Category: Travel

  • Pre-Bangkok Trip: Top 5 Website To Read About Bangkok

    Pre-Bangkok Trip: Top 5 Website To Read About Bangkok

    Pre-Bangkok Trip: Top 5 Website To Read About Bangkok – In 24 hours, I will be flying to Bangkok, Thailand, the land of smile for a 5 days 4 nights short trip. Although I have been there before 4 years ago, but I didn’t really recall much about it and so I am doing a research again. I found out Bangkok is mainly about shopping, eat, shopping, eat, see, and experience the Buddhist temple. More attractions located out of Bangkok city which I don’t think we have time for it.

    Anyway, here are my top 5 websites that I am reading and researching about Bangkok travel.

    Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 3.36.02 PM

    Trip Advisor, my favourite and must-visit website everytime I go travel. I like it because I can read a lot from the reviews and know which attraction is worth to go and not.

    Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 3.36.14 PM

    CNNGo, more in-depth recommendation of local attractions, lifestyle and food. It’s more on Asia country.

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    Lowyat.NET Travel & Living, a local Malaysian forum on discussing travel destination world wide. Can learn more about their travel experience and personal guide.

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    Chinese Cari Travel Forum, another forum but this one is in Chinese.

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    Lastly, Google! HAHAHA. But then my favourite is still Lowyat.NET and Trip Advisor.

  • Next Travel Destination: Bangkok 5 Days 4 Nights

    Next Travel Destination: Bangkok 5 Days 4 Nights


    Bangkok City Centre, 2008.

    Next Travel Destination: Bangkok 5 Days 4 Nights – The last time I went to Thailand was last year at Hatyai, but the last time I went to Bangkok, the capital of Kingdom of Thailand was 2008, that was like 4 years back! I am going there this weekend for a 5 days 4 nights travel trip.

    Excited and looking forward to the trip.

    Here’s my visiting list, please feel free to introduce some nice place for me to visit:

    • Grand Palace
    • Wat Pho
    • Wat Arun
    • Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo)
    • MBK
    • Platinum Mall
    • Central World Mall
    • Erawan Shrine
    • Siam Paragon
    • Thailand’s Chicken Rice
    • Pratunam
    • Chatuchak Market
    • T&K Seafood @ Chinatown
    • Night Market (No idea where’s nice, any recommendation?)
    • Chao Phraya River?

    Come share with me your Bangkok tips. Thanks!

  • Thailand Betong Customs House

    Thailand Betong Customs House

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    Thailand Betong Customs House – 2nd day of Chinese New Year, I went to Pengkalan Hulu again, somewhere very near to Thailand’s Betong border in Perak. Brought along my passport, thought of going over to Thailand’s Betong for a little walk and exploration, but then we turned back.

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    Because the queue at the custom immigration was very long and it’s a mess, immigration forms hardly to be found and fill. We were afraid of not in time of coming back in the evening for dinner with the family, so we gave up the idea, but hey, at least we went to the border. HAHA.

    By the way, I am heading to Bangkok, this Saturday. Haven’t been there for a long time already.

  • Visit To Pulau Aman, A Peaceful Village Island

    Visit To Pulau Aman, A Peaceful Village Island


    #1: Arrived at the jetty!

    Visit To Pulau Aman, A Peaceful Village Island – The state of Penang does not only consist of Penang Island, but there’s many small islets laying around the main big Penang Island, e.g. Pulau Jerejak, Pulau Aman, Pulau Betong, Pulau Tikus, Pulau Gedung, Pulau Rimau and Pulau Kendi. Some is inhabited with people, some is not.

    Pulau Aman, also known as ‘Island of Peace’ is a island off Batu Kawan of the mainland of Penang, I have seen the name from Penang’s Tourism brochure, as well as the road sign while driving on the North-South Highway, but I have no idea what’s Pulau Aman is about until then.


    #2: You pay for the ticket once you on board the mini speedboat.


    #3: Timetable of the jetty.


    #4.

    After doing some research on the Internet, Pulau Aman is actually a small Malay fishing village and famous for the Mee Udang (Prawn Noodle, different from the Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodle). There’s is also one historical attraction, the Telaga Emas and a short stretch of sandy beach, as well as chalet for rent. Nothing much else.


    #5: No fishing at the jetty.


    #6: You can see a lot of jellyfish here, so it’s strictly no swimming here.


    #7: It’s Penang Hill at far.

    I visited the island with a bunch of friends last week and our main point of the visit was actually to eat the Mee Udang and the Mantis Prawn, which the island famous for too. From Penang Island, I travelled to the mainland Seberang Perai then headed south to Batu Kawan Stadium direction. From there, you will see direction board pointing to ‘Jeti Ke Pulau Aman (Jetty to Pulau Aman)’.

    We then reached the Jeti Batu Musang, the jetty on the mainland that ferries people to the island. There’s a new jetty complex which is yet to open to public as it’s still under construction.

    Ticket price to and fro the island is priced at RM6/person and there’s various traveling time per day, the earliest boat is 8am. We went on the second boat at 10am. It takes about 15 minutes to arrive at Pulau Aman.


    #8: The jetty.


    #9: Getting onto the speedboat.


    #10: Me and dear, Hueisean.


    #11: Traveling across the sea.


    #12.


    #13.

    Upon arriving at the island, a sense of peacefulness and sound of nature approach me as the island and the city is totally two different place. Hustle bustle of city sound cannot be heard at here. It’s sea water, windy sea breeze, chicken, and the laughter of the local inhabitant at the village can be heard.

    We were hungry and we went straight to the famous Restaurant Terapung for Mee Udang as our brunch.


    #14: A map of attractions.


    #15.


    #16: Old Malay-style house.


    #17.


    #18: That’s the new jetty on Pulau Aman, but not open yet.


    #19: That’s Bukit Mertajam from far.


    #20.


    #21.


    #22: Instax of us!

    Because of time is limited to us on that day, I did not have much time to visit the whole island, I will visit the island again and do some real exploring on it.

  • Singapore Trip: Holland Village & Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

    Singapore Trip: Holland Village & Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao


    #1.

    Singapore Trip: Holland Village & Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao – One of the place I visited during my Singapore trip few months back was Holland Village, the small town that has many nice restaurants. Brother recommended the supper all-you-can-eat steamboat buffet with unlimited Xiao Long Bao at Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao restaurant which starts at 10pm. We actually made a reservation, it’s better to make a reservation as it gets crowded during this session.


    #2: Part of the road is closed at night for pedestrian walking.


    #3. Us!


    #4.

    Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao is located in Holland Village, Singapore. We took a cab from NUS main campus and we arrived in just a few minutes. It’s pretty close. We wander around the place while waiting 10pm to arrive. We were there pretty early.


    #5: Clean power box. Ours are full with advertisement on loanshark, viagra ads and more.


    #6.

    When 10pm reached, we went into the restaurant, the restaurant actually made our book wrong and had our book written on the yesterday page, after some discussion, they manage to get us a seat on the upper floor. Steamboat is served with two version of soup that we’ve ordered – pork bone soup and vegetable soup with lots of parsley.

    Besides eating steamboat, there’s unlimited order of nice Shanghai Xiao Long Bao and desserts like toufu hau which runs out pretty quickly.


    #7.


    #8.


    #9.

    I ate more Xiao Long Bao than steamboat that night and came out with a full stomach. Yum yum.

  • The Hidden Beach – Pasir Panjang Beach, Balik Pulau

    The Hidden Beach – Pasir Panjang Beach, Balik Pulau

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    #1: Balik Pulau from the mid-hill viewing platform.

    The Hidden Beach – Pasir Panjang Beach, Balik Pulau – In Penang, when we discuss about beach, I am sure you will think about the famous Batu Feringhi beach, further on you will find Monkey Beach and Pantai Kerachut hidden in the Penang National Park at Teluk Bahang. Another well-known one is the Pantai Acheh, well-known because of the site being hit by tsunami in year 2006.

    However, on the back of the Penang Island, located far south of Balik Pulau, there’s a hidden beach filled with some locals who go there for picnic – the Pasir Panjang Beach.

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    #2: Yeqing and Yikhung.

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    #3: The small island is Pulau Betong.

    Lastweekend, brother, brother’s girlfriend, me and cousin went for a road trip to the back of the island – Balik Pulau, which reveals a quiet side of Penang. Initially, our plan was to find the Balik Pulau Visitor Centre, rent a bike and go for a bike trail, but we failed to locate the centre and randomly, we followed the sign of towards ‘Pulau Betong’, hoping that we could find a good spot to enjoy the sunset.


    #4. Ugly bay.


    #5.


    #6.
    Fisherman’s boat.

    We did in fact came to a fishing village, the Pulau Betong Fishing Village which has a fish market at there. The fish market is often visited by the locals, in fact, I did came here before a few years back. A further deep into the fishing village, we found ourselves, nearer to the sea. There’s a dirty beach as well as a jetty. Since the beach was dirty and at that location, we couldn’t really see the sunset as it was block by cape. We then decided to drive further down the road, pass the cape to find another spot.


    #7.


    #8: It says that ‘Beware! This beach is quite dangerous’.

    We then came to a dead end, where a Kem Bina Negara Balik Pulau is located at. The camp is use for the government purpose as the name means ‘Building Nation’ Camp. Ignoring the camp, at the side of the camp, there lies the Pasir Panjang Beach.


    #9.


    #10.


    #11.

    I am surprise to see there’s a stretch of sandy beach at this side of the island, fill with local Malay family at there, swimming and picnic-ing. The beach is pretty short, yet it’s a good spot, it’s a cleaner beach after all. The wave at here is also bigger than the wave at Batu Ferringhi, which makes it a little bit dangerous. However, the sand at the beach was not soft enough, it’s very rough.


    #12.


    #13. Wai Leong.


    #14.

    I see people swimming, picnic and fishing at there. There isn’t any safeguards at there as far as I know. The people who can call for help is the visitor at there or the people who live in the Kem Bina Negara. So, it’s swim at your own risk in the sea.


    #15.


    #16.


    #17. So relaxing.

    Despite the sand on the beach is not soft enough, the beach is not very long and wide, yet it has an awesome view of the sunset sinking down the horizon. It’s a good visit that day. I’ve included a Google Map below for your reference. =)

    [googlemaps https://maps.google.com.my/maps?q=5.301049,100.184323&num=1&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&ll=5.300622,100.186086&spn=0.016858,0.026908&t=m&z=14&iwloc=near&output=embed&w=640&h=480]

  • Video: New York The Wonder City (1938)

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL8G7cCrk4I&w=640&h=480]

    Video: New York The Wonder City (1938) – This video shows you the old New York in 1938. It brings you back in time to to the pre-World War 2 era and you can see how pretty New York was back then. The film was editied by Eugene W. Castle of Castle Films.

    After watching the video, I feel very amaze with New York City back then. Imagine that some people still lived in kampung (village) and New York is already a very modern city. Really awesome and no doubt is my most-wanted-to-visit-city right now. I want to live and stay at there. =D

  • Singapore Food: Lucky BBQ Seafood At Pasir Panjang Food Centre

    Singapore Food: Lucky BBQ Seafood At Pasir Panjang Food Centre

    Singapore Food: Lucky BBQ Seafood At Pasir Panjang Food Court – Who likes Singapore food? Please raise your hand. Just my 2 cents, no offence, I like Penang’s food more, Singapore’s food, SO-SO only. Perhaps Singapore’s Chili Crab is good? I don’t know, never try before. Singapore’s Hainan Chicken Rice is just another chicken rice, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong also has their very own Hainan Chicken Rice, so what’s so awesome about Singapore’s Hainan Chicken’s Rice? Other than that, I think what’s good in Singapore is those restaurants and cafes. Haha.

    Let’s get into the main point. I believe Chinese in Malaysia always eat out at seafood corner, cook fried corner – 煮炒zhu char (hokkien), da chao (cantonese), zhu chao (mandarin), which is eating Chinese cook dishes in kopitiam or food court instead of a proper restaurant.

    On my trip to Singapore, I’ve get to try the Singapore-style of zhu chao. Located in Pasir Panjang Food Centre, there’s a stall named Lucky BBQ Seafood. I get to know about it because my brother is a frequent visitor to this stall and it’s operated by my brother’s girlfriend’s aunty.

    Our dinner started off with a plate of appetizer, called Gong Gong (Conch), it’s a kind of sea snail. The Gong Gong were just light cook and to be eaten with seafood chilli sauce. The way of eating it is like how we eat the balitong here. It’s my first time to try out this Gong Gong, quite special.

    Up next is Fried Lala Clams with garlic and egg. Something different again because mostly what we had in Malaysia is spicy and sour style instead of garlic and egg which makes the taste lighter. This in fact brings out the taste of the seafood more.

    Fried Garlic Sai Yeung Choi (watercress)(xi1 yang2 chai4), have you tried this before? I bet many of you haven’t tried before as watercress vegetable (sai yeung choi) mostly used for making soup.

    Hotplate Bean Curd, something common here. In this little hot plate, you can find many bean curd toufu and mouth watering vegetable. A plate of this cost SG$10.

    Another common thing can be found in Malaysia and Singapore, as well as everyone’s favourite – the Balachan Deep Fried Chicken, they call it the Prawn Pasted Chicken.

    Lastly, the Sambal Crab, Lucky BBQ Seafood-style of Chilli Crab, which tasted sweet and spicy on the sauce. It’s something special again, with a little bit of spicyness, it tasted not bad.

    Singapore’s Zhu Char is kinda different from Malaysia’s in term of food. Ask me which one I like, of course I will say Penang’s. There’s no curry fish head at there which I like. Share your views.

    [googlemaps https://maps.google.com.my/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=215278323465761497274.000469feb8850ec72b675&ie=UTF8&t=m&vpsrc=6&ll=1.277516,103.791296&spn=0.005149,0.006866&z=17&iwloc=0004b5d97028001375683&output=embed&w=640&h=480]

  • Singapore Trip: Visit To National University of Singapore NUS

    Singapore Trip: Visit To National University of Singapore NUS


    #1: Walkway with huge slanted column.

    Singapore Trip: Visit To National University of Singapore NUS – During my trip to Singapore in last November, I went to visit my brother’s place and school which is the National University Of Singapore at Clementi. He studies and lives at the hostel of the university. I went to walk around the place where he lives – UTown @ NUS, a newly opened campus of NUS, housing the Residential Colleges, Graduate Residence, largest 24 hours Starbucks Coffee outlet in Singapore as well as the Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE). The UTown feels very much like modern office blocks to me.

    The campus is so much cooler and bigger when compare to Malaysia’s University like the UM, USM, or the university that I am studying in – Taylor’s University. However, you need to be good in order to get in to National University Of Singapore. Somehow, if I am given a chance to choose, I prefer studying abroad further away, US or UK perhaps, schools at those country have a long history and reflects a true campus life.


    #2: UTown @ NUS.


    #3: Longest private link bridge in Singapore, connecting Utown to NUS main campus.


    #4: ETA of campus shuttle bus. Cool right?


    #5.


    #6: Cinnamon College, one of the Residential Colleges.


    #7.


    #8: Buildings in Singapore is pretty much alike in Malaysia.


    #9.

     


    #10: Buono Vista, closest MRT station to NUS.


    #10.


    11.

  • Singapore Trip: Tampines

    Singapore Trip: Tampines


    #1.

    Singapore Trip: Tampines – Tampines might not be a familiar attractions in Singapore to you, but then you will always notice about it when you are going to the Changi Airport on MRT and you will notice a the second last stop of the East West Line is Tampines.


    #2.


    #3: A very well-organized town.


    4: Lot’s of bicycle user here.


    #5.

    Tampines was not really in the itinerary, it’s just a spontaneous decision after visiting a design fair at the Singapore Expo. What can you find at Tampines is lots of residential area, and of course the Tampines 1 and Tampines Mall shopping mall located right beside the MRT station.

    Tampines Mall is a community shopping mall, a mall not for tourist but the residents in that area and there’s a higher end Tampines 1 Mall which I didn’t visit that day.


    #6: Tampines Mall.


    #8.


    #9.


    #10.


    #11

    Thank you for reading my post! =D Happy New Year’s Eve’s Eve.

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