2014 - Year In Review

One year about to pass in days time. Reviewing the past year in photos, hoping for a better one in 2015



First trip to the Taiwan & judging from the enjoyable moments we had, it's definitely won't be the last time there



Daytrip to Melaka - One of many countless moments I had with The Love. I can't stop thanking God for having you in my life, SL.



Last minute planned trip to Bangkok but definitely worth the effort/time

Welcoming baby Carlson to the Eng family & it's such a joy to see his smile & antics daily in da house

I left this seat of mine after serving 11 years 4 months with Nippon Express, seeking greener pastures with DHL Global Forwarding.

One of the gatherings with the usual Akurian gang. We should get the trip started again for next year...

Bangkok Beat #2

Day 2

Continuing from previous post on Bangkok trip, we booked a half day tour of Floating Market & Dangerous Market with the Kasem's friend, Apichart (Mr Tee as he want to be called) as he had prior booked job assignment. According to Kasem, there is this unofficial consortium of Toyota Innova & Fortuner drivers whereby the drivers share each other contacts & job assignments. In this competitive tourism industry, this is definitely a win-win situation for all drivers. Our tour is booked at the rate of 2000 baht (approx. MYR 202.00) nett. The journey by taxi from hotel to Damnoen Saduak district where the markets are located, takes 1.5 hours.

Arrived at the town of Maeklong. This has to be the most underrated tourist attraction in Thailand. Never I've heard or seen before a market was held on a railway track. Really, no joke !!! A wet market where villagers sell their vegetable produces  & seafood catches on the track itself. This place is called Maeklong Railway Market (the local guides called it Dangerous Market). Truly, this has to be the most interesting & dangerous market in the world. When the train runs though the market, pretty amazing sight to see the synchronized moves of the sellers  lower their awnings, take away their stuffs from the tracks while the train slowly moves. Once the train passes & stopped at nearby Maeklong train station (the last stop), the sellers will position back their stuffs & business continues as usual. This go on for 3 times a day I heard. Definitely a must-visit place if you're in Bangkok.



Fresh market along the track

Awning lowered as the train slowly passed

Next we took a long boat ride thru the river (unnamed) to the world famous Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. The ride costs 2500 baht (approx. MYR 225), where we started from a narrow man-made straight slowly to the river bank. Along the way, there's ubiquitous stores selling handicrafts & souvenirs. It's only towards the banks where there's busier activities going on & more varieties of foods sold. The whole ride took us 2 hours. Good for a first-time experiences as there's not many river markets that u heard of these days.

Our sampan (wooden boat) for the floating market tour

Fresh mangoes on sale

One of many floating stalls, selling various types of food

Bangkok famous traffic jam even extends to the water !!!

The main activity area in the market

By the time we finished our half day tour & back to hotel, it's just passed 2pm. We got the driver stopped us a MBK shopping complex, the first stop of our mall hopping activity. Had lunch at its reputable premium food court at 6th floor, good place for those seeking a one stop centre serving tasty local & international food. Highly recommended.



MBK shopping complex

From MBK, took the local MRT ride to Terminal 21 shopping mall, Siam Paragon & finally got onto a local tut-tut to Platinum Mall for another round of shopping.

Mall hopping with help of MRT



With tut-tut, all transportation modes are used in our Bangkok trip

Fried pork - You will never go wrong, ordering this anywhere in Bangkok

 

Crazy price on offer at Pratunam night market

Day 3

Woke up at 6am to follow Mum to the morning Pratunam wholesale market. The price of a shirt here is incredibly cheap at 100 baht each & if you buy more, it can go lower. Apparently this place is where lots of retailers/ Malaysian pasar malam sellers come to get their stocks. You see, in Pratunam there's a 3 sessions of markets here & an unwritten agreement between all sellers to follow them. The morning market sellers will open till 12.00pm & then another separate group of sellers will then come for the afternoon session. At night, another different sets of people take over. So, in actual in 12 hours, you can see different sets of sellers along a same street, enable you to shop all day long. Had our lunch before taking the taxi to Don Muang International Airport for the flight back home.

Pratunam morning wholesale market

On shopping part, comparing the premium brands, not much differences comparing to the ones in KL but for the lower ends market, the price simply hits the floor & it's almost impossible for the price to be believable. It's no wonder women go crazy here..:) Food wise, no way you will go wrong with tomyam soup here & the other famous Thai food like pad thai, fried chickens etc. Pick any of the stall/restaurant which has these dishes, you will get above average quality at least. Definitely worth second visit & more.

Bangkok Beat #1

Ask any Asian frequent traveler out there & most of them will tell you that they have been to Bangkok but I've never been there. Each time the plan is in store, timing is just not right with factors like unstable political situation, flood etc. Finally got the chance to visit there recently with my parents during my leaves before starting new job (I'll talk about that in later post). One day after I was told my resignation was accepted, Mum helped booked hotel & flight immediately.

Day 1

Departed on an Air Asia flight from the new KLIA2 international airport & arrived at Don Mueng International Airport at 11.30 am local time. By the way, Bangkok is 1 hour earlier than Malaysian time. Greeted by the taxi driver by the name of Kasem. True to what they said about Thai people, Kasem was warm & courteous, speaking in good commanding English. Thank you to TripAdvisor too for helping us to get his contacts. Like many of the South East Asian cities, you don't need a paid tour package to help you go around Bangkok really. Bangkok has many those Toyota Innova & Fortuner taxi drivers who can be booked with reasonable fee to bring you around to the places of attractions. For a full day tour covering Floating Market, Dangerous Market & Grand Palace, it costs only 3500 baht (approx. MYR 352.00 or USD 103) for a van which can comfortably seat 5 people. All drivers can cover till nearby Pattaya & Hua Hin. Some are willing to drive to Chiangmai & Haadyai, which are 10 hours drive away. The more resourceful ones can even help you to book hotel rooms or show tickets with just a telephone call.

Kasem with his Toyota Fortuner taxi

Checked into this Hotel 93, located at the vicinity of Pratunam district area. The famous Pratunam market is only stones throw away from the hotel & most major shopping complexes are about 10-20 minutes walk away. No time wasted the moment we left our luggages & walked straight to Platinum Mall, Thailand largest fashion mall about 10 minutes walks away. It has 7-storeys of shopping floors & countless numbers of stores. The stores operate on the principle that buying 1 piece is a retail sale, but buying 3 pieces & above will get you wholesale price. The pricing structure differs according to stores & the agreed price will depends on your bargaining skills & the seller's agreement. Some stores do not practice bargaining but still, the retail price is reasonable. A basic coloured male shirt fetches 200 baht (approx. MYR 21.00) & a piece of male cotton boxer short costs 100 baht (approx. MYR 11.00). Walking around the stores really make you thinking no wonder women got crazy when shopping here. One woman shirt with proper bargaining, can get as low as 150 baht (approx. MYR 16.00) each & a woman slipper costs 200 baht (approx. MYR 21.00). Besides, the workmanship of the apparels here are reasonably good considering the low price. The only setback is that no trying of the clothes is allowed. The policy here is either u take it or leave it.

Must try desert: The most delicious coconut ice cream ever, along Pratunam street

Multiple local foods sold in Platinum Mall food court

One of many many shopping lanes. Its like a maze out there !!

Took the taxi ride to Asiatique Riverfront in the evening for dinner & walk. This pier along the bank of Chao Phraya river, was formerly belongs to the East Asiatic Company back in the 1900s. Today, this same area was being developed into a riverfront project, combining shopping, dining, sightseeing, activities & events under one roof. The shopping retail price here naturally, higher than other places. We had typical Thai dishes dinner before making a trip back to hotel.

Evening scene at the Asiatique pier

Colourful lights at the riverfront

Prawn tom yam soup with chilli paste. Check out the size of the river prawns

One funny observation about taxi drivers here when u ask for a ride back to Pratunam district is, they will give you one long look as if you are asking them to send you to a haunted place. Pratunam has narrow roads & located at the other side of the city. Traffic jam towards & in the area is horrendous. Taxi drivers, naturally will give you a terrified look first before deciding to take you or not. We are made to stop at a main road & walk our way back to hotel instead. A rest is definitely needed for a long day ahead the next day.

Walking on the way back to hotel along Pratunam street

Must try street food: Crunchy, delicious fried chickens but super oily. Please consult your doctor before consumption

TO BE CONTINUED....

Taiwan #4 - The Heart of Asia: Kaohsiung

Day 5

Continuing from previous posts (1, 2, 3) of my Taiwan trip, we took a bus down south to Kaohsiung. Kaohsiung is the 2nd most populous city in Taiwan, after Taipei & is the island largest industrial centre. Halfway, we stopped at Hakka village in Meinong for visit & had authentic Hakka lunch meal. This small community village allows you to experience the richness of Hakka culture & way of life.

At Hakka village entrance

Next is to Fo Guang Shan Monastery, the most popular tourist attraction in Kaohsiung. This centre is affiliated to Fo Guang Shan & is the largest monastery in Taiwan. Founded by Master Hsing Yun in 1967, this Buddhist movement since, has expanded rapidly throughout the world with its humanistic Buddhist teachings. The monastery covers more than 100 hectares & opened to public since 2011. You just need to be impressed with the building structures, sculptures & drawings with  detailed information given to each of them. One will need more than a day to fully explore the place & read all teachings signs, erected all over the place.

Majestic statue of Buddha & His disciples

Majestic pavilions with the large Buddha statue erected

The layout of whole area, covering over 100 hectares

We checked into E-Da Royal Hotel. This 5-star hotel is located within the vicinity of the E-Da World, an integrated park consists of an indoor & outdoor theme parks, outlet malls, university & even international school. It is the largest tourist resort in Taiwan & hosted many international events. Spent the whole evening, taking on the rides in the outdoor theme park & window shopping at the premium outlet mall. A must-ride in this theme park is the Taiwan Formosa ride. This indoor ride offers you a bird-eye view of all the natural attractions in the whole of Taiwan, providing the up/down movements as if you are flying on a paraglide. Another notable mention is the "Booster". This ride brings you up in the air in & making a 360 degrees (a few turns actually) turn up in the air. A first timer bounds to have his/her voice cracks for screaming out in fear throughout the ride.

The "Booster" ride. Two words: Terrifying excitement

Colourful ferris wheel at night

As mentioned in previous posts, we had dinner with Dad's long lost cousins & other relatives in Taipei. This time, with another bigger sets of cousins & relatives based in Kaohsiung. Apparently, some cousins of mine are already of grandparents status. It was a happy & emotional reunion for Dad & us, being able to see so many of them making efforts to meet us on a weekday night.

Definitely the biggest round table I've seen so far. Great for reunion purpose

The Kaohsiung gang. Seriously, I still don't know where is their standing in the family tree, just call them long-lost relatives from Dad's side...:p

Day 6 & 7

The next day was a full day tour of Kaohsiung city attractions. First stop was the Lotus Lake, located at the centre of the town. This scenic lake is well noted for its profusion of temples with the Confucius temple at the north edge & in the south, the Dragon & Tiger Pagodas and the Spring & Autumn Pavillions.

Papaya milk tea. A must-try in Taiwan if you're a milk tea fan



The pagodas in Lotus Lake

The pavilion with Guan Yu (Lord Guan)'s statue behind

Next, we took a short ferry ride to the Qijin island. This island is known by locals (not really well known by foreign tourists yet) for its seafood industry & slowly turning into a tourist attraction. Has seafood lunch along its famoud Qijin Seafood street. Spent the afternoon in the New Juejiang shopping street & the night, strolling along Love River after dinner. With the vibrant skylights, sightseeing cruise & riverbanks activities, the scene at night along the river was a sight to behold, taking after Beijing's Silk River or Bangkok's Chao Phraya river style.

Seafood on display for steamboat meal in Qijin Seafood Street

Leaving Qijin island on a ferry

New Juejiang shopping street

Night light at Love River

For the last day, we went to the largest mall in Kaohsiung, Dream Mall for lunch before departing for Kuala Lumpur. With fun loving people & fun loving, helpful local guide Jin Lee coupled with good food & attractive places as well, this is truly an enjoyable & memorable trip. Definitely wont be the last time I will be visiting Taiwan, for there are plenty more places yet to be explored & plenty more foods yet to be tasted. Hot springs next perhaps...

Taiwan #3 - The Heart of Asia: Cingjing, Nantou

Day 4

Continuing the blog posts (1 & 2) of previous trip to Taiwan last March. On Day 4, we went up to Cingjing. Cingjing is located at the Renai township of Nantou county in central Taiwan. With altitude of 1750m above the sea, the average temperature in Cingjing ranges from 5 degrees - 20 degrees, depending on which month you are visiting. Opened since 1961, the whole area consists of multiple tourist attractions. Our first stop is Small Swiss Garden. It's called "Taiwan's Little Switzerland" and "Paradise in the Mist" due to its Northern European influenced landscapes & ambience.

With Mum at the entrance of the garden

One of many flowers planted

Dad & Aunty Susie dancing to the Hokkien folk song

After lunch, we went up to the most popular attraction of the place, called "Green Green Grassland". This wide grassy plain spreads over hills with herds of sheep grazing on the land. The view was simply breathtaking, overlooking mountains with distinct cooling air. One look, you will be mistakenly thinking you're in New Zealand. There's sheep shearing show, with sheep shearers hired from New Zealand hairdressing those furry animals. With a Mandarin speaking Kiwi as host of the show, you will be amused with his funny antics with the sheeps. By this time, cool mists came out of nowhere & covered the whole place & it was rather cold by then.



Nope. This is not the land of Lord of the Rings but this is the land of Acer & Jay Chou

Good weather allowing us to have beautiful view of the mountains beneath the clouds

How not to love these cute animals

Our next stop was for an afternoon tea session in Old England Manor hotel. This English themed mansion is definitely majestic sight to behold & a must-visit place if you're in Cingjing. It's hard not to be impressed with the detailed architecture & interiors in the hotel. I felt as though I was transported back in time to the days of old England. The Victorian style afternoon tea was served with a 3 tier tower, consists of scones, sandwiches, deserts & a pot of Earl Grey tea. Me being a pastries lover, this is simply heaven & you just want the time to stop right there. Most of pastries are great, being freshly made from the kitchen.

To be or not to be, that is the question. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?

English mansion

Afternoon tea. This is heavenly sent for a pastry lover

We checked into this Shangri-La Hanging Garden rest house (no relations to the Shangri-La hotel chain). The warn hue, decoration of the bouquets & romantic music from the lobby creates an elegant & comfortable ambiance.

The exterior of the hotel

Temperature outside hotel but my record showed its 9 degrees out there !!!

Stayed overnight in extremely cold weather before checking out & departing to Kaohsiung (our last stop) the next day


TO BE CONTINUED....