Wulai and Danshu

went to Wulai (烏來) in the morning, taking bus from Xindian (新店) MRT...went to the aboriginal musuem for a look...very interesting where you get to know the history of the many different tribes and their culture...their tattooed faces are especially unique...took a short train ride to the Wulai waterfall...like the 3rd waterfall or something i have seen already in this tour...so nothing impressive...walk around and explore the village abit...there is also this cable car u can take to higher ground for a higher view...ate lunch at a little shop just by the river, the view from there was nice and i could see people "swimming" or rather struggling in the river with their floats, following the strong current down the river...kinda funny i thought haha...left Wulai and went shopping at Taipei underground mall again...saw lots of toy models...so tempted to buy 1 set of samurai swords model cos it was really nice but expensive too haiz...rested a while before going to Danshui again...lots of people there maybe because the next day is the Chinese Valentine Day...damn, where is my valentine? =p...eat lots of stuff again...tried the freshly caught and cooked squids...u can eat it just like that and u can really taste the freshness of it...went back hostel...met up with alot of new people who just came in...a Mexican family...people from Korea, States and more...the living room is really busting with life haha...and i shared the room with a new comer, Steven from Canada who is here on holiday too.

Wulai waterfall
beautiful sunset at Danshui
night view of Bali
lots of people!
few art pieces displaying at the Zhongshan underground mall that caught my eyesthis was titled "Top Rated Betelnut"...u probably get what it means ya haha

Inti Raymi in Cusco and Corpus Christi

I am not a very religious man and although I very much believe there is more to life than meets the eye, I have tended to stay away from institutionalized religion due to some authority issues, which sadly have stood in the way of my enlightenment. That does not mean I do not see the beauty in the history and rituals of some religious habits and festivities, and part of the attraction of Latin America certainly lies in its cultural heritage, and therefore also in its divine celebrations.

I will have to be honest and say I have never witnessed either of the two important religious festivals I am about to describe here. Not sure as to why, as I have certainly not shunned them, I’ve simply not been in the right place at the right time I guess, as is always a possibility when one tries to get to know an entire continent. I was asked to give some reflections on these two events as they are coming up, so I did a little research. I must say that after all I read, I may change my travel plans for this year and make sure to be in Cusco on June 24^th and anywhere in Brazil, Peru or Ecuador roughly 50 days after Easter…

Inti Raymi

The Festival of the Sun was a religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the sun-god Inti, one of the most venerated gods in Inca religion. According to chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, Sapa Inca Pachacuti created the Inti Raymi to celebrate the winter solstice and a new year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere.

Today, it's the second largest festival in South America. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Cusco from other parts of Peru, South America and the world, for a week long celebration marking the beginning of a new year - the Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun.

During the Inca Empire, the Inti Raymi was the most important of four ceremonies celebrated in Cusco, as related by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The celebration took place in the Haukaypata or the main plaza in the city. The ceremony was also said to indicate the mythical origin of the Incas, with nine days of colorful dances and processions, as well as animal sacrifices to ensure a good cropping season. The last Inti Raymi with the Inca Emperor's presence was carried out in 1535, after which the Spanish conquest and the Catholic Church suppressed it. Some natives participated in similar ceremonies in the years after, but it was completely prohibited in 1572 by the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, who claimed it was a pagan ceremony opposed to the Catholic faith.

In 1944, a historical reconstruction of Inti Raymi was directed by Faustino Espinoza Navarro with indigenous actors. The reconstruction was so popular that it was repeated a number of times and the Inti Raymi festival has now been reestablished as a much looked forward to yearly event.

Corpus Christi

Latin for Body of Christ, this is the holiday when Catholics commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist, or communion. It’s held either on a Thursday or a Sunday roughly 50 days after Easter.

The appearance of Corpus Christi as a feast in the Christian calendar was primarily due to the petitions of the thirteenth-century Augustinian nun Juliana of Liège. From her early youth Juliana revered the Blessed Sacrament, and always longed for a special feast in its honor. In 1208 she reported her first vision of Christ during which she was instructed to plead for the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi. The vision was repeated for the next 20 years but she kept it a secret. When she eventually relayed it to her confessor, he relayed it to the bishop. Sadly, the celebration of Corpus Christi became widespread only long after St. Juliana had died.

Throughout Latin America, Corpus Christi is celebrated every year and it is considered one of the most important religious holidays after Christmas and Easter. Decorating the streets with colorful carpets made from wood shavings and other materials is one of the highlights of this celebration of the faith.

I hope to have given a more or less adequate description of both festivals, which as I said I have not experienced myself thus far. I truly hope to be able to make the time this year or next to go and witness them - let me know if you’re thinking of going too! Also, if you have any first-hand stories to share about any of these festivities then I’d love to hear them.

Thanks again and happy trails

Bungalows Ubud , Bali.

The Sri Bungalows Ubud is located along the Monkey Forest street of Ubud town, Bali.
After about 1 hour 20 mins journey from Kuta.
But the distance from the lobby to our bungalows was about 400 meters! My goodness! But we were satisfy once we saw the room setting...

The entrance to our bungalow unit

The King size bed

The spacious bathroom with bath tub

The staircase to the upper level...

The 2 queen size beds...

There was no air-condition on the upper level, only equipped with one ceiling fan. But it was cooling enough.

The second balcony of our room...

The second balcony of our room...

Our room at Sri Bungalows Ubud

The main entrance to Sri Bungalows Ubud

We were satisfied with the bungalows and the services provided (free Wifi to the room). I did noticed the security guard patroling the bungalows area every hour in night time till morning, that made us feel safety! Great!
There are many bungalows around the Ubud area, we will try to stay at some others bungalows in our next visit!

Don't fool by the outlook of the main entrance, the beautiful scenery is behind it.

Places to visit in Malaysia (Selangor)

Places to visit in Malaysia (Selangor), Malaysia is a list complied from the latest updates on tourism related products from around here. Over the years, many have seen the state as a major shopping and business hub but there have been much improvements in the tourism sector here where many new products have been launched. Some of them include Eco-Tourism activities while most of them are natural places of interest.

According the the latest numbers, a total of 13.5 million domestic tourist visited Selangor from the year 2007 to April 2011. The bulk of visitors came mainly from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Selangor for sight seeing, food, shopping, Eco-Tourism, adventure and many other related reasons.

Among the top tourism spots in Selangor, they are listed in no particular order as;

* Blue Mosque in Shah Alam
* Bukit Melawati Hill in Kuala Selangor
* Sepang Gold Coast
* Batu Caves in Gombak
* I-City in Shah Alam
* Sunway Lagoon in Sunway, Petaling Jaya
* Firefly Park in Kuala Selangor
* Dong Zen Monastery in Jenjarom
* Galeri DiRaja Sultan Abdul Aziz in Klang
* Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong
* Kanching Recreational Forest in Rawang




Below are some of the growing tourist attractions around Selangor;

* Gold Coast Morib
* Little India in Klang
* Agro Tourism in Sekinchan
* Tubing and White Water Rafting in Hulu Selangor
* Rabbit Fun Land in Seminyih
Indian Pottery of Kuala Selangor
* Mah Meri Orang Asli Handicraft in Pulau Carey Island
* Songket and Batik Makers of Shah Alam and Sepang

While Selangor still remains one of the top destinations for food and shopping especially with the growing number of Shopping Malls in Petaling Jaya, many other niches are available or being created in and around the state. One of the upcoming places to visit would be Little India in Klang where a Heritage Walk has been developed to promote the many historical and heritage sites here. Old pre-war buildings don the streets while many different places of worship can be found in this entire area. The place is also well known for the Indian culture and charm.

Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant in Hanoi

Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant in Hanoi is one of the must visit places if you are the foodie type of traveler. Located along the famed Cha Ca Road in Hanoi's Old Quarter, you will find this 104 year old business along one of the shabby shoplots on this busy street. There are two Cha Ca La Vong Restaurants in Hanoi. One of is rip off of the original while the other is the real deal. To tell the difference, the real one has 'Charcoal Stoves' and dining is only on the first floor of the restaurant while the fake one uses an electrical stove and you can dine on both floors. Visiting the original restaurant was an adventure by itself as once there, you needed to climb a 45 degree wooden staircase to get to the first floor. The restaurant up top was no larger that a deluxe hotel room with about 8 dining tables. It looked more like an antique store with heavy wooden floorboards and a huge prayer alter mounted on one wall.The green colour on the walls make the place look like some sort of bar from twenty years ago.

So, what is Cha Ca La Vong? It is actually a fish and vegetable dish that was handed down from generation to generation. The art of preparation is done by the chefs and a waiter or waitress brings the raw dish to your table and cooks it on the spot showing you how its done before attempting to do-it-yourself. Mind you that there is only one dish and this is it. People come here for the experience so do not expect much. As a travel foodie.

Grilled Fish with herbs and vegetables dish at the restaurant

The unique dish is prepared with a hot coal stove brought to your table while bowls of raw food and condiments are accompanied. Whitefish pieces, local vegetables, turmeric, herbs, Pho (Vietnamese Noodles), Onions and Peanuts with a local sauce and oil is placed on your table. As the person cooks it in front of you, the strong aroma of the fish and vegetables fill the entire room while the condiments are slowly placed in. Finally after about 3-5 minutes, the dish is ready and served to you in a little bowl with the Pho noodles. You then attempt to do the next round yourself which can be an exciting adventure all together.

While doing a search on the internet, you will find a lot of reviews and comments about Cha Ca La Vong and about 80% of them claim that this place is a rip off, cheat or nothing great. Well, to be very honest, I doubt these people have really traveled much to be able to pass such opinions. So what if the experience was expensive, that's what you pay for when you want to try something authentic in another country. The funny thing is travelers nowadays are very opinionated and sometimes for all the wrong reasons.

                                   Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant - Preparing the meal video

                            Video of Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant in Hanoi

Cha Ca La Vong Restaurant Address
14 Chả Cá, Hoan Kiem
Hanoi, Vietnam
Telephone Number: 84-4/825-3929 
Price: VND120,000 per person 

Food in Penang

Food in Penang is definitely one of the must try local foods that everyone should experience when you are visiting this former British ruled island. As Penang Island or Pulau Pinang is located on the northwest of Malaysia on an island which houses over two million Penangites (what locals from Penang are called), there are many ways to get there which are by self driving, bus, train, ferry or by flight.

Kung Fu Fast Food in China

As such, I still have a soft spot for QSRs (Quick Service Restaurants - or fast food joints if you prefer) and whenever I see or go into one I am judging the operation in terms of QSC (quality, service and cleanliness) and in terms of the business itself. I must admit that I also get excited when I discover a new brand.

Today was one of those days when I had my first encounter with Kungfu.

They are a modern QSR serving Chinese food, their point of differentiation was the fact that the food was healthy (steamed meats, soups and quick boiled vegetables), and they have Bruce Lee on everything!

Service
The service was very quick and attentive, however it was very haphazard. We ordered and the cashier was very friendly and helped us with the menu, but when we ordered at one cash register he walked back to the middle of the counter and punched in the order. Then over the top of all the customers he yelled over to Sabrina the amount that was due. She then had to fight her way through the lining up customers to get to the register to pay. Not a nice experience.

The other problem was with the disclosure of what was in certain dishes (this is a common China problem). Sabrina doesn't eat pork, so we ordered a beef and a chicken meal with an egg custard dish on the side. Once we got the egg custard dish, there was a funny grey meat in it. After quizzing the staff it turned out that it was pork. The food providers in this country need to get their act together and disclose the contents of some products. This is particularly crucial for the upcoming Olympics and World Expo 2010 as it will drive hundreds of thousands additional visits over the next 10 years, many of these people will be Jews, Muslims, Hindus etc with particular beliefs. It would be very easy to ruin someones experience in China with an innoculous egg custard.

On the positive side, the manager happily replaced the offending egg custard with another dish, so full points for service and customer care after the fact.

Food
The style of food would be described as modern casual Chinese. It consisted of steam rice with mushrooms, noodles, soup, beef with rice, soy milk etc. You can see more here.

The food quality was great. Everything was hot and fresh and tasted very good.

We had to wait for the beef noodle soup, but it was delivered quickly.

The boiled lettuce in strange brown sauce was ok - a bit more up Sabrina's alley than mine.

The food was all served in branded melamine bowls with lids - even the spoons were melamine and had the Bruce Lee image. This kept the food hot and made the eating experience more like that of a traditional restaurant (ie cutlery and crockery) although the chopsticks and cups were disposable.

The prices were reasonable, 16 RMB for a meal with some steamed chicken & mushroom, rice and soy milk - and only 6RMB for a small bowl of beef noodle soup (and it wasn;t really that small).

Decor & Cleaniness
The decor was great. The colours, furniture and lighting was very modern, acctractive and comfortable. The store was absolutely spotless. There was not an uncleared table in the store when we entered, not a mark on the floor or the windows. What I could see of the kitchen was clean and tidy as well.

Branding
They have certainly positioned the name and imagery to capture the youth market. Huge Bruce Lee pitures abound and his iconic image appears on everything from the signs, cups, bowls to the tray mats (I wonder about the licensing of his image!?).

The Bruce Lee images made me think of them running birthday parties with a martial arts host instead of a clown. Might catch on!

The quality of the branding and the image they portrayed overall shows that a great deal of money and developmenbt time has gone into these stores.