Euro Travel & More

I haven’t been to Beijing for many years but the friend who just came back from a study trip showed and shared this pictures with me.  This was his first time there – and lets look at Beijing from another eye.

While there were many places that I’ve been to already – there were some new ones that I haven’t seen for myself in Beijing.  But like any Asian country that is flourishing both in natural resources and the tourist industry – Beijing continue to grow and continued to build more high rises.   They retained the old but never stuck in the old – amazing these Chinese are.

One of the few temples that I haven’t been to.

More of the same temple.

Wonder what this mean – hahah!  probably saying the Chinese people are as hardworking as their animals?

As for this pink statue – seriously i still don’t know what it meant and what is the purpose of it?  I will be going to Beijing again – that’s for sure – i’m just in awe with the many changes.

I kinda missed the Westin, Bali – well not only because of the rustic furniture in the outdoor restaurant – The Veranda but I love the indoor ones as well – don’t forget to check out the Teppanyaki while you are there.  Westin Bali is a great place to be with the family and those with kids – you should see the kids’ club they have to cater to family.

Love the outdoor cabanas in Bali and the ocean – the privacy is to die for – and of course the never ending flow of mai tais and whatever drinks you would like.   Don’t forget to get a massage while you are relaxing and have your kids watched over by their trained staff at the clubhouse.  The guys -  they can enjoy the golf club – if they are into golf.

The Koh SaMui that I know and missed is the old one – although it is still as pretty as ever – these days – Koh Samui is flocked with tourist and lots of local trying to earn a buck or two.   Not far from Bangkok, one can now catch a plane to Koh Samui where else when i first visited – i had to take a bus – a local one at that.  So you can see the huge change – but nevertheless – very beautiful and lots of relaxing to do when we arrived.

The beaches are beautiful and so are the resorts – all lighted up at night with led christmas lights – very festive and very bright.  I love the beaches in the morning – but at night – with all these lights – it doesn’t look scary at all.

The weather is good all year round in Koh Samui and boost is even cheaper – i love the local folks there – they are ever so nice and always selling coconut drinks along the beaches.  We did a lot of scuba diving and ate on the boat at night with bbq fishes caught from the sea.

The beach is always packed with people it seems – so it was nice to be able to go on your own private boat – a lot of para – sailing available on the island as well.  Love the sunset – and the local pubs – let down your hair and take in a massage on the beach.

Very beautiful – turquoise water.

We took a trip one year to Canada’s oldest national park but we weren’t expecting it to be that cold and wasn’t really prepared for it.  Banff National Park is in the Canadian Rockies and the view was awesome!  In the province of Alberta – the forest is quite dense and the alpine landscapes were breath-taking.

The park is open for all 4 seasons – reason being because they have the best maintained roads I’ve seen in Canada.   We reached Lake Louise which wasn’t too far away from here using Highway 1.

We did checked out the hot spring (not natural but man made) – famous i heard – while the rest went on hiking.  I didn’t take any pictures there – for fear some guest/s wouldn’t like it too much.  We headed back to the town of Banff after the spring – too crowded.  Down at Bow Falls we could have opted for white water rafting but didn’t – we decided to take a walk instead.  Then we ended up having dinner at a pub – i think it is German if i recall correctly.  More pictures in another post.

My friends asked me why I am writing more and more about Asia – i replied maybe it is because i miss home very much? maybe it’s the traveling I am missing and all the interesting things that i missed sharing and the adventures I have had before.  I haven’t really been home for a long time and Asia has changed so much and this picture taken by a friend reminded me so much of the time we encountered the lovely apprentice Geisha when we were in Kyoto.

Before living in Japan for a few months because of work – I’ve often wondered if the shows with Geisha – were they just traditional ladies that doesn’t exist now – since Japan is so modern and if they do exist – what kind of benefits do they get.  For sure – this old trade – of cultural entertainment – may not be everyone’s cup of tea no more.  Normal companies in Japan offers good benefits like a retirement plan, insurance and disability insurance for those doing labor jobs – so what does these ladies who started training really young have in store for them?  But of course, we will never know because this trade is so secretive it seems – that even taking pictures of them are rare.

We did go for a Geisha show and it’s nothing like what we thought it would be – but a cultural show with dances, a puppet show and a tea ceremony.  The art of dancing by the Geisha – was truly precise and refine – nothing like those I’ve seen – it was an eye opener for me at least.   The Geisha are still pretty much a mystery and if only i can get to find out more about them – i certainly would.  Movies and stories portray them as a high class prostitutes/mistresses for rich men – during the olden days – but i’m pretty sure they are not just that.   Are you as curious as I?

No i wasn’t there silly – but the nephew was – his company sent him there – a US based company – with lots of perks like health care for the entire family with Blue Advantage – I often wonder if it was anything like the Blue Cross here. But it is always good to have some health insurance if you are traveling a lot like the nephew of mine.

There was a parade for the opening of the show – but he was pulled away to attend a meeting – so this was the only picture he got – bummer!

This is the Netherland and Holland Pavilion

The Croatia Pavilion

The Australian Pavilion – look at the line up!  i guess ppl do like to be in Australia eh.  If you are not a participant – you can still buy a passport to enter the expo -  and of course lots of food to try out and souvenirs that one can buy.  The Shanghai Expo is a cultural exchange for lots of countries coming together in one place – as you can see – it is a huge event – i wished i was there  – large scale expo like these are only hosted by countries with the capability – not only in manpower but resources to accommodate tourists and event planners from various countries.  Shanghai is definitely proud of itself.

Welcome to Saigon !  the spouse said to me when we visited Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City aka Vietnam for a short trip some 6 months ago.  It had been more than 10 yrs since we last visited Saigon and the last time i was there was also for work.  Saigon the land of many opportunities and lot of history – the good, the bad and some ugly.  Where the ladies I’ve seen are the most hardworking people and the humblest and in my humble opinion in need of good wrinkle removers because the sun is so hard on them.  But they smile and tell me each wrinkle lines tells a story.

Saigon has changed a lot – just by looking at all the high rise building and everywhere our cabbie turned – there was another new building sprouting out.  I felt a little overwhelmed when i came back for this trip with the spouse who was on business.

Dong are what they are called – the currency used in Saigon – and 100,000 Dong is about $5.45 in Cdn.  Yes – lots of money to carry – the same for when you are in Thailand or China even a bit of Malaysia – where the currency seems so big and huge but the value is so little.

Many of their older buildings are now restored and used as restaurants.

Shophouses on the ground floor and on the top are living apartments – a lot of expatriates lives here because it is in the center of town and convenient – i hear that rent isn’t that expensive in this area as compared to the rent in Hong Kong.

Road side eateries are my favorite but i strongly advise against if you do not have a strong stomach.  Food is like $0.20 – $0.50 for a meal in this store.

Karaoke anyone?

Shop houses for eating like this one is everywhere in Saigon and they are relatively cleaner although more expensive than the roadside stores.  But if you want authentic Vietnamese food – here is the best bet.

We tried the more posh restaurant -  located at Nguyen Thiep Street, District 1 – and wasn’t disappointed – love the fusion decor and the fusion food too.

Love the fruit stores !  missed this terribly because they don’t have it here in Canada.

Some local fruit – i don’t remember what it is called – but it’s a cross between a mandarin orange and a lemon – taste sweet though.

More street store with sweets/desserts.

Yes! saigon is this modern – they have an Esprit building – just for shopping at  Dong Khoi street, also in District 1.  The entire ground floor is for shopping and the upper building are offices.  I have so many pictures to share but that will be for another day and another post.

Feeling a little nostalgia and also mostly because I’m missing home a lot lately – the cousin sent me some recent pictures of Chinatown from home.  And home is not in China – where most people here in Canada thinks i am.  I guess – when they see a Chinese – they just assume we are all from China – hahaa!  but just like the Westerners thinks we all look alike, the Westerners look very much the same to me too – unless they are people I know very well.  So when i was reading about  herbal phentermine one day and a customer walked in asking about something – i had mistaken her for the spouse’s cousin – hahah!

Truth be told – i rarely go to Chinatown when i was home – i never really appreciate the beautiful and restored buildings but as you can see – they are very beautiful building and the government of Singapore tried to make every inch of Singapore look as beautiful as possible for both the tourist as well as the residents in Singapore.

Some people only goes there once a year for Chinese New Year but many older folks i know goes there every morning for a brief walk – a – bout and then coffee in the clans near the temple.

It is very interesting to see the many temples in Singapore – but i never go – because my mum wasn’t a believer and she never really allowed us to go into temples.  How i wished i could turn the clock around and won’t take these beautiful statues for granted.

The inside of the temple as you can see – is very beautiful as well.  In Chinatown, they not only have temples for the Chinese but mosques as well for the Muslims.

I’ve walked this passageway before – i hope soon – i can bring my kids home with me.

Yes.. a trip down memory lane for me when my best friend was just in Macau and brought back some wonderful pictures.  Macau was one of the many places that were on my first year’s trip out of Singapore and while reading about apidexin scam the pictures kept coming in and i thought i should look for some to post them up.

Macau has changed a lot since the last time i was there some 15 yrs ago – but one thing that never changed are the many casinos there – in fact i hear there are more now.   Anyone who have been to Macau would recognized the Grand Lisboa – i had stayed here when I was in Macau.  The 400 luxurious rooms were huge and it wasn’t really expensive either – I’m guessing they hope you leave the rest of your money in the casino as well.  Don’t forget to check out their famous Lotus Pond in the hotel’s lobby.

Yes – there you have it – the casino of course.

A gigantic statue of Guan Yin (that wasn’t there when i visited last)

The Museum of Macau is all about the history of Macau – it’s up on a hill of a 16th century fort – check out the canons and artillery they used back then.

The famous Ruins of St Paul’s – how can anyone miss that right – even if i were to go there every year i would want a picture of the Ruins. Many movies and tv shows were filmed here.

Signs everywhere now.

The Pou Tai Un Temple in Taipa.

The Observation Tower in Macau – also known as the Macau Tower

Up at the Observation Tower – you not only see the awesome views of the entire Macau, you can dine there – watch a show there, shop and of course go for a thrilling walk on the Skywalk – where you walk on glass flooring.

Here I leave you with one of the views of the Macau Tower – both day and night views are different – just like in Paris. By the way – Stanley Ho the owner of the many casinos in Macau – almost all – was in Auckland when he saw the Sky Tower there that he commissioned a similar one to be built in Macau.  The work started in 1998 and opened for the first time in 2001.  Like i said – i have many stories to tell about Macau – next would be the things you can buy and eat in Macau.

Yes! you guess right – Walt Disney World is where everyone wants to bring their kids to – and we are no difference of course – and when you see a good deal – you take it just like when you see  diet pills that really work you buy it immediately – haha!   I have been to Walt Disney World several times but not with the family  – but when i was working and traveling.

But be prepared – the queues are long for just about every ride and try to choose a day where it is not so sunny but also windy.  The heat really almost killed all of us – hahaah! when we were last there a few years ago.  Plus if you are going with kids – make sure you have some kind of stroller or a push wagon – because the kids are not going to be walking for hours and hours with you.

We had a really good deal with the theme park this year and besides special passes for the entire family for a few days – we also got a great deal to stay in the resort.

We didn’t even cover half the area in the time we were there – the first day that is – so it was great that we were staying in the resort and was able to go back the next day.  More in the next few post.