Malaysia - Penang

It takes about 9 hours of coach ride from Singapore to Penang. It is really a torture. It is a peaceful place. I has a nice beach and it is really scenic during low tide. It has 2 main shopping centres if I did not remember wrongly. Food is relatively cheap. I tried its famous Penang Laksa and to my disappointment, it does not live up to its reputation. The worst thing is that the stall that I went to was very well-known. This could be seen by the number of customers and the long waiting time. After some pondering, I came to a conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the food. It is me who have a weird taste. Haha.

I visited the famous temple, Ji2 Le4 Si4. It was really impressive. The place is indeed quite good for cultivation. It is very scenic too. It is at the outskirts and not many taxis are willing to make the trip. Besides, it is even more difficult to get a taxi back to the city. As a result, I had to take the bus. The experience can be quite interesting as I am able to slow down and observe the different walks of life.

Singapore

Singapore is my homeland. When I was a kid, I keep thinking that other countries are better than Singapore. However, I realize this may not be the case when I get older. As I travel more, I get to see how other countries function and their environment. I think Singapore has one of the best infrastructure and also a very efficient system of doing things.

All I can say is that Singapore is a clean and green country, with very low crime rate. It has its unique flavour. I urge travelers all over the world to pay a visit to this island. You will discover things you have never seen or heard before.

My Collection

Clouds

Clouds are actually formed due to the condensation of water vapour into water droplets.

Taiwan - Xiao3 Jin1 Men2

This is the place where Taiwan open fire at China during 1950's or 1960's (not sure). It has a nick name called " Da4 Dan4". It used to belong to China.

Now, Taiwanese troops are stationed on it. Though can't go onto the island, you can take a ferry ride from Xiamen and tour close it.

Taiwan - Wulai

Wulai is has many mountains and this is where you can find Alishandi guniang. I have to apologise for the poor quality of the pictures as they were taken very long time ago.

Taiwan - Kaoshiung II

Picture 2 & 3 - Dragon Tiger Pagoda - Here, there are stalls and shops selling handicrafts, snacks and gifts directly across the road. I remember the vendors told me that when entering the pagoda, you should never enter through the tiger's mouth. As the saying goes, " song yang ru hu kou", meaning putting the goat into the tiger's mouth. So can we assume that it means inauspicious? Anyway, just believe la hor. :)

Taiwan - Kaoshiung

Kaoshiung is located at the southern part of Taiwan. It is a vibrant and colourful city. It is famous for its scenery, temples, betelnut girls (binglang xishi), shopping centres, smelly beancurd, snacks, sauna, massage,.......etc. I dunno if it is true, I heard that it is quite easy to get hookers too. But I do not encourage guys to flirt around when you go tours la hor.......:) wait kena STD then you know...hahaha.

Picture 2 & 3 - Zhong Zheng Wen Hua Zhong Xin - This is the place to commerate Chiang Kai Sek. Below is his sculpture. I'm not very sure of its usage, but at night, there are Taichi classes and martial arts classes being conducted at the parade square.

Taiwan - Kaoshiung - Fuo Guang Shan

Fuo Guang Shan can be considered as one of the most well-known buddhist temples in the world and in Taiwan. The monastry is "divided" on two mountains and the monks and nuns live in each separately. What meserized me is the size and facilities of the temple. I have never seen such a big temple.

Picture 4 - It is stated "feng shan" which means the mountain is closed in mandarin. I was very lucky as one friend and I went without knowing that the temple was not open to public anymore. Out of goodwill, they allowed both of us to go in. We were overjoyed. However, this does not mean that the public cannot go. But there is a need to make an appointment beforehand. The temple implemented this step as they had complaints from some public that the temple maybe be too comercialized if it is open to tourists. To uphold the reputation of the temple and Buddhism, I think this is the reason why it took this action.

Hong Kong - Changzhou

You need to take a ferry from Hong Kong and it takes about 1hour. It is an island consisting of villages and some holiday chalets. It is not so popular as Lantau Island as it does not have any special facilities or tourist attractions. However, it is very serene and peaceful there. It is definitely a good place to unwind and relax.

Hong Kong - Ocean Park

Ocean Park is a place not to be missed. It consists of a theme park, maritime place and games. It is a great leisure location for a family to spend its weekend. It is a heaven for many kids. It has a long cable car ride which is about 1/2h long, challenging the contours of the mountains. It is a breath taking sight when look out of the cable car. It would be quite cold if during winter, as the cold mountain winds send chills down your spine...
On top of that, it is believed that it has the longest escalator in the world. Of course, it does not mean that the escalator does not have breaks in between, but rather, the escalator is spanning practically from the foot of the mountain to the park.

Hong Kong - Lantau Island

Lantau Island, known as "Da Yu Shan" in mandarin, is very popular for its holiday chalets/bungalows. Also, it has a temple which provides good vegetarian meals. It is a very quiet and serene place for cultivation. The air is pure and the scenery is superb. After the "Da Fuo", Big Buddha is built, the island has an additional attraction for people or tourists to visit the island. If anyone of you go to Hong Kong, I strongly feel that Lantau Island is not to be missed. It is convenient to go. It is merely a ferry ride which takes less than an hour, if I did not remember wrongly.

You need to have good stamina and strong legs to get to the top! But you would feel worthwhile by the time you get to the top. The feeling is unable to be described by words. Just a piece of advice, it is super windy at the top where the buddha statue is. Therefore, I feel that it is better contact lenses are not to be worn. I could still remember, the wind was so strong that I felt as if I was almost lifted off the grounds. I'm really not exaggerating. Experience it and you will know. :)

Malaysia - Tioman

Tioman is a paradise for snorkeling, scuba diving or just for relaxation. The budget for the trip can be quite little. I think S$300 should be more than sufficient for a 4-5 days stay, inclusive of transport. Unless you go for scuba diving, then maybe that is not sufficient. Its water is so clear and clean that we can see the seabed in shallow waters. Sometimes, you would be able to see stingrays, fishes or even mini-sharks swimming below your boat at certain parts of the island. Due to its mountainous nature, the island is not fully accessible by roads. Hence, there is a need to take boats to the other side of the island. I'm not sure if it is legal or not, but there is a beach where some female tourists go topless. Maybe the guys can try their luck there hor. haha. But if you kena caught, then it is not my problem.

Picture 2 - "Demon Hill"
Remember "Journey to the West"? Are we at the white bone demon's territory? Majiam like a demon hill hor........

Picture 3 & 4 - This is how the inland looks like. It is mountainous mainly in the middle of the island. Hence, human activities are located at the fringe of the island along the coast. But there is a nature trail and waterfall deep uphill inside the jungle. If you are the type who likes hiking and are not afraid of mosquitoes, that is a great experience definitely.

USA - Los Angeles

Universal Studios - Many movies were filmed here. It is similar to Disneyland. It does not really have actual theme parks, but it has rides and shows. Furthermore, there would be stunt shows and other performances on how movies are made. It is really interesting.

This is the building where "Back to the Future" is filmed. It is actually a lot smaller than it seemed in the movie. Looks like most of us are deceived. Besides this filming ground, there are others....eg King Kong.

Mexico - Tijuana

From Los Angeles, we can take a coach to Mexico, Tijuana. Once we cross the border, it feels as if you have entered into another world. Though it is not so developed, it has a unique flavour of its own. The only thing which put me off is that the tour leader told us that besides the tap water, even the soft drinks in cans may not be save be drinking. This is because there are a lot of "chiong" drink brands around. Therefore, we only consumed food and beverages from the restaurants they took us. ( who knows, maybe it is a business gimmick to earn more money hor :) )

Australia - Darwin

Darwin is the northern capital of Australia. But did you realise that the roads are so empty? This is because it is not a night city. The shops close at around 3pm, and by 6pm, most of the people would be at home already. Unless it is a weekend, it would really be quite deserted.

Thailand - Pattaya

Pattaya is a famous & popular for its red light districts. However, I need to emphasize that it still has scenic attractions and good food.

Agogo Bar - Inside this bars, there are topless shows, so called "tiger shows" and the ladies can accompany you for drinks. Of course, you can buy them out for supper and I bet you know what happens after that. The topless shows include pole dancing and "tiger shows" are shows when the ladies perform stunts with their private parts. eg, shotting darts, putting an egg in, opening bottle caps, pulling very long lengths of threads out from there, wax dripping.........

There are many such alleys in Pattaya where such bars are found. Also there are high class massage parlours where indecent transactions are provided. Why called high class? It is something like window shopping where all the gals or old basans would exhibit themselves in a extremely large "fish tank". it can hold up to more than 100 people for some. If I had not witness it, I might not believe it too. Those found in Geylang arer actually nothing. By now, you must be suspecting I must have been doing hanky panky stuff right? :) No la, I merely went in in take a look with my friends and sat there for a drink. Regarding Geylang, I was told my some " zhu peng gou you" that it is like that.

South Korea - Seoul

I cannot remember much about Seoul as I was still very young. It was the first time I see snow. It was not too cold as it was just minus two degree celsius. Moreover, it does not have the wind chill as compared to Beijing. I remember that it was very common for restaurants to offer chewing gum after a meal. It was very unique.

The Philippines - Manila

Manila is a city where I do not feel very safe at first. This is because it is my first time to see firearms being sold and even the security guards use shot guns and the bullets are strap round their waist. Wow!! Like those robbers in the films hor. From what I heard, the robbers here have powerful guns. Hence, even the security guards of shopping malls and especially banks need powerful firearms too. But it is on the whole quite safe to move around in the city. I think it is just because we come from a different country and can't get use to the sight all of a sudden.

Picture 2 - Southern Harbour

Picture 3 - Rizal Park - Guards changing of duty in the top picture. On the right, it is the monument to commerate him. But who is this person actually? I think he is the revolutionary hero of Philippines. This is a "sacred" place as I remembered told by some locals that couples are not allowed to be intimate in this vincinity.

Picture 4 - Fort Santiago - This is a fort used to fight the Japanese during WWII. It is quite well preserved. We can find empty shells of bombs and cannons here. There are also dungeons here, but they are already out of bounds to the public.

Picture 5 - Tutuban flea market - This is very famous and popular among the locals and even tourists. It is always so crowd. You can get all sorts of local handicrafts here. Unfortunately, I do not know how to appreciate them......hahahaha