Cloudland

Day 1 - Walk in Hanoi, Vietnam

2012-01-15T00:41:00.000-08:00

For the year 2011, it seemed that we are visiting more country around Asia, and would like to end 2011 at the high note by visiting the country which boast magnificent food, culture and the re-known Unesco World Heritage of Halong Bay. We headed to the beautiful capital city of Vietnam this time round - Hanoi!

For all this while, I presumed that Ho Chi Minh is the capital city of Vietnam, but it is not. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and there lays the great Ho Chi Minh, great Vietnam's revered leader. I will blog more about him in the next post.

So, we departed from Singapore Changi Airport to Hanoi using Tiger Airways. It took us about 4 hours to reach Noi Bai International Airport.

Prior to our arrival, we have pre-booked the airport pick up service from the hotel we are going to spent our night at - Hanoi Elegance Diamond Hotel. The airport pick up service is USD18 per car per trip. So, if you are going in a group, USD18/car is a very reasonable price. The distance from Noi Bai International Airport to the hotel is about 45 minutes depend on the road conditions.

Upon reaching Hanoi Elegance Diamond (HED), we were given a great welcome by the staffs. We got a nice welcome drink to quench our thirst and a cold tower to freshen things up, while they got our room ready. We were very lucky this time as we got our room upgraded from deluxe room to family room, without any extra charges!

This is our room - 808.

The room is spacious and the ambience is comfy.

2 big beds were provided and the most exiting part was, it is furnished with a mini jacuzzi!

Free wifi service and a small laptop is provided in room. I would say, hospitality at its best!

After some rest, we got outside to have a short stroll along the streets of Hanoi.

We didn't stay too long outside, as it got colder as night came. Undecided where to have our dinner, we finally walk back to our hotel and had our dinner in the hotel and never regret it. Believe me, this in house restaurant in HED is one of the best restaurant in Hanoi.

The restaurant is located at the top most floor of the hotel and it offers marvelous food while enjoying the night scenery of Hanoi City. Furthermore, if you stay in the hotel, you got an additional 10% off the bill and no service charge or tax applies.

As the festive season is around the corner, we could see Christmas decorations in the restaurant which added even more feel to the excellent ambience the restaurant possessed.

We started with a Sesame Falafel - USD4.00

It is ground chickpea balls stuffed (separately) with spicy Japanese tofu and lotus seeds, and served with delicious tahini based sauce.

I got a Pho Chicken Noodle Soup - USD4.80

Must try this house favourite. Fresh rice noodles soup served with chicken, and the soup is enhanced with spring onions and herbs.

Connie got a Cha Ca La Vong - USD7.90

Another typical Vietnamese cuisine which served chunks of Snakehead Fish, with is marinated with turmeric, galingale sauce, condiments, and were fried and served in clay pot.

It is best eaten by rolling up with fresh vermicelli, peanut and fried spring onion, fresh vegetables and some special sauce, in a sheet of rice paper.

In short, we call them as self made "Po-piah".

The dinner was a filling and enjoying one. I have no complains of the service we got from the staff of the restaurant. They speak good English provide a 5 star service to the customer.

After dinner, we went back to our room and have a good rest.

Tawau Delicacy ~ Seafood At It's Best

2011-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

The recent trip to Sipadan, Kapalai brought us the chance to reward our taste buds of some of the finest Tawau dinings.

Firstly, we visited one cafe called Indo Cafe. The famous dish is the Tawau Pisang Goreng a.k.a Fried Banana.

We ordered the Cheese Pisang Goreng. Cheese and Gula Melaka is served together with the banana. The saltiness of the cheese blends well with the sweetness of the Gula Melaka, to make a good mixture with a freshly fried banana.

We did tried another type of serving of Banana, where it is served with a special sauce. I don't know how to name it, but it brings a punch of spiciness and it will be a kick for spicy lovers.

Secondly, Tawau is fond of it's seafood varieties. Not only the varieties that it is known of, the freshness is the one that is worth a thumb up for them. It is fresh everyday!

We went to this shop 好景生猛海鲜. It does not have an English name though, but it can be read as "Hao Jing" Restaurant. This shop is not those "throat-cutting" shop, but it offers great food at reasonable prices!

We been there consecutively for 2 nights for out dinner and I summed out what I had tasted below.

The scallops. 4.5/5 stars for this. Succulent, fresh! Look at how it is cooked, no starch nor oily. It is steamed to perfection!

Next up, the fish. I am not sure what type of fish this is, but i am sure this is the first time I tried this type of fish. A simple steam with soy sauce, kept the tenderness of the fish meat intact. Again, 4.5/5 stars.

Another type of fish on our menu. This type of fish is known for it's richness in Omega 3. Natural fish oil! It lives in deep sea and it has thick skin to keep it warm. Look at the flesh, it is thicker than steak! 4/5 stars.

The local escargot shells. It is steamed cooked. The star toothpick is used to pulled out the meat. Not our favorite but worth to have a try here. 4/5 stars.

In addition, the self made fried seafood bean curd is one of the must order dish. It is not normal bean curd. Inside the bean curd you may find tiny slices of prawns and calamari. 4/5 stars for this.

The Sabah Vege. In the peninsular, we can find this type of vegetable in the food menu. But, after I tried this Sabah Vege, I only know how tasty it can be. It looks hard, but when you put into your mouth and you start to chew it, you would realize how tender it could be! 4.5/5 stars for this.

Here comes the King of the day. Crab cook in salted egg. I give 5/5 star for this. Full marks. Why? Look at the amount of crab egg under the shell of the crab. I am sure you could not find this in any Sri Lanka crab sold in the market in Peninsular! The way it is cooked, heavenly! You gotta try this.

Not sure you readers are "poisoned" with what I wrote about the food in Tawau. But, I have to admit that, I misses the food there. I will definitely go back there... very soon!

p/s: We did tried the fresh steam red tiger prawns, but we forgot to capture the picture of it, as we could not withstand it in front of us. Before we could capture it, it had gone down to our stomach. :P That is 5.5/5 stars.

Maldives of Malaysia ~ Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort

2011-09-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

Discover the beauty nature and be mesmerized with the wonders of serene landscape when the crystal clear sky meets the tranquil expanse of blue sea on a blissful sunny day at Kapalai Island.

We just had a 4 days 3 nights short trip to Tawau, Sabah. We took this chance to visit the diving paradise ~ Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort.

Our driver picked us up from Tawau, and it took us about an hour and a half to reach Semporna by car. Semporna itself is a gateway to the nearby islands.

We waited for all the travelers to assemble at the port and our journey to Kapalai started by speedboat!

Pei Quan looked abit "worried" due to he easily get seasick. ;p

Here it goes. 2 Yamaha high speed motor drove us in top speed across the crystal clear blue sea.

By looking at this photo below, you can judge how fast the speedboat is moving.

I almost had my glasses flew off during the journey. Wearing cap is absolutely a no no. :P

At about 25minutes of boat ride, we finally reach our destination - Kapalai Dive Resort! The first word that came out from my mouth was "Woww!"

This resort is sitting on its sturdy stilts on the shallow sandbanks of the Ligitan Reefs.

As it was still before check in time, we took the chance to wander around the resort and took some photos.

It looked like Maldives isn't it? ;p

The crystal clear water allow you to see through the creature in the sea like star fish, lion fish, sting ray, cuttlefish and much much more.

It is so relaxing when seeing at so many colourful fishes swimming freely.

You could see a contrast in sea water below. The place which is blue in colour is the deep sea. It is just only a few meters away.

Not only starfishes or corals that we could see in the resort. Swordfishes, cuttlefishes can be observed under us as well.

Of course not only tourists visit this Island. In fact there are some living community on this Island. They live a simple life. Look how free they are, cuddling around with their friends, and they are trying to throw someone into the deep sea!

The food served in buffet style which you can eat as much as you can.

After the lunch, we headed to our chalet.

The room is decorated in a comfort manner.

This is our balcony view. Some lazy chair for us to rest while enjoying the cool breeze.

The chalets are furbished with wonderful view. This is the view from our room. Magnificent isn't it!

It was near evening, and we took some time to visit around.

A view from the green bridge. A small garden was created along the whole bridge.

We reached a bridge whom will lead us to the very end of the resort - a human made sandbank.

Overlooking on the sandbank is the great South China Sea coupled with the beautiful sunset.

As the sun started to set, is time for us to fly!

And jump! ;p

As the movement of cloud is very fast, at some point, it does not block the sun, the sky brightened up again. It is very very beautiful.

Let's do it together!

Thanks to Pei Quan's sister whom gave alot of idea on how to pose.

As dusk approached, the lights around the chalet lit up, a starry diamond like painting is created upon us.

We saw some stingrays and lion fish as well.

Even non-diver like us have a great holiday experience at this awesome island. As the time is short, we have no chance to island hopping to Sipandan and Mabul. We will be back again to visit the nearby Sipadan and Mabul island.

Picture say a thousand words. It is hard for us to describe how pretty the scenery are. Visit the island and see it by yourself.

Day 2 - Serenity in Ubud (Kintamani Mount Batur & Lake Batur, Tirta Empul Temple and Tegallalang Rice Terrace)

2011-04-30T01:16:00.000-07:00

After a filling Indian cuisine dinner, a simple breakfast of Nasi Jinggo, complimentary from our hotel, was good enough to kick start our day 2 to Ubud.

Our first destination was Sukawati Market.

There were plenty of stalls selling wood handicraft, painting, clothes and souvenirs. Bargaining skill is a must when you visit this place. You can grab for cheap if your bargaining skill is good.

We saw this kind of prayers on the floor entrance of every shop in Bali. It served as a good deed for good business.

Motorbikes are the main transports in Bali.

Something worth mentioning is, there were a lot "on-the-move" sellers, whom will approach anyone they see to sell off their goods. At some part it did frustrates us, but looking on the other hand, they are working their sock off to erk out a living, which is a pity for them.

We spend about 1 hour there. Although there are plenty of stalls, but most of the stall are selling the same things.

Next, we continue our journey to Kintamani to visit the still active volcano - Mount Batur which stood at 1717m! Beside that, the beautiful and the largest lake in Bali - Lake Batur proudly laying at the foot of Mount Batur is also worth visiting.

It took us about an hour to reach Kintamani. The weather at Kintamani is slightly cooler. It was about lunch time as well and we were brought to Sari Restaurant for a buffet lunch.

At IDR60,000/pax for the buffet, we got a seat by the edge of the restaurant facing the mighty Mount Batur. So I would say, you got to enjoy the panoramic view while filling your stomachs up. Not too bad either.

Food wise, normal, Indonesian cuisine.

But this fruit is worth mentioning. The skin of the fruit is like the skin of the snake. Hence, we called it Snake fruit and so did our driver told us. Must try!

By the way, it is advisable to visit Kintamani early so the panoramic view will be clear and not shadowed by the cloud.

Stunning and incredible view!

At about 230pm we left the restaurant for the next destination. At some part, We did request our drivers to stop by the roadside to snap some photo. Again, there were a lot local people came approaching us to sell their goods. We felt a bit sorry when we answered "NO" to them as it is hard for them to earn in this area. They are indeed very pity.

Our next destination was Coffee Farm. It is famous of it's "Kopi Musang" or a.k.a Civet Cat Coffee. We were explained on how coffees are processed and made particularly Civet Cat Coffee. So what is so special about Civet Cat Coffee?

The coffee beans are actually made from the coffee berries which had been eaten by Civet Cat and then passed through it's digestive system. So after that, they are gathered and processed and here came the most expensive coffee in the world.

We did try a few this Civet Cat Coffee and yes, it stood out among the rest.

The coffee farm owner's daughter.

A man hard at work.

Two small girls whom tried to sell something to us but at the end turn to be my models :P

After that, we went to visit Tirta Empul Temple. It is a holy spring water temple where Tirta Empul has the meaning of water emerge from the land. Hindu society in Bali believe that the water source can heal various of diseases.

Devotees have to pay their respect at the entrance of the temple before they proceed to the middle courtyard.

There are 3 sections in the temple and devotees are needed to pray and clean themselves before proceed to pray in the final courtyard.

Devotees clean their whole body up under the flowing holy water before proceed to the final courtyard. We did try, but we only used the water to clean our face and hands. Just to try :) The water is indeed cooling and refreshing!

Bali also have some really fine stone craft like those we saw in Jeju Island.

This was my first time to wear Sarung ~~in front of camera~~.

We didn't spent too long in Turta Empul, as the sky was getting dark. We headed towards Tegallalang, the famous rice terrace.

On the way, we saw the women in Bali used their head to transport goods. Salute!

Tegallalang is a sight to behold. The rice are planted very orderly and it is very special.

I believe I can fly~!

After the last stop, we headed to the famous Tegal Sari. We would like to stay at this hotel for 2 nights but due to the good name of the hotel, it is already fully booked when the time we contact them. Thus, we only managed to book the super deluxe room for 1 night.

This is why Tegal Sari Accommodation is rated as one of the top 10 winner for Bargain Hotels in Travelers' Choice 2011 by Trip Advisor. Welcome drink are served to our room.

Our room was facing a green Paddy field. 2 little chairs for us to admire the scenery while sipping into our ice cold lemon tea.

The room we had equipped with small garden too.

It is ideal for relaxing.

After taking some rest, we went to Bebek Bengil Dirty Duck Restaurant. It was walking distance from our hotel.

We ordered the must try Bebek Bengil Original Crispy Duck. Half duck steamed in Indo spices and deep fried for a crispy finish. It is served with choices of sauteed potatoes and side salad or white rice with vegetable. It costs IDR72,000.

We also ordered the Nasi Goreng Special served with chicken sate and egg. The price is IDR44,000.

Drink wise, I opted for a Bintang beer (IDR32,000) for the meal, whereas, Connie had a more healthy choice of avocado juice (IDR24,000). The avocado juice is different from what we had in Malaysia. Chocolate are added to the juice. Not to our liking.

Free-wifi are available at the restaurant. We spent our night in the restaurant enjoying the wifi, and thats is how we ended our day2.

Day 1 - Escape to Bali

2011-04-23T00:38:00.000-07:00

After visiting various places during autumn, we felt that it is time to experience some sunny rays which the European enjoyed the most. Hence, Bali was our preferred destination. However, this time is a little bit different, we no more fly from LCCT, but we will depart from Singapore Changi International Airport.

I would say Singapore Changi International Airport is a world class airport, ~~but not Ngurah Rai International Airport~~.

Air Asia was our flying machine again.

After 2 hours and 15 minutes flying, we reached Ngurah Rai International Airport. We have pre-booked for driver to fetch us upon our arrival.

Before heading to hotel, the plan was to visit Jimbaran Beach and also to settle our dinner there accompanied by the sunset, but too bad, lady luck is not on our side, as they were having some ceremony on New Moon and all shop were closed.

We decided to go back to POP Harris Hotel for check-in. So, this was how the accommodation look like.

We are satisfied with this hotel for the low price we paid. However, it is a bit out of town. Free wifi in the room are provided.

Drinks and snack vending machines are available near lobby.

The cafeteria for breakfast.

Right opposite our hotel, stood an Indian Restaurant which stood out the most among all other warungs. Thus, we had our dinner at Sitara Indian Cuisine Restaurant.

Nice ambient in the restaurant.

Mango Lassi for RPH20,000. A cool yogurt blend which is good for our digestive system.

Snacks to chew while waiting for our food.

4 different taste of special sauce are served to us. Each of them bring a different type of feel to our taste buds. Sweet, spicy, sourish, and the mixture of the 3 together. Not forgetting to mention, the sauce are thick and fresh. They are well matched with the food served by the restaurant.

Our appetizer, Vegetable Samosa. The crispy puffs are filled with potatoes and peas and traditional Indian's rempah a.k.a spices. Yummy! The price is RPH20,000.

The main dishes is the Chicken Tandoori. This is the first time I saw Tandoori is served on a hotplate which is a good idea to maintain the temperature of the chicken. No complain about the tenderness of the chicken. Well roasted. It costs for RPH47,500.

Garlic Nan are always used to served together with Tandoori Chicken. It tasted so nice and no strong smell for garlic. RPH15,000.

Maybe the weak point for this meal is the Roti Chaney with Chicken Curry. Curry is good but the Roti Chaney is not fresh. It is hard to chew. You pay RPH30,000 for both of them.

Tax and service charges are applicable to the food.

After the dinner, we went back to our hotel to had some good rest for the tour on the next day.

Day 6 - Walk through the Palace History (Deoksugung) & Cheonyecheon Stream

2011-03-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today, our trip in Jeju ended, so after taken our breakfast, we took the flight back to Seoul. When arrived at Gimpo airport, we hop onto the railway to Dongdaemun to settle down our luggage in New Korea Hotel again.

Our first destination in Seoul is the graceful Deoksugung, where tradition and modernity intersect.

Daehanmun is the main gate of Deoksugung. You can buy the entrance ticket at ticket counter with the price of 1,000 won/ person.

A traditional big drum at the main gate of Deoksugung.

In drama or historical book, we might have seen and read a lot of story regarding royal family, palace, prince and princess. But in real, it is a special glamour to visit the palace which is still well maintained in the heart of a bustling modern city.

We went into Deoksugung while waiting for the royal guards changing ceremony to start.

This is King Sejong statue located inside Deoksugung.

Yellow golden leaves...

After that we went back to the Daehanmun, to wait for the royal guards changing ceremony to start. A group of school children already waiting there.

You should not miss out the royal guards changing ceremony in front of Daehanmun. This re-enacted ceremony demonstrated the olden era ruler by King where defense and patrol troops were responsible to ensure the safety of the King dynasty.

This is an uniqued experience. Free colourful costume are borrowed to tourist and we were allowed to take photo in uniforms with the "Royal Guards". Do I look like a Korean? ;p

Time for lunch! Korean Sushi Roll...

We continue to visit Deoksugung after that. Autumn in Korea is just cool!

Remember the famous Stephen Chow movie 九品芝麻官 ^^

The throne hall, Junghwa-jeon is engraved with dragon in the emperor's pathway.

This is the interior of the throne hall for officers to meet with the king. No entry, we can only see from outside.

Leaving the memory at Gwangmyeongmun. The bell of Heungcheon temple and the self striking water clock or known as Jagyeongnu.

The exhibition at National Museum of Comtemporary Art.

Deoksugung are embellished with yellow gingko leaves and red map leaves in fall season.

3 oldies were resting along the walkway...

The flower-patterned wall given the feel of ancient time.

The reception hall for foreign diplomats.

This were the last picture we took in Deoksugung before our exit.

And now this is the beauty of backpack where we could go anywhere we like. Strolling around the outside of Deoksugung, we found a very special lane full with pretty hand drawn arts.

Along this whole walkway was the gigantic brick wall of Deoksugung and it would make a very special background for potraits shooting.

Nice paintings are exhibited/for sale along the brick wall.

We saw tonnes of different things along our journey until we see this. I thought my eyes gone harewire when I saw this. I rubbed my eyes and it's still the same.

So what is all about this? Ancient Koreans and also the koreans in present especially woman will store many fermented sauces in traditional sauce jar called Jangdock and these sauce jar are gathered at a place called Jangdockdae and it will be passed down every generation. Hence, Jangdockdae resembles the memories for every generation of the family.

One day, the creator of this deflated figures, saw the Jangdockdae was covered by snow. This struck him as he thought of family enduring winter and this, inspired him deeply to make the deflated family figures which reveals three generation of family consisted of grandparents, parents and their children.

Every single street of Seoul city are picture-square. You can feel the romantic atmosphere of fall season everywhere. A very relaxing afternoon.

We went past one of the famous high school in Seoul, Ehwa Woman Highschool. How I wish I could study here. ;p

Chongdong Theater & Nanta Theater are popular cultural point in Seoul. Feeling abit hungry, we tried out one small food stall outside of Nanta Threater.

A typical Korean style foodstall which offers local delicacy such as stir fried rice cake, rice instestine and fish cake, tempura and etc. We opted for stir fried rice cake, rice instestine and fish cake. Total costed 3,500 won.

The rice intenstine was actually made up of pig intestine which was filled with glutinous rice and pig blood. Sounds special? A korean treated us this. He said it is a must try! But not our favor.

The stir rice cake was fried with sweet and spicy sauce. Too big for us. We couldn't finish it.

Lastly, the fish cake. We prefer this the most as it suits our taste buds more. You can actually drink the soup in the cup. However we didn't do that.

Our next destination was Cheonyecheon Stream. Along the 5.8km stream, there are 22 bridges and 9 fountains. Some history about Cheonyecheon Stream, it was previously a freeway running on top of the stream but it was then turned into one of the famous location in the center of Seoul.

During our visit, a hope campaign is launched prior to 2010 Seoul Lantern Festival. How lucky we were to join this happening events.

Yeah! Give me 5!

The night is brightly shone with the beautiful lanterns and lights.

Lantern from China.

Write your wish here and it will comes true.

We only managed to walk for 2.5km distance and we felt so tired and painful with the cold weather. We walked up from one of the staircase which lead us to the main road. We are not sure where are we now so to try some new discovery, we just followed our common sense, we walked and walked till we ended at an area crowded with lots of young guys.

Dinner time. Full restaurant indicates good restaurant. So, we chose this. Izakaya Japanese Noodle City.

Kimchi in Japanese Restaurant! Gosh, I think Koreans need kimchi!

Pei Quan opted for pork spicy noodles.

For me, I chose Soba with pork chop. I cant,t use words to describe how good the pork chops soba are. The noodle is very 'Q' and not sticky.

The dinner cost us 16,000 won.

We ended our day by trying out the public bus in Seoul back to our hotel.

Day 5 - Jeju Island Wild Wild "West"

2011-01-25T02:56:00.000-08:00

After the amazing exploration of East Jeju a day before, our planned destination for today would be a tour on West of Jeju.

Our day started off with a breakfast in Hotel. We had a birdeye's view of the sea while enjoying our breakfast.

As usual, we headed over to the Tourism Booth opposite our hotel to wait for the tour bus. The first destination we will be visiting is the Hallim Park. Basically Hallim Park is a "zoo" for flora and faunas to live in. It had a different mix of gardens that could be enjoyed and visited in any season of the year!

However, the most famous of Hallim Park would be the undoubtable Hyeopjaegul and Ssangyonggul Caves. So what is so famous about these caves? Think about it, I will review the answer later. :P

Our first stop in Hallim Park is the Hyeopjaegul cave. At 200m long, it is one of the world heritage lava cave apart from Manjanggul Caves which we visited on the East Tour of Jeju. Inside the cave we saw the stalactites and stalagmites, which hang from the ceiling and sproud at the bottom.

It is still alive! Water is still dripping from the stalactites. Mother nature is so awesome!

The stone sculpture depicts legend of Dr.Jin swallow the bead at Hallim.

Next up, we visited the Jeju Stone Garden where miniatures are created with the stones.

For Bonsai lovers, Hallim Park would be the ideal destination. It offer varieties of Bonsai. Some Bonsai are older than us! :P

There is also a folk village inside.

Well, this is the lover's waterfall. Manmade. It look like we were in the heaven with all those artificial warps. :P

Not forgetting, there is also a bird park inside Hallim Park, and we were lucky to see a peacock showing it's distinctive feathers. The myth is, the peacock must be thinking I am very attractive or else, why it show it's feathers? ;p

We ended our Hallim Park visit at about an hour with some beautiful flower shoots, and headed for the second program of the day - Horse Riding.

It was a clear blue day, and we were given a cowboy vast to wear and a boots to wear if you are interested! Do I look like a sheriff? ;p

For us, that was the very first time of riding on a horse! Real horse!

To be specific, all the horses for ride are female horses. The reason be, they are more soft in nature and hence they can be nurtured slowly :P I were given a black foal(female baby horse) while Connie's got a brown one. I guess the foal must have been huffing and puffy when I rode on her back. :P

Look how big the horse head is.

Is near lunch time, we were brought to a Japanese Restaurant for some Japanese food. Is good to have something different after day and days of kimchis!

I got a seafood tomyam soup whereas Connie opted for the Beef Soup.

There is some free time after lunch and I did few photo shooting. Look at my Korean model. She is so cute!

Our next visit was the Jusangjeolli Rocks which is a 2km stretch of coastline with hexagonal rocks pillar stood gigantically around the shore!

Basically, the rocks are made up of the lava from the eruption of Mt Hallasan into the sea of Jungmun. It was really a god's work, the rocks were evently shaped and carved.

We marked our mark at Jusangjeolli Rocks. Nice knowing you guys!

We then headed to the second last destination of the day, Yakcheon Temple or also known as Yakcheon Sa.

The second largest temple in Jeju, it looks massive from outside.

The interior was even jaw-dropping!

A four storey building, you would have different view at each level.

It was believed that the water in this temple will heal illnesses and bring us luck when you drink it. We did tried some "drop" of water. Hehe.

Spending about 45minutes there, we left for our last destination of the day, Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls.

Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls (天地渊瀑布) is one of the most famous waterfall in Jeju. We have to walk for some distance from the entrance to reach the waterfall.

Thanks to the guy who helped us to capture a pic together.

We ended our Tour of West at Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls. We requested Yeha's personnel to drop us at the New City of Jeju, for some shopping. We saw this shop and the aromas brought us into the shop.

So what is all about the aromas, a walnut filling cake, and it was molded into nuts shape. Pretty good and worth trying.

We just hung around the streets and then decided our dinner for the day will be instant noodles+beer+chips. Went back to the hotel early to get some rest as we will be heading back to Seoul on the next day!

Stay tuned for the funs and trills of Seoul!

Day 4 - Jeju Island "East" Island of God

2011-01-16T15:20:00.001-08:00

Today we have followed a tour around Jeju (East Tour) by participating the Yeha Tour. Getting ourselves filled up with a western like breakfast in our hotel, excitingly we went outside to wait for our Yeha Tour Bus outside the Tourism Booth near our Hotel.

Our first destination of the itinerary is Seongsan Ilchulbong (UNESCO World Heritage) or also known as Sunrise Peak. It is actually formed by volcanic eruptions ages ago.

At about 30 minutes journey by bus, we finally reached Sunrise Peak which is located at Seongsanri Town. We were only given 1 hour for this place as we have much more destination to visit later on. This is how it looked at the entrance.

Sunrise peak is a must visit place for tourist especially if you would like to catch the beautiful sunrise with the whole Jeju town at your feet. Amazing isn't it! However, it also depends on your luck to catch this remarkable view.

Without wasting any time, we hiked up to the sunrise peak. There are stairs and pavement welly constructed to aid the hiking process. You will have different surprise at different levels when you hike up. Of course the best view is always at the top of the peak!

It took me 30 minutes to run up the stairs while stopping at various defined scenic location to capture the magnificent view!

I finally made my mark at the top of the mountain, in 30min! Normally it get 20 min for the fittest to reach the top. I took 30min and also some stop to capture some picture. I think I am at the fit category though, thanks to my jogging hobby daily. :P Just to mention, Connie was huffing and puffing while climbing up. She stop at somewhere while I continue to go up.

At the peak, I had a bird-eye view of the whole Seongsanri Town in front of me as what I had mentioned earlier! Extremely beautiful! The down-point was, it was a cloudy day and hence I cant see the clear blue sky with the amazing sunny rays. Anyway, it was already magnificent!

If you see clearly, there are a lot of houses with roofs with only 3 colors. Namely, blue, red and green. In fact, it is a tradition for residents in Jeju island to build their houses with designated color based on their surname/family name. Each surname will resembles or reflect their family name. Very classic!

The Seongsanri town is actually the west side of Sunrise Peak. On the East side, you will see the cratering of a green patch of grass where you will always see from the flyers which they capture from the bird-eye's view on the helicopter.

Not forgetting to mention, there is a haneyo house at the foot of the mountain, you can go down to take pictures with the women divers or watch them doing their dives. Too bad we don't have time to go down. We could only have the splendid view from here.Truly a sight to behold.

Again, is time for me to rush down the peak. This time it is much easier but you have to be careful as the steps is wide and uneven.

Generally it was a perfect experience for us.

We headed to our second destination of today which is Seongeup Folk Village. Along the road leading to Seongeup Folk Village we saw lots of windmills. It is a good way to generate reusable energy as the wind in Jeju Island is very strong. Brilliant idea by the Koreans!

Finally we reached Seongeup Folk Village which is located at the foot of the famous Halla Mountain. Admission is free for this village.

This village has a history of about 100 years and it has all the monuments on Jeju Island. It resembles the classical residential culture of the Jeju people.

A black pig was hiding when we found it resting in the bunt.

There are also tangerine farms in the village.

There are 3 "Yes" and 3 "No" in Jeju Island. The 3 "Yes" are:

1. There are lots of women in Jeju Island. Basically men are treated like king here. How I wish I am here :P

2. There are lots of lava rocks in Jeju Island. All the fences of the houses are built from lava rocks. They are indeed very strong and can withstand the strong winds of Jeju Island

3. There are lots of dol hareubang. Every houses or almost every corner of Jeju Island, you can see this sculpture. It is believed that, if you touch the nose of the sculpture, it will grant you a baby boy!

For the 3 "No" are:

1. There aren't any thieves in the Island.

2. There are no gates in the houses of Jeju which is why point (1) existed above. The gates are only made from 3 long sticks. Each position of the sticks resembles something. For eg: if 3 sticks are up, meaning the owner is not at home, whereas if one stick is up, the rest is down, meaning that the owner will be back in a minute.

3. Let you guys to discover yourself. Visit Jeju to know more. :P

It was about lunch time, we will have BBQ black pork! Pork is believed to be very nutritious.

This was how the restaurant look like.

Prior to our arrival, the pork is already prepared on the hot plate with all the mixture of vegetables and seasoning.

The hot plate is heated up and the aroma is brilliant! Time to fill our hungry stomachs especially people like me whom have run up to the peak of Seongsan Ilchulbong.

It was an enjoyable lunch and our next destination is to visit Haenyeo Musuem.

Basically Haeyeon refers to Female Divers in Jeju. The history is such, most of the females in Jeju Island are divers. In this museum, you could see what are the history of these females divers. We got our chance to watch a video which describe the Haenyeos'.

I hold very high regards for them as after I visited this museum, I noticed that they are great divers and they dive into the deep sea even WITHOUT proper diving equipments! You can see the goggles they use, the fishing equipments and so on.

Guess who took this? Actually I took it from a wall poster.

After the museum visit, we went to our next destination which is the Manjanggul Cave, one of the finest lava tubes around the world. This is another UNESCO World Heritage. Only 1km of the 13,422m Manjanggul Cave is open to the tourist.

The temperature inside the cave is much more colder than outside and, it is very dark also. It took us again 30 minutes to reach to the very end of the lava tubes. Just imagine, you got the chance to be inside of a volcano! Trilling and exiting and truly an eye opener!

We saw various "God works" on the wall of the caves. The hot lavas formed some special kind of texture along the whole Manjanggul.

This is what we saw at the end of the cave. It was a tough journey inside the cave, but it is worth visiting.

The sky turn blue now, and a great scenery outside Manjanggul Cave.

Is time for our last visit of the day - Dongmun Traditional Market. We got some fruits and souvenirs here. I would recommend this place if you intend to get something cheap and value for money. Do try to compare shop to shop. We got a good deal here.

During our visit, it was the persimmon season and hence we could try various type of persimmon.

After that, we got a wash up in our hotel and we went to hunt for food again. This time is dinner time! We went to the restaurant called “三好亭”, whom offers great BBQ pork. Why BBQ pork again, you guys must be wandering? Haha.

The atmosphere is good and this is the first time we got so many Kimchi.

The onions were added to enhance the taste of the BBQ pork.

The waiter helped us to BBQ the pork. It is from the meat of a black pig. Very nice!

This is how it looked like when it is cooked.

Another way to eat the pork, our very own Popiah style. :P

We also got ourselves a Bibimbap. Traditional korean rice mixed with vegetables. I don't quite like this. :P

A grill makarel fish. Having seafood is a must when you visit Jeju. Both of us like the fish.

With all of the dishes, this dinner only cost us 29,000 won. It really worth every penny.

After the dinner, we will be going for the Nanta Show. Nanta show is another must to watch show when you visit Korea, as it promised great entertainment throughout. It is a musical performance created by the presenters using the cooking utensils, and it is funny and interesting.

We asked Yeha personnel to help us to prebook the tickets for this show at a discounted price,. Each is 35,000 won. We didn't opt for the VIP seats as we do not want to be hit by a flying pizza nor pan! :P. Advise to you, the back seats are good enough. :)

Too bad photographs are not allowed for Nanta Show, but I still manage to shoot something prior to the start of the show.

The performers for the show are really great!

We have bought the Nanta T-shirt each as the memory for such a nice show. The T-shirt is priced at 15,000 won each.

Not forgetting to mentioned, Mounir and Carolyn also join us for this great show! What a great couple they are. Nice to know them

That is how we end our day 4!

Day 3 - Jeju Island (Yongduam Rock, Yeomiji Garden & Teddy Bear Museum)

2010-12-31T00:33:00.000-08:00

Today we are heading to Jeju! As part of our tour package from Yeha Tour, we had to wake up early to catch the local flight from Gimpo Airport to Jeju.

A short flight from Seoul which was about 1 hour, we landed on the island of Jeju. We took a taxi from the airport towards our hotel - Palace Hotel (which was also included in our tour package). We will spend 3 nights here!

We reached the hotel at 8.30am. We were lucky as we are allowed us to check in early. Our room was spacious and facing the beautiful sea.

After settling everything and got some rest, we went to find for food which will be our brunch.

We just wandered along the street, they are lots of food to be found here. One thing I noticed is that, Jeju is completely different from Seoul. It was a calm and relaxing city. Hence, why it was a hotspot for honeymoon.

Not forgetting to mention, the weather in Jeju is much more colder than in Seoul!

When the wind blows, you will feel the chill into the bone! Great experience for both of us!

We found this restaurant and we heard that we had to try the seafood in Jeju, we just simply picked this restaurant and made our order. We were the first customer as it was only around 11am.

Braised fish is one of the famous way how fish is cooked in Jeju island. It was very spicy! The portion was big as well. As usual, Kimchi were provided.

"Korean Pizza" - pancake. To me, it was normal. It tasted like a Japanese omelette where we can find from any sushi outlets even in Malaysia.

Generally, we are not very satisfied with this restaurant. As the food quality is normal and pricey. It costs us 42,000 won.

After lunch, we headed to our first destination, Yongduam Rock which also known as Dragon Head Rock. We will go by foot as it is walking distance from our hotel.

Along the way, we captured the nice scenery on the way to Yongduam Rock.

The Yongyeon (Dragon River) suspension bridge from the downtown promenade to Yongduam Rock.

Clear blue sky with sunny rays and extremely cool weather!

Behind me, The Dol Harubang (Stone Grandfather) carved from block of basalt. You can find it anywhere in Jeju Island. I will blog more about this in my next post.

Finally we reached Yongduam Rock.

According to history, a volcanic eruption about 2 millions years ago, created this formidable dragon head!

However, there are also some tales which say that, it was formed by the messenger of the Dragon King, whom were asked to gather a herb which will promise eternal life in Jeju Island. But, the act of this messenger had angered the Halla Mountain God and the messenger was shot by an arrow. Part of the messenger body sunk into the sea and its head remained above the water. Interesting huh! :P

Overlooking at the back is the gigantic Halla Mountain, I supposed. :p

It was about noon time, is time for us to head to our next destination - Yeomiji Botanical Garden. It is located at Jungmun region which was South-West of Jeju Island. On how to go, read on. :)

As there are no subway in Jeju Island, and the nucleous of the public transport hub is focused at Gimpo Airport, we took a cab towards Gimpo Airport and then hop on towards the Airport Limo Bus(No. 600) towards Jungmun. It cost us 3,900 won each.

Do not worry abt how and when to alight, each stop are anounced in English prior alighting.

The bus was so comfortable that I falled asleep. At about 40min of travel, it reached Yeomiji Botanical Garden. This stop will lead us to the famous Teddy Bear Musuem as well. So, get off at Yeomiji for the famous teddy bear in town.

Before our visit to Yeomiji, we got something to chew in the convenient store outside Yeomiji. It does make you hungry when the weather is cold. :P

Samdasoo water a.k.a the water of Jeju. Can be found all over the place in Korea, but it is cheaper in Jeju. A sushi rice stick to re-energize. Not forgetting the banana milk. Must try!

Just opposite the convenient store is Yeomiji Garden. You need to pay 7,000 won in order to experience a fascinating botanical garden which was established since October, 1989. It possessed different plants from all around the world.

During the fall in Korea, Chrysanthemum Flower will be the only major flower that blossom throughout the romantic fall season. Yellow, Purple, Pink... very beautiful!

I let the picture to do the talking...

Saw this tree and I thought it would make a nice photo and decided to capture it.

After that, we go to the Teddy Bear Museum which was a few step away. The entrance fee is 7,000 won per person.

The gallery is grouped into three sections: the History Hall, the Art Hall and the Project Exhibition Hall. History Hall displayed the important events for the past 100 years.

The Alfred bear.

Anyone whom watched Korean drama "Princess Hours" before should familiar with these cute bears.

Daniel Swarvoski.

At the Art Hall you can find the 125 Karat Teddy Bear which is a traditional German bear made from mohair and trimmed with diamonds sapphires.

The famous Louis Vuitton(LV) Bear whom fetched a world record price of over $190,000 at a fund-raising charity auction in Monaco. Don't miss the chance to snap a photo with this bear as it is not available in all the around the world except Jeju Teddy Bear Museum.

We visited until the musuem closed and we took a cab back to our Hotel at the price of 15,000 won which is a cheap deal.

Our dinner was a simple one. We opted for Mcd which was nearby to our hotel.

After the dinner, we went for a walk around the small shopping town of Jeju and we end our day here, happily!

Looking forward for the tour around Jeju tomorrow!

Day 2 - Nami Island (Naminara Republic) ~ An Island In The Sky

2010-12-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

When people mentioned about Korean Drama Series, Winter Sonata will be the first to be mentioned. It will be followed by how beautiful is the scenery in the drama.

So today, our plan is to visit the the film recording place of this famous drama which is - Nami Island.

Nami Island is situated 63km away from Seoul in the heart of Han River. Nami Island was named after General Nami, a brave name from Korean history who courageously fought in battles and died at the ages of 26.

May you be a Korean drama lover nor just a pure visitor, Nami Island is a must visit place when you visit Korea. This romantic place is where the main actors, Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo fall in love in the drama.

There are several way to go to Nami Island. For us, we have prebooked the tour bus (http://www.namisum.com/) between Insadong and Nami Island. The ticket price is 23,000 won per/pax which includes the round trip bus fare and ferry to/fro Nami Island. The bus will depart at 9.30am sharp from the bus station near Tapgol Park and retrun from Nami Island at 4.00pm sharp. Another alternative will be by subway. But I reccomend to use the prebooked bus to save all the hassels. Wanna know why? Read on...

After having a simple western breakfast provided by the hotel, we boarded the train from Hoehyeon Station to Jongno 3-ga Station(Exit 1). Walk towards Tapgol park direction. It will take about 10 min by walking from the Jongno 3-ga Station(Exit 1).

This is the bus to send us to Nami Island.

Our bus ticket and ferry ticket.

While waiting for the departure of the bus we took some picture around Tapgol Park.

After 90min of bus journey, finally we reached Nami Island! As it was a Sunday, it was "People Mountain, People Sea! :P But, no problem for us, we have already collected the ferry ticket from the bus driver as part of our package.

Quickly hopping onto the ferry and here we go!

During the 10minutes of ferry journey we got the chance to galvanise ourselves on the beautiful scenery of Namiseon Island. I will let the photo to do the talking..

Upon reaching Nami Wharf, Nami maid statue was our first destination.

The ministry of tourism for Naminara Republic.

After that, we walked along the Central White Pine Tree Lane towards the First Kiss Bridge.

Came the cool breeze and the golden leaves withered.. ~~Actually it is human made.~~

I like this red leaves a lot!

1, 2, 3 Jump!! Hooray!!

Glass Sequola and the First Kiss Bridge.

We leave our memory at Yeonryeonji Pond.

It is also the 5th Nami Island Children's Book festival during our visit.

It was about lunch time, is time to find something to eat. We got ourselves a hot dog bread + cinnamon pastry stix. 5500won for both.

A strawberry and a grape flavoured ice-cream to go along. Each is priced at 3000won.

We walked towards Recycling Garden and Metasequoia Lane.

The scrupture for the actor and actress in Winter Sonata - Bae Yong Jun and Choi Ji Woo with Metasequoia Lane as it's foreground.

The bicycles ride by the actor and actress in Winter Sonata.

A scene from Ginkgo Tree Lane.

Our final destination was at Reed Woods Lane.

As clock is ticking fast, it was about 330pm. We quickly walked back to Nami Wharf in order to board the returning ferry to Gapyeoung Wharf as our bus will be leaving Gapyeoung at 4pm sharp.

Guess what we saw? A long queue which was abt 200m long to board the ferry!! Here is where our advantage take place. With our prebook package, we do not need to queue up for boarding the returning ferry. Just show them your ticket and you get the priority to board the ferry.

It was a great 5 hours we spent in Nami Island. It was dinner time and we headed to Myeongdong for the famous Ginseng Chicken Soup - 百济参鸡汤

This restaurant has been operating since 40 years ago and this is the place to get the best Ginseng Chicken Soup in town!

There will be always unlimited flow of kimchi when you visit any restaurant/ food stall in Korea.

This is the glutinous rice and beside it is the ginseng wine to be mixed together with the ginseng soup or to be drank directly if you want!

Below, the abalone served with creamy congee. The taste is mild and not salty. It also contains some fine cuts of ginseng roots.

The famous of all is here. The Ginseng Chicken soup! Great to eat in such a cold weather. Glutinous rice and ginseng root are wrapped with chicken and then boiled for 3 hrs before serving!

We totally spent 24,000 won for our Ginseng Dinner. And yet the cold weather make us crave for more. We headed along the busy street in Myeongdong and couldn't resist the temptation to get a Korean style Kebab. Very delicious but a little bit spicy. 3000won for this. Slurp~!

We did some shopping around Myeongdong and got ourselves some facial products.

Is time to go back and have some rest, we got ourselves something to chew from Family Mart. Cool weather does make people hungry. xD

Good night and ready for day3!

Geylang Cheap Eats

2010-10-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well this time I am going to blog about the famous food in Geylang, Singapore.

Basically when you mentioned about Geylang, people will ask you, " Have you tried the famous 田鸡粥 a.k.a Spring Chicken(Frog) Porridge and 牛肉河粉 a.k.a Beef Hor Fan? ~~Not to mentioned about the red light district.~~

We didn't wait too long ~~approximately 8 months though when I started to work in Singapore~~, we visited Geylang with 2 friends who lead us then to this shop called 牛河大王(Beef King Hor Fan) at Geylang Lorong 9.

From the reviews of tonnes of Food Enthusiast, this shop in Singapore sells the best Beef Hor Fan. Serve it while it is piping hot and believe me, you will definitely crave for more!

Next up, located opposite of the Hor Fan shop, you get the best Spring Chicken(Frog) Porridge in town!

Both the porridge and spring chicken are served in claypot to keep their warmth. My first thumb up, is for the porridge. It is so creamy and tender at which it's puzzle would be completed by mixing it with the Spring Chicken(Frog).

Next thumb up - 宫保田鸡. The spring chicken is cooked with some dry chilli, soy sauce and some onion. This is a must try! Absolutely yummilicious!

A fried Sambal Belacan Kangkung and a fried oyster to complete our course for dinner!

At about 58 SGD for 4 of us inclusive a glass of sugarcane for ourselves ~~too bad I forgot to capture it~~, it is quite cheap and we shall be back to this shop!

Buono Pizza Bar & Italian Restaurant

2010-08-22T02:50:00.000-07:00

When people mentioned about Serangoon, their first thought would be Serangoon Garden, Chomp Chomp and etc... It is a food heaven as what I had heard from.

However this time, I am going to blog about a place hided in a high class secluded area in Serangoon whereby it offers excellent Italian Cuisine.

Operated by an Italian boss, the name of the shop is BUONO Pizzabar & Ristorante. Located at Lichfield Road right at the end of a row of shop houses. This shop has no big signboard, but it is very easy to spot as it is the only shop which selling food on that row of shop houses.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is best for friends gathering or maybe some private time to spent with your love ones. It also offers wide ranges of wines for wines lovers. Service wise is very good, price wise, it is a grab from the quality of the food they offer!

Connie get herself a Salmon Set. It came with a piece of succulent Salmon fish, grilled to perfection with a sauce made from spices from Italy(I guess from what I see, as I never tasted such spices before ;p) blended together with cheese and olive oil. Absolutely brilliant! Not forgetting the side dish, I gave this dish a name of Potato Lasagna. Potato wrapped up with cheese! Both of us love this side dish a lot. Not forgetting, some caesar leave to complete the Salmon Set. It is only SGD22.00!

For myself, I got a thin crust 12 inch large pizza cut into 8 smaller portion. The name of this pizza is called 4 Statsioni. The meaning is, it come with 4 flavors and topped with spinach leaves. I can't remember the exact name, but the picture show it all. Two thumbs up! The crust is freshly made(not those pre-made one like Pizza Hut ;p) and then baked with fire+wood! I wallop 7 pieces of pizza! :P I admit I am a big eater, but I remembered my colleague from Catania, can take 3 x 12inch of this pizza! Maybe due to it's thin crust, you wont get full up easily. For this you only need to spent SGD 22.00.

At the end of the day, we got ourselves a Gelato Napoletano - Strawberry+Chocolate+Vanila Icecream to complete the day! SGD8.00 for this.

If you ask me to rate this restaurant, I give them 4.5/5 Stars. Great food at absolutely reasonable price! We will be back!

Leisure Walk at Chinese Garden

2010-07-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

After a hectic working week, it will be a good choice to grasp some fresh air to free our mind.

Pei Quan and me went to Chinese Garden to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and also to have his first practice session on his newly bought DSLR.

Chinese Garden was built in 1975 with the theme of an ancient China, whereby, the architectures are full with the ancient chinese monuments such as, the Imperial garden, pagoda, tower and bridge. The garden is suitable for picnic, jogging and tourist visit.

Our first destination, the Chinese Pagoda Tower..

The stairs leaded towards the top of the Pagoda create a nice circular effect..

Admiring the scenery on top of the pagoda..

At the entrance there a legendary auspicious Chinese statue called "Kirin" - 麒麟。

The pagoda standing majestically under the sunny rays..

Small bench for some relaxation..

Little pond..

Very old tortoise swimming in the pond..

The beauty of nature..

Bonsai Garden..

Artistically designed ceiling..

The calmness of mother nature..

There is also a tortoise museum inside Chinese garden..

A small pond with a breeding of Koi fishes..

Finally, some potrait shooting..

It was a great day out. A good place for couples to have their pre-bridal shooting here!

My First DSLR: Canon EOS 7D is Born

2010-06-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

It had been quite sometime since I updated my blog. Reason to be, I am busy.. :P

Anyway, this time I am going to record something special. I have bought my very first DLSR!!

A Canon EOS 7D is born! Awarded by TIPA - as the Best DSLR Expert 2010 in the range of APS-C Cameras. With 2 Digic 4 processors coupled with 18MP capability, and a stunning image up to ISO3200, with a new 19 cross point auto-focus system, not forgetting its ultra fast frame rates, excellent HD video recording capability; EOS 7D has set a standard for all the others competitors in the market. No doubt, now I own the best APS-C range camera!

In fact, I was in a dilemma on whether to get a FF 5DMk2 or a EOS 7D. I have read through tonnes of review comparing both camera together. It is again a comparison of a chicken and egg. For me, each will have its own ability, and also greatly dependent on how the users want their gear to perform.

I choose 7D over 5Dmk2 because, I am fond of the new 19 cross point auto-focus system and the fast frame rate. Secondly, the lenses used in APS-C range is much more affordable.

Some might have wondered why I want to splash out a big sum of money to buy a camera? I struck a lottery? Nope; Am I rich? Hopefully ;p.

My biggest determination that pushed me is, I feel that the current compact camera that I have is restricting myself from capturing the "moments" and "quality" that I hoped to see. Secondly, it is due to the encouragement from my gf. She gave me an encouragement by forking out the very first Tamron 17-50 F2.8 lense for me ^^

Thanks to Canon Singapore, I was given a free Crumpler 6Million Dollar Home, a 8gb Sandisk Ultra CF Card, EOS 7D guidebook, and a Canon EF lense book. The Camera Body cost me SGD2245 whereas the Tamron lense cost SGD630.

Hopefully from this point onwards, I am able to share wonderful pics to all the readers and also record all the precious memories in my life!

Day 3 - KL Trip 2010 | Food Hunting

2010-05-25T06:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning, we headed to Pasar Baru Bukit Bintang to find for Ah Weng Kor Hainanese Coffee.

This shop is famous for his Hainanese Coffee and its kaya butter toast with half boil eggs!

Apart of that, the Crispy Popiah and the Chee Cheong Fun is worth trying too!

It was a great 3days 2nights KL trip to celebrate Connie's birthday. Both of us absolutely enjoyed! ^^

Day 2 - KL Trip 2010 | Sightseeing - KLCC, Lookoutpoint

2010-05-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

The 2nd morning, we had a little bit of snack while walking along the busy road of Bukit Bintang.

After that, we headed for our brunch at Sushi Zanmai.

Appetizing..

Fresh edamame!

Scrumptious, well-prepared salmon sushis!

Juicy, deliciously teriyaki unagi!

Cheese scallop..

This is fit for king! Special edition from Zanmai!

Soft shell crab with pancake..

A green tea ice cream to complete the course..

After that, we began to hunt through the busy road of KL and finally we reached KLCC. Took tones of pictures along the way. Enjoy!

First time we visit a tourist center in KL.. :p

We walked through the street on leafy trees..

Finally we reached a spot where we are very near to the proud of our nation, KLCC Petronas Twin Towers.

I am proud of my model ^^

Both of us.. donned with MU jerseys. xD

At night, we went up to Lookoutpoint, Hulu Langat. We opted for Haven Restaurant and from here, we can see the whole KL scenery. This is the best place I had seen the whole scenery of KL.

The food of Haven Restaurant is not too expensive and the quality is good as well. We reached there at about 5pm, and we spend our whole evening admiring the sunset until the lights of KL city bloomed. Absolutely fantastic!

We ordered some light food to accompany us while waiting for the night to come..

The dinner was great and when day got darker, and the lights get lit up it was a sight to behold!

So lucky we were as, on that night there were fireworks on display.. we totally enjoyed!

A panorama shot to complete our day at Hulu Langat Lookoutpoint!

Take note of this landmark. This is the entrance to Lookoutpoint.

At about 9pm, we left and we headed for some supper in Jalan Alor. The famous Wong Ah Wah chicken wings.

When you visit KL, you ought to go to Jalan Alor's Wong Ah Wah and visit this guy. His chicken wings is barbecued with charcoal.

Look, how juicy it is! Slurp~!

The "Wah Tan Hor" make me craved for more.

The thick sour plum juice is also good!

Day 1 - KL Trip 2010 | Connie's Birthday Celebration

2010-05-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

I have planned for a trip to KL for Connie's birthday celebration. We reached Pavilion Megamall at about lunch time.

In order to make sure everything is smooth, I have done lots of survey on the best available restaurant available in Pavillion and also Bukit Bintang.

Finally, I opted for this restaurant - Celadon International Thai Cuisine.

Heading towards the 6th floor of Pavilion Megamall, we were greeted upon on our entrance to the restaurant. We were then lead to out table. I can't think of what words to describe the ambient of this restaurant. 2 words - Awesomely superb!

White is the theme of this restaurant and apart from this, the lighting and some colourful racks design, until the chair we were seated on, created a romantic atmosphere which I am expecting/hoped for. xD

Menu were passed to us.

Glancing through it's menu, all of the food are priced in between RM10 and above. I wouldn't care much about the price, as "You pay for what you get". Moreover today is a big day for my dearest. Hehe..

This are what we ordered.

A starter for everything. Iced blended fresh coconut - (RM13.00). This is a recommended from other blogger and also myself. It is a different piece of work from what we tasted in Bangkok. The coconut juice and it's flesh is blended together with ice. After that, fresh coconut flesh pieces are then arranged on top of the ice. 卖相；吃相；都一级棒！ Meaning, everything is perfect!

Next up, the famous Tom Yam Goong(Thick) RM19.90. We were given a choice to choose in between the thick and the normal one. But it is recommended to try the thick one where coconut milk (santan) is added into the gravy. Again, it is different from what we tried in Bangkok. This time, it has much more spice and the extra kick in it.

This tiger prawn is cooked inside the Tom Yam Goong. The "vein" of the prawn were removed. Hygienic wise, perfect!

Well, this is the dish that both of us gave 11/10 marks. Marinated Chicken in Pandan Leaves - (RM16.90). It came with 4 servings and each of them are boneless!

A sauce is given to go along with this chicken.

Upcoming next, this is the Deep Fried Fish Cake at RM17.90. For me it is quite a normal dish.

Photo session after our lunch.

So lucky I am that, since I am a HSBC card user, I am eligible for a 10% discount. Conclusion, it is a satisfying lunch and I am glad that Connie like it as well!

We hanged around at Pavilion mall and took some photos.

It is above 4pm and we have to check in to our room. Off we go to Cube Hotel.

Cube Hotel is located at Jalan Pudu and it is a boutique themed based hotel who offer great service at attractive price.

This is the room I got. A deluxe double. Complete with LCD screen and attached bathroom and everything is very clean. At RM130/night and the location we will enjoy. It is definitely up for grab.

After a nice rest, it is birthday celebration time. We headed back to Pavilion Megamall. This is how Pavilion looked like during the night. Awesome isn't it?

This fountain majestically standing in front of Pavilion is actually called Purple Crystal Fountain. It is one of the landmark in Bukit Bintang area.

After that, we were off to Angus House(Japanese Charcoal Steak) located inside Pavilion also. You guys must have been wondering why I keep on choosing Pavilion. Let me tell you the answer. It offers me the Ambient, the Quality and I get the return for the amount of money that I pay for. Hehehe.. ;p

This restaurant is even more high class than the one we tasted in the afternoon. That is a so call "candle-light" on our table. We were given a special partition for us to have our own sweet dinner.

I placed the order and I opted for the chicken dinner (5 course meal) - RM63.00. On the other hand, the birthday girl opted for Salmon Tobico Cream - RM26.00

A Fried Dory fish appetizer got the ball rolling for the course.

A butter bun and a bowl of creamy mushroom soup to wake up our hungry stomach :P

After that, a Caesar Salad for some refreshment.

Finally the main course, pan grilled chicken. Juicy, tender and delicious. 2 thumbs up!

A extremly delicious tiramisu cake to complete the course.

Next up, Salmon Tobico Cream. The salmon are smoked and it is excellent.

Now is the birthday cake session. I got an black-forest cake from Lavendar Bakery. And of course a personal Happy Birthday song composer which is myself to complete the memorable moments.

Birthday Girl ready to blow her cake.. Hehe

After the wishing, candle blowing and cake cutting session..

After that we left for a stroll along Bukit Bintang and until we saw the Twin Towers of Petronas.

We ended our day here. Again, I hoped that Connie had a enjoyable birthday throughout and wish her a very Happy Birthday and may all your wishes and dreams come true. Of course, stay young and joyful!

Day 5 - Good Bye Bangkok

2010-04-23T04:17:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day in Bangkok, we marked our final attendance with a pic together with the uniquely decorated kitchen of Take A Nap Hostel..

Before back to Malaysia, we went to have a praying at Erawan Shrine.

We were lucky enough as there are Thai dance around the corner.

As Erawan Shrine is located near Pratunam Area, we decided to take a stroll around that area. We saw the Bangkok famous Central World Plaza in front of us.

Along the street, there are a lot of stalls selling fruits and etc..

Guess what is this? It is a kind of tidbits with red bean fillings. Something special and worth trying!

Seng Hui, " Introducing Thai Coffee ! "

Some reminder for the tourist: Becareful of your belonging! Huang Ying's handphone was pick-pocketed by a guy at there. When the incident happened, we were really in a big shock. We chased after the guy pointed by Huang Ying based on her intuition. It was really funny as the pick pocket is so thick face that he could say a sorry word to us and then pass the handphone to us! So becareful folks!

Another incident, a guy whom seemed to be so friendly walked to us and told us something that were only known by local only. He told us that Bangkok has a temple for Lucky Buddha and it is only open for 1 day in a month and it was so coincidentally on this particular day, the temple is opened. He kept persuading us to go to the temple to pray for health and wealth and told us that can go there with tut-tut with cheap price. As we have read a lot of "story" from the forum, we knew that it was a prank! So, please do be extra careful on these and do not listen to this type of "kind" advice.

One of the scene inside Platinum Mall.

Pei Quan and me felt to have some tom yum again before back to Malaysia. Thus, we walked back to Central World Plaza to hunt for some nice food.

A cute tiger inside Central World Plaza.

We have choosen Phan-Khom Contemporary Thai Cuisine.

Unique decorations in the restaurant.

A glass of cool H2O to chill us.

Food of all Aseans. Thailand Fragrance Rice!

Our favourite Tom Yum Goong.

It was served in claypot and boiling hot! Pei Quan had 2 plates of rice because of this.

A Pad Thai Noodle with shrimp. A normal dish for me, but I gave thumbs up as the shrimp used are very fresh.

I love this Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce! Lean meats are used.

An homemade peanut sauce was served along the Satay. The sauce is different from the one we found in Malaysia as the peanut used are finely blended and it is not oily and nor too spicy.

Our dessert - Todsakan Ice Cream.

Pour the coconut milk onto the icecream before serving to give you the extra punch!

It was a wonderful lunch! We then went around Central World and saw this unique fish net hanging from the top of the floor until it's lower floor. Great art!

At about 4.30pm, we headed to the airport.

A pic of us with our full luggages at the departure hall!

Our last pic in Bangkok airport..

We had instant noodle for our dinner on the flight back.

Finally we are back to Malaysia. These are partial of our "Victory" Items from Bangkok.

It was a WONDERFUL, EVENTFUL trip for all of us. A great outings and we look forward for the future trip together!