Penang: Pearl of the Orient Reinvented

Under the new administration of Pakatan Rakyat and DAP, they have shown everyone what a clean and corruption free government can do to the country. The Pearl of the Orient of Penang has been reinvented and brought back to its former glory; in terms of economy as well as tourism and heritage preservation. While all the other states are losing money and tourists due to open corruptions and deadly crimes, Penang is the only state making money even with its limited resources. With more money in the coffer, the administration in turn used it to reinvent the tourism sector as well as heritage preservation of the city now that it is recognized under UNESCO's World Heritage Site. Walking on the tourist friendly streets is a pleasure for everyone with informative signboards everywhere to highlight prominent landmarks. Now there is also a new craze in town called the street art hunt initiated by the state government to encourage more tourists in the old streets. I have never felt safer anywhere in Malaysia walking down the heritage trail hunting for street arts, good food and also at the same time learning the history of Penang. Good job CM Lim Guan Eng, DAP and Pakatan Rakyat. You have done us voters and Malaysians proud.

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Mini Travel Log: Rome, Italy

Although this is the second time I visit Rome, this city has never failed to impress me. This is the only city in Europe which is different from the rest of the typical Europe cities. The magnificent and grandeur of the Roman architecture makes the difference. So many structures and buildings not only they are grand and beautiful, they also withstood the test of times. Many structures are more than 2000 years old. It leaves an awe in every tourist. While the new city is built on top of the old, some structures have gone underground. There are numerous excavations in the city to dig up the past and every year, there are numerous new discoveries of the old Roman ruins that tell the story of the great Roman empire. If you are planning a Europe trip, skip a few of those boring European cities but never miss out Rome. All roads lead to Rome so make sure you come here too to relive your own Gladiator days and go home with a story to tell.

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Related link: Summer Gladiators: Rome + Vatican + Venice

Lake Tekapo

Lake Tekapo is one of the many beautiful lakes surrounded by snow capped alps in South Island of New Zealand. This is a must stop location for the scenic drive from Christchurch to Wellington. The lake is crystal blue in color fresh from the melted glaciers. This place will be UNESCO's first "starlight reserve", the perfect place for stargazing due to unpolluted air. During winter months, visitors will be dazzled by the Southern Lights/Aurora Australis.

My visit this time was definitely too short and at the wrong time when it was too cloudy. I definitely need to return next time on a proper holiday so I can stay a few nights at Lake Tekapo for stargazing activities and also astrophotography to capture the spectacular light shows of the Aurora Australis.

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Yosemite: Where The Immortal Giants Live

The giant sequoia trees can be found in Yosemite National Park. They can live up to 3000 over years old and even after death, their wood still stays the same for another few hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. The wood is highly resistant towards fire, termites and decay. The only way a sequoia can die is either through the axe or when it falls over upon it's own massive weight. Words and pictures cannot describe how massive and impressive these trees are. When I stood beside these giants, I was awestruck by their massive height and size. I looked like a rat in a dinosaur era.

After the hike to see the giants, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the Yosemite valley. Once again, I was dwarfed by the granite boulders that rise 4000ft straight up. I was literally holding my neck and looked upwards most of the time to see these majestic boulders like the El Capitan, Sentinel Dome and Half Dome. This visit during the summer was just an introductory trip for myself. Perhaps in the future, I will return again during different seasons especially winter time to enjoy that white serenity feeling or spring time to see the great water falls come to life with it's gushing water.

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I-City: Bright Lights, Dull Future

I-City in Shah Alam opened to much fanfare and promise. When it was just opened, many locals flock to this area and came back with beautiful pictures of this LED-lighted park. But beautiful pictures don't translate to actual atmosphere and tourist satisfaction. In my opinion, it was all down to bad planning and bad management. The beautiful park sucks up tons of electricity to power up the LED-lighted trees and maintenance is not cheap. In order to stay afloat, good attractions should be in place to continuously generate interests among visitors so they will return again. However, this place is half dead with only the trees shining brightly. The only visitors keeping this place filled are students from government sponsored schools which come in bus loads. Many commercial buildings around this park are vacant. Without commercial and shopping activities, there will be no drawing power to bring in visitors. The only attractions at the moment are the small water theme park which operates in the day and the boring amusement park cum snow center which operates at night. Parking fee is exorbitant and if you want to rely on public transport, then you're out of luck as this place is in the middle of nowhere. The boring rides at the amusement park are very costly if you pay a-la-carte. Perhaps the management should learn from the success of Sunway Pyramids. LED trees alone will not grow money nor attract investors and visitors. Currently, residents in Klang and Shah Alam have to travel far to Mid Valley or Sunway for weekend entertainment cum shopping activities. If you put a nice shopping mall beside the park, then there are more reasons for the residents here to come down to I-City rather than one time affair with the LED trees.

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Best Peking Duck Restaurant

If you are in Beijing and want to eat Peking duck, you can try DaDong restaurant in one of the four branches in the city. I've tried the one in NanXinCang (南新仓) cultural and pedestrian street at Dongsishitiao Rd. (东四十条). It was the best Peking duck I've tasted in my life. The chef of this restaurant is well known all over the world based on the awards, stars and pictures on their Hall of Fame wall. Since this place is popular among expats, you should come earlier during dinner time. If you don't mind the queue, you can always hang out and socialize at the very modern open bar at the entrance. Although considered fine dining restaurant, the bill is not too exorbitant. I had a ten course meal with Peking duck for just 200 yuan or SGD$40 per person.

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Mini Travel Log: Copenhagen, Denmark (2)

It is summer in Denmark. The sun rises at 4.30am and doesn't set until 10pm. For those loving the sun and outdoor activities, you're gonna love the long day. I enjoyed the sun and lovely weather while walking to see the Little Mermaid one more time. Surprisingly, not many tourists are found at the mermaid. Maybe Denmark is not a very popular tourist destination in Europe. I don't know why. Or perhaps there are better attractions to offer outside the city than the small and timid mermaid. Next time on my return, I shall check out the many countryside castles and cross over to Sweden too since both countries are separated only by a bridge.

On the side note, all the photos taken below are from my Samsung Galaxy S3. I did not bring any camera since it was a short trip. After a couple of updates, the phone is getting even better and the phone camera produces amazing pictures. You can never go wrong with a Galaxy series phone.

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Related link: Mini Travel Log: Copenhagen, Denmark (1)

Hazy Days Ahead

Due to irresponsible people over in Indonesia burning their land, their neighbours in South East Asia has got to pay for the price. This had been going on for decades with Indonesia not taking responsibilities. In respect of each other's sovereignty, there is no way other countries can bring Indonesia to task. In my whole life, I must say this is the worst condition compared to all the previous years. The only way that we perhaps can pressure them to be responsible is to boycott their products and services. Without feeling the economic pinch, these corrupt officials will never act and stop all those illegal burning. The world consumers should stop buying palm oil products from Indonesia until they are environmentally friendly.

Back in Singapore, it is "amazing" to see people blame the Government for not doing anything or buying them "free" masks. They had already done what can be done by disseminating information through various media about the severity of the haze hourly. They have also summoned the Indon officials to pressure them only to get a do-not-interfere reply. So what else is there to be done? Health is a responsibility of own individual. So people, save your breath complaining and take care of your health by wearing N95 mask when you are outside. If you are so smart in finding a solution, then volunteer yourself and go have a war with the Indons and claim their land to rid of the haze.


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