market but what to do, luck wasn't on our side.

2) Livraria Lello - One of the oldest bookstore in the world, Livraria Lello is often described by visitors to be the most beautiful bookshop in the world with its stunning neo-Gothic architecture. It's rumoured that this bookstore was a direct inspiration for the world-famous author, J.K. Rowling and her Harry Potter book series. I thought it's free to enter into this bookstore but I was wrong - one have to purchase ticket before entering and it costs €5. You can purchase the ticket online here. 

3) Igreja do Carmo - Not far away from Livraria Lello is The Church of Our Lady of Carmo. Obviously I was attracted by its remarkable large blue and white mural ceramic-tiled wall. 

4) Ribeira - Tucked on the riverbank of Douro, it's one of the oldest neighbourhood and the most important historic centre of Porto. Here, you get to see a row of colourful and vibrant townhouses which making this place another Insta-worthy spot. Ribeira is lined up with plenty of traditional restaurants where you can savour some of Portugal's typical dishes which I will share more later. 

5) Gaia - Just across Dom Luís I Bridge on foot whether in the bottom or the upper platforms to reach the other side in case you want to witness the picturesque neighbourhood of Ribeira, like what we did. But we walked through the bottom platforms cause the upper one not for the weakheart. And if you are looking for wineries and vineyards, Gaia is famous for it. 

6) Via Catarina Shopping - Before leaving Porto permanently, a trip without shopping is incomplete, especially for my mom. And so I found a shopping street located not far away from where we stayed - less than 10 minutes walk. We spotted a shopping mall with a pink facade attached in front of the building. The mall might be small but at least my mom managed to leave with something that catch her heart. She's happy, I also happy lor...

FOOD IN PORTO

1) Pastel de Nata - This traditional Portuguese egg custard tart is obviously the most iconic pastry in Portugal and certainly there's no reason you could miss out cause it's everywhere across the city. We got ours from Manteigaria Bakery - the shop is nearby the Bolhão Market because some locals said this is as good as the famous one in Lisbon. One creamy custard tart costs €1.

2) Francesinha - One of Porto's most iconic dishes which you shouldn't miss. Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich with steak, ham, fresh sausage, spiced smoke sausage and cheese in the middle covered with melted cheese and hot thick tomato and beer sauce. This mouthwatering sandwich will make you crave for more and no wonder it's being listed to be one of the 10 best sandwiches in the world. 

3) Bacalhau - It's a Portuguese word for salted cod fish. Since it's very popular in Portugal, hence we gave a try for it but frankly speaking, I don't really into it. I tend to eat the potatoes more than the main meal itself. 

LEAVING PORTO TO LISBON

Guess my friend was right. Porto is indeed one charming and fascinating city that anyone shouldn't miss when comes to visit Portugal. Even my mom and cousin love this vibrant city too. Two nights might seem short but it's time to move to another city - Lisbon. To get to Lisbon, I decided to take the train simply because I love train ride more than bus. In Porto, the city is served by two major train stations; São Bento and Campanha station. Both stations will lead you to Lisbon but then if you are taking train from São Bento, you need to alight at Campanha station and change to another platform. Well, at least we didn't make the wrong choice for departing from São Bento station cause the station itself is such a beautiful sight to behold. As for my train ticket, I bought it online here and you may check the timetable and fare too.

TOTAL SPENDING IN PORTO 

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	£/€	RM
Airfare RyanAir London Stansted to Porto Accommodation HM - Bonjardim Duplex Charming Apartment (2 nights) Add: City Tax Transportation Andante Single Trip Andante 24 hours Train Porto to Lisbon Admission Fee Livraria Lello Food and drinks (In Average After Divide 3) Lunch – 1st day  Groceries and fruits for dinner Manteigaria Pastel de Nata Lunch – 2nd day Others Postcards and stamp Magnet Shopping – Ipanema Sandal	£46 -  €4.00 €2.60 €4.75 €18.50 €5.00 €12.63 €8.36 €1.00 €11.00 €6.00 €1.50 €19.90	249 264 19 13 23 90 24 61 40 5 53 29 7 97
	TOTAL	974

Note: Exchange rate&nbsp €1 = RM4.86 as at October 2018

The official currency in Portugal is the Euro (€).

Before I end my post, do you know that Porto has the world's most beautiful McDonald's? Seriously no one told me about this until I accidentally bumped into the signboard reflected about this. Just by looking at the entrance of this McDonald's Imperial, there's a giant bronze eagle instead of the typical huge yellow "M" word. And when I stepped into the restaurant, I was amazed with the colourful stained glass window behind the counter. It's really impressive and mind-blowing - not like the McDonald's I used to know.

With this, now you don't have any excuse for not to include Porto into your Portugal's list cause trust me, there are more things to do and see waiting for you to discover in Porto. 

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A Repeat Trip To London With Oman Air (2018) - Part 1

It's always one of my wishlists to bring my mom to London and Europe cause she never been to any angmoh (Western) countries before, including Australia due to family commitment. And finally my wish being granted when I happened to stumble upon cheap fare offered by Oman Air. A return airfare whereby fly-in London and fly-out Milan for RM1,800 which is certainly so hard to resist with this kind of temptation. And so happened at the same time, Malindo Air was having promotion where a return flight for Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur for RM225 only. All-in-all, the total fare cost RM2,025. Absolutely a great steal! 

(P/S: By the way, please don't keep asking me how I always manage to get all these cheap deals cause to be honest, it really depends on luck and also flexibility.)

It's my virgin experience flying with Oman Air, a national carrier of Oman based at Muscat. Normally I don't have any expectations towards any airlines I will be flying with cause for me, my priority is always the fare itself. But after flying with Saudia Airlines earlier this year to Morocco, I realised Oman Air is much more better than the Saudia honestly speaking.


#1: Virgin experience flying with Oman Air

Oman Air's Amenities & Services

• For economy class passenger, each is entitled to check-in luggage per-bag weight of up to 23 kg.
• Access a full range of complimentary in-flight entertainment and in-seat USB ports for passenger to charge their electronic devices. 

#2: In-flight meals


#3: Short hour of transit in Muscat International Airport. Love the new airport - less crowded

HOW TO GET TO LONDON CITY CENTER FROM LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT
In case you are not aware, London actually has 6 international airports - London City, London Southend, London Gatwich, London Heathrow, London Luton and London Stansted. As for Oman Air, we landed in London Heathrow Terminal 4 and in order to get to our hotel, we opted for Uber cause it's pretty late at night. Plus it was freezing cold, I don't want my mom drag the luggage under the cold weather and get sick on the first day.


#4

OUR STAY IN LONDON
We stayed in Holiday Villa Hotel which is very close to the Bayswater and Queensway Underground Station. Though the room was quite worn out, but the thing I like about this hotel is because it has elevator. Convenient for someone who carry huge luggage, especially like three of us. Plus Malaysian Hall Canteen is just around the corner.


#5: Holiday Villa Hotel, London

Room Rate: RM610 per night for a standard triple room without breakfast (Approx. to RM203 per pax per night)

Nearest Underground Stations: Bayswater and Queensway

THINGS WE SEE & DO IN LONDON
If calculate officially, this is the 4th time I visited London. Hence, there are some places I've been more than once, or even twice. You can refer the previous post I did 3D2N in London back in 2016.

1) King Cross Station & Platform 9 3/4 - I miss out this spot from my previous three trips. It's funny how I managed to make a trip to The Harry Potter Studio which located quite distance away from the town but then I fail to visit this notable Platform 9 3/4 which just tucked in the city center. So for this round, no matter how I definitely must go and turned out this is the first place we visited right after arrived in London.

Nearest Station: King's Cross St Pancras (under Circle, Piccadilly, Hammersmith & City, Northern, Metropolitan and Victoria lines)


#6: King's Cross St Pancras Station


#7: Platform 9 3/4 and the Harry Potter shop


#8

2) Tower Bridge - One of the attractions that I won't miss everytime I in London. Luckily for this round, I'm grateful for the fine good weather. All the photos seems excellent when the sky is blue.


#9


#10


#11

3) Big Ben, London Eye and Palace of Westminster - Three famous iconic of London at the same spot. As usual, it's still overcrowded with tourists and be careful with your belongings.

Nearest Station: Westminster


#12


#13

4) Chinatown and Leicester Square - Besides having lunch at Chinatown, we also went to Leicester Square for M&M's World, TWG Tea and the newly opened Lego.

Nearest Station: Leicester Square (under Northern and Piccadilly lines)


#14


#15


#16

5) Trafalgar Square - A public square with amazing fountains and marvelous architecture. It's my first time here. If you look at the top of the colomn, there is a statue of Horatio Nelson, who commanded the British Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. Guess that's where the name derived from. Surrounding the square is the National Gallery.

Nearest Station: Charing Cross (under Bakerloo and Northern lines)


#17

6) Buckingham Palace - We're on time for the famous changing of the guard ceremony. Also known as Guard Mounting, it takes place outside Buckingham Palace from 10.45am and it lasts around 45 minutes.


#18

7) National History Museum - Frankly speaking, museums never my type of thing but this one is super awesome and not like what I expected it to be. It somehow reminds me of the "Night In The Museum" movies. Entry to this museum is free and make sure not to miss the blue whale skeleton in Hintze Hall.

Nearest Station: South Kensington (under Circle, District and Piccadilly lines)
Opening Hours: 10am to 5:50pm


#19


#20

8) Shopping at Primark - I have to admit I do love shopping but I don't shop high-end items and so, Primark is always my favourite place for cheap shopping. All their clothes are incredibly cheap and we visited Primark almost every night. Imagine you can get a top for £3 (approx. to RM15) and jeans for £5 (approx. to RM30). How I really wish London is my last leg so that I can shop non-stop? Apparently, there are two Primark stores along the long Oxford Street; one nearby Tottenham Court Road Underground Station and the other one is nearby the Marble Arch Underground Station.

#21

FOOD I WILL RECOMMEND

From my blog, you can see that I rarely recommend any food cause I'm not particular about food. I can have anything as long it's edible, cheap and convenient. I don't want to waste my time to travel far away just for the sake of food hunting but for this trip, there are two things which I think it's worth to share here.

1) Fish & Chips at Kerbisher & Malt 

"If you want to have something, make sure it worth for your calories", that's what my boyfriend advise me. Therefore for this trip along with my mom and cousin, I brought them for fish & chips which is highly recommended by most bloggers. I'm not good in food reviewing but I can say that it's really good and all of us almost finish everything, except for the chips cause they were too many for us. The choices of the fish are either haddock, cod, plaice and coley and we ordered a full set meal which comes with chips, one sauce and a drink for the price of £9. 

Nearest Station: Goldhawk Road or Hammersmith (under Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)
Opening Hours: 12pm to 9:30pm daily

#22

2) Avolato at Snow Flake 
It looks like avocado, tastes like avocado but it's not a real avocado. It's actually avocado gelato containing at least 60% fresh avocado served in its skin. The stone is a vegan peanut butter gelato with flax seed almond, Brazil nuts and walnuts. One heavenly silky smooth Avolato cost £9.50 (approx. to RM52)

Nearest Station: Marble Arch or Bond Street
Opening Hours: 9:30am to 9pm daily


#23

OYSTER CARD - THE IDEAL WAY TO TRAVEL AROUND LONDON
I got my Oyster Card dating back 11 years ago - that's my first time ever to London. Oyster Card is a prepaid card with the cheapest option to travel with; whether via tube/underground or buses. You can buy an Oyster card from any Tube/Underground station ticket machine for a deposit of £5 and the deposit is refundable if you intend to return the card. Prices vary depending on which zone you are travelling to, whether by tube or bus, and even on the time of day. It's hard for me to determine each fare but I think it's best to get Oyster card before start to travel around London for convenient purpose.


Photo Credit To Getty Images

LEAVING TO LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT
3D3N might seem pretty short for my mom and cousin, but to be honest, I have enough of London. Hopefully not going back in the nearest time cause I prefer to see and discover new city instead. After staying three nights in London, we packed our bags and moved on to the next country - Portugal. We flew with RyanAir which departed from London Stansted. From our hotel, we walked to Paddington Bus Stop situated at Bishop's Bridge and took National Express coach A6 heading straight to Stansted Airport. This is one of the reason I chosen to stay in Holiday Villa Hotel. The journey to the airport takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes and the cost is £10. I pre-booked via online in order to secure seat.


#24: Bus A6 from Paddington Bus Stop on Bishop's Bridge to London Stansted Airport

TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 3D3N IN LONDON

PARTICULARS	AMOUNT
	£	RM
Accommodation Holiday Villa Inn (3 nights) Transportation Uber from London Heathrow to Hotel Top-Up Oyster Card Bus to London Stansted Airport Food and drinks Others Stamp Primark Fragrances – Burberry & Jo Malone	- £12 £20 - £36 £1.25 £34 £129	610 67 109 47 198 7 186 704
	TOTAL	1,928

Exchange Rate £1 = RM5.47 as at October 2018

Sometimes I'm wondering should I do two separate tables for total expenses I incurred for my trip; like one is for those necessasities such as accommodation, transportation, food, admission fee and another one specially dedicated for shopping and souvenirs only cause it's kinda subjective to different individual. By the way, if you are visiting London and love Jo Malone, do buy in London cause it's exceptionally cheap. 

#25: My first ever Jo Malone after been to London so many times

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