Vietnam: Halong Bay & Sapa

Vietnam is an interesting country, full of motorbikes, with motorbikes ferrying the whole family of four, sometimes all without helmet.

Everytime I go, at least one local will ask "Are you Vietnamese?" in either English or Vietnamese.
Many Vietnamese tell me I look Vietnamese.. and I am not sure whether this is a good thing or not, to look local in their country. Maybe I should learn Vietnamese to get by and not stop at just "Xin Chào" (Hello) and "cảm ơn" (Thank you).

And I realised this (Applicable to Laos and Cambodia too) :
You have to say "Discount" and "How much"? when bargaining because these two are basically the only words they understand besides the English numbers.. "Cheaper" does not work..

And if you want to call them, u can call them "Madame" by pronouncing it in the French way.. not "Madam" in the British or Singaporean way.. "auntie" doesn't work also..


Food in Vietnamese is of course tasty and delicious.. and this time I have to go to Halong Bay and Sapa, which I missed the last time.

These two places are really touristy, but that's the must-go for tourists and besides, I'm a tourist :)

Halong Bay:




I spent two days one night on the Junk boat.. which was ok... I think the best thing there is

1. The beautiful sunset


2. Enjoying delicious Vietnamese coffee while relaxing and admiring the peaceful scenery

And then we head on to Sapa..
It was an 8 hours overnight train which was rather shaky and noisy.. it would be advisable to wear a pair of ear plugs..
Beds were relatively clean but toilets were not.. it depends on your luck..

And in Sapa we have to trek the 12km muddy paddy fields which were made worse when it was raining.. the tour guide brought a bunch of Hmong local ladies to help us.. and after the end of the trip, they wanted us to help them back by purchasing something from them at an exorbitant price.. I bought a small pouch at $12sgd. Wah..  but I am thankful for them for helping me through the rough and unstable muddy soil and waters..



Sapa is really beautiful but touristy at the same time.. I can see that they depend highly on the tourism industry as the rice only harvest once a year.. and is only enough to feed the people in Sapa..

Laos: Travelling in Luang Prabang

Getting to Luang Prabang is easy.. there are two ways to get there from Singapore
1. Silk Air
2. Air Asia (Transit in KL)

We chose Air Asia...
We also ordered their famed Nasi Lemak ($4 + a drink if you order it online).

It was better than many airline's food but the real Nasi Lemak is much nicer of course :D

To get from Luang Prabang (LPB) airport to the city is easy.
You just have to queue at the airport booth for a shared airport taxi (50,000 KIP for 3 people) and they will take you to your hotel.

You can change USD to Laos KIP at the airport too.
The rate was 1 USD to 8200 KIP which was about the same rate as the rate in the city.


There are many solo travelers in Luang Prabang..
I said "Hi" to a few random travelers.. (pls dont be afraid if I said Hi randomly to u)

- there was a Japanese girl who worked in Singapore but traveled to LPB because her colleague said it was a beautiful place.. I didnt even dare to travel to Laos alone.. she is really brave..

- there was this China girl who spoke to me to warn me about the weird monk demanding money at Mount Phousi.. haha.. she thought I was from China too.. didn't know my Chinese is so good.

- there was this Thai girl who worked in Marriott in Chiang Mai... She told me that Thai and Laotian is very similar.. they can almost understand each other..



6 things to do in Luang Prabang

1. The Kuang Si Waterfalls
Many taxi drivers offer to take tourists to the waterfall for a fare. I chose to follow my guesthouse's ride - 50,000 kip per person. Entrance to the waterfall is 2000 kip.
Waterfall is quite beautiful and it's the main attraction.

2. Sunset at Mount Phousi
Sunset at Mount Phousi is a must-see. It costs 20,000 kip to enter, and one have to climb up a long flight of stairs to the top. Heard from a fellow traveller to be careful of a monk asking for money there. Nevertheless you can see beautiful sunset there.

3. Sunset at Mekong River
This is also a great place to see sunset.

4. Crossing the bamboo bridge
You can do this if you have time. 5,000 kip to cross over but once you get to the other side, there is nothing much to see and do. Nevertheless, the bamboo bridge is only around during non rainy seasons.

5. Night Market
The night market is a great place to get gifts for your friends/family back home. Lots of stuff where you can negotiate with the seller. It starts at 6pm.

6. Alms giving ceremony
Starts at around 6am, tourists will buy food from the street vendor, sit at one of the stools along the street and place the food into the monk's container as they walk passed. As I observe, almost 99% who participated in this ceremony are tourists.

There are many tours in Luang Prabang to choose from. You can just arrive and choose one that meets your budget when you are there.

Have fun!! :)))

Yangon: Shwedagon pagoda

A UNESCO Heritage, the most revered place in Myanmar.. it's the Shwedagon Pagoda, where the locals enter for free while foreigners paid about US$8 for entrance.

I went in May, which is probably the worst time to go, when temperatures soar  up to 41 degrees celcius. The best time to visit is of course is at night, when the temperature is cooler, and the temple with thousands of diamonds and rubies shone brightly at night.

Welcome to the Shwedagon Pagoda at night! 

Locals praying... it's a grand place

Long flight of stairs... which you have to climb depending on which entrance u enter

Volunteer sweepers sweeping the floor, helping to keep the pagoda clean

Getting to pagoda is easy, just flag a taxi and they will take you there. There are many taxis around  pagoda to get you back to your hotel too. Remember to bargain with the taxi driver! :-)

People in Yangon generally can speak English.. no problems getting around... but I hope their transportation can be improved...

Vietnam: Hoi An

Hoi an is totally a different city in Vietnam. 

We reached Hoi An via the Danang international airport - and taking a cab to Hoi An old town for about $18 USD. 

If you reach in the evening, you will be greeted by a river full of lighted paper lanterns - where each lantern holds the hopes and wishes of individuals.  

Spot these two kids selling lanterns.. 

Hoi An is a city full of rice fields, and other plantations. You can give it a try in planting when you join one of the eco-tours available. It is not an easy feat.

We also took part in a bus tour to My Son. Pronounced as Mi Sern, it is similar to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, but at a smaller scale. Many of the temples were destroyed during the war.

 The fourth incomplete pillar on the right symbolizes the fact that humans are not 100% perfect. It also gives opportunities for the next generation to improve and do better than before.. to always strive for continual improvement.


When you are in Hoi An, you have to eat cao lau  (Cao lầu) , a dish which can only be found in Hoi An. It's delicious!!! It's made up of mint leaves, pork and thick noodles. Taste reminds me of the duck noodles in Singapore. Haha.

Hoi An is a city easily explored by bicycle or motorcycle... delicious food and beautiful city :-)

Tokyo

Tokyo is really awesome. The walking pace really increased and to the highest at the Shibuya crossing o.O Lots of shopping to be done and lots of place to go :D 

In Shinjuku, there is a street where budding singers perform and sing. Most of the shoppers just walked past not paying any attention to them,  but the singers were persistent and continued to sing hoping some day they will make it big. In some of their eyes u can see the unrelenting persistence..

In all of them lies a dream and they have the courage to pursue it.

Yokohama

Yokohama is famous for the Chinatown as well as the ferris wheel. Be sure to try the Gyoza which was awesome! Much better than the ones I had in Tokyo. If you want to drink beer, try the All Malt Beer below. It is one of the best! 

Yokohama is a happy place because they have Happy Lawson!!! :D

Once in Yokohama,  the walking pace of the people is getting faster, much faster than those in Izu and Hakone. There's Ippudo in the shopping mall near the station at I must say it is better than the Ippudo in Singapore haha. Oh and there's Ichiran too! :D

Izu and Shimoda

From Hakone, we went to Izu and Shimoda. JR line again. As Izu and Shimoda are not cities, not many people can speak English. 

What do u do when u enter the izakaya with no English menu?

Just order - Yakitori... u will never go wrong..

The waitress was very friendly and spoke to us using sign languages.

She recommended chicken wings and grilled beef tongue.. just imagine how this was communicated using sign languages... 

Izu is very beautiful and food is very delicious ahhh..

At the Izu Kogen station, you can get to soak your feet at the public hot spring. I think it is interesting. 

Be sure to enjoy the hot spring if you come here  :)

Hakone fun 6-8 April

Hakone is a beautiful place - especially during the Cherry Blossoms season. We were lucky to see the cherry blossoms - of different species. Everywhere were so beautiful, even the cat looks cuter than those in Singapore (ok maybe I'm a little bias). 

We took Cathay from Sg to Haneda airport. We chose to land at Haneda because it is nearer to Tokyo (save traveling time :) ), and then we took the JR Line to Hakone-Yumoto Station. We bought the 3-days Hakone free-pass at the Odawara station for 4500 Yen. 

You can go here for ticket information.

Places to visit

1) Owakudani (大涌谷) - an active volcanic valley, to eat the black eggs. It comes in a pack of five. Legend has it that eating one of them will prolong one's live for 7 years. I ate two and a half of them. Too much cholesterol for the day  >.<

2) Lake Ashi - actually it is just a lake but it is featured in every guidebook about Hakone

3) Gotemba - for factory outlet shopping.. Not really fantastic.. only the view of Mount Fuji is freat!

4) Hot spring - for the brave ones. But some Ryokans allow you to lock the doors of the indoor Onsens at midnight - became personal hot spring whee~

5) Hatsuhana Soba - It has the best Soba I have ever eaten. Yummy!

Cambodia - Siem Reap reaping

 Cambodia - a country in Southeast Asia located between Thailand and Vietnam, is a country I wanted to go since 2010, when I introduced the country in my French class. Not sure why they ask me to introduce Cambodia.. maybe all Asians look the same..

Finally I got the chance to go there - though only Siem reap - for four days - 18 March - 21 March :)

Siem Reap - 2 hours, from Singapore, has about the same temperature, if not hotter than Singapore. When I was there in March, it was 35 degrees Celsius, but it feels like 40 degrees [like an oven].

The most common mode of transport was motorcycles and Tuk Tuk for tourists. Tuk Tuk is like the taxi - the easiest and most convenient means of transport.
There is always a line of Tuk Tuks outside our hotel, they always call out to us "Tuk Tuk,  Lady" whenever we walk pass them..

For that four days, my name is known as "Tuk Tuk Lady."

So sorry I know I look v cui.. but this is South East Asia under the hot sun at 40 degrees!

The highlight of the whole trip was of course the Angkor Wat. To get the beautiful shot below, we reached there at about 5am to get a good place and waited for the sun to rise.

The Angkor wat was a pretty amazing place. With grand and majestic structures, one would wonder how they manage to build all those buildings in the 12th century without advance technologies that we have today. All built with the help of the elephants. 

Our guide took us to some parts of Angkor Wat to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the place. He told us "Normally, people wouldn't come here. The main road does not lead you to here. Sometimes, you have to go out of the main road to explore, and you might find amazing places." That got me thinking.

The Khmer people are very friendly and hospitable. They are full of smiles and most of them can speak English relatively well. They are relatively laid-back. You can see many children trying to sell postcards, keychains etc. Since my friend and I look Asian and I don't look rich, many don't approach us. 

The Khmer food is delicious - if you go to the right restaurant. ;-) 

The chicken rice rom the New Leaf Book Cafe (pic at the top left) was one of the most delicious chicken rice I have ever eaten, the lime juice was refreshing too - but be prepared to wait for the food.  I waited for at least 20 mins..  

The Amok from Haven Training Restaurant was wonderful too. I think it serves the best Amok in Siem reap. haha. Much better than the one I cooked (pic at bottom left) at the cooking class. 

The Khmer Curry (pic at top right) is an interesting dish. They are nothing like the Thai, Indian, Malay, Indonesian or Japanese curry. In addition to the usual chicken slices, potatoes and carrots, there were Taro/Yam and sweet potatoes.

The above pictures were taken at Sister Srey Cafe. Interesting words. :)

Shopping in Seoul

Seoul is a shopping heaven!
Beautiful clothes, shoes, bags and cheap cosmetics.
When u are tired of shopping, just popped into one of the many cafes to take a rest.
If u are hungry, just go into one of the many restaurants for delicious food.
What more can I say?! WOW! :D

Myeondong
Is a shopping paradise.
Familiar brands like Forever 21, Zara, GAP can be found here.
Korea cosmetics brands like Innisfree, The Face Shop, Nature Republic, Missha, Holika Holika, Tony Moly are all around. We almost went crazy. Hahaha. :D

My friend and I love this place. Good shopping and food, but I think my friend and I look too foreign. Everyone can tell that we are foreigners. Usually outside those cosmetic stores, there is always one or two ladies welcoming everyone into their stores.
"안녕하세요! 안녕하세요!"
But when those ladies saw us, they will always say "欢迎光临" or "Welcome".
I think I also heard "Sawadee krap".

Insadong
Is a beautiful place. The shops' names are in their korean characters without romanticization. Look at the 2 familiar shops Missha and Etude house

Haha.. and it is a good place to buy touristy stuff.. for friends and relatives and colleagues. hahaha.

Dongdaemun
If u like shopping centres or if u want to go into a place to bargain, this is the place for u. haha. You can find fortune tellers here too, although we didn't go to any because of our limited korean vocabulary.

Namdaemun
Hahaha.. my friend and I had an interesting conversation with an old woman, probably in her 80s selling chilli powder. Hahahaha.. surprisingly we actually understood what she was saying.. especially when she asked if we had a calculator. XD

Our first experience taking a taxi

Before I arrived in Korea, I know I am going to take a taxi there...
So before I departed for Korea, I went to youtube to search for some videos on "How to take a taxi"
hahahaha..

Where should I catch a taxi?  택시 어디서 타요? (taxi ordisor tayo)
How much is the taxi fare? 요금 얼마예요? (yogeum elmayeyo)

Our first experience taking a taxi
was at the seoul station on 03/02/2012 around 00:30am. So early right? haha.
We queued up and waited in the cold. It was -17 degrees celsius. Can you believe it? Just 12 hours ago, we were in a sunny (and humid) city with a temperature of 27 degrees celsius.

When it was our turn, we bought the taxi. The driver had a super long hair, at first I thought he was a woman. I think he asked where we wanted to go several times in Korean because I kept hearing the two words "어디" in the sentences he said. hahaha..
So I took out the address of the hotel and read the address to him in a heavily Singaporean accented korean.. and obviously he couldn't understand me. So I handed over the address to him.
He squinted and took out his glasses to read the address. After several minutes, he still could not figure out the address of the hotel. I guess his longsightedness is quite serious.

Fortunately, my friend had the map of the hotel.
With the help of the map, the GPS and after receiving several honks from other drivers, the taxi driver finally brought us to the right place. haha.

Welcome to Kaohsiung

When we reached Kaoshiung, we were greeted by a woman in sunglasses, and the words 'welcome' and 'Kaohsiung' on her forehead and lips.

The first thing we did was to head towards the first bubble tea we saw - 50 Lan. I

Super cool! It tasted like the KOI bubble tea in Singapore, bu the price of a cup of bubble tea in Singapore!!  This is awesome :D 

Land of Bubble Tea

Welcome to the land of Bubble Tea, the land of idol dramas, talented pop stars and soap operas. haha.
Arrived in Taoyuan Airport - 13 May.
Here is our Bubble Itinerary! :D

Since our flight landed at around 11pm, we checked in at Luckynews classic hotel near Taoyuan before leaving for Kaohsiung the next day. I was amazed by their service there. Airport pickup (if you book the rooms with them directly), friendly and courteous staff, nice room, comfy bed. Breakfast is also delivered right to our door!

Munich - in four hours - 3rd Jan 2011

First time in Germany, first time in Europe, and I am alone. I can't believe it!
19 hours of transit time in Munich - what else to do but EXPLORE! :D

Plane landed at 10am Munich time (5am Montreal time) & I was sooo sleepy..zzz.
- I left my hand luggage at the left baggage corner.
- Headed straight to the information counter to grab the map and asked for directions to the city.
- Changed all my Canadian dollars to Euros
- Bought the train ticket (10 Euros)
And here I go.. with a map, my backpack and my camera. ;)

Munich is a really nice place!
 And I picked up some German words too - Ausgang, Danke, Guten Tag, Willkommen.
After 4-5 hours of exploring, I went back to the airport to sleep (jet lagged).

My test paper

Yesterday, my professor finally gave us back our test paper.
She was calling out each person's name so he/she can go down to collect his/her paper.
"Philip.. Nicholas... Jeremy..."
Suddenly she paused and asked "how do I pronounce this?"
After the professor gave out everyone's paper, I realised I haven't got mine. I went down to the professor and then I realised that the "how do I pronounce this" paper was mine.

I thought my name is easy to pronounce. Similar to Wellington right?

Skiing

Skiing was a horrifying experience for me.

It was my first time trying to ski at Mont Tremblant. Unforgettable, but don't think I want to try it again.

My first snowman

This is my first snowman outside my window. Sorry if it doesn't look like one. Just imagine it to be. :P

Speaking English

A lot of people do not know that our first language is English.

*Incident one*
I went to NY last week.. at the customs.. I presented my passport and the lady told me that I have to fill up the Green Card..

"Which language do you like?"
"English"
"We have a wide variety of languages you can choose from.. are you sure you want it in English?"
At that point, I was so tempted to ask "Do you have Singlish?"

*Incident two*
I met a chinese girl on the shuttle bus. After some greetings, she asked me in Chinese to speak a few sentences in Singapore language (说几句新加坡语). I gave her puzzled look and asked "Singapore language?" （什么新加坡语？）
She asked "What language do you speak in Singapore?"
I replied "English."
She gave a surprised face and said "Oh."

Second Happiest place?

I remember during one of the talks before school start, when one of the speakers said "Welcome to Montreal..... Montreal is the second happiest place in the world according to Lonely Planet."(First was Vanuatu). While everyone was wondering where is the happiest place in the the world, I thought of what my professor said when I was in year 2.

One day, I popped into my professor's office. Looking straight into my eyes, he asked "What does success mean to you?" I said "Being happy." He nodded and said "Some people told me that it means getting a good job, some think it means getting good grades." He paused, looked at me and said "Most importantly, you have to be happy."

People in Montreal r happy, but r they successful?
The lion is looking at u. It is not the merlion but it reminds me of the merlion. hehe. ;)

Ottawawawa...

I went to Ottawa on Saturday...
Nothing much but I heard it is nicer in Spring because of the beautiful Tulips.. all I got to see now were the Tulips' stems.

Anyway.. I walked past Starbucks and saw these words .. so nice right? hehe.