Jackson returns
The wax replica of deceased American pop star Michael Jackson is on show in the DEVNET Pavilion until Tuesday in memory of the controversial star’s sudden death a year ago. Madame Tussauds, a wax museum, made the wax replica. The museum’s other works will also be shown in the Expo Garden, including the wax replicas of English soccer stars Wayne Rooney and David Beckham.
Gold standard
The Expo organizer issued 2010 pairs of commemorative gold bars themed after the China Pavilio…
Archive for June, 2010
” The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on June 26 presented the Vietnam Tourism Award 2010 to 30 hotels, 20 travel agencies and 15 tourism service enterprises at a ceremony in Hanoi.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia>, Jun 28, 2010
My AUD35 flight departed Melbourne on time.
8.5 hours later (with about 3 hours of dozing) I arrived at Kuala Lumpur around 7am. It was too early to check-in so I left my bags and took the bus into the city and made my way by monorail to my favourite haunts.
Firstly to Sungei Wang and Bukit Bintang Plaza, for blind reflexology and massage … but it was a bit too early. So had lunch at the superposh mall Pavilion before returning to see my blind masseur.
It was early to bed tonight, at the cheap Tune Hotel by the airport, to make up for the night flight.
Seoul, South Korea>, Jun 30, 2010
Mad For Garlic is a chain restaurant started in Seoul in 2001. They offer 40 different Italian dishes and a pretty decent wine list. There are 10 locations in Seoul but the one I went to is the Bongeusaro restaurant located near the Coex Intercontinental Hotel.
For starters we had the Dracula Killer (soft garlic bread served with garlic cooked in olive oil and anchovies) and the Sautéed Fresh Mussels (with peppery red wine tomato sauce). Both were delicious but the mussels were a better value based on the amount you get. The Red Devil Pasta is good but they restaurant gave it two peppers on the spice chart but I would give it less. The Garlic Snowing Pizza is also delicious but what looks like sliced almonds is actually garlic.
I would defiantly go back… equip with breath mints.
Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka>, Jun 29, 2010
Rooms are large and clean. Most have balcony looking out towards the sea.
The pool is very clean as well … that comes in handy as if you come at the wrong time (like I did), the sea is downright dangerous. Supposedly the currents are stronger south of Hikkaduwa (eg. here).
And during the off-season, their inhouse restaurant will not have many of its menu items available … it is the same in neighbouring gueshouses too, though.
It is 10-15 minutes walk to where most of the shops and eateries are. It is too far in the heat of the day but quite a nice walk in the evenings.
Fortunately, there is a simple eatery 1 minute walk away. Exit the guesthouse and turn right (sign “Curry & Rice”).
Having looked at other places, I definitely prefer staying here … including compared to Rita’s (the other places offered on the internet). Rita’s has a nicer eating environment though.
Yinchuan, China>, Jun 08, 2010
Food is one of the big differences between cultures. We are eating at an Italian buffet restaurant in Yinchuan and looking over at the Chinese girl at the next table I have to hide a smile. She has filled her plate with just about everything from the buffet and is happily eating a mouthful of fried chicken and swiss-roll. I shouldn’t laugh I’m sure I have ordered bizarre Chinese food combinations that will have raised a few eyebrows from the locals!
Yinchuan is not a particularly interesting place but was a convenient overnight train ride from Datong. The main sight here are the Western Xia Tombs about 20km out of town, but we fail to find the bus that supposedly runs that way and baulk at paying 120Y for a return taxi so don’t go. Instead it seems we ride the #1 bus to and from the train station and arrange our onward travel (by bus to Lanzhou) for tomorrow.
Eventually when this is all done we feel a little guilty for avoiding the possible tourist attractions so stop in at the city museum and find it has a pleasant garden and a 10 storey pagoda which we climb to the top. The climb is great but the view from the top fairly uninspiring (flat land and hazy vis).
Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka>, Jun 29, 2010
Sri Lanka Again
Today I’m off on my second visit to Sri Lanka. There are a few reasons for my visit:
- Even though I’ve travelled extensively around Sri Lanka, I don’t have the true feel of the country and its people. We were in a rush as it was a 6-day stopover on the way to Iran, so we hired a car and driver (it wasn’t that expensive).
- I’m here to visit the places that I didn’t cover last time - the west coast beaches.
- This was the only way I could get to use my Emirates frequent flyer points to go to Beirut.
Setting off from Kuala Lumpur to Hikkaduwa
With jetlag on my side, I woke at 3am in Kuala Lumpur … then dozed till 4am when I had to wake for my 6:15am flight to Colombo. The airport terminal was walking distance from the hotel.
Upon arrival at Colombo at 7:15, I enquired about a taxi down the coast to Hikkaduwa. It would be a 4 hour drive costing USD70. I opted to take public transport instead for a grand total of USD5:
- A free bus from the airport to the bus station (10 minutes).
- A bus to Colombo Fort railway station (2 hours). Hot, sweaty, fumy and noisy.
- A train from Colombo to Hikkaduwa, the beach village (2 hours).
- There was some waiting around at the railway station, but only long enough for a light lunch of roti and vadae.
I noticed on the train that much of the coastline is very orange coloured sand … sienna. Unfortunately this rich colour renders the water an awful colour when the sand is churned up into the waves.
I also noticed that the elderly woman sitting next to me holds her hands in prayer position each time she sees a Buddhist temple through the window … that’s the kind of thing you’d miss if you just tour Sri Lanka in a car with driver!
At Hikkaduwa
My family-run hotel at Hikkaduwa (or more accurately Thiranagama) was modest and simple but very clean. Unfortunately the sea is very rough … I stood 3 inches deep in the water and could feel the undertow dragging me in. I settled for the small but clean and cooling swimming pool.
In light of my disappointment (with the sea), it feels so good that I didn’t pay USD70 for the taxi ride down. I will treat this stay by the beach as a base for exploring Galle (tomorrow, further south) and as a relaxing break on the way to Beirut.
Galle, Sri Lanka>, Jun 30, 2010
This morning I took the bus down to Galle (pronounced “Gawl”) which is less than half hour away. Things are very cheap here … the bus ride is about USD0.20 and meals are less than USD1 each.
Galle has an old Fort dating back to the Portuguese, then Dutch then British era. There are about 400 houses, churches, mosques, temples and commercial/government buildings in the Fort in various states of repair and disrepair.
Back in Hikkaduwa in the afternoon, I learnt from two Dutch girls that they had their beer spiked with drug at a neighbouring guesthouse. They were hallucinating badly. They couldn’t work out the motive … whether it was for their money, for sex … or so they could be reported to the cops in exchange for a bribe. Hey everyone, make sure your drink is opened in front of your eyes!
Bohol, Philippines>, Jun 30, 2010
staff are cheerful, quick service.
you get the Buffet served on your table, you do not have to go anywhere.
the food is really good.
4 Course Set Menu for PHP500 per person, no comment 
Seoul, South Korea>, Jun 30, 2010
A desk?!? I get to stand behind a desk?!? Like a real concierge!?! Woohoo! The excitement of the desk wore off quickly. I spent the majority of my day directing guests to the reception desk to check in or out because they aren’t planning on teaching me that. Over my 9-hour shift, I helped a total of two guests, one with a taxi and the other with train reservations. The time passes very slowly when you only talk to two guests. It’s also quite lonely because I’m now separated from my coworkers so I feel like I’m punished all day.
After work we were treated to dinner at Mad For Garlic Italian wine bistro by our professor. They aren’t kidding with the name; our appetizer was even named Dracula Killer! After dinner with him, we all went to the Park Hyatt for coffee and to enjoy the view from the 24th floor lobby. It was neat to watch the city change into a twinkling skyline. We had plans of going out tonight but that’s not going to happen because we are way too tired from our jobs. Physically tired but also emotionally tired. We’re bored. I hope this gets better soon but if not there are only 22 working days left and it will look good on a resume.