NICK CHAN DOT NET

Category: Travel

  • Laing Art Gallery & High Bridge Quarter Festival

    Laing Art Gallery & High Bridge Quarter Festival

    Laing Art Gallery & High Bridge Quarter Festival – I am now spamming my blog with all the lovely blue sky days that I had on last month in Newcastle. Feeling bad not updating my blog occasionally, which causes me to spam it all out. Haha. Nevertheless, I don’t care, I just like to share, and post, that’s it.
    This is Mr Laing.
    Forgotten on which day of last month, I went to the Laing Art Gallery in the city just for fun with a bunch of friends from my hometown, Penang! Great! Although I am an interior design student, art gallery with paintings still feels very boring to me. I prefer contemporary, modern, installation art. Full stop. The only thing that interests me is that all of the painting collections are dated back many years ago. That’s a wow, which the place is more like a museum for painting. Yawned all the way out and it’s time to walk around the city.
    KFC is better back in Malaysia in my opinion. There’s no Thai Chilli Sauce and you have to pay for ketchup. Sad.
    So relaxing ah!
    Hi Penang-lang.
    A friend brought us to High Bridge at Grainger Town where there was a festival going on – High Bridge Quarter Festival. Happily, it was happenings, filled with music and laughter, but sadly, it was almost the end of festival at 5pm where the stalls were starting to pack up. Too bad, but then I enjoyed the day with a good weather and a good time with people of Penang. It just feels home.
  • Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach

    Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach

    Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach – Throwing back some old stuff that happened a month ago where there was still plenty of beautiful sunny day, one of which, a good day out to the beach! Well, previously I talked about wandering around the weekend market at Tynemouth Station, this actually continues from there.
    Located on the far east end of Newcastle is the Tynemouth Longsands beach and shore. It was still early Autumn where the weather was still not at a freezing temperature, though it’s still chilly and cold at times, a day out to the beach was ideal. Tynemouth is a small little town by the sea, the main attraction of course is not the town, but the beach and the Tynemouth Priory and Castle. We didn’t go to the castle because we need to pay for it, so we spent most of the time by the shore, enjoying the chilly breeze, as well as fish & chips!
    You know, I just love sitting by the seaside, listening to the sound of wave hitting the shore. The beautiful sound just calms the mind a lot. Moreover it was a good blue sky day. At Tynemouth Longsands, I was surprised that there’s people playing in the water, and surfing too! I wonder what’s the coldness of the water and I took of my shoes, then went to put my feet into the North Sea. It’s cold! I just wonder how could they stand the cold in the water. Perhaps I’ve been living in the tropical country where the sea water is always warm.
    It was a good day. I want to come back here for a sunrise, but it’s super cold in the morning and I am not sure whether I can wake up or not. Ha.
  • Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach

    Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach

    Beautiful Sunday At Tynemouth Beach – Throwing back some old stuff that happened a month ago where there was still plenty of beautiful sunny day, one of which, a good day out to the beach! Well, previously I talked about wandering around the weekend market at Tynemouth Station, this actually continues from there.
    Located on the far east end of Newcastle is the Tynemouth Longsands beach and shore. It was still early Autumn where the weather was still not at a freezing temperature, though it’s still chilly and cold at times, a day out to the beach was ideal. Tynemouth is a small little town by the sea, the main attraction of course is not the town, but the beach and the Tynemouth Priory and Castle. We didn’t go to the castle because we need to pay for it, so we spent most of the time by the shore, enjoying the chilly breeze, as well as fish & chips!
    You know, I just love sitting by the seaside, listening to the sound of wave hitting the shore. The beautiful sound just calms the mind a lot. Moreover it was a good blue sky day. At Tynemouth Longsands, I was surprised that there’s people playing in the water, and surfing too! I wonder what’s the coldness of the water and I took of my shoes, then went to put my feet into the North Sea. It’s cold! I just wonder how could they stand the cold in the water. Perhaps I’ve been living in the tropical country where the sea water is always warm.
    It was a good day. I want to come back here for a sunrise, but it’s super cold in the morning and I am not sure whether I can wake up or not. Ha.
  • Morning Walk By Quayside & Sunday Market

    Morning Walk By Quayside & Sunday Market

    Magnificent panoramic view of Gateshead & Newcastle.
    Morning Walk By Quayside & Sunday Market – It’d been a while since I am writing about my life in the UK. Well, so far, so busy! Although it’s so far, so good, but it’d been very busy for me. Life of an interior design student – work! College back in Taylor’s was like more work, less fun, and now I am trying to balance up work and play and I am struggling on it, but am working towards it. 😉
    Baltic Contemporary Art Gallery on the left.
    Life in Newcastle is brilliant. Waking up early on a Sunday is good because you can always visit the Sunday Market by the Quayside, which starts early till sunset. But then waking up early is not an easy thing especially when you have a Saturday night out. Haha. Well, I managed to wake up early on a Sunday morning a few weeks back and it was on a lovely sunny Sunday!
    “What are you looking at dude?! Asian…” LOL
    A lovely couple. 😉
    Gateshead Millennium Bridge. It tilts for boat to pass through. A fun thing to see when you are at the Quayside.
    Chillax.
    The Sage, awesome music venue designed by Foster + Partners.
    The Tyne Bridge, part of the Great North Run’s route.
    Mr LC with a thumb up. =)
    A group photo of Asian. Nicholas, Charles, Zenny, En Yi, Ling Er, Wayne, Val, Jon, and LC.
    Quayside is a lovely place by the Tyne River, windy, yet beautiful with the magnificent Millennium Bridge and the Tyne Bridge. I have always wanted to go for a jog by the riverside, but still haven’t get the chance – lazy, and cold. Too much of lazy reason on that. LOL. Actually I like Newcastle because it’s close by to the sea and also there’s the river; being raised up in Penang Island, I am somehow connected to water nature. For the past 3 years in Kuala Lumpur, it was not perfect living because the sea is faraway, so do the river Klang is not well-maintained. That’s why I like Quayside.
    Alvin Yang.
    It’s quite fun strolling along the stalls selling street food, vintage CDs, second hand books and small little gift stuffs. Food is the main attraction because it reminds me of home where street food is a culture in Asia. Best food at the Quayside Sunday Market? I would say the German Wurst (German Sausage), although this is England, yet having a taste of German is good. I cannot be sure how good the wurst in Germany, but this is good enough! Plenty of sauce for you to top your sausage with and eating a fresh and hot wurst in by the chilly riverside is just bravo.
    Deutschland in England.
    Hell lots of sauce. I like!
    An Chyi art saucing with her wurst.
    Eat, or cheese?
    Add this into your Newcastle trip if you in case to drop by the small city at the North East!
    Random pose with random graffiti art. Cheers!
  • Newcastle’s Chinatown Without The Feel Of Chinatown

    Newcastle’s Chinatown Without The Feel Of Chinatown

    Newcastle’s Chinatown Without The Feel Of Chinatown – There’s like approximately 300,000 population in Newcastle Upon Tyne and there’s 7.6% of Asian living in the city according to Wikipedia, I don’t know does it includes International student like me or not. Interestingly, there’s a Chinatown in the city. I was pretty excited cause I thought it would be like New York or San Francisco’s Chinatown where it really has a blend of East & West with Cantonese language flooding the air of Chinatown.
    This way to Chinatown!
    Here’s me and Alvin!
    Found a cemetery nearby, found it interesting and I took a photo of it. LOL.
    St James Park Stadium at background, home of Newcastle FC.
    Surprisingly, met a Chung Ling High School friend here – Matthias.
    He’s Wayne.
    Just love the post box.
    LOL. Bangkok’s Ladyboys comes to Newcastle!
    Well, it’s not what you think it is. Chinatown in Newcastle is small with mainly Chinese restaurants, 2 Asian grocery supermarkets and that’s all. The only Chinese-looking thing is the Chinese-style arch entrance near St James Stadium. Bahhh. You don’t really see many people here, people come here just for food, or just to buy Asian food.
    Siu Mei! 烧腊！
    Do you feel Chinatown? NO.
    A plate of saltish Chinese dish.
    Asian of the day, I would say, Malaysian. Kay, Eunice, Ling Er, Wayne, LC, me and Alvin.
    I went to tried out a Chinese buffet (Lau’s Buffet) here, which costs £6.75 per person and I thought it gonna be filled with good food. Oh no, it’s a place that I’m not coming back again, they are salty. Somehow, I saw a lot of local British came for their food, bring their kids and family here, maybe they like it the way it is and 70% of the dishes are chicken, fried chicken, Si Chuan chicken, sweet and sour chicken, kong pow chicken and more chicken. In short, Chinese buffet is just like mixed rice in Malaysia but it’s eat-all-you-can. Ang mo likes it, but not me.
    A1 Bak Kut Teh herbal pack. =)
    Oh MILO and it costs a bomb. Guess Cadbury Chocolate is a better choice here.
    Wing Hong Supermarket.
    After checking out the Chinese supermarket here (Wing Hong & Hiyou), I can tell you that you can find almost anything here. It’s like Cold Storage or B.I.G. (Big Independent Grocers) where you can find many imported food, just that they are imported from Asia. Spices, Asian’s vegetable, sauces, instant noodles and more are all available. It’s just that they are in £. If you happens to come to UK for study, don’t bother to bring food stuff if you have a limited luggage., you can find them all here.
  • Hello UK: Kuala Lumpur – London – Newcastle Upon Tyne

    Hello UK: Kuala Lumpur – London – Newcastle Upon Tyne

    Hello UK: Kuala Lumpur – London – Newcastle Upon Tyne – Ladies and gentlemen, Nick Chan is now in the United Kingdom! I’ve been here for about 3 weeks and no, I am not here for travel, I am here to further my studies! It’s just a one year program for me to get a Bachelor Degree, like some sort of an advance entry into the final year program.

    Farewell Penang!
    Rainy night, I almost late for my connecting flight in KLIA, damn the delay,
    Farewell Kuala Lumpur from sky. I miss KL actually.
    London, here I come!
    It was my first time taking such a long flight trip from Kuala Lumpur direct to London Heathrow Airport. I was excited at first, you know, flying on A380, and travelling backwards in the timezone, but it’s not as fun as I thought. Trying hard to sleep in a 12 hours flight is a very difficult thing for me and A380 is just like no other flight when you are in economy zone. However, food was pretty good, nasi lemak and something chicken, mash potato thingy.

    My travel buddy – Alvin!
    Welcome to London Heathrow Airport!
    All the Penang-Lang at LHR!
    Oyster Card is a must for travelling in London.
    Tired face after 11 hours of flight.
    So, yeah, London, after 12 hours of direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, but I didn’t feel London actually because once arrived in London, I was stuck in the airport for about an hour to get through the immigration as there’s a bunch of international students like us. Then, I took the London Underground Tube to King’s Cross Station, I didn’t see Big Ben, nor the Tower Bridge, nor the city. The only London that I saw was King’s Cross Station and that’s it, and perhaps the surrounding. It’s just a transit for me to Newcastle Upon Tyne, the real current location of mine right now.

    First thing to do upon reaching King’s Cross Station is head to the ground and breath the London’s air. Oooo, just like this.
    King’s Cross Station! Modern shell on a classical terminal.
    Londeners, hello!
    Flying to Hogwarts at Platform 9 3/4.
    Bye London, time to head North to Newcastle!
    King’s Cross Station is not as huge as I thought, it’s just a train terminal connecting everywhere in the UK and the Harry Potter’s Platfrom 9 3/4 is just a fake prop at the station. First English breakfast in UK was quite pleasant, thinking of 5 times the currency rate, yet enjoyed the meal.

    The train ride was pretty smooth and fast; passed through vast green grasslands and farms and many horse and sheep, there’s nothing much to see out of the window actually and 3 hours later, I am in Newcastle. Wet, colder than London and still feeling energetic despite the long hour of journey.

    Newcastle Central Station. Checked!
    Welcome to Newcastle!
    Hailed for a cab, initially thought of Blue Line Taxi (a company), but I couldn’t find it so just simply hopped into one and it took us to my hostel. Checked in, and the rest and relax part haven’t started yet. I have to sort out the bedding thing as I have to sleep at night. Went for a small shopping at Primark (wow, everything is so cheap!), got back to hostel, no idea about what to eat for dinner, made an instant noodle, felt dizzy and floating, then fell into the bed of Newcastle and slept till the next day. Hello UK!
  • Bangkok: Khao San Road

    Bangkok: Khao San Road

    Bangkok: Khao San Road – The Hangover 2 Place – Last year, I’ve wanted to go to Khao San Road during my Bangkok trip in 2012, but I didn’t get the chance cause I was busy checking out other night market. The recent trip had gave me another chance to visit the scene from Hangover Part 2 – Khao San Road!
    If you read from Lonely Planet or any online source, this place was very famous for Caucasian backpackers with lots of cheap hostel, bars, internet cafes and Pad Thai! But it gets even famous now, still to the tourist, but from everywhere of the world, Asian, Blacks, everyone young and energetic just loves this place.
    You can hear music blasting off the bar while walking pass food stalls, and imitation branded stuff stalls as well as some little fashion boutique stalls. Tourist roaming along Khao San Road and the alleys with a beer on hand, backpackers with handful of luggage and camera, booth that can help you make fake ID, Thai walking around selling exotic food like scorpion, mobile bar with Chang and Singha Beer… Well, this place is just awesome at night.
    I have a friend told me that it gets even more happenings after 12 when 7 Eleven stops selling beer and mobile bars move out all scale to sell you beer, music turns even louder, the whole street literally become an open party area. Too bad, I couldn’t experience that, it rained during my visit. Down. Nevermind, will go again the next time!
    Fruit seller!
    This is Khao San Road!
    Me, blocking the road.
    Angmo doing her selfy!
    Mr Thai Scorpion.
    Mango Sticky Rice.
    Miss Pad Thai.
    Pad Thai, I’ll call it the Thai’s Koay Teow which taste sweet and spicy.
    Cheers with Singha!
    BBQ stalls.
    They bring foot massage outdoor. By this, they can have more chair and more customer eventually!
    More of foot massage. You like?
  • Bangkok: Random Street Walks

    Bangkok: Random Street Walks

    Bangkok: Random Street Walks – I find Bangkok has culture, has style, and it’s very vibrant when comparing to Kuala Lumpur. Although lifestyle can be more luxurious in Kuala Lumpur, but then the what stands out in Bangkok is their culture, hardly being influence by others. Well, that’s the Thai-style. Malaysian-style is to follow what’s and who’s cool.
    One side of the road can be super modern shopping mall in Bangkok, and across the street, you might stumble upon some small alleys with good foods, small and cheaper fashion boutique, street performers by the pedestrian walkway and then you might come to a mid-end shopping mall, and again some interesting alleys. Best part of all, people are walking here and there, the city itself is happenings! Walking is not our Malaysian culture, we prefer to drive here and there, we are quite lazy huh? Haha.
    Woman’s heaven where you can shop till you really drop @ Platinum Fashion Mall.
    Walking to Central World, a very big shopping mall in Bangkok, you can find almost everything!
    Thai’s Steven Tyler. =D
    SIAM. You can find Siam Paragon, the luxurious mall and Siam Center, a new modern and young mall just side by side. Interesting!
    Got a free icy cool herbal drinks!
    No idea what these letter balloons are.
    SIAM BTS station.
    Stumbled into a back alley and found people queuing for Mango Sticky Rice! @ Mango Tango. It seems very cool, but we didn’t get a chance to try it out, long queue oh long queue!
    Lots of mango.
    MBK, place where you can find a lot of high quality imitation branded bags. I’ve read that there’s Thai’s boxing fight every week! Must check it out on the next visit. My parents are not interested in that.
  • Bangkok: Must-Eat Swensens Ice Cream

    Bangkok: Must-Eat Swensens Ice Cream

    Bangkok: Must-Eat Swensens Ice Cream – You know right, one of the must-eat thing in Bangkok or anywhere in Thailand is Swensen’s Ice Cream. Why? It’s because it’s dirty cheap, no I should say low-priced! Yeah, the desserts are so much cheaper than the Swensen’s in Malaysia and Singapore. Ice cream desserts in Thai’s Swensen’s starts from 69Baht (about RM7), and in Malaysia it’s from RM15, there’s so much difference!
    After some research, I found out that Swensen’s actually specialize in ice cream desserts and founded in San Francisco, California. Somehow, the Swensen’s in Malaysia and Singapore serves food, which seems more to be a Western cuisine restaurant than ice cream restaurant.
    So in Thai, the Swensen’s only serves ice cream, and you must just try it out!
  • Bangkok: Golden Buddha Temple / Wat Traimit, Chinatown

    Bangkok: Golden Buddha Temple / Wat Traimit, Chinatown

    Bangkok: Golden Buddha Temple / Wat Traimit, Chinatown – Few days ago, I shared about the 4 Faces Buddha, now I would like to bring you to the Golden Buddha at Chinatown. I have been to Bangkok for quite a several time, but this time was my first time checking out this temple.

    Well, I don’t know, but the temple claims that the Golden Buddha is the world’s largest solid gold statue. WOW! Imagine how heavy and how much value it is. It’s really very magnificent for it’s solid gold material! As usual, did some prayers, got some blessings from the monk and off we go. 

    What face is this?
    Queuing for blessing from the monk.

    There’s a Kuan Yin Temple just right across Wat Traimit.
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