Euro Travel & More

For those who have never been to Malaysia – the rustic part of Malaysia is usually the best part – not only do you really get to feel and experience the real culture of the Malaysians – one get to try out the famous durian – king of fruits – by the roadside.  You don’t see this very often in Kuala Lumpur but if you travel further into Malaysia like Batu Ferringhi – you will see many of these stores around – and these are the most awesome places to eat.  Don’t be deceived by the dirty looking environment – because they are not only cheap but they have the best durian here.

Some awesome view after taking the windy and spiral road up to Batu Ferringhi.

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.

Ahh! Pulau Ubin ! kinda nostalgia for me – you see when we were going to school as a kid – so carefree and no need for prevera times – our school would bring us to Pulau Ubin for class trips all the time.  In fact, I think we go for a class trip every now and then to Pulau Ubin but I’m guessing that it’s only because it’s darn cheap to go there.

Pulau Ubin is an island near Singapore – and you can make a short trip with a bum boat for less than $2.50 or hire the whole bumboat for $30 with friends.  Is there much to do at Pulau Ubin ?  not really that much if i remember correctly but it was fun for it’s like bringing you back to another era.

Very quaint right?  Sure brings you back to the 60s in Singapore – the mainland i mean.  But what else can one do in Pulau Ubin I hear you asking? cheap bike rides – cheap seafood – but make sure you get out before 4pm because the last bum boat goes off then.

Life in Pulau Ubin is pretty simple as you can see.

But getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city is kinda cool once in a while – although the kids may not like it that much.  But where would you get to rent a bike for the entire day for $2 eh.

Don’t forget to get to CheK Jawa – where you can go for nature walks and do all sorts of sight seeing too – check out the 21 meter Jejawi Tower.

the broadwalk

Don’t forget to bring your sunscreen and most importantly – BUG SPRAY!!

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.

When we were in Korea many years ago, well – when i was a kid – i went with the church to the prayer mountain – what a waste of time then.  We didn’t really get to see very much then – but when I was much older and a girlfriend showed me all the Louis Vuitton handbags she got from Korea – i told myself, I had to go there for sure.  So when i was posted there for a meeting for carpark meters some years ago – i was darn happy.

Besides the normal shopping and touristy places and drinking holes that we went to – we also had to see the world’s largest indoor theme park – Lotte World of course!   We should have taken the subway but instead a co-worker there drove us and we ended up using roadside assistance because his car broke down.

Lotte World reminds me a lot about DisneyLand and Sanrio World and you can find a theme park hotel, a museum, many shopping malls and monorail, movie theatre and lots more – both adults and kids will enjoy this place.  We spent like 6 hrs in the theme park and never even finished all the rides.

Opens as early as 9.30am and closes at 11pm – we only waited for the fireworks to end and left – but if you go after 5pm – entrance fees are cheaper.

Pretty magical eh.

Don’t forget to try the Gyro Drop !  It’s awesome awesome!  a great view from the top but hold on tight when you are coming down.   The drop is about 400 feet down and it was really breath-taking – or rather – you can’t breathe.

We all love the carousel but we were too shy to go on it – but some of our co-workers did and made a fool of themselves.

My buddy just came home from Amsterdam and before he left, he had asked me what to expect going to Amsterdam in Spring.  Well, it’s the end of Spring and the beginning of summer in Amsterdam but in Spring – Amsterdam is just as lively as in the summer.  But one thing for sure – going to Amsterdam in Spring is definitely a lot lower than in the summer.

Lots and lots of beautiful flowers, from Dutch tulips to lupins, watch the hyacinth and narcissus bloom and of course the days gets longer and sunset is like 8pm.

There are less than 100 working windmills in Amsterdam now – see if you can spot them when you are there.  This was enroute to Brussel.

I love an county fair – they are an awesome place to be in with friends and family.  I haven’t been to a large scale fair like this on in Orange County and when I found a picture of it – i had to share it with you.  If you are around the area – don’t forget to get your corn dogs and corn plus go on the La Grande Wheel – one of the largest ferries wheel in the world.

Yes, like all fairs, it is pretty commercialized but what can you expect – i love the color and love walking around and tasting the different kind of food.  It’s so fun to see kids walking around with cotton candies and huge huggies – i think they are just so thrilled to win something.  A little kid in all of us emerge when we are at the fair don’t you think? which are the best fairs have you been to?

The Peak in Hong Kong definitely has the most magnificent view of all of Hong Kong.  I used to go to Hong Kong a few times a year and I see there had been changes of late in Hong Kong and The Peak has also changed a lot too.   While looking for ipad warranty in Hong Kong, a friend also told me about the many restaurants up at The Peak these days.   We all know that while traveling, eating good food is one of the most important part of a travel, so I’m pleased to let you know that have all sorts to cater to just about everyone – from Burger King (they never had that when i visited them last) to Kyo Hachi Japanese Restaurant – dining with a view.

So how did I get to The Peak ?  we drove up there since we had friends and co – workers in Hong Kong but we never fail toi take the famous Tram down the Peak.  It was really fun but awfully crowded if you asked me.  But make sure you go at a time where it isn’t the summer holiday for the kids because the Peak is not only for the tourists – local residents go to the Peak all the time.

Don’t forget to go to Madame Tussauds – at about HK$160 for entrance fees.  You can also do some shopping although I don’t remember buying much there.  Oh ! i did get a Giordano t-shirts and stuff – Oh ! i so miss Giordano!!   They also have a Swarovski store too now! Mann!! i need to go back to Hong Kong for a visit.  Anyhow, Hong Kong is a wonderful place, I could spend days there – and I really missed it – if you haven’t been to Hong Kong – you have to go there for sure – if you are traveling around Asia.