My Travel Stories

Desert Safari

2010-04-10T07:32:00.006+08:00

One of the fun things to do while visiting Abu Dhabi or Dubai is to join the desert safari tour for a ride in a 4WD in the sand dunes.

Tours from Abu Dhabi and Dubai go to different deserts. The UAE is a desert country, so you don't have to go far to find one. I was told that the tours from Dubai go to more interesting deserts with higher dunes of up to 9-floor high and opportunities to ride on a sand bike. In comparison, the tours from Abu Dhabi are more lack lustre.

I've been on a desert safari tour twice, both departing from Abu Dhabi to Al-Khatim desert which borders between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

Usually, the driver will pick up the guests from designated hotels in town and drive to a meeting point where we meet up with 6 to 10 other 4WD to venture into the desert together. On the way, we might stop by the ostrich farm and camel farm where we get to say hi to these animals that we don't normally see very often.

Then the exciting part begins when we venture into the sand dunes. The dunes are not that high, probably 4-storey high at the most. One tip would be to get on the front seat, next to the driver, if you could, as you can see clearly what's ahead. Both times I've sat in the front and most of the time, I could feel my heart pumping out!

It's really like a roller-coaster ride, except this is more adventurous in a moving vehicle. When we are going down, sometimes the driver would swerve at an angle and I thought we were about to tip over! This is really not for the faint-hearted and motion sickness can set in easily. So be prepared! The worst case scenario is that someone is your car throws up and you are trapped with the stink!

The ride is rewarded by an amazing sunset view from the desert. Both times I went, it was Spring time with cooling temperature. I can't imagine going there in the summer with the scorching heat.

We then continue the roller-coaster ride to enter into a village specially created for tourists like us where we'd be treated to a Middle-Eastern feast, belly dancing, Henna painting and Shisha smoking at no extra charge as you would paid for in the safari package. Not forgetting the camel ride and sandboarding at the village. Don't miss that! The came ride is another adventure by itself - another form of roller-coaster ride. Star-gazing when the lights are turned off is an amazing experience for city folks like me.

Abu Dhabi - the sights & culture

2010-04-02T10:45:00.005+08:00

I've been to Abu Dhabi several times in the last two years as my sister lives there. I always thought the city was boring. If you try looking up travel information on Abu Dhabi, there are probably not many tourist attractions to find. Tours in Abu Dhabi are usually half-day or full-day, at the most. There really isn't much to do in the city, unless you like shopping, then you could visit a different mall everyday. That can stretch your visit for a little longer.

The streets of downtown Abu Dhabi.

Worthwhile visits would be to the Emirates Palace, the Cultural and Heritage Village nearby Marina Mall, and Corniche Beach. All these are within the same stretch of street.

Corniche beach with the city skyline.

Lately, with the completion of Sheikh Zayed mosque, now tourists have a new destination to visit in Abu Dhabi. It is rather a magnificent mosque in white that you can see off the main road driving from the airport. It holds the world record of having the largest carpet and chandelier.

The largest chandelier and carpet in the main sanctuary.

The mosque is open to the public for visits but visitors will have to put on the proper clothing and head covering which are provided before entering the sanctuary. There are security guards checking on you to make sure you are properly covered. They take dress code very seriously to a point where, if you are wearing anything too revealing or shorts, you would need to get yourself covered outside of the building, under the sun, before you are allowed to enter the building!

Although the UAE is an Islamic country, not everyone is required to dress in full cover like an Arabic woman usually does. The UAE is rather open to foreign cultures, hence attracting a large population of expatriates to work and live here. So it is unnecessary to worry about the dress code while you are here.

Other upcoming tourist attractions would be the Ferrari theme park, Guggenheim museum, Du Lourve museum which are in the works of completion or still under construction. In another year or so, I believe the tours to Abu Dhabi would be extended to two days or more.

This is one of those places that is always under construction - building, building and more building! It is always progressing that if you go there every year, you would see something new each time.

Did I say it was boring?

Abu Dhabi - Talking about the Food first

2010-03-27T23:19:00.008+08:00

Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab of Emirates, is a fairly new city - developed probably since 30-40 years ago. If you are a cultural & heritage buff, chances are you won't find anything old like you would in Europe. What you see in Abu Dhabi today is civilization, advancement and metropolitan.

Over the years, Abu Dhabi and its neighbour, Dubai, have attracted a vast population of foreigners to live and work in the cities. The vast choices of international cuisines from different parts of the world is the best testimony of this fact.

I went to Abu Dhabi to visit my sister and her family who live there. They don't really care too much about the local cuisine. So most of the time when we eat out, we usually have Chinese or Southeast Asian cuisine.

Breakfast/brunch is usually a Western affair with my sister and her family. This is one of those restaurants which you probably won't see any locals but Westerners only.

The luxurious Shangri-la Hotel with its Chinese restaurant, Shang Palace.

We had the Peking duck which is a crepe wrapped with crispy duck skin, vegetable sticks and hoisin sauce.

Some of the dishes we had at Shang Palace. The restaurant manager is also a Malaysian who treated us to desserts at the end of dinner. My sister and her family are regulars at the restaurant that many of the waiters know them by name.

A fusion restaurant we went to - The Noodle Factory - that serves Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Thai cuisines. It's kind of weird as it sounds but the food is delicious!

Another fusion restaurant, Japengo Cafe, that serves all kinds of cuisines. I finally get to have Shish Tawouk as shown on the lower right.

Another interesting item I found when browsing in the supermarket was the fact that people here eat shark meat. The Chinese feast on the shark fin, so the Middle-Easterners can feast on the meat??

The matter of food in Hong Kong

2010-03-21T00:14:00.006+08:00

I usually gain weight even after just a few days of staying in Hong Kong. Not surprisingly, I gained a few pounds from this 4D3N trip. This country makes me eat, eat and eat! The flavours tend to be strong and the portion huge. With water retention and overeating, it is hard to stay slim. However, you won't find any obese being in the country. Why? Because these people walk, and they walk fast! In a crowded street when people walk so fast, it can be so distressing when you're not or trying to stop to figure out your way. I can't remember how many times I got pushed and bumped into when I stopped to figure out my directions.

Eating in HK can be tricky when you don't know Chinese. If you go to popular tourist areas, you may find menus with English. If you're not, I'm not sure how you can order your food. I know of a lady from Malaysia who didn't know Chinese but she had to travel to HK frequently for work. She memorized two dishes that she would order repeatedly - Yong Chow fried rice and wantan noodle. These were what she would eat throughout the trip unless someone comes to her rescue.

So , my advice to you who don't know Chinese but want to eat well in HK - memorize a few dishes. Most local restaurants serve about the same menu everywhere.

A Chinese-only menu at a local restaurant.

HK practises a unique culture of eating out that no other country does - table sharing. This applies to all restaurants, except maybe the super high class ones. You see, land is expensive, so they have to make good use of every inch they have. During peak hours, the restaurants can't afford to have two people occupy a table meant for four people. They would lose money from this. Privacy is not to be discussed here. Just eat your food and go!

I remember going to New York Chinatown and we went into a restaurant owned by a couple from HK. To my shock, they brought the table-sharing culture into NYC and I remembered being extremely uncomfortable about it.

Be ready to squeeze in to seat 2 more people on this table during peak hours.

Now, let's talk about the food and I shall start with desserts. My favourite icy dessert place is none other than Hui Lau San. It's a chain and you can easily find it everywhere. There's one in the airport arrival level too. I always go for the mango-whatever and it's always delicious. Perhaps we share the same family name that makes me feel connected to the chain...haha...

Hui Lau San - the crowd waiting for their takeaway orders outside the tiny outlet.

I accidentally saw Honeymoon Desserts while riding on the tram. So I got off immediately and went in for a late supper. Actually, the chain is available in Kuala Lumpur too but I just wanted to see if there's any difference. Well, the interior decoration is exactly the same with the fake library wallpaper but the menu is slightly different. I think there's more variety in KL. I tried the black sesame paste with glutinuous balls. The taste is different and I prefer the one in HK. It is less sweet and doesn't make me feel bloated.

Honeymoon Desserts

For some reason, I'm obsessed with the drinks served in HK at local restaurants. I'm referring to any drinks with honey - like lemon honey or vegetable honey. I just loved them! I mean lemon honey is common and can be found anywhere or make it at home. But the one in HK tastes different and I'm addicted to it.

Sai yong choi (a kind of vegetable) + honey

Honey lemon. Restaurants usually serve you Chinese tea for free (in the background) which people would save on for not ordering drinks but I usually just skip that. Some people would use the tea to rinse the utensils.

Breakfast is usually a hearty affair here in HK. For someone like me who tends to skip my breakfast, this is where I tend to overeat. On average, a local man would have an egg with toast plus a bowl of noodle or rice porridge for breakfast. Sometimes I wonder where they get the apetite from. Anyhow, I have always enjoyed my breakfast in HK.

Egg + luncheon meat sandwich.

Noodle soup with egg + preserved vegetable.

HK is famous for its Wantan noodle which the traditional way of making the noodle is by hand, kneading the dough using a bamboo. The better Wantan noodle shops are found on the Hong Kong island side. I was shown to this little shop on a tiny alley called Mak Ngan Kei for their Wantan noodle. Now, if you know Cantonese, ngan means small and it's written not-big in its character. So what do you expect? A small bowl, that is! A small bowl costs HKD28 but even someone with a small apetite like me is never full, so I had to order a big one with one-and-a-half noodle.

I'm not a big fan of Wantan noodle, especially in KL. I don't like my noodle to be soggy which is the case with wantan noodle in KL. In HK however, it's a totally different ball game. The noodle is so springy and fresh. I will never settle for the soggy noodle again!

Mak Ngan Kei

The Wantan noodle to be served with a mixture of chili sauce and red vinegar.

Teng Chai porridge - a seafood mix of rice porridge with peanuts. When eating in HK, if you like your veggies, you would have to order a side dish of boiled vegetables. Otherwise, you'd be deprived of your fibre.

Hong Kong again...

2010-03-16T21:35:00.003+08:00

The view from my hotel room on the 29th floor.

I lost count of how many times I've been to Hong Kong but I remember going there only once for personal travel. These 10 years, I've been going there for business every so often. However, I'm no expert when it comes to Hong Kong because most times, I always go to the same place for work and hang around the same area.

What I'm an expert of, however, is the hotels around Kowloon and Central. I don't think I ever stayed in the same hotel twice. I tend to try out different hotels each time I go there.

Something about hotels in Hong Kong is the size. You know, land is precious and expensive in this country. Room rate is high but room size is never huge. For most hotels, you'd be lucky to see a decent main entrance and lobby. The hotel I'm staying at right now is facing a street where no cars can stop. I got dropped off on the side of the building and have to drag my suitcase around the corner to get in.

The bigger hotels I've stayed at are located in Kowloon. But since I have to work in Central lately, it'd be too far to stay across the ocean. The smallest hotel I've stayed at is a boutique hotel located just around the corner from the office. It was so small that if I had a bigger suitcase, I would have no room to walk through.

The current hotel I'm staying at right now is even funnier. It's double the size of the smallest room I just mentioned but the shape is so weird that the space is not well-used. It's an L-shape with a wide corridor. The bed is outside the bathroom. The funny thing is that after placing the bed facing the window, there's hardly any room to walk through to get to the bathroom. I have to walk like a crab to get to the bathroom. I couldn't help cracking up laughing every time I do so.

The door next to the bed is to the bathroom. Notice the walkway to get to the bathroom.

The bathroom is very spacious but the shower room is so crammed but I could dance outside the shower. It's again one of those what-were-you-thinking moments again.

Where would I stay next time? We'll see...

And the Journey Begins...

2010-03-11T21:08:00.002+08:00

Looking back at my own blog, I realized that I haven't posted any entry for the month of February! Not that I don't have anything to write about...just that...well...I'm lazy, ok. I admit. I am.

When I first started this blog, it was more of a self-indulgence. I don't expect anyone to read this and I can keep babbling on and on. Seriously, is anyone reading this?

Anyway, in a few days, a hectic travelling schedule will commence - partly for work, partly for leisure. The journey begins next week to Hong Kong for a few days' work; home for a few days to change suitcase; then off to Dubai/Abu Dhabi to visit my sister and celebrate her daughter's 2nd birthday; continue on the journey to Michigan for six weeks with a week-long vacation to Canada; and finally ending the US trip in New York for a couple of business appointments and leisure. I should be home by mid May but I might have to keep travelling for work immediately to Hong Kong again, China and London.

Boy, it's going to be at least 2 months of travelling! I've never been away from home for this long since I moved back from the US. Lots of packing to do for different climate. Not forgetting the stuff that would help me cure homesickness.

I hope to be diligent in keeping a travel journal on this blog during my travels. So if you're reading this, let me know. It'd help to motivate me if I know someone is reading my blog.

I heart Pasar Malam

2010-01-26T23:47:00.003+08:00

Pasar malam (or night market) is commonly found in many Asian countries - Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia...And it has become a tourist attraction to shop and find good local food.

What's so special about the KL's neighbourhood pasar malam is that it is only held once a week. Since it is a street market, it is at the mercy of the weather. Lately, it has been raining in the evening, forcing the closure of the stalls. I was so delighted that it rained early in the afternoon on my pasar malam day today because that means pasar malam would be on tonight after many weeks of being rained out!

These days, pasar malam is like a department store where you could get anything you need or want. It is a favourite hang out place for people to get dinner after work; busy housewives to get fresh produce and kitchen utensils; ladies to shop for clothes and shoes of the latest fashion; children to get books and school uniforms; anyone who wants to get pet fish, puppies and pet food or their fortune told. You name it, they have it.

I usually go to the pasar malam near my house in Sri Petaling. I like going there not only to get food but it is also a good observation of the local culture and fashion trend. In the past, a big portion of the street would be selling pirated VCD, CD and DVD. Lately, it has decreased. I figured with the availability of online free downloads, people are not buying anymore, even if it's 5 for RM10. The stall selling kitchen utensils is always a good place to take you down the memory lane of what people in the olden days used in their kitchen. I also noticed feather-embellished hairbands making a huge presence at the accessories stalls. These hairbands are making a statement in recent fashion magazines and now you can get it at a steal!

The food at pasar malam is what made me crave to go there every week. Not only it has a vast variety choices of local delicacies, it also has snacks from other countries, such as the China burger, Hong Kong stinky tofu, Taiwanese fried chicken, Japanese fried balls, Thai papaya salad......

I love going to pasar malam even if I have to sweat my way through the crowded street. Just beware of pickpockets!

All about Food

2010-01-19T18:06:00.010+08:00

It is not my intention to be a food blogger but food plays a big part in my life. Food is an essential key to deciding whether I would visit the place again, or even for the first time. I will never get tired of visiting Melaka or Penang simply to eat, eat and eat; I long to return to Hanoi to visit my friend for her Vietnamese helper makes the best Vietnamese food I've ever tasted; I can't wait to make a trip to Bangkok for my favourite Pad Thai, Tom Yum Goong and the desserts.

Part of my travel research includes the food - what to eat and where to get it. Travel guide books tend to lead you to tourist-friendly places where you usually get a menu in English and possibly pictures attached. If you have the guts, why not venture off the beaten track and follow where the locals go to have some fun! I remembered while in Paris before I learned any French, we walked into a small crepe shop along a tiny alley. We didn't speak French and the crepe maker didn't speak English. He ended up showing us banana, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla ice-cream and all sorts of toppings he has to let us choose. All we did was point to the ones we wanted and voila, delicious crepe was served. Body language always works when spoken language doesn't. Look at what other people are eating and point to their food to order the same or simply point at the food directly over the counter.

Travelling can be a luxury to some people, but fear not. Now you do not need to travel far to enjoy the cuisine of another country.

Like I said before, I do not intend to be a food blogger but there's no harm sharing the nice places I've found within the country to savour some international cuisine.

My Elephant - Thai cuisine
Situated at an unlikely location in the midst of a residential area in Petaling Jaya, this restaurant proved to be a little tricky to be spotted. The search was worth it as it serves really good Thai food. I don't normally eat at a Thai restaurant in Malaysia. Having been to Thailand several times and tasted its food, my taste buds have upped the standard a few notches where no local Thai restaurant seems to match. My Elephant, on the other hand, seems to satisfy my taste buds. We went there for Sunday lunch. They usually have set lunch during the week which includes Pad Thai. They also do not serve desserts for lunch. Quite a bummer as I wanted to try the red ruby dessert and mango sticky rice. Oh well, that gives me another excuse to go back again.

**These pictures were taken by my friend. Used without permission. Oopps**

My favourite drink - Pandan cooler.

Som tom - pretty close to the ones I had in Chiang Mai.

Jasmine brown rice to be served with the other dishes.

Seafood green curry

Stir-fried wild fern with chili spices

Thai style tofu

Hanazen - Japanese cuisine
I hang out at Jaya One in Petaling Jaya a lot because my church is just across the street from there and we usually have lunch at one of the restaurants on Sunday afternoons. I've tried many of the restaurants there, but not all. I have written about Frontera which continues to be my favourite. Here's another worth mentioning - Hanazen, that serves rather authentic Japanese food. They serve set lunch all week in a generous serving portion at a reasonable price. My friend has been telling me how great the chawanmushi is at Hanazen. So I made sure I ordered a set lunch with chawanmushi and my friend was right! You have to try it to believe it.

The set lunches

Daorae - Korean BBQ

When I visited Korea 10 years ago for 10 days, I absolutely hated the food and got home sick. I didn't appreciate the side dishes served during meals; I didn't and still don't appreciate the taste of ginseng and most of all, I got tired of having BBQ dinner almost every night. Years gone by and my taste buds evolved to accept the taste of kimchi. Over time, I've learnt to appreciate Korean food more than I ever had.

Daorae is a chain with several restaurants all over Klang Valley. I went to the one closest to me in Sri Hartamas, just above a Korean supermarket. I'm not that educated when it comes to Korean food so I'm glad the menu came with lengthy description.

Kimchi Ji Gae and the side dishes

Korean pancake (just my interpretation)

The barbeque meat

Korean steamboat with kimchi soup and instant noodle added.

I don't always know the names of the food we ordered. Like I said, I'm not a food blogger. It doesn't matter, does it?

Road Trip to Taiping, Malaysia

2010-01-15T22:45:00.005+08:00

I love road trips! While I was living in the USA, I have taken a few road trips with different groups of friends, and I have wonderful memories of those trips because when you are trapped in a vehicle for hours and hours, you get to bond with your travel mates...or end up hating them! But for me, it has always been a good one.

So when a wedding invitation came through calling us to Taiping, I jumped at the opportunity of going on a road trip! I've never been to Taiping and heard many wonderful things about that little town. I was ecstatic!

Taiping is about 3 to 4 hours' drive from Kuala Lumpur. It is one of the oldest towns in the country and garnered many "firsts" such as the first mosque in the country, the first hill resort in the country, the first museum in the country, the first English school in the country...As such, it is a common sight to see old colonial buildings and street signs with old English street names.

Colonial buildings around town centre

When we were driving around near the mountains, it reminds me of Penang with the trees, the mountains and the huge sparsely situated bungalow homes. It would be nice to have a house there for retirement, facing the beautiful mountains. Yes, I LOVE mountains - they give me a sense of serenity and stability. I love staring at them...not hiking them...

The scenery around town centre. Notice the mountain at the back view. That is the famous Maxwell Hill which houses the first hill resort in the country.

So what is there to do in Taiping? For city dwellers who can't live without their Starbucks coffee, there is the newly opened Central Taiping which has the first cinema in town and many other firsts, I believe.

For nature lover, there are the options of hiking the Maxwell Hill, strolling around the beautiful Taiping Lake Garden just down the foothill of Maxwell, Night Safari or the Taiping Zoo.

I've visited some really nice zoos around the world. So I wasn't really excited about this Taiping Zoo simply because I don't have any confidence in Malaysia when it comes to maintenance.

Surprisingly, I have to admit, the Taiping Zoo is not bad by Malaysian standard. At least the surrounding is clean, the animals are alive and don't look like they have been starved for the last two years. The variety of animals are limited but I'm quite impressed nonetheless. So thumb's up for the zoo!

Visitors can take the tram that goes around the zoo for free. It's the perfect way to look around especially when it is a hot day and you just don't feel like walking under the sun.

Now on to my favourite part of any trip - FOOD! A place with no good food does not attract me; a place with good food will make me re-visit again and again.

As we were only there for the weekend and it was for a wedding, we didn't have much time to venture out searching for food. On the day before we left, we went to the famous bazaar where there is a huge food centre and had our breakfast, lunch and tea there - all at the same time!

The crowded bazaar.

The leng chee kang that is apparently famous. The ingredient is slightly different from what I am used to with the additions of jelly and sago but without the other items which I don't know what they are called.

The nearby town of Ipoh is famous for its Hor Fun. I supposed Taiping gets the secret too for being a near neighbour.

Now this is one dish that I was not impressed with - fried hor fun. I was expecting it to be like char kueh teow but it turned out to be soggy and sticky. I didn't like it but it's a signature dish in Taiping.

My favourite - the snow mountain. Have been hearing about it for days and finally getting it seems precious. I grew up eating Ais Batu Kacang (ABC) at a stall near my childhood home. I can still remember the taste in my mouth. Over the years, ABC has advanced to much variety that the traditional style of ABC is hardly to be found. Something is still missing with the ABC in Taiping. I think it must be syrup.

There is also a stall in front of the bazaar which opens at 12 noon selling kuihs. There are a huge variety to choose from and some are not commonly found in KL. I enjoyed it tremendously. Another noteworthy snack we had was sent to us by the newly-wed groom from a nearby coffee shop. There were steamed buns, char siew bau. It was really good with the thin outer layer and juicy stuffing of shredded pork.

Our hunt for good food continued on while we were driving home. About 1.5 hours from Taiping, we stopped by Bidor to have its famous duck noodle. I've stopped by Bidor several times but never eaten the noodle before. I was determined to try it on this trip. Unfortunately, to my disappointment, it was not as delicious as I had expected. I think KL has many places with better ones. The soup is supposed to be a herbal soup but I think it got diluted so much that it tasted funny.

The duck noodle with a whole duck thigh.

My friend had the pork ribs noodle.

Though the Bidor food hunt was disappointing, we went home with bags and bags of local produce. Chicken biscuits is probably my favourite. Can't get enough of it!

London London

2009-12-23T23:00:00.001+08:00

When I first visited the UK about 9 years ago, I did not enjoy my time there and absolutely hated the country that I never went back to that country or any part of Europe after that trip. I spent the whole month of December and part of January staying at my aunt's home in Surrey. I hardly saw the sun. The days were short, gloomy, rainy and miserable. The people were rude. I couldn't understand the accent. The tube stations were filthy and stinky. Nothing seemed right about that place.

Nine years passed. A dreadful call came in, calling me to London for a work assignment. First thought that came to my mind was, "It is the same time of the year that I hated most!" Relunctantly, I scheduled the trip to be as packed as possible so that I would not have time to get miserable over the weather.

As I have friends and family around London, I made it a point to schedule dining appointments with them outside of work obligations. Honest truth is, I have a different impression of London in this trip than I had before. It was still gloomy and rainy as before, but perhaps, I travelled with a different attitude this time. One thing for sure, the people I got to spend time with throughout the trip definitely made the experience more pleasant.

The long escalator at the tube station which I had to go through almost everyday.

One thing I found a convenience to have in hand is the Oyster card. I can't help but teased it as a knock-off of Hong Kong's Octopus card. It is a prepaid card for use on the bus, train or subway. You can easily top up with more credit into the card and it won't expire. The leftover unused amount will be refunded when you return the card as you are leaving the country. It is a cheap way to travel around town. How the fare is calculated is very complicated to me. Check out the website for more info if you are interested.

The tube lines are rather challenging, even to the locals. I suspect most locals don't really know the way around besides the route they usually take. I tried asking for direction but didn't get much help. It is worse on weekends when certain stations are closed for maintenance works. A lady even stopped me to ask for direction to get on the right train. I told her I am a tourist but I'm probably better off in reading the tube map than most locals do. However, I think if you survived the Metro in New York City, London Underground should be just a piece of cake for you.

Railway train

An expensive way to travel around would be in one of these classic-looking London cabs.

The red double decker that becomes a trademark of London.

Fortunately for me, the day when I had some time off from work to hang out with some friends for sightseeing in town was a brilliant day with gorgeous sun. The white clouds were low - making the panorama picture perfect.

The London Eye by River Thames.

Famous landmarks of London - Big Ben and red telephone booth.

What I admired most was the warm sunlight that gives you really long shadow and makes pictures turn out to be soft and happy in a gloomy town. I absolutely loved it and can't stop looking at the beautiful pictures taken with the sunlight in the background.

London has many other attractions such as museums, art galleries and parks with mostly free admission. The pound sterling is high on the exchange rate for me but it is not difficult to find cheap or free entertainment to keep you occupied once you get in town.

When it comes to food, my question is, "What is English food?" I heard Fish and Chips. The whole trip I had Italian, Spanish, Greek and German cuisines, but never once had a typical English meal except a cup of English Breakfast Tea.

Kuching, Malaysia

2009-12-03T23:43:00.005+08:00

Kuching was a stopover on our way to enter Kalimantan. It is a beautiful capital city of Sarawak in East Malaysia with lots of cat statues all over town.

We were only in the city briefly but we ate a lot!

Wild fern - a popular vegetable in the city that can be stir-fried into a yummy dish.

Fried eggs with cut-up long beans - typical home-cooked food.

Sweet & sour fish - Kuching has fresh seafood.

Tofu & salted vegetable soup

Night life is pretty quiet in Kuching but we found this restaurant operating till late for supper.

Stir-fried yam paste - the usual kind we get is made of radish.

A popular restaurant with all kinds of local food.

Kolo meehoon

A Hakka dish, Lui Cha - the dish is prepared with 7 types of vegetable finely chopped to be served with white rice. Peanuts and green vegetable tea are added. Mix all ingredients and you'll get a healthy vegetarian meal.

Rojak or fruit salad - not the best I had, I must say.

Signature food - Kolo Mee.

Kueh Chap - pig's intestines, dried beancurd and boiled egg served in herbal soup.

Signature food - Laksa or curry noodle.

Ais Batu Campur or ABC - quite nice, especially on a hot day.

Something to bring home as gifts - rice crackers. Sarawak produced tasty highland rice that is used for this snack. So it is extra tasty!

Volunteer in Kalimantan

2009-11-18T23:58:00.005+08:00

We began our journey in Kuching, Malaysia, with seven Malaysians, eight Australians and a British. At 5 am, we got picked up in two vans heading to the border town. In less than 2 hours, we were on the Indonesian side.

A no air-conditioned mini bus awaited us that will take us through a 10-hour journey on bumpy roads to the orphanage that we will volunteer at. What makes the whole experience memorable is probably the long and dreadful road journey. It could be extremely uncomfortable because the seats are narrow, the air is dusty, the weather is hot, the roads are bumpy and the journey is long. I slept through most of the journey which I'm glad. However, on my way back, I had a bad motion sickness but still managed to sleep through part of the journey.

The bus that awaits us for the long ride...

When we arrived, we were greeted by little kids who were excited to see us even when they didn't know us. Our host family from Australia then ushered us into their home for a welcome drink and quick briefing. Since it is an orphanage with kids from the ages of 4 to 16, the caretakers enforce certain rules in order to keep discipline. Some of the rules are applicable to us as guests as well so that we may be a good example to the little ones. I'm glad for the caretakers to discipline the children in such a loving way so that they may grow up to have self-control. I can't imagine what it would be like with more than 200 kids running around the compound if such rules are not imposed.

Part of the orphanage compound

The orphanage sits on a mountainous area of 285 hectares - that is like about 4-5 mountains perhaps. We usually drive from one point to the other because walking would take forever! The men are put to hard labour outdoor such as building, painting, gardening, mechanical work, etc. The women have an easier time indoor doing sewing, teaching, organising clothes, etc.

While we were there, there were loads of donations that came in consisting school bags, clothings, shoes for the kids. So a few of us ladies spent a few days organising the donations and arranging them in the store room. There were lots and lots of folding of clothes for me. I think I'm an expert now!

We probably worked about 7 hours each day with two tea breaks before and after lunch. It's actually quite leisurely with plenty of time for rest and play. I have enjoyed playing with the kids and bonded like sisters with some of the teenage girls.

The whole experience has been awesome - if one would travel with a sense of humour. We got to ride on a big truck standing for 45 minutes through the dusty roads for a trip to the town, Nganga Pinoh, and came back covered in dust. This is not your conventional travel itinerary. I'm glad I got to do it and experience what the locals face on a daily basis. So would I go back again? Sure, why not? Hope the kids will remember me...

The truck ride

The dusty journey

Travel with a purpose

2009-11-05T19:00:00.004+08:00

A Google search on voluntary or charity work in a different country for short-term period, you are bound to find pages and pages of search results that lead you to numerous opportunities to serve as a volunteer over a short vacation.

The concept of travelling with a purpose is not new today. Many people who hold corporate jobs or full-time professions have been taking their annual leave or sabbatical leave to get away to a country for a vacation while serving as a volunteer in the local community. I know of a medical doctor who uses his annual vacation from the hospital to provide free medical aid to the poor. He has done this in six continents of the world including Antarctica and still continues to do this on an annual basis. My hairstylist, who constantly travels around the world following his celebrity clients, is finally getting tired of the travels and wants to travel differently. Travelling with a purpose is always our topic of conversation whenever he's cutting my hair.

Why do people want to travel differently these days? Because it takes you to places a travel agent won't take you and the local tourism board doesn't promote the place either; because it leads you to meet the local people whom you would otherwise not have the chance to do so; because it gives you a different experience that a tour package can't offer you. Most importantly, it enriches your life and makes you realize that the world is not just about you. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

I recently took a trip of that nature to Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was an orphanage in West Kalimantan that I volunteered at. My friend works at the Malaysian office of the agency that supports the orphanage work. Because I'm a Christian and I hold certain principles and values in life, it was much easier to travel with a supporting agency that shares the same values as mine.

More about the trip in my next post...

Chiangdao - A Hidden Gem

2009-10-09T10:45:00.009+08:00

I am saving the best part of my trip to northern Thailand for last. When I came home from the trip, I told my friends I went to Chiangmai, Chiangrai and Chiangdao. "Chiangdao? Where's that? Why do you always go to places that people have never heard of?" That's exactly what I like to do.

I'm very glad to have discovered this little place of Chiangdao and decided to take a detour for a 3D2N stay. When I was researching for this trip, I happened to come across this mini resort called Chiang Dao Nest. The positive reviews and the description of its surrounding of mountains were enough to convince me to make a trip there, though the pictures posted online didn't do much justice to its beauty.

Chiangdao is located 1.5 hours' drive from Chiangmai. When I booked for my stay, I also asked for transportation arrangement from the resort to pick me up from Chiangmai on a songthaew. The drive there was very serene. We drove around the mountains and down the valley is the stream with rays of sunlight beaming through the woods.

We are here!

Once I arrived, I was greeted by Ae with a lemongrass welcome drink. I somehow got addicted to the drink. I want more!! She then gave me a hand-drawn map of the surrounding and introduced me to some of the places to go to in the area. The map is no ordinary map. It was hand-drawn by the lady owner herself, Wicha, and included her comments like the best place for fish noodle and best cappucino in town.

While waiting for my room to be ready, I walked around the resort and my jaw just dropped in awe of the beauty of its surrounding. I'm a nature lover who loves greens and mountains. And Chiang Dao Nest is surrounded by it.

In the background is Mt Chiangdao. It was cloudy on the day I arrived so the clouds came really low on the mountain. The foreground is the barbeque pit where the restaurant has a weekly bonfire to serve barbeque for dinner.

My favourite spot in the resort - Benches under a tall big tree. Since I think a lot about wedding due to my profession, I'd imagined it to be the perfect spot to officiate one's marriage under the big tree.

Chiang Dao Nest has two properties - Nest 1 and Nest 2. I stayed at Nest 1 which is larger with 12 rooms and expanding. Nest 2 only has 6 rooms and it is about 8 minutes' walk away if you walk fast but it took me 15 minutes to stroll there. What makes them different is the swimming pool and the restaurants at both properties.

Nest 1 has the swimming pool with a mountain view.

Each room is in the form of a bungalow or chalet or I called it a hut. As I went there during the low season, the room rate was at its lowest for THB495 per night (about USD15). It comes with attached bathroom and hot shower. No a/c, only fan but the air is cool enough that you won't need the air -conditioning. What surprised me was the 5-star service provided. What I did not expect, for the price I paid, were towel, toiletries, bathrobe and slippers! Even some of the so-called 5-star hotel chains I've stayed at don't provide bathrobe and bedroom slippers.

The room has wooden floor and wall covers of woven bamboo strips. Although there are mosquitoes at night (expect a lot of them when you're in a tropical jungle), I must say that the management does a very good job at repelling them.

The view from my balcony.

I arrived around lunch time on a Saturday. Several Caucasian families started checking in to stay for the weekend. I think they probably live in Chiangmai. If you want to avoid the crowd, come on a weekday. It could be less crowded.

I don't think many Asians know this place as they don't get many Asian guests. Most of the guests come here through recommendations from friends and family who have stayed here before. I give this place a double thumbs up!

Upon checking in, I took a walk out in hunt for lunch. I actually wanted to head to Nest 2 for some Thai food but ended up stopping at the next door restaurant, Chiangdao Hut. It's actually a quaint little guesthouse with a restaurant. I was captivated by the dining area up on a treehouse-like hut. It is my secret dream to own a little dessert + coffee place out in the country and the pictures above encapsulate my dream - without the guesthouse though.

One main attraction in Chiangdao is Chiangdao Cave located within walking distance from Chiang Dao Nest. It is a lime stone cave that is rather primitive. Entrance is THB20 per person. If you want to explore further into the cave, you have to pay THB100 for the local guide to take you in using an oil lamp, plus additional THB100 for tips. That's a little too hefty for a not-too-exciting cave. I decided to walk back to the resort to enjoy the outdoor instead.

Clockwise from top left: a stall selling all kinds of herbs and spices; entrance to Chiangdao cave; sign of Chiangdao Cave; a street sign.

The restaurant at Chiang Dao Nest 1 serves gourmet European food. When I first looked at the menu and its price list, I thought it was too expensive for Thai standard. Being sceptical of how good it would be like what the other guests have said, I decided to have dinner there on my first night. The verdict is, it is a fine dining experience at a budget price. The food is fantastic!

The restaurant at Nest 1.

Top: the appetizer of carrot, cucumber and something-crunchy sticks served with salsa and sour cream. It was so fun to munch on that I refused to let the waitress take it away until I finished it! Bottom: for breakfast, I had the European-style pancake with banana and honey.

Having had a wonderful experience dining at Nest 1, I decided to try out the Thai restaurant at Nest 2 for dinner on the second night. The verdict is the same!

The restaurant at Nest 2.

Top: deep-fried morning glory salad served sweet and sour dressing. Bottom: famous Thai green curry served with Burmese noodle.

A note of caution: When you plan to go out to either Nest 1 or 2 for dinner when you're staying at the other Nest, make sure you bring along a flashlight or loan one. You will need it to make it back to your room.

After dinner at Nest 2, walking out on the street was indeed a scary experience. There are no street lights, no cars, no nothing and I was alone all by myself! When I turned off the flashlight, I could not see anything, absolute nothing! However, I had a great company of bright shining stars. By the way, I found out that the word Chiangdao means "city of stars." I have lived in the city most of my life. This is a rare occurance and indulgence for me. The heavens declare the glory of God.

The neck sore from staring at the sky is totally worth it!

The mountain view dining at Nest 2.

I took a tour organized by the resort to visit some of the tribal villages. The difference between visiting the tribal villages from here is that these are real villages. They are not specially set up for tourists and you can see how they really live which most of them are done away with the traditional costumes to wear T-shirts and jeans like you and I.

This is my favourite shot throughout the entire trip. It captures the essence of the local life with the mountain view in the background.

The tour started with a drive on a songthaew into the rural mountain with a local guide who himself is from one of the hilltribes. The drive took us through the rice fields planting sticky rice and Mount Chiangdao in the background.

Mt Chiangdao peaks at more than 2000m high and it's the highest peak in Chiangdao.

We began with the elephant ride through the mountain road to reach the village of the Akha and Lahu.

The view along the way. The dried up crops are corns ready to be harvested and turned into animal's food.

The Akha and Lahu share an area neighbouring one another.

They were a couple ladies selling souvenirs but they were not as persistent as the ones at the touristy village in Chiangrai.

Packed lunch for the trip consists of sticky rice, chicken strips and salad.

We then drove to a street where the Karen, Palaung and Lisu settled. The living standard is more civilized at these villages with better buildings and facilities. There is a church in each of these villages as most of them have become Christians. We visited on a Sunday afternoon when most of them were busy practising songs in the church.

Sticky rice fields

The bottom picture looks like Masai Mara in Kenya, except that the green grass is actually a rice field.

The tour ended with a slow bamboo rafting down Ping River. I wasn't allowed to bring along my camera for fear it would get wet. Our group was split into 2 bamboo rafts. The stream was gentle. It started slowly and unexciting. We were getting bored...Our rafter decided to create some excitement for us by allowing our raft to hit the river bank full of bushes everywhere now and then so that we won't fall asleep and get sun-burnt. Toward the end, there was a rapid and we screamed as if we were going down the roller coaster. Fun! We then drove back with everyone wet in the bottom.

It was hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful place like this and the wondeful people too. I miss going to bed listening to the critter's sound and waking up to the bird's chirping...

Three Countries in One Day

2009-10-02T12:41:00.004+08:00

During my 4D3N stay in Chiangmai, I took a day off the city and headed up north on a full day tour to visit the infamous Golden Triangle - where three countries meet (Thailand, Myanmar and Laos). The area got its name due to its massive opium-producing business back in the 1950s. Tradings were carried out around this area using goldbars. A small piece of land arising on the Mekong River where the three countries meet is in the shape of a triangle. Hence, the name Golden Triangle. Opium is no longer grown here but instead, casinos are sprouting up.

My day started at 7.45am when I got picked up by the driver at the guesthouse. Molly was my tour guide. She is a local university graduate who speaks wonderful English and knowledgable. Being a curious little traveller myself, I am greatly satisfied by the information she had provided to all my questions.

The drive up north was very scenic along the mountain route and valleys with picturesque scenes of the local villages and rice fields with mountain backdrops.

After 1.5 hours' drive, we arrived at a hotspring. Northern Thailand has a lot of hotsprings as such because it used to have a number of active volcanoes. What we saw was a small fountain with strong gushes of hot water that steamed up the surrounding. The water is natural hotspring water but the fountain pumping is man-made. There were women selling quail eggs to be boiled in the hot water. A small pool is made with water of lower temperature for tourists to soak their feet.

Hotspring fountain

Continued on with another hour's drive, we arrived at the magnificent Wat Rong Khun or White Temple. It is perhaps the only one in the world that is painted in all white. The entire building is decorated with fragments of reflective glass that gives it a sparkly shine under the sun.

Wat Rong Khun

The reflective glasses on the building.

To walk into the main building, you would have to pass through "hell" where sculptures of hands reaching out in agony in hope of rescue. Many people would stop before crossing the bridge through "hell". Some stop to take pictures, some to ponder, some in fear to cross over because right after this bridge, you would be confronted by two fierce-looking guardians who guard the bridge to "heaven". They look as if pointing at you and screaming, "You! Yes, I'm talking to you! I know what you did last summer!" As for me, since I hold different religious belief and assurance of where I'll be heading after death, I have no fear of the sculptures.

"Hell"

The intricacy of the work is truly amazing.

Then we continued the drive further up north, passing by the downtown of Chiangrai. It is rather small with rows of shops. Nothing exciting. We finally reached Chiang Sean after an hour. Chiang Sean is the former capital of the Northern Kingdom. From here, we took a boat trip on Mekong River for an experience of three-countries-in-one-day.

Thai side of the river.

The boat is nothing fancy. A guide was trying to introduce the place but the boat was way too loud that I couldn't hear a thing!

Laos side of the river.

We were then dropped off at a village on the Laos side called Don Xao. It is obviously made for tourists like me as the so-called village is full of souvenir shops and restaurants for you to spend money in Thai Baht. There were kids begging for money too. A prominent souvenir strongly promoted by the guides is the snake whisky. Snakes of different kinds and sizes are soaked in the whisky and bottled for sale. It is supposed to be good for men.

The cool part about the Laos side is that you can get a souvenir stamp on your passport for free!

Lunch at a nearby restaurant overlooking the Mekong River.

After lunch, we proceeded to the northern most of Thailand, bordering with Myanmar. We didn't cross the border because of the heavy tax. Just snapped a few pictures along the small river that separated the two countries.

The irony of these places is that despite the countries being poor, they will never be short of luxurious casinos at the border towns. Myanmar and Laos both have beautifully constructed casinos along the Mekong River. Gambling is illegal in Thailand, hence casino is not allowed. The same is true with the border town of Poipet in Cambodia where the filthy street is full of beggars outside the Las Vegas-like casino. These countries are hoping to earn foreign currencies by allowing the existence of these casinos but it doesn't guarantee that the locals are not wasting their lives away here as well.

Thai border town, Maesai, that sells mainly goods from China.

The journey then took us to the Akha village. The Akha originally came from the hilltribe in China. They have beautiful traditional costumes with elaborate headpiece. This village I visited is set at the foothill of a gorgeous mountain with fresh air. Besides farming, these villagers survived on income from the tourists who pay to visit their homes and souvenir purchase. The ladies can be quite persistent. "Halo, come, come, looking, looking!"

It's been a long day of driving and sightseeing. The drive back to Chiangmai took almost 4 hours and we didn't get back until 9pm.

Chiangmai - food

2009-09-29T15:07:00.007+08:00

Thai cuisine is never short of chilli, fish sauce and sugar. In fact, these are the condiments placed on the dining table for you to help yourself with, whether you dine at a fine restaurant or by the street.

What is distinctly northern Thai is none other than the traditional Khantoke dinner. This is based on the tribal dining traditions where you eat with your fingers and sit on the floor. Dishes are served on individual bowls placed on a round platter to be shared with a few others. Typically, the dishes would include pork curry, fried chicken, vegetables, fried banana and of course, the infamous fried pork skin.

I made a reservation to have Khantoke dinner at the Old Chiangmai Cultural Centre through the guesthouse. The cultural centre offers pick-up service from your hotel.

You may choose to sit on the carpeted floor or table. On the floor, you will be given pillow to rest your back.

Sitting on the floor

My dinner - left picture shows before I started eating; right pictures shows when I'm done eating. Can you tell the difference?

The dishes are served with white rice, sticky rice or rice crispy.

While enjoying your dinner, traditional dances will be performed to entertain the guests. Guests will also have the chance to go up the stage and dance with the performers. Each performance was introduced by an emcee in Thai and English. Unfortunately, I couldn't understand her accent well enough to comprehend what she was saying. Luckily I had a programme list to refer to.

Cultural show

We then moved on to the outdoor arena where the performance continued with various tribal dances and performances. It was beautiful to see the traditional costumes of different tribes.

Another distinctly northern Thai dish is khaosoi. It is a yellow noodle dish with mild curry gravy served with raw onions, lime and preserved salty vegetables. The dish is topped with crispy noodle. It can be easily found anywhere in Chiangmai.

According to Mr Pathom, Think Park serves good khaosoi. I can't judge since I never had it before but it suits my tastebuds. It is not a touristy place so don't expect to see an English menu. Just ask for khaosoi and you'll get what you're looking for.

Another outlet that is famous for khaosoi is Lamduan Khaosoi on Fa Ham Road. It is more touristy since it got listed on Lonely Planet. It has an English menu and serves other dishes like sausages, satay and so on.

Clockwise from top left: The khaosoi at Lamduan; pork sausages that are greatly spiced with lemongrass and other herbs; Coke is a popular drink which is still in glass bottle and fried pumpkin

A commonly found snack in Thailand whether in a restaurant or on the street is green papaya salad or som tam. Whenever you walk on the street and see a stall with mortar & pestle, it's quite likely that the salad is available there.

I had som tam from a stall operating at the back of a pick-up truck. The lady asked me how spicy I wanted it, I told her one chilli is good for me. It turned out to be way too spicy for me!

The shredded green papaya, long beans, cherry tomatoes, chilli and peanuts are thrown into the mortar one by one to be crushed and mixed. The dish is seasoned with sugar and fish sauce.

As I walked on the street, I saw a lot of these packages wrapped in leave. I found out that these are sausages which can be served immediately as a snack. Another popular snack is the crispy fried pork skin as seen on the left. If you don't think too much about it, you'd eat it as if it's chips.

Protein, anyone? Crispy bamboo worms are in abundance in Chiangmai.

Head to the local fresh market and you won't be starved. Grilled banana (bottom right) sounds like a great idea for a barbeque party.

Rotee or roti is a popular street dessert in Chiangmai. When I saw how it was made, I had a shock because it looks just like our own roti canai with the flipping of the dough! You can choose to add fruits or sugar or butter. I had mine with banana topped with chocolate syrup. Yum yum! Alternatively, there is the crispy kind topped with sugar.

Another pleasant discovery was this snack called khanom. The rice flour paste is steamed on a muslin fabric to make it into a thin sheet as the wrapper. The filling is ground pork and peanuts cooked with sugar. It is then served with coconut milk and wrapped with lettuce to be eaten. I wouldn't had known all these if not because the owner could speak very good English and guided me through.

I was really tired after a day of travelling around and decided to eat somewhere close to the guesthouse. There is a row of street stalls just off the main road. All of them are in Thai. Going near one of them, I pointed at the kind of noodle I wanted and voila, this is what I got! Pretty good, I must say.

I can't leave Thailand without having any pad thai and tom yum goong. So here I am, indulging in heavenly food...

Chiangmai - sights & shopping

2009-09-28T13:02:00.013+08:00

Upon my arrival in Chiangmai, armed with some direction given by guesthouse owner, Mr Pathom, I headed out with an attempt to catch a songthaew to the city centre. Apparently, there is no specific stop for songthaew. It would stop at wherever you flag it down.

The best spot to start exploring the city is most probably Tha Pae Gate.

Tha Pae Gate was reconstructed in the 1980s to approximate what it used to look like. Within its boundaries lies the old city which you can take a walking tour around it. As you walk within the old city, you can still see some of the remains of the original walls and moats surrounding it.

Within the old city, it houses some of the oldest and most significant wats or temples of Chiangmai. It amazes me that there are SO MANY wats - all within few steps of walk! I soon realized that Chiangmai map can be quite deceiving - what looks quite far apart is actually within steps away!

As temples have no personal significance to me, I basically just got there, snapped a picture and moved on. I think I have stopped by Wat Chiang Man, Wat Pan Tao, Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh. I truly can't remember which is which when I looked back at my pictures.

Within the old city, there are also museums, cultural centre, guesthouses, monuments and little shops worth discovering.

The Three Kings Monument

It was really hot and sunny to be walking around. I was tempted to just hire a tuk-tuk to take me around all the sights, but knowing how close each sight is, I decided not to waste my energy negotiating. Speaking Thai can be quite tiring sometimes.

The best part about travelling by foot on your own is that you can take your own sweet time to look around and rest whenever you want to. I did discover some interesting sights besides what was obvious.

Clockwise from top left: Donation box at the wat in the form of a safe box - I guess you can't trust people when there is cash; Statue outside the police station - that's what Thai police is known for; No cash for donation? Credit cards are acceptable!

Outside the old city lies the famous Mae Ping River where you can have a cruise down the river or dinner by the river. As with most rivers in Thailand, expect it to be in milky chocolate colour.

Another not-to-be-missed sight in Chiangmai is the Doi Suthep Temple situated on a mountain 1676 metres high. On a clear day, you could see the temple when you get off the plane or anywhere in the city.

I was greeted by the beautiful mountain view when I arrived at the airport. Unfortunately, the following two days in Chiangmai were rainy and cloudy. The view was hidden in the clouds. According to some travel info, going up to the temple offers spectacular view of Chiangmai city. I had to delay my visit up there until the clouds subsided.

Half the mountain was covered by clouds.

The Doi Suthep Temple is a little far off from the city according to Chiangmai standard - about 16km away. It is quite easy to get a red songthaew that would drive you all the way up the mountain. It would cost you about THB40-50 for this ride each way.

On the way to the mountain, you will pass by Chiangmai zoo at the foothill. I'm not a big fan of zoo but really wanted to see the pandas since I've never seen it before. Chiangmai zoo has a pair of them, given as gifts by China.

I got on a songthaew near Mae Ping River. The driver somehow wanted me to sit in the front next to him instead of the back. I think he just wanted company and someone to talk to. He didn't speak any English but we communicated well with our sign language and my limited Thai. It was so hilarious when we tried to guess what each other was trying to say. He would slow down and repeated himself in Thai when I didn't get what he was saying. I still didn't get it. He kept on babbling away even when I didn't understand a word of what he was saying.

The drive to the zoo was really serene with lots of green along the way. You will pass by an arboretum with tall green trees.

The entrance to the zoo is THB100. Ticket to see the panda is an additional THB100 and the tram ride, which is highly recommended, is another THB50. To my surprise, the zoo was a rather pleasant place to be. It is nestled in the midst of a forested mountain. So you can expect slopes and lots of trees surrounding it. The tram service is useful if you don't want to walk up and down the slopes. It's a hop-on hop-off service with one ticket.

The animals are not disappointing either. The panda pair has had a cub called Lin Ping. There are also the koalas from Australia, penguins from South America, tapir from Malaysia, white tigers from India and of course the lions from somewhere. Didn't see any elephants which is supposed to be native in Thailand, except the sculptures at the main entrance. Maybe I missed it.

I told some Australians that they have to go to the Chiangmai zoo. They asked me what is there to see, I said koalas! It was supposed to be a joke.

From the zoo, I got on another songthaew to get to the Doi Suthep. The drive on the winding mountain road was longer than I expected. The air was cool as we get to the mountaintop.

To get to the temple, you can either climb more than 300 steps to get up there or pay THB20 for the return tram ride. If you know me, you would know that I took the tram uphill. But I walked down the steps and my legs hurt after that. Foreigners are required to pay THB30 for the entrance to the temple.

I didn't stay too long in the temple because there was construction work going on and I couldn't bear the noise.

Away from the Buddha statues, walking to the backyard of the temple is a completely different view altogether. I went in the late afternoon when the clouds had subsided slightly. The view of city was OK but I was more amazed at the view of the clouds.

Chiangmai is well-known for its handicrafts - silverware, silk weaving, lacquerware, papermaking and such. Bo Sang in San Kamphaeng district houses an umbrella making centre that's worth a visit. The umbrella is actually a parasol.

It was quite a bit of a challenge trying to find my way there. My travel guide tells me to get a white songthaew at Wororot Market, or the flower market. The problem was the flower market is not on a particular street but scattered within the area. So I walked around until I saw a white songthaew. The driver dropped me off the street that is full of shops selling parasols. I had to ask around to find the place I wanted to go.

Behind the souvenir centre where you could get the handicraft items, there is a factory where they make the parasols, saa paper from mulberry bark, Chinese fan and artists who can paint on any object you want them to. I was convinced by a lady to let her paint on my mobile phone (as seen in the pictures above.) It's permanent and I'm starting to regret it. It's beautiful but permanent which means I can't change my mind. It's just like tattoo.

At the centre, you can get ready-made parasol in cotton, silk or paper. I couldn't find a design I like so I bought a plain one and had one of the artists specially painted it in the design I like. It didn't take him very long - about 15 to 20 minutes. The stool I sat on while waiting was beautifully painted too.

When it comes to shopping in Chiangmai, you can't miss the night bazaar. It's a really long stretch of street stalls selling snacks, accessories, home items, T-shirts, knick-knacks and such. After a while, you would realize that they are pretty much selling the same stuff but different pricing. So haggle, haggle, haggle!! Personally, I didn't find anything interesting because most of the things are available in Malaysia but more expensive.

Bring your own shopping bag when you go to the night bazaar. It's convenient when you can have everything in one bag while doing your part to save the earth!

Chiangmai – Lodging

2009-09-26T13:51:00.005+08:00

When I was searching for lodging in Chiangmai, I had no idea how the city was like. I decided to book into Chaba House based on positive online reviews and its low room rates. I didn't even know its exact location.

I made a reservation via email and the owner, Mr Pathom, agreed to pick me up at the airport. When I walked out of the arrival hall, I saw a straight-faced middle-aged man holding a piece of paper with my name on it. I hesitated whether I should approach him to identify myself. I was a little terrified by his unfriendly look. When I finally identified myself, he burst into a big smile that immediately melted the ice.

Mr Pathom - meeting me up at the airport.

When Mr Pathom found out that I am a Cantonese, he started practising his Cantonese too. “好食”(delicious) “食饱睡觉”(finished eating then sleep) “厕所係边度?” (where is the toilet?) I cracked up laughing!!

On our way back to the guesthouse, he showed me around town and gave me direction on how to get around the city and places to eat. Mr Pathom even has map, brochures and all the essential information prepared for me. How sweet!

I had earlier booked the cheapest room available at Chaba House. It was a fan room at the two-storey building for THB250 per night (about USD7.50). When we arrived, he showed me around and we walked into a tranquil garden with beautiful rooms surrounding it. I was so stunned by the view and immediately told Pathom that I wanted to change my room!

Since it was low season in Chiangmai and he has plenty of rooms available, he offered the better room with air-conditioning to me at a steal for THB300 per night (about USD9). It comes with attached bathroom with hot shower. No TV though except at the communal area (I had enjoyed watching a Thai drama with Pathom's helper.) Wi-fi is at additional charge. I just couldn't resist the offer. Additionally, it comes with breakfast.

The rooms that walk out to the garden.

The dining area where breakfast is served daily.

My room. It looks just like an unreal movie set. It has a swing outside the room. How can I say no to this?

Chaba House is a little far off the city centre but it is very convenient to take a songthaew to town at anytime with only about 10 minutes' drive. What I like about it is that it is away from the busy nightlife in town. If you want a quiet night to sleep through, this would be a great budget place. It is not a fancy hotel. It doesn't even have a reception area, but you will sure find a warm and homey feeling at Chaba House.

I soon found out that there were only two of us staying at Chaba House during my visit. There were just me and my neighbour, a Dutch guy. Breakfast was served just for the two of us. How special!

Breakfast changes everyday but generally it always comes with two slices of whole-wheat toast with butter and orange marmalade, sweet sticky rice wrapped in banana leave, something warm and two different kinds of fruit, plus your choice of coffee or tea.

Day 1 Breakfast

Day 2 Breakfast

Day 3 Breakfast

Northern Thailand by myself

2009-09-25T11:46:00.005+08:00

It’s been a long time since I last traveled all by myself on a backpacking trip. I have always traveled with friends or family or visiting friends/family in the host countries. I think my last solo backpacking trip was probably in year 2004 to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It was hard at first to pick up the bag and go on this trip, especially after being spoilt by the luxurious travels I get from work the last few years. This is really a challenge to get out of my comfort zone. On the other hand, I looked forward to meeting new friends during my journey.

I have my pink flip-flops to match my pink toe nails, with my pink bag and pink polka-dot umbrella for the rainy season. I’m ready to go!

Northern Thailand is a rather tourist-friendly place with friendly people and fantastic food. Most tourists would fly into Chiangmai, which is exactly what I did.

The problem with me traveling in Asia is my high “blendedness” – which means I tend to blend in with the locals easily that makes people misunderstand that I am a local. It is an advantage when I speak the local language, like in China, because then I won’t get charged “tourist price.” I don’t speak Thai – I only know enough to get by doing some negotiation while shopping at the market. It didn’t help either when suddenly all the little words I picked up in Vietnam and Nepal started coming out as I tried to speak Thai. After a few attempts at speaking Thai and getting blank looks in return, I decided I should just be a tourist and let them do what they want to do with me. But strangely enough, with a camera hanging over my neck and a map in hand, people still don’t get it! I AM A TOURIST, I DON’T SPEAK THAI!! I had a blast anyway.

What Chiangmai is not lack of are food, wat (Buddhist temples) and songthaew (local taxi).

Everywhere you go, you are bound to find food along the street. This is a place you have to come hungry and ready to eat. Language is not a barrier if you are adventurous. Just point at whatever you think you want, you will have some food served to you. One thing I learned is the way they gauge the spiciness of food. When they say less spicy, it is considered very spicy to me, and I consider myself quite tolerant to spicy food according to Malaysian standard.

The best way to get around the city is to rent a bicycle (which I’d wished I could do but I’m really hopeless in learning to ride a bike), rent a motorbike, take a tuk tuk (motor trishaw) and use the songthaew (the locals call it a taxi but I think it’s more like a bus).

I love the idea of songthaew and wished we could have it in Kuala Lumpur too. It is converted from a pick-up truck with two rows of benches at the back. You can flag down anyone of it, tell the driver where you want to go and hop on if he is going the same direction. It is only THB20 (about USD0.60) each ride anywhere in the city. It is so convenient. However, be mindful that sometimes they do charge more than that depending on the situation. You just have to negotiate.

A group of Caucasian tourists with their rented bicycles.

Songthaew

Melaka - food (part 2)

2009-09-11T15:00:00.011+08:00

Continue on with more food from Melaka. This part is on tea time snacks.

Along Jonker Street, there are plenty of stalls selling freshly-baked cookies and pastries. And I mean fresh – hot from the oven! It is a common sight to see commercial ovens by the street, churning out my favourite pineapple cookies.

Having heard that Melaka is the first in Malaysia that offers mille crepe, I couldn’t give it a miss. Mille crepe is like the Indonesian layered cake, except that it is made of layers of crepe and cream. The texture is unusual because the crepe is sturdy while the cream is soft.

Nadeje Patisserie is the place to go for mille crepe. It has about 7-8 flavours to choose from.

The beverage bar

Mille crepe in original flavour

Chocolate banana flavour. Perhaps my favourite!

Coffee flavour

Besides mille crepe, it also offers a limited selection of other types of cake. This is white & dark chocolate mousse cake.

What I enjoy most about feasting in Melaka is that many restaurants are located in original Peranakan house. Being rich in history, restaurants like to use old vintage items to decorate the place. It is not necessary a fine dining place. Walking in is like walking into a museum.

This is the interior of Jonker 88

Jonker 88 is famous for its cendol - a sweet icy dessert popular in Melaka.

Durian cendol - something I never tried before.

We also tried mango cendol and the original kind. I think original is always the best.

Goreng-goreng - supposedly called Baba Salad. It's just some deep-fried fish cake snack served with a special sweet sauce with peanut. Nothing exciting.

It's like a treasure trove inside the restaurant with vintage items everywhere.

I'm glad typewriter days have gone...

Nancy's Kitchen serves up some of the best Nyonya kuih I've had. It has a wide variety for you to choose from that I can't even decide what to have!

Two different types of kuih koci. Filling is the same - shredded coconut cooked in gula melaka. Both tasted the same to me but equally delicious.

Nyonya chang - rice dumpling with sweet ground meat filling.

Nyonya popiah - I think they used 2 to 3 layers to wrap the spring roll. I prefer thin wraps. The filling was fantastic though.

Top hat or pai tee - mmm...yum yum...

Another Melaka origin is the satay celup. Skewered food is dumped into the boiling spicy peanut gravy. I had always gone to Ban Lee Siang for this but it was so crowded when we went. So we ended up going to the quiet restaurant next door selling the same stuff. It was soon getting crowded as a result of the overflowing customers at Ban Lee Siang.

The peanut gravy didn't taste as good as Ban Lee Siang. We decided to just make it a snack rather than a meal and moved on to find other things to eat.

Melaka – Food (part 1)

2009-09-10T11:05:00.013+08:00

Melaka is known as a paradise for food. It’s a place where you won’t go starving. At any time, you are bound to find good food. When I travel, I love going to places where there is good food.

During this trip, we ate an average of four meals a day. Apart from the breakfast at the hotel that was bad, the rest have been such a delight!

We ate so much that I decided to split the food story into two parts – the main course and snack time. Part 1 will be on the main course.

Hainanese style
The famous chicken rice ball is native to Melaka. The reason why it is known as a Hainanese cuisine simply because the Chinese immigrants from Hainan were the ones who first started turning the rice into balls. Story has it that the seller simply couldn’t afford to buy bowls and chopsticks for serving the rice. Hence the idea of making the rice into balls so that it’s easy to eat.

It is not uncommon to find chicken rice balls everywhere you go in Melaka. There are a couple popular ones along Jonker Street. The one we went was Hoe Kee Restaurant.

We were a little late, arriving a little past noon, hence the line outside. On a weekend, the best time is to get there before noon, or else the food might be finished.

The restaurant is set in a Peranakan house. There are several rooms and an airwell that are crowded with people, mainly tourists like me, on any weekends.

While waiting in line, we had our food ordered. It was quite simple because they only serve chicken rice balls, one kind of chicken dish, Assam fish, stir-fried cabbage, black bean or lotus root soups. You don’t get much choices. Unfortunately, the soups were not available when we were there. I had enjoyed the black bean soup when I was there last. Food arrived instantly when we were seated.

Assam Fish

The famous chicken rice balls

It won't be called chicken rice without the chicken.

Sadly, the food standard has deteriorated. Or perhaps it was the dining experience. We each had a Styrofoam plate to serve ourselves which is not something I enjoy very much.

Further down on Jonker Street, another popular place for chicken rice ball, Chung Wah Coffee Shop had a long line that went on the street under the sun!!

Teochew Style
Teo Soon Long is a tiny little place hidden on a side road just off Jonker Street. I called to make a reservation, knowing that it could be crowded on the holiday weekend. I asked for dinner at 6pm but was told that we could only come in at 8.30pm. We got there at 8.10pm but was asked to come back again at 8.30pm because our table was supposed to be ready by then. I wonder how they can time that but sure enough, our table was ready sharply on time!

The kitchen is just outside the main entrance. Strange, I know, but interesting.

So what do I know about Teochew food? Nothing! I don’t think I ever had authentic Teochew food before, besides Teochew porridge and steamed fish in Teochew style. I’m glad one of the staff took the trouble to look out for us when the food was served. He would come over to tell us which sauce is best to go with the food we ordered. I think we look like tourists.

When you are seated and ready to order your food, this man will ask you to go to the front where they place the fresh seafood and other ingredients in the fridge so that you can look at its freshness before deciding on it. He spoke partly in Mandarin and partly in Teochew. I could understand the Mandarin but not the Teochew, so we just ordered whatever he recommended without knowing well what to expect.

The interior of the restaurant. It can only fit in about 7 tables.

It even has a calligraphy by the late Shen Mo Yu on the wall.

Clockwise from top left: fermented bean with soy sauce and fresh chillies, chilli paste sauce, freshly chopped garlic. Each kind is to go with different dishes. And there is also the black vinegar.

Deep-fried soft-shell crab

Braised frog legs with green onions. I would prefer not to eat this if I had known what I ordered in order to support the cause of against animal cruelty.

Braised noodle with baby oyster

One of the Teochew food I'm familiar with - Teochew style steamed fish

Taufu with minced meat

Bamboo clams

This is the best part - dessert! It looks kinda disgusting at first and none of us wanted to eat it but it actually tasted fantastic. Highly recommended! It's called O-ni or yam paste served with gingko nuts and pumpkin.

Nyonya Style

Nyonya food is in abundance in Melaka. Miss it and you have never been to Melaka!

I decided to skip breakfast at the hotel one morning and went out to the nearby little shop called Donald & Lily. The name doesn't sound very Nyonya at all but there's something attractive about this quaint little shop.

The interior display

Nyonya laksa - a rich noodle dish with curry gravy. Talk about having a big breakfast!

Restoran Peranakan is just across the street from Hotel Puri. Being on the Millionnaire's Row, you won't be disappointed by the intricacy of its interior.

The menu itself is quite impressive.

Chicken Rendang

Deep-fried squid

Nyonya chap chai or stir-fried cabbage

Kangkung belacan

Ikan tenggiri assam pedas

Chicken pongteh - braised with salty bean paste and gula melaka. Not everyone likes this because the taste is a mixture of salty and sweet. This restaurant makes it just perfect that it didn't taste weird to my tastebud.

Melaka - Peranakan culture

2009-09-07T10:39:00.005+08:00

I have always been fascinated by the cultures of different people groups. After watching the recently concluded Singaporean drama series, The Little Nyonya, I was intrigued by the traditions and customs of the Baba and Nyonya. Melaka is perhaps one of the best places to trace the history and culture of this unique ethnic group.

I have learnt much from watching the drama series as the writer had carefully researched on the Peranakan culture. And a visit to the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum in Melaka where the series were partially filmed just enhanced it.

It all started in the 15th century when the Bugis and Javanese intermarried with the Chinese immigrants that produced a new generation of the unique ethnic group. They are called the Peranakan or referred as Baba for the men and Nyonya for the women. They are not Muslims, nor did they consider themselves Chinese. They developed their own unique culture and traditions that reminiscent both cultures.

A distinguish appearance of the Peranakan would be the female costumes and the architecture.

Traditionally, the Nyonyas would wear baju panjang which eventually evolved into the shorter version called baju kebaya to match with sarong long skirt. The Nyonyas usually made their own baju kebaya from intricate fabrics. As there was no sewing machine, the ladies would have to sew the pieces together with intricate interlocking by hand. I have been collected vintage baju kebaya for the past 10 years. It is always so precious to find the pieces that were made of interlocking by hand.

The Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum is an example of the Peranakan architecture. You can take a guided tour at the museum where the tour guide is a Nyonya lady dressed in baju kebaya. Unfortunately, no photography and videography are allowed in the museum so you have to go in there yourself. It’s definitely worth the trip and entrance ticket if you are interested like I do.

The museum is owned by the 5th generation of the Chen family who was the original owner of this house. Ancestral worship is an important part of the Peranakan culture, which the family still gathers at the museum or their ancestral home to worship at the ancestral hall that is still being maintained within the museum compound.

The house is narrow but deep to about 60 metres from the front door to the back door, and it has two floors. It is not uncommon to have three generations living under one roof. When a son gets married, the wife is expected to move in with the husband’s family. A rich Peranakan family would expand the house to the building next door as the family grows.

An interesting discovery was when we went upstairs to see the master’s bedroom just above from the front door. There was a small square cut out on the wooden floor. When there is a visitor knocking on the door when the master is in his room, he could lift up the small wooden square and he would see who’s knocking on his door directly from above the visitor’s head. How smart!

A Nyonya generally got married at the age of 16. If she was not married by 20, she would be deemed to spend the rest of her life unmarried. Marriage was usually arranged by the elderly of the family. Peranakan families were very adamant about marrying within their own Peranakan community. The elderly of the man’s family would search for a suitable Nyonya to be his wife. Criteria of being a good wife were thread embroidery, beading and cooking Nyonya food. Although the Nyonyas from a rich family would not have to do all these by themselves but they were still required to learn those skills in order to find a husband.

Bearing children was the top priority for a married Nyonya and sons were preferred over daughters because daughters would be married to follow the husband and sons would be considered the bearer of the family name.

Pictures from the series, The Little Nyonya.

Melaka - Hotel Puri

2009-09-04T16:54:00.013+08:00

Our family was split into two different hotels for our 3D2N trip to Melaka. Some of us stayed at Hotel Puri, some stayed at the new Holiday Inn. I wanted to stay at Hotel Puri, and so glad that I managed to book a room during the peak season.

Hotel Puri in Melaka is one of a kind boutique hotel that you won't find elsewhere in the world. The building is a restored Peranakan house built in the 1800s. It used to be the ancestral home of a rich Chinese family who migrated from China and found their fortune here through trading business.

I'll talk more about the cultures and architecture of the Baba & Nyonya or the Peranakan in my next post. Meanwhile, let me get back to this hotel.

It is located on the Millionnaires' Row or today called Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. An essence of a Peranakan house is that it is not very wide but always very deep. From the front door to the back of the house, Hotel Puri measures to about 100 metres deep.

The main entrance of the hotel. Note that it is about 3 windows' wide for one house. The hotel is made up of 3 houses that are connected on both sides.

The reception and lobby area. There is an airwell before you get to the reception desk. This hotel has 3 airwells and this is the first one a guest will see.

The airwell that looks up to the 2nd floor. A typical airwell in a traditional Peranakan house is open air to allow air circulation and light to get in. But the hotel has enclosed it with see-through roof to capture the air-conditioning.

The traditional "couches" at the lobby. The wooden furniture is engraved with marble and mother of pearl.

The stairwell to the upper guest rooms. There is no elevator, so pack lightly!

The narrow walkway that leads from one common area to another.

This was the ancestral hall when the original family lived here. Note the top corners on the wall. There are swallows making nests on the wall. The Chinese made their fortune by picking the bird's nests and selling as a delicacy that is supposed to be good for health and beauty. The Chinese still embraces the dessert today. The picking of bird's nest can be dangerous, hence the high price for it.

Close-up of the bird's nests.

This is the courtyard that has been converted into a cafe. The hotel built a new building within this courtyard area to house more guest rooms. Back in those days, this was the area where they kept the horses and carriages. And apparently, they kept a mini zoo here too that housed a tiger and some deers!

I loved it when they had preserved the floor and wall tiles. So gorgeous, so vintage! I read that the tiles were imported from England so they are not exactly Peranakan but this is how the rich people showed off their wealth by having some English influenced items in the house.

In the hotel room, we were given these old-school kopi cups to use for our hot drinks.

These are the 2nd and 3rd airwells in the hotel where breakfast is served daily for guests. Both these airwells are open well. It was so refreshing to have breakfast with some fresh air and soft sunshine. Except that the food was not that fantastic.

This is the spa area. I couldn't resist the discount offer given to hotel guests and went in for a foot spa. It was so comfortable that I fell asleep. So no comment whether the massage was good or not.

Overall, I had enjoyed my stay there and would consider going back there again. However, I just wished that the staff at the front office would be a little more courteous and friendly and helpful. I also found out that there are other boutique hotels around the area with similar concept which I might check out given the chance.

Melaka City, Malaysia - the sights

2009-09-03T16:20:00.013+08:00

Being the oldest city in Malaysia where the land was first discovered in 1511, it is only fitting when my family decided to spend the weekend over Independence Day in Melaka where the declaration of independence was first proclaimed 52 years ago.

Melaka city has been declared a historical city in 1989 and I think the title is well-deserved. It has also been listed as a UNESCO Heritage site recently. Many of the colonial buildings are well preserved and some are still being used like they were before!

A stretch of shoplots with old metal grill gates.

Old shops with long history. So nolstagic.

Narrow roads with historical buildings

We walked through so many streets with old buildings like these.

This is the Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum where the Singaporean drama series, The Little Nyonya, was partially filmed here. I have enjoyed watching the series so much that coming here brought back memories.

Graffitti on the wall - a blend of old and new

This used to be called the Millionnaires Row where the rich and famous lived. The buildings obviously look more intricately decorated than the others. It is now called Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.

The glorious past of Melaka depended on it being an important port city in the region. Hence attracting the attention of the Western powers to conquer it. This is a view of the port today. The ferris wheel in sight is Eye On Malaysia.

The most crowded street in Melaka for the locals and tourists alike - Jonker Street.

Jonker Street houses much of the hidden antique gems and fantastic food in Melaka.

Jonker Street at night on weekends is turned into a lively night bazaar.

The famous Melaka River during the day and evening. It feels just like Venice, except the odour.

Colourful and heavily decorated trishaws for tourists.

The remains of the Dutch colonial period - Christ Church and Stadthuys (or the Dutch Square). These are famous landmarks in Melaka, also commonly known as the red houses by the locals.

The remains of the Portugese occupation - St Paul Church and A Farmosa. Popular landmarks in Melaka which you can't miss.

A view of the sea from the hill where St Paul Church is near evening. The erected tower is Menara Taming Sari where you could pay to sit in the glass tube that takes you up for an overall view of the city.

The Departure Lounge

2009-08-25T10:52:00.002+08:00

I have heard about the Departure Lounge for sometime now and decided to pop in for a snack while I was around the area at Solaris, Mont Kiara.

It was a dainty little self-service restaurant that reminds me of those breakfast places I used to go to while I was in New York City. The best part is, they do serve bagels with cream cheese! I had a blueberry bagel that was out of shape with a stingy serving of plain cream cheese. The bagel tasted just like the ones you can get frozen at Cold Storage. Nevertheless, it's definitely better than the ones you get at Coffee Bean or San Francisco Coffee.

What makes it different from the other restaurants in the area is the little corner with a library of travel guide books. As I tend to do independent travelling, I spend a lot of time researching and reading up on the place before I head out. What I usually do is spending hours at the bookstores browsing through travel books as they can be quite expensive if I have to purchase them all. So, this is a nice change of environment where I could browse through the travel books while enjoying my bagel. The collection of books is not extensive but it does have some of the popular destinations covered.

Travelling Style

2009-07-16T12:51:00.003+08:00

The question of whether to travel in a group, with a companion or by myself always pops up whenever I start planning for a trip. There are pros and cons to each option and it really depends on your priorities.

Group travel is fun when you know you can get along well with each other. It saves cost too. You can share the costs of the room, food and transportation. The flip side of it is that you can easily step on each other's toes, and a fun trip may turn sour. What I hate most about travelling in a group is the amount of time wasted in waiting for each other and the problem of everyone having a different itinerary in mind. When that happens, you just split and go different direction.

Travelling with one or two friends is more flexible as you only have two or three opinions pouring in as opposed to eight or 10. You can still share your trip expenses and help each other to take pictures. However, if you have not picked the right companion and argument starts to fire up during the trip on what you should do and see, that's the end of a fun trip.

Travelling solo is the most flexible of all as long as you have the time and a ticket to wherever you want to go, you're all set! You can do whatever you wish and sleep in if you like without anyone telling you what to do with your time. It is also a great way to meet people because when you are alone and you want someone to converse with, you'll find someone. On the other hand, you're quite likely to have to pay single supplement for certain rooms. Certain tours might not take you unless there are at least two people signed up. Asking a stranger to take your pictures may end up seeing you off-centred than how you'd like it. And of course, the issue of safety when travelling alone, especially for a female traveller.

I have done all of the above. I can't say which is my favourite way of travelling because it really depends where you are going and what you are trying to achieve from the trip.

Currently most of my travels are solo but I go to places where I have friends or family living there. Travelling solo helps me to discover myself - knowing what I like and don't, finding out what I can tolerate and can't.

Have you found your style?

Source: www.dailypuppy.com

Tex-Mex temptations

2009-07-15T11:34:00.004+08:00

For anyone who has lived in the US before, Tex-Mex food should not be unfamiliar as it is originally from Texas. Texas borders with Mexico and with the influx of Mexican immigrants into the state of Texas, so as the culture and food that found a new home. As it is with many types of food that immigrated to another country, much of the Mexican food is modified by the locals to suit the American appetite. Hence, the name Tex-Mex which stands for Texan-Mexican.

I am one of those who enjoy the modified version more than the original version. I had authentic Mexican food before, but sad to say, I want my Tex-Mex food back.

Being in Malaysia, about 12,000km away from Texas, this kind of cuisine is rare and almost unheard of. I was surprised to find a good one in town owned by a Texan himself.

It is Frontera restaurant located at Jaya 1, PJ.

The interior of the restaurant decorated colourfully that embraces the Mexican culture. It has a bar that serves fantastic margarita.
Aparently they use only premium Don Julio and Patron tequilas that are produced 100% from the blue agave plant for their margaritas. No wonder it's so good!

Highly recommended appetizer that goes well with the margarita is Taquitos de Pollo which is flash-fried corn tortilla rolls with shredded chicken filling served with salsa verde, a thick sauce made from tomatillos, green chilli and sour cream.

One of my favourite Tex-Mex fare is the tortilla soup. This one doesn't look as appetizing as it tastes.

Chicken Chimichanga - a fried soft tortilla roll with shredded chicken, then slightly baked with cheese melting on top. Served here with refried beans and Spanish rice.

My ultimate favourite is of course the Taco! Crunchy taco shells topped with ground beef, shredded lettuce, cheese and diced tomatoes, served with generous servings of salsa.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

2009-06-23T16:15:00.009+08:00

This is another working trip to a YTL resort, Cameron Highlands Resort. The property used to be Merlin Hotel which YTL bought over to restore and revamp it into a 5-star highland resort. It is probably the most prestigious hotel in the area, but the luxury comes with a steep price tag.

I have been to Cameron Highlands several times in the last few years for vacation. I have always loved the place because it is quiet enough for a retreat, yet enough of activities to keep you busy such as trekking, strawberry picking, eating, market shopping and visiting different plantations.

After the trip to Nepal, this is a good break for me to enjoy the cool air again and having the time to stare at the gorgeous mountains.

The view from my room balcony.

The first two days when we got there was very foggy and cooling. Loved it!

As this was a working trip, we stayed mainly indoor at the resort. This is my first time there and true enough, the resort is a little hyped up. I mean, for the price you have to pay and the choices available in the area, I'm not sure if I'll go for it.

Here are some shots of some of the nicer corners in the resort.

The library with a fireplace.

The Jim Thompson Lounge where lunch and tea are served.

The lobby area.

My favorite spot is probably the corridor. The landscape on the side is really badly maintained which unfortunately, that's what you see when you open your room door. This is the corridor that takes you to your room. However, before you arrive at your room, you have to pass through the housekeeping room, the storeroom and the public washroom! What a sight! I still loved the corridor because I like the old-school small square tiles on the floor.

Another complaint from me would be the so-called award-winning Spa Village. I had expected more for the price I had to pay for the 3-hour spa. First of all, you are escorted to a shared locker room to get changed and you have to keep your own key. Then you go to the tub room for your tea bath. There is no door to the room but a curtain, and the corridor is just out there. So if you don't put on the earphone to listen to the soothing music, you'd be hearing people walking on the corridor.

Then you go to the relaxation room with day beds in your bathrobe and you lied there with a hot pouch on your tummy for 20 minutes. If there are other people doing the spa at the same time with you, you'll be sharing that room with strangers.

Then you'll be escorted to go upstairs to your own private room to do body scrub and massage. Since the staircase is on the outside of the building, you have to walk out there wearing nothing but the bathrobe. The worst part was, when I was done and needed to get down to the locker room to get dressed, it was raining and we didn't have an umbrella upstairs. So I have to run down the stairs, a little wet with the massage oil on my body. I felt grossed!

Honestly, I didn't enjoy the experience and wished they had a private room where I don't have to feel so insecured.

Nepal - accessories for sale

2009-06-23T13:29:00.008+08:00

When I was in Nepal, I met several local individuals who have started the beaded accessories business in Kathmandu and around the country. It is a meaningful business as their objective is to provide jobs to the unwanted group of people such as widows, prostitutes, handicapped, etc. who are considered in the low-caste and would otherwise not able to find a job to support their lives.

The business provides a place where these people can work in a safe environment while being paid fairly. Many lives has been transformed as a result of this business.

They have really good quality beads and would customize any design or color you wish. They depend on people like me who has friends who know about them to buy from them. I bought a few pieces back, in the hope of testing if it can be sold here. If demand is good, I'll purchase more from them.

Olive green long single-strand translucent glass bead necklace. RM29.

*SOLD* Triple-strand long necklace with black stones and plastic seed beads. RM19.

*SOLD* Multi-strand short threaded necklace with black & transparent plastic seed beads. RM29.

*SOLD* Multi-strand short threaded necklace with aqua plastic seed beads. RM29.

Aqua/green short necklace with strand of cylindrical glass beads and multi-strand plastic seed beads. RM39.

Maroon short necklace with strand of round glass beads and multi-strand plastic seed beads. RM39.

Natural-dyed earrings with pale green glass beads. RM15.

The above prices do not include delivery charges. If interested, please leave your email address in the comment box and I'll get in touch with you soon.

Nepal - the culture

2009-06-15T13:12:00.006+08:00

This entry took me a while to write simply because the culture in Nepal is so rich I don’t know when to begin! I was reading a book called Culture Smart! Nepal by Tess Feller during the trip and was so amazed by the richness and complication of the culture.

One morning as my friend went to the bank, I sat at the lobby watching and observing the people. I think they are all Nepalese but they all look very different from one another. Some are darker like Indians, some are fairer like Pakistani, some are fairer with rosy cheeks like Mongolians, some are brown-skinned like Malay and many, many more. Other than Caucasians and Africans, anyone can easily blend in to become a Nepalese, including myself. So it is not surprising that I kept being misunderstood as a local. One phrase that was helpful to me was, “Ma Nepali hoian,” which means I’m not Nepali.

Not to mention that in Nepal, caste-system is practiced in the society that gap the people. It seems that higher-caste people look different from the lower-caste people. I can’t tell and couldn’t be bothered with it as I believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities.

As I mentioned in my earlier post on the food, the majority of the society is influenced by the Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Religious rituals and celebrations are a big part of the Nepali lifestyle. Wedding traditions are therefore very much like the Hindu traditions. I was able to witness several Hindu weddings on the street while I was there.

The bride, usually dressed in red sari-like wedding costume made with luxurious fabric, is adorned with many green, gold and yellow jewellery and beaded necklaces. White is considered a mourning colour where the Hindus only wear at funerals. So the western-style wedding gowns are not suitable in the Hindu society.

Later on, I saw a wedding party moving from one place to another on the street. The wedding car was escorted by a marching band walking in front and the band played loud music as if to announce the coming of the wedding couple.

Other interesting events while I was there included the political situation in the government that caused a lot of tension and rumours of strikes going on. Strikes or bandhs apparently are part of life in Nepal as people will take on the streets for whatever reason they may find. A common activity at a bandh is the burning of tyres. Rule of thumb is to stay away from areas where a bandh is happening and you should be fine. However, a bandh can cause the closure of roads or curfews to be imposed that can affect your travel plans.

There are so much more to explore in Nepal. Pay a visit if you could. I know I would go back again.

Nepal - the food

2009-06-03T17:36:00.009+08:00

Nepal is quite a melting pot when it comes to food, largely due to its neighboring influences and an influx of foreign expatriates and tourists.

Due to the country's majority religious beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism that believe that cow is a holy animal, beef is a rare delicacy that comes with a hefty price tag. Before I realized this, I saw signs selling buff. At first I just thought it was a spelling mistake. I later realized that buff is actually water buffalo meat which is commonly found. So forget about the beef and go for buff that tastes the same.

Momo is a common appetizer in Nepal. Personally, I think it is exactly the same as Chinese dumplings. The filling is ground meat with chopped onions or vegetables. The momos are served with a watery chili sauce. I love dumplings so this is the perfect food for me!

Another familiar snack to me - samosa - deep-fried pastry with potatoes filling served with the same momo chili sauce for dipping. The potatoes are cubed and cooked with masala.

Due to its religious influence, the traditional food is quite similar to north Indian. Mostly vegetarian. Well, I supposed that meat is probably too expensive for most Nepalis to afford it on a regular basis too.

I stayed at a friend's place where there's a local lady who comes in to help out with the household chores and cooks. She's a great cook and makes delicious Nepali food. Below picture shows her making Dhedo and Saag for lunch.

Dhedo is made by mixing cornmeal and water, stirring it constantly under low heat, to produce a dough-like texture. It is then served with Saag, which is spinach cooked with masala (a mixture of spices commonly used in Indian cooking.) Dhedo is best served while it's still warm as the dough may get hard when it gets cold.

Another common food in Nepal is Dhal Bhat. Dhal is lentil gravy and Bhat means rice. It is usually served along with other curried or spiced vegetables. The rich ones might have it with meat or fish dishes. I had mine with curried cauliflower, spinach masala and tomato acar.

When you go for trekking in the mountains, this is probably the food you'll be served throughout the trip. I loved it and missed it greatly since I'm not a big meat-lover.

Not forgetting the ever popular chiya. It is spiced Nepali milk tea similar to chai tea. Chiya is made by boiling the tea in water with milk, sugar, cloves and cardamon. The tea is a little unusual as it is not like the leafy tea I've seen. It is in small round dots. Chiya is served everywhere - restaurants and homes. The taste varies depending on how much of each ingredient is put in.

Large western fast food chains have not invaded the land. But those who can't stand the local food would have no trouble finding nice restaurants serving western and other Asian cuisines.

On my last day in Nepal, I went to this nice Chinese restaurant that serves Chinese food the American way. Chop Suey and Lo Mein are staples in the restaurant. But for me, I'm more than happy to stick with Dhal Bhat.

Nepal - the sights

2009-05-12T17:41:00.016+08:00

Well, the info I got from a blog was correct after all. If you get a seat on the right side of the plane (K seats on Thai Airways), you will get to see the Himalayan peaks – provided the sky is clear. I got a K54 seat, just after the wing, which is perfect. Stay away from rows 40-50, or the wing will block your view. I was told that it rained that morning as we were flying in. So much of the clouds and pollution were blown away, giving us a beautiful view of the peaks.

As we were descending, the mountainous range came into view. It is no surprising as Nepal, small as it is, housed eight of the world’s top 10 highest mountains. So you can imagine that Nepal is a country like no other – surrounded by mountains.

The cities or towns in Nepal are situated at the valley in between mountains. Kathmandu is at Kathmandu Valley. As you are flying in, you would see valley with towns, mountain, and valley again.

The international airport is no fancy building. The colour reflects most other buildings you see in the country – brick colour. As the H1N1 (A) flu was going around the world, the immigration takes precaution on that as well. The funny part was the way they check the passengers coming in. The health officer has a piece of paper with hand-written note in his hand that has all the countries affected by the flu. As you passed through him, he will ask where you’re from. If you’re not from any country listed in his note, you are free to go. But if you’re from an affected country, you will be held up for further inspection. The lady in front of me is from Vietnam. The officer probably never heard of Vietnam. He asked her a few times repeatedly and ended up giving her the paper and asked her to check if Vietnam was listed there! When it was my turn, I just told him I’m from Malaysia and it is not on the list. (The list is probably longer now and Malaysia is most likely on it by now.)

Getting out of the airport, you’ll be greeted by mobs of travel agents who would offer any travel services for tourists. I am quite used to being harassed by touts when I travel to other countries, but I have to say that the Nepalis are the gentlest of all. At least they do not keep talking to you or follow you around when you tell them you do not need their services.

My friend came to pick me up in a taxi. As we drove back to her house, the road condition and driving manners are very much similar to other Asian third-world countries. The roads are not properly tarred, causing portion of the roads exposed as dirt roads, hence contributing pollution to the air. Outside of the main street, most other roads are alleys that in my opinion, only one car could drive through. However, for a Nepali driver, he will somehow skillfully maneuver his car that two cars would be able to drive on the alley.

The streets are crowded by cars, tempos, bicycles, motorbikes and people walking. People do walk a lot as it is probably the cheapest mode of “transportation”. Crossing the street can be challenging but you’ll get over if you have been to Vietnam.

Kathmandu has quite a huge population. But one question I asked, “Where do the people live?” The city is not that huge and there aren’t any tall buildings around (tallest being 7 – 8 floors, perhaps). So where do people sleep at night? One answer I received, “They would cramp about 9 people in a small room.” What? I guess I won’t understand that until I realized that the locals are not very rich and can’t afford big houses to let each child has his own room.

I stayed at my friend’s house in Patan, which is just outside of Kathmandu city. Patan is known as a historical city. A walk down the town proper gives a beautiful view of what Nepal was like in her glorious days.

A lot of the old Newari buildings have been preserved and they feature beautiful woodcarving details on the doors and windows. Walking down the street, there are a lot of shops and stalls selling different kinds of things – groceries, souvenirs, clothing, fresh produce. Apparently, the Americans called it Wal-Mart for the same idea.

Going further down the street is Patan’s Durbar Square where it houses the old royal palace and Taleju Temple. You have to pay to get a ticket to go in but we walked up to the roof of a nearby restaurant and saw it all.

Another common sight in the city is the different shrines and statutes for people to worship. I mean everywhere…

Most of the time I avoided the tourist areas but did go down to Thamel one day, on the other side of the river. It is quite obvious that the town survives on tourist dollars.

What I love most about Nepal are the mountains. I love mountains – not to climb it but to see it. God has a great sense of beauty when He decided to create mountains!

Nepal - not quite there yet

2009-05-12T17:27:00.006+08:00

I was supposed to fly out on Sunday morning from KUL and get on the immediate next flight to Kathmandu from Bangkok. A last minute call from Thai Airways notified me that the morning flight from KUL-BKK was cancelled, and they wanted me to fly out to BKK a day early and spend the night there. Of course, the airline will pay for my airport hotel stay.

The Novotel Hotel at Suvarnabhumi Airport is just next to the airport building but the hotel still provides shuttle service to ferry its customers.

I have to say that the hotel has the largest lobby I've ever seen in any hotel! It was like a jungle with all the trees on display. I was a little lost trying to locate the reception desk. It was quite a long walk in, past several restaurants on both sides before reaching the reception.

This is the view of the lobby from my room on the third floor.

This is my room with a window overlooking the bathroom. I think it has a jacuzzi tub in there but I didn't have the time to explore it.

Laileng is going to Nepal

2009-04-28T14:31:00.005+08:00

I will be going to Nepal on May 3-11 to visit some friends living there. I'm so excited as I really don't know what to expect! I did some research and found out the specific seats on the plane in order to catch a glimpse of the Himalaya. So I hope the writer was right and I have the right seat. Can't wait to see the mountains, though I won't be climbing it. No, just not my thing...

Will write about it when I get back.

A view of the Himalayan peak.

Bali, March 30 - April 2

2009-04-20T18:07:00.010+08:00

Bali, the island of gods, lives up to its reputation as the entire island is pretty much adorned by statues of various Hindu gods.

This is my first trip to Bali. Indonesia, in fact, and it is for work, unfortunately. It was for a photography project by YTL. So naturally, we stayed at the YTL Spa Village Resort at Tembok where it is known for its black sand beach. The black sand is the result of the overflowing lava from the volcano eruption but it is no longer active now.

Tembok is located on the northeast coast of the island. From the airport, it takes about 3 hours of driving through the mountains or along the coastal roads.

When the crew first arrived in the afternoon, we decided to head to Ubud for an early dinner of Bebek Bengil or the famous Dirty Duck. It’s basically a roast duck served with the wonderfully fragrant chili dipping sauce or sambal belacan. The reason why it is called dirty duck is because the duck is dirty after playing in the mud. Of course it is clean before they cook it.

After dinner, it was a long, windy and torturous journey to the resort through the mountain road. The duck almost came out of my stomach! The road was narrow and it was dark and foggy outside. I’m glad we had a patient and experienced driver.

We were so glad to see the sign board to the resort because everyone was getting car sick. Upon arrival at the resort, we were treated to a foot scrub using the natural black sand taken from the beach and a back massage while waiting for the room registration to be completed. Nothing feels better after a good Balinese back massage.

The next two days, it was work on location at the resort.

On the last day before departure, we had some free time to go shopping in town. We decided to head to Seminyak as it has the most variety that would suit our entire crew. Our first stop was to Warung Made’s, the popular hang out place for tourists. The restaurant is tastefully decorated in Balinese style and the food was fantastic, especially the keropok or shrimp crackers that come with an extremely spicy chili sauce. Yummy!

After lunch, we split up to do our own shopping along the street of Seminyak. It has a lot of independent clothing stores that sell garments from local and foreign designers at a really high price. As I am in the clothing business, I do not see the worth of paying so much for a shirt that is made of poor quality silk. Haggling is allowed but would be difficult as they know we are tourists. I ended up not buying anything after an afternoon of walking down the street.

Later on, we headed back to Warung Made’s for dinner before leaving for the airport.

Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2004 - part 3

2009-03-24T11:05:00.005+08:00

My next stop – Angkor Thom. This is perhaps my favorite above all the temples. I was just amazed how nature has taken its role in a magical way. The temple is all held up by the trees that grew around it or on it.

For the next two days, that’s what I’ve been seeing - stone temples. Some are better preserved, some are ruined by time or war. There are always Buddha statues in every temple that are open to the public for worship. Occasionally, I saw some monks hanging out at the temples.

Everywhere I went, there were local kids and women selling food and souvenirs. Every time when the driver stopped, a group of kids would surround me with their products saying, “Lady, buy. One dollar. OK.” The local women who own the food stalls are the most multi-lingual people I’ve ever met. Besides Khmer, they speak English, French and Japanese. I will not be surprised if they know Korean and Spanish. Every time when a tourist passes by, they would rush to their coolers placed in front of the stall, open the lid and yell, “Cold drink, lady.”

After two days of seeing stone temples, I decided I had enough. On the third day, I walked around SR by myself. The streets looked pretty scary at first because there were too many bicycles and motorcycles. I waited for a long time to cross the street. I realized later that I could just cross because they would avoid me and wouldn’t curse me. I’m starting to suspect the cars and buses in SR are stolen vehicles imported from other countries like Malaysia. I’ve heard news before. Most vehicles do not have a license plate. I saw some mini buses with Korean writings all over them and the driver side is on the left while Cambodia is supposed to drive on the right! It didn’t seem to bother anyone which side you are driving on as long as you don’t hit anyone.

I could go on and on about SR. If you had the chance, you should visit SR. It’s a beautiful place with beautiful people. I have enjoyed mingling with the locals. It’s worth the trouble to get there.

If you plan to cross the Cambodian border from Thailand by land, do read up the entries at Tales of Asia to prepare yourself.

It is the roots of this tree that is holding up the walls of this temple for years.

Siem Reap, Cambodia, 2004 - part 2

2009-03-24T10:58:00.005+08:00

I knew I had arrived in SR when I saw signs in English, French, Japanese and Korean. My driver couldn’t take me to where I wanted to go. He didn’t speak English and couldn’t understand my 10-minute-self-taught Khmer (the Cambodian language.) He transferred me to a remorque-moto driver who spoke English. A remorque-moto is a kind of public transportation similar to a tuk-tuk in Thailand, except simpler. It is a motorcycle attached with a frilly trailer to its rear. The driver took me around to find a guesthouse. I finally decided on one that’s basic but clean, and near the old market.

Culture shock #1 – Cambodia and Thailand have similar cultural practices. One of them is that they don’t wear shoes in the house and they like to keep the floor clean. When the staff at the guesthouse showed me the room, he took off his shoes before going into the building. I thought I had to do the same and bent down to take off my shoes until he told me it’s OK for guests to have their shoes on. But don’t do that when you go to someone’s home.

I hired the same driver for the next couple days to take me around. On day one, we went straight to Angkor Wat early in the morning. From SR to the main entrance is about 5km. I think there’s only one traffic light in the entire town of SR, and nobody really cares too much about it. Most of the vehicles in SR are bicycles and motorcycles. There was a traffic police in the middle of the junction directing the traffic while the traffic light was working perfectly well. Once we passed the light, the scenery changes. The road is lined with tall shady trees on both sides forming an arch to welcome visitors.

Angkor Wat is huge and magnificent. Although I’ve seen many pictures of it, nothing compares seeing it with my own eyes. It is simply breathtaking!! Every bit of it is made of stone without the use of nails – like the game Jenga. Something unique about the architecture of these temples is that they like to build it in a pyramid style – meaning broad base and narrow top. To get to a higher level, you need to climb up a flight of long steep stairs with narrow steps. It is about 80 degrees steep!! I had to be on four to climb up. Felt like rock-climbing. Coming down was even more challenging. I spent three hours at Angkor Wat. I didn’t want to come down after I climbed up the stairs to get to the upper tower. It was breezy with a scenic view that overlooks into the woods behind the temple. It was an awesome place for quiet time and praise the Lord for His creation. I was once again reminded that the Lord has promised that He is patient and doesn’t want anyone to perish. He kept His promise and preserved this place that the Cambodians may survive and make a living out of this place.

I had breakfast at one of the stalls along with other souvenir stalls. I had a bowl of noodle soup which turned out to be instant noodle soup with added vegetables. The flavor was strong but different than the other instant noodle I have had. Maybe it was the Khmer flavor. I was soon surrounded by local kids asking to buy souvenirs from them. I bought a set of postcards from a boy. Another girl, also selling postcards, insisted that I have to buy from her as well since I bought from the boy. I didn’t mind surrounded by them. They were a little pushy but not harsh. I continued to enjoy my noodle soup while stepping on mud.

The magnificient of Angkor Wat is breathtaking! You have to be there to see it yourself as the picture doesn't do much justice to what it really is.

Thailand & Cambodia, 2004 - part 1

2009-03-24T10:53:00.002+08:00

This is my first experience of traveling alone by backpacking. The trip happened in year 2004. Yes, it’s a little outdated but I wouldn’t be traveling the way I do now if not for the wonderful experience to begin with.

I flew into Bangkok from KL. The first thing that caught my interest was how well the Thais are in maximizing the use of space in a parking lot. It is usual for most of us to park our cars parallel to each other at a parking lot, right? Well, the Thais do that. Additionally, they also park cars horizontally against the parallel cars. So, what do you do when a car is blocking yours? You push it away. So don’t be surprised when you come out of a mall and found that your car is moved to a different spot.

Bangkok is known for its heavy traffic jam. I remember complaining about the traffic when I was in Seoul. I was told then that Bangkok is worse. I would have to agree. I still find it hard to believe that someone was once stuck in the traffic for six hours in Bangkok!! In six hours, I could have flown to Tokyo from KL. No wonder they have to invent Comfort 100 – pee pot on the run!

After two days in Bangkok, I spontaneously decided to cross the border over to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Armed with a Lonely Planet travel guide, some US dollars and my backpack, I was on my way to Cambodia. I felt really vulnerable and started to doubt if I had done the right thing by traveling alone since I don’t speak the language and didn’t do much research beforehand. The people do not speak any English and the signs are all in Thai. I took the bus from Bangkok to the Thai border town, Aranyathrapet. From there, I jumped on a motorcycle taxi to the border. It was so cool ‘cos I’ve never been on a motorcycle. Then, I walked through the immigration into the Cambodian border town, Poipet. Stepping into Poipet was like going to hell. The town is filthy, stinky and full of beggars. It made me wanted to turn around and go back to Thailand. The most ironic thing is that there are a few beautifully constructed and decorated casinos in the town. But the buildings are surrounded by filth. There are also a lot of touts who spend their waking hours trying to rip off tourists by getting you into the kind of transportation that’s not worth what you paid for. And yes, I was one of their victims.

After getting an entry stamp, I was half-way through the journey. From Bangkok to Siem Reap, the distance is about 450km. It took me 10 hours starting from Bangkok, with about 100km on dirt road from Poipet, to arrive in Siem Reap.

I agreed to pay the taxi driver THB400 to take me from Poipet to SR. I was the only one passenger when we left Poipet. On the way, the driver picked up two more locals. They were heading to Sisophon, which is half-way to SR from Poipet. After the driver dropped off the two locals, he circled around the main station in Sisophon and stopped at the entrance. All of a sudden, a gang of touts surrounded the taxi, looking into the car at me. I smelled trouble. One of the gang members opened the door. He spoke English. He said to me that the taxi can’t go to SR. I have to transfer to a pick-up truck. He lied. I refused to move. He persisted. I told him I was not taking the truck to SR, only taxi. He kept shutting the door to discuss with the gang and opened the door to talk to me. It was funny since I can’t understand their language anyway. They finally agreed to transfer me to another taxi parked right next to the one I was on. I asked to talk to the driver to make sure he was going to SR. He confirmed it. There were other local passengers in the car too. I kept asking if they were going to SR. They reassured me. Trouble continued. They asked for me to pay before we take off. I refused to pay until we get to SR. They kept cheating me with different lies. How sickening!! I paused for a moment and thought it was not a good time to be stubborn. I could have insisted and wasted more time bargaining, but I didn’t think we would take off if I refused to pay. I decided to pay half in Sisophon and the rest in SR. Everyone was happy

It was pouring down rain on our way. The road became muddy and more difficult to travel. We had to cross a lot of narrow bridges that barely fits a mini bus. By the way, Toyota Camry is a car that lasts forever. An interesting read on Cambodia tells that 90% of the Cambodian cars are Camrys and 99% of them are used as taxis. Those Camrys travel between Poipet and SR several times a day on the bumpy road but never break down.

The journey, though bumpy and I knocked my head several times, was beautiful. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The land is rather flat with out-of-place hills somewhere in the middle of the paddy fields. There were some village kids having a fun time playing in the mud. Some enjoyed being splashed by muddy water as the cars drove by. It’s quite an unusual scene for a city kid like me.

A brief orientation on Cambodia: it is the poorest country in southeast Asia region. The country is still recovering from a civil war in the 70s that was similar to the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Thanks to the temples of Angkor, the country is able to survive with the tourism money. SR is the town closest to the temples of Angkor. It is a tourist town. Everywhere you go, you see tourists. The locals make a living out of the tourists. I think they are quite smart in charging the tourists US dollar for everything. In SR, although one side of town is the rural villages where the locals live, the other side of town is occupied by beautiful and exquisite hotels. Quite a contrast!

Laileng is Travelling!

2009-03-23T15:12:00.005+08:00

I have always loved travelling, whether it is a domestic or overseas trip. I think I would die of boredom if I don't get to go on a trip at least 2-3 times a year. Travelling to me is enriching. Just like the Chinese saying, "Walking thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books." I can't agree more. I love to read and watch Discovery Travel, but nothing beats being there to smell the air, eat the food and touch the people. It's a personal experience that no one can judge it for you.

My style of travel is backpacking. Some people don't understand why I want to take the trouble by hauling the heavy bag on my back while I could easily wheel the luggage. Again, it's a personal experience. Now that I'm still young and capable of doing so, why not? At least I can tell my grandchildren in the future that granny has been a backpacker! Eventually, I'm sure I would retire from backpacking and travel differently.

My goal is to see as many places as possible. Hence, I don't do a lot of repeats. When I hit my 50s, hopefully I would have the luxury to re-visit some of my favorite destinations.

Sun rise. This is the view from my window during one of the long distance flights I had.