Kaiz(1)

All Entries

2010-08-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

New Zealand:
South Island
Christchurch
-Antarctic Centre
-Mona Vale
-Cashmere Hill, Coal Mine
-Christchurch city
-Willowbank Wildlife Reserve & Ko Tane Maori Cultural
-Central Canterbury

Hokitika

Southern Alps
-Westland National park (Fox Glacier & Franz Josef Glacier)
-Haast
-Mt Cook
-Church of the Good Shepherd

Queenstown & Wanaka
-Wanaka, Jones' fruit stall
-Kawarau Gorge (Jetboating, Bungy)
-Queenstown City
-Arrowtown

Fiordland: Milford Sound

Farmstay

North Island
Rotorua
-Maori Arts, Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley (geysers)
-Mt Ngongotaha (Gondola, Luge)
-White water rafting
-Agrodome Farm
-Waitomo Glowworm Caves
-Rabbit Shearing Shed

Auckland

United States:

Boston
-Tang Accomodation, Backbay yoga
-MIT
-Harvard
-Sights downtown
-(Blackhawk heli ride, Wrentham factory outlet, MIT symphony orchestra)
-(Pumpkin Festival, Halloween)
-(Loster, Kopitiam)
-(Obama Presidential rally, Red Sox, Celtics)
-(BSO concert, Boston Pops, Nutcracker)

New York
Lower Manhattan:
~Statue of Liberty, Battery Park
~Brooklyn Bridge, South St Seaport, Chinatown, Civic Center
~Financial District
~Washington Square
Midtown:
~Empire State Building
~Rockefeller Center
~Times Square
~UN
~Other sights
Central Park

Washington DC
-White House, Capitol
-Monuments, Memorials
-Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington Cemetery
-Museums
-Other sights

Los Angeles
-Hollywood walk of fame
-Universal Studios
-Disneyland

Las Vegas

San Francisco
-Alcatrez, Fisherman Wharf, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge

Other cities
-Solvang City(Danish Village), San Simeon Bay
-Lake Havasu City(London Bridge)

National Parks
-Grand Canyon
-Yosemite

New Hampshire
-White Mts (Mt Chocorua)
-Mount Monadnock

Niagara Falls

Atlantic Ocean
-Whale-watching

Canada:
Montreal
-Old Montreal
-Olympic Village, Mt Royal, Casino, Underground city, Food

Quebec
-Basilique Notre Dame, Rue de Petit Champlain

Cambodia:
Phnom Penh
-(Arrival)
-(Killing fields, Tuol Sleng museum, Bugs)
-(Lakeside Guesthouse, mkt)
-(Backpacker Lane)

Siem Reap
-(Arrival)
-(Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom)

Sihanoukville
-(Arrival)
-(Island-Hopping)

China:
Shanghai
-(Arrival)
-Pudong (Oriental Pearl Tower)
-Yuyuan Garden
-Nanjing Lu, Xin Tian Di

Beijing
-Temple of Heaven, Peking Duck
-Tiananmen Square
-Great Wall
-Ming Tombs, Summer Palace
-Prince Gong's Palace, Old Summer Palace
-Lao She Teahouse, North Sea Park, Wang Fu Jing

Malaysia:
-Penang
-Pulau Aur
-Jabiru Flying@Nursajaya, JB

Indonesia:
-Batam

Auckland

2009-01-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

Top of Mt Eden (Skycity tower in the distance)

The sign of the extinct volcano-huge crater

Auckland harbor bridge

Skycity tower: the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere

On top has

-Observation deck, cafe, rotating restaurant for the faint-hearted

-Sky jump, Skytower vertigo climb for the brave

Posh Skycity hotel

Sumptuous breakfast buffet

Auckland metropolis

Nightview of Auckland city from top of Skycity tower

3.8cm doesn't sound thick to me

Posing with some of our fantastic companions from Chan brothers, while waiting for the delayed flight home

Rotorua: Rabbit Shearing Shed

2009-01-20T07:15:00.000-08:00

Poor rabbit tied

Knitting the rabbit fur

2 huge rabbits

Rotorua: Waitomo Glowworm Caves

2009-01-20T07:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Vicky for all the scanned postcards!

Secretly taken shots

Glowworms

After emerging from the caves

Rotorua: Agrodome Farm

2009-01-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

Zorb nearby

Kia Ora

Sheep ignoring your touch

All sheep on stage

Dogs on sheep

Shearing wool

Rotorua: White water rafting

2009-01-19T06:50:00.000-08:00

White water rafting, supposedly grade 5

Very safe, with a few kayaks patrolling at all times

7m drop

Amazing that we didn't capsize

"Pedal back towards the waterfall"

Poor front guys

My turn

I dun know why we are doing this

Victorious

Rotorua: Mt Ngongotaha (Gondola, Luge)

2009-01-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

Gondola ride up Mt Ngongotaha

Mum & Vicky, her fav shopping companion

Champagne breakfast

View of Rotorua city

Luge

See the sign

Derek apparently flouting the rules

I dun like ski lift

Patrick & Tang trying the advanced luge

While waiting for others to finish

Rotorua: Maori Arts, Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley (geysers)

2009-01-19T06:35:00.000-08:00

Entrance

Our guide

Artists @work

Maori wooden carvings

Erupting geysers visible from the distance

Boiling mud pools

Hot spring

Sulphur geysers smelling like cooked eggs

Christchurch: Central Canterbury

2009-01-17T03:11:00.000-08:00

Castle Hill, where they film LOTR or Narnia

Arthur's Pass

Kea: Mountain Parrots

Alpaca

Nice scenery along the way

Christchurch: Willowbank Wildlife Reserve & Ko Tane Maori Cultural

2009-01-17T02:58:00.000-08:00

Willowbank Wildlife Reserve

Guide feeding Kea with honey

Eels

Rare glimpse of nocturnal Kiwi

Ko Tane Maori Cultural

Explaining the rituals e.g. rubbing of nose

Offer of peace

Haka dance: reminiscent of the one I did in army

Lambchop

Farmstay

2009-01-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

The farmhouse

Really big, big farm

Deer, which puts on the least weight for every kg of grass they consume

Cow, which puts on the most weight for every kg of grass they consume

Sheep, either bred for their meat (only when young as lambchop) or wool

Woolshed

Wool

Freshly cut, heavy antlers

Excuse me?

Healthy dinner consisting of boiled vegetables from their own garden

Warm host

Southern Alps: Church of the Good Shepherd

2009-01-16T03:38:00.000-08:00

Church of the Good Shepherd

Erected to honour the Shepherd dogs, "without which the grazing of this mountain country would be impossible"

Southern Alps: Mt Cook

2009-01-16T03:35:00.000-08:00

This is the closest I got to Mt cook

Nice scenery along the way

Fiordland: Milford Sound

2009-01-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

While heading to Milford Sound from Queenstown, stop by Te Anau town

The lake @Te Anau

Mirror Lakes

Homer Tunnel

The Chasm

Waterfall

Dolphins

Sealions

Mum & NZ flag

Maybe it's the overcast sky, but I felt it's not as beautiful as the fjord cruise I saw in Norway which has many rainbows & greater color contrast (but no dolphins, sealions)

Queenstown & Wanaka: Queenstown City

2009-01-15T05:55:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Queenstown city

How to park the cars on such steep slopes?

Beautiful night view from Rydges hotel

Queenstown & Wanaka: Kawarau Gorge (Jetboating, Bungy)

2009-01-14T05:51:00.000-08:00

Kawarau Gorge

Jetboating

Bungy

Leap of faith

Queenstown & Wanaka: Arrowtown

2009-01-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

Used to be a refuge for many Chinese settlers...

.. who were here panning for gold

Queenstown & Wanaka: Wanaka, Jones' fruit stall

2009-01-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

Lake Wanaka

Jones' fruit stall

Southern Alps: Haast

2009-01-14T03:31:00.000-08:00

Thunder Creek Falls

Haast vistor info centre

Kiwis lay huge eggs in proportion to their bodies

Southern Alps: Westland National park (Fox Glacier & Franz Josef Glacier)

2009-01-13T03:25:00.000-08:00

Fox Glacier

Chalky white glacier water

Chunk of ice flowing in river

Icewall where 2 tourists were killed by rockfall a wk ago

No $ to do Helicopter rides to Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers

Hokitika

2009-01-13T03:19:00.000-08:00

Christchurch: Christchurch city

2009-01-12T02:42:00.000-08:00

Nearby beach

Cathedral Square

Chess played on weekends in Cathedral Square

Tram

Bridge of remembrance for Canterbury's Sacrifice in WW1

View from the Rydge hotel

Christchurch: Cashmere Hill, Coal Mine

2009-01-12T02:40:00.000-08:00

Cashmere Hill

Offering a splendid view of Christchurch

Coal mine

Christchurch: Mona Vale

2009-01-12T02:36:00.000-08:00

Mona Vale: "One of Christchurch's gracious houses & public gardens"

Mum exclaiming why the flowers are so big & beautiful here

Christchurch: Antarctic Centre

2009-01-12T02:23:00.000-08:00

International Antarctic Centre, which is very near Christchurch airport

Cute penguins with their feet painted to differentiate them

The Hagglund, which is able to traverserse through mud, water and very steep gradient

Inside the Hagglund. Quite thrilling ride!

Mum experiencing the antarctic storm

Jabiru Flying@Nursajaya, Johor Bahru

2008-07-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Jabiru (http://www.flughaven.net/)

View from the top

Hangar with Microlight

Penang

2008-05-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

On the bridge to Penang

Many hawker centres outside Sunway Hotel

Penang Hill

Cable-car up Penang Hill

View from top of Penang Hill

Long stairs flanked by shops to Kek Lok Si ("ji le si")

Botanical Gardens

Burmese Temple

Lying Buddha in the Thai Temple opposite the Burmese Temple

Gurney Plaza-Their posh shopping Mall (related to CapitaMall)

Sea near Gurney Plaza

Snake Temple

Ipoh cave temple

Mum & Iris after climbing many stairs

One of the many stores selling lots of Penang goodies

"When you r overseas, U must 信三个教: cannot 计较 , cannot 比较 , must 睡觉" ---Our Tour guide

Yosemite

2007-12-31T02:37:00.000-08:00

Entry to Yosemite National Park

Nice photos in this blog post stolen from Stanley :)

San Francisco: Alcatrez, Fisherman Wharf, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Bridge

2007-12-30T23:45:00.000-08:00

First peek of San Francisco

Curvaceous Lombard Street

Bike tour w Changhui who had a knack for remembering places which appeared in movies

Alcatrez Prison where the film 'The Rock' was filmed

Touristy Fisherman Wharf

Transamerica Building

One of the many Piers along San Francisco Bay

San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

City is full of hills like this, where it's impossible to cycle around...

...and Trams come in handy

Free food for the hungry. Violinist not included

Fort Mason
Interestingly, the character Sean Connery acted in 'The Rock' was called Mason (kudos to Changhui)

It will a dream to live in one of these houses...

...along this street facing the sea

Palace of Fine Arts

Golden Gate Bridge

I love San Francisco! =)

Solvang City(Danish Village), San Simeon Bay

2007-12-29T23:33:00.000-08:00

Danish Village

While others went to Hearst Castle, I decided to explore the first West Coast beach I've finally come across...

Lake Havasu City: London Bridge

2007-12-28T23:21:00.001-08:00

Lake Havasu City in Arizona-famed for London Bridge

The London Bridge

Grand Canyon

2007-12-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Long ride from LV to Grand Canyon in Arizona
Grand Canyon-formed by the Colorado River separating Arizona and California

First watched a National Geographic imax movie abt the mysteries of Grand Canyon, including people who have tried to explore the river

Las Vegas

2007-12-24T21:51:00.000-08:00

Long, boring ride from LA to LV in Nevada

Finally approaching LV... Pyramid shaped Luxor hotel

Mini-NewYork

More coming...

Fountain show Atlantis

Eiffel Tower

Los Angeles: Disneyland

2007-12-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

Boat ride thru the 'Amazon'

Haunted mansion

So coincidental to bumped into Louis Wong!

Americans being very respectful & patriotic during their flag-raising/lowering ceremony. There was even an old man who stood up and saluted during the ceremony.

Walt disney, the man himself

We returned to LA disneyland on New Year Countdown night

Los Angeles: Universal Studios

2007-12-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Overview of the production studios

Production set used in a movie

Cars used in Fast & Furious

Before the flashflood...

Flashflood!...

He scaled the Empire State Building

Plane crash

Waterworld

Los Angeles: Hollywood walk of fame

2007-12-23T21:21:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles-largest city in California

NYC: Central Park

2007-11-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Lincoln Centre

Natural History Museum

Central Park

The 'mall'

NYC: Other sights

2007-11-29T23:04:00.000-08:00

Hyatt Hotel w famous NY taxis

Pfizer World HQ

Chrysler Building w jutted out gargoyles

Grand Central subway station

NY public Library

Takashimaya

Trump Tower

NYC: UN

2007-11-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

NYC: Times Square

2007-11-29T22:42:00.000-08:00

Macy's (near Madison Square Garden)

Walking along 7th Ave towards Times Square

Times Square

Late show w David Letterman

NYC: Rockefeller Center

2007-11-29T22:36:00.000-08:00

Iceskating rink@Rockfeller Center

Preparing for annual Christmas tree lighting

St Patrick's Cathedral

NBC studio@GE building

NBC van

NYC: Empire State Building

2007-11-29T22:32:00.000-08:00

NYC: Washington Square

2007-11-29T22:29:00.000-08:00

Washington Memorial

New York University in the background

NYC: Financial District

2007-11-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

Trinity Church at entrance to Wall Street

NY Stock Exchange@Wall St

Dow Jones

Ground Zero

NYC: Brooklyn Bridge, South St Seaport, Chinatown, Civic Center

2007-11-29T22:19:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn Bridge-World's 1st steel suspension bridge (note: Manhattan Bridge is behind)

South St Seaport

Schooner

Chinatown

City Hall Park@Civic center

NYC: Statue of Liberty, Battery Park

2007-11-29T22:09:00.000-08:00

Statue of Liberty@ Liberty Island & Hudson River

Castle Clinton

Bowling Green Park

Quebec: Basilique Notre Dame, Rue du Petit Champlain

2007-11-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

Old Quebec

Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame

Place de l'Hotel-De-Ville

Chateau Frontenac (most photographed hotel)

Funicular down to Rue du Petit Champlain

Old port

Rue du Petit Champlain

Foritifications of Quebec

Citadel buried in snow

Stunt attempt

Crepe & Banana Split

Montreal: Olympic Village, Mt Royal, Casino, Underground city, Food

2007-11-26T21:48:00.001-08:00

Olympic Village

Biodome

On top of Mount Royal overlooking Montreal (note the olympic village on the left top)

St Joseph's Oratory (2nd largest in the world after Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome)

View from St Joseph's Oratory

Able to seat 10k people

Cross of Montreal

Montreal Casino (where the guys betted on numbers 4 and 7 and won twice!)

Underground City (largest underground complex in the world)

Sushi Bar

Poutine (Popular Quebec state dish)

Ratatouille & Escargot. Had lots of French food since Montreal & Quebec are French cities

Went to Hurley's Irish pub which had a fantastic fiddler

Montreal: Old Montreal

2007-11-26T21:33:00.000-08:00

De-icing the cars. My 1st time driving left-hand cars

Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel

Bonsecours Market

Place Jacques-Cartier

City Hall

Notre-Dame Basiclla

This church is the first I've seen which has a ethereal feel to its interior shrine (due to the blue lighting)

Statue outside the Notre-Dame Basiclla

Loster, Kopitiam

2007-11-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

Homecooked Lobster Feast@Tang, thanks to Kenny & gang :)

Kopitiam@Sydney Pacific-Organized by Singapore Society

Our food menu at ridiculously cheap price

Busy kitchen trying to keep up with the overwhelming demand of food

I dunno how many crabs I've deshelled

Boston: BSO concert, Boston Pops, Nutcracker

2007-11-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

Boston's symphony hall is supposedly the world's top 3 best concert hall in terms of acoustics

Boston Pops!

Dining during concert

Lots of Christmas Carol Sing-along towards the end

Nutcracker-First Ballet I ever watched!

Boston: (Obama Presidential rally, Red Sox, Celtics)

2007-11-08T17:26:00.001-08:00

Obama Presidential rally

The man himself

Red Sox@Fenway Park

Congrats for being the 2007 World Series champion!
Sweet Caroline!

NBA Boston Celtics@TD Banknorth Garden

who are set on a winning track this season..

So, the Red Sox won for the baseball, New England Patriots won the AFC championships, and the Celtics look set to win this season. How much better can Boston get? =)

Atlantic Ocean: Whale-watching

2007-10-22T19:18:00.000-07:00

Boston Harbor

Adam & Richard

Plankton-rich sea water

First sights of humpback whale

Note the rainbow-color mist from the whale's blowhole

Mouth of the whale surfacing vertically after taking in a big mouthful of plankton-rich water

Giants looming near

Goodbye

Boston: (Pumpkin Festival, Halloween)

2007-10-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Halloween Decorations@Tang

New Hampshire: Mount Monadnock

2007-10-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

Mount Monadnock ("the second-most-climbed mountain in the world", behind Mt Fuji in Japan) during peak foliage viewing season

Washington DC: Other sights

2007-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

George Washington Uni

Outside FBI HQ

Pentagon (no pics allowed)

American Red Cross

Chinatown

Our Allen Lee hotel

Washington DC: Museums

2007-10-08T12:56:00.001-07:00

National Archives storing the 1.) Declaration of independence, 2.) Constitution & 3.) Bill of rights/Amendments

Declaration of Independence

The man behind it all-->Smithsonian Castle

National Gallery of Art

Da Vinci's only painting in America

National Air & Space Museum

American Indian Museum

Natural History Museum

Washington DC: Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington Cemetery

2007-10-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

Bridge to Arlington

Iwo Jima Memorial

Seabeas of the US Navy Memorial

Arlington Cemetery

John F Kennedy Memorial

Washington DC: Monuments, Memorials

2007-10-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Statue of Lincoln

View from Lincoln Memorial-Reflecting pool, Washington Monument

WWII Memorial

View from WWII memorial- Reflecting Pool & Lincoln Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Vietnam Veterans memorial-3 servicemen

Vietnam Women's memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Declaration of Independence memorial

Washington DC: White house, Capitol

2007-10-08T11:54:00.000-07:00

White House (Executive)

Capitol (Legislative) - Senate & House of Rep

Capitol dome

Interior of Capitol dome

Inside Capitol

View from Capitol-The Mall, Washington Monument, Lincoln Monument (blocked)

US Supreme Court

Harvard

2007-09-28T22:14:00.001-07:00

Harvard Square

John Harvard Statue

Widener Library

John F Kennedy School of Govt

Boston: (Blackhawk heli ride, Wrentham factory outlet, MIT symphony orchestra)

2007-09-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Wrentham factory outlet

Excellent performance by MIT symphony orchestra

New Hampshire: White Mts (Mt Chocorua)

2007-09-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Niagara Falls

2007-09-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Prepared to get wet while sailing into the Falls...

Double rainbows reminisent of the fjord cruise in Norway...

American Falls(nearer) & Horseshoe Falls(Canada's)(further)

Walk beneath the falls

Niagara Falls at night...

Thousand Island Cruise

Boston: Sights downtown

2007-09-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

Freedom Trail (Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre)

Quincy Market

Quincy Market in winter

Julia posing at the Harbor

Isabella StewardGardner Museum

Museum of Fine Arts

First Church of Christ, Scientist (located near Symphony Hall)

Boston Lobster

Charles River Cruise

Galleria

Boston Common (after Nutcracker)

Prudential Skywalk

Boston: MIT

2007-08-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Killian Court

MIT in winter...

...along Massachusetts Ave

Charles River

MIT hacks: http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/

Car team

Our car

Preparing for the race! We were so lucky to get 2nd in the end!

Boston: Tang Accomodation, Backbay yoga

2007-08-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

Splendid view of Charles River & MIT in the day...

...and at night

... in winter...

...even Charles river froze up!

Backbay yoga...

...where I go every alternate day

Ashtangayogaboston

Batam

2007-06-30T02:31:00.000-07:00

Cable-ski (http://www.cable-ski.com/)

Beijing: Lao She Teahouse, North Sea Park, Wang Fu Jing

2007-06-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Performances @ Lao She teahouse

North Sea Park(Beihaigongyuan)
-Nine Dragon Screen

Our tour group

Wang Fu Jing

Beijing: Prince Gong's Palace, Old Summer Palace

2007-06-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

Prince Gong's Palace (well-preserved)

Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan)

Severly destroyed by Br & Fr troops

Broadcasting the recent return of monuments

Beijing: Ming Tombs, Summer Palace

2007-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ming(Thirteen) Tombs (Shi San Ling)

Summer Palace(Yu He Yuan)

Longest Corridor

Beijing: Great Wall

2007-06-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Ba Da Ling Bear Zoo: Entrance to the Ba Da Ling part of the Great Wall

Cable cars ferrying us up to the Great Wall

Beijing: Tiananmen Square

2007-06-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

Statues in front of Mao Zedong Mausoleum

Monument to the People's Heroes @ Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen=Entrance to Forbidden City

Forbidden City

Chinese acrobatics

Beijing: Temple of Heaven, Peking Duck

2007-06-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

Skyscrapers

Temple of Heaven(Tiantan)
-Built in Ming dynasty
-Used by emperors to worship the heaven
-Has an echo wall (Whisper able to travel from 1 end of the wall to the other end)

Peking Duck

Shanghai: Nanjing Lu, Xin Tian Di

2007-06-05T05:14:00.000-07:00

Their "Paragon"

Our "Raffles City" built by CapitalMall

Nanjing Lu (Pedestrian-only shopping extravaganza)

Xin Tian Di (similar to our Clarke Quay/Holland V)

Shanghai: Yuyuan Garden

2007-06-04T05:11:00.000-07:00

Shield in Taxi

Shanghai: Pudong (Oriental Pearl Tower)

2007-06-03T04:59:00.000-07:00

Insect Museum

Oriental Pearl Tower

Miniature Oriental Pearl Tower

Observation Deck

Pudong: special economic zone

"Sightseeing Tunel" under the Huangpu river at the bund

Huangpu river: Reminescent of St Petersburg's Neva River

Shanghai: (Arrival)

2007-06-02T04:56:00.000-07:00

Maglev(430km/h) from Shanghai international airport to Longyang lu

MRT from Longyang Lu to Nanjing xi lu (Ruitai Hotel)

Booming Shanghai

Cambodia: Phnom Penh (Backpacker Lane)

2006-05-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Breakfast @ Russian Mkt

After few hours of shopping, we returned to Backpackers’ lane just outside of Lakeside Guesthouse

There are quite a number of cool cafes

Inside Lazy Gecko

In Cambodia, it is considered rude to touch another person’s head
‘Same same but different’ is a tagline in Cambodia too

Lamb to the slaughter

Too bad we missed trying out the happy pizza. After all, it's part of Cambodia too.

Overall, I really enjoyed this Cambodia trip. Thanks to the endless supply of jokes, act-cute antics and wacky ideas permeating the group.

Ahbsolutely, Sorrya , Mushroom, Happy herbs, Indian accent

Or Kun Tom Tom!

Cambodia: Phnom Penh (Lakeside Guesthouse, mkt)

2006-05-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Lakeside Guesthouse

Which has a nice view of the lake

Initially we wanted to go find Ling @ her Cambodian sch but she wasn't free

There used to be Capoeira here…

Russian Mkt-souvenirs & t-shirts for tourists

Wet mkt just outside Russian Mkt

Where JM suddenly became very trigger-happy abt the food sold while Derrick patiently tested his tolerance to the wet mkt smell

Cambodian school children

This is how they ride motorbikes

Nithiya pretending to enjoy the too-dry Barbecued Banana

How ironic to watch the movie ‘The beach’ here

Cambodia: Sihanoukville (Island-hopping)

2006-05-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

We registered for the Island-hopping programme organized by the GST guesthouse. Snorkelling was negligible cos visibility was very bad. But at US$10 per person for the boat rides to 3 islands, breakfast and lunch, it was still worth a bargain

Derrick’s expression after seeing the boat that we were abt to take

On the way we passed by several nice islands

The Cambodia flag & us on 1 of the islands

Some of the more memorable things that we did: singing Capoeira songs on our boat rides, to the amusement of the other passengers; Derrick doing his back-somersaults off the boat...

Barbecued-fish lunch

When we came back to Sihanoukville beach, it was crowded with the locals

So we started pulling off some tricks…

…which the kids were quick to emulate

Most of the Sihanoukville beach look set for major facelifts. Certain tourist infrastructures are in place and thus Sihanoukville may have potential to rival those in Thailand. But to me, the water just ain't as beautiful as those in Thailand.

Cambodia: Sihanoukville (Arrival)

2006-05-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

This was an awfully boring day.

From 7am to 5.30pm, we were travelling on a bus from Siem Reap all the way down, past Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville (supposedly Cambodia’s “leading beach resort”)

The road was quite bumpy & we were in the last row. It was impossible to read. So we were all drifting in & out of sleep. Felt like those bus rides to Malaysia. Should have brought my Portuguese to study or MP3 player

Of course, there were a few stops in between. At each stops, there would be some women hawking suspicious-looking food.

When we finally arrived at Sihanoukville, we pillion-ride motorbikes to our GST lodging.

Had dinner @ beach restaurant w fantastic music

Where Jiamin kept harping on the fact that the alcohol were damn cheap.

Cambodia: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom)

2006-05-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

Next morning, we woke up early, hoping to catch sunrise @ Angkor wat

Many tourists were already waiting for the sunrise.

Too bad, the sunrise can hardly be seen due to the clouds

Angkor Wat
-most probably constructed as a funerary temple for the King to honour Vishnu (symbolizes man’s devotion to his gods)
-the largest religious structure in the world
-best-preserved temple at Angkor cos it was never abandoned to the elements

Coincidentally bumped into Jianming and Melinda! Uncannily, earlier that morning I wondered whether I would bump into anyone at one of the wonders of the world. Ha

Long walls of carvings depicting epic events

Treacherously steep stairs

The central cupola

Headless statues everywhere

Palito doing his favourite pose

Roda in Angkor Wat

View of the Sandstone Causeway & Main entrance from inside the Angkor Wat

Sneak shot

Statue of Vishnu with his 8 arms

Newly weds

After Angkor Wat, our guide drove us to Ta Prohm
-the most atmospheric ruin at Angkor and a must-see
-Buddhist Temple left to be swallowed by the jungle
-filming site of Tomb Raider

The tree that was previously on top this monument has been removed & reconstruction of the statue is now taking place

Victims of landmine

Ruins

The friendly guide who took us around

Power of the jungle

The Shiva Temple that Nithiya wanted to see

Another temple

The guide then took us to the fortified city of Angkor Thom, which encloses many impt monuments

Giant Buddha statue @ Tep Pranam

Intricate carvings

Sexless statue @ Terrace of the Leper King

Terrace of Elephants

Baphuon which is a pyramidal representation of mythical Mt Meru. Too bad it’s closed for reconstruction

Bayon , seemingly like a pile of rubble, is at the exact centre of the city of Angkor Thom

Nose-rubbing the statue

At one of the monumental gate to the city of Angkor Thom

After Angkor Thom, we climbed up a hill to catch the sunset.

Again we can’t see the sunset due to the clouds

When will I ever be able to do a bridge like this?

Too many/much rocks

Phew, this must be the tiring day for the entire Cambodia trip after all that climbing & walking. I am so glad that we only took the 1-day Angkor Wat pass.

Cambodia: Siem Reap (Arrival)

2006-05-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

Cambodia

has 2 major rivers: Mekong river(the great river) & Tonle Sap(the fresh water river). To get to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh, we can either go by bus or boat along Tonle Sap.

Since the boat ride was too expensive (US$25), we took the Mekong Express bus instead (US$9)

Ms Ling graciously paid for our taxi fr Siem Reap bus station to Damnak Chan guesthouse

Fantastic & Cosy Damnak Chan
It was here when we first tried Prahok, fermented fish paste.

Cambodia is a major destination for sex tourists

We then went to the central mkt but didn't buy much cos we tot that PP mkt 'd be cheaper

Nithiya got fascinated by Mannequin Pis-Part 2

Siem Reap (Siamese defeated)
-Angkorean Era(AD802-1431)
-Great temple complexes dedicated to Hindu deities eg Shiva & Vishnu may've declined in significance as Buddhism became the predominant religion of the state